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“It’s hard to say what I feel about Wout without swearing”: Brad Wiggins drops f-bomb on live TV; Wout storms to epic solo win; ‘Cyclist tally’ decal pops up again; Geraint’s gilet challenge; Hammersmith gyratory “transformed” + more on the live blog

It’s Tuesday, the Tour’s back in France, and Ryan Mallon is in the saddle for another stressful day looking out for crosswinds on the live blog
Tue, Jul 05, 2022 09:31
25
“It’s hard to say what I feel about Wout without swearing”: Brad Wiggins drops f-bomb on live TV; Wout storms to epic solo win; ‘Cyclist tally’ decal pops up again; Geraint’s gilet challenge; Hammersmith gyratory “transformed” + more on the live blogWiggins and Van Aert (GCN)
05 July 2022, 17:08
“Mandatory tennis helmets now!” Twitter users tell pedalling tennis star Cam Norrie to “set the example” by wearing a helmet

Well, that didn’t take long.

Within minutes of Active Travel England posting a photo of Cameron Norrie – currently battling back against David Goffin in the fourth set of his quarter final, at the time of writing – riding his bike to work at Wimbledon, the usual suspects flocked to Twitter to berate the latest British tennis hope for not wearing a helmet.

Of course, a few others were on hand with a series of snarky – and sometimes serious – retorts:

05 July 2022, 16:56
05 July 2022, 16:37
Poor Jasper: Philipsen celebrates... second place

Spare a thought for poor Jasper Philipsen who, not quite noticing the bright yellow machine storming to victory 200 metres down the road, thought he had won his maiden Tour de France stage – and celebrated accordingly. Oops.

Luckily, the 24-year-old Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter – who, it has to be said, put in a solid burst to the line to take second today – was able to laugh off his faux-pas, though he admits he was disappointed not to win.

“I thought I had won but then I saw Van Aert in front and I never knew he was in front, so yeah,” he said at the finish. “I felt good but at the moment I’m just a bit disappointed.

“Yeah, for four or five seconds I honestly thought I won. It will make funny images in the end.

“I didn’t want this though so it’s a bit s**t also. I just didn’t know he was in front. I also never heard on the radio, so yeah that’s a shame and why I sprinted for the win.”

Ouch. Harsh.

Even other teams and riders (including fellow premature celebrator Alberto Bettiol) decided to join with some good-natured bantz:

05 July 2022, 16:30
“He’s half-human, half-motor”: Wout van Aert blows away Tour de France peloton with epic solo win

Now that’s how you end a run of second places.

After seeing three different riders pip him to the win on each of the Tour de France’s opening three stages, Wout van Aert made no mistake this time around – as the yellow jersey and his Jumbo-Visma team tore the race to shreds on the Côté du Cap Blanc-Nez, before the Belgian superstar soloed off into the distance to seal a stunning victory.

The punchy 900-metre climb, stationed just under 11 kilometres from the finish of stage four in Calais, was used as a springboard for a devastating attack by Jumbo-Visma who, under the impetus of Nathan Van Hooydonck and Tiesj Benoot, swiftly decimated the peloton, with only Ineos Grenadiers leaders Adam Yates, Dani Martínez and Geraint Thomas initially able to keep with the blistering pace.

Such was the ferocity of the attack that by the time Van Aert took up the mantle from Benoot, only his teammate Jonas Vingegaard and Yates could hold the wheel.

Behind, Thomas, Martínez and even Jumbo-Visma’s designated GC man Primož Roglič were beginning to suffer, while Tadej Pogačar, Romain Bardet and Aleksandr Vlasov were even further back, having failed to anticipate the initial attack.

One more acceleration towards the top and – in what turned out to be a tactical coup for Jumbo-Visma even as their leaders were scattered to the winds under their own pressure – Van Aert was on his own.

Then, the yellow jersey, after briefly surveying the lay of the land, simply put his head down and turned in a ride for the ages.

