“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

 

 

 

 

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The planned final phase of a cycle lane in Coventry – where a motorist was filmed last year speeding along the ‘protected’ infrastructure while undertaking another driver and which locals say could lead to collisions between reversing drivers and cyclists “aiming” at them at 30mph – has once again been the subject of intense scrutiny this week, after almost 1,000 residents signed a petition urging the council to stop the project “immediately” to save 26 trees along the proposed route.

> Hundreds sign petition slamming decision to “sacrifice 26 irreplaceable trees” to make way for “dangerous, little used” cycle lane that “adds to pollution” – but council says more trees will be planted in their place

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.”

It looks like Bahrain Victorious has picked up a dogfight with the UCI, pro cycling’s governing body, over the team’s latest signee Robert Stannard, the Australian rider who won the Tour de Wallonie, finished in the top ten of two stages of the Criterium du Dauphiné, and second in the mountains classification at the Vuelta a España while riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck in 2022 and 2023 — and was also provisionally banned last August for the “use of prohibited methods and/or prohibited substances”.

In June, the 25-year-old accepted a back-dated four-year suspension for what the UCI described as “unexplained” abnormal values in his Athlete Biological Passport in 2018 and 2019, when he was racing for Mitchelton-Scott, now known as Jayco-AlUla.

However, as soon as the rider was out of contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck, he was snapped up by Bahrain Victorious, with the backdated nature of his ban means Stannard is free to return to racing.

 

 

 

 

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Now, in an email sent to road.cc, the UCI has made a point to make a statement regarding the team’s announcement of the Australian, in which it commented about the anti-doping proceedings against Stannard.

“The UCI is surprised by the content of the statement – even though this has since been removed from the team’s website – and wishes to clarify a few points,” said the organisation.

“First, the UCI wishes to emphasise that on 3 June 2024, the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal found that Robert Stannard had committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of use of a prohibited substance or a prohibited method due to unexplained abnormalities in his Biological Passport in 2018 and 2019 and that his decision is now final.”

> Rob Stannard set to race Tour of Britain for Bahrain-Victorious after accepting four-year backdated doping sanction for biological passport abnormalities

The UCI also said that Stannard had the opportunity to provide supporting written explanations and expert evidence, both in writing and during a hearing. The Tribunal, however, rejected the rider’s explanations and held that he used a prohibited substance and/or method as evidenced by his Biological Passport.

It continued: “In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules (UCI ADR), a four-year period of suspension was imposed. However, the start of the period of ineligibility was anticipated by the Tribunal in view of delays in the proceedings not attributable to the rider or the UCI.

“Furthermore, the Tribunal also cancelled Robert Stannard’s race results obtained from 17 August 2018 (date of the appearance of the first abnormality) until 16 August 2022 pursuant to the UCI ADR and the Code, and imposed a fine corresponding to 70% of his average annual salary at the time of the ADRV.

“In line with the above, the allegations made by Bahrain Victorious, such as “it has never been specified whether the rider is accused of using a prohibited substance or a prohibited method” and “through our medical teams’ analysis we could not conclude any wrongdoing” are clearly incorrect and misleading.

“It is unfortunate that the UCI is put in a situation to correct statements by a UCI WorldTeam related to a matter as important as the fight against doping.”

Double rainbow in Luoyang! 🌈🌈

Cat Ferguson stormed to her second world title in as many days as she dominated the women’s omnium, while Henry Hobbs staged an impressive comeback to grab men’s individual pursuit gold on the third day of the UCI Junior Track World Championships… pic.twitter.com/EdCnb1lTbV

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) August 23, 2024

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.

After yesterday’s debacle of letting Ben O’Connor go solo and win the stage by an astonishing four and a half minutes, putting him in the red jersey with a massive gap to Primož Roglič, the team looks like it’s going all out, guns blazing in today’s stage as the peloton climbs over the brutal Alto del 14% — I’m pretty sure you can guess why it’s got the name it has.

#LaVuelta24 – 🏁 29 KM

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe puts down the hammer at the front!#DomestiqueLive pic.twitter.com/vQBljhcCdM

— Domestique (@Domestique___) August 23, 2024

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.

Club cyclists in Wales have criticised the “sad state of affairs” that have led to three stages of the Junior Tour of Wales being rerouted and shortened due to the country’s default 20mph speed limit, as the sport’s governing body admitted that several factors, including the introduction of the 20mph limit, have made Welsh road racing “unsustainable”.

> Junior Tour of Wales cycle race rerouted due to 20mph speed limits, as local cycling club chair rues “sad state of affairs” that sport is “impacted by short-sighted policy” and governing body admits Welsh road racing is “unsustainable”

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

James Knox at stage four of Vuelta a España 2024 (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Is this the cycling equivalent of Eric Cantona kung-fu kicking Palace fan in the stands? Maybe, but a lot tamer, at least in my opinion…

If you weren’t aware, cycling has yellow cards à la football now. So far, the first strike of the card system, which is being trialled by the UCI with virtual cards handed out by race officials for a safety violation, was made at the Tour de France Femmes, with SD Worx’s Barbara Guarischi shown one when she stopped pedalling and took her hands off the handlebars after completing her lead-out for Lorena Wiebes.

Now, Soudal Quick-Step’s James Knox has become the second recipient of the yellow card at the Vuelta a España for “improper, indecent or dangerous behaviour towards spectators”.

In stage five of the Vuelta on Wednesday, the British rider, struggling in the Spanish heat of up to 40 degrees, seemed to have a little banter with one of the roadside spectators. As the fan jogged along Knox, it appeared that Knox was trying to hand him his bidon, but instead it was actually some playful teasing. But as soon as the camera crew caught up to the situation, the spectator stumbled and fell on the road, with any injuries sustained by the person not known as of now.

And for this offence, the UCI has decided to impose a fine of 200 Swiss francs (around £180) and a deduction of 10 UCI points, besides the yellow card. Wilfried Peeters, team manager at Soudal Quick-Step, has described it to HLN as a “justified sanction”.

The news comes after much was said about the UCI’s decisions to fine Lidl-Trek’s French rider Julien Bernard at the Tour de France for stopping to kiss his wife and child as the race passed through his home region of Burgundy. And from the reaction, it looks like fans aren’t too pleased with this latest decision about Knox as well.

Ryan Duff wrote: “You all thought the yellow card was brought in to improve rider safety? Wrong! We brought it in because we wanted a new way to f*** with the riders,” while another person said: “Turning this yellow card thing into a JOKE”.

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.