“It’s like Manchester United”: Sir Bradley Wiggins takes shot at Ineos celebrating Paris-Nice stage win “as if they were a French team”; “You are spitting up a lot of blood”: Aussie rider reveals gruesome details of surgery + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tube unions want TfL to ban e-bikes from the London Underground following latest fire
> Tube unions want TfL to ban e-bikes from the London Underground following latest fire
Merida posts £180m loss — but insists eye-watering figure a "one-time" hit and sales are up 48% in 2025
“They make a cut inside your nose… you are spitting up a lot of blood all the time”: Jai Hindley shares gruesome details of surgery for deviated nasal septum
We often get so caught up in the specifics of cycling that it’s easy to forget that riders, just like us, can also suffer from non-cycling medical issues. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Jai Hindley, has just reminded us of that with some gory details of what it means as pro cyclist when you are faced with medical scares like these.
The 2022 Giro d’Italia winner and Tour de France stage winner faced a low-key 2024 season, with not much going his way in races, and the 28-year-old Australian has now revealed that part of it could be attributed to his battle with illness.
“It basically started after Tirreno [2024], I just had this run of illness. It was not normal at all,” he told Velo. “You put in the work, put in the time, sacrifice everything and then you still go like shit, basically. It was pretty frustrating.”
The issue remained a mystery until an ENT specialist diagnosed Hindley with a deviated nasal septum. “We came to the idea that potentially can be the reason why I’m getting so sick. My nose is quite narrow and it’s just easy for bacteria to get stuck in there,” he said.
He had shared a picture of his post-surgery on Instagram in October, captioning the photo as a ‘moustache implant’, jokingly referencing it to Movember. Now, Hindley has gone deeper into the details: “They make a cut inside your nose, take out the cartilage. And from what I understand, they hammer it flat on a table or something, and then they put it back in.
“I think it’s a bit more scientific than that, but I think that’s the general way of working. It’s pretty rough. For two weeks your nose is really out of action and feeling really grim. You are spitting up a lot of blood all the time, and just feeling really blocked. The nose is really swollen too — if you look at the team photos, my nose is pretty big…”
And if you’d look at his results, the effects are clear. Hindley secured a commendable fifth spot in the general classification at this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico. He added: “Basically our team doctor was pretty convinced that if I got this surgery, then it would help a lot. You have got to do everything you can.
“In theory it should help the breathing a lot, and also should reduce the amount of sickness during the season. If it can help even a little bit, then it’s worth doing, in my opinion.”
Oh you’ve never done a cyclocross race with the cutest dog on your back and won it? Ah…
Honor Elliott making us plebeians feel even bad, and gaining some extreme cool points (or aura, as youngsters say these days) for having her dog on her back while competing in a cyclocross race at Herne Hill Velodrome — and winning it too.
Scroll for the cutest podium picture you’ll see…
She captioned the picture: “Raced cyclocross with my dog. Don’t think he even questioned why his nice bike ride was a little bumpier than usual, why we seemed to be passing the same places over and over again, and why people were shouting his name. He fell asleep, we won.”
“Who’s got a spare £3,000 these days and for something we didn’t do?”: Another couple returning from France fined £3,000 after two migrants found in bike rack
After the widely-reported story, in which Adrian and Joanne Fenton, returning from France after their holiday, were fined £1,500 after a migrant was found inside their bike rack, another similar news story has emerged.
The BBC reports that Lisa Russell and her partner Geoff Evans have now been the subject of an even larger £3,000 fine after Border Force found two migrants hiding inside the bike rack, stowed in their campervan.
The couple from Kent, once again in events mirroring the Fentons’ case, were returning from a short break in France last October and had taken the ferry from Calais. However, they were stopped by Border Force officers, who discovered a man a teenager hiding in the bike rack, believed to have hidden themselves before they arrived at Calais port.
Ms Russell said: “We came out of a shopping centre and saw a lady was guarding her van and our van. She told us someone had tried to steal our bikes.”
After leaving the shopping centre, she said that they felt “uneasy” and decided to go to the docks because it would be “safer”.
“After Border Force officers inspected our van at the port, they said we could go. Just as we pulled away, they told us to stop as we had two stowaways on our bike rack over the bike cover”, Ms Russell said, adding that they remained at Calais for three hours while authorities dealt with the incident.
