Visma-Lease a Bike earn plaudits for “nice gesture”, giving water to Tour de France pro on another team; Latest mind-boggling Pogačar mountain destruction; Olympic athlete photos or police mugshots?; Stolen cargo bikes appeal + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Mysterious account claiming to be UAE mole promises "mind-bender" Tadej Pogačar queen-stage performance displaying "a show of power as the GOAT" (but some are fed up with "arrogant" social media personality)
The yellow jersey belting out Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We are the Champions and more? Oh, sorry, you meant Tadej Pogačar’s upcoming performance on the Tour de France’s queen stage… not a “mind-bender” showing at a Queen stage performance… got you…
There is still no ID on who ‘Mou’ is, the anonymous social media voice who shot to prominence within the cycling world this week amid suspicion they are a mole close to UAE Team Emirates, before they became increasingly outspoken online as old posts on Cyclingnews’ forum surfaced, essentially predicting Pogačar’s outrageously dominant season (from Strade Bianche to the Tour) step by step.
Mou had been scathing in criticism of Pogačar’s old coach, Inigo San Millan, and since February has been spreading word online that the Slovenian’s new partnership with Javier Sola would unlock his true potential — better climbing performances, less prone to bad days in the third week, less prone to bad days when the weather’s hot, better TTing etc. etc. In short, he claimed: “Pogačar is a Ferrari in which diesel was poured for five years, now when gasoline is poured into it, we get what we are looking at in 2024.”
Now, plenty of his predictions have largely come true and the anonymous ‘mole’, who also shared screenshots of Pogačar’s secret training data as ‘proof’ he has inside knowledge, is becoming more and more confident, outspoken, and some would say “arrogant”…
Unpopular opinion:
This Mou is really starting to get on my nerves with his arrogant and know-it-all writing. I hope this saga ends soon and he goes back into hibernation.— Andreas Maier (@AndiMaier99) July 18, 2024
For what it’s worth, Pogačar addressed the rumours and social media storm, saying: “I have no idea who this guy is. But yeah, I’ve heard in the last two days he’s getting a lot of attention. I think he gets some things right, but mostly he gets it also wrong.
“I don’t know who this guy is and what’s his purpose. I think he just tries to be important on Twitter and forums or whatever, but I don’t follow, I just heard a lot. People are asking. Maybe we will all together find out who the guy is.”
Fast forward to today and the queen stage of this year’s Tour de France, a monstrous traversing of Alpine giants — three ascents exceeding 2,000m, including the 2,800m Cime de la Bonette — time to test Mou’s claims out…
Oh, and they’re not holding back with one final (well, until they get bored and need more attention in an hour’s time) prediction…
Tomorrow you will watch a show of power as the GOAT toy with the soon-to-be ex-two-time TDF winner, it will be such a mind-bender that Vini will think back to his old job, packing fish at Glynore market
— mou (@mou55981652) July 18, 2024
Classy. Although if it is Pogačar’s big day of dominance ahead, surely he’s the “soon-to-be ex-two-time TDF winner”. Sorry, Mou. We’ve got to be pedantic…
They added: “Some things are obviously still not clear to people: Vini [Jonas Vingegaard] is not better on the hill than Pog, Vini does not have a better third week than Pog, Vini is not better than Pog in any segment except in aerodynamic position on TT bikes.
“Pogačar’s pain was high temperature and that drained his energy from stage to stage, that is no longer the case after the introduction of the Core device in training. Now that all his flaws caused by his disastrous training have been ironed out, you’re looking at exactly what I said you’d be looking at back in March.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly at the end of a long week, some have had enough…
WANTED: International Olympic Committee releases images of cycling suspects
Top work from Mathew Mitchell who spotted these amusing custody photos from the local nick’s website. Oh sorry, our mistake, they’re actually the official Olympic athlete photos, the requirements for which presumably tell the athletes they must:
- Be facing forwards and looking straight at the camera
- Have a plain expression and your mouth closed
- Have your eyes open and visible
- Look like the subject of a police mugshot
Scary stuff.
