Is cycling with a Bluetooth speaker “rude and entitled” or is it “no different to a car engine”?; Weird debate erupts as driver claims cyclists “don’t care” – because of “bald tyres”; Cyclists slam Telegraph red light jumping story + more on the live blog

Alright everyone, I think we’ve finally got a new contender for the most inane anti-cycling argument on the internet, one that could even usurp the ‘those speeding 74mph cyclists’ diatribes so beloved by the likes of the Telegraph.

It all started when CykelTony posted on a photo on X/Twitter (who cares?) of a motorist deciding to overtake him on his commute home from work by driving on the wrong side of a roundabout:

“And yes, they went the wrong side of the traffic island too,” Tony added. Classic.

So, what kind of response did this latest example of careless driving provoke in Elon Musk’s lawless online world?

“Is that a bald tyre???” asked the holder of the CPR Cars account.

Errr, should somebody tell him? Don’t worry, Tony did: “Nope. But even if it was, it doesn’t matter as bikes don’t need tread patterns like cars.”

Did that satisfy CPR Cars? Surprisingly, no – he simply doubled down.

“And there you go showing everyone else just how much you do not care about yourself, your bikes condition, or other road users,” he continued.

“Any other vehicle, that tyre is illegal. Central tread bald where a tread once was…”

> Rolling resistance: why you need to choose your tyres carefully if you want to ride faster

Cue the ensuing hilarity in the comments.

“OMG, the energy CPR Cars is putting into being wrong... Best tweet of the week,” said James.

John concurred: “This gets my dumbest tweet of the day award. Priceless.”

“You could have Googled it faster than writing this drivel, and you might have learned something,” added Manos.

> Telegraph journalists told "check your research" after front page claims cyclists hit 52mph chasing London Strava segments... despite that being faster than Olympic track cyclists

Others appeared simply exasperated by the lack of knowledge on display (which is strikingly reminiscent of our ongoing ‘speeding’ cyclists debates).

“But it’s not any other vehicle is it?” said Jaj. “Since it’s not any other vehicle and the legal requirement to have tread on tyres only applies to motor vehicles, there’s no issue. Bikes don’t need tread to stop aquaplaning because the tyres are narrow and don’t go very fast.”

Jason added: “What do the grooves do? Manage water. Why? Aquaplaning. Do bikes aquaplane? No.”

Others, meanwhile, dismissed CPR Cars as a “typical petrolhead” while some even asked if he was running a parody account.

That’s when you know you’ve messed up.

> "People won't bother reading the truth, the damage is done": Cyclists frustrated Telegraph newspaper not required to put "52mph cyclists creating death traps" correction on front page like original headline

Even Cycling Mikey got involved: It’s quite normal for bicycle tyres to be bald and have no tread at all. This gives more traction on the road in both the wet and the dry. My favourite road tyres are called Kojaks for that very reason. In a bicycle this is normal and legal.”

“Cycling Twitter... Where else gives you chance to tyre troll people?!” concluded Dave.

Well, I suppose that’s one reason to keep it around for a while at least…

Speaking of the Telegraph, this weekend saw the newspaper add to their growing collection of anti-cycling stories by plonking an unfortunate, but I imagine extremely keen, reporter at a set of traffic lights in London during rush hour, and arming them with a pen and some paper to count the number of cyclists riding through red lights.

According to the Telegraph, 1,032 cyclists were required to stop at red lights outside St Thomas’ Hospital on 29 August, between 7.45am and 9.45am, and in the two hours after 5pm.

“A total of 559 cyclists – 302 in the morning and 257 in the evening – ignored the lights,” the Telegraph says.

“That means 54.2 per cent failed to stop, with cyclists slightly more likely to flout rules in the morning when many were travelling to work. Forty-eight cyclists avoided red lights by riding on the pavement.”

