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Driver spotted ignoring no cars sign to overtake kids on bikes during BBC interview; Evenepoel signs for Pizza Hut; BikeExchange's equal pay promise; Concussion protocol questioned; Inspiring female cyclists; Old man yells at cloud + more on the live blog

It's Tuesday and Dan Alexander will be rounding up the best bits from the cycling world on the second live blog of the week...
09 March 2021, 17:43
Lightest disc wheel in the WorldTour carries Stefan Bissegger to victory at Paris-Nice
Stefan Bissegger EF Education-Nippo Paris-Nice (Image credit: Bettiniphoto/ Vision)

Stefan Bissegger was carried to victory aboard his Cannondale TT machine this afternoon. The team are using the brand new Vision Metron TFW tubeless-ready wheel for time trials this year, which is the lightest disc hoop in the WorldTour according to Vision at just 969 grams. Vision says the wheel even uses ultralight paint that weighs just 4g, and has "special chemistry" to improve aerodynamics. Pretty handy on that steep ramp to the line then...

Team boss Jonathan Vaughters took to Twitter to say the Swiss rider also has the lowest CdA of any rider the team knows. That's his drag coefficient to you or I, which basically means he's more aero than a bubbly mint chocolate bar. One to keep an eye on.

09 March 2021, 17:24
British Cycling announces dates activities can resume
British Cycling Go-Ride at 2013 Tour of Britain (picture copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpg

British Cycling has announced the provisional dates for when their activities can resume, with the return coming in stages on the same dates outlined in the government roadmap out of lockdown. From March 29, British Cycling-affiliated club rides and recreation programmes with up to 15 patricipants can resume as well as outdoor club, local and regional competition and challenge events, such as sportives. Indoor regional disability competition and under 18s competition can also resume.

From April 12 at the earliest, outdoor regional and some national competition and challenge events across a range of disciplines, including pilots for road racing and mountain bike events can start up again.

After May 17 it is hoped that recreational group and club rides of any number, coach-led club training and coaching indoors and outdoors as well as indoor regional and national competition for all ages will be able to resume.

Beyond June 21, in line with the government roadmap out of lockdown, all activities can resume, subject to any further restrictions. 

09 March 2021, 16:47
School run by bike
09 March 2021, 16:29
Remco Evenepoel signs for Pizza Hut making us all very hungry and jealous

That's it right there. The single best thing about being Remco Evenepoel. Forget the race wins and potential, a Pizza Hut sponsorship is enough for me. The 21-year-old is the brand's new ambassador in Belgium and they clearly think a lot of him describing the Deceuninck-Quick-Step wonderkid as a "young cycling god". 

The brand's CEO in Belgium, Stef Meulemans said: "Pizza Hut likes to identify with world leaders; we only enter into partnerships with ambassadors in whom we really believe. We have every confidence that in the coming years he will become the Belgian cycling phenomenon.

"Remco Evenepoel is a top athlete with enormous focus, passion and ambition. But everyone needs moments of relaxation. It's important to find a balance between a healthy lifestyle and pampering yourself every now and then."

The big question is just how much pizza will Remco get to stuff in during the off-season? Let's hope nobody tells Patrick Lefevere.

09 March 2021, 11:53
Driver spotted ignoring no cars sign to overtake kids on bikes during BBC interview

Fisher's Lane in Chiswick is meant to only be used by cyclists and buses, however, from Drew White's thread it's clear that many motorists ignore the signs banning cars from using the cut through. In a perfect piece of timing, just as he was speaking to a BBC reporter and cameraman about the problem, a driver demonstrated his concerns for him by ignoring the no cars sign and overtaking two kids riding their bikes. Drew also highlighted that the problem goes beyond cyclists and also affects parents and children crossing the road from a playground nearby.

Last month the Chiswick Herald reported that Fisher's Lane had become one of the most profitable traffic cameras in Britain with Ealing Council issuing 3,348 PCNs for drivers ignoring the restrictions in the first eight weeks of the scheme.

09 March 2021, 15:27
Tech news: Brooks' new Pickwick model, Nex-Gen Super-Sealant, Vizirider LED cycle wear
Brooks Pickwick Coated Remade

Brooks has a new model of its Pickwick backpack made from repurposed remnants of textile stocks. The top roll backpack features a 13-15inch padded laptop pocket and is made from water-resistant cotton to keep your belongings safe and dry. Aimed at city commuters and casual tourers, the new Pickwick model has an expandable capacity and aims to be easily adjustable.

