HGV driver suspended after threatening to knock down “spandex-wearing f******”; Patrick Lefevere accuses Sam Bennett of “playing with my balls in public” by riding European Champs; LCC protest reaction; CyclingMikey’s bonnet ride + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
HGV driver under fire after threatening to knock down "spandex-wearing f******"
A HGV driver, whose Facebook profile says he works for White & Company, is today under fire after a message threatening to knock down “Lycra-clad, spandex-wearing fuckers” emerged online. Here it is in full…
Joel Lewis raised the alarm and asked White & Company on Twitter if the views were company policy? We’ll see if they reply…Lewis later clarified that, “I personally would not expect someone to lose a job over one (albeit vile) social media shitpost. I would expect the company to make clear to all drivers to drive impeccably around cyclists.”
It wasn’t long before another user shared a negative review of the company on Trustpilot. Another said he was “unfortunately” using the company for his upcoming move to the Netherlands, and “if I had known this before hand, I would not have used them. Shame as they still have my stuff in storage, service has been good so far…However I shall now send a complaint to my contact.”
Matt Burnham shared the company contact details and speculated it may be receiving a few calls asking what action had been taken.
Well for my forthcoming move, this was a good heads up. Thank you. I would have found it very wearing on removal day to deal with someone so rude and bigoted, especially as I love ‘spandex’ 😁
— Pilarin (@Pilarinciclista) September 8, 2021
Huge turnout at LCC ride protesting inaction on dangerous junctions
Huge turnout tonight at the @London_Cycling ride calling for safer junctions, good to see some familiar faces and that @BBCTomEdwards was at Southampton Row junction again to report on calls to make that safer for vulnerable road users. pic.twitter.com/rMhIoQKlOT
— Simone Di Michele 🇮🇹 (@simonmacmichael) September 8, 2021
These were the scenes in the capital last night for the London Cycling Campaign’s big protest ride demanding action on dangerous junctions. In August, yet another cyclist was killed at London’s Holborn gyratory, the seventh since 2008.
Riders were joined by Caroline Russell, the London Assembly member, and heard speeches, including from Liberal Democrat London Assembly member and Chair of the Transport Committee, Caroline Pidgeon. Flowers were laid and victims’ names read in Holborn, where Marta Krawiec was killed last month.
Approaching the Holborn junction where Marta Krawiec was killed on 4 August pic.twitter.com/0vLHAVjbXi
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) September 8, 2021
The LCC’s petition demanding action on lethal junctions has more than 7,000 signatures and can be accessed here…
Time to stop the preventable deaths at London’s dangerous junctions – join us @London_Cycling https://t.co/lwPxg6g3qh pic.twitter.com/YFHG6xZSWY
— Jules Mattsson (@julesmattsson) September 8, 2021
White & Co. addresses "absolutely unacceptable" comments from one of its drivers threatening to knock down "spandex-wearing fuckers"
the company and swift action will be taken to address this very serious incident.
— White & Co. Removals (@WhiteandCo1871) September 9, 2021
Here it is… I’m guessing it has been a busy morning over at White & Co. headquarters. Joel Lewis, who first shared the picture of the comment, got back to the removal firm, thanking them for the response.
He also suggested it could be a good opportunity to re-evaluate the training drivers are given regarding safe conduct on the road around vulnerable road users. An idea that seems particularly topical in the context of the upcoming changes to the Highway Code to be published this autumn. Under the new hierarchy of road users, those with potential to cause the most danger to others will be deemed to have greater responsibility to those who are more vulnerable.
Patrick Lefevere accuses Sam Bennett of "playing with my balls in public" by returning to competition at European Championships
Another day, another amusing balls story…today it’s Sam Bennett playing the wasp, while Patrick Lefevere is the unamused Sir Chris Hoy. The Deceuninck-Quick-Step boss has accused Sam Bennett of “playing with his balls in public” as the Irishman prepares to represent his country at the European Championships this week.
Lefevere, who earlier this year distastefully compared his sprinter to a domestic abuse victim, wrote in his Het Nieuwsblad column that Bennett has not communicated with the team about the knee injury that forced him to miss the Tour de France. At the time, the team boss said the 30-year-old’s problem was a “fear of failure”, not a physical issue.
Lefevere has begun the process of cutting Bennett’s salary in half from this month onwards, something the UCI allows if a rider has been inactive for three months. The Belgian believes Bennett is riding this weekend to prepare for a possible legal dispute, to prove he was fit and ready to race.
