“Like telling women to wear long skirts for their safety”: Cyclists slam road safety group for claiming “wearing a helmet keeps you safer” – but drivers ridicule “woke brigade endangering own lives”; Angry Tesco shopper kicks bike + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tech in the wild: The shiny new things we spotted at the Dauphiné
While Pogi and Jonas were ripping up the road, and a few sprinters’ plans, into Montluçon, Dan and Jack were also extremely busy prowling around French car parks, in search of the latest Tour de France-ready tech breaking cover for the first time.
So, here’s a quick recap of what they spotted over the weekend, from Factor’s unreleased out-there track-style machine (which we first caught wind of late last year, and boy does it live up to the hype) to Cervélo’s “lighter” aero model and the first official outing for Campag’s extra cog:
> Wild unreleased Factor aero bike spotted at Critérium du Dauphiné: mysterious track-inspired bike features huge fork legs and seatstays plus V-shaped stem
> New Cervélo S5 aero bike breaks cover at Critérium du Dauphiné — all new cockpit and changes to frame make new bike “faster and lighter” than current model, brand claims
> Campagnolo 13-speed gets first official WorldTour outing (but only if you’re good enough)
“I’m gutted – but I can’t not be happy with second place”: Cat Ferguson admits she “can’t be too disappointed” after Ally Wollaston nicks Fergie Time winner at Tour of Britain Women, as slow puncture scuppers teen sensation’s chances
During a weekend packed with dramatic racing, it’s safe to say the most thrilling action was to be found, not in La France Profonde or deep in the mountains of Catalunya, but on the narrow, twisting roads of Scotland.
A chaotic, crash-heavy, and unpredictable four days of racing at the Tour of Britain Women, which saw a different stage winner and race leader on every day, came to a scintillating climax in Glasgow Green, as FDJ-Suez’s Ally Wollaston played the time bonuses game to perfection to leapfrog British teenage sensation Cat Ferguson right at the death and claim the overall win.
19-year-old Ferguson headed into the final day of her debut Tour of Britain in the race lead, three seconds clear of Wollaston, after winning a rain-soaked and crash-packed stage three into Kelso, her first career WorldTour victory and another big signpost in what is turning out to be a meteoric ascent through the professional ranks.
However, on the roads of Glasgow, the curse of the green jersey – which had already scuppered Kim Le Court and Kristen Faulkner’s chances through crashes – struck again, as Ferguson suffered a slow puncture on lap five of 10, hindering her ability to contest one of the three all-important intermediate sprints against Wollaston.
Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Forced to work her way back through the bunch before the second sprint in Glasgow Green, after dropping back to check on her tyre pressure, the Movistar rider still managed to finish second to the Kiwi in the fight for time bonuses.
“It was eventful, let’s say. Always something going on with the three intermediate sprints, and I also had a puncture,” the Yorkshire rider said at the finish. “I noticed that I had sealant everywhere after the first sprint, but I didn’t want to change as it felt OK, then slowly it was going down.”
However, she eventually opted for a bike change with just over three laps to go, reflecting afterwards: “Previously I would probably have panicked a lot more, but thankfully having done it in an OK place, there was still a lap and a half to go before the next sprint. Luck was on my side.”
Nevertheless, Wollaston’s diligent chipping away at her lead meant that, heading into the final sprint, the two riders were level on time, before the FDJ-Suez put in an impressively strong sprint to finish third behind stage winner Lorena Wiebes, those extra four bonus seconds meaning she overhauled Ferguson, who finished seventh, right on the line for a dramatic, last-gasp victory.
“I was in an OK position, but then I got a bit chopped up on some corners before. Ally sort of went away, and I knew that that was it. Of course, I’m gutted, but she was the stronger sprinter today,” Ferguson said.
Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the teenager, however, who has firmly cemented herself as one of the most promising riders on the planet – and on home roads, too.
“I can’t not be happy with second place,” she admitted. “If you told me at the beginning of it that I’d come second overall and also win a stage, I’d have been over the moon. I can’t be too disappointed.
