“Santa, this is my Christmas wish”: Eight-year-old asks for “all street users to be a good Grinch” in letter to bike lane-ripping Canadian city mayor; Lance Armstrong’s old boss says UCI chief “capable of selling his own mother” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Why are NIMBY residents angry about a bike track for kids? Oh…
A possible ninth title on the cards? Marianne Vos will return to cyclocross after two years for a shot at the world championships
Some Christmas-y cheer on the blog for members of the Vos brigade! After two years of absence, eight-time cyclocross world champion Marianne Vos is set to ride her first CX race since January 2023 at the World Cup round in Besançon, aiming for a shot at a possible ninth world title.
The Royal Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU) announced Vos’ return yesterday evening and confirmed that her performance would determine whether she’ll ride at the cyclocross world championships in Liévin, France later in the season.
National coach Gerben de Knegt said: “It’s great to welcome Marianne [Vos] back to the field.
“She wants to get a taste of this discipline again in Besançon and will partly base her performance in this French race on whether she will also ride the World Championship later this season.”
Christmas road.cc podcast klaxon 🚨
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… that’s right, it’s our annual podcast episode looking back over the biggest and most bizarre bike-related stories of 2024!
Tom Pidcock’s brother and coach follow suit in joining double Olympic champion at Q36.5 Pro Cycling
Joe Pidcock, Tom’s 22-year-old brother, along with the British rider’s coach Kurt Bogaerts have joined Q36.5 Pro Cycling, following suit after the double Olympic champion’s dramatic transfer saga to the Swiss team.
Joe Pidcock had been racing for the last two seasons with UK Continental team Trinity Racing, where the elder Pidcock had already raced in 2020, and even picked up some of the team’s biggest wins at the final stage of the Ronde d’Isarde as well as a stage of the Dornan Ras Mornhan in Ireland.
Meanwhile, after much speculation, the widely expected move of Kurt Bogaerts from Ineos Grenadiers to Q36.5 has also been officially confirmed, with the Belgian taking on a new role as the team’s head of technical performance. And in another classic talent poach, Pidcock’s longstanding soigneur Xenia de Roose, also joins the Swiss ProTeam from Ineos Grenadiers for 2025.
Family ties et cetera et cetera…
PSPO shenanigans continue as council insists targeting of "dangerous, careless or inconsiderate" riders
Month on from council promising any order would not be a “ban on cycling”, controversial plan appears to soften to continue to allow safe riding — but campaigners argue “no need” and PSPO still fails to address root cause of issues…
Lance Armstrong’s former boss Johan Bruyneel lashes out at David Lappartient, says UCI President can “sell his own mother” and “doesn’t care about anything else than his own self promotion”
If anyone’s not feeling cheery this Christmas, it’s the former US Postal Service boss Johan Bruyneel, who hasn’t been mincing his words these last two days…
After yesterday’s episode saw him asking Tom Boonen to “shut up” after his comments fuelling Fabian Cancellara’s motor doping rumours, this morning the sporting director with serving a lifetime ban (along with his former protégé Mr Armstrong) has, once again, directed his social media wrath at the UCI President David Lappartient.
The UCI boss shared a video, gloating about the pro cycling body’s “achievements” this past season, including the 2024 Paris Olympics, and hosting road and para-cycling road world championships in Zürich, and next year’s world championships in Rwanda as another step towards inclusivity.
As we close the chapter on 2024, we now look ahead to 2025 with optimism and excitement. A year that will mark a historic milestone in cycling: the first-ever UCI Road World Championships in Africa, to be held in Rwanda.
I would like to extend my best wishes to the entire… pic.twitter.com/SUDBM6o1E2
— David Lappartient (@DLappartient) December 23, 2024
Lappartient wrote: “As we close the chapter on 2024, we now look ahead to 2025 with optimism and excitement. A year that will mark a historic milestone in cycling: the first-ever UCI Road World Championships in Africa, to be held in Rwanda. I would like to extend my best wishes to the entire cycling family for a prosperous new year filled with success and growth.”
However, several people were quick to point out the lack of mention of the riders who lost their lives, namely Muriel Furrer and André Drege. One person wrote: “What about Muriel and Andre? How was it an incredible year? You based your entire election campaign on road safety and now you just forget about it?”
But besides random people on social media, one name stood out in the comments: Johan Bruyneel, who wrote: “This guy doesn’t care about anything else than his own self-promotion and everything he does and says is intended to serve his personal political escalade.
“As we say in Flemish, Jonas: ‘iemand die bekwaam is om zijn bloedeigen moeder te verkopen’ (you can Google Translate it, David, if you want to know what it means) (it’s people who have worked closely together with him by the way who gave him this kind of qualification).”
