Live blog: Police fire off a letter after viewing footage of horrific hit and run on cyclist; Mail presents cyclist fatalities as ‘cyclists killing more people’; Brailsford talks down scale of Ineos protests at Tour de Yorkshire + more
SUMMARY
Brailsford talks down scale of Ineos protests at Tour de Yorkshire
We reported on some of the protests against fracking and Team Ineos in yesterday’s live blog, but speaking at the stage finish in Selby, Sir Dave Brailsford was keen to play down the number of activists.
“I had to hunt them down first because I couldn’t find them,” he told Cyclingnews.
“There was hardly anybody there, let’s be honest – let’s be real for once. The 15,000-mob that was to attack me this morning didn’t really materialise. That’s the reality. There were people there with the right to an opinion and I respect that but they’ve got a right to their opinion and that’s it.”
Many have questioned the wisdom of launching Team Ineos in Yorkshire, where the sponsor holds licences to carry out fracking, but Brailsford was comfortable with the decision.
“If we’d had any concerns about launching in Yorkshire we wouldn’t have done it. We were right not to have any concerns because there are people here and they’re enjoying it. Let’s report that.”
Referring to the hordes of cycling fans at the finish, he said: “You might have people with flags but what about these people here? Does their opinion matter any less? No it doesn’t.”
Somewhat labouring the point, he continued: “If you have a balance, I can see here now way more people than had flags. That’s just true. That’s facts and evidence. If you count the number of people here and the people with flags this morning… How many were there? Twenty? And how many here? There are more, aren’t there?”
“Cyclists kill more people than motorists in Holland” says Daily Mail in elite-level victim-blaming headline
Another day, another wilfully skewed Daily Mail cycling headline. “Cyclists kill more people than motorists in Holland for the first time in the bicycle-loving country’s history,” reads today’s.
The article begins: “Cyclists have claimed more lives than motorists in Holland for the first time in the nation’s history, shocking new figures show. Between 2017 and 2018, 206 people were killed in bicycle accidents compared to 201 by cars, according to Statistics Netherlands.”
Ah, now the picture grows clearer. The lives being claimed by these cyclists are, almost exclusively, their own – and in fact, there’s nothing to say that they were even responsible.
What these figures actually show is that more Dutch cyclists are being killed than motorists. In the Mail’s world by ‘being killed’ cyclists are ‘killing people’.
The “new” figures actually came out over a year ago. Here’s our report.
Well at least someone's looking on the bright side
So much support already for the new team!!! People have put so much effort into making banners and masks. I heard one man say “it’s fracking marvellous”. Not sure the swearing was necessary but I share the sentiment!!
— UK Cycling Expert (@ukcyclingexpert) May 2, 2019
Another fine observation from UK Cycling Expert. Chateau!
ICYMI... what a shot this is
Proper @letouryorkshire #photography alert @TeamDiData rider Nicholas Dlamini #TeamSWpix @_AlexBroadway_ follow the race all on https://t.co/pZvqP4zLef pic.twitter.com/7TvU8JfmnC
— simon wilkinson (@swpixtweets) May 2, 2019
All credit to Simon Wilkinson of SWpix… photo of the year so far without a doubt.
7 hill climbs in one day....no thanks!
Take a look at this great video showing the insanity of this part race, part sportive event known at the Magnificent 7.
Tour de Yorkshire stage ends...
It was a stage for the sprinters and, unlike their male counterparts in yesterday’s TDY stage, the peloton refused to let the break steal the limelight and a bunch sprint saw Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg CT) cross the line first.https://t.co/R7mLnrxcyj
#WTDY pic.twitter.com/HAA0jDzhor
— Tour de Yorkshire (@letouryorkshire) May 3, 2019
... and another begins
They’re off! Stage two gets underway from Barnsley, see you in Bedale… #TDY pic.twitter.com/ZePEQCWvqw
— Tour de Yorkshire (@letouryorkshire) May 3, 2019
Most parents think learning to ride a bike is ‘a vital life skill’ yet just two per cent of journeys are made by bike
Bit of a disconnect.
