“If Mathieu had crashed and suffered serious injury, that would have been attempted manslaughter”: Riders’ union slams “unacceptable” fan behaviour at races and “light” fines; retirement of Calvin Jones + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
British Cycling trials £2.99 subscription to watch cyclocross national championships on YouTube... and claims paywall part of "dynamic new approach" to "inspire new fans and deepen engagement"
Drivers over 70 to face mandatory vision tests in new road safety strategy
Driver in Limerick (via Aidan Hogan on Twitter)
Drivers over the age of 70 will have to have their vision checked every three years, under the changes to be announced in the government’s new road safety strategy, which will be published on Wednesday.
Other proposed measures include lowering the drink-driving limit in England to match the limit in Scotland, and giving penalty points for not wearing seatbelts
> “Yes” – driver’s startling response to cyclist who asked if he was drunk
Currently, drivers must tell the DVLA via a self-reporting system if they become unfit to drive.
Once you have your licence, drivers of any age are not required to prove their skills or health. Nearly one in four car drivers killed in 2024 were aged 70 or older, according to government figures.
> Elderly driver surrenders licence while up in court for injuring cyclist
Last year, an inquest said enforcement of eyesight standards on the roads was “ineffective and unsafe” after the deaths of four people killed by drivers with failing vision.
“Eye tests are free for people over the age of 60 anyway, and healthcare professionals advise them every two years, given they can help with the diagnosis of other underlying conditions,” Edmund King, president of the AA motoring organisation, told the BBC.
“In fact, the AA advises everyone to have an eye test every two years.”
While no proposed changes relating to cycling have yet been leaked, lowering the drink-drive limit and enforcing vision tests would likely make roads safer for cyclists.
Huzzah! Litter picking on a bike with a pool cue
If you are ever in a situation in which you want to pick up some litter and show off your cycling and jousting skills, Geno Villafano has you covered.
New pump track is "something that's very much needed"
New pump track (Credit: Government of Jersey)
Plans to create a new cycle area in St Lawerence, Jersey, have been welcomed by Jersey Cycling, which says bike facilities on the Island are continuing to move in the right direction.
The group has welcomed plans for a new pump track next to Coronation Park, describing it as a much-needed space for riders of all ages and abilities.
Pump tracks are lopped circuits designed to be ridden without much pedalling, using body movement to build speed, which is also popular with cyclists, as well as skateboarders and rollerbladers.
Karen Bull, vice president of Jersey Cycling, told the BBC that the plans reflected years of campaigning by the group and growing demands from families for better places to ride.
“We have been pushing this for the last three years,” she said. “One of our main aims at Jersey Cycling is to improve facilities for the whole community, not just club riders.
“I’m excited not only as vice president, but as a parent too. My little boy is thrilled that Jersey is finally getting something that’s very much needed.”
Jersey Cycling said the pump track would provide a safe, accessible environment for riders to develop bike handling skills, build confidence and stay active outdoors. They also added that such facilities are widely recognised for boosting fitness and encouraging positive social interaction across generations.
The wider redevelopment of the playing field, on land gifted to the island by a benefactor, also includes sand dunes, a nature play area and an amphitheatre.
Canyon not in crisis and can hit €1bn sales by 2030, insists bike brand's founder — months on from parent company reducing value by 43% and confirming "efficiency measures"
Walking and Cycling Commissioner celebrates new crossing… but also exposes bus stopped in the cyclists’ box
I’m very pleased to see that the new pedestrian crossing of the A2 at Blackheath Hill in Greenwich has been finished. This has been much needed for far too long and will help people safely cross these busy roads. Big thanks to the @tfl team.
— Will Norman (@willnorman.co.uk) 6 January 2026 at 10:08
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, has posted praising Transport for London’s new pedestrian crossing in Greenwich. He said that “this has been much needed for far too long, and will help people safely cross these busy roads.”
However, as BlueSky user Steve Knattress points out, “the bus is stopped in the ASL on a red light, a danger to those who choose to cycle.”
