“What kind of sick joke is this?” Cyclist blasts new “suicide” contraflow bike lane that “invites conflict”; “Invisible” cycle lane kerbs a danger to motorists and pedestrians; Disc brakes: The secret to winning the rainbow jersey? + more on the live blog

More criticism of cycling infrastructure now on the blog, but this time coming from an entirely different direction (excuse the contraflow lane pun), as residents and politicians in Leicester have criticised the recent installation of concrete blocks separating a cycle lane from one of the city’s busiest roads, which they reckon are “essentially invisible” and a danger to motorists and pedestrians.

As we reported back in September, Leicester City Council agreed to replace the temporary wands on Aylestone Road, introduced during the pandemic, with permanent full segregation, concrete kerbing, and extra signs and lights as the Labour-run local authority sought to build on the success of the temporary scheme, which saw “a significant reduction in collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists”.

However, when the proposals were first introduced, they were criticised by Lib Dem councillor Nigel Porter, who claimed that the cycle lane was already a “nuisance” and that the concrete kerbs would be a “trip hazard”.

> Council shuts down complaints about plan for new cycle lane segregation as councillor claims "nuisance" lane will be a "trip hazard"

And now, just over a month after their installation around Christmas, councillor Porter has raised his head again, telling the BBC that at a recent ward meeting on the issue two weeks ago, only three of the roughly 100 people in attendance thought the bike lanes were a “good idea”.

Porter added that while he wants to see cyclists protected (that’s nice of him), he didn’t want their protection and safety to come at the expense of other road users (ah, of course).

“They are a danger, not just to pedestrians, but to motorists and all road users,” the councillor said, before claiming that pedestrians had already fallen over the blocks and that one motorist struck the kerb, causing £350 in damage to their car.

Meanwhile, Sam Bradshaw, an assistant manager at J&S Accessories on the Aylestone Road, said he often saw drivers struggling to move out of the way of emergency vehicles thanks to the segregation, and that motorists were damaging their vehicles while pulling out onto the road.

“Because they’re not marked with white or yellow paint, in poor weather conditions they’re essentially invisible,” Bradshaw, who says he rides a bike and is generally in favour of cycle lanes, told the BBC.

“90 per cent of the people we speak to are not a fan of these cycle lanes.”

A council spokesman said: “The design uses the kind of concrete segregators which have been in use successfully in London Road since 2020 to replace the temporary wand markers, and has no impact on the number of traffic lanes.

“By creating a protected cycleway, we are reducing both the likelihood of drivers colliding with cyclists and illegal footway cycling, which improves safety for people using the pavements.”

To many cycling fans, Movistar, that venerable old Spanish team now entering its 44th year in the professional ranks, represent the historic, traditionalist side of the sport – the one populated by grey-haired team bosses who remember the toe strap and cycling cap-wearing, pro-EPO days, the one that refuses to budge in the harsh crosswinds of clinical tactics, sports science, and marginal gains.

So, it may come as something of a surprise to learn that Eusebio Unzué, the longstanding manager of Spain’s oldest team (and the man who thought rekindling Movistar’s relationship with Nairo Quintana in 2024 was a good idea), believes that cycling is too conservative, too rooted in its ways – and that One Cycling, the ‘revolutionary’ breakaway league aiming to shake up the sport with the help of some Suadi oil money, represents a glittering revenue-filled future for the sport.

> Cycling: The new golf? Dan Martin predicts LIV Golf-style problems as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund emerges as frontrunner to back new cycling ‘super league’

“There are concerns from teams who are understandably thinking about the future of this sport,” Unzué said of the project while talking to reporters in Colombia ahead of the debut of Quintana/Movistar 2.0 at the former Tour de France podium contender’s national tour.  

“They want to discover other pathways to make us a bit more competitive in this jungle of sport. But we can’t give out any details given the phase it’s in at the moment. I think it’s important that we have this in mind, and we’ll see the reactions of the people who could be interested in this.”

While Movistar, naturally, were not originally believed to be involved in the One Cycling project, led by Visma-Lease a Bike’s Richard Plugge, Unzué said his team is “part of the group which is going to have other meetings soon”.

The Spanish team boss also believed that redrawing cycling’s traditionalist structure could help the sport move on from its overt focus on toughness and brutality – with shorter grand tours and even the introduction of substitutions touted by Unzué as a possible alternative to cycling’s staunch but fading hold on all things ‘epic’, and one that could potentially protect the health of the riders while increasing the entertainment value, he says.

> Why pro cycling needs to ditch its ‘hardness’ obsession

“I think this is the most conservative sport,” Unzué said. “I think almost all sports develop, whereas we’re still doing the same things we’ve always been doing.

“Since I started in the 1980s, the rules of cycling have changed very little, and I think you need to adapt to the current time. You have to make the regulations and rules more… well, I’m not sure if it’s right to say ‘more human,’ but certainly they should be less brutal.

“If [grand tours] were reduced to 15 days, the best riders would probably ride all three Grand Tours. That would give them enough time to recover between them and be competitive in all three. It would create spectacle if the best riders were racing against each other more often.”

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Noting his team leader Enric Mas’ crash on the first day of the 2023 Tour, Unzué added: “If a rider crashes, can he not climb into a car or ambulance to get examined and then start again the next day if he hasn’t broken anything. Why not? We want more humanity. We want to protect the riders’ health.

“And why don’t we allow substitutions, at least in the first week of a Grand Tour? We lost Enric on the first day to a crash. So why not at least allow us to replace him and have eight riders on the team?

