Fans unimpressed as Jasper Philipsen accused of “bullying” rival in bizarre Tour de France incident; “When athletes keep it real”: Pogačar’s brutally honest f-bomb TV interview; Stage 18 updates; Pro nutrition tips from the peloton + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"When athletes keep it real": Pogačar's brutally honest f-bomb TV interview wins Tadej more fans
One final piece of reaction from yesterday’s stage to kick off Thursday’s live blog — this post-stage lyricism from Tadej Pogačar that has since gone viral and spread well beyond the cycling world…
When athletes keep it real 🤣🤣🤣 #TDF2023 #Pogacar pic.twitter.com/h9SwMLgmqb
— will (@will_me_be) July 19, 2023
The comment, along with his team radio, “I’m gone, I’m dead”, have become prime meme material in the 16 hours since.
Me after coming home from the party at my friend’s house. 😵💫#TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/AkniFIr15E
— Domestique (@Domestique___) July 19, 2023
Even in moments of despair a new GIF takes flight.
— cramela (@chrislake808) July 19, 2023
Gotta love the Pog. He’s a great personality. Something lacking in sport these days.
— Paul (@sharks37) July 19, 2023
ITV opted to selectively edit the interview to skip over a certain section…
Pogačar: “Today was one of my worst days on a bike” 🤍🇸🇮#TDF2023 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/fbLEFZKXi8
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 19, 2023
Once he got past the brutally honest assessment part of his interview, Pogačar called the stage “one of the worst days of my life on the bike”.
“If I didn’t have such great support around me,” he said. “I was already thinking I’d lose the podium today but I was really fighting with Marc [Soler] until the finish line. I think even on the stage to Col du Granon I was much much better than today. So I must say today was one of the worst days of my life on the bike but I had to keep fighting.”
For you or I, yesterday’s crack, followed by painful limping to the finish line in an irreversible state of being cooked is probably the most relatable thing Tadej has ever done on a bike. Join the club, pal…
Wout van Aert leaves Tour de France to be with pregnant wife
‘Job done, Wout, we’ll see you next year, yeah?’
🇫🇷 #TDF2023 @WoutvanAert has left the Tour de France to be with his wife Sarah who will give birth to their second child soon. More in the interview recorded yesterday morning. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/WWA7uoCVz4
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) July 20, 2023
No stage win or green jersey this year, just the SEVEN top tens (one 11th), 385km of breakaways, and endless work for his team leader… see you in Glasgow, Wout…
What equipment does a Tour de France pro train on?
Tour de France stage 18: Finally a chance for the sprinters? Or will tired legs see a breakaway sneak away?
Over to Simon for our look at today’s stage…
This is one of those intriguing stages that is often thrown into the last week of the Tour, and is consequently a difficult one to call. With rolling terrain and no categorised climbs, it should be one for the sprinters, but the exertions of the past few days in the mountains, plus the reduction of teams to eight riders a few years ago, means sprint trains don’t now dominate as they once did.
Add to that the fact that with the race fast approaching its end, chances to make an impression are running out, which means many riders – including some still looking for a new contract for next year – will try and get in the break and take it all the way to the line. It could very well be one of those days when the bunch tries to reel in the escapees at the death, with a close finish in prospect.
Pro nutrition tips from the peloton — just how much should you be eating on the bike?
If like me you’ve suffered the dreaded ‘hunger knock/bonk/whatever you want to call it’ more times than you’d care to admit, this nutrition info from Uno-X dietitian James Moran, currently helping the team at the Tour de France, might be of interest.
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
You might not be too surprised to hear the answer is pretty simple — carbs, carbs, carbs, oh, and more carbs. On Tuesday’s TT day the riders consumed 10-11g of carbs per kilo of bodyweight, so 700g for a 70kg rider to fuel for the queen stage the day after.
Then, on the bike they ate 100-130g per hour during yesterday’s stage. Oh, and then once on the team bus they smashed down 4.5-5g per kilo of bodyweight for recovery. In short, eat more carbs.
