“When will this stop?” Cycling fan causes crash after tripping and falling into peloton at Vuelta Femenina; “A speeding bicycle is a dangerous weapon,” says former ITV weatherman; Ciccone drives 900km to race due to fear of flying + more on the live blog

Big words from Ribble, as the British brand launches its new top-of-the-range Ultra-Race road bike, featuring a 775g frame and an overall weight below the UCI’s minimum limit, designed to sit somewhere between pure aero and ultra-lightweight race models.

> Ribble’s flagship Ultra-Race “bridges the gap between pure aero and ultra-lightweight”

Some topical, cycling-based fashion bantz from Strava here in honour of this week’s Met Gala (what do you mean you didn’t know it was on?).

And surprisingly, I actually recognise a few of the people in these photos… And I can relate to most of the captions, too:

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Strava (@strava)

His autobiography may be due out later this year, but it already looks like Geraint Thomas is busy building up the anecdotes to fill the sequel, ‘Trundling Along In The Peloton As You Wind Down Towards retirement, According to G’.

After his comedy convo with a nonchalant Tadej Pogačar at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the latest edition of the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club Podcast saw the 2018 Tour de France winner recount another close, high-speed, and potentially more hazardous encounter with a current star of the sport, Remco Evenepoel, this time at last week’s Tour de Romandie.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by GTCC & Watts Occurring 🚲 (@gtcyclingclub)

“Coming into a long, fast left-hander, I ended up handlebar to handlebar with Remco,” revealed Thomas. “I messaged him afterwards saying, ‘Oh mate, sorry mate. I wasn’t trying to bash you out there at 80km an hour. But it’s just one of those things, isn’t it?’

“You did a similar thing in Liège last week,” interjected Decathlon AG2R DS and podcast sidekick Luke Rowe. “Mate, you’re getting a bit of a reputation. Stop being so reckless!”

> “We’re doing 420 watts, I don’t really want to have a conversation!” Geraint Thomas says Tadej Pogačar casually chatted about trip to Richard Mille factory during fight for breakaway at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, as 2018 Tour winner was “focusing on breathing”

“I wasn’t moving up or anything, this was just purely going around a corner so fast,” insisted the Ineos rider.

Even Remco himself weighed in, replying on Instagram: “Still so (not) mad about that moment, though.” Top bantz.

> Cyclist who hit elderly woman in pedestrian area while trying to evade wardens in “military-style combat uniforms” sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid work

Yes, that’s right. The, cough, legendary Itera Volvo, regarded as one of cycling’s, or even engineering’s, great failures, is currently up for sale on Facebook Marketplace… for the low, low price of just £100.

The rare and famously terrible plastic bicycle, designed by car manufacturer Volvo in the early 1980s, features in Sweden’s Museum of Failure, thanks to its fondness for breaking and its horrid, experimental frame, which manages to be both heavy and bendy at the same time.

But according to its London-based seller, the Itera will “make a great addition to any bike collector’s collection”.

> road.cc reader donates rare plastic bike to replace stolen museum piece

A “clearance find”, the seller says the bike is in “full working order” (I imagine he hasn’t taken it for a spin) and is in “reasonably good condition with no damage”.

road.cc editor Jack is so smitten by the idea of owning the world’s worst bike, he’s already stuck a bid of £75 on it – for research purposes, he claims.

I really hope I’m not the one chosen to ride a sportive on it for our YouTube channel… Gulp.

While Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney says his government’s commitment to scrap peak rail fares on ScotRail trains will “mean less CO2 is pumped into our skies”, Cycling UK has argued that the Scottish government’s current failure to encourage active travel will make the challenge of tackling climate change “harder to deal with”.

Responding to the SNP’s Programme for Government, announced yesterday, Scott Runciman, Scotland Advocacy Lead at charity Cycling UK, said: “It’s a relief to see that tackling the climate crisis remains one of the Scottish Government’s top priorities, but the lack of a clear plan to encourage more active travel, such as cycling and walking, makes that challenge harder to deal with.

“Transport is Scotland’s biggest carbon emitter, and electric cars are part of the solution, but they aren’t going to solve all our problems. They don’t address how congested our roads are, which deters people from using healthier forms of transport, although scrapping the peak rail fares is a good step to making public transport more accessible.

“With a third of Scots currently doing little to no physical activity each week, we need to find ways to enable people to make shorter journeys more active. It stands to benefit public health, both mental and physical, as well as our economy.

