Welcome to Monday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Tour of Flanders – Happiest ever post-race interview, Flanders – epic win behind the scenes vid trailed; Flanders – van der Poel’s bike, Flanders – Strava; Sir Chris Hoy’s “Code Brown” 100mph crash; “Mo Salah” on his bike + much more
All today’s news from the site and beyond as we start a new week…
Mon, Apr 08, 2019 15:40
SUMMARY
8 April 2019, 15:40
Weekend catch-up (in case you missed it)... Alberto Bettiol takes shock win at Tour of Flanders
The 25-year-old EF Education First rider pulled off a surprise win at the Tour of Flanders yesterday. He attacked a strong group containing several of the pre-race favourites on the Oude Kwaremont, the last but one of the day’s cobbled climbs. Full report here.
8 April 2019, 15:40
ICYMI - What they don’t tell you about commuting
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Commuting to your place of work or study is immensely satisfying and there are lots of positives, from the obvious health benefits to beating public transport delays and queues and the freedom it provides… but we have a few bugbears, and it turns out from the comments section that you all do too! Read our round-up of commuting gripes here.
8 April 2019, 15:40
ICYMI - Stealthy assisted speed: e-bikes that look like road bikes
Want the boost without the bulk? E-bikes are getting lighter and stealthier, with a whole new generation of drop-bar machines being launched recently that are now barely distinguishable from conventional road bikes. Here’s a round-up of some of the best.
8 April 2019, 15:40
ICYMI - ‘Is cycling ban just a money-making exercise?’ asks man fined for cycling in Peterborough
A Peterborough man who was handed an on-the-spot £80 fine for riding his bike at walking pace while carrying his two-year-old daughter has asked why officers cannot use their discretion when handing out fixed penalty notices. The enforcement firm patrolling the area covered by the city’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) keeps the money it collects as part of its contract with the city council. Full story here.
8 April 2019, 15:40
Tour of Flanders - Sagan disappointed to finish outside top 10
Thanks @BORAhansgrohe mates for your superb work today and thanks @RondeVlaanderen for the great race and amazing crowds. Unfortunately, in the final kilometers, I didn’t have the legs to go for the attack and the sprint. https://t.co/hx3rbYnMvP
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) April 7, 2019
The former world champ was down on his performances from previous years, finishing 11th. We’re sure he’ll be back with a bang soon enough…
8 April 2019, 15:40
London's Ultra Low Emission Zone, the world's first to be enforced 24 hours a day, launched this morning
‘Because you can’t see it, you don’t know how bad it is.’
Sadiq Khan defends new laws which will cost drivers of older cars £12.50 to drive into central London. It’s hoped this will improve the city’s air quality and reduce air pollution-related health issues and deaths. pic.twitter.com/Dmd25L1kQV
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 8, 2019
According to London Mayor Sadiq Khan almost 1,000 people a year in London are hospitalised with asthma caused by pollution – and he has said this morning that the new Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, is part of the solution. The charge will be £12.50 a day to drive into central London, and all diesel vehicles plus most cars that are over 14 years old will be liable to pay. In more good news for cyclists and pedestrians, Transport for London also predict that traffic will be cut by 5% in Central London.
It won’t improve air quality.
Just another cash cow.
The big trucks still need to make their deliveries to sustain dense populations such as cities…— Robert Lofthouse (@author_rob_76) April 8, 2019
The charge has been called a ‘tax on the poor’ by some, and a notable exception are London Black Cabs – Uber and other private hire firms will have to pay. Do you think ULEZ is fair, or other the other hand, does it not go far enough? Let us know your thoughts in the comments…
8 April 2019, 15:40
Flanders - a few pics from the day
The photo above is the women’s podium Marta Bastianelli was the winner) and below you’ll see Peter Sagan and Alejandro Valverde sizing each other up onthe start line, and Alberto Bettiol crossing the finish line (featuring photobombing elder gentleman).
8 April 2019, 15:40
Flanders - Strava data starting to come through
The highest-placed finisher we’ve found who has uploaded their ride so far is 10th-placed Greg Van Avermaet, and it gives some idea of the brutality of the day’s racing – 276km, 42.3km/h and 2,100 metres of climbing. Other notable uploads so far are Wout van Aert, Michael Valgren (who titled the upload ‘worst legs ever’ after a disappointing ride), and Tim Declercq.
