“There must be a better way”: Cyclist shares clip of light staying red for nearly five minutes on Cycleway, but social media piles on other riders for jumping the signal; Tadej Pogačar almost breaks 30-years-old Hautacam record + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“Unstoppable”: Tadej Pogačar bags Hautacam KOM on Strava with fastest ascent of Pyrenean mountain in decades — almost three minutes quicker than second-placed Oscar Onley
Let’s talk about that performance, shall we?
It’s no news that Tadej Pogačar crushed the Hautacam climb in yesterday’s stage 12 of the Tour de France. And now, according to his Strava file, he didn’t just get the stage win and extend his GC lead, but also bagged several KOMs.
The defending Tour de France champion completed the final climb of the iconic Hautacam in 33 minutes and 27 seconds, setting a new KOM on the classic Pyrenean ascent with an average speed of 23 km/h over 12.82 km at 8.1 per cent. His VAM clocked in at 1,854 Vm/h, all in sweltering 33°C heat.
It’s the fastest ascent of Hautacam since 1996, when Danish rider Bjarne Riis broke the seemingly unbreakable Miguel Induráin and achieved something profoundly mythical and legendary while en route to winning the Tour that year.
But what’s equally commendable is that Pogačar’s ride came on a day when the Tour de France peloton — Visma-Lease a Bike in particular — had already been tearing across the Pyrenees, including the Col du Soulor, at full gas. Pogačar’s total ride for the stage was 180.15 km in 4 hours 20 minutes, including 3,817 metres of elevation gain, at an average speed of 41.4 km/h.
For comparison, here’s how other riders fared on the Hautacam yesterday:
- Oscar Onley, second on the Strava leaderboard, finished over three minutes behind at 36:33
- Tobias Johannessen was close behind at 36:34
- Remco Evenepoel and Kévin Vauquelin both clocked 37:08
- Jonas Vingegaard was next at 37:18, losing more than three and a half minutes to the race leader
And yet, despite the dominance, this might not even have been Pogačar’s very best level of the season. His estimated 6.7 w/kg for the climb is slightly below some of his peak numbers from earlier this year — though given the heat, the pace of the stage, and the fact he crashed a day earlier, it was a staggering effort all the same.
L’Équipe summed up the mood in France with its front page this morning: “Inarrêtable” — unstoppable — splashed across a photo of Pogačar powering through the crowd on the Hautacam slopes.
Tour de France stage 13 preview: Peyragudes beckons a rare mountain time trial and a sadistic altiport finish
There hasn’t been a proper mountain time trial in the Tour de France since 2004 — 2020 came close with the penultimate stage when the yellow jersey was seized from Primož Roglič by his compatriot, a still green Tadej Pogačar for his first win in Paris — but stage 13 changes that, with a short, savage 10.9km test from Loudenvielle to Peyragudes that could bring a few interesting twists to the general classification.
The route is short but far from simple. The riders start with 3.4km of flat and rolling roads before the first climb kicks in near Estarvielle. From there, it’s a steady ascent up the Col de Peyresourde, with a time check after the right-hand turn at Loudervielle, where the gradient ramps up.
Once over the top, they take another right towards Peyragudes — a steady 6% drag before the sting in the tail: a 400m wall to the altiport runway, averaging 14.4% and topping out at 19.5%.
Riders will need to save something for that brutal last ramp — trying to hold a steady pace from the earlier kilometres could make the final section feel endless.
The technical challenge is almost as sharp as the gradients. Should riders go with a full TT setup, risking weight and handling? Or opt for a stripped-down road bike with aero tweaks? We’ve seen both approaches before, and the top teams are expected to keep their cars close to their chest for now.
But rest assured, our man on the ground Ryan is going to be lurking for all the juicy tech that teams may not be too keen on sharing. In the meantime, you can read all about the trials and tribulations of a mountain time trial from a technical standpoint in Liam’s assessment here.
