“Don’t come to a bike race if you’re going to do this”: Cyclocross rider who stamped on rival’s bike has beer chucked on him by spectator; Bus driver calls LBC and says “cyclists don’t belong on roads”; Cav and Roglič in kimonos + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Ineos add Australian climber Lucas Hamilton to roster — taking team's total riders tally up to 30
Ineos Grenadiers has announced the signing of 28-year-old Australian climber Lucas Hamilton from Team Jayco-AlUla for the 2025 season, and with that, the team’s tally of total riders has gone up to 30.
Hamilton, who’s been riding at the pro level for the seven years, and even tasted victories at Coppi e Bartal along with stage wins at Tirreno-Adriatico and Czech Cycling Tour, as well as finishing fourth overall at Paris-Nice in 2021, said: “I’m incredibly excited to join the INEOS Grenadiers. For many years I have watched the team’s success from the outside, and I’ve always held a deep respect for their achievements.
“Being a part of such a prestigious organisation is a great opportunity for me and I look forward to contributing to the team’s ongoing success. I can’t wait to get started and work alongside my new teammates!”
Ineos’ Performance Director, Scott Drawer, said: “Lucas has shown what he can do in the past and we believe in his talent and potential as a bike rider. He will fit in well with fellow riders and we are confident he will respond to the support we put around him with our new coaching and performance set up.”
“A big part of what we’re working towards is not only strengthening our rider roster but also entrenching a new approach within the team. Lucas’ experience across a wide variety of races means that he slots into an important area for us where he will also be able to support our impressive crop of young and emerging talent.”
The British outfit struggling to return to the glory days of 2010s has been mired in controversy, with a host of its biggest riders including Tom Pidcock, Luke Rowe, Geraint Thomas and even parting rider Ethan Hayter and former Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins peeling back the layers of the troubles and tribulations rapt within the team.
The team recently announced new staff and performance structure changes after its turbulent 2024 season – but fans were quick to remark that the latest overhaul seemed more “like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic”.
Commenting on Hamilton’s signing, one person on social media said: “Not great work in the transfer market is it,” while another replied: “Pretty poor, Ratcliffe definitely winding it down.”
One can only hope that Ratcliffe’s miseries aren’t compounded with his other team, you know, the one about to hire a young, tactical mastermind from Sporting CP and lead the team back to the top…
Cyclists caught looking at phones in Japan could face up to six months in jail, as new stricter cycling laws take effect
According to the new law, cyclists could also be sentenced to three years in prison and fined £2,500 for riding under the influence of alcohol…
🎩 Brand new, erm, cycling helmets alert...
After the whole Visma-Giro time trial helmet debacle from earlier this year, I don’t think I can handle one more pro cycling helmet situation… unless the new helmets are these?
The image is from the pre-race conference at the Saitama Criterium in Japan, supposed to take place tomorrow, with names like Romain Bardet, Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome, Biniam Girmay and Primož Roglič taking part. If you didn’t remember, this was the race in which Tadej Pogačar won his most coveted trophy last year — a white raddish wrapped in plastic…
"Who needs a Haribo anyway?": Halloween treats for the young'uns
I’ll tell you what’s really spooky, replacing a worn cassette WITHOUT replacing the chain too
— David O’Doherty (@phlaimeaux) November 1, 2024
“We need to scrap cycling… you’re putting your life at risk!”: Bus driver who believes bikes “don’t belong on the road” squares off with cyclist on LBC
LBC oft-times gets a handful of wild callers, but this time there’s one which has truly confounded us…
While on the topic of cycle lanes in London with reporter Henry Riley, cyclist Stuart had the (mis?)fortune of squaring off with Abraham, a bus driver who believed that “bikes don’t belong on the road”.
“We need to scrap cycling,” begins the caller. “We shouldn’t have cyclists on the road. They should be track-only. Honestly, look, I’m a bus driver, that’s my background. This 20mph stuff is ridiculous. Cyclists have been crossing 20mph, right?”
‘We need to scrap cycling…you’re putting your life at risk!’
‘I’m not – I’ve never been involved in one accident in 35 years.’Keen cyclist Stuart debates with caller Abraham, a bus driver, who says bikes don’t belong ‘on the road’.
@HenryRiley1 pic.twitter.com/CPbjnaI1Or— LBC (@LBC) November 1, 2024
Riles says: “Well a lot of drivers are also crossing 20mph… but you don’t seriously think we should rip up cycle lanes?”
