“A sad day for cycling”: Gutted fans bid adieu to ITV’s iconic Tour de France coverage and mourn “scandalous” loss of free-to-air cycling in UK due to “corporate greed”; Tadej Pogačar hints at retirement plans; Tour Femmes sprint + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Versatile things, cycling shoes
Now this is how you start the 22nd stage of the Tour de France. Chapeau Krists Neilands:
‘Come on Quinn, it’s Tadej’s day… Oh, okay, he’s getting down on one knee’: Quinn Simmons caps brilliant Tour de France with surprise proposal on the Champs-Élysées
I’ve never seen it myself, but I hear the Americans love popping a proposal at somebody else’s wedding. Well, here’s the pro cycling equivalent of that:
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
The cowboy boots, the mullet, the stars and stripes, the public proposal… Is this the most Quinn Simmons photo ever captured?
Okay, I’ll admit I’m a cynical, bitter old grump when it comes to stuff like this – and Simmons did have a spectacular Tour, attacking at will on an almost daily basis.
So, that’s not a bad way to cap a brilliant three weeks on the road, and a hell of a photograph for the living room. And congratulations to the happy couple!
Look at me, getting all soppy…
“More white shorts to look forward to next season”: Things you never want to hear from a pro bike racer, as Tom Pidcock wins European mountain bike championships
So Tom, how did you spend your July after Q36.5 didn’t get an invite to the Tour?
Just winning all the mountain bike races and adding to the jersey collection, mate…
Giro winner Elisa Longo Borghini abandons Tour de France Femmes with gastrointestinal infection
The big names are dropping like flies at the Tour de France Femmes so far.
After Marlen Reusser’s sickness-related abandon before the first stage had even finished in Plumelec, and sprinter Charlotte Kool’s withdrawal before stage two, Elisa Longo Borghini became the latest high-profile to drop out this morning after suffering during the opening two stages.
After winning her second consecutive Giro d’Italia earlier this month, Longo Borghini came to France with the stated ambition of winning her first ever Tour stage. However, she struggled over the weekend, failing to contest any finishes and losing almost three minutes on GC.
A.S.O./Jennifer Lindini
And this morning, her UAE Team ADQ squad confirmed that the Italian champion will not start today’s flat stage to Angers.
“Unfortunately, Elisa Longo Borghini will not start stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes due to a gastrointestinal infection,” the team said in a statement.
“After fighting through the first two stages, her condition worsened and, together with the team, she made the tough decision to withdraw.
Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com
“She’ll now take time to rest and recover before focusing on the next goals of the season.”
With Longo Borghini’s second consecutive Tour campaign scuppered, after she failed to start last year’s race following a training crash, those goals are expected to be a tilt at a maiden world title in Kigali, Rwanda.
“It’s better to follow your morals”
> Former Israel-Premier Tech rider “relieved” to no longer represent team, urges cycling world “to show awareness of what’s going on in Gaza”
Discovery+ insists new subscription reshuffle “doesn’t include a price rise for sport viewers”
While this morning’s Discovery+ email sparked a few concerns that the demise of free-to-air Tour de France coverage would be compounded by another price hike, the broadcaster has insisted that its new sub reshuffle will not affect cycling fans – as long they’re only paying to watch sport on the app.
From talks with Discovery, we understand the new tier structure doesn’t include a price rise for sport viewers, the price rise “only for people who wish to have sport and entertainment content too”.
So there, ‘only’ £30.99-a-month it remains… unless you want sport and Discovery’s entertainment offering, in which case it’s up to £33.99-a-month. Got it?
Discovery+ announces more changes to subscription fees – day after demise of free-to-air Tour de France coverage in the UK. But what does it mean for cycling fans?
While we’re on the subject of free-to-air Tour de France coverage and subscription fees… Ah, Discovery, you can’t accuse them of having a knack for timing, anyway.
