“Cutest moment of the Champs?”: Three-year-old cyclist races against Julian Alaphilippe; Cyclists rave about Montreal’s “incredible” cycling network; Van der Poel, Sagan and Pidcock go mountain biking; Robots coming for cyclists? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“The kid can cycle, but can the driver drive?”: Parents demand safer cycling infrastructure as video shows 5-year-old having to navigate traffic and blocked bike lane
That kid deserves a chapeau from all of us. But makes you wonder, why on earth would someone see this video and not advocate for safer roads where children are free to cycle without constantly looking over their shoulder?
Francesca Savage, the five-year-old’s mother, told me yesterday that her son has had no professional training other than from his parents and has been riding a bike since before he had even turned three.
And why does a cycling lane have operating hours? Are you allowed to cycle only specific hours? Imagine if the same was to be done for cars…
“In Haringey less than half of house holds own a car so many people rely on active travel and public transport. The cycling lane parking makes it an unsafe environment for more vulnerable road users and will prevent them from potentially making the switch from their car to a bike,” Save said.
"It exists, and it's beautiful!": Cyclists rave about Montreal’s "incredible" cycling network
It’s not that you cyclists collectively gush over something, so the rare occurrence when it happens, you can place a solid and confident bet that it’s going to be good.
The videos, posted by Tom Flood on Twitter show him going through Montreal, the largest city in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec. And from my two dime six-month Duolingo experience, I can say, ça me plaît.
Montreal’s cycling network is incredible. So simple, intuitive and safe. Every municipal decision maker should see and experience it. pic.twitter.com/q5yuHXnVLm
— Tom Flood (@tomflood1) August 5, 2023
Not going to lie, it’s making me a bit envious, and apparently others too, for many of whom Montreal is becoming a their trip destination. See, that’s how you make your city visitor and resident-friendly as well as a hotspot for tourists. Checkmate, Brighton councillors.
> Councillor blames fall in Brighton’s tourism since 2020 on parking prices…
Flood continued: “Grab a Bixi and just go. My partner rode the electric version (first time) and was truly ecstatic about the ride.”
“One unfortunate outcome of these more human spaces in the city was the devastation to Mont Royal when it was closed to drivers.”
Ghost town vibe. You can literally see the rot and crime starting. Sad. 😁
— Rick B (@RickB69244818) August 7, 2023
Very unfortunate…
Meanwhile, a quick Google search tells me that Bixi bikes is a public bicycle sharing system serving in Canada and also the biggest in North America, and from the consensus on Twitter, eBixi are supposedly *check notes* much better than drugs for some people. Interesting comparison, one which your blog host is unfortunately not at the liberty of saying whether he concurs or not, but is inclined to believe so.
This video,single handedly, added Montreal to my list of must visit cities.
That looks lovely
— Orb (@mellofello808) August 6, 2023
This is pornographic reporting you immediately.
— Eugene (@mertle_the) August 5, 2023
💯. Visited Montreal and Toronto in last year. Bike share tech was similar, but bike culture and network design in Montreal was much easier and more welcoming for novice tourists on bike share. Missed opportunity in Toronto imo – so flat, cycling could be easy
— Jordan Magtoto (@Emancipation_J) August 7, 2023
THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Van der Poel, Sagan and Pidcock to participate in Cross Country MTB World Championships?
Is this real?! Is it really happening??!
🚨 THIS. IS. MASSIVE!! 🚨
Do NOT adjust your screen, that really is @mathieuvdpoel, @petosagan and @tompidcock riding the trails of GLENTRESS FOREST! 🤯
Are we…dreaming?!#GlasgowScotland2023 | #PowerOfTheBike | @dmbins pic.twitter.com/la09LwvqEi
— 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships (@CyclingWorlds) August 9, 2023
Mathieu van der Poel, Peter Sagan and Tom Pidcock have all been spotted in the trails of Glentress Forest, possibly prepping for the Cross-Country Olympic world championship tomorrow.
This Worlds might just prove too much for me folks!
Glasgow e-bike rider crashes into Italian pros on cycle path, falling into river and ruling Simone Consonni out of world championships
Italian track rider Simone Consonni’s world championships was brought to an abrupt end on Tuesday morning, after a cyclist on an e-bike collided head-on with him and teammate Francesco Lamon as the pair enjoyed a leisurely spin along the River Clyde on one of Glasgow’s cycle paths.
