Vuelta stage shortened due to protests; Ineos ‘confident’ of signing Onley; “The blue bike is mine, the black lock isn’t”: Innocent mistake or a sign your bike’s in danger?; Bike use surges as TfL strike continues + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Cyclists slam "secret" move to scrap all cycling safety features from plan to improve "horrendously dangerous" junction, as campaigners call council's excuse about lack of funding "nonsense"
João Almeida questions if Jonas Vingegaard is 100% ahead of crunch third week at La Vuelta, but suggests he's "not in my best shape of the year either"
The Vuelta’s back after its final rest day, six days to decide who wins this year’s race. Two-time Tour de France winner Joans Vingegaard and João Almeida look most likely, the pair having slugged it out up the Angliru on Friday and sitting comfortably clear of the rest at the head of the GC standings.
Almeida spoke to Spanish newspaper Marca, assessing his form and that of his rival for red ahead of the final week. Admitting he was a bit surprised to win atop the famous climb, Almeida says it gives him confidence going into this week.
“It’s a very tough climb where you need legs, and in the end I was surprised to win because I didn’t expect it, but it gave me the confidence that I can win,” the UAE Team Emirates leader said. “Of course, you have to have legs, and hopefully we won’t have any bad days.”
Interestingly, Almeida also questioned if Vingegaard is in top form, but was quick to suggest he’s not quite at his very best either. We wish we could win Angliru summit finishes not at our best… or at any time for that matter…
“If he were in top form, I think he would have attacked me that day on the Angliru,” Almeida continued. “I’m not in my best shape of the year either, so we’re both in a bit of an equal situation. But Jonas is still a better rider than me so far. He’s won two Tours de France, many races, and he’s always been ahead. We keep our feet on the ground and try to do our best.”
It’s all set up rather nicely for the week ahead.
Vuelta stage 16 preview: break or GC?
Speaking of which, the Vuelta resumes after the final rest day with a punchy stage in Galicia featuring four categorised climbs, though the riders will summit the hardest with 60km remaining. Whether Almeida’s UAE domestiques will head up the road in search of another victory is unclear, but that 50% win rate at this year’s race won’t sustain itself.
Today’s stage is also arguably the most Pidock-friendly terrain of the final week, with the Q36.5 rider looking to hold off Jai Hindley in the battle for the final podium spot. Whether the Yorkshireman is able to hold or extend his lead over the Aussie remains to be seen, but Pidcock will likely want a decent-sized buffer ahead of Thursday’s individual time trial.
Jonas Vingegaard would probably want the break to stay away to defend his race lead. But he will have to make do without Victor Campenaerts who’s withdrawn from the race with illness. The Belgian rouleur was not only a key domestique but also a fan-favourite with his daily vlogs with Matteo Jorgenson that we’ll now have to go without. Get well soon Campy!
What on earth is going on here?
We’ve dropped Q36.5 a line to ask that exact question because… well, we’re absolutely baffled. Bib jersey to go with your bib shorts? For anyone ordering soup at the cafe? It’s not on their website so until we get some info direct from them we’ll continue to be a bit stumped.
Angus Young's Highway to Hell finishes in Florida
After 39 days, Angus Young looks like he’s been shaken up all night long but he’s finally completed the near 6000-mile long Eastern Divide Trail. Running from Cape Spear, Canada (the most easterly point in North America) to Florida Keys, the most southerly.
Averaging an epic 154 miles (247km) a day, chemistry teacher Young’s arrival was marked not by hell’s bells but by Baba O’Reilly, an apt if disa-pun-ting choice.
Strike bounce for the bike
It’s day three of a five-day strike by Transport for London workers that has caused severe disruption on the London Underground, and entirely shut down the DLR both today and Thursday.
The Embankment cycleway (CS3) in London was purposefully built to be wider than was usual in order to future proof it. Some said it would hardly be used. Now there’s a decent case for widening it further. Induced demand is real.
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter.bsky.social) 8 September 2025 at 22:11
But one of the unintended consequences of the strikes has been the apparent surge in use of the humble bicycle as a mode of public transport, with social media (for this admin at least) awash with footage of bike lanes in constant use.
It’s also being seen in stats with the BBC reporting both Lime and Santander hire bike usage has increased by more than half while Forest bike hire more than doubled compared to last week.
Penny for the thoughts of 'insane' LEJOG fundraisers
Remember the World Record breaking cyclist Matt Richardson? No, not that one.
