“Absolutely disgusting”: Fans slam “facepalm moment” £370-a-year TNT Sports subscription to watch cycling as “exploitation”; Cyclists confused at New York path with two bike lanes… to separate faster and slower riders + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Some much-needed source of laughter on this confusing, bizarre day in the world of pro cycling...
You might know Reflex Nopinz, the road racing team of which road.cc’s video lead Jamie is a part of, and they’ve knocked it out of the park with this post…
Boost to cycling sales sees Halfords upgrade profit expectation
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> Boost to cycling sales sees Halfords upgrade profit expectation
Two cycle lanes, Jeremy? That’s insane: Cyclists confused at New York path with two bike lanes next to each other… for faster and slower riders (apparently)
While some of us might be struggling with finding a decent bike lane to ride on here in the UK, the Yanks are apparently getting two lanes — believe it or not — to segregate slower and faster riders…
A picture shared by Alex Attinson on social media showed the slightly confusing infrastructure from Prospect Park in New York, with a short dashed line and two cyclist symbols on either side of it — although with different arrows.
“It’s generally assumed to mean fast to the left, slow to the right, but it cracks me up,” Attinson wrote.
Trust me, I am as confused as you are, but if I had to guess, it’s probably more of an indication to riders about which side of the road to stay on depending on their speed, rather than two distinct lanes.
But of course, someone had to come in and make a Zwift joke, and it was Ben Finch who pounced: “They give you a speed boost if you hit them just right.”
Wout van Aert ordered to pay €662,000 for “wrongly” leaving former team mid-season and joining Visma-Lease a Bike in 2018
The Antwerp Court of Cassation has ruled in favour of Sniper Cycling BVBA, the parent organisation of Wout van Aert’s former team, in the long-running case of the Belgian rider rather controversially leaving Verandas Willems–Crelan mid-season in 2018 to join Visma–Lease a Bike.
It was confirmed yesterday that the three-time cyclocross world champion has now been ordered to pay €662,000 for “wrongly” terminating his contract with his former employer, reports Velo.
Despite being touted as a big move in the Belgian cycling scene, with Van Aert tipped to become the next superstar with Visma, Nick Nuyens, manager of the Sniper Cycling group, wasn’t too happy with his decision, and ended up filing a petition in the same year, which has finally reached a resolution after much back-and-forth between different courts.
According to Nuyens, the move was unlawful and demonstrated “a breach of trust” by the employee towards the employer. His lawyers initially argued for a €1.2 million compensation, however, the Labor Court in Antwerp tried to settle the case with a €662k amount, ruling in Nuyens’ favour.
He appealed the decision to the Court of Cassation seeking the full amount, however, the court has refused to order further compensation but held up the original amount, which Van Aert will now have to pay to his former team boss.
The official ruling read: “On 13 January 2025, the Court of Cassation ruled in the case of cyclist Wout van Aert against his former employer/cycling team. The Court of Cassation rejected the cassation appeals of both parties against the judgment of the Antwerp Labour Court of 9 June 2021.
“With that judgment, the Labour Court sentenced Wout van Aert to pay a severance payment of 662,041.31 euros because he had wrongly terminated his employment contract for urgent reasons.”
Cyclists to face education course or fine for 10 new offences — including "dangerous" riding, cycling "without due care and attention" and riding without lights at night
“Why do cyclists sometimes not use the separated lanes, you ask?”
Why do cyclists sometimes not use the separated lanes, you ask? 🤔 #yegbike
— Connor M (@nunymare.bsky.social) 28 January 2025 at 05:40
“I enjoy the sport a lot more now… Earlier you were just tired all the time”: Simon Yates hails cycling’s “carb revolution” for helping with fatigues and reducing bonks
Simon Yates says the days of bonking mid-ride are almost behind the pro peloton, thanks to a carb-fueling revolution that has transformed the sport in recent years. Speaking to VeloNews, the 2018 Vuelta a España winner opened up about how new nutrition strategies are helping riders push harder and recover faster than ever.
“I enjoy the sport a lot more now,” Yates said. “Before this huge carb boom came around, it was the opposite. It was low-carb, saving your carbs, and that was hard not just on the mind, but on your body.
“Earlier you were just completely tired all the time. You’re fatigued all the time.” The revolution Yates is talking about comes down to carbs — and lots of them. In the past, riders were told to stick to around 60 grams of carbs per hour during hard efforts. But these days, with dual-source carb formulas combining glucose and fructose, riders can take in up to 120 grams per hour without feeling sick.
