Remco Evenepoel 60km solo victory halted by flaming roadside car; Cyclist “lucky” not to be hit after bollards removed; Gold medal prank; Bizarre New York wheelie crash; Packed bike lanes; Bernal shoots hoops; Paralympic medals + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"If the infrastructure is there, people will cycle": Queues at every traffic light and packed bike lanes
Just look at the number of cyclists here – queues at every traffic light.
There’s no reason we couldn’t see this level of cycling all over the city, and across the UK.
If the infrastructure is there, people will cycle. pic.twitter.com/6DIbAm4weu
— London Cycles (@London_Cycles) August 26, 2021
How good does this look? Maybe not if you were hoping to zoom home early, but that’s not the point. This clip is from just outside Parliament in Westminster and bang at the heart of an area packed with segregated cycling infrastructure.
EricEatsPickles (great name) is a regular in these parts and sang the praises of the infrastructure: “For 14 years my commute home from work, but what a transformation there’s been. Actual prioritisation and protection, no mad dash across lanes before the metal hounds are let loose, safety in numbers.”
What’s more London Cycles took the video at around 6pm so speculated that quite a few people could have already headed home or might be on holiday in August – not bad for a reduced crowd.
If the weather’s nice this bank holiday weekend then expect similar videos of people out enjoying their city in the sunshine to pop up early next week…
Egan Bernal shoots some hoops to unwind after a tough Vuelta stage
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) August 25, 2021
For some reason I don’t think the Milwaukee Bucks (yes, I had to look that up) will be coming in for Egan Bernal this off-season. He got there in the end…
Fake news guys 😜. Nothing but net from Egan! 🏀 pic.twitter.com/0UFqZ2Yz1v
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) August 25, 2021
Ineos Grenadiers don’t have a great record when trying out other sports…their training camp trip to the driving range was entertaining for all the wrong reasons.
Don’t get me started on when they did that crossbar challenge…
And as for the time Tom Pidcock claimed to have run a 13.25 5k and triggered the entire running community in the process…stick to the day job, lads.
How steep? The best pictures from yesterday's savage Vuelta a España climb
That final kilometre was steep🥵 What a win today!🤩
📸 Cxcling pic.twitter.com/ieAyzstfSo
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) August 25, 2021
25 per cent? More? Either way, Primož Roglič made it look easy…Tom Pidcock had fun too.
Pidcock living his best life. #LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/TY2tIcVI0S
— Dan Deakins (@DanDeakins) August 25, 2021
At the finish the Slovenian said: “It was a tough day. Short, but very hot. Fortunately, I had enough energy left at the end to win today. Today’s finish suited me and it was an enjoyable challenge.” Enjoyable. Rog enjoyed that? He’s built different.
Today’s profile looks a good opportunity for the breakaway. Stage 12 from Jaén to Córdoba is 175km with a couple of tasty 2nd cat climbs in the final 60km. The second of which tops out with 19km to go. We’ll keep you updated on the day here on the blog and with our usual post-stage report.
Bizarre moment New York cop taken out by cyclist popping a wheelie
NYC is back!! pic.twitter.com/g4D2AXSEVp
— Aaron Stewart-Ahn (@somebadideas) August 25, 2021
This one’s all quite strange. It could be a scene out of a bad cop comedy. None of the other NYPD officers seemed too bothered when one of their men was flattened by the cyclist popping a wheelie. The guy on the bike also seemed like he’d barely noticed the cop caught under his front wheel…
The clip has been viewed more than 650,000 times and nobody, as far as I can see, has worked out what’s going on either. Some have questioned why everyone was going the wrong way down a one-way road, others were more concerned by the cops flying through the pedestrian crossing.
There’s not much sympathy for the police officer in the 500 plus replies…
What the hell. The cop basically parks in the middle of a turn, gets tapped by the bike rider, does a slow roll. Is this some kind of really crap choreography? Like really bad fake Kung-fu movies?
— Hoarder of old game stuff. (@PsychosisFuzz) August 25, 2021
then toss his helmet like he’s in the NFL and some ball boy will go and grab it.