8 April 2019, 15:40
The bike Mathieu van der Poel rode to fourth place at the Tour of Flanders
The 24-year-old didn’t quite manage to replicate his dad Adri’s achievements in Flanders 33 years ago, but still placed an impressive fourth on the cobbles in his first season racing classics at senior level. Shared by Canyon on their Facebook page, here is the bike he rode on the day in more detail…
The Canyon Aeroad is dressed with a full Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and Dura-Ace R9170 C60 carbon disc brake wheels. On those wheels, van der Poel is running Vittoria’s new Corsa tyres with their Graphene 2.0 compound, in a 28mm width for some extra cushion over the cobbles. We’re not 100% sure if they’re the new tubeless versions (you can read about them here) or tubulars as favoured by most of the pro peloton – confirmation coming soon hopefully.
Canyon have also paid tribute to van der Poel’s 2018 Dutch national championship win, and the colours of the Netherlands flag adorns the seatstays and fork.
8 April 2019, 15:40
ULEZ and clean air - opinions from around the Twittersphere
Ultra-Low Emission Zone #ULEZ begins today. It’ll help reduce lethal & illegal levels of air pollution in central London by targeting most polluting vehicles. We look forward to seeing positive impact extended across rest of London soon. #LetLondonBreathe https://t.co/yQTMGN6Z2M pic.twitter.com/kb6c7RxQSU
— LdnCyclingCampaign (@london_cycling) April 8, 2019
Despite some opposition to its implementation (perceived lack of help for small businesses and the fact that black cabs are exempt, to give two instances) generally London’s new Ultra Low Emission Zone has had plenty of positive reaction so far.
“We’re really keen to put #cycling at the heart of the ongoing transformation of London Bridge as a transport hub and a place for modern commerce.”
– Jack Skillen, Director of Team London Bridge https://t.co/hwg3OUTFEZ @TeamLondonBdg #bikesforbusinesses #ULEZ #mobility
— Cities Today (@Cities_Today) April 8, 2019
Cycling in Haringey this morning with the kids was a dream…it was calm, we didn’t get stuck in traffic, and the air actually felt less gross than normal! A beautiful mix of first day of the Easter holidays and the Ulez I reckon. Just imagining if it was like this every day! pic.twitter.com/bEJbDahLN4
— Catherine Kenyon (@cmdkenyon) April 8, 2019
8 April 2019, 15:40
'Mo Salah' cycling home from the game
We’re not sure how or why this happened, but anyway here’s someone who looks a lot like Mo Salah cycling pushing a bike down a path after Liverpool’s game against Southhampton…
8 April 2019, 15:40
"A happy dead fish": third-placed Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig sums up Flanders in epic post-race interview
@CUttrupLudwig gives you insight in the #RVVWomen finale as only she can do. Sit back and enjoy … #RVV19 #UCIWWT @BiglaTeam @UCI_WWT #onehappydeadfish pic.twitter.com/h8MzxjqHGw
— Ronde Van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) April 7, 2019
The Team Bigla Pro Cycling rider, who finished third in the Tour of Flanders women’s race, gave a highly entertaining interview complete with blue language, questionable idioms, screaming and gusto that Brian Blessed would be proud of (watch it above). We’d be in favour of every pro cycling race ending with a Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig summary, and hopefully a career in commentary awaits!
8 April 2019, 15:40
"Code Brown" - Sir Chris Hoy exits Silverstone track at 100mph
Sir Chris Hoy had what he euphemistically referred to as a “Code Brown” while racing a Caterham 7 single-seat car at Silverstone at the weekend – exiting the track at 100mph thanks to a jammed throttle on the fastest corner of the Northamptonshire motor racing venue.
Among those commenting on the six-time Oympic champion track cyclist’s post on Instagram was fellow Scot Craig MacLean, who won silver alongside Hoy in the team sprint at Sydney in 2000, who simply said, “Crash. Bang. Wallop.”
