Hill climb champ smashes ‘UK’s toughest climb’ KOM by two minutes; Cargo bike courier rubbishes Bath Conservatives’ steep hills claim; €37,000 raised for injured ultracyclist; Supermarket bikepacking; Storey’s 15th gold; Rog memes + more on the live blog

If there was ever a need to prove that some people in Bath have literally no idea of how most of us live our lives, this quote proves it. https://t.co/Ho4BVcImDv

— Bath Conservatives (@BathCA) August 23, 2021

If you’re going to claim its impossible or impractical to transport your business and supplies by cargo bike in a hilly city like Bath…it’s probably not a good idea to dispute the fact with a business that has been doing it for five years. 

Bath Conservatives did exactly that and were all too happy to jump in when a Twitter user suggested businesses should ditch their vans and cycle supplies into the Clean Air Zone to avoid charges. They said the idea showed how some in Bath have “literally no idea” how others live.

Anyway, this is where Three Bags Full cargo bikes stepped in to share an article about a London plumber who does 95 per cent of his business by cargo bike. This went down well…

In West London. Mostly very flat, and a compact market. Good for him.

Suggest you don’t propose this to plumbers, electricians, joiners, roofers, scaffolders, builders etc trying to serve customers across Bath, Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire.

— Bath Conservatives (@BathCA) August 24, 2021

https://t.co/XcfaG15Qrp Pardon me? Last time I looked the Bath CAZ was in the centre of Bath. Not Bristol, Or Wiltshire. Or Somerset. We’ve been running an electric cargo bike delivery service in Bath for 5 years. Carrying heavy loads up and down Bath’s many hills very …

— Three Bags Full (@Threebagsfullco) August 24, 2021

Nice of Three Bags Full to keep the ‘we’ve been doing it for five years’ ace up their sleeve until Bath Conservatives had committed to making themselves look silly… 

Three Bags Full’s website says it is ‘Cleaner, faster, cheaper – Three Bags Full is Bath’s zero-emissions only mile delivery service’ and is on a mission to swap ‘the hordes of heavily polluting diesel vans with a fleet of zero-emissions electric cargo bikes’. Amen.

Now that’s how you win a 15th gold medal 👏

Congratulations @DameSarahStorey 🥇#Tokyo2020 | #C4Paralympics pic.twitter.com/Bd2dHu2jOz

— C4 Paralympics (@C4Paralympics) August 25, 2021

Dame Sarah Storey won her first Paralympic gold at the Barcelona Games in 1992. This morning in Tokyo she won her 15th. Storey smashed her world record by more than four seconds in the C5 3,000m individual pursuit qualifier before comfortably catching fellow Brit Crystal Lane-Wright in the final.

The result means she’s now just one gold behind swimmer Mike Kenny’s record of 16. A sign of her domination was that the final was over after just 1,750m.

“It’s quite overwhelming,” Storey told the BBC. “I don’t know if it will sink in until I get home. I came here with a really solid plan of what I wanted to do and I’ve delivered it, so it kind of blows your mind a bit. I talked before about breaking your personal best, in my case a world record, a small margin at a time. And I just knocked 4.3 seconds off.”

Nigel Barker from Truro is convinced he spotted a big cat the size of a large lurcher while he was out mountain biking with his kids at Lanhydrock, near Bodmin. The 52-year-old told Cornwall Live they were the first on the trails early in the morning when the large, athletic cat, described as charcoal grey with a 2ft long tail and bushy fur darted across the trail.

Nigel said the animal was a similar size to his lurcher and far too big for a domestic cat. He then saw a deer and believes the cat was hunting the doe when he startled it. “I stopped just to compose myself a little bit,” he told Cornwall Live.

“I was a bit of an agnostic,” he said. “I have friends on the moor who said they’ve seen them. I have no doubt in my mind. I was close enough.” The Beast of Bodmin?

“Is it bad?”
“No, it’s nothing.”@JumboVismaRoad duo Primoz Roglic and Sepp Kuss discuss an eventful final climb on Stage 10 of #LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/6Z59yttmVq

— Velon CC (@VelonCC) August 24, 2021

Primož Roglič did not seem to concerned after the finish of yesterday’s stage, telling Sepp Kuss, ” it’s nothing”. The cycling world went into meltdown as the rider, who saw his Tour de France hopes ended because of a crash, fell again on a fast technical descent having attacked up the final climb of stage ten. Some are calling him the new Geraint Thomas, others joked that even when he crashes Roglič still takes time on Ineos…

We shared the screenshot on the live blog yesterday of Tadej Pogačar liking a meme poking fun at his compatriot’s fall. Pog loves memes. 

“It’s been amazing to see how many young people they have helped and supported through boxing – you can really see the impact their work has, giving people a new focus and honestly changing lives.” Joe Talbot, @idlesband @WJHealey @templecycles 🚲https://t.co/imPoIgWdhG

— Empire Fighting Chance (@EmpireFightingC) August 24, 2021

The frontman of British rock band Idles is cycling from London to Bristol to raise money for Empire Fighting Chance, a youth mental health charity which uses non-contact boxing to support young people. Talbot and fellow musical artist Willie J Healey are setting off from Banquet Records in London on Friday, the day after a gig in the capital, and aim to reach Friendly Records in Bristol 128 miles later.

Talbot, whose band was nominated for a Brit Award and Mercury Prize in 2019, trains at the gym he’s raising money for and said: “It is with huge excitement and honour that Willie and I can start to give back to Empire Fighting Chance and support the work they do.

“I’ve trained in the Empire Fighting Chance gym for a long time and it has been amazing to see how many young people they have helped and supported through boxing – you can really see the impact their work has, giving people a new focus and honestly changing lives. I’m sure this won’t be the last challenge we take on for Empire, but as first tries go it’s definitely ambitious.”