🚨New bike alert 🚨 Canyon unveils all new Aeroad CFR, an all-rounder yet "the fastest bike in the WorldTour peloton"
It got 9/10 from chief reviewer Stu too, “Stunning performance right across the board from this versatile aero machine.”
Why the new 2024 Canyon Aeroad might be the end of exciting aero road bikes
Former Bath Bicycle Mayor has two cargo bikes stolen during targeted break in
Bath’s former Bicycle Mayor has asked for help getting two cargo bikes back after they were stolen from her garage in a “clearly targeted” burglary. It has been reported to the police and marked as stolen with Bike Register, the two bikes taken an Urban Arrow and a Bike43, both of which RRP at around £6,000.
She said: “It was clearly targeted (no other bikes were taken and none of the neighbours were broken into) and could have been due to my profile as Bicycle Mayor (formerly) and councillor.”
Our 2 cargo bikes were stolen from our garage overnight 😭 – an Urban Arrow and a Bike43.
Please share if you’re in Bath – they can’t be far!!
This has been reported to police and have marked as stolen on @bikeregister pic.twitter.com/G3zq9rOupl
— Saskia Heijltjes (@SaskiaHeijltjes) July 17, 2024
"Expert" driver who does "stunts for Channel 4" banned from driving for a year and fined £300 for causing serious injuries to cyclist
There can be only one video to welcome the Tour peloton to the Bonette
Poor John-Lee Augustyn, the former Barloworld and Sky rider who will always be most synonymous with the Bonette for that famous crash back in ’08…
Whenever I hear Cime de la Bonette, the first thing that pops in my mind is the crash of John Lee Augustyn in 2008. The legend says that his bike is still rolling down the cliff… #TdF2024pic.twitter.com/6L5uXzn9KA
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 18, 2024
Fingers and toes crossed for no repeat of that today. A break of six including Richard Carapaz, Simon Yates, Jai Hindley, Cristián Rodríguez and, curiously, Visma-Lease a Bike duo Matteo Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman is up the road, currently enjoying a four-minute advantage on the lower slopes of the mythical climb.
Pogačar attacks, Remco and Vingegaard don't even attempt to follow — can Jorgenson hold on for victory?
The moment everyone was waiting for…
Significantly, it was like at the Giro, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard not even attempting to go with Pogačar, the Belgian and Dane taking up the Dani Martínez and Geraint Thomas role and doing their own race.
The question now is can the Slovenian catch Matteo Jorgenson, the Visma-Lease a Bike domestique given freedom to chase his own result today, and 1:30 ahead of Pogačar with six kilometres to go. That lead has been slashed by more than 30 seconds in the couple of kilometres since the yellow jersey attacked, Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz hovering at around 30 seconds behind the American.
Even during the time writing that last sentence the gap from Jorgenson to Pogačar contracted by another 10 seconds. It’s a tough Tour to be a breakaway rider… stage win or not, this is proving to be the decisive blow in securing UAE Team Emirates’ star a third Tour de France crown.
Right on cue... "I told you so"
I told you so🤔🤔🤔
— mou (@mou55981652) July 19, 2024
Tadej Pogačar obliterates opposition in queen stage destruction
“Is he the immovable object or the irresistible force, it turns out he is both,” Ned Boulting on ITV commentary duty welcomed Tadej Pogačar across the line at Isola 2000, another quite extraordinary stage victory under his belt and now absolutely no doubt (if there ever was) that he will win a third yellow jersey in Nice on Sunday. The only thing that could prevent that now seems the most unfortunate of crashes, illness or injury, Pogačar again making the best cyclists in the world look incredibly average.
The winning margin was 21 seconds over a battling Matteo Jorgenson, Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz also taking deserved top-five finishes from the breakaway. Tellingly, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard did not even attempt to follow when the yellow jersey attacked, instead sticking with their tempo and concentrating on the battle for second.
