Toughest climb in the world? Phil Gaimon smashes KOM up 90km monster; “Watch and learn, my fellow motorists”: How to safely overtake a cyclist; “Unacceptable to attack our private life”: Marion Rousse hits back at Patrick Lefevere + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Watch and learn, my fellow motorists": How to safely overtake a cyclist (and get a thank you for it)
Let’s get Wednesday underway with some more footage from PassPixi, the cyclist behind the range of magnetic warning patches to tell drivers it might be best to be safe, considerate and smile, because you’re on camera…
Of course, none of the above would be necessary if everyone out there showed as much competency as this Dinsdale Contracts lorry driver.
“Watch and learn, my fellow motorists… great stuff from this Dinsdale Contracts driver. I got a cheery pip-pip too for slowing up and holding left,” PassPixi said.
Watch and learn, my fellow motorists… great stuff from this Dinsdale Contracts driver. I got a cheery pip-pip too for slowing up and holding left #cycling pic.twitter.com/59vCtSvyRI
— PassPixi (@PassPixi) February 20, 2024
Refreshing. As was the reaction, a couple of attention-seeking replies aside, everyone getting involved to think about how much safer the roads could be if this was the norm.
Road User 101: “Nice example of why there doesn’t need to be so much grief on our roads. Helping large vehicles to pass is easy and rarely time consuming. Passing safely is essential and rarely holds you up much, anyway.”
Andy Fallon: “It doesn’t take a lot does it? [I’ve] Done similar, flat road approaching a bend, nothing coming so slowed down so lorry could out, passed and in with no issues. Cost me about five seconds.”
Here’s another positive one…
This fantastic @PP_OConnor driver should give lessons on how to pass people on bikes!!! Love it #cycling pic.twitter.com/DUIb6GNahG
— PassPixi (@PassPixi) February 7, 2024
Worth highlighting the good ones that should set the standard when we get a chance, after all we’ve got more than enough in the archives at the other end of the scale.
Bike @ Bedtime (if you were on the night shift): Check out Burls' eye-catching new titanium road bike
Patrick Lefevere accuses Julian Alaphilippe of "too much partying and alcohol", says he threatened to fire two-time world champion "on the spot" if "you mess up one more time"
[Zac Williams/SWpix]
Soudal Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere making headlines with eye-catching comments about his own riders? Never…
Speaking to Flemish newspaper Humo ahead of the start of the classics this weekend, Lefevere accused two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe of “too much partying” and “too much alcohol”, adding that in November he told one of his star riders that “if you mess up one more time, I’ll fire you on the spot”.
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Addressing the Frenchman’s lack of results in 2023, Lefevere said he believed the explanation is Alaphilippe’s partying, and suggested “Julian is seriously under the spell of Marion [Rousse, his partner]”.
“Maybe too much. Julian is a young dog full of energy — you should let him cross in the yard every now and then. And you must also say: this far and no further. There is still a bad boy inside him,” Lefevere said.
“I spoke to him in November last year, in the presence of Marion and his manager Dries Smets. I said: ‘It cannot continue like this. If you mess up one more time, I’ll fire you on the spot.’ The message has arrived. He is getting back together.”
Coincidentally, the team’s own podcast aired today, a new episode with Alaphilippe featuring his admission that he has “lost that feeling” of “competing for victory” over the last two seasons.
“I want to become the best version of myself again, I believe that is possible. Now I just lack some self-confidence,” the 31-year-old, who has just begun the final year of his contract with the team, said.
Alaphilippe finished sixth on GC at the Santos Tour Down Under and will line up for Soudal-Quick Step at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this Saturday.
Emily Bridges accuses Rishi Sunak of "normalising violence against trans people", as she prepares for British Cycling legal challenge
Adam Yates out of UAE Tour after heavy crash, Ben O'Connor wins stage three as Jay Vine takes race lead
Pre-race favourite Adam Yates is out of the UAE Tour. Yates’ abandon came after a heavy crash [below] during stage three, the British climber continuing for a short while before stepping off during the ascent to the finish at Jebel Jais.