“It used to be a lot of low-carb stuff,” Yate said. “Two eggs for breakfast and off your pop, see you later, five-six hours, water in the bottles. Now we have a mountain of rice for breakfast, it’s changed. Now it is all high carbs.”
He added that these changes have made cycling more enjoyable, not just more competitive. “No one bonks anymore. You never see anyone bonking.”
With the help of his new Visma–Lease a Bike, the 32-year-old Brit is hoping to give it all in his later chapter of the career. “Before I started working with my new coach, I would have also probably said there was not much room to improve. They have the opposite opinion,” he said. “I am trusting them and I’m also hoping for the same.
“They think with the way they work and their philosophy, and with what you’ve been doing – and there was nothing wrong with what I did — they just suggested that with a few tweaks there can be some nice gains there. To put a number on it? It’s impossible.
“They have a very different philosophy here on training, nutrition, equipment, everything. So I hope that can bring me to the level that I want to be at,” he said. “We’ll have to wait until the racing starts. I really don’t know.
“Is that enough? Maybe I am just not good enough, but I hope so.”
Tim Merlier takes sprint victory at stage 1 of the AlUla Tour
The AlUla Tour, the five-day stage race in Saudi which is more often than not a haven for sprinters, kicked off with Soudal Quick-Step’s Tim Merlier beating outJuan Sebastian Molano and Maikel Zijlaard to clinch victory in the first stage.
“It’s always nice to start the season with a win. It’ll motivate the team,” the European champion said after adding a third triumph to his two victories in the AIUIa Tour in 2024.
“It was as always, quite nervous in the first race of the season, it’s difficult to do things perfectly but I think we did well.”
“At 1.8 kilometres to go I lost Bert [Van Lerberghe, leadout man] a bit, but then in the U-turn I was back on his wheel. He was in the wind for almost one kilometre so that was a perfect job on his part.”
Who let the dog out? Stray dog finds itself in the thick of action at the AlUla Tour
No, I’m not singing the song. I’m genuinely asking. Because a stray dog found its way into the peloton and almost caused a scene at the AlUla Tour…
“You destroyed Eurosport and are doing your utmost to destroy cycling”: Eurosport’s comment section flooded with fans ripping into Warner Bros Discovery
There’s hardly been an easier consensus on a controversial pricing decision by a conglomerate, and while we don’t really know what Warner Bros Discovery were thinking when they decided to neuter Eurosport and migrate all its offerings to TNT Sports, increasing the price by an astonishing 342 per cent, we at least know how fans feel about it.
road.cc readers are continuing to share their thoughts on the topic, but now, the sprint finish of the first stage of the AlUla Tour posted by Eurosport on Instagram has attracted fans disappointed and exasperated by the announcement that they’ll need to pay £30.99 per month instead £6.99 — and they are going off.
“Thanks for making it more expensive to watch cycling in the UK.”
“This will be about as much as most folk will see of next season. Warner Bros are taking the mickey. Pure greed.”
“I did wonder if this would happen. Hugely disappointed cycling fans being expected to change from £7 to £31 per month to watch cycling, hence the anger. Absolutely NO justification other than greed. And very, very few are going to pay that much.”
Meanwhile, cycling writer, journalist and photographer Shane Stokes wrote: “Shame on you, Discovery and Warner. You destroyed Eurosport and are doing your utmost to destroy cycling.”
Ouch…
Cycling group accuses council of forcing cyclists onto "dangerous, traffic-choked" road, as "anti-social behaviour" and "security" fears see plan for cycle route link scrapped
“Absolutely disgusting”: Fans slam “facepalm moment” £370-a-year TNT Sports subscription to watch cycling as “exploitation”
I thought being a Manchester United fan was hard. Turns out, being a cycling fan is also about to get hard — well, on the pockets.
Last night, it was announced that Warner Bros Discovery is set to shut down Eurosport, which had quickly become the home for all things pro cycling since 2023, and migrate cycling, along with snooker and tennis, to TNT Sports — as soon as 28 February.
The kicker is that those interested in just watching cycling will have to shell out the full premium price for the entire TNT Sports subscription package, which also includes Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, UFC and boxing, meaning that the price goes from £6.99-a-month to an “extremely disappointing” £30.99-a-month.
