"The charge for speeding on a bicycle is pedalling furiously": Reaction to police shaming cyclists for ‘breaking the speed limit’; Vuelta riders' flight disruption woes as they reach hotel at 3AM with no food; Canyon disc of shame + more on the live blog

The force has spoken, folks. After the whirlwind caused by a social media post by Devon and Cornwall Roads Policing Team about criticising cyclists for not adherring to the speed limit, when it doesn't apply to them, was picked and ripped apart, they have responded to our request for a comment.

A Devon & Cornwall Police spokesperson told road.cc:

"Legislation does not require cyclists to adhere to the speed limit, although riders must not cycle in a dangerous, careless or inconsiderate manner.

"Our officers are always mindful of road safety. As part of this, we ask cyclists to consider the impact the speed at which they are travelling could have on themselves - and those around them - in the event of a collision. This includes whether they would be able to sufficiently slow down or stop quickly enough should a hazard present itself, especially in built-up areas.

"On this occasion, road safety advice was given to a group of cyclists and no offences were recorded.

"This engagement - which carried a road safety, not speed enforcement, message - was received positively by the group. The speed limit was provided to give context in terms of what other road users would be expected to adhere to."

Hmm, fair play, if no offences were recorded and the message was received allegedly received positively by the group. But that makes one wonder, was the social media post just a poorly worded misadventure into the cyclists' speed-limit policing territory, or was that a genuine mistake by the team unaware of the Highway Code.

> "The charge for speeding on a bicycle is called pedalling furiously": Reaction to police shaming cyclists for ‘breaking the speed limit’

Either way, here's some reaction from the road.cc readers:

IanMK: "Educate and inform," Totally agree. Why not start with drivers? In fact, why not start with the drivers that respond incorrectly to your twitter feed? If they don't know this section of the highway code I suspect they'll be equally ignorant on other parts of it - like protecting vulnerable road users.

levestane: A bicycle can only decelerate at about half the rate of a typical car [somewhere in Bicycle Science]. There are quite a few hazards here (driveways, pedestrian crossing, junctions, poor visibility...). I'd probably be going slower, but that's just me.

Legin: Not unreasonable by the Police there; just becasue you are not breaking the law doesn't mean you should go do it.
Hopefully the conversation went, "I know the speed limit doesn't apply to you but don't be a ****ing bunch of ****holes as you know riding like this will wind the residents and other road users up; plus it may earn you a much more serious injury if you crash. Thank you and enjoy your ride." 

IanMSpencer: Myself, happy to exceed speed limits on a bike, typically on a downhill into a village where the speed limit is away from the built up area, but cyclists should cycle at a speed they can stop in, be it junctions, bends or other obstructions, so advice about excess speed in a built up area is appropriate.
Strangely, one place I seek to exceed the speed limit for my own safety is in a 20mph, yet over 20 is not sufficient for motorists to get frustrated and "need" to overtake, mainly because many believe that 20 is a war on motorists therefore does not apply (which also there excuses overtaking into oncoming traffic, and past obstructions and close passing... and holding up the cyclists you've passed).

EddyBerckx: Tbh I got no problems with police giving them friendly words of advice - without threats and so on, and WITHOUT putting it on social media where the predicable happens. Going into a village at speed is not cool regardless of what you drive / ride.
But honestly, cars never stick to 30mph when they have the choice of going faster and 37-39 is pretty much the minimum default speed they'll do without thinking.

NickSprink: I'll stick my neck out and say it may not be illegal to do 40 in a 30 zone on a bike, but is it sensible?  Would a pedestrian for example be expecting a bike to approach that fast?  By definition a 30 zone is a high risk zone, for all road users.
I believe that is was the police meant by offering "words of advice".

Double up, double down. Jumbo Visma on their way to the crown?

OLAV KOOIJ DOUBLES UP IN WREXHAM 🏆

The @JumboVismaRoad rider makes it two wins in two stages!#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/74uNO3J3jW

— The Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 4, 2023

A relatively normal stage if you were to compare it with the Vuelta, with Jumbo-Visma going for hammer to the nail in the second stage in the northern part of Wales today.

