Chasing the Tour de France: Jack Thompson attempts to ride full route in 12 days; Uber Eats dedication; Covid-free Tour; “Wrong road!”: Shocked Scots spot cyclist spinning along motorway; New cycle lanes; Praying for echelons + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Wrong road!": Shocked Scots spot cyclist spinning along motorway
Watch this in full screen because of the way Facebook videos come across and get the volume on for some prime Scottish entertainment. These cyclists riding on motorway stories are surprisingly common but are normally just grainy CCTV footage or a snap from a police force, not with this full commentary from a pair of bemused Scots.
“What ya doin! It’s a motorway yur on! Ya aff yur f***** heid?!”
“Wrong road? Absolutely!”
And while we can’t condone riding down the motorway, slowing down for a chat with said rider is probably to be avoided too…although we were glad to see the phone recording return to the passenger side at the end.
One thing seems likely…that cyclist won’t be taking that route again, if only to avoid getting another scolding…
Back in April, a drunk cyclist who was caught riding along the M60 because he “wanted to visit his gran in hospital” was fined £100 for his actions.
Tour de France stage 10: Crosswinds? Green jersey shenanigans? Cav's 33rd Tour stage win?
Good news, the rest day is over! The weather is going to be all important today. Looks a tough day for a breakaway with possible thunderstorms and pretty much the full stage into a headwind.
Also, say it quietly but a few people have been whispering rumours of crosswinds in the final run-in as the road turns north towards Valence. That would be a win for Simon’s pre-race stage-by-stage preview where he predicted the wind could be a factor today. Who needs weather forecasts?
One other point worth raising is the intermediate sprint which comes at the top of a climb (4.1km @ 3.7%). Expect to see Bahrain Victorious and BikeExchange putting the hammer down to drop Cav before the green jersey points are decided. The long, steady flatlands afterwards should allow any dropped riders to get back on before the sprint/crosswind carnage in Valence.
Cycleway 4 nears completion
No sign of any gridlocked traffic when I cycled along the nearly completed Creek Road cycle lane on Thursday. This will be a great way to arrive in Greenwich once it officially opens! pic.twitter.com/J26oxRU8F8
— Westcomberesident 💙 (@RichardT135) July 3, 2021
Cycleway 4 will offer cyclists in the capital a continuous segregated route from Tower Bridge to Greenwich. A 3.6km stretch between Tower Bridge Road and Rotherhithe was opened along the Jamaica Road last year and the final touches on this stretch at Creek Road are just being finished now.
Dedicated Uber Eats rider wades through knee-high flood water in Edinburgh
It’s all going on up in Scotland this morning…I hope this guy got a tip. Confronted with a knee-high flood in Gorgie in Edinburgh, he took his shoes and socks off before wading through the waters so someone, somewhere could get their takeaway.
The Daily Record reports the cyclist was spotted by Laura Munro who lives in the flat overlooking the scene and then started filming while shouting encouragement to the man. Munro posted the video on Facebook with the caption: “Poor wee guy earlier. Took off his socks and shoes so they didn’t get wet.”
She told the newspaper: “I was looking out the window at the rain and saw a poor guy trying to weigh up how he was going to get out of the street. There were a few times he walked out to look to see a way out that wouldn’t get him too wet. It was hilarious, a very Scottish thing to do. It was too funny not to watch.”
Sunjiv Shah, General Manager for Uber Eats UK confirmed the company is trying to identify the cyclist to reward him for going above and beyond.
Tour peloton Covid-free
All COVID-19 tests on #TDF2021 test day returned negative
— Julien Prétot (@julienpretotRTR) July 6, 2021
Positive tests at the Tour are never going to go down well…especially in the era of Covid…Luckily, there weren’t any on the first rest day. At this rate that might be the only way to stop Tadej Pogačar.
After winning the Giro, Egan Bernal tested positive and had to isolate before getting the all-clear for his big meeting with the Pope.
Cross your fingers and pray for echelons
Headwind App has clued us up with these interactive stage maps for the Tour de France showing exactly where the wind will be coming from on each day. Take a look at that final run-in to Valence where the road heads north. That is where most of the echelon speculation is centred.
