“We face enough hatred as it is”: Cyclists thank police for pointing out 750W motor-powered vehicle with throttle up to 28mph is “not an e-bike”; “Take it easy over Cipressa”: Caleb Ewan’s advice to Pogačar for Milan-San Remo + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“Don’t leave girls behind”: Calls to address gender gap for children cycling, as new report finds almost twice as many boys ride bikes as girls – and 80% of children want traffic-free routes and pavement parking bans
How can Pogačar finally win Milan-San Remo? “Take it easy over Cipressa, do a full lead-out over Poggio,” says Caleb Ewan
There are few races in which Tadej Pogačar has raced and hasn’t tasted victory. The first monument of the year, Milan-San Remo remains one of those, and the world champion has expressed how dearly he’d like to win the race, after failing in last year’s attempt.
So how can Pogačar kick off his monuments season with a win? According to Aussie pro and twice runner-up at the race, Caleb Ewan, he’d need to stay off the gas on Cipressa — the second last hill before the all-important Poggio, and follow wheels going into the race-deciding climb with “as many teammates as possible”.
“It will be difficult for Pogacar to win Milano-Sanremo. Especially with the current riders who are between climbers and sprinters, like Van der Poel,” he said on the Geraint Thomas Podcast. “Normally a rider like me wouldn’t have to come over those climbs with the best, but if you’re well positioned in the wheel, it can be a lot easier. What also plays a role: everyone knows that he’s going to do something and there are no places in Milan-Sanremo where you can surprise someone.”
The 30-year-old who signed for Ineos Grenadiers in January, added: “The mistake he made in the past, in my opinion, was that he made it too hard on the Cipressa. That made the race between the Cipressa and Poggio very easy. More riders were dropped, while the lead-out to the Poggio is normally full throttle. I remember one year that I was riding 500 watts in the wheel before the Poggio even started.
“The approach became easier, which made the riders he had to drop fresher. His best bet in my opinion is to take it easy over the Cipressa and keep as many teammates as possible. And then do a full lead-out to the Poggio.”
Will Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates pay heed to Ewan’s tactics? And are they any good? We’ll find out on 22nd March… until then, gear up for the fifth monument of the season, as some would say, Strade Bianche, next weekend.
How to install those new aero bars on your cockpit properly?
Luke Rowe’s new book ‘Road Captain’, featuring a foreword by Mark Cavendish, out in June
After calling it a day on his pro cycling career with Ineos Grenadiers and pivoting to a managerial role as the directeur sportif of the UCI WorldTour team Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale, Luke Rowe has now announced that he’s written a new book — not your typical autobiography, but his own take on the pro peloton and all its ins and outs.
Titled ‘Road Captain’ and featuring a foreword by Mark Cavendish, the book’s coming out in June but is available to pre-order now in hardback, audiobook and ebook. Here’s what Rowe had to say about it: “Sports fans – I’ve written a book! I’m excited to share that Road Captain will be coming out in June this year.
“When I retired from racing, I didn’t want to write an autobiography. I wanted to write a book that gives a real insight into what exactly a road captain in professional cycling does. So, this is my take on the intricacies of the pro peloton through my lens as a long-serving road captain for Team Sky and Ineos, and of course the highs and lows along the way.”
“What an awful, dangerous and ill-advised experience it was to cycle along this road, especially with a little child”: Local says cycling to pick up kids from school is “not worth the risk”, thanks to “treacherous” roads
A York resident has written a letter to The Press highlighting how the years of neglect towards active travel infrastructure investment have allowed the city to fall behind the likes of Oxford and Cambridge.
“York used to have a reputation as a ‘cycling city, ’” writes Chris Green. “My mother has memories of bikes everywhere, and York was synonymous with the likes of Oxford and Cambridge in the amount of people using active travel to get around.
“However, where Oxford and Cambridge (or even much bigger places like Leeds and Manchester) have invested hugely in active travel infrastructure, (even connecting along A roads to outer villages), York seems stuck being neither here nor there.
“I have just picked my child up from primary school today by bicycle. She has just changed schools to one located around Hamilton Drive and my goodness what an awful, dangerous and ill-advised experience it was to cycle along this road, especially with a little child.
