Sticky bottle controversy hits the Giro d’Italia as fans question stage winner Filippo Zana’s team car help; Reaction to British Cycling transgender policy update; Giro queen stage; Paris taken over by waves of cycling commuters + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Queen stage mountain showdown — warning for any sprinters left to look away now
A look ahead to today. Drumroll please…
The admin posting the stage profile on twitter 🔥#Giro #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/NIF3yhLuhI
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 26, 2023
- Passo Campolongo: 4km at 7%
- Passo Valparola: 2,194m 13.9km at 5.7%
- Passo Giau: 2,227m 9.8km at 9.3%
- Passo Tre Coci: 1,802m 8km at 7.3%
- Tre Cime di Lavaredo: 2,307m 7.1km at 7.8%
Ridiculous office today pic.twitter.com/3qckTULXBD
— Ned Boulting 🏳️⚧️ (@nedboulting) May 26, 2023
Hugh Carthy will not start stage 19, leaves the race with stomach issues
Hugh Carthy’s Giro is over, the climber from Preston abandoning the race ahead of the queen stage, his team citing stomach problems that he has been struggling with for a few days. Carthy, who has twice finished in the top ten of the Italian Grand Tour, lost more than four minutes on maglia rosa Geraint Thomas after being dropped early on the penultimate climb.
His team announced: “Hugh Carthy won’t be able to start today’s stage of the Giro d’Italia. He has been struggling with stomach issues for a few days so he’ll return home to rest and recover. Great effort, Hugh.”
Incredible scenes of Paris taken over by waves of cycling commuters
Things we like to see…
Paris – 25 mai 2023, 20:43 ☀️🚴♂️🚴♀️ pic.twitter.com/lPG10cAIJj
— Fouad Khayat (@Khayat_Fouad) May 25, 2023
Madis Mihkels putting the circus in Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
Who needs police escort when you have Madis Mihkels? 🚨 #TourOfNorway pic.twitter.com/c8TA4Ys5yG
— Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (@IntermarcheCW) May 25, 2023
WIRELESS Super Record leaked! Is Campagnolo about to shake up the groupset market?
BREAKING: British Cycling updates transgender policy, introduces open category
Some big news just landed…
Reaction to British Cycling transgender policy update
The big news this morning…
“…all you do is take money from petrochemical companies and engage in culture wars”
Emily Bridges calls British Cycling a “failed organisation”, says trans woman have been “banned” as new “Open” category announcedhttps://t.co/fUn7fkBc4i #cycling
— road.cc (@roadcc) May 26, 2023
Bridges’ mother Sandy shared her daughter’s statement, adding that “British Cycling were due to lift their press embargo at 11am this morning. Everybody knew the outcome by close of play yesterday. Except the people this policy impacts the most.”
Obviously we can only speak for ourselves, but we received our press release at 10:31am, prompting some urgent flapping as the 11am embargo neared, but talk of the announcement had been doing the rounds on social media for most of this week.
The news has swept around the UK media, it’s currently the top story on BBC News, and high up on just about every other news outlets’ websites. Something tells us the weekend column writers are sharpening their pencils as we speak.
Here, new British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton spoke with BBC Sport’s Dan Roan…
NEW | British Cycling to ban transgender women from competing in female category of competitive events under new participation policy “predicated on fairness”.
My interview with new CEO Jon Dutton here ⬇️ https://t.co/E7Oh2GDMTf pic.twitter.com/QSWn4Vp7b2— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 26, 2023
What has British Cycling changed?
> British Cycling updates transgender policy, introduces new “Open” category
RideLondon weekend
More than 25,000 cyclists are set to take part in RideLondon’s closed-road routes on Sunday, with a similar number expected for the Free Cycle, an eight-mile family bike ride around some of the English capital’s most iconic roads, completely closed to traffic.
There’s the women’s professional race too, taking in two stages in Essex before Sunday’s central London finale. Some unfortunate news from the opening day of the race, former world champion Elisa Balsamo forced to abandon having suffered two crashes in the opening 100km.
Plenty out in the sun enjoying the action…
🎥 They’re rolling!
