“I’ve never seen it without someone parked in it”: Cyclist waits 15 minutes for Amazon van driver parked in bike lane to move; Alberto Contador warns Tour de France rivals “unbeatable” Tadej Pogačar “looks unstoppable” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Alberto Contador warns Tour de France rivals "unbeatable" Tadej Pogačar "looks unstoppable"
[📷:A.S.O./Aurélien Vialatte]
Alberto Contador reckons Tadej Pogačar looks “unbeatable” in the early season, the twice Tour de France winner going as far as to say he reckons the Slovenian “looks unstoppable” at this moment in time. Pogačar, who had already equalled the Spaniard’s tally of two yellow jerseys by the age of 22, is now 24 and has started the season in scintillating form, besting his main rival for this year’s Tour, Jonas Vingegaard, at Paris-Nice and is now eyeing victory in some of the sport’s biggest one-day races.
[📷:A.S.O./Aurélien Vialatte]
Speaking to Eurosport, Contador suggested Pogačar is “capable of almost anything” and looks “unbeatable”… (even if he did have some caveats)…
“Do I think Pogačar is unstoppable this season? Well, if we go by what we have seen so far then we could say he looks unstoppable. But I think that there is a lot of the season left. I think he is going for the classics this year… and we will need to see how he manages his efforts. He is putting a lot of energy into his attacks and this could end up taking its toll.
> Check out the Colnago V4Rs Tadej Pogacar rode to Paris-Nice victory
“The Tour is by no means an easy task. There are a lot of factors that come into play. Hitting peak form, preparation, the recovery over three weeks, how his team work, how Jumbo work – his main rival. I think there are a lot of variables.
“It’s true, for now he looks unbeatable and Pogačar is capable of almost anything but I do think that there will be some races that will be harder for him than others.
“It’s incredible how he can go for it from a great distance from the finish line, or in the yellow jersey or just for some bonus seconds to keep gaining time. I think that is gold and I wouldn’t like to see him race in a smarter way. A separate thing is what him and his team decide with regards to winning the Tour de France again.”
The view from the opposition... Jumbo-Visma insists "we are very confident in our approach" for Jonas Vingegaard's Tour de France defence
[📷:A.S.O./Aurélien Vialatte]
No sign of nerves from the Netherlands… Jumbo Visma matter-of-factly telling VeloNews “we are very confident in our approach”. And why wouldn’t they be? It worked last year, Pogačar enthusiastically bounding after anything and everything, taking early season race wins left, right and centre…
Vingegaard improving slowly, peaking just at the right time to dethrone his showy rival at the moment it mattered most, that’ll be the plan again this year.
“We learnt from Paris-Nice, but we won’t let it be a problem. We are very confident in our approach for Jonas and the Tour,” Jumbo-Visma performance director Mathieu Heijboer explained.
“We know from before that Jonas and the whole team have to be 100 or maybe 110 per cent to be able to beat Pogačar. Jonas just wasn’t in the right place mentally at Paris-Nice.
“With an amazing opponent like Pogačar, you just can’t be at 99 per cent to beat him. We knew that already, and unfortunately we saw it at Paris-Nice. But the team, Jonas, we understand why it happened and are confident in what we’re doing.
“I think it’s a gift for us that we have such an amazing opponent. Pogačar pushes us to the very end to do all the things we do at the optimum to try to beat him. So I’m grateful for that.”
Timmy Mallett explores "utterly brilliant Britain" ... and there's not a pothole in sight
Yesterday’s Mallett post went down so well we’re sharing another one…
Yep it’s a road in Britain
Really?
Where are the potholes?!#utterlybrilliantbritain pic.twitter.com/n0CyySl98U
— Timmy Mallett (@TimmyMallett) March 24, 2023
Why are cargo bikes perceived to be only for the wealthy?
road.cc podcast time… you’re in luck, I’m not on this episode…
> “Adrian, you’re wrong!” Pedal Me’s co-founder on cargo bikes + THAT foggy ride on the Isle of Man
Clash of the titans: MVDP vs WVA vs Pog
It’s mini Flanders time and we’ve got some startlist…
With a startlist like this, anything can happen at the E3 Saxo Classic 🤯
📸 Cor Vos
_
🇧🇪 #E3SaxoClassic pic.twitter.com/ZJ6rFyeThk— Velon CC (@VelonCC) March 23, 2023
A bit generous putting Cav in that one…
Just the few cards for Jumbo Visma to play… Wout, Benoot, Van Baarle, Laporte. Then again, if Mathieu’s on form, one card is all you need…
Comment of the day
A different definition of the 15 minute city. Sad!
