Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Tadej Pogačar crashes moments after Vingegaard's ridiculous save (+ Jonas wins Stage 18); Confused Geraint Thomas (not the Ineos one) thanked by Pog; Police spot bike theft...during morning meeting; Froome DNF + more on the live blog

It's Thursday and Dan Alexander is tightening his cleats ahead of one last mega mountain day... will he make the time cut? ...

SUMMARY

No Live Blog item found.

21 July 2022, 16:06
Who keeps calling Jonas?

 

21 July 2022, 15:36
All she wrote... Jonas Vingegaard wins stage 18

Barring injury, crash disaster, or the cruelty of a Covid positive, Jonas Vingegaard should be wearing yellow in Paris on Sunday. The Dane, towed by Wout van Aert, saw his great rival Tadej Pogačar slip away on the final ascent of Hautacam. Van Aert came to a standstill, leaving Vingegaard nothing to do except ride the final kilometres to glory...

Van Aert finished third?! (It's been that sort of Tour)... before best of the rest Geraint Thomas and David Gaudu took fourth and fifth. Vingegaard now leads Pogačar by 3:26...

Game. Set. Match?

21 July 2022, 15:26
The Tour de France that keeps on giving

Wout van Aert rides Tadej Pogačar off Jonas Vingegaard's wheel. Tour de France 2022. Incroyable... 

21 July 2022, 15:07
What the headline should say
21 July 2022, 14:45
Too much DRAMA

On the final mountain descent of the Tour de France and Jonas Vingegaard somehow managed to keep this upright...millimetres from disaster...

Moments later, pushing on, it was Tadej Pogačar's turn for a scare, the Slovenian hitting the deck as he tried to remount over a gravelly roadside...

In the end, Jonas waited, Pog returned, and we got a photo of sportsmanship and respect that will become one of the great Tour de France images in years to come, I'm sure...chapeau...

Now go kick lumps out of eachother on Hautacam... 

Thibaut Pinot, Dani Martinez and Wout van Aert are starting the final climb, looking to be racing for the stage win...let's play ball...

21 July 2022, 14:19
Lift off
21 July 2022, 14:03
UK's first waymarked gravel cycling trails opened near Aberfoyle
Gravelfoyle (Credit ANDY MACLANDISH)

Duke's Pass out of Aberfoyle was the start of my best ever day on two wheels, so fond personal memories of the place, even if it seems I was riding the wrong type of bike. After all, it's affectionately called Gravelfoyle for a reason...

Bike Trossachs, a cycling-focused community interest group based in the town has opened three new gravel routes in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, the first waymarked trails in the UK dedicated to gravel riding.

The 10km, 20km and 30km waymarked routes start and finish in the centre of Aberfoyle and venture deep into the Loch Ard Forest, exploring the areas surrounding Loch Ard and Loch Chon. The routes have been designed "to encourage more cyclists, everyone from families with an appetite for more relaxed off-road adventures to weekend warriors keen on longer distance challenges, to experience the joys and thrills of gravel riding in the area, while using Aberfoyle as a base".

The village of Aberfoyle, located on the edge of The Trossachs in Loch Lomond has, in the last few years, become a hotspot for gravel riding. Within just a 12km radius of the village there is a network of over 200km of off-road, multi-surface forestry tracks and trails, gravel roads and paths.

In other words, it's more than worth a trip or serveral...

For all things gravel and dirt, check out off-road.cc, our sister site...

21 July 2022, 13:04
Fortunate Jack Bauer escapes injury in shocking Tour de France crash involving UAE Team Emirates team car and motorbike

EDIT: Both motos involved in the seperate incidents, metres apart, that brought down Bauer and Eekhoff have been kicked off the race.

Jack Bauer might take issue with us calling him fortunate...

This one could have been so much worse though. Nils Eekhoff fell too on the other side of the pinch point, while UAE's driver wasn't too keen on hanging around to swap details...

An understandably angry Bauer screamed "fucking hell" at the offending moto rider before setting off on foot, leaving David Millar on ITV comms to ask: "That press motorbike, what was he doing?" Walk it off, Jack, walk it off...

DSM's Eekhoff returned to his feat relatively quickly too and both continued stage 18. Back up the road, we're climbing. I say we... the elite athletes are climbing, I'm slumped in my chair post-lunch, but we're all in this together, right?

Midway up the Aubisque, hopefully no tacks today, the breakaway of more than 30 riders is scattered across the slope at intervals of up to 1:30 over yellow jersey Jonas Vinegagaard.

Tom Pidcock's up there somewhere along with, picking a few big names, Wout van Aert (obviously), Bauke Mollema, Giulio Ciccone, our hero Hugo Houle and many, many others...74km to go...

21 July 2022, 13:47
Our new best (and when I say best I mean worst) 'cyclists dismount' sign
21 July 2022, 11:47
Chris Froome out of Tour de France with Covid
Chris Froome Tour de France 2022 (ASO / Pauline Ballet)

"Unfortunately I've got some pretty disappointing news to share this morning," Froome said in a video message. "A test has revealed that I have contracted Covid so I'm not going to be taking the start today.

"I'm really disappointed not to be able to roll into Paris and finish off this Tour de France, it's been an extremely special race for us as a team and me personally. I've really been finding my legs again and want to thank everyone for the support. 