“What he’s doing now is playing with my balls in public,” Lefevere said. “Anyone who knows me knows that I never do that [cut riders’ pay]. I continued to pay Fabio Jakobsen and dozens of other riders in full, despite long injuries. But here the rider acts in bad faith. He no longer uploads training files. He doesn’t want to be operated on. And he is crying on the phone with our doctor Philip Jansen.
“I hear from his manager Andrew McQuaid that he will definitely finish the European Championship. I’m not so sure about that yet. We have already suggested that we do an exercise test at our Bakala Academy, but he does not go into that. For me it’s simple; first prove that you’re fit, before you take the place of a teammate.”
Lefevere also sarcastically questioned why Bennett was suddenly so keen to race a hilly course with more than 4,000 metres of climbing, having not raced since May.
CyclingMikey takes a "stop a Douchebag" bonnet ride
I’m all good though thanks everyone. It was a very standard Stop a Douchebag bonnet ride.
— CyclingMikey tired of road crime. 🇪🇺🇳🇱🇿🇼 (@MikeyCycling) September 9, 2021
Swiss Side’s new pressure measurement rake allows you to SEE drag
Swiss Side has unveiled a new pressure measurement rake that allows you to see aerodynamic drag, where it is coming from, and at what intensity.
“The Swiss Side pressure measurement rake measures the energy lost in the airflow behind an object,” says Swiss Side. “This is the aerodynamic drag. It does this using an array of 128 Kiel probes which are illuminated by 288 individually controlled LEDs, which change colour depending on the measured air pressure.”
A Kiel probe is a device that measures the pressure of a flow. Swiss Side says that its new equipment captures “a complete live colour picture of the aerodynamic drag and its intensity across the area measured”.
No device of this kind existed before, so the Swiss Side engineering team developed everything in house to its exact requirements.
“This included the design and assembly of every component from the physical rake hardware itself, the pressure measurement system electronics and data logger, all the way through to the software systems, “ says Swiss Side.
The extensive array of sensors used by the rake system are connected wirelessly over a local internet network.
Swiss Side says that its activities now extend well beyond cycling to include a wide range of industries from sports to automotive.
“The pressure measurement rake provides a hugely valuable development tool for any application,” says Swiss Side. “It also provides extremely useful data for correlation back to the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation models, which further improves and refines the development process.”
White & Co. reportedly suspends driver over comments
Louis, a directors at the @WhiteandCo1871 has called me. Driver has been suspended, they are devastated that one of their drivers would hold these views. They have been inundated with calls & emails. They sound like a very decent company & they are handling this responsibly. https://t.co/hussYurCGA
— Jo Rigby (@Jo_Earlsfield) September 9, 2021
Here’s the latest update on the main story of the morning…White & Co. has reportedly suspended the driver involved and told Wandsworth Labour’s Jo Rigby they couldn’t responsibly have the man driving an HGV.
Tour of Britain...showcasing the best of British driving
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) September 9, 2021
Sometimes you’ve just got to laugh…
Ethan Hayter wins stage five of the Tour of Britain to reclaim leader's jersey - heavily reduced bunch contested the win after a big crash on the final bend
🏆 @ethan_hayter (@INEOSGrenadiers) wins stage five of the @AJBell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 in Warrington and moves back into the race lead!#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/5BR9P12Eb0
— AJ Bell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 9, 2021
It was another chaotic finish at the Tour of Britain, this time because of a big crash on the final bend. Ethan Hayter and his final leadout man Michal Kwiatkowski made it through safely before the young Brit held off Giacomo Nizzolo to win his second stage of the race, reclaiming the leader’s jersey in the process.
Mark Cavendish was briefly held up by the fall and had to sprint just to regain contact with the front of the race. Once back in he had little left for the burst to the line and rolled over in fifth.
Wout van Aert wasn’t at the front either and missed the opportunity to sprint for bonus seconds. Consequently, Hayter will wear the blue jersey tomorrow, which he takes from his Belgian by eight seconds.
North London's big gravel day out is back...Brooks comes onboard as sponsor
North London Dirt is back for its fourth year on the scene. The team wanted to create an event that could incorporate the qualities of urban and gravel riding – two types at riding you might not necessarily assume go together. The 113km route winds through North London’s overlooked paths, farm roads and winding trails.
The event is also raising money for the St Mary’s community centre and is partnered with Ride 4 Unity to celebrate diversity and togetherness in cycling. Unfortunately, if you’ve had your head turned, this year’s event is already full…but the NLD team encourage you to head over to Instagram to check out all the best photos from the big day, as well as details on a charity raffle and info on signing up to future events.