James’ riders burned between 5,000 and 7,2000 calories during yesterday’s stage and their total carbohydrate consumption was between 19-22g per kilo of bodyweight… yep, for a 70kg rider that’s as much as 1,540g of carbs, the equivalent of 50 bananas or 455 fruit pastilles…
10-11g/kg CHO intake yesterday on the TT day +3g/kg breakfast this morning to prepare for today’s monster stage 17 @LeTour. Riders fuelled ~100-130g/h on the bike. Currently midway thru 4.5-5g/kg recovery 🍬 🥤 🍝 on the bus ⛽️ 🚀 #glycogen pic.twitter.com/nmhsSACw8t
— James Moran (@JamesEPMoran) July 19, 2023
Uber Eats cyclist fined and received eight points on driving licence after breaking pedestrian's foot in red light jump collision
An Uber Eats delivery rider on an e-bike jumped a red light, colliding with a pedestrian and leaving her with a broken foot, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
Fatima Haridhoine, 37, was charged with riding a bicycle without due care and attention, the Evening Standard reports, in relation to the incident on September 10 last year. Following a trial in May she was found guilty and on Tuesday was sentenced, receiving eight penalty points on her driving licence, a £150 fine, and ordered to pay £450 compensation to the injured victim.
Prosecutor David Burns said the incident happened just before midnight when the pedestrian crossing light turned green on Queens Road in Peckham. “This lady was riding an e-bike at the time, working for Uber deliveries,” he said.
“She has crashed into the complainant. In her statement, the victim says she broke her foot, she was unable to travel, she couldn’t work or move for a month. She had to cancel trips abroad.”
Haridhoine had told the court, “It was dark, I didn’t see her. It was just before midnight.”
Judge John Zani opted against disqualifying the delivery cyclist from driving and told Haridhoine: “It doesn’t matter [that it was a bicycle that she had to pedal] – there’s a form of motor attached, and once started the bike helps you to move.”
cc: Strava
I’d love to see @Strava route builder with a quick-link to Street View. It’d save a LOT of time when planning routes in new locations. 🗺️🚲
— Shane Miller 🦙 (@gplama) July 20, 2023
Tadej Pogačar fan club or live blog comments section? Your thoughts on Gen Z's face of cycling
Controversial calling Tadej the face of Gen Z cycling over Remco? Jonas just scrapes into millennial age ranges, so no issues there.
[ASO/Pauline Ballet]
Anyway, we suggested the fresh-faced white jersey had managed to win more fans in defeat on yesterday’s stage, something backed up by your comments.
wtjs: “The pair of them [Jonas and Tadej] mostly avoid meaningless comments at the post-race interviews that they have to put up with, as far as that’s possible when you’re knackered after an ordeal such as a TdF stage. Pogačar, in particular, is honest like (to name but two) Geraint Thomas and Tom Pidcock and says what he thinks (probably against advice from the team) so that is bound to expose him to criticism when he suffers a reverse.
“He’s all the more admirable for that. He had a bad day, but he’s still there, battling on, and remains a phenomenal athlete. Armstrong was also a great athlete, but an unpleasant person. I doubt if it will become necessary to say that about either Pogacar or Vingegaard, or most of the riders in this great race.
“These are a couple of the greatest champions of all. Pogacar, as said below, has earned even greater respect from me — not that he needs it. For some reason unknown to me, I was vaguely supporting Vingegaard (they’re both foreign riders on foreign teams after all!) but I was never not supporting Pogacar. He’s a genuine, endearing character.”
Miller: “I didn’t think I could love Pogi any more than I already do. Turns out I can.”
Not everyone’s all aboard the fan club, however, HarrogateSpa asking what people like about the two-time Tour champion, saying he finds him “immature and irritating”…
bobbinogs: “For me it is a fairly long list. Without wishing to appear a fanboy, he basically appears to genuingly enjoy riding a bike and racing, being competitive whilst avoiding getting dragged into crap involving/blaming others. He will try things out, he will smash up a climb to give the others a prod, he avoids speaking in meaningless soundbites, he doesn’t get dragged into ‘let’s make the whole season about one three-week race’, etc. Basically, he is a great asset to the sport, and yet fallible with it which makes him all the more human. Probably enough to go on for now.”
