“No wonder cycling’s dying in this country”: Fuming fans slam ITV for “ruining” Geraint Thomas retirement party by ditching Tour of Britain finale for horse racing; Accidental anti-cycling; G tributes; Hoy’s Tour de 4 raises £2m + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“People do it for a reason, it’s horrible what’s happening”
More updates from a crisis-stricken Vuelta, where race leader Jonas Vingegaard has weighed in on the protests, Javier Romo crashed following yesterday’s demonstration, and rumours are swirling around Sunday’s finale in Madrid:
> Jonas Vingegaard defends Vuelta’s pro-Palestine protests, after latest crash caused by demonstration
Start as you mean to go on, Geraint…
Is this the best G-based photo of this year’s Tour of Britain? Or at least the most apt, anyway?
road.cc co-founder Dave was in the right place at the right time on the Tumble on Saturday, where Geraint Thomas – preparing for his brother’s upcoming stag do in Portugal, no doubt – grabbed a beer from a fan, in proper G-style.
I’m sure there was plenty more where that came from in Cardiff last night. Now that’s how you ease yourself into retirement…
“Nice way to feature cyclists in the pictures, guys”: Local news site’s story about TikTok and Instagram tourists “ruining idyllic village” illustrated… by an image of cyclists
Is this a case of accidental anti-cycling bingo?
road.cc reader David Seabrooke got in touch yesterday after stumbling across a story by Gloucestershire Live on “hit and run Instagram and TikTok tourists” who are seemingly “exploiting” and “ruining” an idyllic Cotswold village.
According to the report, a councillor in Bourton-on-the-Water, known as the Venice of the Cotswolds apparently, has called on the local authority to recognise the harmful impact of overtourism on the area, which he says has led to visitors cooking, lighting fires, and parking their cars on the village green.
Residents have also been subjected to verbal and physical abuse, traffic congestion, and coaches dropping off and picking up visitors all over the village, including in banned areas such as the High Street, a result of the “fast tourism” fuelled by content creators, Councillor Jon Wareing said.
So, what does this have to do with cycling, I hear you cry.
Nothing, actually, nothing at all. Except of that, of the five photos used in the article, three featured cyclists in the foreground. And the main image, alongside an insert of the two social media apps in question, focused on a group of cyclists stopped in the village.
“Nice way to feature cyclists in the pictures, guys,” David said.
Maybe they’re just so used to taking snaps of cyclists for anti-cycling stories, it’s second nature now. Who knows? Somebody’s ruining a village, it says here. Must be those pesky cyclists…
“He doesn’t have to run up a mountain at least – he just has to run for 15 miles”: Is Neilson Powless the new Chris Froome? American pulls off the best mid-race run since Ventoux at the Maryland Classic
It’s been nine long years since those wild, chaotic scenes on Mont Ventoux, when Chris Froome – bike broken after Richie Porte’s close encounter with the back of a motorbike – decided to run, desperately, up cycling’s most iconic mountain.
So, it’s about time someone paid tribute to Froomey’s running man exploit. And that dubious honour fell, on Saturday at the Maryland Classic, to Neilson Powless.
And tragedy strikes for @NPowless of @EFprocycling as his bike change goes sideways during the final lap of the @MarylandClassic pic.twitter.com/YzU82N5mc7
— Maryland Cycling Classic (@MarylandClassic) September 6, 2025
The EF-Education EasyPost rider was part of a lead group of 11 fighting it out for the win at the Baltimore-based race when he punctured with just 16 miles left (we are in the US after all, what metric system?).
After the neutral service’s rear wheels failed to fit properly, and Powless’ team car stranded up the road (sports directors aren’t allowed to reverse on the course, remember) the Shimano man from the Shimano car came running with a spare Shimano bike for the frustrated American.
However, when that wasn’t to Powless’ liking, the 29-year-old decided to shoulder his bike cyclocross-style and run the hundred metres or so to his team car, echoing Froome’s iconic Ventoux escapade (albeit on a flat road in a US city, not on a massive mountain in Provence).
Powless eventually got sorted with a new bike, but by then his chances of victory were long gone and he finished 18th, over five minutes down on winner Sandy Dujardin.
But at least you broke the internet for a few hours, Neilson, that’s something, right?
