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‘Cyclists are more dangerous than 4x4s’; Taxi drivers love cycle lanes; What's your favourite grand tour?; Royal Parks cycleway closures; Countdown to the Giro; Upright bottle baffles readers + more on the live blog

It’s Thursday, the Giro starts tomorrow, and a very excited Ryan Mallon is here with all the latest news and views on the live blog…
Thu, May 05, 2022 09:23
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‘Cyclists are more dangerous than 4x4s’; Taxi drivers love cycle lanes; What's your favourite grand tour?; Royal Parks cycleway closures; Countdown to the Giro; Upright bottle baffles readers + more on the live blogMelbourne road rage driver runs over cyclist and bike (screenshot via 7 News Australia/YouTube)
05 May 2022, 17:18
Poll result: The Giro, road.cc’s favourite grand tour
Grand Tour live blog poll result

Turns out half of you are cycling connoisseurs, selecting the Giro as your favourite of the three grand tours.

That is, of course, the correct answer (and for those of you wondering, the best classic is the Tour of Flanders and the best week-long stage race is Paris-Nice, but that’s a debate for another time) – though as some of you said in the comments, it does help that the Giro is starting tomorrow…

Live Blog Grand Tour poll comments
05 May 2022, 16:52
Footage captures moment road rage motorist was assaulted by cyclist

An angry motorist got more than he bargained for after confronting a cyclist during an apparent road rage incident in Glasgow this morning.

According to the person who filmed the rush hour brawl, the driver in question cut off a cyclist on the city’s Edmiston Drive, close to Ibrox Stadium, the home of Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

The amateur videographer then claimed that the motorist emerged from his car to angrily confront the cyclist, only to quickly end up on the receiving end of a barrage of punches.

Of course, we will never condone violence towards any road user – judging by the video, it’s clear that the driver received no sympathy from his fellow motorists for his miscalculated act of road rage.

Police Scotland said that they have received no reports of the incident.

05 May 2022, 16:18
Return of the Phil: Gilbert wins for first time in almost three years at the Four Days of Dunkirk

While the prospect of a Valverde win at the Giro tomorrow is enough to fill most cycling fans with a powerful sense of dread, the long-anticipated winning return of another old timer, Philippe Gilbert, has been met with almost universal acclaim.

The 39-year-old former world champion’s last professional victory before today came at the Vuelta a España in September 2019.

But that 966-day barren run came to an end this afternoon as the Lotto-Soudal rider outsprinted Jason Tesson and Julien Simon on stage three of the Four Days of Dunkirk.

Gilbert’s win also moved him level on time with new race leader Arvid de Kleijn, after former pink jersey Tesson was docked 40 seconds for drafting too long in the cars earlier in the stage.

Ten years on since he was arguably the finest rider in the world, Phil Gil’s return to winning ways has brightened the day of cycling fans everywhere:

05 May 2022, 15:42
Fenton! Deer run across peloton during first stage of Junior Peace Race in the Czech Republic

Tweet of the day surely goes to James for this now obligatory, but still funny, Opi-Omi reference:

05 May 2022, 15:33
05 May 2022, 15:30
EF-Education-EasyPost to use compostable bottles at Giro d’Italia

It’s a very EF-EasyPost kind of day on the live blog…

The American squad, led at the Giro by British grand tour contender Hugh Carthy, will ride the Italian race using 100 percent compostable water bottles developed by Cannondale.

The bottles are made from plant-derived materials, and the cap, body, and bite value are entirely compostable and plastic-free.

EF says the bottles, when exposed to micro-organisms, heat, and humidity, will disintegrate within three months.

Both the men’s EF Education-EasyPost and the women’s EF Education-TIBCO-SVB squads (who previously went through around 34,000 one-use plastic bottles annually) will begin using the bottles immediately, while Cannondale hopes to invite all WorldTour teams to adopt the technology in a bid to help build a more sustainable future for professional cycling.

And it means we’ve also been treated to a top-notch bit of acting from Lachlan Morton…

05 May 2022, 14:34
Bikes at polling stations

For the day that’s in it…

 And, finally, my personal favourite – a special dogs in bikes at polling stations tweet:

 Anyone else riding a bike to exercise their democratic right to vote today?

05 May 2022, 14:18
Alpecin-Fenix divides opinion with special Giro kit

After EF Education-EasyPost’s triumphant unveiling of their now-traditional (and very cool) Giro alternate kit yesterday, Mathieu van der Poel’s Alpecin-Fenix squad followed up with a… shall we say… controversial new design especially for the Corsa Rosa.

