“A dark day for hill climbing”: Widespread horror as British hill climb champs won on disc brakes for first time; Scenes on the Struggle; Worst bike rack ever; Third Cav burglar convicted + more on the live blog

Ah Halloween, that time of the year when we revel in strange, spooky, and often downright scary phenomena, and things we just can’t wrap our heads around…

And that was certainly the case at yesterday’s UK hill climb championships – the crown jewel of that annual British suffer fest season – where Andrew Feather flew to his fourth national title… while riding a bike with disc brakes.

I know, scary times indeed.

Fortunately, Feather’s interesting, tradition and weight weenie-bashing choice of hill climbing equipment wasn’t exactly of the jump scare variety – earlier this month, road.cc took an in-depth look at the uphill expert’s disc brake-fitted Cannondale SuperSix Evo LAB71.

> Rim brakes really are dead! Here's why the British National Hill Climb champion has switched to disc brakes

When asked by us why he’d eschewed his trusty old rim brakes – adding half a kilogramme to his previous title-winning steed in the process – Feather said: “I think [rim brakes aren’t dead] at the moment, there are still rim brake bikes around, but if you look at the latest technology it is all disc really. The weights are coming down and the margins are pretty small.”

In any case, the extra weight didn’t seem to hamper the appropriately named Feather at yesterday’s championships in the Lake District, blasting up the infamous Struggle climb and its 20 percent gradients in 11.48 to reclaim his title, 18 seconds ahead of Ed Laverack and a whopping 1.17 clear of bronze medallist Paddy Clark.

While climbing aficionado Simon Warren described (with his tongue firmly in his cheek) Feather’s disc brake-abetted victory as a “dark day for hill climbing”, others were convinced the four-time champ has other as-yet-unheard-of tech aids at his disposal.

“Where can you buy this anti-gravity mod that Feather seems to have?” asked Eddie on Instagram. “Absolute machine.”

A dark day for hill climbing. First champs to be won n on discs. pic.twitter.com/jX91PtTy1P

— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) October 29, 2023

However, before you all mourn the final demise of rim brakes, in the women’s event European Climbing champion Illi Gardner secured her second consecutive national title, beating Wahoo teammate Lizi Brooke by almost a full minute – and 212 of the 275 male participants to boot – using the good old trusty tech of hill climbs gone by.

I’d say that’s 1-1 in the Great Hill Climb Brake Battle of 2023.

See, rim brakes aren’t dead, they’re just half-dead, I suppose. A zombie rim brake horror film, now I’d watch that for Halloween.

Don’t mention the brakes!

I think it’s fair to say that the whole rim brake vs disc brake debate is still able to stir up the emotions after all these years, judging by the reaction to today’s main blog story.

“It’s not about the bike,” as one much less controversial cycling character once said, along with quite a few on social media, outraged by any derisory comment aimed towards disc brakes – even in obvious jest – today.

“I was on The Struggle yesterday, there was a fantastic atmosphere, a real celebration of a particular kind of cycling,” road.cc reader Miller wrote in the comments.

“I feel it’s a shame in a way that the article above focuses on Andrew Feather’s bike. The real story is his better than 7 watts/kilo for nearly 12 minutes and taking about 40 seconds off the pre-existing hill record, and the same effort expended to not quite so ProTour effect by all the competitors. It’s not about the bikes, interesting though they are!”

Hear, hear.

The source of all this internet angst…

Other similar comments were made on social media, with Tom writing that “it was the rider that won the race, not the bike!”

“Who cares? The most important point is that Andrew Feather absolutely SMASHED it,” says David, presumably shouting “SMASHED” while typing in his office.

“Illi could win riding a wheelbarrow with a flat tyre to be fair,” added Holly, praising Gardner’s dominance on the hill climb scene.

Others were perplexed by the mention of brakes at all.

Didn't realise you used brakes going uphill 🤣🤣

— Gaz pow (@gaz_pow) October 30, 2023

“Most used feature on a rural climb, brakes,” said Rob, while Phill was scathing, writing: “Stupid statement… don’t need brakes going uphill.”

Yes, Gaz, Rob, and Phil (and basically everyone on Facebook), that’s right – but the weight of your braking system, one of the lingering arguments made against the use of disc brakes, could perhaps come into play on a really steep hill where something like, I don’t know, weight may prove important?

Especially in a subsection of the sport where riders go to great lengths – including chopping off their drops or stripping off their bar tape – to achieve those sweet, sweet marginal weight gains?

Just putting it out there that nobody was actually talking about the ability to stop on a 20 percent gradient, in case that went over anyone’s heads…

Meanwhile, some were angry it was even being discussed.

“Please don’t sink to the level of the shameful politicians. Don’t be divisive,” said Morgan, while simultaneously ducking as the joke grazed their hair on the way past.

