“Why the f*** don’t we have traffic lights on bikes yet?” Tom Dumoulin calls for brake lights and padded kit during race safety debate; Telegraph’s cucumber-related anti-cycling blunder; British pro wins after last-minute call-up + more on the live blog

Police Scotland say the fatal collision “occurred next to the event area” during Sunday’s ride, Scotland’s largest closed road cycle sportive.

Read more: > Police investigate after cyclist riding Etape Loch Ness sportive killed in collision with driver

Sam Ruddock, a British Paralympian and two-time world para-cycling champion has been reported “alive and well” after going missing for 11 days in Las Vegas.

The 35-year-old, who won the 1km time trial world title in the C1 category at the 2022 and 2023 world championships, travelled alone to the US on 13 April to watch the WWE’s flagship WrestleMania event. However, after loved ones last heard from him on 16 April, he was reported missing last Thursday.

Ruddock was reportedly staying at a hostel in Las Vegas and was supposed to check out on 15 April, but failed to do so, and had left his belongings. His last known location was the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, famous for its role in the television programme Pawn Stars.

His mother, Fran Ruddock, and close friend, track and field athlete Lucy Hatton, publicly appealed for help to find the 35-year-old, who lives with cerebral palsy and has a two-year-old son, describing his disappearance as “really out of character”.

Will Palmer/SWpix.com

However, after a four-day investigation, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has confirmed that Ruddock has been found and is safe.

“A missing person report was filed on April 24, 2025. Through the course of the investigation, the individual has been located safe,” a spokesperson said.

Confirming the news, Hatton said on social media: “I need to obviously get more status updates, but I don’t care – let’s get that boy home. Thank you so much to everybody for the messages.”

In a statement, she continued: “Sam has been found. He is physically well and we will now work on getting him home safely. It’s been a tremendously hard time and from the bottom of my heart, thank you everyone.”

Will Palmer/SWpix.com

Ruddock, who has spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that affects the legs, and impacts his balance and coordination, originally competed as a track and field athlete, representing Great Britain at the 2012 London Paralympics in the 100m and 200m, and at the 2016 Games in the shot put.

He then switched to cycling in 2018, joining Team GB a year later, going on to win two rainbow jerseys in the kilo, his second world title coming at the Glasgow world championships in 2023.

The Giro d’Italia is fast-approaching – just 10 more sleeps – so it’s no surprise organisers RCS are starting to pump out the press releases to amp up the anticipation levels.

And with the GC race expected to be wide open, thanks to a certain Tadej Pogačar-shaped hole in the start list, the Giro has promised that the battle for the pink jersey will “be even more thrilling this year” – thanks to the introduction of, and I quote, “groundbreaking new feature that’s set to make a real impact on the overall standings: the Red Bull KM”.

So, what is the Red Bull KM, I hear you cry. Probably a similar concept to the ‘golden kilometre’ at the Benelux/Eneco/Renewi Tour, with three different sprint points each offering bonus seconds, right?

Not quite.

According to RCS, 19 of the Giro’s 21 stages (excluding the time trials) will “feature a Red Bull branded kilometre, which will serve as the ‘gateway’ to the only intermediate sprint that counts toward the general classification: the first three riders to cross the exit gate of the kilometre will earn time bonuses of 6, 4, and 2 seconds, respectively.”

So, it’s just a normal intermediate sprint with bonus seconds – a concept used in stage races since Henri Desgrange were a lad – with a fancy new kilometre kite tagged on? Groundbreaking, indeed.

Alright, to be fair, six seconds is a fair chunk for an intermediate sprint, so it might ignite some decent action, especially on the opening stages. But we’re hardly reinventing the stage racing wheel here, are we?

“Featured in every sprint stage, the Red Bull KM will intensify the battle for the lead all the way to the grand finale in Rome,” RCS continued.

“Just few seconds can overturn the predictions and change everything – like in 1948, when the winner of Il Giro d’Italia claimed victory by just an eleven-seconds margin.

