Fake Strava profile pretending to be Jonas Vingegaard ‘beats’ Tadej Pogačar’s KOM… possibly on a scooter; Cyclocross crash chaos; The duality of cyclists between Christmas and New Year; Council’s lack of payouts causes concern + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
What time's this?!
Someone’s keen to get the live blog cracking this morning…
"It's all happening here": Cyclocross crash chaos in Diegem as bizarre startline pile-up causes carnage... before Nys clips barrier and hands Del Grosso victory
The tone was set for a dramatic night of cyclocross from the start, Michael Vanthourenhout sent tumbling by a crash within seconds. My amateur timekeeping makes it around two seconds from when the riders are sent on their way to the contact which sent the Belgian sprawling and ended his chances in record time.
Un départ catastrophique pour Michael Vanthourenhout à Diegem ?❌#Cyclocross #Superprestige #Vanthourenhout #Diegem pic.twitter.com/l0RI9DnYu5
— Pickx Sports (@PickxSports) December 30, 2025
Once that bizarre startline stutter was out the way, Tibor Del Grosso and Thibau Nys renewed their burgeoning ‘cross rivalry, battling it out in the Dutch and Belgian national champs’ jerseys like Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert have done so many times before. With Van der Poel hinting at cyclocross retirement after this winter, in Del Grosso vs Nys we’re looking at the future of the sport on the men’s side.
In this instance there was decisive moment (if not an expected one), Nys drifting too close to the edge of the course in the sand and hitting a pole, sending himself (and Joran Wyseure who was also with the Belgian rider) to the deck and leaving Del Grosso to fly by and regain an advantage he’d protect to the finish.
HUGE DRAMA IN DIEGEM ?
Elbows into a hairpin bend see Del Grosso grind to a halt before Thibau Nys crashes in the sand moments later! ? pic.twitter.com/mK9OTXCIBJ
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) December 30, 2025
The drama was captured by a sand-side fan’s phone too…
CHUTE DE THIBAU NYS pic.twitter.com/k0V6akWnbn
— Alex-is (@alreisor) December 30, 2025
There was plenty happening in the women’s race beforehand too, European champion Inge van der Heijden crashing in the first bend before mechanical misfortune gave Puck Pieterse a brief scare. That wasn’t enough to get Marie Schreiber back in it however and the Dutch rider secured her second win in Diegem.
Perfection from Puck ?
Not even a flat tyre could stop the Dutchwoman from taking her first win of the ‘Cross season ? pic.twitter.com/lOXNG6gtHO
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) December 30, 2025
A good night for the Dutch national champs’ jerseys, although we thought the fireworks were meant to be tonight…
"Great use of free will on display..."
Enjoy a musical ride down memory lane as Steve Thomas catches up with Lloyd Cole to talk all things bikes (and a bit of music)
If anyone missed this cracking interview from Steve Thomas with Lloyd Cole it makes enjoyable New Year’s Eve reading, if we do say so ourselves.
"I contacted his manager... almost": Belgian cyclocross race tried to lure Tadej Pogačar to star appearance
The organiser of the Superprestige cyclocross in Gullegem has revealed he made an ambitious bid to tempt Tadej Pogačar to race their event on January 3. Belgian broadcaster Sporza explained Stijn Tant winked when telling them how close they got… “Almost,” he said.
“But we’ve already made contacts for next year,” Tant added. There were apparently plenty of calls with Pogačar’s manager Alex Carrera but “ultimately, we were told no, because Pogačar was on a training camp at the time. So it didn’t fit into the schedule.”
Maybe next year… well, the year after if you’re still reading this in 2025… you know what I mean…
By-law change to benefit cyclists in one Welsh town
A council in Wales has agreed to change a local by-law to allow cyclists to ride through memorial gates at a country park.
Wales Online reports Neath Port Talbot Council will change the by-laws so that cyclists can continue journeys through Neath’s memorial gates at the Gnoll Country Park Estate, a move which was approved earlier this month.
Talk began in 2023, the plan proposed as a means of helping residents more easily access the town centre on foot or by bike. Can you tell there’s not much cycling news out there today?
