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"We're going to block a cycle lane!": Anti-vax mayoral candidate Piers Corbyn parks in bike lane after nearly left hooking cyclist; Ganna's TT machine; Busy bike lanes; Jakobsen surprised by Groenewegen claim; Seven Everestings + more on the live blog

It's Friday and Dan Alexander is here for the final live blog of the week...
07 May 2021, 15:38
2020 through a racer's eyes

07 May 2021, 15:01
Final Giro d'Italia prep

The final work is being done ahead of the Giro d'Italia's Grande Partenza in Turin tomorrow. On the menu is an 8km pan-flat individual time trial and another opportunity for Filippo Ganna to wear the maglia rosa at his home Grand Tour. On Sunday, the riders should get a relatively easy day in the saddle before the first bunch sprint in Novara.

07 May 2021, 14:34
Try working out this one...
07 May 2021, 13:49
West Midlands Police appeals for help identifying cyclist who suffered medical episode
West Midlands Police appeal

West Midlands Police officers have launched an appeal to identify the man pictured above who collapsed on Station Road in Harborne after suffering a 'medical episode'. Officers believe the man is in his 70s and he remains critically ill in a Birmingham hospital.

The man came off his bike at around 10.25am on Wednesday and the force is concerned he may be a carer for someone. A police appeal read: "can you help us identify this man who has been seriously injured when he came off his bicycle in Harborne yesterday (Wednesday) morning?

"If you recognise him or the bike he was riding, also pictured, please get in contact with us by calling 101, or message live chat at west-midlands.police.uk, quoting log number 1135 of 5 May."

West Midlands Police appeal

 

07 May 2021, 13:09
Honister 92 cycling club supports runner's 110 marathons in 110 days challenge
Honister 92 Gary McKee.JPG

Another epic endurance challenge for you now...West Cumbrian cycling club Honister 92 showed their support for Gary McKee last weekend on the wettest day of the year. McKee is running 110 marathons in 110 days to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and West Cumbria Hospice at Home. 

One of the club's members, Scott Teare, has helped Gary on his other challenges, including riding alongside him when he ran the full Fred Whitton route in 24 hours. On Sunday, Scott ran the first 13 miles then jumped on the bike with his club mates for the second half.

07 May 2021, 12:38
Filippo Ganna bike porn

07 May 2021, 11:52
Giro d'Italia stage winners to receive special helmets designed by renowned artist Aldo Drudi
Giro d'Italia Kask.JPG

Kask and Koo eyewear have announced they are official suppliers of helmets and eyewear for the Giro d'Italia and the Giro-E, an amateur e-bike event running alongside the pro race. As official helmet supplier, Kask will award each stage winner with a custom UTOPIA helmet designed in partnership with renowned artist Aldo Drudi.

Drudi has previously designed special helmets for America's Cup sailing teams Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and Emirates Team New Zealand, as well as MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi. Kask helmets will be represented on the road too, with Ineos Grenadiers and wildcard entrants EOLO-Kometa using the Italian brand. Trek-Segafredo and their leader Vincenzo Nibali will use Koo's SPECTRO and DEMOS models of sunglasses.

07 May 2021, 11:02
"Dylan has not offered a personal apology": Fabio Jakobsen surprised to hear Dylan Groenewegen speaking positively about their Amsterdam meeting

The message from Dylan Groenewegen ahead of his return to racing at the Giro d'Italia this weekend was that he and Fabio Jakobsen had met to talk over the events of the last year. Groenewegen suggested the meeting had gone well and that the pair had "unburdened our hearts".

However, these tweets from Jakobsen paint a different picture... 

07 May 2021, 10:23
"We're going to block a cycle lane!": Anti-vax mayoral candidate Piers Corbyn parks in bike lane after nearly left hooking cyclist

It keeps getting worse the more you watch. Thankfully we were lucky enough to find this other clip of Piers Corbyn's terrible driving without having to watch more than a couple of minutes of this six-hour long election day livestream...skip to 4:53:50 to get the relevant bit.

The video we shared earlier showed the anti-vax, anti-lockdown and climate change denying London mayoral candidate nearly left hooking a cyclist...now another snippet from the same live stream shows Corbyn deliberately blocking a cycle lane because he cannot work out where he should go...