Was dehydrated pet vomit the look they were going for?

For a team that brought us the perfect one-stage-only homage to the Mercier kit worn by MVDP’s grandfather Raymond Poulidor at last year’s Tour de France, it’s all a bit underwhelming – and confusing.

A quick Google, however, and you’ll find out that ‘verde comodoro’ is actually a colour used by sponsors Fenix in their kitchens. It all makes sense now… (kind of).

Unfortunately, the Belgian squad’s new “soft, timeless shade of green” has divided cycling fans on Twitter:

05 May 2022, 13:46
Who wore it better?
05 May 2022, 13:35
“Ah, that’s why I’ve been losing races”: Readers react to ‘Upright’ cycling water bottle

Our story yesterday on the ‘Upright’ cycling water bottle, which allows the rider to drink without having to rotate the bottle, turned a few heads in the comments and on social media (though isn’t head turning what it’s supposed to prevent?).

The bottle, produced by Dutch start-up Nothirst (very inventive titles guys), is designed with an angled bottleneck, allowing you to maintain your carefully tuned-in aero tuck and keep those watts where they belong, while still keeping hydrated and your eyes on the road.

> Upright cycling water bottle has an angled top to "maintain an aerodynamic position" while sipping, and it's crowdfunding on Kickstarter 

Judging by our readers’ response in the comments and on social media, it turns out I wasn’t the only one who has never noticed the disastrous effects drinking from my normal water bottle has had on my 10-mile TT times:

How is this an innovation? Bottles with angled heads were common in the 1990s. I had a purple one. I thought it looked cool. But then again, in the 1990s I thought purple-anodised chainrings looked cool.

Feels a bit like L-shaped cranks... The "angular neck" achieves nothing different to an angled straw, and water bottles with angled straws are a dime a dozen.

And if you're serious about aerodynamic drinking, there are of course far more effective systems already in existence (e.g. hoses attached to aero bars.)

This sounds so desperate – trying too hard to pitch a weak idea. If the rider in their picture was wearing a more aero jersey they will save far more effort…

But won't it be less aerodynamic for 99.9% of the time, e.g. when in the bottle cage?!?

If you're really going for it isn't your head slightly lower than your rear? I mean if they're really worrying about the most aero way of rehydrating...

Upright water bottle Facebook comments 1
Upright water bottle Facebook comments 2
Upright water bottle Facebook comments 3
Upright water bottle Facebook comments 4

 

05 May 2022, 12:20
Giro countdown: Is Valverde Hungary for pink?

Can the wizened old master Alejandro Valverde finally add a pink jersey to his illustrious collection in Visegrád tomorrow?

The signs are looking good:

Then again, with MVDP about, maybe not…

05 May 2022, 11:54
05 May 2022, 11:44
‘Cyclists are more dangerous than 4x4s’: Anti-Bike bingo reaches new heights as Australian Daily Mail calls for cyclists to carry licences

Folks, I think we’ve reached a new pinnacle for anti-cycling bingo.

This morning, the Australian Daily Mail – it’s never going to be great, is it? – published an article ostensibly devoted purely to motorists on social media calling for cyclists to carry licences, criticising those on bikes for taking up “car lanes”, and claiming that cyclists are “more dangerous” than 4x4 drivers.

According to the Mail, these angry Aussie drivers took aim at cyclists amidst a separate debate about the need to introduce special licences for off-road 4x4 motorists, as towing companies say they are being faced with increased calls from drivers bogged down in mud.

In a classic case of whataboutery so severe it would give you whiplash, one commenter wrote: “What about cyclists? They’re more f***ing dangerous”.

Another duly replied: “True story mate, they are unreal taking up a car lane with more than 20 riders, it makes me sick.

“They’ve got all the bikeways in the world and they want to ride on the road.”

One commenter said that if 4x4 (or 4WD) licences were introduced, then “cyclists need a f**ing licence and have to pay rego [Australia’s Vehicle Registration certificate]”.

Full house!

> New South Wales ditches plans to force cyclists to carry ID 

This debate certainly isn’t a new one in Australia, where attitudes towards cyclists can be pretty hostile in places.

In 2016, the New South Wales government ditched plans to bring in mandatory photo ID for cyclists, after a petition against road minister Duncan Gay’s proposals attracted over 10,000 signatures.