For those at the back – the whole disc debate is a bit of light fun, an interesting tidbit and talking point from a day of sporting excellence, not something to get angry on the internet about, you know? It’s only the live blog (and cycling) after all.

And, anyway, we all have a common enemy we should be united against…

a real dark day would be if an E-bike won it

— professional (@Techienumber1) October 30, 2023

Again, it’s a joke!

A third man has been found guilty of carrying out a knifepoint robbery at the family home of Mark Cavendish, stealing watches worth £700,000.

27-year-old Jo Jobson was found guilty of two counts of robbery by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court today, and is due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Ali Sesay, 28, was sentenced to 12 years for his part in the violent robbery, as well as an additional eight years for six unrelated firearms offences, while 31-year-old Romario Henry was found guilty of two counts by majority verdict and sentenced to 15 years.

> Two men jailed for knifepoint robbery at Mark Cavendish's family home

Following the pair’s sentencing, Jobson handed himself in at a police station in June, 18 months after officers first released his photo identifying him as a suspect.

Prosecutor Edward Renvoize said the gang threatened Cavendish and his wife Peta during the 2021 robbery, and “meted out violence” to the former world champion while their children were in the house.

He read a statement from Mrs Cavendish, in which she said that an intruder told her husband, “Do you want me to stab you up in front of your kid?”

Two Richard Mille watches were stolen from a safe, with Renvoize describing the raid as a “well-orchestrated and executed, planned invasion of a home of well-known individuals with the intention of grabbing high-value timepieces”.

However, he said that one of the intruders took Cavendish’s phone, which was later found outside the property, in what was deemed a “significant error in what was an otherwise carefully executed plan”. The court heard last week that a trail of DNA evidence and phone numbers led the police to a mobile “attributed to” Jobson, who received a unanimous guilty verdict.

Speaking after the verdict, Essex Police said a fourth suspected intruder George Goddard was still at large and was the “final piece of the jigsaw” in their investigation, and urged the suspect to hand himself in.

Here we go again, it’s that time of the year, folks…

The clocks have gone back in the UK, it’s dark before teatime, and we’ve flipped the switch on the latest version of our famous(ish) road.cc front light Beam Comparison Engine to help you choose from the best bike lights (or more specifically the best front bike lights) for your riding.

The beam test is now a much-loved (I suppose) annual tradition at road.cc Towers, and sees Dave and Oli head to a pitch black country lane with Manny the Mannequin to get photographs of all the beams in the test, before Dave locks himself in the shed for a few hours to plot shapes and make some graphs. Now that’s what I call a fun job.

Our beam test comparison data contains beam shots and data for 43 lights this year, and also includes historical data going back to 2015. That’s quite a lot of lights, so you can directly compare hundreds of lights with one another, to make sure you make the right choice for your winter riding.

For all your light comparison needs, read more here: > road.cc front bike lights Beam Test 2023

H/t @gear_ratio & @euancx , this is *genuinely* how the designer imagines you would lock a bike. Better hope thieves don't have Allen keys. Or hands. 🙈 https://t.co/wmkCFgH8Em pic.twitter.com/TrKP3WEhgO

— Andy Arthur 🐣 Threadinburgh 🧵 (@cocteautriplets) October 30, 2023

Now I’m genuinely even more confused… Where’s the humble Sheffield Stand when you need one?

An 82-year-old has raised over £40,000 for a local hospice, which provided care for his partner before her death, by fixing up and selling donated bikes.

Weymouth resident Danny the Bike Man – real name John Collins – has been collecting, repairing, and selling bikes from his garage for eight years, after being inspired during a bric-a-brac sale, the Dorset Echo reports.

He then gives all the proceeds to Weldmar Hospice Care, where his partner Margaret passed away in October 2021, raising over £40,000 so far.

Danny told the paper that he is planning to scale back his commitment to bike restoration due to his age, and is currently being helped by a friend – though that hasn’t stopped him working in his garage from time to time.

“People say ‘If you want a second-hand bike then speak to Danny’,” he says. “As I am retired I enjoyed working on the bikes and meeting people, and seeing them go away happy with their new bikes.”

He may be aiming for a maiden rainbow jersey next season, but Tadej Pogačar appears to be spending his post-season sponsor mandated business holiday in Singapore preparing for a showdown with Novak Djokovic instead…

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Tadej Pogačar (@tadejpogacar)

Although by the looks of his photos, Urška Žigart didn’t seem to be under too much strain when facing both her boyfriend and Giulio Ciccone on the tennis court.

And for goodness’ sake, Tadej, please put on some sun cream…

A driver who deliberately rammed a cyclist following an argument about a close pass has been given a suspended sentence for dangerous driving and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The incident saw the victim flung into the air and left with whiplash after complaining to the motorist about an earlier overtake, telling her he had it on camera and later striking her wing mirror after she again drove too close to him.

Read more: > Motorist avoids jail for deliberately ramming cyclist who questioned close pass