After a quick Google Translate as suggested by Bruyneel, your live blog host can tell you that it roughly translates to “someone who is capable of selling their own mother”. So to sum it up, not something very nice, but I’m assuming you already knew that
But of course, this isn’t the first time the former Belgian rider and DS has picked up the axe against the French politician and sporting administrator. Last November, Bruyneel compared Lappartient to former Turkmenistan dictator Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, after the UCI president threatened to ban cyclocross riders who didn’t participate in World Cup events from the discipline’s world championships.
And in January, he once again took shots at him for what he regards as the Frenchman’s alleged hypocrisy and careerist ambitions, after Lappartient posted a selfie of himself riding with Tadej Pogačar in Abu Dhabi, ahead of the governing body’s launch of its partnership with UAE-based virtual cycling platform MyWhoosh.
“David the Selfie King! He is everywhere, this sacred omnipresent David!,” Bruyneel tweeted under Lappartient’s clip. “The most important thing for him is to be seen alongside important and influential figures, the Pope, President Macron, the President of Korea, his friend Thomas Bach, the Ballon d’Or, etc.
“All with one specific objective: the presidency of the IOC. What many know but no one ever says: he doesn’t really care about cycling.
“The worst part is that he will succeed in his bet. Sooner or later he will get there. In the meantime, he travels around the world carrying out his dozen official functions… Half a million euros per year for nothing to do at the UCI. You have to do it anyway. It seems that this champion sleeps very little.”
A Christmas special with Bruyneel and Lappartient not very congenially chatting with each other? Let me see if we can get them to agree to come on the road.cc podcast…
“Santa, this is my Christmas wish”: Eight-year-old kid asks for all road users to “be a good Grinch” and bike lanes to be not ripped out in letter addressed to Canadian city’s mayor (PS. he was helped by his grandpa)
Can this one boy’s wish bestow us with a Christmas miracle and magically turn every road user into “a good Grinch”?
In a 550-word letter to the editor of GuelphToday and addressed to the mayor of Guelph, a city in southern Ontario, an eight-year-old, along with some (read: maybe a lot of) help from his grandpa, co-chair of the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation, has expressed what he wants for Christmas — and no, it’s not the shiniest new toy or the rainbow-coloured, sugar-coated candy — instead, he just wants safer cycling provisions.
It starts by sharing how “cool” the new protected bike lanes in the city are, with the concrete barriers and posts separating drivers from cyclists and also “connecting people and places so that they can cycle from their home to their work, schools and shopping”.
He writes: “The new barriers also calm traffic as the car lane appears narrower, which I learned are proven to reduce speeding. I am looking forward to biking with my dad and grandpa to get to my favourite parks, stores and schools.
“Unfortunately, there are some people that don’t like these bike lanes for some reasons including slowing down traffic.
“And unfortunately, our mayor, Cam Guthrie, has responded to this Facebook group saying he may be looking at removing these bike lanes.”
The kid added that his grandpa told him that he loved biking in the protected bike lanes and that “a few minor tweaks to the barriers along with improved snow removal in the bike lanes would please the majority of cyclists and motorists”.
He continued: “Mayor Guthrie has also proposed looking at the possibility of installing multi-use paths on these two corridors, similar to those on Woodlawn Road, which would be amazing as it completely separates cyclists and cars.
“I hope the mayor is serious and adds money in the city budget to install these multi-use paths.
“But in the meantime, I hope he consults with city staff and other street users and leaves the new, less costly protected bike lanes in place.
“We also welcome Mayor Guthrie to ride his bike with us and experience these protected bike lanes like the ones he experienced and raved about on his recent trip to Copenhagen with Guelph transportation staff.”
He was also briefed by his grandpa about all of the recent collisions between motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. “Many of these collisions could have been prevented with safer active transportation infrastructure. He told me about a cyclist friend of his that recently died in a collision on an unprotected roadway in front of a school in Guelph. Her daughter will not have a mom to celebrate Christmas with this year,” he said.
“Santa, this is my Christmas wish. Please convince Mayor Guthrie to speak to all street users and be a good Grinch like the one in my favourite Christmas story.
By the way, my grandpa helped me with some of the big words.”
What may not come as a piece of happy news this Christmas for eight-year-old Noah (and his grandpa) is that Ontario’s premier Doug Ford is hell-bent on not giving cyclists an inch on the road.
In October, Ford, who rather wisely conducted a TV news interview on road safety while driving through a snowstorm back in 2022, was slammed for his “put cyclists on secondary roads” stance, amid “ineffective and dangerous” plans to block bike lane projects, which, in his own words, seemed to be an “absolute insanity right now.”
Just last month, it was announced that cyclists who have been injured or worse in one of the cycle lanes ripped up in Toronto won’t be able to file a lawsuit against the Ontario province’s government, with opposition politicians describing the amendment to safeguard the government’s impunity as “heartbreaking”.