Having broken the World Hour Record on a Raleigh chopper and also climbed Mont Ventoux, 59-year-old Matt Richardson from Henley-on-Thames has a new goal, this time on a penny farthing.
Along with his friend Bill Pollard, the pair plan on cycling the length of Great Britain on bicycles designed in 1869 with one gear and no brakes or freewheel, all while dressed as Victorian gentlemen.
When they set off in April it will be to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. It’s a cause close to Richardson’s heart after he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2022, and the pair previously raised £24,000 when cycling from London to Paris.
Perhaps Bill puts it best: “We lighted upon the idea of a very British journey from one end of our great island to the other: from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.
“Although it is a well-known bicycling challenge, neither of us have done it before. And very few people have done it on a penny farthing. For good reason. It is utterly insane.”
Insane indeed, best of luck to Matt and Bill on their training through the vicious winter, and with their fundraising.
Vuelta s16: Nostalgia attacks
At the Vuelta a España, 2019 called and they want their warm fuzzy feeling back.
The front of the race have just crested the highest point of the day and it’s Egan Bernal and Mikel Landa busy ripping up the race, Landa leading to take the KOM points. Their margin over the rest of the break is small though, and Marc Soler is smelling another precious UAE stage win along with other big hitters Bob Jungels, Nico Denz and Sean Quinn.
There are two Brits in the break as well, Solihull CC alumnus Jake Stewart and Yorkshire’s Finlay Pickering who was in the break on Saturday’s stage to La Farraponna, and was only caught by the favourites inside the final kilometre. With 50km to go, and the break’s lead over six minutes, it’s probably so far according to plan for Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a bike.
Towers changes teams for 2026
Little bit of a British transfer tidbit for you now as EF Education-Oatly have announced the signing of Alice Towers for 2026.
Towers, winner of the British national championships in 2022, stepped up to the World Tour the following year and has ridden for CANYON//SRAM ever since.
In the statement announcing her signing, Towers said she “wants to be a rider who competes in the final for a win.”
“I like the more challenging, the more gruelling terrain like the Ardennes classics or the one-day races where it’s 160 or 165 kilometres up and down all day.”
Towers, who turns 23 next month and has already ridden two Tours de France and the Giro d’Italia, also has her eyes on bigger goals in the future.
“Looking beyond 2026, I’d love to win a stage at a grand tour, like the Giro or the Tour or the Vuelta. If not one of those, then an Ardennes classic is the absolute dream.”
"The blue bike is mine, the black lock isn't": Innocent mistake or a sign your bike's in danger?
The blue bike is mine, the black lock isnt.
byu/carolina_favor98 inlondoncycling
Ever had this happen to you? After a long day at work this is the last thing you’d want to find at the bike rack… well, except no bike at all, of course. One London cyclist clocked off their shift and was about to make their way home when they found their bike had rather bizarrely been locked by someone else, apparently by the person who’d parked theirs next door.
We’d like to think this is an honest mistake, although some in the comments have suggested it could be the work of a thief hoping to come back for it later. Either way, it puts our unlucky commuter in a bit of a pickle. Wait for the other person or catch a bus?
The ever helpful people of Reddit had some ideas, most amusingly: “Assert your dominance. Add more locks.”
Another user said something similar had happened to them three times. “One time it was one of those stretchy coiled cable locks, so I unlocked my bike, pulled it over to the next stand and locked it up again,” they explained. “Meaning that the cable lock was now fully stretched and spanning across two stands. My intention was that they would be able to see their mistake, rather than just coming along and unlocking without realising.”
As we mentioned earlier, we’d like to think this was an honest mistake, although some aren’t so sure… “This can be a common trick by thieves. They will lock your bike, hope you leave it overnight or so, and then come back later to steal it/parts from it.
“Of course it could also be a genuine mistake, but with these kinds of scenarios it’s unfortunately more often the former than the latter. You need to source an angle grinder and cut it off asap, otherwise you risk your bike/large parts of it being stolen imminently.”
Thoughts?
Ineos 'confident' of signing Onley
While events at the Vuelta have overtaken the otherwise steady news stream, Ciro Scognamiglio has tweeted that Oscar Onley could transfer from Picnic-Post NL to Ineos Grenadiers for 2026.
Info @Gazzetta_it – @INEOSGrenadiers still confident – according to our sources – to sign @OscarOnley (now with @picnicpostnl) this year 4th at @LeTour for 2026. A source told us that the deal is ‘possible’ at this stage @cycling_podcast
— Ciro Scognamiglio (@cirogazzetta) September 9, 2025
Alongside Daniel Benson, Scognamiglio is one of the best cycling journalists when it comes to reporting transfers so his words shouldn’t be taken lightly.
