“We’re not different tribes”: Chris Boardman vows to end cycling “culture war”; “Use designated cycle ditch so superior road users are not delayed”: Police parody page takes on bike lanes; Greggs x cycling; If Carlsberg did cycling + more on the live blog

Bringing an end to the so-called ‘culture war’ between cyclists and motorists is key to securing a long-term shift in travelling habits in the UK.

That’s the view of Chris Boardman, the former Olympic champion and Hour Record holder who now heads up Active Travel England, the governmental body tasked with implementing the Gear Change strategy and delivering a new “golden age of walking and cycling”.

Boardman told parliamentary publication The House this week that he is frustrated with the seemingly constant ‘culture war’ refrain that he feels surrounds cycling in the UK.

“I’m trying to stop it being a culture war,” he says. “It’s packaged as a war but it’s two percent of people against 98 percent of road users. It’s not really much of a war, is it?

“We’re not different tribes. I want to see normal people in normal clothes, doing normal things – just doing it less with cars.”

Boardman believes that raising the standards of active travel infrastructure in the country – and likewise, challenging any failures – is needed to “genuinely create behaviour change”.

He continued: “We won’t build anything that isn’t usable for a competent 12-year-old, and to give their parents the confidence to let them use it. If you don’t meet that standard [as a council], then you don’t get funded.

“That encourages councils who aren’t doing much, as local residents tend to go ‘where is ours?’ And then it becomes positive political pressure for change.”

> Chris Boardman heads newly-launched government body Active Travel England

However, Boardman is well aware that there has been a small but vocal opposition to recent active travel schemes, including the implementation of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.

“There’s no such thing as a low-traffic neighbourhood, because it’s not a neighbourhood if it’s full of traffic running through it,” he points out.

“Saying ‘LTNs: are they good or bad?’ is like saying ‘roads: are they good or bad?’ If we had one bad road, should we stop doing all roads?

 “The overwhelming and consistent evidence is that the vast majority of people support [the concept of LTNs]. We’re just ignoring the silent majority.”

While Boardman recognises that the rapid growth in cycling during the Covid pandemic – “People went out on bikes, and they did it in their droves. And they liked it” – is beginning to wane as road users return to old habits, he insists that a two-wheeled revolution is still occurring “in patches”.

The three-time Tour de France stage winner reckons his greatest triumph would be to be out of a job in ten years’ time.

“Success would be that there is no Active Travel England. You make this into genuine culture change,” he says.

🏆 @CUttrupLudwig 🇩🇰 wins stage 3!@CUttrupLudwig remporte l’étape 3 !#TDFF #WatchTheFemmes pic.twitter.com/CHaDHMa7Jq

— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 26, 2022

Yesterday was, in Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig’s own words, “a shit day”.

Her FDJ Suez Futuroscope team suffered a disastrous stage two of the Tour Femmes into Provins – co-leader Marta Cavalli was forced to abandon after a sickening crash, while Uttrup Ludwig herself lost a minute and a half to her main rivals for GC after another spill.

But today, on the uphill finish into Épernay, the popular Danish champion banished yesterday’s woes and continued her country’s sensational month on the roads of France, storming past yellow jersey Marianne Vos to take the biggest win of her career.

Pre-race favourite Annemiek van Vleuten, who is aiming to win a historic Giro-Tour double, suffered again today, however, ceding 20 seconds to the select group of GC contenders in the finale, after already losing contact a few kilometres earlier.

“I’m sorry… It feels like such a good comeback, after – it was a fucking shit day yesterday,” an emotional Uttrup Ludwig said at the finish.

“Losing Marta, and crashing, and having to come back. But I just love how the team kept the fighting spirit, and we knew that today was a super good day, and if I had the legs I could try to go for the win.

“And to actually do it, and be a Tour de France stage winner, and in this jersey – it doesn’t get better.”

🥹#TDFF pic.twitter.com/roNnhgb4SB

— FDJ - SUEZ - Futuroscope (@FDJ_SUEZ_Fut) July 26, 2022

Uttrup Ludwig’s redemptive triumph – by far the most important win of her career and one which has been a long time coming for the consistent Dane – came after another intriguing, tactically fluid stage.

While the bunch split to pieces on several occasions on the lumpy course around the Champagne area of France, the race-defining move went with around 16 kilometres to go as SD Worx’s Ashleigh Moolman Pasio accelerated on the savage 12 percent slopes of the Côte de Mutigny.

