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Happy ending for NHS worker whose bike was stolen while he worked in Covid ICU; Richard Carapaz lays down some watts; Sir Dave Brailsford helps England's rugby team; Summer's coming; Bike thief caught; Record viewing figures + more on the live blog

It's Tuesday and Dan Alexander will be delivering a round up of all the best bits from the cycling world on the live blog...
02 February 2021, 17:14
Bike thief used fake lanyard to trick security guards and steal Brompton
pink brompton - via flickr creative commons

A burglar managed to outwit security to steal a bike at Hammersmith's Riverside Studios by using a faked lanyard. Richard Connick made off with a pink Brompton and a staff laptop from the venue having used the lanyard to get into the building, before swapping his own bicycle for the Brompton.

Court News UK reports the 49-year-old appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier today for the offence. The building's security officers said they had spotted Connick walking around the site on December 15 with a company lanyard, and that he was waving at staff. He took creative director Rachel Tackley's pink Brompton which, along with the laptop, totalled a value of £2,300.

02 February 2021, 15:00
Bike stolen from a Covid ICU staff member while they were on shift has been recovered

Here's a good news story...The worker at University College Hospital in London got their Genesis Croix de Fer 10 bike back after it was stolen while they were working the night shift on a Covid intensive care unit ward. The original social media post said that it had been seen on Facebook Marketplace being sold by a new account based in Islington. There's not yet been a mention of whether the person who stole it has been caught, but still, a nice bit of news for your Tuesday afternoon...

02 February 2021, 16:13
Tie Dye cycling kits
Pedla tie dye

Cycling clothing brand Pedla got in touch to share their soon-to-be released Tie Dye cycling kits. The style will initially be available in two men's jerseys and one women's as well as a gilet and t-shirt. Certainly something a bit different that will make you stand out on the road...

Could you see yourself wearing a splash of Tie Dye this summer?

Pedla tie dye

 

02 February 2021, 15:58
Should have been wearing hi-vis
02 February 2021, 15:11
Anti-LTN group share photo of 'cycles use the footway, pedestrians use the cycleway' road sign
OneWandsworth

Anti-LTN group OneWandsworth shared this photo of a temporary road sign in Hammersmith that says cyclists should ride on the footway and pedestrians walk on the cycleway. The picture was shared with the caption: "You can't make this stuff up". Unfortunatley for OneWandsworth there's an explanation for the reverse arrangement, which is actually an old photo from last year. As our road.cc news editor explained at the time... 

02 February 2021, 13:59
Record viewing figures for the cyclo-cross world championships

Het Nieuwsblad reported that this weekend's women's cyclo-cross worlds attracted record viewing figures in the Netherlands and even outdid the men's race. On average, 864,000 Dutch viewers tuned in to watch Mathieu van der Poel win his fourth title. However, the day before 921,000 had watched the women's event. In Belgium, the women's cross hit 800,000 viewers, while the men's event topped 1.4 million — the highest viewing figures for a cyclo-cross event since the 2013 worlds in Louisville.

02 February 2021, 11:38
England head coach Eddie Jones "embarrassed" by Dave Brailsford's brilliance
dave brailsford ineos 2020

The head coach of England's men's rugby team, Eddie Jones, says he met with Ineos Grenadiers boss Sir Dave Brailsford to help prepare for the upcoming Six Nations. Jones was full of praise for Brailsford, who he said was "absolutely outstanding". "I've been lucky enough to have a couple of conferences with Dave Brailsford and Arsène Wenger, particularly Brailsford," Jones told Rugby.com.AU.

"I feel embarrassed being at the same table as him. His thought pattern and the way he thinks about preparation and how to take a team forward were absolutely outstanding. I have been lucky enough to learn from those two guys. Arsène - he has got a wealth of experience in how you manage teams and how the longer you stay in the job, what you have got to do to keep your team growing. I picked up a couple of ideas from him."

Brailsford's Ineos Grenadiers start their 2021 campaign at French race Etoile de Bessèges tomorrow. The team selected is typically packed full of big names with Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal, Michal Kwiatkowski and Filippo Ganna all named on the startlist for the five-stage race.