Key start times for today’s ITT stage 13
Some riders to watch in today’s time trial: Matteo Jorgenson off at 16:47, Oscar Onley at 16:55, Remco Evenepoel at 17:01, Jonas Vingegaard at 17:03, and race leader Tadej Pogačar rolling down the ramp last at 17:05.
“I’ve been in Tadej Pogačar’s position”: Lance Armstrong reckons Pogačar’s Hautacam attack gave him flashbacks of “mowing down” rivals
Lance Armstrong isn’t usually the loudest voice on The Move podcast. When it comes to Tour de France hot takes, that role’s often left to George Hincapie or Bradley Wiggins. But after Tadej Pogačar’s crushing win on Hautacam in stage 12 — and the total implosion of Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike — the Texan sounded very much at home.
Watching UAE Team Emirates dismantle Visma in textbook fashion seemed to stir a few memories for Armstrong… the kind involving US Postal, a stack of Tour de France wins, and quite a lot of EPO.
With clear relish, he claimed he could read exactly what was going through Pogačar’s mind before his race-defining attack.
“I’ve been in Tadej Pogačar’s position, where another team is controlling the race, and I can tell you exactly what he was thinking. First: ‘Thanks guys — my team doesn’t have to do a thing.’ Second, and more importantly: ‘I’m going to show these guys who’s boss.’ I was there — whether it was ONCE, Kelme or T-Mobile. Guys, I was ready to mow you down.”
Armstrong reckons Visma played straight into Pogačar’s hands with their aggressive early tactics — dragging the race on a leash all the way to Hautacam and leaving UAE’s support riders with an easier ride into the finale.
“I’m working on my tan for the summer”: Primož Roglič explains curious low-sock look after Tour de France fashion storm
Primož Roglič isn’t exactly known for causing online meltdowns — but stage 12 of the Tour de France had fans, pundits, and even his fellow pros baffled… all thanks to a pair of very low socks.
Yes, forget the climbing fireworks on Hautacam for a moment. The real talking point — at least on social media — was Roglič riding with ankle-grazing socks, a sight so rare in the modern pro peloton that it sparked a flurry of commentary.
“Roglič riding with low socks today. Where is the fashion police?” asked Luc Grefte on X. Even TNT Sports couldn’t resist, sharing a photo of the Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe leader with the caption: “UCI checking sock length: Primož Roglič: try me.”
And then came Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe on their post-stage podcast — both visibly stunned.
“Roglič though — no socks. What was that?” asked Thomas.
“Looked awful, didn’t it?” replied Rowe.
“100% Dan Bigham’s idea. Probably some theory about cooling the legs. But it looked like a club rider at a rest-day spin. I could have cried,” Rowe added.
Thomas wrapped it up with: “Yeah, always thought he looked classy on a bike… until today.”
So, what does Roglič have to say about it? Well, the Giro and Vuelta winner kept it deadpan post-stage: “It’s hot no? I’m working on my tan for the summer. A bit without the lines.”
On the road, it was Florian Lipowitz — not Roglič — making the bigger statement, finishing third on Hautacam and climbing into podium contention overall. Roglič, meanwhile, now sits seventh in GC, 7:30 down on compatriot Tadej Pogačar and 2:45 off the podium.
Jonas Abrahamsen’s post-mountain stage dinner — and a Tour de France daily intake that makes my four-day calorie count look embarrassing
Jonas Abrahamsen gave us a peek at his dinner after stage 12… and while the meal itself (roughly based on the macros) probably clocks in just under 2,000 calories, it’s the total daily intake that’s mind-boggling: a massive 7,700 calories when you factor in on-bike fuelling, including those 120g of carbs per hour riders are shovelling in during key points of the stage.
That’s roughly what I’d eat over four days… assuming I ever stuck to my calorie tracking.
Who’s riding what? TT bike choices start to emerge ahead of Peyragudes test
There’s been plenty of intrigue about what bikes the GC contenders would choose for today’s short but savage mountain time trial, and the early signs are… mixed.