“Scotland has been an ambitious trailblazer in active travel in the past, but we need to translate that ambition into commitment and delivery. We will continue to work with the Scottish Government to ensure cycling and walking is part of its plans for a greener and healthier Scotland.”

The reaction comes after the NYPD announced a new crackdown on cyclists, with many suggesting the policy could unfairly target minorities and immigrants, and one cyclist even claiming it’s a way “to round up deportees”.

> Criminal court summons for cyclists who run red lights “excessive, unfair and offensive”, say New York’s cycling community

How do people get to a music festival on a national holiday in the Netherlands? By bicycle! 1/2

[image or embed]

— BicycleDutch (@bicycledutch.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM

Now that’s what I call providing proper facilities for people arriving at your event by car: 

And a video shot while cycling past the temporary bicycle parking racks to show just how many people came to the festival by bicycle. 2/2

[image or embed]

— BicycleDutch (@bicycledutch.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM

> “A few bikes show up and it’s the apocalypse”: Angry locals fume after “swarms” of hire bikes “dumped” on streets during Boat Race – but cyclists say, “Imagine if they all drove cars instead” 

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has confirmed this afternoon that it has dismissed Tour de France stage winner and grand tour podium finisher Miguel Ángel López’s appeal against his four-year ban for doping.

The mercurial Colombian climber was handed the suspension last year by the UCI, after the world governing body’s Anti-Doping Tribunal ruled that he was guilty of possessing and using Menotropin, a female fertility drug that can stimulate the production of testosterone in men, during the 2022 Giro d’Italia, which López abandoned on stage four.

López was sacked by Astana – the team he represented for seven of his eight seasons as a professional in Europe – in December 2022 after the Kazakh squad claimed that it “had discovered new elements” linking him to alleged doping doctor Marcos Maynar.

López was initially, and briefly, suspended by Astana in July 2022 after reports first emerged that the Colombian was being investigated for his alleged involvement in a drug trafficking ring in Spain, led by physiologist Maynar, who was arrested two months before and charged with crimes against public health, drug trafficking, and money laundering as part of the Spanish police’s Operation Ilex investigation.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

López was welcomed back into the Astana fold a few weeks later, however, and finished fourth overall at the 2022 Vuelta a España. He was eventually sacked when the fresh allegations emerged in December of his “probable links” to Maynar, and spent much of the start of 2023 dominating the South American racing scene for Team Medellín–EPM, before the UCI provisionally suspended him from action that July.

The governing body then slapped him with a four-year ban last May, prompting López – who has always protested his innocence – to launch an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

However, in a statement today, CAS confirmed that it has dismissed the appeal and upheld the UCI’s ruling, concluding its panel “is comfortably satisfied that UCI has discharged its burden of proof and unanimously ruled that Mr. López possessed a prohibited substance… and used a prohibited substance.”

During a hearing that took place last November, CAS says its panel found that López took delivery of Menotropin between 1 and 5 May 2022, and also used the substance during that period.

According to the panel, López also suffered swelling on his leg just before the start of the 2022 Giro, with his doctor acting on the assumption that the Colombian had used Menotropin and that it had caused the swelling.

López’s ban is set to expire in July 2027.

A cyclist paralysed in a crash caused by a Planet X gravel bike’s carbon fork shearing in two on a grass slope has secured a £4.5m settlement against the manufacturer’s insurers.

Lawyers say the case highlights the need for “closer attention” to gravel bikes’ regulation, testing, and manufacturing to ensure “they are safe for the adventurous use that is shown in their advertising and expected by purchasers”.

Read more: > Doctor left paralysed after Planet X carbon fork failure wins £4.5m payout, as lawyers argue case highlights “the testing and manufacture of gravel bikes warrants closer attention”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Esencia Ciclista (@esenciaciclista)

She’s back.

1,397 days after her last professional victory, the overall classification of the 2021 Giro d’Italia, and one retirement postponement later, Anna van der Breggen is back on the top step of a podium.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es (@lavueltafem)

The 35-year-old Dutch superstar’s 2025 season – her first back in the peloton since she initially hung up her wheels at the end of 2021 for a three-year spell in the SD Worx team car – has been a topsy-turvy one, with flashes of her old brilliance, particularly at Strade Bianche, intertwined with a largely anonymous showing at her favoured Ardennes Classics.

But on this afternoon’s hilly fourth stage of the Vuelta Femenina, Van der Breggen rolled back the years with a wily, perfectly timed attack on the descent of the Puerto de El Buste to secure a superb solo win in Borja, the first victory of her comeback season – the 63rd of her storied career and her first win since the 2021 Giro.

