The ‘glamorous’ life of a Tour de France cyclist: Horrible hotels, mouldy walls, foul smells, and peeing in bottles; Mark Cavendish “really upset and angry” with sprint relegation; Primož Roglič abandons Tour after heavy crash + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Cyclist not guilty of causing pedestrian’s death by “wanton or furious driving” after trial over “3mph” towpath collision
A cyclist has been found not guilty of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving in relation to an incident which saw him collide with a pensioner as he cycled on a towpath, the 81-year-old woman falling to the ground and dying in hospital 12 days later.
This morning, Polly Friedhoff’s sons told the Telegraph that while they believe the “laws for prosecuting cyclists need to be updated”, this should only come if cyclists are given “a safe space to cycle” and “more infrastructure”.
Read more: > Cyclist not guilty of causing pedestrian’s death by “wanton or furious driving” after trial over “3mph” towpath collision
Mark Cavendish “really upset and angry” with “unfair” sprint relegation at Tour de France, says Astana DS Mark Renshaw – who blames British lead-out man Dan McLay for causing sudden deviation
Like so many of the ‘flat’, sprinters’ stages at this year’s Tour de France, yesterday’s jaunt to Villeneuve-sur-Lot switched from a run-of-the-mill, if startlingly fast, day for the fast men to one of the more dramatic, consequential, and controversial legs of the whole race in the space of 15km.
After a late high-speed crash seemingly scuppered Primož Roglič’s yellow jersey hopes (more on that later), Biniam Girmay won a strange, stop-start sprint for his third victory of this year’s Tour.
Behind the rampant Eritrean, Arnaud Démare finished an encouraging third and Mark Cavendish crossed the line in fifth, his best result since that record-breaking triumph in Saint-Vulbas.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Well, those were the results for a few minutes anyway. As we reported yesterday on the live blog, Cavendish and Démare were soon relegated by the commissaires to the back of the bunch for ‘irregular sprinting’ – in this case, Cav’s sharp movement to the left as the sprint launched, and the French rider’s drift towards the barriers, which forced Wout van Aert to stop pedalling.
However, even with 35 wins under his belt at the Tour, the relegation nevertheless left Cavendish “really upset and angry”, according to his Astana DS and former lead-out man Mark Renshaw, who blamed the Manx Missile’s sudden jump on Arkéa–B&B Hotels lead-out man Dan McLay’s decision to stop pedalling after dropping Démare off with 200m to go.
“We are obviously very disappointed in that sprint, because we think it was a solid, earned fifth place from Cavendish today,” Renshaw told ITV4 after the stage.
“There were two decisions in the final that the commissaires’ panel that was taken. One of them affects us, and Cavendish is really upset with this decision, as I am, as the team, because we thought it was a hard-fought place, and there are many reasons why for that sprint.
“If we really analyse this move and break down this 50 metres, we can see that McLay is leading out [Arnaud] Démare. If you stack it up against the white line, you can see that he is parallel about .8 of a metre to the right of the white line. He finishes his lead-out, and he moves to the left. My estimate is about 1.5 metres, he moves to the left and stops pedalling.”
Van Aert ?
Démare ?
No! BINIIII 🏆#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/8M5Yxlkal1— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 11, 2024
He continued: “I’m sure [Tour organiser and course designer] Thierry Gouvenou said in the first meeting of the day that if you’re a lead-out man and you stop pedalling, please keep pedalling.
“So, I think this move by McLay, who completely stops pedalling, probably deserves more of a sanction than what Mark Cavendish deserves. Especially I as a lead-out man know, that if you stop pedalling in a sprint like this, there will be a reaction. And the reaction to that move by McLay stopping pedalling was Cav deviating to the left, also with [Bryan] Coquard hard on the wheel.
“I think with both riders, Cav and Coquard, had committed to jumping to the left. So, you’ve got a rider like McLay, who stops pedalling at 70kph, Cav in the same moment has already committed to jumping to the left, and that’s the reaction from that action.
“Look, he’s really upset and angry about the decision because he believes it was unfair, and that was an action from McLay coming back.”
