Helmets don’t prevent concussion, warns British Cycling; “Forget the conspiracy theories”: Most Brits support 15-minute cities; Lotto Dstny complains over blurry finish photo; Driver takes up bike hangar space – by crashing into it + more on the live blog

Did you know… Sam Bennett was wearing the points jersey today? No really, that jersey isn’t his normal Bora-Hansgrohe jersey no matter how close it is to it #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/XMCErwmfrv

— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) March 6, 2023

I don’t think ASO, when they decided to (rather controversially) opt for a darker, seemingly Bora-Hansgrohe-inspired, shade of green for their Paris-Nice, Dauphiné, and Tour de France points jerseys, forecast that the kit’s inaugural holder would be none other than Bora sprinter Sam Bennett.

But at least it provided yesterday’s Paris-Nice viewers with a stage-long game of ‘spot the green jersey’:

If anyone tells me the brand-new green jersey is visible, I’ll just show them this picture. 🤷‍♂️

Perfect example of changing a jersey according to the colours of a sponsor, making it worse for spectators. #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/Q5l3P3OGLG

— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) March 6, 2023

I’ve just not spotted the new Green jersey at Paris Nice.
Change it back. It doesn’t stand out on TV so is useless.

— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) March 6, 2023

Jumbo-Visma’s Olav Kooij will be wearing the British racing green/Saudi Arabia football kit homage during today’s novel ‘every man for himself’ team time trial in Dampierre-en-Burly.

Jumbo will be hoping Kooij doesn’t roll down the start ramp with Bora by mistake…

Tadej Pogacar would be “another 2km/h faster” on Jumbo-Visma, Ineos or Soudal-Quick Step team bikes, claims classics winner https://t.co/DFVFmZKSvM #cycling pic.twitter.com/N1niyQEAMD

— road.cc (@roadcc) March 7, 2023

Tadej Pogačar, 2km/h faster? Now there’s a scary thought. But that’s what late ‘80s and early ‘90s classics contender Dirk De Wolf reckons would prove the case if the double Tour de France winner swapped his trusty team Colnago for one of his rivals’ Specialized or Pinarello models.

Tom Boonen, another Belgian who knows a thing or two about winning bike races, was a touch more diplomatic in his appraisal of the iconic Italian brand during his chat with the WielerClub Wattage podcast – but did admit that Colnago largely remains an “old-school” manufacturer currently lagging behind its more cutting-edge counterparts.

> Tadej Pogacar would be “another 2km/h faster” on Jumbo-Visma, Ineos or Soudal-Quick Step team bikes, says classics winner

I feel a poll coming on…

What do you think? Has the Formula 1-ification of cycling really had such a massive impact on the outcome of races?

Or does it still all come down to good legs and a cool head by the finish?

Super Survey Maker

Strade Bianche has been and gone, the heady stage racing mix of Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico is underway, and the battling within the peloton is starting to get lively.

After being accused of moving sharply to the right and body-checking Michael Matthews during the build-up to yesterday’s intermediate sprint at Paris-Nice – won, of course, by the seconds-hungry Tadej Pogačar – Jumbo-Visma’s Nathan Van Hooydonck defended his actions and insisted that he was pushed himself.

#parisnice Van Hooydonck keeping Matthews on his toes pic.twitter.com/X80ZPA0C41

— Christopher Smith: Lazer US Marketing – Shimano NA (@HC_IG2MAS) March 6, 2023

While veteran Flemish commentator, and former pro and team manager, José De Cauwer winced at the mid-bunch touch of shoulders – from which Matthews was lucky to escape unharmed – warned the 27-year-old to be careful as “VAR is watching”, on closer inspection Van Hooydonck appeared to be reacting to a movement from a Groupama-FDJ rider to his left.

“I was pushed myself, couldn’t move,” the Belgian told Sporza after the stage. “I don’t think José has raced for a long time or needs glasses.”

