“I kinda think I won”: Caleb Ewan rues another dubious (and grainy) photo finish defeat; Pidcock’s masterpiece; Newly installed ‘murder strip’ blasted by Dublin cyclists; James May: e-bikes are world-changing; Women’s Freedom Ride + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tom Pidcock’s masterpiece
Speaking of a certain Mr Pidcock…
Hang that in the National Gallery https://t.co/guD640pWBq
— Gav 💚🌍 (@Gavinius) March 4, 2023
I don’t know about Tom, but I’m not sure I’ve even fully recovered from that desperate, heart-stopping last 20 kilometres into Siena on Saturday.
Me too, Tom, me too… (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
So, now that the dust has settled (excuse the pun), where do you reckon Pidcock’s 50km Strade spectacular ranks on the list of all-time great British rides in major one-day classics?
> Flying Tom Pidcock wins Strade Bianche with audacious 50km attack
For pure sporting drama, it certainly came close to Cavendish’s last-gasp San Remo win in 2009, while the Yorkshireman’s epic solo escape on Saturday also harked back to Lizzie Deignan’s barnstorming 2021 ride over the Roubaix cobbles and Tom Simpson’s rainbow jersey-clad procession at the Tour of Lombardy in 1965.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
But you know what’s the scariest thing? Pidcock’s sensational win over the Tuscan gravel may prove just the beginning for the Ineos rider (who starts a week-long battle with his prospective classics rivals at Tirreno-Adriatico today) this spring…
Weekend roundup
Tom Pidcock’s jaw-dropping Strade Bianche triumph wasn’t, believe it or not, the only thing going on at road.cc HQ over the weekend.
From horses on courses (and several terrible equine puns – sorry) to “micro pockets” and “lawless” motorists driving in cycle lanes (I’m shocked, shocked, I tell ya), here’s what you may have missed over the weekend:
> Demi Vollering gallops to Strade Bianche win – despite being slowed by runaway horse on course
> Delays to introduction of online road safety portal putting cyclists “at risk”, says Cycling UK
> Cyclists call on council to reconsider “unsafe” cycle route diversion
“Going to show this to Dutch people to induce spontaneous heart attacks”: New Dublin murder strip blasted by cyclists
Our regular ‘Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes’ series crosses the Irish Sea today, to the coastal Dublin suburb of Dún Laoghaire, where a new, ahem, “bike lane” has caused consternation amongst local cyclists:
Cycle lane design at Wyattville Road, Dunlaoghaire, 2023.
What fresh hell is this? pic.twitter.com/Bnq2yYN3Vr— @MichealWalsh@mastodon.ie (@MichealWalsh) March 3, 2023
Yep, that looks fun…
Unsurprisingly, the recently installed cycling ‘infrastructure’ on Wyattville Road has been roundly condemned on social media as a “murderdrone”, “extremely disappointing”, and, with a certain degree of understatement, “rubbish”.
Hence this shiny new Bicycle – designed for Dublin roads https://t.co/fpufaw2Ye4 pic.twitter.com/xStJRVtQz2
— David Quaid (@DavidGQuaid) March 3, 2023
According to local cyclist Michael, who posted the video on Twitter, prior to the road layout being changed, “we had lovely wide footpaths segregated from the Autobahn by a couple of metres of grass and trees. It was very comfortably safe to cycle on with kids.
“The council’s answer is: Sure can’t you continue to use the footpath. Zero safety. Zero usability.”
They even ripped out existing cycle lane and chicaned it to force cyclists onto this crap design pic.twitter.com/RvGjPfoD86
— @MichealWalsh@mastodon.ie (@MichealWalsh) March 3, 2023
He continued: “They even ripped out the existing cycle lane and chicaned it to force cyclists onto this crap design.
“We’re going to continue to break the law and use the footpath. [The Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council] engineer also mooted getting ‘one way’ arrows painted on the cycle lane to force users to cross through the lethal junction rather than continue safely on the cycle path.
“I’m at a loss, feeling very frustrated.”
I’m not surprised…
Looks like Ford’s sponsorship of RideLondon is still going down well within the cycling community…
Shame @forduk @RideLondon @ford no one is buying your green washing. Can’t blame yourselves for trying though. https://t.co/YJKqJnLxQc
— Suami Rocha (@suamirocha) March 5, 2023
But at least the broom wagon will be nice and spacious, eh?