Stefan Küng defends European Championships TT title
🇪🇺 #EuroRoad21
🥇 Stefan Kung 🇨🇭
🥈 Filippo Ganna 🇮🇹
🥉 Remco Evenepoel 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/RdG9xG6yff— Isma Álvarez Cycling (@CyclingIsma) September 9, 2021
Swiss time trial machine Stefan Küng can keep his European Championships jersey for another year after defending his crown. The FDJ man beat Filippo Ganna’s time by eight seconds. Remco Evenepoel was third, 15 seconds slower.
Of the other notable starters, Tadej Pogacar’s 12th place caught the eye. Possibly a result down to minimal racing since dominating the Tour de France. The road race follows this Sunday…and you’d expect Pog to be one of the main favourites considering the 4,000m+ of climbing on the route.
Sam Bennett not so much, but hey, if it winds up Patrick Lefevere then surely it’s worth it…
Chris Froome joins forces with Supersapiens as newest advisor and investor
Chris Froome has joined with energy management brand Supersapiens as a technical advisor and investor. The deal follows on from the news that the seven-time Tour de France winner will be joining Factor’s board of directors and will take up a product development role.
Speaking about his latest partnership, Froome said: “I’m proud to be joining Phil and his team at Supersapiens. I’m constantly searching for improved performance from myself and my equipment. I’m looking forward to playing my part in bringing Supersapiens to performance athletes of all levels in cycling and beyond. It’s great to be part of something so genuinely game-changing”
Supersapiens glucose monitoring system aims to help atheltes inform fuelling habits by measuring spikes and troughs in blood sugar levels.
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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.
Some good ideas there. One point tho. Whilst I love those Wera Allen keys for steel bolt heads, they can be risky on alloy socket screws. Not ideal, IMO, for Rochshox fork axles as they eat into the alloy and lock into the socket. Play soon results. The hex+ system seems to be based on an inside out adaptation of the Snap On “Flank Drive” spanner or socket - and that’s a great idea, but sadly the design seems to overstress alloy socket head screws. Could it be that the profiled section on the end of the tool doesn’t have enough penetration on a fork axle? Maybe. All I can say is my axles last a lot longer using a regular Allen hex key. (Ideally on a torque wrench I guess). Ooh and ChrisA is right - a “Vernier Caliper” relies an a sliding scale more like a slide tile. Digital is way easier, but battery dependent.
52 thoughts on “HGV driver suspended after threatening to knock down “spandex-wearing f******”; Patrick Lefevere accuses Sam Bennett of “playing with my balls in public” by riding European Champs; LCC protest reaction; CyclingMikey’s bonnet ride + more on the live blog”
Perhaps someone ought to ask
Perhaps someone ought to ask Richard Simpson, the ex-editor of Trucking magazine, for an opinion on this? 😉
(Doesn’t seem like Mr Hurd is acting like an adult, y’know…).
brooksby wrote:
You beat me to it.
brooksby wrote:
Or better still, the current editor.
Saw the European road cycling
Saw the European road cycling championships had started on Eurosport yesterday, whilst Sam Bennett’s name on a start list appears to be causing some waves, I noted Team GB havent sent anyone to race, not even a development squad, anyone know why ?
I suspect that the ToB, where
I suspect that the ToB, where there is a GB development team riding, may be part of the reason.
there are junior/u23 races as
there are junior/u23 races as well not covered by a team otherwise engaged riding in the ToB though, and that applies equally to the women’s events even if TeamGB sent afew of their riders to the Ras Na Mban as well.
Other nations seem to be using these Euros as a warm up/training camp style thing for the World championships which are only 10 days away and I dont think Team GB have even announced a team for that yet.
Just seems an odd omission
I suspect that there are U-23
I suspect that there are U-23 riders in the GB ToB team.
Edit, a quick check of the teams ages on procyclingstats shows they are all U-23. Presumably the view is that a week long stage race rubbing shoulders with World Tour teams will be more beneficial to their development.
It doesn’t answer the female position though.
Thing is, the driver’s
Thing is, the driver’s comments are likely to be indicative of the culture at the company and he is simply guilty of being publicly caught out. It’s very easy for a company to make the statement of not reflecting our values but I’m going to be very wary of White and Co removal vehicles in future.
