Simple Facebook post asking drivers to “please watch out for vulnerable road users” met with hundreds of comments having a go at cyclists without lights or hi-vis; Tadej Pogačar obliterates Rates KOM; MvdP cyclocross retirement? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tadej Pogačar obliterates iconic Coll de Rates Strava KOM with 32km/h smashfest
“Merry Christmas and happy new year…”
The Coll de Rates KOM, which Tadej Pogačar already held, has been put out of sight by the supersonic Slovenian, the four-time Tour de France winner crushing his own best effort by 24 seconds. He’s now 41 seconds clear of the next best time and 1:05 faster than Jonas Vingegaard’s 13:02 (although that was set way back in 2018 when he was riding for Danish Continental team ColoQuick).
Rates’ status as an iconic ascent is not from racing, the six-kilometre climb averaging a little over five per cent is far from the toughest climb out there either. But, with thousands of pro riders and amateurs descending on the roads near Calpe every winter, its slopes have become a famous testing ground to see where you stack up against your peers.
Some teams have even pulled off full leadouts to set up a rider for a fast time, Pogačar joined by UAE teammates Pavel Sivakov, Florian Vermeersch, Nils Politt, Domen Novak and soon-to-be teammate Kevin Vermaeke for this one.
As it happened, earlier in the day the Unibet Rose Rockets had visited the climb, the team proudly showing off Cedrik Bakke Christophersen had beaten Pogačar on a two-kilometre-long part of the ascent.
Insane aura. ? pic.twitter.com/V6EdethXps
— Unibet Rose Rockets (@rockets_cycling) December 19, 2025
Well, not long after the social media graphics were posted, Pogačar’s KOM-extending Rates smash happened and Christophersen’s segment time was beaten by 13 seconds, just part of the UAE Team Emirates star’s latest ridiculous performance on two wheels.
That didn’t age well. https://t.co/efuRwMspXa pic.twitter.com/r6eLDNMNjv
— Unibet Rose Rockets (@rockets_cycling) December 19, 2025
In fact, he hoovered up nine of the Rates KOMs for good measure. The climb was just one part of a pre-Christmas epic, the UAE group clocking 220km and nearly 4,500m of climbing in six hours at an average speed of close to 37km/h… in news surprising to nobody, Tadej Pogačar is good at cycling…
"There wouldn't be much else for me to achieve": Mathieu van der Poel hints at cyclocross retirement
On the bike, Mathieu van der Poel’s cyclocross weekend went just about how everyone expected it to — the dominant Dutchman winning in Antwerp and Koksijde, taking his seasonal record to three races, three wins. He’s got a shot at a fourth at the X²O Badkamers Trofee Hofstade Plage cross later today, but much of the attention is rather on what Van der Poel said this weekend.
Simply majestic ?
Mathieu van der Poel keeps his 100% win record with a victory at the UCI World Cup in Koksijde! pic.twitter.com/7DbeVG8oLW
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) December 21, 2025
On Saturday, having won in Antwerp, the rider who turns 31 in January suggested winning a record-breaking eighth ‘cross world title, at a home event in the Netherlands, would be the perfect send off.
A day later, in Koksijde, Van der Poel added to his comments of the previous day when speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws.
“I have always said that I would love to break the record in my own country,” Van der Poel said. “There wouldn’t be much else for me to achieve in cyclocross. I always wanted to retire on a high.
“We’ve discussed it internally a few times. It’s something I’m thinking about, yes. I’m not getting any younger, you know. I’m still performing at a very high level at the moment, but who’s to say I’ll still be at that level in two or three years? I don’t know for sure, because I don’t have a crystal ball. Otherwise, it would be easy, of course. That’s why I’d love to say goodbye on a high note.
“I would do it mainly with the road season in mind, yes. To be able to get a bit more rest during the winter. For example, by being able to stay in Spain for an entire winter and train there. I still love ‘cross, but there is a lot involved and it takes a lot of energy.”
Van der Poel did say that if he doesn’t break the record then he’ll definitely be back next winter, but it looks like we should probably enjoy those crushing ‘cross displays while we’ve got them…
Talking of crushing cyclocross displays from a dominant Dutch rider, Lucinda Brand set the standard for MvdP to follow this weekend, winning in Antwerp and Koksijde as well.