Meanwhile, as most of the cycling world fixated on a run-of-the-mill, and ultimately harmless, bit of contact in the Paris-Nice peloton, a masters racer in Spain was disqualified for this shocking display of violence – aimed at two junior riders – during a round of the Copa de España at the weekend:

🤬 Ayer, en la Copa de España de Noja, se produjo esta lamentable imagen

❌ La ciclista que empuja, de categoría máster 40, fue descalificada

🚴‍♀️ Las corredoras que caen son de categoría Junior#EsenciaCiclista / 📹 Sportpublic pic.twitter.com/NCZkOSvttI

— Esencia Ciclista (@EsenciaCiclista) March 6, 2023

Ridiculous.

By the way. Absolutely nobody knows who finished third at the first climb on stage 2, and who should have earned a single KOM point as a result. It’s simply not recorded. Apparently it was one of the EF riders, but no one knows which one. #cycling #abitchaotic

— Ned Boulting 🏳️‍⚧️ (@nedboulting) March 7, 2023

In the latest instalment of ‘Now That’s What I Call Cycling Infra’, a 2.9km cycling and walking tunnel – purported to be the longest purpose-built active travel tunnel in the world – will open next month in the Norwegian city of Bergen.

The tunnel, which will take roughly ten minutes to ride through, cuts through the Løvstakken mountain overlooking the coastal city, linking the residential areas of Fyllingsdalen and Mindemyren before joining pre-existing cycle routes into the city centre.

The tunnel, which will be open from 5.30am to 11.30pm daily from 15 April, was financed by the state-supported Miljøløftet (Environmental Promise), which aims to reduce traffic, cut emissions, and facilitate the shift from driving to cycling and walking in Bergen, the host of the 2017 world road race championships.

For those keeping score at home, the Snoqualmie cycle tunnel near the US city Seattle, still stands as the longest in the world at 3.6km. Meanwhile, Bergen’s new 2.9km tunnel, with its dedicated pedestrian and cycle lanes, comes in second and takes the coveted European title.

But, and this is important, since Seattle’s tunnel took over from an abandoned railway tunnel, Norway can at least claim, when Guinness come calling, to have the world’s longest purpose-built cycling tunnel.

But who really cares about the numbers when you can cycle to work through a mountain?

“Team Time Trial”#ParisNice2023 pic.twitter.com/AAlf8Fotd8

— Lena Kolumna 🐘 (@reathina) March 7, 2023

Wow, really impressive ride from Attila Valter 💪🏼🔥🐝🖤💛!
🇮🇹 #StradeBianche pic.twitter.com/80dFTjvz8B

— José 🐝 (@SpoelJo) March 4, 2023

While Tom Pidcock was storming to the win at Strade Bianche on Saturday, all was not well within the Jumbo-Visma camp.

The Dutch team, which dominated Opening Weekend with ominous back-to-back displays of heavy metal cycling at Omloop Het Nieuwwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, appeared a shadow of their dominant selves, as Kuurne winner Tiesj Benoot and Hungarian champion Attila Valter failed to gel in the finale, enabling Pidcock to hang on for a sensational win.

The lack of harmony between the Jumbo-Visma pair was strikingly evident when Benoot, who had forced a selection on one of the race’s many tough gravel hills, waved his arms in frustration after turning around to see teammate Valter apparently dragging Matej Mohorič and Quinn Simmons back into contention.

“What are you doing here?!”

Tiesj Benoot is not best pleased with Jumbo-Visma teammate Attila Valter as they try to chase down Tom Pidcock …#StradeBianche pic.twitter.com/GNlYPsw7o5

— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 4, 2023

While Benoot’s reaction was rather at odds with the reality – Valter was, in fact, bridging across on his own – it epitomised the fractious nature of their relationship as they both vied for the win in Tuscany.

However, speaking to Eurosport, former Groupama-FDJ rider Valter denied that there was any bad blood between the Jumbo-Visma pair.

