I’ve got a punctured… thru-axle? Bizarre Fisherman’s Friend ad; Cav jumps on NFT train; TDF crash like a “war zone” says race doc; Thomas crashes with reports of dislocated shoulder; Positive Twitter thread about London cycling & more on the Live Blog
SUMMARY
The weekend Roundup
It’s Monday again and we’re feeling a little like Mathieu. Admittedly, his tiredness was caused by an exceptional stage win that also netted him an emotional rendevous with the Yellow Jersey. Ours is caused by a couple of easy rides and some light gardening, but it’s all relative…
Here’s what you might have missed at the weekend, starting with non-TdF news.
- Leah Goldstein makes history by becoming the first woman to win Race Across America
- There’s £1000 worth of NamedSport prizes up for grabs with 11 chances to win!
- Had saddle pain on your weekend ride? Here’s how to avoid it
And now for a round-up of TdF news…
- Men’s road World Champion, Julian Alaphilippe took stage one with a huge attack on the day’s punchy final climb
- But massive crashes marred the stage with the first being caused by a spectator who stands to be sued by the race organisers
- The pile-up was big and the chaos is shown perfectly by this video from a Jumbo-Visma mechanic
- Having missed one chance, Van der Poel wasted no time in putting things right, winning the stage and taking the bonus seconds needed to also secure the Yellow jersey, something that his grandfather, Raymon Poulidor never managed
- Oh and this is why Jumbo-Visma have those strange blue tyres. No, it isn’t one to be used on the indoor trainer
Cav has hopped on the NFT bandwagon
Mark Cavendish has announced that he is set to launch a series of NFTs (Non-Fungible-Token) which celebrate his 30 stage wins at the Tour.
The NFTs include “exclusive drops, art collaborations & new drops”, though we’re not entirely sure what you’d virtually be the owner of.
The comments on Cav’s Instagram post aren’t all positive, with several pointing to the less than favourable environmental impacts attached to the digital art.
Cavendish joins Bahrain Victorious in the crypto-art world. His former team turned up at the team presentation in shiny new jerseys, but they were then destroyed and one virtual copy will be auctioned to raise money for diabetes charities.
Back in the real world, Cavendish will be hoping to take a win in today’s stage, which we’ll have a look at in just a little bit.
Whisper it quietly... *positive Twitter cycling thread*
There’s a few lycra-clad colleagues who bike to work each morning (for some reason, they all work in our financial PR team). I’ve always viewed them with a mix of respect (hardline exercise at 06:30 – gruelling !) & as a bit bonkers given how dangerous urban roads look to me.
— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021
My first error (and I appreciate this is both a rookie one and a fundamental one) is that I didn’t wear a helmet. It’s not the kind of thing one carries around. The speed was fun – downhill! – but I was acutely aware I was one pothole away from a life-changing brain injury.
— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021
I was amazed at the speed of getting from place to place. That shouldn’t be a revelation but it was. 5 tube stops in about ~15 minutes! Urban areas are actually pretty small as the crow flies and I can now see the attraction of biking over the car, bus or train. And it’s healthy!
— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021
I appreciate much of the above are the naive ramblings of a novice – but that pretty short ride taught me a good deal about cycling, why it’s easy and fun and how it can be made a bit safer. I’ll give it a go again at some point!
— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021
Looks like we’ve converted another one. One at a time, people, one at a time.
Van der Poel's bike gets the yellow treatment.
New bike day for @mathieuvdpoel, and it’s a beauty!
Thank you @canyon_bikes 💛 pic.twitter.com/ZvCsXYdvjB
— Alpecin-Fenix Cycling Team (@AlpecinFenix) June 28, 2021
The Aplecin-Fenix mechanics probably had this one hidden away in the team truck and they’ll be rather pleased to be able to use it.
The Canyon Aeroad CFR gets a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, Dura-Ace C60 tubular wheels, Vittoria Corsa G2.0 tubular tyres, and what looks to be a fully repaired front end.
The big question is, however, what bib shorts will Van der Poel don for today’s stage? He’s a big fan of white, but he could also go full yellow. Time will tell.