Cyclist who fractured pedestrian’s skull while riding laps of Regent’s Park fined £500 over group ride collision on wrong side of crossing
A cyclist who rode on the wrong side of a pedestrian crossing during a group ride in Regent’s Park — hitting a woman and fracturing her skull — has been fined £500 and ordered to pay £2,500 compensation after admitting riding without due care and attention.
Read more: > Cyclist who fractured pedestrian’s skull while riding laps of Regent’s Park fined £500 over group ride collision on wrong side of crossing
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lane? Because it’s not finished yet and is currently being used as a makeshift carpark
You couldn’t make it up…
Have you taken more than a year to build a new cycle lane? Don’t worry. At least in its unfinished state it’s somewhere useful to park your cars.
— David Gregory-Kumar (@drdavidgk.bsky.social) September 3, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Sir Chris Hoy says he is “totally overwhelmed” as fundraising Tour de 4 bike ride raises over £2 million for cancer charities
Sir Chris Hoy said he was “totally overwhelmed” after learning that his Tour de 4 cycling event has raised over £2 million for cancer charities.
The inaugural edition of the Tour de 4 took place yesterday in Glasgow, featuring a 56-mile loop, a family ride, and static cycling events inside the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
The track cycling legend, who announced his own terminal prostate cancer diagnosis last year, was joined on the ride by a number of high-profile sportspeople, including Andy Murray, Ben Ainslie, Duncan Scott, Rebecca Adlington, and Paralympic icon Dame Sarah Storey.
Mark Cavendish and Hoy’s old sprint teammate Jason Kenny also headed up to Glasgow to show their support.
And with donations flooding in through the event’s GoFundMe pages, a whopping total of £2,135,406 was raised (double Hoy’s initial target of £1m), which will be distributed to Breast Cancer Now, Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Maggie’s, and Prostate Cancer UK.
“I am totally overwhelmed by today, the support we have received and the amazing people who came to Glasgow – it’s incredible,” the six-time Olympic champion said afterwards.
“When I first set out to create this event, I plucked £1 million out of the air as it sounded like a pretty decent amount to raise!
“Today we have more than doubled that and I am so delighted. Every single person who has ridden, fundraised or donated – this is down to you. Thank you.”
11-time world champion Hoy was also surrounded by some of his closest friends during the ride, including childhood mate Grant, who described the Tour de 4 as the “best bike ride of my life”.
“Just being with him on the journey over the last two years since he got his catastrophic news and how that impacted him and the way he’s turned that into a positive has been incredible”, Grant told ITV.
“Today being the accumulation of that it really encapsulates everything about Chris, he always wants to help people, do good things whenever he can and it’s incredible the amount of time that people have given up to come and be here today so it’s the most uplifting thing.”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s time for road.cc’s Commuting Week 2025! Yes, that’s right, over the course of the next few days we’ll be publishing lots of helpful guides, riding tips, buyer’s advice, and reviews all related to the joy, art, and benefits of commuting by bike.
Here’s a little taste of what we’ve got lined up so far, from a beginner’s guide to cycling to work and money-saving tips to the five latest cool things we’ve spotted for the commute:
> A beginner’s guide to cycling to work — save money and emissions, plus feel healthier and happier by choosing your bike to commute
> How much money can you really save by cycling to work?
> Five cool things for the commute that we’re reviewing from MET, Lezyne, Knog, Proviz and Zefal
> Looking for a reliable ride to work? Here are our top two-wheeled workhorses, from folders to e-bikes
Keep an eye out on the site over the next week (preferably once you’ve finished your morning commute), as there’s plenty more where that came from.
Breaking News: Andy Murray is NOT a keen cyclist
Former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray here at his straight-talking, nonchalant best, before setting off for all 56 miles of the dreaded ‘red route’, as part of fellow Scottish sporting legend Sir Chris Hoy’s Tour de 4 charity ride:
‘It’s going to be painful’
Sir Andy Murray and Sir Ben Ainslie are just some of the famous names who joined Sir Chris Hoy at the start of his #Tourde4 event in Glasgow aimed at changing the perception of people living with stage 4 cancer #BBCBreakfast https://t.co/I86oujeFF0 pic.twitter.com/vG8VwGCatG
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 7, 2025
Seriously, is that the most Andy Murray interview ever? Are you nervous? Nope. Are you a ‘keen cyclist’? Nah.
Never change, Andy. Well, maybe ride a bike a bit more, if you want.