“The Red Bull KM will motivate even more the teams to focus their strategies on breakaways and fight for the time bonuses. At the same time, attackers and the main group will have an additional incentive to deliver excitement for fans watching the toughest race in the world, held in the most beautiful country.”

Or… you know, the breakaway will just mop up the bonus seconds every day.

And there’s more – for the final stage in Rome, the Giro organisers say Red Bull have an “incredible surprise” lined up for the peloton. What’s it going to be? A jazzy 30km to go banner with pink wings? Can’t wait.

Now a real Red Bull surprise at the Giro would be a pink jersey for Tom Pidcock, surely?

> Cyclist injured by motorist claims police “didn’t care” and sent driver on course as “it’s expensive to prosecute”

A new mural honouring Sir Mark Cavendish’s career and featuring the names of hundreds of local children is set to be installed in June at the Isle of Man’s National Sports Centre, in a bid to “inspire future generations”.

The mural will be created at the Sir Mark Cavendish Raceway, rebranded last year to commemorate the now-retired Manx Missile’s record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win, and where Cavendish took up cycling as a 10-year-old.

The Isle of Man’s schoolchildren are being invited to draw their names in bubble writing and submit them to the Department for Education, Sport and Culture for inclusion alongside Cavendish on the mural.

ASO/Billy Ceusters

Alongside the mural, a new podium and finish line will be installed on the raceway, paying homage to Cavendish’s trademark bullish sprinting style, in time for the rebranded raceway’s official launch in June.

As part of the project, children are also invited to name their own hero and submit a question to Cavendish, the best entries winning the chance to interview him (so, no road.cc entries allowed then? Okay…).

“I fell in love with racing here instantly,” the 39-year-old said about the project, which is inspired by his quote: “I dreamt of being like my heroes”.

“I can still remember the excitement and the pure joy. It’s a very special place for me and where it all began, so I’m incredibly happy to help inspire the next generation.”

> “The Tour de France is bigger than cycling. And we’ve done it”: Record-breaker Mark Cavendish’s greatest ever Tour de France stage wins

Daphne Caine, the Isle of Man’s Minister for Education, Sport, and Culture, said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have produced such a global icon, who remains so wonderfully humble and connected to his Manx roots.

“This is a really exciting project and the main message to the next generation is that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and give 100 per cent.”

“This track played a significant role in Sir Mark’s extraordinary story,” added Visit Isle of Man chief executive Deborah Heather. “I’ve no doubt cycling fans will be fascinated to discover more about where his journey began as a young boy.”

Forget breaking into our Footballers Who Cycle XI, Hazard will be aiming for the sporting crossover Ballon/Vélo d’Or at this rate…

 

 

 

 

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> New domestique in the peloton or just a post-Real Madrid hobby? Eden Hazard climbs Mont Ventoux wearing Intermarché jersey

“Just imagine if your city had cycle infrastructure like this!” Hackney Cyclist posted on social media, after presumably digging out a rare, alternate verse of John Lennon’s schmaltzy ode to peace to describe their Monday morning commute across Amsterdam, captured in this brilliant time warp video:

Imagine all the people, commuting every day in peace… Alright, that’s enough of that.

While Tibor Del Grosso’s victory in Kalkan – the 21-year-old Dutch prodigy’s first pro win – was one cycling fans had been looking forward to for a while now, today’s stage of the Tour of Turkey into the seaside tourist town of Marmaris threw up a real surprise.

In a chaotic sprint, unknown quantity Lev Gonov, who despite representing XDS Astana this week in Turkey belongs to the team’s development squad, timed his acceleration to perfection after Polti VisitMalta had dominated the run-in for Giovanni Lonardi.

 

 

 

 

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But with Lonardi fading fast after his lead-out man pulled off with 200m to go, Gonov launched on the left, and had enough speed to easily see off Lander Loockx and race leader Del Grosso for only the second win of his career.