22-year-old Onley is contracted until 2027 but his contract would be voided if his team were to be relegated from the UCI World Tour. But the Scot’s fourth place finish was vital to the team’s points scoring and means that Ineos will have to agree compensation with the Dutch team in order to facilitate the move. It has also been reported that Ineos are interested in Israel-Premier Tech’s Derek Gee who has attempted to exit his long-term contract but seems set for a prolonged legal battle.
Ineos have been slow to confirm their transfers for next season, with only Dorian Godon’s move from Decathlon-AG2R announced. The delay has been attributed to the return of Dave Brailsford to the team’s management structure but has also seen targets such as Jayco-AlUla’s Filippo Zana withdraw their interest.
BREAKING: VUELTA STAGE SHORTENED DUE TO PROTESTS
The finale of the 16th stage has been cut short due to ‘out of hand’ protests on the final climb to Castro de Herville. The stage was instead contested 8km from the finish line.
Situation out of hand at 3.4km from finish. Race to finish 8km out. pic.twitter.com/ucnItVX4Ka
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) September 9, 2025
In what resembled a ‘town sign sprint’, Egan Bernal beat Mikel Landa in a sprint from the breakaway, the Colombian not unfamiliar with shortened stage victories having clinched the Tour de France in similar fashion on stage 19 back in 2019. He also won a shortened stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2021.
Pro-Palestinian protestors have become a regular site at Grand Tours in 2025, picketing the inclusion of Israel-Premier Tech for their close connections to the Israeli state in light of the war in Gaza.
The Vuelta has already been disrupted by protestors, with last week’s stage in Bilbao neutralised 3km from the finish. That day, no stage winner was awarded.
Following the disruption, race leader Jonas Vingegaard said the protestors “are just desperate to be heard”. Both Simone Petilli and Javier Romo have crashed due to protestors, with Romo abandoning the race earlier today due to his injuries.
Before the Bilbao stage began, a frantic meeting was held amongst teams’ rider representatives where it was reported that several riders had asked Israel-Premier Tech to withdraw from the race. The team refused, but have since removed the word ‘Israel’ from their team kit, in line with their vehicles and casual clothing. Team owner Sylvan Adams sat in the team car during the stage and later said they “did not surrender to the terrorists“.
The Vuelta’s technical director, Kiko García has previously said the team’s withdrawal would be the only way to safeguard the riders, but added that the Vuelta organisers did not have the power to remove the team and that a decision needed to be made by the UCI. After last week’s Bilbao stage, the UCI released a statement reaffirming its political neutrality and condemning the actions of the protestors, making Israel-Premier Tech’s withdrawal unlikely.
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All good and I agree with the drift but how does this actually work in an effective way? Phone use is *endemic* - because so many people simply don't see the issue with "just looked at my phone for a second" and we are all being *actively trained* to do this by the app sellers! In theory app, phone and vehicle purveyors could work together to help dissuade this, but the current system suits all and everyone can say "but we put a warning on our product and certainly don't force anyone to do anything illegal..." and point at the others. How do we change behaviour? It seems unlikely we can catch enough drivers with phones in their hands to do that (not because it's hard to spot, just having enough people to collect and process the evidence). If we sort that out we then have another constraint - making it stick. If a small fraction of those say "wasn't me, see you in court", as others note ATM the process is slow AND very expensive. Also given costs and limitations of road policing currently how would driving bans help? They're also minimally policed, and with little effective punishment?
@chrisonabike Moustache, please, we are in the UK after all!
@chrisonabike Tramway used to run to the top of Whiteladies then all the way along to Westbury
There really should be more crackdowns on phone use as the danger is well established by now. The six points and £200 fine for drivers who are caught should be effective but I think an instant one month ban as well as those would be a good thing as it would show drivers what they stand to lose.
Wow - some warm words and enthusiastic goals from the government about active travel https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/11/ministers-pupils-england-active-travel-school-cycing-walking-heidi-alexander Now, let's see some ACTION!
Is there any detection? Lots (most?) UK lights seem to operate on fixed cycles - and certainly cycle detection seems rare (and nothing like NL where there may be sensors some distance in advance to detect approaching bikes and see if lights can be changed so they're green when they get to them). There also seems to be a vicious cycle of "have to leave extra time after lights change because drivers keep rolling through *until* they've gone red", which is possibly self-catalysing / makes people annoyed if they *are* waiting but nobody is moving or crossing.