Stage 1 at #RideLondon is underway!Follow our liveticker:https://t.co/6JpdfgrFhb pic.twitter.com/fJskQDXU9T
— UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) May 26, 2023
Any plans for the weekend? Family getting involved in the Free Cycle? Taking on the sportive? Watching the racing?
Stopping the sticky bottle... your suggestions
Patrick9-32: “They need to implement (if they havent already) strict and specific rules for bottle handover. i.e. ‘Items must be handed end to end with contact for a maximum of one full second. Hands of rider and team car passenger must not touch.’
“They could then implement consistent punishment for violations based on severity of going over the limits set. Leaving it open to interpretation makes the teams push the envelope for the advantage and ends up discrediting the sport.”
Rendel Harris: “A pedant writes: the second time wasn’t “sticky bottle”, it was “sticky glasses” — I thought it was outrageous when I was watching and it hasn’t improved on the second viewing, the sticky bottle was naughty but not far away from what seems to have become the accepted norm, with the glasses the driver and rider were pretty much holding hands with the glasses between them, the driver then accelerated towards the group and gave Zana a slingshot back to them. Not sure he should be deprived of the win but he’s certainly very lucky to get away with such a low sanction.”
Clem Fandango: “I’m sure I heard Sean Kelly on commentary wonder aloud if maybe an Italian Commissaire had been involved.”
AG2R Citroën team car kicked off Giro d'Italia after Carlos Verona collision
🤕🙈 @Carlos_Verona | #Giro
Seguimos adelante con @jjrojillas y el madrileño. Más de 8’ de margen, menos de 70 km al final.pic.twitter.com/BR7aSo38yi
— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) May 26, 2023
One that happened away from the TV cameras, but Italian broadcaster RAI quickly reported that one of the AG2R Citroën team cars had been ejected from the race. The reports suggest the directeur sportif struck the Movistar rider while driving behind the breakaway.
Just one team car left for the French outfit. With riders in the break, and Aurélien Paret-Peintre riding a decent GC, that creates a bit of a headache… although admittedly not quite the pain of Verona’s literal wounds…
Charlotte Kool wins opening stage of RideLondon Classique, Lizzie Deignan third
Top lead-out duties from Georgi Pfeiffer to set up Charlotte Kool for stage one victory in Colchester…
🥵 A tough sprint
😎 A Kool finish@charlotte_kool takes Stage One 🔥#RideLondon pic.twitter.com/jALRUaRwLc— Ford RideLondon (@RideLondon) May 26, 2023
Got to admit part of me begrudges these pros coming over here and getting to ride British roads with three glorious days of sunshine. Where were they all grim winter? Anyway, ranting aside, Lizzie Deignan took third, just behind Clara Copponi, while Georgi had enough work already done to drift back for 10th.
Tomorrow, it’s Maldon’s turn…
Santiago Buitrago wins stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia — Roglič takes three seconds on G
One of those Grand Tour days with two battles within the day — for stage victory and then, minutes later, for GC. Santiago Buitrago, the Colombian climber, became the fourth rider of this Giro to beat Derek Gee to a stage as the Canadian finished second again (that’s SIX top fives for Gee)…
Santiago’s MOMENT 🇨🇴
Santiago Buitrago wins Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia! ☝️@SantiagoBS26 | @BHRVictorious pic.twitter.com/J0fCYhaA3n
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 26, 2023
Behind, after a day that in many ways summed up this entire Giro — a slow burn, tension building, the promise of action further up the road — Primož Roglič took three seconds back on Thomas.
For a few hundred metres it looked as though it might be the Welshman stealing a further advantage but Roglič, on his changed bike with 1x 10-44t gravel gearing, came past to tighten the maglia rosa battle further, ahead of tomorrow’s decisive TT.
26 seconds between G and Roglič, Almeida at 59 seconds. Who will be wearing pink in Rome?
Sticky bottle controversy hits the Giro d'Italia as fans question stage winner Filippo Zana's team car help
There’s been a bit of discussion about this since yesterday’s stage…
I love the aspect of a national champion winning on his home roads, whether it’s ahead of Thibaut or not.
