Welcome to Thursday’s live blog, with Alex Bowden, Jack Sexty and the rest of the team.
Live blog: Froome fully focused on Tour (not stem); Mumsnet poster irked about having to be careful not to knock cyclists over; Bromptons in Halfords; Beer can thrown at Paralympic champ; Boardman: “Political will” needed to make cycling infra work +more
All the cycling news from this site and beyond…
Thu, May 09, 2019 19:13
SUMMARY
9 May 2019, 19:13
Can of beer thrown at Paralympic champion during training
Cars behind
Immediate flat into sharp bend-which i slid out 3m from usual line
It could have been someone else swerving to avoid me that got hurt/me loosing control as I skided
We are all community,many drivers cycle&many cyclists drive,please can we respect life a little more— Rachel Morris MBE (@Rachel44Morris) May 7, 2019
Morris’s condition, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, is a nervous system malfunction that causes extreme pain and related sensory abnormalities. She has previously had both legs amputated because of the condition.
When she suffers an injury, her body reacts in a damaging way, which means that an accident impacts her more seriously.
After a crash in 2011, Morris was concerned that her body might reject her damaged shoulder. In an interview with the BBC she spoke about her fear that her arm might need to be amputated.
Surrey Police asked whether the incident had been reported to them.
Did this happen near home? Any video, index of the car or witnesses? Make sure you report it to us. https://t.co/vz9K99yyid
— RPU – Surrey Police (@SurreyRoadCops) May 8, 2019
Morris said it hadn’t and explained why.
Not reported as I know I havent got footage. On a handbike the vibration through the frame (because of the awful roads) means you cant record clear enough footage… hope gopro will help&join my adventures as I think the new model will cope.
— Rachel Morris MBE (@Rachel44Morris) May 8, 2019
In July 2012, Morris was hit from behind by a car while competing in a time trial near Guildford.
She was left with whiplash, shoulder injuries and a damaged handcycle. She recovered in time to compete in the Paralympics in September, taking bronze in the H1-3 road race.
Morris took a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics as a handcyclist, and eight years later at Rio she won gold in the women’s single sculls as a rower.
9 May 2019, 19:13
British Cycling has published its ‘state of cycling’ report
It’s predictably grim.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Marcel Kittel has left Katusha Alpecin by mutual consent
“At this moment, I am not able to train and race at the highest level. For this reason, I have decided to take a break and take time for myself, think about my goals and make a plan for my future”, says Kittel. Full story here.
9 May 2019, 19:13
That's one grumpy Italian
We are proud and happy to unveil this special jersey which @eliaviviani will sport at the 102nd @giroditalia, his last race as Italian National Champion: https://t.co/tUOWK6EF3n
Photo: Sigfrid Eggers pic.twitter.com/ch1dXfpcjq— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) May 9, 2019
Maybe Viviani was going for the serious look, or maybe he’s a little miffed about the rather busy design that Dececunick Quick-Step have come up with.
For reference, Groupama FDJ seem to nail their national champion’s kit every year.
9 May 2019, 19:13
TfL consults on segregated Cycleway from Hackney to the Isle of Dogs
Route would link with CS2, CS3 and Quietway 2.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Chris Boardman says "political will" needed to make regional projects such as cycling infra work
“You need political will, that’s by far the most important, more important than money.”
Former Olympian Chris Boardman sets out the “three ingredients” needed to make regional projects work
#newsnight | @BenChu_ pic.twitter.com/xD1LpGhwbG— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) May 8, 2019
In a TV interview with BBC Newsnight, Boardman says that politicians genuinely wanting change is far more important than hard cash when it comes to regional projects such as his work on Manchester’s cycling and walking network.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Drag2Zero's 'The Projects That Made Us' series begins, with part 1 telling the story of the first Giant Trinity
Aerodynamics expert Simon Smart was first approached by the T-Mobile team in 2007, soon after he founded Drag2Zero, to design a new TT bike. The result was the Giant Trinity: “The Trinity was a really intense project that came very soon after we founded Drag2Zero. We had very little time or budget, and we were learning on the job how to test bikes in a wind tunnel, but it was an exciting period and it produced a genuinely game-changing bike. It was very enjoyable to look back at the project.”