“It’s been a really good and memorable week, definitely one I’ll remember. And with all the crowds here today, my family and friends, it’s been super special, and I’m grateful to the team and everyone for their support.”
“But one heck of a great picture, don’t you think?” Demi Vollering promises to adhere to new UCI rule on teammate celebrations after Volta a Catalunya relegation
Another week, another weird and useless UCI ruling…
After dominating the Volta a Catalunya over the weekend, finishing second behind FDJ-Suez teammate Elise Chabbey on stage one before taking a solo victory and securing the overall win on the Coll de Pal, Demi Vollering put the icing on the cake in Barcelona yesterday afternoon, leading out Loes Adegeest for a bunch sprint win in the Catalan capital.
Adegeest’s victory meant FDJ-Suez signed off at the three-day race with a clean sweep of stage wins and the GC, with Vollering and Chabbey grabbing a dominant one-two for the French squad.
However, cycling’s governing body decided to step in and ever so slightly dampen the party vibes – by relegating Vollering from sixth to 58th on the final stage for celebrating Adegeet’s win, breaking the rule introduced by the UCI over the winter forbidding teammates from raising their arms in the middle of the peloton.
“Oops… This picture costs me 100 CHF, [three] UCI points, and my sixth place,” Vollering posted on Instagram after learning of her slap on the wrist.
“But one heck of a great picture, don’t you think?”
“No, seriously, won’t do it again, at I’ll least try, difficult rule to get used to, promise though. I understand the importance of these rules around safety.”
Spoilsports…
Is the Pogačar era boring? You decide…
Alright, I reckon it’s time to settle this endless, pointless debate once and for for all, with the help of our full-proof live blog polling system.
Is the current domination of men’s professional cycling by a handful of big names harming the spectacle and drama? And is that ever-widening gulf between the best and the rest compounded by Pogačar and company’s tendency to launch devastating long-range attacks, killing off any kind of suspense or excitement?
Or are we instead witnessing a golden era of racing, where the best riders in the world aren’t shackled by terrain or tactical conservatism, and are willing to attack when the opportunity presents itself, a far cry from the methodical, risk-repellent style of the Sky era?
And, in any case, does dominance necessarily equate to bland racing – especially when you throw the current Big Four together in one race, like we saw yesterday at the Dauphiné?
I’ll leave it you to work it out…
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes? #13,568
Classic…
“It looked like a movie. It looked fake. There was just so much blood”
> “Someone is going to get killed”: Kite strings across bike path leave New York cyclists with severe injuries, including slashed forehead and throat
Could this be Cycling Mikey’s newest obsession?
Move over phone driving, we’ve got a whole new at the wheel distraction to endanger cyclists:
Scrolling through Instagram, flossing, it’s all the same.
Let’s just hope distracted teeth cleaning while driving doesn’t catch on in the UK. I can picture the scene at Gandalf Corner now, toothpaste flying everywhere…
“Tell me you’re here for training without telling me you’re here for training”: Former Garmin pro Tom Danielson brands Pogačar and Vingegaard’s surprise Dauphiné attack “Tuesday night group ride tactics” and “high on power, low on strategy”
Sunday’s Dauphiné drama, played out by its star-studded cast, could – as I rather charitably have on this cold June Monday morning – be viewed through the lens of a batch of era-defining riders desperate to prove that modern cycling is far from predictable or, gasp, boring.
But yesterday’s chaos into Montluçon could also be viewed as a mere dress rehearsal for the big show in July.
Well, that’s what former Garmin and US Postal pro Tom Danielson reckons anyway, arguing on social media this morning that Pog, Jonas, and co. are simply using the Dauphiné as a mere training exercise – while riding away from the best cyclists in the world in the process.
“WorldTour tactics were completely thrown out the window and replaced with Tuesday night group ride tactics,” the American wrote on Twitter.
“An insanely strong but silly attack by Jonas was followed by Tadej somehow working with MDVP, while Remco bridges and takes monster pulls, with two riders faster than him?!