I suspect it goes against the
I suspect it goes against the values of many larger haulage firms, but i think this attitude is endemic through the HGV driver community no matter what company they work for
EK Spinner wrote:
May actually be more to do with driving in an overcrowded city rather than a characteristic of HGV drivers per se. I live about 30 miles west of London & cycle everywhere. HGV drivers are almost always (like all other vehicle drivers, even of large German cars) patient & well behaved towards me. On the other hand, on the rare occasions I’m forced to visit the Big City the behaviour of traffic is awful. That’s all traffic, HGVs, cars, buses, cyclists, pedestrians, wheel-chair users, *everyone*. Animals the lot of them! Can’t wait to get home to Bracknell, to sanity, good manners & cycle paths everywhere…
And hopefully our
And hopefully our conscientious and hard working constabulary will take his attitude into account when dealing with any collision he has with any road users on bikes
I like bikes wrote:
Well, you’d hope so given that Charlie Alliston’s social media posts counted against him at his trial…
He also forgot that if you
He also forgot that if you post something through Facebook and using a real name and advrtising who you work for, you’re going to get caught out.
If he wanted to vent, he would have been far better off signing up on a forum or website (is there a ‘psychotruckers dot web’?) under some stupid random username and posting it anonymously… 😉
I haven’t heard it referred
I haven’t heard it referred to as Spandex in years. I’m definitely going to use it rather than LYCRA. “I went out at the weekend dressed in Spandex” people might think I’ve joined some 80s heavy metal band.
Or become a superhero…
Or become a superhero…
That’s a lot cooler!
That’s a lot cooler!
IanMK wrote:
Oh FFS! I’ve gotten used to being a MAMIL. Not sure I am comofrtable being a MAMIS….
Daveyraveygravey]
[quote
You’re right that’s not going to work. What will the plural of MAMIS be for my group ride?
Quick show of hands – who
Quick show of hands – who thinks the HGV Driver of the Day will now go around blaming bl00dy cyclists for losing him his job?
Probably in the the Daily
Probably in the the Daily Hate tomorrow as
War on HGV Drivers!…..Cyclists trying to clear roads of hard working lorry drivers during pandemic shortages
Well if he did do that, he’d
Well if he did do that, he’d be 100% correct wouldn’t he? Although I’m pretty sure he won’t be sacked – which haulage firm would be looking to lose drivers at the moment?
According to the article he’s been suspended… aaaand now he’s back.
I’d say maybe 50/50.
I’d say maybe 50/50.
He’s been suspended because bl00dy cyclists read what he’d written and mentioned it to his employers (and it’s really not a good look for them), but on the other hand he’s the one who thought that it would be a good idea to write that and put it out in the public domain.
Nigel prefers to blame
Nigel prefers to blame cyclists as a general rule.
But he also supports a
But he also supports a Government that never actually have to own their consequences. Make an obvious “they all look the same don’t they” mistake like Gavin Williamson, “oh well”. Lying to parliament, “so what”. Given billions to your buddies during a pandemic “they needed to rush and what has Labour done anyway to control the pandemic”.
So someone posting in public he wants to drive over cyclists in his HGV whilst promoting his company links, and then getting reported to his company… “well that is cancel culture and I will not have any part of it as it is only the snowflakes who do that…… unless someone on GBNews takes a knee of course.”
brooksby wrote:
some people really need to understand that they should only post something on facebook if they would be happy to put the same thing on display on their company notice board and sign it.
wycombewheeler wrote:
I tell my kids that when they are texting someone or emailing them or anything like that, they need to be aware that the content of that message – once it’s been written down – could end up being seen by anyone (and to write accordingly).
Nigel Garrage wrote:
No he wouldn’t, bloody cyclists wouldn’t have lost him his job, he would have lost his job himself by making threats of violence against cyclists in a public forum in which he clearly identified his employers. 100% on him.
So if someone makes threats
So if someone makes threats of violence you report them to the police… you don’t go weaseling around their Facebook profile looking to snitch them to their employer.
A threat of violence can only
A threat of violence can only be pursued as a public order offence and if it causes a specific person or persons(s) to alarm or distress. The police would not be able to do anything.
Let’s also recall that this individual is stating in public that he wishes to use his employer’s equipment to maim or kill people, in the course of his work duties.
So yes, that is a matter of concern for the employer.
Read the thread. the comment
Read the thread. the comment was reported to the police several times
I don’t see anything here
I don’t see anything here about it being reported to the police. If that’s what happened, great – leave it to the police to take action if that’s what is decided and then report on the outcome.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
Why Nigel – it’s almost as if you have a vested interest in people saying stupid anti-cyclist nonsense online remaining anonymous and unpunished!
