“Perfectly safe environment”: Queue-jumping drivers spotted racing along bike lanes and pavements; Gaudu apologises for comments about teammate Arnaud Démare; Zwift exit from virtual race; Cyclist orders brake blocks… gets a wig + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Strangest reason to get kicked out a Zwift race?
Any Zwifters got a similar tale to live blog favourite Harry?
Got kicked out of two zwift races because my heart rate wasn’t going above 90bpm and it turns out I’ve connected to my neighbours whoop by accident
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) January 25, 2023
Poor Brian was just enjoying a cuppa tea and a biscuit, next thing he knows his heart rate is at the centre of an international cheating scandal…
When you order brake blocks... but get a wig
Oh look, it’s Wiggo…
I ordered new brake blocks for my bike, this is what was delivered. What’s the oddest delivery error you’ve ever had? pic.twitter.com/jqh2kLJf0Y
— Mike Wood (@ThePrizeForce) January 25, 2023
Talk about rubbing it in
How can you not enjoy being on a bike on a day like today?! pic.twitter.com/bAacFOhsP9
— Toms Skujiņš (@Tomashuuns) January 25, 2023
Hmmm as I look out my window at the grey, damp nothingness of 4°C I feel like I’ve got a decent answer to that question, Toms…
Gaudu apologises for leaked comments about teammate Arnaud Démare
Quel drame… two of France’s biggest racing names have been involved in a groupchat scandal (how very 2023).
Gaudu this morning apologised to Arnaud Démare after screenshots of his less than complimentary thoughts about his teammate were leaked from Discord…
David Gaudu’s leaked comments about teammate Arnaud Démare on Discord. Not complimentary… https://t.co/NHZ3T8dIlU
— Andy McGrath (@Andymcgra) January 26, 2023
From what we can tell, assisted by a certain online translation generator, Gaudu wrote about not wanting his team’s fastest sprinter on their Tour de France team… “The fact that we don’t talk and don’t race together much is an advantage. If he wants, I can say it to his face again. I’m not afraid of him. He knows I don’t want him in the Tour. I already told him”…
Yeah, maybe best not to stick that in a groupchat with loads of people on the internet, David…
Come this morning, Gaudu’s line had changed… “Problems that can occur in a team must remain internal. I would therefore like to apologise to the team and Arnaud. I should never have vented these statements in public. My apologies to the team and Arnaud.”
WD-40 cologne
ive been wearing this cologne for years. for the men and women out there looking to attract that certain someone – i cant recommend it enough. pic.twitter.com/Op8Cwh7BUf
— Casey Neistat (@Casey) January 25, 2023
Fortunately for you and everyone you might bump into while wearing this, it’s sold out (but there is a mailing list if you want urgent updates next time it’s back in stock)…
RideLondon déjà vu
First it was the Surrey residents, then the Wolverhampton Commonwealth Games objectors, now the NIMBY torch has been passed to Essex…
road.cc editor Jack manages the incredible feat of crashing on the turbo
Not even G’s managed this one yet…
Turns out the axle on the back wheel wasn’t quite as compatible with the trainer as we first thought. Regardless, made for a great clip…
Anyone want to make Jack feel better and admit to falling foul of this trap too?
Devon and Cornwall dashcam footage sent to police surges to record highs
Devon and Cornwall Police said a surge in dashcam and helmet camera footage sent to them has resulted in 2022 being a record year for submissions. The force said there were 4,736 submissions last year, up 151 per cent on 2021.
> Here’s what to do if you capture a near miss, close pass or collision on camera while cycling
The force told the BBC it had taken action against 3,400 motorists in 2022, also a record, and a 135 per cent increase on 2021. Force road safety lead Supt Adrian Leisk said he was “incredibly grateful” for public support to reduce road harm.
Here comes the s̶u̶n̶ Toyota Prius
Close call for @PaulMcCartney on the Abbey Road crossing!