DT Swiss reveals Ratchet EXP hub system
DT Swiss has released details of its new Ratchet EXP system (top pic, above) which is said to be lighter, stiffer and more precise than its existing Ratchet system (lower pic, above).
DT Swiss’s freewheel system has long made use of two ratchets featuring various numbers of teeth (18, 36 and 54-tooth versions). Two springs push the ratchets against one another so that all the teeth engage when you pedal, while the teeth move apart when you’re coasting.
The new Ratchet EXP system is based on a similar concept but one of the ratchets is now threaded into the hub shell. A single spring pushes the second ratchet into the first one so that the teeth engage when you pedal.
DT Swiss says that reducing the number of components not only increases durability, it reduces the overall weight, improves reliability and stiffens up the system.
“A single cylindrical spring ensures a faster full engagement and therefore an increase in reliability,” says DT Swiss.
“The hub stiffness is significantly defined by the distance between the bearings. For optimal performance it is important to maximise this distance, which is limited by the size of the freehub system.
“In the previous system the driveside bearing had to be placed next to the threaded ring and therefore the distance couldn’t be increased. The integration of the driveside bearing into the threaded ring increases the bearing distance, resulting in a 15% improvement in hub stiffness.”
All DT Swiss Ratchet system hubs can be converted to Ratchet EXP.
Ratchet EXP will at first come only in DT Swiss’s 180 hubs although you can expect it to make an appearance elsewhere in the range sooner or later.
They ain’t cheap, though. We don’t have UK prices yet but whether you go for a disc or a non-disc version, a road front hub with SINC Ceramic bearings is €261.90 while the rear is €486.90. You can have a Shimano 11-speed, SRAM XRD or Campag freehub body.
Met Police leaps into action after viewing footage of horrific hit and run on cyclist…
Yesterday we reported how hit and run victim Thonmoy Josh Dey was asked by police to go and get the CCTV footage of the collision himself.
Understandably, he said he made it his first priority once he got out of hospital.
Thankfully, the Met have really leapt into action since viewing that footage…
The police have leapt into action here by urgently sending a letter to the address the car is registered at, and then waiting to see if they get a reply https://t.co/RjzgMA76mk
— Mark Treasure (@AsEasyAsRiding) May 2, 2019
Ex-Premier League star laid low after four Ironman triathlons in four days
Francis Benali still hoping to restart his charity challenge tomorrow.
Fresh from Bespoked Bristol
Here are some eye-candy bikes to see you through the rest of Friday afternoon.
Wooden bike anyone?
This one has even got dropouts made from old Audi wheels…
Audi driver jokes in the comments, please!
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Latest Comments
Interesting counterpoint to the 'hire bike menace' narrative (obviously with the caveat that the report authors have a vested interest in selling the benefits, but...) Appears hire bike schemes go some way to addressing the cycling gender imbalance and, given the point about parking immediately outside the destination, dockless schemes particularly so. https://micromobilitybiz.com/forest-report-finds-shared-e-bikes-are-helping-close-london-cycling-gender-gap/
@chrisonabike True, things went back to normal once the pandemic was over. In this case, however the problems are still ongoing, and aren't likely to be resolved in the near future. If anything, they're going to get worse. Food shortages are predicted because of the effect that the heatwave has had on crops. This is bound to push prices up. The Straits of Hormuz aren't likely to reopen anytime soon and the strategic oil reserves are running low. Russia is having to import petrol because its own refineries have been badly hit, so that's even more competition for an even more scarce resource. I think that more and more people are going to see cycling as a way of cutting household bills.
I think if "grown up" cyclists * are quibbling about ASLs we've very much missed the road safety point anyway. (Not to mention the wider "better transport choices" picture). ASLs are poor-to-useless "cycling infra", even for their design intent. If the idea is "for less confident cyclists" then a design that requires that you re-position in front of the motor traffic - waiting to accelerate - seems unhelpful. Of course they're only designed to help when traffic is stopped, and you can reach the front in time and if vehicles aren't already occupying them. As we're noting here drivers frequently ignore them - whether that be deliberate, a lack of road craft, because they were concentrating on following the vehicle in front, or because the paint has rubbed off. * Aside: shouldn't cycling also be safe and accessible for kids? Or should they only be allowed to do this when accompanied by sufficient qualified adults? Or be limited to parks and otherwise being driven around by their carers? Perhaps there is another way...?
