“Most bizarre finish we’ve seen”: Farcical finish to pro race… after “total chaos” sees almost entire peloton miss turning during sprint and end up on wrong side of road; Supreme launches SpongeBob kit + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"A little bit of patience saves lives": Cyclist politely asks drivers to "please give us more room" on steep hills when riders are "slower" and "most vulnerable"... receives barrage of angry messages telling him to get off the road
Over on Threads, roadie.tony shares some great videos summing up the experience of a cyclist here in the UK. Recently he posted the video below — and while many of his posts contain relaxing footage of gravel trails or road-riding in the pleasant winter sun, this one’s a less enjoyable watch.
As cyclists are slower and more vulnerable on steep climbs, particularly in this urban setting with a hefty door zone and consistent traffic in both directions, Tony (quite reasonably and politely, we’d suggest) simply asked for a little bit of patience from motorists… “Please be aware and give us more room than you usually would,” he asked.
You probably see where this is going as — along with the discussion among cyclists that it prompted, including some advising to ride in primary position and away from the door zone, deterring close passes and staying free from any swinging doors — there were the usual depressingly predictable comments too.
“Or you know, unmount, push your bike, and don’t be a bother to other road users?”
“There is no space for a cyclist, no extra line, don’t be there.”
“If you’re not able to hold your vehicle straight, you shouldn’t use public road.”
“If you can’t do at least half of the speed of traffic dismount and walk on the sidewalk… I’d never for my own safety do something like this unless I can keep pace with rest of traffic.”
“The fact that you rode into that bottleneck without turning to look is insane, you created the most dangerous part of this situation. The rest wasn’t really that bad.”
The bucketloads of more than questionable ‘advice’ that funnily enough isn’t in the Highway Code, probably tells us how seriously we should be taking these comments. Thankfully, given the fact this is Threads and not the cesspit of a certain other social media site, there were plenty of replies that were from Tony’s actually followers and fellow cyclists.
“Little bit of patience saves lives. Stay safe mate.”
“That’s not 1.50 m distance. None of them.”
Tony’s since shared a follow-up video with some thoughts:
An epic documentary for an epic cycling feat: Lachlan Morton's Australia-conquering ride gets the big screen treatment
Is it always cheaper to do your own bike maintenance? We do the sums to work out when the bike shop is best
Changing cables (if you still have ’em), punctures, bleeding disc brakes, replacing a bottom bracket? What maintenance work do you do at home and what do you leave to a bike shop and the professionals? It’s a topic Rebecca explored in this feature you might have seen on the site already.
I thought we’d share some comments on the blog this morning as home maintenance is always a topic that gets plenty of discussion and, frankly, we like reading about it, so here.
mark1a: “I do a fair amount of my own maintenance on the fleet, for me it’s not really about saving money, especially once the equipment cost is taken into account, it’s about doing it at my own convenience rather than having to book in elsewhere, and the enjoyment and satisfaction of working on bikes as a hobby without the pressure of having to do it as a day job. I also keep a few consumables in my workshop (chains, cassettes, tyres, cables, brake pads, etc), and did a Cytech training course a few years ago too. As well as my own stuff, I do the odd job for friends and family if they can’t afford to take something to the shop.
“Decent LBS around my way were a bit scarce for a while, up until a few years ago the two nearest shops I trusted were an equidistant 30 miles in opposite directions from home. However a new place has recently opened in town which I go to for certain jobs (use it or lose it), for example, things that only need doing on occasion such as hydraulic brake bleeding, frame facing, etc, it’s worth booking in and paying for.
“Finally, one point not mentioned in the article, which can make a huge difference in running costs and can save a lot of money – is having the facilities and know-how to carry out timely servicing on the drivetrain. Keeping it clean and properly lubed, and knowing how to use a chain checker can make the difference between just replacing a chain, and facing a bill for chain, cassette and chainrings.”
