“We don’t even have half a field”: Another British bike race cancelled due to “big downturn” in entries – as local cyclists blame early payment system and rising fees; Geraint Thomas slams “bonkers” Lefevere; Coach AI Alex Dowsett + more on the live blog

The road racing season may only be underway, but it seems like every new week ushers in another piece of bad news for the domestic British domestic scene.

Because, while hope remains for the swift return of the Tours of Britain this year (especially after a four-day women’s stage race popped up on the UCI calendar last week) below that elite level races are continuing to struggle in the face of some pretty desperate financial and logistical headwinds.

> Four-day Women’s WorldTour stage race appears on UCI calendar after British Cycling commits to planning event

Yesterday, Cardiff Ajax CC announced that its well-respected early season National B race, the Betty Pharoah Memorial – which for 2024 was hoping to feature its inaugural women’s race – has been cancelled, after entries closed on Sunday with fewer than half of the spaces for both events filled.

“It’s with deep disappointment that I’ve had to make the decision to cancel this year’s race,” Rob Warren, organiser of the Cowbridge-based race (won by a certain Geraint Thomas as a junior way back in 2004), wrote on social media yesterday.

“It’s a difficult decision and not one that any event organiser wants to make. I’ve had conversation with BC race officials, NEG, and Reg Pharoah, whose late wife the race is in memory of. Sadly we’re all in agreement that this is the right call.

“A lot of time and energy has already gone in to organising this year’s race from me personally and other stakeholders, but that’s not been enough.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Cardiff Ajax CC (@ajaxcardiff)

He continued: “The reasons that lead to this decision are numerous but the main two are entries and costs. We don’t even have half a field in either of the races. The anticipated costs of staging the event are around £5k. With current entries we’re not even covering half of that.

“If we ignore the finances we simply don’t have enough entries to make the race viable as a sporting challenge or to ensure the safety of riders.

“We’ll strive to find an answer to this big downturn in entry. A few years ago at this time I was sending the dreaded declined entry email to over 150 riders. If we can make changes to make the race viable, e.g. date, format, or another element, we will, and we’ll try again.”

Geraint Thomas winning the Betty Pharoah Memorial legstretchers race, 2004.

📷 thanls to @RhysCaerdydd pic.twitter.com/Xgc5CQJ0lO

— cycling archives (@mission753) May 13, 2021

In the wake of the Betty Pharoah Memorial’s cancellation, local racing site the British Continental tweeted that another race organiser had told them that changes to British Cycling’s entry system – namely the need for riders to pay up front for a spot, and only receiving a refund if their entry is declined due to the race being oversubscribed – have led to entries dropping across the country.

“Payment leaving the riders bank the day they enter and getting a refund if they don’t get in rather than the money leaving if they get selected,” the organiser reportedly told the site, who noted that the change “means that riders are forced to enter races late as they cannot afford to enter multiple races in advance, which in turn creates huge uncertainty and worry for organisers”.

However, Cardiff Ajax CC replied to British Cycling, writing: “That is one factor for sure but I’m told that’s due to financial regulations and not BC’s choice.”

> "Unfortunately you can't control every idiot on the road": Road race organiser frustrated as cyclists almost hit by "inconsiderate" Uber driver

So, how do we solve a problem like early payments putting riders off entering races? While some have speculated that racers could simply register an interest in an event, or put down a deposit, before paying in full closer to the time, others noted that any lack of financial commitment will do little to give organisers – already buckling under an increasing monetary strain – the necessary reassurance that their race can go ahead safely.

Meanwhile, two weeks ago Team Spectra Racing general manager Gina Ball noted on Twitter that the rising entry fees of National A races – with some hitting £50 plus admin fees – were hindering cycling’s accessibility in the UK.

Entry fee for some Nat A RR's this year is £50+admin fee*.

I understand there are costs involved for organisers, but it's hardly making cycling financially accessible

*Nat A RR's were between £35-£48 last year. National Crits were £30-£35 last year.

— Gina Ball (@GinaBally) February 13, 2024

Last week, road.cc spoke with British Cycling, who told us that rising fees were a necessary, and unfortunate, consequence of the increasing difficulties of holding a bike race in the UK, and that the governing body was working on making racing affordable for both organisers and competitors.