As you can see above there wasn’t proper brake integration on the original Trinity (mostly due to budget constraints) and it features the nosecone that the UCI promptly banned shortly after. You can read the full feature here.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Mighty fine!
That is one mighty fine looking bike! It’s a special creation for US national champ Justin Williams. Underneath the star-spangled banner is the latest generation Specialized S-Works Venge, which you can read our review of here.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Doctors in Cardiff will be able to prescribe free nextbike hires to patients who need to do more exercise
The pilot scheme will allow GPs at two practices in the Cardiff area to prescribe patients with a six month free nextbike membership if the doctor feels they need to get more exercise and/or lose weight, reports the BBC. Public health consultant Dr Tom Porter said it was “one of the easiest ways to reduce your risk of ill health while building your cardiovascular fitness”.
GP Dr Karen Pardy said: “Whilst we are aware of the many benefits of exercise for our patients, people are sometimes reluctant to engage.
“nextbike on prescription allows people to have a go at cycling around Cardiff and realise how this can help to support their overall wellbeing.”
9 May 2019, 19:13
Mumsnet contributor unhappy at "having to be careful not to knock cyclists over"
The disgruntled Jemima232, who terrifyingly appears to have a driving licence, titled the thread ‘Cyclists and the Highway Code’, and typed : “Huh. Just Huh. And Wow, too. So now we have to be careful not to knock cyclists over, when driving past them. Of course, they don’t have to be careful not to knock anyone over when they go through red traffic lights, do they? As if they need more legislation in their favour. It absolutely enrages me.”
A good proportion of the replies make us think there’s hope for the world yet though, with one of the first saying: “You’re so far beyond unreasonable, you are being a total dick. You weigh your slight annoyance at someone riding through a red light as more important than than right of a human being not to get mashed by a car. Shut up and grow a brain.”
The thread is currently 172 messages long and growing, with Jemima232 eventually backtracking a few pages in by suggesting they just meant they wished cyclists would respect the rules of the road, and wasn’t at all suggesting they would behave recklessly in a much larger motorised vehicle. Indeed, at 14:42 on the 8th May Jemima232 informs us that they used to live in London and 98% of cyclists “drive through red lights”. We’re unsure where Jemima232 got this statistic from, but we do know that officially there was a five year high of 1,792 road deaths in 2016, with over 99% involving a motorised vehicle. Out of 400 pedestrian deaths each year, on average 2.5 involve a bicycle.
*We couldn’t find a suitable image of an angry driver who is also a mum (and not sure how you’d depict this)… so we’ve used the corker above instead.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Have a million people cycled on CityConnect route in Leeds?
The questions about the number of people using the CityConnect cycle route aren’t the usual sorts of questions about whether a cycle route is actually being used as much as official figures claim.
A letter in the Yorkshire Post points out: “It turns out that there are seven automatic cycle counters along the route, each of which records a ‘trip’ when a cyclist rides past.
“But since one trip is logged every time a bike crosses any of the counters, surely the total number of trips could include one cyclist being counted up to seven times for what is just a single journey?
“And that’s one journey in one direction; if the same cyclist made a return leg, they’d be counted up to another seven additional times.”
