Danish rider apologises to Team GB’s Charlie Tanfield for team pursuit confrontation; TotalEnergies sign Sagan; 1980s Volvo bike; Italy’s stunning WR; Transconti champ’s 280-mile detour; Paris scenes; Cav’s cat; Motorway madness + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Transcontinental Race champion Fiona Kolbinger takes 280-mile "detour" across France
To most, a detour would be a slight inconvenience, a short diversion on your commute perhaps? For reigning Transcontinental Race champion Fiona Kolbinger however, a detour is a 280-mile raid across northern France at 27km/h…
It is more or less what we’ve come to expect from the endurance specialist…In June, Kolbinger stunned her followers with a 428km ride averaging 30.5km/h, while a month ago she uploaded her Strava file from a 778km epic across four countries, ending in the mountains of Italy.
Starting just after 4am in Kortrijk in Belgium, Kolbinger and her riding partner quickly passed over the border into France and powered across the north of the country, reaching Rouen before midnight. And they would have got further if they hadn’t circled back to stay in the capital of the Normandy region…perhaps that was the detour…
To make things even more impressive, the ride wasn’t a one-off. The day before Kolbinger rode the 217 miles from Bonn in Germany to their start point. She’ll probably be in Spain by the time tomorrow’s live blog’s up…
Filippo Ganna powers Italy to stunning comeback win and team pursuit world record in Olympic final against Denmark
🥇🇮🇹 ITALY 🇮🇹🥇
Men’s Team Pursuit OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS!#Tokyo2020 | #Olympics | #CyclingTrack pic.twitter.com/gqQDuGpfqX
— UCI Track Cycling (@UCI_Track) August 4, 2021
How good was that? The Danes looked to have the team pursuit gold in the bag…and then Ganna got on the front. The individual pursuit world record holder laid down some thermonuclear wattages, single-handedly dragging Denmark back and setting another world record in the process.
WHAT A FINISH!
The Danish team looked certain to win gold – but wow! The Italian riders absolutely stormed those last two laps 🤯
That’s the first time Italy have won this event in 61 years – with a new world record too!
➡ https://t.co/DtjmndAaB9 #bbcolympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/uMSETBcAGu
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 4, 2021
Reaction to Italy's dramatic team pursuit world record
2 of the best pieces of bike racing I’ve ever seen. Aus vs NZ until the crash looked like a boxing match that was deeply personal, exchanging hundredths of a second lead.
Then there was Italy vs Denmark. Just wow. #Tokyo2020 #trackcycling
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) August 4, 2021
We loved it. Everyone else loved it. I hope you got to watch it…
One of the BEST Team Pursuit finals EVER!!!
ITALY 🇮🇹 🥇 WR 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
— Brian Smith (@BriSmithy) August 4, 2021
Italy’s average speed, from a standing start, just a shade under 65kph, or over 40mph.
Next time you’re up to that speed, presumably on a descent, imagine doing it a couple of centimetres from the rider in front, with no brakes.#Tokyo2020EnTVN
— Daniel Lloyd (@daniellloyd1) August 4, 2021
Packed Paris bike lanes are just the beginning
Think Amsterdam was always a city of bikes? Decades ago it wasn’t.
Think Copenhagen was always a city of bikes? Decades ago it wasn’t.
Think central PARIS was always a city of bikes? TWO YEARS AGO it wasn’t.
Rue de Rivoli via @mozilette HT @Anne_Hidalgo pic.twitter.com/9ahAA10Q3d
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) August 3, 2021
By the end of next year the centre of Paris will be one huge low traffic neighbourhood as through traffic is banned. A further 50km of pop-up bike lanes are also to be made permanent in a move by Mayor Anne Hidalgo to make the French capital “100 per cent bike-friendly” by 2024 and delivering on her re-election promise of a bike lane on every street.
And, what’s more, six in ten users of the new pop-up lanes are new to cycling, according to the city’s government. The lanes were first introduced during a public transport strike in the winter of 2020 but have been expanded in response to the pandemic.
Pro cycling medals table
If Movistar was a country, Carapaz wouldn’t have won gold.
— Vikram Venkatesh (@Vikram__V) August 4, 2021
Irish cyclist removed from lovely wide hard shoulder on Kilkenny's M9
Obviously it’s still not the best place to go for a spin, but that M9 hard shoulder is better than most cycle lanes…
When car companies design bikes...Volvo plastic touring bicycle up for 60 quid
When car companies design bikes, bad things invariable happen.