He was spotted last night by road.cc at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome sporting a heavily bandaged left wrist and with his arm in a sling, and it was later confirmed that he had sustained a broken right collarbone and a broken left scaphoid when the e-bike rider hit him head on.
Little robot cyclist coming through
First they came after the… and I said nothing. Now are robots coming after us?
Watch out little robot cyclist coming through!
Meet Primer V2. pic.twitter.com/MLQBPGzH0e— Engineering Insider (@EngineeringInsd) August 8, 2023
Pope meets the Vatican cycling team
I’ll be honest, I keep forgetting that Vatican has a cycling team (and turns out teams for a lot of other sports too), so it always comes as a jolt from the blue.
Today, Pope Francis met with the Vatican Cycling Team to sign Rien Schuurhuis’ bicycle that he rode at the UCI @CyclingWorlds in the Men Elite Road Race.
The bicycle will then be auctioned for charity. Grateful for this special opportunity that His Holiness @Pontifex has gifted… pic.twitter.com/2fEwcqn6xE
— David Lappartient (@DLappartient) August 9, 2023
Suspected drink and drugs driver who killed cyclist told police “there was nothing dangerous” about his driving at time of fatal crash
The motorist, who was found to have traces of cocaine and cannabis in his system, said: “I heard a bang but I did not see anything. I did not think I hit a cyclist.”
European Gran Fondo champion and former Paris-Roubaix star fails doping test now
46-year-old Moris Sammassimo, the European Gran Fondo Men’s 45-49 champion has been preliminarily suspended for testing positive for banned performance enhancing substance by the National Anti-Doping Organization Italia.
Sammassimo is a former pro who finished third at Paris-Roubaix U23 in 1998. In 2022 he returned to racing on the Italian gran fondo circuit, winning the European Fondo Championships at Gran Fondo Matildica, placing 8th at the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Trento and 4th at Gran Fondo Michele Scarponi.
The “substance” in question? Clenbuterol. Very old-school. I guess once you know the stuff you like, you wouldn’t be too keen to change it?
And it would make sense, as this is not Sammassimo’s first time being charged with doping. Sammassimo. In 2003 the Italian newspaper La Tribuna di Treviso reported that he was implicated in doping activities as an amateur cyclist.
Chris Boardman goes cycling on an OVO bike in Glasgow
I’ve had such fun this last week riding around Glasgow for work. Free bikes, easy parking and space to ride them. Well done Scotland! 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/LdJqGFOyp0
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) August 8, 2023
Your Specialized SL8 builds...
If you’ve got £12,000, or in this case £4,750 to spare, and have given yourself an early Christmas present in the shape of an SL8 frameset, feel free to share your builds!
This one’s by Jimmy Chi, weighing at just 6.66 kilos, and yes, that’s with pedals. Won’t be going anywhere near a UCI race with that, but who cares about that anyway when you’ve got the latest shiny frame, and that spectacular Recon Harry cassette.
The rising price of entry-level road bikes — how much does it cost to get into road cycling now vs 10 years ago?
As someone who just got a road bike and is having to accessorise with equipment and kit, I can tell you, and you would know it already, that cycling is not cheap. But how expensive is it now than 10 years ago? Emily finds out…
Montreal's cycling network: Your take
We began the blog with some outstanding cycle lanes from Montreal in Quebec, Canada, and seems cyclists were rightfully raving about it — it is, indeed, as good as it looks. An existing and functional cycle network on earth, who would have imagined?
Here’s some of the comments from road.cc readers about the story…
Miller: “I was in Montreal for work quite a few years ago, 2004 I think, and did some cycling while there. Their network of bike paths extends all round the environs of the city so you could actually do a long ride without being hassled by cars. Which was nice.”
chrisonatrike: “RE: Montreal – glad to see something positive in North America (bit of a nadir for cycling infra)!
“The good – looks like they have: a) a network (most important) and b) separated cycle paths (or at least protected cycle lanes) with a reasonable width.”
Steve K: “On the subject of Canada, I happen to be there at the moment. Currently in Toronto, but last week I was just down the road near Peterborough. It’s been interesting to see all the same debates here as in the UK – but (from what I’ve seen) more positivity. Modal filters on some roads, but described as “café streets” and I was greeted by this article in the local paper.”
"Cutest moment of the Champs so far?": Three-year-old cyclist races against Julian Alaphilippe at the Worlds
Now isn’t this what it’s all about?!