“While it was fun to watch, these next-level riders made the stage one final look like a group ride! Tell me you’re here for training without telling me you’re here for training.”
Danielson then described Vingegaard’s attack on the plateau over the Côte de Buffon as “high on power, low on strategy” – “Unless, of course, the Dauphiné is your local Tuesday night group ride where the goal is to throw pointless haymakers so everyone talks about how strong you were?”
He continued: “The group ride strategy is really the only explanation, why else would you throw such a massive attack on a flat road directly in front of Tadej and MDVP? And then keep pulling when you see them on your wheel? But then later kinda not pull, but sort of keep pulling? Maybe the Netflix trailer was in his head?!!
“Despite the Jonas attack being pretty silly, the big takeaway was… wow, he is more explosive. Tadej got a front-row seat, but based on the faces of Tadej and MDVP, it sure looks like Jonas has gotten his acceleration to a really good place.
“So what about Tadej? To no one’s surprise, he looks good. He also looks extremely relaxed. I’m always amazed at how he is able to stay so focused on the racing and enjoy the game… MDVP – broken what? And Remco came from wayyyyyy back. Not sure why he’s still doing this, other than that going from 70th to 1st is better training than 3rd to 1st. Just kidding…”
When one fan responded to Danielson’s analysis by telling him to “let the riders have fun once in a while”, the former Vuelta stage winner replied: “I am in support of it! I’m just saying that when you get the four best cyclists in the world and they are just there for training they turn a big race into a group ride.”
Can’t wait for the café stop, anyway.
What’s on the road.cc testing agenda this week?
> Van Rysel’s pro-level climbing lid arrives for review, plus Castelli’s lightweight jacket and new kit from Adidas, Tailfin & Navihood
Bradley Wiggins erroneously labelled “Britain’s most decorated Olympian” as weird, outdated cycling Facebook ad causes confusion
I know it’s hard to keep up with Planet Wiggo at the minute, but even road.cc editor Jack was left scratching his head when this sponsored post, advertising a Bradley Wiggins stage show apparently coming this autumn, popped up on his Facebook feed today:
A quick search of the ad’s wording revealed that it actually relates to Wiggins’ ‘An Evening With’ tour from back in 2019, which explains why he’s erroneously described as “Britain’s most decorated Olympian”. I’m sure Jason Kenny was on the phone straight away.
Of course, it doesn’t explain why a paid advertising campaign is currently being run drawing attention to a six-year-old tour, and creating plenty of confusion in the comments.
Unless Brad’s planning on doing a Cantona and dusting off the old Gibson for a completely different kind of tour later this year. Stranger things have happened…
The sprinters finally get their day at the Dauphiné, as Jonathan Milan powers to win ahead of impressive Fred Wright, after Romain Bardet’s late romantic attack snuffed out
Lightning, it turns out, doesn’t strike twice. Not when it comes to surprise GC attacks on sprint days, anyway.
Because, after being cruelly denied by Vingegaard, Pogačar, Van der Poel, and Evenepoel yesterday, the fast men finally had their moment at the Critérium du Dauphiné in Issoire this afternoon, Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan powering to his first ever professional win on home soil.
Led out to perfection as chaos and plenty of potential VAR-worthy barging took place behind him, the big Italian never looked in danger of being overhauled, beating Fred Wright by over a bike length to take the stage win and the leader’s jersey from Tadej Pogačar.
British rider Wright, his sprinting legs clearly in place, used his track craft to cleverly follow Milan on the barriers for second, while Van der Poel underlined his own well-documented versatility with a second consecutive third place.
While Milan and Lidl-Trek weren’t letting this opportunity slip from their grasps, Romain Bardet – racing on home roads in his last ever outing as a professional cyclist – tried to evoke the spirit of yesterday (in more ways than one), attacking on the final climb with just under 20km to go, and building up a lead of 15 seconds at one point.
However, the French hero was brought to heel with 10km left, dashing the hopes of a nation. Though there’s still plenty of time for that last big romantic victory, don’t worry.