The newspaper also said that the “worst incidents included a teenage cyclist mounting the pavement and screeching to a halt inches from two children”, while video footage of their four-hour stint by the side of the road showed some idiotic teenagers sailing through the lights doing wheelies.

According to the Telegraph, “no cars” whatsoever ignored the reds – though they did admit that two sightseeing tour buses went through them.

The article also highlighted that several cyclists could be spotted reading mobile phone messages and riding without holding their handlebars (though it isn’t clear how many drivers the Telegraph’s roving reporter spotted looking at their phones).

> 11 cyclists a day hit with £50 fines for riding through red lights in London, new Met Police data reveals

Some London-based cyclists did respond to the article by expressing exasperation with the number of people on bikes who ride through red lights in the capital – though one noted that it “has been reducing over time, and many of those in the vids are youngsters on hire bikes”.

However, others weren’t as keen on the newspaper’s latest anti-cycling foray.

“Care to share with us how many people are killed and injured by red light running drivers vs cyclists each year?” asked Bikery.

“Wait until you hear about cars,” added Gerard.

“So zero cyclist collisions, zero cyclist injuries. On the same day drivers injured 21 people in hit and runs,” said Adespoto.

“You’re not helping road safety with these distractions.”

Meanwhile, Bob concluded: “Waiting for the up-to-date article about drivers killing six people a day that you never seem to write…”

Rest day
Burger day 🍔😜 pic.twitter.com/LB94PNcH5g

— Équipe Cycliste Groupama-FDJ (@GroupamaFDJ) September 2, 2024

Shhh, don’t tell Richard Plugge…

Primoz Roglic taking a ski lift down the mountain after stage 15. #LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/tx0Qwjj14M

— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) September 1, 2024

No, I never knew that extremely fun fact about Roglič’s’s pre-cycling career, either. Can’t believe nobody ever talks about it… 

As he ambled his way around the final stage of the Renewi Tour yesterday, Geraint Thomas – whose best finish during the week was 116th in the time trial – was tantalisingly offered some non-Ineos-approved refreshment from the side of the road:

Offer is still valid G. 🤷🏻‍♂️🥂 @GeraintThomas86 @INEOSGrenadiers #RenewiTour pic.twitter.com/Vw5FpNK9PD

— Laurens Boonen (@LaurensBoonen) September 1, 2024

“I wish,” the former Tour de France replied, having clearly thought about the prospect of champagne for a few seconds before dismissing it.

Or judging by his DNF, maybe he stopped at pub along the route for some Belgian beer instead?

There was quite a bit of bike racing on over the weekend (probably to make up for yesterday’s sudden downturn in the weather, at least where I am), so here’s a quick round-up of the action you may have missed while flicking through the channels.

At one of the most chaotic and unpredictable editions of the Vuelta a España for years, Primož Roglič’s assault on Ben O’Connor’s increasingly slender red jersey lead didn’t go quite as smoothly as the Slovenian might have hoped on the savage 24 per cent slopes of the Cuitu Negru yesterday.

 (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

As Pablo Castrillo, looking every inch the demented cat, wrestled and cajoled his bike to the summit – after launching an audaciously stinging attack against Aleksandr Vlasov and Pavel Sivakov as they reached the climb’s steepest section – to win his second stage of a career-changing Vuelta for the 23-year-old Spaniard, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teed up Roglič perfectly to continue chipping away at O’Connor’s challenge.

However, despite a classic seated Roglič acceleration distancing the Australian quickly, O’Connor gamely battled to cede just 38 seconds to the Slovenian, who himself looked second-best to a lurking, powerful Enric Mas.

What’s more, Roglič’s decision to swap onto a 1x set-up at the foot of the final climb (complete with massive gears at the back), and take a tow from his Red Bull-Bora team car on the way back to the bunch ultimately cost him dear – 20 seconds in fact, after the UCI stepped in to penalise the three-time Vuelta winner, leaving O’Connor with a surprisingly healthy 1.03 advantage heading into the rest day, as Roglič later admitted the bike change was a “mistake”.