Remco Evenepoel is confirmed on his Specialized TT bike with a raised setup, though Specialized aren’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for curious journalists — Ryan reports the brand “won’t let me see it though.”
Meanwhile, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Primož Roglič and Florian Lipowitz will also be riding Specialized TT bikes for the climb, with a curious setup of CLX Team front wheels and Alpinist CLX III rear wheels, plus what looks like a mix of old Turbo Cotton and new Turbo Cotton TLR tyres.
Here’s a look at the Red Bull machines lined up this morning.
As for Tadej Pogačar, UAE say he’ll be on a road bike — nothing special, allegedly — though the team haven’t brought the bike out yet (photos are promised “soon”).
We’ll see who’s bluffing and who’s tinkering when they roll down the ramp… In the meantime, here’s a video of Bini enjoying the end of his time trial.
🤜🤛 🇪🇷 @GrmayeBiniam took the time to enjoy the end of his time trial!
🤜🤛 🇪🇷 @GrmayeBiniam a pris le temps de savourer la fin de son chrono !#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/dwHfYVK2zj
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 18, 2025
UCI puts Saudi-backed One Cycling “on notice” and warns teams and organisers they could lose WorldTour licences if project goes ahead
The UCI has officially escalated its standoff with the Saudi-backed One Cycling project — with president David Lappartient issuing a formal warning to teams, organisers, and investors that pushing ahead with the breakaway venture could cost them their WorldTour licences or event registrations.
The warning comes after months of tension over the project, which was set to be bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s SURJ Sports Investment fund, a subsidiary of the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Backed by a planned €250 million investment, One Cycling aimed to reshape the sport’s business model by bringing major teams and organisers into a joint venture, with the likes of Flanders Classics reportedly on board as shareholders.
But the UCI — which rejected the project’s request for WorldTour calendar inclusion last month — isn’t holding back in its pushback of the business model. Lappartient warned in a letter this week that the joint venture structure would allow One Cycling’s backers to decide which races belong in the WorldTour, potentially excluding rival organisers and reshaping the calendar on their own terms.
He also raised concerns over the potential for conflict of interest, hinting that a closed alliance of teams, organisers, and investors could end up dictating terms to the rest of the sport.
Lappartient’s letter set out the consequences in blunt terms: “Pursuing with the project without authorisation would lead to unauthorised links between teams and organisers and potential proceedings which can lead to the withdrawal of events’ registration from the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour calendars.
“With regard to teams, the UCI Licence Commission may order the withdrawal of UCI WorldTeams and UCI Women’s WorldTeams’ licences.”
The UCI also took aim at One Cycling’s secretive approach — complaining that project backers were only willing to share details with those prepared to sign strict non-disclosure agreements, and even pulled out of scheduled meetings when it became clear the governing body wouldn’t rubber-stamp the project’s race calendar.
It’s another hardening of the UCI’s position after June’s unanimous decision to reject the project’s race series proposal — a venture spearheaded by Visma-Lease a Bike CEO Richard Plugge alongside SURJ Sports.
The cat’s finally out of the bag!
The GC fight is on in Peyragudes — and Tadej Pogačar will tackle it on a stripped-back Colnago Y1Rs, rolling out with no bar tape, no bottle cage, and no bidon as he hunts for every possible gain on the savage uphill course.
Pogačar’s bike for today mountain time trial at the Tour de France… no bar tape, no bottle cage, no bidon.
🎥: colnagoworld #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/zVgPbRCyzk
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) July 18, 2025
Out on the road, Lucas Plapp is the man to beat so far with a time of 24:58, with Adam Yates coming home just 17 seconds back. The rest of the GC top ten are now on course, including Primož Roglič, with Pogačar set to launch his run in the next few minutes.
It’s game on for stage 13.