Even as the peloton and most of the sprinters’ teams regrouped on the descent into Calais, the imperious 27-year-old increased his advantage to almost half a minute.

While the gap started to come down in the final two kilometres, in truth Van Aert never really looked like being caught.

Questionable sponsor-mandated celebration aside (your mileage may vary), by blowing the biggest race in the world apart, the yellow jersey – described as “half human, half motor” by Roglič after the stage – once again submitted his claim to being the best bike rider on the planet.

And I doubt many would argue against him.

05 July 2022, 15:16
Near Miss of the Day, TdF edition: Opi-Omi revisited

Remember, everyone: when you’re at a bike race, watch the bike race!

05 July 2022, 15:06
“It’s nice to beat the traffic and it’s a good warm up”: Cameron Norrie’s SW19 commute
05 July 2022, 14:42
‘Cyclist tally’ decal rears its head again

Remember the ‘cyclist tally’ decal that was popping up around London at the turn of the year?

Well, for those frantically scribbling notes at the back, in December a road.cc reader spotted an “offensive and inappropriate” decal on a Capita highway maintenance van.

The decal depicted a ‘cyclist tally’ similar to the markings, denoting enemy planes shot down, that pilots would display on the side of their aircraft during World War Two.

After Capita apologised for the sticker and opened disciplinary proceedings against the driver in question, in January another road.cc reader spotted a similar bumper sticker on a passing BMW (shocked, I know) in north London.

Well, over five months later, it seems that the flippant attitude to vulnerable road users (and the need to display it on your car) made it across the Atlantic, as another decal – apparently denoting the number of motorbike riders, cyclists, elderly pedestrians, wheelchair users and other drivers the motorists has killed over the years – has popped up in Hamilton, Ontario (just down the road from the Canadian London, incidentally).

The Twitter user who posted the photo wrote: “What a sign of our twisted and toxic relationship with cars that people using mobility aids are seen as targets for violence.

“If the driver of this vehicle hits someone, this sticker should be taken as evidence that it was premeditated. Can you imagine the reaction if this kind of violent threat was made with any device other than a car?”

05 July 2022, 13:54
World champion Balsamo takes second stage win of 2022 Giro

After a hectic stage for the ages around Cesena yesterday, which completely upended the general classification, the Giro Donne settled back into a more familiar groove today on stage five into Reggio Emilia, as world champion Elisa Balsamo took her second win of the race with a perfectly timed sprint.

Balsamo dived into the crucial final corner with 150 metres to go ahead of DSM’s Charlotte Kool, and the Italian Trek-Segafredo rider had enough in the tank to narrowly hold off the frustrated Dutch sprinter, with Marianne Vos taking third.

“We started the final kilometres really well,” Balsamo said at the finish.

“We knew I had to be first into the last corner, I tried to do my best and the team did a great job so I’m really happy. It was a hard sprint, but nice.”

Pink jersey Annemiek van Vleuten emerged unscathed from the hazardous final kilometres – which saw a mass pile up just under the flame rouge – to keep hold of her commanding race lead.

05 July 2022, 13:28
Pavé preview and Cort's unusual record

Today’s cobbled climb, the Côte de Cassel, may be as smooth as silk compared to the misshapen monsters awaiting the peloton on the road to Arenberg tomorrow, but its stones did at least send Anthony Perez’s bottle flying out of its cage…

Magnus Cort had to fight a bit harder for his KOM point this time around, but in doing so – according to the La Vuelta Stats Twitter account – he became the first rider since Federico Bahamontes in 1958 to win the first seven classified climbs of a Tour de France.

And by the next hill, Cort had surpassed the Eagle of Toledo’s 64-year-old record.

Mind you, the mighty climbs Bahamontes (a six-time king of the mountains at the Tour) had to conquer at the start of the '58 Tour were somewhat harder than the Cat 4s in Denmark…

But still, fair play Magnus!