“No I think we should… we don’t need them on the road,” Abraham replies, before responding directly to Stuart, who cycles to work every day. “Look Stuart, you’re putting your life at risk every day by cycling. You are, believe me!”
Stuart then says: “I’m not. I’ve never been involved in one accident in 35 years, so I’m not putting my life at risk… and what I wouldn’t do is put somebody else’s life at risk, which some cyclists do — the people who’re on their mobile phones — completely agree, we’re not a perfect race right? However, I’ve also seen bus drivers, taxi drivers, white van drivers who drift into cycle lanes.
“I’ve also seen some of the cycle lanes in London that how they’ve been designed [is] completely wrong. You have tourists who have to cross the cycle lanes to get to their coaches. In the last two years, I’ve probably seen six accidents where cyclists have careered into people who have to cross cycle lanes to get to their coach. So that’s a thing of planning that’s not to do with cyclists, but ill-conceived planning of cycle lanes.”
The duck's out of the bag!
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s duck-watching season. And no, I don’t mean to say those ducks
📍 Goeiemorgen Koppenberg! pic.twitter.com/NZgk9EdBUB
— X²O Badkamers Trofee (@X2OTrofee) November 1, 2024
“Is poor behaviour by some people cycling a reason to make children ride round buses unprotected on main roads?”: Leader of Green Party in London Assembly backs Sadiq Khan after mayor goes against Labour's request of halting floating bus stops rollout
Earlier this week, floating bus stops — the controversial schemes which makes the bike lanes go around a bus stop, segregating cyclists from motor traffic — made headlines as London Mayor Sadiq Khan decided to go against his own party member’s request to order a halt to the ‘bus stop bypasses’.
The request was made amidst continued pleas from many disabled charities and activities, as well as pointing out the issues this design can cause to the older populace, as pedestrians are required to make their way through a mini-crossing to go over from the pavement to the footpath.
However, Sadiq Khan has now found himself an ally in Green Party’s leader in the London Assembly, Caroline Russell, who praised the incumbent mayor for his decision to not buckle under pressure from party members, but at the same time called for more thorough research, thought and discussion — and ultimately, implementation of improved infrastructure that serves the needs for both cyclists as well as the elderly and the disabled.
Russell wrote that she had meeting with Londoners to talk about street designs in particular bus stop bypasses, including a number of organisations such as Inclusion London, Wheels for Wellbeing, Action Vision Zero, Transport for All and Guide Dog Campaigners.
“Bus stop bypasses are relatively new to London’s streets. They are being installed to protect children and less confident people on bikes from traffic danger. Some have been squeezed in without enough space and designs vary from place to place,” the Islington Borough councillor said.
“I’ve heard that unfamiliar and inconsistent street designs are confusing and can lead to disabled people fearing making everyday journeys and that’s not okay.
“Some people riding bikes are inconsiderate and that needs tackling. And so are some drivers. Is poor behaviour, by some people cycling, a reason to make children ride round buses unprotected on main roads?
“TfL were right to collect evidence about the good safety record and low risk posed by bus stop bypasses. But that’s not the whole picture. If new street layouts cause anxiety to disabled, blind and vision-impaired people that needs urgent action too.
“TfL should be able to create inclusive streets where everyone can feel confident getting on and off buses independently at bus stop bypasses AND children and unconfident Londoners on bikes are protected from traffic”
“This needs:
- early engagement and co-design with disabled and vision-impaired Londoners
- consistent designs
- clear expectations about who gives way to whom
- clarity for people on bikes about the need to pause at a bus stop bypass to let people cross the bike lane
“It also means:
- agreeing the safety purpose of vision zero projects and
- extensive communication with all Londoners so everyone is clear about how bus stop bypasses work and the need to keep each other safe as we make our daily journeys.
She concluded her Twitter thread saying: “I’m glad to see the Mayor has not given up on bus stop bypasses. I hope TfL will work to keep all Londoners safe and show that it understands the impact of unfamiliar street designs on the journeys of older, disabled, blind and vision-impaired people.”
The thread from Russell seems to have been well-received by many cyclists and cycling campaigners. London Cycling Campaign’s Head of Communications, Simon Munk, perhaps put it best: “Thoughtful, nuanced thread from an ace politician! We need more of this and not just on ‘floating’ bus stops.
“So, can floating bus stops be improved? Absolutely. Is it vital we listen to concerns/act? Yes. Does that mean ban/ moratorium/ veto/ end to inclusive cycling routes? No.”