“He’s on a different planet”: Back-to-back wins for Tadej Pogačar as the world champion continues to extend lead over rivals, with Vingegaard and Evenepoel losing ground (and hope) in race to Paris
If yesterday was about crushing the competition with brute force, today was a lesson in controlled demolition. Tadej Pogačar treated stage 13’s mountain time trial like a formality — a smooth, clinical effort that dismantled his rivals without ever looking like hard work.
Is there a format that can catch him out? A climb that might not suit him? Anything he can’t do?
The three-time Tour winner covered the 10.9km to Peyragudes in 23 minutes flat, 36 seconds quicker than his eternal rival Jonas Vingegaard, who had thrown everything at the climb — catching Remco Evenepoel before the line and briefly daring to hope he’d landed a blow. But then came Pogačar, gliding over the finish with that now-familiar mix of ruthless precision and unsettling ease, as if the stage and the Tour were his to toy with.
“Pogačar is Pogačar!” 📢
Tadej Pogačar has picked up his 21st Stage victory in the Tour de France and extended his lead in this year’s competition further 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ihrBXgSyvg
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 18, 2025
“I’m super happy,” said Pogačar after the stage. “This time trial was quite a big question mark, already in December, for me. I wanted everything to be perfect and the team delivered in the final moment.”
“I had an easy day in the morning. I was targeting to go all out from the start to the finish. I almost blew up in the end, but I saw the timer on the top and it gave me an extra push because I saw I was going to win.”
Primož Roglič had laid down a marker with 24:21, a time that held up against all but two riders, as both Vingegaard and Pogačar overhauled him in the final act of the stage. Evenepoel, who dropped his chain near the end, had to settle for fourth on the day and lost further ground overall.
Bike choice had been a hot topic all day — and Pogačar confirmed post-race that he’d gone with instinct over calculation.
“This was the biggest decision – which bike today,” he said. “Obviously we’re racing on road bikes most of the year. We did calculations. If you cannot push on the TT bike as much as on the road bike… I decided to be more comfortable and ride on the same bike I’ve ridden for the last 12 stages, and it worked out well for me.”
He also revealed he’d opted not to use the team radio during the ride — preferring instinct and feel over time gaps. “In the last 3km, I took a deep breath and dropped a bit of power as I knew the last part was really steep and I wanted to come to the last part with good legs.”
Vingegaard, for his part, took the defeat on the chin. “I think I can be happy with my performance,” the Dane said. “I think it was one of my best performances. Tadej was stronger and deserved to win.”
Behind the podium, there was a bright showing for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Florian Lipowitz, fifth on the stage and continuing his steady climb in GC — now just six seconds behind Evenepoel overall. And it was a good day for the Brits too, with Oscar Onley continuing his meteoric rise with a seventh-place finish (he’s now fifth in GC), while Adam Yates took eighth.
That’s four stage wins now for Pogačar — and two in two days. Whatever hope his rivals were clinging to yesterday now looks a lot smaller. And there’s still the Tourmalet to come.
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@Astralstroll The hierarchy of road users does not mean priority of road users except in certain circumstances, e.g. stopping to let pedestrians cross junctions before turning. It doesn't mean that cyclists have priority over motor vehicles at all times any more than the pedestrians have priority over cyclists at all times. It certainly doesn't mean that you have priority in the circumstances you describe; personally, unless the driver is being a complete dick, on a narrow country lane I accept that it is easier for me to turn around and go back to the nearest passing place, which is never that far if you're on a bike, than for a tractor or other large vehicle to reverse back down the road for my benefit.
If you were spending that much money on the device the obvious thing to do is to book a couple of hours in a velodrome for testing in a stable environment, I can't understand why Road.cc tried to do it outdoors.
@Astralstroll The Hierarchy of Road Users, announced with great fanfares in 2022, has been rendered into complete fiction by the attitude of the police: there is this hierarchy/ priority list but we don't take it seriously and if drivers ignore it we don't care! The same applies to the ludicrous notice of close-passing - No KSI'd cyclist = No Offence ttps://upride.cc/incident/lwa190_minicooper_hierarchy/
Hope Barcelona keep the transport improvements (they've been making for a while) coming! Better streets, more infra to help active travel where necessary. And while it's a major investment (though can be lower operating cost than busses) maybe more trams where they can. That may be more effective in making places active travel friendly and replacing taxis than mass public bike hire. They've a good start with 6 lines already.