02 February 2021, 12:30
SweetSpot announces five-year deal to exclusively broadcast the Tour of Britain and Women's Tour on Eurosport and GCN

Eurosport and GCN + will be the only outlets to broadcast the Tour of Britain and Women's Tour in the coming years. Previously, ITV has broadcasted the Tour of Britain but now the race, alongside the women's edition, will be live and exclusive on Eurosport and GCN's platforms.

As part of the five-year agreement the race organisers, SweetSpot, will introduce live coverage of the six-day Women's Tour including additional video content such as previews, features and analysis. Lizzie Deignan, the 2019 Women's Tour winner, said: "The Women’s Tour is already a highlight of the Women’s World Tour calendar with fantastic crowds and support in the UK but to add live television coverage will really takes it to the next level.

"It’s great to see the race has partnered with Eurosport and GCN and it being live means there will be even more exciting racing throughout and adds to the already brilliant atmosphere."

Both events were cancelled last year due to the pandemic but restrictions depending the Women's Tour is scheduled to take place in the second week of June, while the Tour of Britain will run over eight stages during September.

02 February 2021, 12:07
An uplifting thought for UK cyclists

Here's a nice reminder for all the UK-based cyclists reading this...We're getting closer to those long, dry (sometimes) summer evenings...Only eight more weeks until the clocks go forward.

02 February 2021, 10:44
Bern's new e-bike certified Hudson MIPS helmet
Bern Hudson e-bike helmet

Bern has released a new helmet specifically designed for commuters using e-bikes. Off the back of recent data which showed e-bikes had the highest year-on-year growth of all bike categories, Bern wanted to offer an e-bike certified helmet. The brand claims the new Hudson helmet is their safest yet and is rated for use up to 27mph. It provides 10 per cent more impact testing coverage for the most sensitive parts of the brain, as well as 21 per cent more velocity and 43 per cent more impact energy absorbed than traditional standards. It also comes with MIPS to protect against rotational motion and has an integrated LED light on the back to keep you visible. The Hudson is priced at £109.99.

02 February 2021, 10:20
Bike theft stopped by police in Leyton who arrest suspect
02 February 2021, 09:00
Richard Carapaz's superhuman training intervals up a leg-shredding climb in Ecuador

So what does it take to be one of the best climbers in professional cycling? This fatigue-inducing training footage shows the 2019 Giro d'Italia winner prepping for the upcoming season with some brutal intervals. Some amateur detective work of the graffiti at the start of the video points to the brutal climb being in the Pablo Arenas area of the Ineos Grenadier's native Ecuador...Considering how camera footage usually makes gradients look less severe, it seems fair to speculate this climb looks like it touches upwards of 20% on the ramps.

However, the 27-year-old is filmed making light work of the hill, sprinting out the saddle and only slowing just before the top. Very impressive. Carapaz had another successful year in 2020, proving himself to be one of the strongest climbers at the Tour before narrowly finishing second behind Primoz Roglic at the Vuelta a España.

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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24 comments

Avatar
ktache | 3 years ago
1 like

Morevelo did a blue Tie Dye mountain bike shirt a while back. 

It was definitly a lot lighter when I got off the train today, just before 8 (turned my respro anklebands around on the train), and there was a  hint of light when I left the house just after 7.  I saw catkins this morning, there has been a lot more birdsong the last week, I've seen wagtails and heard woodpeckers the past few weeks, and the crazy squirrels are back.

It would be nice if it didn't rain for a few days.

Spring is coming, though winter may bite a little more before then.

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timscottellis | 3 years ago
1 like

Really good news about the Women's Tour, I hope it goes ahead.

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PRSboy replied to timscottellis | 3 years ago
3 likes

Ive always appreciated ITV4's support and coverage.  I hope this does not herald a move of other cycling events exclusively onto subscription platforms.

Hopefully ITV4 will still do highlights, if not live.

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Awavey replied to PRSboy | 3 years ago
0 likes

well Ned Boulting seems to have confirmed via Twitter thats still the case for ITV4 (and so it should be), whilst the press announcement specifically does note the deal,though its not clear if it means just the Tour of Britain or includes the Womens Tour as well (but lets presume it meant both) is not exclusive to Eurosport/GCN in the UK or France.

but digging into the press release, it talks about "digital destinations", aka its the Eurosport/GCN app subscription service isnt it. its not Eurosport turning around and saying hey lets not show that repeat of an 8hr snooker final from last year to fill time on our channels when we have live sport to show, its go subscribe to our app service and then you can watch this stuff live, and hope you can mash up a setup that streams it onto a viewing platform you want.

now some people might be ok with that, live broadcast of cycling on tv isnt cheap or easy, so especially for womens cycling its a step in the right direction, but for all the fanfare of it, come June assuming the race even takes place, alot of people are going to be disappointed I think trying to find coverage, only to find by then theyve got to pay 40quid to watch something they may only have interest in for a few days.

