Jeremy Clarkson “anti-cycling” column “peddles hate for easy money”… but does anyone actually care any more?; Coolest man in Flanders — Arnaud De Lie pops a wheelie on the Kemmelberg’s cobbles; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Weekend round-up: Tech of the week; Neurologist calls for 20mph speed limits due to electric vehicles' danger to cyclists; Shell UK chairman joins Active Travel England board + loads more
If you were busy this weekend doing fun things like, I don’t know… riding your bike, here’s what you might have missed on road.cc…
> REVIEW: Fulcrum Speed 25 wheels
> Shell UK chairman David Bunch joins Active Travel England board
> Win! GOREWEAR Distance bib shorts and jersey + gilet worth £420!
BEST £1000 road bikes 2023 | our six favourite cheap road bikes
Coolest man in Flanders — Arnaud De Lie pops a wheelie on the Kemmelberg's cobbles
As the saying goes… when life gives you a classic-ending puncture, make everyone’s day by popping a wheelie on the rain-sodden steep cobbles of the Kemmel… or something like that.
When bad luck rules you out of @GentWevelgem, just make the best out of it, @Arnaud_De_Lie must have thought 😜
Credit: Erwan Bolle pic.twitter.com/bxxNSVFUYO
— Lotto Dstny (@lotto_dstny) March 26, 2023
It was a filthy day on the bike in Flanders fields, a point illustrated by a combined 131 abandons in the men’s and women’s races, Fred Wright calling the conditions “horrendous”, while Jake Stewart was left to call his profession a “shit sport”.
> Gent-Wevelgem leader takes wrong turn and strays off-course – but holds on to win
De Lie was not one of the many riders to call it a day once off the back, the Belgian puncturing having been in decent shape the first time up the savage cobbled berg. On the second ascent, off the back and with little more to play for, the Lotto Dstny rider put his skills to the test… fatigue + soaked cobbles + testing gradients = a casual wheelie.
"It makes me angry and a little bit disappointed": Chris Opie speaks out about Wally Gimber incident which saw rider airlifted to hospital after going through car's rear windscreen
Former Rapha Condor JLT, One Pro, Canyon Eisberg and Saint Piran rider Chris Opie has spoken out about the incident at last weekend’s Wally Gimber Trophy which left one rider with a cut to his neck following a collision with a stationary vehicle.
Last Monday, we spoke to the rider injured’s team and competitors at the race who told us how the National B-level event had been stopped after just 40 minutes due to the incident, with the rider involved recovering well after initial concerns about the severity of the injury.
Opie, who was also racing and documented the day on his YouTube channel, raised concerns, saying “everything about that race felt wrong”.
“It’s barely even 10 years ago that Junior Heffernan lost his life in the Severn Bridge road race and we don’t need to get close to repeating that. Unfortunately on Sunday we did,” he explained.
“Because of the landing of the air ambulance the race couldn’t continue, but I don’t believe that should have been the deciding factor. The race shouldn’t have continued anyway because of rider behaviour, traffic conditions and what was ultimately too much of an ambitious an circuit. It was a 20-kilometre circuit, that’s a long way, there are a lot of junctions, lots of different environmental conditions, whether that’s potholes, traffic, villages or access.”
During the video, Opie touches on race briefings, rider attitude, rider behaviour, the “deterioration of hierarchy” with fewer big teams to road captain events, narrow handlebars, marshals controlling circuit access and just about every other conceivable factor. An interesting perspective from someone at the event…
"Real-world consequences": Cyclist "spat at for cycling with my children on an off-road designated cycle path" warns of real-world consequences for spreading "anti-cyclist rhetoric"... as Times publishes front page coverage of Celia Ward case
Elsewhere in the press this weekend…
Coincidentally the front page came just hours after one Oxford cyclist had warned of the “real-world consequences” of spreading “anti-cyclist rhetoric”, saying she had been spat at while cycling with her children on an “off-road designated cycling path”.
Just got spat at and called a cow for cycling with my children on an off road designated cycle path. If the person in question could have scared me into the road I think she would have. People who spread anti-cyclist rhetoric should know that there are real world consequences.
