Welcome to Wednesday on the road.cc live blog with Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Man drives lorry at cyclist, attempts to attack him with a weapon, comes off worse, GB’s Elinor Barker wins scratch race at track worlds, Cyclist scarpers from angry elephant, Live Zwift Racing, Sky team up with Garmin + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond
Wed, Feb 27, 2019 20:32
SUMMARY
27 February 2019, 20:32
Ben Swift discharged from hospital
Team Sky’s Ben Swift has been discharged from hospital a week after a training crash on Tenerife that left him with a ruptured spleen.
Some really good news. Had final scans today and have all come back good. Finally after a long week in hospital I have been discharged and will be on my way home tomorrow. Got to take my time but already excited to get back at it. Thank you everyone for the concern & well wishes
— Ben Swift (@swiftybswift) February 26, 2019
27 February 2019, 20:32
Like a weird cycling version of a Maypole...
World U23 and British Elite Cyclocross Champion Tom Pidcock has been taking his off-season training pretty easy with a few short laps around a tree.
Can any of you better the CX star for skillz?
27 February 2019, 20:32
Pro cyclists who throw water bottles away could be fined £750
Pro cyclist who throw away their water bottles now face a fine of as much as 1,000 Swiss Francs (£750) under new rules introduced by the UCI.
UCI commissaire Philippe Marien told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad: “Dropping a water bottle into the canal or leaving trash on the road is no longer acceptable in this day and age.
“We have to stop those riders who leave their garbage everywhere. We have to stop those who, just after they ride next to the team car, immediately throw their bottle in the air.”
“World Tour pros have an exemplary function. With higher fines, we want set standards and head in a responsible, ecological way.”
Three levels of fines will apply to riders who do not dispose of their bidons in designated zones – 200, 500 and 1,000 Swiss Francs (respectively £150, £375 and £750).
Marien added that the heaviest fines would be imposed on riders who throw their water bottles into the crowd, endangering people.
“A rider who throws a half-full or empty bidon, that is life-threatening. We do not want to see that anymore,” he said.
27 February 2019, 20:32
New Hexband is a light and tough lock claims its makers
Ottolock has launched its new Hexband lock which is intended to be lightweight and compact yet able to withstand “ shearing tools such as snips and cable cutters” which makes it a lock strong enough for quick stops, as only powered devices will cut through it.
That means it ‘should’ be okay for popping into the shops or cafe, when you might leave your bike for just a few minutes, or locking your bike to a car rack, rather than locked up outside the office or your house for hours.
The lock comes in three lengths with the 30in lock weighing a claimed 250g. It’s constructed by using six stainless steel band layers and wrapped in an internal Dupont Kevlar outer. It’s available in 18”, 30”, and 60” lengths and priced at $65, $75, and $95 MSRP respectively – we’re waiting on UK prices.
27 February 2019, 20:32
Grey the new black? Stunning Canyon TT bike
Black is SO boring! Could grey be a good replacement? It’s similarly stealthy and looks good on a modern aero bike like this Canyon Speedmax TT racer.
This is a custom painted bike by one a Canyon employee so no, you can’t buy it I’m afraid. Shame.
27 February 2019, 20:32
Specialized's feathery light new race shoes
In case you missed this news yesterday, Specialized launched its lightest and most expensive ever road cycling shoes.
We got our hands on the heavier and cheaper of the two models, the S-Works Exos (if £450 is cheap) and run through all the key details in this video.
27 February 2019, 20:32
Kennaugh hits back at UCI fines
Don’t forget taking away uci points, fine is one thing, penalising the way we race though.
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) February 27, 2019
Peter Kennaugh, the Bora Hansgrohe rider is responding to the UCI’s new fines which penalise riders for throwing their water bottles away. The UCI are also penalising riders that are late to sign-on, docking them UCI race points
The Manx rider has a valid point. Most bottles are collected by fans and used. We certainly have a fair few bottles!
27 February 2019, 20:32
Anyone bring a bucket and spade?
Vamos a la playa pic.twitter.com/62aXnXk7Kg
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) February 27, 2019
The wind is picking up over at the UAE Tour with echelons splitting the peloton and sand being blown across the road.
27 February 2019, 20:32
Josh Ibbett 3rd in 650 mile race
Josh Ibbett, Transcontinental winner, has just finished third in the unsupported non-stop 650 mile BikingMan Oman ultra-cycling race. Kudos Josh!
He rode the event on his Mason Cycles Definition with 50mm carbon Hunt wheels and WTB Exposure 30mm tyres, with Miss Grape bikepacking bags and rocking a SRAM Force 1 groupset.
27 February 2019, 20:32
Team Sky announce 'formal collaboration' with Garmin
Team Sky has agreed a partnership with @GarminFitness, a world-leader in GPS technology, for the 2019 season.