The couple have now received a fine from the Home Office four months later, with a spokesperson saying that they “understand that recipients of penalties may disagree with the circumstances of the fine”.
The spokesperson added that they are “fully committed” in stopping people from illegally entering the country and “cracking down on people smugglers”.
They said: “The Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme is there to ensure drivers take every reasonable step to deter irregular migration. The option to appeal and trigger a review is made clear in supporting documents.”
> Home Office cancels cyclists’ £1,500 fine over migrant found inside bike rack
Ms Russell, however, remarked: “Who’s got a spare £3,000 these days and for something we didn’t do? We feel like the victims and it’s really unfair.”
It was reported yesterday that the previous couple had their fines cancelled by the Home Office, via an email through the Border Force, with the Fentons “left ecstatic” with the news.
"Tree-hugging" protests backed by David Attenborough continue as council chops down trees to make way for controversial cycle lane
‘Paris sans velo’
Like any good Instagramming tourist, Mark Cavendish recapped his recent trip to Paris this afternoon with a series of snaps featuring breakfast pastries, coffees, desserts, a PSG match, the Arc de Triomphe, and his recent go at the city’s half marathon (we’re not sure if he hid in Tommy Voeckler’s slipstream for the entire race before sprinting by at the end)…
Come on Cav, at least make one trip to Paris properly relaxing now you’re retired.
“It’s like Manchester United”: Sir Bradley Wiggins takes shot at Ineos Grenadiers celebrating Paris-Nice stage win “as if they were a French team”, instead of a team that “aimed to win all three grand tours”
Just a week after comparing Ineos Grenadiers with Manchester United, Sir Bradley Wiggins is back with more comparisons to the football team struggling under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ownership.
Come on Wiggo, United have had a decent week (we beat relegation contenders Leicester City. Oh, and also Real Sociedad to make it to the Europa quarter-finals), let them off the hook…
Appearing on Lance Armstrong’s The Move podcast with former US Postal Service directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel, the Tour de France winner and five-time Olympic champion didn’t shy away from ripping into the British squad, which continued its mini-resurgence after a disappointing 2024 season with a stage win at Paris-Nice, thanks to a solo effort from Magnus Sheffield.
And while the team, said to be stuck in a transition phase for the last few years, has recorded four wins so far in the early parts of the road racing season, it is far from the success it enjoyed during its heyday as Team Sky, of which Wiggins was an integral part of.
Commenting on the team’s celebrations, elicited after Sheffield’s first-ever WorldTour victory, Wiggins said: “Ineos used to be a team that aimed to win all three grand tours, and now winning a stage in Paris-Nice is considered a big success.”
“It’s like Manchester United — the whole perception of success has changed. It’s as if they’re a French team now, celebrating a stage win in Paris-Nice. A few years ago, they wouldn’t have even gone for that. It’s remarkable, considering their budget, their riders, and their structure.”
The comparisons with the beleaguered Mancunian squad, also under the co-ownership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe after his minority stake bid last year, come just a week after he posed similar remarks.
While expressing his disdain for Dave Brailsford, Director of Sport for Ineos (as in, the whole enterprise — cycling, football — all of it) and tasked with rejuvenating Manchester United, Wiggins made light of his ‘Mission 21’ with the 20-time English top-flight football champions.
“Mission 21? More like Mission Championship,” Wiggins sneered, referring to the fact that Ruben Amorim’s side find themselves closer to the relegation zone than to the European qualifications spots.
Wiggins, who’s been faced with financial woes of late, with his unpaid debts doubling to almost two million pounds, did have some good things to say about Tom Pidcock, who left Ineos Grenadiers after a protracted transfer saga to join Q36.5 ProCycling.
He said: “I’m impressed by Tom since he left Ineos. He looks much more mature, as if he’s finally able to take responsibility. I saw the interview where he said he let Ayuso go. Maybe he was a bit surprised, but that’s better than how he handled things in the past. If he can maintain this focus going into the Giro, he can fight for the podium there.”
“He’s been presented as the next British winner of the Tour de France. This is his make-or-break year, where he has to prove himself.”
