Welcome to Monday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Wiggins: Froome “couldn’t scratch his arse” before 2012 TdF, 2016 TdF stage winner Jarlinson Pantano tests positive for EPO, Paris-Roubaix round-up on-bike footage and Sussex 11-year-old from Sussex who rode Saturday’s sportive + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond and we start a new week.
Mon, Apr 15, 2019 16:28
SUMMARY
15 April 2019, 16:28
Weekend catch-up
ICYMI, here are some of our top stories from the weekend:
– Campaigners in Cambridge ride for Space for Cycling ahead of local elections
– Philippe Gilbert wins Paris-Roubaix (+ video highlights)
– Jeremy Clarkson lost two stone by cycling
– 11 ways the pros prepare for Paris-Roubaix
15 April 2019, 16:28
The cycle paths that encourages you to sing
It is estimated that 75% of Dutch people sometimes sing while cycling, so they have created designated cycling paths where you are encouraged to sing aloud. (h/t @BicycleDutch.) pic.twitter.com/ugbe0XrDuG
— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) April 14, 2019
Apparently it’s a thing in the Netherlands!
15 April 2019, 16:28
Elation from Philippe Gilbert as he clinches his fourth monument
True emotions… This is #TheWolfpack pic.twitter.com/viDFZy7U1E
— PHILIPPE GILBERT (@PhilippeGilbert) April 14, 2019
Gilbert is seen in tears after winning Paris-Roubaix yesterday, and is embraced by team manager Patrick Lefévère as he comes to a stop on the famous velodrome. Full report on yesterday’s epic here.
15 April 2019, 16:28
On-bike footage/carnage from Paris-Roubaix
The folks at Velon managed to edit together plenty of carnage just a few hours after the finish – check out the madness and Gilbert’s victory from another perspective…
15 April 2019, 16:28
Evaldas Siskevicius has ride of his life to finish 9th in 2019 Paris-Roubaix... a year after arriving at the finish to find velodrome doors closed
One of those stories we all love. Last year, he arrived last and found the Roubaix Velodrome’s gates closed. Today, he arrived 9th. Chapeau, Edvaldas Siskevicius! Gotta love pro cycling! #ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/ggejwvyrF3
— Mihai Cazacu (@faustocoppi60) April 14, 2019
You may remember the Lithuanian rider’s story of stubbornness from last year, in which he battled through exhaustion and a puncture 30km from the finish only to ignore the motorbike sweeper and continue on out of pure determination and respect for the race. Siskevicius found security had already closed the gates to the velodrome that Peter Sagan had rode through to claim victory over an hour before, and had to sneak in to cross the finish line.
A year on, and Siskevicius had the absolute ride of his life to record a top ten finish on the Hell of the North. Hard work pays off, chapeau that man.
*Edit* They do say if it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen, and luckily for us Siskevicius has already uploaded his epic ride from yesterday! Link here with all the juicy data.
15 April 2019, 16:28
11-year-old Ventoux and Stelvio-conquering Alfie Earl becomes youngest to complete Paris-Roubaix Sportive
The intrepid youngster finished the 145km epic over the famous cobbles on Saturday, gaining special permission to ride as the usual minimum age for the event is 18. He completed the course in just over seven hours. He said: “I’m really proud to have done Paris-Roubaix, it was a brutal but an amazing experience. The Arenberg was horrible but after that I got more used to the cobbles and my BMX’ing came in handy as I could bunneyhop into the gutters! Lots of people were encouraging me and I got lots of high fives along the way.”
Aged just nine Alfie, who attends the The Weald School in Billingshurst, West Sussex, climbed the Ventoux and Stelvio inside 48 hours. He also conquered the Col du Galibier a few months later.
15 April 2019, 16:28
Wiggins: Froome “couldn’t scratch his arse” before 2012 Tour de France
Remember Chris Froome saying on Nico Rosberg’s Beyond Victory podcast last week that he had issues trusting Bradley Wiggins at the 2012 Tour de France because of the previous year’s Vuelta, where he had to follow team orders and surrender the leader’s jersey to Wiggins, only to prove the stronger of the two Team Sky riders during the third and final week of the race, finishing second with his team-mate in third?
Well, it was bound to provoke a reaction from Wiggins, and so it proved in the latest episode of his Eurosport podcast, The Bradley Wiggins Show, when he said that Froome – who finished runner-up as his team leader became the first Briton to win the yellow jersey – “couldn’t scratch his arse” before the 2012 Tour de France.
You can listen to the full segment here.