— Nancy Duley (@nduley) March 24, 2023
Can he ride it on a cold rainy night in Stoke?
The big three come to the fore
Attack. Attack. Attack.
Tadej Pogačar jumped twice on the Oude Kwaremont, Van der Poel looks comfortable, Van Aert just about clinging on.
We’ll leave it to GCN co-commentator Adam Blythe to sum it all up… “What a [time]… to be a cycling fan, to watch bike racing seeing these three at the front… it’s what dreams are made of.”
Is today the day we get one normal 24 hours of professional cycling? No...
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) March 24, 2023
If you missed yesterday…
> Bike path cyclist tries to keep up with pro women’s peloton… faceplants miserably
Words exchanged between Pogacar and Van der Poel, a few shakes of the head, then Van Aert chimes in. These guys seem to be just having a laugh at the front of a Belgian classic with 18km remaining. #E3SaxoClassic pic.twitter.com/LnXQfESaWL
— Neal Rogers 🇺🇦 (@nealrogers) March 24, 2023
Wout van Aert wins three-up sprint against Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar to defend E3 Saxo Bank Classic
Will Mathieu and Tadej rue the moment, with Van Aert dropped midway up the Kwaremont, when the Belgian was allowed to pull himself back to the leaders? I’d wager they won’t think twice about pressing on if the same scenario arises next Sunday…
"I agree... because I am in the middle": Reaction from the top two
“So Wout, people will say this is the most beautiful E3 podium?”
“I agree… because I am in the middle”
“Because of the strength of the leading group it was hard to try something. I think Tadej did two smaller attacks. For me, I wanted to focus on the sprint and stick to one plan. It’s nice because it’s a long while since I’ve won a race on the road bike. I’m on the right way.”
Next in the chair…MvdP…
“It was a really nice race today, in the end we had some good weather. I felt quite strong and did a few nice attacks, in the end Wout van Aert was too strong in the sprint but I can live with second place and hopefully next week I can turn things around.
“My first time [here] I was third, now second. Maybe I have to come back next year? It was really nice to race against these guys again…”
"I've never seen it without someone parked in it": Cyclist waits 15 minutes for Amazon van driver parked in bike lane to move
Edward from Edinburgh had a live blog of his own going yesterday, live from the scene of some top-tier bike lane parking…
Hi @AmazonUK , could you let me know how long I need to wait? pic.twitter.com/cznGHrAUud
— Edward Tissiman (@edtiss) March 23, 2023
There’s a certain irony in the the sticker telling cyclists to be careful if passing the vehicle on the inside. Anyway, the minutes ticked by… after five, Edward got told to “deal with it” by the driver who was then back for three more parcels in the subsequent 10 minutes.
After a grand total of 15 minutes, one tweet to Amazon threatening an instant Prime cancellation, and 17 cyclists forced out into the road to pass the van… Freedom…
“I’ve never seen it without someone parked in it,” Edward told road.cc and referencing some of his replies… “I seem to have caused a great deal of angst for drivers across the UK, just by trying to keep off the road.”
FREEDOM pic.twitter.com/34nHhmvZlS
— Edward Tissiman (@edtiss) March 23, 2023
If you’re feeling déjà vu…
> Cyclist despairs as Amazon van driver takes cycle lane shortcut before parking on pavement
(We’ve contacted Amazon for comment)
"We are investigating the incident": Amazon speaks out about Edinburgh bike lane blocker
We’ve been in touch with Amazon regarding the above…
The company was quick to point out that Amazon Logistics engages independent delivery providers to provide delivery services, meaning it’s “important to note” that Amazon does not own the vehicles nor employ the drivers, so it would be “wrong to say Amazon driver”.
