Welcome to Tuesday’s live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
Dean Downing breaks collarbone and ribs in pothole crash; Cyclist proposes via Strava; Bath cyclists climb Mont Ventoux on a tandem – FOUR TIMES; Brailsford nearly quit after Sky pulled sponsorship + much more on the live blog
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Tue, Jul 30, 2019 18:01
SUMMARY
30 July 2019, 18:01
Nibali's power data from TDF stage 20 revealed he cranked out a huge average of 339 watts
@giroditalia @LeTour km 7027 dopo la 41° tappa in 78 giorni @vincenzonibali ha vinto in 1h51’53” a 339w/medi 353w normalizzati @srmtraining . In breve, un Campione. pic.twitter.com/bHBjcL1nIb
— PaoloSlongo (@SlongoPaolo) July 28, 2019
Nibali’s coach Paolo Slongo shared the stage 20 data of his rider, and over the 59km stage that Nibali won in 1hr 51 mins he averaged a huge 339 watts, normalised at 353 watts – considering he weighs just 65kg, those figures are other-worldy. There were also sections where Nibali hit over 550 watts for sustained periods, including where he broke away.
30 July 2019, 18:01
"The greatest and saddest" - Phil Liggett on commentating without his great friend Paul Sherwen at this year's Tour
That was in many ways the greatest and also the saddest Tour of the 47 I have done. The Tour was so aware of my loss of Sherwen that they went out of their way to get me through the three weeks. AND, well done @bobkeroll for a great job in the seat to my left.
— Phil Liggett (@PhilLiggett) July 29, 2019
30 July 2019, 18:01
Brad on a bike - the ultimate compilation
Oh là là ! The finale pic.twitter.com/iGyED4DGlo
— Brad Wiggins (@SirWiggo) July 29, 2019
Bradley Wiggins on the back of a moto was one of the highlights of this year’s Tour coverage for many of us, and here he is in all his glory. From outlandish Union Jack cagoules, to interviewing riders mid-race and getting lairy on the run-in to the Champs-Élysées, you can’t deny Bradders proved to be excellent value.
30 July 2019, 18:01
Brailsford admits to being "angry" following TUE controversies, and almost quit after Sky pulled sponsorship
The Telegraph report that the hugely successful Team Ineos manager revealed he felt like he was “in a fight the whole time” at last year’s Tour to defend himself and his team, following allegations of crossing an ethical line over Bradley Wiggins’ use of a TUE ahead of his 2012 Tour de France Victory: “I got to the point where I felt life is for looking forward. You can look back and be angry or bitter, but leading a group of other people to achieve something is a much happier place to be.
“During the Tour last year, I was angry. I felt like I was in a fight the whole time. I was stewing. Maybe age helps but, this year, I’ve felt a lot calmer. I don’t feel any less competitive, but I’ve been a bit more measured and I’ve stopped fighting everybody.”
He also revealed that the ending of Sky’s contract with the team was nearly the final straw late last year: “There was a moment of reflection where I thought, ‘What am I doing? Where is this heading? It would have been a natural break, a chance to take an easy way out and step away gracefully. But then you think, ‘Hang on a minute’ – life is all about challenges and I love the sport too much. So I thought, ‘Sod it, I’m going to carry on’. ”
30 July 2019, 18:01
Not the worst endorsement
So proud of my fellow Colombians in @LeTour – 3 in the Top 10! Congrats @EganBernal on your incredible victory!
Orgullosa de mis compatriotas en @LeTour! 3 colombianos en el Top 10! Felicidades Egan Bernal por tu impresionante victoria!!
Shak
@LeTour pic.twitter.com/7VxdQfRp6o— Shakira (@shakira) July 28, 2019
Trying to think of a pun involving ‘hips don’t lie’ but can’t think of anything, answers on a postcard… even so Egan Bernal got a shout-out from Colombian music megastar Shakira.
30 July 2019, 18:01
Susan? Sue... Susan!