But at some point, you may wonder if the team car should get the win too, after all it helped Zana massively, especially the second time round… @UCI_cycling#Giro pic.twitter.com/NWLbh1IoqZ
— Guillaume (@GuillaumeWatt) May 25, 2023
The two incidents showing, an admittedly pretty normal sight in professional bike racing — a rider, having dropped back to the team car, holding onto a bottle while the driver of said car accelerates, bringing them back to breakaway with minimal effort — the famous sticky bottle… (or in the second case ‘sticky glasses’ as pointed out by one eagle-eyed commenter)…
I dare say you could go back and find a similar incident from every single stage of the Giro so far however, naturally, when the rider involved goes on to win the stage, beating a very popular rider looking for their final Grand Tour stage win before retirement, the scrutiny is always going to be a touch more intense.
But did Zana/Jaco AlUla do anything wrong?
The commissaires thought so, Zana and his team director David McPartland appearing on the jury’s end-of-stage fines list for “Irregular feeding (sticky bottle for short distance)” and will pay 200 CHF (£179) each…
Some have suggested the punishment doesn’t go far enough, arguing Zana should lose his stage win, the claim being that in the second video he was being dropped, although the languid nature of his dropping back to the team car, plus the fact that once back on the Italian champion stuck with Pinot’s attacks on the remaining two climbs before beating him in the sprint, suggests this was hardly a rider pedalling squares…
Anyway, you didn’t come here to hear my ramblings, here’s what the fans made of it…
He was dropped with Pronskiy and calls his car
I wouldn’t tweet this if it was just a case of going back to the car, otherwise I’d make 1000 of them each race
— Guillaume (@GuillaumeWatt) May 25, 2023
Well yeah but strategically cheating, is still cheating
If you do it because you’ve gone to your car to get water, that’s fine
But he was dropped. That’s my issue here
— Guillaume (@GuillaumeWatt) May 25, 2023
At this point Zana’s teammate, and fellow breakaway extraordinaire, Alessandro De Marchi got involved… “How could he be dropped and then be one of the strongest with Pinot? I went back to the car intentionally. Please! This are not the bidoncollè that make you win a stage, believe me!
Of course it helps but it’s not changing anything of the race guys! Not in this way and this moment of the race. This comments just show that (probably) you never experienced proper bike racing. And I’m saying this without criticism or offensively
— Alessandro De Marchi (@ADM_RossodiBuja) May 26, 2023
26 May 2023, 08:09
26 May 2023, 08:09
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Latest Comments
@SVXY I cannot think of a jury or a magistrate who would not convict cyclists doing that of lack of consideration of other road users and careless driving He was doing OK for the first three words, but then slumped back down to his usual pitiful standard, dreaming of cyclists being convicted of careless driving or being smashed to pulp by a driver guilty of nothing more than a minor lapse of judgement.
@chrisonabike Riding 3 or more abreast blocks most traffic on a carriageway getting past. I cannot think of a jury or a magistrate who would not convict cyclists doing that of lack of consideration of other road users and careless driving
@SVXY Again, it doesn't say that riding three or more abreast is inconsiderate. That's just your opinion, which counts for nothing.
Black bike in a black room with minimal lighting. Marketing people eh?
That’s honestly the best 32” bike I’ve seen yet. Avona’s road bike is also beautiful except for the tall stack height, if they ever release a race bike I’m in.
32 inch wheels are here to stay until the next new wonder product hits the market...
@Gd29 Redshift regularly have sales with 25% off, so you should be able to pick them up for under £40 at some point
@SVXY Yet again it's highly impressive how are you know the exact circumstances of this incident, now down to the exact type of footwear Ms.Tanton was sporting at the time. There are numerous types of all-terrain/hiking sandals that have far better grip than a standard pair of trainers. And once again do explain how having shoes without gaps in the uppers would have prevented Dick from driving straight into her from behind? No actually, don't bother.
@SVXY Of course because cycling on a 60mph road is far more dangerous than cycling in a 30mph zone and you need footwear with the strongest grip to react quicker if needed
@SVXY So sandals are permissible footwear for cycling if you're riding at 15 mph in a 30 mph zone but they are not permissible footwear for cycling if you are riding at 15 mph in a 60 mph zone? I'm afraid this is how trolls always give themselves away because clearly no human being with the capacity to operate a computer with sufficient adroitness to post a reply could genuinely be that stupid.