Anyway, regarding the driver of the Amazon-branded van undertaking Amazon deliveries, Amazon said…
“We have very high standards for the delivery service providers we work with and how they serve customers. We are investigating the incident.”
24 March 2023, 09:05
24 March 2023, 09:05
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Latest Comments
Chris King are fairly serviceable. And the warranty does indeed require it. I enjoy the xtr plug and forget on two of the bikes. Until they die, and I just fit another. Chris's headsets are worth it, superb seals. It's such a mucky area, and I haven't had adjustable cup and cone BBs. on a bike since my Peugeot racers in the 80s, I was relieved when starting my mountain bike adventures in the 90"s that the fit and forget square taper BBs just worked. The seals on the hubs were awful back then. Singletrack FGF featured this, https://burgtec.co.uk/product-category/hardware/shimano-crank-bolt/, I'm wondering if it will replace my seemingly made of butter bolt on the xtr 960 cranks, almost impossible to find back in the day.
If I had purchased my special products division 650 back in '96, rather than obtaining it under a warranty replacement, I would apparently have received a signed picture of the fine Nottingham artisan that welded her. The 750 of that year won Barry Clarke another British xc cup, as I recall.
Yay! https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/26466698.speed-camera-catching-drivers-25mph-oxfordshire/
The fall of Raleigh happened long before this week. Just because somebody bought the name does not mean they were the same bikes. And if you care about the name so much, noone says it won't be purchased by another inverstor as Accell Group is liquidated!
@Destroyer666 I totally see your point. The good news is there are indeed BBs which use industry-standard bearings. Take Neco, for example - they offer exactly what you want. Maybe the bearings in the set are not perfect, but you can replace them with SKFs later.
@chrisonabike I was just reading that myself, it seems a bizarre kneejerk reaction before poor Finlay's cause of death has even been fully investigated. What does Mr.Hansen think has been going on, have the manufacturers had the means to make safer, more robust helmets that are just as light and well ventilated but haven't bothered releasing them? Or does he want the peleton racing in motorcycle helmets, because that's the only way there's going to be a chance of meaningful protection in 100 kmh crashes?
I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work: AFAICS anti-social consequences are inherent in the business model. Models which seem to work better: advertising (Santander cycles), using bikes to make using another service which is more profitable (or less unprofitable) easier (Dutch OV Fiets). After that it's "local authority subsidises it" and then you're down to "flogging customer data"...
Back in the day square taper bb's rolled on bearings that were considerably larger than inside these Maxhit ones. The ball bearings in these fully serviceable models cost a couple of euros. Don't get me wrong, they had their issues, like poor sealing. But those days, servicing bearings was the norm. The current state seems to be something of an attempt at non-serviceability, where efforts made at making products that you DO NOT have to service are accompanied with products that you CANNOT service. And those two things are mixed in different ways. For example with this Maxhit bearing you pay a crazy amount of money for supposed durability - that you are nonetheless expected to service once a year. And once these bearings wear enough, there is no way to service them anymore - no cups, cones, ball bearings to replace, unlike with the old bb's (sure, it was not THAT easy even with them to e.g. find just cups in bike shop). I guess my point is that while I applaud e.g. Enduro for making "bike specific" bearings, I nonetheless long for products that are just easy to service - that is the key to durability. And that does not have to mean it costs a lot. To prove my point: There is absolutely no reason why Shimano could not manufacture it's ubiquitous 20eur BB-MT501 with easily replaceable industrial standard 6805 bearings (where SKF quality bearings cost about 20eur), for the same cost they manufacture the BB in it's current form. They just chose not to. And I would choose that over crazy expensive bb's with marketing schpiel and small print regarding warranty any day.
He's wildly over the top / backwards about what is a risk to the hard-pressed motorist and local places: those are "other motorists" and "mass motoring" respectively. He's almost right though in that many places - even in the UK - are gradually realising that a great way to save themselves money, improve their places and aid their chances of hitting targets on health, obesity, climate etc. is indeed to slow down motorists, restrict parking and deter (not prevent...) much *private motor* travel.
