“He would start racing right away”: race organiser blames UAE for not letting Tadej Pogacar race cyclocross; “Stop active travel ideology” says Reform ex-MP “Residents divided over planned cycle lane to replace “death trap” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Not more cycle lane nonsense": Glasgow residents divided over planned 2km cycle lane to replace current "death trap"
Today’s snippet of internet outrage comes not too far from me today, with Glasgow City Council unveiling plans for a new “fully segregated” 2km bike route through the city.
Most of the changes will be concentrated around the infamous Thornwood roundabout which will also see the introduction of signal-controlled pedestrian crossings, dropped kerbs, tactile paving, and traffic-calming measures, according to Glasgow World. A proposed ‘car club bay’ is also intended to be constructed to enable more shared and sustainable transport choices.
All of these proposals are subject to public consultation but whatever the final outcome, Glasgow City Council remains committed to “focus on delivering high-quality infrastructure that strengthens links between local neighbourhoods and encourages more people to choose active travel for everyday journeys”.
Pleasantly, reactions on Facebook were slightly more considered than we’ve come to expect.
“Looking forward to these developments, it’s a very busy national cycle route, upgrading definitely needed.” Anne Glass wrote.
“About time it’s a death trap for pedestrians and cyclists,” said Brona Steel.
“The section of the NATIONAL cycle route 7 between the end of the raised section in Whiteinch and the Harbour development has been a disgrace for decades at this point. Good to see something is being done finally,” wrote Judith Calvert.
Then came the usual statements…
“They can’t leave things alone. Glasgow must be the most car unfriendly city in the UK,” wrote Edward Donnachie.
“More cyclists using it in that render than ever will in reality,” Andrew Leitch said.
“Your objective should be to increase vehicle speeds, in order to avoid congestion.
More of the anti-car crap that’s turned Cannisburn Toll into a congested mess.” Alan Harkness declared.
It seems like it will take a while before we’ll make headway with this one.
"We weren’t sure he could make it to the finish": Wellens reveals UAE worries for Pogacar during Tour de France
Since we’re on a bit of a Pogačar theme today, his chief bodyguard (and Tour de France stage winner) Tim Wellens has given an interview to L’Equipe where he’s shed a little more light on the knee injury that almost derailed their entire Tour de France.
Tim Wellens interview in L’Equipe, happy with role as a senior rider, praises Oliveira brothers for their kindness. Dreams of winning Ronde, would settle for any classic next year. Also says Pogačar almost abandoned Tour, knee pain had him in hospital for checks but it didn’t leak out at the time
— the Inner Ring blog (@inrng.com) 4 November 2025 at 07:53
Previously, we had known that Pogačar felt close to abandoning the Tour and that this could have explained his apathy and conservative riding style in the second half of the race. But according to Wellens, he was smuggled away to hospital where scans showed inflammation.
“On the stage to Valence [Stage 17], he told me, ‘Tim, we’ve got a problem, my knee really hurts.’ It was so bad that he went down to the car to see the doctor.
“After the stage, he went to the hospital for tests. They found inflammation or something like that, but nobody knew. I was sure it would leak. He was really suffering, and we weren’t sure he could make it to the finish. We even thought about him abandoning.”
“You could tell his body wasn’t right – he was bloated, he had gained weight. Seeing him reach Paris was a huge relief. Everyone wondered why he wasn’t attacking, but now it makes sense. We were worried about him physically, but mentally he stayed strong.”
Another explanation, and perhaps encouraging for fans who worried that the dour mood around the maillot jaune was entirely down to the Slovenian growing sick of the entire circus and spectacle that surrounded the race.
Sticking with cross...
To think Tadej could be missing out on this…
The grassroots cycling movement changing perceptions in South Africa
The retirements of Louis Meintjes and Ryan Gibbons mean there will only be one South African (Alan Hatherly) in the men’s pro peloton next year. Eritrean Biniam Girmay was the only Black rider at this year’s Tour de France. Cycling is a sport that has struggled to break through into elite sporting conscience in the country, and also through the colour barrier.
It’s worth therefore shouting out grassroots efforts to do exactly that. The Guardian has published a wonderful little feature on cycling in South Africa, on efforts to make it both a more appealing mode of transport, and a popular leisure activity.