“It’s clear that I didn’t pull that group back,” the promising 24-year-old said. “It would’ve been an amateur move. I waited until they got tired of the effort on the penultimate gravel sector, and when I saw they are struggling, I jumped to the Benoot group alone. This could clearly be seen on TV too.

“I didn’t see Tiesj’s hand gesture, but later it became clear that he misunderstood the situation, I didn’t even think for one second that he thought I pulled the group back.

“Jumbo-Visma is not the team that does these kind of things and I’m not that man either. Of course, I make mistakes but this wouldn’t have been a mistake, this would’ve been selfishness on my part.

“Naturally I too have individual ambitions, but I’m not a selfish racer, and I was a bit surprised he thought I would do this.

“After the race he told his viewpoint, I told mine, the directors told theirs as well and we had a very positive discussion about what could’ve been done differently.

“Tiesj even said after the race that this ‘disappointment’ can be a good thing, because had we won the race, our mistakes wouldn’t have been dealt with properly.”

2018 Strade Bianche winner Benoot rues a missed opportunity in Siena (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Valter also commented on the vociferous online reaction to the team’s defeat in Tuscany, which he believes is indicative of the stratospheric expectations placed upon Jumbo-Visma and now, by extension, on himself.

“It’s a bit weird for me that the public are talking this much about the mistakes that we made, instead of being happy with the result we achieved,” he said.

“It’s something I have to get used to, but if you look at Wout (van Aert), it’s the same with him. Fans and journalists mock him for coming second in a lot of races, while he is one of the best riders in the world with a lot of victories and beautiful results on his palmares.

“I don’t really like this, but it also makes me proud, because it means I’m on a level where people expect results from me, and that people saw during the race that I was among the strongest riders, and they start to speculate about what could’ve been done differently to win or achieve a better result.

“I can understand this, I’m also a bit like this when I’m watching football. It was maybe a surprise that very many people gave a voice to their opinions publicly, but this shows that cycling is becoming increasingly popular all over the world and in Hungary too. It’s something we have to live with.”

💛 Nothing can stop Jumbo-Visma in a team time trial

🇩🇰 Magnus Cort takes the race lead from compatriot Mads Pedersen

⏱️ Jonas Vingegaard 11 seconds ahead of Tadej Pogacar in the GC#ParisNice | #ParisNice2023 pic.twitter.com/CZZelI1WEO

— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 7, 2023

Danish cycling is having quite the moment, isn’t it?

After Mads Pedersen became the first rider from Denmark to wear the leader’s jersey at Paris-Nice since Hour Record breaker Ole Ritter in 1970, the in-form Magnus Cort made it two from two in today’s unusually formatted team time trial, giving commentators everywhere licence to use a hackneyed, if very apt, metaphor about Copenhagen’s public transport system.

Cort’s successful bid for yellow was aided in no small part by the race organisers’ decision to add a slight twist to the TTT, stopping the clock on the first rider from each team to cross the line, rather than the fourth or fifth.

Whatever that bastard chimera child of a TTT was, I think it is or should be the future.

— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) March 7, 2023

This novel update to what appears to be an endangered species in pro racing – there are only two other TTTs scheduled for the rest of 2023 – allowed Cort to jump off at the end of the 32km effort (like a track team sprinter) to nab the yellow jersey from Jumbo-Visma’s Nathan Van Hooydonck by one solitary second.

That tactic – in which the riders from each team peeled off one by one, allowing their leader to sprint home (I’ll call it the Onion Method) – also paid dividends for Tadej Pogačar, whose scintillating turn of speed at the end enabled him to limit his losses to rival Jonas Vingegaard to 23 seconds.

Both Jayco-AlUla, who looked set to take the stage win for most of the day, and Groupama-FDJ adopted slight variations on this model to finish third and fourth respectively, with the little ad large pairs of Simon Yates and Michael Matthews, and David Gaudu and Stefan Küng two-upping their way to the line.