Nex-Gen has released a new Super Sealant for tubeless tyres that is non-polluting and high performance. Designed specifically for higher pressure, lower volume road and gravel tyres it seals holes up to 5mm.

Vizirider's new LED cycle wear aims to help cyclists stay visible while riding at night. The jacket has 12 LEDs, six white on the front and six red on the back as well as reflective panels and is charged via a removable USB battery that lasts up to 20 hours...

Vizirider LED cycle wear

 

09 March 2021, 15:09
Stefan Bissegger wins stage three individual time trial at Paris-Nice

EF Education-Nippo's 22-year-old Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger earned his first WorldTour victory during this afternoon's individual time trial at Paris-Nice. Bissegger pipped Rémi Cavagna by less than a second on the rolling 14km course around Gien. Rohan Dennis had set the best time of the early starters, before he was ejected from the hot seat by Søren Kragh Andersen who was in turn bested by GC favourite Primož Roglič. Cavagna looked to have done enough to win Deceuninck-Quick-Step their second stage of the race before Bissegger powered up the final climb to nab it. An impressive late time by Brandon McNulty was enough for fourth place for the young American.

Race leader Michael Matthews was 17th, 23 seconds down on Bissegger, who will wear the yellow jersey tomorrow. Roglič is the best placed of the race favourites, six seconds behind.

09 March 2021, 13:41
Concussion questions asked after George Bennett continues Paris-Nice after fall

Questions have been asked about the UCI's concussion protocol after Jumbo-Visma rider George Bennett was allowed to continue on yesterday's second stage of Paris-Nice despite suffering a fall. The New Zealand national road race champion's helmet snapped during the crash with ex-pro David Millar describing it as "completely unacceptable" for Bennett to continue.

09 March 2021, 11:11
Riding full Tour de France route to inspire female cyclists
Sarah Hope Tour de France challenge

Sarah Hope believes she can inspire more women to get into cycling by taking on The Tour 21 event this summer. Along with former England footballer Geoff Thomas and 23 others, Sarah will take on the full Tour de France route, one week ahead of the professionals. She is the only woman on the team this year but has already inspired 29-year-old Nicole Perry from London to sign up for next year's event. The riders are hoping to raise over £1 million for blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia and will need to ride 3,384km to complete the full Tour route.

09 March 2021, 10:04
Colchester and Clacton to host 2021 Women's Tour penultimate stage
Jolien D'hoore wins in Clacton Women's Tour 2015 (Image credit: The Women's Tour)

The penultimate stage of the rescheduled Women's Tour will run from Colchester to Clacton. Race organisers SweetSpot hopes the race will be able to go ahead in a revised spot on the calendar in October, with the latest stage to be announced scheduled for Friday 8 October. It will be the first time the Women's Tour has visited Colchester and will showcase the Northern Gateway Sports park, a new 76-acre multi-use venue featuring a one-mile closed-road cycling circuit. The town will also host the Grand Depart in June 2022. Clacton last hosted a stage finish at the race in 2015 when Jolien D'Hoore won the bunch sprint pictured above.

09 March 2021, 09:52
We must have missed this part of the Oprah interview

Phil Gaimon, the former pro rider and now full-time YouTuber with a passion for hunting down Strava KOMs and Everesting records, has been providing us all with the Oprah interview memes...On Friday he predicted the big twist would be Harry admitting to using EPO...Today he's picked out the key moment we must have missed. Harry giving Oprah the full low-down on Mathieu van der Poel's Strade Bianche performance...

09 March 2021, 09:20
Team BikeExchange to introduce equal base salary for women's team

Team BikeExchange has become the second WorldTour team to commit to paying their female riders the same minimum salary as the men. In January, Trek-Segafredo made the same promise. New signing Teniel Campbell told The Cycling Podcast it is a positive step forward for women's cycling.

"Now I can support my family back home and I can invest in my future. It is really good. we put in the same amount of work as the guys, we are dedicated and committed just as much as the guys. We put our life on the line like them, so it's a really good thing. Hopefully, next we'll see more live broadcasts so my family can watch the races more. I think everything is heading in the right direction," she said.

09 March 2021, 08:37
Old man yells at cloud...and skateboarding teens

It's always nice to see the "anti-social grandpa" as he's been dubbed online, get done over by some kids armed with basic facts. Also good to see it isn't just cyclists who get the 'you don't pay to ride on roads' treatment. When I say good, obviously I mean incredibly boring and incorrect...