And the 25-year-old Russian’s shock victory was made even more surprising by the fact that he had launched a strong if ill-fated attack 1.5km from the top of the final climb.

But despite being caught by the peloton near the top, just eight kilometres from the finish, Gonov managed to recover in time to nab what could prove a career-making win in Marmaris – much to the disbelief of both him and all of the Tour of Turkey’s sprint contingent.

In Belgium, when it comes to the media, professional cyclists are treated like footballers in the UK.

Take Wout van Aert for example. Like the England football team, Van Aert is consistently hyped by the Belgian press, inordinate pressure placed upon his shoulders, his performances, even in training, scrutinised with an inch of their life – and when he fails to live up to those lofty expectations, especially at the classics, the national postmortem begins.

But it’s not just on the road where Belgium’s pros are scrutinised – their home lives, their extracurricular habits (looking at you, Tom Boonen), their cars and watches all providing fodder for the tabloid press.

And in a world where cyclists are footballers, it’s fair to say that Remco Evenepoel – a footballer in his youth, remember – is Belgium’s answer to Marcus Rashford.

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

Because, despite a barnstorming comeback from his long, dooring-related lay-off at Brabantse Pijl, Evenepoel’s under par showing at Liège–Bastogne–Liège on Sunday got one journo’s tongue wagging – and it wasn’t about Remco’s performances on the bike.

Speaking on VRT talk show De Afspraak, journalist Ruben Van Gucht made a series of comments about the double Olympic champion’s personal life, including his wife’s family and his faith.

And, as he was preparing to amp up his preparations for the Tour de France at the Tour de Romandie this afternoon, Evenepoel took to Instagram to issue an emotional, cutting response to Van Gucht’s claims.

“I feel obligated to respond to the absurd and disrespectful statements that Ruben VG has made about my personal life. He claimed I look after my wife’s family,” Evenepoel posted.

“Let me be very clear: this is complete nonsense. My wife comes from a wealthy family with parents who built a beautiful life for their children through hard work and entrepreneurship. Oumi was my neighbour, her parents live barely 200 metres from mine in Schepdaal. Everyone who lives there, knows that they live in a beautiful villa.

“Been welcomed there with open arms since I was 17. We’ve known each other since we were kids, way before money, fame, or whatever. Her parents don’t owe their well-being to anyone, especially me.

Ed Sykes/SWpix.com

“And then you come, Ruben, and say that I take care of them? Let me explain something to you: If anyone has helped, it is more likely our (in-law) parents who have always done their best to support and make us stronger.

“I don’t know where you get your stories from, Ruben. Or is it sometimes hard for you to believe that a Moroccan family just worked hard and thoughtful? That says more about your limited worldview than it does about reality.

“The real truth is simple: Love, respect, and hard work has brought us where we are today. Don’t judge. Don’t gossip. And certainly not people who call themselves journalists, but prefer to spread nonsense.

“Maybe you should worry about your own family sooner, Ruben… Because we hear things too.”

Mic drop. And you thought the Premier League gossip pages were bad.

> Met boasts its new wind tunnel is “the most advanced helmet development facility in the world”

British Cycling has this afternoon confirmed the route details for June’s national road championships in Ceredigion, Wales, with a tight, technical circuit featuring some steep gradients promised for the road races.

Taking place in Ceredigion for the first time, the championships will be held between 26 and 29 June, handing out 10 national champ’s jerseys throughout the three days of racing.

Things will kick off on Thursday 26 June with the U23 and elite time trials, which will feature fast-rolling roads around Aberaeron, with a short, sharp ascent of the Rhiw Goch climb, while Friday night sees the turn of the circuit races through the lovely streets of Aberystwyth.

The seaside town will then play host to the main event, the road race championships, on Sunday, as the elite men and women take on a challenging 187km and 128km route respectively.

Both races will kick off with a tough 23.4km loop – tackled five times by the men and three by the women – which will include a steep nine per cent climb, before heading for the finishing circuit.