Behold the Volvo Itera from 1980 something. Bids start at £60, at least your buying something “unusual” https://t.co/eXOCTIKB8e pic.twitter.com/UMJSeBz9Zh— Andy Arthur (@cocteautriplets) August 4, 2021
The list of things I’d rather spend 60 quid on is almost never-ending…Volvo’s Itera bicycle model from the 1980s isn’t a looker, nor does it strike me as a performance machine…
Soon-to-be up for auction with The Sale Room, the bidding will start at £60, but the auctioneer reckons they could get as much as £150 for it. Not from us you won’t. The Itera comes with a step through frame and aluminium bars and seat post…to at least try and cancel out the flimsy plastic frame.
Three-speed gears, plastic eight-spoked wheels and fitted dynamo and lamps are as good as the finishing kit gets here…and to top it off the lucky highest bidder will also have to pay 33% extra in auction fees…Tempted?
Car companies have done this bicycle making thing before. Admittedly Audi went a bit more upmarket, releasing a €17,500 limited edition carbon race bike in 2015.
Mark Cavendish pays tribute to Ed Clancy following track star's retirement
Ever the keen eye for the important things, I think the biggest takeaway from this is that Cav’s cat is named after Ed…
TotalEnergies quickly delete vid welcoming "three-time" green jersey winner Peter Sagan to the team
Ouch. DirectEnergies now deleted tweet announcing Sagan as 3x Green Jersey winner. 😳 pic.twitter.com/X6pt7tYgfA
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) August 3, 2021
Welcoming star signing Peter Sagan to the team by forgetting four of his Tour de France green jerseys isn’t the best start. At least they chose their best font for the job…
Also, if we take Pro Cycling Stats as gospel, then perhaps that 117 victories should actually be 118, but I doubt even Sagan picked up on that.
Love the 2011 vibe of this video
— Inspecteur Gadjo (@VctrnDLV) August 3, 2021
Sagan probably be like: what team have a signed a contract with here?! I mean seriously: how can anybody working as a press official not know that Sagan has 7 green yerseys? I believe 98% of your followers know that. Maybe more. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/PBkBQU03YQ
— Nils PULITT (@NPulitt) August 3, 2021
Sagan has joined the newly-rebranded Team TotalEnergies for two seasons as they hope to eventually gain a spot on the WorldTour and build on their four wins at the level since 2017. The three-time world champion is bringing Specialized on board as bike sponsor too to aid the transition and the brand will provide all the team’s shoes, helmets, while Sportful will design the kits.
“This new adventure is very exciting. Jean-René is a manager who wants to change the lines in the world of cycling, I hope to be able to help this team to achieve it, and to win many races under these new colours,” Sagan said. “For now, of course, I remain focused on the end of season goals with my current team, and I will join my new formation with a winning spirit this winter.”
"Have you any kidneys or family members left?" An actual Ultegra cassette in an actual bike shop!
We present you the rarest of treasures- an 11-34 Ultegra cassette!!
Admire it and desire it. pic.twitter.com/GPnDCyBubS
— NorthRoadCycles 💙 (@NorthRoadCycles) August 4, 2021
NorthRoad Cycles have struck gold… well actually, an Ultegra cassette is probably more valuable than gold at the moment.
For those not so familiar with the recent component shortage woes, see here.
Danish team pursuit rider apologises for confronting Team GB's Charlie Tanfield after dramatic crash
Frederik Madsen has apologised for his angry confrontation with Team GB’s Charlie Tanfield after yesterday’s dramatic semi-final crash. Madsen rode into the back of Tanfield and was quickly up, shouting at the Brit as he lay on the track and could be heard shouting “f*** them” as he stormed off.
Having cooled off, Madsen addressed the unsavoury scenes: “I just had so many emotions running through me and I just hope he is okay. I was not saying things at Charlie. I was basically shouting because I was frustrated, not at Charlie but at the situation.
“I’m not at the Olympics to run into someone and crash. And I hope all the best for Charlie. I don’t wanna be on the ground. I was just frustrated at the situation, not at him. Because he was doing his job and I was doing my job.”