In this clip from @MaryAMcCartney’s new documentary, a car narrowly misses Paul as he recreates the ‘Abbey Road’ album cover. #IfTheseWallsCouldSing is now streaming worldwide on @DisneyPlus | https://t.co/6v6YyJjJjb pic.twitter.com/qUsfi2AzOW
— Abbey Road Studios (@AbbeyRoad) January 25, 2023
"What's the matter Danny? Never done a wheelie before?"
Our officers are receiving additional cycle training so that more of our officers can patrol the Royal Parks using pedal power. #PolicingTheRoyalParks. pic.twitter.com/dmbfDsl81p
— Royal Parks Police (@MPSRoyal_Parks) January 26, 2023
"Make Trafford a green and connected borough where more people choose active travel every day": Council urges residents to pick non-car transport
Trafford Council hopes to get more people “walking, wheeling and cycling” and has launched a consultation with residents, businesses and visitors until 12 February.
Ultimatly the goal is, the council says, to get 90 per cent of journeys under one mile to be taken by foot, bike or scooter and 80 per cent of journeys under five miles within the next 10 years to be active travel or public transport.
“We love Trafford and we want to encourage as many people as possible to leave their cars at home and to walk, cycle and scooter across our borough. This would not only improve our air quality but would be a massive boost to our physical and mental health as well,” Cllr Aidan Williams said.
"Perfectly safe environment": Queue-jumping drivers spotted racing along bike lanes and pavements
Sorry what? Quite the montage…
There’s no need for protected bike lanes in #Galway
Perfectly safe environment 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/36vPB4tx3W
— DaCor (@DaCor_ie) January 24, 2023
Prompting another video submission from elsewhere in the city…
Similar near a city centre school pic.twitter.com/NvOfuwpt1l
— Eoin Ryan (@edanto) January 24, 2023
“Pedestrians? Nah never heard of them mate…”
We’ve been here before unfortunately…
In November, a Dublin bus company confirmed that a “full investigation” is being carried out after one of its employees was filmed driving a double-decker bus on both the cycle lane and footpath in order to undertake a queue of traffic.
> Bus company investigates employee filmed driving on cycle lane and pavement
Oh, and then there was that time the irony police were called…
26 January 2023, 09:05
Now that Harry's safely removed, yes...
Is Zwift racing 'cleaner' than pro road racing? Dissecting the furore around cheating in virtual cycling
After a number of high-profile incidents of foul play in the competitive arm of cycling's biggest online platform, a narrative has emerged that cheating is rife and goes unchecked... is this true, and what does Zwift itself have to say?
26 January 2023, 09:05
26 January 2023, 09:05
26 January 2023, 09:05
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He "never thought of that" and "some of my best friends are" . Sounds like he doesn't think of much and is just blinded by his hatred into inventing things. Why is road.cc giving him air space!
Barry Shitpeas (Philomena Cunk's sidekick) was a very prescient character. Basically a quarter-wit expressing ignorant opinions without any understanding of the issues at hand, with ample doses of Dunning-Kruger.
Never mind the police - many cyclists (at least in the UK) would be totally unfamiliar with a velomobile, so perhaps police can be forgiven for ignorance there. (I've "normal" recumbents and even those cause lots of head-turning). And for "e-things" the tail of the market is very much wagging the dog of regulation. Or rather there's almost zero political interest in that. In an ideal world someone would find the money and time to get the police trained - but I wonder if most of them even keep abreast of things like the highway code wording tweaks? (Do those not specialised in road policing / pursuit driving get any more training than the average driver eg "enough to pass the test, once per lifetime"?)
I thought that the lengthy technical downhill section on narrow roads was a poor piece of organisation. It was inevitable that faster riders with their team car would catch up with team cars of slower riders. Riders passing each other was a bit of a lottery at times. The camera motorbikes struggled to get out of the way at times.
It's not a 'statement' though - it's road.cc's words, based on l'Equipe's interpretation. The actual statement issued on it said that the judge authorised it "guaranteeing strict proportionality between the infringements on the rights of the athlete and the stakes of the fight against doping in terms of fair competition and protection of his health."