Hello, is that reception? Susan? Oh, Hi.
Can you make more bicycle racing come on my telly please? pic.twitter.com/qXgbnrEMZU— NORM (@_TUMULUS) July 29, 2019
The nightmare is real. Yesterday wasn’t just a rest day. The Tour really is over.
30 July 2019, 18:01
Anyone fancy a TTT around Morrisons?
Know somebody like this?
@davewalker pic.twitter.com/57MAxJIGLr
— Wiggle (@Wiggle_Sport) July 30, 2019
30 July 2019, 18:01
Five cool things
Have a gander at our weekly test gear round-up here, including Mason’s new Ti frameset and Rondo’s two-in-one gravel grinder.
30 July 2019, 18:01
Dave visits Boardman's state-of-the-art wind tunnel
How much can an ordinary cyclist get from a day at a top-end performance facility? Check out our feature and accompanying video from Boardman’s Performance Centre the Midlands, where Dave Atkinson was sent to find out…
30 July 2019, 18:01
Transcontinental Race latest: Jonathan Rankin in the lead, and a unique attitude to recovery
The Transcon is no ordinary event, and that means the rider’s rituals are far from ordinary too with Chen Yang Lin and Simon Hsiu winding down with a smoke and a lager following another hard day in the saddle.
Meanwhile at the front of the race, Fiona Kolbinger is now in second place overall after leading last night, and Jonathan Rankin has regained a healthy lead as he winds his way through Croatia towards the Slovenian border. You can find the live tracker here.
30 July 2019, 18:01
Cyclist proposes via Strava after bike ride with girlfriend
A cyclist in Houston, Texas took his girlfriend on a 15.4-mile bike ride – which, once it had been logged on Strava, turned out to be a proposal of marriage.
Jon Blaze posted an image from Strave to Reddit, and said: “So I went on a bike ride with my GF and showed her a nice surprise at the end of our ride. She said YES!”
So I went on a bike ride with my GF and showed her a nice surprise at the end of our ride. She said YES! from r/bicycling
He told KTRK that he and his now fiancée, Thau Nguyen, who are on Instagram as Cycling.Couple, “ride together at least twice a week. We also lead multiple social rides in Houston.”
He showed Nguyen the route on Strava at the end of their ride.
“I went from being so annoyed by all the crazy turns we did to being completely shocked and with the biggest smile on my face,” she said.
30 July 2019, 18:01
"Wait ... is that G ... ?" Zwift at the Tour de France
If you watched the Tour de France on ITV4 or Eurosport, you’ll have seen the Zwift ads featuring Geraint Thomas, one of dozens of cyclists on the race who use the virtual training platform – another being his team-mate at Team Ineos, and successor in the yellow jersey, Egan Bernal.
Here’s an infographic from Zwift breaking down its involvement in the race by numbers – including the fact that Zwifters won fully half the stages where a winner was declared (there was no winner of Stage 19, where Bernal took the overall lead when the race was neutralised after crossing the Col de l’Iseran).
30 July 2019, 18:01
Katusha to merge with Arkea-Samsic
Reports are that Katusha owner, Igor Markarov, will remain, owner of the World Tour license.
Katusha-eigenaar Makarov kiest voor fusie met Arkéa-Samsic https://t.co/AfW6bSxPOm pic.twitter.com/GzwBwRwBNu
— WielerFlits.nl (@WielerFlits) July 30, 2019
Or for those of who you can’t read Dutch (or work Google translate)
Report: Katusha to merge with Arkéa-Samsic. 11 riders from each program confirmed thus far. Russian billionaire Igor Makarov remains owner of WorldTour license. Riders, including new singings Nairo Quintana and Nacer Bouhanni, will be riding BMC bikes starting January 1. https://t.co/t43wIxyzJw
— Neal Rogers (@nealrogers) July 30, 2019
The merry go round season is starting early this year and we will keep an eye out for further developments
30 July 2019, 18:01
Kask launch limited run of yellow Utopia, Valegro and Protone helmets to celebrate another Tour de France victory
Very few of us are capable of winning the Tour de France, but if you have enough money you can now imagine you did buy purchasing one of the limited edition yellow helmets just launched by the Team Ineos helmet supplier Kask. Versions of the Kask Utopia, Valegro and Protone helmets will be available in yellow, and although we’ve no word on prices yet we’re told they will be available in limited quantities via Kask stockists later in the year.