> Tadej Pogačar uploads Tour of Flanders win to Strava… gets flagged
Miller: “I particularly appreciate him being present to race through a large part of the season. That probably hurts his TdF ambitions but it’s so much more enjoyable for a fan of the sport than these robotic riders who turn up for the Tour, somehow in invincible form, and are invisible the rest of the season. We’ve had so many of those already.”
Simon E: “And in the end he’s human, he’s just a bloke racing his bicycle. I don’t see him as immature, more that he brings smiles and spontaneity to the sport as well as a genuine competitiveness. But I wouldn’t want them all try to be the same.
“I also hope that this also means we stop seeing all the tedious speculation of him being ‘the next Merckx’. Because it’s bollocks. I also think lots of people may have had an inaccurate or slightly skewed perception of Marc Soler, which perhaps might have been adjusted a little after yesterday.”
Adam Blythe living the life out in France
It’s a tough life…
"If you voted for Brexit, please realise this is 90% because of your decision": UK cycle distributor FLi ceases trading
What is the best way to buy a bike? + British champion Pfeiffer Georgi looks ahead to the Tour de France Femmes on the road.cc Podcast
Much criticised Jasper Philipsen wins sprint from peloton... but breakaway stays away, Kasper Asgreen winning stage 18
After the day’s antics on the earlier climb I wonder how Jasper Philipsen felt crossing the line the first of the sprinters… only to see the breakaway take the first three places on the stage in front…
What a thriller of a finish!
🇩🇰Kasper Asgreen takes his first Tour de France victory as the breakaway holds off the sprinters! 👏#TDF2023 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/szoXwO2f0z
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 20, 2023
Kasper Asgreen powered to the victory, Pascal Eenkhoorn — the rider fans have accused Philipsen of “bullying” when the Lotto DSTNY rider tried to bridge to the breakaway — in second, and Uno-X’s Jonas Abrahamsen in third. Cruelly, after a day of slogging away, laying down the watts for his teammate Eenkhoorn, helping the breakaway stay away, Victor Campenaerts was swallowed by the bunch and ended up in 16th.
Let’s see how much fallout to Philipsen’s actions we see this evening…
Fans unimpressed as Jasper Philipsen accused of "bullying" rival in bizarre Tour de France incident
Unsavoury scenes at the Tour de France this afternoon, Jasper Philipsen managing to turn a largely uneventful sprint stage (and two-and-a-half weeks of positive PR) on its head with this tête-à-tête with Pascal Eenkhoorn…
Philipsen should be deducted 300 sprint points for that attempt at bullying #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/OvkK0dXkBo
— John Maguire 🇺🇦 (@velo_bristol) July 20, 2023
Philipsen wants the opportunity to sprint for a fifth stage win, but perhaps the most ironic thing is the fact the only reason riders felt they had a chance to attack the peloton and bridge across to the breakaway was because of Alpecin-Deceuninck and a few others’ insistence that the escapees should not be allowed more than a minute’s advantage all day. Less distance to bridge = a tempting opportunity for riders to attack.
Anyway, Philipsen’s actions haven’t gone down well. The sarcastic acceleration in front of Eenkhoorn followed by blocking of his progress has been labeled as “bullying” by some, with questions now asked about if the quadruple stage winner should suffer some sort of punishment…
One fan called the move a “nasty piece of work” and called for “a significant points deduction and relegation for that shameful repeated dangerous bullying”. Another wanted full relegation from the stage.
Jasper Philipsen bullying Eenkhoorn who tries to attack, not very nice. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/l9T3MWxhnu
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 20, 2023
Regardless of what happens, the Netflix camera crews will be licking their lips…
REACTION: Jasper Philipsen avoids punishment for Pascal Eenkhoorn incident
Sorry for the tardiness of this update, as far as excuses go I’m saying going for a bike ride before it gets dark is solid enough.
