“Will the gaslighting of law-abiding cyclists never end?”: Jeremy Vine shares footage of “arrogant” van driver who objects to him “riding in the middle of the lane” (and debuts his first ‘AI-generated song’) + more on the live blog

> Tragedy at Tour of Flanders sportive as two cyclists confirmed dead, one from heart failure on Taaienberg and another after “collapsing” on Oude Kwaremont

> “My industry cannot survive”: Tern Bicycles facing $1 million Trump tariff charges for e-bike shipments, as its US manager urges bike industry to “blow up” Republicans “with letters”

> Tadej Pogačar denies Mathieu Van der Poel record-breaking win as world champion soloes to second Tour of Flanders victory

> Lotte Kopecky makes history by becoming the first female cyclist to win Tour of Flanders for a third time

A testament to how strong of a community cycling can build, and as Chris from Rapha put it on LinkedIn, how approachable the sport is, was on display before the Tour of Flanders as a Wout van Aert paid visit to a cafe which had a put up a sign outside: “Wout van Aert, stop here for free cakes”.

While the Visma-Lease a Bike rider could only bag a fourth place finish despite a strong showing in yesterday’s Tour of Flanders, he got himself 36 free eclairs and perhaps made the day of a lucky cafe owner in Belgium during his Flanders recon ride.

“Go for a recon ride and come home with 36 free eclairs. Only in Belgium. Love it.” Van Aert wrote on Strava.

Chris, meanwhile, shared his thoughts on LinkedIn: “Love this! Such passion in Belgium for the sport. The picture, captured on a recon ride last week before Ronde van Vlaanderen, shows Wout Van Aert stopping at a local bakery (presumably for the promised tart).

“This captures not only how big cycling is in Belgium, but also how accessible the sport’s biggest stars are, with none coming bigger than Wout. Few elite sports can match this closeness fans are able to get to the athletes — something I hope never changes.

“Awesome to see Wout fighting toe-to-toe with Tadej, Mathieu and Mads yesterday after a tough week for him and the team.”

> Tadej Pogačar shares Tour of Flanders destruction on Strava… and doesn’t get flagged this year

You guessed it, this is a tipoff from Dan — the only road.cc news staffer who’s enjoying a decent footballing season. With the title race seemingly wrapped up neatly in a bow for Liverpool, Arne Slot’s men suffered a rare hiccup at Craven Cottage yesterday, falling to three quickfire first half goals from Fulham.

And while the Cottagers put in a commendable performance, weathering wave after wave of Liverpool’s attacks in the second half, full-back Timothy Castagne delivered not only a standout performance on the pitch, but off it too — the Belgian was seen riding a Lime bike up Putney Hill after the match, waving at a fan screaming “three two”.

Just Timothy Castagne cycling home up Putney Hill yesterday after beating Liverpool 3-2 at the Cottage. Filmed by my son @FulhamFC @WhiteNoise1879 pic.twitter.com/9sqYLj5gF3

— Darren Crouch (@darrenjcrouch) April 7, 2025

These beautiful moments often get lost in the tense, dramatic situations of pro cycling, but really, this is what it’s all about.

 

 

 

 

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An emphatic second Flanders title for world champion Tadej Pogačar was perhaps underscored even more by the clear upper hand the Slovenian displayed over his rival Mathieu van der Poel — most fans’ pre-race favourite after the Dutchman’s victory at Milan-Sanremo two weeks ago, but was ultimately denied a record-breaking fourth win over the Flemish cobbles.

Van der Poel never looked as strong as he did on the Cipressa and Poggio — his involvement in a crash early on in the race probably already placing him at a disadvantage.

Mathieu van der Poel at the 2025 Tour of Flanders, by Zac Williams/SWpix.com

“I was already pretty much at my limit from quite early on,” the defending champion said in his post-race interview. “Of course, a crash is not ideal and doesn’t feel good. But the damage wasn’t too bad. I was lucky. After that, we fought well as a team, and I did everything I could. That’s why I’m happy with my 3rd place and the podium.”

“I got pushed to the side just before the Kwaremont, and I had to come from far behind. Other than that, it wasn’t too bad. The strongest rider was at the front, right? That’s almost always the rider who reaches the top of the Kwaremont first.

“It’s pretty clear who was the strongest today. I wasn’t good enough. Again, I never really felt great, and I was at my limit from far out. With experience and determination, I fought my way onto the podium.”

