“Take the train and set an example”: Private jet brand ambassador Mathieu van der Poel gets blasted by cycling fans (with Taylor Swift references), but Dutch pro claims “this partnership isn’t about luxury, it’s about performance” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
UCI claims riders’ own mistakes are “most common cause” of crashes and outlines plan to trial gear ratio limit, but remains silent on controversial 40cm handlebar proposal
“If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen”: Picnic-PostNL’s Pavel Bittner with the most pro cyclist Strava post ever
Well, that’s one activity where I should be able to beat a Tour de France pro by some margin…
Take one final look at Pogačar and Vingegaard’s bikes as a fresh chapter of the “greatest” Tour de France rivalry takes stage tomorrow…
With the two protagonists of the 2025 Tour de France saga — Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar — set to take centre stage at the Grand Boucle tomorrow, as fans anxiously wait to watch the two titans go toe to toe for the next three weeks, it would be a good time to remind ourselves what will be their steeds of choice.
First up is Vingegaard’s brand-new Cervélo S5 we first saw at Critérium du Dauphiné, freshly updated for 2025 with aero refinements and revised front-end integration…
Next, we have Pogačar’s Colnago Y1Rs, the Italian brand’s latest superbike released late last year with a redesigned monocoque frame and slimmer rear stays…
Also breaking cover (as recent as yesterday) is the unreleased Cervélo R5 belonging to Matteo Jorgenson — a stripped-down climber’s bike, featuring super-skinny tube profiles, a new one-piece carbon cockpit, titanium hardware, and revised seatstays and fork crown, all tuned to hit the UCI’s 6.8kg weight limit.
Colnago’s V5Rs also made an appearance recently under Pogačar at the Critérium du Dauphiné — a lightweight all-rounder launched in April that blends a 685g frame, newly shaped tubes, and refined geometry for a more aggressive riding position, all while matching the stiffness of the V4Rs and cutting drag by a claimed 9 watts at 50km/h.
"I can't even imagine what kind of force would do this": Former pro cyclist's bike "completely destroyed" during Lufthansa flight
“Us and who?”: EF Education-EasyPost go Love Island mode with Tour de France meme
us and who ? 👀 @LeTour pic.twitter.com/7rakD7M3DK
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 3, 2025
“I’m on the highest level I've ever been”: Jonas Vingegaard says he's backed by the “strongest team” in the peloton, and is chasing a fifth yellow jersey — as the two-time Tour winner feels he already has “four victories”
Jonas Vingegaard met the media ahead of the Tour de France and said he’s arriving “on the highest level I’ve ever been”, with “a lot more power overall” after gaining muscle since last year — and the full backing of what he called a “dream team” in the mountains.
“The first 10 days will be very hectic,” he said of this year’s route, which begins with a rare stage 1 bunch sprint. “We have to stay out of trouble, not lose any time. Then normally you can make the big difference in the mountains.”
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider confirmed he’s heavier than he was last year — intentionally. “Of course I’m more heavy now than last year but it’s muscle,” he explained. “We know that it gives a lot more power overall… I can say that I’m on the highest level I’ve ever been, and let’s see if it’s enough.”
Vingegaard, who returned from two serious crashes over the past year, admitted the recovery took longer than expected. “To be honest it took me way longer than I thought to actually come back. It took me almost a year to get back to the same as it was prior to my crash. We tried to gain that [lost muscle] back and we succeeded.”
When asked directly about his plan to beat Tadej Pogačar, the Dane said: “I’m not going to tell you or anyone here — I tell my team.” But he praised his rival’s comment that Vingegaard is strongest on long climbs: “That’s a very nice compliment from Tadej… we saw on the Dauphiné that he was better on the long climbs, so I don’t know if I would agree. Hopefully I can be even better here.”
Their now-legendary rivalry, he said, has helped shape his career: “Having a rival that is as good as Tadej brings out the best in yourself… I have a lot of admiration for Tadej, he’s a very nice guy and bike rider. I only have good words about him.”
Despite Pogačar’s stacked UAE squad, Vingegaard said he wouldn’t trade. “I think we have the strongest team as well,” he said, citing Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson and Giro winner Simon Yates. “For me it’s a dream team in the climbs to be honest. Not only in the mountains — for the flats we have a full classics squad.”
