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
Gm_Crop 33 minutes 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 37 minutes 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 2 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 2 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 2 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 3 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 3 hours ago
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
Astralstroll 5 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 6 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 7 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.
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.