— Frosty Giant (@Frost_Giant_) August 25, 2021
Medals galore for ParalympicsGB in Tokyo this morning
.@jodycundy 🤝 Alfonso Cabello Llamas
Great sportsmanship on show between the 🥇 and 🥈 winners, after two incredible rides.#Tokyo2020#ParalympicsGB pic.twitter.com/eYksq0UADS
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) August 26, 2021
It’s been some morning in the velodrome for ParalympicsGB out in Tokyo. Tandem pair Aileen McGlynn and Helen Scott got the ball rolling with silver in the women’s B 1000m time trial before Jody Cundy pictured above became the first man in ParalympicsGB history to medal at seven Games when he won silver in the C4-5 1000m time trial.
Jaco Van Gass then beat teammate Fin Graham in the C3 3,000m individual pursuit after smashing the world record in qualifying. Four medals, one gold and a world record. Not a bad morning’s work.
Rapha teams up with San Antonio Spurs to create fan kit for NBA team
Rapha and San Antonio Spurs have teamed up to launch a cycling kit collection so fans can rep their team’s colours out on the road. The first is a lightweight race kit with the team logo and traditional silver and black colours. The other features the team’s “fiesta colours” of their famous 90s design.
The idea has apparently been worked on for a few years now after the team noted that cycling had become a popular post-retirement sport for a lot of its former players.
“Rapha was thrilled by the opportunity to work with the Spurs and offer a cycling kit to the team’s fans. This project gave us a special opportunity to forge a connection between local cycling initiatives and the broader San Antonio sporting community. We hope that the collaboration will have a positive impact by promoting the positive values that sport of any kind can bring to anyone’s life,” a Rapha press release said.
Olympic cyclist pranks airport security with gold medal
Olympic gold medalist: ✅
Comedian: ✅Nothing to see here – just Canadian cyclist @_kmmitchell having some fun with airport security… fair play! 🤣🥇 pic.twitter.com/iJX2cmGn1h
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) August 25, 2021
The dreaded airport security scanner goes off…you pat yourself down: keys? belt? Ah, I forgot to take my Olympic gold medal off…we’ve all been there…
Kelsey Mitchell won gold in the individual sprint in Tokyo, her country’s 24th of the Games. She’s just the second rider from Canada to win a gold in an individual cycling event. But that all is secondary to this airport tomfoolery. Just as well the Japanese security kept up the host’s reputation for their hospitality. Good luck trying that at certain airports elsewhere…
Let’s just hope her bike got back to Canada in one piece…unlike poor Fabian Cancellara’s Japan-inspired BMC.
Alejandro Valverde back training five days after surgery
Si lo dejaran se reincorpora la a la vuelta pero ya …!! @eduardochozas
El más grande @alejanvalverde pic.twitter.com/wAUaPMKuZP— el casao (@casao7) August 26, 2021
Just five days after having surgery on a fractured collarbone sustained in a crash on Friday’s Vuelta stage Alejandro Valverde is back training on his home trainer. Could he be back in time for the World Championships in Flanders next month?
Cyclist "lucky" not to be hit after bollards removed from "dangerous" cycle lane - rider found herself travelling towards oncoming traffic after sudden works
A cyclist said she was lucky to avoid being hit by a driver after cycle lane bollards were removed from the B3108 between Bradford-on-Avon and Winsley in Wiltshire. The markings and signs remain, so Caroline Tassell used the lane as normal but soon found herself riding towards oncoming traffic with no protection from the bollards that usually seperate cyclists from drivers.
In the pictures below you can see how riders heading eastbound from Bradford-on-Avon towards Winsley were directed over to use the lane riding towards oncoming traffic, while riders heading westbound were encouraged to use a pretty questionable shared-use path…
The cyclist told the Wiltshire Times that if nothing is done then she fears somebody will be seriously injured on the road. She said: “I know the cycle lane between Winsley and Bradford-on-Avon has been a controversial subject for sometime now, and as a regular cyclist I have been using it somewhat reluctantly when travelling from Bradford-on-Avon to Winsley.”