Hi Bungle, I saw you follow-up comment. I can't imaging there's a tolerance of 4 seconds on camera enforced lights, seems an odd decision - an offence is committed if a vehicle starts crossing on a red, any tolerance is discretionary. There does seem to be some odd thinking about 'advanced stop lines' where the rules relating to them are identical to a regular stop line, as explained correctly elsewhere in the Highway Code. It does seem a regular offence. Where I live it doesn't help that some of them are very faint and disappear in rain.
@ktache Not sure he's totally ruled out of the worlds yet (though I think it would be best if he doesn't), normal recovery time is about eight weeks but surgery can halve that...depending on the nature of the break he could be just about fit to ride by the time of the elite men's race, but he'll have missed a lot of training. Hopefully his managers and team will persuade him to wait until Lombardia, if not just to knock it off for the rest of the year.
@Bungle_52 The Met told me a couple of years ago when rejecting a submission that they needed a clear three seconds of red visible before they would consider it for an RLJ prosecution. I pointed out to them that this meant that at 30 mph a driver could see a light change to red from 40 metres away and still get through without sanction, or 55 m if they accelerated to 40 as most do. They just replied "them's our rules..."
@Ben Graham I have just checked the footage from my report. The driver crosses the 1st stop line 4 seconds after the light turns red. All on camera from behind the vehicle. No further action. So I assume the margin is at least 4 seconds.
Oh, and active travel funding per head (in England at least) is laughable compared to other places. Plus it is delivered intermittently. It's more like a Blue Peter contest...
Yup, I see those opportunities being missed all the time in Edinburgh. When it gets really bad, dig it all up and put it back down again how it was. Contrast with what seems to happen in NL - when things are dug up the whole thing seems to get a "let's redo this according to the current standards" treatment. They even coordinate with the utilities, so that after a refurb the street isn't immediately dug up again because of leaking pipes / we suddenly realised the new estate being planned for round the corner will want broadband etc. Pros and cons of course - you may wait longer there for changes as smaller changes may be deferred until a major redo is due. (Though in the UK case you likely wouldn't get them at all...) It seems we "can't have nice things" in the UK in part because a) we have greater motor traffic speeds/volumes spead across "streets" / within urban areas b) the funding and organisational responsibility differs. Are we in the "Sam Vimes boots" territory (being too poor to afford better products which not only save money over time but actually work)? There is long term money pressure on LAs and it seems that due to poor construction and maintenance we have to regularly pour money into (pot-)holes in the road. And it seems there's no budget to check up on or enforce adequate standards from utilities work or even private building.
Shame about the world champs defence. Speedy recovery. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/30/tadej-pogacar-vuelta-a-espana-cycling-crash-hospital-stage-nine
29 thoughts on “Live blog: Police fire off a letter after viewing footage of horrific hit and run on cyclist; Mail presents cyclist fatalities as ‘cyclists killing more people’; Brailsford talks down scale of Ineos protests at Tour de Yorkshire + more”
Let’s face it. First and
Let’s face it. First and foremeost Brailsford is a team principle who needed someone to fund his team to the tune of £32m. This was his primary concern: to make sure that the team stays operational. He didn’t have a long queue of sponsors to choose from so his conscience or ethical beleifs had to take a back seat. Of course he is going to fail to acknowledge any protesters who have objections to his sponsor.
Like he gives a shite about
Like he gives a shite about the environment… knobhead
First and foremost Brailsford
First and foremost Brailsford is a team principal !
Perhaps we could all celebrate some mainstream interest & serious money into cycling rather than focussing on any perceived negatives. Let’s judge the guy when we’ve seen how this develops and whether he is in fact “greenwashing ” . The Green Party, CND etc would all make great sponsors but they don’t seem able to raise the cash or have the inclination to get involved !