Feel free to share your experiences with floating bus stops and what do you think about them in the comments…
Mark Cavendish and Primož Roglič swap bike bibs for kimonos, pedalling for martial arts, and chapeaus for ojigis at Saitama Criterium
Has anyone looked more uncomfortable than Primož Roglič for being asked to put on a kimono and do some rudimentary martial arts moves for, let’s say a decent sum of money?
Cav on the other hand, couldn’t look happier! It really feels that the Manx Missile has rediscovered his love for the sport and truly wants to stay in it now that the chip of that 35th win is off his shoulder…
🚨 road.cc Podcast: We chat with Ned Boulting, who laments the loss of Tour de France, “the only race that matters”, from ITV’s free-to-air broadcast
From 2026, the familiar sights of the Tour de France – the epic mountain ranges, fields of sunflowers, Tadej Pogačar riding off into the distance – will remain the same. But for many cycling fans in the UK, the sounds will be very different.
Next year’s Tour, the 25th edition of the race to be shown live on ITV, will be the final one to be broadcast on free-to-air television in the UK (for the foreseeable future at least), after it was announced last week that Warner Bros. Discovery and Eurosport have agreed a new exclusive TV rights deal for cycling’s biggest race from 2026 onwards.
“The Tour is going to go into a place where, in the UK media landscape, you normally find biathlon and hockey,” ITV’s lead cycling commentator Ned Boulting tells the road.cc Podcast…
What is an all-road bike? A guide to this emerging road bike category plus a selection of the best
> What is an all-road bike? A guide to this emerging road bike category plus a selection of the best
“This is not going to be his best day”: Spectator who threw beer at Eli Iserbyt at Belgian cyclocross race gets arrested and charged with assault and battery
After the bizarre moment where Belgian cyclocross champion Eli Iserbyt was thrown beer at by a spectator at the Koppenbergcross earlier, it’s now reported that the person was swiftly escorted away from the course by security and has now been arrested, with police drawing up a report for assault and battery.
Cheerio……. https://t.co/qJVe3k6doG pic.twitter.com/SF9ZxLZK8I
— MarkSuperprestige (@MontVentoux23) November 1, 2024
Jurgen Mettepenningen, team manager for Iserbyt’s team Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal, did not mince his words for the spectator, saying: “It’s very simple. This is crappy and marginal. People like that should stay at home. This has no place in cyclocross… cyclocross is a beautiful sport. I also think the people who react at home behind their keyboards are stupid. Support someone, but not against someone.”
Belgian news website Het Nieuwsblad also reported that Bingoal and Golazo are planning to file a joint complaint with the police. Christoph Impens from Golazo said: “This is not going to be his best day. We immediately rewound the images in the control room and sent them to our event manager downstairs. He immediately walked outside and identified the beer thrower and led him to the police. This does not belong at a cross.”
“Don’t come to a bike race if you’re going to do this”: Cyclocross rider who stamped on rival’s bike has beer chucked on him by furious spectator
The X²O Badkamers Trophy kicked off today with the Koppenbergcross today, and the sparks are already flying — with none other than Eli Iserbyt in the midst of it all.
Last month, the 27-year-old Belgian CX champion had grabbed all the headlines after he rather aggressively and animatedly stamped on Fenix rider and former teammate Ryan Kamp’s rear mech as the two came together at a corner on a muddy downhill section.
And now at the Koppenbergcross, which marks the first race for the Belgian cyclocross racing series, he’s once again become the attention magnet — although this time, due to no act of his own.
As Iserbyt was making his way around the course on the second lap and looking to chase down the front of the pack with Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal teammate Michael Vanthourenhout, a spectator chucked a can of beer at him from over the barriers.
Don’t come to a bike race if you’re going to do this … #koppenbeegcross @IserbytEli pic.twitter.com/TOjmc6ZlGz
— Philippa York (@pippa_york) November 1, 2024
The incident follows a bizarre phenomenon of racegoers throwing their drinkables — and sometimes, edibles too — at the riders, making one question, “Why even attend the race?” (and perhaps also, “Why waste beer?”).
That’s the question that mountains jersey winner at the 1984 Tour de France Pippa York also seemed to ask, sharing a clip of the incident on Twitter with the caption: “Don’t come to a bike race if you’re going to do this…”
Thankfully, the TV cameras soon cut to security personnel taking away the person responsible for throwing the beer.
The race was eventually won by Lars van der Haar, who marked another victory this season after his win at the Exact Cross in Beringen (the same race where Iserbyt was disqualified), with Iserbyt himself finishing second.