> NSW: tough new fines inspire people to stop cycling 

While Gay’s aim to bring in cycling licences failed, he was responsible for increasing fines for cyclists by up to 50 percent, including A$319 for not wearing a helmet and A$100 for not carrying a bell.

While the minister claimed that the new fines would make cycling ‘safer’, they only served to put people off riding their bikes (colour me shocked) and made New South Wales, according to academics, the “worst state in the world” for cyclists.

But, whatever you do, don’t go after their 4x4s…

05 May 2022, 10:57
2020 Giro d'Italia Geoghegan Hart LB/RB/CorVos/SWpix.com
Poll: What’s your favourite grand tour?

If you haven’t already guessed it from my excitable tone, grand tour season is only 24 hours away!

So, to celebrate, I’ve decided to roll out that ever-popular pro cycling debate: what’s your favourite three-week stage race?

Is it the Giro d’Italia, the handsome, suave, and ever-so-slightly pretentious wine-drinking middle sibling of the grand tours, who occasionally loses the plot and throws a massive house party, with the best food, booze and entertainment, only for none of their older brother’s friends to turn up?

Or is it the Tour de France: the ultra-successful, hyper-driven eldest child, who works a high-powered job at PWC and almost exclusively listens to Ed Sheeran, but who has recently tried to prove to his other siblings that he can be just as cool as them (‘Hey guys, check out this kilometre-long stretch of gravel, so dope, amiright?’)?

Or maybe you long for the Vuelta a España, the kooky, punky and endearingly weird youngest sibling who, after being neglected for so long, is now being mentored by their older French brother in the ways of the boardroom...

Well since we’re all voting today anyway, why not have a poll to decide?

SuperSurvey

As we say here in Northern Ireland: vote early, vote often!

05 May 2022, 09:43
‘You can dodge the rain, but you can’t dodge The Royal Parks’ cycle lane closures’

Please tell me I’m not the only one who read that tweet in the style of Rip Torn’s character Patches O’Houlihan in Dodgeball....

Remember Lance Armstrong’s cameo in that film? Ah, 2004, simpler times.

> Queen’s Platinum Jubilee forces six-week closure of key London cycleway

If you’re not up to speed with how the ceremonial habits of the aristocracy have impacted upon London’s cycleways, you can catch up on the full story here.

And it’s fair to say that not everyone is happy about changing their daily commute to accommodate Liz’s party schedule:

05 May 2022, 09:07
Giro + EF-EasyPost + AC/DC = Vibes

Unfortunately, I missed last night’s Giro team presentation (I’m as shocked and appalled as you are), but I really hope Jonathan Vaughters’ charges took to the stage to the tune of Acca Dacca’s aptly named Dirty Deeds-era classic ‘Ride On’.

Though it was probably ‘Thunderstruck’, wasn’t it?

Now, if we were back in the 1990s or 2000s, I doubt the DJ would have resisted the urge to play AC/DC’s homage to that particularly murky era of pro cycling, ‘If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)’.

05 May 2022, 08:18
“Taxi drivers love the Blackfriars Road cycle lane so much they want to use it too”

Footage from a cyclist’s London commute sent Twitter into a bit of a meltdown last night (and no, before you ask, it wasn’t Jeremy Vine), after a taxi driver was filmed taking up a decent chunk of the Blackfriars Road cycle lane in Southwark.

Needless to say, the cabbie came in for quite a bit of stick from baffled Twitter users:

However – and perhaps just as inevitably – some motorists came to the driver’s defence, pointing out that the cabbie may have been unloading a wheelchair at the time the footage was filmed:

What do you think? Did the driver, as one commenter claimed, have “no excuse” for parking in the bike lane, or can it be justified in certain circumstances?

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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33 comments

Avatar
Hirsute | 2 years ago
1 like

I've found out how to stop drivers pulling out on you at junctions. Just need heath Robinson to supply the kit.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Peteer/status/1523032356730376193

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brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

Bristol named one of most dangerous UK cities for cycling

The city may not have been listed as the most dangerous city for cyclists, but it has made it to the top 10

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-named-one-most-d...

Quote:

... experts at Claims.co.uk gathered more than 12,000 cycling routes from a reputable cycling network site and analysed the number of bike accidents, average steepness, surface quality and lighting across cycling routes, to ultimately assign a danger score for each UK city examined.

The safest place in the UK for cycling was revealed to be Chelmsford while, more locally, Gloucester was ranked as the fifth safest city in the UK for cycling.

...

