“How to not die at the Foot of the Walk – A Guide”: Cyclists slam “misleading, death trap” layout on notorious cycle lane; Attack the traffic! Thomas Voeckler to voice driving navigation app during Tour de France + more on the live blog

Speaking of charismatic, swashbuckling French superstars, Julian Alaphilippe will make his return to the Tour de France this Saturday, where he and his Soudal Quick-Step team will be hoping for another scintillating start on the difficult Basque roads.

The double world champion missed out on selection for the 2022 Tour, with Soudal Quick-Step building their team around sprinter Fabio Jakobsen, in the middle of a difficult year plagued by crashes, illness, and injury.

But Alaphilippe – who has won six stages at the Tour during his career, as well as winning the mountain jersey in 2018 and finishing fifth overall and holding the yellow jersey for 14 days at the epic 2019 edition – seemed to have returned to something approaching his old, sparkling self at this month’s Critérium du Dauphiné, where he won a stage and finished tenth on GC.

Jakobsen takes an emotional win on stage two of last year’s Tour (A.S.O. Pauline Ballet)

The 31-year-old will be joined in Bilbao by Jakobsen, who will hope to add to his maiden stage win last year, lead-out supremo Michael Mørkøv, and powerhouses Kasper Asgreen, Rémi Cavagna, Tim Declercq, Dries Devenyns, and last year’s opening TT winner Yves Lampaert.

So Michael Mørkøv will be at Cav’s last TdF, at his last chance to win the 35th stage. A girl can dream, right? https://t.co/IqnsRUK3Bl

— Emma Bianchi #SiempreGino 🖤 (@cyclartist) June 27, 2023

Not sure how Fabio would feel about Mørkøv taking on the Geraint Thomas role during this year’s Tour, if I’m honest…

Cheryl Tye was killed when she was hit by the driver of a blue Citroën Dispatch van while competing in the East District 50-mile time trial championship on the A11 in Norfolk last year. Norfolk Police has this week made a renewed appeal for information and witnesses in relation to the fatal collision.

Read more here: > Renewed appeal over time trialist killed in dual carriageway collision

While Netflix’s much-discussed Tour de France series has generated some intense debate within cycling circles over whether it was any good or not (a less intense, more gently rambling version of this debate can be found on the latest episode of the road.cc Podcast), it seems to have gone down well with the kind of right-wing writers for whom anti-cycling bingo is a daily pastime, believe it or not.

In the weekend’s Spectator – fresh from warning drivers about “vigilante cyclists” – James Delingpole submitted a glowing review, titled ‘Netflix has struck gold’, of Unchained, which he praised for its portrayal of the riders’ sheer toughness, the iconic scenery, the relatable personalities, the sport’s idiosyncratic traditions, and its exhilarating action.

(Though I would say that the series hasn’t improved Delingpole’s tactical analysis – note the reference to Tom Pidcock’s decision “to do most of his overtaking on the downhill sections”.)

Good overtaking there, Tom…

In any case, the series, Delingpole says is “making me warm to cycling” – but only the elite, Tour de France riding type of cyclists, not us commoners.

And he can’t resist throwing in a few anti-cycling bingo classics to make his point, either.

“I’m ideologically opposed to bicycles for all the obvious reasons,” he writes. “Still, after watching a few episodes of Tour de France: Unchained, I’ve softened my position slightly.

“Say what you like about those infuriating, car-impeding, road-hogging cyclists but the ones who participate in the big international races don’t half have some balls.”

Cheers James.

Maybe that’s the answer – after all these years of being abused for “riding like we’re in the Tour de France”, perhaps, thanks to Netflix, the one way to gain the respect of anti-cycling motorists is to, you know, look like we’re riding the Tour de France…

Ah, the eternal question (okay, the question of the last few years) finally solved by Jamie…

> How much slower is a gravel bike on the road? Testing a road bike vs a gravel bike for speed

To answer the question posed in the video, I’d be getting dropped duringthe group ride on both bikes, so it hardly matters, if I’m honest…

Annemiek van Vleuten’s final season as a pro hasn’t been the smoothest one so far.

However, the 40-year-old’s (let’s call it tactically astute) victory over Demi Vollering at the Vuelta Femenina in May means that she’s still on course to win the Vuelta-Giro-Tour triple for the second year running.

And as Van Vleuten herself has noted, with the Vuelta stepping up to become a proper, week-long race for 2023, pulling off the grand tour treble this summer would even eclipse her historic feat from last year.

But with Vollering and SD Worx looking so ominously strong during the spring – and only a badly timed nature break away from the win at the Vuelta – things won’t be so easy for the legendary Dutchwoman.

Which is why Movistar have selected a very strong line-up to ensure that Van Vleuten retains her title at the upcoming Giro Donne, in what would be her fourth career triumph at the Italian race and part two of a possible pre-retirement stage racing treble.

Recently crowned German road race champion Liane Lippert, who looked strong throughout the spring classics, will join the world champion in Chianciano for the opening prologue of the tough nine-day race on Friday, along with Paula Patiño, Floortje Mackaij, Sara Martín, Aude Biannic, and Sheyla Gutiérrez.