30 July 2019, 18:01
Tandem cyclists pedal up Ventoux four times in less than 24 hours
Good morning! So, this happened overnight. Four flags for four ascents of Mont Ventoux by Dave Bowler and Will Trick. We are so proud of the pair of them. An incredible effort, completed in 22 hours and 2 minutes! #changinglives #mandemonatandem pic.twitter.com/tNaTcQZGH4
— Bath Rugby Foundation – Changing young lives (@BR_Foundation) July 30, 2019
The ‘Mandem on a Tandem’ Will Trick and Dave Bowler managed four ascents of Mont Ventoux in 22 hours, and have raised £7,400 and counting for the Bath Rugby Association charity at the time of writing. They cycled more than 100km with around 7,800 metres of climbing in total. Will’s dad David Trick is a former rugby player for Bath and England who is now president of Bath Rugby. Their fundraising page is here.
30 July 2019, 18:01
How you know you've left the Netherlands...
I cycled across the international border between The Netherlands and Belgium. That is always quite uneventful. pic.twitter.com/py5KBRGaW6
— Mark Wagenbuur (@BicycleDutch) July 30, 2019
30 July 2019, 18:01
Dean Downing breaks collarbone and ribs in pothole crash on group ride
Best wishes for a speedy recovery
Didn’t expect to be heading to A&E when I went out on the bike with the lads this morning. One of the lads hit the hole, I hit him and went over the top..
Not happy @NorthLincsCNews
1 Broken Collarbone and 3 broken Ribs.
Will be speaking with @BritishCycling and @LeighDay_Law pic.twitter.com/1Wf0JjtZEZ— Dean Downing (@dean0downing) July 30, 2019
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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
jackcycles 59 minutes ago
The problem with roadcc's coverage of Nick Freeman is that it's focusing too much on his controversial hot takes, rather than the well-known work he's done road safety campaigning. For balance, Nick has been very vocal recently on the dangers posed by electric cars for cyclists and pedestrians, writing (on X): "Pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users often rely on hearing an approaching vehicle. That’s why I believe EVs should emit synthesised warning sounds at all speeds, not just low speeds. Road safety must always come first." I think we can all unite around that sentiment rather than the more divisive number plates argument which I disagree with. Nick thinks that "accountability" comes with identifiability. I agree to some extent, but you have to balance the risks posed by a form of transport with the loss of freedom and increase in state power resulting in having mandatory identity numbers. Cycling doesn't even come close.
Xenophon2 4 hours ago
@HarrogateSpa : Exactly. Clickbait articles such as this to keep the advertisers happy.
chrisonabike 4 hours ago
@hawkinspeter Hmm... while there is sensible stuff in there it's even better where the design and human nature carries more of the weight than rules or guidance. Speed limits being one; if it was just on the rules that would be a lesser way of ensuring safety than the road / space design. (Of course just changing a number on a sign *does* work to some extent, presumably in part via the "anchoring" effect and "when in Rome"). I'm thinking more of what we have in eg. UK motorway-design-level thought and applying that *. One example would be the Dutch taking the observation that a certain fraction of people will make dangerous overtake no matter the rules, paint or even considerations of their own safety and a muffed overtake can have very severe consequences ... and then simply banning overtaking on some classes of roads (and even bringing in physical barriers some places). Hey presto - a whole class of problems they don't have! (It's not perfect of course, lots of legacy roads there). * Only some classes of vehicles allowed, everyone going the same direction with no crossing traffic or stopping / parking, rumble strips at edges, energy absorbing crash barriers, curved layout to stop people falling asleep...
ktache 5 hours ago
I liked his graphs.