Perhaps most bizarrely the man argues: "It is a private road sunshine it belongs to Horsham District Council" and that cyclists aren't allowed on the road either. Right on cue two cyclists roll past the man's front door...

Prominent transport journalist Carlton Reid shared the video commenting: "Anti-social grandpa wrong on everything in this vid, including the fact a car licence pays for road use. Good on the socially responsible kids."

Mark Treasure came forward to say he had a run in with this man too and that in his case he was upset about him riding on the roads. Have a read of the other baffling interaction...

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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49 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 3 years ago
0 likes

Mike Ashley-owned Evans Cycles to axe 300 staff

Remainder of workforce to be moved on to zero-hours contracts in cost-cutting move

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/09/mike-ashley-owned-evans...

 

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Sriracha replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
0 likes

Yeah, saw that. Very sad. I bought my bike from Evans just after the takeover. The staff were excellent, all genuine bike people. Between ordering and collecting already some had left, others were fearful for their futures. Seems they were right to be. Nothing shittier than converting full time jobs into zero-hours contracts. Ashley said way back he would be changing his ways, but he's proved himself to be a man of straw.

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AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
0 likes

Re: BBC Interview. When Drew states "here you are, here's one" does the BBC man say something about "those kids aren't supposed to be there"??

He did realise he was supposed to be there to show drivers going down a road they were banned from and not criticising the kids.

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mdavidford replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
2 likes

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Re: BBC Interview. When Drew states "here you are, here's one" does the BBC man say something about "those kids aren't supposed to be there"??

He did realise he was supposed to be there to show drivers going down a road they were banned from and not criticising the kids.

I thought he said "those kids are supposed to be there".

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Captain Badger replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
0 likes

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Re: BBC Interview. When Drew states "here you are, here's one" does the BBC man say something about "those kids aren't supposed to be there"??

He did realise he was supposed to be there to show drivers going down a road they were banned from and not criticising the kids.

I think he said

"those kids are meant to be there, that driver isn't" 

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Compact Corned Beef | 3 years ago
4 likes

I look forward to pictures of Evenepoel pretending to eat substandard pizza. I shall file them alongside pictures of him pretending to drink substandard lager.

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/05/the-beer-remco-didnt-drink/

 

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jasecd replied to Compact Corned Beef | 3 years ago
0 likes

Quite. Not sure why road.cc is reporting on this in glowing terms. 

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Jem PT | 3 years ago
6 likes

What a complete bell-end. Someone please tell me where that road is in Horsham and I'll ride up and down it all day!

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jerv replied to Jem PT | 3 years ago
7 likes

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.0580126,-0.3303538,3a,75y,91.23h,78.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4NaU8P0_ch3tDQTUXZiIuA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This appears to be it.

Fordingbridge Close

Could just about make out a embankment and tunnel when the camera showed the cyclists, so just had to see what roads itercepted the railway and found it in about 30 seconds.

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HoarseMann replied to Jem PT | 3 years ago
5 likes

It's crying out for a Strava segment...

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Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
13 likes

Post lockdown anyone fancy a Grand Fondo to Horsham?  Looks a like a lovely piece of public highway to ride up and down ad nauseum.   I'll bring some cake.

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60kg lean keen ... replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
2 likes

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-videos/watch-follow-the-leader-urban-do...

I think somthihg like this may be better pref though there house, ohh but only if we put some mats down to save the carpets!!!!

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Captain Badger replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 3 years ago
1 like

Nigel Garrage wrote:

Completely off-topic here, but I seem to remember that there was an article somewhere on Road.cc saying that HMRC had dropped the requirement for the work Cycle schemes to mainly be used for qualifying journeys to the office.

I've just checked my workplace benefits for this year, and my employer has discontinued the cycle scheme on the basis that COVID is stopping people cycling to the office.

I'm therefore wondering if anyone would have a link to the article or a HMRC press release about them dropping the office requirement? I have tried to look but found nowt  2

I may be wrong (Iknow, I know, but it has happened before), but I don't think that employers are required to offer the CS as part of their benefits package. 

If they have dropped it they are being jerks as there is little overhead to the scheme (obvs if you work for a small company that might be different but even then...).

I'm not sure if there is a way to pursue it outside your company.