8 April 2019, 15:40
EF Education First trail behind-the-scenes Flanders video
It’s always a bonus when a team whose rider has won a big race has a film crew documenting it from the inside – and we can’t wait for the full version of EF Education First’s behind the scenes video of Alberto Bettiol’s victory at the Tour of Flanders yesterday.
Judging by the trailer, it’s going to be a cracker.
“Man, I can tell you they were the longest 14 kilometres of my life.”@AlbertoBettiol, take a bow. pic.twitter.com/e6OWGg4NwY
— Rapha (@rapha) April 8, 2019
8 April 2019, 15:40
When you're channeling your inner Magneto at the TT starting ramp ...
Rik Verbrugghe … or Sir Ian McKellen?
8 April 2019, 15:40
Tour de Yorkshire gets official airport
What’s that screeching sound?
Don’t worry it’s just the Tour de Yorkshire pre-race publicity barrel getting a good hard scrape to deliver today’s news that the race has announced the Official Airport for this year’s event… yes, it’s Leeds Bradford (but you’d already guessed that) I suppose Humberside could have been in the running. For our money at least stand out line from the press release has to be from Leeds Bradford Airport Chief executive, David Laws who said:
“We are incredibly proud of our Yorkshire roots and are delighted to now be part of such an exciting legacy.”
It’s the ‘roots’ bit… but you’d probably guessed that too.
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Jack is group editor across road.cc, off.road.cc and ebiketips, overseeing all three sites in the F-At Digital group to make sure everything’s up to scratch. He’s been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of road.cc including tech, news and video, and also contributed to ebiketips before being named editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town, and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism, and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it’s a long story).
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Latest Comments
mdavidford 2 hours ago
@Chris RideFar I think what you meant to say was "REMOVE this and put it on PODCAST CC".
jaymack 3 hours ago
As Mary Whitehouse never said - one doesn't have to read the article if one doesn't want to read about an off-road bicycle.
Rendel Harris 4 hours ago
@FionaJJ In London they're allowed to stop on single and double yellows to deliver packages or empty pillar boxes; in practice they take this as carte blanche to park wherever and whenever they want, such as this chap on the Brixton Road who pulled into the bus/cycle/motorcycle lane without indicating, as I approached at 20mph, to park on a red route, response to a remonstrance, "I suppose you never get post delivered do ya?"
FionaJJ 4 hours ago
@Rendel Harris We have a pavement parking ban, but around here at least, royal mail vans are already exempt, subject to certain caveats, such as allowing at least 1.5m, and only being stopped to do their work.
FionaJJ 4 hours ago
It was already embarrassing for the police that they made such a mess of their attempt to determine whether a bike was legal or not, but I had assumed it was a group of well intentioned, but under-trained officers acting on their own initiative, having spotted something they thought looked not quite right. I'm now discovering this was a planned activity, something sufficiently organised to have been given a name - Operation FRISLEN, designed specifically to identify and remove illegal e-bikes and scooters. It's apparent that the officers were sent out without adequate training, never mind the kind of equipment that should be used for this sort of work. I'm not saying they always need specialist equipment to spot all illegal bikes, but at least if they'd been given a demonstration with that equipment, they'd have realised why their approach was not going to end well.
Geoff Ingram 7 hours ago
Have put drop bars on a 2001 B1 mtb, a 2007 stumpy hardtail and a 2010 stumpy full suss. In all cases fairly basic conversións leaving gearing and wheels broadly the same and concentrating on correct positioning of bars and fit. Oddly, with all 3 I was happy with the result when recently done, but after a few months found that the extra speed on easy trails was more than offset by the lack of ability (probably mine) on tougher routes and finally preferred flat bar with slammed and inverted stem as best overall compromise. Good fun playing around, though.
mark1a 7 hours ago
The photos in this review look they are for a different bag?
mattw 8 hours ago
This is a strange reactionary knee jerk overall. But what is this "are essentially motorbikes in disguise" waffle? "One letter claimed that high-powered electric ‘e-bikes’ were “essentially motorbikes” in disguise, with many being used without lights, helmets, or any hi-vis clothing." Surely, they simply ARE motorbikes?
bikes 8 hours ago
I only watched the last one, that's enough for me! A punishment pass and a clueless passenger. Did you op snap that one?
bikes 9 hours ago
I don't love the motorway comment. What if they're miles from a motorway? The get in the cycle lane comment is born out of ignorance from people who never cycle. I would just tell them the reason: It's full of broken glass, wet leaves, etc. I'm turning right. I'd have to keep stopping and then rejoining the road. I'd have to keep giving way. It's full of pedestrians. Etc. Or simply ask if they have tried it and leave it at that.