I think this is a positive story. They're not getting rid of public hire bikes - they're expanding their in-house one. They're merely kicking out cowboys who've shown they've a lack of interest in the game they claim to be playing. It seems logical that companies whose business model is to extract (venture capital) money by invading public space are even less likely to make the efforts to keep things in order than a local "in house" scheme. (After all the "bikes and riding" part of these schemes always *costs* money, they don't generate it.) So not surprising their experience shows those firms are not particularly motivated to follow the rules - especially when scrapping for "market share". It's nice the European Cyclists’ Federation is thinking about tourists also (i hesitate to say "follow the money...") - as they note, where it's safe to cycle locals will largely get their own bikes. Tourists aren't going to stop coming because lack of public bike share - I think this is mostly a "nice to have" ("hey - why don't we go on one of those bikes there? ").
Harm minimization - at least they're not driving...
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
40 thoughts on ““There must be a better way”: Cyclist shares clip of light staying red for nearly five minutes on Cycleway, but social media piles on other riders for jumping the signal; Tadej Pogačar almost breaks 30-years-old Hautacam record + more on the live blog”
The problem is that the
The problem is that the sensors on top of the lights cannot pick up the presence of a cyclist, only of a heavy steel car. So they think that no one is waiting.
This is a MASSIVE design flaw – it is outrageous that road safety infrastructure is designed to be, quite literally, blind to an entire class of road user. This is simple car-brain motornomativity prejudice on the part of whoever designs and uses these systems.
It reminds me of Caroline Criado Perez’s argument that women’s safety is put at risk because crash test dummies etc are designed around the male bodies, not shorter, differently shaped, female bodies. If anything, this is much worse than that.
the little onion wrote:
I agree with every word of this except the final sentence. Designing crash safety ignoring half the population is the worse of the two.
Bah – bad writing on my part.
Bah – bad writing on my part. Yes, bad crash test dummies are worse than crap traffic lights. And if I recall the Criado-Perez book correctly, the model of a ‘normal’ body which is used to design stab vests, body armour, and a bunch of other safety equipment, is based on the ‘normal’ male body.
Criado Perez book is called “Invisible women”, to capture the idea that women are invisible in the data used for many of our systems. Maybe we need the “Invisible cyclists” equivalent? The way that cyclists simply don’t count in much of the data and assumptions underpinning the use of public space and transportation.
Thanks for clarifying.
Thanks for clarifying.
I must be reading Your
I must be reading Your comment incorrectly.
Are you saying that a crash test dummy designed only using the male physique, thus potentially causing harm to women in the event of a crash, is LESS worse than a red light system that forces cyclists to wait a long time which causes no danger to the cyclists in question?
My guess is my confusion is because of the ambiguity of which situation is “this” and “that”.
Those sensors can detect
Those sensors can detect cyclists. Whether they are configured correctly or actually working is another matter.
I think there are different
I think there are different types of sensors, I’m aware of some local to me that work perfectly even for carbon bikes. One to raise a security gate I used to use required a steel bike stopped in exactly the right position…
the little onion wrote:
There are traffic lights in Reading that ignore cyclists. Is it actually a design flaw, in a way? It didn’t even cross the mind of the designers of those systems that this would be an issue. Or if it did, the requirements specification said nothing about anything other than vehicles.
Its a definite design flaw –
Its a definite design flaw – they are mean to work for all road users – you can actually report them to the council. Not that they will do anything.