RIP. According to the president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associes the first thing they need to look at is ... helmets? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/czxqqlpnx98o Of course this could make perfect sense for a professional sport, perhaps standards haven't kept pace etc. It's certainly a rarefied extremely fast and hazard-rich environment, compared with my experience of normally <20mph utility-and-leisure cycling. But since the main factor seems to have been an uninvolved vehicle on the course this does sound like a convergence with the standard "cycling safety" narrative? ("Can't fix anything else, so what we *can* do is...")
41 thoughts on ““I’ve never seen it without someone parked in it”: Cyclist waits 15 minutes for Amazon van driver parked in bike lane to move; Alberto Contador warns Tour de France rivals “unbeatable” Tadej Pogačar “looks unstoppable” + more on the live blog”
Timmy Mallett’s photo is
Timmy Mallett’s photo is edited, surely?
My local council just re-tarmacced one of the main roads near me and it’s lumpy as hell and already showing wear after 3 weeks. Riding to work the day it was re-opened felt like I was on the Roubaix cobblestones.
Our council have just been
Our council have just been given £300K to resurface roads over the next few months…. during which time I will be riding a full suspension MTB as they wont be fit for a road bike anytime soon.
£300k won’t go very far. So
£300k won’t go very far. So definitely stick to full suspension.
May I recommend 3inch low
May I recommend 3inch low pressure tyres.
Quote:
Is your local council one of the lesser spotted councils who hasn’t outsourced repairs to some faceless and never held accountable company?
We should name and shame the companies who conduct the poor work. Than the protected civil servant fools who employ them.
Public-private partnership
Public-private partnership for the best of both, innit? The private company happily does crap work and the council don’t bother to check it.
Where does the graft start? Possibly worth a check on the friends and holiday / car / dining opportunity providers of your local councillors and officers…
the south east london route 4
the south east london route 4 from tower bridge out to greenwich is perhaps one of the best planned cycle routes in London – some slightly sharp turns around junctions, but on the whole works well. There is however one very poorly finished section which feels done in a rush to complete the work – very lumpy tarmac. Still better than potholes though
I criticised some of the
I criticised some of the cycle tracks in South Glos on the A38 for their lumpiness, observing that they appear to have been laid by a drunken chimpanzee with a shovel.
I always used to think that
I always used to think that Timmy Mallet was some sort of irritating eccentric, but now I know he’s keen on getting around on a bike I’m not so sure…
not sure if you’re being
not sure if you’re being sarcastic….but many will think being on a bike IS being a sort of irritating eccentric
Having to google the word
Having to google the word ‘caveat’ as didn’t know the word existed until coming on this site..
Type of posh fish eggs, innit
Type of posh fish eggs, innit.
Amazon seems to have an
Amazon seems to have an active policy of pavement and cycle lane parking. They are easily worse than any other delivery company for that dangerous, antisocial illegal behavior.
The replies on that Twitter
The replies on that Twitter thread are insane. I wonder if those people are just as tolerant when a HGV parks and blocks a road while unloading…?
Imagine the anger if that
Imagine the anger if that amzon van driver had stopped in the road lane for 15 minutes just to fuck about with three people’s unecessary crap from Papa Jeff!
Certainly Amazon vans do so
Certainly Amazon vans do so round where I stay. However everyone does, including driving instructors (happy to take a break on double yellows for 15 minutes between lessons), the posties (van fully on the pavement), the council (blocking junctions / cycle path just ‘cos that was the nearest point)…
Ah posties are allowed to
Ah posties are allowed to park wherever they want, because of the Royal crest/warrant they have and their duty delivering the King’s mail.
In fact I think it’s a legal offence to delay or prevent a postie from delivering the mail because of that royal link.
Unfortunately the rest just copy the posties and without a council bothered to tackle it properly, it simply becomes default driving behaviour.
Ah, that will explain why one
Ah, that will explain why one of them overtook me as I was in the middle of the lane, arm outstretched to turn right.
You do know it’s not illegal
You do know it’s not illegal any more, at least if you turn on your flashing lights of absolution? Road markings are mere decoration.
Is it not time that some
Is it not time that some entrepreneur filled the obvious gap for a small, light wheel clamp? Such delivery drivers are running to a tight schedule, and if it takes them an hour to remove a clamp, but parking there only saves them two minutes, the effect could be dramatic.