Minutes earlier, as Corbyn asks for directions the passengers in the car tell him to look out for cyclists before the cameraman says, "we're just getting a bit wary". After being unable to find where he should be going, Corbyn states, "we're going to block a cycle lane" and drives straight in.

After the mayoral candidate is out the car, the cameraman can be heard saying: "It seems we are now on foot, so it seems the cyclists are now safe, as far as I know."

Who knows what else we would find if we watched the other six hours of driving footage but frankly, who wants to do that?

07 May 2021, 09:43
Busy bike lanes...

I am sure someone will say Londoners never stopped cycling home from work...but good to see such busy cycle commuting scenes in the capital. 

07 May 2021, 09:35
"I'm not just going to throw in the towel because I haven't reached that point yet": Chris Froome hits back at doubters

Chris Froome has hit back at those who say he cannot reach his four-time Tour de France winning level and stressed it will take time to regain his form. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Froome addressed his most recent performance at the Tour de Romandie where he finished 96th, one hour behind race winner and former teammate Geraint Thomas.

"Tour de Romandie was pretty brutal with the weather," Froome explained. "It started off well but the last couple of days the weather really turned. I started to feel my chest acting up. For me especially with my asthma I find the cold is quite a trigger.

"Over the last couple of races I've seen a lot of people on social media saying 'listen mate, hang up your bike. You're done. You're finished, you're never going to get back there' and it just makes me laugh. First of all, I don't think those people know just how bad my injuries were and how far I have had to come just to get back to a professional level of racing.

"Those people clearly don't know me as a person. I'm not just going to hang it up. I know I can get there. it is going to take time, I have got a lot of work that I'm prepared to do. That's what drives me. I thoroughly love the sacrifice and the whole regime. I'm not just going to throw in the towel because I haven't reached that point yet."

07 May 2021, 09:10
Bath cyclists set off for seven Everestings in seven days challenge
Conor and Nic's Everesting

Two cyclists local to road.cc in Bath are taking on a mega Everesting challenge starting today. They are riding seven Everestings in as many days to raise money for World Bicycle Relief and Clic Sargent. To hit their 8,849m daily target the duo are going to climb Ralph Allen Drive 76 times, every single day. That is 532 ascents by this time next week...

For context, the climb is 1.16km long with an average gradient of 10 per cent...National Hill Climb champ Andrew Feather holds the KOM with a time of 3:10 but I am sure Conor and Nic will be the first to admit that Andrew should not worry about that being broken this week.

On their GoFundMe page, the pair said: "Lockdown has made us crazy, so we decided to do something even crazier. We have decided to raise much needed funds for two great charities. World Bicycle Relief is an amazing charity, whose aim is to take away the barrier of travelling distance for healthcare, education and economic opportunities, in particular for women.

"This is a charity very close to our hearts, as we ourselves know the amazing freedom and power that bikes can give people. Clic Sargent, is a cancer charity for young people that offers support through daily care, financial means, family bereavement support and will help get lives back on track, both during and after treatment.

"Our aim is to raise £4,500 for this challenge. We know it’s an ambitious total, and that everyone is strapped for cash at the moment, but we will need all the support we can get, if we are going to complete this ridiculous challenge."

As they set off on the epic challenge, they have currently raised £4,925. Good luck, lads...

07 May 2021, 08:31
Poll results: lots of love for Rapha's EF Education-Nippo
ef rapha 2.PNG

We asked you lot for your reaction to the big release of Rapha's special switch out kit that EF Education-Nippo will be wearing at the Giro d'Italia this month. A resounding 77 per cent of you gave it the thumbs up...and I agree, it is a beauty. But is it better than Israel Start-Up Nation's red wine inspired jersey that Alex Dowsett and Dan Martin will be repping? I am not so sure...

07 May 2021, 07:54
Anti-vax mayoral candidate Piers Corbyn nearly left hooks cyclist while talking to cameraman

Anti-lockdown, anti-vaxxer, climate change denier and unlikely London mayoral candidate, Piers Corbyn, was seen in this clip shared on Twitter by CyclingMikey almost taking out a cyclist. Corbyn is holding a carton of Ribena and talking to the cameraman as he tries to work out which street he should go down, before hearing a loud shout from the cyclist he almost left hooked...

The cameraman can be heard laughing as the political 'candidate' says, "cyclist" and drives off, ignoring the man riding the bike who has stopped at the side of the road.