Phenomenal Brand! ?
Lucinda Brand dominates in Koksijde, extending her UCI World Cup lead! pic.twitter.com/GLyhgVjxFE
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) December 21, 2025
It means Brand has already racked up 12 wins from 14 cyclocross races this winter, the 36-year-old looking well on track to add a second world title to her palmares next month, especially given the sad news from Friday that three-time world champ Fem van Empel has put her cycling career on hold and has left Visma-Lease a Bike, admitting “the enjoyment and motivation are missing”.
Why isn't Britain reaching its cycling potential?
Meanwhile...
Editor Jack gets some weird stuff in his spam folder, this especially useful for straw man helmet debates…
Strava "ends individual's employment" after video of restaurant incident involving "employee who exhibited extremely concerning off-hours behaviour" goes viral
Here’s one we didn’t expect to be reading today, but fitness tech giant Strava has ended an individual’s employment after a video of an employee’s altercation with restaurant staff went viral. The footage was reportedly filmed at a restaurant in San Francisco recently, a woman arrested for public intoxication and later named by KRON4 as Shireen Afkari, a senior marketing manager at Strava.
Restaurant staff reported being verbally abused after a manager communicated a couple would no longer be served alcohol. Things then escalated with a physical confrontation that continued outside the restaurant, footage subsequently widely shared on social media.
I think this says a lot more about him than it does her https://t.co/K67ll1mNOc
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) December 15, 2025
In a comment posted on social media, a Strava spokesperson stated: “We are aware of an employee who exhibited extremely concerning off-hours behaviour. We don’t condone violence of any kind and this does not reflect the standards we expect of our team. This past Monday, we made the decision to end the individual’s employment.”
"It's not a shared path, it's more like a motorway": Walkers call for bike ban and hit out at "terrifying" and "rude" cyclists 'speeding' through park – after rider's £50 fine for breaking 12mph limit rescinded
From the comments section
It’s a tough crowd on the live blog, Pogi…
Comment of the day might have to go elsewhere however…
Bizarre plagiarism situation sees employee leave US-based cycling website Velo
The managing editor of US-based cycling website Velo has published a statement after plagiarism allegations were made by James Huang, a bike reviewer who shares content on social media and Substack.
Huang’s Instagram stories feature in-depth posts about the accusations and Velo has edited the reviews in question, although they remain online. Velo says the employee involved has left the publication as a result, managing editor Will Tracy posting the following statement:
I took the helm at Velo this year with the goal of creating the most trustworthy, valuable, and interesting road and gravel publication in the industry. We are privileged to do this work, and I do not take this mandate lightly.
Good journalism relies on a vibrant ecosystem of writers, testers, and creators, and is built on a foundation of trust. We respect our industry peers, and partners, and we have strict editorial guidelines in place to ensure a strong foundation. Because we value your trust, we must be transparent when we fall short.
We recently confirmed that several stories published on our site failed to meet our editorial standards for originality, which state that plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. As a result of our internal investigation, the employee responsible for this breach is no longer employed by Velo.
Rather than removing the content and obscuring the error, we have updated the articles with an editor’s note so the record remains transparent.
We appreciate the accountability the cycling community brings. The actions we took are a critical step in ensuring Velo‘s work remains of the highest quality.
Our team is committed to journalistic integrity through transparency and honest work.
The statement did not appear to apologise to Huang who has continued to speak about the situation on his own page, as well as in the comments on Velo’s.
Italian cycling team shot at by passing driver in horror attack, as squad condemns "motorists' aggression against cyclists"
Unsavoury scenes from the weekend 'cross action
And by unsavoury, I don’t just mean whatever nauseatingly sweet flavour of vape that probably was…
Simple Facebook post asking drivers to "please watch out for vulnerable road users" met with hundreds of comments having a go at cyclists for not using lights or hi-vis
Here’s a post from a local weather page on Facebook, the ‘North Yorkshire Weather Updates’ account simply, and quite reasonably we’d suggest, pointing out things were quite foggy and to “please watch out for vulnerable road users” when using the roads. Absolutely shocking, isn’t it? The nerve of them telling people to take extra care in extreme weather conditions so they don’t ruin their own and countless other people’s weekends/Christmas/lives by causing a serious injury or worse.