PSG manager Luis Enrique undergoes surgery after breaking collarbone in cycling crash
Speaking of sportspeople who are keen cyclists (and this time I’m not talking about the Daily Mail columnist version of a ‘keen cyclist’), Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique underwent surgery at the weekend after breaking his collarbone in a cycling crash.
Enrique, as I’m sure you know, is properly obsessed with cycling – to the extent that I’d describe him less as a footballer who cycles, and more a cyclist who just so happens to have a high-profile job in football.
After guiding PSG to their first ever Champions League title in May, and with it a historic treble, the 55-year-old celebrated by heading out on his bike and filming himself singing (if that’s the right word) one of the state-owned club’s songs.
He’s even ridden the Cape Epic mountain bike stage race (all eight days and 650km of it) three times, finishing 38th in the Grand Masters category last time out back in 2023.
And when he was manager of Spain, he announced one of his squads with a homage to the Vuelta and spent much of his side’s poor showing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar either cycling or catching up on the latest cyclocross action on GCN+ (I wonder what he makes of the whole TNT situation?).
Anyway, on Friday PSG confirmed that the former Real Madrid and Barcelona midfielder, enjoying some time to himself during the international break, crashed while out cycling, breaking his collarbone.
“Following a cycling accident on Friday, Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique was treated by the emergency services and will undergo surgery for a fractured collarbone,” PSG said in a statement.
“The Club expresses its full support and wishes him a swift recovery.”
PSG’s next match is at home to Lens on Sunday, so hopefully Enrique can recover in time to be in the dugout for that one. And at least he’s got a good excuse to put his feet up and watch the Vuelta all week – I’m sure his coaches will be delighted…
French ultra-endurance cyclist arrested for ‘illegally crossing Russian border’ at end of 18,000km Eurasian cycling world record attempt
Having crossed Europe and Asia by bike in 61 days, Sofiane Sehili had just 400km left to ride to Russia’s Pacific port city Vladivostok when he was arrested:
Read more: > French ultra-endurance cyclist arrested for ‘illegally crossing Russian border’ at end of 18,000km Eurasian cycling world record attempt
Safe to say my weekend ride wasn’t as eventful…
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“It’s horrible to target someone like that – outside a hospital”: NHS worker finishes 12-hour shift… only to find front wheel stolen and brake cables cut in ‘tactical bike crime’
An NHS healthcare assistant who finished a 12-hour shift only to find that their bike had been vandalised and its front wheel stolen has claimed that calling the police “just isn’t worth the hassle” because “crime like that in London is so common”.
32-year-old cyclist Jorden had just completed his first shift back at a central London hospital following a period of annual leave when he discovered that his bike’s front wheel had been nicked and its brake cables cut, leaving him stranded in the early hours of the morning with no means of getting home.
Jorden was finally able to wheel his bike onto the tube, after being loaned money for the fare by his partner David.
“I couldn’t get back to sleep because I was so angry,” David told MyLondon, reflecting on the theft. “It’s horrible to target someone like that – outside a hospital. It happened to one of Jorden’s colleagues before.”
The couple have since set up a GoFundMe page to cover the costs of the stolen front wheel and repairs to the bike, which Jorden used to cycle from London to Paris in 2023.
“The money will make a considerable difference, and that was my main aim,” David said, after the fundraiser hit £500 following donations from friends and family. “It’ll mean a lot to Jorden.”
David also noted that the ‘tactical’ bike vandalism that affected Jorden is becoming increasingly prevalent in London, with bikes targeted in the hope that they are abandoned by their owners, so the thieves can swoop in and sell the rest for parts.
“You often see empty frames with wheels missing. It’s a tactical crime. People abandon their bikes after that,” he said.
“Calling the police just wasn’t worth the hassle. Crime like that in London is so common.”
Soak it all in
One last dance 🕺
Geraint Thomas rides his final race today, ending a golden career on his home roads in Cardiff 💛 #ToBM | @LloydsBank pic.twitter.com/OVLoQbfd6r
— Lloyds Tour of Britain (@TourofBritain) September 7, 2025
Not a bad career, that.
“From Maindy to the Champs-Élysées and everything in between”: Riders and famous fans pay tribute as Geraint Thomas, the down-to-earth, relatable face of Britain’s 2010s cycling boom, retires in Cardiff
It ended where it all began.