He added that he’d be happy to support Wout van Aert in the first week if it doesn’t interfere with GC ambitions. “I’m also very happy when Wout is going to win a stage… but we also talk about the main goal being to win the yellow jersey in Paris and we don’t want to compromise that.”
On the final stage’s unusual Montmartre finale, Vingegaard said he expects it to be raced, not paraded: “If the GC is close there’s still a chance to turn it upside down… it’ll create a lot more stress. With over 150 riders fighting for position, it’ll be much more dangerous in my opinion.”
When asked to reflect on his Tour history, the Dane offered a telling summary: “First year I came in and second place felt like a victory. Then two victories felt like a victory. And last year, coming back from what I experienced, almost felt like a victory itself. I almost feel like I have four victories in the Tour.”
So is he chasing a fifth? “Yeah let’s say,” he said, laughing.
"I'd rather not watch than pay £31 for 21 days": Just 18% of road.cc readers to watch Tour de France on TNT Sports, as UK fans say farewell to ITV's free-to-air coverage
This one comes straight from you…
Unknown Pleasures: 2025 Tour de France edition
🏔️ THE RIDGELINE: Tour de France 2025
📊 21 stages | 📍 [‘France’] | 📅 Jul 05 – Jul 27
Full details: https://t.co/wZhkKohrII#TDF2025 #SanLucaRidgeline #Cycling pic.twitter.com/HJSBIC89Kc
— sanluca.cc (@sanluca_cc) July 3, 2025
Some more exclusive champions’ jerseys to add to your collection, thanks to Soudal Quick-Step and Castelli
Soudal Quick-Step have unveiled two bold new Castelli jerseys ahead of the Tour: a sleek navy “Aero Bullet” design with subtle graphics and the team’s motto, and a pop-art explosion of Belgian flair dubbed “Raket van Wortegem” — a nod to sprinter Tim Merlier’s hometown.
They really printed a comic strip on a jersey. Can’t say it’s boring.
It’s all part of a tradition: Uno-X Mobility’s “aura farming” boat-dance tribute enters the cycling video hall of cringe
Norwegian Pro Team Uno-X Mobility have dropped their latest contribution to the pro cycling cringe canon: a short video of riders imitating a viral TikTok clip of an Indonesian kid dancing on a boat — complete with synchronised shoulder rolls, camera stares, and what they’re calling “aura farming”.
What’s that, you ask? Well, apparently, it’s when people act cool or unbothered to project charisma, usually while doing as little as possible. In this case, it seems to mean vibing soullessly while riding at 12 kph. Oh, it’s also supposed to summon likes. Or followers. Hopefully neither.
Of course, cringeworthy cycling videos are an age-old tradition, covering a varied span of genre, from Eurotrash to Céline Dion, and now it’s arrived at a crossover of trap music and an Indonesian kid — which, as your live blost host is finding out just now, is apparently a TikTok trend. At this point, I feel I’m just stringing random words into a sentence…
Could the 2025 Tour de France be the greatest bike race ever? road.cc’s panel predicts who’s going to win cycling’s biggest race
“Why be an ambassador for them?”: Van der Poel’s “not about luxury” defence gets roasted — and no one’s buying the “sustainable partner” line
As one might have expected, Mathieu van der Poel’s attempt to defend his new private jet sponsorship — claiming the partnership is “not about luxury” but about “performance” and “recovery” — hasn’t exactly smoothed things over.
“Even if that’s all technically correct, why be an ambassador for them?” wrote one commenter. “Why not just use them privately but project your influence onto something better? My guess is… they are paying you well. Also ‘sustainable partner’ is hilarious.”
That sentiment was echoed widely, with many people pushing back against the framing of the partnership as environmentally responsible. “Calling such a partnership ‘sustainable’ downplays the real environmental cost,” wrote Rouven Kasten. “Responsibility also means making tough choices — especially as a public figure.”
Wouter van den Boogard said: “I understand that it helps you performing better and I don’t blame you for it. But promoting it as ‘sustainable’ isn’t going to cut it.”
Rodolfo Crosby, meanwhile, laid out the alternative travel options — commercial flights, vans, trains — before questioning whether the Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix winner had truly thought about the global consequences of promoting private jet use.
Even road.cc readers joined in. Fiona JJ said: “Van der Poel (or his agent) thinks we’re all mugs going by that excuse. It’s one thing for a professional athlete to decide they want the performance benefits… and another to take money to promote them to people who have money to burn, and don’t care if they take the planet with them.”