Just 12 hours after ITV’s final Tour de France broadcast faded from our screens, Discovery+ sent out an email to some cycling fans this morning, informing that their subscription price – which currently stands at £30.99 a month – is set to rise by another three quid.
As I said, great timing.
The message was shared this morning by cycling journalist Daniel Benson, my other travelling companion (along with Jacob) for week two of the Tour, who I have to give a big shout out to for making sure we made it to where we needed to go. Cheers, Dan.
Anyway, here’s the message Daniel received this morning: “Thank you for being a Discovery+ subscriber. We want to let you know about changes to your subscription plan.
“On your next billing date on or after 28 August 2025, your monthly discovery+ Premium (incl. TNT Sports) subscription price will increase to £33.99/month. Your plan name will also change to ‘TNT Sports & Entertainment’.”
“Putting this out, the day after free-to-air died, and right after the TDF (TDFF is still ongoing, of course), and following the massive price hike earlier this year, is so brazenly offensive,” Benson wrote.
However, before you get the pitchforks at the ready, we’ve done a bit of digging, and according to the TV guide website Cord Busters, this price jump will only apply if you have Discovery’s entertainment package, too. That means the likes of Salvage Hunters, 90 Day Fiancé, all that brilliant television.
This new restructure, according to Cord Busters, will also include a dedicated sports-only tier, which will stay at £30.99 a month.
So, you may want to check which package you have, and if your premium subscription includes all the repeats of Alaskan Bush People and Harpoon Hunters, you probably should get on the phone to Discovery quick. (Provided you’re not a massive Gold Rush fan, of course.)
We’ve contacted Discovery for clarification on this, and will let you know how this affects you when they get back to us.
Should Montmartre become a regular fixture at the Tour de France?
It’s fair to say the Tour de France’s Montmartre experiment, the talk of the town as the race approached Paris, proved a roaring success yesterday evening, shaking up the race’s traditional procession into the capital.
Despite, or perhaps as a result of the decision to neutralise the GC times with 50km to go, we were treated to a pulsating, classics-style thriller in the pouring rain and on the slick cobbles and tight streets of Paris’ 18th arrondissement, as Wout van Aert saw off yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar to take a stunning victory.
ASO/Charly Lopez
It was probably, and this was a tough contest to be fair, one of the most exciting stages of the entire Tour.
Which leaves us with one question: Should Montmartre now become a staple of the Tour’s final stage in Paris? Well, I believe it’s time we ran a poll to find out:
First chance for the sprinters at the Tour de France Femmes in Angers
The two punchy opening stages at the Tour de France Femmes – won by Marianne Vos and Mavi García (in a brilliant solo attack) – produced some spectacular racing and resulted in some surprising gaps on GC.
But the pure sprinters in the peloton can finally breathe a sigh of relief, or more to the point, get their lead-out trains and aero helmets sorted, because this afternoon’s third stage in Angers offers the first opportunity of the race for a bunch finish:
(Not that sprint supremo Lorena Wiebes cares, mind you. She proved yesterday, García coup aside, she’s more than capable on any kind of non-mountain finish.)
However, things won’t be straight forward for the sprinters. The final kilometres are tight and technical, and there’s also the possibility of wind that could blow the bunch to bits.
ASO/Thomas Maheux
Kim Le Court, whose meteoric rise in the sport continued yesterday when she took the race lead, will look to defend her yellow jersey, but will face stiff competition from Vos, who just needs a good placing to overhaul the history-making Mauritian.
Notably, however, Le Court’s AG Insurance-Soudal DS Jolien D’Hoore has told TNT that they won’t set out to defend the race lead, and will instead be looking for opportunities to regain the jersey later in the week. So, over to you sprint teams, then.
When in the yellow jersey… Get a yellow bike
It’s safe to say Tour de France Femmes leader Kim Le Court was pleased with her new yellow Specialized this morning:
Le Court’s rapid rise within the cycling world – right to the pinnacle of wearing yellow at the Tour – is nothing short of astonishing.