— Laura Swift (@LASwiftClassics) March 25, 2023
“Thank you to everyone for being so nice. I actually wasn’t scared but I was absolutely furious. The rage and hatred in her expression really took me aback and there was no reason for it other than some entrenched hatred of the existence of bikes,” Laura added.
“And obviously the awful case of Celia Ward, who was killed because of a similar incident, was very present in my mind.”
Earlier this month, Auriol Grey, the pedestrian convicted of causing the death of a 77-year-old cyclist by gesturing aggressively for her to get off the pavement was sentenced to three years in prison.
Green machine
Secret new tech! Garmin set to release solar-powered Edge 540 and 840 bike computers
> Secret new tech! Garmin set to release solar-powered Edge 540 and 840 bike computers
Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey talked out of retirement by Dave Brailsford
According to the Daily Mail, Welsh international midfielder Aaron Ramsey was considering quitting football after Wales’ group stage exit at the World Cup. The man credited with encouraging the now-Wales captain to keep at it? Dave Brailsford…
The former Team Sky and Ineos Grenadiers boss is now trying his hand at football, as part of the Ineos sporting empire, with French Ligue 1 club Nice, and told Ramsey to take an extended Christmas break, encouraging him to reconsider any retirement thoughts.
Since former coach Lucien Favre’s sacking in January, Ramsey has been revitalised, helping new coach Didier Digard (of Middlesbrough 2008-10 ‘fame’) improve the club’s fortunes, climbing the league table and reaching the quarter finals of the Europa Conference League.
How long Brailsford will remain in the south of France remains to be seen, with the former British Cycling performance director reportedly trusted by Jim Ratcliffe to overhaul Manchester United should the Ineos billionaire’s bid to buy the club from the Glazer family be successful.
The best video you'll see today
Sorry, Arnaud, I know you wheelied up the Kemmelberg, but this is our favourite vid on today’s live blog…
In good or hard times, your support means everything ❤️
ኣብ ጽብቅ ወይ ኣብ ከቢድ ግዜ ደገፍኩም ማለት ኩሉ ነገር እዩ 🇪🇷 #GW23 #RideForAntoine🌟 pic.twitter.com/jLCFhiGmgm
— Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (@IntermarcheCW) March 26, 2023
Australian cycling charity shares picture of Melbourne bike lane-blocking planters
You’ve heard of low-traffic neighbourhoods, but what about low-traffic bike lanes? Someone in Melbourne decided these planters should be stuck slap bang in the middle of one of the city’s cycle lanes.
“April 1 is still days away,” the Bicycle Network charity said. “Some of the largest hazardous bollards we have ever seen have appeared in the La Trobe Street bike lane. And they have trees in them! All jokes aside, City of Melbourne needs to act quickly and remove them.”
Two weeks out... the cobbles of Roubaix look perfect (-ly wet)
Mons-en-Pévèle today 😅🫠 pic.twitter.com/eZe3AB0vlo
— Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix (@A_ParisRoubaix) March 27, 2023
A repeat of 2021?
Are robots coming for Clarkson's job?
Out latest important contribution to journalism…
Jeremy Clarkson "anti-cycling" column "peddles hate for easy money"... but does anyone actually care any more?
Welcome to anti-cycling bingo with your host… Jeremy Clarkson…
The former Top Gear host is back from his Christmas on the naughty step having penned the single most complained about column in the UK press regulator’s history. Moving on from Meghan, Clarkson’s possibly suffering from writer’s block this week, dropping back to an old favourite…
You’ll probably be quite bored by the TV loudmouth’s latest thoughts on cycling (you really have heard it all before), we even saw someone suggest it’s like they’ve got an AI to write an anti-cycling article in the style of Clarkson because he was on holiday.
Bike lanes, Highway Code, “anti-capitalism with handlebars”, Stasi camera cyclists, gEtTiNg In DrIvErS’ wAy, lycra… it’s a near full house on the anti-cycling bingo front. Has a more tired line ever been written than, “They are just pedalling around to annoy people who’ve worked hard and bought themselves a car”?
But does anyone actually care any more?