Rendel Harris pointed out the broader stakes: “Private jets contribute around 1.5 per cent of the total of humanity’s CO2 emissions. That’s an astonishing figure when you consider that it’s been estimated that private jet users account for 0.003 per cent of the human population.”
Still, some readers suggested the outrage may be slightly misplaced — not because private jets are defensible, but because professional cycling’s sustainability record is already spotty. “People getting all twisted about a pro cyclist not setting a good example for sustainability, completely missing the point that pro cycling has to already be one of the least sustainable sports out there,” wrote one commenter.
But Rendel Harris returned with receipts: “A 2021 audit calculated the carbon footprint of the Tour as 216,388 tonnes of CO2… Compare that with the estimated 70 million tonnes for the 2026 soccer World Cup, 830,000 tonnes for the most recent rugby World Cup, 3 million tonnes for the most recent cricket World Cup… The average individual golf course in America has a carbon footprint three times that of the Tour.”
“Eight Everests and counting”: Molly Weaver nears the finish of British coastline world record ride — on track to beat the 40-year men’s record by up to 18 hours
Molly Weaver is now into the final few days of her world record attempt to circumnavigate the British coastline by bike — a 7,700km, 22-day epic that no woman has ever completed, and no one has bettered since 1984.
Having set out from Tower Bridge on 15 June, the former pro cyclist has now covered over 7,000km — or, to put it another way, about eight Everests and five and a half Land’s End to John O’Groats. She’s battled storms through the north of England, heavy traffic along the south coast, and a proper heatwave in the South West — all while riding up to 18 hours a day.
Weaver’s support crew, led by her dad Phil, told road.cc that she’s currently 10–12 hours ahead of record pace, with a Sunday finish back at Tower Bridge looking likely. If all goes to plan, she’ll come in 12–18 hours faster than the existing record.
It hasn’t come easy. After nearly three weeks of riding, she’s dealing with severe fatigue, sores, swelling and blisters — but is still, in Phil’s words, “pushing on relentlessly, and (mostly) with a beaming smile.”
Back on 16 June, Weaver was just 530km in, having made it to Southampton after ticking off Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex. She now has fewer than 500km to go. One last push for the RNLI — and for the record books.
You can follow her progress on the live tracker.
The all-important guide you need to read before Tour de France
I kid you not, this is a comprehensive guide, a truly essential reading before the action kicks off in Lille tomorrow…
> Should you be browsing the internet if you don’t want to find out the cycling results?
"People need to see the human cost of collisions": Cyclist who suffered life-changing injuries shares camera footage of horrific high-speed crash caused by van driver
“Take the train and set an example”: Private jet brand ambassador Mathieu van der Poel gets blasted by cycling fans (with Taylor Swift references), but Dutch pro claims “this partnership isn’t about luxury, it’s about performance”
With just one day left for the pinnacle of cycling sports to kick off in Lille, Mathieu van der Poel has announced a new partnership with Flyinggroup, an Antwerp-based private jet airlines company, sharing a photo on Instagram with the caption: “Thrilled to share I’m an ambassador for @flyinggroup.aero, proud to represent a company that’s elevating the world of private aviation.”
You could say that fans weren’t exactly on board.
“Take the train, dude and set an example,” commented Trevor Ward. British hill climb champion Harry MacFarlane kept it short: “Nah, bro this ain’t it,” while Swiss U23 mountain bike champion Finn Treudler delivered his terse diatribe: “Bro doesn’t have to pay for anything.”
Many others were less succinct. “You are a cyclist. I wish you’d use your platform as an opportunity to promote sustainable transportation and safe infrastructure, because this is killing people and the planet,” wrote one commenter. “But I guess the money is more important… disappointing.”
Another called it “an example of selling yourself just for the cash with no regard to future generations”, adding: “Private jet travel is unnecessary and extremely bad for the environment. The music, in this context, is a poor choice too. It’s saying that ordinary folks are ‘scrubs’ and wealthy people in their private jets are the only people worthy of love.”
> From cobbles to asphalt? Van der Poel becomes Lamborghini ambassador (and gets one himself)
One user with the handle name Steppenwolf seconded: “This is really bullshit. The rich are burning our world and the poor have to live with the consequences of climate change. That’s really embarrassing.”