**Glares at the Twyford crossroads.
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Been through there often but I don’t think ever without cars. The one in Caversham that bugs me is turning right off Gosbrook Road towards Reading Bridge. That traffic light cheerfully ignores cyclists.
the little onion wrote:
Is that the issue here though? I can’t see the usual sensor, looks like these could just be on a timer, but the wait is long because it’s 5 way control – traffic comes first from the front, then from the right, from the left, pedestrian phase (all interspersed with some cyclists and a motorbike taking their chances), then finally our cyclists get to go.
I don’t know in this case.
I don’t know in this case. But I know for a fact that there are traffic lights in Yorkshire, both termporary and permanent, which are unable to detect cyclists waiting.
Most of the permanent ones are on quiet streets, or when you are entering a main road from a side road, and are always a pain. If there isn’t a car also waiting, I generally just run the red light in these case, carefully and sensibly.
Others can be on quite busy roads, e.g. for right turns. These ones, and the temporary ones, are not so annoying most of the time, as a car turns up quickly enough and triggers them. But I will run these lights if I’m out during a quiet period on the roads, such as early morning rides, and don’t want to wait ten minutes for a vehicle to turn up.
Oh it’s definitely an issue –
Oh it’s definitely an issue – just not sure about these ones in particular. If I don’t think I’ve been / am going to be sensed, I usually dismount just to be squeaky clean.
quiff wrote:
If it is a five-way control (or four or even three likely to lead to long waits), the sign ought to point that out. I’ve definitely seen signs do that, which I presume is to prevent the situation of drivers assuming the signal is broken because they’ve been phased to allow traffic to exit a side street they are unaware of.
Given the wait, and experiences elsewhere, it’s not surprising that some people assumed there was a problem with the sensor.
In this sort of scenario, I’d be tempted to get off and walk with the pedestrian crossing, but not everyone can do that.
Quote:
I think that’ll get them disqualified, won’t it?
> It’s the fastest ascent of
> It’s the fastest ascent of Hautacam since 1996, when Danish rider Bjarne Riis broke the seemingly unbreakable Miguel Induráin and achieved something profoundly mythical and legendary while en route to winning the Tour that year.
Well, Bjarne ‘Mr 60%’ Riis’s EPO consumption was certainly legendary.
I’m reading elsewhere that Pogi was 32 seconds behind Riis’s pre-Strava time up Hautacam.
Those are temporary lights
Those are temporary lights for roadworks on a busy crossroads, they are often not as intelligent as permanent lights, plus it looks like they may be pedestrian controlled too. Even in a car you can sit for ages at lights like this. If they were permanent lights there might be something to change.
Agree – looks like a pretty
Agree – looks like a pretty standard wait time for temporary control at a 4-way junction plus pedestrian phase. OP was quite unlucky arriving having recently missed a green phase. No reason to think the sensor failed to detect cyclists being present – it just takes a while to cycle through the other phases.
If the lights are not working
If the lights are not working as they should, and I would suggest not picking up waiting cyclists is a fault, you can still proceed with caution just like the HWC suggests you can:
Rule 176
You MUST NOT move forward over the white line when the red light is showing. Only go forward when the traffic lights are green if there is room for you to clear the junction safely or you are taking up a position to turn right. If the traffic lights are not working, treat the situation as you would an unmarked junction and proceed with great care.
This is exactly what I did
This is exactly what I did ther other day, at this junction. I presumsed they had stuck after they hadn’t changed for so long. I’m not sure they ever change to green. It’s a filtered road with few cars on it, so really if bikes (even whole large groups of them) won’t trigger it to change to green then you’re stuck!
a1white wrote:
It’s literally shown in the video. Appreciate it’s a frustrating wait though, and from your other post it sounds like it may well not be calibated for bikes – so maybe it was a car behind that triggered green.
Re. start times – might be
Re. start times – might be worth pointing out that those are local times – if you’re tuning in just before 5 UK time to catch the finale, you’re going to be disappointed…
I thought that the ‘no socks’
I thought that the ‘no socks’ look was against UCI rules? He ought to be careful, else he gets a knock on the door from the Sock Police…
Quote:
Does anyone actually care what Armstrong thinks/remembers…?