Anyway, let’s not spend too much time on the column because from the reaction it seems the public has worked out the Clarkson “cartoon character”…
One person sharing one of his pieces on social media this weekend suggested “Clarkson makes much more sense when you realise he’s a middle-class liberal who invented a right-wing blokey character to sell columns and TV shows”.
Likewise, Abingdon councillor Nathan Ley said he was just “playing to the gallery”. “Most of the time I just ride a bike — with a basket — slowly, to get to work, the shops, and school drop off,” he added. “This frees up more space on the road for your Chelsea tractor, and makes me less likely to take your space at a hospital. Get a grip, man.”
Never forget that Clarkson the TV host/columnist is a cartoon character he plays and that he just peddles hate for easy money. What he says and what he does often aren’t the same. https://t.co/4Qx96o7JlG
— Real Gaz on a proper bike: gazza_d@toot.bike (@gazza_d) March 26, 2023
27 March 2023, 08:09
27 March 2023, 08:09
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Latest Comments
Agree re speed limiting. Why is there no mention of 25km/hr limit in the article?
Does anyone know if ‘the police’ even read all these Roadcc road safety articles? Does anyone send them all to the relevant authorities on a daily basis? …if not we’re all wasting our breath.
@KiwiMike The pannier carrying capacity is similar 18kg vs 15kg. The quote was about carrying panniers not the deck. That aside I agree they are not really comparable but for different reasons: - the Tubus Duo is made of chromoly steel which won't crack anywhere near as easily as an aluminium rack - and to demonstrate Tubus' belief in their products they offer a 30-year guarantee vs the Old Man Mountain's "reasonable lifetime of the product" warranty which is entirely up to OMM whatever that means.
If you crash, obvs. If a weld fails or a boss cracks five years hence, chances are they’ll warranty it.
That’s … really not even comparable. In therms of weight capacity, mounting, top stowage, light mounting, etc. As per article, you can get the mass a fair way rearward of the axle using the OMM rack.
@Rendel Harris Hmm.... I stand corrected. I still think Obree had a /lot/ more talent. And Jan-Willem today clearly has dropped in levels, relative to those he's racing against.
I cycled a lot on the continent and have done fir many years. I've never been close passed, and only once had a scary overtake by an oncoming vehicle. Im close passed almost daily in the UK and dangerous overtakes are common. Some serious driver education is needed here, not to mention presumed liability legislation.
@TrainWalkWheel at least one person on here seems to have better understanding of these than I do but AFAICS the model is even less likely to lead to good outcomes than happened with eg. a certain UK bus company. The one notorious for moving into an area, putting the existing providers out of business by running more services for pence and losing money, then - having captured the market - jacking up the price and dropping services. At least in that case the intention was presumably to deliver a self-sustaining service in the end (albeit perhaps a worse, overpriced one). But AFAIK mass bike share itself has never made money directly. So one wonders what the end plan is if any one of these market-share-capture firms actually won? (Presumably that isn't important and it's all about trading / financial shenanigans in some way. I doubt they could hold the local authority to ransom for the extra cash...)
Alas it's another part of "because cars / 'change', we can't just copy a well-proven design eg. from NL" On top of this is the UK "not invented here" making it up / no expertise or standard designs AND a "we must fit cyclists in around existing road space" causing strange contorted layouts. So what happens is we get things like bi-directional cycle *lanes* (not separated cycle paths) because cheapest / easiest to patch in. So that means that pedestrians don't have a space to wait *after* crossing the cycle space and *before* they have to deal with the road. (It also puts another block in the way of cycling convenience at traffic lights - say at a T-junction - because unlike NL the lights then apply to cyclists going straight on, whereas in NL that would be an informal cycle path crossing for pedestrians with no lights applying to the cycle path part - so cyclists just keep rolling).
In 2019, Shanghai and other Chinese major cities implemented strict regulations and clean-up operations tp remove millopns of abondoned dockless bicycles that had created public nuisances and blocked pavements. One can't blame local authorities for taking actions in order to stop a messy situation triggered by unruly users.