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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48 comments

Avatar
wtjs | 2 years ago
1 like

I'm proud to say I've never seen any of them, and am never likely to- the clue, like Top Gear, is in the name. 

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markieteeee replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
3 likes

Although the name Top Gear can be confusing.  Once Jeremy Clarkson bumped into Kate Moss at a do. Expecting her to recognise him he introduced himself as Jeremy Clarkson and she looked blank. So to explain he added 'Top Gear' to which led her to ask 'Are you trying to sell me drugs?"

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brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

How does someone have 'a medical episode' on a Wednesday morning and by Friday nobody still knows who they are? Has nobody said, "You know, I haven't seen Bob for a couple of days"

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
8 likes

Assuming he is retired at that age, lives on his own and as they fear, have someone who literally relies on him at home who is fragile, or lives on his own, then who is going to mentioned someone is missing. Especially with social distancing etc meaning less chance of Pub meetings etc. 

Hopefully he is identified soon.

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Mybike replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

True it very common.

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Eton Rifle replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like
brooksby wrote:

How does someone have 'a medical episode' on a Wednesday morning and by Friday nobody still knows who they are? Has nobody said, "You know, I haven't seen Bob for a couple of days"

Society is more fractured and people dispersed and isolated from each other, than ever before. Perfectly possible that no-one sees him on a daily basis, especially if retired or unemployed.

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brooksby | 2 years ago
8 likes

OT Covid comment.

Did I miss a memo somewhere?  Is the pandemic over?

So I had to go down to the Post Office at lunchtime.  Bristol city centre.  SO. MANY. PEOPLE. sitting around in Castle Park 

And (1): while I understand that pubs and bars and cafes all have to have their customers sitting outside at present, I think it would be nice if not quite so much pavement space had been land-grabbed for this purpose and if there was a bit more space left over for actually - you know - walking around...

And (2): writing as a non drinker who has never had an overseas holiday, I find the current obsession with (1) where can I get a drink? and (2) OMG can I get on a plane yet? quite incomprehensible...

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
2 likes

Well,  pubs sell non -alcohol drinks.

Anyway it's really about meeting up with your mates and pubs tend to have outside room unlike many cafes.

Holidays - the attraction of warmth, sunshine and a more predictable climate is quite a plus for many people. Then there are countless programmes and ads than persuade people that they would like to visit a place. Also the price of a holiday here is quite expensive compared with abroad - flights are cheaper than a lot of railfares. I remember a colleague turning down a week in the isle of wight as it was cheaper to go to center parcs in holland !

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brooksby replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
9 likes

hirsute wrote:

Anyway it's really about meeting up with your mates and pubs tend to have outside room unlike many cafes.

In the interests of full disclosure, I have no mates, either 

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

You would be missed on here by a few if you stopped posting !

(Where's HP - perhaps he has jetted off for a holiday !!)

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Mary Willoughby replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
4 likes

I got on a train from Bristol with my bike to go on a cycling trip around Scotland.  My friend left Bristol at the same time and texted me from Rio's Copacabana beach whilst I was on a train approaching Thurso.  It probably cost him less as well.

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Simon E replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
5 likes

brooksby wrote:

I think it would be nice if not quite so much pavement space had been land-grabbed for this purpose and if there was a bit more space left over for actually - you know - walking around...

https://twitter.com/KatiePennick/status/1389207175415967746

And if it isn't pubs and cafes invading public spaces it's f**king parked cars, which are everywhere.

brooksby wrote:

I find the current obsession with (1) where can I get a drink? and (2) OMG can I get on a plane yet? quite incomprehensible...

You and me both (and a load more too).

Anybody would think that not being able to be fleeced just so you can get pissed out of your head and abuse strangers on the street or go on a holiday in another country (Brexiteers escaping abroad for a break, eh?!?) is somehow making people's lives an absolute misery. Send them down the mines.

It's a shame someone didn't kick a big dent in Piers Corbyn's car while it was blocking the highway.

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Mary Willoughby replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

This article is probably worth reading, even if you don't agree with its perspective: https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/coronavirus/2021/04/why-do-pic...

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Organon | 2 years ago
3 likes

Piers Corbyn? Couldn't have a worse political name in the UK unless he was called Tony Thatcher.

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brooksby replied to Organon | 2 years ago
8 likes

Just checking, but you know he's Jeremy's brother, right? 

