“Want safety? Don’t use parks as through roads”: Cyclists slam Royal Parks for “weak” move of cancelling London Duathlon but allowing rat-running drivers; UCI shows British pro yellow card for “teasing” fan with bidon at Vuelta + more on the live blog

If you had missed this news from earlier this week, the London Duathlon, billed as the world’s largest running-cum-cycling event supposed to take place at the Richmond Park on 8 September has been cancelled by the organisers, citing “a number of unforeseen factors this year” and “an increased focus on the security and logistics of cycling events in public spaces” as the reasons.

The event saw participation of around 4,000 people run and cycle the event distance last year. In the previous years, Richmond Park has been closed off to motor traffic to facilitate the event.

The news came after the somewhat controversial cancellation of the smaller-clubs organised early-morning cycling time trials this summer, following the announcement that the Royal Parks, the charity responsible for maintaining London’s parks, was reviewing its cycling policy, claiming these events “directly encourage cyclists to go faster than the 20mph speed limits”.

The news wasn’t well-received by many cyclists, at a time when organising cycling events such as time trials has admittedly become harder. Now, London Cycling Campaign has hit back at the Royal Parks for the cancellation of Duathlon over safety concerns, but allowing drivers nonetheless to use the parks as through roads.

“We're disappointed, yet again, by the behaviour of Royal Parks charity. Having Regent’s & Richmond Park as daily rat-runs while cancelling London Duathlon is weak,” the campaign said.

💩 Want safety @theroyalparks? Don't use parks as through-roads.

We're disappointed, yet again, by the behaviour of Royal Parks charity. Having Regent's & Richmond Park as daily rat-runs while cancelling @londonduathlon is weak. Our CEO @TomFyans on @itvlondon pic.twitter.com/ixWtHbfT7j

— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) August 22, 2024

Tom Fyans, London Cycling Campaign’s CEO, speaking to ITV said that while he agrees that cyclists should stick to speed limits, he believed that cancelling the London Duathlon had little to do with safety.

He said: “It feels like a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. There needs to be a conversation with Royal Parks about how cyclists and other park users can co-exist, and how we can make it a safer place for everybody, including from cars and drivers that are allowed in the Royal Parks at the moment.”

> Cycling group and Royal Parks disagree over cyclist speed limit advice in Richmond Park

The sentiment seems to be shared by other cyclists on social media. One Twitter user commented: “Royal Parks is extremely anti-cycling. Cancelling an event in Richmond Park for something that happened in Regents Park while allowing cars to drive through, even though there's been many, many incidents involving cars, tells you all you need to know about that lot.”

Meanwhile, William Davies wrote: “Wait a second. Have Royal Parks cancelled a cycling *race* because some people cycle *too fast*? I’m really struggling with this one.”

After the cancellation of the Duathlon, we contacted the Royal Parks for further information about the decision, but were only told: “A range of factors, including significant operational challenges, have meant that the London Duathlon will not be going ahead in Richmond Park this year. We will work closely with potential event organisers to determine the future of the event.”

The situation comes at the end of a summer when the Royal Parks have come under scrutiny for its cycling-related policies and communication, the charity in June stating that the inquest into the death of a pedestrian — killed in a collision involving a cyclist back in 2022 while crossing Regent's Park's Outer Circle — widely reported by certain sections of the UK's print and broadcast media, had prompted it to review its cycling policy.

For episode 84 of the road.cc Podcast, we took a deep dive into one of the more curious, and headline grabbing, cycling tech studies of recent years – which discovered that your bike’s electronic shifters may be susceptible to hackers, who could even be lurking at the Vuelta a España, waiting to sabotage Primož Roglič’s next move to the big ring.

> “The Tour de France needs to do a proper security review”: Academic behind Shimano electronic gears hacking study on why “it’s hard to tell” if wireless doping has taken place in pro cycling – and why us amateurs shouldn’t be worried

After a horrible injury that derailed his spring classics season and spending six months without a win, Wout van Aert now has two in a week, thanks to his Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Sepp Kuss, and erm, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe's Aleksander Vlasov.

The win meant that Team UAE Emirates, which first sent Mark Soler solo and then in the final two kilometres, Pavel Sivakov, lost the win in the final few hundred metres of the race, as the French rider who looked like had done just enough to grab a hard-fought victory, was engulfed by the chasing peloton led by Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, with Wout van Aert tagging onto Vlasov's wheels — Lidl-Trek's Mathias Vacek and Equipo Kern Pharma's Pau Miquel rounding up the two podium spots.