55 thoughts on “Jeremy Clarkson “anti-cycling” column “peddles hate for easy money”… but does anyone actually care any more?; Coolest man in Flanders — Arnaud De Lie pops a wheelie on the Kemmelberg’s cobbles; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog”
One great thing to see in
One great thing to see in Gent Wevelgem, in addition to WVA’s excellent sportsmanship and generosity in giving Laporte the victory, was that the Jumbo Visma squad all had their names printed on their rain jackets so that they were easy to identify even with their numbers covered up. Hopefully a step on the way to having rider names printed on jerseys, something I feel is long overdue.
What a brutal race Gent
What a brutal race Gent Wevelgem was… who’d want to be a pro on days like that.
Jumbo are proving to be quite the unstoppable force this year! I hope there are pictures of WVA on a million aspiring cyclists walls, he’s a great poster boy for the sport.
I don’t understand why Jeremy
I don’t understand why Jeremy Clarkson is at all surprised that every other person passing him calls him a c*** *. After all, he is highly recognisable and almost everyone will know who he is.
*His words, not mine.
Mungecrundle wrote:
I reckon that was the real reason that Boris Johnson gave up cycling…
Mungecrundle wrote:
Maybe he is surprised that it is only every-other person?
Re the picture of Clarkson,
Re the picture of Clarkson on the bike, if you’re a helmet you won’t be needing a helmet……
Yes I expect the anti-helmet
Yes I expect the anti-helmet brigade are quite happy and respect his right to not wear a helmet, while the pro-helmet brigade are quietly keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for the best (or perhaps worst).
ShutTheFrontDawes wrote:
Is this “anti-helmet brigade” a straw-man? If not, who are they?
ChrisB200SX wrote:
— ChrisB200SXThe strawest of straw men, an invention of the helmet promoters to denigrate people who present them with facts.
ChrisB200SX wrote:
There certainly are some, on this very website even, that put forward rediculous arguments against wearing helmets. Even going so far as suggesting, on multiple occasions, that helmets kill people. Sometimes by strangulation and sometimes by forcing car drivers to drive dangerously. The causal relationship is, needless to say, tenuous.
Oh look, one of them has already replied to my comment 😉
I love how, even though I called both groups ‘brigades’ you still pick up on it. Can’t help yourselves, can you?
Best stay away from fires:
Best stay away from fires: straw is quite inflammable.
Whose argument am I
Whose argument am I distorting there? Did you or did you not say that helmets “must cause deaths” (I’m sure I can dredge up the comment and quote the whole thing if it helps your memory)? Did you or did you not copy a quote to this website that implied that a young girl’s death was caused by her helmet (again, I expect I could find it to quote you verbatim if that helps)? Do you or do you not tell people that helmets do not prevent injuries at every opportunity you get (I’m sure I could find half a dozen or so examples to help your memory)?
You even take issue when someone says that cyclists should wear helmets, as per the highway code. And that is just a fact that no amount of your bleating can get around.
Cycling Monkey is
Cycling Monkey is particularly vitriolic against helmet wearing; a bit like Jeremey Whine carrying on about not needing to wear hi-vis and reflectives..
I do like how cyclists on
I do like how cyclists on roads hold motorists up but as soon as they mount the pavement they hit 50mph.
Schrodinger’s cyclist, innit?
Schrodinger’s cyclist, innit?
brooksby wrote:
…or is it Heisenberg’s cyclist?
I’m not certain…
Never miss an opportunity for
Never miss an opportunity for my favourite Heisenberg joke:
Heisenberg was driving in Germany when he was pulled over by a traffic cop:
“Excuse me mein Herr but you were driving at 60 km/h in a 40 km/h zone.”
“Tell me officer, what town are we in?”
“Frankfurt, mein Herr.”
“Well if you know where we are you can’t possibly know how fast I was going.”
Rendel Harris wrote:
belugabob wrote:
Schrodinger’s cyclist, innit?
— belugabob …or is it Heisenberg’s cyclist? I’m not certain…— brooksby
Upon reflection, Heisenberg actually fits better with the aim of my comment. I stand corrected.
brooksby wrote:
It wasn’t a correction – more of an enigmatic juxtaposition, wrapped in a paradox…?