المرشح الأول وقائد فريق «الإمارات» آدم ييتس يتعرض لحادث ويكمل السباق#طواف_الإمارات #UAETour pic.twitter.com/ZDUKtYK594
— قناة أبوظبي الرياضية (@ADSportsTV) February 21, 2024
It appeared Yates was back on his bike very quickly after the fall, prompting some to question if the appropriate concussion checks were made, concerns not yet addressed by the 31-year-old’s team or the race itself…
Why the hell is Yates not being checked for concussion? Completely ridiculous that he’s back on the bike without a concussion check after hitting his head this hard
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) February 21, 2024
With Yates out, the door was opened to his teammates and rivals who sensed opportunity in the absence of the race’s leading climbing talent. UAE Team Emirates set the pace, a monstrous shift seen by Mikkel Bjerg at the head of the peloton, but it was Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale who earned the day’s victory with some clever teamwork and a perfectly timed two-up attack at one kilometre to go, setting up Ben O’Connor for solo victory.
الأسترالي بين أوكونور يفوز بالمرحلة الثالثة من طواف الإمارات..
شاهد إثارة اللحظات الأخيرة قبل خط النهاية.. #طواف_الإمارات #UAETour pic.twitter.com/r5tJkKrbRP
— قناة أبوظبي الرياضية (@ADSportsTV) February 21, 2024
The Australian climber was followed home by compatriot Jay Vine, who takes the race lead from teammate Brandon McNulty.
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
"Unacceptable to attack our private life": Marion Rousse hits back at Patrick Lefevere, and says she never drinks
[ASO/Clara Langlois Lablatinière]
Not exactly the most shocking revelation of 2024, Patrick Lefevere opening his mouth and being made to look more than a bit silly. Marion Rousse, the former professional rider who has forged a successful post-racing career as a television pundit and director of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, has responded to Lefevere’s comments published in the Belgian press this morning about her and her partner Julian Alaphilippe.
Scroll a bit further back on the live blog to see those in full, but the short recap is the Soudal Quick-Step team boss accusing Alaphilippe of too much partying and drinking, and claiming “Julian is seriously under the spell of Marion. Maybe too much”.
Cue social media statement from Rousse…
— Marion Rousse (@Roussemarion) February 21, 2024
“Whatever Mr Lefevere’s feelings towards me, it is unacceptable to attack our private lives as he does,” she wrote, before proceeding to drop the mic-drop line… “So no, I don’t drink alcohol, never even.”
“Missed for the holidays also because with a three-year-old we prefer to be in shape in the morning. You will also not succeed, as you have already mentioned to me, in preventing me from working to keep me busy and stay with Julian for the time of his career.
“I am passionate about the missions I carry out and know that I have a lot of projects. But I tell you, under no circumstances do I allow you to talk about my private life. Thank you now for stopping talking wrongly and showing more respect and… class.”
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
This is far from the first time Lefevere has come under fire for his words in the press. It’s almost a year to the day since he was heavily criticised after claiming that women’s cycling is “being pushed artificially” and that many pros “are not worth” the current minimum wage set by the UCI.
Last year too Lefevere accused Alaphilippe of “hiding” behind crashes and illness, while Remco Evenepoel said his boss, as well as his father, would be “better off keeping quiet” following contract speculation and rumours in the press.
Some of Lefevere’s most grimmest claims came in the form of his 2021 verbals against Sam Bennett, whose Tour de France absence saw Mark Cavendish step in and win four stages to match Eddy Merckx’s record, and included saying the Irishman had “played with his balls” by returning to competition with the Irish national team.
And it was in his Het Nieuwsblad column too where he compared Bennett’s return to Bora-Hansgrohe to a “woman who still returns home after domestic abuse”. Nice boss to work for…
Kinesis Tripster AT gets a revamp, unreleased FFWD wheels, Santini launches unisex clothing range, a 'Super Extreme' Abus bike lock + more cool things from COREbike
Slow news day?