55 thoughts on “Sticky bottle controversy hits the Giro d’Italia as fans question stage winner Filippo Zana’s team car help; Reaction to British Cycling transgender policy update; Giro queen stage; Paris taken over by waves of cycling commuters + more on the live blog”
A pedant writes: the second
A pedant writes: the second time wasn’t “sticky bottle”, it was “sticky glasses” – I thought it was outrageous when I was watching and it hasn’t improved on the second viewing, the sticky bottle was naughty but not far away from what seems to have become the accepted norm, with the glasses the driver and rider were pretty much holding hands with the glasses between them, the driver then accelerated towards the group and gave Zana a slingshot back to them. Not sure he should be deprived of the win but he’s certainly very lucky to get away with such a low sanction.
mmm, an Italian champion wins
mmm, an Italian champion wins prestigious stage in the Giro…he’s never gonna get anything more than a minor sanction for the sticky bottle incidents.
I’m sure I heard Sean Kelly
I’m sure I heard Sean Kelly on commentary wonder aloud if maybe an Italian Commissaire had been involved
They need to implement (if
They need to implement (if they havent already) strict and specific rules for bottle handover. i.e. “Items must be handed end to end with contact for a maximum of one full second. Hands of rider and team car passenger must not touch.”
They could then implement consistent punishment for violations based on severity of going over the limits set.
Leaving it open to interpretation makes the teams push the envelope for the advantage and ends up discrediting the sport.
Probably wouldn’t be
Probably wouldn’t be practical but I have sometimes wondered if it would be possible for the team car to have a tray fitted over the window, rather like the ones people put their food on at drive-in cinemas, so anything the rider wants is placed on there and then they ride up and take it off without any chance of getting a tow.
Good idea in principle
Good idea in principle however considering that a race service vehicle is travelling at speed, and the driver may need to react quickly in the event of an incident (harsh braking/direction change) it might not be feasable in practice.
Paris looks fantastic.
Paris looks fantastic.
Noteworthy that there’s no lycra on show, take note UK cyclists.
Owd Big 'Ead wrote:
Wear lycra if you want, it’s your commute and (I hope) your clothes.
Just follow your arrow wherever it points* as long as it adversely affects no one.
*There’s a song about this.
I’ve seen a few comments
I’ve seen a few comments about wearing lycra – I feel like I have missed something?
I wear lycra shorts/leggings under some running shorts. My work clothes would end up soaked in sweat if I wore them and tracksuit bottoms end up falling down cause they are wet or getting caught in the gears.
Am I making a cycling faux pas?
Wear what ever makes the ride
Wear what ever makes the ride comfortable and enjoyable and f**k what anyone thinks.
That’s a shame – I was really
That’s a shame – I was really hoping someone would have come on with
“well actually, if you do x,y,z your cycling life will be much better”
Owd Big ‘Ead wrote:
Give me a million to move back to where I was born and brought up and gentrified out of and yes, I will ditch the lycra on my commute…in the meantime I will wear lycra on my almost 40 mile round trip.
I understand what you are trying to say but honestly, very few people choose to go through all the faff on putting on cycle specific clothes that society often mocks unless there is a valid reason and/or need. In the 11 years I’ve been cycling / commuting very few utility cyclist champions have ever actually thought about this. They have just moaned and mocked. Not helpful.
I too have a relatively
I too have a relatively significant commute round trip(can’t top yours – mine only comes in at 35 miles). There’s no f*cking way I’m doing it in work clothes (and getting there in a reasonable amount of time). I might turn up to a Board meeting having tried it one day though, I’m sure it’d be a good look
I do wear baggy MTB shorts on occasion, but then again usually paired with bibshorts – is stealth lycra acceptable to the fashion police do you think?
Wow! Those are amazing
Wow! Those are amazing distances! People are surprised when I tell them I cycle 14 miles round trip – they won’t believe me when I tell them people cycle 35+ miles!
