Ignore or challenge? Is it worth engaging with Nigel Farage about cycling?; No new deal at Bahrain McLaren for Mark Cavendish; Chris Froome’s emotional reflection after final race for Team Ineos; New study supports e-bike safety + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Chris Froome emotional after final race with Team Ineos
“A massive thank you to Sky over the years and the new sponsors INEOS as well, everyone part of the team on the road, behind the scenes, it’s been a pleasure to be part of this group.” @chrisfroome spoke to @friebos following his final race for @INEOSGrenadiers 👏 pic.twitter.com/WkF31NUY5u
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) November 8, 2020
Four Tour de France titles, two Vuelta a Espana, one Giro d’Italia and a decade later and Chris Froome has raced for Team Ineos for the final time. Visibly emotional after the finish line in Madrid, the 35-year-old relived his favourite memories with the team. Froome was awarded the trophy for his first Grand Tour win, the 2011 Vuelta, before Stage 21 after it was retrospectively given to Foome following Juan Jose Cobo’s three-year suspension for doping offences last year.
“Obviously it’s been an emotional day. My last day with the team, it’s been 11 years. I’m excited for what lies ahead but it’s also time for me to reflect on all the highs and lows,” Froome said.
In 11 years we’ve been through it all, together. There will never be enough words, so we’ll just say this:
Thank you, Froomey ❤️ pic.twitter.com/cQlMI3HTVv
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) November 8, 2020
Study suggests e-bike injuries no more serious than those sustained on normal bikes
A Dutch study on injuries sustained by cyclists has found that the injuries sustained by e-bike users were no more serious than those sustained by riders of non-electric bikes. The study looked at 169 cases where cyclists were admitted to hospital and found that the only major difference was that e-bike users tended to be older than those riding non-electric bikes. No group suffered injuries much more serious than the other with the study concluding: “Except for a higher rate of thoracic and soft-tissue trauma in e-bikers, no differences were found in the mechanism and severity of injury.”
Vuelta reaction
🇪🇦 #LaVuelta20
Our team. Our red! ❤#samenwinnen pic.twitter.com/v7GQbasWrN
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) November 8, 2020
Pascal Ackermann won the stage, Primoz Roglic won the race…three weeks of scintillating racing finished a reduced but much-needed 2020 season. The Slovenian was able to lift his Bianchi above his head in Madrid as the winner of the Vuelta for the second year running.
Richard Carapaz finished second but you wouldn’t have known it from the celebrations of hundreds of Ecuadorian fans who greeted their hero after the final stage…
The pride of Ecuador! 😍🇪🇨
We’re blown away by this incredible show of support for @RichardCarapazM at #LaVuelta20. #FuerzaRichie pic.twitter.com/WsMIeFnQ5T
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) November 8, 2020
And there was this nice moment between Chris Froome and Rui Oliveira as well…
Class gesture from Chris Froome, giving his signed race number to our young Grand Tour debutant @roliveira57
Chapeau 👏🏼#UAETeamEmirates #RideTogether #LaVuelta20 pic.twitter.com/MsOCo6bkzQ
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamUAEAbuDhabi) November 8, 2020
Is it worth engaging with Nigel Farage about cycling?
In defence of all regulated and taxed road users. https://t.co/3oVNovGg66
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) November 8, 2020
Who’d have thought it? We can add Nigel Farage to the list of ignorant anti-cyclists… In his woeful Daily Mail article titled: “Cyclists need to stop being so pious, pay road tax – and obey the rules like us motorists”, Farage wheels out all the usual baseless claims that cyclists are familiar with by now.
Unsurprisingly Farage has received a great deal of pushback for his ‘argument’…
Actually @Nigel_Farage there’s no “road tax” in the UK
Tax for motor vehicles doesn’t fund the roads
Local councils maintain roads, paid for by council tax, which people pay whether they own cars or not
But many people own both cars and bikes. It’s not “drivers” vs “cyclists”
— Richard Betts (@richardabetts) November 8, 2020
There is no such thing as being taxed for using the roads. Taxes on vehicles are for the vehicles and based upon the amount of CO2 they put out. pic.twitter.com/XVEWWcJfBA
— Amedeo Felix (@amedeo_felix) November 8, 2020
It’s funny really. All the people claiming cyclists should have insurance etc and cause damage and are dangerous etc.. if that’s the case, why do you drive so close to cyclists and try and intimidate them?
I’m a motorcyclist and see it every day, car drivers are dangerous.
— #18 (@arcticmartyn) November 8, 2020
What you forget is that many cyclists own cars and pay road tax. Cycling is good for the environment and for health. Many cyclists choose to cycle some days to do their bit for the planet. Maybe you should do that instead of being driven around in big chauffeur driven vehicles?