Despite Renshaw’s take on the sprint, British rider McLay wasn’t too happy with the criticism being hurled in his direction, judging by his post on social media last night:
Armchair experts out in force today…
— Dan McLAY (@McLAYDan) July 11, 2024
In any case, Renshaw believed, with one, maybe two, opportunities remaining at this year’s Tour for Cavendish to nab win No. 36, that Astana could take heart by their performance yesterday, even with key lead-out man Michael Mørkøv failing to start the stage after testing positive for Covid.
“It wasn’t perfect – we had a really difficult day with Mørkøv going home, and Yevgeniy Fedorov [who finished outside the time limit on the stage] was not good at all, and dropped early, and Lutsenko crashed with 15km to go,” Renshaw concluded.
“So all in all, to finish fifth on the stage with all that happened, I think the team did exceptionally well.”
Oh, oo-be-do, I wanna be like you, I wanna ride a bike like you (or do I?)
If you’re sitting watching the Tour jealous of all the top-of-the-range tech on display, or even inspired to dip into your savings so you can emulate Remco on your Sunday club ride, Jamie has helpfully compiled a list of the top 10 pro trends to avoid for us mere mortals.
Though I think we’ll have to agree to disagree about white bar tape…
> 10 cycling trends NOT to copy off the Tour de France pros — do we really need huge chainrings, ceramic bearings and integrated everything?
Curse strikes again as Primož Roglič abandons Tour de France after heavy crash during yesterday’s stage, as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe say Slovenian will “now focus on upcoming goals”
Poor Primož Roglič just can’t seem to catch a break at the Tour de France, can he?
Since his last-gasp defeat to Tadej Pogačar at the 2020 Tour, the Slovenian grand tour racer has failed to finish every Tour he’s started due to crashes, a shockingly unfortunate run that has continued this morning, with the news that Roglič will not start today’s 13th stage from Agen to Pau, as he recovers from the injuries sustained in yesterday’s high-speed spill 12km from the finish in Villeneuve-sur-Lot.
The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider, whose history of untimely crashes at the 2021 and 2022 Tours has seemingly migrated from Visma to his new team, hit the deck hard in the mass crash that took place after an Astana rider clipped a low, barely visible traffic island, causing a serious pile-up.
Primoz Roglic, grand perdant du jour ! Une chute à 12 kilomètres de l’arrivée et le Slovène, touché à l’épaule droite, a perdu 2’27” sur les favoris du Tour… #TDF2024 #LesRP pic.twitter.com/MLC4pYKS7t
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 11, 2024
While it was initially unclear whether Roglič had gone down in the crash, the forlorn, defeated demeanour of his team’s ride – it could barely be described as a chase – to the finish appeared ominous, and his second fall in as many days (after sliding out on the brief descent to Le Lioran) was soon confirmed by images of the Slovenian’s ripped jersey, scuffed helmet, and bloodied shoulder, as he crossed the line 4.42 behind his GC rivals.
And this morning, Red Bull-Bora confirmed that the triple Vuelta winner, who started yesterday 2.15 down on Pogačar in fourth, would record his third straight DNF at the Tour.
🇫🇷 #TDF2024
Primož Roglič underwent careful examination by our medical team after yesterday’s stage and again this morning. The decision has been taken that he will not start today, to focus on upcoming goals.
We wish you a speedy recovery Primož 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/YDUEtHOjQM
— Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe (@RBH_ProCycling) July 12, 2024
“Primož Roglič underwent careful examination by our medical team after yesterday’s stage and again this morning,” the team said, announcing the 2023 Giro winner’s withdrawal.
“The decision has been taken that he will not start today, to focus on upcoming goals. We wish you a speedy recovery Primož.”
A real disaster for the 34-year-old, who was in imperious form at the Critérium du Dauphiné last month but just seems to be plagued by horrendous bad luck, and the spectre of hay bales and invisible road furniture, in July.
Though, I’m sure the odds on a joint-record fourth Vuelta win for Roglič have plummeted this morning…
“Remove the obstacle? That’s 100,000 euros for five seconds of racing”: Tour de France course designer hits back at safety complaints about lane divider that ended Primož Roglič’s race
In the wake of Primož Roglič’s DNS this morning, the Tour de France’s course designer Thierry Gouvenou has hit back at suggestions that the teams were unaware of the dangers of yesterday’s run-in to Villeneuve-sur-Lot and that some obstacles on the road were “poorly marked”.