Bristol bike manufacturer Temple Cycles has donated bikes for the challenge.

VALDEPEÑAS vs HUY#LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/A1Cvic3eo8

— Gregarios de Lujo (@gregariosdelujo) August 25, 2021

The Vuelta route looks a little lumpy, but a closer look at the finish will tell you just how hard it is going to be for those riding and how enjoyable it will be for us sat on the sofa. The final ramp peaks at 25 per cent and averages 9.2 per cent for 900m…

For context, Mur de Huy is 1.2km at 9.9 per cent. We can’t wait.

Roglič asked how long he can avoid taking red again.

Him: ‘Sweet worries, huh?’

— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) August 25, 2021

British National Hill Climb champion Andrew Feather is on a summer tour of Scotland, smashing KOMs wherever he goes. Last night he took the one climb to rule them all…Bealach na Bà. Often dubbed Britain’s toughest climb, the Bealach is 9.32km at 6.7 per cent, but includes 3km at 10 per cent, 1km at 13 per cent and a steepest 600m averaging 19 per cent…Brutal.

It racks up 627m of ascent, pretty good for here in the UK. The aptly named Feather made light work of our most infamous climb, reaching the top in 24:44 at an average speed of 22.6km/h and more than two minutes faster than previous KOM holder Ross Fawcett.

The two-time hill climb champ’s power data explains why he can boast that title…432w for the duration of the 24 minute effort.

What’s more, once he’d conquered the westbound ascent Feather rolled down the other side and claimed the eastbound KOM too…

This one was a bit closer…he only took the second KOM by 1:50. Feather summited the eastbound ascent (8.37km at 7.5 per cent) in 24:25, again holding a mind-boggling 406w for the duration of the climb. Check out the Strava activity in all its glory here.

Earlier in the summer we tasked road.cc’s Liam with the unenviable challenge of trying to beat Andrew on some of our local climbs in Bath. To level the playing field a touch we gave Liam an e-bike…see how he got on here.

Then in the rematch we went the other way and let Liam ride his normal bike and made poor Andrew slog progressively more horrible machines up Bloomfield Road’s 12 per cent slopes…did Liam beat a hill climb champ riding a battered old folder?

🚴‍♀️Wow. The breakaway survives. The winner of stage 1 Zwolle – Hardenberg is
🥇@aliACTIONjackso @LivRacingWT
🥈 @maelle__G @FDJ_NAqui_Fut
🥉@lorenawiebes @TeamDSM
4 @marianne_vos @JumboVismaWomen
5 @charlotte_kool @NXTGRacing #SLT2021 #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/cn6Z4MkRDV

— Simac Ladies Tour (@ladiestour) August 25, 2021

Liv Racing’s Alison Jackson won the opening road stage of the Simac Ladies Tour, the latest Women’s World Tour race to hit our TV screens. Canadian Jackson and her breakaway companion Maëlle Grossetête survived to the finish in Hardenberg with the 32-year-old winning the sprint seconds before the peloton surged over the line. Jackson also takes the leader’s jersey from yesterday’s prologue winner Marianne Vos; the pair are level on time ahead of stage two tomorrow.

I’ve ridden some of this route finding many potholes, so this worries me. I’ll check this out a few times before the race, prevention is better than cure! @mrpotholeuk @CyclingLawyers @Jdrsmith https://t.co/fc5QhPJuYg pic.twitter.com/h9XxEvStci

— Dave Gaster (@VisTran) August 25, 2021

The Simac Women’s Tour may be happening this week in the Netherlands but here in the UK we’ve got a Women’s World Tour Women’s Tour of our own. The stages are mainly in the south east of England, including stage one in Oxfordshire that Dave mentions above. 

More than €37,000 has been raised for Spanish ultracyclist Ana Orenz who sustained a horrific list of injuries after crashing into a wild boar on a fast descent during the 3,500km Trans Iberica event. Ana collided with the animal and lay unconscious in the road for an hour before coming around and lying unable to move for another hour.

She was eventually found by two other racers who called for medical help. Orenz was transferred to Pamplona Hospital where she is currently being treated for a broken neck and severe facial trauma. Thankfully, although severely bruised, her spinal cord was not severed and she did not suffer any brain damage.

The first-responders said she was lucky to be alive and a traumatologist added that it may be a year before the single mother to daughter Ruby is able to stand by herself. Her facial injuries will also require months of surgical reconstruction.

Orenz set multiple records prior to the incident and is the first woman to triple Everest, won the 24 hour Cyclo Circuit Valencia and is normally the first female finisher at any event she races.

The GoFundMe page is over two thirds of the way to its 50,000 euro target and says: “Of course we dream that Ana will ride again, that she will win another race, but our reality today is that Ana’s goals are to sit up, to walk, to go home and to relearn the basics of life that we take for granted. She faces many months off work and the donations we ask for will go towards her physical therapy and allowing her time to rest and recuperate, to be looked after for once.”

Double stage winner Jasper Philipsen has left the Vuelta a España because of some mild fever symptoms. The Belgian sprinter says although “very very disappointed” he understands his team’s medical staff urging him to withdraw. The 23-year-old won stage two and stage five before coming third on stage eight. He was second in the points classification, 16 behind Fabio Jakobsen.

Your yearly reminder that pannier bag hooks also work on shopping trolleys. 🛒🚲🛍️🥖 pic.twitter.com/BQl3WGIwtA

— Adam Reynolds (@awjre) August 24, 2021

But do they clip to those little Lidl wheelie baskets? 

Definitely not the takeaway point Specialized wanted us to take from this vid, but anyone else really enjoy watching a pro rider working on their bike in a dingy garage workshop? Maybe it’s just me…