There goes Tadej Pogacar!#TDF2024 📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/k0iqeDLhCp
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 19, 2024
By the finish, Pogačar had opened a gap of 1:42 over Evenepoel and Vingegaard. The extent of his dominance is perhaps most evident in the GC picture, Vingegaard’s deficit now 5:03, Evenepoel’s 7:01. In fact, those two are the only riders in the race within 15 MINUTES of UAE Team Emirates’ generational star. Mind-boggling time gaps.
Take a bow, Tadej Pogačar 💛🇸🇮#TDF2024 | 📸 @LeTour pic.twitter.com/hhSra7Y2Nh
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 19, 2024
Cav (+ Astana teammates) make the time cut by five minutes
With five minutes to spare, the image everyone wanted to see. Things are looking less good for Arnaud Démare who is well behind this Astana trio.
🇫🇷 VIDEO OF THE DAY: @LeTour
Tired? Well, looks like not really 😅@MarkCavendish #TDF2024 #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/NWgt4EEX60
— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) July 19, 2024
"I was new, I didn't know the rules": Delivery cyclists urge colleagues to follow rules as 37 riders issued £100 fines for cycling in city centre
Visma-Lease a Bike earn plaudits for "nice gesture" to give water to Tour de France pro on another team
Great sportsmanship on display earlier today.
Visma team car helping Sean Quinn with a water bottle. 👏 #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/0yvICCiU5x
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 19, 2024
It’s actually fairly common practice for teams to offer help to other teams’ riders, even more so when it comes to the grupetto, after all another day it’ll be the cleat on the other foot and your rider needing some help from a rival.
Of course, the front of the race and the battle for GC victory or stages is a completely different matter, but for the most part when the pressure’s off (like here with dropped EF Eduaction-EasyPost domestique Sean Quinn) teams will help each other out. On mountain stages the cars can get especially strung out due to crowds or fast descents, so overall it’s just a nice thing to be nice… plus you might get it caught on camera and shared online to win you some new fans…
Tadej Pogačar had some bidon-related fun to pass the time before his inevitable attack later on Isola 2000, opting to discard of an empty bottle… by lobbing it into Intermarché–Wanty’s team car Angry Birds-style.
Thanks for the bottle Tadej #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/dCgyCxWCgh
— Intermarché-Wanty (@IntermarcheW) July 19, 2024
Clearly Tour de France queen stages are a bit boring when you’ve got his legs, the yellow jersey having to keep himself entertained early on…
Classic prank perfectly executed 😂
Tadej Pogačar joking with his old team-mate Davide Formolo on Stage 18 of the Tour de France.
Watch full Stage 18 on-bike highlights: https://t.co/zgTdqzvi3e
__________
🇫🇷 #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/nC7lEPDc7z— Velon CC (@VelonCC) July 19, 2024
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Latest Comments
@chrisonabike True, things went back to normal once the pandemic was over. In this case, however the problems are still ongoing, and aren't likely to be resolved in the near future. If anything, they're going to get worse. Food shortages are predicted because of the effect that the heatwave has had on crops. This is bound to push prices up. The Straits of Hormuz aren't likely to reopen anytime soon and the strategic oil reserves are running low. Russia is having to import petrol because its own refineries have been badly hit, so that's even more competition for an even more scarce resource. I think that more and more people are going to see cycling as a way of cutting household bills.
I think if "grown up" cyclists * are quibbling about ASLs we've very much missed the road safety point anyway. (Not to mention the wider "better transport choices" picture). ASLs are poor-to-useless "cycling infra", even for their design intent. If the idea is "for less confident cyclists" then a design that requires that you re-position in front of the motor traffic - waiting to accelerate - seems unhelpful. Of course they're only designed to help when traffic is stopped, and you can reach the front in time and if vehicles aren't already occupying them. As we're noting here drivers frequently ignore them - whether that be deliberate, a lack of road craft, because they were concentrating on following the vehicle in front, or because the paint has rubbed off. * Aside: shouldn't cycling also be safe and accessible for kids? Or should they only be allowed to do this when accompanied by sufficient qualified adults? Or be limited to parks and otherwise being driven around by their carers? Perhaps there is another way...?