Rendel Harris 5 hours ago
And yet not three weeks ago you were actively canvassing likes. Good liars need good memories, Nigel.
hawkinspeter 6 hours ago
@chrisonabike - the Highway Code is a good example of fool-tolerant rules. The emphasis is on how to minimise causing danger to others, but also avoiding collisions even if the other road users are being arseholes (e.g. not running over cyclists even if they're blatantly cycling on the wrong side of the road)
jackcycles 6 hours ago
Bless you, I didn't realise you place your self-worth on the number of likes you receive on an internet forum. I've never yearned for the approval of others, I'm just satisfied in the knowledge that I've constructed a coherent and noteworthy post. The best one I've done so far was the one I gave with your pipe, ale and suggestion to move to my leafy cul de sac. I have to admit I cheekily read it back to myself a few times and chuckled *every single time*!
chrisonabike 6 hours ago
Yeah, I think you're right, it did get a bit more "oh yeah? Well what about this?!" latterly. There's a lot more polarising going on. I blame myself. And the unicyclists.
mdavidford 6 hours ago
"They want us all locked in our homes...!" "Not all, only some..."
chrisonabike 6 hours ago
@hawkinspeter fool-tolerant design? Fool-foiling designs sound better but they tend to have unfortunate side-effects - at least when combined with human nature *. "Sustainable Safety" - design expecting mistakes and some rule-breaking eg. corner-cutting - but be *forgiving*. That means while *feedback* is provided (see adverse camber, slightly uneven driving surface etc) favour "everyone gets to their destination safely" over "the rules must be respected even at risk of collateral damage!" The penalty for failure shouldn't be serious injury or death. * Few want to be thought a fool and some may prove it if they believe that assumption was made.
7 thoughts on “Dean Downing breaks collarbone and ribs in pothole crash; Cyclist proposes via Strava; Bath cyclists climb Mont Ventoux on a tandem – FOUR TIMES; Brailsford nearly quit after Sky pulled sponsorship + much more on the live blog”
I have just caught the end of
I have just caught the end of an item on Quests Made by Destruction, which seemed to suggest they can recycle carbon fibre bicycles and with a bit of jiggery pokery turn it into parts for race cars. As I say, I only caught the end, and I cannot seem to view it on QuestOD.
According to BBC South Today
According to BBC South Today YoBikes are getting the hell out of Southampton, vandalism and theft. Reading’s Readibikes just disappeared one day, the drunken people waiting for their kebabs are no longer able to while away the minutes by ringing the bells.
Berylbikes were also mentioned, Bournmouth and Poole, anyone know how that is going?
ktache wrote:
Berylbikes were deployed within green-painted parking areas in my bit of north London less than a month ago. They have all but disappeared.
We have had a load of bright red Uber eBikes pop up here over the last month or so, though. My theory is that they get used as one-way post-alcohol transport from city to suburbs, then don’t get redistributed back to where they’re needed.
srchar wrote:
Freebike is another recent entrant, although apparently those are geofenced so they can’t stray too far. Presumably the logistics and distribution is even more important for an e-bike sharing scheme, as they also need to be re-charged periodically.
ktache wrote:
There’s an article in The Daily Echo on YoBike – https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/17799017.yobikes-pulled-southampton/
Comment underneath from their operations director Dave Munday:
ktache wrote:
They seem to be being used. Plenty around and being used by the look of it. Not tried one myself yet, but one was in my nextdoor neighbours
I like the idea of “new
I like the idea of “new singings Nairo Quintana and Nacer Bouhanni” – presumably one of their first numbers will be ‘I like to ride my bicycle’?
Surprised Downing and so didn’t spot the pothole in time, with it being clearly marked out by those orange-topped bollards.