— Carrie B 🕷😷😰🇬🇧🇪🇺#FBPE (@cbtwittle) November 8, 2020
But is it worth engaging with Farage, and others, on issues involving cycling? Last week, Jeremy Clarkson once again blamed cycle lanes for congestion in London and many of you suggested it would be better to ignore the former Top Gear presenter rather than engage with his argument. Farage has made his ignorance evident and is unlikely to change such strong anti-cycling views even when faced with facts…so should we just ignore him?
Let us know your views by voting in our poll…
Twitter reaction to Farage question
Well that was pretty unanimous…. @BeeCycling captured the mood on Twitter pretty well.
Ignoring Nigel Farage about everything is always my preferred option.
— BeeBee 🐝🐝 Buzzing along (@BeeCycling) November 9, 2020
Transcontinental Race hopes to go ahead as planned in 2021
Transcontinental No 8 is to go ahead as planned in the summer of 2021, as things stand. The Race Manual for the 2021 edition is due to be released in December which will provide more detail about the race. The organisers hope the race can run in a similar format to previous years but have stressed the need to stay adaptable to any COVID-19 restrictions that may apply next summer.
Your round...
Last stage @lavuelta …but…do you still want coffee? @vincenzonibali @chrisfroome @ivan_cortina ….Valerio Agnoli express coffee ☕️😂🚴🏻♂️ #happy #life #cyclinglife pic.twitter.com/4oNSJ3gL13
— Valerio Agnoli (@AgnoliValerio) November 8, 2020
It’s normally Champagne that the pros are sipping on the final stage of a Grand Tour, but this throwback to the final stage of the Vuelta in 2017 is much more to our taste. Coffee on the go for race winner Chris Froome, even delivered by second-placed Vincenzo Nibali’s teammate Valerio Agnoli. With the cafe shut for the foreseeable future we might just have to give this a try next weekend.
New Selle San Marco saddle
The new Aspide Short saddle has a reduced length which Selle San Marco claim increases comfort on the bike. It is 28mm shorter than the previous Aspide model and can be bought in eight different models depending on width and material of rail.
No new deal at Bahrain McLaren for Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish’s exit from Bahrain McLaren looked to be all but confirmed yesterday when the team announced nine riders who had signed new contracts for 2021 – Cavendish was not included. It has long been suspected that the Manxman would depart the team after just one season, with the 35-year-old struggling to recapture the form that saw him win 30 stages of the Tour de France between 2008 and 2016. After Gent-Wevelgem, the sprinter suggested that it might have been the final race of his career before reasserting his desire to continue racing beyond 2020. Welsh rider Stephen Williams and Heinrich Haussler were two of the nine to have signed new deals. On Friday we reported that the team will be renamed Bahrain Victorious next season.
Positive news from Railton LTN
We have surveyed traffic in #RailtonLTN over the past three months, during the morning rush hour.
This is what we have found. #lowtrafficneighbourhood pic.twitter.com/2JjrAcE4uh— Railton LTN (@RailtonLTN) November 9, 2020
The positive impact that infrastructure can have on cycling participation is exemplified by these encouraging statistics from Railton LTN. Having surveyed the LTN for three months they saw a 131% increase in cyclists, 75% of all journeys on Railton Road were by bike and perhaps most importantly there was a 450% increase in children and cargo bikes.
Last week LTNs were debated in Parliament and more than 120 doctors and nurses wrote to Sadiq Khan asking for him to push ahead with plans for more schemes in the capital.
Sir Chris Hoy staying active
215kg for 4 today, chipping away towards a one rep max in a few weeks hopefully.. #dadstrength #beardstrength #bbqstrength pic.twitter.com/s4AMPYcJm4
— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) November 9, 2020
We’ve long since known that track sprinters win the award for ‘biggest quads in the sport’. There’s no power-to-weight ratio here, just pure power and it seems Sir Chris Hoy is putting his tree trunk legs to good use with some retirement gym work.
We’ve done some maths to put 215kg in persepctive and it turns out it’s the equivalent of Hoy squatting with three and a half Nairo Quintanas on his back…impressive.
9 November 2020, 09:19
9 November 2020, 09:19
9 November 2020, 09:19
9 November 2020, 09:19
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
21 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Mountain bikers don't care about obeying the law!