The map also shows you just how long a day it could be for anyone in a small breakaway riding into a cross-headwind all stage. About 50 minutes to go until the riders roll out of Albertville for the start. Bring it on!
Virtual literary festival to raise money for south London's famous Herne Hill Velodrome
Herne Hill Velodrome has a rich history, from hosting track cycling at the 1948 Olympics through to helping many of the current crop of British talent become the riders they are today. Bahrain Victorious’ Fred Wright, currently riding the Tour, and Laura Kenny are just two of the current generation of Herne Hill graduates.
To support the velodrome’s continued role in supporting participation in the sport, the Friends of Herne Hill Velodrome are hosting another virtual VeloFete to help raise funds for the venue. The festival will run from Monday 12 July to Friday 16 from 6pm to 8pm every night with speakers from across the cycling world, including Dan Bigham, Jack Thurston and Guardian journalist Justin McCurry.
You can book your place on the Friends of Herne Hill website…
Ventoux looking 10/10 ahead of tomorrow's double-ascent showdown
Straffe wind boven op de Ventoux!🚴♂️💨 #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/UoqX6rRLlN
— Bas Tietema (@BasTietema) July 6, 2021
Just look at that surface…
Chasing the Tour de France: Jack Thompson attempts to ride full route in 12 days
Seven-day cycling distance world record holder Jack Thompson is underway with another huge leg-shredding challenge. Over the next 12 days he’s chasing down the Tour de France, trying to beat the peloton to Paris while riding the route in full. Jack began yesterday in Landerneau as the pros did last weekend and hit 400km with 6,110m of elevation at a incredible normalised power of 315w one day one.
If he can keep up the current rate then he’ll catch the peloton in seven days. “The theme of the day was wind and wet roads,” Jack wrote on Instagram. “But fittingly the sun came out to play at the end of the day. To me that always represents the light at the end of the tunnel. The body felt great and the power was good, and as a bonus we got through a full 400km so we’re about 50km ahead of schedule going into tomorrow.”
As part of his preparation, Jack has been avoiding watching any of the Tour to avoid overthinking the challenge but completed stage one in just under seven hours, about two hours slower than the bunch. I wonder if we’ll see a Lachlan Morton x Jack Thompson collab by the end of next week?
Another twist in the race for the green jersey: Sonny Colbrelli and Michael Matthews cut Cav's lead
Sonny Colbrelli wins the sprint from the peloton to take third 🟢
Green jersey wearer Mark Cavendish did not contest for points #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/vA4tj2EdAX
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 6, 2021
As expected, today’s intermediate sprint was too tough for Cav. Sonny Colbrelli took the maximum 15 points on offer after the two breakaway riders swept up the top two places. Michael Matthews got 13, while Jasper Philipsen and Peter Sagan got 11 and 10 respectively.
The result means that Cav’s lead has been cut to 25 points by Matthews in second and is 32 to Colbrelli in third. There are 50 points available at the finish to the winner of the stage…
Four more years for David Lappartient as UCI President
David Lappartient is the only candidate for UCI Presidency, meaning he’ll b confirmed for a second 4 year term without it being put to a vote. https://t.co/72VyReqAnv
— Orla Chennaoui (@SportsOrla) July 6, 2021
More bad luck for Ineos Grenadiers
Nieuwe val in de staart van het peloton, maar zonder al te grote problemen #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/QYESUCdF3i
— Sporza 🚴 (@sporza_koers) July 6, 2021
Richie Porte looked the worst affected by this crash at the back of the peloton. Jumbo-Visma were also involved but everyone is back safely in the bunch again. Around one hour of racing to go and it looks like we’re heading for a sprint, unless the wind has any late tricks for us…
SCENES
💚 @MarkCavendish x 🌈 @alafpolak1 x 🐺 @deceuninck_qst#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/n1SNc4WOEw
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 6, 2021
He did it again! Three wins for Mark Cavendish at this Tour de France and we’re not even halfway. By our reckoning there are at least two and at most four sprint stages left on this year’s route, depending on how they are raced. Cav to beat Merckx’s record on the Champs-Élysées, anyone?
Speaking at the finish Cav said: “It was an old school, run-of-the-mill, like you’re reading a cycling magazine…lead-out. Textbook lead-out. Get the lads on the front, pull as fast as they can so no one can try and come past you.