Gina wrote: “Really admire you as a sportsman! But maybe think just a bit about our environment and incorporate this in a partnership?! Remember, you are a role model to so many (young) cyclists!”
Finally, there was one person rather swift with their references: “Bro is Taylor Zwift.”
In response, van der Poel issued a clarification. “I’ve seen some of the reactions, and I want to be open about my partnership with Flying Group as a sustainable partner. I understand the environmental concerns, and I respect everyone’s voice.”
“For my sport and career, the way I travel matters. I work incredibly hard every day to perform at my highest level, and that means making choices that protect my time, my health, and my peace of mind. Flying relaxed, with less stress and exposure, helps me stay focused and healthy.
“This partnership isn’t about luxury, it’s about performance, recovery, and the kind of support that helps me give 100% every time I show up. I always try to make responsible choices where I can, but I also stand by the commitment I’ve made to my goals. Thanks to those who understand.”
> “Looks like someone needs a new bike rack”: Remco Evenepoel gets himself a BMW M5
That last bit — “this partnership isn’t about luxury” — might be a harder sell given van der Poel’s recent brand history. He became an ambassador for Lamborghini Antwerp in 2023, collecting a €300,000 Urus S SUV as part of the deal. Then in December, he arrived at the Azencross Loenhout cyclocross race in a bright orange Lamborghini Revuelto worth over €500,000. “I didn’t choose that colour myself,” he said at the time. “It certainly doesn’t drive badly, but it was very busy on the road.”
Controversial brand deals aside, van der Poel’s form — after blowing apart Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix this spring and dominating the cyclocross season — the 30-year-old arrives in Lille as one of the biggest names in the race, and even a contender for yellow on the opening stage. However, his green credentials as a top cyclist are looking a little more grey by the day…
4 July 2025, 08:17
Wake up! There’s a new “fastest bike in the world”
Another brand stakes its claim for "the fastest bike in the world", and more crazy cockpits: cutting-edge new tech from Europe's biggest bike show
There was a lot going on at Eurobike 2025, and some of the new bikes on show had some seriously impressive-looking innovations. Here's the cream of the crop
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Latest Comments
@FionaJJ Sentencing Act 2020, driving bans are available where "a motor vehicle was used (by the offender or by anyone else) for the purpose of committing, or facilitating the commission of, the offence." h ttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/17/group/THIRD/part/8/chapter/1/enacted Not 100% sure if it applies to Scotland or just England and Wales.
@Mr Blackbird I agree, and thought that's what I was saying. My point was that the law as it stands MAY not have allowed the sentence to include a driving ban, and if not, that should change to include this type of incident. The video makes it very clear he's not well adjusted and I think we'd all be very surprised if he had no history of violence, even if it was never prosecuted. The woman's body language suggests she was not at all surprised by his actions, and if anything she was acting like someone hoping to avoid further escalation of violence. Sadly, I doubt even a custodial sentence would have any impact on someone like him. It would get him off the streets for a while, but he appears incapable of even pretending to have any remorse.
@mdavidford Since we're all pedestrians, that's a pretty big pot.
@FionaJJ I agree with most of what you say. However, I would argue that Hedley could well offend again and may have assaulted people on previous occasions. The involvement of a vehicle may be incidental. These are not the actions of a well adjusted non-violent person.