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Latest Comments
Yelled at by a driver just last month, "It's farkin' dark you farkin' twat why are you riding around wiv a black coat on? You're farkin' invisible!" To be fair, I was wearing a black jacket - a Proviz commuter jacket which is covered in their unparalleled reflective details which, as I know because Mrs H wears the same model, can be seen from hundreds of metres away. He also overlooked the fact that I was wearing a fluorescent yellow helmet, fluorescent yellow gloves, had a rear red light on the helmet, two rear red lights (one strobing one solid) and three white lights on the front (one strobing two solid). Apparently all he could see, or supposedly couldn't see, was the black jacket. They used to be an old joke about "invisible" stealth planes being rubbish because the Russians would be saying, "There aren't any planes about but there's a little guy in a sitting position at 50,000 feet..." - must have been confusing for my chap to see all those lights, reflectives and bright gear apparently going down the street of their own volition.
Another reason to avoid Terry's, which is a pretty crappy overpriced place anyway and dreadfully hipster (there's a sign on the wall that says something like "when you eat at Terry's you're not just a customer, you're a member of a very exclusive club" - thanks but I just wanted coffee and beans on toast). I'd advise anyone in that locale to try the splendidly named Giggling Sausage cafe directly opposite, better food and coffee, cheaper, better service and fewer hipsters, you can enjoy watching them queueing like sheep to get into Terry's as you dine.
I wondered if parking in a cycle hire bay was against the law, so I googled it: it isn't unless there are road markings prohibiting parking. But, this little gem came up 'Obstruction: Even where a specific bay type might lack a dedicated motor-traffic prohibition, parking a vehicle in a way that blocks access to cycle hire docks, footways, or causes an obstruction is an offense.' Report it to the authorities and demand action. Don't patronise the place, obviously. And leaving rubbish reviews is definitely out. Absolutely, definitely out. Very absolutely definitely. Out.
".....dark clothing “has been deemed a contributing factor in many fatal or serious injury collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists” No. The dark clothing is not a contributory factor, the only cause of the deaths and injuries is drivers failing to observe. The list of police organisations above shows that motornormativity in the police is institutionalised, and just as rife as it is in the rest of society. The question is, how do we get them to change? Make all police ride bikes? Show them films of collisions where perfectly visible cyclists are mown down by drivers who weren't looking? Show them pictures of cyclists literally dressed up like christmas trees by are still hit by dumb drivers? The clincher might be the picture of the police car, festooned with hi-viz, after it had been hit by a driver.
@mdavidford the standard practise is to ignore the consultation, start a petition, complain that the council doesn't listen to the public, and get your picture in the Bournemouth Echo with a headline 'Drivers fury at new cycle lane', or 'shopkeepers anger at lost parking space'.
"Serious cyclist injuries down 50% and overall road casualties continue to fall..." This is clearly fake news, invented by the bearded, sandle-wearing, bike-riding hippies who don't even live in Wales. Everyone who lives there knows that the frustration and cost to drivers of having to drive at the ludicrously slow speed of 20mph is worth so much more than a few dead cyclists. I live in the Forest of Dean, near Wales, and we've been trying for quite some time to get the national speed limit roads in the statutory forest reduced to 40mph, and 20mph in towns and villages. In fact, I mentioned it in the pub tonight, and the reaction from locals was, to say the least, not enthusiastic. It is a human right to be able to drive as fast as you want, and anyone saying different is an idiot. With Local Government Reorganisation, I was hoping that the Forest of Dean District would merge with Monmouthshire and then we could adopt the Welsh speed limits, but it ain't gonna happen, so sadly, we have to remain in England.
@andystow That's pretty much how new roads are justified. If ten million motorists save ten seconds a day over the next twenty years, and motorists time is worth a lot, then you can justify spending £372m on the new roundabout in Gloucestershire. You know, the place where the locals think that a cycle lane will destroy their life.
@rbrtribble as the driver was out of his vehicle, thereby not making it a driving offence, and the cyclists was stationary with their feet on the ground, there was no more need for a helmet than if the encounter had been between two drivers who had got out of their cars, or two blokes in a pub. Maybe all of those people who fall down the stairs and hit their head should wear a helmet? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and accept that you were being sarcastic, but leave my comment for the benefit of those who think you were being serious.
@chrisonabike if flash-mobbing by female cyclists dressed in french maid attire is what it takes to help the roads be safer for everyone, then i think it's something we should consider lending support to.