13 thoughts on “Live blog: Tour of Flanders – Happiest ever post-race interview, Flanders – epic win behind the scenes vid trailed; Flanders – van der Poel’s bike, Flanders – Strava; Sir Chris Hoy’s “Code Brown” 100mph crash; “Mo Salah” on his bike + much more”
The post race interview from
The post race interview from Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig who came in at 3rd place at Flanders is the best thing you’ll see today. She’s ace.
peted76 wrote:
Jack Sexty wrote:
The post race interview from Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig who came in at 3rd place at Flanders is the best thing you’ll see today. She’s ace.
That is great, she needs to do some race commentating too!
— Jack Sexty— peted76
….and my new fav meme https://twitter.com/Andymcgra/status/1115178615816192000
Predictably, the comments on
Predictably, the comments on the rightard media articles (London Evening Standard being the one I just read) are calling it a ‘stealth tax’. Yeah, it’s so fucking ‘stealthy’ that those signs up next to the road are made especially small, just so that you can’t see them.
Fucking self-entitled wankers.
I see that black cabs are exempt, of course. The vermin of the road would have brought London to a standstill if they’d been forced to pay this.
I never understand why taxis
I never understand why taxis are exempt from any traffic measures. The council here have a number of bus/cycle lanes to encourage people to get out of their cars…and yet taxis are also allowed which seems to just say “get out of your car…and into someone else’s”! Thing is, for most rides in a taxi, the journey is double because the taxi has to return from where it started so they are less green than someone actually using their own car. Bonkers. I know the obvious (or urban myth) answer is “kickbacks to local councillors” but that can’t be true, surely??? Am I missing something about the benefits to the environment/city centres about taxis??
Bobbinogs wrote:
In London at least, there are two reasons. The first is one to which you allude in your original question, and it is a fact that MPs and Lords use taxis to get around the city. This is why they are allowed to use bus lanes.
The second is that black cab drivers are spoiled, petulant little cockroaches who would block roads all over the city (whilst complaining with a straight face about how cyclists ’cause congestion’) if they were not granted special privileges to go into the ‘ULEZ’.
£12.50?
£12.50?
Which of MvdP’s Aeroads are
Which of MvdP’s Aeroads are the photos of? The one he finished the race with or the one with the broken steerer tube?
Whilst I agree with this, and
Whilst I agree with this, and with it’s expansion plan, and I think that they should have enlarged the congestion zone, but this is not an Ultra Low Emmision Zone (ULEZ), as this would mean actually banning the most polluting vehicles, what it is is a pollution charging zone. There is a difference.
Does anyone, off hand, know whether LPG vehicles come into this, I understand that they are a bit cleaner?
I do wish that black cabs would occasionally have their dirty engines turned off when waiting in their ranks. Thay can be truely rank.
ktache wrote:
A very good point. It’s still okay to pollute, you just have to pay a bit for it.
So who’s going to be
So who’s going to be benefitting from the pollution charges?
It’s a sad state of affairs when the proletariat is charged excessive taxes (e.g. VAT) and then it’s used to subsidise fossil fuels (see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/23/uk-has-biggest-fossil-fuel-subsidies-in-the-eu-finds-commission) for the benefit of the bourgoisie.
It’s now gotten so bad that petrol stations include actual breathing stations for their customers!
You have to have a little
You have to have a little sympathy for the people who live in that area, or just outside. They are priced off the road so Oligarchs, MPs and Bankers can come and go as they please. Because as we know, it isn’t the ones with the deep pockets who get effected by these charges. But at least it means there are swarms of lycra clad baristas descending on central London every day, so they can’t argue against good bike infrastucture.
It’s a meaningless comparison
It’s a meaningless comparison, but this is still pretty galling
“He said the tax not collected was “about twice as much as we spend on all NHS nurses and doctors each year”.”