If i remember correctly that case of the 'fixie" rider hitting and killing a woman crossing the road the judge summed it up by saying he was going too fast (19 in a 30) and had swarn at her (yelling get the fuck out of the way to get her attention when she stepped into the road without looking) and suggested that a fixed rear gear does not function like a break (not peddling stops the rear wheel exactly because it is a fixed gear, the laws of physics and the law of the land are not the same I know). The riders attitude was not great but from his testimony she was looking at her phone and stepped into the road, and from the prosecution and judges own logic, given the 50cm a bike takes up, if he actually had the stopping time with proper breaks then she must have remained in his path long enough to for him to stop else he would never have hit her so it sounds like she stepped off the curb and stopped because either she was looking at her phone as the rider suggested or perhaps there was motor traffic that she chose to avoid and therefore cycle traffic she chose to ignore. For the rider it's like the trolly eithics problem, if you're on bike and someone steps in front with no time to stop should you a) swerve into motor traffic for your own near certain death or b) risk hitting but usually not killing the absant minded pedestrian, what would you do? Shouldn't minimising harm, even your own, be accepted behavoir? I don't actually like victim blaming but I don't like the presumtion that a rider or yes even a driver have to be prosecuted for the outcome of an incident, rather than their culpability. It sounds like the same thing that happend in regents park or wherever, where the poor old lady forgot to look and just stepped out, she survived long enough to have the grace to tell the police it was her fault as she didn't look and the police had the audacity to say they didn't charge him due to lack of evidence, when in fact they did have evidence... that he did nothing wrong! Again why did the drunk driver, who split open a riders skull between their RR bonnet and a barrier and when being pulled out of the car announced they 'hate cyclists', get, iirc, a suspended sentance rather than life for attempted murder but a guy who was not speeding who slammed on his breaks and yelled out to warn the pedestrian who just stepped on the road without looking properly get two years under a 200 year old law from the isle of man? I think this wierd half law, half emotion approach is part of the problem, there's not a consitant message of what the right thing actually is, and you hear this from drivers when they say things like "there are no rules on the road, everyone knows that". Would it really be that hard to make all licence holders do a yearly hazard awareness course to keep their licence and likewise sending bad cyclist on manditory cycling courses? To start handing out longer and permanent driving bans? To confiscate the emotorbikes kids are riding at speed along cycle and non cyclepaths and procecute the kids and the parents who bought the damn thing? To actually accept that a pedestrian can be culpable for risking their own and others lives by crossing without looking? Shouldn't there be clear rules and clear consequnces: if you cause the accident it's your fault and you can be held accountable even if you are the one who gets hurt but if you try but fail to avoid an accident you didn't cause when otherwise using the road legally then its not your fault. I do think the fixie rider should have been fully protected for riding without a proper rear break fitted, but the cause of the accident was the pedestrian stepping into the road, his back break or lack thereof had no bearing on the pedestrians ability to perceive the bike and rider, no lights a night would be different. Surely "how will the daily mail spin this" should not be how we decide on whos at fault?
@Daveyraveygravey It seems incredible the woman was so calm if someone in the back of the car really were having a medical emergency, and if they really were in that much of a rush, why slow things down by getting out of the car when simply reversing to go around their victim would have allowed them to get under way much more quickly? I'm not for filling prisons with people who are unlikely to offend again, and a sort of semi-home arrest can be a reasonable punishment that saves the tax payer money. A night time curfew is probably fairly effective for the sort of person who gets into fights in pubs, but this was in broad daylight. No driving ban, presumably because on exiting the car it can no longer count as a driving offence, and yet this man was clearly experiencing road rage and the incident demonstrated, IMO, that he doesn't have the temperament to be responsible for a one and a half tonne killing machine. I'm no legal expert, but if it's not currently possible to ban someone from driving for actions that take place once they leave their vehicle, there should be a change. The assault happened on the public highway within a couple of seconds of the offender exiting the car. The offender didn't pause to talk or argue with his victim. Getting out of the car and assaulting his victim was all one movement. He was clearly in an unfit state of mind for driving whilst still behind the wheel.
@ROOTminus1 "The prosecutor - who puts the case against the offender in a trial - can appeal against a sentence if they think it is unduly lenient. In some cases they can appeal against a ‘not guilty’ verdict, but this is only when a judge heard the case without a jury and the appeal is about a point of law." public sentiment and support can lend weight to such considerations. you would need to direct any such supporting statement fao Faith Currie, COPFS. https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-information/disposals-and-appeals
@eburtthebike it's like another "I'm an avid cyclist but..." "I'm strongly in favour of supporting cycling/active travel but..." Oddly we rarely here "I'm all for mass motoring, but in this one specific case I don't think taking up this much space / spending this much just to (possibly) shave a few seconds off some motorists' journeys (temporarily...) makes sense". But for cycling, in each individual case, having carefully examined this from a local and national perspective, it's *never* the right place, time, design, we can't afford it now (pennies when we *have to* spend pounds on motoring), we've far more important issues, people don't want it here, the negatives will outweigh the positives...
@mitsky It's probably something like the revenue from fines goes to central government, where as maintaining the camera is paid for by the local council.