I’ll echo that mark1a, I love picking out a particularly grim-looking weather forecast around March/April to get a whole bunch of pre-spring/early summer maintenance done… servicing everything after a long winter, stripping it all down, cleaning, re-greasing, re-torquing, new cables, brake pads, any drivetrain replacements, bar tape, perhaps even ditching the winter tyres, all over a couple of days I’d be avoiding the rain anyway, getting everything crisp for those glorious spring weekends and summer rides.
It just guarantees getting it all done when I want, not around a shop’s understandably hectic schedule, plus you get the satisfaction of the job. Anything more technical is normally just worth me taking it in, but for all that more basic stuff, controlling when it gets done is my priority. Nothing worse than your bike being in the shop when the weather’s nice.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, back to the comments:
StevenCrook: “I do as much of my own maintenance as I can because I like to learn new stuff. Also it means I can operate independently if I need to and can get repairs and maintenance done when it’s convenient for me.”
Geoff H: “I enjoy working on my bikes! But for those rare jobs that take an expensive tools (and some expertise) that will sit … and sit … and sit. I leave to my LBS. For them it’s just the cost of doing business and they will perform these jobs on a regular basis.”
the infamous grouse: “I will happily pay for someone else to endure the faff of restoring wheel concentricity, trueness and dishing.”
Supreme returns to cycling with Castelli x SpongeBob collab... but is it better than Palace and EF's kits?
Not what we expected to see, but here’s Supreme’s SpongeBob-themed latest cycling collab with Castelli…
Our resident cycling cartoonist Jo, the artist behind the Mint Sauce collection, is “conflicted” but is happy to admit the “image on the arse of the shorts is genius”. Maybe this is one for the cool Gen Z kids, although it’s always fun to see a brand like Supreme take an interest in cycling.
The collection is part of Supreme’s Spring-Summer 2025 collection and also features a water bottle, socks (aero, of course) and cap. Thoughts?
Shades of those iconic EF Pro Cycling x Rapha x Palace kits. I feel like dusting the poll machine off.
"There is much to be done to ensure the race happens once again": Britain's only UCI-sanctioned one-day race still expected to return in 2025, but faces last-minute route change
The CiCLE Classic, Britain’s answer to Paris-Roubaix or Strade Bianche, is still expected to mark its 20th anniversary this year having been abandoned due to heavy rain and flooding in 2024.
However, race director Colin Clews is facing a last-minute change to the route before Saturday 26 April, roadworks around the traditional finish town of Melton meaning plans will need to be changed.
“Despite the race plans being known to Leicestershire County Council for several months, it has come as a significant blow that only now has the race organisation been informed of restrictions upon road usage which pose a threat to the race’s viability,” Clews told the Melton Times.
“Thankfully Rutland County Council have responded positively to an urgent approach made to them to assist in the race finish, in addition to the race start, taking place within Oakham in 2025. But with just nine weeks to go before the race date, there is much to be done to ensure the race happens once again as planned.”
The women’s and junior races are unaffected and will run as planned on Sunday 23 March.
Water is wet... Tadej Pogačar wins UAE Tour summit finish
Was there ever any doubt?
The world champion is up and running for 2025, sprinting to victory on stage three of the UAE Tour. While a summit finish, yes, the Jebel Jais stage of the race seems to become a bit of a sprint every year; the shallow gradients, smooth tarmac and wind direction often keeping things together until the final kilometre.
To nobody’s surprise it was Pogačar with the fastest kick to the line, the UAE Team Emirates rider looking likely to take the overall victory this week too. Shout out to Oscar Onley in second, while a battling ride from Josh Tarling keeps the British time trial star in second on GC, despite losing touch near the top.
A couple more sprints are up next for the peloton (unless the wind blows) before the final stage to Jebel Hafeet on Sunday will give Pogačar the chance to double his tally. Colnago has already been in touch to let everyone know the Slovenian rider was aboard the new aero bike, the Y1Rs today, another sign of how un-summit-finish-y Jebel Jais is as a climb.