“How on earth are we ever going to encourage more active modes of travel unless we sort out places such as this road. It is a key connector to several schools, not to mention the pre schools and child minders who populate its vicinity.
“However, at present the road is treacherous for anyone even attempting to travel by any other mode.
“This could be a good start for the recent Active Travel England funding but I think I will take the car to pick up from now on as it’s simply not the worth the risk.”
20-year-old UAE Team Emirates Gen Z rider Duarte Marivoet wins fifth stage of Tour du Rwanda with solo attack
Duarte Marivoet (Team UAE) wins the 5th stage of #TdRwanda2025 @RusiziDistrict —>@HuyeDistrict pic.twitter.com/cykKQOSqGt
— Sebutege Ange (@A_sebutege) February 28, 2025
Boardman unveils new “four-season fast” SLR road range… and the prices look attractive too
> Boardman unveils new “four-season fast” SLR road range… and the prices look attractive too
Police vow to clamp down on “anti-social cycling” after arresting man for riding bike on pavement and failing to stop
Derek Gee wins time trial stage of O Gran Camiño and takes control of the general classification, as the tenure of Eurosport comes to and end
As pro cycling says goodbye to Eurosport and finds a £30.99/month home in TNT Sports, Derek Gee emerged victorious at the third stage of the Spanish stage tour in Galicia, setting a time of 23:17 in the time trial, 17 seconds quicker than second-placed Davide Piganzoli.
Here are some nice words to commemorate the death of Eurosport and the moving on towards TNT from the ever-so-eloquent Rob Hatch…
For those that are nerdy like me, here’s the final moments of Eurosport after 36 years of broadcasting in the UK – the highlights of O Gran Camino late last night.
Nice words from Rob Hatch as always. pic.twitter.com/5Aawlmfj0T
— SPFL Mediawatch (@SPFLWatch) February 28, 2025
Britain set to host Tour de France Grand Départ in 2027, according to reports
> Britain set to host Tour de France Grand Départ in 2027, according to reports
“We face enough hatred as it is”: Cyclists thank police for pointing out 750W motor-powered two-wheeled vehicle with throttle up to 28mph is “not an e-bike”
It’s been a rather hard and bumpy road but if recent events are to go by, things might be moving in the right direction in terms of the narrative around differentiating motor-powered two-wheeled vehicles from e-bikes, as is evident by this social media post from Lancashire Road Police.
Sharing the pictures, the team wrote: “This is not an e-bike. This is a motor vehicle and must comply with RTA legislation.
“This particular vehicle has a 750W rear motor and can be independently powered by a twist throttle up to 28mph.”
And after a period of stoking and, honestly, simply incorrect use of terminology in the public sphere, it’s a breath of fresh air to see a roads policing team recognise this and put it out there for others to see as well.
The impact of the post was not lost on cyclists, with many, including popular camera cyclist Mike van Erp, better known as CyclingMikey, thanking the officers.
“Thank you for calling it what it is! Cyclists aren’t keen on people calling these ebikes as we face enough hatred as it is,” wrote Mikey, who uses an e-bike to ride on London roads and report mobile-phone using or close passing drivers to the Met.
Another cyclist replied: “Good to hear police calling these what they are. So many still calling them e bikes which they are not,”
Dr Robert Davis, Chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, also chimed in, saying: “Excellent, Lancashire Road Police! I and many others (judged by loads of likes) are pleased that some Police Services are stressing this point. Language is important: illegally ‘modded’ e-bikes are NOT bicycles, electrical or otherwise, not least because of their high(er) speed potential.”
One of the reasons why the post was welcomed all the more jubilantly by cyclists across social media could be the recent BBC Panorama episode hosted by Adrian Chiles, titled ‘E-Bikes: The Battle For Our Streets’, which took aim at the apparent culture war focused on e-bikes. However, the broadcaster didn’t seem to differentiate between mopeds, illegal motor-powered vehicles, illicitly modified e-bikes, and the actual e-bikes which are legal in the UK.