Back home in rainy Cardiff, Geraint Thomas, cruising home minutes behind stage winner Olav Kooij, head bowed and hand raised in appreciation of the thousands who braved the Welsh weather to pay one last tribute to their local hero, drew the curtain on a remarkable 19-year career.
A career which helped shape and define Britain’s cycling boom of the 2010s, and one that will have a lasting impact on his sport.
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
Let’s be clear – Geraint Thomas was far from the dominant rider of his generation. Instead, it’s the length and breadth of his time as a professional bike rider that set him apart.
Thomas made his Tour de France debut, as the race’s youngest rider, back in 2007, only the second Tour of the post-Armstrong era (he would later race the 2010 Tour with the Texan at the tail end of his ill-fated comeback).
He’s witnessed the Contador, Wiggins, and Froome eras, and in 2022 – at the age of 36 – finished a very impressive third behind Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar at the Tour.
That 2007 Tour was also the first time that cycling’s biggest race had ever started in the UK. Just under two years on from his retirement, we’ll be experiencing the country’s third Grand Départ.
How times change. Back in ’07, fourth place by Robert Millar (now Pippa York) at the 1984 Tour remained the UK’s best GC result. 11 years on from that baby-faced debut for Barloworld, Thomas was storming to his own yellow jersey triumph, via an iconic win on Alpe d’Huez, the third Brit to win the Tour that decade.
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
But Thomas won’t be just remembered as a Tour winner. Multidisciplinary leanings may be all the rage in cycling now, but you could argue Thomas was the prototype. Cutting his teeth on the track, he was a key part of Team GB’s golden era in the velodrome, winning two team pursuit golds in 2008 and at London 2012.
The Welshman then looked set to become Britain’s next classics star, his fondness for grisly conditions and cobbles leading him to top tens at Flanders and Roubaix in 2014, followed by victory at E3 Harelbeke the next year.
Thomas was also, lest we forget, a more than willing and capable domestique, slotting into the much-maligned but highly effective Sky train, as Froome swept all before him in 2013, ’15, and ’16. It was those two final Tours, however, and his decent GC rides while supporting Froome, that sparked his mid-career metamorphosis as a stage racer and grand tour contender.
The big wins duly followed: Paris-Nice, the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de Suisse. And, of course, that 2018 Tour de France.
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
But it wasn’t just the results that made Thomas the face of British cycling. Unlike the mod star Wiggo or the introverted anti-hero Froome, Thomas was relatable, the humble, funny boy next door, who ripped up Alpine cols then went out on the lash with his mates in Cardiff. The crashes, the many, many crashes, also added to that feeling of relatability. He wasn’t invincible, he was one of us.
Which is why, I suppose, his homecoming in Cardiff was such an event. And why so many of his colleagues and fans rushed to congratulate him on a stellar career.
“It’s been a pleasure mate. From Maindy to the Champs-Élysées and everything in between. Enjoy retirement butt, I’ve got a few beers waiting,” his long-time Sky teammate and podcasting partner Luke Rowe posted.
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
And Ben Swift, who’s also spent the bulk of his career at Thomas’s side, told reporters in Cardiff: “It got a little bit emotional there, because obviously, I’ve been a part of his career a long time.
“We’ve known each other since we were 12 years old, both with this dream of being pro, and the reception that he’s received here has just been a credit to him.”
Meanwhile, the Tour of Britain posted: “Thank you G, for inspiring a nation.”
And his old coach Rod Ellingworth, now the race director of the Tour of Britain, paid tribute in his own unique way:
Bruce Rollinson/SWpix.com
“Congratulations on an incredible career mate,” wrote Bradley Wiggins on Instagram.
“Enjoy the last day of your fantastic career, one of life’s true gentlemen. No matter the success achieved you still stayed the down to earth, everybody always loved G. Cheers butt,” said fellow Sky train member Richie Porte.
And G’s most famous fan, Ben Stiller – who spent the day of Thomas’s final ever race sat behind Bruce Springsteen, Shaggy, Sting, and Pink at the US Open – also got involved, writing: “Congrats on an epic racing career.”
Mic drop.