9 May 2019, 19:13
School’s response to increase in bike thefts – no bikes
Well it’s one way to combat theft.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Bromptons now available in Halfords stores
From today three models of Brompton will be available in 49 of their stores across the country, with a further five models being available to click and collect from 125 Halfords stores. The three models being stocked as part of Halfords core Brompton range include the recently launched B75 – Brompton’s self styled most affordable model selling at £745 as well as the M3L (£1,010) and the M6L (£1,080). More info here.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Hummingbird, the world's lightest folding bike, gets Paul Smith makeover
The world’s lightest foldable bike (@HummingbirdBike) is given an Artist Stripe makeover for this exclusive cycling collaboration. https://t.co/zDv4i3Da8i pic.twitter.com/rC3m0A8Pbq
— Paul Smith (@PaulSmithDesign) May 9, 2019
On the subject of folding bikes, check out this Paul Smith limited edition Hummingbird. Pronounced as the world’s lightest folding bike at just 6.9kg, it’s now available with a snazzy hand-painted stripe pattern courtesy of the British designer apparel brand. Only 50 are available to buy at a price of £3,995 each, head over to the Hummingbird website for more deets.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Who cares if cyclists are a nuisance? The Guardian's Peter Walker drills into the stats
Perhaps the Mumsnetter mentioned below should watch this intelligent analysis on the behaviours of road users, and which vehicles actually pose the most danger. Includes cameos from Dame Sarah Storey and West Midlands traffic officer PC Mark Hodson.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Chris Froome is putting all his eggs in the Tour de France basket this year
Chris Froome is one win away from equalling the record of five Tour de France victories.
He says that after racing and winning the Giro d’Italia last year, the Tour is his overwhelming focus this year.
“I loved riding the Giro – it was such a different challenge,” he told the BBC. “It’s the hardest Grand Tour for me personally to win, given my riding style and my characteristics.”
He continued: “The Vuelta is probably the most enjoyable Grand Tour of the three for me. That time of year in Spain is super-hot, and I love those conditions – so gruelling, so savage. From a pure, suffering point of view, the Vuelta really pushes you to your limits.
“But for now, the Tour is the big aim – I’m putting all my eggs in that basket, not spreading myself thin all across the calendar.”
Froome says that as a result of this focus, he’s feeling a lot fresher this year.
“A year ago I was going into the Giro as my fourth Grand Tour in a row, and I’d won the last three.
“I felt as if I was burning the candle at both ends. I’m not doing the Giro this year, I didn’t do the Vuelta at the end of last year.
“So I had a really good winter, really stayed on it, and I came into the season a lot more rested, a lot more focused than I did last year.”
9 May 2019, 19:13
UCI Gran Fondo world champion suspended for EPO
Raul Portillo won the time trial and road race in the 40-45 age category last year.
9 May 2019, 19:13
Giro Stage 1 ITT… on Zwift
This was streamed live earlier on Facebook for pros doing a recon of the Bologna time trial course that will be ridden for real on Saturday when this year’s Giro kicks off in Bologna (stating the bleedin’ obvious there).
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Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn’t especially like cake.
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Latest Comments
Gm_Crop 8 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 8 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 10 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 10 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 10 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 10 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 10 hours ago
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
Astralstroll 13 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 14 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 14 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.
28 thoughts on “Live blog: Froome fully focused on Tour (not stem); Mumsnet poster irked about having to be careful not to knock cyclists over; Bromptons in Halfords; Beer can thrown at Paralympic champ; Boardman: “Political will” needed to make cycling infra work +more”
There really are some
There really are some absolute cunts around aren’t there?
Zebulebu wrote:
pure scummers…
shes pro – doesn’t give up.
Off topic, but man aren’t
Off topic, but man aren’t those handcycles cool pieces of kit?
Who would throw a can of beer
Who would throw a can of beer at a woman on a handcycle?
But of course, only a partial victory to the Sunday Times, as she will continue to ride.
Edited, my apologies to the Telegraph.
I can’t read about Mumsnet
I can’t read about Mumsnet without thinking about that discussion.
For the sake of your sanity, do NOT start reading any of this:
https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1875847-Do-you-dunk-your-penis
hawkinspeter wrote:
I read the first post, spat out coffee, and closed the browser window.
I mean: seriously? WTAF??