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The defence may well have argued that, and the magistrate may have accepted it, but that's not what the law says. It says that you have only driven without reasonable consideration for others if someone is inconvenienced. But the offence is committed if you drive without due care and attention, OR without reasonable consideration for other person. You have done the first if the driving falls below what would be expected of a careful and competent driver, regardless of whether anyone was inconvenienced. And CPS guidance specifically cites driving too close to another vehicle as an example.
Some years ago (before there was a cycle lane) I used to commute on Sidmouth St. But only because I worked on the London Road campus, from anywhere else there are better alternatives. As a cycle route it runs from between two busy roads, neither of which are exactly cycle friendly. So it's hardly surprising that no cyclists use it.
The officer's comments unfortunately reflect the reality of UK law. While the Highway Code guidance indeed refers to 1.5m, that is not anywhere in the law. And the criteria in law for proving a charge of careless driving does in fact rest on whether the rider is being "inconvenienced", as the discovered several years ago when the Met prosecuted a taxi driver who nearly hit me when cutting into my lane from the left near Marylebone. The prosecution lawyer was a barely competent newbie who fumbled over his words. The court computer was barely capable of playing the video footage, which kept freezing and crashing. The cabbie had an highly assertive defence lawyer who immediately seized on this point, and argued to the magistraite that I clearly hadn't been "inconvenienced" because I had not stopped or swerved, and had carried on my journey. Never mind that didn't have time to do either of those things, or that I was centimetres from being hit - the magistraite acquitted him on those grounds. That is unfortunately the outrageous reality of actually prosecuting a close pass incident. I know it's popular to blame the police and the CPS for not prosecuting enough close passes ... but the fact is the law is inadequate, and if the driver has a good lawyer then they can likely get off most close pass prosecutions.
Let's not forget the protruding "side" mirror...
HTML rules are clearly only partially implemented
please can we have the ability to use bold and italics for emphasis back as well?
As a Reading resident and cyclist, I can say I cannot think of a single occasion when I have seen a cyclist using the Sidmouth St cycle lane, nor can I think of any reason I'd use it myself. It doesn't connect to any other useful cycle routes. I don't rejoice that some of it is going back to motor traffic but I can see why the council is proposing to do that. Reading could really do with a cycleway to cross the town centre west to east and east to west but I'm not holding my breath on that.
Giant are one of the most trustworthy brands out there when it comes to manufacturing components given that they actually own their own production facilities. None of that matters though when it comes to road hookless, I and most other people won't touch it with a barge pole. We're surely at a stage now where it's toxic amongst consumers and it's only a matter of time before the UCI ban it for racing.
Filling the road with one person per car is using the road space more efficiently, amazing, I never realised that.
I bought a Giant Defy recently and immediately sold off the hookless wheels at a pretty big loss and won't ever do that again. I'm not buying hookless for road ever. Giant in particular has very short list of what tires they test with their rims so it's way too restrictive even if I was going to ride hookless wheels. Which I won't. Very short sighted by Giant.
25 thoughts on ““Don’t come to a bike race if you’re going to do this”: Cyclocross rider who stamped on rival’s bike has beer chucked on him by spectator; Bus driver calls LBC and says “cyclists don’t belong on roads”; Cav and Roglič in kimonos + more on the live blog”
I’m glad to see some push
I’m glad to see some push back against the idea that floating bus stops are inherently bad, or that scrapping them would be without consequence.
But also pleased that there is to be an effort to consider the design, and to differentiate between the ones that have been badly installed and the better ones, and hopefully political will not just to ensure future ones are good, but existing ones are improved where required..
Indeed.
Indeed.
I think it’s yet another case where knowledge is not the problem *, space is not the problem, money is not even the problem. Because this is “change” it’s all about feelings. So “politics” and “messaging” and “feeling listened to” are vastly more important than any stats or facts.
* Although I’m sure there are plenty folks who could usefully view e.g. this article and video on the best floating bus stop infra (or this informed UK perspective) or even spend some time using this infra in NL…
I think this rhetorical
I think this rhetorical
What do you say wtjs ?!
Are they loading on the zig
Are they loading on the zig-zags, or driving with the tail-lift down?!
What do you say wtjs ?!
What do you say wtjs ?!
Of course it’s rhetorical! OpSnap Lancs is the most efficient way yet devised of getting videos of driving offences into the bin, although they try it on with the gullible when they think the complainant isn’t the type to follow it up- they claim to be taking action where their devious form of words includes ‘doing nothing’ under ‘taking action’. No photo or video tonight – I’m cycle camping in the Lakes
Hope it’s at least a 3 season
Hope it’s at least a 3 season bag.