With a reduced bunch sprint seemingly on the cards, the searing pace set by FDJ-Suez on El Buste upended the narrative by blowing the peloton to pieces. With no team able to exert control over the top, however, a flurry of attacks followed. But with 7km left, and the pace stalled, Van der Breggen seized her moment.

For a while, the SD Worx leader hovered out in front, one concerted effort by the group away from being caught. But, like anyone familiar with pro cycling in the 2010s will know, Anna van der Breggen, a steady, resilient powerhouse of a rider, does not get caught easily.

By Borja, she was alone (a common occurrence during that initial, glorious 12-year career), 12 seconds clear of Marianne Vos, her fellow Dutch legend, forced to settle for another second place. To cap things off, Van der Breggen’s young Dutch colleague, Femke Gerritse, clung on to her red leader’s jersey with a spirited, battling seventh place.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by TNT Sports Cycling (@tntsportscycling)

“I did not expect this at all, it wasn’t the plan,” Van der Breggen admitted at the finish. “There was a small group on the downhill, and at that point I was alone. And I noticed the speed had gone out, so I thought it was a good moment and I went.

“I did not expect to finish solo, but it feels really nice. Yesterday already was such a good day, to see Gerri [Femke Gerritse] winning, but we did not expect this at all – so really nice.

 “The next few days there’s going to lots of fighting, for sure, but for now, this is in the pocket!”

Comeback complete.

Now, here’s one way for pro cycling teams to cut their carbon footprint… Kind of.

In a world where Premier League footballers jump on planes to travel from London to Leicester for domestic away games, Lidl-Trek’s Giulio Ciccone revealed this week that he travelled 900km by car from Austria to the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, arriving at 2.30am the day before the race – because he’s “very afraid of flying”.

The 30-year-old Italian star, who is set to start his eighth career Giro d’Italia on Friday in Albania, told Gazzetta Dello Sport that his crippling fear of air travel meant that he jumped in a car straight after the final stage of last month’s Tour of the Alps, where he won a stage and finished fourth overall.

He then travelled for ten hours through the night from Lienz, southern Austria, to his team hotel in Maastricht, just over the Dutch border from the start of the Walloon monument, finally dropping off his bags at 2.30am on Saturday morning.

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

Ciccone’s adherence to not-so-marginal travelling gains didn’t slow him down on Sunday, however, as the three-time Giro stage winner proved best of the rest at Liège-Bastogne-Liège behind the otherworldly world champion Tadej Pogačar, outsprinting Ben Healy at the line to take second, his best ever showing at a monument.

“My best days have been the ones when I’ve been crazy, not making logical choices,” former Tour de France King of the Mountains Ciccone told Gazzetta, reflecting on his penchant for risk taking during races.

“Take Liège: I arrived at 2.30 in the morning the day before and I didn’t prepare much. I confess, I am very afraid of flying. Without a doubt, one of my biggest fears.

“From Lienz, where the Alps ended, I could have flown to Belgium, but instead I chose the car. I left at the end of the race and arrived in Maastricht in the middle of the night. I prefer to travel in the dark, but carefree. It’s my instinct that takes over, like on the bike.”

Needless to say, Ciccone’s singular travel arrangements have raised some eyebrows among cycling fans, earning him comparisons to Dennis Bergkamp, the Arsenal footballer who famously refused to fly to European games.

“Not exactly a well thought out winning game plan is it?” asked one Twitter user.

“Had to check my calendar to make sure which day it was,” added Rúben Silva.

“I’m sorry, what babes?” a stunned Anna Mac wrote. “So… what I’m hearing is… if you had flown you would have won.”

Maybe not… Considering a certain world champion was ‘flying’ in another sense on La Redoute.

Meanwhile, Pancartazos noted: “But descending at 100kph… Sure, no problem.” Pro cyclists, eh?

> “125 years of killing the buzz”: Cycling fans bash UCI over pro cyclist’s “ridiculous” fine for sunglass-throwing celebration

Ten hours in a car monument prep or not, it’s been an eventful few weeks for Ciccone, who enters the Giro in sparkling form after his impressive display at Liège and his first win in almost two years at the Tour of the Alps.

However, that redemptive stage win in San Lorenzo Dorsino ended in farce, after the UCI fined the 30-year-old 250 Swiss francs for throwing his sunglasses into the crowd, a trademark Ciccone celebration, earning the governing body another well-deserved tirade of criticism from cycling fans.