“No wonder cycling’s dying in this country”: Fuming fans slam ITV for “ruining” Geraint Thomas retirement party by ditching Tour of Britain finale for horse racing
During the final few wet kilometres of this year’s Tour de France in Paris, Ned Boulting’s phone must have assumed that something was horribly wrong, due to the seemingly endless barrage of social media notifications popping up on its home screen.
As the sport’s biggest race faded from free-to-air television in the UK, fans rushed to their favourite platforms to pay tribute to ITV’s almost two and a half decades of Tour coverage, and mourn the loss of a British cycling institution.
On Sunday afternoon, however, on the similarly sodden streets of Cardiff, Boulting’s timeline (and that of the poor ITV cycling social media manager) was blowing up once again. But this time, for entirely different reasons.
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
Because, as we approached the final 25km of yesterday’s sixth and final stage of the Tour of Britain – and the final 25km of Geraint Thomas’s cycling career – commentator Marty MacDonald leaned into the microphone to quietly tell us that, ahem, ITV4’s coverage of the race was about to abruptly end.
Why? Because some horse racing, namely the final round of the Sky Bet Sunday Series from York, was due to start.
And if, for some weird reason, you were looking to catch the end of a race hanging in the balance, and to witness a part of British cycling history, viewers were instructed to load up the always reliably ITVX app.
Cue Boulting’s phone buzzing with frustration.
“Here’s something I didn’t expect to say – shocking coverage from ITV Cycling,” wrote Mac on Twitter. “Moving the last 20 minutes of coverage of the Tour of Britain from ITV4 to ITVX, why????”
“Which idiot in your organisation thought it would be a good idea to take the Tour of Britain off ITV4 for the last 20km and put it on ITVX, absolute muppets,” asked a fuming Stuart. “I was enjoying the race and coverage.”
“Thanks a lot ITV,” added James Webb. “I’d watched every live stage of the Tour of Britain until you decided to move the last 30 mins to ITVX. Couldn’t get the app to load, by the time I got the livestream they were practically in final sprint. Ruined it. Why change for the last 30 minutes?!?”
And Dave Newton was even angrier: “Cover every minute of every stage of the Tour of Britain except the most important last 15km just to switch to a bang average horse race.
“Total disrespect to the viewers and especially Geraint Thomas. Utter incompetence.”
“After excellent coverage all week, today of all days they decided to cut off the coverage just before the end,” added Tony. “They have three other channels that could have shown the coverage but repeats of films and shows are more important. Total disregard for live sport.”
“ITV dumping the last 20km of the final stage of the Tour of Britain onto ITVX is rather pathetic,” wrote Jonny.
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
Meanwhile, others were dismayed that Geraint Thomas’s big moment, as he called time on his illustrious career in front of an adoring home crowd, was ignored.
“Fantastic move from ITV moving the Tour of Britain finale to ITVX with no prior warning,” a sarcastic Marina Gange applauded.
“It’s just one of our nation’s greatest sportspeople and Olympians finishing his career in his home race. Not important clearly. No wonder you lost the Tour, rank amateurs.”
Ouch.
And Tony Coleman said: “ITV’s devotion to the Sunday Series about to get a backlash? Shunting the closing kms of the Tour of Britain and Geraint Thomas’s retirement (which they’ve been talking about all week) on to ITVX is the most bizarre decision.”
“A big well done to the arses at ITV, who decided to move the last few hours of Tour of Britain cycling to ITVX instead of maybe moving it to ITV1,” wrote Pip. “Give it the coverage it bloody deserves. Push the knife deeper by ending the show without showing Geraint Thomas speech. Nice one.”
“So… the final day of the Tour of Britain, Geraint Thomas’s final day in the saddle following a truly epic career and neither ITV nor TNT have his final pedal strokes live. a GB race, GB cyclist, GB channels, and nope, not on. Shame on you both (and you know what you can do with ITVX).”
And finally, Charlie Pittock said: “ITV cutting off Tour of Britain coverage in final 30 minutes of our last British TdF winner’s career. It’s no wonder cycling’s dying in this country.”
Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
For his part, Boulting – although I’m sure he wasn’t in charge of the scheduling – took to his Substack to apologise for the abrupt end to a week of otherwise great coverage of Britain’s biggest bike race.
“Worth saying that the final stage ended badly for ITV’s coverage,” he wrote. “The network, overwhelmed by live sport commitments, opted to pull the race from ITV4 before its conclusion, because of horse racing.