“We were confident we had the team for the sprint. I’m just humbled, man. I’ve got the winner of the Tour of Flanders, the world champion who has had the yellow jersey, Michael Mørkøv who is going to the Olympics, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner [Davide Ballerini] and they’re all just giving everything. Leaving everything on the road – I have to finish it off.
“I didn’t really do anything, other than 150m. It was the team. I have them to thank for everything.”
We’ve missed these post-race dissections…
6 July 2021, 08:02
6 July 2021, 08:02
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@Wales56 Thank you for that. I visited Bristol yesterday. Bus and train. I was astounded by the number of cyclists even on the steep hills in a heatwave. Many people still drive though and the traffic was horrendous meaning a short bus journey from Temple Meads to the center took ages. Quicker than walking (just) but cycling would have been much quicker. The number of cycle paths does mean you need to be aware as a pedestrian but I was prepared for this after getting in the way of a cyclist on my previous vist a few years ago. Needless to say the train on the return journey was overcrowded (had to stand for the journey) and delayed and meaning missing a few public transport connections which made the journey take longer than needed. Even with these frustrations it was much more relaxing than driving. 20 years ago I would have driven without even thinking about it.
@quiff Should be on a new sub-tier website 'OffroadRacing.cc' :)
There you go, getting in a tangle over terminology again - you've written 'subtle', when what you meant was 'incoherent'.
…serves you right for seeking out such a cliche of a photo opp! 🙃 sunflowers, please 🙄
@quiff The police definitely can't park where they like (rephrase: legally they definitely can't park where they like, in practice…), if they are not on emergency response all traffic laws and regulations apply to them just as they do to the ordinary motorist. I have an ongoing battle with the Met regarding the bus lane outside King's College Hospital on Denmark Hill; every morning there will be three or four police cars or vans parked in the lane, often on the zigzags of the pelican crossing there, forcing buses, motorcyclists and cyclists to switch out into the busy main traffic lane. As a user of the hospital myself I know that very rarely do they have any police business in the hospital, they are usually getting coffee and doughnuts from the in-hospital Costa. The Met has admitted that they should not be parking there and promised to sort it out, but my dialogue with them has lasted more than five years now and every morning they are still there just the same.
@Cayo I’m very much pro-Police, but that particular issue only serves to normalise pavement parking Well, I'm very much anti-police, but not over trivial parking decisions while they're actually working against offenders, as opposed to sitting about thinking up reasons why they can't act over well-supported and evidenced reports of serious offending
This ancient topic has been revived at the same time as another topic questioned the competence of police 'experts'. On 2014 the police blatantly just 'made up facts', so the question arises 'are they any better now when they varnish up their reports with a load of pseudo-scientific bollocks?'
I attended this inquest & was appalled at the poor way that evidences was handled Venera was rammed from behind by the truck driver who had barely reached 12 mph The coroner was told that there was another (untraced) vehicle ahead of the truck that hit Venera as this traffic moved away Venera was a fit regular cyclist riding Stratford to City of London on fixed wheel - no evidence was presented to indicate her typical average speed for this journey (it woiuld have been significantly faster than 12mph!). No evidence was presented concerning the vehicle travelling in front of the truck The circulating traffic on the roundabout routinely runs the red lights cutting across cycle traffic as much as 10 seconds after the cycle traffic gets a green light - I have a picture of the green light for cycle traffic shining through the windows of a bus that has been driven through the red signal
re: occasions when police needlessly pavement park... You only need to watch Police Interceptors and the like to see how unbothered they are. Usually, when they pull over a motorist, said driver mounts the pavement (and cop often does the same), yet there's never any mention of the illegality* or needless manner of their parking. (*Highway Code infraction, even if not against the law in the location being shown). I'm very much pro-Police, but that particular issue only serves to normalise pavement parking.
(Before the days of blatent angle grinder use) At my first job, my boss wouldn't allow me to bring my bike indoors, despite there being room. I had to lock it to the railings on a busy street. Came out one night to find it still there... but with signs of attempted theft. Unable to defeat the lock, they'd cut my cables (clearly with proper cutters), purely out of spite😠 Nothing missing - they'd just been petty. At least it persuaded my boss to relent: bike was indoors after that.