The duality of man
Local paper reveals council has not paid any compensation to cyclists injured on city's cycle lanes during past five years
An important piece of local reporting in the Echo today, the newspaper reporting that Southend Council has declined to pay any compensation to cyclists injured on the city’s cycle lanes during the past five years, that despite there being 12 reported incidents, of which four were classed as serious.
The definition of ‘serious’ is reportedly linked to insurance definitions, where it could range from fractures to more significant harm. The local authority has confirmed all claims are assessed individually but none have resulted in payouts.
The Echo reported the cases included one cyclist who fell after hitting a pothole. Somewhat bizarrely given the nature of that incident and others cited in the piece, councillor Martin Terry said “as a keen cyclist” he believes “riders should take responsibility for their own safety – use lights, wear visible clothing and apply common sense”.
He added: “The evidence shows cycleways are relatively safe, with only 12 incidents in five years. Cyclists should ride at appropriate speeds, especially in shared spaces like City Beach, and respect pedestrians.”
A council spokesperson commented: “Cycling-related compensation claims in Southend are assessed and dealt with appropriately by the council’s insurers. This forms part of our ongoing work to maintain safe roads and cycle routes across the city.”
Happy New Year from everyone at road.cc
Right, that’s us for 2025, the pub’s calling…
In a late contender for the saddest person to grace the internet in 2025... someone sets up fake Strava profile pretending to be Jonas Vingegaard and 'beats' Tadej Pogačar's KOM on a scooter
You know what? I take that back, that’s actually quite funny…
Somebody got bored, created a Strava account under the name Jonas Vingegaard, and rode Coll de Rates on a scooter just to make the news. ??
Jonas Vingegaard is currently home in Denmark with his family, not in Spain. pic.twitter.com/Z54YsgzsLF
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) December 29, 2025
The Coll de Rates KOM fell again, but rather than Tadej Pogačar beating his own time it was his great rival Jonas Vingegaard atop the leaderboard. Well, sort of. The account said Jonas Vingegaard but closer inspection showed just 22 followers and a newly created profile, the Dane’s actual profile (which he stopped using several years ago) sitting a bit further down the leaderboard.
> Tadej Pogačar obliterates iconic Coll de Rates Strava KOM with 32km/h smashfest
Anyway, fake Jonas has now been removed and Pogačar restored to the top. Panic over (in case anyone was worried). Plot twist: the profile’s fake, but the effort isn’t… okay, wishful thinking. Let’s move on.
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One of the most shocking cases to read about. The individual responsible is clearly a psycho and will never follow any of the rules. The last few paragraphs about sentencing should be a wake up call for society; "he was also disqualified from driving for life, a relative rarity in the UK, where just TWO motorists of the 202 convicted of causing death by dangerous driving were handed lifetime driving bans between June 2023 and June 2024." There are 4000 drivers in the UK with more than 12 points on their licence who haven't been banned. I believe two of these are over one hundred points.
@Rendel Harris agree, although I note a similar usage in the case of "nonsense" is apparently accepted "(a bunch of nonsense") as well as the unqualified "it's nonsense". (FWIW I've heard "a piece of nonsense" also - so servings appear flexible).
Excellent work by Councillor Kerr!
@chrisonabike Agreed, I was about to write 'Nutter With Local Axe To Grind' alert in my capacity as Trollfinder General. 'Very expensive cycle lanes that rarely get used' is diagnostic.