A former mountain biker, she only turned pro last year for AG Insurance-Soudal, after contacting every team in the peloton asking for an opportunity.
And just under two years ago, I stood beside her partner at the barriers on Montrose Street in Glasgow, as Le Court battled in the third group to take 64th at the world road race championships.
ASO/Pauline Ballet
Since then, she’s won a stage of the Giro d’Italia and Tour of Britain, took top fives at the Tour of Flanders and Milan-Sanremo, won Liège-Bastogne-Liège – and now leads the most famous bike race in the world.
With around 85km left of her first day in the yellow jersey, things are currently going to plan for Le Court, as the peloton holds a breakaway of four, which includes Paris-Roubaix winner Alison Jackson, at three-and-a-half minutes ahead of this afternoon’s expected sprint.
If you thought the first two stages of the Tour de France Femmes looked tough, spare a thought for poor Emily…
It’s not every day you get to ride the Tour de France Femmes route and stay in the same hotel as the pros. But that’s exactly what our tech writer Emily Tillett got to do over the weekend, raising money for Cure Leukaemia in the process.
Here’s Emily’s account of two gruelling but spectacular days in Brittany:
> Riding ahead of the pros (kind of): a long weekend completing two stages of the Tour de France Femmes route
You can take the boy out of Scotland…
I reckon that might just have been the best-tasting Irn Bru in the world.
And, get your hankies at the ready, because – if finishing fourth at the Tour de France wasn’t enough – Picnic PostNL tasked Oscar Onley yesterday with writing a thank you letter to the team’s riders and staff:
The day after the three weeks before. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 – A @letour letter from @OscarOnley ✍🏻#KeepChallenging #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/zEPju2jXlU
— Team Picnic PostNL (@picnicpostnl) July 28, 2025
Alright, no more homework, Oscar. Here’s some Irn Bru, now go get some rest!
Move over Tadej… Amy Hudson raises over £70,000 for mental health charity after riding entire route of men’s Tour de France – plus all the transfers
Tadej Pogačar was dominant, Ben Healy was irrepressible, Mathieu van der Poel was exciting, Oscar Onley was inspiring.
But perhaps the best cycling performance in France came courtesy of Derby-based cyclist Amy Hudson, who rode the entire route of the Tour Hommes solo for charity – plus all of the transfers.
The 29-year-old Pinarello ambassador from Mickleover raised over £70,000 for mental health charity Shout after covering all 3,320km of this year’s Tour route, while also riding the transfers between stages (which the peloton enjoyed by bus), meaning she covered 6,556km (4,073 miles) over the past month.
Amy, who arrived on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Friday, first turned to cycling during the Covid lockdowns after experiencing a “complete breakdown” while working as a mental health nurse, leading her to quit her job.
Her husband then “randomly” bought her a bike, which she began riding every other weekend in the Peak District with her dad.
“It was the only time when I could escape from my mind,” she told the BBC at the weekend, after finishing her solo Tour de France.
“It gave me that sense of feeling worthy again when I felt so worthless because I felt like a failure from leaving my job. Getting on the bike made me feel alive again.”
Hudson then began documenting her cycling adventures on social media, amassing thousands of followers and sparking the idea of her riding the Tour route for charity.
“I don’t think it’s set in that I’ve done it,” she said. “I wanted to do something to raise money to give back and prove that a woman can ride the men’s Tour, plus the transfers as well.
“Hopefully it inspires people to not give up when it gets hard because I was close to giving up at one point in my life and I’m glad that I didn’t because I wouldn’t be here doing this.”
Poll results: Montmartre’s here to stay at the Tour de France… at least according to road.cc’s readers, anyway
Are you reading, Christian Prudhomme? We want more of that classics-style, cobbled hill goodness during the final stage in Paris. Every couple of years, anyway.
