Former pro cyclist Tom Dumoulin clocks a blistering 1:08:42 half marathon... but grumpy runners aren't impressed; Bike shop owner's heroics in LA fires; Hope for Maindy Velodrome; "So much for hi-viz"; Another Rouvy/FulGaz update + more on the live blog

The Running Week is pleased to report former Giro d'Italia winner and 2017 world time trial champ Tom Dumoulin is bloody good at running. We already knew this, to be fair, Dumoulin's 32:38 10k time turning heads a few years back. Now, he's clocked a 1:08:42 half marathon, the running site hailing: "When champions switch sports… and still dominate."

So, how has Dumoulin's impressive athletic feat been celebrated by the running community? Oh, with grumpy comments on social media. Fantastic.

"Yeah that isn't that impressive considering he was a pro cyclist. I would expect faster. But I mean he was a pro cyclist so he has accomplished a lot.
That is a fast time just not for someone with his aerobic ability."

"If he would have beaten an international tennis player or played football for a pro club then that would be impressive. Being good at two endurance sports is not very uncommon."

"Doesn't surprise me, a pro cyclist V02 max is through the roof."

Anyway, negative Nigels out the way, Zach Yauch commented: "Very impressive. Not sure why people are so negative. This is an incredible time. Some weirdos seriously."

Obviously, it wouldn't be a post about Tom D without someone reminding the world of that fateful day back at the Giro d'Italia all those years ago. A good excuse to bring Ryan's crap feature out of the cupboard...

> From Deux Moulins to Dumoulin: Pro cycling's most iconic toilet stops

"Hope he doesn't use the same gels, then it is bye bye records," was one very helpful contribution from a Running Week follower. 

At the more constructive end of the discussion were the people pointing out Dumoulin's seemingly unstructured approach to training and desire just to enjoy running. Anyway, we wish we could run a 1:08 half marathon and not impress the grumpy Facebook lurkers too... something tells me if they saw me run half a marathon they'd really have something to moan about.

The Cardiff velodrome that helped develop Geraint Thomas and other top cyclists is now "less likely" to be lost after plans to build a new facility elsewhere in the city have been scuppered. Maindy Velodrome, built in 1958, was set to be lost, with Cathays High School expanded onto the land that hosts the cycle track and a new velodrome to be built at the International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay.

However, plans for the new velodrome have fallen through, the site now earmarked for a new golf attraction, according to the BBC. It means campaigners are more optimistic Maindy Velodrome will be saved.

The co-chairman of the club based at the velodrome, Maindy Flyers, today suggested the loss of the velodrome now "looks less likely", something the club is understandably "delighted" about.

"We were never opposed to a new velodrome in the bay," Alan Davis said. "Our opposition was to the loss of Maindy. That loss now looks less likely and we are delighted about that."

Cardiff's council has also noted that it has the chance to enter negotiations for an alternative site for the school's expansion which, if successful, could see the local authority "reconsider how to bring a closed-loop cycle track and velodrome to the city in the future".

Welsh Cycling says it has "full commitment to working in partnership with Cardiff council to ensure the development and delivery of high-quality cycling facilities across the city".

There, possibly a bit of Thursday good news to brighten up a grey January day...

> The rise of Chinese cycling brands: a guide to the bike and component manufacturers challenging the big Western marques

> Controversial cycling ban to be eased to "cut congestion" – less than a year after council claimed restrictions had "wide support"

British Cycling's selection for the next weekend's UCI Cyclocross World Championships has sparked plenty of discussion due to the fact Great Britain will have zero representation in the elite women's race. 

Not even Xan Crees, the newly crowned national champion, has been selected for the biggest event on the calendar.

We'll have a more in-depth look at this later today and we've contacted British Cycling for clarification about the selection process, but for now here's some of the reaction.

Former national champion on the road Brian Smith has called it a "very poor decision". He wrote on social media: "I know the sacrifices to become a national champion... I think it's a very poor decision by British Cycling not to allow newly crowned national women's elite champion Xan Crees to test herself against the best at the upcoming World Championships."

Tagging British Cycling's performance director, Smith continued: "Don't even mention budget. Send our national champion."