“Bruv, who dug a f***ing three-metre-deep trench 10cm from the road?”
Crashes into a ditch during Antwerp Port Epic like a proper cyclocrosser, and then, once the race is over, immediately takes to Twitter to swearily complain about the road engineer’s shoddy planning.
Never change, Tibor Del Grosso, never change…
bruv who dug a fucking 3 meter deep trench 10 cm from the road https://t.co/I1in4kLqQK
— Tibor Del Grosso (@tibordelgrosso) June 9, 2025
Well, that was as decisive as a Jonathan Milan sprint win against a bunch of classics riders…
The results of today’s poll are in, and it appears quite a lot of you – 90 per cent in fact – are still enjoying the Pogi, Jonas, Remco, and Mathieu show, regardless of whether it’s predictable or not (and judging by Sunday’s stage, they’ve still got the odd surprise up their sleeve).
One to revisit after the Tour, perhaps?
“Now this is cycling!” Is everyone who says Tadej Pogačar makes bike racing boring talking rubbish?
It’s fair to say that a consensus had emerged within the cycling world during the closing stages of the Giro d’Italia that the glaring absence of grand tour racing’s big three, Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel, had made the first three-weeker of the year a better race, a more dynamic, more unpredictable, and – yes – more exciting spectacle.
Of course, the accusation that those three riders, especially their Merckxian leader Pogačar, are stifling the drama isn’t new. Throughout this year’s spring classics campaign – where, to be fair, if your name wasn’t Pogačar or Van der Poel, you barely stood a chance – that word ‘boring’ was as omnipresent as a long-range attack from the world champion.
“Cycling has really turned into one of the most boring sports in the world,” the CafeRoubaix Twitter account posted after the Slovenian’s latest utterly dominant rout at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
Others described Pogačar and Van der Poel’s dominance at the classics as “horrendously boring” and “boring as hell” (who knew the reactions could be as predictable as the racing?).
At the Giro, where we were treated to an alternative, Pog-less reality, that feeling appeared to intensify, Cyclingnews’ Matilda Price coming to the conclusion that the predictability associated with the biggest riders means the sport has “been missing some of the spark for some time”.
Even on the eve of the Dauphiné, one fan wrote on social media: “Imagine if we could had gotten a Tour de France this summer without Pogačar and Vingegaard. Would been way more exciting for the GC fight. Maybe also remove Remco and Roglič.”
And then yesterday happened.
On the opening stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, a rare day earmarked for the sprinters at the annual pre-Tour tune-up race, Pogačar, Evenepoel, Vingegaard, and Van der Poel attempted to prove, once and for all, that they were anything but boring.
A brief flurry the second time up the short, steep Côte de Buffon, with just under 40km remaining, saw the world champion’s jersey right up at the front, before a fully-fledged assault on the last ascent, with seven kilometres to go jettisoned any predetermined ideas that this was a sprint day.
Then something truly wild happened. Jonas Vingegaard – a rider the ‘boring’ label has perhaps most stubbornly clung to thanks to his unflappable nature, Tour-focused approach, and mostly conservative tactics – attacked, on the flat, hard.
That surprise stinging move drew out Pogačar and Van der Poel, and – eventually – an ill-positioned Evenepoel, who rocketed across the gap.
Suddenly, on a day the GC riders were just supposed to get through unscathed, the big three favourites for this year’s Tour de France, and the best classics rider of the era, were up the road (alongside odd man out Santiago Buitrago, just to add to the chaos), and riding hard.
“Now, this is cycling!” the Domestique account post, as that fab five, in their own world and playing their own games, charged along, evoking shades of that stunning, shock attack into Liège by Miguel Indurain, another dominant rider burdened with the ‘boring’ label, during the first week of the 1995 Tour.
And at the finish, as Van der Poel’s early sprint helped stave off the charging bunch as much as kill his own chances for the win, it was Pogačar – who else? – who surged to take the spoils, just ahead of (again, surprise) a turbo-charged Vingegaard.