Hi Bungle, I saw you follow-up comment. I can't imaging there's a tolerance of 4 seconds on camera enforced lights, seems an odd decision - an offence is committed if a vehicle starts crossing on a red, any tolerance is discretionary. There does seem to be some odd thinking about 'advanced stop lines' where the rules relating to them are identical to a regular stop line, as explained correctly elsewhere in the Highway Code. It does seem a regular offence. Where I live it doesn't help that some of them are very faint and disappear in rain.
@ktache Not sure he's totally ruled out of the worlds yet (though I think it would be best if he doesn't), normal recovery time is about eight weeks but surgery can halve that...depending on the nature of the break he could be just about fit to ride by the time of the elite men's race, but he'll have missed a lot of training. Hopefully his managers and team will persuade him to wait until Lombardia, if not just to knock it off for the rest of the year.
@Bungle_52 The Met told me a couple of years ago when rejecting a submission that they needed a clear three seconds of red visible before they would consider it for an RLJ prosecution. I pointed out to them that this meant that at 30 mph a driver could see a light change to red from 40 metres away and still get through without sanction, or 55 m if they accelerated to 40 as most do. They just replied "them's our rules..."
@Ben Graham I have just checked the footage from my report. The driver crosses the 1st stop line 4 seconds after the light turns red. All on camera from behind the vehicle. No further action. So I assume the margin is at least 4 seconds.
Oh, and active travel funding per head (in England at least) is laughable compared to other places. Plus it is delivered intermittently. It's more like a Blue Peter contest...
Yup, I see those opportunities being missed all the time in Edinburgh. When it gets really bad, dig it all up and put it back down again how it was. Contrast with what seems to happen in NL - when things are dug up the whole thing seems to get a "let's redo this according to the current standards" treatment. They even coordinate with the utilities, so that after a refurb the street isn't immediately dug up again because of leaking pipes / we suddenly realised the new estate being planned for round the corner will want broadband etc. Pros and cons of course - you may wait longer there for changes as smaller changes may be deferred until a major redo is due. (Though in the UK case you likely wouldn't get them at all...) It seems we "can't have nice things" in the UK in part because a) we have greater motor traffic speeds/volumes spead across "streets" / within urban areas b) the funding and organisational responsibility differs. Are we in the "Sam Vimes boots" territory (being too poor to afford better products which not only save money over time but actually work)? There is long term money pressure on LAs and it seems that due to poor construction and maintenance we have to regularly pour money into (pot-)holes in the road. And it seems there's no budget to check up on or enforce adequate standards from utilities work or even private building.
Shame about the world champs defence. Speedy recovery. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/30/tadej-pogacar-vuelta-a-espana-cycling-crash-hospital-stage-nine
I believe the accepted form for this kind of argument is "I know you are, you said you were, but what am I?".
17 thoughts on “Visma-Lease a Bike earn plaudits for “nice gesture”, giving water to Tour de France pro on another team; Latest mind-boggling Pogačar mountain destruction; Olympic athlete photos or police mugshots?; Stolen cargo bikes appeal + more on the live blog”
Have not read any Mou
Have not read any Mou scribbles other than what is being reported but it’s not a far-out prediction to say that Pogi will want to put on a show today. This stage with the big climb, Bonette @ 2800m, is being touted as the one where Vingegaard puts the hurt on Pogacar but really, how likely is that on the evidence so far? I think Pogi will aim for the stage win today.
Also, will be interesting to see how Evenepoel will do today, I wonder if he will try and put time on Vingegaard.