Genuine questions: Given convicted criminals can, and often do, file claims with the Court of Appeals, speciously claiming overly harsh sentencing to get away with watered-down punishments, does anyone know who has the prerogative to take a claim to the Court of Appeals that a sentence is overly lenient? And specifically in this case, does Mr Hedley's post-sentencing interview constitute evidence that he shows no remorse for his actions, therefore any clemency by Sheriff Thompson for Mr Hedley reportedly taking account for his actions, was entirely on false premise?
50 thoughts on ““Take the train and set an example”: Private jet brand ambassador Mathieu van der Poel gets blasted by cycling fans (with Taylor Swift references), but Dutch pro claims “this partnership isn’t about luxury, it’s about performance” + more on the live blog”
Wow – are private jets really
Wow – are private jets really that tiny?
Same thought – sure, more
Same thought – sure, more legroom and less check-in time than sitting in economy, but doesn’t look that spacious. Is it really worth it?
Anything to escape the hoi
Anything to escape the hoi polloi !
I’ve owned a few – yeah they
I’ve owned a few – yeah they are pretty small!
(As a child – 1:72 scale they were IIRC).
They can be, i think it’s a
They can be, i think it’s a Pilatus PC24, so at the light end of private jets. It’s not like you need an A380 sized version if it’s just carrying you and a few friends about.
Mathieu – “do my feet look
Mathieu – “do my feet look big in this?”
AHH, yet more don’t do as I
AHH, yet more don’t do as I do, do as I say. But that’s ok, because he’s forced into carbon belching travel because of his job. Poor thing, obviously if he was one of the little people things would be different and he’d actually be trying to save the planet rather than just insist everyone else made the effort.
Another reason to lament the
Another reason to lament the passing of Gino Mader, who was doing his best for climate & environment. One of the good guys.
Fascinating insights into how
Fascinating insights into how Pog ties his shoelaces there.
😁
😁
Road racing and
Road racing and sustainability have minimal common ground besides the bicycle.
Exactly – I wonder when will
Exactly – I wonder when will people understand this. There isn’t much connection between pro cycling, and cycling for transport, sustainability…….apart from being two wheels.
Velophaart_95 wrote:
Mostly.
He had 1 chance and says
He had 1 chance and says ‘nice bike… 😶
It’s not jsut cyclists that
It’s not just cyclists that Rod Liddle hates
I’m sure the police will look into this as a matter of urgency
I don’t know why these bands
I don’t know why these bands don’t just use the “just bantz” excuse – as deployed by Matthew Paris, and (IIRC) by Rod Lidl and other “let’s kill cyclists” / “they deserve to die” commentors. Or did they use “artistic expression”? (Which again perhaps the bands could have gone for also).
…or do these “disgusting” artists (ignoring whether you think they should be making those statements) actually have more integrity than the distinguished journalists…?
Wow, genuinely disgusting.
Wow, genuinely disgusting. Bob Vylan called for the death of an organisation that is being investigated by the ICC for multiple war crimes, including rape and murder. Rod Liddle is calling for the anhialation of groups that he finds a bit annoying. If the police don’t get involved perhaps I’ll have to suggest we have a two tier judicial system 😉
And suggesting bombing a
And suggesting bombing a music festival – is Mr. Lidl in fact making common cause with the *other side* in the conflict? (Unfortunately I haven’t read the actual article, and likely won’t so I may have missed his nuance or indeed point).
Obviously, I’m not going to
Obviously, I’m not going to pay to read the whole article but I think I read enough
“A small yield nuclear weapon, such as the American W89, dropped on Glastonbury in late June would immediately remove from our country almost everybody who is hugely annoying. You would see a marked reduction in the keffiyeh klan, for a start, and all those middle-class Extinction Rebellion protestors would find, in a nanosecond, that their rebellion was pointless, because extinction had arrived even more summarily than they expected. Go on, glue yourselves to that, Poppy and Oliver.
Street drummers, liberal politicians, provo vegans, radical rappers, spiritual healers, Billy Bragg, that bloke who owns Forest Green Rovers, druggies, tattooed blue-haired hags, almost the entirety of middle-class London – all evaporated. I am not saying that we should do this, of course – it would be a horrible, psychopathic thing to do. “
IanMK wrote:
It reads EXACTLY like a ChatGPT rendering of a Rod Liddle column, right down to the “just kidding, or am I?” ending.