Rachel Savage interviewed brother and sister Titi and Karabo Mashele about their “Homies Night Rides” and “Girls on Bikes” social events that aim to foster a new cycling community among young people in Johannesburg.
“It is a political statement to see people of colour on bikes, in suburbs. Like right now, in front of us, you see the eyes and how people are looking at us,” Titi said.
The piece also touches upon the spinning ‘Stance Culture’ of modified bikes of small frames, lengthened handlebars and bold designs that owes its origins (in part) to the stance car culture and gangster’s funerals in the 1980s.
“I saw Stance culture as a way to … have movement and art at the same time,” said Percy Zimuto, leader of a local ‘crew’. “I felt like this was a way of actually getting to engage with more people, because this – it’s so different.”
It’s a fascinating read, and an insight into a part of global cycling we don’t normally get to see.
The off-season nostalgia is strong
The 80-odd day countdown to the Tour Down Under can’t finish fast enough, and we’re not the only ones searching through the memory banks of nostalgia…
The off-season is already feeling too long I guess it’s time to rewatch #Giroditalia2025… again ?
— CyclingYazz???♀️ (@cyclingyazz.bsky.social) 4 November 2025 at 08:35
But, as tempting as it is to rewatch the greatest stage in recent Grand Tour history (and believe me, I have), others were imagining a distinctly more wintry surrounding for their Giro-themed reminisci-package.
https://t.co/R3jTAd4Lzx pic.twitter.com/y3q5gxfmbU
— Anna Mac ?? ?? (@AnnamacB) November 4, 2025
"We felt like our backs were up against the wall": US cycling clothing brand challenging Donald Trump's tariffs with Supreme Court lawsuit
Death, taxes, News Editor Dan using that photo of Donald Trump when writing up a tariff story.
Here’s more on the Supreme Court case that is due to be heard next week and could have major ramifications for the bike industry and beyond.
MPs and Active Travel commissioners visit Paris for 'study tour'
A group of MPs, peers, walking and cycling commissioners, and active travel charities and businesses went to Paris to learn more about the city’s active travel initiatives.
The French capital has been transformed in the last decade away from its car-centric recent history and the delegation met with Paris Councillors and MPs to discuss the roll-out of hire bikes, storage spaces and bike-friendly infrastructure.
The one-day trip was ‘supported’ by hire bike company Lime and Eurostar. Among the delegation were the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling and Walking Fabian Hamilton and the chair of the Transport Select Committee Ruth Cadbury. Active Lives Commissioner for South Yorkshire (and multiple Olympic Gold medal winner) Ed Clancy was also there along with representatives from charities including the WalkWheelCycle Trust (formerly Sustrans).
“This visit has shown us what’s possible when political will and investment align behind active travel.” Hamilton said. “Paris has made extraordinary progress in just a few years, creating more space for those walking, wheeling and cycling.
‘’The trip was invaluable in learning more about what is possible, and I look forward to working with colleagues across the political spectrum to bring this knowledge into our work.”
Irish talent Marine Lenehan signs for Lidl-Trek
The 27-year-old joined the team earlier this year as a stagiaire (trainee) but has now been handed her first professional contract lasting until the end of 2027.
Lenehan rose to attention by winning both the Worlds and European Gravel Gran Fondos last year, having only taken up cycling three years ago.
“My time as a stagiaire with Lidl-Trek has honestly been an incredible experience,” Lenehan told Lidl-Trek’s website.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to join as a full-time rider, and honestly, it still feels a bit surreal!
“My main goal is to keep developing as a rider improving all aspects of my performance. Long term, I want to establish myself as a reliable teammate and hopefully start targeting some results of my own.”
Cycling charity founder seeks to overturn suspension for alleged misuse of charity funds
Norman Armstrong was suspended two weeks ago from Free Wheel North, a Glasgow-based charity that offers bikes, trikes and lessons in the local community.
The suspension came after the charity was subject to an inquiry following a series of governance concerns, industry outlet Third Sector reports.
But Armstrong has now applied to the Scottish charity regulator seeking to overturn his suspension, saying that the group of trustees opposing him are “seeking to convert Free Wheel North into a private, family-run business, contrary to the charity’s constitution and public benefit”.
His complaint adds that the allegations of misusing charity funds relate to “minor compassionate payments made in line with Free Wheel North’s welfare policy”.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator said it was preparing a response to Mr Armstrong’s complaint, adding that the original justification for his suspension was publicly available to view on their website.