And suddenly, that ‘boring’ narrative was flipped on its head entirely.
“I’m so glad Pogačar (and Remco, MVDP, Jonas) exist because this would’ve been a super boring sprinters stage,” wrote Sebastian on Twitter.
And for Evenepoel, that unpredictable, script-tearing move sums up what cycling in the 2020s is all about.
“It was a bit of a surprise to have raced the final for the stage win, but that’s where modern cycling goes. You never know what to expect in a final like this,” the Belgian said at the finish.
“In the end, it was a nice bit of racing, and I think we just got it because Mathieu went early. Otherwise, I think the bunch would have come over us. It was pretty special and pretty nice to be up there, so positive signs.”
“I was a bit far back because I thought it would be a sprint today. I had to jump from a long way back, but I stayed calm and I had the strength to close the gap quite quickly.
“I think it was a nice finale, but I hope it’s not like that the next two days…”
True, Remco, or else people on social media will start complaining that it’s all getting a bit boring.
Random anti-cycling act of aggression of the day: Shopper with trolley kicks parked bike’s wheel outside Tesco
This bizarre clip was sent to us by road.cc reader Matt and shows a disgruntled Tesco shopper lashing out at a bike parked outside the supermarket’s Yate branch in South Gloucestershire, kicking its front wheel – just for being in her path, I guess.
“I cycled to Yate yesterday, and as I was parking my bike this woman decided to take out her anger on someone’s bike,” Matt told us.
“I don’t think there was any damage, it just seemed like such a strange and unpleasant thing to do. It just annoyed me; something I’d never really worried about when locking up my bike!”
I wonder if our front wheel kicker also walks through the car park booting licence plates, too? For some reason, I’d say that’s doubtful.
“Like telling women to wear long skirts for their safety”: Cyclists slam road safety group for claiming “wearing a helmet and something bright keeps you safer”– but drivers say “woke brigade” is calling for cyclists to “endanger their own lives”
It’s been a while since we last came across a good ol’ helmet and hi-vis clothing debate on Facebook, sparked (as it always is) by a road safety group sharing a typically well-meaning but often one-sided message calling for cyclists to be safe and be seen on the roads – while seemingly ignoring the role of motorists in ensuring this is the case.
This time, the controversial, “victim-blaming” safety message came courtesy of the Kent Road Safety team, a branch of Kent County Council “striving to reduce life-changing and life-ending events on our roads”.
> “Hi-vis distracts from the real issues on our roads,” says makers of bike camera warning signs
“Our work focuses on educating road users about the responsibilities they have and the choices that they should take when travelling on Kent’s roads, and how their actions can lead to road crashes and human casualty,” the team says on its website.
“Not all road users will choose to do the ‘right’ thing all the time, so many of our messages have links to legal consequences; the fear of detection can have a strong influence on behaviour.”
So, what message did Kent Road Safety send out at the weekend to mark both the start of Bike Week and last week’s Child Safety Week, to demonstrate how actions can lead to crashes and casualty?
Well, they posted a photo of two young cyclists, complete with the caption: “Wearing a cycle helmet and something bright and reflective keeps you safer and makes you more visible to other road users.”
Hmmm… Let’s just say that helmets and hi-vis messaging didn’t go down brilliantly in the comments.
“Definitely,” replied John. “Also the motorists as they have the highest head trauma rate of all road users.”
“Wearing a cycle helmet and something bright and reflective should keep you safer and should make you more visible to other road users. Alas, this does not seem to bear out in practice,” noted Michael.
“Especially if a driver is looking at their phone,” noted Andrei.
“Could you please cite the data you have used to make such an assertion,” wrote Tom. “When I worked for London Cycling Campaign we had this ‘conversation’ with the GLA, turns put clothes and helmets have negligible effect on safety – helmets are better for kids than adults for instance.
“Whereas decent policy, hard infrastructure changes, removing the need for journeys, and better speed enforcement have all contribute to a better cycling environment. Please see the usual picture of commuter cyclists in Holland to get the better message across.”