05 July 2022, 13:16
The response to this study has been a load of… you get the picture
05 July 2022, 12:12
“It’s hard to say what I feel about Wout without swearing”: Brad Wiggins drops f-bomb on live TV

We all know that Sir Bradley Wiggins, knighted for his services to shouting at cyclists while riding on the back of a motorbike around France (oh, and a Tour de France win and a handful of Olympic baubles, before I forget), is extremely passionate about his bike racing.

He’s so passionate, in fact, that he sometimes gets carried away.

During the rollout, Brad on a Bike spotted the “resplendent” race leader Wout van Aert making his way to the back of the peloton, prompting the following sweary exchange:

We all agree though, Wout does look effin’ class.

My favourite part of the whole thing was Wiggins’ sincere belief that he had caught himself in time before dropping an f-bomb live on Eurosport-GCN.

“I nearly swore there, I’m live on TV… Sorry about that. I mean it’s hard to say what I feel about Wout without swearing, but I managed to just pull the reins back on that one.”

Whatever you say, Brad…

It’s certainly been a colourful start to GCN’s coverage of stage four of the Tour de France today.

A few minutes before Brad turned the air blue, everybody’s favourite commentator Carlton Kirby – who to the best of my knowledge has never made a noticeable gaffe on air – pointed out Bora-Hansgrohe’s Nils Politt, sitting towards the back of the pack in Dunkirk, with a geographically relevant but probably unnecessary historical reference:

“The German champion’s here. The Germans had a presence here in this part of the world, for an uncomfortable period in the 1940s. Welcomed back now of course…”

Nobody ever said broadcasting was easy. 

05 July 2022, 11:44
La jour de la marmotte

Luckily for Magnus, Cofidis rider Anthony Perez has joined him today for the long morning shift up the road…

05 July 2022, 11:25
Tour de Gilet, Day One Update
05 July 2022, 11:02
Valverde out of hospital after hit-and-run incident

Movistar’s very own Dorian Gray, Alejandro Valverde, has been released from a hospital in southern Spain after spending the weekend there following a hit-and-run incident on Saturday.

The 42-year-old was training with teammates in Alcantarilla near Murcia, when a motorist reportedly close passed the group at speed. After one of the Movistar trio remonstrated with the driver, the motorist then reversed into the cyclists (severely damaging Valverde’s bike in the process), before driving off.

Spanish cycling website Ciclismo a Fondo later reported that a 69-year-old man involved in the incident – who had been informed by another driver that he had been identified by his licence plate – subsequently went to La Alberca police station, where he was arrested and made available to national police.

While the former world champion suffered no serious injuries in the collision, he was dizzy afterwards and sent to a nearby hospital for observation.

05 July 2022, 10:21
Phil Gil turns the big four-o

A birthday attack on the final climb today wouldn’t go amiss, eh Phil?

05 July 2022, 10:18
05 July 2022, 09:26
Geraint’s gilet challenge

Geraint Thomas’ gilet may have made an unwanted appearance during Friday’s opening time trial stage in Copenhagen, but now the 2018 Tour de France winner is hoping that the infamous piece of kit can make it all the way to Paris…

Once the gilet makes it back to the Welshman in Paris – after 18 different fans have carried it across France – Thomas then plans to auction it off in aid of his Cycling Trust, which aims to break down barriers that prevent young people from taking part in cycling through funding and support programmes.

The gilet lives on!

05 July 2022, 08:53
Let there be wind

After all the wind hype in Denmark led to nothing but a 30kph stroll over a massive bridge, could we finally witness some proper echelons on the way to Calais today? 

Then again, we should never get too excited when it comes to the prospect of crosswinds – it’s the hope that kills you, after all…

05 July 2022, 07:57
Hammersmith gyratory “transformed” to make cycling safer and easier

Work on the Hammersmith gyratory, one of London’s most notoriously hostile and intimidating junctions for cyclists, has been completed by Transport for London as part of its aim to make cycling and walking in the city “safer and easier”.