(Ed Sykes/SWpix.com)

Meanwhile, over in Paris, the gold rush continued on the last day in the velodrome for this year’s Paralympics, as GB’s track cyclists added three more victories, and five medals, on what turned out to be Britain’s most successful day at the Paralympics ever, with 12 golds bagged across all sports on a truly super Sunday.

In the velodrome, it all yesterday started with a gold and silver in the men’s B 1,000m time trial, as James Ball and co-pilot Steffan Lloyd secured their first ever Paralympic triumph, beating teammates Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Then Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl completed their Paralympic medal set with a long-awaited gold in the B 3,000m individual pursuit, overhauling Ireland’s super-strong Katie‑George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal in the final half of the race to win a thrilling final.

And to cap it all off, there was redemption for Jody Cundy and Kadeena Cox, who both had turbulent, underwhelming starts to these games, as the pair, alongside Jaco van Gass (whose own pre-race preparation was hampered by a collision with a driver) won the C1-5 750m team sprint in an astonishing impressive manner, keeping Cundy’s equally astonishing and imperious record of winning a medal at each of his eight Paralympic Games appearances intact.

(Will Palmer/SWpix.com)

The gold rush, however, didn’t manifest itself at the UCI mountain bike world championships in Andorra, however, as Olympic champion Tom Pidcock was forced to settle for bronze in the cross-country race behind South African winner Alan Hatherly and his Paris nemesis Victor Koretzky, while Puck Pieterse won her first elite rainbow jersey in the women’s race.

And finally, over at the Renewi Tour – formerly known as the Eneco, or BinckBank, or Benelux, tour, depending on your age – Arnaud De Lie and Tim Wellens powered away on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, De Lie taking yesterday’s final stage as Wellens overhauled a 16-second deficit to young Alec Sageart to win his fourth overall title at the Belgian race.

Phew…

Not long before Pablo Castrillo cemented his status as the most exciting and entertaining climbing talent this side of Marco Pantani, and Primož Roglič showcased his dinner plate cassette (with the help of a lengthy tow from his Red Bull-Bora team car) at the Vuelta yesterday, UAE Team Emirates decided to act out a real-life version of Alan Partridge’s rather unique take on the 1994 Tour de France.

(If that reference confused you, I’ll explain in a moment).

Because as the breakaway approached the intermediate sprint, and Groupama-FDJ’s Stefan Küng wound up to take the points, the UAE DS inexplicably decided to pick that very moment to drive up alongside the group to hand Jay Vine a bottle.

🫣 Küng vs car

➡️ The breakaway reaches the intermediate sprint with a 2:48" lead over the peloton. Will they make it?

➡️ Llega la fuga al sprint intermedio con 2:48" de ventaja sobre el pelotón. ¿Lo lograrán? #LaVuelta24 | @skoda_es pic.twitter.com/b9zrGHJxmF

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 1, 2024

In doing so, the DS shut the door on Küng (almost literally), leaving the Swiss rider frustrated at one of the more obvious sprint deviations we’ve seen in a while – Sagan never closed a gap on the barriers using a car, to be fair – a frustration that certainly wouldn’t have been eased by the shouts of ‘calm down’ emanating from the offending team car.

And while Wout van Aert’s extremely healthy lead at the top of the green jersey standings means Küng’s run-in with the UAE team car will have little bearing on the race itself, it almost certainly cost his Groupama-FDJ team a few pesetas in prize money, and cost UAE a 1,000 Swiss Francs fine and one of the sport’s new-fangled yellow cards for “irregular feeding”.

But hey, at least they brought to life a classic Partridge moment:

‘I don’t know what this man is playing at! Surely the judges will come down like a tonne of bricks on that. Carrying bikes on top of a car is not a sportsman-like way to run this race…’

And here I was thinking the Vuelta’s Accidental Partridge moments would be confined to Carlton Kirby’s commentary.