Yep, the tone of the comments section was particularly loud on this post, more than 700 posts racking up since Saturday morning as readers fell over themselves to make comments about cyclists who don’t have lights or hi-vis clothing.
Now, it’s probably preaching to the choir, but if you’ve spent any amount of time reading this website you’ll have seen stories like these:
> “But remember to dress in hi-vis”: Distracted motorist drives in cycle lane while texting
In more serious cases we could cite tens of stories we’ve written involving cyclists wearing hi-vis and lights being killed in collisions caused by dangerous or careless drivers. So I guess the point is, yes, I would always use lights in dark or low-light conditions (and almost always run a rear light, even in summer) and do pick out brighter clothing for dull days, but any suggestion it’s a silver bullet that magically keeps cyclists safe on the roads would, frankly, be laughable.
Likewise, cyclists not having lights or hi-vis is nowhere near the top of the list of the most harmful behaviours on the roads, the police clear the ‘fatal five’ main contributory factors that cause serious road traffic collisions are:
-
Careless driving
-
Drink and drug driving
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Not wearing a seatbelt
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Using a mobile phone
-
Speeding
Regardless, the responses to North Yorkshire Weather Updates’ post about watching out for vulnerable road users attracted hundreds of comments along similar lines…
“Would help if the ‘vulnerable’ road users had hi viz clothing and lights on their bikes!”
“So you’re saying that these lights were synchronised to flash at the exact same moment and the photographer waited till they were between flashes to take his pic? What about a front light to help incoming traffic be aware? Don’t see a single hi-vis amongst them!”
“Ninja riders. Can’t understand why anyone wears black in the winter. As the saying goes ‘Be Safe, Be Seen’.”
“If only cyclists would wear bright colours and have lights front and back?”
“Nice and foggy but the Lycra lot are still out with no lights or high viz, but it’s still all your fault if you collide.”
It appears we have a long way to go…
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Latest Comments
@slownomad From the DVSA/DoT Guidance Notes that your link refers to: "To be classified as an EAPC under the EAPC regulations[footnote 1], the cycle must:" etc. . It then goes on to say: "If an EAPC does not comply with the regulations, it is treated as a motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Road Traffic Act 1988" So no, it does not say that the only EAPC is a legal EAPC. As you say bike may refer to pedal cycles or motorbikes. E-bike logically follows the same usage and includes EAPCs. "Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle" is a technical description. The EAPC Regulations 1983 allow for some EAPCs to be treated in law as pedal cycles. The Guidance Notes finish with a disclaimer: "This guidance is a summary of DfT’s understanding of what the law requires." etc.. & finishes with "You are therefore advised to consult the relevant legislation and, if necessary, seek independent advice." So even the DVSA & DoT don't actually know what it all means.
Not noted in the review but the old Crux was a CX - gravel racer whereas this new one seems to be pure gravel, taking inspiration from road race bikes more than anything. What’s happening with specialized and CX? Is it just being left behind or is this the bike still for CX?
@RayG In my experience many of the people who attend overpriced events like these aren't genuine fans but people with high disposable incomes who like to go "for the experience" and to say that they were there. In any case, even if every ticket was sold to a dyed-in-the-wool cycling fan who was prepared to pay silly money because it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Depart in their home town/country, why would that make charging exploitative prices excusable?
The title of the review sounds almost as if it was the "tier number" you pay for, not the actual performance. I thought bikes were about riding, not bragging about them? If the bike is so great, what is the problem really?
@Rendel Harris I see the average cycling fan protested by snapping up the available tickets immediately.
@RayG Even if the ticket revenues for this event were all going straight into rider safety, which I'll wager they're not, there would still be perfectly relevant questions to be asked as to why the ordinary cycling fan was being stung for the cost rather than it coming out of ASO's €30M profit from the Tour alone and the €130M it makes annually from its race portfolio.
@Daclu Trelub I'm also wondering if they're putting matting down over the setts leading up to the esplanade - imagine the number of potential pre-race retirements if they try to ride slowly over them uphill if it's bucketing down that night! 🫣
@HoarseMann I considered that probability - Just expecting the prime 'mid-priced' seats to have already gone. Not to mention there'll likely be an even bigger strain on the terrible ticketing platform...