About yesterday Ethiopia championship final sprint.🚴‍♂️

#Love to this special Sport!🚴‍♂️❤️👌
💛❤️🚴‍♂️💛❤️ pic.twitter.com/WAd1Gfx2xc

— Haile melekot (@evanmayo1919) June 26, 2023

This one’s not strictly a cycling story, but it is funny.

According to a press release sent to us today by Warwickshire Police (so you know it’s going to be good), a motorist was handed six points on his licence, along with fines and charges amounting to over £1000, earlier this month after failing to provide information about the identity of the driver in relation to a speeding offence.

After the owner’s vehicle was caught at 58mph in a 50mph zone last December, the 28-year-old was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution requiring him to confirm who was behind the wheel.

But instead of ‘fessing up, the historically-minded motorist decided to send several documents quoting medieval laws and customs – including Clause 39 of the Magna Carta, which guarantees freedom from arbitrary punishment without due process – and, bizarrely, demands for millions of pounds.

Not sure what Pope Innocent III would make of that ‘defence’, mind you…

“Let me be clear, all drivers on UK roads are subject to the statutory requirements of the Road Traffic Act, Warwickshire Police’s Dave Valente said in a statement. “This includes driving licences, vehicles being MOT’d, insured and taxed. It also means complying with the speed limit, and the consequences of failing to do so.

“Drivers who respond with extensive demands based on ancient medieval customs, will not evade prosecution.”

Good to know.

However, Valente also noted that this reliance from law-breaking drivers on medieval rights and charters is, oddly, on the increase in the UK.

“Unfortunately this is not a one off case,” he said. “We have noticed an increase in those who quote this type of material, to avoid the consequence of a speeding offence. 

“This driver found out the hard way, trying to avoid a speeding prosecution could cost them a lot more than responding in accordance with the Road Traffic Act.”

Fill your boots, number nerds…

> The best Tour de France pros to follow on Strava

Goes to show that even for half of the Tour de France peloton, it doesn’t count if it’s not on Strava…

After Tommy Voeckler was confirmed this morning as the voice of driving app Waze for the next month, the Tour de France has now marked the 20th anniversary of its partnership with support vehicle supplier Škoda with an insight into life behind the wheel at Le Tour.

Because what better way to celebrate the start of cycling’s biggest and most famous race than talking about gearboxes and dashboards?

“The switch to automatic gearboxes has really simplified the driving from inside a cycling race, especially for uphill portions,” says former two-time French time trial champion Gilles Maignan, who now drives the Tour race director’s famous ‘red car’.

“Also, the dashboard on the Superb shows exactly how many kilometres you have driven to the first decimal, which is very important in a cycling race to know how far you are from the finish.

“We have recently switched to hybrid vehicles which allows me to be in electric mode between the Fictive Start and Real Start of each stage, which is appreciated by the riders who have to stay right behind me on this section.”

To be fair, as anyone stuck in fumes on the commute will know, that is handy.

Asked if he needs to adhere to any speed limits, Maignan says: “Yes, we cannot go over 50 mph (80 km/h) except for the downhills if a rider is catching up to me. However, the main rule imposed by the UCI is that we cannot go over 12mph (20km/h) faster than the speed of riders.”

Maignan also added that the feeling of driving a car at the front of the Tour is very different to the four times he raced it on his bike.

“It changes a bit from back when I was a rider,” he says. “I have an important responsibility to lead out the best riders on the biggest professional cycling race in the world and my job is to help Christian Prudhomme ensure a safe race for everyone, including the spectators.”

Alright, that’s enough stories about the Tour and cars for one day…

Olivia Chow has made history today, becoming the first ever Chinese-Canadian mayor of Toronto and ending over a decade of conservative rule in the city.

Oh, and she’s also a massive cyclist who doesn’t even have a driving licence. Very cool.

Cycling home on my trusty old bike (with winterized studs tires) in this weather was challenging but absolutely beautiful. pic.twitter.com/x9mC0LHolm

— Olivia Chow (@oliviachow) March 4, 2023

The 66-year-old – who spoke in the run-up to the election about the need to create more cycling infrastructure in order to support Vision Zero – was notably up against right-wing anti-cycling candidate Anthony Furey, who even made removing all bike lanes on Toronto’s major roads a key part of his campaign.

> Protesters call for protected bike lane to be removed… by blocking it and forcing cyclists into traffic

When we talk about safety, why don’t some candidates talk about cyclist safety?

When we remove bike lanes, roads get worse.

There are deadly consequences to removing cycling infrastructure. I support Vision Zero.

— Olivia Chow (@oliviachow) May 26, 2023

Chow’s victory, then, is a welcome one for all of Toronto’s residents who want to get around the city safely on their bikes.

Can we now have even more cycling politicians, please?

Just when you thought having Tommy Voeckler direct you around the country would be bonkers enough, apparently – and this is the first time I’d heard of this – Tour de France stage winner and original member of JV’s Crazy Gang, Dave Zabriskie, once lent his zany American voice to a Garmin sat nav sometime in the late 2000s or early 2010s, according to road.cc reader SimoninSpalding.