> https://t.co/QMkFkMfj7R pic.twitter.com/AIg9KO6JnC
— Team Sky (@TeamSky) February 27, 2019
Sky have been using Garmin headunits for years so this looks like it’s simply a case of Garmin agreeing to supply the computers rather than Sky buying them.
Of the deal, Team Principal, Sir Dave Brailsford said that “technology is key to successful performance and at Team Sky we are always looking for new ways to improve our training and in race experience with the best products.”
“Our coaches and riders know that in Garmin we have a best in class partner for our many different needs. We trust their products. They are reliable, intuitive and state of the art. But importantly we look for partners that will innovate to develop new tools and methods for the future. We think the potential is huge and that this exciting partnership opens up a new world of possibility for us to explore together.”
The team will be supplied with headunits from the Edge series and Varia RTL510 rearview radar for the riders training bikes.
But this could also be a way back into the pro ranks for Garmin who haven’t been a headline sponsor since the Garmin-Cervelo days.
We’ll keep our eyes on this one.
27 February 2019, 20:32
A cyclist in Thailand had to make a quick getaway when he was charged by an angry elephant, reports the Bangkok Times.
The incident, captured on the dash cam in the pick-up truck driven by the cyclist’s father, happened in Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park.
The rider, 20-year-old Nattawat Popwandeeruechakul, said: “Senior cyclists of the A2Bike team invited me to join them on a trip through Khao Yai. I had never been in Khao Yai, so I joined in.
“There were seven cyclists with two vehicles following us.
“I was concentrating on the tarmac when I heard heavy footsteps and felt the ground shake. I looked up, and was shocked by the sight of a wild elephant running toward me.”
Initially frozen with panic, he jumped off his bike, and running, carried it back to his father’s pick-up truck and jumped in the back.
The elephant – apparently called Yoyo and prone to fits of anger at tourists’ vehicles, but who has supposedly never hurt anyone – headed back into the jungle.
27 February 2019, 20:32
When your assignment is due but you still need to get your session in...
27 February 2019, 20:32
New massive shades alert - Oakley launch the Sutro
“Inspired by the daily life of urban cyclists”, so say Oakley, the new Sutro shades have a high-wrap that provides plenty of protection from the sun’s rays while enhancing vision with Oakley’s Prizm lens technology. They’re available now in numerous colours for £130 a pair, head over to Oakley’s website to take a look.
27 February 2019, 20:32
Man drives lorry at cyclist, attempts to attack him with a weapon, comes off worse...
This shocker of a clip from Singapore shows a cyclist in a confrontation with a lorry driver, before the lorry driver begins to aim his vehicle at him. Thankfully he missed, but then got out of the lorry armed with what looks to be a hammer. The cyclist proceeds to land a heavy blow, knocking the lorry driver to the floor, before riding off.
Since the clip was uploaded, it’s been reported in Channel News Asia that the 32-year-old driver has now been arrested, and could face up to six months in prison and/or a heavy fine for committing a rash act endangering the personal safety of others. The 55-year-old cyclist is co-operating with police, but could also be prosecuted for voluntarily causing hurt.
27 February 2019, 20:32
LIVE Zwift KISS Super League
Tonight sees round 6 of what is proving to be an immensely popular form of racing.
We’re not really sure about the tactics, but it’s interesting to see the numbers that the pros can churn out. Racing kicks off at 7pm UK time.
27 February 2019, 20:32
Barker Wins Scratch Race World Title
Elinor Barker took the rainbow bands ahead of the Netherlands rider Kirsten Wild.
Barker came from the back of the pack with 2 laps to go, avoiding a huge crash that took down half of the field.
It’s Barker’s fourth Elite World Championship title and one that was very convincing, with half a wheel over Wild.
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Latest Comments
Gm_Crop 3 hours ago
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
IanGlasgow 4 hours ago
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
Rendel Harris 5 hours ago
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Bill H 5 hours ago
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
pbunyon 5 hours ago
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
chrisonabike 6 hours ago
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
belugabob 6 hours ago
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
Astralstroll 8 hours ago
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
Mr Anderson 9 hours ago
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
MaxiMinimalist 10 hours ago
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
12 thoughts on “Live blog: Man drives lorry at cyclist, attempts to attack him with a weapon, comes off worse, GB’s Elinor Barker wins scratch race at track worlds, Cyclist scarpers from angry elephant, Live Zwift Racing, Sky team up with Garmin + more”
Without wishing to condone
Without wishing to condone littering, the UCI seems to be lodged firmly up its own rectum.
“A rider who throws a half-full or empty bidon, that is life-threatening.”