“Though it continued to be broadcast on ITVX, not enough warning or explanation was given, and it left people confused and cross, which is entirely understandable.
“As a result, my timeline which I am accustomed to being a safe space, has become a receptacle for frustration, into which I have been assiduously copied. All I can say to you all is sorry.”
Meanwhile, over at TNT Towers, everyone in the PR department is breathing a sigh of relief that it’s not them on the receiving end of a social media pile on from cycling fans for a change…
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Latest Comments
Well that all blew up quickly! A pause to savour: "cyclists have a dislike for linguistic accuracy and authentic meaning." Apparently it's something to do with the cyclic muscle movements - ah, no, that would affect runners and rowers also. Circular motion of the limbs?
@mattw Yeah, and Oxford Street will be full of unicorns and rainbows by then as well. 🤣
@stulemanski Actually I think they do, as long as there is good behaviour. Complete cycle bans are vanishingly rare in the Netherlands, which is the best comparison. In 10-20 years time there will be a mobility track, and there will be no real problems.
@Rendel Harris That assumes training, expertise, and the time to do a proper job including full consultation. This does not happen, and then rapid assumptions are made based on "me". That also happens with cycling groups who campaign for something and completely ignore eg tricycles or other varieties of vehicle, in favour of standard cycles. Both lived experience and professional experience are essential. This week I have been looking at a brand new £50k 3m-wide path upgrade in my local Green Flag Park, where the Council have spent perhaps £3k installing a 3 ply chicane with 1.5m gaps and 1.5m spacing between barriers at one end of it. The path also includes a 1-in-9 30m long hill. I have since been talking to a lady who is a wheelchair user and has a fully-trained assistance dog which walks alongside, who is thereby prevented from entering the park she pays for with her Council Tax. Those dimensions are unusable for most small mobility scooters, never mind other mobility aid users, and are flat out unlawful, and not in accordance with several sets of Government Guidelines. Yet when I complain I expect to be stonewalled to the door of the Court in the hope that I will get exhausted and go away. At the door of the Court they usually capitulate, and will have spent 7-10k on legal letters and compensation and doing what they should have done at the start. That £3k could have been spent sorting out perhaps 10 other anti-disabled barriers around our Green Flag Parks. Every complaint so far I have made has been met with "Does Not Meet Threshold for Action".
@flowboy I'm not sure what your point is, FB. Unforfunately, in a world of insufficient resources and gutted Councils with no expertise (for example the near-vanishing of Accessibility Officers) due mainly to available resources being halved since 2010, the only things that will get a response are likely to be details supported by a credible threat of legal action. That's how it is. Even then they often rely on obfuscation via complaints procedures that can take 12 months and have no teeth.
@flowboy I'm not sure what your point is, FB. Unforfunately, in a world of insufficient resources and gutted Councils with no expertise (for example the near-vanishing of Accessibility Officers) due mainly to available resources being halved since 2010, the only things that will get a response are likely to be details supported by a credible threat of legal action. That's how it is. Even then they often rely on obfuscation via complaints procedures that can take 12 months and have no teeth.
@Rendel Harris I have recently come out. I have been called a lot worse. Sticks and stones. So are you saying I cannot call people like myself names? If a call myself and people like me, a ‘homophobic slur’ are you going to get the nasty words police on to me? If you are straight, then your opinions and fake anger mean nothing. Unless you are gay, you are clueless. So stop getting all worked up about a name. I can cope with it. If you can’t, it’s on you.
@No Reply, ah I see which PBU you are now. Tiresomely familiar. Rather than waste any more time on you I’ll leave it to the good judgement of road.cc readers as to exactly how much credence to give the words of someone who claims that calling someone a “bum chum” is not a homophobic slur.
I'm sure everyone involved is very well intentioned but I'm sorry Scottish Cycling, young people don't need "confidence", they need safe infrastructure. They need a national government that doesn't repeatedly fail to live up to its previous promises on active travel spending and then tries to obfuscate that fact, while diverting huge obscene sums of money to road building and blocking attempts by councils to implement congestion charging. They need local councils that are actually incentivised to deliver infrastructure at pace where funding is available rather than soft-soaping and slow-rolling constantly to try and avoid bad press from deranged anti-cycling wingnut columnists in local rags. Most relevantly, they need people with access to power and politics who're willing to advocate for those things, certainly far more than they need a Tour-themed rebrand of the ineffectual Bikability scheme which is what this initiative seems to amount to.