Timsen wrote:
The thing is CND and the Greens have more members that collective IQ. Rather than supporting healthy, environmentally friendly cycling they would rather pollute the air in Volvos, VWs and buses.
Timsen wrote:
The thing is CND and the Greens have more members that collective IQ. Rather than supporting healthy, environmentally friendly cycling they would rather pollute the air in Volvos, VWs and buses.
earth wrote:
The thing is, your first sentence is complete gibberish – ironic that you appear to be attempting to call other people ‘thick’ while being too dim to do so coherently.
Your second sentence is an unsupported assertion based on something you just made up.
Neither contributes anything of value.
However, per the previous poster, I don’t see why anyone would expect a sports cycling team to have any particular political agenda. That assumption itself seems misguded. Why would they be any different to a team in any other sport?
And political parties and organisations tend to be looking for funding themselves, they don’t usually go in for sponsoring other organisations.
Goading protestors doesn’t
Goading protestors doesn’t seem like a rational response to me. They can be quite disruptive if they choose to be. Protest does appear to be part of every TdF I’ve ever watched, they cope, I watched “Hell of the North” just before the race this year, there’s race stopping protest in that, they manage.
I am in no way advocating acts of sabotage. There is a massive difference.
ktache wrote:
Brailsford has ‘form’ for being bullish and refusing to bow to pressure from the media or public.
You don’t get to run a team as big as Sky for 10 years by being a compliant people-pleaser. He knew that the partnership would upset some and will have thought long and hard about what to say about the involvement of INEOS and pro-Brexit billionare Ratcliffe in cycling.
— burtthebikeTruly depressing.
The Tories and their rich friends would love us all to do the same. Piss away our wages, line their pockets and put ourselves into a distracted state where we don’t have to think about all the shit that’s going on or do anything about it.
Ah yes Sir Dave. That would
Ah yes Sir Dave. That would be because everyone is at work . Till Saturday & Sunday. Then we can decide how big the protests are or are not.
Bigfoz wrote:
Eh? So there weren’t crowds at TDY yesterday?
I’m waiting to see the
I’m waiting to see the climate change activists extinction rebellion glue them selves to the bus, riders and frames. Now that would be a protest!
The greatest contribution to
The greatest contribution to peace and social justice that any government could make in Britain, would be the mandatory administrative closure of the Daily Mail.
In the meantime…
And so..
https://www.ipso.co.uk/complain/
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
Done, thanks for the link.
Absolute scum these fuckers.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Did you get their response?
I should explain that IPSO is conducting a review of the way its regulations should apply to global digital publishers. Details of this can be found at the following link: https://www.ipso.co.uk/news-press-releases/press-releases/ipso-announces-review-of-the-way-its-regulations-should-apply-to-global-digital-publishers/
Until the review is concluded, IPSO may exercise its discretion not to consider new complaints which relate specifically to articles and other content about events in overseas jurisdictions, and which are not primarily targeted at a UK audience.
In light of this, we will need to ask IPSO’s Complaints Committee whether to consider your complaint further.
We will write to you once the Committee has considered the matter.
So basically, carte blanche for the neo-fascists at the Daily Mail, as long as the website from which they poach their content is outside the UK. Maybe they need to start trawling infowars, or davidduke dot com, and other far right nazi content.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
I didn’t as it happens as was cooking for the oldies and then straight onto the rugby. The rugby was absolute garbge so reading this response has just made my evening complete. At least I had a freshly baked sausage roll in a freshly baked baguette with a load of mayo and ketchup as comfort food to try reduce my stress levels.lol
What is with the police and
What is with the police and the BMW driver? Was he a police/politician/peer or hairdresser to minor royalty?
Sending a letter after an attempted murder isn’t generally police procedure as I understand it from tv dramas. I note from the twitter thread that LCC are interested and I sincerely hope they kick some ass. Rather different to the police response to the Alliston case.
After last night’s election results, with my area staying solidly blue, and now this, I’m considering investing heavily in alcohol for the weekend at least. Wake me up on Tuesday. After lunch.
burtthebike wrote:
I would suggest not relying on TV dramas for your information. They tend not to be very accurate, especially when the reality is dull. The police don’t run around kicking down doors all the time or shouting “enhance” at grainy CCTV.