I remember reading about a person walking down the street, minding their own business, when suddenly – BAM – dressed head to toe in skin tight clothing. Another victim of Stealth Lycra.
EddyBerckx wrote:
Isn’t that the point:? Nobody is expecting you to wear your normal clothes on a forty mile round trip. They’re just saying that you don’t need to wear lycra for a two mile trip to the shops and back. I think.
Owd Big ‘Ead wrote:
So we have to wear lycra or we’ll be shipped over to France?
hawkinspeter wrote:
So we have to wear lycra or we’ll be shipped over to France?— Owd Big 'Ead
Wait – is this the latest measure to deter migrants on boats?
Or is this while thing a bit “no true Scotsman…”?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Lycra kilts? Surely they’re not going to be comfortable for cycling in.
I wear Lycra because I look
I wear Lycra because I look so good in it.
Kapelmuur wrote:
Owd Big 'Ead wrote:
Wear what works for you – anything’s good if it helps you get cycling. Well, maybe not mankinis.
I think it’s more an observation that where mass cycling *does* exist (cycling as transport, for anyone) most people appear to dress for the destination. And a push-back against a stereotype (MAMILS / sporty lycra louts etc).
Probably at least as much lycra in eg. NL (and still a fair bit of PPE-wearing in Scandinavia) but it’s less noticeable in the mass of humanity on bikes wearing “normal” clothes.
My commute is 9 miles each
My commute is 9 miles each way. I never wear lycra/spandex. I have a selection of synthetic trousers, some cycling specific but some not, which are passable in the “business casual” environment I work in. Some can be pulled up above the calf to use like knickerbockers. In warm weather, I’m wearing just a base layer like this Pearl Izumi one on top. When I get to work, once I’m cooled off (sometimes using a small desk fan) I put a collared shirt on top of the base layer. No shower, no need to go somewhere private to change.
My commute is around 52 miles
My commute is around 52 miles, with 12 miles in the morning shared between train and bike, and the 40 miles home in the evening.
I’ve experimented with trousers, chinos, and jeans all with and without additional pads on the morning leg … and it’s just not comfortable.
The trousers move wrong on the leg – not to mention the rather uncomfortable seam that is right where you don’t want it to be; shirts are horrible to cycle any distance in as they offer zero protection from anything.
So, for both the 12 mile leg and the 40 mile leg, I wear cycling bibs with a part of MTB shorts on over the top, and a proper jersey with pockets in the back and everything.
I get to work, get changed in the disabled loo (which being disabled I can use anyway), and repeat the process home.
I wear what I want to wear to be comfortable and safe
Vulpine have (least use to
Vulpine have (least use to have – hopefully still do) jeans and shorts with diamond gussets, specifically so that you weren’t sitting on a middle seam on your saddle.
One problem is that any kind of serious cycling will cause wear, especially on looser clothing.
In an ideal world, I’d do the
In an ideal world, I’d do the 9 miles from the station to the office in office clothes and then change for the 40miles home.
But … I quickly found that a shirt is useless, so I wore a jersey… which still meant having to get changed.
It doesn’t take many seconds longer to strip off and do a full change as to just change half… so I bit the bullet and went back to cycling shorts.
One of these days, I’m going to find out that I’ve not fully locked the cubicle door, and someone is going to walk in at exactly the wrong moment … should that happen, hopefully HR will be understanding …???
I could do with a car helping
I could do with a car helping me up some hills.
You know, instead of trying to kill me….
I await all the clap trap
I await all the clap trap (some arrived already) about the “sticky bottle”. Yes this was a minor offence hence the fine.
It was a team car giving the rider a short tow to get him back to the group after he’d picked up a bottle.
Legin wrote:
Which is, um, obviously cheating.
Rendel Harris wrote:
As you wish…..
.
.
No, no – as the LAWS wish.
.
No need to personalise things.
.
Did it give him some huge
Did it give him some huge advantage over others; yes, none of them got pulled along completely free of effort for 5 seconds.
Was it an obvious attempt at cheating: yes.
Did it affect the outcome of the race: Impossible to know for sure butits possible.