15 April 2019, 16:28
Game of Thrones Olympics
When the world seems to be talking about something else, we always try to bodge in a cycling reference… and this time we thank The Humour Feed for sharing this gallery (original credit unknown) in which Bronn from Game of Thrones starts in the men’s Olympic Road Race (photo 14).
15 April 2019, 16:28
Another cycling and walking paradise in London thanks to an unlikely source
#ExtinctionRebellion have just blocked Waterloo Bridge to traffic. Still open to pedestrians and cyclists [ro] pic.twitter.com/RrJ3DnArAh
— BBC London Travel (@BBCTravelAlert) April 15, 2019
Last week Hammersmith Bridge was shut indefinitely to motor traffic thanks to the lack of money the council had to fix it, and this week the Extinct Rebellion climate change action group are responsible for closing off Waterloo bridge. They’ve started putting trees and potted house plants up to ensure the road remains blocked off for the foreseeable…
15 April 2019, 16:28
Tour de France stage winner Jarlinson Pantano tests positive for EPO
Colombian cyclist Jarlinson Pantano, who won a Tour de France stage in 2016 when he was with the IAM Cycling team, has tested positive for EPO, the UCI has confirmed.
World cycling’s governing body said that the rider was targeted for testing by the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation.
It added: “The rider has the right to request and attend the analysis of the B sample.
“In accordance with UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the rider has been provisionally suspended until the adjudication of the affair.
“At this stage of the procedure, the UCI will not comment any further on this matter.”
The 30-year-old’s current team, Trek Segafredo, said: “It is with deep disappointment that we have just learned that our rider, Jarlinson Pantano, has been notified of an adverse analytical finding in a sample collected during an out of competition control carried out by the Cycling Antidoping Foundation.
“In accordance with our zero-tolerance policy, he has been suspended immediately.
“We hold our riders and staff to the highest ethical standards and will act and communicate accordingly as more details become available,” it added.
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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
Blackthorne83 23 minutes ago
Hey, but their wool blend cycling adjacent t-shirts are/were fantastic.
RoadYeti 1 hour ago
@Surreyrider Still the boss. Ride one, you'll see why
chrisonabike 5 hours ago
@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
chrisonabike 5 hours ago
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
mikecassie 5 hours ago
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
ktache 6 hours ago
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option...
Rendel Harris 6 hours ago
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn't have a kind mate's login that's what I'd do!
ktache 7 hours ago
So, it's now the month of July and I'm going to have to pay to watch the TdF, for one month only. On a tablet unfortunately, as I didn't manage to get a laptop to rig up to the TV, grrr. Just wondering, what package will I have to fork out for? Not wanting to pay for the wrong one...
Rendel Harris 8 hours ago
Not that it sounds like a dealbreaker given the other faults you've identified, but that cable isn't really a "proprietary" cable, four pin magnetic cables like that are quite common on bone-conducting headphones and other devices (my inexpensive smartwatch uses one) and they can be had for £4.99 on UK Amazon.
4 thoughts on “Live blog: Wiggins: Froome “couldn’t scratch his arse” before 2012 TdF, 2016 TdF stage winner Jarlinson Pantano tests positive for EPO, Paris-Roubaix round-up on-bike footage and Sussex 11-year-old from Sussex who rode Saturday’s sportive + more”
Someday, someone, somewhere
Someday, someone, somewhere when Froome nears retirement will make a documentary on Froome, I fear they will struggle to keep it serious.. he’s given us so many larfs through the years what with his overgrown baby head, crashing into an official literally off the ramp in his TdF debut, running up Mont Ventoux, silly elbows and stem watching.. Bradley’s probably right.
I tip my POV visor to both
I tip my POV visor to both Edvaldas Siskevicius and Alfie Earl, inspiring stories both.
Pantani guilty of drug taking
Pantani guilty of drug taking. It was inevitable he would be caught. What… not Pantini?
Obviously this report
Obviously this report sensationalises it, Wiggins comments were pretty measured.
1: The point before which Wiggins said Chris Froome “couldn’t scratch his arse” was the 2011 Vuelta – I doubt many would disagree.
2: Wiggins points out that before the 2012 tour he hadn’t failed to win a race he targeted in 2012, didn’t loose a single long time trial, he won the TdF by 3 minutes or Froome.
3: He was actually pretty complimentary to Froome in the segment describing him as the best rider of his generation and his favourite for 2019 victory.
Basically Froome was showing off, he couldn’t have taken 3 minutes out of a better timetrialist in around 1000m of riding.
But the showing off worked and the rest is history.