🥹 Could this be the cutest moment of the Champs so far?!#GlasgowScotland2023 | #PowerOfTheBike https://t.co/YpslFRSS4e
— 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships (@CyclingWorlds) August 8, 2023
Took the corner like a pro, checked for his opponent once across his shoulder, and left Loulou in the dust!
The moment was captured by the little kid’s father Murray during that unforgettable and epic Men’s Elite Road Race at Glasgow this weekend, where Van der Poel was crowned champion with a broken shoe.
But drawing all eyes towards himself was Cam Duff, as he had the time of his life and raced against the 2020 and 2021 winner of the road race championship, making a memory that will last a lifetime.
Cam Duff, joined Romain Bardet’s son Angus in racing the pros and showing them how it’s done on their own turf. A month ago in July (it’s already been a month?), Bardet’s three-year-old stole the show on the legendary and fabled climb of the dormant volacno, the Puy de Dôme, as he sampled the raucous atmosphere on the lower slopes, attacking the climb with all the panache of his dad in his pomp.
> Romain Bardet’s three-year-old son steals the show (again) on the Puy de Dôme
And surprisingly, that attack on the Puy isn’t the first time young Angus has enjoyed riding his bike like a Tour pro. Back in March, the future star made his ‘pro’ debut at Paris-Nice, riding with his old man on his way to the team bus after a stage.
Nonetheless, Cam has proven that you don’t need to be a Tour stage winner’s son, just need a bike, and the bottle to take it up to the pros and compete. Ahem, I’ve just got the bike, sorry.
Cam, a keen cyclist already, was gifted his bike on his third birthday by his parents, who took a train from Edinburgh and stayed in Glasgow the whole day to enjoy the race, reported Glasgow Live.
“It was great and really good fun and the atmosphere was incredible,” said Cam’s father. “We watch the Tour De France highlights every night and we got to see the cycling happening live and it was so fast, it was a great day. You just appreciate it so much because it is taking place in Scotland, this is a once in a lifetime thing you can do and see and we loved it.”
He added: “Cam is tilting his head looking for him and we had no idea it was Julian Alaphilippe so it just made it even better and it’s nice people are enjoying the video.
“He was smiling while watching them. The boys were buzzing the whole day and at the end of the day the tracks were still open so Cam was racing down the streets of Glasgow getting cheered on by everyone so that was good fun.
“He is competitive, when I race him I am not allowed to win or it’s a strop.”
See, that’s the bottle I’m talking about. Mark the name, Cam Duff, coming to take your KOMs, and maybe win some rainbow jerseys in a few years.
9 August 2023, 08:41
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Latest Comments
@qwerty360 "Oh; Huge reduction in all injuries;....." Which reminds me of the original Thompson, Rivara and Thompson study about cycle helmets, which found that helmets prevented 85% of deaths, but when peer reviewed, it was shown that helmets prevented injuries to all other parts of the body. That study was absolutely the most awful piece of original research about cycle helmets, completely invalid, but it's still the most quoted. You don't say where the figures you quote come from, but I'm sceptical of their validity.
@Nigel Garage Guess he's finding out that real life doesn't have an edit button, eh?
“The consultation showed a strong preference for Dryden Road to return to two-way traffic,........" But doesn't the council have policies which dictate that Active Travel routes should be adopted, preserved and promoted? From Devon CC's Roads and Traffic webpage: "Following a 2021 public consultation which showed almost 75% of respondents in favour of permanent changes to reduce traffic,........" So 75% of people are in favour of permanent changes to reduce traffic, but another consultation says take it out. Why aren't they going with the result of the 2021 consultation? "It followed concerns about the impact of displaced traffic on surrounding roads......" This is always exaggerated, and usually much smaller than the reduction in traffic on the blocked road, and of course, this is no exception: 'Devon County Council reported that closing Dryden Road to motor vehicles reduced traffic by 574 vehicles in the AM peak on Dryden Road itself, while increasing traffic on Bovemoors Lane by 180 vehicles in the AM peak. 'Impact on Surrounding Roads • Bovemoors Lane: Saw an increase of 180 vehicles during the morning peak hours following the modal filter/closure. (Devon CC) • Parallel Corridors (Heavitree Road and Topsham Road): Experienced no significant change in traffic volumes, with vehicle numbers remaining largely the same before and after the closure. (Devon CC) • Air Quality & Congestion: Critics and local campaign groups argued that the closure pushed congestion and fumes onto nearby residential streets, though official council data indicated minimal impact on major parallel routes.' (BBC) My guess is that some councillor has to drive an extra 500m because of the closure.