@quiff Yes think you're quite right but that's what causes the trouble for the unwary (like tourists, and me when I'm thinking of something else), approaching the lights from the other (Palace) side you can't see that the cyclists coming up from Parliament Square have a green light, so it's all too easy to assume that with the motor traffic stopped in all directions the cyclists will be stopped too, when they're not.
Getting up to the Downs? If it's in the summer can't people just catch a passing balloon? I'm slightly "EAPC cautious" but Bristol seems a reasonable use-case for them. Alternatively what about the council installing escalators - after all if it's hard to cycle up there won't you think of the pedestrians? "We are where we are" (why *wouldn't* you drive everywhere?) but I do occasionally stop to wonder how anyone got anywhere pre-car.
Very wholesome, but I found it difficult to imagine this happening in the UK. "Do you want a lift in my cargo bike?" "No, get away from me you weirdo."
On Birdcage Walk, I think the cycle lane has totally separate phasing so that when it's green you can either turn right past Bucks Palace, or go straight over towards Victoria. But I agree that does mean holding those who want to turn right for an inordinately long time, which is just too much for some people (even though they often then decide to wait at the lights at the Mall). I quite enjoy a game of catch up with the the RLJer on Constitution Hill.
28 thoughts on “Vuelta stage shortened due to protests; Ineos ‘confident’ of signing Onley; “The blue bike is mine, the black lock isn’t”: Innocent mistake or a sign your bike’s in danger?; Bike use surges as TfL strike continues + more on the live blog”
If it was a thief, why would
If it was a thief, why would they leave a bike as well, instead of just the lock?
Personally, I think they have a secret admirer trying to engineer a meet-cute.
Plausible deniability? Nicked
Plausible deniability? Nicked it earlier and didn’t have a van?
I’ve had this happen to me.
I’ve had this happen to me. It is annoying. My old bike wasn’t worth much so I think it was a mistake rather than an attempt to steal my old heap.
I guess that’s another design
I guess that’s another design benefit of the “ring lock” wheel lock – when there are enough people locking bikes close together this kind of thing would otherwise be happening more.
Of course against that ring locks don’t stop bikes being moved, they just make it less convenient. OTOH cordless angle grinders and little public or police interest in bike theft has made that the case with “more secure” locks also…
OldRidgeback wrote:
Oh, that was you! Sorry about that – I haven’t done it since.
mdavidford wrote:
Presumably to make you think that it is an innocent mistake from a fellow cyclist and that if you leave it there overnight you’ll come back the next day to find both other bike and lock gone. If you just find someone’s added an additional lock to your bike without any other bike being there obviously that is going to be much more of a red flag.
Seems a bit overthought to me
Seems a bit overthought to me. Is the average bike thief that much of a fan of game theory? And how many bike-and-lock combinations are they wandering around with that they’ve got one left over to target this, er, Triban?
Looks like an RC520, £900
Looks like an RC520, £900 bike and very resellable. Full 105 groupset if they’re just going to come back and take the parts…
Still seems a long way from
Still seems a long way from being a likely explanation to me. Most bike thieves aren’t going to care much whether you’re tipped off to what’s happening or not. They just care that you’re not able to remove the bike before they come back, and probably have to leave it in order to do anything about it. If they come back and you are still there, well they’re only out a cheap lock, and they move on to the next one. (Or they just threaten you with violence and take the bike anyway.) Much easier to wander around with a bag full of locks and then come back and nab whichever bikes you can, than to lug a bike around to target a single individual bike.
Quote:
Modern alternative to shoving newspapers down the front of your jersey at the start of a big descent?
The jersey ‘bib’ thing is
The jersey ‘bib’ thing is pretty obviously intended to be a windbreaker, no?
Various other brands do something similar, but as a separate that you have to attach over or under the jersey.
Interesting how they are
Interesting how they are referred to as “drivers” of pedicabs, when they are basically bikes (sometimes electric?) with extra passenger seating.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn825g15m1ko
mitsky wrote:
Trikes…the term “rider” was originally applied to cyclists as they were seen as more akin to horse riders than carriage drivers in that they had to balance and change direction through moving their bodies and put in considerable effort to control their conveyance. With these big heavy tricycles the balance element is removed and since (as far as I’m aware, certainly all the ones I see are) all the ones in London are electric powered the effort element is also removed, so it’s much more like a small electric car with one wheel removed with the pedals replacing an accelerator to engage the engine than it is like a bicycle.