Cycling is no longer cheap
Cycling is no longer cheap and cheerful but cyclists are definitely anti-capitalists. His ability to contradict himself so frequently in one column is quite a feat.
RDaneel wrote:
That’s one of my favourites, cyclists are simultaneously such failures that they can’t afford a car and stupid overprivileged MAMILs spending what for some is a year’s salary on a child’s toy.
RDaneel wrote:
— RDaneelDo you know many cyclists? That description doesn’t fit the vast majority of the ones I know, whether local commuters, fellow club members, in other local clubs and elsewhere.
I think you’ll find that cyclists vary hugely. A handful of opinionated types commenting on road.cc are not representative of everyone who rides on 2 or 3 wheels; by describing all people who use a bicycle (or trike) in that way you are fooling no-one but yourself.
And cycling is still cheap. Perhaps you simply choose to read about expensive bikes, parts and clothing. In most places in the UK cycling is a lot cheaper than running a car or using public transport. Last time I did some sums it was about the tenth of the cost of running my old, basic hatchback.
I think RDaneel is just
I think RDaneel is just quoting what Jeremy Clarkson wrote.
Indeed I was, I should have
Indeed I was, I should have been clearer (again! ?) that that was the ridiculous level of contradiction in Clarksons column amongst the many. Not my thinking at all!
No; he was critiquing his
No; he was critiquing his writing; quite different from quoting..
Well said; very true.
Well said; very true.
NotNigel wrote:
Drivers really should learn not to drive on pavements at 50 mph
The Clarkson thing reminds me
The Clarkson thing reminds me of the documentary about George Michael, when the journos who hounded him were interviewed. When asked why they did not hold themselves to higher standards rather than peddle homophopbia and racism, the answer was “the guardian does that and they lose money” It may not be as bad today, but it is more about driving traffic to websites for advertising clicks.
On the Auriol Grey case, I
On the Auriol Grey case, I find it interesting how she was originally this lone woman who was estranged from her family and had no friends, etc etc. And yet suddenly lots of family’n’friends who are more than happy to speak to the press have appeared…
We can’t on the one hand say
We can’t on the one hand say Clarkson is just a caricature cartoon figure, and that piece he wrote is almost a parody of his own character
creation, no one pays any attention.
And then follow it up with but actually anti cycling rhetoric in the media has real world consequences on the other.
Because it tips over from spitting or abuse, into the way people drive around cyclists and how they treat them on the road.
The problem is less that
The problem is less that idiot writing cycling hatred and more the Sun’s decision to publish it…
Ah, Clarkson’s back, to his
Ah, Clarkson’s back, to his job of pumping out outrageous, politically-incorrect opinions which he has every week to a deadline, almost as if they weren’t real. And what better way to get back into his stride, than the old reliable: an anti-cyclist hate-piece. He’s like a faded pro, no longer good enough to get on his team’s Tour de France squad, doing a post-Tour kermesse, pretending to sprint against the yellow and green jersey wearers, only to come in third. Sad.
ubercurmudgeon wrote:
— ubercurmudgeonThird? Generous.
DNF.
Sorry, DNS.
DNF.
Sorry, DNS.
He’s just having a comedic
He’s just having a comedic stir and getting paid a lot to do so.. more strength to his writing arm; he’s amusing and anyone that takes his articles seriously needs help from a mental health professional.
In case you missed it: Ugo de
In case you missed it: Ugo de Rosa passed away 🙁
https://www.instagram.com/p/CqQsFu4tPED/
I missed that. Sad day indeed
I missed that. Sad day indeed.
One of the most surreal real
One of the most surreal real-world anti-cycling nonsense I have experienced was early one Sunday morning when my daughter (10) and I were having a quick drink and a snack next to our bikes.
A white van (like you couldn’t have guessed that) skidded to a halt, round down his window, and the absolute winker* driving shouted at us to “get off the fudging* road!”
Thing is, we weren’t on the road. Or even the pavement. We were the other side of a fence in a cycle park.