Vingegaard/Visma have to try
Vingegaard/Visma have to try something today, even if it seems unlikely that it will come off. I think it’s great that they are keeping the faith and attacking.
Pogacar has been the strongest so far, but Evenepoel’s form appears to be improving. Remco’s descending is not great though.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Well, they let Jorgensen do his show instead of supporting Vingegaard, I was a bit surprised to see that! Maybe Vingegaard is not their leader anymore… And Jorgensen also failed to win, anyway, so… maybe tomorrow!
Pogacar is just incredible and he looks like a good guy, far from some 1990’s tours winners, but his superiority kills the competition after a while… we can’t ask him to let others win stages on purpose, can we?
S.E. wrote:
Well, they let Jorgensen do his show instead of supporting Vingegaard, I was a bit surprised to see that! Maybe Vingegaard is not their leader anymore… And Jorgensen also failed to win, anyway, so… maybe tomorrow!
Pogacar is just incredible and he looks like a good guy, far from some 1990’s tours winners, but his superiority kills the competition after a while… we can’t ask him to let others win stages on purpose, can we?— HarrogateSpa
I think they had a plan which involved the two riders up the road helping Jonas if he was able to attack. But it became increasingly clear he couldn’t – not helped by the fact that the other Visma riders in the yellow jersey group were all dropped while Tadej still had four riders with him – so they then let Jorgensen do his thing.
Yes, I got that by watching
Yes, I got that by watching again after the race. Quite unorthodox, Pogacar did it with Yates the other day, but it was more like some kind of trick…
My guess is that they were aware that Vingegaard could not compete against Pogacar, so they tried to win a stage with riders who were not dangerous in the general, “dumping” their leader. That said Vingegaard is doing a very good tour apparently, beating his previous performances, but that’s just not enough.
Is Mou actually Pog?
Is Mou actually Pog?
AidanR wrote:
No – he’s head coach of Fenerbahçe, which you’d think would keep him too busy to indulge in this kind of nonsense. Maybe the summer break and international competitions have left him with too much time on his hands.
We have here 3 named super
We have here 3 named super-astounding athletes, who are a bit better than all the other astounding athletes who ride the Tour, but the gaps between them are much, much less than the gap between them and us. This is a Golden Age!
“Mou” wrote:
Are they claiming inside info on the anti-doping agencies as well?
“There is still no ID on who
“There is still no ID on who ‘Mou’ is, the anonymous social media voice who shot to prominence within the cycling world this week amid suspicion they are a mole close to UAE Team Emirates”
Mou.. rhymes with Q. Makes you think eh?
(no)
It also rhymes with loo,
It also rhymes with loo, which is where this whole story should have been flushed down
I predict it turns out to be
I predict it turns out to be an IT guy they’ve never even met, but who has access to their data.
Fixed the rattle on my wife’s
Fixed the rattle on my wife’s bike – turned out to be a small bracer on the rear mudguard where it screws into the frame. Bracer needed to be horizontal but had slipped.
Was convinced it was internal cable rattle.
Almost fell off on a test ride as I turned my heel out to detach the cleat only she prefers old fashioned toe clips …
“Summer’s well and truly
“Summer’s well and truly arrived in the UK”
…. not in Scotland…. yet… every cloud… no midges with that wind… yet..
Would that be the Cairn Gorm
Would that be the Cairn Gorm for which “The warmest month on record is July 2006, with a mean temperature of 9.9 °C”?
In which case – it’s a heat wave!
But yeah – it’s certainly summer (here in Edinburgh) but not necessarily either a great one. Or “it’s summer, captain, but not as we (from South of the border) know it”.
Interview in The Guardian
Interview in The Guardian with Laura Kenny
Sad read in the Graundia:
Sad read in the Graundia:
I can’t face getting on my bike after a serious accident – but I’d love to ride again
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jul/19/i-cant-face-getting-on-my-bike-after-a-serious-accident-but-id-love-to-ride-again