Bath cyclist. There's definitely 2 sides to the story here; because the council missed the WalkRideBath objection, then the 'antis' have the moral high ground. The LibDem manifesto did say they'd establish Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and walking/cycling routes; someone had to take on the car problem in Bath. That opposition has been whipped-up online by cycle-haters and anti-LibDems (local 'worthys' who consider themselves the true representatives) who have mobilised the CAVEs (Continually Against Virtually Everything) who probably never go near the park. The duck pond ran out of water (lets not forget the hottest summer ever), so the 'heritage jewel' that is the park is being run-down by the destructive council (weep); obviously car parking is something the Victorians considered when they built it. Often it's just a 'load of guff' that translates to 'I don't like losing my parking or rat-run'. As the park was quiet, it didn't really need a cycle lane (just a 2-way access for bikes in the NW corner) so, considering the heated debate about LTNs/cycle lanes generally, it wasn't a battle the council needed to fight. Interestingly, Weston Lane, that runs across the top of the park, was always full of parked cars 24/7 (free), even though it's nowhere near any property (commuters/residents avoiding charges, people away and leaving there car there etc). It's been made pay and display (max 4 hrs) and when I went past late on a Sunday; zero cars. Guess that could be good for people wanting to use the park; that parking change was probably portrayed as the council's 'war on motorists'. Apparently, we just need to let cars go anywhere, get rid of all bike lanes and new pedestrian crossings, go back to 30mph on all roads and reverse the increased parking charges and traffic will flow freely around town; really? Anyway, there's a new road closure (utility work; 1 mth) near me that's going to cause traffic mayhem; I shall cycle past the queue later laughing my head off!
I'd be scared of Emily Kerr - she looks a right cyclepath. [Well, somebody had to...]
@the little onion Yes, I have modified my opinion somewhat in the light of the evidence that came out in sentencing. One would still imagine that it wouldn't have been beyond her just to make an anonymous 999 call to the ambulance service and say there's someone in trouble at such such a location but then I've never been in such a situation and hopefully never will be and there's no accounting for what fear might make us do or not do, I suppose.
@flowboy "expensive cycle lanes rarely n used" ... "colossal expense of public money" ... cyclists without lights or bells ... Bingo? Or should they have eg. "stops them getting in the way of drivers at least" in addition? Painted lanes - ignored by "I'm alright Jack" current cyclists, no reassurance to "I might cycle/ might let my kids cycle but won't currently" types, ignored by drivers (until the paint wears off anyway). So cheap, and also a massive waste of money!
@dave atkinson In any case, there is no reason a man shouldn't know best about safety for women any more than there is any reason that a woman shouldn't know best about safety for men, an expert is an expert. Whether or not that applies in this case I have no idea but attempting to insinuate that someone has less right to speak on safety issues due to their gender is a pretty weak argument.
@mdavidford Although it should be noted that pedantry without any qualifier ("A bunch of pedantic points") can only come in greater or lesser quantities, it cannot be served in bunches.
6 thoughts on “Fake Strava profile pretending to be Jonas Vingegaard ‘beats’ Tadej Pogačar’s KOM… possibly on a scooter; Cyclocross crash chaos; The duality of cyclists between Christmas and New Year; Council’s lack of payouts causes concern + more on the live blog”
“Man with “generalised hatred
“Man with “generalised hatred of cyclists” arrested on suspicion of firing shots at group ride …”
Not sure why I can’t comment on the page:
https://road.cc/content/news/man-arrested-suspicion-firing-shots-group-ride-317455
Anything less than a significant prison term for this will simply send the message to others that gun violence against cyclists is OK.
Hi, we close comments on
Hi, we close comments on stories when someone has been arrested and there is likely going to be a trial. It’s to avoid any potential comments risking prejudicing the trial and to avoid possible contempt of court. While that’s for UK stories, we’ve done the same here.
Thanks and happy new year!
Understood.
Understood.
But as I’ve shown by my original comment, anyone can still post a message about any topic here so closing comments on the page itself may not provide foolproof prevention.
I don’t know if it is possible on Your site’s comments system, but maybe for situations like this: keep comments open but each post/reply requires approval?
I appreciate that requires more work on the Road CC team’s part, but it could help in some way to keep the conversation going.
What a great idea! That close
What a great idea! That close ratio 8-8T cassette makes choosing your favourite chainline a doddle without needing to do a pesky front shift.
Happy New year.
Happy New year.
Just seen what seemed like a feature length ad from Tunnocks.
Wishing us a happy 2026, claiming they’re still the same size.
But featuring cycling and fine scenery from Scotland.
And nice cycling too.
Happy New Year to you ktache!
Happy New Year to you ktache! Also to others on here.
Just rode out of the house in the old year to watch the bangs and share a song, and back in in the new.
Didn’t have any cake or coal on me though (or even oil)…