“Twice, motorists have hit me even though I was wearing hi-vis, a helmet and using lights. Can you explain why drivers do not see cyclists?” asked Michael.
Steve echoed Michael’s point, writing: “I wear the usual recommended dayglo attire, however, I resent my having to compensate for the inattentive behaviour of some drivers, their blatant disregard for the safety of other road users.”
“Even if it did make you more visible, the problem is more that bad drivers aren’t looking properly, not that cyclists aren’t visible, so how does it keep you safer?” said MJ.
“It makes no significant difference. Instead of nagging cyclists to do inconvenient things, please do some things that work, such as School Streets, Liveable Neighbourhoods, and greenways.”
Meanwhile, Evelyn described the post as “a bit like telling women to wear trousers or long skirts for their own safety”.
“Whilst I can see the logic, this is really focusing in the wrong place,” added Gordon. “Of course, you can keep yourself a bit safer from stabbings by never going outside unless you are wearing a Kevlar vest. But it won’t give you complete protection – far better to focus on deterring attackers.”
However, not everyone reckoned Kent Road Safety’s messaging was one-sided.
David Lawes, writing in a Facebook group dedicated to opposing ULEZ, LTN, and 20mph initiatives (so no prizes for guessing what he’s going to say), wrote: “Kent Police are spot on. The comments from the woke brigade advocating that cyclists endanger their own lives needlessly show just how much work needs to be done to face them down.
“The NHS can do without treating loads of head injuries caused by hitting potholes, injuries that a helmet would have prevented.”
And unsurprisingly, David’s take went down well in his anti-LTN group, sparking a litany of anti-cycling bingo comments, ranging from complaints about cyclists riding two abreast, riding through red lights, not paying road tax, and needing to wear registration plates. Classic.
“Even better: stay off the road with those silly toys!” added Simon.
Well, that would certainly make helmets and hi-vis gear redundant. Oh, he meant bikes, not cars…
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Latest Comments
Peripheral to your point, but parking facing oncoming traffic is advised against at all times, but only an offence at night, I think?
@mac f 1896 If you look closely at the video you will see that the cyclist remains entirely in his own lane on his side of the white lines as he passes the oncoming vehicle, which also stays entirely within its lane. There is therefore no need for either road user to give way to the other and as they are both travelling at low speeds there is no danger to themselves or to any other road users. I would love to see a transcript of the magistrates' court proceedings as prima facie there is no justification in law for the guilty finding or for the penalty imposed.
@perce pedantry but I think Séamus Ennis would be scunnered with that ... had he not been Irish... (Uilleann pipes are bagpipes of course, though personally I'd much rather those - or small pipes - than the GHB)
@quiff I think you are probably right here - but - is that _really_ being inconsiderate to the oncoming driver? Looking again at the video, the oncoming driver appears to be over the centre line when approaching the parked vehicle and just seems to be straightening the bend a little, so you would expect them to be moving towards the kerb anyway. As driving interactions go, it's about as benign as it gets. I expect the magistrate has never ridden a bicycle, but I also wonder if they've ever driven a car?!
Thanks - I only had a quick peek on Streetview and I'm glad it works for locals, but it looked like "you say 'shared used facility', I say 'same old not-over-generous footway now with the odd blue sign". We don't need cycle paths absolutely everywhere, but looking at the size of the road, where it goes and runs though I would be thinking more like this (minus parked cars): https://maps.app.goo.gl/gswbQefKzc47nEJm8 Or... declare it an urban freeway and get rid of the junctions and houses next to it! Maximum flow...
@C3a Sadly, you are not far off the mark. I know of two instances where promising junior riders "stopped" racing; they didn't disappear, just did not attend races, were still doing all the training and then came back a couple of years later at 18/19 year olds and were starting to destroy races. You don't find them racing anymore, and the "bans" are not listed anywhere. I guess the same as any individual riders in this case would not be listed anywhere because of their age.
