“But remember to dress in hi-vis”: Distracted motorist drives in cycle lane while texting, sparking criticism of “victim-blaming” police campaign; ‘E-bike’ rider steals 8ft nutcracker; Vuelta “doesn’t go well” in Pogačar’s schedule + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Your presence has been detected", machine warns cyclist to go away...
Speaking of grouchiness, we love it when private property owners decide to get tetchy about cyclists using public rights of way across their land.
For those of you less accustomed to roboticised Irish accents, the machine says “This is security. Your presence has been detected, the owner and police have been informed.” Totally normal behaviour…
Intermarché-Wanty confirm Binian Girmay's departure
In news we’d seen, not quite understood the reasoning behind, but had presumed was already confirmed, Biniam Girmay is leaving Intermarché-Wanty and, we believe, is on his way to NSN, the Andres Iniesta-backed World Tour team formerly known as Israel-Premier Tech.
Intermarché-Wanty’s financial struggles were well known, and they are well on their way to finalising a merger that would see riders and some staff join with fellow Belgian team Lotto. Girmay, last year’s green jersey winner at the Tour de France, is one of the best fast finishers in the peloton, and had a contract until 2028. Surely he was a rider that both merged teams would want at their disposal?
But it’s not to be, and so his outgoing team, always among the best when it comes to their social media game, have put out this rather touching video, reminding us not only of what Girmay has achieved, but all that he represents. Lovely stuff…
'E-bike' rider steals 8ft nutcracker decoration weighing 13kg from Edinburgh cocktail bar
Some headlines you don’t expect to write. But, it needs to be seen to be believed…
It’s getting the e-bike treatment in the press, but maybe some less grainy CCTV footage would bring its EAPC status into question?
A giant nutcracker was stolen from the outside of Copper Blossom Cocktail Bar in Edinburgh on Monday night.
Manager Paul Paxton says they’re on the look for Nutcracker Nolan https://t.co/G8gDzyqv3Q
? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/vtHBcmxy6Z
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 27, 2025
The Copper Blossom Cocktail Bar was the victim of the theft earlier this week, and manager Paul Paxton has done the media rounds, telling the BBC “it’s so shocking” that the statue, dubbed “Stolen Nolan”, could be robbed as blatantly as that.
“We were still open and had just stacked up all the outdoor furniture in front of the statue five minutes beforehand. He cycles up on his e-bike and it all happens in the space of a minute, it’s so fast.
“He pushed everything aside and pulls the tables over and one falls and breaks and then he yanks the Nutcracker away.
“He falls off his bike once while trying to put it on and struggles to lay it horizontally across him. The people on the street didn’t really bat an eyelid,” he added.
The apparent difficulty the culprit had can perhaps be explained by the 8ft Nutcracker statue weighing around 13kg. It also cost the bar £900. The other statue that formed part of the Christmas display is now being kept indoors whilst Police Scotland said their investigation was still at an early stage. In the meantime, the onus has been on Paxton to play the part of Nolan to attract clientele.
Merida to split from Bahrain Victorious
Also in today’s filing of stories we thought had been announced a while ago, bike manufacturer Merida have confirmed they are parting ways with Bahrain Victorious, the team it co-founded and initially title sponsored.
“After nine successful years competing at the highest level in the WorldTour, the partnership between MERIDA and Team Bahrain Victorious comes to an end for both parties to consolidate and develop new WorldTour sponsorship strategies,” a joint statement read.
“Everybody at MERIDA is grateful to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the opportunity to be part of this exciting project and is immensely proud of the many successes the team has achieved. Over the years, this close partnership between MERIDA and the Bahrain WorldTour Cycling Team Project has been the foundation for the team’s accomplishments.”
The rumour mill most recently linked Bahrain with Italian bike builder Bianchi, who most recently serviced the folding Arkea-B&B Hotels team. As for Merida, they say they will announce their future World Tour partnerships “in due course”. The statement also listed the team’s achievements over the years, including winning Paris-Roubaix with Sonny Colbrelli, and Grand Tour podiums with Damiano Caruso. From a bike perspective though, there’s surely no greater praise than Matej Mohoric’s Milan-Sanremo bike with its’ ‘dropper’ seat post…
Sylvan Adams spotted at NSN team training camp
Whilst we haven’t seen any evidence of whether Biniam Girmay is in attendance at NSN’s winter training camp, one man who has been spotted is Sylvan Adams, the funder and owner of the Israel-Premier Tech team that formally rebranded last week.