Yes, it does matter when it
Yes, it does matter when it comes to clean cycling and doping strategies. Armstrong might have said more than he had intended. To be continued.
How much difference to “aero
How much difference to “aero-ness” does the bar tape make?
brooksby wrote:
I think the thinking was that it was shaving off weight, rather than aeroifying it. Although a very similar question still applies. 🤔
A bigger question, though, is why ride a TT bike if you’re not going to use the TT position? 🤷♂️
mdavidford wrote:
I would assume any riders using a TT bike are planning on using the TT position for most of the course. Maybe not the 16% kicks, but for the long drag at 6-8%, I would expect pros would be able to stick to the TT position (and be moving fast enough to benefit from the aero-ness).
You might assume, but
You might assume, but apparently not. Roglic and Lipowitz were, but Vingegaard and Evenepoel barely seemed to touch the TT bars.
The question that occurred to
The question that occurred to me is that when Tadej never seems to use the drops when climbing, why, given that he had a different lighter saddle, all the paint stripped off, bottle cage bolts removed etc etc for lightness, didn’t he just have the bars cut off below the hoods? Significant weight and aero savings, one would imagine. Is there any rule that says he can’t? ETA and not trying to start the debate again but if ever there was a course suited to lighter rim brakes…virtually no braking required.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I quickly got bored reading this, but I’m pretty sure the end result of the regulations / modification restrictions / commercialisation requirements is that you can’t cut your bars hillclimb-style.
https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/7s1ma6mVAVlFwi8rRgy0Iw/dd32f0ee4c9297e93eb7b0c1bea296fd/Clarification_Guide_of_the_UCI_Technical_Regulation_-_20240401_-_ENG.pdf
We know that CyclingMikey
We know that CyclingMikey admits that he is not in the top 10 of most prolific helmet camera reporters… so can anyone challenge or beat this number?
“Police say 144 drivers took photos of lorry crash
A police force has said it saw 144 drivers using their phones to take pictures and videos of a motorway crash.
The force said all of the drivers, including 20 HGV drivers, would be contacted by officers.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjelj9zdvddo
“He also raised concerns over
“He also raised concerns over the potential for conflict of interest, hinting that a closed alliance of teams, organisers, and investors could end up dictating terms to the rest of the sport.”
UCI saveguards their monopoly, ASO and consorts keep their profits. Meanwhile, WT teams merger due to the lack of sponsors and funds. Riders struggle to get contracts. All is well.
The UCI are a governing body,
The UCI are a governing body, not the race organiser/ promoter. Trgottehey’ve fon what happened to the FiA when they wanted sole control of mortorsport.
Put the rights to the World Tour out to tender; and let a sole body run, organise, sell TV rights to the World Tour; just makse sure it’s not the ACO……
be careful what you wish for,
be careful what you wish for, as with all these things its more about who makes money from it, not the best interests of the sport, and its always the fans who end up paying.
If they put it out to the
If they put it out to the highest bidder, the TdF would very quickly become the TdQ or the TdS…
Velophaart_95 wrote:
Well, they do have some experience in organising sports race events.
I cycled that route the other
I cycled that route the other evening. its not my usual route so I didn’t know what to expect. After the lights gone through the sequence a couple of times and missed out our turn, twice, I jumped the lights, otherwise I’d be waiting all day. To be honest I presumed the lights had got stuck at that point. The argument that they cannot detect cyclists is ridiculous. There was a whole group of us there, including a motorbike- if the sensor cannot see that, there is something seriously wrong with it. It’s one of Londons most popular cycle routes. Cyclists far, far, out number other vehicles on that route so for them to calibrated not to notice a large group of cyclists is a joke.
Why and when did they stop
Why and when did they stop giving them oxygen after they cross the line? They look like they could do with a blast.
That mini S – Works is crazee
That mini S – Works is crazee !