It’s all about yellow today 💛✌️#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/Wfi1rSw7x2
— Alpecin-Fenix Cycling Team (@AlpecinFenix) June 28, 2021
No white bib shorts 😒
At Kalas in Tabór, CZE, they quickly made new bibs for Mathieu van der Poel
For replica kits check https://t.co/HsB0fpnYQk for team Alpecin-Fenix team versions and Nat champs kit in 🇳🇱 and 🇧🇪 available pic.twitter.com/AYKrevPo4b
— José Been (@TourDeJose) June 28, 2021
Want a pair of custom bib shorts made for you last minute and then overnighted to you, all so that you don’t have to colour clash navy blue with yellow? You just need to be one of the best bike racers on the planet.
This also answers our earlier question as to whether Van der Poel would go full yellow or break out his much-loved white bib shorts.
Another crash at the front of the bunch, and this one takes Thomas and Roglic down
We’re not entirely sure what happened there, but a crash at the front of the bunch has taken down pre-race favourites Geraint Thomas of Ineos Grenadiers along with Primoz Roglic of Jumbo Visma.
Thomas and Roglic were riding right at the front of the peloton when suddenly
Thomas appeared to jolt upwards, suggesting that he could have hit a water bottle which would be the same way that he crashed out of the Giro last year.
Roglic remounted soon enough, but his teammate Gesink is out of the race. Thomas took longer to remount, with Bernie Eisel saying that he saw Luke Rowe signal that is was over for Thomas.
A dislocated shoulder, immediately treated by the team’s osteo, they stated on @RTBFsport
— Sven Spoormakers (@SvenSpoormakers) June 28, 2021
Reports from the race suggest that it was a dislocated shoulder that was put back in at the side of the road. Thankfully, Thomas is making his way back to the peloton, though he has around 2 minutes to make up.
Saturday's crash left "unimaginable breakage and bodies everywhere"
Gilbert Versier, the surgeon working on the Tour de France as one of the in-race doctors has described the mass peloton pile-up on the first stage of this year’s race as looking like the scene from a war.
Versier, speaking to l’Equipe, told of how he arrived on the scene to find “the same chaos, the same moans, bodies everywhere, and tangled machines.”
The crash, the first of two big incidents within the first stage, was caused by a fan who was holding a cardboard sign out into the road. The woman, who the police are yet to identify, was facing away from the road, trying to catch the attention of the passing TV motorbike.
Versier says that when a large crash happens in the peloton “you can’t imagine so much breakage. In the midst of the commotion, the riders are getting up and wanting to start again, the most serious cases must be identified.
“In general, these are the ones who are furthest from the accident site, because they have been thrown.”
Thankfully, despite the two high-speed crashes taking down countless riders, only three riders were unable to finish. Marc Soller, meanwhile, finished with two broken arms and did not start stage 2.
It was quite a finale...
Today’s stage has been another crash-filled one. Jack Haig is out, he was an outside bet for the GC and Caleb Ewan has reportedly not finished after crashing around 100m from the line. His teammate says that he’s gone to hospital.
Jack Haig is out of the Tour de France. Caleb Ewan didn’t cross the finish line and according to teammate Roger Kluge (via @SophieSmith86) is off to hospital #TDF2021
— José Been (@TourDeJose) June 28, 2021
Meanwhile, speaking to Sporza, Deceuninck Quick-Step’s Tim Declerq has said that the riders asked for GC times to be taken at 8km to go, but officials didn’t respond.
#TimDeclercq reportedly told Sporza post-stage: “Riders requested before the stage to take GC times at 8 km to go as the final was very technical. Unfortunately, there was no response.” #TDF2021
— CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) June 28, 2021
I've got a punctured... thru-axle? Cyclists bemused by bike-themed Fisherman's Friend lozenges ad
We’re not sure how much the Fisherman’s Friend social media person knows about bikes, but that ooks like it could be a puncture. Of course, it could be that Laura did indeed forget her front thru-axle (we’ve been there) but took the above picture as it was easier to frame.
Commenting on the caption, Paul Murphy said: “Except that’s the back wheel and the tyre being soft is nothing to do with the quick release axle…”
Adrew Hooper added: “They’ve [Fisherman’s Friend] helped out on many a situation, like that time stuck in a blizzard on snowdon, and the soothing lozenges got us through it.”