My personal theory is that this is how modern doping happens; do all of the performance enhancement early on and train hard on top of that - the boost will allow you to reach heights that would otherwise not have been attainable. After that it is all about maintenance and minor improvements, likely achievable after the pharmacological crutch has been removed. From this story it seems the spectre of doping will continue to hover over professional cycling that little bit longer. No other sport seems to have been affected in quite this way.
Of course most (otherwise law abiding) motorists don't keep to the 20mph limit especially without enforcement, guess what, given the opportunity, many, if not most, will not keep to the 30mph limit and there will still not be any enforcement. But what a 20mph limit does is bring the speeds down, resulting in less crashes, which, when they do occur will result in less damage, reduce the severity of injuries and the number of deaths. And what we really want is more dead children, isn't it councillor?
I think the prosecution have just persuaded tthe magistrate that the driver had to move towards the kerb to accommodate the cyclist. That movement is visible in the video, though I accept there's a chicken and egg question whether the cyclist forced the move, or only proceeded when it was clear the driver had moved over for them.
Which rule(s) are you thinking of? The 1.5m wording appears in rule 163, which is expressly about overtaking.
29 thoughts on ““Like telling women to wear long skirts for their safety”: Cyclists slam road safety group for claiming “wearing a helmet keeps you safer” – but drivers ridicule “woke brigade endangering own lives”; Angry Tesco shopper kicks bike + more on the live blog”
The first time a cycle race
The first time a cycle race has had me jumping out of my seat shouting at the screen since Cav took #35 last year, hope the rest of the season is this boring!
It was nice to hear David and
It was nice to hear David and Ned on ITV’s highlight show.
Also a breakaway formed of the worlds best four riders and the world’s best taking it in the sprint, what’s not to like…
I see road.cc continue to
I see road.cc continue to ignore women’s cycling.
Well done chaps.
I was watching the women’s
I was watching the women’s Tour of Britain on Saturday, and had to go answer the door, and when I came back the commentators were talking about a huge crash… Which I’d managed to completely miss
A crash in which the winner
A crash in which the winner of the previous days stage, Mara Roldan, broke her femur!
? Dammit!
? Dammit!
There wasn’t any women’s
There wasn’t any women’s cycling at the weekend, was there?
There wasn’t any Women’s World Tour cycling in the UK at the weekend, was there?
There wasn’t any Women’s World Tour cycling in the UK at the weekend, featuring thrilling racing and lots of great performances from Brits, was there?
But, but, but, Pogi, Remco, VdP, Vingegaard, Dauphiné.
‘Women cyclists don’t feel
‘Women cyclists don’t feel safe on the road’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly332wj5vlo
BBC wrote:
Or, you know, just be able to get about on the public highway by whatever means without the fear of harassment and abuse…
Yeah, true.
Yeah, true.
When I ride on semi-urban roads, I reckon I see one person on their phone every 5 minutes of riding. I get one dodgy report-worthy close pass every hour or so of riding. I get one “holy crap, I’m going to die, tell the kids i love them” moment every few months.
I get one yelled comment or pointless aggressive horn use every four hours or so.
It’s a bit less on rural roads, just because there is less traffic.
Am I unusual?
Nope just the norm for
Nope just the norm for cycling on UK roads.
Today seemed particularly antsy from drivers, even for a Monday morning
the little onion wrote:
Yes – these incidents are normally far more frequent
Last time I bothered counting
Last time I bothered counting in London rush-hour I saw twenty-seven people on phones in a thirty-five minute commute and those were just the ones I was passing when they were moving slowly, sure there were a lot more I missed when I/they were going fast. In terms of report-worthy incidents, on a commuting day I ride 45–50 km in London in about 120-140 minutes (lots of traffic lights and slow sections in parks, honest!) and if I had the time/inclination I could easily report a minimum of five incidents a day.
I was out for a short walk
I was out for a short walk yesterday in London and as I strolled along i concentrated my gaze on the traffic coming towards me; I saw drivers on their phones, opening food wrappers, fiddling with their ‘infotainment’, stuffing burgers down their faces, looking at their laps, speeding . . . . . . Did I mention in their phones? Usually that is what is going on behind me as I cycle, I thought.