Speaking to the press this morning, the former pro also argued that the concrete lane divider which brought down Astana’s Alexey Lutsenko, causing the mass crash with 12km to go which ended Roglič’s GC hopes, would have cost €100,000 to remove for just “five seconds of racing”.
The lane divider behind yesterday’s Tour woes (Thijs Zonneveld)
“We had shared a communiqué the night before with the message that this could be dangerous,” Gouvenou told Sporza today.
“All teams also recon with their cars shortly before the race passes. Everyone was aware of it, but unfortunately you can’t take everything away.
“If you were to remove that obstacle, those works would cost more than €100,000. And that for a race that passes in five seconds. You have to remember that, right?”
He continued: “We studied all the access roads to Villeneuve-sur-Lot. There was a route with a lot of roundabouts, which was not the best solution either.
“From the north there were those obstacles, but you can’t say that they weren’t marked. Everyone was aware.”
🇦🇺 @lotto_dstny provide an update on @jarradrizners‘ condition and a new angle reveals the extent of his crash on Stage 12 🙏#TDF2024 | @SBS & @SBSOnDemand | June 29 – July 21 pic.twitter.com/3BuHtl0MkL
— SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) July 12, 2024
However, Gouvenou’s response has already been heavily criticised by team bosses and riders.
“It seems to me that there are other solutions as well,” Visma-Lease a Bike owner Richard Plugge tweeted. “And otherwise it is worth the investment for the safety and health of riders. The damage to them and the teams is many times higher.”
Meanwhile, Lidl-Trek’s Tim Declercq added: “In general, things in the race are often indicated by signallers that you can see at eye level.
“That is of course not a bad thing, but much more often accidents happen on obstacles that you cannot see from the second line. Unfortunately, some pink spray is not enough for this.”
It seems that the Tour de France’s ongoing safety debate shows no signs of slowing down – especially if ASO refuse to put a flag-waving marshal on the road to tell it to ease off, anyway…
‘And your Polka Dot jersey wearer: President Putin! I mean Vice-President Trump! I mean Jonas! Oh shoot, it’s Tadej’: Tour podium announcer’s Biden moment
no way the speaker confused tadej for jonas it’s a long tour for everyone 😂 pic.twitter.com/Ts32cbHIMN
— Laura 🇸🇮 (@ImCalledPikachu) July 11, 2024
Oops!
I’m sure Pogačar is hoping that’s the last time he hears the name ‘Jonas’ on the podium at this year’s Tour.
Although to be fair to the announcer, he’s been so used to seeing Jonas Abrahamsen in the climber’s jersey over the last few weeks that calling his name must be second nature by now.
Not that Pogi looked too pleased, of course…
Council clamps down on family bike shed, episode 78
It appears that Irish councils are once again busy indulging in their favourite past-time, as yet another family faces needing to remove a bike shed from the driveway of their home, after losing their appeal against the local authority, which claimed that the bespoke storage unit would – apparently – “conflict with the existing pattern of development in the area” and constitutes “visual clutter” that “would set an undesirable precedent”.
Again, no word about the Jeeps parked in people’s drives up and down the street…
Read more: > Irish family told bespoke bike shed is “visual clutter” and must be removed as it would “set an undesirable precedent”
Santander expands cycle hire scheme, with 900 new e-bikes available from today in London
London’s Santander Cycles is getting a boost this summer, as Transport for London announced today that it will more than triple the number of bikes available to hire in the capital over the next two months.
900 new e-bikes have been made available this week, as part of plans to bring the scheme’s e-bike fleet to 2,000 by the end of the summer.
According to TfL, over a million e-bike hires have been made since they were introduced in 2022, and are now being hired at around twice the rate of a classic Santander bike. 27 June also saw the highest volume of e-bike users to date, with 3,584 hires.