*Not the real words
Back in January, shout from a
Back in January, shout from a passing van (black, as it happens, but obviously van rules still apply), “Get off the fucken pavement cycle cunt!” I’d been hit by a double puncture/one spare tube scenario and was pushing it to the nearest bike shop…
Clarkson will say anything to
Clarkson will say anything to get attention; the man clearly has no filter whatsover. Its not surprising given he is a petrol head that he take this rediculous stance on cyclists.
What really galls me is the reference to the Stasi; anybody who knows anything about Germany will know how notorius they were! Say something bad about the Communist party and your nextdoor neighbour and they were an informer for the Stasi hears this? You almost certainly get an all expenses paid holiday to have your toenails removed in a jail cell somewhere and possibley never seen again. When the wall came down in ’89 the Stasis went into overdrive that night to destroy their records because they knew the reprocussions! In short the Stasi were a deeply nasty bunch of people. Referencing them they way Clarkson does is appalling!
History lesson over…
Strangely, when Lineker
Strangely, when Lineker mentioned nasty Germans in relation to the Tories there ended up being a nationwide scandal that dominated the news for a week.
But cyclists…
That related to his
That related to his employment conditions with the public broadcaster, otherwise Lineker and anyone else is free to opine on whatever they want, including making odious comparisons to the nasties..
His comments about the lurgy
His comments about the lurgy mandate effect on bicycle sales and use were spot on and no-one but the woke cares about hurt feelings from a jocular historical reference.
Re JC: I worked hard and
Re JC: I worked hard and bought a car. Then I worked harder and bought a bike
Quote:
Let’s try being legally accurate and replacing “cyclist death” with “homicide” and see if it still sounds like a justified complaint.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Let’s try being legally accurate and replacing “cyclist death” with “homicide” and see if it still sounds like a justified complaint.
There’s a Grauniad op-ed this morning:
A tragic accident should not have landed Auriol Grey in prison. Our justice system is stuck in the dark ages
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/28/prisons-uk-justice-jail-sentences-penal-system
I can’t help but feel that’s a rather “generous” interpretation of the events…
Just a tad. It’s also both
Just a tad. It’s also both offensive and disturbing the way in which her disability is portrayed as some form of mental disorder that could excuse her actions; I have no knowledge of the degree of Grey’s disability but cerebral palsy does not automatically, as one might assume reading the news reports, mean that people with the condition have learning difficulties or other mental problems.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Exactly – see the comedian/telly presenter Rosie Jones.
(edit) or former actor, now playwright, Francesca Martinez (was in Grange Hill in her youth).
Regardless, the advanced age
Regardless, the advanced age of the cyclist played a significant role with the cyclist losing control of her bicycle; she was not pushed onto the road by the pedestrian.
For once, I agree with a
For once, I agree with a Guardian op-ed; it certainly wasn’t a homicide..
The tweet by the woman who
The tweet by the woman who was spat at reminds me of something that happened to me last week. I was cycling on a busy road when I saw two elderly pedestrians crossing. It wasn’t a designated crossing area so I immediately checked over my shoulder as i planned to take a very primary position and slow the traffic behind me so the elderly couple could continue to cross. There were no vehicles behind me so instead I went right into the gutter to give space to the crossing couple. At which point the man’s face formed into a rictus of hate and spittle as he screamed ‘bloody cyclist – stop’. I was really shocked. I had given the man priority to my disadvantage because he was crossing in an unsafe part of the road. But still I was at fault.
Slightly weird one last week,
Slightly weird one last week, just turned right into a side street but well on my side of the road when the driver of an oncoming van leaned out of his window and yelled something at me. Sounded like “watch out mate” which I took at the time to be a warning about some hazard in the road ahead, fallen debris in the high winds that day perhaps. But, as there was nothing apparent, maybe it was some sort of unprompted aggression.
That looks like a “how dare
That looks like a “how dare you be anywhere near the middle of the road” warning to me.
I’m in the empty car parking
I’m in the empty car parking zone as defined by the short bay markings, the truck is actually over the centre line from the time of first visibility to the time we passed each other. Unfortunately the sound on the video is unclear. Maybe it was just a cheery greeting and he mistook me for someone he knew, but with regular articles in the same vein as JCs on the page bout of diarrhoea last weekend I do find myself a little more on the paranoid side of defensive.