Riders at Tirreno-Adriatico face important equipment decision – TT bike or rowing boat?
By the looks of things, today’s opening individual time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico – an 11.5km jaunt around Lido di Camaiore – may prove less about power and aerodynamics, and more about each rider’s swimming abilities:
The Race of the Two Seas is really living up to its nickname @TirrenAdriatico today 🌧️🔱 #TirrenoAdriatico pic.twitter.com/tRk85jUCQO
— Team DSM (@TeamDSM) March 6, 2023
I’m getting terrible flashbacks to the world TT championships in Harrogate (and those pesky puddles), as well as the time I slogged through a time trial in torrential rain during a stage race – while almost all of my teammates decided to stay in bed and record a rather sensible DNS.
Not sure Ganna, Roglič, Pidcock and co will be given the same choice, however…
“Unlock cycling for women”: Over a thousand women ride their bikes around London to demand safe cycling
🧵 THANK YOU FOR RIDING WITH US TODAY LONDON! We counted 1000+ on bikes calling for safe cycling for women. This is just the beginning… 1/8 #WomensFreedomRide ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜#InternationalWomensDay2023 #IWD2023 pic.twitter.com/a5JVWRhH9m
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) March 5, 2023
Over a thousand women took to the streets of central London yesterday on their bikes to call for cycling to be made safer and easier for women in the capital.
Organised by the London Cycling Campaign’s Women’s Network, with help from the Joyriders women’s cycling organisation and the Londra Bisiklet Kulubu (a group run by members of the city’s Turkish/Kurdish community), the group ride saw cyclists riding all sorts of cycles in all sorts of gear – including, you guessed it, fancy dress – make their way past Buckingham Palace, Whitehall, Marble Arch, and Trafalgar Square.
It was SUCH an amazing day yesterday at the #WomensFreedomRide – There was tartan, a Minotaur, a cat and a dog, a penny farthing, and one clear message- we want freedom from fear as we ride.
Sound up for Sia of course … 🥲🥲Together we’re unstoppable 🚲🚲✊🏻✊🏻 … 1/3 pic.twitter.com/W8qt8uVjr4
— Carla Francome (@carlafrancome) March 6, 2023
According to the London Cycling Campaign, the Women’s Freedom Ride, organised ahead of International Women’s Day on Wednesday, sought to highlight that transport is a feminist issue, and that structural, societal, and cultural barriers remain which prevent more women from cycling in the UK.
Less than one in three cycle trips in London are currently undertaken by women (compared to over 50 percent in the Netherlands), a figure pitted on a lack of adequate cycling infrastructure, a fear of abuse and violence aimed at female cyclists, a lack of safe networks for local journeys, and the apparent higher rate of near misses experienced by women.
“As women from a range of backgrounds, we know being able to travel cheaply and independently by bike can bring us confidence, health, and freedom,” Eilidh Murray, of the LCC Women’s Network steering group, said yesterday.
“But we’re being put off cycling by a lack of safe routes, dangerous driving, harassment and more. We need the mayor to make using a bike a safe, everyday choice.”
WHAT A DAY! It’s was a amazing to see so many women and allies out riding today on the LCC #WomensFreedomRide! London could be this safe for #cycling every day – let’s make this a reality! 👊🚲🙏. pic.twitter.com/MHDFmRryOi
— Francesca Savage 🚲💕 (@francesca_kms) March 5, 2023
Responding to calls for him to address the physical and social safety of female cyclists in London, mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I want women to feel safe wherever they are in London, and that includes on our roads.
“We must continue to break down the barriers to cycling faced by women and girls and I’m doing all I can to make active travel around the city as accessible and safe as possible.”
#womensfreedomride for International Women’s Day pic.twitter.com/8MPNm7MVlW
— Twig (@Twigletcycles) March 5, 2023
London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman praised the event and hoped that it could inspire change in the capital.
“Women are the most successful and influential campaigners. It was mums and women who changed Amsterdam into the best cycling city in the world, and the same thing is happening in London,” he said.
James May says e-bikes could “change the world”
While his old Top Gear mate Jezza Clarkson continues to spout the same old worn nonsense about cycling (and everything else) – to a deadline, for money, as Stewart Lee famously noted – James May has become a consistent advocate for two wheels and road safety in recent years.