These closing 12.4km laps, starting and finishing on the seafront, boast a 8.7 per cent climb through Southgate, as well as a narrow, technical 13.8% descent from Moriah and a piecturesque finish on the promenade.

“Racing on home roads is a rare opportunity which always makes it extra special, so I can’t wait to get out on the roads I know so well as the Lloyds National Road Championships heads to Ceredigion,” local boy Stevie Williams, last year’s winner of the Tour of Britain, said in a statement.

(Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

“As a proud Welshman, it is brilliant to see this iconic fixture in the domestic road season brought to the country’s roads and to show the peloton a real Welsh reception.

“The support I received at events in the UK last year was outstanding, so I can only imagine what it will be like to hear the home support in Wales at the end of June. I look forward to seeing everyone in Ceredigion then for some highly entertaining road racing.”

Entries for all three events are now open on British Cycling’s website and will close at midnight on Sunday 1 June.

Cycling can be a funny old sport sometimes.

This afternoon at the Tour de Romandie, UAE Team Emirates’ Ivo Oliveira looked for all the world like he had the race’s opening prologue in the bag. The former Portuguese time trial champion had targeted the short, punchy 3.4km around Saint-Imier, memorising the course and making the Tour de Romandie’s leader’s jersey one of his big goals for the season.

When the 28-year-old crossed the line, the new race leader in a time of 4.33, he punched the air in recognition of a job well done. When the likes of Stefan Küng (three seconds down), Remco Evenepoel (four), and Jay Vine (five) all failed to topple him, it appeared that Oliveira’s meticulous preparation had paid off.

Then along came Sam Watson.

 

 

 

 

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Unlike the finely tuned Oliveira, the 23-year-old British rider had only been informed by his Ineos Grenadiers team yesterday that he was even racing the Tour de Romandie, forcing him to interrupt his training ride and rush to the airport.

But that last-minute change of plans and lack of preparation didn’t prevent the former Groupama-FDJ man from putting in a blistering ride – completely ignored by the TV cameras – to pip Oliveira by just 0.28 seconds to take his first WorldTour victory and with it the overall lead at the Tour de Romandie.

“My head is just pounding – but I found out I was fastest, so that’s nice!” a shocked Watson said soon after crossing the line.

“It’s a massive surprise. I only found out I was doing this race during my training ride yesterday. I had to quickly go home and drive to the airport, so to be fastest is a massive surprise.”

As we always say in cycling every January, the best-laid plans of Portuguese time trial specialists…

In the wake of cucumbergate, the Telegraph’s latest botched attempt to shoehorn their anti-cycling agenda in at every possible opportunity, transport journalist Carlton Reid has expanded on his views on the Labour government’s bid to introduce new offences for dangerous cycling.

“For what it’s worth, the law *should* be different for cyclists and motorists,” Reid wrote on BlueSky following his debacle with the Telegraph.

“Cycling and motoring are very different. A cyclist could be killed when hitting a pedestrian; a motorist is in a protective cage and won’t die in any collision.

“The law change to – theoretically – bang up cyclists for life (red meat to right-wing press) is related to the recent anti-sustainable-transport messaging from the UK government,” he continued, referring Labour’s assertions that it is “on the side of drivers” by freezing fuel duty and fixing potholes.

> Are the cycling culture wars back? And did they ever go away?

“Of course, if it’s parity that this law seeks then clearly UKGOV will insert another amendment stating that pedestrians who kill – by walking into road, distracted, for instance – should also face life sentences.

“This law will never be enacted, of course, because it’s ludicrous. Just as the cycling element is ludicrous.

“The law is unlikely to be used because there’s no ‘lesser’ charge of ‘careless’ cycling as there is for motoring, and for which prosecutors often plump. The ‘parity’ arguments are piffle.”

> Cyclists who kill pedestrians could face life sentences under proposed new ‘dangerous cycling’ law

Last week, Department for Transport (DfT), the Home Office, and transport secretary Heidi Alexander tabled a series of amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill in a bid to reform the current sentencing structures for cyclists who killed or injure.