Stopping in the ASL, or advanced stop line can be considered a traffic offence. According to rule 178 of the highway code, “motorists must stop at the first white line”. That said, the bus driver may have already crossed that line before the lights turned red and just stopped at the second line in which case, it’s not breaking the law.
Not great advertising for Transport for London’s new crossing…
“We owe a lot to Calvin”: Director of Education at Park Tool, Calvin Jones, is retiring after 28 years
Calvin Jones (Credit: Park Tool)
Calvin Jones, probably best known to many from Park Tool’s YouTube channel, has announced his retirement after 28 years.
But don’t worry, he clarified in the video, “Retire, that’s a big word, certainly my horizons will change,” and will hopefully still feature in future YouTube videos.
Over 15 years, Calvin and the Park Tool creative team have created a comprehensive catalogue of free, high-quality tutorial and educational content, boasting over 900,000 subscribers and 13 million annual views.
“I think the thing I admire most about Calvin is that to this day he lives and breathes what he teaches,” said Eric Hawkins, Park Tool’s Owner, CEO and Chief Mechanic.
“He’s passionate about the science of bikes and is a gifted teacher who can clearly explain even the most complex concepts. Through his writings, videos, and personal interactions, he’s helped millions understand how their bike works and how to best keep it working.
“It’s been an amazing run, and now, nearly 29 years later, we owe a lot to Calvin for his unique ability to demystify bike repair and maintenance.”
As well as featuring on YouTube, Calvin has contributed to product development and logged thousands of hours fielding customer feedback.
Calvin at Icebike, 2017 (Credit: Park Tool)
He has also applied his extensive knowledge to projects including: The Repair Help section of parktool.com, with a library of nearly 200 detailed how-to guides; the Park Tool School, a full set of curriculum designed for teaching bicycle maintenance in a classroom setting, first published in 2000; and the Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, a complete bike maintenance handbook now in its fourth edition.
Calvin has said regarding his plans, “There are some educational projects that I would like to be a part of. Plus, I am looking forward to focusing more on my riding and figuring out when to use this dropper post.”
He will still be involved with the Stillwater chapter of the Minnesota Cycling Association and will maintain his seat on the board for Project Bike Tech.
Keep your digits toasty on the bike: the best winter cycling gloves for riding through the colder months
Cycling in the snow: a memory you will “fondly look back on for years to come”, or a “cycling experience that is really not nice”?
Some motorists probably saw this fietser and thought they were miserable, but experience tells me this person was probably in the middle of making a memory they’d fondly look back on for years to come.
— American Fietser (@americanfietser.bsky.social) 6 January 2026 at 15:15
Hereforinfoyo agreed on the original post on Reddit: “Biking in snow is remarkably easy, as long as you are determined, cautious, dressed accordingly, and it is not very icy, it’s actually fun! (And safer and better than cars, as always.)”
However, Paul Luton disagrees, commenting on BlueSky: “Snow blowing in your eyes is one of the few cycling experiences that is really not nice.”
Surreal Soul Sarah added: “Its not as much “dedication to cycle” as it is “dedication to reach your desired destination” ?”
How to ride your bike through ice and snow — top tips for safe cycling when the mercury drops
Sticking with the theme of cycling in the cold and snow – if you are planning on braving the icy roads, Tony Farrelly has re-published our guide to riding in winter.
> How to ride your bike through ice and snow — top tips for safe cycling when the mercury drops
“When people oppose safe facilities for people riding bikes, this is who they are opposing”
“Lycra clad speeders” “Cycling lobby” “Deliveroo employees”
— Blackford Safe Routes (@blackfordsaferoutes.co.uk) 5 January 2026 at 16:43
David Warnes has posted on BlueSky in response to a Substack article by the Edinburgh Inquirer that Edinburgh Council should be putting walkers first.
He said: “For as long as the City Council remains captive to the cycling lobby, I shall continue to regard the cycling lobby as an obstacle to the needs of wheelers and walkers. Before narrowing pavements for the benefit of Lycra-clad speeders & Deliveroo employees, the Council needs to repair the pavements.”