“It never felt safe – narrow, potholes, full of debris, and lethal if meeting another cyclist coming the other way. However, it was marginally preferable to the abuse I experienced from motorists if I chose not to use it and cycled on the road instead. Today, I started to cycle along it only to realise that a car was heading straight for me.
“I then realised that the bollards have been removed so there is nothing to separate cars from cyclists, however the white lines and signage remains in place indicating that this is still a cycle lane. As if it wasn’t dangerous enough before! I am lucky that I wasn’t hit but this has to be dealt with as a matter of urgency before somebody is seriously hurt. An absolute shambles.”
Wiltshire Council says it intends to replace the temporary infrastructure with a permanent facility next year and the bollards have been removed under temporary traffic signals. The temporary facility was installed as a response to the Covid pandemic to make active travel more accessible.
No spectators allowed at Welsh Tour of Britain stages
Bad news for Welsh cycling fans hoping to catch the action at the Tour of Britain next month. The race’s organisers have announced that no spectators will be allowed at the stage starts or team paddock of both the Welsh stages. That applies to stage three, starting in Llandeilo and stage four from Aberaeron on September 7 and 8 respectively.
The decision comes following consultation with local stakeholders and was announced today. No official word on what the play will be at stage finishes or out on the road but there’ll also be no public access to the team paddock at the start and finish of all stages. The organisers say this might only be a one-year protocol and that hopefully from next year fans will be able to meet riders again as usual.
Queensbury Tunnel memorial installed to commemorate the ten men known to have died during construction
Campaigners hoping to reopen a disused West Yorkshire railway tunnel as part of a new active travel route have installed a memorial to the ten men known to have died during its construction.
Work on the Queensbury Tunnel betweeen Bradford and Halifax begain in May 1874 and involved the excavation of 180,000 cubic yards of rock. Groundwater delayed progress and dozens of the 600-strong workforce suffered injuries, many of them life-changing.
Ten workers died and to honour the navvies, the Queensbury Tunnel Society has built a memorial near the tunnel entrance. “Navvies are the forgotten heroes of the railway boom that changed the nation in the 19th Century,” Graeme Bickerdike, the Society’s Engineering Coordinator said. “The risks would be intolerable now and many paid the highest possible price, leaving their families destitute. As we ride comfortably on their infrastructure, we must not forget those who gifted us our railway network through the Victorian era.”
I can feel it coming in the air tonight
sound up. pic.twitter.com/3z5Qtz5Qb8
— YS (@NYinLA2121) August 26, 2021
Bikmo and Love to Ride announce three-year partnership to get the UK cycling
Cycle insurance provider Bikmo and cycling encouragement platform Love to Ride have announced a three-year partnership to “get more people on bikes and increase education for riders on how to keep their bikes safe”.
Love to Ride’s online campaigns have so far engaged more than 570,000 people worldwide, including 132,000 new cyclists. Riders can collect points to win prizes, some of which are provided by Bikmo and include gold sold secure rated Hiplok bike locks and a £200 Freewheel voucher to be spent in a local bike shop.
Remco Evenepoel 60km solo victory halted by flaming roadside car
#druivenkoers #brand Hopelijk alles ok. @sporza_koers pic.twitter.com/ciXct6ziDG
— Erdo Gone (@gone_erdo) August 26, 2021
Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphlippe were over in Belgium today racing the relatively unknown Druivenkoers – Overijse. Why? Well, the route covered some of the roads that will be used at next month’s UCI World Championship road race. Evenepoe,l in typical style, laid down the gauntlet to the entire cycling world by attacking solo for 60km.
That wasn’t even the most noteworthy event of the afternoon however. A car caught fire roadside on the route meaning the race was neutralised and Evenepoel had to wait a while to continue kicking lumps out everyone else…
I think @OutOfCycling is having the time of his life watching the #DruivenkoersOverijse fire neutralizarion. pic.twitter.com/ChJZ7J27cE
— BramDesmet (@BramDesmetKoers) August 26, 2021
In the end the race restarted and Evenepoel got his win. But will he be wearing the rainbow jersey in a month’s time? We certainly wouldn’t bet against it…
26 August 2021, 07:58
26 August 2021, 07:58
26 August 2021, 07:58
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Latest Comments
@Velo-drone I did not submit reports of either of the two heinous close passes I experienced with my daughter while on holiday there in half term But you could show them to us! I sent one to upRide today: it's the silver Kuga above, and will likely be viewable in a couple of days, and the long holdup on here can be sidestepped by simply omitting the 'h' from the https at the beginning of the link. It's all very easy to do. Other hosting sites are available.