Which makes him a massive leftie luvvie in ‘What’s the next manufactured controversial thing I’m going to say?’ Jeremy’s eyes, of course.
In yesterday’s Sunday Times, Captain Slow extolled the virtues of the e-bike, which he believes “really could change the world”.
After a rather lengthy explanation for the Times’ readership of what an e-bike is, the Grand Tour presenter (and road.cc Drink at your Desk alumnus) defended the accusation – stemming from “proper cyclists” he’s encountered – that using one is “cheating”, and argued instead that e-bikes can play a key role in making cars and cities car-free.
He wrote: “In response to the accusation of cheating, I say this: you are still riding a bike, but for the same amount of effort you can go further or faster or a bit of both. More important, the bike can carry more stuff.
“The bicycle can now discharge many of the short-haul jobs we currently do in motor vehicles. And by empowering the idea of the bicycle, the pedelec may yet do much to save its great enemy, the car, since it can help remove the car from the areas where it is perceived as being problematic: towns and cities.
“In case you think e-biking is just something else that the south’s media luvvies have embraced, well, when Dan Walker (he of Strictly) was recently side-swiped by a car on his morning commute to Sheffield train station, he was riding an electrically assisted Gocycle. So it’s the north’s media luvvies as well.”
Should have known Mr Walker would make an appearance somewhere…
> James May: “I can’t stand road sectarianism – it’s all b*llocks”
“The rise of the pedelec will cause disquiet in some sectors of our fragmented and annoyingly sectarian road community (what about road tax, what about insurance and numberplates, too many bike lanes, blah blah bloody blah), but I don’t see how it can possibly be a bad thing,” James continues, almost like he’s applying for a job at road.cc (Dan and I are concerned…).
“Not all bikes will be like this, most probably don’t need to be. But this tech greatly broadens the efficacy of the humble bicycle, increases its appeal to many and makes it accessible to people who might have otherwise struggled with one.”
While acknowledging that most of his cycling around London is still carried out on his “lightweight regular bike”, May reckons that e-bikes can be “world-changing”.
As for cheating?
“I turned 60 a few weeks ago. The only thing I’m cheating is what the poet Larkin called ‘age, and then the only end of age’,” he says.
These aero gains are really starting to get out of hand(lebar)
Just when you thought Victor Campenaerts had perfected the (aesthetically awful) art of the extremely narrow handlebar, Denmark’s Rasmus Bøgh Wallin went and won the first stage of the Visit South Aegean Islands stage race in Rhodes at the weekend – using a set of bars seemingly stolen from a London fixie rider’s bike…
First race and first win for Bøgh-Wallin and “Restaurant Suri -Carl Ras” on Rhodes Well done boys 🥇 pic.twitter.com/GFbSVfX3rS
— Brian Holm (@brianholm1962) March 5, 2023
It looks like a bike messenger snuck into the race on course
— Grégoire à vélo (@gregonabicycle) March 5, 2023
How in the hell do you control that all day?!?
— Bubba Tex (@TheBubbaTex) March 5, 2023
This needs to be stopped.
— TetON-GREGGLES (@grolby) March 5, 2023
While Bøgh Wallin’s eye-catching bars generated a few jokes, as well some serious criticism, on social media since his win, it seems like the 27-year-old Dane is having none of it.
“Results make people shut up,” he said. Can’t argue with that…
‘Lads, I really think we should launch a road safety campaign that focuses on the biggest threat to cyclists… Strava’
Finally a thoughtful campaign that goes straight to the source of road violence, the sport cyclist.
Photo: IG brklyn__ pic.twitter.com/7nVL55angu
— Tom Flood (@tomflood1) March 6, 2023
I wonder how insignificant of a statistic “died while chasing KoM” is.
— JR (@big_cx_guy) March 6, 2023
Filippo Ganna, doing Filippo Ganna things
Fillippo Ganna destroys the ITT at more than 55 km/h average speed and wins the first stage of @TirrenAdriatico ! He was in alien mode today, insane performance. 👽#TirrenoAdriatico pic.twitter.com/1XcZTDUudp
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 6, 2023
The apocalyptic weather conditions that engulfed the Italian coastal town of Lido di Camaiore this afternoon threw up more than a few surprises during the opening 11.5km time trial stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.