Irish council considers cycling speed limit after reports of 'speed merchants in Lycra whipping past' pedestrians on popular greenway
Councillors expressed support for speed-cutting measures and predicted there would be a “serious accident” if people do not slow down.
"Stop attacking motorists": Ex-Tory MP blasts "active travel ideology"
Just when you were thinking you might get through the day without a heavy hand of block-capped incandescence, this post cropped up on our feed.
As Dudley’s MP from 2019 until last year’s general election, Longhi clearly got to know the local authorities around his area rather well. And he doesn’t like what they’re doing. Speculating that the council are “addicted to wasting taxpayer cash”, Longhi is railing against a cycle lane that “almost nobody will use” and, in rather provocative language, is calling for authorities to “stop attacking motorists”.
Since being defeated for re-election, it should be noted that Longhi has been on something of a political journey, both defecting to Reform UK and becoming president of Turning Point UK, the British off-shoot of the association founded by the pro-Donald Trump activist Charlie Kirk.
Still, he hasn’t lost touch with the thoughts of his former constituents and in the Facebook comments, he doesn’t appear short of supporters.
“What a waste of money and peoples time 9 months of chaos getting to work,” wrote Lee Dilks.
“Jesus.. Those cycle lanes are a massive white elephant” added Brandon Lycett.
“Cycle lanes is [sic] a big joke?. Never seen anyone using the existing ones in Dudley,” wrote Shah Alyee.
The struggle goes on…
"He would start racing right away", Cyclocross organiser blames UAE for not letting Tadej Pogacar take part
Tadej Pogačar has spent the last week loyally sportswashing his UAE paymasters at a team-bonding camp over in the Middle East, but just imagine if he weren’t.
Imagine instead if the reigning World champion was caking himself in miscellaneous European mud and bracing for a winter campaign of cyclocross. According to one Belgian UCI director, that’s a dream shared by the Slovenian, but there’s an important obstacle.
“Don’t forget Tadej has also been a cyclocross rider,” Peter Van den Abeele told Het Nieuwsblad. “It’s just that his team won’t let him. Otherwise, he would start racing right away.”
Pogačar did indeed spend a lot of his youth career riding cross, and was Slovenian national champion in the discipline in 2019. He also was allowed to race his homecoming races in Slovenia in 2021 and 2022, finishing first and second respectively.
Though UAE Team Emirates XRG are not short of precious UCI wins and points, what might influence their thinking to let their champion loose is a UCI rule change coming into effect in 2027, allowing UCI road teams to score points based on their results in off-road disciplines like cyclocross and mountain biking. It’s a development that would most likely benefit the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Alan Hatherly and Lucinda Brand as well as their respective teams in maintaining World Tour status.
But for Pogačar, if you set yourself the challenge of winning spring Monuments, Grand Tours and still defending your rainbow bands in the autumn then something has got to give. Another dampener for this year’s hopes is the speculation from Italian media that the Slovenian will likely start his road season at the earliest possible opportunity at the Tour Down Under in January, making the prospect of Christmas R&R all the more enticing.
Beppe Conti @ Rai Sport: “Tadej Pogacar asked his team to debut already in January, he wants to go in Australia and ride Tour Down Under. The rest of the calendar will be the same (Strade Bianche, Sanremo, Ronde, Roubaix, Liege, TDF, Worlds, Lombardia)” pic.twitter.com/ZLZQaDShW2
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) October 30, 2025
We’ll have to wait and see then if the all-conquering Pogačar can find a way back to the Belgian mud from his Monaco residence at some point before his road season gets back underway. But don’t hold your breath…
4 November 2025, 09:55
Important research here, even if it's a little bit "the sky is blue"...
Bike lanes crucial to preventing cycling near misses, major new study suggests
Analysis of London commuters' cycle journeys suggests majority of dangerous incidents happen during rush hour and on roads without dedicated cycling infrastructure
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@AidanR Indeed; they make it sound like it was designed to fuck him up. He could add that to the charge sheet. We all know that if it a similar divider was present in a car lane it would have been painted in yellow and black stripes and covered in reflectors.
I'm a little confused by your analogies. None of us would have sympathy with driver hitting a cyclist in the cycle lane and blaming barely visible lane dividers, because they should have seen *the cyclist*. Compensation claims for injury on hitting dangerous potholes are paid out when it is shown that the council are aware of their existence but didn't fix them. Why should this be any different?