Remind me someone; how many people have been killed by a water bottle?
burtthebike wrote:
Whilst I agree the UCI are prioritising a fairly low risk problem and should be focussing on recycling zones etc than fines. To put it in context a half filled half litre bidon would weigh minimum 250g, a cricket ball only weighs about 155-160g,a golf ball only 45g, yet both have killed or caused serious injury, yes there’s more to it than just weight alone, but a thrown bidon does have the potential to cause injury to spectators and possibly death, what happens if it hits you,you stumble fall and your head hits the kerb, all spectators to wear helmets in future?
I don’t think the UCI should wait till something happens before doing anything about it,even if I disagree about the way they are going about it
Awavey wrote:
Without wishing to condone littering, the UCI seems to be lodged firmly up its own rectum.
“A rider who throws a half-full or empty bidon, that is life-threatening.”
Remind me someone; how many people have been killed by a water bottle?
— Awavey Whilst I agree the UCI are prioritising a fairly low risk problem and should be focussing on recycling zones etc than fines. To put it in context a half filled half litre bidon would weigh minimum 250g, a cricket ball only weighs about 155-160g,a golf ball only 45g, yet both have killed or caused serious injury, yes there’s more to it than just weight alone, but a thrown bidon does have the potential to cause injury to spectators and possibly death, what happens if it hits you,you stumble fall and your head hits the kerb, all spectators to wear helmets in future? I don’t think the UCI should wait till something happens before doing anything about it,even if I disagree about the way they are going about it— burtthebike
A cricket ball has a very hard exterior, a water bottle does not and is very squishable, even half full it’s not remotely like a cricket ball ffs! Having caught one under the chin in a limited overs match 30 years ago and lost a molar, I can tell you from experience I would rather have a pro cyclist launch a full bottle of water at me compared to a cricket ball at same speeds every single time!!
Your theory that a bidon could cause death is without proof and so far in the history of cycling has being proven to be without merit in terms of occurence.
In any case the riders usually throw them to the ground, I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone struck by a bottle in any fashion that would be considered dangerous, whilst I’ve no doubt it’s occured that someone has been hit a little bit hard, to fine for throwing away rather than throwing the bottle in a dangerous manner if it were full is absolutely ridiculous and massively OTT.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
I specifically said there was more to it than weight alone, it was to give context that just because you think something is small and doesnt weigh alot, actually small lightweight things can & do alot of harm in the right circumstances.
and its not a theory that people who get hit on the head can be injured, and injured in ways we cant necessarily reliably predict outcomes from, that might ultimately lead to their death.
Spectators at cycling races have certainly been involved in accidents with riders and there has been at least one death in the past decade that I recall,and one who ended up in a coma and was left potentially paralysed I think, fine you could argue in those cases they werent caused by the water bottles themselves, but weve seen crashes in rider groups caused by discarded water bottles, feed zones especially with riders taking sudden avoiding action, is it by luck or chance none of those crashes or avoidance ended up involving spectators.
so there is a risk however small and exceedingly rare that it might ever happen, just because it hasnt ever happened yet doesnt mean its something that cant or wont happen, and you dont wait till the unthinkable happens before you realise you need to do something about it.
as I said repeating myself, I dont agree with the method the UCI are using, but I do appreciate the reasons for it, even if others cant.
I’d always assumed that the
I’d always assumed that the race organisers, or the teams’ minions, collected those bottles…
Bidons made of biodegradable
Bidons made of biodegradable plastic are easily obtained. Doesn’t strike me as a littering problem to throw those about.
Gizzard wrote:
The small print validates they are biodegradable in a composting environment, so they would have to be gathered up and buried. The blurb confirms they are not affected by sunlight or heat and can be put in a dishwasher.
Chucking them into the verge is no better than standard bottles
Bidons made of biodegradable
Bidons made of biodegradable plastic are easily obtained. Doesn’t strike me as a littering problem to throw those about.
Pleased that they’re fining
Pleased that they’re fining for this (from memory they already fine for discarded arm warmers and rain jackets don’t they?)
Recall some head on shots from a TdF sprint stage last year where the teams lobbing bottles both sides of the road. And there were certainly cases last year of crashes in the peloton being caused by discarded bottle. Long overdue. Should also be applied to gel wrappers and so on. Sets the wrong example and rubbish generated by sportive riders around here is just one of the many things the anti-cycling nimbys moan about.
Quote:
Eh? I couldn’t be bothered to parse all that, and the page is similarly a mess of images and embedded video, in a different order to the headline. Personally, I much preferred it when you had one page per story.
Garmin?!
Garmin?!
…and there I was thinking Sky had enough crashes with G.
Kudos to the cyclist who
Kudos to the cyclist who decked the lorry driver! What a cool customer. Very reserved, under the circumstances. Surely nobody in their right mind would charge the cyclist for what was so obviously self defence.