Today’s big talking point — THAT Jasper Philipsen “bullying” and blocking of Pascal Eenkhoorn — has some more reaction to round up. Firstly, let’s start with the commissaires’ take on it. Not worthy of punishment, in their book. In fact, only Eenkhoorn’s breakaway companion, and third-placed rider on the stage, Jonas Abrahamsen got a fine… 200 Swiss francs for… ‘urinating in public’…
#TDF2023 No sanction for Jasper Philipsen for his action against Pascal Eenkhoorn. Instead, the jury fined Jonas Abrahamsen 200 Swiss francs for urinating in public. pic.twitter.com/ER3A5Ryx0v
— Raúl Banqueri (@raulbanqueri) July 20, 2023
At the finish, Philipsen told Wielerflits he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong…
“I didn’t use an elbow or anything. I just accelerated and got in front of him, so I don’t think I really did a wrong manoeuvre or did anything inappropriate. I think I just wanted to make it clear that we wanted to sprint and that we were fine with those three at the front.
“Naturally. This is the course. This is the Tour, the highest level. We all try to maximize our chances. They by going into the breakaway, while we like to sprint. I think that is top sport from the top shelf.”
Here’s what he had to say to ITV…
“We did everything we could. [The breakaway] had amazing legs today”
Matt spoke to a magnanimous Jasper Philipsen after he was prevented a 5th victory in this year’s Tour 💚🇧🇪#TDF2023 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/CZuOmcIcJQ
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 20, 2023
Pascal Eenkhoorn told reporters he said to Philipsen… “If I want to race I can race, and if you want to pull you can pull.”
Race he did…
20 July 2023, 08:13
20 July 2023, 08:13
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Latest Comments
The defence may well have argued that, and the magistrate may have accepted it, but that's not what the law says. It says that you have only driven without reasonable consideration for others if someone is inconvenienced. But the offence is committed if you drive without due care and attention, OR without reasonable consideration for other person. You have done the first if the driving falls below what would be expected of a careful and competent driver, regardless of whether anyone was inconvenienced. And CPS guidance specifically cites driving too close to another vehicle as an example.
Some years ago (before there was a cycle lane) I used to commute on Sidmouth St. But only because I worked on the London Road campus, from anywhere else there are better alternatives. As a cycle route it runs from between two busy roads, neither of which are exactly cycle friendly. So it's hardly surprising that no cyclists use it.
The officer's comments unfortunately reflect the reality of UK law. While the Highway Code guidance indeed refers to 1.5m, that is not anywhere in the law. And the criteria in law for proving a charge of careless driving does in fact rest on whether the rider is being "inconvenienced", as the discovered several years ago when the Met prosecuted a taxi driver who nearly hit me when cutting into my lane from the left near Marylebone. The prosecution lawyer was a barely competent newbie who fumbled over his words. The court computer was barely capable of playing the video footage, which kept freezing and crashing. The cabbie had an highly assertive defence lawyer who immediately seized on this point, and argued to the magistraite that I clearly hadn't been "inconvenienced" because I had not stopped or swerved, and had carried on my journey. Never mind that didn't have time to do either of those things, or that I was centimetres from being hit - the magistraite acquitted him on those grounds. That is unfortunately the outrageous reality of actually prosecuting a close pass incident. I know it's popular to blame the police and the CPS for not prosecuting enough close passes ... but the fact is the law is inadequate, and if the driver has a good lawyer then they can likely get off most close pass prosecutions.
Let's not forget the protruding "side" mirror...
HTML rules are clearly only partially implemented
please can we have the ability to use bold and italics for emphasis back as well?
As a Reading resident and cyclist, I can say I cannot think of a single occasion when I have seen a cyclist using the Sidmouth St cycle lane, nor can I think of any reason I'd use it myself. It doesn't connect to any other useful cycle routes. I don't rejoice that some of it is going back to motor traffic but I can see why the council is proposing to do that. Reading could really do with a cycleway to cross the town centre west to east and east to west but I'm not holding my breath on that.
Giant are one of the most trustworthy brands out there when it comes to manufacturing components given that they actually own their own production facilities. None of that matters though when it comes to road hookless, I and most other people won't touch it with a barge pole. We're surely at a stage now where it's toxic amongst consumers and it's only a matter of time before the UCI ban it for racing.