The most dangerous city in the UK for cycling, according to this research, is Birmingham which racks up an overall danger score of 7.38/10. The research says that bikers are most likely to suffer from poorly-maintained road surfaces (9/10) and steep pathways where less than 50% are equipped with optimal lighting. These could contribute to the city's bike accident score of 6.75/10.

Bristol came in as the ninth most dangerous city in the UK for cycling- with an overall danger score of 6.08/10 - just 0.67 points behind the most dangerous city, Birmingham.

Avatar
brooksby replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

It seems to me that larger, busier cities or cities with more cyclists are counted as more dangerous than smaller, quieter cities with fewer cyclists.

So presumably a small flat village where nobody cycles would be the safest of all! 

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eburtthebike replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

That's from the Post, easily as reliable as the DM, and the study appears to have made no allowance for exposure.  No cyclists=no cycling collisions.  Tens of thousands of cyclists=collisions.

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ktache | 2 years ago
2 likes

Purple anodised chainrings are cool!

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Owd Big 'Ead replied to ktache | 2 years ago
3 likes

Thank God, it's not just me.

They look great on my Klein.

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Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
3 likes

Quote:

 Of course, we will never condone violence towards any road user

The tone of the reporting and the unquestioning acceptance of a narrative we can't see in terms of what the incident that sparked the confrontation was and who instigated the violence, along with the general joyfulness of "he got more than he bargained for" seems to pretty much lean towards condoning it. Were the positions reversed and it was a cyclist "who ended up with a bloodied face and some dented pride", we'd rightly be outraged. Not good, guys. Not good at all.

Avatar
Patrick9-32 replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
1 like

Rendel Harris wrote:

Quote:

 Of course, we will never condone violence towards any road user

The tone of the reporting and the unquestioning acceptance of a narrative we can't see in terms of what the incident that sparked the confrontation was and who instigated the violence, along with the general joyfulness of "he got more than he bargained for" seems to pretty much lean towards condoning it. Were the positions reversed and it was a cyclist "who ended up with a bloodied face and some dented pride", we'd rightly be outraged. Not good, guys. Not good at all.

I agree with the statement about the article condoning the violence but the cyclist can only have been fighting back. The driver had to have made a concious decision to stop their car, get out and confront the cyclist, even if they did not intend the interaction to get violent. If the cyclist was the only aggressor the driver could have locked their doors and driven away. 

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Patrick9-32 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Patrick9-32 wrote:

I agree with the statement about the article condoning the violence but the cyclist can only have been fighting back. The driver had to have made a concious decision to stop their car, get out and confront the cyclist, even if they did not intend the interaction to get violent. If the cyclist was the only aggressor the driver could have locked their doors and driven away. 

I am very much not in the business of defending drivers, but without further information we can't really see who the aggressor was here, the cyclist could've kicked the car or similar, the driver could have got out to remonstrate and then the cyclist hit them, we just don't know. Certainly as you say the driver has made a decision to continue/escalate the situation, but the cyclist may have done something to provoke that, who knows?

Avatar
WeLoveHills | 2 years ago
1 like

"Road rage motorist beat up by cyclist". What an utterly stupid video, accompanied by a cretin headline and a bewildering "article".

Bye bye road.cc

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Owd Big 'Ead replied to WeLoveHills | 2 years ago
1 like

It's so easy to criticise, but in the heat of the moment I've done likewise more than once.

Am I proud of it, no.

Did I feel justified at the time, yes.

Sometimes bullies need to be bullied, especially when they are driving around in a couple of tons of steel, thinking they can do what they want regardless of whoever else is on the road.

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Owd Big 'Ead | 2 years ago
2 likes

S/he's not criticising the cyclist - nor am I - but the apparent assumption that the cyclist must be in the right, even though we can't see what happened, and the apparent revelling in the violence implicit in the tone of the writing. There can be bullies on bikes too, more than once I've had to step in and defuse when a fellow cyclist has decided to front up when they were actually at fault.

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
3 likes

Judging from the pics posted on the Bike at Polling Stations report, a new one of Bikes Stolen from Polling Stations might be needed later on tonight / on tomorrows blog. 

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mdavidford | 2 years ago
0 likes

Quote:

the bottles, when exposed to micro-organisms, heat, and humidity, will disintegrate within three months.

Will they last three weeks at the Vuelta, though?

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HarrogateSpa replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
1 like

I believe this type of product could biodegrade in theory but tends not to in practice.

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captain_slog | 2 years ago
5 likes

The best grand tour is always the one that's just about to start.

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mdavidford replied to captain_slog | 2 years ago
3 likes

Not true - they were always better 'back in the day'.