Elsewhere at UAE Tour... UCI outlawed Kask visor at last-minute before yesterday's time trial, leaving Ineos Grenadiers scrambling
This Kask visor, seen here on Filippo Ganna during last year’s World Championships and which has been in use since 2022, has been banned by the UCI. Velo reports the UCI jury told teams ahead of yesterday’s UAE Tour TT that it wasn’t to be used, leaving Ineos Grenadiers in a bit of a pickle.
Clearly it wasn’t too much of an issue, Josh Tarling winning the stage, team sports director Oli Cookson explaining how a “good resolution” was found.
“Obviously the result there, I don’t think it would have changed the result, if you look at the time difference there,” he said. “But no, all good. We’re always looking to work within the rules and also to push the sport forward, and that will be with our sponsors and the materials as well. I think there’s always that balance.
“There’s a lot of good people in the team, and we had options in place. It was all done with Kask and we had other options. All good in the end.”
There has been some confusion about the UCI’s decision not least because… well, the visor was released way back in 2022 and has been raced ever since, not least by Filippo Ganna during his Hour Record success.
"It feels amazing to finally be back racing and to have a victory after three days"
Some quotes from Tadej Pogačar following his first win of the season: “It feels amazing to finally be back racing and to have a victory after three days. We did a perfect job, it was a hard day for the guys to control the race because it was long and we had no help whatsoever until the final climb. We executed it really well and everybody deserves the victory today from our team.
“Rune [Herregodts] was really good at pulling all day, then Lotto helped us a bit and in the final we just tried to go at our pace. It [feels] really good to win in the rainbow jersey.”
To be fair, for Tadej three days is practically a drought. Take it all the way back to October 12, and his season-ending success at Il Lombardia, and that’s 130 days without a win, poor kid.
Silca is so confident in its new sealant, it's willing to give $500 to the first sponsored rider who gets a puncture that doesn't seal
Victory for the mighty ducks! Rapha and Palace win the battle of the funky kits
Sorry Supreme, you might have called in the big name, Mr SquarePants, but Rapha and Palace’s mighty ducks are still the people’s champions in the eyes of most who voted in our poll. Oh, and in a double blow for Castelli x Supreme, you voted the follow-up Palace switch-out kit as your second favourite of the three. Oh well, I’m sure the SpongeBob one will still cost loads and sell out instantly…
Road rage driver who killed cyclist "to teach him a lesson for doing wheelies" found guilty of murder and set to be sentenced for life
Tough day at the office for...
Thoughts and prayers to the press officer of the Volta ao Algarve.
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) February 19, 2025
No winner to Algarve stage, organisation announces
In the briefest of updates shared on social media the Volta ao Algarve’s organisation has said: “The first stage of the 51st Volta ao Algarve was cancelled. More information coming soon.”
"Most bizarre finish we've seen": Farcical finish to pro race... after "total chaos" sees almost entire peloton miss turning during sprint and end up on wrong side of road
Well, there have been better days to be a race organiser at the Volta ao Algarve. It doesn’t get much worse than this…
Riders go the WRONG way and Ganna takes the win on the opening stage of the Volta Algarve! 😮 pic.twitter.com/zp474DBeyz
— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 19, 2025
An absolute farce and Filippo Ganna left to pick up the pieces after almost everyone went right at a turning and ended up sprinting on the wrong side of the road. As it turns out it was actually quite fortunate the sprint appeared to pass without incident, riders mixing it on the same side of the road as all the spectators who’d turned out to watch… only to find their heroes thrashing down the watts behind them.
Robbie McEwen, commentating for Eurosport was left in disbeleif: “Completely on the personnel of the race organisation, someone has not done their job. We did see some video footage of a marshal pointing to try to send the riders to the left-hand side of the road but it was too little and way too late.”