Before the flag even dropped, there was an incident involving the highly rated Spanish GC rider Carlos Rodríguez, on the brink of signign a long-term contract with his team Ineos Grenadiers dropping to the ground, but stayed mostly unaffected.

On the shortest stage of the Tour (and on the hottest day of the year so far) starting and ending in Wrexham, with questions of whether the narrow streets would be safe enough for the bunch sprint finish (spoilers, it was thankfully), a quartet of riders decided to test their luck in the breakaway.

Time to rehydrate and recover after another scorching day* at @TourofBritain 😎

*Yes, you read that correctly 😉 pic.twitter.com/m8GrwZMHoQ

— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) September 4, 2023

Movistar's Fernando Gaviria would be the next to go down, and the Columbian sprinter, after suffering a torrid day in Manchester, had some skin scrape off the palm of his right hand, and looked very uncomfortable in handling his bike.

Another big crash was to came later in the race, with just one categorised climb. A DSM rider touched shoulders with the race leader Olav Kooij, and then veered into the path of the yellow traffic cones on the edge of the road, going down hard in striking fashion, in what was a high-speed crash.

Wout van Aert was on leadout duty once again, and executed it to perfection, bringing Kooij home in the leaders' jersey and finishing third himself.

There was some confusion between the two Bora-Hansgrohe riders Danny van Poppel and Sam Bennett, finishing second and fourth respectively. Van Poppel looked as if he had no idea where Bennett, who was following his wheel was. He then ending up racing for the win himself, as the Irish rider was left disappointed, having backed out of going past his teammate at the last minute in the fears of getting squeezed into the barriers.

Bus operator Go-Ahead London apologised for the incident and said the driver had been identified and "dealt with formally, in accordance with our company's disciplinary procedure"...

> Bus driver disciplined by employer for tailgating cyclist before calling police for rider "getting on his nerves"

Wahoo, after spending months in troubled waters, finally found some hope for its future in May this year, after a "significant" equity support from current and new investors, which brought a potential end to a troubling period for the brand, during which its credit rating was downgraded by leading agencies and 15 percent of its workforce was let go.

Now, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News has reported that it has come to a settlement agreement with Zwift over its legal action against the latter for alleged patent infringement over the Hub stationary trainer. 

In October last year, Wahoo claimed that Zwift's new Hub smart trainer infringes three patents related to the brand's Kickr Core static trainer, the cheapest direct drive option in the Wahoo range. The court case could has the potential to result in an injunction on the Zwift Hub, preventing its sale in certain areas.

> Anything look familiar? Wahoo sues Zwift and JetBlack claiming new Zwift Hub smart trainer is "copying the Kickr Core"

Wahoo had said: "By copying the KICKR CORE, Zwift has infringed three of Wahoo’s patents. By marketing a copy of Wahoo’s patent-protected device, Zwift has taken a shortcut that allows it to reap the benefit of Wahoo’s innovations, but without investing the time and money necessary to create Wahoo’s innovations.

"As a result, Wahoo is forced to file this action to stop Zwift’s infringement and to ensure Wahoo’s ability to continue its strong history of innovation."

Now, a court filing Thursday shows both sides are asking the court to dismiss Wahoo's patent suit against Zwift and any counterclaims, with each side to pay their own legal fees.

Nothing to see but young cyclists, serving some mega sprints yesterday at Deansgate, where yesterday's stage one ended.

Great to see some young sprinters out on Deansgate today 🚴💨#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/AXajgaMIwd

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) September 3, 2023

And then, British Cycling riders meeting the stars of the future before signing on today in Wrexham.