Escape Collective’s Jonny Long has the full write-up and also received comment from the team that Adams is there to “finalise the transition” and will have “no role” with the team going forward.
Still, it’s all a little bit up in the air, but one organisation hoping for clarity is the Vuelta a España. The race, which was provisionally due to finish in the Canary Islands, might be jeopardised if Adams’ exit from the team (where he’s still formally listed as a ‘partner’) is not explicitly confirmed, after the Gran Canaria Island Council insisted their “position has not changed” with regard to refusing to host a team affiliated with Adams.
Driver who killed cyclist while speeding on wrong side of road spared jail, after judge ruled her “dangerous driving is on the lower side”
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Olivia Walsh described her husband John as “devoted” to his family and his three sons, who would now spend “their entire lives without their adoring father”.
“John wanted them so much. He wanted to be a present, active, loving dad in every moment of their lives. He was devoted to them,” the statement read.
Read more below:
Pogačar casts doubt on 2026 Vuelta appearance
We’ll do you all a favour this Friday and spare you the details of Beppe Conti’s mad rumours on Italian TV show Radio Corsa, but only because Tadej Pogačar has on the same programme thrown some light on his race calendar for 2026.
Speculation so far has been light on the Slovenian’s schedule, with recent rumours suggesting he would wait until Strade Bianchi in March for kick-starting his season. He’s raced the white roads around Sienna several times before, and started his season there in 2024.
Despite the wishes of the Giro d’Italia organisers, he’s likely to race a lighter classics schedule in the spring, all the more important considering what awaits in the second half of the season. Whilst it’s still inconceivable for Pogačar to avoid the Tour de France, the challenge of balancing his workload in the autumn is complicated.
Next year’s World Championships take place in Canada, utilising a similarly hilly course to the GP Montreal, and only two weeks after the Canadian World Tour races. Racing the Tour de France and the Vuelta would mean a reduced preparation for a third successive year in rainbow bands, a point Pogačar admitted to…
Pogacar on WC 2026 parcours: “I won in Montreal before and it’s a similar parcours, even if it’s different with the national team”
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) November 28, 2025
“It’s always so hard to combine Vuelta with the Tour and with the thought of World Championships. I always say that if they switched Vuelta and Giro, it would be much better in terms of weather and riders going to the race. But for sure one day I will have to do the Vuelta and I’m looking forward to that day,” he said.
Then, as if his autumn isn’t busy enough, come the European Championships, for which he’s also the defending champion, held in Slovenia of all places. And of course then come the Italian autumn classics, culminating in Il Lombardia, a monument he has won five years in a row. In short, something’s got to give. Turns out starting in his backyard might not be enough for the Vuelta to entice the best rider in the world.
Banker or builder? Vingegaard muses on post-cycling future, admitting he's "fascinated by carpentry"
It’s November, which means rider interviews tend to focus on questions of retirement, and how “my beloved sport isn’t what it used to be, there’s no respect in the peloton anymore” and so on…
Thankfully, Jonas Vingegaard has yet to succumb to that level of grouching, but he has opened up on his thoughts beyond the peloton, and he appears to have two clear, but differing voices inside his head.
“I always said I wanted to do something with numbers, probably something in banking. I have always been good with numbers,” the two-time Tour de France champion told Danish channel TV MidtVest, who also ruled out staying in the field of pro cycling after retirement. But then came this revelation…
“After becoming an adult and renovating my own house, I realised that I actually like manual labour more than I thought,” said Vingegaard, who added of his future plans, “Time will tell. I am very fascinated by carpentry.”
We like this idea, the stoic, reserved Dane deriving personal satisfaction from private constructions. To be clear, this is probably some way off, with Vingegaard’s current contract running until the end of 2028, by which point he will only be 32, rather young by traditional standards. Either way, between banking and carpentry, all we know for sure is that there’s a biblical reference somewhere that we’re definitely not informed enough to make.
What’s interesting though, is that speculation was rife during the Tour de France was rife that he was struggling to maintain any form of work-life balance. The rumours began after his wife Trine Hansen gave an interview saying that Visma-Lease a Bike had asked their star rider to stop working on DIY projects in order to avoid risking injury.
Thankfully, with Vingegaard never one to indulge or engage with tabloid speculation, the story subsided, but it’s further proof – if it were needed – that the Dane, refreshingly, has interests beyond two wheels. Maybe his love of carpentry is fuelled in part by its “forbidden fruit” reputation that it’s acquired thanks to his employer. Anyway, in the depths of the off-season, we’re all here for it.
Facebook Marketplace for the bike-loving masochist in your life...