Blimey, they are a scary lot
Blimey, they are a scary lot on Mumsnet. Makes the Road.cc forum seem like the vicarage tea party…
Mumsnet is ace.
Mumsnet is ace.
don simon fbpe wrote:
Seems enough evidence to rescind women’s voting rights after a brief look.
I’ll be back after I washed my penis in the penis cup.
Rick_Rude wrote:
You’re being unfair to women – men are equally if not more stupid. Just look at the results of democratic voting in this country, comrade.
don simon fbpe wrote:
To be fair, that is a fairly well-balanced discussion by Mumsnet standards. At least the nutters are being balanced by some sane posters.
Jemima comments on cyclists
Jemima comments on cyclists killing pedestrians. Does she realise that 2 were killed in 2017 as opposed to nearly 450 by motorists? Some of the comments were frightening. Makes the Daily Mail look like a commie paper.
giff77 wrote:
I’m more confused by
“So now we have to be careful not to knock cyclists over, when driving past them.”
I mean – do they think there was ever a time when you were just allowed to plow into cyclists or something??
brooksby wrote:
Aye. The poor lass seems totally fixated on cyclists running lights and killing peds and being reminded on how to drive properly. Obviously hasn’t grasped the concept that her lump of metal hurts people when the controller fails to pay attention.
giff77 wrote:
“Cars don’t kill people; motorists kill people “
brooksby wrote:
Haven’t you ever watched Christine? (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085333/)
hawkinspeter wrote:
Funny story: I spent a chunk of my teenage years with people calling me Arnie Cunningham… 😉
(And I couldn’t even drive…)
If you’ve not watched it yet.
If you’ve not watched it yet. Watch the Gruniad article. Was about to post it when it popped up on the blog.
I never realised what trash
I never realised what trash Mum’s are, lot’s of use of the C word.
They should rename it ‘Slut’s Net’
bikeman01 wrote:
I read somewhere that the c word was more acceptable amongst womenfolk and more women employ its use rather men. Men have a tedancy to use it when truly exasperated. So not that surprised that all these socially aware women are free and easy with it.
bikeman01 wrote:
What about pedantic cunts who figure that cunts that can’t use apostrophes correctly should be renamed bikecun’t01?
Askin’ for a friend.
I never realised what trash
I never realised what trash Mum’s are, lot’s of use of the C word.
They should rename it ‘Slutsnet’
bikeman01 wrote:
I suspect that that name is already taken…
Eton Rifle wrote:
I never realised what trash Mum’s are, lot’s of use of the C word.
They should rename it ‘Slutsnet’
— Eton Rifle I suspect that that name is already taken…— bikeman01
…On a website having little to do with parenting skills. Allegedly. According to a friend.
In the good old spirit of
In the good old spirit of Stuart Lee (during the Jeremy Clarkson and Richard The Hamster Hammond rant) I hope the children of the driver who threw a can at a Paralympic athlete also get reflex sympathetic dystrophy. C***.
Mumsnet does not hold back,
Mumsnet does not hold back, particularly when people are obviously GF (goady f**ckers). What exactly do people (men) think women are like? If you really want to be scared have a look in AIBU or FWR. Though I see registration came up. Perhaps Jemima is actually Lord Winston Mumsnet user name.
E.g. PaddyFodder
“Given you’re talking nonsense without any evidence to back up your claims, no you don’t want to know that.
You just want to stir shit up and goad people. “
Is it me, or does that
Is it me, or does that picture of Justin Williams make him look like he’s about to try and jump over thirty parked buses?
Quote:
Either this is a misquote or Froome’s memory is slipping. He didn’t ride the 2017 Giro (the ill-fated Landa/Thomas twin-leader one), so the 2018 Giro was his third GT in a row having won the previous two (Tour 2017 and Vuelta 2017). Of course he then won it, so the quote would be correct if he was “going into” the 2018 Tour, but it’s not July yet 🙂