Something tells me that the results of this poll may have been somewhat different had a certain Manx sprinter still been racing his bike…
“I don’t see myself going on for much longer”: Tired Tour winner Tadej Pogačar hints at possible retirement after 2028 Olympics and admits “if I burn out now, I’m happy with that I’ve achieved”
As Neil Young once sang, it’s better to burn out than fade away. Tadej Pogačar must have been listening to a bit of Shakey during the Tour’s final week, because burnout appears to be on the now-four-time Tour de France winner’s mind.
With Jonas Vingegaard ruthlessly dispatched in the Pyrenees, Pogačar set aside his usual swashbuckling, attacking style in favour of a cold, calculated, defensive approach in the Alps.
It may have won him his fourth Tour, comfortably, but in recent days the world champion has appeared exhausted, jaded, fed up with the stresses and strains of winning his sport’s biggest race.
The 26-year-old even spent the final few days openly pondering his life after cycling, joking to ITV’s Matt Rendell that he might join the broadcaster in not returning to the Tour next year.
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
And in a post-Tour interview with L’Equipe, Pogačar revealed that he is, in fact, thinking about retirement – but not until the 2028 Olympics, at least.
“I don’t think I’ll stop right away, but I also don’t see myself going on for much longer,” he told the French newspaper.
“The Los Angeles Olympics are one of my goals, which are three years from now. After that, I might start thinking about retirement, we’ll see.”
ASO/Charly Lopez
Reflecting on the pressures of being perhaps the best cyclist of all time, Pogačar admitted that burnout is something he thinks about, thanks to the relentless nature of modern cycling.
“I’m at this point in my career that if I do burn out I would be happy with what I achieved,” he said during his post-Tour press conference.
“To be serious, burnouts happen in sport, in a lot of sport, mental and physical burnout. We do train a lot, I think cyclists are a bit too obsessed with training, and we always try our hardest. Everyone wants to train more and more.
“You see some riders have fatigue too early in the season, and the team needs you to race, race, race, and you keep going in this circle and you never recover. Then you get to October and finally a break, then in December you do it all again. Burnouts happen all the time, and it could happen to me as well.”
ASO/Charly Lopez
Asked whether he’d be following Jonas Vingegaard to the Vuelta next month, a tired Pogačar was unsurprisingly noncommittal.
“Anything is possible, but right now I’m not thinking about any other race. It’s getting late and I don’t want to think about other races right now. We can talk about the Giro, Vuelta in the future,” he said.
He was as equally evasive when it came to his long-term career goals.
“It’s not the goal to win five Tours, and right now I have no clear goals,” he said.
“Maybe the world championships this year, maybe Lombardia, but no other clear goals. I will enjoy the moment, and then I’ll think about my next goals quite soon.”
Go and have a beer, Tadej.
Demi Vollering hurt in late mass crash as Lorena Wiebes wins chaotic Tour de France Femmes sprint in Angers
We were warned that today’s sprint finish in Angers was going to be sketchy, and so it proved, as Lorena Wiebes survived a chaotic final few kilometres to easily take the fourth Tour de France stage win of her career.
But the late crash on a narrow roundabout which marred today’s finish could also end up defining this year’s GC battle, as pre-race favourite Demi Vollering hit the deck hard.
The FDJ-Suez leader was one of a number of riders, including former world champion Elisa Balsamo, to crash with 3.7km to go following a touch of wheels at speed as the riders fought for position on a right-hand bend as the road narrowed.
Demi Vollering est arrivée au bus de son équipe en boitant et en larmes. Elle monte tout de même sur les rouleaux pour récupérer #TDFF2025 pic.twitter.com/ud1IozC843
— Andréa La Perna (@A_LaPerna) July 28, 2025
2023 Tour winner Vollering, whose defence of her title was scuppered by a crash on a similar bend last year, was slow to get back on her bike, which she gingerly rode to the finish with the help of two teammates.