 

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
1 like
Quote:

Only eight more weeks until the clocks go forward.

Yup, I'm guilty of scanning ahead in my weather app to rejoice prematurely at the prospect of extra daylight to come.

One thing I don't understand - the clocks go back at the end of October, but they stay back well beyond the point at which the day has recovered to the same length, which comes some time around mid Feb. Even going by sunrise time, we are back to where we switched by the end of Feb. Yet we drag it out another month until even after the equinox before going back to summer time. Why?

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Rendel Harris replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes

Sriracha wrote:
Quote:

Only eight more weeks until the clocks go forward.

Yup, I'm guilty of scanning ahead in my weather app to rejoice prematurely at the prospect of extra daylight to come. One thing I don't understand - the clocks go back at the end of October, but they stay back well beyond the point at which the day has recovered to the same length, which comes some time around mid Feb. Even going by sunrise time, we are back to where we switched by the end of Feb. Yet we drag it out another month until even after the equinox before going back to summer time. Why?

Suspect it has something to do with Scottish farmers? For example, in the middle of February in the Highlands the sun doesn't rise until 7.50 GMT, so putting the clocks forward then would mean they'd be in darkness until nearly 9am in the hours when much of the work of a farm is done.

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PRSboy replied to Rendel Harris | 3 years ago
1 like

Schoolchildren too... (remember when they were allowed to go so school), they would have their trip to school in the dark if the clocks did not move later.

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Sriracha replied to Rendel Harris | 3 years ago
3 likes
Rendel Harris wrote:

Sriracha wrote:
Quote:

Only eight more weeks until the clocks go forward.

Yup, I'm guilty of scanning ahead in my weather app to rejoice prematurely at the prospect of extra daylight to come. One thing I don't understand - the clocks go back at the end of October, but they stay back well beyond the point at which the day has recovered to the same length, which comes some time around mid Feb. Even going by sunrise time, we are back to where we switched by the end of Feb. Yet we drag it out another month until even after the equinox before going back to summer time. Why?

Suspect it has something to do with Scottish farmers? For example, in the middle of February in the Highlands the sun doesn't rise until 7.50 GMT, so putting the clocks forward then would mean they'd be in darkness until nearly 9am in the hours when much of the work of a farm is done.

Surely farmwork is governed by the sun, not the clock. I'm sure the cows don't know what time it is, even in Scotland.

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OnYerBike replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes

Sriracha wrote:

Surely farmwork is governed by the sun, not the clock. I'm sure the cows don't know what time it is, even in Scotland.

My (limited) understanding is that it is also to do with things like getting milk sent off by a specific time in order to get it processed and on supermarket shelves.

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Rendel Harris replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes

Sriracha wrote:

Surely farmwork is governed by the sun, not the clock. I'm sure the cows don't know what time it is, even in Scotland.[/quote]

Well no, because farmers still have to  get their kids to school, go to the bank, do their shopping etc. If all they had to do was work dawn to dusk without any other committments that would work, but they do have a right to a normal life too!

And actually cows do know what time it is, they need to be milked at the same time each day, twice a day, whether it's light or dark, and obviously the more it has to be done in the dark the more onerous it is for farm workers, the greater risk of accidents, etc.

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Sriracha replied to Rendel Harris | 3 years ago
0 likes
Rendel Harris wrote:

And actually cows do know what time it is, they need to be milked at the same time each day, twice a day, whether it's light or dark...

Exactly - and that time does not change with the clocks (which is what I meant). So the farmer's day does not change with the clocks either.

Anyway, none of this gets me any closer to knowing why the changes into and out of GMT are not symmetrical. Why do we remain in GMT until days are longer than equinox when we don't enter GMT until days are well shorter than equinox? By any parity with the start of GMT we should exit some time in Feb, not wait until end of March.