Great to see @BritishCycling riders meeting the stars of the future before signing on 👌🏻#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/YR60kHGQJh

— The Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 4, 2023

Being mentioned on @Iromg’s #PlankOfTheWeek is always an honour, but this was a bit painful to listen to
@IsabelOakeshott @THEJamesWhale @AlexSalmond @TalkTV pic.twitter.com/HuafUpcPFp

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) September 3, 2023

Remember Jeremy Vine's call for banning drivers from overtaking cyclists in cities from two weeks ago? Yep that's still going on TalkTV.

As Vine says, this was, indeed painful to listen to...

"I think bicycling is probably the worst thing for a big city. It causes more pollution, it causes more traffic chaos. Ban them"

Oh my, TalkTV... When will you learn?

We covered the  Devon and Cornwall Roads Policing Team's cautioning to cyclists apparently "breaking the speed limit", and reported on the reaction from cyclists and non-cyclists as well this morning.

> Police stop cyclists riding at 39mph in 30mph zone despite speed limits not applying to bicycle riders

And as you'd expect, it is a heated topic and one that's dividing a lot of people, even cyclists. So where do you stand on this? Should speed limits apply to cyclists or not?

Quiz Maker

One normal day at the Vuelta, that's all I had asked for. Heck, it's not even a stage day!

But as this Vuelta seems to be going, even rest days give no respite. This time, it was a literal storm, which has stirred up the storm.

Riders, after the two days of back-breaking climbs in Valencia and Murcia, with Bora Hansgrohe's Lennard Kämna taking the win in Caravaca de la Cruz, were hoping for one day to sit back, relax, unwing, and regain energy and form for the coming two weeks. However, the weather had other ideas, with a torrential outpour accompanied by very, very frightening thunder and lightning, rained on their parade.

Vanwege noodweer kon ons vliegtuig niet in Valladolid landen maar op Madrid Barajas. Wel mooi de Vuelta met 11 etappes ingekort 🤪 pic.twitter.com/mNwtAaWZtM

— Jetse Bol (@JetseBol) September 3, 2023

Burgos BH's Dutch rider Jetse Bol joked: "Due to bad weather, our plane could not land in Valladolid but in Madrid Barajas. It's nice to shorten the Vuelta by 11 stages"

If Remco were on that plane/night transfer, we'd have heard about it from him (in coloful detail).

— Hanna Yanagisawa (@HannaYanagisawa) September 4, 2023

RadioCycling reported that one of the two chartered flights from Murcia to Valladolid, where tomorrow's stage will begin from, had to land in Madrid due to heavy rain, wind and a lightning storm. They were then transported three hours by bus to Valladolid, not arriving into hotels until just before 3am, with riders from DSM Firmenich, Lidl-Trek, Arkéa, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Burgos-BH and Lotto-Dstny affected.

The first flight - which departed Murcia only 15 minutes before the second one - did arrive safely in Valladolid, but they too were greeted with torrential rain and a lightning storm.

Now, Lidl-Trek's flat-maestro, who came third in the fourth stage of this Vuelta, Edward Theuns has tweeted to express his disappointment at the state of situations, saying that they didn't get any food after arriving at the hotel, and in times of weighing every gram and doing everything for recovery, "this is not really a moral booster".

Arrival at the hotel 3.15 in the night... no food untill that point... in times of weighing every gram and do everything for recovery, this is not really a moral booster😒 https://t.co/JAUiJWNJP9

— Edward Theuns (@EdwardTheuns) September 4, 2023

Petition for Netflix to start a series on the Vuelta?

To add to Theuns' woes, his team did have refreshments ready, but only at the wrong airport...

They did... but at the wrong airport 🙃

— Edward Theuns (@EdwardTheuns) September 4, 2023

Come on, surely they could have got something from you know, Lidl?

And then this video from the press officer for Soudal Quick-Step. You know I'm just waiting for some Remco reaction for the blog...

Welcome to Valladolid! pic.twitter.com/XutJBvqFjb

— Phil Lowe (@Lowe_Profile_) September 3, 2023

#LaVuelta23 has been so dramatic I really need the rest day. 😂

— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) September 4, 2023

Hate to remind anyone, but does anyone remember what happened on the Giro rest day?