(Pouring rain and a time trial? Ugh.)
Wout van Aert, cowed by the prospect of going flat out into hail, didn’t really bother, and finished 44th, though his Jumbo-Visma teammate Primož Roglič looked somewhat more promising just outside the top ten in 12th.
Ineos’ young American Magnus Sheffield perhaps surprisingly spent a good deal of the day warming the hot seat, before eventually settling for third, before German national TT champion Lennard Kämna underlined his credentials against the clock by taking the lead as the conditions eased and the light dimmed later in the afternoon.
While most of the top 20 represented a curious mix of GC riders, TT specialists, chancers, and surprisingly quick Aussie climbers (both Jai Hindley and Ben O’Connor finished in the top 17), the winner was as predictable as they come.
Filippo Ganna – who else? – made the most of the improving weather to storm to the win on the flat out-and-back course, beating Kämna by a whopping 28 seconds.
To put that into perspective, just 31 seconds separated the rest of the top 20. Flipping ‘ell.
⏱️ This is among very best ITTs in Pippo Ganna’s career. #TirrenoAdriatico pic.twitter.com/mvrfq0nzqG
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) March 6, 2023
Chances of Ganna winning the whole Tirreno-Adriatico? 👀
— Andy McGrath (@Andymcgra) March 6, 2023
“We did an amazing performance today,” the Italian phenom said after his win. “I’m really happy for me and the team. After Strade with Tom, we continue in a good shape altogether. It’s good for the morale.
“I just think to ride as fast as possible. Two days ago I didn’t know what my performance today could be, but I wanted to do the maximum possible for me and for the Italian people.”
Mads Pedersen wins chaotic bunch sprint – and takes yellow jersey – at Paris-Nice
Mads Pedersen wins the second stage of @ParisNice in Fontainebleau with a powerful sprint against Olav Kooij and his fellow Dane, Magnus Cort. 👏🇩🇰 It was a messy last km with many sprinters getting lost. No echelons today… #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/oLyJbaYlKT
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 6, 2023
Paris-Nice is the best week-long stage race in the world. You can argue with me all you want, but that’s a fact.
However, those opening few flat days as the peloton winds its way south from France’s capital can drag a bit, I’ll admit. Unless of course the wind blows, ripping the field to shreds – then it’s the best racing of the entire year.
Today, dear reader, was one of the quieter days, unfortunately.
For most of the stage, the peloton tapped along with the apparent ease of a French aristocrat on the way to Fontainebleau’s opulent palace, a faint crosswind causing untold amounts of stress in the bunch, if not necessarily any action.
Uno-X’s Jonas Gregaard made it two days from two in the break, but as is the case of many of these flat, seemingly endless days, he was sacrificed by the peloton to the TV gods, and left to toil alone up front for over 100km.
With Gregaard reeled in with 50km to go – the mountains jersey fitting recompense for his solitary effort – TotalEnergies’ GC hopeful Pierre Latour suffered a scare after a road furniture-induced collision, but he was able to make his way back to the increasingly nervy bunch.
Pogacar gets another 6 bonus seconds, Vingegaard didn’t bother. #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/xxLb6l5FNL
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 6, 2023
But like any boring Paris-Nice stage, the race eventually exploded into life with 13km to go, as the sport’s arch disrupter, Tadej Pogačar, continued his quest for bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint. This time, yesterday’s shadow Jonas Vingegaard failed to follow, the ever-ready Slovenian slotting another useful half dozen seconds into the bank, says before the rain begins to flirt with his favoured terrain.
A fast, and messy, run-in prompted a potentially decisive crash right at the front of the peloton, perhaps fatally hindering the chances of the half of the bunch caught on what turned out to be the wrong side of a central reservation.
As the sprint began to unwind in Fontainebleau, yesterday’s stage winner Tim Merlier was caught out of position. Sam Bennett, meanwhile, was in position, but failed to follow his lead out man Danny van Poppel at a roundabout, the Irishman ruing another missed opportunity.
Former world champion Mads Pedersen, however, had no such troubles following his Trek-Segafredo team, upgrading yesterday’s podium place to a win, and with it the yellow jersey – Denmark’s first at Paris-Nice since Ole Ritter in 1970.