Filling the road with one person per car is using the road space more efficiently, amazing, I never realised that.
I bought a Giant Defy recently and immediately sold off the hookless wheels at a pretty big loss and won't ever do that again. I'm not buying hookless for road ever. Giant in particular has very short list of what tires they test with their rims so it's way too restrictive even if I was going to ride hookless wheels. Which I won't. Very short sighted by Giant.
51 thoughts on “Fans unimpressed as Jasper Philipsen accused of “bullying” rival in bizarre Tour de France incident; “When athletes keep it real”: Pogačar’s brutally honest f-bomb TV interview; Stage 18 updates; Pro nutrition tips from the peloton + more on the live blog”
I didn’t think I could love
I didn’t think I could love Pogi any more than I already do. Turns out I can.
I find him immature and
I find him immature and irritating. What do you like about him?
HarrogateSpa wrote:
For me it is a fairly long list. Without wishing to appear a fanboy, he basically appears to genuingly enjoy riding a bike and racing, being competitive whilst avoiding getting dragged into crap involving/blaming others. He will try things out, he will smash up a climb to give the others a prod, he avoids speaking in meaningless soundbites, he doesn’t get dragged into “let’s make the whole season about one 3 week race”, etc. Basically, he is a great asset to the sport, and yet fallible with it which makes him all the more human.
Probably enough to go on for now
I was mentally composing a
I was mentally composing a reply but bobbinogs has put it very well. I particularly appreciate him being present to race through a large part of the season. That probably hurts his TdF ambitions but it’s so much more enjoyable for a fan of the sport than these robotic riders who turn up for the Tour, somehow in invincible form, and are invisible the rest of the season. We’ve had so many of those already.
Miller wrote:
From a tweet:
And in the end he’s human, he’s just a bloke racing his bicycle. I don’t see him as immature, more that he brings smiles and spontaneity to the sport as well as a genuine competitiveness. But I wouldn’t want them all try to be the same.
I also hope that this also means we stop seeing all the tedious speculation of him being “the next Merckx”. Because it’s bollocks.
I also think lots of people may have had an inaccurate or slightly skewed perception of Marc Soler, which perhaps might have been adjusted a little after yesterday.
He comes across as self
He comes across as self-satisfied and big-headed though.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
If by self-satisfied you mean completely comfortable with who he is, I don’t see that as a problem, in fact, I’d say we would all benefit from being comfortable with who we are and the personality we have, and leaning into it the way he does.
Big headed? I’d say very confident, which explains why he’s so fun to watch cause it’s why he’s willing to ride in the attacking way he does. And given his results, I think he has every right to be extremely confident in his abilities.
Does he? What would you
Does he? What would you prefer, the usual sponsor-friendly inanities?
He’s 24, with a palmarès that
He’s 24, with a palmarès that any rider would kill to end their career with. He’s also a tremendously exciting rider to watch, and seems delighted that he’s paid (very well) to ride a bike.
How much more should he achieve before he could be justifiably satisfied in himself? It’s not like he’s just coasting now, and I’d hope the romantic notion of the tortured artist/athlete refusing to be happy has now been consigned to history.
self-satisfied (adjective) :
self-satisfied (adjective) : excessively satisfied with oneself or one’s achievements; smugly complacent.
I don’t get that feeling from him at all. When he performs well, he always comes across as humble and appreciative of those around him, whilst also being justifiably proud of his (usually superb!) performance. When he performs badly he’s the first one to admit it, yet never blames anyone else.
To me Pog seems to be very normal as a person, despite his superhuman athletic ability.
On the other hand, and taking absolutely nothing away from his incredible performances over the last two days, I find Vingegaard to be rather dull and robot-like by comparison, both in the interviews and on the bike. I’m very happy for Jonas and his seemingly inevitable second tour victory, but I was definitely rooting for Tadej to make a comeback.
Got to agree with all of the
Got to agree with all of the others disagreeing with you. I like him because he is a racer, he will try classics, one-dayers, week races and grand tours and seems to be always willing to give it a go. Vingegaard is an exceptional athlete who builds his whole year around TdF (a couple of stage races, TdF then disappears to concentrate on next year’s TdF). Yesterday was possibly the first time I have seen him ride like a champion and decide to try and put everyone in their place.