The reaction has been rolling in, ITV commentator Ned Boulting calling it “total chaos” and wishing the commissaires luck working that one out.
He added: “Last time I remember something like that happening was on the final stage of the Tour of Britain, the day the Queen died. As a result, it barely made the news, but as I recall a sizeable group went the wrong side of the barriers then as well.”
We’re saying Ganna won, we can’t really see how they can give it to anyone else, but what a mess. This won’t be the last we hear of this…
19 February 2025, 09:10
19 February 2025, 09:10
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The covid / post-covid boom is driven primarily by failures of capitalist strategy, causing over supply and price gouging. What we are seeing now is the correction. Most so-called ‘Western brands’ bikes are made in Eastern countries anyway - who have long been the leading manufacturers of carbon bikes. Now these makers are becoming brands / sellers too and Western brands have been put on notice. Inflation is driven by greed, not need.
@Benthic A125 motorbike can be ridden by a 17 year old can do about 75MPH; a legal e-bike that a 17-year-old cannot use can do about 15MPH.
The latest moral panic. "From August, the legal age to ride an e-scooter in Ireland will rise from 16 to 18" But, in Ireland you can still drive a: - moped from the age of 16 - 125 cc motorbike from the age of 17 - 3.5 tonne car from the age of 17 So that makes complete sense.
@mitsky I am seeing those Amazon ones in Manchester pretty much every day.
Quite. There's also a demand side story to accompany your eloquently written post, in that domestic demand has dampened from the captive COVID market of a few years back, and less international demand due to tariff-led policies and anti-dumping laws. On Chinese competition, I don't think it's necessarily Western profit-seeking behaviour which has caused increased Chinese supply and competitiveness as much as higher Chinese investment leading to higher quality output, innovation, and economies of scale. I don't know about Chinese frames as I haven't bought one and haven't seen one, but for wheels I don't see any inherent quality advantage for Western brands. Indeed, innovation seems to be coming from Chinese brands along with lower prices, just like we're seeing with electric cars. So higher quality and lower prices.
They should concentrate on the road users who do most of the killing and injuring: car drivers.
I've used the "why aren't you on the motorway?" one before, except here it would be "highway" or "Interstate." The other one I like is: "Get on the sidewalk!" (pavement) "On the side what?" "On the sidewalk!" "So it's not called a side-bicycle then?" Also one I've used a couple of times: "You're not a car!" "Neither are you!"
I've used Challenge, Vittoria, Veloflex and Continental tyres. What stands out for me regarding Challenge is how robust their supple tyres are. Usually there is a tradeoff there, but Challenge somehow manages to keep both.
Well, many of them are more correctly "emit elsewhere". However as we do successfully move away from "coal, oil, and latterly gas and wood" the fraction that is actually emitted does go down. So overall, welcome. (It's complicated... the renewables business is just business like any other so we aren't keen to discuss all the resources being used / new places that get trashed. Example being how much steel (mostly still "dirty") and concrete we need for the new infra. And of course where humans can, they will, as much as they can afford, so Jevons Paradox applies).
RE: Royal Mail 4-wheeled "bikes" - hadn't they been trying to ditch the bikes for ages (like society overall)? When they did they dumped them in favour of vans plus those trolleys. Overall if this means it ends up more "micro-van" rather than "walking plus full size vans" I guess a degree of pedalling is an improvement? When Royal Mail and parking came up before someone said they can ditch their vehicles where they want (if they have to/within reason... but nobody's going to do anything about it). The real issue is all the other commercial deliverers do that anyway. Plus most of the rest of the population...
31 thoughts on ““Most bizarre finish we’ve seen”: Farcical finish to pro race… after “total chaos” sees almost entire peloton miss turning during sprint and end up on wrong side of road; Supreme launches SpongeBob kit + more on the live blog”
Quote:
Doing that on social media is like simply asking a troupe of chimpanzees, reasonably and politely, not to fling their faeces at you if you cross what they believe to be their territory.
ubercurmudgeon wrote:
Doing that on social media is like simply asking a troupe of chimpanzees, reasonably and politely, not to fling their faeces at you if you cross what they believe to be their territory.