It’s warmer up here than it
It’s warmer up here than it was on the Whitehaven to Sunderland C2C a month ago!
Bus driver : “I am
Bus driver : “I am professional motorist but I don’t understand how to properly drive where there are cyclists. So I think we should ban the cyclists”.
From my observations, the
From my observations, the standard of driving by bus drivers in London is getting worse and worse.
100% agree.
100% agree.
Indeed.
Indeed.
As seen here:
https://youtu.be/SF4u42-lx84
Steve K wrote:
The operators may have found it harder to recruit and retain drivers in recent years though but – in the interests of balance, and in support of people who do a hard job for little money – I can’t say I noticed the standard of bus driving in London deteriorating throughout the 2010s.
Apparently speeding cyclists
Apparently speeding cyclists are the major problem in the Royal Parks, in London!
https://x.com/baoigheallain/status/1852267677948997717?s=46&t=qoU8Nofl6kk5Dw2vuiFWKw
rct wrote:
Definitely the cyclist’s fault – they fled the scene but left their bike there.
Bloody hell.
Bloody hell.
Always amazes me how hard some people must be trying to have “accidents”.
Those aren’t kimonos. They’re
Those aren’t kimonos. They’re wearing hakama pants and keikogi tops.
Beer? Did he taste it? It
Beer? Did he taste it? It might look like beer…
Lets not forget the bus
Lets not forget the bus driver who said cyclists have to stop just before a bus stop and look around…
https://youtu.be/SF4u42-lx84
“…we’re not a perfect race.
“…we’re not a perfect race…”
In fact, we’re not a separate ‘race’ at all. We’re not even a separate people. We ride bikes, we walk and, by and large, we drive motor vehicles too. Just like you, Abraham.
But statistically better.
And even if we do get it wrong on a bike, we don’t weigh 10t with all the risking of others’ lives that that entails.
Meanwhile, Abraham manages in one puff of steam from his ears to complain simultaneously that cyclists are going faster than 20mph and that 20mph limits are medieval.
To be fair, it was the
To be fair, it was the cyclist who said “we’re not a perfect race”, not the bus driver othering us.
Cyclists have the right to
Cyclists have the right to use the roads— they are public roads, not bus, car, or HGV roads.
“Cyclists should not be
“Cyclists should not be allowed on the roads”
If cars (Motor vehicles) were invented tomorrow and it was known that they would cause about 30,000 KSIs per year they would definitely not be allowed on the roads. Fortunately we invented motornormativity shortly after the motor vehicle.
Cycloid wrote:
I think we’ve moved on a bit now and we should be saying that drivers cause 30,000 KSI’s a year. Also I suspect an additional number of deaths can be attributed to pollution caused by cars being driven.
Having said that the fact that cars are potentially dangerous has been known since they were invented but the motoring lobby has persuaded successive governements that casualties are an acceptable price for the economic benefits of manufacturing and selling automobiles. Not to mention the perceived feeling of “freedom” they give to the driver. I doubt that if cars were invented tomorrow that anything would be different.
A link to an interesting read below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsafe_at_Any_Speed:_The_Designed-In_Dangers_of_the_American_Automobile
“I think we’ve moved on a bit now and we should be saying that drivers cause 30,000 KSI’s a year. Also I suspect an additional number of deaths can be attributed to pollution caused by cars being driven.
Having said that the fact that cars are potentially dangerous has been known since they were invented but the motoring lobby has persuaded successive governements that casualties are an acceptable price for the economic benefits of manufacturing and selling automobiles. Not to mention the perceived feeling of “freedom” they give to the driver. I doubt that if cars were invented tomorrow that anything would be different.”
You’ve pinched those arguments from the American Gun Lobby
That would be trying to push
That would be trying to push back against the depersonalising language of motornormativity I think (“car crashes into building”…).
Times have changed perhaps but I’m pretty sure that the presence of – or potential of – large sums of money is still warping reality, attracting people and bending – if not breaking – rules and laws. We’re still all about “growth” apparently?
However the “PR” of the development of motoring is a sobering study. (Still ongoing – witness the VW emissions scandal, “plan for drivers”…). It shows more than the usual lies, distortions, political corruption or “state capture”, disregard for environmental or human consequences etc.
Too many examples to list but the invention of jaywalking and the leaded petrol saga stand out.