Stefan Kung escorting David Gaudu across the line today 😁 #ParisNice2023 #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/2xne181SSI

— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) March 7, 2023

Reckon that’s a big win for ASO (and other promoters) after new rules revitalise the team time trial format. Better for teams and better the fans too surely? #ParisNice2023

— Jeremy Whittle (@jeremycwhittle) March 7, 2023

These interesting tactics led some, including Bahrain’s Jack Haig, to ponder how a similarly formatted TTT would work with an uphill finish. Now, there’s an idea…

Despite all the novelty and tactical intrigue, the stage – somewhat unsurprisingly – went to the squad who treated it most like a standard TTT. Jumbo-Visma remained largely intact until the very end, taking the win and placing Vingegaard in a very strong position as the overall battle commences in earnest tomorrow.

🏅🇳🇱Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) gana la Etapa 2 de la Tirreno-Adriático 2023 🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico #Noticiclismo #Ciclismo pic.twitter.com/2WXgIuZ4cs

— NotiCiclismo ➡ 🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico (@Noticiclismo1) March 7, 2023

Meanwhile, over at Tirreno-Adriatico, Soudal-Quick Step’s Fabio Jakobsen secured his first European win of the season with a superbly timed sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen, after Fernando Gaviria looked, briefly, to have surprised the big hitters with an early launch.

Mark Cavendish’s struggle for form continued, however, with the Astana rider finishing a lowly 29th.

The results are in, and it turns out that the majority of road.cc readers reckon that, regardless of how many aero gains the press release says your bike has, bike racing still comes down to what you’ve got in the legs:

Now, if only Colnago could sell me a pair of legs too…

Meanwhile, Steve K was shocked to discover the latest form of Gen Z branding to infiltrate the pro peloton:

It had completely passed me by that ‘Destiny’ styled themselves as Dstny. I now hope that they lose every race.

And thisismyusername spoke for all of us by just being downright confused about the whole 15-minute cities debate:

I don’t understand the opposition to 15-minute cities. Why wouldn’t anyone want local amenities within 15 minutes of walking distance? Making facilities easier to access for all is surely a no brainer.

Probably best not to read the rest of the comments, then…

An absolute classic here (captured by road.cc reader Rendel) proving that despite what the benevolent motorists of Brighton and Hove may tell you, bike hangars won’t take up any car parking spaces at all… Especially if you just drive straight into them:  

Grove Lane SE5, 6/3/22. Truly they drive amongst us…how the blue blazes did they manage that? Waiting for confirmation from the Daily Mail/ABD that it’s definitely the cyclists’/council’s fault for taking up space on the road…@roadcc pic.twitter.com/OE7FbJegN9

— Rendel Harris (@Rendel_Harris) March 6, 2023

Fortunately, Graham’s got to the bottom of the whole thing: 

No hi viz.

— Graham Bond (@KingstonGraham) March 7, 2023

> Council “investigating” after driver outrage at cycle hangar “deliberately” blocking car parking spaces 

The mysterious case of the grainy finish photo continues to rumble on, as Sporza reports that Lotto Dstny have filed a complaint with the UCI over the rather dubious decision to award Intermarché-Circus-Wanty’s Gerben Thijssen the victory at Sunday’s GP Jean-Pierre Monseré – and have asked the sport’s governing body for proof that Caleb Ewan didn’t win the controversial sprint in Roeselare.

Yesterday we reported on the live blog that Ewan suffered his second photo finish defeat of the season at the Belgian one-day race, after the GP Monseré’s organisers – ten minutes after initially awarded the win to the Australian – decided in favour of his former teammate Thijssen… with the help of perhaps the least conclusive, and detailed, photo in the sport’s history.

On Sunday evening Ewan took to Twitter to question the decision, posting photos that appear to show his front wheel pipping the Belgian’s to the line, and writing, “If anyone’s got a photo of big G clearly beating me it would actually make me feel a bit better to be honest.”