If the proposed amendments are ratified by parliament, cyclists who kill pedestrians by riding dangerously could be sentenced to life in prison, while cyclists who cause serious injury by dangerous cycling could face a maximum five-year term in jail.

Meanwhile, those convicted of causing death or serious injury by ‘careless or inconsiderate cycling’ could also face up to five and two years in prison.

“Dangerous cycling is completely unacceptable, and the safety of our roads is a key priority for this government,” a Department for Transport spokesperson said last week.

“The government is proposing new offences and penalties for dangerous cycling, updating legislation that is over 160 years old, to ensure that the tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face the full force of the law.

“These are being brought forward as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, and will be debated in due course.”

However, a source within the DfT stressed that, despite the amendments, there is still a need for “proportionality”, especially taking into the consideration the 1,600 people killed or seriously injured by motorists every year.

I’m sure, like me, you assumed the Telegraph’s wildly inaccurate claim that cyclists are riding at 52mph through the streets of central London would be the national newspaper’s biggest, most bizarre cycling-related blunder of the past 12 months, right?

Wrong.

Over the weekend, seemingly in a desperate attempt to publish its 400th anti-cycling article of the week, one poor Telegraph reporter was sent down a journalistic rabbit hole after being asked to research the number of deaths across the world… caused by cucumbers. Yes, cucumbers.

Why? Because transport journalist Carlton Reid joked on the radio that the fruit/culinary vegetable/disgusting green things were responsible for killing as many people as cyclists.

And even after Carlton informed him that his cucumber killing claim was, in fact, just a joke, the Telegraph carried on and published a story on it anyway, mislabelling the respected journalist as a “pro-bike campaigner” in the process, too.

Reid, a transport and sustainability journalist who has written for Forbes, Wired, and the Guardian, and countless other publications, as well as publishing several books about cycling, made the comments while appearing on Nick Ferrari’s LBC Radio show on Friday, in a debate about the government’s plans to introduce tougher legislation for cyclists who kill or injure pedestrians.

> Cyclists who kill pedestrians could face life sentences under proposed new ‘dangerous cycling’ law

As part of a series of amendments tabled last Thursday to the Crime and Policing Bill by the Department for Transport, cyclists who kill pedestrians by riding dangerously could be sentenced to life in prison, while cyclists who cause serious injury by dangerous cycling could face a maximum five-year term in jail.

But speaking to Ferrari, Reid asked: “Will there be a similar law for killing by cucumbers? Because it’s the same level of rarity.”

He continued: “Why would a government bring a law in for such a rare occurrence? The cynical person would say it’s been brought in for reasons of political expediency.”

Expanding on the reasoning behind his comments in a social media post, Reid said: “Because the law change is so ludicrous — and will do zero for road safety — I joked to Nick (who was cock-a-hoop at the prospect of cyclists doing life) that it would be just as useful for the government to bring in a law against those who kill with cucumbers. I had even flagged the fact I would use this joke on a BlueSky, posting before I went on air.

“I thought my flippant comment — deliberately fantastical — was an obvious joke. Turns out not everyone got it. Including the Daily Telegraph, which had been given the original cyclist-knocking story by somebody in Number 10 Downing Street.”

Cue the following email, sent to Reid by a senior reporter at the newspaper, who had evidently spent most of his afternoon typing ‘cucumber’ into Google:

Sorry to trouble you, Carlton. I’m a journalist from the Daily Telegraph newspaper. I got a few calls and emails from people who heard you on LBC this morning regarding proposed new laws for cyclists who kill pedestrians.

You mentioned that cucumbers kill more people than cyclists. Where are you getting your statistics from for this claim? Can you let me know? Were you talking about the UK? I have heard the claims about cows and lightning, but cucumbers are new ones in this debate. I think it is worthy of a story. But, I need some meat on the bones, as it were; or skin on the flesh (to persist with cucumber metaphors).