The work, which began in late November (after first being touted in 2016) and developed in conjunction with Hammersmith and Fulham Council, includes a protected two-way cycle lane on the north side of the gyratory, cyclist-specific signals at junctions to separate cyclists and motor vehicles, a new parallel crossing at the Butterwick junction to allow westbound cyclists to join the two-way bike track, and improvement for pedestrian safety, including raised level crossings and more footway space.

Transport for London hope the improvements will “open up safe and attractive cycling” across west London to Gunnersbury, Chiswick, East Acton, North Acton and Ravenscourt Park, and will benefit at least 3,000 cyclists every day on the gyratory.

TfL also announced that work has been completed on a further section of Cycleway 4. The latest section, on Creek Road in Deptford, features a mile-long two-way protected cycle track. Once complete, the route will connect neighbourhoods in southeast London to central London via a fully protected cycle route between Tower Bridge Road and Greenwich.

TfL Image - New cycle lane on Creek Road in Deptford 2

London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman said: “I’m delighted that work on the new and transformed Hammersmith gyratory has been completed. This delivers much needed protected cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings – making walking and cycling safer and easier at this busy junction.

“It’s also great news that the new section of Cycleway 4 is now open in Deptford – as we continue to roll out our cycle network across London.

“Enabling more Londoners to walk and cycle continues to be at the heart of the Mayor’s vision to build a safer, healthier, cleaner and more sustainable London for everyone. These crucial improvements across the city will help us to continue to build upon the boom in cycling we’ve recently seen, helping all cyclists keep safe on the roads.”

Ryan Mallon

After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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25 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

Carlton Kirby wrote:

“The German champion’s here. The Germans had a presence here in this part of the world, for an uncomfortable period in the 1940s. Welcomed back now of course…”

 

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the little onion replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
5 likes

A proper accidental Partridge moment

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marmotte27 replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

Brits an their 'humour"...

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andystow replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
5 likes

Whatever you do...

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HarrogateSpa replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
6 likes

I think it's time we got over ourselves. Most of us weren't alive during WWII, yet the last war still dominates our culture in a pernicious way.

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yupiteru | 2 years ago
4 likes

'I would say the driver is either a friend/relative of the officer in question or is a serving police officer.......'

Maybe a retired officer is another option, believe me, they look after each other for life.  They can retire at 50yrs old if they have 25 yrs service other wise it will be 60 yrs old.

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a1white | 2 years ago
2 likes

That section of CS4 has actually been finished for over a year, but closed off with big plastic barriers blocking it, for whatever reason, meaning cyclists had to mix on a now narrow main road with lots of annoyed drivers trying to get past you.  (original reason was works on the bridge, across the creek, were about to be carried out). Real mess that has taken until now to resolve. Great that Will Norman is claiming credit for it finally opening. Shame it's unlikel to be fully finished for a long time (if ever), as TFL need more funding from the government to finish the gyratory bit on Lower Road.

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
3 likes

Here's an update frm Friday - NFA.

Although I did have issues with the last letter of the reg. I tried a few options but either got nothing or it cam back as a ford and not a toyota.

I wonder if the NFA is down to the reg ?

The trailer was cm away from me.

 

 

Avatar
Shake replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

If you haven't seen before there's a really good website for partial plate searches. That being said I can't find the vehicle with those plates. https://www.partialnumberplate.co.uk/

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Hirsute replied to Shake | 2 years ago
2 likes

Thanks, that's a really handy site.

Looks like the NFA is due to the plate not matching the vehicle.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
2 likes

I wonder if it had literally been registered that day and the systems have not updated yet. 22 plates are still currently being issued.

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TriTaxMan | 2 years ago
8 likes

Just when you think police inaction couldn't get any worse....Sussex Police come in with 'Hold My Beer"

A cyclist on Twitter reported a driver to the police for a bad driving and verbal abuse.  With clear pictures of the Driver and the vehicle registration mark..... and their response

"I have completed a Police National Computer Check on the VRM given, this check has given me the name of the registered owner.  Without further information to confirm if the male suspect for your report is the registered owner or another driver we cannot progress on just this information"

If I was cynical I would say the driver is either a friend/relative of the officer in question or they are a serving police officer....... now the question is.... am i cynical

Avatar
brooksby replied to TriTaxMan | 2 years ago
8 likes

<sarcasm=on>

It's your own fault.  I mean, you clearly didn't ask for ID and a blood sample when you had your little encounter, so what did you expect the police to do...?