Imagine if chimps had access to Twitter/X/whatever the F Musk is calling it nowadays…
I think he’s just added an
I think he’s just added an extra little arm to each leg of the X.
I was recently reading an on
I was recently reading an on line review on which electric cars to buy etc, and someone in the comments put (referring to the Tesla) ‘anything but the Swazticar’ Which I thought was quite funny.
brooksby wrote:
It would improve the overall quality of discussion there.
someone on the internet wrote
Leaving aside that (a) they’ve already taken position out in the road before the clip starts, and (b) it’s on the person behind to not overtake into a bottleneck, among other things, why does this person think that they didn’t turn to look? Do they think that’s a helmet mounted cam, and their head’s about 8″ below their shoulders?
I’d logged in to raise the
I’d logged in to raise the same point:
[quote Some Anonymous Motorist]
“The fact that you rode into that bottleneck without turning to look is insane, you created the most dangerous part of this situation. The rest wasn’t really that bad.”
[/quote]
I may have misunderstood, but isn’t the onus on the driver of the vehicle which is behind to make sure it is safe to overtake before doing so? I don’t think that the cyclist who is in front has to check whether someone behind him might possibly want to overtake before proceeding with their journey…
Well yes, those are the rules
Well yes, those are the rules but when you hate cyclists, its always the cyclists fault. If they can’t directly blame the cyclist for the shit driving then the next best thing is indirectly blaming them for choosing to put their lives in danger because the roads are inherently dangerous. Nothing to do with the drivers. Nothing you can do about that.
I really hope he reported all those people for those shitty passes. I’m convinced at this point that nothing beyond heavy fines, bans and eventually the constant fear that your shit driving will cost you dearly will stop them.
mdavidford wrote:
If one’s knuckles are several inches below one’s ankles…?
Its not a bottleneck, he’s
Its not a bottleneck, he’s overtaking some extremely slow moving cars and vans.
A clue to the sincerity of
A clue to the sincerity of the responses is that one was telling the cyclist to use the ‘sidewalk’. A lot of social media commentary is faked outrage.
I think a lot of social media
I think a lot of social media commenting is idiots who can air their shitty views and have other equally mentally challenged people back them up. Thats why its so popular. You can create a little echo chamber that makes you feel smart and validated by your peers. You don’t have to worry that your peers are the dregs of society.
This appeared this morning.
This appeared this morning. Exceptional hardship!
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/dvla-revokes-driving-licences-more-9957083
The woman with the most points is a 50-year-old with 96. Some 53 people have at least 30 points.Points are issued following convictions for road offences, such as driving without due care and attention (three to nine points), drink-driving (three to 11 points), and speeding (three to six points).
Under the totting-up process, drivers are usually banned for six months if they receive 12 or more points within a three-year period, unless they convince a court this would result in exceptional hardship, which could relate to their ability to work or care for their family.
A total of 10,056 drivers hold a valid licence despite having at least 12 points. Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards at road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: “These shocking statistics call into question whether the definition of exceptional hardship needs reviewing.
Given we expect motor
Given we expect motor insurance premiums to increase for drivers with convictions/points on licences, maybe Road CC can look into (or an insurance industry rep can advise)
1) what the rates are for people who have those levels of points
2) which insurers are accepting those drivers as customers and thereby implicitly condoning such terrible driving records, allowing them to continue legally drive on the road
3) who the individuals are that, in theory, can afford those premiums
As I understand it (and way
As I understand it (and way over simplified), you can lodge paperwork with “someone” to prove you have enough money to settle any claims agaisnt you and as a result can self insure.