I have failed to see that at
I have failed to see that at any point (and I really don’t like smugness or a bighead). Perhaps we have been watching different channels and social media content.
These are a couple of the
These are a couple of the greatest champions of all. Pogacar, as said below, has earned even greater respect from me- not that he needs it. For some reason unknown to me, I was vaguely supporting Vingegaard (they’re both foreign riders on foreign teams after all!) but I was never not supporting Pogacar. He’s a genuine, endearing character.
Picture of the day for me
Picture of the day for me (not least given Soler’s reputation) was Marc Soler putting his arm round Pogacar as they crossed the finishing line.
I’m very glad to see WVA going home to be with his wife and at the birth of his child; I hope the same decision would have been made if there was still 10 seconds in it.
Peter Walker in the Grauniad
Peter Walker in the Grauniad has an article on the Tory candidate for London mayor:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2023/jul/20/londons-tory-mayoral-candidate-is-pedalling-backwards-cycling-policy-susan-hall
They don’t even seem to be
They don’t even seem to be trying…
I don’t know… I find them
I don’t know… I find them VERY trying 😀
Plenty of pun opportunities,
Plenty of pun opportunities, but No Time to wait for a red light…former Bond star Daniel Craig jumps a red light on his bicycle.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/james-bond-star-daniel-craig-30506557
“No Mr Bond, I expect you to
“No Mr Bond, I expect you to stop at the fucking red light.”
The Uber eats rider verdict
The Uber eats rider verdict seems odd. Reporting and sentencing sounds very driver like. Was the ebike legal? Does the defendant even drive a motorised vehicle that requires a driving licence? Is it really possible to get driving licence points for an offence not involving a vehicle that requires a driving licence?
It does sound like the Judge
It does sound like the Judge thinks a driving ban would stop her using a “legal” e-bike.
The final comment from the
The final comment from the judge really suggests that the judge doesn’t know the law on e-bikes.
Steve K wrote:
Either that or the report in the Standard, from which I assume road.cc is getting its facts, has omitted to mention that the rider was on an illegal bike (living in Peckham as I do I would be extremely surprised if a delivery rider was riding a legal ebike, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a combination). Offences committed on a legal ebike cannot be punished with points on a driving licence, but offences committed on illegal ones can be.
They have her pictured on a
They have her pictured on a bike after leaving court. I would have thought it would have been confiscated if it had been illegally converted (assuming the same bike).
Although coming in from Bexley to deliver in Peckham, on any ebike would eat into the battery range.
The bike on which she’s
The bike on which she’s pictured is a Swapfiets lease bike, 100% legal, so if that was what she was riding at the time of the incident the mystery of how she got points deepens. Of course she could have leased it to replace her confiscated bike…
alan sherman wrote:
I’m pretty sure you can get points for furious cycling, and that you can get points even if you don’t have a driving licence (the points get automatically added as and when you get a licence – our local police were emphasizing this while warning people about letting their kids zip around on illegal escooters over the summer).
brooksby wrote:
Escooters are different because it’s actually illegal to ride one unless you possess at least a provisional licence. As far as I’m aware no points can be added to a driver’s licence for offences committed on a pedal cycle or legal ebike (apart from one exception which is being caught going equipped to steal motor vehicles whilst riding a bicycle). Technically a court could revoke your driver’s licence for an offence committed on a bicycle if it was deemed this proved you were not a fit and proper person to hold a driver’s licence, but they can’t put points on it.
Rendel Harris wrote:
and that is only for the eScooter trials they are doing. It is outright illegal to use private eScooters on public roads in the UK.
Given the drivers going
Given the drivers going around perfectly legally with way over the usual “points mean prizes” totals – never mind folks who may have decided that you’re very unlikely to get any consequences for driving having exceeded your points total…
… I suspect this is kind of “stop doing this or I will be forced to warn you again!”
But but…surely as she didn
But but…surely as she didn’t have a number plate there’s no way of holding her accountable?