Celebrations all round ❤️#ParisNice pic.twitter.com/5UxEKj0MMD
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) March 6, 2023
Olav Kooij continues to knock on the door in second, while Magnus Cort and Dan McLay finished third and fourth respectively.
While Pedersen’s win saw him move into the overall lead, a certain Tadej Pogačar sits ominously in second, just two seconds behind him, ahead of tomorrow’s innovative take on a team time trial.
And who says Paris-Nice stages can be boring?
Paris-Nice fans, swot up for tomorrow
⏱️§ | Paris-Nice TTT (Stage 3) rules explained in ⤵️ pic. #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/d0bhpyxucx
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) March 6, 2023
This should be interesting…
“I’ve seen proof of the Yeti with more pixels”: Caleb Ewan rues another dubious sprint defeat – decided by extremely low-res finish photo
I think it’s fair to say that Caleb Ewan hasn’t been the biggest fan of photo finishes this year.
Two weeks ago, the Australian sprinter found himself on the wrong end of an impossibly tight call at the UAE Tour, as cycling’s version of VAR eventually ruled in favour of Soudal Quick-Step’s Belgian champion Tim Merlier following what most observers regarded as a “dead heat”.
You tell us who won stage 1 of the #UAETour 😁 pic.twitter.com/8pjiP9w63I
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) February 20, 2023
And then yesterday, Ewan – to his disbelief – saw lightning strike twice in as many weeks at the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré.
The Flemish one-day race – held in memory of the 1970 world road race champion and Tour of Lombardy winner (who was killed just months after his rainbow jersey win in Leicester when a motorist strayed onto a race course and hit him head-on) – came down once again to a bunch gallop, with Ewan’s Lotto Dstny team putting him in the perfect position in the final few hundred metres.
However, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty’s Gerben Thijssen, the winner of a Tour of Poland stage last year, managed to draw himself alongside Ewan right at the death, with both riders lunging at the line in another achingly close finish.
To add insult to eventual injury, the race organisers initially provided Ewan with at least some redemption for his UAE reverse by initially awarding him the win – only, after some closer inspection of the finish photo (which we’ll get to later), to later hand the victory to 24-year-old Thijssen.
“Of course, it’s never nice to lose on a photo finish,” Ewan said after the race. “This is disappointing but we keep on working to get that victory. I’ve been close a couple of times this season and I’m sure that the win is coming soon.”
While the 28-year-old was quite gracious in defeat at the finish in Roeselare, when he got back home last night, put his feet up on the sofa, and took a look at the images of the race, Ewan wasn’t quite so convinced that he lost this one:
I kinda think I won. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/Oaa2sK9obJ
— Caleb Ewan (@CalebEwan) March 5, 2023
Sharing two photos of the finish that appear to show the Lotto Dstny rider pipping his Belgian rival by the faintest of margins (though, to play Devil’s Advocate, the overhead shot would appear to rule – slightly – in Thissen’s favour), the Australian wrote on Twitter: “I kinda think I won. If anyone’s got photo of big G clearly beating me it would actually make me feel a bit better to be honest.”
Here’s another one. If anyone’s got photo of big G clearly beating me it would actually make me feel a bit better to be honest🙈 pic.twitter.com/Zko46pUQI6
— Caleb Ewan (@CalebEwan) March 5, 2023
To make matters worse, a photo of the finish line image used to decide the winner was also shared on Twitter. And let’s just say it’s a bit grainy…
I’ve seen proof of the Yeti with more pixels https://t.co/GhbvQ4cXKy
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) March 5, 2023
Ufologists wouldn’t be able to do anything with this picture
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) March 5, 2023
The photo that the organisers used to decide the winner #GPMonsere #GPMonseré https://t.co/WKHVxxQ5UX pic.twitter.com/yYjARYQ400
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) March 5, 2023
The way things are going, it might take a Nessie sighting for Ewan to break his spell of bad luck this season.