When asked if he was still optimistic of a fourth De Ronde victory, Van der Poel said with an honest smile: “Everyone says the fourth win will come easily. But that’s what they thought about the previous guys with three victories too. Who knows, maybe it will stay at three, but I’m very proud of that.”

> Lance Armstrong claims Tour de France titles will be reinstated as “history always tells the truth”

Yep, you read that right. Turns out, you can, in fact, get disqualified for “speeding” in a triathlon race…

But that’s what the rules for the Ironman 70.3 Oceanside dictate. The triathlon competition taking place in California, has been the Achilles’ heel for many athletes, including former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button.

And its latest victim has been 41-year-old Australian pro cyclist and triathlete Cameron Wurf. The reason? In the race, there is one specific stretch of the bike course where specific speed limits are enforced for safety reasons.

 

 

 

 

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Wurf, who’s also an Olympic-level rower, had come out of the water around a minute off the pace set by Greg Harper, and was then setting about making inroads into the deficit as the bike leg moved into it’s final third. And that’s where he was caught out by the speed trap.

“I was expecting the steep climb, and it caught me by surprise. But it was actually the steep one, then the easy one, and then the descent. I was like s***!” he said in a video posted on Instagram.

“I’ll run anyway… it wasn’t the best day for me. Well obviously my handlebars came loose, and then I just wasn’t concentrating where the descent was. I went too fast, so it sounds like I’ve been disqualified.”

> Tragedy at Tour of Flanders sportive as two cyclists confirmed dead, former Cofidis pro died after “collapsing” on Oude Kwaremont

If you were unaware of how Peter Sagan is spending his retirement days, the former world champion has been jiving to Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog and going topless as Ken in a Barbie cha-cha-cha, as a contestant in Let’s Dance, Slovakia’s version of Strictly Come Dancing.

Although some keen viewers of the show (*cough* Ryan) were aghast at how the flamboyant cyclist had survived so deep into the competition, it’d appear that he has managed to win over many people.

 

 

 

 

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In the sixth week of the show, Sagan channelled his Richard Gere and chose the quickstep (no, not the team), turning the stage into an 80s ballroom. And while he did just enough to avoid elimination, scoring a total of 25 out of 40 and ranking sixth out of the seven contestants, social media is ablaze with controversies of the ‘nine’ score from guest judge and Slovak musician Dara Rolins.

> He’s just Peter… Sagan goes topless (and blonde) as Ken for Barbie-themed cha-cha-cha – and survives another week on Let’s Dance, as fans say: “I don’t care how he dances, but I’m really entertained”

Many viewers claimed that they weren’t a fan of Rolins awarding actor Juraj Kemka — the participant who got eliminated this week — a score of five, while Sagan was given a nine.

“That Dara is not objective at all, don’t get mad at me, but nine points for a ‘non-dance hopping’?,” wrote one viewer, while another said: “Excuse me, but giving Rachel a six and Pete a nine is already questionable, apparently he’s agreed to be ‘kept’.”

 

 

 

 

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> “My dancing idol is Patrick Swayze”: Peter Sagan signs up for Strictly Slovakia – but how have other pro cyclists who swapped their bikes for the ballroom fared?

Such is the case on Instagram comments as well, where one person said: “These Slovak ‘divas’ and their evaluation… Matyáš and Eva will get two points less from Dara than Sagan sliding on the floor!”

Another wrote: “Sagan a nine? So was he as good as Baran? And worse than Burešová? You should clean it up a little, because it’s becoming a joke. Terribly trying to push Sagan at the expense of others like you did last week?”

As someone who has absolutely no opinions on dances or reality shows (that’s strictly Ryan’s territory), I’ll sit this one out and let you all decide if Sagan really did deserve a nine or was he deserving of the elimination instead…

 

 

 

 

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A jury in Boulder County, Colorado, has found the driver who fatally struck 17-year-old U.S. junior cycling talent Magnus White guilty of “reckless vehicular homicide”.

Yeva Smilianska, 24, was convicted on Friday night, nearly two years after the July 2023 crash that claimed the life of the promising cyclist as he trained for the UCI World Championships.

White was riding on the shoulder of Colorado State Highway 119 when Smilianska veered out of her lane and struck him from behind. According to the Colorado State Patrol, the crash occurred just south of the 63rd Street intersection at 12:33 pm on 29 July.