Liddle has given far too much
Liddle has given far too much thought to it. He even knows his warhead of choice. If someone wistfully imagined committing other crimes, eg raping women or abusing children, and then chose to share those musings with the wider public would they
a, be able to have a good chuckle because it was just bantz.
b, be asked to write an article about their fantasies by the Spectator
c, be locked up
RobLidl wrote:
To what social class or group does Mr Liddle believe that he belongs?
brooksby wrote:
He doesn’t. He has no class.
brooksby wrote:
The bit of middle-class London that isn’t at Glasto
Exactly.
Exactly.
It’s incredible how in the UK
It’s incredible how in the UK and pretty much everywhere else in the EU and the US, if you protest against a genocide and ethnic cleansing and apartheid and the slaughter of tens of thousands of children and the deliberate starving of an entire people, then you are branded a ‘hater’ and an ‘extremist’. But to be on the side of the genocide and to excuse the perpetrators of the genocide and to cover for the genocide and to supply the genocide with weapons and logistics is, well, fine. I still can’t express how grotesque this is – just imagine a reverse scenario, if millions of people in Israel were surrounded and being starved and bombed to death; would we still be discussing this ‘oh, well it might be a genocide, oh well we might condemn it, and we really are trying to stop it but the Palestinians do have the right to self defence you know . . . . .’
It’s fkn nauseating the double standards.
Slight correction – currently
Slight correction – currently in the US they *may* arrest you and look into deporting you if they can. (Caveat – I’m not all over the details of those cases though.)
…probably that doesn’t apply if you’re one of the good ol’ boys though.
And he wants to bomb Brighton
And he wants to bomb Brighton too.
George Monbiot: One thing you need to realise about the British Establishment is that it uses clowns to express its deepest desires. People like Rod Liddle offer a kind of deniability – “lighten up, he’s just having a laugh”. But they deliver a closer representation of its truths than any sober editorial.
No wonder local rags are full of vitriol against cyclists.
van der Poel (or his agent)
van der Poel (or his agent) thinks we’re all mugs going by that excuse.
If I were in charge I’d put higher taxes on all flying, with considerably more tax for the use of private jets. Nevertheless, I do accept there are practical benefits to being able to turn up at your next event better rested following a single, direct flight and not having to navigate big airport security etc. That’s certainly been the excuse used when some of the top tennis players use them. Roger Federer famously transported his entire family (including four kids) and the rest of his entourage to all of his events by private jet in the later years of his carer.
But it’s one thing for a professional athlete to decide they want the performance benefits of increased comfort and reducing travel time between events, and another to take money to promote them to people who have money to burn, and don’t care if they take the planet with them.
Not that I think that excuses their use by athletes. I don’t know nearly enough about the scheduling or logistics of professional racing, but I’d have thought it could and should be scheduled in a way that allows all those working on the tour to have adequate time to travel between locations by less harmful means.
Many journalists associated with professional cycling tell us that interest in the tour generates interest in cycling, which leads to more utility cycling, which is good for all cyclists and the environment. That may be partially true, but how many trips to the supermarket do we need to make by bike instead of by car to compensate for all of the private jet use?
Personally I would like to
Personally I would like to see private jets banned but I think you’re right, a tax targeted at the private jet market literally is a tax on wealth that has no impact on the vast majority.
The problem with the outright
The problem with the outright banning of private jets is setting a policy that distinguishes between what we’d commonly describe as a private jet, and what is just a chartered flight, and the amount of time and energy that would g ointo dealing with the push-back. How to you consider freight or the tiny island hopping flights used for taking post to the Western Isles or for counting seals for scientific research? etc.
The other big problem IMO is that a focus on private jets can give the impression that other types of flying are environmentally friendly.
Far easier and quicker to implement, with a bit of a boost for the Treasury, is to increase the taxes, with a number of exemptions. It could factor in things like how long it would take to do the equivalent trip by train or bus or even car. Folk would try to find loopholes, but they can be tightened up over time.
Inevitably, the super-wealthy won’t be put off, but at least the money raised can go towards improving public transport.
If people really want to fly from Edinburgh to London, we should at least ensure it’s not because it’s cheaper than taking the train.
Just looked it up out of
Just looked it up out of interest, private jets contribute around 1.5% of the total of humanity’s CO2 emissions. That’s an astonishing figure when you consider that it’s been estimated that private jet users account for 0.003% of the human population.
Anyone who’s ever seen
Anyone who’s ever seen baggage handlers in action should know not to rely on soft bags to protect bikes.