Maybe he needs to have a chat with Tom Pidcock about bouncing back from dodgy photo finish defeats…
6 March 2023, 09:37
6 March 2023, 09:37
CyclingMikey AND Ashley Neal in the same story? We’re spoiling you today…
CyclingMikey wishes Ashley Neal would "leave me alone" as YouTube driving instructor uploads another video criticising his approach
In his latest "Ashley's Analysis" video the footballer-turned-driving instructor questioned Mikey's riding around pedestrians, arguing it is "concerning" if his followers copy
6 March 2023, 09:37
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Some years ago (before there was a cycle lane) I used to commute on Sidmouth St. But only because I worked on the London Road campus, from anywhere else there are better alternatives. As a cycle route it runs from between two busy roads, neither of which are exactly cycle friendly. So it's hardly surprising that no cyclists use it.
The officer's comments unfortunately reflect the reality of UK law. While the Highway Code guidance indeed refers to 1.5m, that is not anywhere in the law. And the criteria in law for proving a charge of careless driving does in fact rest on whether the rider is being "inconvenienced", as the discovered several years ago when the Met prosecuted a taxi driver who nearly hit me when cutting into my lane from the left near Marylebone. The prosecution lawyer was a barely competent newbie who fumbled over his words. The court computer was barely capable of playing the video footage, which kept freezing and crashing. The cabbie had an highly assertive defence lawyer who immediately seized on this point, and argued to the magistraite that I clearly hadn't been "inconvenienced" because I had not stopped or swerved, and had carried on my journey. Never mind that didn't have time to do either of those things, or that I was centimetres from being hit - the magistraite acquitted him on those grounds. That is unfortunately the outrageous reality of actually prosecuting a close pass incident. I know it's popular to blame the police and the CPS for not prosecuting enough close passes ... but the fact is the law is inadequate, and if the driver has a good lawyer then they can likely get off most close pass prosecutions.
Let's not forget the protruding "side" mirror...
HTML rules are clearly only partially implemented
please can we have the ability to use bold and italics for emphasis back as well?
As a Reading resident and cyclist, I can say I cannot think of a single occasion when I have seen a cyclist using the Sidmouth St cycle lane, nor can I think of any reason I'd use it myself. It doesn't connect to any other useful cycle routes. I don't rejoice that some of it is going back to motor traffic but I can see why the council is proposing to do that. Reading could really do with a cycleway to cross the town centre west to east and east to west but I'm not holding my breath on that.
Giant are one of the most trustworthy brands out there when it comes to manufacturing components given that they actually own their own production facilities. None of that matters though when it comes to road hookless, I and most other people won't touch it with a barge pole. We're surely at a stage now where it's toxic amongst consumers and it's only a matter of time before the UCI ban it for racing.
Filling the road with one person per car is using the road space more efficiently, amazing, I never realised that.
I bought a Giant Defy recently and immediately sold off the hookless wheels at a pretty big loss and won't ever do that again. I'm not buying hookless for road ever. Giant in particular has very short list of what tires they test with their rims so it's way too restrictive even if I was going to ride hookless wheels. Which I won't. Very short sighted by Giant.
Insulting someone on the basis of their ethnicity, gender or sexuality is a hate crime, calling them fat isn't. It would be the homophobia, not the fat-shaming, for which he was charged.
21 thoughts on ““I kinda think I won”: Caleb Ewan rues another dubious (and grainy) photo finish defeat; Pidcock’s masterpiece; Newly installed ‘murder strip’ blasted by Dublin cyclists; James May: e-bikes are world-changing; Women’s Freedom Ride + more on the live blog”
The overhead looks like Ewan
The overhead looks like Ewan won as well, if you look at the bikes. Thijssen’s head and shoulders may appear further forwards, but that’s just a parallax error as a result of them being significantly higher up.
The photo-finish equipment does show Thijssen just ahead (despite the low quality) but it’s surely miscalibrated to the physical line on the road. The problem is that the rules define the photo finish line as the finish line no matter what – which is a major problem if the visible line the riders are aiming at isn’t quite in the same place or at the same angle.
For major one day classics,
For major one day classics, Tom Pidcock’s win is definitely right up there. Not at a “major classic” but Ian Stannard vs Quickstep at the (2015 I think) Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is still something to behold.
I think using the phrase “..
I think using the phrase “…right at the death” whilst discussing the finish of a race dedicated to the memory of Jean-Pierre Monseré, killed whilst racing is in poor taste to be honest.
Captain Slow becomes Captain
Captain Slow becomes Captain Sensible
(Without the aid of a beret or an Hawaiian shirt)
belugabob wrote:
Well, that’s just happy talk, isn’t it…?