As Uttrup Ludwig, Kasia Niewiadoma, Kristen Faulkner and yellow jersey Marianne Vos struggled on the steep gradient, Moolman Pasio dragged clear a group containing Van Vleuten, her teammate Demi Vollering, Liane Lippert, Silvia Persico (sitting second on GC), Mavi Garcia, and Elisa Longo Borghini.

However, as the leading group crested the top of the climb Vollering, who had just hit the front to up the pace, slid out on a right-hand corner, with Lippert following.

Vollering’s crash ultimately killed off the group’s momentum – with Moolman Pasio ordered not to work by SD Worx DS Danny Stam (an exchange we were able to hear thanks to the Tour Femme’s excellent team radio snippets), Vos, Uttrup Ludwig and co. were able to regain contact.

On the final punchy climb of Mont Bernon with four kilometres to go, it was Van Vleuten’s turn to struggle. As Longo Borghini took the bonus seconds at the top of the hill, the Dutch Movistar rider – who has appeared lethargic throughout the race so far after her dominant performance at the Giro – was distanced, and looked noticeably ragged, fighting with her bike as she tried to change gear over the crest.

While Van Vleuten was able to catch the leaders on the descent into town, she suffered again on the drag to the line, eventually ceding 20 seconds to Uttrup Ludwig and 18 to the likes of Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma.

🏁 🇩🇰@CUttrupLudwig wins a tough sprint between favorites in @villeepernay.
⏪ Relive the last kilometre of the 3rd stage.

🏁 🇩🇰@CUttrupLudwig remporte un sprint entre favorites à @villeepernay.
⏪ Revivez le dernier kilomètre de la 3ème étape du #TDFF.#WatchTheFemmes pic.twitter.com/Gp0AzAzA0V

— Le Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (@LeTourFemmes) July 26, 2022

There was no such suffering for the Danish champion, however. As Niewiadoma started the sprint with 250 metres to go, Uttrup Ludwig was caught out of position, at least ten bike lengths behind the Polish Canyon-Sram rider, who had Vos lurking dangerously on her wheel.

But the charismatic Dane – perhaps fuelled by yesterday’s setbacks – put in the sprint of her life, scything through the select group before exploding past the yellow jersey to take a hard-fought, emotional, and fully deserved win on the biggest stage of them all.

A happy dead fish, for sure.

It’s all kicking off on stage three of the Tour de France Femmes, with attacks from Ellen van Dijk and Marianne Vos (who else?) splitting the peloton on the way to Épernay.

It’s just a pity we can’t see it yet…

If ever there was a good argument for full coverage, this is it: pic.twitter.com/Lhb3N1Kll4

— Claus Jensen (@cj_42_) July 26, 2022

I appreciate we are spoiled with men's grand tour and classics coverage from km0 but I am tearing my hair out not being able to watch this stage of the #TDFF is sounds SO GOOD 😅 Counting down the minutes until I can #WatchTheFemmes

— Katy M - Tour mode 🇫🇷💛 (@writebikerepeat) July 26, 2022

Unlike the wall-to-wall, from the gun coverage of the men’s race, the women’s Tour is limited to two and a half hours of live TV every day – which, to be fair, is a significant improvement on previous televisual attitudes towards the women’s side of the sport (looking at you, last year’s Giro Donne).

So, for the first hour or so of every stage, we’ll just have to revert to the old-school method of constantly refreshing the live ticker.

Not long to wait now, though…

I sense a pattern emerging on the live blog this morning…

The resurfacing of #LimeStreet is now complete - and doesn’t it look fantastic. Thank you for your patience.

The road is open from 6am tomorrow.

Enjoy your new cycle lane! 🚲 pic.twitter.com/O6IdI355cy

— Joanne Anderson (@MayorLpool) July 22, 2022

On Friday, Liverpool’s mayor Joanne Anderson announced that work was set to be completed on the much-anticipated cycle lane on Lime Street.

However, this was the sight which greeted commuters this morning:

I see the new cycle infrastructure on Lime Street is being well used. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/L0P52xZ51x

— Marianne (@marianneheaslip) July 26, 2022

While most of the cars appear to belong to contractors finishing up work on the bike lane and installing traffic lights further on up the road, it’s still not the best look…

They'll only be a minute.

— Wes (@Frailerpark) July 26, 2022

 Meanwhile, in London:

Lots of glass on #C9 at #HammersmithBroadway just now. Plse sweep @LBHF pic.twitter.com/suQsxsZxlg

— Ruth Mayorcas (@RuthMayorcas) July 26, 2022

Perhaps those Bullshire bike ditches weren’t the worst idea after all…

Home sweet home. pic.twitter.com/KoP3u0a3dr

— Mikkel Condé v2.0 (@mrconde) July 25, 2022