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peted76 replied to captain_slog | 2 years ago
0 likes

captain_slog wrote:

The best grand tour is always the one that's just about to start.

I'm with the captain on this 1

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mdavidford | 2 years ago
5 likes

Damien Byrne wrote:

Got their hazards BOLAs on. Doesn’t count. Means you can park anywhere you want.

Tch!

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hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
6 likes

I think the Australians calling for cyclist licences is just a pretext to get the police to stop and harass anyone with different coloured skin. It's an extension of harassing disadvantaged groups for not wearing their mandatory bike helmets, but the advantage of cycling licences is that the police can have an excuse to stop and search anyone on a bike that they don't like the look of (i.e. non-white).

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peted76 replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
4 likes

Quote:

Can the wizened old master Alejandro Valverde finally add a pink jersey to his illustrious collection in Visegrád tomorrow?

I bloody hope not, that old cheat should have been sent to the retirement yard years ago. His continued 'elite performances' just highlights the (bad) past.

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brooksby replied to peted76 | 2 years ago
1 like

??

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peted76 replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

brooksby wrote:

??

Valverde served a suspension in 2010 and 2011 after a bag of his blood, containing evidence of EPO use, was DNA matched by Italian anti-doping officials who had taken a blood sample at the 2008 Tour de France. His blood was matched to blood bags taken in 2006 when the Operación Puerto doping scandal errupted.

Valverde admitted nothing. He was never 'convicted of doping' He returned to racing in 2012 and won his first race back. 

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brooksby replied to peted76 | 2 years ago
1 like

Sorry, pete - I meant that I think you were replying to the wrong post by peter... 

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

Posted a reply rather then a new comment. 

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Ryan Mallon replied to peted76 | 2 years ago
0 likes

You forgot to mention that he returned to racing better than ever before, at least in the Ardennes classics - though he never quited regained the imperious grand tour winning form of the 2009 Vuelta (when he probably should have been suspended anyway).

It's interesting how, by going on for so long, he's been able to shift the narrative away from his doping anti-redemption to his status as the sport's old man (a shaky one, to be fair, given the questions around how good he still is at 42).

Unlike one of his Puerto contemporaries, Basso, who never really regained his place in the fan's hearts despite his Giro win.

Old Piti, the gift that keeps on giving... or the one you wished you could send back to the shop.

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Rendel Harris replied to Ryan Mallon | 2 years ago
0 likes

Couldn't agree more, a convicted cheat who has never provided any explanation for the offences for which he was banned for two years, it sickens me to see commentators framing him as the grand old man of cycling and encouraging people to cheer him on.

Avatar
brooksby | 2 years ago
7 likes

Interesting read in the Graundia:

New York banished cars during Covid – could its open streets be preserved?

Quote:

As an emergency measure for the pandemic, New York City’s banishment of cars from certain streets saw unexpected space open up for pedestrians, restaurant tables and playing children. A campaign backed by the city’s new mayor now aims to permanently wrest dominance away from vehicles and preserve these new outdoor havens.

The alternative vision for America’s largest city demands that 25% of its street space is converted from car use to walkable pedestrian plazas, green space, bus lanes and dedicated cycle paths by 2025. The campaign, called 25x25, has now also been adopted by activists in Los Angeles, an indication of how some Americans are questioning the long-held primacy of cars amid a surge in cycling since the start of the pandemic.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/05/new-york-cars-free-covid...

Avatar
Brauchsel | 2 years ago
8 likes

"Probably didn't want to block the road", so blocked a different part of the road. 
I'm not sure the "keeping the poor disabled person out of the rain" line really works either: is he getting wheelchair users mixed up with Gremlins?

Avatar
OnYerBike | 2 years ago
6 likes

Even if the taxi was loading/unloading a wheelchair user, I can't see that their choice of stopping location was justified. There are decicated loading/disabled bays literally meters away https://goo.gl/maps/zMuSmxBeP8UMq1MA7 with level access to the hotels where the taxi could have stopped completely legitimately*. The video makes it clear that these bays are available for use.

Yes it was raining but I don't think preventing someone getting wet for an extra 20 seconds justifies endangering lives (noting that, as well as obstructing the path while parked there, the taxi driver must have driven to and from that location along the evidently busy bike lane).

*I'm assuming the taxi could legally use the disabled bay to unload/load a disabled passenger, which is the most convenient location for the level access, but even if not the point stands given the general loading bays immediately adjacent.

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