Personally, if I have to light myself up in Hi Viz, and add bells, trinkets and lights, just to help the poor motorists see me, the question needs to be asked, if their eyesight is so bad, should they be driving?
19 thoughts on ““It’s like Manchester United”: Sir Bradley Wiggins takes shot at Ineos celebrating Paris-Nice stage win “as if they were a French team”; “You are spitting up a lot of blood”: Aussie rider reveals gruesome details of surgery + more on the live blog”
I don’t know why Dave
I don’t know why Dave Brailsford is wasted at Man U, looking at his Palmares, his sporting experience has been built up in Cycling, and not managing a team of people kicking a bag of wind around a field.
Surely it’s a pig’s bladder?
Surely it’s a pig’s bladder?
When Dave Brailsford was at
When Dave Brailsford was at British cycling and Team Sky, he used to make efforts to recruit performance coaches and small gains people from other sports such as swimming. It promoted new ideas and ways of thinking. Whether football is ready to accept ideas from other sports, is not clear.
At Man Utd, he is managing bags of wind kicking other bags of wind around a field.
at Man Utd its more about
at Man Utd its more about managing the bags of wind who used to play the game but now endlessly criticise from the comfy pundit sofa, than anyone getting a tune out of their current setup.
so we’re supposed to listen
so we’re supposed to listen to Bradley talking about big teams when he couldnt even keep his own affairs in order…..maybe he should have spent more time looking at his own accounts.
I mean, Bradley Wiggins used
I mean, Bradley Wiggins used to celebrate winning the TdF, now hes just happy not to be in a mountain of debt. Am I doing this right Wiggo?
Maybe a big part of the
Maybe a big part of the reason for Ineos celebrating was the fact that it was Magnus Sheffield’s first World Tour win. They are a team after all, and in any team you should be delighted at your teammates’ success, especially a relative youngster’s first big win.
Jakrayan wrote:
And doubly so to celebrate such a remarkable recovery after the appalling physical and mental trauma of being in the same crash that killed Gino Mader.
Quite right, that was
Quite right, that was mentioned during the commentary on Discovery / TNT which was a nice touch.
Doing the half price for 7 months that was talked about here – don’t hate me for signing up with the evil corporation 😆
At half price why not? I’m
At half price why not? I’m getting it for free at the moment because it’s part of a mate’s Virgin package and he watches on TV, so I’ve got the streaming password – saw that mention and it was very moving.
Apparently a mercedes has
Apparently a mercedes has been involved in the death of a cyclist.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cyclist-dies-after-suffering-head-10032327
I suppose it’s possible the mercedes was parked and the cyclist rode into it.
No mention about whether or not the cyclist was running cameras but it looks unlikely.
Quote:
Is this better or worse than riding through London with a cat?
*runs away*
I was just wondering if a
I was just wondering if a certain gentleman of this parish was about to remark that she might crash (happens quite often in cyclocross racing to be fair), land on her back and hurt the poor dog. But at least it’s properly strapped in and not loose in a basket on the front, though being thrown clear would arguably be much safer 😉😁
Is it cheating if you get the
Is it cheating if you get the dog to give you a tow? (A new “pooch-doping” scandal ahead?)
Shock news. BBC reporter
Shock news. BBC reporter amends article to use correct language in report of driver collision:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8ypjyv3ymo
“A woman has died after a van crashed into a number of pedestrians on the Strand in central London.”
amended to
“A woman has died after a van driver crashed into a number of pedestrians on the Strand in central London.”
Somewhat unsurprisingly the
Somewhat unsurprisingly the once proud Thunderer still has the motonormativity language:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/ed21b13f-18bf-44a4-a8e6-a95550b124c1?shareToken=f5f965aa618bf8d26e15688dcbb77c06
Here’s another recent bbc
Here’s another recent bbc article about a 79 year old cyclist who dies after apparently being ‘involved in a car crash’. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr52pv5j032o.
Why the dig at the French
Why the dig at the French teams?
ErnieC wrote:
I don’t think he’s having a dig at the French teams, he just means that Paris-Nice is a massively prestigious race in France (probably second only to the Tour and equal with the Dauphine) and so a win means a lot to their public and sponsors, so naturally they have big celebrations when they take a stage; he is questioning why a British team is acting the same way (I don’t agree with him, it’s a prestigious race for everybody so why not celebrate, but I think that’s what he meant).