Buxumbox is the only thing I’d trust a bike to.
I have to agree – I collected
I have to agree – I collected a new Buxumbox Ventoux this week from their unit in Okehampton, I’m very impressed with everything from the initial conversations with Ed regarding powder coat finishing options and the overall design, to the build quality and ease of use.
People getting all twisted
People getting all twisted about a pro cylist not setting a good example for sustainability, completely missing the point that pro cycling has to already be one of the least sustainable sports out there! Okay so cycling itself is pretty low impact (at point of use) but just consider all of the infrastructure and support that goes along with the typical two or three week tour, and everything else that goes into the average season on the world tour. Nothing about pro cyling is even remotely sustainable.
Dicklexic wrote:
Agreed that it’s not terribly sustainable (although the UCI are making some significant steps towards improving this) but it’s not even in the chase as far as being one of the least sustainable: a 2021 audit calculated the carbon footprint of the Tour as 216,388 tonnes of CO2. Compare that with the estimated 70 million tonnes for the 2026 soccer World Cup, 830,000 tonnes for the most recent rugby World Cup, 3 million tonnes for the most recent cricket World Cup and so on. The average individual golf course in America has a carbon footprint three times that of the Tour at nearly 800,000 tonnes (worldwide golf is responsible for an extraordinary 0.5% of the total amount of CO2 produced by humanity). I can’t find an exact figure for the Superbowl but I did find the incredible fact that just the production of the advertisements to be shown during the Superbowl coverage is responsible for more than 2 million tonnes of CO2. In that context, cycling’s carbon footprint, whilst not insignificant, hardly makes it “one of the least sustainable sports out there”.
I’m with you in that I sense
I’m with you in that I sense that cycling is not the worst culprit. Quite hard to compare apples and apples though – e.g. as reported in the Grauniad, the 2026 World Cup bid estimated 3.7m tonnes (a little bit up on the last one) – still huge but quite a way off the 70m you’ve quoted. Would be interesting to know what the two figures include / exclude, and which is more realistic.
quiff wrote:
According to scientists FIFA completely lied through their teeth about the carbon impact of the last one which was quite likely more like 10 million tonnes and the next one is covering the entire North American continent and part of Central America so you’ve got to assume that the emissions from player and fan air travel will be way higher.
Not entirely surprised to
Not entirely surprised to hear that! From the article: “An example is that Fifa assumed all those [aeroplane] journeys are going to be one-way tickets”!!
Rendel Harris wrote:
I saw a recording of Flight Radar of the jets taking off from Las Vegas in the hours following the match, and it’s terrifying.
I don’t think professional cyclists should get a bye from taking responsibility for their environmental impact because it inspires some amateurs to cut their own carbon footprint, but at least at its core, cycling is an activity that brings benefits. Making cycling seem more glamorous (if it does) is a net positive. Compare that with Formula 1. They talk bit about how they are using sustainable fuels, but it’s still pointless driving, and glamourising driving fast (or for no good reason) is a net harm.
Not missing that point, it’s
Not missing that point, it’s just another aspect that it’s not helping.
Lorry driver arrested after
Lorry driver arrested after cyclist dies in crash (BBC)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8kr5vlxj4o
How is it careless driving
How is it careless driving when you are off your nut?
And as usual from the BBC:
And as usual from the BBC:
“… a collision involving a Volvo tipper and a cyclist …”
Why do the police bother arresting drivers rather than the vehicles/manufacturers?
‘This is a town built around
‘This is a town built around cycling’ (BBC)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp904llk19lo
“Private jet brand ambassador
“Private jet brand ambassador”
Ugh. File with Ineos and IPT.
Just riding bikes > pro racing.
Cycling isn’t a religion,
Cycling isn’t a religion, MVDP isn’t the Pope. Give the man, I’d rather say this cycling champion, a break. Professional cycling like other popular sports is all about sonspors, endorsements, TV rights, branding and revenue maximization. There is no professsional sport without money, a lot of money. Clean or dirty money, who cares, provided it doesn’t smell (oil).
Um – where do you think all
Um – where do you think all that lovely aviation fuel comes from exactly?
MaxiMinimalist wrote:
A private personal promotional advertising deal for a single rider makes no difference one way or the other to the survival or otherwise of cycling as a sport.
Chapeau Molly.
Chapeau Molly.
And fine internet-tour article.