“Very ergonomic and good for the spine” apparently. Think we’ll take their word for it…
The best e-bike deals for Black Friday
Don’t think we were going to ignore Black Friday entirely…
The best e-bike deals for Black Friday
Mark Cavendish hints at creating own pro cycling team in future, claims riders “aren’t doing enough to make money in their own right”
There hasn’t been a British men’s team besides the Ineos Grenadiers since Saint Piran folded in 2024. Now Sir Mark’s has set the rumour mill running once more, not least because he seems to have new ideas for how to make more money! Ryan has the full write-up…
Mathieu van der Poel reveals winter Cyclocross calendar
The cyclocross specialists now know which races to target and avoid over the Christmas period, as the seven-time World Champion will set about indulging in his winter hobby.
Gardaí under fire for #CanYouSeeMeNow campaign putting blame on cyclists
Nothing gets the blood pumping like another police campaign that fails to understand who is responsible for driver-cyclist collisions…
It being November, An Garda Síochána (the Irish Police) used the time of year to justify rolling out a new campaign urging pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooter drivers and motorcyclists to wear hi-vis.
? Can you see me now? The importance of visibility on our roads cannot be understated, particularly for vulnerable road users including pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooter drivers and motorcyclists. #CanYouSeeMeNow #KeepingPeopleSafe
— An Garda Síochána (@garda.ie) 27 November 2025 at 07:59
Why are so many unmarked Garda cars black or dark coloured?
— Cosáin Climate (@cosaingalway.bsky.social) 28 November 2025 at 09:40
“Why aren’t cars required to wear high-vis?” asked Brendan Halpin.
“All the hi viz in the world won’t save a cyclist from a driver looking at their mobile,” campaigner ‘Cycling in Kilkenny’ wrote.
“Apparently like yourselves, I have also never seen a black car.” Steve wrote.
Perhaps the best proof of all came from user ‘Citizen Wolf’ (and their rather sweet dog Raven) who shared footage from earlier this week of a driver somehow cutting across a segregated cycle lane!
Drivers are never not at it. This guy was texting on his phone and managed to forget to turn. He ended up driving straight into the segregated cycle-lane. But hey, remember folks, dress in head-to-toe HiViz when out walking or cycling.
— Citizen Wolf (@citizenw0lf.bsky.social) 25 November 2025 at 20:23
Some battles are harder to win than others…
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Latest Comments
Chris King are fairly serviceable. And the warranty does indeed require it. I enjoy the xtr plug and forget on two of the bikes. Until they die, and I just fit another. Chris's headsets are worth it, superb seals. It's such a mucky area, and I haven't had adjustable cup and cone BBs. on a bike since my Peugeot racers in the 80s, I was relieved when starting my mountain bike adventures in the 90"s that the fit and forget square taper BBs just worked. The seals on the hubs were awful back then. Singletrack FGF featured this, https://burgtec.co.uk/product-category/hardware/shimano-crank-bolt/, I'm wondering if it will replace my seemingly made of butter bolt on the xtr 960 cranks, almost impossible to find back in the day.
If I had purchased my special products division 650 back in '96, rather than obtaining it under a warranty replacement, I would apparently have received a signed picture of the fine Nottingham artisan that welded her. The 750 of that year won Barry Clarke another British xc cup, as I recall.
Yay! https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/26466698.speed-camera-catching-drivers-25mph-oxfordshire/
The fall of Raleigh happened long before this week. Just because somebody bought the name does not mean they were the same bikes. And if you care about the name so much, noone says it won't be purchased by another inverstor as Accell Group is liquidated!
@Destroyer666 I totally see your point. The good news is there are indeed BBs which use industry-standard bearings. Take Neco, for example - they offer exactly what you want. Maybe the bearings in the set are not perfect, but you can replace them with SKFs later.
@chrisonabike I was just reading that myself, it seems a bizarre kneejerk reaction before poor Finlay's cause of death has even been fully investigated. What does Mr.Hansen think has been going on, have the manufacturers had the means to make safer, more robust helmets that are just as light and well ventilated but haven't bothered releasing them? Or does he want the peleton racing in motorcycle helmets, because that's the only way there's going to be a chance of meaningful protection in 100 kmh crashes?
I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work: AFAICS anti-social consequences are inherent in the business model. Models which seem to work better: advertising (Santander cycles), using bikes to make using another service which is more profitable (or less unprofitable) easier (Dutch OV Fiets). After that it's "local authority subsidises it" and then you're down to "flogging customer data"...