The Dane also addressed the comments of British Cycling’s performance director Stephen Park who said their rivals should be kicked out the Games for their use of medical tape for an aero advantage. The tape mysteriously disappeared ahead of the semi-finals and has not been seen since…
“We don’t have anything to do with our equipment, clothes and the rest out of the sport. We just go on the bikes and we just ride our race. That’s the only job that we have,” Madsen explained. “We do what our team tells us to do. Ask a Formula 1 driver if he knows everything about the car – he does not. So we don’t know anything about our equipment. Ask our team, not us.”
Britain's youngest Olympic medallist was around to see Mark Cavendish's first Tour de France stage win...just
At 13 years old, Olympian Sky Brown already has a million Instagram followers, a published book and a Nike sponsorship deal 😯 How is the pocket-sized superstar doing it? 🛹#Tokyo2020 #Olympics @SkateboardGB https://t.co/1Wiee0CVSx
— Evening Standard (@standardnews) August 4, 2021
Unless you’ve been living under a rock today, you’ve probably heard about 13-year-old Sky Brown – Britain’s youngest ever Olympian becoming Britain’s youngest ever Olympic medallist. For context, she was born on 7 July 2008. 2008! That’s just two days before Cav won his first stage of the Tour de France in Châteauroux…Way to make us all feel old.
4 August 2021, 08:03
4 August 2021, 08:03
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26 Comments
Latest Comments
RE Andy Burnam / Heidi Alexander - this is the best thing in many ways - set an example (even if currently it leads to lots of online name-calling). And imagine some of the political alternatives! The folks in the apparently second-placed party seem incredibly unlikely to be doing so. And even the current "new Greens" seem less interested in ... y'know, environmental things. OTOH I wish Heidi could be bolder. And I fear that like anyone ambitious enough to get to the top (exception B Johnson - well, I guess there was the Corbyn bicycle...) Burnam will be trimming his transport policy sails to fit the wind (should that be "bunker-fuel-burning engines"?)
@mattsccm Bull bars aren't banned, they just have to conform to regulations so they are deformable or have plates that allow crumple give on contact, rather than rigid steel bars that can smash into pedestrians and cyclists with no give at all, catch them and drag them under the wheels. If you think that's a problem, do one. Why should who is responsible for a collision remove the responsibility of people driving a tonne of machinery on the road from having safety features to at least mitigate some of the effects of a collision?
I'd be willing to bet that's lazy use of stock photography rather than deliberate misinformation, but the result is still the same.
@smallbeer You obviously don't realise how many bulls there are wandering around Chelsea, in and out of the china shops, that he needs to protect his Range Rover from.
I agree, it's bloody 'elf and safety overreach, can't help some people, I put some meat, sorry, neat decoration on the front of mine and the polis were round poking their noses in like that (mind you, that was a mistake...) (etc)
@mattsccm "Think also 4wd bull bars being banned for no legitimate reason." OK, now I regret engaging with you, you sad little troll.
@Backladder Did they fail to press SHIFT? Did they mean 95%? If so, again, citation needed.
@mattsccm The MIB exists to compensate victims of accidents caused by the drivers/riders of uninsured and untraced *motor vehicles*, not pedestrians or cyclists. So the MIB would have rightly refused any claim by the victim here. If the at-fault pedestrian had no third party liability insurance that would've covered this incident, the victim could have pursued a claim against her estate. The 'optics' (terrible word but it's become common parlance, sadly) of a cyclist pursuing a claim against a dead lady's estate, however, might have made it inadvisable.
Think also 4wd bull bars being banned for no legitimate reason Oh dear ! the unsubtle pro-driver, pro-panzer trolls are not very good at disguising themselves, are they? One can only hope that Clarkson and this disciple never have cause to regret their advocacy for these killing armaments to be added to their already pedestrian-and-cyclist hostile guzzlers. No, that's too subtle for them - what I really hope is that they, or their families, do have cause for such regret.
@ziadvanbeek I would say again that the times are closer than many people think. I was looking at my Strava time on the Huy and that's how I noted what I wrote ... Tadej's time on the Huy for his win in 2023: 3:47 (121st / 36936 Demi's time on the Huy for her win in 2026: 3:48 (141st / 36936) Yes, Paul Seixas has the KOM at 3:04 from his win in 2026.