“I think we’ve all grown used to the idea of an epic sport and the belief that all these things form part of the epic nature of the sport. But remember, football didn’t allow substitutions in the past either.

“Why don't we give it a try? Let's take the step and see if we like it. A change is needed.”

What do you think? Could subs be the way forward for cycling’s grand tours? Could we soon see the likes of Tom Pidcock playing the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer role at the Giro, to keep Geraint Thomas’ GC hopes alive?

Or should cycling simply steer clear of football, or F1 for that matter, comparisons, for its own sake and history?

First, it was Brandon McNulty’s First World War soldier look, now Fernando Gaviria has ditched his trademark beard for a Bogotá speakeasy vibe:

👨🏻 @FndoGaviria estrena look para el @TourColombiaOfi 🇨🇴

📸 @Pablo_0rdorica #MovistarEnTourColombia pic.twitter.com/l1hd3SEAId

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) February 6, 2024

Am I missing something, or is the moustache back in fashion (at least among a niche selection of Europe-based professional cyclists)?

After one of the most ludicrously dominant seasons cyclocross has ever seen, culminating in a sixth ‘cross rainbow jersey at the weekend, Mathieu van der Poel’s attentions are slowly turning towards a season of racing on nice, (mostly) smooth tarmac – and the odd cobbled road, of course.

While the flying Dutchman was originally due to start his road season alongside Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, and Remco Evenepoel next week at the Volta ao Algarve, that plan has now been ripped up, according to Het Nieuwsblad, who have reported today that Van der Poel will instead head to Italy in March for his first road rendezvous of 2024 (allowing for some essential, extra post-worlds celebration time, too).

That delay means the world champion will make his debut at either Strade Bianche (which he won in 2021), Tirreno-Adriatico (where he’s won three stages in the past), or Milan-Sanremo, where he soloed to victory in sensational fashion last year.

And Het Nieuwsblad reckon La Primavera is Van der Poel’s most likely starting point, meaning that his spring will consist of all killer, no filler, as he aims to win Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix, while taking only his second ever stab at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

If so, it’ll be the second time Van der Poel has kicked off his season at cycling’s longest monument classic – in 2022 he finished third on his Sanremo season debut, behind the daredevil descending of Matej Mohorič.

And, with the unbeatable form he was showing throughout the ‘cross season, I wouldn’t bet against MVDP bursting clear on the Poggio for the second year running.

Here in Melbourne, trams run down the streets, not the paths. These ribbons of green are a peaceful refuge from the energy and discord of the city.

On-street cycle infrastructure isn't half-arsed like Leith Walk (and, inevitably, the Roseburn replacement). pic.twitter.com/68Cz2EhM3y

— Edward Tissiman (@edtiss) February 6, 2024

> “If we must have more trams, let them take space from cars”: Cyclists “horrified” at plans to replace bike path with new tram line – as council says proposals will be put to public “objectively” 

While ultra-distance cycling events are implementing no-fly policies, in a bid to make at least some small contribution to the fight against climate change (and being criticised for doing so), football’s governing body is busy handing its single biggest day to a venue where it is illegal to walk…

If you thought Qatar was dystopian, in the US its literally illegal to walk https://t.co/HiL5MIeHUe pic.twitter.com/W4nNqugIJs

— Nikolaj🍦🇺🇦 (@nikicaga) February 4, 2024

Ah, the good ol’ US of Non-Existent Active Travel Policies.

Imagine you’re a pro cyclist (alright, I admit that possibility may be harder to process for some than others), and you’re buzzing to start a new season at the Étoile de Bessèges, a start that’s been delayed by one day thanks to some farmer protests.

And then, just an hour before the race begins, as you’re milling around the team buses, a UCI official spots your new fancy, eight watt-saving prototype pedals – the ones even road.cc is banging on about – and says, ‘Sorry, son, have you filled in all your paperwork for those?’

Well, that was the scenario faced by the Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur team at the start of last week’s Étoile de Bessèges, as the Conti squad was forced into a last-ditch scramble to secure some useable shoes, cleats, and pedals after the UCI prevented them from using their new Ekoï PW8 pedals on the morning of the second stage.

The rather radical prototype pedals, which Ekoï say will be eight watts faster thanks to their miniscule 8mm stack height, allowing them to sit flush with the shoe, are set to be tested during their development stage by Conti teams Nice Métropole and Burgos.

> You've never seen pedals like these before! Ekoi’s €2 million radical road cycling pedal project predicts 8-watt savings

But, just not yet, according to the UCI, who told the team they didn’t have the right to use the pedals, not because they’re banned à la inverted handlebars, but because the authorisation file for their use, which has been submitted by Ekoï to the UCI, has yet to be approved by cycling’s governing body.

Classic UCI bureaucracy, eh?

Got any spare shoes, lads?

Needless to say, the last-minute news sent the team into something of a frenzy, especially considering their more traditional Look and Shimano-compatible shoes were back at the hotel, an hour’s roundtrip away, an impossible task as the clock ticked down towards the start.

According to French outlet Matos Velo, Nice Métropole’s riders were able to borrow pedals and cleats from other teams, while also – thanks to the specialist shoe requirements of the new PW8 pedals – borrowing footwear too.

Others, meanwhile, were even forced to buy second-hand shoes from a stall located near the start, like a panicked Cat 4 who just remembered he left his kit bag beside the unfinished box of pasta at home.

You’ve got to love professional cycling.