If, as the inventors claim, accuracy is questionable above an FTP of 280, how many truly serious cyclists are going to be interested?
Some fast off road paths / circuits would be Utopia. With regard to 30mph limits and 20 mph limits in the villages in question, road surface, incline and bends mean that 30 mph would be unachievable and competitors are obliged to follow the rules of the road and cycle at a speed suitable for the conditions. I guess this last point, coupled with speed limits not applying to cyclists covers off the case where a course has a fast downhill section through a 30mph zone. CTT are stricter on 20 mph because it is far more likely to be exceeded in an event and because the zones are more likely to have chicanes, road narrowing etc, making racing so much more dangerous.
@Rendel Harris that was my reflex (same as with the folks who were laid low by the Keynsham "optical illusion" cycle lane)... ... but of course it's easy to say "I would never..." and we know (and civil engineers definitely should) that *humans* operate in the public environment. Seems foreseeable that low, tarmac coloured orcas/armadillos might cause more problems than they're designed to fix. I don't think the motoring analogy is quite fair. Cyclists already have all the tasks of motorists to deal with. Then additionally "monitoring if we've *been* seen". Plus much more interest in the road surface as you say. Ultimately cycle *lanes* - even ones with "protection" (short of concrete barriers) aren't good cycle infra either.
@jackcycles There was a great article in the Telegraph a few weeks back on why cycling Hard to believe!
What doesn't really help is that the cycle lane appears to be very narrow. Any cyclist pulling out to avoid a drain or pothole would come very close to those dividers. The dividers will be very difficult to spot in the dark against oncoming headlights. I also hope the dividers are not installed at any point where a cyclist may want to turn right off the road, as they are very close together
You are pirate Jacksparrowcycles and ICMFP! Given the general lack of any policing on the roads and almost complete indifference to things with two wheels that don't have a very loud engine ... ... I think you could just continue to do you on your bike with all the freedom one can expect as someone who seems to favour a world without "folly-swaddles" (eg. drivers making free also).
Well ... as with drivers who want to go faster you could always lobby for this or that route to get a different speed and (at least as i understand it) there are mechanisms to allow local authorities to make variations. On the other hand I think that could lead to awkward conversations around "yes to lower speeds to save the lives of vulnerable road users ... only not on those streets we like to cycle on. But do crack down on speeding drivers!" (Don't know what are the usual speeds for the groups you're thinking about but for the speedy folks 30mph wouldn't be enough...) Of course if only we had some "fast cycle paths" along the "primary road network" I think all could be happy?
The divider wasn't defective, it was deliberately designed in a dangerous manner? That doesn't sound like a great defence.
5 thoughts on ““He would start racing right away”: race organiser blames UAE for not letting Tadej Pogacar race cyclocross; “Stop active travel ideology” says Reform ex-MP “Residents divided over planned cycle lane to replace “death trap” + more on the live blog”
Thornwood roundabout is
Thornwood roundabout is really horrible to cycle around. One of my kids lives by the river and i have to cycle across it to get there. Cars speed off or on to the expressway on a 2 lane roundabout. Not at all pleasant . No easy way for pedestrians to cross there either. Some new infrastructure would make a lot of difference to the area.
They can’t leave things alone
They can’t leave things alone. Glasgow must be the most car unfriendly city in the UK,” wrote Edward Donnachie.
Please test Eddie’s eyesight. As he’s obviously missed the multi lane motorway network that dissects the city from one end right through the centre to the other end.
But hell is *other drivers*.
But hell is *other drivers*. So by making the city car-friendly back in the day, they encouraged both the complainant and the real source of his problem!
Alternatively – if only they banned all the other drivers * apart from Eddie and his pals no doubt the place would approach how they always show it in the ads!
* And pedestrians, and of course any of those banned drivers who then demanded a taxi or bus, or even – horror – cycled.
Quote:
Having recently visited relatives in Manchester I can confidently state that Edward is not even close to being correct, perhaps he should get out and about the country more and he would realise he doesn’t have it so bad.
“Tadej Pogačar has spent the
“Tadej Pogačar has spent the last week loyally sportswashing his UAE paymasters” who pay him handsomely for being a dedicated professional on and off the bike.