Well I’ll be damned- you beat
Well I’ll be damned- you beat me to it.
I said wot?
I said wot?
Had to look that one up –
Had to look that one up – sorry!
James May might be on to
James May might be on to something regarding E-bikes. I’ve recently moved to the suburbs and it’s noticeable how many people, especially oldies, who are running errands on their E-bikes.
Owd Big 'Ead wrote:
Agree, seeing more here as well as school runs done on an e-cargo. The more the merrier, bring it on.
Owd Big 'Ead wrote:
The uptake of e-bikes has largely been spearheaded by ‘more mature’ folk, as they seem to get it and embrace it.
It definitely removes one item from the list of excuses that gets rolled out on a regular basis
If ebikes could be recognised
If ebikes could be recognised as legitimate mobility vehicles, it would help
Agreed! E-bikes are indeed
Agreed! E-bikes are indeed vehicles for assisted mobility.
He is indeed right, and kudos
He is indeed right, and kudos to the Times for an article featuring ebikes, but it was one drop in an ocean of electric cars stories, with the media firmly in the Nelson camp of “ebikes, I see no ebikes” holding the telescope to their blind eye.
Hardly surprising since we’ve had decades of a media either anti-cycling or indifferently ignoring it. There has been a number of articles about obesity recently, and I’ve heard a few, BBC and LBC, but despite lengthy interviews and analysis, cycling is ignored, despite being the most effective way of tackling it according to NICE. Almost all comments on the obesity crisis centres on food, and I remain baffled by this.
What on earth were they
What on earth were they thinking in Dublin.
That is some of the worst “infrastructure” I’ve ever seen.
Whoever at the council signed that off should hang their head in shame.
shitfrastructure
shitfrastructure
I reckon the people who have
I reckon the people who have no problem with speeding in a motor are exactly the same people who think a bike at any speed is screeching past or zooming or other hyperbolic term for speed.
“the cyclist came out of
“the cyclist came out of nowhere”
“selfish cyclists taking up all the road”
“shouldn’t be on the road because you don’t pay Road Tax”
They are all from the same anti-cyclist bingo card. But how could so many people independently spout the same ill-informed comments/rants to hand? It’s almost as if they’ve had it drummed into them. Speed cameras are like the Stasi, motorists are “persecuted” or “hard-pressed” (like the accelerator pedal too much of the time). It’s a complete joke, the reverse of reality.
Meanwhile James May’s comments surely won’t make headlines beyond road.cc, far too sensible.
And the #WomensFreedomRide is only necessary because cyclists – especially female cyclists – are particularly vulnerable road users.
JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote
They also seem (unsurprisingly, given what appears to be their fairly limited mental acuity) unable to appreciate the irony of the fact that prior to the cyclist approaching them they were walking along the edge of a busy road inches away from motors coming past at 30 mph plus, and that statistically they are 50+ times more likely to be killed by one of those mounting the pavement than by a cyclist on the shared path.
Re: “There’s a cycle lane
Re: “There’s a cycle lane there, you p***k”
What’s almost as depressing as the altercation itself is the comments on the Twatter feed. More than half of the “contributors” are blindly in support of the parents who are “f”ing and “c”ing their heads off in front of their poor kid with no justification I can see other than their normalised hatred of what they don’t understand. Both “parents” look like they could do with some exercise anyway. As ever, education is the key and that poor child has an immediate disadvantage.
I find it interesting that
I find it interesting that the main focus is purely on the moral outrage, swearing in front of a child, maybe he didnt realise it was her turn 😉
Because if Mr pedestrian had simply said hey old chap do you awfully mind not doing that and giving us some more room, we’d be having a different conversation.
One that went cycling past pedestrians on a shared path that narrow, at any speed, let alone that speed, is not only a bad look its actually pretty lousy level of riding.
A shared path does not give you free reign to pass people like that.And I wouldn’t be at all pleased with myself on reflection reviewing that encounter if I’d ridden past a group of pedestrians like that.
But then my cynicism is off the scale with how this kind of thing comes about.
A somehow experienced cyclist on a path barely wide enough to ride on next to a road like that is shocked when a guy with tattoos doesnt mind his ps and qs when you close pass him like that. And what do you think that guy is going to do the next time he passes a cyclist in a car ?