26 thoughts on “Danish rider apologises to Team GB’s Charlie Tanfield for team pursuit confrontation; TotalEnergies sign Sagan; 1980s Volvo bike; Italy’s stunning WR; Transconti champ’s 280-mile detour; Paris scenes; Cav’s cat; Motorway madness + more on the live blog”
Still can’t find anything to
Still can’t find anything to explain why GB got relegated to 7/8 race off.
The line-ups for the 3rd to
The line-ups for the 3rd to 8th races were decided by the times set by the teams who didn’t make the gold medal race. Since Tanfield had to recover, pick himself up off the track, and limp round the rest of the lap, his eventual time was minutes slower than anybody else’s, and GB were ranked last out of the six teams, hence going into the lowest ranked placings race.
mdavidford wrote:
That can’t be right surely? He was taken down by an ‘at fault’ rival rider – they shouldn’t be punished for that??
GB was caught by Denmark so
GB was caught by Denmark so were effectively the slowest of all the teams so went into the 7th/8th ride off.
Technically the crash with Denmark happened after the race was complete as Denmark had caught GB.
That was my understanding of
That was my understanding of the decision too, I just wasnt sure as to what they deemed ‘finals’ for the catch rule to be in effect.
It changed didnt it, because you used to have to pass and just carry on,but I remember it nixed the women TeamGBs run once at WR pace at an event iirc, and it’s the team pursuit so,pursuit accomplished end of race. I guess the commissaire with the starter/stop pistol wasnt paying enough attention to the position of riders on track to signal it quick enough.
I still think Madsen thought Tanfield was the 4th GB rider and would just drop out the way as I noticed in the prelims, riders werent staying high for long and getting down to that line quickly, easier to do with only one team on track then but it might have been a moment of hesitation/confusion.
Technically they didn’t catch
Technically they didn’t catch them – they ploughed into the back of them instead. For the catch to be complete, they had to pass him.
In any case, though, the catch would only have ended the race for Denmark – GB would still have needed to keep riding to set a time and determine which placings race they went into. If you look at the results, Denmark aren’t given a time (because they were treated as having made the catch), but GB were, because they finished the distance.
Well no, but the whole system that can dump you from a semi-final into a 7/8 race is pretty daft to start with.
The rules state that once the
The rules state that once the chasing team gets within 1 meter of the other team then the catch is made.
So the Danish team did catch GB and the race was over. They then went on to plough into the back of Tanfield.
sean1 wrote:
Huh – you’re right – oddly, in the individual you have to pass them, but in the team you only have to get within one metre. Although it’s ambiguous as to how that’s measured – is it back of rear wheel to front of front wheel (in which case they’d caught them), or chainset to chainset as it is for the individual (in which case they hadn’t).
In any case, though…
It was only over for the Danish team – GB still had to ride on.
Of course, it’s a big assumption that, had they not crashed, GB would have made the bronze medal race anyway. Given how badly Tanfield was detached, it’s quite possible that the time he would have set would have seen them end up in one of the minor placing races in any case.
Yes that is a good point.
Yes that is a good point. Technically GB had to ride on to record a time. So not sure how this is interpreted by the commissaires as the Danish team did cause GB to crash and so prevent them recording a time (or only a very slow time).
I guess pragmatism won the day. GB were in bits and clearly not going to do a fast time, not enough for a bronze ride off at any rate. No doubt some flowery wording in the UCI rules allows for some commissaire flexibility when making a decision.
I think in the end the decisions were fair, but very messy.
I thought that once a team
I thought that once a team was caught you had to move out of the way to allow the slower team to finish and post a time. The Danes may have finished their run but GB hadn’t. By taking out Tanfield I would have thought that was the rule that was broken. Honestly, I think GB would still have been relagated but Denmark would be DQ.
I still suspect that the Danes vs Italy was too juicey to ignore and that’s why they didn’t DQ them and let’s be honest they weren’t wrong. What a final.
It could be for the Olympics
It could be for the Olympics that the race is over when a team is caught and there is no requirement to post a time.
If more than one team were to be caught then the order could be decided by the distance each team achieved before being caught.
The best two teams made the final. GB also posted an excellent time in the 7th/8th run off but were never going to match Italy or Denmark.
Reading all your replies, you
Reading all your replies, you don’t seem to fully understand the rules.