@wtjs I went to Clitheroe to watch them freezing their tits off in the rain after weeks of glorious weather. The crash on the lower slopes of Pendle was actually one of the police motorcycle marshals who slid out on the cattle grid on the bend at the foot of the straight climb to the Well Springs.
@saffronsimian dumbest comment of the century.
31 thoughts on “Simple Facebook post asking drivers to “please watch out for vulnerable road users” met with hundreds of comments having a go at cyclists without lights or hi-vis; Tadej Pogačar obliterates Rates KOM; MvdP cyclocross retirement? + more on the live blog”
Never mind the KOMs – where’s
Never mind the KOMs – where’s the festive Strava art? Poor effort Pogi.
Call me a grinch, but a KOM
Call me a grinch, but a KOM by a pro drafting a bunch of other pros… so what?
I climbed Coll de Rates on an old BTwin MTB I found in the cellar of our holiday rental, in 30c heat after a long lunch
Your point is what exactly?
Your point is what exactly?
Cheer up, its Christmas.
Cheer up, its Christmas.
I wasn’t trying to make a point, just being conversational but now you’ve asked I don’t really see it as that surprising that the worlds best road cyclist gets a KOM on a relatively easy climb while drafting up with teammates on a £13k+ bike. Had he done it on his own riding a Raleigh Grifter then that would be more noteworthy.
Partially related and
Partially related and anecdotal, but the bicycles I see people riding in Germany are always split new / ~one year old. They must have some great incentives on offer.
On the bike story. One issue
On the ebike story. One issue not mentioned is that employers are banning ebikes from secure storage areas in their buildings. This seems to be insurance industry driven
Even the Government Property Agency bans them, so you have one ALB encouraging active travel, the HMRC providing financial incentives, and then another ALB banning the ebikes people have just bought through the scheme that requires them to be used to cycle to work.
Can’t work out if it’s more “Yes Minister” or “The thick of it”
Also on the ebike story. I
Also on the ebike story. I agree with the part which said the unsafe behaviour could be stopped overnight.
This would require government action to make the multinational food delivery companies responsible rather than their “contractors”. Also banning the sale rather than the use of illegal electric bikes/motorbikes.
On the former I would expect no less from a Labour government. But sadly they’ve disappointed me already.
So I guess it doesn’t have to
So I guess it doesn’t have to be on Strava for it to have happened
Why isn’t Britain reaching
Why isn’t Britain reaching its cycling potential?
See previous+++. Because of the police attitude to offences against cyclists, which is that they don’t count and they’re proud to do nothing about them while forgiving practically all offences by motorists in general. Many people do not wish to be subjected to this day in, day out, while the sniggering un-regulated coppers just bin such offence reports. Judge police by what they do, not what they say!
Or this, which is the best
Or this from this morning, which is the best you’re going to get around here in Wild West Lancashire. This smiling woman offender in CA70 MKC has form on close passing:
https://upride.cc/incident/ca70mkc_citroenvan_closepass/
Looks like the sun was in her
Looks like the sun was in her eyes, I doubt there was anything else she could have done – you didn’t come out of nowhere again did you? ?
Well, it obviously wasn’t me!
Well, it obviously wasn’t me! I don’t get many shots like this because there are hardly any other cyclists for most of the year. She definitely had the sun behind her on the video, she decided it was OK to overtake me at speed while I was passing a parked car and the oncoming lane was also occupied.
But that’s not even remotely
But that’s not even remotely close to a close pass in Surrey – that’s termed good driving.
But that’s not even remotely
But that’s not even remotely close to a close pass in Surrey – that’s termed good driving
Ah!, but if we’re playing ‘That’s nowt!’: (Audi KX66 UFN)
“You’re honor, as you can see
“You’re honor, as you can see as clearly as day follows night, my client cannot see because of the sun. What else was she supposed to do? Drive to the conditions? Adjust to be able to see? I think not!”
Innocent!
The Facebook posts remind me
The Facebook posts remind me of this.
This is why cycling isn’t
This is why cycling isn’t working in the UK. We spend £24 million on a parking lane.