I’m also rather confused.
I’m also rather confused.
The ES reports that she was charged with “with riding a bicycle without due care and attention” so presumably S29 of the RTA 1988. If it had been determined that the vehicle she was riding was not a legal e-bike (under the EAPC regulations), and was therefore an illegal motor vehicle, she would have presumably been charged with S3 (driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention – or possibly even S2C if the injury caused was deemed serious enough) alongside various other offences (registration, insurance, tax etc.). The fact that none of those other charges were brought suggests that her e-bike was legal, or at least presumed to be so.
If so, I am not aware that the Court can give points – the Road Traffic Offenders Act sets out what offences can/can’t receive points, and S29 offences cannot (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/53/schedule/2).
The Judge could have disqualified her from driving – courts have the power to disqualify anyone from driving for a wide range of offences under the Sentencing Act 2020. But that Act only allows disqualification; it does not make provisions to apply points to a licence. I would also note that having one’s driving licence disqualified is no hinderance to riding a (legal) e-bike, and so would not have affected her employment.
alan sherman wrote:
I wouldn’t be surprised. You can certainly get points on a licence you don’t have, so anything is possible.
The pair of them mostly avoid
The pair of them mostly avoid meaningless comments at the post race interviews that they have to put up with, as far as that’s possible when you’re knackered after an ordeal such as a TdF stage. Pogacar, in particular, is honest like (to name but two) Geraint Thomas and Tom Pidcock and says what he thinks (probably against advice from the team) so that is bound to expose him to criticism when he suffers a reverse. He’s all the more admirable for that. He had a bad day, but he’s still there, battling on, and remains a phenomenal athlete. Armstrong was also a great athlete, but an unpleasant person. I doubt if it will become necessary to say that about either Pogacar or Vingegaard, or most of the riders in this great race.
On battery bikes, I wanna
On battery bikes, I wanna tell you a story.
I was riding into work this morning on a shared-use path.
I had just reached the top of a steep bit (low gear and/or standing on the pedals) when I heard another bike behind me. I looked over my shoulder and could see them, but figured they’d wait until the path widened out and they could safely pass me.
In all fairness, they did exactly that. However, they had caught me on the hill, then passed me, and then rode off into the distance moving at least twice the speed I was riding, all without pedalling.
The bike looked like a Brompton type vehicle – small wheels and a three foot seatpost.
(edited for a typo)
Maybe they’re just very aero?
Maybe they’re just very aero?
Most of the ebikes near me (that aren’t stolen Lime bikes, anyway) are not even pretending to be pedal-powered. They’re mopeds, and should be registered/licensed as such: I find it incredibly frustrating that the police are apparently content for illegal motor vehicles to be ridden on my local roads, pavements and parks.
I don’t really give a shit that they’re delivery drivers’ vehicle of choice: there are too many of them anyway, and reducing the supply would either drive wages up for those remaining or incentivise customers to get off their arses and walk to the takeaway. Win-win.
I find it incredibly
I find it incredibly frustrating that the police are apparently content for illegal motor vehicles to be ridden on my local roads, pavements and parks
So do I, but because I live in Lancashire I have to live with Lancashire Constabulary having ‘legalised’ the absence of MOT. The vehicle below was first identified and reported on 21.10.22- MOT expired 18.10.22. Seen numerous times around Garstang since then. VED is current, but DVLA and DVSA are either not capable or not interested in identifying from their own databases vehicles with VED but no MOT, or vehicles with MOT but no VED (never mind the ones who have had neither for many years but which are still seen blithely driving around Lancashire for many years). Therefore, there’s very little hope that the police will take action against blatantly illegal electric bikes and scooters
Just out of interest, do you
Just out of interest, do you write up your travails with Lancs Police afresh for each comment, or do you have a stockpile of text that you just top and tail to make the comment vaguely relevant to the topic?
I (genuinely) salute your indefatigability, it just all seems like a lot of work.