Can you do cyclists now Jacob? It’s a slow news day for us too ya know🤷♂️ https://t.co/fOBUjCp4ht
— road.cc (@roadcc) February 21, 2024
Cycle lanes grow in popularity once they are installed, study finds – but policymakers warned that "paternalistic" promotion of active travel schemes heightens opposition
UAE Team Emirates confirm Adam Yates suffered concussion in UAE Tour crash
Adam Yates abandons the UAE Tour ❌
The UAE Team Emirates rider is forced to withdraw from the race after a horrible crash earlier on in Stage 3 🤕💥#UAETour2024 pic.twitter.com/4ghVCoXFW3
— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 21, 2024
The team of Adam Yates has now confirmed their rider suffered a concussion in the hard crash that ended his race, medical director Dr. Adrian Rotunno explaining…
Unfortunately Adam Yates has been diagnosed with a concussion after his crash today at the UAE Tour. He is stable with other superficial injuries. For the sake of Adam’s health, and as per concussion protocols, he was withdrawn from racing. He will need recovery, and the medical team will continue with neurological monitoring and rehab going forward
Mike Ashley set to take over Wiggle Chain Reaction as administrators "close the shutters" amid mass redundancies, sources suggest
Phil Gaimon smashes KOM for monster 90km climb
Hawaii is hill-climbing heaven (or hell, depending on your perspective)…
4:52:55. That’s hours, minutes and seconds… the new Strava KOM for the monstrous Waikoloa beach to Mauna Kea summit segment set by pro rider-turned-KOM hunter Phil Gaimon. Ascending a quite ridiculous 4,195 m, the 89.46km climb averages 4.7 per cent. That’s like Box Hill… 41 times.
Poor Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale pro Larry Warbasse, all that effort and your KOM’s gone like that. More concerningly is Gaimon battling his way to the top over nearly five hours of exhausting climbing, only to not ride back down and enjoy the descent?! Psychopath behaviour… or maybe just someone strapped for time…
Where to next, Phil?
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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?".
27 thoughts on “Toughest climb in the world? Phil Gaimon smashes KOM up 90km monster; “Watch and learn, my fellow motorists”: How to safely overtake a cyclist; “Unacceptable to attack our private life”: Marion Rousse hits back at Patrick Lefevere + more on the live blog”
It’s always the woman’s fault
It’s always the woman’s fault, isn’t it? Lefevre’s misogyny shining through again.
Steve K wrote:
Beat me to it, I’m a big fan of Alaphilippe but he’s a grown man for goodness’ sake and Lefevre is a cockwomble. Carrying on in a long historic tradition, Helen caused the fall of Troy, Cleopatra destroyed Marc Anthony, right the way up to Yoko broke up the Beatles, if there’s a woman involved, even peripherally, people like him will always know where to pin the blame.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I think you missed out the original – Eve getting Adam to eat the apple.
I’ve always liked apples.
I’ve always liked apples. Never waited for a woman to offer me one.
Or maybe he knows them better
Or maybe he knows them better than you do, and he has reason to believe the gentleman in question is not good at saying “no” to his lady.
john_smith wrote:
Or maybe he’s a notorious misogynist, responsible for such gems as “The reason there is more sexual harassment these days is because more women go out drinking” and “I’m not going to add a female team to Quickstep, I’m not a welfare centre.”
PS It’s perfectly clear what Lefevre is up to as he has done this with multiple riders in the past, he is now putting all his faith in Remco and doesn’t want to be distracted by having to support and particularly having to pay the wages of JA, so he starts sniping in the press until he pisses them off enough that they go elsewhere. It’s his standard MO. I would bet a pound to a penny that there is no substance to his claim that JA has been partying too hard or that he is under the influence of his wife, it’s just a way of insulting him in public in order to make him leave.
{quote]More concerningly is
I read in someone else’s account of doing that climb that is strongly recommended that you engage a support vehicle both for food and water on the climb and to take you back down, it’s really not recommended to do such a long descent, some of it 20% on gravel, just after such an absurd climb and at an altitude high enough to create the mental effects of altitude sickness.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Doesn’t seem quite ‘cricket’, carry all you need or just ride up in the car/helicopter
levestane wrote:
I’d say it’s probably virtually impossible to carry all the supplies you need for such a climb (mere mortals tend to do it in somewhere around nine or ten hours), remembering that even in February, Hawaii’s coolest month, the temperature is around 26°C and most of the route is in direct sunlight. Is it not cricket on a ride to stop and buy a bottle of water or a slice of cake to keep going? That’s an Henri Desgrange level of harshness!
No worries buying from
No worries buying from roadside shops, it’s the extra resource use of a dedicated support vehicle that jars.
levestane wrote:
Well there is a case against to be made, but given that, as above, for safety reasons it is strongly recommend than anyone who has ridden up doesn’t do the descent (only about 10% of those on Strava who’ve done the climb appear to have also done the descent) so the car is going anyway…the fact that he’s flown to Hawaii to do it is going to be a lot more resource-heavy than having a support car.
Jacob pointing out that,
Jacob pointing out that, unlike the poor, you cannot milk a cashew nut.