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Organon replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

Bloody hell, this is one of those Tim Vine/Jeremy Vine things.

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AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

Re: London Cycling Photo

You can just about see it but obvious in other Twitt replies but the works at the bottom and they just point all the peds to use the cycle lane as an alternate without any seperation like they do when they force Peds into a road to get around works. 

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Jenova20 | 2 years ago
11 likes

Ribena? RIBENA? Doesn't Piers know that Bill Gates owns shares in Ribena, and is using it to alter the DNA of children?

For anyone not aware, that's sarcasm. Our Piers here is a rabid anti science nutcase conspiracy theorist, like his brother.

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ChrisB200SX | 2 years ago
6 likes

Had to shout at a Police van in Reading town centre yesterday evening... it pulled into the bus lane right in front of me and looked like it was about to left-hook the scooter rider in front of me and myself.

The van had changed lane right in front of me on the previous roundabout. Was in the third lane but wanted to go straight over and clearly too impatient to follow behind someone on a bike for 10 seconds.

We should expect far better from professional drivers, especially law enforcement.

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Hirsute replied to ChrisB200SX | 2 years ago
3 likes
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ChrisB200SX replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
1 like

Haha, fortunately for the driver, no. I shouted appropriate criticism as I passed after having to slam on the brakes. I genuinely thought I was about to see the scooter rider go under the wheels right in front of me, felt sick and angry, hence the loud shout.

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lonpfrb replied to ChrisB200SX | 2 years ago
2 likes
ChrisB200SX wrote:

We should expect far better from professional drivers, especially law enforcement.

With the disposal of the Traffic Division by most Chief Constables, the Police Service has almost no Class 1 professional drivers, just employees with a standard DVLA license going about their multi purpose business. Clearly cost and efficiency more important than road safety.

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mike the bike replied to lonpfrb | 2 years ago
0 likes

lonpfrb wrote:
ChrisB200SX wrote:

We should expect far better from professional drivers, especially law enforcement.

With the disposal of the Traffic Division by most Chief Constables, the Police Service has almost no Class 1 professional drivers, just employees with a standard DVLA license going about their multi purpose business. Clearly cost and efficiency more important than road safety.

The police may not have as many advanced drivers as in previous years but there are still lots of them out there and plenty of volunteers for the courses.  Any officer without such a qualification is strictly limited in the tasks she can undertake; no pursuit chases or containment manoeuvres for them!

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Steve K | 2 years ago
18 likes

The driving is bad enough, but what annoys me even more is that he clearly doesn't think he has done anything wrong if he is happy enough for the video to have made it into the public domain.

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Sriracha replied to Steve K | 2 years ago
3 likes

He says, "I am a decent driver, although I have been apprehended for speeding on a number of occasions" (around 4:46:50).

At 4:49:26 he says, "I don't think we can jump that light".

At 2:02:40 his way is blocked by an LTN, which his lackeys rail against. One says they are "driving for freedom, for the roads to be clear"

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Hirsute replied to Sriracha | 2 years ago
7 likes

Well that's 5 hours of your life you won't get back !

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Sriracha | 2 years ago
4 likes

I'm surprised no one in the comments OR in the articles have stated about him blocking all the rear windows with his posters. Surely that is also illegal on a vehicle not designed for that. Explains another reason why he never saw the cyclist with no rear view or over the shoulder checks AND his cameraman in the way of his (get ready swixy) wing mirror.

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Jenova20 replied to Steve K | 2 years ago
5 likes

Steve K wrote:

The driving is bad enough, but what annoys me even more is that he clearly doesn't think he has done anything wrong if he is happy enough for the video to have made it into the public domain.

He's quite familiar with the police, so probably not bothered. He's been fined for breaking Covid gathering rules about 5 times at this point...

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Mungecrundle replied to Steve K | 2 years ago
4 likes

Having skipped through a few sections. I rapidly came to the conclusion that Piers Corbyn is a spoof personality in the style of Sacha Baron Cohen and that the filming is a somewhat thin pastiche of the original and best Spinal Tap mockumentary.

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efail | 2 years ago
12 likes

I've been complaining to the TV companies, about interviews in cars on the move, for years. They are not interested. It should be made illegal. The best one I've seen, was some reporter going to interview someone who had had a car accident and another where they were talking to camera about drivers using their phones. I'll see if I can find it/them.

 

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