The episode was blasted by cyclists, who accused the BBC of “attacking” e-bikes in a “fishy, fearmongering” episode “littered with inaccuracy, misinformation, and bias” and painting “crime-ridden, apocalyptic vision”.
Despite the BBC claiming their reportage of the issue was “fair and impartial”, many cyclists and those in the industry expressed a contrasting view. Just days after the episode’s airing, the Bicycle Association (BA), the national body representing the cycling industry in the UK, lodged a formal complaint with the broadcaster.
A few days later, the owner of an e-bike shop in south London also branded the programme as “troubling” and “misleading”, with the potential to “unfairly influence public opinion and undermine the efforts of responsible retailers who prioritise safety, respectful riding, and adherence to the law”.
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@open_roads So... exactly the same as a human but there will presumably be a point where it judges it's unsafe to proceed - unlike your typical Uber driver? I genuinely do not give a shit what technology (LIDAR, radar, sonar, cameras, magic, white cane etc etc) a robocab uses, provided that it satisfies any safety case put forward by a regulator.
It would appear that going forward, the Definition Integrale version will be the only model available, meaning that electronic groupset is the only option. There’s still stock available of the Definition 3.0 as of now and I’ve just ordered one with mechanical 105 to replace my aging winter sh*tter.
This is why genuinely I only expect my front and back time stamped bike cameras to ever be used in the event of my death on the road, that is if I don't get killed as pedestrian on a crossing with these bloody taxi drivers who keep stopping on the crossing... as I'm crossing it. It seems to me someone is going to have to take extreme and over the top measures for this constant harassment to been seen as the public danger it is, I'm not saying I or anyone else should do it but it would be great to see a bad driver leave court with a conviction with the word 'kryptonite' embossed backwards on their face... just a hypothetical...
I usually wear a folding helmet - a Hedkayse ONE. What I've learnt from this report is that the Newlane with MIPS is one of the best helmets around. But that's not what the headlines say. It would be a shame if miselading headlines led to yet another folding/alternative design for commuters disappearing from the market (Hedkayse no longer make the ONE and Hovding - the airbag alternative - went bust).
I bought one of these in 2015 and I still ride it. Bought specifically for Paris-Brest-Paris (which I had just failed) and I rode this bike (successfully) in the 2019 edition. Then I changed the tyres on it to 38mm and rode North London Dirt very happily on it a couple of months later. Super versatile. The only box it fails to tick these days is the aero one, but I can live with that. I keep thinking I need a new bike and I list what I really need - fast enough, mudguards, comfortable, disc brakes and think I should buy a Defy or Synapse, then I realise I already have that bike! 15mm front axle and QR rear is a total PITA - you can sleeve the front to 12mm bit even so. Luckily it is flat-mount so there is an upgrade path on the groupset - I have upgraded groupset once and I think only the seat post is original now, but a great find from Genesis' heyday. I had a flyer about this time too and loved that as well.
@eburtthebike Well there's (at least) a third thing - we're letting too many people drive who should never have been on the roads in the first place.
@chrisonabike Something to do with existing in a liminal world between cooperation and competition where every action has multiple meanings, even to the same person, perhaps?
I have given my thoughts on this in the forum thread "Derbyshire: action on close pass reports only in “exceptional circumstances”". My first attempt with links was submitted on 30/10/26 and is STILL AWAITING MODERATION so I resubmitted replacing the links with descriptions. It is copied below : Gloucestershire Constabulary is way ahead. They never took any action on close passes but in September 2024 they started sending out advisory letters to close passers. Note that in Gloucestershire an advisory letter merely asks the driver to refresh their knowledge of the highway code and is not a warning letter. search : close-pass-isnt-offence-says-police-officer on roadcc for the article I have had action taken for a close pass since. In one I am convinced that action was taken because an oncoming driver was inconvenienced. near-miss-day-of the day 946 In the other I suspect someone on the team slipped up and the driver was sent a NIP. I was told afterwards that the driver was going to go to court to challenge the decision but changed their mind when shown the footage. near-miss-day-931 The link also shows that a very similar close pass a year later was back to advisory letters and I have had many similar outcomes since. Some on here think advisory letters are a waste of time and I agree that for some drivers it will be as water off a ducks back, but I have noticed a distinct improvement in driving around me since the policy started. I think most drivers genuinely think they have done nothing wrong but a letter from the police is a real wake up call. In answer to your question then in Gloucestershire someone has to be inconvenienced for action to be taken. Inconveniencing an oncoming driver is one possibility but having to swerve or brake to avoid being hit is another. Obviously this rarely happens with a close pass, especially those at speed which are the most dangerous, you simply don’t have time to do anything. As far as I can make out being frightened out of your skin doesn’t count as inconvenience either. They now seem to have stopped sending even advisory letters for close passes as they are short staffed.