Right, but hear me out, they
Right, but hear me out, they aren’t parked on the double yellows and the wankpanzer is barely in the cycle lane at all. I mean what do we expect these poor people to do? Park somewhere else? Now thats ridiculous!
I mean what do we expect
I mean what do we expect these poor people to do?
Park their private property within the boundaries of their other private property and not on public land?
Shirley not!
I know you’re being sarcastic
I know you’re being sarcastic overall, but actually they (both the LR and the red thing) are parked on double yellows, and I don’t think your sarcasm refers to that.
I know they are but for some
I know they are but for some reason people think that if they aren’t on the road where the double yellows are, they aren’t on double yellows. Then again, people don’t know about 80% of the rules of the highway code so….easy mistake eh.
The entitled wankpanzer is
The entitled wankpanzer is parked totally blocking the pavement and partially blocking the bike lane. As someone with a partially sighted, not particularly mobile, elderly parent, that makes my blood boil. It’s so dangerous for partially sighted people, forcing them in to areas where there are faster moving modes of transport that aren’t necessarily expecting to interact with immobile pedestrians who struggle to see them.
If this cycling lane costs
If this cycling lane costs £24 million, then a lot of things that aren’t working properly in the UK.
That looks like a cross
That looks like a cross between a (sadly not separated) cycle path and a cycle lane.
Almost nobody in the UK will know what that really means and it probably varies!
Ah, but cycle lane … oh, but it doesn’t have a solid white marking to indicate it’s a “mandatory” one as opposed to the “just ignore it” advisory one. And even if it did, there are exemptions depending on when it was constructed… https://www.cyclinguk.org/blog/underhand-law-change-undermines-mandatory-cycle-lanes
oh, but double yellows should fix it!… except that there might be instructions on a sign, then there are loading exemptions, and blue badge holders…
Oh but driving on the footway is definitely against the law … only in practice that has to be officially observed, and then local authorities can take responsibility for some driving offences which I believe may change things, and anyway overall this is effectively ignored / decriminalised.
… so in fact there are nothing but non-standard infra designs, “ignore this” policies, legal get-outs and arguable defences on show here!
No wonder many drivers don’t give two figs (and probably wouldn’t even if there was much better enforcement, which there isn’t).
Our legal processes and
Our legal processes and language needs to change
How can someone be DIS-qualified from doing something that they were never actually QUALIFIED to do?
“Anthony Gilheaney, 31, had been disqualified from driving five times and never passed a test…”
Shirley it should be “banned from driving”, ie not allowed to drive even as a learner…?
Wearing bright clothing is
Wearing bright clothing is also recommended for pedestrians in low light or dark conditions, so I assume that all the people commenting do so, and carry a high-vis in their car in case they need to get out and walk anywhere.
I’d definitely have my lights on in conditions like that, but I see people riding in low light all the time without them. But then again, I see at least a couple of cars driving every evening without their lights on, and when it’s foggy you’ve got about a 50/50 chance that each car will have its lights on.
And the point there is that
And the point there is that you see them. They are there to be seen and they are visible… if we look beyond the end of our bonnet.
More to the point, of the 7
More to the point, of the 8 cyclists in shot, 7 are wearing either red (a bright colour last time I looked), luminous yellow high Viz gloves, or a grey but I believe ProViz gillet so would have been lit up like a Christmas tree to the following due to it having lights on. But of course the commenters pick up on the one rider in black.
“Nice and foggy but the Lycra
“Nice and foggy but the Lycra lot are still out with no lights or high viz, but it’s still all your fault if you collide.” With or without hi-viz jackets and lights on, cyclists don’t collide into cars. Instead, motorists collide into cyclists because they don’t reduce their speed and increase their level of attention in accordance with weather and road conditions.
https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/cheap-car-insurance/top-causes-car-accidents-uk
Actually I did collide into a
Actually I did collide into a (parked) car one time on my paper round, and broke a rear light.
I shamefacedly knocked on a couple of doors to I found the owner and offered to pay.
Thankfully, seeing the miserable quivering teen on his doorstep, he kindly declined the offer.
Anyone who thinks those
Anyone who thinks those cyclists are dressed in “all black” isn’t going to be helped by a light and “high vis” as much as from eye surgery