I think there is something in
I think there is something in the old saying that cyclists all *drive* their bikes (providing some or all motive power) whereas motorists *ride (in)* their cars (only operating directional controls).
Presumably the “drive” part here comes from the same strand of meaning as driving an animal-drawn conveyance eg. directing the motion (related to driving a herd of animals)?
Had my bike locked up by
Had my bike locked up by someone else outside Waterloo Station. Went round the corner and bought some massive bolt cutters. No one looked twice as I wrestled with the lock, released my bike and boarded the train to Surbiton with bike and bolt cutters.
So the owner of the lock
So the owner of the lock comes back later and sees his lock is destroyed but his bike is still there. Probably still trying to figure out why.
I’m watching the Vuelta
I’m watching the Vuelta highlights and I’ve just seen Vignegaard pinch a bike off a team mate and ride off quickly up a climb.
How can we expect to get cycle theft under control, when pro cyclists set such a poor example?!
To be fair, he did leave the
To be fair, he did leave the lad his bike. Much as I love my machines, if anyone wants to pinch one and leave me a double Tour winner’s Cervélo S5 in its place, even with a rear puncture, I’m here for it.
Not quite the usual e-bike
Not quite the usual e-bike/electric motorbike problem, but the BBC have a story on the website about an “E-scooter modified to reach 90mph seized by police“.
Nowhere in the text of the story does it mention that the modification (shown in a photo) was to add a petrol engine – it’s got a pull starter and a spark plug.
Ever since the era of
Ever since the era of (relatively) cheap and available e-motorbikes-that-sellers and-users-pretend-are-bicycles I can’t recall seeing these, but a few nights back one went past – deffo a bike frame, definitely a loud ICE engine. (Unless they’ve gone for retrofitting the sound to an electric one – sonic-skeuomorph-syle?)
The fastest a 50cc motorbike
The fastest a 50cc motorbike can go is around 60mph. That motor possibly from a lawn mower or chainsaw might be only 25cc, so 90mph would seem like a huge exaggeration. The police have been known to test the speed of e-bikes by lifting the wheel off the ground and applying full throttle. This no-load wheel speed bears little relation to the actual possible speed that can be achieved. The police ought to know better.
I appreciate that “Winter is
I appreciate that “Winter is coming.” but is it worth doing a bit about how the tube strikes might lead to a bump in regular commuter cyclists in London?
“Huge surge in cyclists this morning
Simon Browning, Transport correspondent
The bright sunny weather in London this morning appeared to cause everyone who owns a bike in the capital to have dusted it down and used today!…”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/czew3z331dxt
Edit: I should refresh the page before posting.
The size of the stationary queue of cyclists in the clip above is insane.
If I was there and close enough to the front to be able to tell that I’d be stuck for at least one red light phase, I would simply move into the main traffic lane if there was space or walk my bike on the pavement to get past the junction.
“The size of the stationary
“The size of the stationary queue of cyclists in the clip above is insane.” One may assume the waiting line will be significantly shorter during a November rainy and windy day.
This short clip highlights the fact that London cycling infrastructure can’t deal with the potential demand.
mitsky wrote:
That’s not actually a junction, it’s the pedestrian/cyclist road crossing at Hyde Park Corner to get from the park gates across the four lanes of traffic on to the central area which you can ride across then use another crossing the other side to get onto the Constitution Hill cycle path and onwards to The Mall/Birdcage walk. As you can see from the crowds, there isn’t really an alternative, if you tried to walk your bike round you’d get to the entrance to Piccadilly where you would have to try to cross without benefit of lights; you could try riding on the main traffic lanes but having done it a number of times I really wouldn’t recommend it, it’s a bit Death Race 2000 at the best of times.
The Spanish government and
The Spanish government and its citizens are showing some courage when the rest of the West are victimising the protesters and arming the IDF. Great to hear so many principal riders showing some solidarity with the protest.
The Spanish have form – No pasará
It’s “¡No pasarán!”.
It’s “¡No pasarán!”.
The Spanish have varied form, shall we say. Let’s not forget who said “¡No pasarán!”, and who actually won that war. And let’s not forget that southern Spain is one of Europe’s far-right strongholds.
But yes, long live peaceful protest against war crimes!
Let’s hope that Oscar Onley
Let’s hope that Oscar Onley doesn’t join INEOS. The team seems to be an elephants’ graveyard for young riders.
He is a promising talent and needs to join a team with top coaches / equipment etc, where he can develop. INEOS are not such a team.
Couldn’t agree more with you.
Couldn’t agree more with you.