“Our Santander e-bikes are proving extremely popular with Londoners and so I’m delighted we’re tripling our e-bike fleet this summer,” London mayor Sadiq Khan, announcing the new fleet today, said.
“These additional bikes will enable even more people to cycle for shorter journeys, helping build a better, fairer and greener London for everyone.”
Now that’s what I call a breakaway!
It’s been a hell of a fast start to today’s stage to Pau – ah, Pau, all those lovely blood bag and positive test memories…
And back in 2024, a storming 23-strong break is up the road, including Mathieu van der Poel, Adam Yates (sending the alarm signal off in the Visma car), Oier Lazkano, Michal Kwiatkowski, Matej Mohorič, Arnaud De Lie, Neilson Powless, Magnus Cort (he must have had a better sleep last night), Rui Costa, Jonas Abrahamsen, and Frank van den Broek.
We’ll need 10 minutes to give you the breakaway composition 🫣
On va avoir besoin de 10 minutes pour vous donner la composition de l’échappée 🫣#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/gsBxuIJlKI
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 12, 2024
Whoa.
One rider who missed out is Michael Matthews, whose Jayco-AlUla team is drilling it on the front of the peloton to bring it all back, aided by Visma who don’t want Adam Yates sneaking his way back into the GC race.
There’s some bad news for UAE, however – Juan Ayuso, who’s tested positive for Covid this morning – is struggling at the back.
“It’s all over the place!” Visma-Lease a Bike split things up in the crosswinds, as small chasing group including Vingegaard, Pogačar, and Evenepoel formed
The top three on GC pulling in a small chasing group with 135km left on a supposedly flat stage? This proper bike racing:
Pov : the leading teams “We don’t care, we’re doing our own thing” #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/yAl4XKJeEj
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 12, 2024
I think I’ll need a lie down after simply watching all this…
Liane Lippert sprints to comeback breakaway win, as Elisa Longo Borghini asserts her authority in the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia
On a day when my double screen watching capabilities are being stretched to their limits, over at the Giro d’Italia German champion Liane Lippert announced her comeback to the top of the sport with an impressive win from the breakaway in Chieti.
Liane Lippert takes her first ever Giro d’Italia Women stage win!
The German played it nice and canny on the final climb, letting Magnaldi do all the work on the gradient before sprinting to the win#GirodItaliaWomen pic.twitter.com/qN4g50FYgS
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) July 12, 2024
Lippert, who won a stage at last year’s Tour de France, missed most of the start of this season with a stress fracture to her right hip, which delayed her 2024 debut until the end of April at the Vuelta Femenina.
And after a long and steady recovery period, the German champion definitively put all her health problems behind her and underlined that she’s back to her best, infiltrating the breakaway on a blisteringly hot stage before outsprinting Ruth Edwards and Erica Magnaldi on Chieti’s paving stones for dominant, redemptive win.
🚀 Kopecky attacks, Longo Borghini says not today and then COUNTER-ATTACKS ⚡️ the Maglia Rosa is flying 🩷
🚀 Kopecky attacca, Longo Borghini dice “no mia cara” e poi CONTRATTACCA ⚡️ la Maglia Rosa sta andando fortissimo 🩷#GirodItaliaWomen #WonderfulWomen pic.twitter.com/mUg83MReaq
— Giro d’Italia Women (@girowomen) July 12, 2024
In the GC group behind, which despite Gaia Realini’s pressure on the front only got to within 21 seconds of the breakaway in the end, Elisa Longo Borghini asserted her authority in the pink jersey, briefly distancing Lotte Kopecky on the 3km climb that preceded the flat run-in to Chieti, before easily outsprinting SD Worx’s world champion to the line.
And with the race’s queen stage to the iconic, brutal climb of Blockhaus looming tomorrow, Longo Borghini’s show of strength has certainly put down a marker and given the pink jersey some added confidence ahead of the Giro’s decisive weekend.
Don’t miss the Blockhaus tomorrow – it’s going to be a cracker.
Will Covid have an impact on this year’s Tour de France? Juan Ayuso latest to abandon the race with virus, as reports emerge of Geraint Thomas and Tom Pidcock travelling separately from the rest of the Ineos squad
The Covid protocols that emerged in order to keep cycling’s travelling circus rolling on back in 2020 may be long gone, but the virus continues to wreak havoc on the Tour de France.