Fortunately for the Dutch star, this year’s crash – coming as it did within the final five kilometres – did not result in her losing time overall, though the extent of Vollering’s injuries, and how quickly she can recover for them, remains to be seen.
And while this year’s yellow jersey battle swiftly turns into a war of attrition, where avoiding illness or injury could play as important a role as good legs, up ahead Lorena Wiebes underlined her status as the fastest woman in the world.
The European champion navigated her way through the chaos, forming part of the small group that ended up contesting the finish, and capitalising on EF Education-Oatly rider Noemi Rüegg’s ultra-long sprint to blast away with 200m to go.
In the end, as is normally the case when it comes to SD Worx’s sprint supremo, it was a comfortable victory for Wiebes, with Marianne Vos – whose attempt to move out of Wiebes’ slipstream lasting less than a second – forced to settle for second, a bike length behind.
But Vos will have to make do with the consolation of another spell in yellow, after race leader Kim Le Court was held up, but not brought down, by the big spill near the finish.
If the opening two stages of the Tour proved that gaps can open at any point, today’s frenetic stage in Angers reminded this year’s yellow jersey hopeful that there is danger lurking around every fast bend.
“It turns out, kids from Cardiff do ride the Tour”
On Sunday, Geraint Thomas finished his 14th and final Tour de France, 18 years on from his debut at cycling’s biggest race, back in 2007, when he was a cherubic track racer riding for Barloworld.
This afternoon, the 2018 Tour winner took to Twitter to reflect on two decades during which he spent most of his Julys racing around France.
ASO/Charly Lopez
“OK, here goes. The Tour de France. Honestly, watching it on TV when I was a kid, it felt like something that happened in a different universe. I dreamt of racing it, of winning it, but I never for a second thought I would.
“Kids from Cardiff don’t ride the Tour.
“And then, in 2007, there I was on the start line. Now I’ve raced 14 of the flipping things. Winning it in 2018 changed my life and I’ll never be able to quite believe I did that.
Charlie Forgham-Bailey/SWpix.com
“But honestly, just riding the Tour is the biggest pleasure of all. Experiencing the race, the country, the people, the fans, it’s something I’ll never ever forget or take for granted.
“A huge thank you to my teammates who’ve been there with me along the way, every single staff member who’s been on the journey, and to you all for following along.
“It feels very weird to think I’ll never race another Tour but I’m so proud to have done it 14 times.
“And, it turns out, kids from Cardiff do ride the Tour. Merci.”
Chapeau, Geraint.
“A sad day for cycling”: Gutted fans bid adieu to ITV’s iconic Tour de France coverage and mourn “scandalous” loss of free-to-air cycling in UK due to “corporate greed” – arguing “this isn’t how you grow a sport”
Sunday night marked the end of an era.
At about 7pm – around the time the latest episode of ‘River Monsters’ was supposed to be coming to its thrilling conclusion, according to the scheduled programming – ITV4 played its last ever post-stage Tour de France montage.
Fittingly, this one was a bit different, featuring a collection of iconic clips and commentary from 40 years of free-to-air Tour coverage on UK television.
There was LeMond and Hinault holding hands on Alpe d’Huez, there was Roche in the mist on La Plagne, Fignon in agony on the Champs, Big Mig time trialling, Riis on a boatload of EPO, Virenque in tears, Armstrong in a field, Cav winning sprint after sprint, Wiggo punching the air, Froome running, Thomas dropping the mic, Pogačar and Vingegaard attacking.
Because next July, as I’m sure you all know, the Tour de France will be moved – for the first time since Channel 4 first started broadcasting the race in the mid-1980s – behind the TNT Sports paywall in the UK.
That means no more Gary, Ned, David, Chris, Pete, Alex, Matt, or Daniel, no more theme tune, no more expertly crafted hour-long highlights shows, no more blending of the race’s history, culture, and geography, and what makes the race the best sporting event in the world. Gone.