@Rendel Harris "Did you have to have counselling after every game because of the hurtful things you heard on the pitch?" Great question. For a rational, steady, logical, response, sadly don't hold your breath. I say "sadly" because most cyclists have a dislike for linguistic accuracy and authentic meaning. I don't think Rendel has a wish to "live in North Korea" though. He's only expressing disdain for a two word lump that resides along the lickspittle spectrum. North Korea seems like an incredible leap. Do you use a TV stick a lot No Reply?
13 thoughts on ““No wonder cycling’s dying in this country”: Fuming fans slam ITV for “ruining” Geraint Thomas retirement party by ditching Tour of Britain finale for horse racing; Accidental anti-cycling; G tributes; Hoy’s Tour de 4 raises £2m + more on the live blog”
Can’t say I’m surprised, ITV
Can’t say I’m surprised, ITV have’t really cared about cycling for a while now.
The only good thing to say
The only good thing to say about yesterday’s ITV debacle, is Discovery+ were just as bad, at one stage they were commentating over pictures of Ned & Lizzie talking.
And as the photos show G went up on stage after the podium ceremony, yet they both cut away from that, i thought they’d do a thing like they did with Cav last year where Rod Ellingworth presents him with special memento.
At least we had his S4C interview.
Anyone able to give this a
Anyone able to give this a home ? Unwanted item !
Hirsute wrote:
Nice set of railings there, if you can get rid of that D-lock and old bike frame I’ll take them off your hands!
Turret lane Ipswich but you
Turret lane Ipswich but you’ll have to beat stonojnr!
They’d probably only left it
They’d probably only left it there 5mins earlier.
No idea why anyone would willingly leave or park a bike there.
This one has a less secure
This one has a less secure lock, but more difficult to make a getaway with…
“The track cycling legend,
“The track cycling legend, who announced his own terminal prostate cancer diagnosis last year, was joined on the ride by a number of high-profile sportspeople, including Andy Murray, Ben Ainslie, Duncan Scott, Rebecca Adlington, and Paralympic icon Dame Sarah Storey.
Mark Cavendish and Hoy’s old sprint teammate Jason Kenny also headed up to Glasgow to show their support.”
And yet no mention of the best tour rider (to date, Oscar Onley may yet surpass) to come out of Scotland, Pippa York was also riding the Tour de 4 I believe.
A fabulous event all round.
A fabulous event all round. Andy Murray doesn’t like cycling?! He seemed happy that I helped him across the line at the finish 😁
He still did selfies and chatted to the crowd. Well done Sir Andy, tough route in the wet!
In fairness to ITV, you can
In fairness to ITV, you can see why they might have thought that if one G was good, a load of GGs would be even better.
I was disappointed. Only 20k
I was disappointed. Only 20k to go too. They could’ve stuck it on 2 or 3. If the weather had been nicer they might have finished in the time ITV allowed.
Needless to say that road.cc
Needless to say that road.cc has extensively covered both Cav’s and G’s last year of pro cycling. I would be curious to know which rider wins in terms of articles, features, words and frequency.
I’ve got a great theme for a
I’ve got a great theme for a new itv cycling programme.
It is to feature a minor female celebrity’s bid to make the GB road cycling team for the 2028 Olympics.
In the first episode, our sleb borrows her mum’s Raleigh Shopper to go into town to get her eyebrows and nails done. Having cycled to town and back without stopping (including passing through a red light, to introduce some right wing tabloid press controversy), her PR team deduce that she has real talent and lobby British Cycling.
Clearly the Olympic Games and Team GB are keen to have her competing because of the interest it would generate in “Hello” magazine and on “Loose Women”.
The programme consists of weekly episodes of our sleb’s training diary with its dramatic physical and emotional ups and downs. The final episode features her medal winning performances in both Olympic road race and time trial.
The Queen hit “Bicycle Race” could be the theme tune.
A sequel series could be about another sleb’s bid to become an anaesthetist registrar at a top London hospital despite dropping all science subjects in the third year at secondary school and getting the lowest possible grade in GCSE maths.
His medical aptitude was revealed when he successfully applied a plaster to a fellow “Love Island” contestant’ grazed knee.
The theme tune could be the 1970s Tina Charles hit “Dr Love”.