We’re hoping to have a more in-depth discussion with British Cycling over the coming days on the future of the domestic scene, along with Britain’s national tours, so stay tuned for that…

What is with these youngsters and their seemingly insatiable desire to raise their arms metres before the line, risking a lifetime (or maybe a season) of memes at their expense in the process?

After Tobias Johannessen’s ill-fated celebration on Mont Faron at the Classic Var two weeks ago, one that had, rather bizarrely, already begun to wind down as Lenny Martinez nipped past to nick the victory on the actual finish line, Intermarché-Wanty’s promising classics rider Laurenz Rex almost – almost – followed the Norwegian into the hall of premature celebration infamy at today’s Le Samyn.

After a chaotic finale punctuated by a plethora of speculative attacks, an Arnaud De Lie scream fest, and a group-splitting crash, 24-year-old Rex powered through the middle on the drag to the line at Dour, blasting his way past Jenthe Biermans and Rasmus Tiller, and lifting his arms to celebrate his first ever professional victory.

#LeSamyn Infartante final, acorde a los últimos kilómetros. Sprint de pura fuerza que se acaba llevando Rex, muy activo en los cortes previos. Morgado se queda a un pelo de estrenar su palmarés. pic.twitter.com/MXAS1xkXZU

— Adrián Monserrate (@Ad_Monserrate) February 27, 2024

Until he noticed António Morgado on his right-hand side, that is.

The 20-year-old UAE Team Emirates sprinter – a silver medallist in the U23 worlds road race in Glasgow last year, also searching for his debut pro win – lunged towards the line just as Rex’s hands left the bars, the Belgian dropping them quicker than a child caught with a forbidden chocolate bar when he spotted the surging Portuguese in his peripheral vision.

After a long, anxious wait, the tension and potential embarrassment in his face writ large by the lingering glare of a fairly invasive cameraman, Rex was eventually confirmed as the winner, a result itself confirming the 24-year-old’s penchant for cobbles following his ninth at Paris-Roubaix last season.

I’m just not sure he’ll be hanging the photo of his debut pro win in his house, however. He won’t be doing that again, anyway…

I suppose he’s not called ‘the Bull of Lescheret’ for nothing, as Arnaud De Lie, the hot favourite at Le Samyn, launched a blistering verbal attack at his Lotto Dstny DS after a bizarre crash ended any realistic hopes of victory at the Belgian semi-classic.

🤬 Arnaud De Lie had some words for his team car after this crash... 💥#LeSamyn pic.twitter.com/UQVgDQ8qBX

— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 27, 2024

The 21-year-old was chasing back on through the convoy of race vehicles after suffering a mechanical with around 30km to go when, after fidgeting with his race computer, he slid out on a corner, hitting the deck hard.

With the victory disappearing up the road as he waited for his second spare bike, De Lie took the opportunity to lash out – for whatever reason – at his Lotto Dstny DS (who, to be fair, gave back as good as he got), a very public show of frustration befitting the fast finisher’s bovine nickname.

After turning the Belgian air blue, De Lie jumped back on his third bike in as many kilometres, launching a forlorn chase before pulling the pin as the race entered its final lap, heading straight to the team bus in the kind of strop that would make 2009-era Mark Cavendish proud.

Arnaud De Lie angry with his team car! #LeSamyn pic.twitter.com/7iZH88k7z0

— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) February 27, 2024

We may only be three races into classic season, but I’m already loving the drama.

> Check out Shimano’s special shoes, “the toughest road tyre for the harshest road conditions” from Vittoria, Finish Line’s faff-free hot wax system, and Elite’s dial-closed bottle cage

🥉 2022
🥉 2023
🥇 2024

Third time's a charm for Vittoria Guazzini at Le Samyn 🙌 #LeSamynDesDames | @discoveryplusUK | @fdj_suez pic.twitter.com/Ntuf2uRiHt

— Eurosport (@eurosport) February 27, 2024

Round one of Tuesday’s treacherous cobbled action at Le Samyn this afternoon saw FDJ-Suez’s Vittoria Guazzini comfortably dispatch her fellow escapees on the drag to the line in Dour, after a nail-biting finale which saw the peloton come within five seconds of catching the breakaway.