And to mark the end of this televisual epoch, cycling fans and journalists have been gathering on social media to pay tribute to one of British cycling’s great institutions.
“I’ve not been as emotional at the end of a TV programme since the last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth!” wrote Stewart Cox.
“C4 and ITV’s coverage has always been brilliant, got me into bike racing. Chapeau to all of the team, in front and behind the camera, you’ll be missed.”
“A huge thank you to all past and present who have brought me the Tour via ITV/Channel 4. Gutted doesn’t even cut it,” added Ròs Hunter.
“Sad day for cycling fans,” wrote Blaynos. “Today is the final day of ITV’s outstanding Tour de France coverage. Credit to ITV for maintaining its incredibly high quality to the very end; its nightly highlights has consistently been one of the best packages ever produced on British TV.”
Craig Sutcliffe wrote: “The Tour de France not being live on ITV anymore after today is absolutely scandalous. Their coverage is absolutely second to none, a very sad day for cycling in the UK indeed.”
“So the end has come for coverage of the Tour de France on ITV,” said Evans. “Such a shame, sports broadcasting at its very best. It just won’t be July without Gary and the gang on the telly.”
“The Tour de France has been on free to air TV here since 1985. The early versions were part of the fabric of my childhood,” said the BBC’s former deputy editor for sport, Simon Clancy. “It’s shameful then that today was the last on ITV as it moves behind a paywall. As great as TNT’s coverage is – and it is – this isn’t how you grow a sport.”
“I hardly use this account now but I feel compelled to express how sad it is to see the end of ITV’s Tour coverage,” Amy Jones, founder of the Women’s Cycling Weekly newsletter, wrote on Twitter.
“Top quality broadcasting that brought so many fans to the sport, myself included. Sad to see it disappear due to corporate greed.”
“I’m sad,” added cycling writer Jeremy Whittle. “Would never have done this weird job without TDF highlights on Channel 4 and Nick Owen and Richard Keys broadcasting from a shopfront in Charlotte Street.
“The ending of free to air coverage is a huge loss for everyone. Kudos to all those involved.”
“Maybe we share our last Tour de France, you never know”
Tadej Pogačar was open about not being able to do this forever, in what was Matt’s last interview for ITV 💛🇸🇮#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/Z2NMNICrgh
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 27, 2025
Meanwhile, former GCN presenter Cillian Kelly wrote: “For the past six years I have felt compelled to watch first the GCN+ and now the TNT coverage of the Tour. But the ITV (and previously Channel 4) highlight hour is a thing of absolute perfection. It instilled a love for the history and beauty of cycling and I will miss it terribly.”
Athletic writer Jacob Whitehead, my travelling companion at the Tour this year, also said: “There is no chance I’d have fallen in love with the Tour de France without its coverage on ITV.
“When I was growing up, it was July and the summer holidays. On its final day, I’ll miss it greatly. Chapeau.”
And finally, I’ll leave the final word to journalist Sam Milne, who worked on ITV’s Tour coverage over the years.
A.S.O./Aurélien Vialatte
“A sad day for cycling as, after 40 years, it’s the last stage of the Tour de France on terrestrial tele before going exclusive to Discovery next year,” Milne wrote.
“It was a privilege to be a part of ITV/V2TV’s coverage on previous tours. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to write more on this, but it’s a case of quality programming, which is entertaining, informative and of cultural value, being lost to the highest bidder.
“The team at Discovery do a good job of covering the race, but for the majority of people who watch the Tour, the terrestrial coverage was their gateway into the sport and continues to be their chosen channel.
“It isn’t just the fact it’s free, it’s the quality and expertise in putting together the production that makes the loss of ITV’s coverage so disappointing.
“It offers so much more than cycling. Ned Boulting and David Millar have done an excellent job for 10 years of taking over from Phil Liggett on commentary. For a sport that can be confusing for outsiders, they explain it in a simple way while conveying the beauty and chaos around the race.