@matthewn5 On which - I've not been there (and I've heard from a couple of cyclists online who say that they *are* good...) but I suspect the following blog post (from 2012 - As Easy As Riding A Bike) nails it: "They built it, and they didn’t come – the lesson of Milton Keynes" Verdict: the place was designed (1) for very convenient driving (not surprising - aspirational driving was the thing at the time, they had a blank canvas etc). (2) While the designer genuinely tried to provide for cyclists that comes across as "we need to get the cyclists off the roads because we fixed it for the cars to move fast". As is common (across the decades) in the UK it's nominal safety from motor vehicles but at major cost to convenience. Not to mention lack of social safety. FWIW there's also videos online by Alexei Sayle of him cycling around giant car parks there...
@mitsky Doesn't matter ..... Insurance / No insurance, License / No license These types will drive anyway!
@VIPcyclist Agree regarding cycle lanes, but the article is referring to cycle _tracks_ in Milton Keynes, which if I remember rightly are segregated but also don't run next to roads, so they're often quiet, dimly lit and secluded.
First, the actual change from issuing a bunch of "warning letters" to basically taking no action on anything is more or less no change to be honest. There is no evidence that sending a warning letter does anything. Not all forces even keep a record of warning letters. I'm aware of no actual empirical study of outcomes from sending a warning letter. Its main purpose therefore can only be to say that something has been done, rather than to actually improve road safety outcomes, because nobody cares enough to check if it achieves any outcome. It's the equivalent of finding a bike thief, and popping in a note through the door saying "please don't do that", and considering it an effective response. The apparent discrepancy between the NPCC position given early in the article, and the judgment later on that the Derbyshire policy "appears in line with the guidance" muddies the water considerably. There is a gaping lack of clarity over what police forces can and can't (or will and won't) do under the NPCC guidance. The suggestion for cyclists to provide speed measurements is silly - most cyclists don't have that capability, or won't be using it on e.g commuting rides. It's not clear why the speed of the cyclist is particularly relevant in any case? The Highway Code guidance relating to passing cyclists refers only to the speed of the motor vehicle. Saying you'll only take action in "exceptional circumstances" but not giving any indication what those circumstances might be is tantamount to saying "don't bother reporting, because it's 99% likely to be a complete waste of your and our time and we're not going to tell you how you might assess whether your case might be in the 1%" So, unsurprisingly the Derbyshire Police policy does seem to have at least one clear impact. I did not submit reports of either of the two heinous close passes I experienced with my daughter while on holiday there in half term. Why would I? Why would anyone? And why would it be a surprise that some drivers in Derbyshire choose to drive as if they have a free rein to endanger cyclists lives without fear of any consequence - because in fact they do. The notion that "forensic analysis" is needed to determine if a close pass is actionable or not is nonsensical. I would say laughable, but it's not really a laughing matter. It is not necessary to determine if the car is 140cm vs 151cm away. It is generally perfectly obvious whether the car is less than a car's width away, or more than a car's width away. That's sufficient to make a reasonable judgement on whether the driving could be considered careless or not - bearing in mind that the vast majority of actioned cases would be easily visually identifiable as substantially below that distance.
@Pub bike 10,000 men find out a year they’ve got prostate cancer too late. We need to get those numbers down. There’s no screening unfortunately in the UK There's no blanket overall prostate cancer screening because the experts in the UK National Screening Committee have decided that it would do more harm than good. It's not because of cost, it's because the PSA test is not that good. There are big trials in progress to improve testing. When it comes down to PSA testing of specific groups, such as those with a genuine family history, the risk-benefit balance may well be different. I suspect thar Sir Chris has had at least tacit approval of his "just google ‘prostate cancer UK risk checker’ and there’s three questions, it takes you 30 seconds and that will help you assess your individual risk. If you’re high risk, go to your GP and ask for a PSA, a blood test" advice so it's probably reasonable. I am 74 and have never taken a PSA test. I have no family history I know about. 'Better to be safe than sorry' is bad advice when it comes to prostate cancer screening.