Following a road traffic incident the police will send a notice of intention to prosecute, which includes a requirement to identify who was driving the car. Failing to identify the driver is in itself an offence. The police are treating this as dangerous driving. This would only be attempted murder if there was evidence that the intention of the driver was to kill the cyclist, and if there is nothing more than that CCTV there is nothing to show that at this time.
The police are following exactly the process they should be.
John Smith wrote:
Like Alliston and Mick Mason? Or this https://road.cc/content/news/259714-suspended-sentence-impatient-driver-who-knew-hed-caused-cyclists-crash-said-it and the hundreds of other examples where drivers attack people using their vehicle.
This might be just an RTA, but, given the evidence, could be attempted murder. Would the police treat any other possible case of attempted murder in quite so cavalier a fashion, like a stabbing for instance? It looks as if the driver used the vehicle as a weapon, and then fled the scene, just like they’d do if they were guilty. If they were innocent, they would have remained.
Sorry, I forgot; it was only a cyclist.
burtthebike wrote:
”it’s only a cyclist”… get over yourself. You know full well a stabbing is totally different to this. How many times does someone lose control of a knife and stab someone? It looks to me like the diver was going far to fast, lost control and fled the scene. And unlike Alliston the driver is not visible and not on Facebook being a twat about what happened.
We have no idea what else the police are doing. Perhaps they are seeing if anyone had a reason to attack the victim. Perhaps they have already discounted this, but they are following the correct process in issuing an NIP. Until they know who was driving what else can they do?
John Smith wrote:
They could go round to the registered keeper’s address and start questioning them and possibly detain them if they seem like a flight risk.
Surely there’s more to policing than just sending letters and following a “correct process” that gives suspects lots of time to disappear.
John Smith wrote:
You might ‘know’ that…I don’t. I don’t see a huge distinction between “choosing to do something that has a significant chance of resulting in death or injury to an innocent party”, and, “choosing to do something that has a significant chance of resulting in death or injury to an innocent party”. In what way are you saying those two things differ?
Driving too fast, not being in control, of their vehicle, and leaving the scene are all choices. As, indeed, is choosing to operate a car around people in the first place. I don’t see it as very different from choosing to stick a knife in someone. The main difference is the relative social power and numbers of the knife users vs the bad drivers.
The determination to attach huge significance to the exact thoughts in someone’s head while they cause harm to others is not something I agree with in general, really.
For one thing it _rewards_ cultivated stupidity. It means you can get away with pretty much anything as long as you make the effort to reamin too stupid to think about what you are doing.
John Smith wrote:
The Police are doing nothing more than they are obliged to. FTFY
burtthebike wrote:
I’m astonished that although the two main Brexit parties (Conservatives and Labour) both had significant losses and two Remain parties (Liberal Democrats and Greens) significant gains, the leaders of Conservatives and Labour have come to the conclusion that they should carry on as they are, but just deliver Brexit quicker.
It’s quite telling when even Baldrick has a more cunning plan:
hawkinspeter wrote:
While the Brexit parties lost heavily, and the non-Brexit parties gained, the BBC is telling us that this shows that the public wants Brexit.
Was the BBC ever independent and unbiased and honest? Not in my lifetime I know, but seventy years or more ago. Don’t forget folks; black is white and white is black.
The met sent an enquiry
The met sent an enquiry letter??? OMG! Someone out there must be just shaking in their boots…
I have just heard that an
I have just heard that an openly gay DUP counciller has been elected in Northern Ireland. There is some hope in the world.
This bloke used his car a
This bloke used his car a weapon and was charged with attempting to do grievous bodily harm with intent
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47905991
So why can’t this driver be arrested for the same thing? The final charge might be different though.
hirsute wrote:
Yes, but those were football supporters, not cyclists, neatly summing up our position in society; lower, much lower than football hooligans.
Do you think the police went
Do you think the police went as far as to send him a letter?
Or maybe ask the victims while they were trying to recover in hospital to gather their own evidence?