And now Ewan’s team Lotto Dstny – who, following their relegation from the WorldTour last year, know the meaning of those missing UCI points – have lodged a complaint with the UCI and requested proof that their star sprinter didn’t take the win.

In the email sent to the sport’s governing body, which Sporza says has so far not been met with a reply, the Belgian team have demanded that if the UCI cannot provide indisputable evidence of the outcome of the race, then Ewan should be declared the joint winner.

I kinda think I won. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/Oaa2sK9obJ

— Caleb Ewan (@CalebEwan) March 5, 2023

Belgian Cycling is also currently investigating the matter which, for a professional race with teams and sponsors vying for crucial points, casts the sport in a pretty bad light.

One of the federation’s senior officials argued that the blurry finish photo “cannot be the intention”, and that lessons should be learned and that such a mishap can never happen again.

While the long-term effects of Sunday’s confusion may well result in stricter rules and better equipment for all pro races, will this whole debacle end in Ewan sharing the spoils with Thijssen?

A race ending in co-winners – as was also touted when Tim Merlier beat Ewan by the faintest of margins at the UAE Tour last month – is extremely rare in cycling, but has happened in the past, especially when the organisers have contributed to the mess.

This was famously the case at the 1949 Paris-Roubaix, when André Mahé and Fausto Coppi’s brother Serse shared the title, after a race marshal directed Mahé off course. However, that particular result took months of heated discussion – and two international conferences – to sort out.

Let’s hope the UCI is a bit more on the ball this time…

As regular readers of the live blog will know, February was well and truly the month of the Great 15-minute City Debate.

The hotly debated schemes – which, in a nutshell, attempt to combat congestion by ensuring that most local amenities can be accessed safely and easily by bike or on foot within 15 minutes – have spawned a head-scratching array of conspiracy theories, mostly based around surveillance, government control, and ‘climate lockdowns’ which will enforce people to stay within their own areas.

> Tory MP attacks 15-minute city concept with known conspiracy theory

These conspiracy theories, as unfounded and sometimes shameful as they are, have been raised by GB News stalwarts, Olympic swimmers-turned-controversialists, Members of Parliament, climate change deniers, and neo-Nazi-infiltrated demonstrations in recent weeks (the Monster Raving Loony party, meanwhile, bowed out of the debate, noting that the whole thing is even “too loony” for them).

The vocal and misleading opposition to the 15-minute city (which, it has to be said, has nestled up alongside residents who may have genuine concerns about LTNs and the like) was also tackled, with the kind of balance you’ve come to expect, on the road.cc Podcast last month.

> Why is the 15-minute city attracting so many conspiracy theories?

But, after a mad month of conspiracy theories and protests, a newly published YouGov poll has claimed that – shock horror – the majority of British people would actually quite like their local area to become a 15-minute neighbourhood, thank you very much.

Despite what you may have heard, a ’15 minute neighbourhood’ is simply one in which all essential amenities are within a 15 minute walk for everyone living in the area – and most Britons (62%) support their area becoming onehttps://t.co/9sHKzqhD1I pic.twitter.com/ReDGLK53RJ

— YouGov (@YouGov) March 6, 2023

The survey found that 62 percent of those asked would support their local authority making it a target to turn their area into a 15-minute neighbourhood, with a majority of both Labour (73 percent) and Tory (57 percent) voters feeling the same way.

However, while most Brits are in favour of the concept, less than half believed that it would be easy to implement within their own area – a factor influenced, rather unsurprisingly, by geography, with most rural respondents reckoning that the practical nature of a 15-minute neighbourhood was beyond their reach. 65 percent of “very urban” residents, meanwhile, believe that the schemes would be easy to implement.

Forget the conspiracy theories, 15 minute neighbourhoods are popular in Britain.