Are you referring to allergies? I did a cuttings search on deaths from cucumbers and found only one, but that was during an awful sex act in Germany (I won’t go into detail). I’m amazed – and saddened – the man involved avoided jail.

There was a spate of deaths, also in Germany, connected to organic cucumbers being contaminated with e-coli in 2011. I also did a search on coronial hearings too and couldn’t find a single death in the UK. There was a case of salmonella connected to cucumbers in America, but no one died.

“I had to break it to the Telegraph reporter that I had been joking,” Reid said. “So, sorry to him for wasting his day. But, then again, that’s less time he will have been able to spend on scare stories about too-heavy EV batteries, supposed speed camera scams, and killing sprees by cyclists.”

However, the day wasn’t a total waste. Because the Telegraph, never keen on letting an anti-cycling angle slip through their fingers, still ran the somewhat adjusted story. Described by Reid as a “hit piece”, the article’s headline read: “Pro-bike campaigner ridiculed for saying cucumbers kill more people than cyclists”.

Matthew Briggs, a longstanding campaigner for a dangerous cycling law, whose wife Kim was hit and killed by a cyclist riding with no front brakes in London in 2016, was even approached for comment, saying he was “shocked” by Reid’s flippant cucumber comparison.

Whilst I know Carlton and have respect for him, I was truly and utterly shocked to hear him joke about and diminish the tragedy of pedestrian road deaths in this way,” Briggs told the paper. “I really did expect more from him.”

Issuing his response to the story, Carlton said: “As a sustainable transport journalist for 39 years I highlight pedestrian deaths and never diminish them. I am interested in genuine road safety.

“Sadly, the law change Matt has successfully enabled will save no lives but will just lead to further vilification of cycling, a healthy and sustainable form of transport.”

> “People won’t bother reading the truth, the damage is done”: Cyclists frustrated Telegraph newspaper not required to put “52mph cyclists creating death traps” correction on front page like original headline

Speaking to road.cc, Reid also said that he told the Telegraph to change its headline, “because I’m a journalist, not a pro-bike campaigner” (they even swapped out ‘ridiculed’ for ‘criticised’, for good measure).

“After they made the correction I suggested they pay a sum to a pedestrian charity of my choosing,” he added.

“No answer yet.”

The issue of safety in the peloton continues to generate debate in pro cycling circles, after a horrific, crash-marred, and too often tragic 2024 season, as well as several hairy incidents at the start of this year – including during Sunday’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège – involving motorists making their way onto the course.

In January, the UCI revealed, in a bid to “enhance safety” during races, that it is considering introducing a range of “equipment-related solutions”, including the use of rider airbags, gear restrictions to reduce top speeds, and clamping down on narrow handlebars.

And now, retired Dutch star Tom Dumoulin has thrown another potential safety solution into the mix: bike brake lights.

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Speaking to commentator José De Cauwer for Het Nieuwsblad, the 2017 Giro d’Italia winner said introducing back brake lights and padded kit for riders are “two super simple measures” that would make the sport safer.

“One: why the f*** don’t we have traffic lights on our bikes yet?” Dumoulin asked.

“Just a small red light that lights up at the back when you hit your brakes. Mandatory in traffic, but not in the race. It would certainly make a difference.”

He continued: “Point two: protective clothing. Of course it sucks to ride with padding on your shoulders and hips, but surely the industry should be able to make something that is nice and comfortable enough?”

Dumoulin bloodied and battered after crashing heavily at the 2019 Giro d’Italia

Reflecting more generally on the dangers of riding as a professional, the former Sunweb leader and world time trial champion said: “I noticed that last week when I rode an amateur gravel race in the United States. On the first descent I suddenly saw race numbers everywhere on the outside and underneath. Suddenly I got scared.

“I realised that as a rider I had taught myself to suppress that fear. As a rider you can go into a mode to block everything, but in an amateur race I didn’t want that at all. That’s how it really hit me now.”