<sarcasm=off>

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mdavidford replied to TriTaxMan | 2 years ago
6 likes

So, er, if they supposedly couldn't do anything because they didn't have enough information to confirm who it, what was the point of spending time looking up the registered owner in the first place?

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chrisonabike replied to TriTaxMan | 2 years ago
11 likes

Not just a tabard, he's even got a registration on his forearm... I'm going with corruption rather than "laziness" or "priorities" here. I'm sure they know exactly who this guy is, because he's a mate.

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wtjs replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
4 likes

I'm sure they know exactly who this guy is...
Bent police are becoming more and more prevalent and the useless PCCs refuse to even admit to the possibility. I am about to send overwhelming evidence of my favourite Evader MV57 GXO to the PCC because they have suggested doing this on the Neighborhood app to someone else moaning on (like me) about OpSnapLancs never responding to any reports, never mind actually doing anything. I know I will receive a belated reply saying they can't become involved in individual cases! Individual cases are the only cases anybody is interested in - if we wanted worthless platitudes about how it would be better if drivers would arrange insurance, MOT and VED if they could spare the time, we could write them ourselves

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Hirsute replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
3 likes

Maybe move to surrey (although surreyrider may not agree it is any better)

https://twitter.com/SurreyRoadCops/status/1544276385589473281

"The driver of this vehicle was caught by CROs speeding at 40mph in a 30mph in Normandy. A child was unrestrained on the passengers lap. The vehicle had no tax so was seized and driver summoned to court. The officer learnt some new 4 letter words which apparently describe us."

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Surreyrider replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

Ha! No I don't agree. They talk the talk on Twitter but don't walk the walk when it comes to cycling and dangerous driving/close passes. They're at least as useless as the rest. 
However, Road CC fawning over their Twitter feed at every opportunity doesn't help. 

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
2 likes

Infor-mate more likely. Feeds them info on other bad guys things so he can then do what he wants. 

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wtjs replied to TriTaxMan | 2 years ago
1 like

I would say the driver is either a friend/relative of the officer in question or is a serving police officer.......

This is the same as in Lancashire - when they have to resort to objections to taking action that appear unbelievably stupid even for a traffic officer, they're very likely bent. Essentially they're asserting that it's impossible to prove who was driving and any cast iron evidence is simply discarded

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HoarseMann replied to TriTaxMan | 2 years ago
0 likes

Sun in the eye defence - specifically the right eye by the looks of it. Untouchable.

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nosferatu1001 replied to HoarseMann | 2 years ago
2 likes

Given that the point of s172 is for the reg keeper (no such thing as reg owner of course) to identify the driver that day, and at that time, I struggle as to how they can't ID the driver. 
 

oh right. Corruption. 

Avatar
ktache replied to TriTaxMan | 2 years ago
1 like

Only one camera...

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Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
9 likes

Fair play to G for making a positive out of a cock up.

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chrisonabike | 2 years ago
9 likes

RE: Hammersmith Gyratory.

Sounds good!  I know things take time but (by the standards up in Edinburgh) this was done in a frantic rush.  Plans approved in 2016 and finished only 6 years later!

It's a sign of the war on the motorist that changes are occurring in these sacred processional mazes of the motor vehicle religion.  This is even happening in Edinburgh.  Although of course (because "traffic flow") we're still retaining our football-pitch-sized gyratory.

A comment about "consultation" on the Hammersmith one from 2016 is still pertinent though - as it was 6 years before that, and before that...:

harrybav wrote:

Odd that safe infrastructure is dependent on popularity contests though.

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