Michael Mørkøv’s Covid-related withdrawal yesterday followed his Astana teammate Mark Cavendish revealing that there are number of riders who’ve tested positive for the virus still in the bunch.
And on today’s stage, Juan Ayuso was the latest big name to suffer with Covid, pulling out of the race just as a group containing his UAE Team Emirates leader Tadej Pogačar was brought back by the bunch, after struggling at the back all day.
😢 ¡No puede seguir!
Juan Ayuso abandona el Tour de Francia tras descolgarse en la 13ª etapa#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/HIDwNeBgxM
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) July 12, 2024
Meanwhile, Het Nieuwsblad have reported today that the Ineos Grenadiers’ Geraint Thomas and Tom Pidcock have been spotted wearing face masks and being transported separately to each day’s stage start.
According to the Belgian paper, the British duo are not currently stepping foot on the team bus and are instead getting dressed for the stage in the team car.
Hmmm… With the virus clearly making its way around the Tour peloton, Ineos’ ‘better safe than sorry’ approach could pay dividends in the final week of the race.
Echelon Alert!
Just as things looked to have finally quietened down on stage 13 of the Tour – after around 100km of non-stop, frenetic racing, as a four-man group broke clear of the morning’s Adam Yates-anchored supergroup, ceasing hostilities – it’s all kicked off again.
An open, exposed section with 60km to go has led to that most beautiful of Tour scenes – echelons, driven on by UAE and Pogačar, who have split the bunch to pieces and pulled clear a very select group containing Vingegaard and Evenepoel.
🌬️ Here we go again! New echelons attempts!
🌬️ Et c’est reparti ! Nouvelle tentative de bordures dans le peloton !#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/ysnDFUMP10
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 12, 2024
Scenes, absolute scenes. What a Tour.
Strava Launches its new Family Plan, offering a shared subscription service for four people and 50 per cent savings
Strava has unveiled its latest shared subscription offer this week, the Family Plan, a sibling of the company’s Student Plan and designed to offer a “new, inclusive subscription option for athletes to share with anyone they’d like” – as long as all members live within the same country and are not current subscribers, of course.
According to Stava’s research, half of their users say they’re motivated by friends and family members who also train, and 77 per cent say they feel “more connected” when they see friends and family member’s activities on Strava.
Available in 32 countries, customers can share a Family Plan with up to three other people, as long as they are not existing Strava subscribers and live in the same country. Strava says the annual Family Plan offers up to 50 per cent savings on average compared to an individual annual subscription when shared among four people.
Each member of the Family Plan has access to Strava subscription features such as Goals, Workout Insights, Group Challenges, and Routes.
“The magic of Strava lies in the motivation that’s found in our global community,” Zipporah Allen, chief business officer at Strava, said announcing the plan.
“Our belief is that people keep people active and the new Family Plan makes it even easier to make a fitness commitment together. It’s about more than just setting shared goals; it’s about embracing shared passions and celebrating collective progress.”
A rare sighting of the Shimano Neutral Service bike in the (Van) Wild(er)
As our own Jo Burt just pointed out, it’s no Jens Voigt on a yellow bike three sizes too small with clips and straps, but the Shimano neutral service bike has been deployed during today’s chaotic stage to Pau, courtesy of the luckless Soudal-Quick Step rider Ilan Van Wilder.
I have to say, those Origine bikes, with their clean blue design, look pretty cool:
Rare to see a rider on a neutral service bike. In case you’re wondering the Shimano car has several bikes equipped with different pedals and each has a dropper post to adjust the seat height pic.twitter.com/fjx1vkGoj3
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) July 12, 2024
> What the hell is neutral service at the Tour de France?
Some Friday bike tech silliness: The most convoluted ass saver ever?
