Councillor blames fall in Brighton’s tourism since 2020 on parking prices… conveniently forgets Covid lockdowns; Wout van Aert gets flagged on Strava; Peter Sagan “deeply sorry for screwing up”; London's most useless bike lane? + more on the live blog

Let's see if I get this right.

Bella Sankey, a Labour councillor in Brighton has accused the Green Party's increase in parking fee for drivers for causing the popular tourist destination to supposedly see fewer people come in the last three years and suffer a £1.2m fall in parking revenue.

Am I forgetting any particular global event which might have put off the said people to go and have fun at the beaches?

As much as I'd like to, I just can't seem to get around and do this trick of forgetting. But seems like someone has figured out a way to erase those wretched memories of being stuck in your home in your PJs, watching too much YouTube and Netflix, and eating an ungodly amount of Skittles. Erm, the last one might be just specific to me.

The Telegraph reports that Sankey blamed "incompetence" of the Green Party council, which after increasing the parking fee seems to have "scared off" the drivers, leaving a "black hole" in the city's finances.

The Greens were running a minority administration since 2020 until earlier this year, until the Labour won back majority of the Brighton and Hove City Council, and during that time, the former party presided over a string of increases in the cost of parking in the city for visitors and permit-holding residents.

> Cars to be banned from road along Brighton seafront to allow people to exercise safely

In April 2020, the council had also closed a major road along the south coast resort's seafront to motor traffic to give locals more space to take their outdoor exercise while maintaining social distance during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the convenient rewriting of the last three years and somehow blaming the increased parking fee for people for not leaving their houses as much to go to the beach has left people on social media baffled.

Anything else that could’ve put people off day trips from 2020-22? Anything? Hmm.

— Kyle Mcnamara (@KyleMcn12667834) June 28, 2023

Did anyone also forget the cost of living crisis?

There is no link between this and the drop in tourism, you clutching at straws. The country as a whole is going through a cost of living crisis. People would not be put off just because of a rise in car parking.

— Keith Beard (@KeithBe63758343) June 28, 2023

Or maybe, people still went to Brighton, but just not by cars?

The article doesn't have any evidence fewer people went to Brighton - it just says parking revenue went down as fewer people went there by car.

— London Cycles (@London_Cycles) June 29, 2023

Here's some heartfelt and wholesome content for you readers.

Perched on a postbox like it's just reached the summit of Alpe d'Huez on a solo breakaway, this cute and snuggly crochet cyclist is in celebration of a Wiltshire resident's "nephews birthday (colours of his cycling team), Fathers Day and of course, the upcoming start of the Tour de France".

Sent this way by our very own Patrick Joscelyne, this national treasure can be found on the main road through Holt, Wiltshire, at Melksham end. He says that although this was taken down yesterday because of the winds, it will surely be up there for the weekend.

Okay quickly where can I get one for myself now?

TotalEnergies 2023 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

It's never a good look having your star racer get caught riding a motorised two-wheeler drunk. Especially if it's just two days before the biggest cycling event of the year.

TotalEnergies was supposed to hold a press conference today ahead of the Grand Départ on Saturday, but apparently it's been cancelled now, after it was reported that three-time world champion Peter Sagan was given a three month suspended prison sentence for drink driving in Monaco yesterday.

Sagan has since then uploaded a really awkward apology video on Instagram, and his lawyer said that Sagan was exhausted at the time. "As he was very tired due to jet lag and only six hours of sleep, he did not think he had such a high blood alcohol level," his lawyer told the court.

But of course, last month’s reckless behaviour isn’t the first time that Sagan has found himself on the wrong side of the law thanks to drink driving.

> Peter Sagan fined for breaking Monaco COVID-19 curfew and injuring police officer

In November 2021, the Slovakian star was fined €5,000 for infringing Monaco’s Covid-19 curfew and injuring a police officer who attempted to take him to hospital to undergo a drug test.

Sagan, who was drunk at the time of his arrest, was travelling on his scooter with younger brother and fellow pro Juraj, with his lawyers later claiming that he began to struggle with the officers because he feared he was going to be “forced to be vaccinated”. The 33-year-old later apologised for his actions, which he claimed were due to his excessive alcohol consumption that night, something he said he was not used to

Peter Sagan's Paris-Roubaix-winning Specialized s-Works Roubaix (picture credit Specialized and Brakethrough Media)

Another wild night out Pete? Wait, a wild morning out?!

The three-time world champion was handed a three-month suspended prison sentence, and banned from driving for the same period yesterday, after he was caught drink driving on a motorised bike through the streets of Monaco on 12 May... at 11:35 AM.

> Peter Sagan handed three-month suspended prison sentence for drink driving

At least he wasn't behind the wheel of a car. I'm guessing it's also significantly more difficult to perform wheelies on a four-wheeled vehicle than a two-wheeled one.

The TotalEnergies rider has now posted a supremely awkward apology video on Instagram, and he looks absolutely devastated. Or I think, that's what I'm trying to believe.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Peter Sagan (@petosagan)

He says in the video: "I am reaching out to tell you I'm deeply sorry for screwing up after a moment of weakness. I would like to apologise to my family, my friends, my team, our sponsors and everybody that supported me. I'm committed to learn from this mistake and becoming a better person in the future."

Not the best thing to tackle when you'll be starting your last Tour de France in under 50 hours. But hey, can't be worse than Lotto-Dstny.

You have been merrily pedalling your way from Peckham for a nice Chacago-style pizza in Soho (and a couple of pints, of course), when just a few minutes into your ride, you are reminded that you will have to cross the dreaded Westminster bridge.

Has that ever happened to you? If not, you're lucky and I hope it never does.

London’s - perhaps the world’s - most useless bike lane strikes again. pic.twitter.com/TNpwP0P2J2

— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 28, 2023

But I'll spare a thought for all those who've had to endure the trials and tribulations of this bike lane. Sometimes I think if it didn't exist, how would all the people take pictures of the Big Ben or the House of Commons?

It's a mistake people only make once.

— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 28, 2023

Although I personally don't have anything against the ice-cream van — it's a landmark in itself, probably more iconic than all the other towering monuments around it — but the queues for a cone of indecently overpriced ice-cream do get a bit much.

Apart from the fact that just behind me there were about another 50 people stood in the bike lane to take pics with Big Ben in the background.

— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 28, 2023

Jeremy Vine has a solution.

That said, an Airzound horn does help clear the path

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 29, 2023

But this one's my favourite:

Park it the other way and hand out 99s to passing cyclists like marathon runners passing a water station

— Danny Chips (@danny_chips_) June 29, 2023

Okay this one's a bit different. Everyone talks about doping, we know cycling went through that. But there's a time and place for other, non-substance reliant cheeky and sometimes eye-gouging ways to get yourself over the finish line. And that's what we take a look at here...

> Cheating at the Tour de France — a rich history dating back 120 years