14 thoughts on “Chasing the Tour de France: Jack Thompson attempts to ride full route in 12 days; Uber Eats dedication; Covid-free Tour; “Wrong road!”: Shocked Scots spot cyclist spinning along motorway; New cycle lanes; Praying for echelons + more on the live blog”
As he’s in a coned-off lane,
As he’s in a coned-off lane, isn’t it possible he’s a highways worker going to the work start point? There’s machinery waiting up ahead. He’s not actually riding in an active car lane.
most definelty not the case,
most definelty not the case, access to sites on motorways are carfully planned as part of the works, all staff should be in appropriate PPE already and will always travel onto site in suitable vehicles. On the trunk road network these thins are planned like a military exercises.
He maybe isn’t in an active car lane, but he is in the outside lane, so he has had to cross at least one live motroway lane to get there
Love this. Cyclist (who
Love this. Cyclist (who clearly is not familiar with road systems or how to use them) is met with torrent of aggression, abuse and scorn, in spite of (whilst in the wrong) doing no discernable harm.
Driver who kills someone either through negligence or spite: “Aww dude, could happen to anyone. You’ll have to live with this for the rest of your life, you’re of good character, you’ve lived a pristine life until this jekyl and hyde like change, you have my sympathy….”
The driver could of course been a bit more friendly and helpful.
Actually, that seems pretty
Actually, that seems pretty friendly and concerned for a fellow citizen. Glasgow.
Kenbuterol wrote:
i shall bow to your greater experience (welcome btw)
As someone perhaps more
As someone perhaps more familiar with the Glasgow venacular than Captain Badger, let me assure you there is no “torrent of aggression, abuse and scorn” here.
EK Spinner wrote:
As per my response to our esteemed colleague Kenbuterol
Yep. I heard that as concern
Yep. I heard that as concern for a fellow human being and terms of endearment…. Weegie style.
That footage is obviously
That footage is obviously fake. The supposed Scottish bloke appears to be wearing the blue 1990 England World Cup 3rd strip. No way that ever happened.
not a good idea to wade
not a good idea to wade through flood water with bare feet.
Anyone believe the uber eats
Anyone believe the uber eats rider was going “above and beyond” out of choice? Or is it more likely if they hadn’t delivered the food, not only would they have not been paid for that delivery, they would probably have been charged the price of the undelivered food and Uber Eat’s algorithms would have seen to it that they never got sent on another job again…
OnYerBike wrote:
this
More then likely he was
More then likely he was leaving for work initially rather then delivering as it is a cul-de-sac full of flats and he would have known it was flooded coming in. But the principle stays the same, he had to do it because he would have missed work and been flagged as unreliable on the Apps.
I wanna tell you a story.
I wanna tell you a story. Just a little anecdote that really p!$$ed me off last night, and I wanted to share it with you good folks.
Riding home, going along Park Row in Bristol and heading toward the Triangle (posts complaining about by me are many).
The first protected path was miraculously clear so I used it.
The second one, starting by the kebab shop on the corner of Park Street Avenue, see here – https://goo.gl/maps/j18x9Smw67rLA1537 – had entry to it blocked by a bloke sitting in his SUV with the motor running.
Since the traffic lights are about a hundred metres ahead and I wanted to be in the right-hand lane there so I could go round the Triangle and up toward Clifton, I exercised my right not to ride in the protected lane.
A few seconds later a Smart Car (one of the little boxy two-seater ones) came whizzing past me, very close, maybe fifteen metres before he had to stop for the lights. I used a hand signal (palm up, universal signal for WTAF). As I moved level to go past him into the ASL he opened his window:
“What?”
“Bit close there, don’t you think?”
“I’m a cyclist myself (yes – he really said it!), and don’t you think you should have been in the cycle lane?”
“Why? The end of it was blocked by a bloke in his car, and I needed to be here in this lane in less than a hundred metres, so I didn’t want to slalom in and out of the wands…”
“Huh – I would have thought you’d be able to manoeuvre properly by now…”
I spluttered, turned away and tried to think happy thoughts.
Now, in hindsight, five minutes later, I realised what I should have said.
What I should have replied, when he opened with “I’m a cyclist myself” was “Then you should know better than to close pass someone like that, shouldn’t you?”