Here’s what amenities do Britons want within a 15 min walk from their home

Bus stop: 90%
Post box: 87%
Pharmacy: 85%
GP surgery: 83%
Park: 81%

More in chart 👇https://t.co/9sHKzqhD1I pic.twitter.com/ZnlWS4nedS

— YouGov (@YouGov) March 6, 2023

Those surveyed were then asked, in the event of the local council brining in the 15-minute concept, which amenities should or should not be included as part of the scheme, with over 80 percent of respondents reckoning that bus stops, post boxes, pharmacies, GP surgeries, and parks should all be reachable by a short walk or cycle.

It’s this kind of result which highlights the potential benefits of 15-minute-neighbourhoods. While 83 percents of those polled would fancy a GP surgery within walking or cycling distance, only 54 percent can currently reach one in that time.

This part of the poll, it must be said, did raise some eyebrows online – Why would anyone deliberately not want a post box or bus stop within 15 minutes of their house?

I suppose conspiracy theories will do that to you…

British Cycling has published its first concussion guidance for cyclists taking part in sanctioned events and recreational activities.

Based on the ‘If in doubt, sit it out’ principle, the guidance recommends that cyclists who have sustained a suspected concussion should be immediately removed from any cycling activity until appropriate treatment has been administered, and should not ride their bikes again that day.

In line with the Graduated Return to Play (GRTP) protocol used in rugby, those who experience concussion symptoms, however mild, should follow a progressive programme back to full activity and should not return to competition for at least three weeks.

> Why is Dan Walker’s claim that a bike helmet saved his life so controversial?

Rather topically, the advice also notes that “wearing a helmet or mouth guard does not protect you from suffering a concussion”.

According to a recent study from the University of Northampton and the University of Central Lancashire, four out of five competitive cyclists who use helmets are unaware of their limitations when it comes to offering protection, including from concussion, which the researchers behind the study argue may lead them to ignore the potential consequences of what riders could simply view as a ‘minor’ crash.

Of the 405 cyclists quizzed about their knowledge and use of helmets, and about issues related to concussion, only 20.5 percent correctly agreed that helmets do not prevent concussion (although they can of course mean that traumatic head injury sustained in a crash may be less severe than when not wearing one).

“Sports-related concussion has been a concern within other sports – such as Rugby and American Football – for some time now, understandably so,”  Dr Jack Hardwicke, a former racing cyclist and lecturer in Health Studies at the University of Northampton, said last year.

“But as our research shows, cyclists may be lulled into a false sense of security about their safety from sports-related-concussion because of their perceptions of injury and by the very fact that many are wearing headgear marketed as giving them protection from concussion.

“Coupled with a tendency within the sport to ‘brush off’ injuries and with many more of us ‘getting back on our bikes’, there is a need to make sure those who enjoy cycling do so as safely as possible.”

> Only one in five competitive cyclists aware that helmets do not protect from concussion, according to new research

Alongside the guidance, which also provides information and advice on concussion symptoms, how to return to cycling activity post-concussion, and the role of riders, parents, and coaches, the national governing body has launched a free e-learning module and infographic designed to raise awareness of how concussion can be safely managed across all levels of the sport.

The new guidelines and awareness campaign coincides with an amendment to British Cycling’s technical regulations, which from now will give commissaires and race officials the power to withdraw a rider from an event if they believe that their continued participation could effect the safety of themselves and those around them.

“In my time working with the Great Britain Cycling Team we’ve made excellent progress on educating riders, coaches, and staff on the risks of concussion, and how we manage them appropriately to ensure that riders take the time they need to fully recover,” says British Cycling’s chief medical officer Nigel Jones.

“The guidance for the wider sport which we are publishing today is another really positive step forward, and with the support of our resources and e-learning I hope that we will start to bust some of those stubborn myths about concussion and give people in the sport the tools and knowledge they need to keep riders safe.

“The message is really clear – for the safety of the injured rider and those they are riding with, if in doubt, sit them out.”