Once a team has been caught, the catching team (Denmark) have to swing up and allow the caught team to finish their timed effort. You’ll note as soon as the gun sounded, the other two Danes swung up, but the knobber with his head in his hands ploughed straight into Tanfield.
So technically Denmark won the heat by making the catch, but then they impeded GB by taking out their rider. This is going to rumble on, the UCI will bring in new rules I think, because that was an embarrassment, the Dane in no way could see where he was going, not through his arms or front, if you look at his position just a split second before the crash.
Yes you are correct. Denmark
Yes you are correct. Denmark had made the catch (got within 1 meter) but then impeded GB who should have been allowed to complete their ride to post a time.
I guess the commissaires used some flexibilty and judgement for their decision. But yes maybe the rules will be tidied up to handle this type of scenario in the future.
sean1 wrote:
so in a competition with an absolute runaway favourite, it’s better to come 5th on qualifying than 4th? to avoid the team that will catch any of the others and relegate their heat opponent to 7/8 (shouldn’t happen in the olympics but could happen at lower levels)
surely the system that says qualifying then 1v4, 2v3 is essentially semi finals, and loser of 1v4 should race loser of 2v3 as they have already proved themselves ahead of 5,6,7 and 8 in qualifying. I don’t even understand why they need a 5/6 and 7/8 race, once the medals are decided, qualifying times can be used to determine lower positions
Thanks. So the word
Thanks. So the word ‘relegated’ was in fact a misnomer.
I was glad to see the Danes
I was glad to see the Danes losing to the famous Irish TTer Philip O’Ganna. That photo of the Dane shouting at Tanfield makes the Dane look like a right dick.
UK team’s 3:45 in the 7/8 final was the fastest ride of the remaining teams who set a time.
Paris!!!
Paris!!!
Amazing what you can do in a couple of years if you put your mind to it.
Take note Boris et al, especially those councils outside of the metropolitan elite.
I’d love to see a cycling renaissance like this up in my Midlands city.
Road.cc live blog mocking
Road.cc live blog mocking Total Energies copy and paste cock-up – glass houses anybody?
mdavidford wrote:
how dare you. Roadcc don’t cut and paste, they just change the date at the top and resubmit.
Allez Hidalgo!
Allez Hidalgo!
I’ve seen the Itera in a
I’ve seen the Itera in a museum in London (can’t remember which one) but I didn’t know it was made by Volvo. For a company renowned for the strength and rigidity of their cars, well, they seem to have taken all that engineering expertise and ignored it.
I’ve also owned something with very similar wheels… but it did have a metal frame.
During my career as a bike
During my career as a bike mechanic, I had the misfortune to have to work on an Itera, including having to fit a new tube in the rear tyre, but I couldn’t see how it came out; after much googling and head scratching, it turned out the only way was to prise apart the rear forks, praying that the plastic hadn’t gone brittle and snapped. The other problem was that the wheels went out of true, and there was no way to true them up. Clever concept, but fatally flawed.
£60? I wouldn’t give them 60p.
this whole system is bizarre
this whole system is bizarre
all teams post qualifying times, then 1v4 and 2v3 race for a place in the final, but all the other teams then use the times from these heats to determine whether they race for 3/4, 5/6 or 7/8 making the heats a combination of semi finals and second qualification round.
IF you are caught in the heat you are relegated to 8th. BUT if you are caught in the bronze race you finish 4th and are not relegated to 8th in the final standings.
I believe it might be harder to create a more convoluted system, but it would not be easy.
Also i’m not sure what Katy Marchant did to get relegated in the Keirin this morning, but whatever it was must have been less severe than riding straight into the back of another rider potentially injuring them.
would I be cynical to think
would I be cynical to think alot of those convoluted qualifying systems were designed specifically to stop one team dominating the competition all the time
remember if you fail to set a
remember if you fail to set a time because your own equipment fails you get another go, but if you fail to set a time because you are taken out by an opponent, thats just tough breaks.
GB look a long way from dominating anything at the moment anyway.
His second go at trying to
His second go at trying to say what he did and he’s stil lying – “Madsen addressed the unsavoury scenes: “I just had so many emotions running through me and I just hope he is okay. I was not saying things at Charlie. I was basically shouting because I was frustrated, not at Charlie but at the situation.”
No Mate you were directly looking at him and shouting, try again please