In response, commentors have pointed out that cycle lanes benefit children, commuters and people with disabilities, as well as “Lycra-clad speeders” and “Deliveroo employees”.
Small Catty said: “Mate, the cycle lanes are for the vulnerable e.g. kids and the elderly. For the “Lycra-clad speeders”, the road is usually the better option. What cycling infrastructure there is in Edinburgh is pure shite, so if the “cycling lobby” really has captured the council, then they must be very ineffectual.”
He added, “Actually, the canal towpath is ok, but I wouldn’t describe that as infrastructure really.”
Blackford Safe Routes responded with photos of children cycling to school, commuters and mobility scooter users, saying that “When people from so-called ‘walking campaign groups’ oppose safe facilities for people riding bikes, this is who they are opposing.”
Hedgehog Cycling added that “For people who don’t want their fellow residents to have the option of getting about by bike safely, there is always something that has to be done *before* building cycle infra. Often, it is filling potholes. The reality is that it is rarely a binary choice between a and b.”
In response to criticism of Edinburgh’s pavements, Hedgehog Cycling said: “I have every sympathy, and the council should do the maintenance. I still don’t think it’s a reason to object to safe paths for people who would like to get around by bike.”
Finally, BC bike thing added a terrifying photo of the “Lycra-clad speeders” who “are ravaging our streets”.
Those lycra-clad speeders must be stopped. They are ravaging our streets.
— BC bike thing (@b1kes.bsky.social) 5 January 2026 at 17:25
"I'm thinking someone's done some proper research on this": Cyclist fears thieves used Strava to plan burglary and steal bikes worth £30,000
“If Mathieu had crashed and suffered serious injury, that would have been attempted manslaughter”: Riders’ union slams “unacceptable” fan behaviour at races and “light” fines
Mathieu van der Poel has been involved in several spectator incidents in recent seasons, most recently in Loenhout, where a spectator unintentionally struck his handlebar.
Fan almost causes Van der Poel crash (Credit TNT Sports / Sporza)
This has led former professional cyclists Bert and Staf Scheirlinckx to discuss the consequences of these actions. They founded the Belgian Professional Cyclists association to deal with incidents, but say that meaningful consequences are rare. Bert told De Telegraaf, “We try to ensure that these kinds of incidents are followed up legally, but we cannot determine the severity of the punishment, and it is not always what we expect.”
He added that calls to ban people are more complex than they appear. “For people who care deeply about cycling, incidents like the one involving Van der Poel are emotionally charged. People immediately say: That person should never be allowed to attend a race again.
“But if you detach that emotion, you are basically dealing with someone spitting on another person or throwing beer at them. Under Belgian jurisdiction, that is not considered a serious offence, so someone gets away with a fine.”
“We do initiate a procedure, because this kind of behaviour is unacceptable in cycling. However, the penalties are often light and limited, because the incident is assessed by a judge, just as it would be in ‘normal’ society.”
He added that riders and teams are often reluctant to draw attention to such cases. “It is often very difficult, because the rider himself or the team is rarely in favour of giving the incident much publicity.”
The legal consequences change only if the outcome is more severe. At this year’s Paris–Roubaix, Van der Poel had a bottle thrown at his head.
Mathieu van der Poel hit by bottle at Paris-Roubaix (Credit TNT Sports)
“Yes, if Mathieu had crashed there and suffered a serious injury, then he and his team would have taken that person to court and held them responsible for their actions. In that case, the victim could bring the perpetrator before a judge with ‘attempted manslaughter’ as the charge.”
Although the individual involved was identified, the outcome remains unclear. “No, we don’t know what sentence was handed down. Then you once again run into the ‘law of privacy’, which means it is not made public,” Scheirlinckx said.
> Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw bottle at Mathieu van der Poel hands himself in to the police
“That is frustrating, yes. If the punishment were made public and turned out to be severe, then everyone would think twice before doing something unacceptable.”