“The programme offers more than just race commentary, though. Like the Tour de France, it is so much more than bike racing. It is an annual celebration of France’s (plus Edinburgh in 2027) people, landscapes and culture.
“For someone who has grown up with the Tour as the backdrop of their summer, it seems surreal that that famous theme tune won’t be aired again. It will affect British Cycling hugely; just ask the riders themselves who have grown up and were sucked into the sport watching Gary Imlach present the highlights.”
28 July 2025, 09:16
Those anti-cycling wardens, up to no good as usual…
Cyclist's £100 fine for riding on cycle route cancelled after rider accuses council of "insidious" money-making "trap"
Latest example of private council officers enforcing cycling rules incorrectly, as spokesperson admits fine "issued in error" and investigation underway to check if other cyclists have been wrongly penalised
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Or even the driver having a wobble because they've dropped their phone in the footwell or are busy changing track on the stereo. Or are just a bit crap at driving.
Ahh yes, the old "I was pulled off my bike by someone going too fast and too close". Thats the least of my concerns. I'm far more concerned about hitting a pothole and needing more than 20cm to wobble before I hit the passing car. Its got very little to do with wind/sucking effect of close overtakes and everything to do with giving space for cyclists needing to move laterally to avoid things. We all know that drivers are fucking awful at judging....anything, especially speed limits so saying 1m just means that they will do 50cm. At least 1.5m means that unless they are doing it intentionally, most give around 1m.
Regarding the photo from Police Scotland. Shouldn’t that be measured from the widest point of the cyclist? Handlebar or elbow? It hardly matters, because they have no intention of ever enforcing any minimum distance. We've had 1000 NMoTD, yet there still no acceptance from the police that there is any such thing as a close passing offence. The only evidence of 'passing a little closer than preferable' they're willing to consider is a KSI'd cyclist. For some inexplicable reason, there seems to be a great reluctance among cyclists that their greatest corporate enemy is the police.
Why would we need to count 'em when you've already numbered 'em?
dangerously close to hate speech there, talking about wide cyclists. and they actually arrest people for that sort of thing. 🙄
Regarding the photo from Police Scotland. Shouldn't that be measured from the widest point of the cyclist? Handlebar or elbow?
How about overhead platforms above the pavement with suitable on and off ramps for cycle access and stairs for pedestrian access - making space out of nothing and providing shelter from the rain for pedestrians?
Because its much cheaper to buy a second adjustable spanner for non cycle related bolts?
Re: Gt.Yarmouth cycle lane. What's with the give way markings at the edge of the road? It looks like another cycle path joining the cycle lane with stop lines for the cycle lane adjacent to the road. Does anyone have a bigger picture?
'Fag ash fuhrer', that comment's made my day, thank you.
11 thoughts on ““A sad day for cycling”: Gutted fans bid adieu to ITV’s iconic Tour de France coverage and mourn “scandalous” loss of free-to-air cycling in UK due to “corporate greed”; Tadej Pogačar hints at retirement plans; Tour Femmes sprint + more on the live blog”
“Coroner warns gap in
“Coroner warns gap in motorway barrier risks lives“
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ygyelp7zlo
Surely it should be
“Coroner warns drivers not to drive through motorway barrier gaps” ??
And as usual:
“Tyler Cox, 18, and Darren Reilly, 55, died after their silver Range Rover left the southbound carriageway…
Hertfordshire Coroner Jacques Howell said safety barriers could stop vehicles leaving the carriageway and hitting trees.”
but
“In the report, external, the coroner detailed how Mr Reilly had been driving with his partner and her three children, including Ms Cox, when he lost control of the car and left the carriageway through the gap in the barrier.”
and
“This part of the M1 is lined with trees, which Mr Howell warned could lead to “a very sharp and sudden deceleration” if collided with.”
if only they taught this to learner drivers:
“Don’t drive into trees at speed on the M1.