“This winter we will see more businesses go bust for sure”
> Brompton boss warns bike industry woes not over yet
Jasper Philipsen beats Wout van Aert in chaotic Pau sprint to secure second stage win, after fast and frenetic day in the crosswinds
J.A.S.P.E.R 👑#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/xp1A8pxzjD
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 12, 2024
It was only fitting that a stage packed with chaos – as the peloton ripped itself apart constantly on the exposed plains south to Pau – culminated in an equally anarchic sprint, as Jasper Philipsen powered away from a reduced group to secure his second stage win of an at times frustrating Tour.
Philipsen burst clear of Wout van Aert, who was arguably left in No Man’s Land by his Visma lead-out rider Christophe Laporte, with 200m to go on Pau’s long, famous finishing straight, moments after a wince-inducing crash in the barriers saw Arnaud De Lie held up after his Lotto-Dstny teammate Maxim Van Gils attempted to barge his way through a non-existent gap at the barriers, taking down an Arkéa-B&B Hotels rider and causing a pile-up.
That further split in the bunch – the final one of a stage characterised by gaps in the crosswinds – led to a tetchy, cautious final few hundred metres, but Philipsen, devoid of his usual Alpecin support, bided his time well and took the win comfortably, with Van Aert again having to settle for second, while Pascal Ackermann took his third third-place of the race and boxed-in man of the moment Biniam Girmay finished fourth.
🚀 A pefect leadout for @WoutvanAert, but Jasper the Master strikes again for #TDF2024 stage win No.2 ! Relive the final KM here ⤵️
🚀 Un lancement parfait pour @WoutvanAert mais c’est Jasper the Master qui l’emporte une deuxième fois sur ce #TDF2024! Revivez le dernier KM ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/AMuqoDQr3q
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 12, 2024
That frenetic finale followed what was, as is proving typical for this Tour, a frenetic stage fuelled by a dangerous cross-tailwind – one that resulted in a blistering average speed of 48.821kph for the stage’s 165km, one of the top ten fastest road stages in Tour history.
The composition of the 22-strong supergroup that winched itself clear at the beginning – most notably the presence of UAE’s Adam Yates – prompted a 100km-long pursuit match, which finally ceased with 60km to go only for the race to rip apart again in the crosswinds, as a fairly ordinary transition stage gave way to a full-blown GC battle (when is this Tour not a GC battle?), as Pogačar, Evenepoel, and Vingegaard all popped up at the front to drive their fluctuating group.
As the wind finally abated in the foothills of the Pyrenees around Pau, sprinters like Mark Cavendish and Dylan Groenewegen dispatched in the echelons, a series of attacks, including a handful from the dogged Jasper Stuyven, followed, before the sprint in Pau inevitably ended a day that was anything but inevitable.
That unpredictability was underlined by the presence of a certain Tadej Pogačar in ninth place on a stage won by Jasper Philipsen, and in a top ten dominated by the fastest men in the world.
But it’s the 2024 Tour – seemingly anything goes.
So, what do we have to look forward to this weekend? And no, I’m not talking about the football…
If you thought the cycling on the telly was pretty good over the last few days, then you’re in for a treat this weekend.
First up, there’s the substantial brunch being put on by the Giro Donne, featuring the iconic and potentially race-deciding summit finish of the legendary Blockhaus…
… Followed immediately by this humdinger of a stage in the Pyrenees at the Tour, with its ascent of the ever-present Tourmalet and finish on Pla d’Adet:
Brilliant.
It’s almost enough to make you forget that England have a big football match on. Almost.
Have a good weekend, folks! And I hope to see you all bright and early on Monday morning…
The ‘glamorous’ life of a Tour de France cyclist: Horrible hotels, mouldy walls, foul smells, and peeing in bottles – Magnus Cort says “old abandoned bunker” hotel the “worst place I have stayed in many years”
As I’m sure some of you know by now, Uno-X Mobility’s flamboyantly moustachioed stage hunter Magnus Cort – when he’s not racing his bike or inspiring Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar to showcase their own pitiful facial hair – moonlights as a hotel reviewer.
And since it’s July, that month when professional cyclists swan around France, sampling the country’s finest wines, food, and accommodation (or not), we’re in peak review season, with Cort helpfully giving us a glance into the glamorous life of a travelling pro cyclist over the last few weeks. Surely, it’s all luxury, just like for the footballers, right? Errr…
Despite what you may expect for elite athletes participating in one of the biggest sporting events in the world, it’s fair to say that the Tour’s traditional range of, shall we say interesting, hotels – booked by organisers ASO for all the teams – has hardly inspired confidence over the years.