This marks the latest in a series of steps that have left watching pro cycling in a sticky situation, first with Warner Bros shutting down GCN+ citing “changing media landscape”, and then the news that ITV will not broadcast Tour de France from 2026, as Warner Bros Discovery signed on exclusive rights until “at least 2030” on Eurosport, leaving free-to-air coverage of one of the world’s biggest sporting events in jeopardy.
The news hasn’t done much to win over fans who have already expressed disappointment at the state of things, with many road.cc readers reaching out and commenting on our social media posts claiming they are about to cancel their subscriptions — if they haven’t already.
Tony Weston wrote on Facebook: “Just cancelled my subscription. Can’t justify this kind of price hike when only interested in cycling,” while J-P Martins confirmed doing the same, adding: “In the past few years I’ve watched all three major tours, either live or in close catch-up, all the one-day classics, and a fair few cyclocross races.
“Reminds me of Test cricket, which I used to follow avidly when on free-to-air and haven’t seen since, or the Premiership, or international rugby. I love sports but a 10x price hike to £30.99-a-month — just no way does that fit my budget or discretionary spend plans.”
Dr Paul Johnson emailed road.cc saying: “In essence, if I want sports access I’ll have to move from the current cost of £6.99 a month to £30.99 a month, which is frankly beyond my means. Bearing in mind the apparent lack of free-to-air access for the tour de France from next year, this’ll be a further blow to anyone who is subscribing for cycling. I don’t want or watch the other sports, so it seems like an exploitation of current subscribers. Big sigh.”
Meanwhile, Yavor Mitev commented: “Another one of those great facepalm moments that ‘grow the sport’…”
What do you think about the pricing change and the future of watching pro cycling? Are you happy to subscribe to TNT Sports or are you planning to cancel your subscription — and if it’s the latter, how do you plan to watch cycling? As always, we are interested in your answers, so let us know in the comments!
28 January 2025, 09:46
German Cycling confirm riders injured were from national track cycling team
German track cycling team hit by driver in major Mallorca collision, three riders seriously injured
Local reports suggested group ride "run over" by 89-year-old driver, before German Cycling later confirmed their riders were involved
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At least West Yorkshire police are taking robust action on video submissions! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cd9w2l2wqvdo £1200.00 ?!? Obviously, avoid the deranged comments in the local rag.
@quiff How did you manage to determine that it was uncomfortably tight, the police are constantly telling us they can't measure distance from a video, can we now use this as a precedent that if it looks close the motorist can be prosecuted?
As I have commented a number of times on the frankly pointless but constant "discussion" around doping, its not "sure, sure, they're just eating better, wink wink, nudge nudge" that the brightest and best who claim they are all doped up to the gills like to rely on for their argument. Everything has improved since the dark days of doping. Literally everything. Faster bikes, more comfortable bikes (less fatigue), more aero kit, better training, better nutrition, better recovery, eating up to 150g/hr of carbs (and potentially even more in future) vs 60g/hr, no long training break, everything being optimised from a much younger age. Its frankly a testament to the powers of doping that we are only just seeing these records being beaten. The idea that all the top guys are doped up to the gills along with all these improvements to every single area of cycling performance and are only just beating these old records occasionally is absurd. Its the worst part of the TdF. That you have to deal with the wall of "yeah, but they're all doping" whenever anything is talked about.
@mctrials23 You'd hope that there's a record of warnings. But my point is, how are they implementing this new policy - are they even checking their records to see if someone has already had a warning letter - or do they look at the report, and say "ah, this is a [zig-zag line] offence - normally that would just get a warning letter, so new policy says I should NFA it." Of course the result is that most people just stop reporting them, giving a false impression of incident rates. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them hail the success of OpSnap because it was getting so many reports they couldn't cope, and then also champion their success when the crime report rates go down...
I spoke to a TVP prosecutor many years ago. He said, he played my footage to the court and heard a gasp from those present. He knew then that he had won.
@quiff Surely their system will have any action that has been taken against them with regards to the law.
@the little onion I saw that today too, and came here looking for reaction - it got a little bit of attention on the live blog a couple of days ago. I also don't have a problem with the police looking at a submitted clip in its totality, and if you've done something you shouldn't have, don't expect to get away with it. (Am I right in thinking they also looked at other, totally separate clips you had submitted too over the offensive language thing?) But I'm in two minds about the actual cycling that got the fine. Yes, it's uncomfortably tight, and if I'd done that I'd have a had a word with myself afterwards about self-preservation, but I'm not convinced they posed any danger to the driver of that tank, at the speeds involved and going uphill. However, sounds like the charge was careless cycling, so danger not required.