It's worth pointing out that unlike cycling on a pavement (i.e. a footway alongside a carriageway), cycling on a footpath is not a crime; it is a civil tort against the landowner. That means it's not a police matter, and other people using the path have no standing to complain either (although of course you should still be careful and considerate of other people, regardless of the status of the right of way). Indeed, without going into a full lecture on the history of Rights of Way and the noble tradition of mass trespass (e.g. Kinder Scout), there is an argument that the law implicitly condones such "illegal" use of paths, given that new rights of way can be created by members of the public demonstrating that they have used the path without permission but "as of right" for long enough, without the landowner taking action to curb such use. As an additional point of information, I would note that the offence of causing injury by "wanton or furious" cycling applies anywhere. I'm no lawyer, but I struggle to see that the designation of the right of way would have much sway, but rather any case would rely on the broader context and whether the manner of the cycling was safe given the terrain and conditions.
@Rendel Harris I get close-passed by more riders than cars in Richmond Park. Maybe I should ride faster.
@perce I'm normally a big fan of your excellent posts perce but I must take issue with this one. The idea that Lord Khan of Tooting would ever, in any circumstances, have been friends with Nigel is surely beyond the bounds of even your fertile imagination?
Not to downplay the seriousness of bikejacking, but Mr.Taylor might want to consider that fact that many riders have been put off using the park at weekends due to the aggressive, intimidatory behaviour of members of his own club, who are notorious for riding as if the park is a private training facility just for themselves, and that's a pretty sad state of affairs as well.
In Wiggle/CR's absence, what are people using nowadays? I've been out of it for a while, but now returned.
I did a multi-day ride many years ago with someone who was a better cyclist than me by every conceivable measure but this one. I remember watching them up ahead on a quiet road trying to teach themselves - snatching brief seconds with their hands off the bars before losing balance and grabbing on again. 'Watch this' I said to the rest of my group, before I accelerated to catch them, then nonchalantly sailed past them uphill riding no hands. Very satisfying. I've been able to ride most of mine hands-free, but had a Specialized Allez that really didn't cooperate. Haven't been brave enough to try it on a Brompton or cargo bike though. And still can't do a wheelie, or any of the other things on Jo's palmares.
@Hamster now that is an exciting development. I do remove/amend signs but reporting them for flyposting is much more satisfying.
@Slartibartfast If the sign-maker can be caught in the act then the council Environmental Health can get a report for littering/fly-tipping. Hours of endless fun for that person trying to explain away a conviction. Don't report unless you're prepared to go to court though. Or remove the litter and put in the nearest bin with a sticker explaining how littering is a crime.
What would make driving safer for motorists is if they stopped driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and driving faster than the speed limit.
21 thoughts on “Ignore or challenge? Is it worth engaging with Nigel Farage about cycling?; No new deal at Bahrain McLaren for Mark Cavendish; Chris Froome’s emotional reflection after final race for Team Ineos; New study supports e-bike safety + more on the live blog”
Does Nigel Farage read road
Does Nigel Farage read road.cc ?
What form and medium do you perceive this engagement will take ?
I’ve had enough of the hate
I’ve had enough of the hate filled clown. I decided to call him out on his mis-information. If it causes even one of his fanbase to think again, it feels worth it.
I dare not do Twitter – i
I dare not do Twitter – i would explode with rage. So thanks for having the stamina and giving the c++t the response he deserves.
Lukas wrote:
I had to delete my account – I was spending too much time engaging with people who were idiots. It’s a shame cos there are so many decent folk on it too, but it’s always the time-sucking twonks who push your buttons
Please ignore Farage
Please ignore Farage generally, not just in relation to cycling (and the Loophole bloke too!)
Ignore the person, but
Ignore the person, but challenge the ideas.
Farage is just mirroring or repeating stuff that comes up with monotonous regularity about cycling,that any delve into a local paper story about cyclists will confirm alot of people believe are true statements.
How we challenge them I dont know as we dont ever seem to make much ground on it,but pretending that people dont think like that towards cycling is a bad idea imo.
On the local neighbourhood
On the local neighbourhood forum (N London) some one has posted ‘is anyone else frustrated with the new cycle lanes installed by the council?’ And lo, there are hundreds of comments all repeating the same lies and misinformation. It’s profoundly depressing. Not just that people hold such baseless, hateful attitudes towards people who ride a cycle but because the Cllrs will waver and before long the cycle lanes will be scrapped.
The deplatforming of “people”
The deplatforming of “people” like H*pkins and Yaxley-Lennon proves that the lack of engagement with their so-called commentary works; don’t engage, don’t amplify.
Ignore the fascist Toad of
Ignore the fascist Toad of Toad Hall, he’s only lashing out because he knows he’s now about as welcome in the White House as a lingering fart.
Also, how great would a coffee domestique be! Especially in these pandemic times when a coffee stop is difficult.
Farage is symptomatic of the
Farage is symptomatic of the whole populist politicians that are endemic at the moment, one wonders if this was what Germany was like in the 1930’s, but with added online echo chambers like TwitBook.