As well as a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test another non-surgical test you can have is a Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) which a GP can do very quickly and gives some more indication about the state of the prostate. See https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information-and-support/prostate-tests/digital-rectal-examination-dre
Re: Oxford Street's increased footfall and sales... Whilst comparisons have been made to the equivalent time period last year... I'm wondering if an "It's new, let's check it out..." effect might be having some influence. Would be good to see ongoing comparison figures for the next few weeks months... Would also be good to see how the pedestrianisation of NYC's Times Square compares... For the record, I'm all for what has been done given the previous situation.
We want to first extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Patrick Turner on his tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of sorrow and mourning Now we are sure where an increasing number of UK forces get their automatic Thoughts and Prayers button (it's the Good Ol' Cyclist-Friendly Trump USA, the spiritual home of BritFilth) deployed on relatives of cyclists killed on the roads. The sincerity involved is demonstrated by the increasingly prevalent official force policies designed to bin all reports of close-passing, no matter how close and no matter how good the evidence. You have seen them in Lancashire and Scotland, in Derbyshire and Gloucestershire, in Kent and Essex... You may be worrying about them coming to a force near you, but they're probably already there!
38 thoughts on “Remco Evenepoel 60km solo victory halted by flaming roadside car; Cyclist “lucky” not to be hit after bollards removed; Gold medal prank; Bizarre New York wheelie crash; Packed bike lanes; Bernal shoots hoops; Paralympic medals + more on the live blog”
my cycle commute takes me
my cycle commute takes me along the embankment, through parliament square and along millbank – for the period prior to covid i would deliberately either avoid the busiest times or go around becasue there were too many other cyclists…a problem i was happy about. if peoples work hours were more flexible then we could spread this concentration more effectively. rush hour is so last century…
Need to make over more road
Need to make over more road space to bicycles and less to cars. It’s just a question of space efficiency – how to accommodate the greatest number of people on the roads. It’s madness to take away so much capacity from people needing to go places.
Please stop from spreading
Please stop from spreading such nonsense only the other day an esteemed learned councillor was asking for park benches to be installed as they are more effective at moving people than cycle lanes (or was the man confused and it was just as quick sitting on a park bench as driving a car, though obviously a lot less damaging for the planet ?)
Here you go! https://www
Here you go! https://www.wayfair.co.uk/Sol-72-Outdoor–Aaleiya-Wooden-Bench-GJOU3947-L6165-K~FINT2836.html
A park bench on wheels! Moves more people than a bullet train! Apparently…
as a spatial designer,
as a spatial designer, efficiency means using space according to need across time…flexible capacity is better than no capacity but it is about balancing need between all people in spaces – pedestrians, vehicles and cycles. unfortunately people tend towards being selfish and not with communal interests and so we get rigid divisions.
That’s a very cool job title
That’s a very cool job title
So when cycle lanes are empty, cars should be able to use them to increase efficiency? I’d consider that on condition that any car in a cycle lane is 100% responsible for any incident (yes, even if a cyclist rides into them
). That’s pretty much how I feel in reverse using the roads as a cyclist: 100% responsible for anything that happens… because I’m the one who will end up in hospital, or worse.
Global Nomad wrote:
So – building a TARDIS, then? 😉
Do you mean like smart
Do you mean like smart motorways, a much more efficiant use of the hard shoulder that only kills a few extra people?
ChasP wrote:
The needs of the many…
The only thing I didn’t like
The only thing I didn’t like was the lack of shoulder glances before moving out.
The light sequencing at
The light sequencing at Parliament Square if you are turning left is really annoying – you always get stopped as soon as you turn, as shown at the end of the video.