Back in the day square taper bb's rolled on bearings that were considerably larger than inside these Maxhit ones. The ball bearings in these fully serviceable models cost a couple of euros. Don't get me wrong, they had their issues, like poor sealing. But those days, servicing bearings was the norm. The current state seems to be something of an attempt at non-serviceability, where efforts made at making products that you DO NOT have to service are accompanied with products that you CANNOT service. And those two things are mixed in different ways. For example with this Maxhit bearing you pay a crazy amount of money for supposed durability - that you are nonetheless expected to service once a year. And once these bearings wear enough, there is no way to service them anymore - no cups, cones, ball bearings to replace, unlike with the old bb's (sure, it was not THAT easy even with them to e.g. find just cups in bike shop). I guess my point is that while I applaud e.g. Enduro for making "bike specific" bearings, I nonetheless long for products that are just easy to service - that is the key to durability. And that does not have to mean it costs a lot. To prove my point: There is absolutely no reason why Shimano could not manufacture it's ubiquitous 20eur BB-MT501 with easily replaceable industrial standard 6805 bearings (where SKF quality bearings cost about 20eur), for the same cost they manufacture the BB in it's current form. They just chose not to. And I would choose that over crazy expensive bb's with marketing schpiel and small print regarding warranty any day.
He's wildly over the top / backwards about what is a risk to the hard-pressed motorist and local places: those are "other motorists" and "mass motoring" respectively. He's almost right though in that many places - even in the UK - are gradually realising that a great way to save themselves money, improve their places and aid their chances of hitting targets on health, obesity, climate etc. is indeed to slow down motorists, restrict parking and deter (not prevent...) much *private motor* travel.
RIP. According to the president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associes the first thing they need to look at is ... helmets? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/czxqqlpnx98o Of course this could make perfect sense for a professional sport, perhaps standards haven't kept pace etc. It's certainly a rarefied extremely fast and hazard-rich environment, compared with my experience of normally <20mph utility-and-leisure cycling. But since the main factor seems to have been an uninvolved vehicle on the course this does sound like a convergence with the standard "cycling safety" narrative? ("Can't fix anything else, so what we *can* do is...")
12 thoughts on ““But remember to dress in hi-vis”: Distracted motorist drives in cycle lane while texting, sparking criticism of “victim-blaming” police campaign; ‘E-bike’ rider steals 8ft nutcracker; Vuelta “doesn’t go well” in Pogačar’s schedule + more on the live blog”
Quote:
Forbidden?
“This is security. Your
“This is security. Your presence has been detected, the owner and police have been informed.“
Why am I thinking of the ED-209 from Robocop…?
I’m picturing it then saying something like
“Leave the area now. You have 20 seconds to comply.“
I was thinking exactly the
I was thinking exactly the same thing (being of a certain age)…
“Put down your bicycle, you have 10 seconds to comply…”
Seeing as Vingegaard likes
Seeing as Vingegaard likes numbers and is attracted to banking, maybe he could spend some time checking the performance of his stocks, bonds and ISAs, while he seafishes in that Carribbean.
It should be compulsory for
It should be compulsory for motorists to wear high vis when they get out of their parked cars into the middle of the road.
But not too hi viz…
But not too hi viz…
https://road.cc/content/forum/when-your-reflective-jacket-just-too-reflective-317025
Re the nutcracker.
Re the nutcracker.
It isn’t theft at all. You are looking at a street production of Matthew Bourne’s “The Nutcracker On Bikes”. “The Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy” performed on a Giant TCR is simply audacious and breathtaking.
L’Atzúbia, Costa Blanca,
L’Atzúbia, Costa Blanca, yesterday at 11 a.m. local time, spotted a handful of cyclists dressed head-to-toe in Ekoi gear riding Factor steeds followed by an unmarked white car on their way to Vall de Gallinera. Is the IPT to NSN transition going so fast that the graphic designers have yet to draw the new visual identity?
I thought IPT/NSN had already
I thought IPT/NSN had already switched to Scott?
Grangers are offering a 25%
Grangers are offering a 25% off for the weekend. I very happy with their active wash and wish I had got more of their merino wash in my last largish order. I also highly recommend their down jacket cleaning service, they got my never cleaned big not bicycle in any way down jacket looking like new.
The importance of visibility
The importance of visibility on our roads cannot be understated,….
Oh yes it can.
It’s disturbing that so many of those in authority make absolute statements without bothering to check the evidence. It’s especially concerning when it’s the police, who really, really should understand the importance of evidence.
Overstated? I know they’re
Overstated? I know they’re Irish, but even so.