We said goodbye to a great man and a great colleague at the weekend, so thought it was only right we share some of his finest – and most controversial – work for road.cc and its sister titles, including that iconic fiver review.

Enjoy…

> John’s greatest hits: A selection of the best articles from our legendary late contributor John Stevenson

In the same week cycling campaigners in Northern Ireland warned that motorists parking in cycle lanes were creating substantial safety risks for people on bikes, one of the country’s broadcasting legends has urged cyclists to avoid using off-road shared spaces such as towpaths when it’s sunny.

Writing in his column for the Belfast Telegraph, Frank Mitchell, a former weather presenter for ITV, as well as the host of several other TV and radio programmes during his 40-year career, argued cyclists “in a hurry” should avoid the Lagan towpath linking Lisburn and Belfast.

This often-narrow path, which follows the river and forms part of the National Cycling Route (while also hosting the 2009 Ulster cyclocross championships raced by your live blog host back in the day), is often frequented by pedestrians, with plans to expand it currently under consideration.

> The Ghost of Anti-Cycling Past: Bike path expansion plans opposed… by 19th-century landowner and MP (kind of), as objector raises concerns about path’s “true ownership” and claims application was issued “recklessly”

“If a person wants to take a bicycle along this route from Belfast to Lisburn, they should be fully aware that people don’t walk following the rules expected on a public road,” Mitchell, who described himself as a recent convert to cycling earlier this year, wrote.

“If, as a cyclist, you have an important deadline to meet or you are in a rush to get home, it would be much better to travel on the roads and make normal and safe progress in the traffic. Those who ride at speed through walkers on the towpath are some of the most discourteous people we are ever likely to encounter. A speeding bicycle with only a bell as a warning is a dangerous weapon.”

He continued: “Thankfully, most people who do ride on the path are thoughtful and polite, but I’m waiting for either a parent with a pram or a speeding rider to end up in the river.

“This stretch by the Lagan is a minor issue compared to how some cyclists ride elsewhere. Again, the vast majority behave perfectly and considering how impatient some other road users are towards cyclists, it’s important to remain careful and vigilant.”

> Life imprisonment for riders who kill pedestrians under ‘dangerous cycling’ law “unlikely to improve road safety”, claims expert

However, Mitchell then turned his attention towards the Labour government’s recent proposal to introduce a new ‘dangerous cycling’ law, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which could lead to harsher sentences, including life, for cyclists who kill or injure pedestrians.

While one of his “cycling fanatic” friends described the proposals as “taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut”, Mitchell argued that “the idea of going to jail for life having killed someone while riding is a strong wakeup call”.

“I think any law which encourages us to be safer cyclists and safer road users generally should be applauded,” he wrote. “A general clampdown on idiotic cycling which we see from a minority of cyclists every day would be a step in the right direction.

“It is a bit of a wild west at times on our streets. The mix of speeding cyclists, some electric moped operators pretending to be cyclists, and individuals who ride in the dark and can’t be seen when they are cyclists all need to be challenged.

“I say this because their behaviour is giving cycling here a bad name when the vast majority of people who do use a bicycle are perfect law-abiding cyclists.”

> Is this the UK’s worst city for cycling? Riding around Belfast’s abysmal bike network (and why drivers should be cycling campaigners’ best friends)

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued for parking in mandatory cycle lanes in Belfast has risen dramatically over the past three years, from just 15 in 2022 to 180 last year.

“These are really important safe spaces for people to feel confident when they go and cycle and they are parked in really frequently, and that’s not only inconsiderate but it does create a danger for people cycling,” Cycling UK’s Andrew McClean said in response to the spate of bike lane parking in the city.

“Quite often we’re seeing people saying they will only be a minute but in that minute, if a cyclist has to jump out onto the road, that can be at best an inconvenience but at worst a major danger.

“The reality is you’re a lot safer simply cycling on the road from the start of your journey rather than in a cycle lane which you have to jump in and out of. It has changed cyclists’ behaviour because it has created dangerous scenarios.”

Another big race, another crash or incident involving a spectator.

This year’s worrying trend of cycling fans interfering – inadvertently or otherwise – in races continued on Tuesday at the Vuelta Femenina, when a spectator tripped and fell into the road as the bunch passed, taking out Fenix-Deceuninck’s Dutch rider Aniek van Alphen.