@mctrials23 totally agree, I think the problem is perhaps finding a police officer these days with a basic grasp of maths - or at least the authority to deploy it without being bestowed with the title of "trained forensic specialist".
"The net result of this confusion was police forces in Wales no longer issuing warning letters to drivers who dangerously overtake cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, despite there being no formal policy change." That is one result, but my understanding is that it's wider than this - they were getting so many submissions that they are no longer taking action on *any* offence where the action would be a warning letter. So, for example, zig-zag line offences, where South Wales Police previously acted on OpSnap reports, are now NFAd. That begs a further question though - if you've already had a warning letter for an offence, a repeat offence should potentially result in a fine or prosecution. Are they checking each report to see if the reported driver has previously had a warning, or just NFA-ing all offences of a particular type? Any thoughts, wjts?!
The leader's team would get on the front and block the roads through Montmartre and completely kill the spectacle. Let's face it, the last stage has always been meaningless apart from the sprint, now it's meaningless apart from a superb and thrilling triple lap of Montmartre followed by a sprint. Neutralising GC helped that spectacle - imagine if Tadej had needed to go back and help bring Del Toro up. The roads are too narrow to allow for really fair racing, if we want the wonder of the Montmartre loop then GC neutralisation is the price we have to pay, and one well worth paying in my view.
34 thoughts on ““Absolutely disgusting”: Fans slam “facepalm moment” £370-a-year TNT Sports subscription to watch cycling as “exploitation”; Cyclists confused at New York path with two bike lanes… to separate faster and slower riders + more on the live blog”
Six Nations also about to
Six Nations also about to move behind a paywall and rumoured to be TNT also – very dissapointing on both counts.
This is the way sport
This is the way sport coverage is going. But that should mean ending the BBC licence fee, freeing up that money at least to invest in what we really want to watch.
Surreyrider wrote:
That is a really, really weird reaction. A private company wants to charge us £370 / year to watch cycling and it’s the BBC that gets it in the neck? The BBC which delivers masses of tv and radio and web content with an audience of many millions for just £159/year?
TNT rinsing cycling fans like this shows the BBC licence fee as being amazing value.
Ah but the BBC only feed us
Ah but the BBC only feed us what they want to. The most biased broadcaster in the uk.
No Reply wrote:
…apart from all the others.
[with apologies to Churchill]
No Reply wrote:
One assumes that either you’re being ironic or have never seen or heard of GB News?
Quote:
Ah, but they misunderstand. The companies that own the sports, and the companies that own the rights to broadcast the sports, really couldn’t give a monkey’s — about the so-called “fans”. Same in football, same in rugby, same in cricket. Clearly, same in cycling.
The sport is just another asset, another income stream.
Sorry, clearly got out of the cynical side of the bed this morning…
I imagine Soudal and the
I imagine Soudal and the other non-sportswashing team sponsors care, assuming this is a global move.
Edit: It is a UK-only move. Sorry to say, but it’s hard to see what the *sponsor- and advertiser-relevant* demographic is that’s going to be too upset by this. The people they care about (i.e. the not-real-cyclists demonised by the comments section under the road.cc review of any expensive new product) will pay the fee – it;s just another box to tick along with all the other monthlies.
Full disclosure – before I retired I would have upgraded. Now I’m thinking VPN might be the new TNT.
What’s the alternative – raise taxes so that more is shown on a wider range of BBC channels?
Well Soudal do sell their
Well Soudal do sell their products in the UK too. It’s what I buy in B&Q because it’s the only brand I’ve heard off and that’s from cycling.
lio wrote:
Me too, definite power of advertising; needed some repair cement recently and faced with a wide variety chose Soudal simply on the basis of the cycling connection!
“What we’ve looked at is
“What we’ve looked at is creating value for money, taking the most premium sports properties as possible and creating the adjacency, creating a sports ecosystem where you get value” Scott Young, WBD Sports Europe
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/eurosport-is-closing-down-in-the-uk-cycling-is-about-to-get-a-lot-more-expensive-to-watch
Value for who exactly? And any t**d who uses the word adjacency needs to be tied to MvdPs cyclocross bike and towed along a rough path for a few dozen miles.
