Work on next stage of controversial cycle lane which some traders claimed would “kill” village set to continue, months on from Dame Sarah Storey defending project and stating “a bike lane doesn’t close a village”; Viral MTB crash + more on the live blog

Pain. 

We shared the short vid of this on Tuesday’s live blog, but more details have now emerged — including the miraculous news the teenager involved walked away unharmed — so here’s another look, if you can face it.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Lloyd bennett (@lloyd._.bennett1.0)

Incredibly, the 14-year-old mountain biker seen hitting the gate, Lloyd Bennett, walked away with just a cut to his finger, his father Terry (the rider behind Lloyd in the clip) reporting to the Mail he’s mainly “devastated to see his £4,000 x works GT professional bike snapped in half”.

The incident happened back in January, on the One Giant Leap track near Llangollen, North Wales. 

“The gate at the bike park is always open, but we were the first down the track that morning and the wind must have blown it closed,” Terry explained, saying he has renamed his son ‘Lucky’ after the 30mph crash.

Both were running cameras, Lloyd’s Instagram post sharing the footage going viral with 1.8m likes and more than 29 million views since he shared it earlier this week.

In the longer video Lloyd is apparently up on his feet almost instantly, his father’s comment “that’s the end of your bike” an immediate disappointment, even if he’d somehow managed to avoid any injury beyond a cut to his finger.

With Lloyd’s health confirmed, the Instagram comments naturally did what they do best… make jokes…

“Cheers for opening the gate mate.”

“I’m sure there’s a good joke about a gate here… but ya might take a fence.”

Info @Gazzetta_it – As we early reported in our paper editon last sunday (2 march) sources confirmed us that @TamauPogi @TeamEmiratesUAE can be considered “very close” to be at @parisroubaix this year. Obviously things can change but this is the situation at this stage

— Ciro Scognamiglio (@cirogazzetta) March 5, 2025

> Cyclists slam council’s decision to spend millions on “pointless” figure-of-eight loop “bridge to nowhere”, instead of fixing muddy quagmire around it

Soudal Quick-Step have put out the following statement regarding their former CEO Patrick Lefevere, who spent the night in an intensive care unit after falling ill yesterday.

After feeling unwell yesterday evening, Patrick Lefevere was taken to hospital in Gent, where he spent the night under medical examination. This morning, Patrick is feeling well and the team wishes him a speedy recovery and hopes to welcome him soon at one of the races. We kindly ask that you respect Patrick’s privacy at this time.

> Decathlon’s cycling brand Van Rysel launches first carbon wheelsets, starting from €799.99 and suitable for road or gravel riding

> Concerns raised about possible attacks on cyclists after popular family cycle path sabotaged with piles of logs “deliberately” left by “idiots” and hooded men spotted shouting threats at passing riders

Right, I’m back from a lunch spin for some more live blogging. It’s glorious out there (at least where I am)… even had to find the shorts from the back of the draw. No gloves, shorts, nearly 15 degrees… lovely.

The UCI and MyWhoosh has announced this year’s Esports World Championships will once again be held in Abu Dhabi, as it was last year. It will be held on 15 November and will see the top 20 male and female athletes from the semi-finals compete for the discipline’s rainbow jerseys.

Our press release from the UCI states Abu Dhabi “continues to foster the growth of cycling”. Translation: Abu Dhabi continues to chuck loads of money at cycling. In addition to hosting this year and last year’s UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, the city will also host the 2028 UCI Road World Championships, the 2028 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships and the 2029 Tissot UCI Track World Championships. Abu Dhabi also hosted the 2024 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships last December.

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself with that post title, let’s hope Tom Pidcock can make Saturday afternoon somewhat more competitive than some of Pogačar’s 2024 dominations. Here’s the defending champ refamiliarising himself with that famous finish.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by País do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo)

Pidcock vs Pogi: who have you got? 

Talking of the main man, Pogačar spoke to French newspaper L’Équipe about his cycling philosophy, the world champ explaining he “prefers the idea of being a Classics rider who wins Grand Tours” rather than a Grand Tour specialist who can pick up some one-day races along the way.

“I love the Classics, they’re pure adrenaline, a one-day shock that has nothing to do with suffering spread out over three weeks,” he explained. “You have to be physically and psychologically ready to battle for six hours, often in bad weather, on roads that are always the same and that everyone knows by heart. The good move can start anywhere, you have to be a bit of a gambler, not make mistakes.

“On that one day, you have to be the strongest, the luckiest, the most inspired, everything has to line up, there are no catch-up sessions. As everything is decided in a single day, the emotion of victory is incomparable.

“Milan-San Remo is the least predictable race on the calendar, but it’s the one where I really want to improve and try to win it again and again.”

And what about Roubaix? “I can’t say if it will be this year or next year, but I can’t say no to the fact that it will be this year, there is always a chance. We will see, let’s leave a little surprise, I really love this race. I thought it would be too hard for me, but when I did the reconnaissance I said to myself that maybe I could do it. If I am in good shape, maybe I could try… For now I am focused on Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, after these two races I think I will make my decision.”

The extension of a cycle lane between Castleton and Rochdale town centre is set to begin next month, junction upgrades and new crossings also part of the project that is the second stage of a scheme heavily criticised by some locals and business owners last year.

“This project will transform a major, well used route in Rochdale town centre, with improved journey times for motorists and significant safety improvements to support walkers, cyclists and people using wheelchairs and prams,” Councillor Shah Wazir, cabinet member for highways, said.

Last year, traders in Castleton claimed the cycle lane had “killed” the village and was “ruining business”. Their main complaint was that on-street parking was replaced by the cycling infrastructure, shop owners claiming if customers “can’t park outside, they can’t stop here”… that despite the project seeing the addition of 80 new off-street spaces.

Dame Sarah Storey, Greater Manchester’s Active Travel Commissioner, responded to the complaints, argued “a bike lane doesn’t close a village” and pointed to other economic factors that have hit people across the country in recent times.

She said: “It’s a coincidence, not an unexpected consequence. The timing in Castleton was really challenging, with the cost of living crisis and coming out of the pandemic. When you’ve two things like that colliding, they’ve had to take it to experts to discuss how they can sort the economic side out.

“A bike lane doesn’t close a village. It opens it up and enables more people to choose to move. Not everybody can drive, not everybody owns a car and they’re now connected to a train station and soon to the town centre through the extension.”