Deputy District Attorney Trish Mittelstadt told jurors Smilianska had stayed up all night drinking and was severely sleep-deprived when she got behind the wheel.

“On July 29, 2023, the defendant recklessly drove her car, smashing into the back of Magnus White’s bicycle, killing him,” she said. “She swerves two times, and then on the last time, she crashes right into the back of him, sending him flying in the air.”

Mittelstadt said the crash was not caused by a momentary lapse, but by a complete loss of consciousness due to exhaustion, adding: “This is not dozing off behind the wheel — this is passing out.”

The court also heard that Smilianska claimed a steering malfunction was responsible. However, prosecutors showed bodycam footage in which she gave that explanation multiple times, even after being confronted with contrary evidence.

“She continued to tell this story not because she couldn’t accept this — she didn’t want to be held responsible for it,” Mittelstadt said.

Smilianska, who remains out of custody, is due to be sentenced on June 13. She faces a presumptive sentence of two to six years in prison, although the charge is probation-eligible.

> Promising teenage cyclist killed after being hit by driver just days before World Championships

Outside the courtroom, Magnus White’s parents spoke emotionally about their son and criticised the handling of the investigation.

“We want to start with Magnus because it was his life that was stolen. He was our boy, our beautiful, beautiful boy and brother,” said his mother, Jill White.

“Make no mistake, that driver killed Magnus,” said his father, Michael. “But the trial revealed something else: the systemic failure by those whose job it is to protect the public.”

Michael White said law enforcement failed to follow basic protocol, did not test Smilianska for drugs, and initially suggested she had done nothing wrong.

“We thought [the trooper] would tell us they were investigating the driver who killed our son. Instead, we were told the driver did everything right.”

He added that although cocaine was referenced in evidence and text messages about buying it were found on Smilianska’s phone, this information was redacted and never presented to the jury.

“Magnus’s death was not an accident, it was a crime,” he said. “We’ll never stop missing our Magnus, and we will never stop fighting for him.”

The White family have since founded a nonprofit in their son’s honour, The White Line, which aims to support young cyclists and push for safer roads.

> Vicar who claimed “church is under threat” from bike lane now blames cycle route for congregation “getting lost” and plummeting attendance

There’s something about Jeremy Vine’s videos that make them go viral on social media— the editing, the tacky symbols and markings, the kitschy gifs floating around in the middle of the frame… Now you can add some questionable AI-generated songs to that list too.

In his latest video, the BBC Radio 2 and Channel 5 presenter is riding innocuously on Shaftesbury Avenue in Soho, London when a van driver comes speeding up behind him. Vine says: “Watch the speed this van arrives at. He is not waiting.”

After exclaiming out of shock and alarm — “understably so”, he adds — the driver can be seen “gesticulating,” before calling at Vine from his window.

“You’re coming over to the middle of the road,” the driver says, to which Vine points out: “The middle of the road is there, I was in the middle of the lane.”

The driver continues objecting, saying that he hadn’t signalled that he would be “coming over”. Vine asks: “Why would you come that close to a bicycle anyway?”, but the driver simply repeats: “You’re drifting to the middle.”

> “I’m impartial on everything – except my own safety”: Jeremy Vine on his cycling “radicalisation”, Twitter trolls, the “gaslighting of cyclists”, and why bad streets and bad drivers cause road danger

Cue the montage of the AI-generated song, complemented with some AI-generated images too. It would be unfair to deprive you of the experience of listening to it for the first time, so I’d let you all get on with that…

This van driver justifies aggressively tearing up behind me by accusing me of “drifting” in my lane. So now he has his own song.

Will the gaslighting of law-abiding cyclists never end? pic.twitter.com/pCtKZRxf2v

— Jeremy Vine | Here, on Insta & Facebook (@theJeremyVine) April 5, 2025

The driver does awkwardly laugh his way out of the conversation and continues to drive off, with Vine claiming he drove “as fast as he possibly could to make his point”.

But as is the case in terms of efficiency of riding a bike or being in a car on London roads, a mile later, Vine simply catches up to him at a traffic light.

“Now we see he buys no advantage whatsoever because there he is… He’s got nowhere, and imperilled me on the way,” Vine concludes, before cuing his AI-generated song once again.

One person replied: “As usual in these cases, the really worrying thing is that he still doesn’t realise that HE is the problem,” while another commented: “Arrogant, dangerous driver.”