Whatever the case, Laura had her strong menthol Fisherman’s Friend lozenges to make everything better. Extra points for colour-matching them with the Hope brakes too!
It's going to be busy on the X-Ray bus
.@GeraintThomas86 will head for an ultrasound post-stage, having suffered a dislocated shoulder in his crash. It was put back in at the scene by the race doctors. A full update will follow later #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/EJa4Jz9w48
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) June 28, 2021
Picking today’s stage apart is going to be a tricky business but one thing that we know for sure is that the X-ray truck that follows the race will have a bit of a queue forming.
Roglič going for scans, his tailbone/coccyx is sore says DS Maassen, via @DanielDwars https://t.co/4sCdLQQ9pQ
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) June 28, 2021
Thomas is on his way there now after his crash early in the stage while Roglic, who came down really hard with 10km to go is also headed for a scan. He’s got a sore coccyx according to his DS.
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@Bungle_52 Some on here think advisory letters are a waste of time ... I think most drivers genuinely think they have done nothing wrong but a letter from the police is a real wake up call I'm at least one of them, especially if they are as you describe them, 'a suggestion that they might like to look at the Highway Code sometime'. Those go straight in the bin, which is the fate the police have in mind for them. They now seem to have stopped sending even advisory letters for close passes as they are short staffed That solves the question. Gloucestershire and Derbyshire have abandoned any action for close passing, no matter how close. Kent and Essex won't look at any video unless there's a collision, and what they really mean is 'unless there's a KSI'. Lancashire bins all reports- they ignore phone use, RLJs, 'No MOT and failed MOT but still on the road', unbroken white line offences. It's all blamed on 'short staffing and lack of resources'. Cycling Mikey assumes that 'a NIP-issued email' is evidence that the offending phone user 'got 6 points and a fine'. I think he's deluding himself and the Met. will be clutching at any excuse to bin most of those cases. Meanwhile, we get this (Ford Kuga FE20 YRO, yesterday), day in, day out- NMotD has had no effect, close-passing is getting worse, the police forces are vying with each other for the most efficient way of binning all the cases and sticking two fingers up at cyclists, and it's just a matter of chance whether any of us is the next one to be murdered by being dragged under a car for miles. The police certainly won't lift a finger to deter close-passing.
@Rendel Harris Yes, but I think it's easy to underestimate the level of mental "change" and "risk" this represents (as a regular or even irregular adult cyclist). With e.g. cars, you just go online (was going to say "go to a dealer/garage...") and a car which will carry you and others around, carry the shopping, keep the weather off, allow you to drive at night and can be secured is not hard to find. And all your friends / relatives / contacts likely done so and are possible points of contact if you need advice (or just reassurance). Bikes? Much less (although thankfully as easy as riding a bike...). It's not like most people spent their childhood being carried around by adults on different bikes. Indeed the age most people stopped cycling (if they started) is probably getting lower. Outside of the e-(moto)(-(r)bike) riders. Of course there's more paperwork and expense for the car (optional in some areas / counties...) but so many things are familiar or guides are present. It's even simple to work out how to get to where you need. You just drive wherever you can (ideally on the roadway...). Even less thought using a satnav!
@ChrisA It's a different universe * but in NL while they have had building regulations requiring bike storage for decades, lots of the historic housing stock won't have them. As well as some creative solutions ** many people simply store their bikes outside. And indeed some of the "durability" of Dutch bikes relates to being able to withstand living outdoors in all weathers (heavier frames / more paint - but chaincase / enclosed gears and brakes also feature). Like so many things it's hard to imagine in the UK (theft and particularly vandalism). (But the number of "cycle hangers" is growing...) I hear there's plenty of theft in NL also - but with the numbers of bikes perhaps it's just like how people in the UK are used to leaving their cars parked on the street? * But also - only about half a century away to be recognisable, perhaps - especially in the few UK places where there is some passable cycle infra? ** See e.g. the BicycleDutch article "Home-side bicycle parking" on the Buurtstalling (Neighbourhood Bicycle Parking Facility). Plus of course the practice of many people effectively storing a bike at a train station as part of their commute.
@chrisonabike Some first class trolling from Callum... I love it.