Anywhere else is fine.”
If the issue with even a relatively small number of road collisions was a fault with the vehicle there would be uproar against the manufacturers.
But as it is far more likely to be the driver behind the wheel at fault: “Oh well. It happens.”
I once saw the driver of a
I once saw the driver of a brand new Jaguar lose control of his car after a rear tyre failed, and he ended up crashing into the central reservation barrier.
It was lucky it was there, or no doubt he and others would have died or been seriously injured.
When you lose control of your vehicle for whatever reason, you are unlikely to be able to chose what you drive into.
It seems that highways
It seems that highways authorites are now deemed responsible for keeping ‘out of control’ vehicles on the road:
https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/25342248.council-told-take-action-dorothy-wagstaff-death/
Register- to- read, but gist is medical episode, vehicle left road, sadly fatal. No ‘adequate’ barriers. (My quotes.)
Do councils and Highways England now have responsibility to protect cyclists and peds from ‘out of control’ or badly driven vehicles in the same way?
That would be sensible and
That would be sensible and logical, but of course “our streets are too narrow” / “our pockets are not deep enough” / “nobody walks / cycles there” etc.
I have the usual “mass humanity eventually reduces anything to a low common-denominator” thoughts on this … but I think in general it should be “yes” and “both”, mostly. Some degree of cost-benefit study is needed of course. Most sensible would be to include “where we’d like to get to” as well as “where we are now”! But lots of other places have shown that * it’s logical to implement a lot more “human factors” safety measures in infra. And indeed might economically benefit us all (if restricting motor traffic).
* Given we have accepted mass motoring and will be unable e.g .to suddenly outlaw it – which I don’t think any sizeable place has. (Some restrictions on driving has certainly been done).
In tribute to the sad demised
In tribute to the sad demise of the FTA ITV coverage, this popped up on my Facebook memories, the closing montage from the 2011 race. Brilliant couple of minutes and so much I’d forgotten – remember when Tommy V overshot the corner and rode onto someone’s driveway on a descent?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Tef55S6Qw
So sad to watch the final day
So sad to watch the final day of ITV’s coverage of the Tdf yesterday. They’ve done a fine job this year with first class commentary. I used to pay for GCN+ for the period they offered it, as it was exceptional value at £40 for a year with all the GCN documentaries as well. next year I’ll probably just have to make do with the odd clips on YouTube as I resent the greed of TNT charging £34 a month for a service with ads. Good way to kill the popularity of the sport.
Someone get Irn Bru to give
Someone get Irn Bru to give Oscar an Irn Bru helmet. Red Bull gives you wings; Irn Bru gives you girders.
Do they sell full sugar irn
Do they sell full sugar irn bru in Europe?
Or is just the nasty sweetener version?
Mmmmm, full sugar Orangina…
Is there any reason ITV can’t
Is there any reason ITV can’t do a historical hightlights show? And if they could incorporate C4’s coverage what a one race year per program series that’d be.
Go on ITV go for it.
I cancelled my GCN
I cancelled my Discovery subscription approximately 30 minutes after the final tour broadcast. Thanks for the £15 a month offer. There’s absolutely no way I’m paying a penny more than that, especially for adverts that tell me who the coverage is “Brought to you by”, here’s me thinking it was “Brought to me” by £31 quid a month. Your other programming is the most bottom of the barrel crap I’ve ever seen in my life and I don’t give a stuff about any other sport that you feature so even $15 is too fricking rich. Sorry Orla et al. I like the show, but I prefer the cycling and if the answer is that you can’t produce it for less than maybe the UK might be best off with the global commentary feed. Honestly at £31 a month you can bugger off. I just flat out resent every part of the whole Discovery/TNT affair, it stinks.
What’s the score with S4C?
What’s the score with S4C in regard to free to air Tdf2026?