In otherwords, if you are rich enough you don’t need to pay insurance premiums
EK Spinner wrote:
It used to the case that you could deposit £500,000 as an alternative to having car insurance (mainly used by companies rather than individuals). Think that scheme has been abolished now.
Ref – The Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019
Part 2 – Removal of securities and deposits as alternatives to motor insurance and transitional and saving provision
How in God’s name can someone
How in God’s name can someone have 176 points?
I’m sure plenty of drivers
I’m sure plenty of drivers deserve that many, but with enforcement being what it is it seems unlikely.
I would suggest that unless
I would suggest that unless the circumstances around your points is exceptional. I don’t give a single shit whether you can’t work as a result of your bad driving. I would suggest the radical notion that if you cared about your family (and those of the people you endanger) then you wouldn’t be breaking the rules consistently. I would suggest that someone who accumulates enough points to be banned has been warning about their bad driving and has ignored that warning and isn’t safe to be on the roads.
Finally, I would suggest that if anyone is hurt or killed as a result of known dangerous drivers being allowed to continue driving then the government should be sued into oblivion. If the NHS makes massive failures leading to injury or death they can be sued. Why is it different with driving. Why on earth does someones choice to drive like a bellend overrule my right not to be killed by them?
Those specific numbers might
Those specific numbers might be new, but the problem of drivers racking up points but continuing to drive due to “exceptional hardship” has been a longstanding issue – Cycling UK have been campaigning about it for years (e.g. https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release/human-cost-exceptional-hardship-loophole-needs-close-says-cycling-uk)
FWIW I absolutely agree that the exceptional hardship loophole is unconscionable and needs to be ended. If losing your licence would cause you hardship, then don’t break the law – it’s pretty simple really. I would also note that getting banned means either repeatedly getting caught breaking the law or doing something extremely dangerous; in either case, it’s not something that would happen accidentally (although I can’t say I condone it, I will acknowledge that it doesn’t take much of a lapse of concentration to drift slightly above the speed limit, but in most cases the outcome is a speed awareness course, or at worst 3 points. To get to the point you’re banned, I assume the vast majority of peope are consistently and deliberately breaking the law. If there is anyone for whom it genuinely was not deliberate, clearly their lack of concentration/ability is sufficiently problematic that banning them is sensible for everyone’s safety anyway).
I got knocked off by a driver
I got knocked off by a driver with 30points. I can’t really blame the driver, he was just acting to form, totally foreseeable therefore not an accident.
Maybe the magistrates who gave him repeated second chances should be held to account?
The good news, after hitting me and also clocking up a dangerous driving charge before the case got to court he finall got a two year ban.
Quote:
I can only do bike maintenance if it’s dry and sunny (and, ideally, not too cold). My wife won’t let me bring my bike in the house, and there isn’t room to do anything in my shed
Drop it off at HPs and
Drop it off at HPs and collect the next day !
The fact that comments refer
The fact that comments refer to “sidewalks” tells you all you need to know.
Americans.
No thanks to the
No thanks to the Spongebobbins kit, but I will take one of them bottles.
Got stuck behind this lorry
Got stuck behind this lorry at lunchtime until I realised the flashing sign by the number plate was no no cycling, not no cycling.
Sort of a 2 Unlimited kind of
Sort of a 2 Unlimited kind of lorry then.
Conversation with my son this
Conversation with my son this morning.
Me: Aren’t you running late?
Him: No it’s half term
Isn’t it really obvious, to drivers, that it’s not cyclists that hold you up.
As shown in this video from
As shown in this video from CycleGaz:
“What a difference school holidays make on traffic”
Brother and sister died of
Brother and sister died of head injuries after car hit their e-scooter (Metro)
I have just seen the Tour of
I have just seen the Tour of the Algarve finish on BBC news.
I feel for the riders, who targeted the stage. Luckily, it appeared that nobody was hurt in the chaos.
However, I did find it very funny and it really brightened up my morning.
I can’t wait to see the highlights on Eurosport, with the commentary team’s comments.