Challenge the message – ignore the people.
If pigfaceshagger had not engaged Farage with how different this 2020’s UK would be.
Our relationship with the EU was 10th on the things people worried about in 2010.
Road.cc is so sincere about
Road.cc is so sincere about the idea of ignoring Farage that they’ve filled the whole of the Live Blog with “news” about him, and even created a poll…shall we ignore him or not? Well, by creating the poll you’ve answered your own question.
I wish we could just ignore
I wish we could just ignore him, but can we? Wikipedia claims The DM is the UK’s “highest-circulated daily newspaper”. It is a sad truth that a lot of people will read this – and a lot of them will believe it. I don’t think it’s much of a leap of faith to accept that this sort of drivel leads to attacks on cyclists (including deliberately dangerous driving), along with the aggresive resistance to any infrastructure designed to make life better for people traveling by bike (which, incidentally, will make life better for everyone else too).
That said, I am also very aware that any article published here is just going to be preaching to the choir. Is responding to it in that manner actually going to achieve anything? Or will it just generate revenue for the DM through people clicking through to the article in order to ogle at the stupidity on display?
I’m not sure what the solution is. Letters to the editors? Can anyone get some column inches in a national newspaper to set the record straight? Write to your MP’s – make it clear that Mr Garage does not speak for the “common person”?
The mail online make more
The mail online make more from advertsing revenue than any other paper. So yes, you are correct – clicking through increases their revenue. The advertisers don’t know that you clicked through to correct them when they make an honest error or deliberately pubish nonsense, to argue with stupidity, to support refugees, to protect a minority, to counter their hate-filled bile, in outrage at their misogyny or to see what Nigel is banging on about (which may contain all of the previous examples). A click is a click. If you visit, they make more money.
The thing that always makes
The thing that always makes me laugh is how motorists go on about how cyclists need to be punished for breaking the law, like drivers, as if every driver is penalised as soon as they do something illegal. Yet I’m not sure I could give a percentage for the number of cars going past my house that actually abide by the 20mph speed limit because it is so low. Or I could add to that the number dangerously cutting the corner (per the image I’ve added).
Or I could add to that the
Or I could add to that the number dangerously cutting the corner
That’s what started me on my anti-police crusade. I was stationary waiting to turn right and I escaped serious life wrecking injury by inches when he hit me with the usual claim ‘didn’t see you’. That, as you know, is enough for the police: not dead=don’t care. To that they added ‘it was only a momentary loss of concentration by the driver’ – an excuse which you can use to refuse prosecution of every motorist. Music to the ears of the police.
That corner cutting has
That corner cutting has become so normal (and acceptable??) to so many that I now find (when I am driving) and I am turning right out of a junction that drivers who want to turn right into the junction will stop (holding up thru traffic) to (politly?) let me out the junction before they turn in. I have concluded that this is due to a combination of things.
1. they assume I will be on the wrong side of the road so I can cut the corner as I turn out, hence narrowing the lane
2.They are too bloody lazy to turn thier wheel, or completly incapable of judging where their vehicle will sweep as they turn
I will excuse (cautious) drivers of larger or towing vehicles as they tend to sweep a much tighter radius
I routinely had drivers
I routinely had drivers losing their minds when I would line up close to the centre line to turn out of a road which they were epecting to be able to cut the corner of turning in. As if I was cutting them up in some way.
If they are incapable of driving on te correct side, they should probably let me out first.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.616847,-0.7223292,3a,75y,353.66h,68.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFR0mfFSOmzAxUIEOAHbRfg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
This car caught by the streetview car taking a wider line than most. It’s not like there a shortage of space for turning right in the correct lane.
one of the ‘sleb’ cyclists
one of the ‘sleb’ cyclists needs to invite Nigel out for a bike ride. Like Germany invited Al Murray (pub landlord character) to do a TV travelogue there.
Really? The best thing to do
Really? The best thing to do with Farage is to starve him of the oxygen of publicity. He is only saying what has been said to me by countless morons over the years.
sadly, it is indicative of UK society – cyclists are considered as ‘other than’, weak, second class and a nuisance who get in the way. So they are vilified and targeted by loud mouthed louts like Farage and Co.
Or, invite the spiteful tool
Or, invite the spiteful tool out onto the roads on a bike in the rush hour for a chat about how cyclists cope will people like him in cars, vans, suv’s etc performing close passes etc.. Might open his eyes a bit. You never know, loosing £10k on the Trump bet, he might need to cycle more..
KR1960 wrote:
“Really? The best thing to do with Farage is to starve him of the oxygen of oxygen. “….
TFTFY
[credit to the much-missed Linda Smith]