If the police are overwhelmed with evidence showing dangerous driving, then that shows that the dangerous driving is endemic: the graveyards and hospitals are full of the victims. If it is endemic, then one of two things must be true, or both: the detection rate is not high enough, and/or the punishment is not sufficient to deter. So in this case, we have the victims providing the evidence, in most cases all the officers need to do is view that evidence. If the officers don't have time, then the process should be automated, possibly by AI. If the driver disputes it, then a real person could view it, but if they consider the driving to be dangerous, the driver should pay for the officer's time. Then we have the lack of punishment, or punishment which doesn't fit the crime, because it does not deter people from offending. The current system of points and fines is clearly not working, and something rather more effective has to be done, like confiscating the car for instance. ".......the Chief Inspector recommended that road users use a rear-facing camera and evidence their own speed at the time of the overtake." I fail to see what the speed of the vehicle being overtaken has to do with the overtaking vehicle passing too closely. Would it be ok if you were doing 5mph, or 25mph? Baffling.
In principal, driverless cars have the potential to be much safer than human drivers, by virtue of the fact that they should be intent on following the rules of the road, not driving whilst drunk/drugged, never be tired, frustrated, irrational etc, etc. Another advantage is that mistakes can be corrected and rolled out across the entire fleet (try that with humans). Add to that the resulting reduction in car ownership, increased car sharing, and the sheer amount of street space given over to parked cars will plummet. The key factor, however, is how much of those principles the owning companies are prepared to commit to. (Altruism isn't their strong point)
11 thoughts on ““We face enough hatred as it is”: Cyclists thank police for pointing out 750W motor-powered vehicle with throttle up to 28mph is “not an e-bike”; “Take it easy over Cipressa”: Caleb Ewan’s advice to Pogačar for Milan-San Remo + more on the live blog”
RE: the Engwe electric
RE: the Engwe electric motorbike – I think it’s a similar model (EP-2 pro) from the same company as Ashley Neal “reviewed” (X26) – albeit that one would do about 30mph just by using the throttle!
It seems that Engwe’s customer service are comfortable that these will break the law if used (most places) and indeed happy to suggest you dodge the law. Also they don’t label these things clearly.
Now – on their website they do allow you to pick a “European version” – 250W – but equally you can choose 750W if you like…
The other complication (or perhaps happy ambiguity / confusing factor) is they apparently sell legal EAPCs also. At least, Road.cc’s sister site carried a review of one of theirs which is apparently being sold as such.
I get a few pop up adverts
I get a few pop up adverts for these kind of vehicles. I looked atone that had 1000W engine. It was priced in Euros, it wasn’t clear where it was shipping from. To contradict Dr Davis, and language is important, these are not “modded” they are designed to be mopeds with a speed of 30mph.
Question: if you bought one could you, if you wanted to, register it with the Dvla? Would they pass an Mot? It seems like in urban environments there should be a large demand for Legal e mopeds.
The electrified sister site
The electrified sister site of road.cc has you covered – here’s there article on doing a legal speed-pedelec in the UK.
https://road.cc/ebiketips/content/advice/advice/buying-and-riding-an-s-pedelec-in-the-uk-1637
I don’t know if it would work for this particular cycle / company. (I’ve no special knowledge in these matters).
Short – it’s going to be regulated as a moped so you have to clear all those hurdles plus type approval.
According to the article you need a Certificate of Conformity, and that it conforms to 168/2013/EU regulations; a V267 (New vehicle import pack) and a V55/4 (Application for a licence for a new motor vehicle and declaration for registration) – these all go to the DVLA. Then you need insurance, which will likely be a nuisance as insurers aren’t used to these things.