 

 

 

 

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After the stage, Van Aert said: ""I expected it to be a bigger group to go to the finish line. I knew the final climb on the circuit was hard bit I didn’t expect that the race would explode like this. On the top I found myself with Sepp along in the front group. It was very difficult to manage.

"Sepp did such a wonderful job. I don’t know if people know how hard it is to close a gap like that when you’re under 60 kilos. I just had goosebumps in his wheel and I wanted to finish it off. This is a really big one.

"In our team it’s not only about winning but about performing as a team making challenging plans. A part of that is that everybody is prepared to sacrifice himself for the others. To have the defending champion of this race pulling for you is a huge example of our team philosophy. Because of that I’m so proud."

 

 

 

 

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In the general classification, no major changes other than Florial Lipowitz who dropped down four spots to eighth, while Primož Roglič cut down Ben O'Connor's massive gap by six seconds with the bonus seconds over the final climb. Despite that, the Australian rider still holds a comfortable margin of 4:45 right now, thanks to his heroics yesterday.

Another rider has been confirmed for the upcoming Tour of Britain, and it's the Olympic gold medal winner for Great Britain in mountain biking, Tom Pidcock, who joins the likes of Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel at the start line in Kelso on the Scottish border.

The Ineos Grenadier rider said, who'll be hoping to finish the race with two balls instead of three this time around, said: "The Tour of Britain is a really special race for me. Returning to the UK after a such busy year of racing and to pin on numbers in front of the passionate home fans, always provides great motivation. I can’t wait to get out there with my INEOS Grenadier teammates in our home race and we look forward to seeing you all out along the road."

> “I’ve got three balls, anyone need a spare?” Tom Pidcock laments Tour of Britain abandon due to infected saddle sore

Two more British riders have also been announced for the race besides Pidcock, last year’s Best British Rider Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech).

Williams, who took the biggest win of his career to date at La Flèche Wallonne in April, was the virtual leader on the road during the final stage of the 2023 Tour of Britain with his attacking riding on the south Wales climbs, before ultimately finishing 14th overall. The Welshman started this season by winning a stage and the overall of the Tour Down Under.

Wout van Aert, Damien Howson, Tobias Johannessen at Tour of Britain 2023 (image: Adwitiya Pal)

Meanwhile, Donovan will be lining up for his fourth Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain, having finished in the top 10 overall in both of his last two participations. The 25-year-old recorded his highest overall finish last year with fifth, earning him the Best British Rider prize.

Joining him will be Q36.5 Pro Cycling teammate Damien Howson, who finished third overall in the 2023 Tour, having picked up top five placings on the crucial pair of final stages. The 32-year-old from Adelaide will be returning for his second Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, and joins Pidcock, and Julian Alaphilippe as podium finishers from previous editions to be racing this year.

In March, we reported that a mountain biker in Scotland had raised the alarm about home-made nail traps deliberately hidden on a popular trail, after he was left with a puncture wound from a trap which also slashed both his tyres.

Tich Kent, 50, shared a photo of the nail trap online, warning riders that it had been “buried at the bottom of one of the steep chutes” on the Philipstoun Bing trails in West Lothian. While riding the trails last weekend, both his tyres were slashed and his “rear wheel flung it up with so much force it went through three layers of clothes” and caused a puncture wound.

“I’m still somewhat in shock that someone actually welded this thing together and put it on a trail, [it] could have caused genuine serious injury,” he said. “Such a shame, I like the short and steep trails up there for a quick blast but will be unlikely to go back now. Police have been notified but suspect there's little they can do other than note the incident.”

Now, officers have issued a fresh appeal to trace the creator of the stinger, reports the Edinburgh Reporter. Sergeant Liam Arbuthnot said this week: “Inquiries are continuing but there have been no more incidents reported.” 

> "Why would someone do this?": Police investigate as boy's neck cut after cycling into wire hung across path next to school

The police ward report to the committee added: “Routine patrols continue to be carried out in and around the ward areas in relation to off-road motorbikes. Inquiries remain ongoing regarding the use of spikes being left on the ground to where off-road bikes are being driven within the Philpstoun bing area.  

“Foot patrols have been carried out where the majority of calls are received regarding illegal use of bikes. This has resulted in engaging with members of the public and dog walkers, providing reassurance required.  

“We urge members of the public to contact police with information regarding information and identity of the riders when possible. Inquiry remains ongoing at present to identify a suspect.”

 

 

 

 

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