I propose a new rule to foil
I propose a new rule to foil the sticky bottlers.
Don’t allow the bottle provider to hold the bottle directly, but uses a weak stick that will break when too much force is applied (e.g. Ultegra cranks).
would be a good usage for
For all you lycrist
For all you lycrist infiltraitors with you LTNs, protected bike lanes and 15 minute cities, this is what you are missing https://youtu.be/8nZh7A7qTPo
Seriously, watch this. This
Seriously, watch this. This is probably the channel’s second best video!
Just to be clear those are
Just to be clear those are not commuters in Paris but there is a bike ride event every thursday evening. The event name is Okami. Here is the link of the event 😉
https://instagram.com/okami.riding?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://metro.co.uk/2023/05
“very provoking human beings” – so: is that a new version of bl00dy cyclists?
brooksby wrote:
The cognitive dissonance is amazing with this kind of drivist.
They use their horn to tell a cyclist that they obviously know better than the cyclist how to cycle, and when the cyclist is puzzled and asks as to the meaning of the horn, they accuse the cyclist of being provocative. Why don’t they just follow at a safe distance or overtake when safe – there’s literally no benefit in using their horn to indicate some disagreement and it’s probably not even legal.
I’d embrace the opportunity.
I’d embrace the opportunity. Someone’s taking time out of their busy life / working day to engage in some discussion of the appropriate use of the road – what’s not to like? And a “friendly toot” also!
Devil’s advocate here, but it’s possible the driver was correct about some issue and was genuinely horning correctly (to let Vine know they were there). (I know…) How’s that different from if the roles were reversed?
chrisonatrike wrote:
We’re back in the territory of needing two different horns. One for the official use of warning other road users of your presence (seems unnecessary if you’re in a big bus just following another road user) and maybe a softer sound (tambourine?) to indicate that you’d like a friendly discussion with someone or you’ve seen a friend walking along the pavement etc.
It’s technically possible for a driver to use their horn to get the attention of a cyclist to then impart some sage advice, but it seems about as likely as Rishi using public transport to go visit his millionaire buddies.
hawkinspeter wrote:
A tambourine is a bit harsh – more of a noise. Possibly some kind of metallic tuned idiophone though? Hmm…
I’ve been toying with the
I’ve been toying with the idea of putting a Fiamm Tour Horn as an additional horn in my van for greeting purposes.
Would the Orthodox position
Would the Orthodox position be to use a shofar?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Now that Rolf Harris has passed away, maybe it’s time for a resurgence of the Stylophone?
Thank goodness! Thought that
Thank goodness! Thought that was going to be “my other horn is a didgeridoo”.
chrisonatrike wrote:
I once saw a busker playing Dancing Queen on a didgeridoo.
I thought that’s aboriginal
I always thought a short
I always thought a short “toot” of the horn was a “thanks/take care” and a double toot being “hello my friend”
a longer “blast” of the horn was “watch out for my death machine”
I would say the bus does a short “toot” – so not aggressive, but then the driver doesn’t help by refusing to talk with Mr Vine. They may have been taken aback by the cameras (I think he uses several?) but “you know what you did” isn’t helpful – clearly he doesn’t or he wouldn’t, politely, ask.
I don’t think he comes off as rude or aggressive. If the driver felt threatened in any way, they could simply close their window. They are in a box designed to protect them, after all.
hawkinspeter wrote:
So that presents a dilemma of the horns.
hawkinspeter wrote:
— hawkinspeterAccording to Conservative HQ, helicopters are public transport.
French buses have a bell.
French buses have a bell.
Nothing at all to do with
Nothing at all to do with cycling, but it made me laugh:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/26/jeff-bezos-money-lauren-sanchez-europe
Caught on video in Tunbridge
Caught on video in Tunbridge Wells, cyclist thrown off by pot hole.
Driver did well to stop and
Driver did well to stop and check on him, but not the most sympathetic treatment of the bike!
“Upended of Tunbridge Wells”
“Upended of Tunbridge Wells” – looks unpleasant but good response by driver!
Glad he is recovering, but
Glad he is recovering, but why didn’t he see the pothole?
Usual claims of helmet saving his life.