"I'm going to head home, switch off for a few days and refocus on being ready for the Vuelta a España."

A cruel end, but we'll all remember Alpe d'Huez for a very long time...

21 July 2022, 11:23
A fierce Pyrenean summit finish to cap a brutal Tour de France

Here's the summit finish brought to life courtesy of the good people over at Strava. Yesterday's winner Tadej Pogačar has uploaded his win to the ride-sharing app...

 
21 July 2022, 11:03
Police spot bike theft outside...during morning meeting

A man in Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire, has been arrested after he attempted to steal a bike from council headquarters... only to be spotted mid-theft by police officers inside in their morning meeting.

A police spokesperson told the Stoke Sentinel: "Shortly before 9am this morning (20 July) officers at Castle House on Barracks Road in Newcastle-under-Lyme detained a man.

"A 41-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested on suspicion of attempted theft. He was later released under investigation pending further enquiries."

21 July 2022, 10:15
Philippe Gilbert announces retirement at the end of the season... and he's throwing one hell of a leaving do
Vuelta 2013 S12 Philippe Gilbert wins (© Unipublic:Graham Watson)

[📷 Unipublic: Graham Watson]

Philippe Gilbert is retiring at the end of the season, and is throwing a retirement party that only a five-time Monument winner and former world champ can. Phil's Last Ride, on Saturday 15 October will include a "cycling tour for the general public", presentation of "official tribute book" to be signed by the adoring masses and a farewell criterium... all based around the Cauberg climb where Gilbert dominated Amstel Gold Race and won his rainbow jersey.

Now that's a send off...

21 July 2022, 10:02
One last Tour de France mountain showdown

It's time for the toughest Pyrenean stage of this year's race, the final chance for the main players to move up (or slide down) the GC in the mountains. After today we've got one long classic third week breakaway/sprint day, an individual time trial and the final day procession in Paris. If you want to make a move, it has to be today... 

TdF 2022 Stage 18 profile

Or how the stage will look for polka dot jersey-wearing Simon Geschke...

Will it be one for the breakaway? Will Thibaut Pinot finally get his win? Or will Tadej attack Jonas all the way up Hautacam? Danes in yellow have history up there...(road.cc Ryan: "I'm sure Jonas will be delighted with the comparison")...check the replies to this tweet for more than a few questions about this post... 

Prediction time...

I'm saying another day for Tadej, but Jonas to keep yellow... 

21 July 2022, 09:17
When you are Geraint Thomas...but not THE Geraint Thomas...
21 July 2022, 07:53
Very confused Geraint Thomas (not the Ineos one) thanked by Tadej Pogačar

Picture the scene: you're called Geraint Thomas, but don't possess the same Tour de France-winning abilities. You hop on Twitter in the early days and sign up as @geraintthomas (as you would), only to be bombarded by fans, haters and messages from pro riders each July...

Well, that's exactly the position @geraintthomas, a lecturer in Visual Effects & Motion Graphics at the University of South Wales finds himself in annually. He even went viral back in 2018 when G won the race...

Now think how @tadejpogacar feels...

And (the real) Tadej returned the favour, thanking @geraintthomas, simultaneously blowing everyone's minds and sending Cycling Twitter into meltdown. It's tweetception...

And having written all of that we've just realised Pog tagged @gerainthomas, not @geraintthomas...THERE'S ANOTHER ONE...

Will the real Geraint Thomas please stand up?

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

Add new comment

36 comments

Avatar
OnYerBike replied to OnYerBike | 2 years ago
5 likes

What the hell, I've put in a FOI. I'll let y'all know if they reply...

Avatar
Samtheeagle replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

Send these to the Councils Transport Dept and also any Road Safet team to see if they might action.

 

Avatar
wtjs replied to Samtheeagle | 2 years ago
0 likes

Send these to the Councils Transport Dept and also any Road Safety team to see if they might action

No, don't! The only people who can take any action are Lancashire Constabulary officers, and they are conspicuously uninterested in doing so. 

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

Rather telling that they picked on that driver in the Golf but state it is the cyclists fault for being on the road for a close pass to take no action. 

Avatar
wtjs replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

Take that wtjs !!!

Well, here's another example from the Land of the Laughable Lancashire Policemen! I concede that the lies on the OpSnapLancs Twitter account didn't mention any great work they were doing on the vehicle fraud/ No MOT/ No Insurance/ No VED front but when the crims know that the police can't be bothered with/ accept payments to not notice- offences it becomes the Wild North West. Just to see if people are awake during the ITV4 ads, this is a bent plate- what is the true registration? This deception is common up here- particularly with dodgy 'Highways Maintenance' vehicles- and go on for years with all those super-efficient Lancashire Constabulary TacOps BMWs with their space-age ANPR cameras somehow missing them!

Avatar
wtjs replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
1 like

Just to see if people are awake during the ITV4 ads, this is a bent plate- what is the true registration?

It seems the Tour was too exciting, but the photo shows deliberate deception with CV62 EOS crudely defaced to look something like CV8-black blob-EOS. No report to the equally bent OpSnapLancs yet because it looks like the offender will be taking the vehicle completely off grid when the MOT expires in 2 days to complement the absence of VED, and I can report that at the same time

Pages

Latest Comments