“My now ancient (and redundant) Garmin sat nav came with a voucher to download a free ‘premium’ voice for it,” Simon says.

“To give you an idea how long ago this was, I turned down Simpsons characters and heaven knows what else to be guided by then Garmin rider Dave Zabriskie. Even after five years of driving around with it he still had the capacity to make the whole family laugh.

“The built in Toyota lady I now rely on has never made me laugh.”

I really hope it came with a moustache you could stick to the dashboard…

In one of the more bizarre announcements to come out this week in the lead-up to Saturday’s Grand Départ – and in news that will certainly delight French female motorists of a certain age – the Tour de France announced this morning that Thomas Voeckler will provide the voice of popular motoring navigation app Waze during this year’s race.

📢 @voecklerthomas lands in your car during the #TDF2023.

🗣️ Grab the handlebars and drive with the voice of Thomas right here 👉 https://t.co/qpU7T4BlXu@waze_France pic.twitter.com/hUNSiAbC4t

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 27, 2023

Which, if we know anything about Tommy V, will mean that over the next month drivers in France will be excitedly advised to slow down to a crawl before accelerating sharply, then told to weave erratically across the road, blaring their horn and sticking their tongue out at passing pedestrians in the process, while running out of fuel within touching distance of home.

(Sure that’s just a normal day’s driving in the UK, I hear you cry.)

The news that the darling of the French public for over a decade is on hand to make driving a much more pleasant and enjoyable experience has excited more than a few cyclists, with cycling writer Tom Owen noting on Twitter that this is the “first time in my adult life I’ve wished I could drive”.

The man, the myth, the sat nav voice provider

However, others are less impressed with the Tour’s latest partnership with something motoring-related.

“Waze is the app that enables speeding drivers to cut through quiet neighbourhoods, where kids are normally playing on bikes,” wrote cycling activist Harry Gray.

> Waze called out for directing drivers onto closed roads in parks

Back in 2021, you may recall, The Royal Parks publicly contacted the sat nav software app, which is a subsidiary of Google, to stop them from directing motorists down closed roads in parks.

The charity tweeted Waze with a screenshot that showed a route directing drivers through Richmond Park, which is a renowned hotspot for cyclists in the English capital.

Perhaps Tommy Voeckler was just looking to hang out with his mates?

Weird zig-zag designs, ridiculously slender ‘unicycle’ lanes on bends, seemingly ubiquitous parked cars, dodgy bus stops with no space for waiting passengers, cyclists, or pedestrians, poor surfaces, and confusing junctions – Edinburgh’s Leith Walks appears to have it all when it comes to questionable cycling infrastructure.

> Cycle lane notorious for parked cars “urgently” needs bollards, councillor warns “genuine concern” of fatality

The latest head scratching section of Scotland’s most talked-about bike lane to generate some online discussion – thanks to an astonishingly detailed mega-thread on Leith Walk’s ills posted by Edward Tissiman – appears at the Foot of the Walk, featuring what Edward astutely described as a “HGV/cyclist blender”:

💀HGV/cyclist blender. This misleading layout at FotW could see a cyclist end up under a left turning lorry. See thread below this tweet for more: pic.twitter.com/NNYr7jb1Gx

— Edward Tissiman (@edtiss) June 23, 2023

“This misleading layout could see a cyclist end up under a left turning lorry,” Edward tweeted, before posting a petrifying video to support his claim (though in this particular case, it would have been a left-turning bus driver)…

This video emphasises just how dangerous the Foot of the Walk is to cyclists. Disaster averted in this case due to alert cyclists and an observant Lothian buses driver. pic.twitter.com/ETWGQz2XK2

— Edward Tissiman (@edtiss) June 25, 2023

The junction from the cyclist’s perspective doesn’t appear any more convincing:

Check the cyclists’ perspective here 😱😱😱 https://t.co/dgRzdkyLXy pic.twitter.com/xxyTCSldAN

— Dave McCraw (@david_mccraw) June 26, 2023

Shocking and so dangerous, i bet there’s loads of near misses and brakes jammed on at this location.

— Michael (@MTB_Cycler) June 26, 2023

This is absolutely insane! First thought watching it is that you don’t get long on the lights to cross the road… then I realised that’s not a dedicated set of lights for cyclists. Insane!

— JoeC 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@JoeCrofts) June 26, 2023

Though local cyclist Dave McCraw reckons he has a solution:

“How to not die at the Foot of the Walk: a guide” coming soon pic.twitter.com/5Sis1pGYpo

— Dave McCraw (@david_mccraw) June 26, 2023

The junction, branded a “death trap” by cyclists on Twitter, has been described by thread-starter Edward as the “single biggest problem with Leith Walk at the moment”, while cycling campaign group Spokes said they have raised the “ongoing danger” with the city council on several occasions. 

Thanks @edtiss

Agreed, very real ongoing danger, with the lights allowing motor traffic &🚲to turn across each other

Our planning group has raised it several times with officers & cllrs, including very recently

We are told the signals team looking at it

Urgent action needed! pic.twitter.com/UlhlMDOd26

— Spokes CycleCampaign (@SpokesLothian) June 26, 2023

Ah, Leith Walk – when will it ever end?