Some organisers have begun taking additional preventive steps. Scheirlinckx pointed to Flanders Classics deploying extra stewards at hotspots such as the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont during the Tour of Flanders, though wider measures like cameras remain restricted by privacy legislation. “That does not change the fact that we will continue to fight for the riders,” he said.
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@quiff I think you are probably right here - but - is that _really_ being inconsiderate to the oncoming driver? Looking again at the video, the oncoming driver appears to be over the centre line when approaching the parked vehicle and just seems to be straightening the bend a little, so you would expect them to be moving towards the kerb anyway. As driving interactions go, it's about as benign as it gets. I expect the magistrate has never ridden a bicycle, but I also wonder if they've ever driven a car?!
Thanks - I only had a quick peek on Streetview and I'm glad it works for locals, but it looked like "you say 'shared used facility', I say 'same old not-over-generous footway now with the odd blue sign". We don't need cycle paths absolutely everywhere, but looking at the size of the road, where it goes and runs though I would be thinking more like this (minus parked cars): https://maps.app.goo.gl/gswbQefKzc47nEJm8 Or... declare it an urban freeway and get rid of the junctions and houses next to it! Maximum flow...
@C3a Sadly, you are not far off the mark. I know of two instances where promising junior riders "stopped" racing; they didn't disappear, just did not attend races, were still doing all the training and then came back a couple of years later at 18/19 year olds and were starting to destroy races. You don't find them racing anymore, and the "bans" are not listed anywhere. I guess the same as any individual riders in this case would not be listed anywhere because of their age.
My personal theory is that this is how modern doping happens; do all of the performance enhancement early on and train hard on top of that - the boost will allow you to reach heights that would otherwise not have been attainable. After that it is all about maintenance and minor improvements, likely achievable after the pharmacological crutch has been removed. From this story it seems the spectre of doping will continue to hover over professional cycling that little bit longer. No other sport seems to have been affected in quite this way.
Of course most (otherwise law abiding) motorists don't keep to the 20mph limit especially without enforcement, guess what, given the opportunity, many, if not most, will not keep to the 30mph limit and there will still not be any enforcement. But what a 20mph limit does is bring the speeds down, resulting in less crashes, which, when they do occur will result in less damage, reduce the severity of injuries and the number of deaths. And what we really want is more dead children, isn't it councillor?
I think the prosecution have just persuaded tthe magistrate that the driver had to move towards the kerb to accommodate the cyclist. That movement is visible in the video, though I accept there's a chicken and egg question whether the cyclist forced the move, or only proceeded when it was clear the driver had moved over for them.
Which rule(s) are you thinking of? The 1.5m wording appears in rule 163, which is expressly about overtaking.
Jone's are discontinuing their 660mm H bars and are offering 35% off the aluminium and 25% off the titanium versions. Get them while their cheap. I went for the ti version 7 years back and highly recommend them. I went for the 660s, I could do with the extra inch when going up the hills but went for the narrower ones as I often ride in traffic.
In the article it states that the fixed penalty option did not exist so the police decided to take it to court, not the cyclist. I would agree with what you have said if it was not for the painfully slow speed that both the cyclist and the oncoming driver were going at. At that speed there was no danger to anyone and no inconvenience to the oncoming driver (at least no more than a pothole).
There are shared use paths parallel to this section of road already. Subject to the usual gripes with shared use, they're not too bad, so I wouldn't detour through Llandaff Fields just to avoid them (lovely park though it is). It is however a very useful traffic free route into the City Centre.
15 thoughts on ““If Mathieu had crashed and suffered serious injury, that would have been attempted manslaughter”: Riders’ union slams “unacceptable” fan behaviour at races and “light” fines; retirement of Calvin Jones + more on the live blog”
Quote:
Only if it was inadvertently intentional.
Odd choice to illustrate
Odd choice to illustrate “Drivers over 70 to face mandatory vision tests in new road safety strategy” with the image of the incident from Limerick.