Trust me Callum, if you'd grown up watching the Tour in the 1980s, as I did, you would not be hankering after those long flat stages that weren't even as exciting as watching paint dry, it was more like listening to paint dry. As for the supposed benefits of those long TTs, what did they give us? Indurain winning five Tours in a row without winning a single road stage in any of them. As McT says below, you simply can't Pogacar-proof a course and we just have to accept, and enjoy, the fact that we are watching the greatest GT cyclist of all time. Anyway I think it has been a great Tour so far, yes no enormous drama about the inevitable winner (though of course Vinegaard and now Lipowitz have shown us that anything can happen) but just about every day has had a fascinating plot and multiple subplots. Some time in the future there will be another Indurain-style winner, playing it cautious, following moves, making incremental gains and winning without ever lighting up the race and we'll be saying I wish the old days of Pogacar making those spectacular solo breaks were back.
The main issue is the layout of the stages with the bigger climb first then a shallow finish climb. It means pogacar can get a gap at the top of the big climb and then stretch 10-15 seconds to a minute plus at the finish over smaller riders like Vingegaard. A summit finish on the hardest climb might not lead to the most exciting racing but equally would keep the gaps closer. I totally agree with the TT kms though, they should have 60+km tts in the grand tours.
@MaxiMinimalist I mean, that statement makes it sound like they had reason to think those two are doping. Either they didn't follow procedure and are making shit up to cover themselves up or something is going on.
Quite possibly. But the changeover time loss would be a bit more significant if it was done on the flat just after the downhill when the riders are travelling faster, the deceleration, changeover and acceleration loss could easily be around 30 seconds, which is quite a lot of a 34 minute effort.
So Skoda have taken a leaf out of Dung-Old Karen Taco Trump's book and are re-naming something when they have no authority to do so?
12 thoughts on ““Perfectly safe environment”: Queue-jumping drivers spotted racing along bike lanes and pavements; Gaudu apologises for comments about teammate Arnaud Démare; Zwift exit from virtual race; Cyclist orders brake blocks… gets a wig + more on the live blog”
Is that this “MAF training” I
Is that this “MAF training” I have been hearing so much about?
Chartbuster: cyclist rides 7
Chartbuster: cyclist rides 7,000 miles across every Ordnance Survey map
Mark Wedgwood traverses territory covered by every one of the 204 Landrangers and says none of his trousers fit any more
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/26/chartbuster-cyclist-rides-7000-miles-across-every-ordnance-survey-map
I literally just came on to
I literally just came on to post that. Looks like a fun challenge.
Bloke needs loon pants.
Lordy, I see he did it in numerical order. Very Wowbagger.
He needs loon pants.
Or to borrow some from a Prussian staff officer.
mattw wrote:
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly 😉
On those Galway vids, how
On those Galway vids (OK, 2 copies of the same vid), how many of those drivers will be on the booze?
One distinctive of IE vs UK is the far higher (x3) occurrence of drink driving in accidents. UK has other areas where we fall behind.
While I’m on, it would be useful if road.cc could flag up Irish and UK stories by area a bit more clearly, as it’s often difficult to know which set of laws are being broken (or not).
Cheers
We’ve all jumped the kerb
We’ve all jumped the kerb once or twice, but to do it in a car is riduculous
The Devon & Cornwall dashcam
The Devon & Cornwall dashcam video report had a close pass of a cyclist at the end. Unsurprisingly, this was the only incident to not get points and a fine, with the driver attending a course instead. ?
Was one of those a
Was one of those a prosecution for jumping a red light?
In Birmingham if you and your
In Birmingham if you’ve just filled up your car & SUV with fuel & you want to go to the Burger King next door just drive down the pavement as it’s quicker.
I reckon the word confuse was
I reckon the word confuse was being used ironically.
Im liking the UpRide thing more, especially the tagging of the location on the map.
I used it ironically but
I used it ironically but really who knows? I’d like to think I don’t share the road with anyone that dangerously incompetent but sadly I am regularly proved wrong.