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mdavidford replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes

Sriracha wrote:
Quote:

Only eight more weeks until the clocks go forward.

Yup, I'm guilty of scanning ahead in my weather app to rejoice prematurely at the prospect of extra daylight to come. One thing I don't understand - the clocks go back at the end of October, but they stay back well beyond the point at which the day has recovered to the same length, which comes some time around mid Feb. Even going by sunrise time, we are back to where we switched by the end of Feb. Yet we drag it out another month until even after the equinox before going back to summer time. Why?

The simple answer is to align us with other countries, particularly Europe. Though that doesn't really explain why we or they coalesced around that particular arrangement.

Historically it's started all over the place - from late Feb up to May, via diversions into double summertime and all-year-round summertime - until the current arrangements were solidified in 1972.

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brooksby replied to mdavidford | 3 years ago
6 likes

mdavidford wrote:

The simple answer is to align us with other countries, particularly Europe.

The way things are looking, we're more likely to align our clocks with Samoa or New Zealand...

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Sriracha replied to mdavidford | 3 years ago
0 likes

Indeed I do recall years ago there was a month where we overlapped with the continent, before we aligned our changeover dates.

I hear all the arguments about school kids (although dark evenings are the greater danger for them apparently) and farmers and indeed Europe - but none of that answers the question; why do the parameters of day length and sunrise times which trigger the change in October not likewise apply in reverse - why the asymmetry? Whether you be a Scottish farmer, schoolkid or European.

The only thing that comes to mind is maybe Scottish farmers are up to things of a February morning that don't obtain in October?

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Dingaling replied to mdavidford | 3 years ago
0 likes

The current arrangement with Europe wasn't set in 1972. I was in Germany from1973 on and for years the clocks were moved about three weeks apart from the UK. The Germans still piss and moan about changing the clocks and I'm convinced that those that moan fail to understand that keeping CET (winter time) would mean people on the east side would get daylight around 3am in June. 

Hose

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mdavidford replied to Dingaling | 3 years ago
0 likes

Well, yes - I should perhaps have said 'particularly European ones' rather than 'particularly Europe' - the EU only fixed a single standard some time in the 2000s, so whatever we did we would still have been out of sync with some European countries.

In any case, though, I more meant that that's why we've hung on to the current arrangement, rather than carry on messing around with it, as opposed to that's why it was adopted in the first place.

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eburtthebike replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
6 likes

I always loved what the Indian Chief said about daylight saving time:

"Only the white man could cut a foot off the bottom of a blanket, sew it to the top, and say he had a longer blanket."

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Hirsute | 3 years ago
1 like

Do ebikes do 27mph ?

What does rated for use up to 27mph mean when hit by something over 1.5 tonnes ?

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Philh68 replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
1 like

Speed pedelecs assist to 45kmh, and helmets are mandatory for them (as they're effectively mopeds). The only e-bike helmet standard I know of is NTA 8776 from the Netherlands. It sounds like this is designed to meet that standard.

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I love my bike replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
1 like

Helmets aren't designed for encounters with vehicles.

For bicycle helmets, I believe it's the vertical speed that the helmet will hit the ground, so forward speed is not relevent. So, the 27mph could imply that ebikers heads are higher up when biking?! Or that the MIPS copes with higher rotational forces when experiencing the friction of the road surface?

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Philh68 replied to I love my bike | 3 years ago
0 likes

Helmets are designed to limit head acceleration, not prevent injury. What the impact is with  is irrelevant. Neither is the direction, they are merely tested at different angles using a drop test because it's a simple way of achieving uniform testing.

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Welsh boy replied to Philh68 | 3 years ago
0 likes

Philh68 wrote:

Helmets are designed to limit head acceleration, not prevent injury. What the impact is with  is irrelevant. Neither is the direction, they are merely tested at different angles using a drop test because it's a simple way of achieving uniform testing.

Are you sure about your facts?  I thought the helmet was designed to dissapate energy during decelleration (ie when your head hits something stationary and goes from moving to not moving)

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Rendel Harris replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
1 like

hirsute wrote:

Do ebikes do 27mph ?

Not over here, but in the US where preumably this is aimed many states allow a top speed of 30mph.

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the little onion | 3 years ago
1 like

That Carapaz video - it's also taken at 2000+ metres above sea level!

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