A single Dauphiné stage doesn
A single Dauphiné stage doesn’t change everything.
The Giro 2025 was far more interesting than watching Pogacar ride away from everyone else on stage after stage in 2024.
If there’s a genuine three-way battle at this year’s Tour de France, that will make it exciting. If Pogacar is untouchable and we know who is going to win the GC after 10 days, it will be dull.
https://www.instagram.com
https://www.instagram.com/alec_pedaler/reel/DKpT3GlILFb/
Alec Briggs (Tekkers) somehow pulled off a great save in the Tulsa Tough crit over the weekend. I have no idea how he kept it upright.
Quote:
You don’t have to be drunk to be a reader here, but it helps…
Or – for another angle – a
Or – for another angle – a mathematician?
“Kent Police are spot on. The
“Kent Police are spot on. The comments from the woke brigade……”
I’ve been trying to think of a suitable epithet for the people who think I’m “woke”.
None of them really inspire me, so I’m open to suggestions.
.
.
At last, someone defined
At last, someone defined “woke” for me. You might want to sit down for this, especially the last sentence:
“Woke to me means not awake to what is going on in our country end of. Woke also means you are guilty of deflection (by using insults and excuses to justify your own narrative, regardless of whether you know fully that your labour views aren’t shared by the majority of the country and instead of just accepting this in a humbling way, you try to judge others because they do not agree with your views. I hope that helps you understand, what woke means to me..I could have gone on, but I’d be wasting my time on woke people wouldn’t I? Again, woke will mean many things to many people, however, we share the basic view of snide and weird people. Yes everyone including you will have your own unique thoughts etc, however, there is no excuse for rape especially of children and if you continue to ignore that and many other problems we are facing, then you are living in the clouds pal the clouds of complete madness.”
These people walk among us and have a vote.
I think Wiggins does have a
I think Wiggins does have a claim to be Britain’s most decorated Olympian – I mean, just look at those arms.
mdavidford wrote:
I reckon Adam Peaty might give him a good run, at least in terms of square footage covered…
A brittle and soft
A brittle and soft polystyrene hat is not going to provide much protection, but catching phones using drugged and/or drunk drivers will stop a lot of cycling deaths and injuries.
I was intrigued by a article
I was intrigued by a article on cycling safety by French academics that claimed among cyclists killed on the roads, a higher percentage were wearing helmets than among cyclists in general. Of course this doesn’t mean wearing a helmet increases the chance of being killed. The more likely explanation is that a high proportion of cyclists killed in France are travelling on country roads (where motorised vehicle speeds are much higher than in urban areas). At the same time, a large percentage of cyclists using country roads are cycling as a sport and close to 100% of sports cyclists wear a helmet and hence cycling as a sport is more dangerous than cycling to work in an urban environment, where cycling infrastructure is getting better and better.
Does Yate Woman goes around
Does Yate Woman goes around crashing her shopping trolley into cars all the time? It is generally frowned upon…
I’m presuming that the kick was “I am pushing my trolley through the middle of the cycle parking and it won’t fit because of all the parked bicycles and I am very cross about that!”
“I am exercising my right to
“I am exercising my right to walk where I like…”
I suspect people would moderate this kind of behaviour around motor vehicles due to a) it’d be like sorting at clouds for training on you (ubiquitous) b) fear of irate owners / financial consequences.
Bicycles clearly don’t trigger the same mental associations, despite all the press characterisation of cyclists as a) yobs b) well-off middle-aged (middle-class?) yobs.
Seriously, why give oxygen to
Seriously, why give oxygen to all that Facebook nonsense. We all know the easily agitated, champing at the bit to be triggered, permenantly online types will make inane comments under or about those types of posts. Lo-and-behold, every comment you referenced was exactly what I would expect.
Why does Tesco use those
Why does Tesco use those appallingly badly designed cycle racks though? I never see them anywhere else.