@Blackthorne83 Please can you let us know what was said, as you apparently know that it was just "exercising his speech" [sic] and didn't deserve any sanction?
@jackcycles your biggest obstacle is a narrow mind - also caused by poor maintenance. Just Google "Cycling KSIs netherlands vs uk" to see how wrong you are.(not that you're open to facts)
@mark1212123 pausing before posting on social media would help a lot of folk. (not you, though)
@chrisonabike only in the brains of the hard of thing
@jackcycles this whole thing is culturally deeply disheartening. Richardson was snitched on by a woke ‘whistleblower’ teammate for exercising his speech. Now British cycling is obligated to take performative measures to safeguard their image given their sins of the past. And a young rider sent to ‘re-education training’, reputation slandered without trial and career derailed. Everybody loses. Great job British cycling, propping up riders and then publicly throwing them under the bus.
@jackcycles Unfortunately now, people are guilty until proved innocent. Mud sticks. I am not saying he is guilty or innocent, but it is the way of the world now.
@chrisonabike "more rational, efficient and dependable" The cost will explode across taxpayers. The administration could've used HS2 money as a beginning step, but they chose not to. Windshield bias will still be whacking the cyclist in 100 years. I don't see many cyclists bothered by it. I see many possible cyclists put off cycling by it but we know this already.
8 thoughts on ““Cutest moment of the Champs?”: Three-year-old cyclist races against Julian Alaphilippe; Cyclists rave about Montreal’s “incredible” cycling network; Van der Poel, Sagan and Pidcock go mountain biking; Robots coming for cyclists? + more on the live blog”
On the subject of Canada, I
On the subject of Canada, I happen to be there at the moment. Currently in Toronto, but last week I was just down the road near Peterborough. It’s been interesting to see all the same debates here as in the UK – but (from what I’ve seen) more positivity. Modal filters on some roads, but described as “café streets” and I was greeted by this article in the local paper.
Meanwhile in Old Peterborough
Meanwhile in Old Peterborough car is still king. (Despite actually having quite a bit of interesting legacy 1980s (?) shabby – but not too bad for the UK – genuine separate cycle infra, being flat etc.)
Of course, there’s a plan… not familiar with this though. I just pass through the place occasionally.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Car is still king in Canadian Peterborough too, really. Though I was very impressed with how much room drivers gave cyclists and pedestrians when passing them.
I’m at Niagara Falls now, if anyone cares ?
‘Car lanes’ only during
‘Car lanes’ only during certain hours are a thing, e.g. bus lanes.
I was in Montreal for work
I was in Montreal for work quite a few years ago, 2004 I think, and did some cycling while there. Their network of bike paths extends all round the environs of the city so you could actually do a long ride without being hassled by cars. Which was nice.
RE: Montreal – glad to see
RE: Montreal – glad to see something positive in North America (bit of a nadir for cycling infra)!
The good – looks like they have: a) a network (most important) and b) separated cycle paths (or at least protected cycle lanes) with a reasonable width.
So this seems to be at getting to what we might call the “London” level*. So there’s still room for a bit better. Call it “Copenhagen” level – ubiquity, more convenient, some really good bits of infra.
And – maybe one day – the gold standard. “Dutch” if you will – where it looks like the place has been “designed” almost as much around cycling as driving. And where they’re still improving things. (Some neat diagrams of different levels here).
* Of course London’s a real mixture including “we’ve provided for cycling! We’ve given cyclists what we call ‘the finger’ ” from Kensington and Chelsea. I’m thinking of the best bits here. Below that level there are only “the odd disconnected cycle lane / recreational paths, normally shared with walkers” and then “none (paint and signs)”.
I think that is a fair
I think that is a fair comment.
How many people cycle in Montreal in billion km pa?
The KSIs seem to be rather higher than London per pop on a quick examination. Though still far below normal North American rates.
The most unhinged defence of
The most unhinged defence of all time: “Suspected drink and drugs driver who killed cyclist told police “there was nothing dangerous” about his driving at time of fatal crash”
If there was nothing dangerous about your driving it wouldn’t have killed someone.