On Facebook, Crees's team Spectra Racing commented under British Cycling's selection announcement: "We are incredibly heartbroken to publicly see the news that our Xan Crees (the new national cyclocross champion) was not selected for the World Championships. We also feel the same for Anna Kay. Both deserved to go!

"Regardless of selection criteria, and whether either Xan or Anna met said criteria, which most cyclocross criteria is often times vague and elusive, the point and what should have been a factor in selection is *representation* in all age categories. Not just the elite women but also the U23 men.

"The UK's proximity to these World Championships (being in France) should have provided a perfect opportunity to really fly the GB flag with more than 2 riders in each men's race and only 3 in the junior women's. Where it is incredible to see the U23 women squad be the biggest, and there certainly is some incredible talent in that age category, we shouldn't have *just* 11 riders representing GB when we have some great talent!

"It should be more than just medals, it should be about providing lifetime opportunities because unless BC are going to invest Olympic medal funding into cyclocross, the criteria can't just be about medals."

We'll have more on this story later...

Javier Romo wasn't a name too many had on their lips coming into the Tour Down Under, but the Spanish rider earned Movistar their first victory of the 2025 season with a perfectly timed late attack on stage three.

Despite some desperate last-ditch pulling in the heavily reduced front group, Romo held on impressively and takes the race lead too. Behind, it was Jhonatan Narváez in his new UAE Team Emirates colours who was the fastest from the bunch; while a rider who left UAE this winter, Finn Fisher-Black, was third.

It all sets the rest of the week up nicely, a host of talented riders, including Jay Vine, Magnus Sheffield, Chris Harper, Luke Plapp, Juan Pedro López, Sergio Higuita, Bauke Mollema, and British pair Oscar Onley and Thomas Gloag all 15 seconds down on GC. Defending champ, Welsh rider Stevie Williams, has work to do having slipped into the second group on the day and now finds himself 35 seconds back on GC.

We're kicking off Thursday with some road safety chat, everyone's favourite. Travis and Sigrid, the page that shares the adventures of... well, Travis and Sigrid, the viral sensations who we've also spoken to for features and a podcast episode in the past too. Sigrid, a Norwegian Forest cat, and her owner, Travis Nelson, have been taking the internet by storm over the last few years since Nelson decided to take her for a ride during Covid.

> Meet Travis the human and Sigrid the cat, the viral sensations who have just switched to an e-bike

While many of their videos include pleasantly surprised pedestrians and wholesome feline fun, the reality of cycling on UK roads means some end up like this...

View on Threads

"So much for hi-viz," was Travis's takeaway from this one, the rear-view showing the bright yellow hoodie he was wearing at the time. It looks like a classic 'sorry, mate, didn't see you' situation where the driver saw the car in front go, saw the Tesco van stopped, and continued without a look right at the imminently arriving pet and pedaller.

As a side note, Threads is a lot more enjoyable for reading comments and replies. As Travis pointed out underneath this, the same Twitter video "got 40k views and about 50 comments blaming me". Anyway, some more pleasing Travis & Sigrid content followed... including a demonstration of just how visible that hoodie should have been...

View on Threads

Our scroll on Threads also brought us this discussion started by rock_n_donuts, a graphic designer and cycling kit designer based in the UK. 

"Is cycling getting too dangerous?" he asked. "I used to ride 200-300 miles a week and now I'm starting to prefer running more than cycling! last year got hit twice by cars [drivers] which is maybe why I'm getting biased on the matter but I've ridden for 14 years now."

The comments made for pretty depressing reading, numerous people making similar points and raising the standard of driving, near misses and worse as the reason why they've been put off riding on UK roads. 

View on Threads

A selection of the replies:

"Bigger cars with more distracted drivers between phones and touch screen monitors, I think for sure it's not as safe. I try and do as much MTB and gravel as possible to make up for it." 

"That’s why I ride MTB/gravel pretty much exclusively now. Used to do a 70km round trip commute but not keen on the road any more."

"In a word; Yes. Will I ever stop? No. Here's to 14 more good years in the saddle."

"The local area is particularly bad, we train and race all over the country and this region has the biggest number of road rage and near misses."

Has anyone here reduced their mileage due to the danger of British roads? Has gravel and MTB become more tempting? As ever, let us know your thoughts in the comments and we'll round up some on the blog later...