IanMK wrote:
I’m not sure what the exact process is for registering a speed pedelec with the DVLA, but UK-based retailers will generally do that for you.
Currently I think the last
Currently I think the last thing we need is to whip up demand for more classes of e-things. (They had exemptions for ICE scooters due to history in the Netherlands, and they’re generally unpopular with people on bikes there…)
What we would really benefit from is the known, boring, “standard and everywhere” basic infra / rules and enforcement stuff. (Which turns out to be more difficult than creating some fancy new thing and selling a bunch). So e.g.:
– reducing ease of motoring (and also all the motor infra we’re already failing to maintain at massive cost).
– a greatly expanded and much higher basic quality of provision for active travel.
– sorting out public transport.
Any attempts to “short cut this with tech” will almost certainly only benefit the tech-bros and money men. At best it’ll leave us with a different headache some years in the future when we are sat saying “if only someone had foreseen the impact of allowing everyone to zip about on these at 30mph++ / all the batteries (which ended up not getting recycled, and that people built down to a price point when these caught on so some caught fire) a decade or so ago…”
The street in the York letter
The street in the York letter is at the end of my road and it is, as the writer says, abysmal. Slalom of parked cars and then drivers ignoring the 20mph and zig zag lines. Many of them just drive up my street at 30mph as a rat run. Thankfully I get to go the other way to take my kids to school, I won’t even ride down Hamilton drive when I’m on my own if at all possible.
I did a community ‘engagement
I did a community ‘engagement’ with the Met Police last weekend in north London. The police were bike marking (logging bikes on Bike Register) and offering advice on theft etc. I was offering the riders a free check and ‘MOT’. The
Police were polite, respectful and really great with the public. On a few occasions some e-motorbikes stopped – mainly to get their tyres inflated or gears checked. I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, but I told the police that these were illegal and they were not cycles; they had throttles and several of them had two batteries strapped to the top tube and down tube. The police were genuinely clueless. They didn’t know the difference between a throttle and a pedal assist or about the restrictions on speed or output. No one got into trouble and everyone got on with their day. I was just a bit surprised. There is a lot of mis-information and ignorance out there.
Obviously they’d watched the
Obviously they’d watched the Panorama travesty.
Rome73 wrote:
I think their (the police) reaction shows how much actual crime/damage is caused by unregistered e-motorbikes – basically hardly any. There’s lots of outrage about how dangerous they are, but it seems like the actual danger posed is a lot less than that posed by careless drivers.
Ah, but they’re used by crims
Ah, but they’re used by crims! Feckless yoof probably dealing / stealing when they’re not wheelying down the roads or pavements (is it them that keep running over wheelywheely…?) Food delivery folks who are not from round here and are likely immigrants working illegally – but at any rate have no respect for the rules of the road … etc.
I tend to agree with you but it works both ways. We haven’t heard of slaughter on the streets from these things – even though ones being used illegally do tend to be the ones being ridden in a less social / more dangerous manner.
On the other hand they are a conspicuous two wheeled nuisance and probably do feed some popular “cyclist danger” narratives. (I don’t think removing all these will make that narrative disappear in the UK, but it may provide anecdata for people. )
And it may be true that (aside from illegal use) they are crime-adjacent.
I would be more in agreement if police were indeed sensibly prioritising the far more dangerous car use *instead*, but that is debatable.
Excellent, Lancashire Road
Excellent, Lancashire Road Police! I and many others are pleased that some Police Services are stressing this point. Language is important: illegally ‘modded’ e-bikes are NOT bicycles, electrical or otherwise, not least because of their high(er) speed potential
Unfortunately, like many other forces, it’s all meaningless verbiage: they do nothing at all about these ‘illegally modded’ electric motorbikes. I came back from the Lakes to Lancaster today, and saw 3 illegals in quick succession in the centre of town- one of which was an obvious food delivery vehicle with a big rectangular box on the back. If the police discarded their perma-excuse (we’re not resourced for…insert aspect of offending behaviour here) and set up a squad, they could abolish these bikes rapidly