Good old Levefre.
Good old Levefre.
Worth noting that Dutch attitudes to women’s lib things differ slightly to anglo-attitudes. Some ways better, some ways behind.
Paul J wrote:
Isn’t he Belgian?
From the Dutch side of
From the Dutch side of Belgium, yes. Culturally no difference, within the gamut of cultures of the provinces of the old Netherlands. The Flemish are more dutch than Netherlanders in some respects (e.g., they speak “better” Dutch 😉 ).
The main reason Belgium exists, catholicism v reform and certain other ancient history political things are mostly irrelevant today (indeed, were never relevant to the average person in the case of some of the latter stuff).
Nation state != cultures.
As background, the modern
As background, the modern nation state of The Netherlands” and “Vlaanderen” in Belgium were once considered part of one “Netherlands” – before we had modern nation states.
Various political things – some of which aligned with religious differences (whether out of political convience, or actual strong belief) – led to a split where a large chunk of the northern portion became its own state, no longer ruled by rulers allied with the pope. That chunk is now the modern nation state we call the Netherlands. Those same politics also affected the United Kingdom. 😉
Culturally though, Flemish and (the state) dutch are all Netherlanders (in the old sense) and culturally dutch.
Note that most Flemish(that I know anyway) have a distinct identity as Flemish, very different to Hollanders. But then, so do many Friesians. And Fries (the Netherlandish dialect there) is a *lot* more different from Hollands dutch than Flemish dutch is to Hollands dutch.
I am butchering the history and the identities a lot, no doubt. There are many differences within the various people who speak (some dialect of) Dutch, but the commonalities are much stronger.
Apparently it sort of worked
Apparently it sort of worked
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/20/welsh-20mph-speed-limit-is-a-success-claims-government
And even Adrian Chiles is getting with it
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/21/20mph-speed-limit-seemed-unfeasible-i-learned-to-love-pootling-along
Did Gaimon wear those brown
Did Gaimon wear those brown sandals for his 90k KOM?? Now I know where I’m going wrong!
Quote:
Bit diminishing to dear old Box, even the shortest segment on Strava, from the bottom of ZigZag Road to the NT cafe, is 125 metres height gain, making Mauna Kea equivalent to 33 Box Hills; what I regard as the “proper” climb, from the roundabout up to the highest road point, is 167 metres, so “only” 25 times.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Bit diminishing to dear old Box, even the shortest segment on Strava, from the bottom of ZigZag Road to the NT cafe, is 125 metres height gain, making Mauna Kea equivalent to 33 Box Hills; what I regard as the “proper” climb, from the roundabout up to the highest road point, is 167 metres, so “only” 25 times.
Does that mean if I approach Zig Zag road from the other side (as I often do) I haven’t ‘done’ Box Hill. (I agree about the top end, though – that drag after the cafe always catches me out!)
Fair point, I only meant
Fair point, I only meant “proper” as in the full extent of ZigZag Road side climb; I too nearly always approach it from the other side and then descend ZigZag, turn at the roundabout and climb back up and I would say that the long drag up from Langley Vale through Headley Common is actually harder work, generally shallower gradients (though with a couple of stinging ramps) but the sheer length of it takes more out of the legs than the few minutes (alright, the nine or ten minutes) ZigZag entails.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I was only joshing. Though I meant approach Zig Zag road from Mickleham side (rather than from the Burford Bridge roundabout). I very rarely approach Box Hill from the other side in the way you describe. Actually, given how close it is to where I live, I actually rarely do Box Hill at all.
Steve K wrote:
I probably wouldn’t if I lived close, there are plenty of less crowded climbs in the Surrey Hills that I like better, but coming from central London it makes a nice turnaround point for a 75 km ride – and the flapjacks at the NT café are particularly good…
Good old Scottish justice.
Good old Scottish justice.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-68347674
Twice the limit and 140 mph but can’t be jailed.
What is wrong with the system and is anyone going to fix it ?
Hirsute wrote:
Dire. Some here will not wish to raise their blood pressure with this one.
Clearly (to paraphrase Napoleon) we don’t want good drivers, we want lucky drivers.
Quote:
Because if you get hit by somebody who is plastered aged forty-five with a previous conviction at 140 mph you will somehow be less dead?
Not only not jailed, but only
Not only not jailed, but only banned for 16 months!