That’s got to be fake – didn
That’s got to be fake – didn’t see a single RLJ !
hirsute wrote:
Or anybody paying road tax..
shameful lack of HiViz too.
shameful lack of HiViz too.
Secret_squirrel wrote:
I didn’t see anyone tbh
Captain Badger wrote:
winner.
EddyBerckx wrote:
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
London getting lots of infrastructure while the rest of the UK gets bugger all. My local council has been taking bike lanes out to accomodate more cars in the belief that this is an effective way of reducing CO2 emissions in the soon to be implemented CAZ.
You couldn’t make it up.
“But I’ll be forced to drive
“But I’ll be forced to drive further/get stuck in congestion longer” is such an obviously bad faith argument, it’s amazing people still parrot it and expect to be taken seriously.
Please join up cycle lanes,
Please join up cycle lanes, 20 metres of cycle lane then back on to road again just means no one will use it.
Don’t forget “a hundred
Don’t forget “a hundred metres of wand-protected/segregated cycle lane, then an eight metre gap where there were cars parked the day we put the wands in (so they think they’re allowed to carry on parking there), then another ten metres of lane, <continues>.”
That NYPD clip is odd.
That NYPD clip is odd. Everything moving so slowly and nobody shot the non-white cyclist for assaulting a police officer…
brooksby wrote:
I don’t know what the rules are for zebra xings in NYC, but the police on their overgrown mopeds pushing through peds was not what I’d call great roadcraft….
Are they on the wrong side of
Are they on the wrong side of the road or is it a one way street?
The crossing will be controlled by lights so I doubt all of the peds are jaywalking. Whatever the reason for it the Police need to take more care than that.
Looks to me like they might
Looks to me like they might be outriders at the back of a parade or march or something, and the rider is stopping on the junction to hold back any traffic until a bit of a gap has been created and everyone’s cleared it.
mdavidford wrote:
Does that mean that we just missed a parade of those blokes wearing fezzes and driving tiny cars?
Damn!
Ooh Vic, I’ve fallen.
Ooh Vic, I’ve fallen.
Kendalred wrote:
You wouldn’t let it lie ?
Hmm. I call foul on the
Hmm. I call foul on the security ‘prank’ as you are not allowed to video in the security area. ‘Having fun’ with airport security normally results in a visit to a side room and a fella with a rubber glove.
If she tried that on her home
If she tried that on her home continent with her countries nearest neighbour she’d be in for a good old fashioned hippy ass-whomping.
You mean the fact that Gold
You mean the fact that Gold (well mostly pure Silver) “set off” the scanner didn’t tip you off. If it actually did, she might want to get it checked out to confirm it isn’t plated steel.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
What makes you think that airport metal detectors only detect ferrous metals?
About 90% of Google searches
About 90% of Google searches on whether Gold or Silver sets off a detector at an airport.
I think the 90% are either
I think the 90% are either wrong, out of date, or talking about small items that wouldn’t be flagged as a threat:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/millimeter-wave-scanner.htm
“Wiltshire Council says it
“Wiltshire Council says it intends to replace the temporary infrastructure with a permanent facility next year and the bollards have been removed under temporary traffic signals.”
Nah – what they’ll do is point to the fact that nobody’s using the cycle lane (because it’s f’ing dangerous) as an excuse to remove it completely.
Re: the bollard removal from
Re: the bollard removal from the B3018
What idiot thinks that cyclists want to face oncoming traffic to use a cycle lane with or without bollards? Do these “planners” never go out after dark or do they just enjoy blinding cyclists?
Personally, I think the best cycle lanes are single directional, but installed in pairs on opposite sides of the roads, but hey, I’m just a cyclist, what do I know?
I wonder if Auto High beam
I wonder if Auto High beam control works with Cycle lights? I guess it might depend on how many lumens the cycle light puts out?
IanMK wrote:
Even if they’re not on high beam, they’re likely to cause an incident because they’ll be dipping to the left of the vehicle. It’s illegal to use right-dipping headlights on UK roads due to the obvious dangers of blinding other road users, and yet cyclists are being encouraged to cycle in exactly the wrong place where the headlights will do the most damage.