“What this means is the conservatives want to remove themselves from any responsibility if someone is injured or killed in the future,” New Democratic Party’s Member of Provincial Parliament Jessica Bell said. “It’s heartbreaking, because someone will be injured or killed in the future.”
Merry Christmas from everyone at road.cc!
It’s been a fun day at the office, but I hope everyone’s now off to pour out some wine and pop open their favourite cheese and biscuits — because your live blog host is!
Don’t worry, the live blog will be back in two days, but until then, happy holidays and Merry Christmas from everyone at road.cc!
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@Rendel Harris you've painted a rather alluring picture of social harmony there, but unfortunately you've got my name wrong. I'm Jack, not Nigel. However, to return the compliment, I must think of a story for you. I imagine you sat outside a pub, real ale and pipe propped on the adjacent table, in a similar fashion to Nigel Farage at his populist best. You turn to your wife. "You know what dear? I think I've been a bit harsh in my time. I've shunned the politeness and wisdom of others for too long and want to change my ways.* "There there Rendel", says Mrs Harris. "You're not a bad old stick, it's just living in London that's emptied your soul of kindness and compassion. I've found a lovely new place where we can settle down in our later years. It's on a leafy cul de sac, surrounded by friendly neighbours and smiling faces. There's a guy a couple of doors down, a remarkable man. As well as his towering intellect and rapier wit, he's also a keen cyclist, holding severa local KOMs. Don't be perturbed dear - he'll ride with anyone provided they show other road users the kindness and courtesy they deserve." Rendel turned emotionally, voice shaking. "Oh my dear, thank you for this second chance", and with that the rest of the pub goers turned and applauded the couple, throwing garlands of petals in their wake. The end.
As a Councillor, Edward needs to be paying some attention to all that parking obstructing visibility and manoeuvres at the junction, and sorting out those radii.
Ed Hill was chucked out by Reform in 2025, though TBF to him it was about how to run it rather than ideology I think. He is now reportedly closer to Advance UK, which is distinctly more extreme than Reform. I'd call this Alan Amos style attention seeking.
Emily, thank you for such an insightful piece. I’m a man, but I enjoy watching the women’s races, possibly more than the men’s. The racing is so much closer, we rarely know who’s going to win. You painted a wonderful picture of how a true champion is able to ‘rise above’ setbacks and distractions, and focus their energy on the task in hand. ‘All’s fair in live and war -and sport, but always good to hear riders expressing their admiration for their competitors
@Nigel Garage ...and then everyone applauded my courtesy and I waved courteously to all the people who were courteously throwing flowers and cheering and courteously waving flags that said "Nigel is the best!"
The picture from street view clearly shows give way lines from the roads to the green painted cycle/pedestrian lane. The road user should give way (or must...) to the user of the green lane. This would of course apply to any cyclist on the roadway.
If I recall there is a cave or two along the route - perhaps they were sheltering from the heat in one of those having taken it for a Golf bunker?
“So if there’s a cyclist travelling down the cycle path at the moment, from this position I can’t see them because my blind spots are too big on the left hand side of the vehicle”, claims Hill. Well, there's your problem, right there...🙄
First impression from the headline that he's likely a twit. Then the detail he was expelled from Reform makes you suspect that failing even their low bar requirements he really is. Then he clearly explains his vehicle is unsafe for the highway because he can't see to give way when turning. Any collision he now has should have that video run out explaining he drove a vehicle he knew to be unsafe. Advice for motorists; instead of thinking that pedestrians and cyclists are low risk 100kg objects, imagine them as a 300 Tonne trains that will crush you and your vehicle if you cross into their paths. You'd give way to the train, so you equally can to the others.
I've had a brief look on Facebook, and Ed Hill (who now appears to be affiliated with Advance UK) seems to have taken some useful road safety improvements under his remit, including an initiative to help local pedestrians on unpaved roads, where the wider council won't help due to planning failures. Regarding the cycle path, I think this is linked to a wider misunderstanding about giving way at junctions and I'm afraid I cannot agree with Mr Hill's conclusion. Regardless of the suitability of the cycle path, vehicles should give way at the junction to both pedestrians crossing and cyclists. It seems to be a poorly understood rule among motorists where some believe they have priority at junctions like this, where they certainly do not. I once had a similar issue myself, while leisurely walking to Waitrose to buy some lunchtime fripperies. A driver beeped their horn as I crossed the junction, despite me having priority, and was shocked and apologetic when I explained I had priority. A polite conversation later, the driver departed, educated and updated on the rules of the road.
1 thought on ““Santa, this is my Christmas wish”: Eight-year-old asks for “all street users to be a good Grinch” in letter to bike lane-ripping Canadian city mayor; Lance Armstrong’s old boss says UCI chief “capable of selling his own mother” + more on the live blog”
And a Happy Christmas to you,
And a Happy Christmas to you, road.cc staff!