Exciting news! On my ride to
Exciting news! On my ride to work this morning I saw a clamped Ford Galaxy with a big yellow sticker on the windscreen saying “untaxed vehicle”. If I could be arsed I would look through my footage for video evidence, but proof that it can be done! (I just wonder what the owner did to piss off their neighbours enough for them to complain)
Brauchsel wrote:
They’re just trying to be consistently inconsistent. Legal motor vehicles being illegally ridden / driven in these places (illegal to drive on the footway…) are also ignored!
Don’t fancy our chances on this campaign front but I agree. If your entire business is “delivering stuff” your company is making more that the standard business usage of public infrastructure. If (as they all are) you’re pressuring your employees (yeah, the “just contractors” dodge) for speed / amount delivered then you should be at least partly responsible for consequences. Even if it’s not the execs who run people over their business model may outsource risk to the public at large (even if they’re all potential customers).
Brauchsel wrote:
And regularly catch fire, with fatal consequences.
I was once merrily commuting
I was once merrily commuting on my bike, pedalling along. Another cyclist pulled up alongside me, on a mountain bike. I thought that I’d tuck in behind them, and use their slipstream on this flat bit of road.
The guy accelerated to about 45 kph, sat bolt upright and pedalling without effort. I was dropped a few hundred metres later at a slight incline.
Either it was an illegal over-powered eBike, or it was Wout van Aert on his way back home.
Lots of e-bikes in Reading
Lots of e-bikes in Reading and this year practically none of them require the rider to pedal. I don’t know if they are bodge jobs or complete e-bikes ignoring applicable legislation but they appear to be uniformly throttle-controlled.
With the amount of duct tape
With the amount of duct tape I’m guessing bodge…
Article in the Grauniad:
Article in the Grauniad: White noise of scepticism shrouds Vingegaard after Tour dominance
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jul/20/white-noise-of-scepticism-shrouds-jonas-vingegaard-after-dominance-tour-de-france
(I don’t think I need to bother with quoting anything – you can kind of guess the subject under discussion…)
The moment when an e-bike
The moment when an e-bike battery on charge exploded
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-birmingham-66238864
But was it a home made kit, dodgy import? Hard to believe it was a main bike manufacturer.
IIRC (recently learnt what
IIRC (recently learnt what this means!) the “hoverboards” that were all the rage a while back would explode. As would these Vapes/eCigarettes.
I believe they were mostly traced back to dodgy imports/ people messing with them.
Batteries are dangerous things, people are just so used to them they don’t think about it.
Given the history of
Given the history of introducing mass new power sources and transport solutions we should expect quite a lot of casualties. Obviously we should strive to minimise this.
Thinking back to trains and steam (derailment / fire / boiler explosions), motor vehicles and petrol / diesel (fires, lead poisoning, heavy pollution pre catalytic converters, always crashes especially into squishy pedestrians and cyclists) etc.
I thought any Li-ion was
I thought any Li-ion was liable to burst into flames, it’s just the better and more reputable the brand the less likely the possibility.
I’ve been considering one of those fire resistant recharging bags for some of my rechargeables.
ktache wrote:
It’s usually a combination of poorly made cells and bad storage/charging/wiring but even the best made cells can go if abused.
I’d highly recommend a fire resistant recharging bag. I lost an rc monster truck to a lipo fire after a badly landed jump and just had to stand there and watch it go up in flames very quickly. Admittedly rc batteries are soft shell and designed to dump all their energy out in 10 minutes or so but unless you have a bucket of sand handy you’re not putting out a lithium battery fire until it’s done.
I’d have to get a bag the
I’d have to get a bag the size of my bike …
Very unlikely it was a Bosch
Very unlikely it was a Bosch or Shimano system. These batteries conform to The UL 2849 standard. This is a voluntary e-bike battery safety standard that demands strict testing requirements to prevent incidents due to electrical, mechanical, and fire hazards. The standard covers more than just the e-bike’s battery — it evaluates the functional safety of the entire e-bike system.
However, not all e-bikes in the market measure up to these safety standards. Certifying e-bike systems to the UL 2849 before launching them on the market isn’t legally required. And testing is expensive, so some manufacturers often use cheaper, untested electrical systems or opt to test only the battery and not the entire system.