Firstly Limerick is not in the UK, so the UK Government’s plans aren’t really relevant, and secondly the incident (as per the linked article) involved a drunk driver, not an elderly driver, nor a driver with poor eyesight (just poor judgement).
“That said, the bus may have
“That said, the bus may have already crossed that line before the lights turned red and just stopped at the second line in which case, it’s not breaking the law.”
…
mitsky wrote:
well… quite!
If you’re driving properly, exercising due care as described in Rule 178, it’s actually quite difficult to find yourself having to stop in the bike box.
It quite clearly says (but is quickly overlooked by motorists) that you should* not go into the box if you can’t move out of it. The conditions for stopping in the box are if the light turns red while in it. If you cannot clear the first and second lines within the 3 seconds it takes from amber to red, you are probably travelling so slowly that you should be waiting behind the first line, or accelerating through it. There is rarely any need to be in the box.
In most regards, treat the bike box as a yellow hatched box should be treated and you will not need to fall foul of it.
(* “should” remains a matter of the standard of driving that is epxected of a careful driver; so failure to do that is evidence that the driver may not be careful enough)
All true, but, given their
All true, but, given their comment history, I suspect what m was getting at was more that buses don’t break the law – drivers do.
My reputation precedes me.
My reputation precedes me.
If you cannot clear the first
If you cannot clear the first and second lines within the 3 seconds it takes from amber to red, you are probably travelling so slowly that you should be waiting behind the first line, or accelerating through it
Is this an alternative world, with talk of this ‘amber light’?! In Lancashire, the red light means ‘step on it’, and amber is just like Christmas lights in June – irrelevant, just put there to help drivers stay awake
I find that even if a bus
I find that even if a bus stops with its wheels behind the line the length of bus in front of the wheels will take up the whole of the advanced stop box rendering it unusable for cyclists. Of course you only see this after you’ve gone round the bus so you have nowhere to go other than in front of the line.
Yes, highly aggravating; I’ve
Yes, highly aggravating; I’ve even had a couple of bus drivers pointing out that I’m waiting over the stop line, yes mate, that’s because I overtook you expecting to be able to get into the cycle box only to find you have occupied it, I’ve got a choice between going over the stop line or sitting waiting in the oncoming traffic lane. Met and bus companies both equally uninterested in reports, can you prove that they drove into the cycle box when the light was red, funnily enough no I can’t because there was a bloody great double-decker bus in front of me obscuring the light.
Ah – they got you then – didn
Ah – they got you then – didn’t you see the sign they stuck on the bus saying cyclists don’t pass on the left? Of course if you overtake on the right you’re faced with oncoming vehicles and nowhere to go either.
Personally I’d probably not pass a bus or other long vehicle in this situation unless very sure there was ample space at the front of it (especially with lorries…) OTOH it can be annoying to realise a bus is going to cross the junction then immediately stop at a bus stop. Standard in the UK though because “bus lanes are great for cyclists!”
<>didn’t you see the sign
didn’t you see the sign they stuck on the bus saying cyclists don’t pass on the left?
Yes, I’m always seeing them next to my nose on the rear nearside of a Stagecoach bus overtaking me
However, that last one a year and 2 months ago is the most recent one, so something has happened at Stagecoach to change the ‘I can’t have been too close because I didn’t knock you off’ attitude, and it certainly isn’t the Filth which has caused the change
On the off chance that he
On the off chance that he reads road.cc I’d like to wish a very happy retirement to Calvin Jones; I’ve frequently used his excellent videos and they’ve almost always taught me how to do something I didn’t know about or shown me how to do something I thought I could do well, better.
All that money on
All that money on infrastructure for one single pigeon – and they don’t even pay
skyroad tax! Honestly – this country is for the birds…Why didn’t the pigeon cross
Why didn’t the pigeon cross the road? Because there were only pelican and puffin crossings.
Motorists who kill or injure
Motorists who kill or injure cyclists are spared jail sentences. An idiot who throws a bottle at a cycling champ is likely to receive a slap on their wrist.