Also incredibly satisfying.
eburtthebike wrote:
That’d likely be considered criminal damage in the same way that Tyre Extinguishers are considere to be damaging private property.
But a clamp doesn’t damage
But a clamp doesn’t damage the vehicle, it merely inconveniences the driver.
In the same way that letting
In the same way that letting the tyres down for short periods doesn’t damage the tyres?
Temporary impairment of value
Temporary impairment of value or usefulness is enough: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/criminal-damage
quiff wrote:
it’s also a specific offence under POFA2012
But it rather depends on
But it rather depends on identifiying the suspect, and how would they do that?
Re the DPD driver in Leith
Re the DPD driver in Leith Walk. From this recent newspaper article it appears that LRT (the Edinburgh council owned bus company) drivers know how to deal with these people.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/lothian-buses-driver-punched-delivery-29505057
Although it is perhaps a touch extreme.
What would the crack be if
What would the crack be if all these delivery companies got on board e-cargo bikes or similar? Where would everyone expect the driver/rider to leave the bike whilst delivering….on the pavement, obstructing pedestrians or left in the cycle lane obstructing that? Genuine question, not being pedantic.
Any cargo bike (max 1 m wide)
Any cargo bike (max 1 m wide) would simply park on the road (yellow lines shown – no loading ban in place) – not wide enough to cause an obstruction or the pavement / bike lane – again no known cargo bike is anywhere near wide enought to block access in the way that Amazon van (2.5 m wide) is doing. Genuine answer.
Typical Amazon van driver,
Typical Amazon van driver, don’t give a damn about anyone else.
As for the van, I’ve often wondered why these vans are allowed on the roads if they have blind spots, not as if they are that big.
Didn’t the ‘unbeatable’
Didn’t the ‘unbeatable’ Pogacar get beaten only last weekend? I must have dreamt it.
ShutTheFrontDawes wrote:
I think something’s probably been lost in translation, he meant he looks like he will be unbeatable in the Tour de France, clearly he didn’t mean he expects him to win every race he enters.
Rendel Harris wrote:
I think something’s probably been lost in translation, he meant he looks like he will be unbeatable in the Tour de France, clearly he didn’t mean he expects him to win every race he enters.— ShutTheFrontDawes
Ah, when Contador said “I think he is going for the classics this year”, I thought he must have meant classics. You know, like Milan San Remo (aka The Spring Classic, aka La Classicissima). Not quite sure how that could be lost in translation. My mistake perhaps.
Yes, he does mean that he’s
Yes, he does mean that he’s going for the classics and so that’s a caveat as to his unbeatability in the Tour, depending how much the early season takes out of him, still pretty sure AC didn’t mean TP was going to be unbeatable in every race he enters.
Rendel Harris wrote:
So he’s “unbeatable” and “unstoppable” in one race of the season, unless he decides to actually race in others? Sounds like we’ve got a great season on our hands. I seem to remember people saying something similar of froome the year Thomas took his first TdF win.
There’s a certain irony in
There’s a certain irony in the the sticker telling cyclists to be careful if passing the vehicle on the inside
This is not lost on us victims of Stagecoach bus drivers
https://upride.cc/incident/px12dnu_stagecoach40bus_closepass/
https://upride.cc/incident/px12eez_stagecoach41_closepass/
https://upride.cc/incident/px62cea_stagecoach42_uwlcrossclosepass/
or Sainsbury’s 44 tonners- this is for people tired of looking at close-pass videos. The summary is that the back of the offending vehicle looks like this, and that in each case the expletive-deleted Lancashire expletive-deleted Constabulary expletive-deleteds did nothing about the offence
Quote:
Erm… it’s got your name and logo plastered all over it. Of course it’s an Amazon van and the driver is an Amazon driver. If you don’t want us to say it’s an Amazon van with an Amazon driver you know what to do.
Clevedon seafront latest:
Clevedon seafront latest:
Looks good
Looks good
brooksby wrote:
Maybe I’m admitting to being a terrible driver, but I think I would get confused on that road with those markings… though at least I slow down when I’m confused.
Nah mate. The terrible
Nah mate. The terrible drivers just plough through.