> “Show some respect”: Cycling ‘fan’ branded “absolute moron” for riding on course and jumping on leader’s wheel at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes – after van driver pulls out in front of breakaway during men’s race

The incident, captured by a fan and posted by Diario del Altoaragón, took place during the neutralised section of stage three of this week’s Vuelta Femenina, as the riders rolled out of Barbastro behind the lead car, before the racing had even officially got underway.

As the peloton comes into view around the corner on Barbastro’s narrow streets, a woman can be seen in the footage leaning over to get a better view on a raised section of footway.

However, as front of the bunch passes, the spectator appears to lose her balance and stumble, falling into the road and colliding with Van Alphen, who hit the deck hard. Luckily, no one else crashed, a Coop-Repsol briefly tangling with the Dutch rider before freeing herself.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Diario del Altoaragón (@diarioaltoaragon)

Despite that early, rather bizarre setback, the 26-year-old still managed to finish 135th in Huesca, where her compatriot Femke Gerritse sprinted to the stage victory and the red leader’s jersey ahead of Marianne Vos, following a chaotic finale punctuated by crashes and echelons.

This morning, Van Alphen alluded to her unexpected encounter with a spectator on Instagram with the caption “About yesterday…”, while she also described the incident as “unfortunate”.

Others weren’t so diplomatic, however, as fans took to social media to criticise the UCI and the race organisers (already under fire after Sunday’s farcical team time trial delays) for failing to adequately protect the riders.

“UCI failing to monitor crowd control at a major race – shocking,” wrote one fan, while another said: “Can’t believe this is still happening in women’s cycling. So ridiculous. When are they going to fix this rubbish?”

“The whole year preparing to compete for the race, then that lady ruins it in a second,” added a Spanish fan.

“When is this going to stop?” asked Ian, while Jamaal called on spectators to “just watch the bike race and not hurt the riders”.

Ouch…

However, many fans noted that his particular incident was a far cry from the infamous ‘Opi-Omi’ crash at the 2021 Tour de France, or even the targeted attempts to interfere with Mathieu van der Poel’s ride at the last two editions of Paris-Roubaix.

“Moved forward to look past the other women, and lost her balance,” noted Luc Grefte, while another fan described the crash as “unfortunate” and “not intended”.

> “Some people just don’t care”: Pro cyclist slams “drunk fan” for causing chaotic Vuelta a España crash

Of course, this isn’t the first time in recent weeks that spectators have found themselves in the midst of the action at a major bike race.

At Liège-Bastogne-Liège last month, one ‘fan’ was branded an “absolute moron” for riding his bike on the route and latching on to the back wheel of race leader, and Van Alphen’s Fenix teammate, Pauliena Rooijakkers.

Replays of the incident showed a male amateur cyclist, sporting a baggy, ill-fitting version of the UAE Team Emirates jersey normally worn by Tadej Pogačar and his colleagues, emerge from the side of the road, seemingly ready and poised to jump on the course.

He then decided to sit on Rooijakkers’ wheel, shortly after the podium finisher at last year’s Tour de France launched a dangerous-looking move, but soon decided to move to the other side of the road, before he was eventually ejected from the course by a race marshal.

That bizarre cycling variation on a pitch invasion capped off quite the month for idiotic actions by spectators at races. Most notably, at Paris-Roubaix, a roadside fan hurled a Visma-Lease a Bike-branded bottle at Mathieu van der Poel, hitting the Dutch star in the face as he soloed to his third consecutive victory at the Hell of the North.

The bottle thrower, who handed himself into police later that night, admitted that he was drinking before the “impulsive” incident and said he was “really ashamed” of his behaviour.

Just over a week before, another spectator was seen on television spitting at Van der Poel during the E3 Saxo Classic, with Belgian police later confirming that the culprit has been fined but will face no further action.

> Patrick Lefevere furious with “unacceptable” Tour de France crash caused by “stupid” barrier-jumping fan that saw Soudal Quick-Step pro break three teeth before race had even begun

And fan-caused crashes before Kilometre Zero, like the one suffered by Van Alphen, are surprisingly common, too. At last year’s Tour de France, Soudal Quick-Step’s Jan Hirt was left with three broken teeth and a busted nose and lip, after a fan jumped a barrier and collided with the Czech pro in Florence – just outside his team bus and before the grand tour had even started.

And a month later, a crash at the men’s Vuelta a España was caused by a “drunk fan” who made contact with white jersey wearer Mathias Vacek as he ascended a climb packed with spectators, the Lidl-Trek rider reported at the time.