Over some sodden cobbled roads and in the company of Fenix-Deceuninck’s Christina Schweinberger and the unfortunate 19-year-old Wilma Aintila (who crashed out of the pursuit on a particularly slippery section), the tactically astute Guazzini, a third-place finisher at the last two editions of the Belgian semi-classic, bridged across from the bunch in the closing stages to the original break of Anniina Ahtosalo, Karlijn Swinkels, and Anneke Dijkstra.

Along with her role in catching the break, Guazzini’s victory owes much to Schweinberger’s decision to keep the pressure on in the final kilometre as the bunch breathed down their necks, affording the Italian a relative armchair ride to the sprint, where she cooly powered away for the fourth pro victory of her career ahead of Finnish champion Ahtosalo, as the strong Schweinberger settled for third.

Been 10 minutes here with my daughter at these red lights. Are they ever turning green @CamdenCouncil @camdencyclists @AdamDKHarrison ?
Thanks pic.twitter.com/99IXmSCQ4V

— Suami Rocha (@suamirocha) February 27, 2024

I’m not sure we’ll hear about this one in the Daily Telegraph… 

A cycling campaign group in Cardiff has raised “real concern” about the state of some of the city’s cycle lanes, with flooding causing safety and accessibility issues for users. The situation is so bad that some local cyclists have reported being unable to use infrastructure for multiple weeks, their path blocked by a “minor lake” and huge puddles.

“You can’t see what is underneath,” one local cyclist said. “It could be that there is glass there, it could be that there is a pothole there, it could be that there is a brick there that causes you to fall off, and for particularly elderly cyclists and children it could cause significant injuries. They are a safety issue.”

Read more: > Cycling group’s “real concern” over “minor lake” and huge puddles on city cycle lanes

‘You’re absolutely flying this season, what happened over the winter?’

‘Well, I started being coached by Alex Dowsett.’

‘What, the six-time British time trial champion, former Hour record holder, two-time Giro d’Italia stage winner Alex Dowsett?’

‘Yep. Well, actually no – it’s his AI-generated virtual coaching assistant Hugo. But still…’

Now, I’m not sure you’ll ever hear that exact conversation floating around your local National B race over the next few months, but Alex Dowsett certainly hopes you will, after the former Sky and Movistar rider’s Thighs Club online coaching platform partnered with Humango AI to “offer budget-friendly, AI-powered fitness coaching for cyclists of all abilities”.

Yes, we’re into the realm of AI cycling coaching now, and we all have to accept it.

> Rouvy revamped! Now with AI, new routes and easier navigation, we take a look at what's changed

According to the press release sent to us, Humango is a digital training platform that “provides fully customised workout plans using advanced artificial intelligence”, thanks to the ‘work’ of Hugo, Humango’s (creepy robot computer) virtual coaching assistant, who apparently “sits at the core of an AI engine that analyses performance metrics, scheduling, preferences, and feedback to generate optimised, adaptive training plans in real-time”.

Cheers Hugo. Now please stop controlling the lights in my house.

Will the real Alex Dowsett please stand up?

So basically, ‘Hugo’ uses the data from your apps and training devices to adjust your schedule, like a real-life coach, but as Humango points out, at a “fraction of the cost of human coaching”.

But at what wider societal cost, Hugo?

Starting at around £30, you’ll get your custom AI-generated coaching plans, plus access to Thighs Club’s online community.

“The single hardest barrier to reduce the cost of personalised coaching that I’ve been trying to work out how to change is time,” Dowsett said in a statement, that was probably not AI-generated (probably, maybe).

“I’d coach everyone for free if I could, but I simply cannot give the care I expect from myself to everyone all the time. This is why the cost of a personal coach is high in any walk of life; because it’s ultimately the cost of having someone, an expert's time.

“The easier part of coaching is actually setting the training and periodisation. The hard part, and the part that is most rewarding for athlete and coach is the relationship; working with someone to turn the tide on bad form, overcoming injuries/difficulties, encouraging them back on the bike after a stint away from it, race day strategy, inspiring them to reduce training in periods of fatigue, and to be there with them on race day when the goal is achieved.

“We're expecting Humango, an AI coach, to assist us at Thighs Club Coaching in being able to care for more people, more intensively at a lower cost to everyone.”

Well, at least this live blog will never be AI-generated. Promise…