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Moist von Lipwig replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 3 years ago
0 likes

If that is the reason they've pulled the cycle scheme (it may not be) then it may be worth a question on if they'll re-introduce it as that exemption is only valid for another 4 weeks up to April 5th after which normal rules apply again. (or they may extend it as per the roadmap to normality allows, I guess)

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muhasib replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 3 years ago
2 likes

There is a government document called 'safer travel guidance ' which advises - 'if you need to travel, walk or cycle if possible'. If an employer is removing the means to obtain that form of transport then I suppose you could try and enter a discussion on the back to work implications of that for any employee trying to now follow that guidance.

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OnYerBike replied to muhasib | 3 years ago
0 likes

I assume the basis for stopping the scheme is that everyone is currently working from home, and so no-one would be travelling to the office anyway. One would hope that once plans to re-open the office materialise, the company in question will re-open the cycle to work scheme too (although I appreciate in the current climate you might be waiting a long time to actually get a bike!)

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Zigster replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 3 years ago
0 likes

For info, the link to the HMRC guidance is here.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim21664

Seems odd to pull the scheme unless your company is saying you will never return to the office.

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brooksby | 3 years ago
3 likes

"This is a private road sunshine, it belongs to Horsham District Council" - err, WTF???

On that line of reasoning, every single person operating any sort of vehicle would need a licence to travel on every single separate roadway.

Is that what he wants?

("Oy, you!  - You've got a licence to drive on the High Street but where's your licence for Acacia Avenue??")

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Captain Badger replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
10 likes

brooksby wrote:

"This is a private road sunshine, it belongs to Horsham District Council" - err, WTF???

On that line of reasoning, every single person operating any sort of vehicle would need a licence to travel on every single separate roadway.

Is that what he wants?

("Oy, you!  - You've got a licence to drive on the High Street but where's your licence for Acacia Avenue??")

I think you are labouring under the misapprehension that there is any logic, or desire to broadly apply the principles that  he has espoused.

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Awavey | 3 years ago
1 like

Presumably if he'd ranted on twitter it would be reported as news ?

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Zebulebu | 3 years ago
13 likes

Imagine getting to this stage of your life and being A - so wrong, and B - so miserable.

Bet he was outraged about straight bananas, vegan sausage rolls and brown people getting the vote too.

Poor sod - what a sad life.

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HoarseMann | 3 years ago
6 likes

Well maybe the old bloke should reverse into his drive. It's generally considered the safer option.

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Captain Badger replied to HoarseMann | 3 years ago
6 likes

HoarseMann wrote:

Well maybe the old bloke should reverse into his drive. It's generally considered the safer option.

Drives me nuts when I see people reversing out. I always reverse in, and get this, people give me grief when I'm positioning myself to do so. W*nkers

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Dicklexic replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
4 likes

Same here. I always make a point of reversing into any sort of parking space or driveway where possible. I also get hooted at desparingly frequently when I am trying to reverse into my own driveway! There is of course an HC item for this;

201 - Do not reverse from a side road into a main road. When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can.

Although I must admit that I am not entirely sure where the distinction lies between main road and not main road in this context.

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alexls replied to Dicklexic | 3 years ago
2 likes

Dicklexic wrote:

Although I must admit that I am not entirely sure where the distinction lies between main road and not main road in this context.

The principle is that you should not reverse out of a junction (or driveway).

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mike the bike replied to Dicklexic | 3 years ago
1 like

Dicklexic wrote:

..... 201 - Do not reverse from a side road into a main road. When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can.

Although I must admit that I am not entirely sure where the distinction lies between main road and not main road in this context. 

It doesn't have to be the M25, it means the main road compared with the one you've reversed out from.

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Mungecrundle | 3 years ago
7 likes

I'm not saying that all old people should be locked up for the public good, but we have seen before that an antisocial minority can spoil it for everyone else.

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Captain Badger replied to Mungecrundle | 3 years ago
8 likes

Mungecrundle wrote:

.......but we have seen before that an antisocial minority can spoil it for everyone else.

yes, it's time they were tested, licensed, taxed, and MOT'd. And made to wear helmets and hiviz. That'd sort them out

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hawkinspeter replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
9 likes

Captain Badger wrote:

Mungecrundle wrote:

.......but we have seen before that an antisocial minority can spoil it for everyone else.

yes, it's time they were tested, licensed, taxed, and MOT'd. And made to wear helmets and hiviz. That'd sort them out

...and put a crystal in their right hand so we can see when they get too old

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