The police most likely would/will take no action or issue a mild warning at best. Why shouldn’t people warn an employer that their driver is making threats to run over cyclists? Should people wait until he does it and give their evidence at the inquest?
Say stupid things in public,
Say stupid things in public, expect to get called out in public.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
As a teacher, I feel pretty certain that if I posted on Facebook last week that I couldn’t wait for term to start because I have missed being able to slap kids around whenever I want to, having someone report that to my school would be a prelude to at least a suspension, probably dismissal and most likely also a tribunal at which it was decided whether I would be allowed to ever teach again.
And you know what … that would 100% be my fault.
Are you sure? Wouldn’t they
Are you sure? Wouldn’t they have been “weaseling around [your] Facebook profile looking to snitch [you] to [your] employer”?
Nigel Garrage wrote:
Oh Nigel, you really are ‘phoning it in now. Come on love, if you must troll, put your back into it. This is just too lame even by your standards. A truck driver says he wants to run over cyclists and you’re criticising cyclists for asking his employer if they’re cool with that? 1.5/10 troll rating.
As someone else pointed out,
As someone else pointed out, he specifically was stating he would run them over in the equipment supplied by said employer with their branding all over it. So why not alert the employer.
It is funny Boo only wants it reporting to the Police when he has called out some other NMotD as they would get spoken to for wasting Police time.
Where’s the “hit the nail on
Where’s the “hit the nail on the head” emoji?
None of what you’ve written
None of what you’ve written here is true – for example in the latest NMOTD video I specifically mention that I hope the driver gets a good penalty for their illegal driving.
I’m simply asking to keep the law with the lawmakers – I dislike this populist trial by Twitter that takes place daily to try to cancel people’s livelihoods.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
AS said “he has called out some other NMotD as they would get spoken to for wasting Police time.” As indeed you have, so it’s perfectly true. Maybe you don’t read your own drivel? Don’t blame you if so.
An HGV driver said he wants to run over cyclists and some people have quite properly alerted his employer to that fact. That’s not trial by Twitter, it’s a perfectly legitimate action to get an aggressive and potentially murderous driver off the road. I suppose you’d like it if everyone had stayed silent and only spoken up about it once he’d killed someone?
Apparently, as none of what I
Apparently, as none of what I had written in that post is true, Mr THurd didn’t post he wanted to drive over cyclists in his company branded HGV either. Maybe he was going to go out an buy an all black one so no one would see him hitting and then “not stopping”. Or maybe the screenshots were all just a figment of our imagination.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Was that supposed to have been aimed at Our Nige rather than Rendel?
Nope, continuing a convo with
Nope, continuing a convo with Rendel about comments made by another poster in addition to rens reply about said same comments.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Yes I understood that – slight misunderstanding from Brooks but s/he’s a good ‘un so all good!
and change his name to Garthe
and change his name to Garthe?
Awavey wrote:
WOW. There’s a blast from the past. I’d totally forgotten that
brooksby wrote:
I wonder if anyone is going to say that it was the cyclist’s fault?
Nah, that’d be like agreeing with a criminal who blames a witness for his bird. No one’s that stoopid….
Captain Badger wrote:
I’m going to keep away from Twatter et al though. If I see anyone talking about snitches, grasses or anything like that, I’ll want to stick a fork in my eye.
Perfectly safe from that here though. None of our regular posters has the mentality of an under 12 year old…..
And now onto the important
And now onto the important things: so what’s the latest Mikey story on about?
Sounds like someone drove at
Sounds like someone drove at him rather then reverse back into the queue and drive to a legal requirement. Mikey had to jump on the bonnet or get run over. Of course the accused is supposedly claiming that Mikey jumped across the bonnet of the stationary car for no reason and then the driver feared for his life so drove around the corner with mikey clawing at the windowscreen to break it and rip the drivers throat out. I expect a video will be up in a few months time when the court case is completed.
Airlines wouldn’t emoloy a
Airlines wouldn’t emoloy a pilot who threatened to deliberately crash their aircraft, even if they were “just joking”.
Police force wouldn’t emoloy an officer who threatened deliberate violence, even if they were “just joking”.
Haulage companies shouldn’t employ drivers who threaten to deliberately knock cyclists of bikes.
espressodan wrote:
it seems like in America it may actually move the application up the pile.