I'm a big fan of Lucinda Brand, but it was a travesty to take that win from Marie Schreiber. From the overhead shot it was clear that Lucinda at no stage got alongside Schreiber, and it was clear from Lucinda's pedal strokes - which continued as they were - that she not impeded. Lucinda's own words to the jury confirmed that Marie had not impeded Lucinda, and based on that there was no reason to overturn Marie's win. It was ridiculous. A stain on the weekend.
Playing to the crowd again!
@This Wreckage I was thinking more of having space to put a bike store, which can be obtained relatively inexpensively these days, although I agree that's a fairly high level of commitment for someone who isn't certain cycling is for them. An Oxford ground anchor and a Topeak bike cover only cost £25 together so not an enormous commitment.
@chrisonabike Keeping your pride and joy, or at least a tool that you clean, maintain & use regularly, in your home is one thing. But many people who "have to" use a bike will have an old rusty boneshaker, or better, that they would, by habit, just leave outside (just look at all the shiny new kids bikes that are left lying around, which neither the children or their parents are minded to put away). Any if it is still working, rather than your rusty relic, eventually somebody is going to "borrow" it. It both depresses me that it is necessary and surprises me that people don't lock up things.
Much debate on this but the summary is the UK has one of the most toxic cyclist-hating highway cultures on the planet. Strangely lumped together with other English speaking nations; America and Australia. The media is saturated with highly obnoxious presenters who can freely suggest slicing heads off cyclists with a taut wire across a path, without any repercussions. Most drivers are broadly ignorant of the hierarchy of road users, passing distances and how VED is arrived at. The degree of arrogance on display from within 2 tonnes of potentially deadly machinery used on the public highway is widespread and police, CPS and judges' institutional bias is effectively complicit in the road rage pandemic. All bow to the Car god. The idea of sustainable transport and cycling for a healthy nation is dead in the water while this toxic culture remains so pervasive. I have no faith in the policing of dangerous driving, cycling or walking. How police resources are deployed is beyond a joke, where it is now a political weapon and jack boot on the throat of the Freedom of Speech and the Right to Protest.
@Zermattjohn This is one reason I loathe policing in our society. Illegal drugs cause no more (probably less) harm through their use than do alcohol and tobacco. The continuing war on drugs does itself cause enormous medical, social, economic and financial harms - many addicts refuse to seek help because of the real fear of being reported to the police, for example, and there might be less incentive for addicts to steal our bikes if they are enabled to manage their consumption.
18 thoughts on “I’ve got a punctured… thru-axle? Bizarre Fisherman’s Friend ad; Cav jumps on NFT train; TDF crash like a “war zone” says race doc; Thomas crashes with reports of dislocated shoulder; Positive Twitter thread about London cycling & more on the Live Blog”
It used to take me around 40
It used to take me around 40-50mins to commute to work every day on public transport.
Ive been commuting by bicycle since 2014/2015 about 8miles each way and the same journey now takes me 28mins on a really good day or 32-35mins on an average day.
Its saved me a fair chunk of money not paying TFL fares. But to be brutally honest that money often ends up being spent on more junk for the bike anyway. Its a disease i tell you.
But yeah… Rush hour on the tube sitting/standing on packed carriages where its hot next to sweaty smelly people. If i jumped on the bus to work it would have been super cheap but the trip takes 1hr-1h15mins and i honestly dont have enough patience to sit on the bus that long there and back every day. Thats a lot of time wasted.
But with the bus journey time
But with the bus journey time, then you can read a book over several days or just mellow. It is the one thing I do miss on biking over bussing. I do listen to podcasts but don’t think I could concentrate on an audio book the same way as reading them allows.
Maybe there was a time where
Maybe there was a time where i would have done it more regularly. set a timer, put on some tunes and just doze my way to and from work for £1.30 each way (im not sure if bus fares have gone up, I think its like £1.80 now or something???)