This is the end for cycling as anything more than a niche spectator sport. They have seriously overestimated the numbers who would be willing to spaff that kind of cash monthly. I wouldn’t, for one, much as I enjoy TdF highlights etc.
richliv wrote:
That bubbly at the shareholders’ meetings doesn’t pay for itself, you know
Wimbledon school crash driver
Wimbledon school crash driver arrested in reopened investigation
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/28/wimbledon-school-crash-driver-arrested-in-reopened-investigation
In Scotland, just saying
In Scotland, saying “medical episode” or even just “I can’t remember” is normally the end of the matter. Even with more victims, and later evidence that the above was cobblers.
It won’t bring the children back. It won’t even make our streets safer – whatever the outcome. I do hope that this is fully investigated though for the sake of the parents. And for those affected when it happens next time, and the next…
In Scotland, saying “medical
In Scotland, saying “medical episode” or even just “I can’t remember” is normally the end of the matter
Polis Scotland is really challenging Lancashire Constabulary for the UK Police Dodging Champions title. It rermains to be seen which is the most successful strategy: making it difficult to report/ upload videos, or just binning reports when they’re made while fobbing off the reporter with ‘we’ll get right on it’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0jn81y7j14o
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgwp4059xgo
I’m probably more gutted at
I’m probably more gutted at the loss of Eurosport as a whole than cycling alone.
I just hope Tiz Cycling can keep offering live streams.
We’ve just switched our
We’ve just switched our broadband to “EE” as the mrs’ phone contract was up. They threw in Discovery+/TNT sports full package as part of the deal with EE TV.
half_wheel79 wrote:
Similarly, I get it with my EE mobile phone contract. No way I’d pay the extra otherwise
I’ve seen cycling on
I’ve seen cycling on Paramount + (via Sky), but with no English commentary. Is this affected?
Also if I subscribed to a VPN, for security of course, could I get the cycling through Sporza?
Cycling coverage on VRT
Cycling coverage on VRT (Vlaamse Television, of which Sporza is a part) is great, and with the right VPN can be accessible.
Paul J wrote:
Presumably in Flemish? Or do they do a French languae version too?
I’m better at the latter, so if not I’ll be hopping between France2 & France3 (via VPN)
https://www.letour.fr/fr/diffusion-tv-france-televisions
Does anyone do a radio
Does anyone do a radio commentary of cycling? Could have that on in English while watching French/Italian/Spanish pictures with the sound off
BBC On line have done radio
BBC On line have done radio commentary in the past for the tour
When I was in Belgium some
When I was in Belgium some years ago I found it quite easy to keep up with the race watching a Flemish (a language I can hardly speak at all) feed in conjunction with the Guardian’s minute-by-minute text coverage on my phone.
in other news https://www
in other news https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/28/wimbledon-school-crash-driver-arrested-in-reopened-investigation
Re. two lanes – given the US
Re. two lanes – given the US attitudes towards their military, I reckon the lane on the right is reserved for those of rank Corporal or above.
mdavidford wrote:
Well, the cyclist symbols do see to be wearing military hats
Dreadful news breaking:
Dreadful news breaking:
https://news.sky.com/story/cycling-team-rushed-to-hospital-after-being-hit-by-car-13298232
Sorry, just seen the earlier post on here.
Just cancelled my Discovery+
Just cancelled my Discovery+ £6.99 pcm subscription. It’s bad enough that it almost doubled in price after the GCN+ fiasco but I just cannot afford £30.99. I’m going to miss the cyclocross.
I personally haven’t
I personally haven’t subscribed to the BBC for 33 years, As I only watch DVDs and videos, radio and read.
I feel sorry for those who are priced out it’s down to your choices. I think TV is a time thief! These companies are ruining sport.
Tiz what it is…
Tiz what it is…
Wow, charging for watching
Wow, charging for watching cycling on TV! Are we trying to encourage cycling take up in the UK, or stifling it! I for one wont be paying for cycling on TV!
Surely the cycling community
Surely the cycling community can get together and put on a united front to complain against this extortion?
Like a lot of cycling fans I
Like a lot of cycling fans I am disgusted by the Discovery/TNT price hike, surely the cycling community can come together and put on a united front to complain about this thinly disguised extortion? A petition or some way of venting our frustration, not sure what to suggest but I’m sure someone out there does?..