But i find having to constantly wear a mask rather annoying unless its totally unavoidable so for me bicycle makes the most sense as im ‘away from everyone else’ in the loosest sense as in not sitting/standing right next to random people or tucked under their armpits like i would be on the tube (figure of speech, Im actually 6ft tall so its probably the other way round)
RoubaixCube wrote:
Where do you live? Nineteen ninety? 😉
London buses are really cheap
London buses are really cheap per journey compared to the rest of the country as TFL initially subsidised the Oyster cards to persuade people onto them by halfing the cost if they were used £1 instead of £2 in 05ish. And now that is the only options for paying for journeys, the prices are still based on the initial costs plus rises per year or so.
brooksby wrote:
To be exact its currently £1.55 to hop on the bus but i do remember a time when the fare was £1.60 then £1.75 or £1.80 — its been all over the place.
every new mayor for transport just keeps pushing fares up and down every time a new one takes over
RoubaixCube wrote:
Last time I travelled by bus was the last week of February last year, when things were starting to get weird. Someone stifles a cough on the bus and everyone on there noticeably and physically twitched…
Positive of Covid is it finally gave me that push back into regularly cycle commuting – haven’t been on a bus since then, could count on my fingers how many times I’ve driven anywhere in a private motor vehicle since then…
You mentioned you had been
You mentioned you had been cycle commuting for the last 6 years so I wasn’t taking the ‘current times’ as your reason for not doing it. Anyway, it was just pointing out the options for such a journey to not be a time waste in normality.
I do wonder how many yellow
I do wonder how many yellow painted team bikes there are under dust sheets in the back of team trucks – just in case like, and what happens to them if they dont get used. Do Ineos have 4 Dogma’s painted up and will they end up on ebay?
Secret_squirrel wrote:
I was reading about this on Twitter earlier, all teams carry a stock of all the kits and helmets they will need if one of their riders takes a jersey, which are returned to the manufacturers for distribution if they are not required. In terms of bikes, nobody carries ready painted bikes with them, partly because of the extra carrying capacity that would be required but also because most riders think it’s bad luck to anticipate by having a ready prepared bike. Manufacturers also believe that apparently, Pinarello consistently refused to supply Chris Froome with a yellow bike in advance even when he was the hottest of favourites. Generally manufacturers will have staff on alert and if one of their riders takes a jersey they start re-spraying a frame in the factory the second they are over the line and have it shipped post-haste for the mechanics to build up for the next day. In the case of Froome he felt it was ostentatious to go straight for a yellow bike when he took the jersey (and also he didn’t want the additional paint weight in the mountains) so he would ask for a little bit more yellow each day he was in the jersey, bar tape the first day, bottle cages the next and so on, and only ride the full yellow bike on the last stage into Paris.
Cool! Thanks for the nice
Cool! Thanks for the nice info!
Great thread from twitter by
Great thread from twitter by Daniel Hamilton – thanks for sharing, and a shame that he was visited by the anti-helmet (or “polystyrene hat”) Twitter mob shortly after posting. However, he took it in his stride and overall this is the kind of positive action that will help encourage others to do the same.
Some more good news articles such as this would be most welcome!
obviously hope that Thomas
obviously hope that Thomas and others who crashed are ok…..but…..i think bad luck is not a sufficient explanation…you make your own (bad) luck to a significant degree – no one else seems to fall as often as he does.
Global Nomad wrote:
So Thomas has a magical attraction to dislodged bidons?
Absolute rubbish. The water
Absolute rubbish. The water bottle that did for him last time was unavoidable, if this is a repeat then likely the same. Was it Barguil that used G as a crash barrier on a sharp right downhill at a previous Tour and took him over the side.
You’ll see many riders demonstrating skills to avoid a crash, some great holds when it gets a bit loose on a corner. Suggesting because a rider has had a few incidents that he’s a bit lacking on talent is very shortsighted.
all riders have strengths and
all riders have strengths and weaknesses, at pro level they are unbelievably talented….but…its no good being at the top if you keep making errors…all riders come off for unavoidable reasons, but others also come off for errors of judgement or technique….
It’s not bad luck when he
It’s not bad luck when he keeps falling off – once or twice, then yes. I’m not sure what the issue is, but there is a pattern; he falls off alarmingly regular.
The pattern is called a
The pattern is called a statistical fluke. Averages are averages, not numbers that every individual conforms to. Some riders will be lucky, some unlucky, if crashes are completely random.
There is no reason to think GT has a particularly notable record of crashing particularly often. He’s just been unlucky about when it’s happened.