Last July, Intermarché’s sprinter Mike Teunissen complained about the cramped, humid accommodation his team had constantly been booked into during the Tour (“Tennis players at Wimbledon or soccer players in the Champions League: if they ever end up in these places, they’ll turn around immediately,” the Belgian grumbled), while Cort himself poked fun at the quality of the race’s hotels last month, as he joked about sleeping in his suitcase to prepare for Tour’s “rough” hotels.
But nothing could have prepared the Danish star for the lodgings that awaited his Uno-X team in Le Lioran, ahead of yesterday’s stage from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot:
Oh dear.
“One night in this room. It is one of the worst places I have stayed in many years,” the double Tour stage winner and niche trip advisor wrote on his Instagram/Tour hotel review page.
“I was welcomed by the long concrete corridor that smelled exactly like it looked, [an] old abandoned bunker. A smell that takes me back to my childhood exploring abandoned places, and any time you’re expecting some old angry man coming screaming at you that you’re not allowed to be here. But this time around we had to stay the night.”
Sounds promising.
Cort continued: “The room was no better, one that it was a whole apartment so me and Alex [Kristoff] had different bedrooms which was nice. It was in three floors with the bottom one smelling even worse than the corridor, it had probably a humidity on 100 per cent and a lot of mould on the walls.”
“It got a little better the higher you went. But still a very worn-down place. I slept on the top and with two sets of steep stairs I chose to pee in a bottle instead of going all the way down during the night.”
Now, I bet you won’t hear of Jude Bellingham having to do that before England’s Euros final on Sunday.
And the best bit is – Cort’s not even the first rider at this year’s Tour de France to relieve himself in a bottle, either. But unlike Victor Campenaerts, at least the Dane didn’t lob his urine-filled bottle to the side of the road for an unsuspecting fan to jubilantly pick up…
Cort continued: “There was no Wi-Fi and phone connection was very unstable. The view from a big terrace was however great. So that will get them one star.
“1 out of 7 stars. I couldn’t find the place to tack the location, maybe it is a deliberate choice from them to avoid a bad reputation.”
Now that’s what I call a glowing review. The glamorous life of a pro cyclist riding the Tour de France, eh?
But hey, at least the view of the Massif Central was typically spectacular:
Or maybe they were just trying to get away from the smell…
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then Emily doesn’t really know what a migraine is I suspect she doesn't - the best guess from the information we have is that her migraines are headaches which may or may not be triggered by oncoming headlights. It's similar to people who claim they have 'flu when it's really some form of 'cold'- such false claims led to the frequent assertion by nutters during the active pandemic that Covid was 'just like 'flu', meaning nothing at all to worry about. I think we're now at the stage where 'flu is presently a greater public health hazard than Covid.
You don't get to tell the government how to spend their money, you just have an option to try to kick them out every few years if you don't like what they did.
Halfords/ Boardman appears to favour carbon wheels at the higher end- the more costly gravels offer the Banzai! hookless Zipp 303S
A sprinters' festival makes for low TV ratings until 15 minutes before the end of the race. Unless crosswinds blow, then everything can happen.
I had a dream - the UCI asked Evenepoel, Swenson, Vinegegaard and other pros who got injured while out training to take part in a global campaign to promote safe cycling and raise all road users' (including pedestrians) awareness about the vulnerability of people who travel and commute on two wheels. It's about time to make cycling really SafeR, isn't it?
The impact went down into the frame and snapped the top and down tubes I'm assuming that's a carbon frame?
If Emily thinks that a migraine is instantly triggered by a bright light, and if she thinks that people with migraines are capable of continuing to drive whilst in the grip of one, then Emily doesn't really know what a migraine is.
I got car doored a couple of years ago. The left hand handkebar hit the edge of the opening door. The impact went down into the frame and snapped the top and down tubes. I went down, knocked out, but escaped with bad bruising.
I don't mind the no pockets but wish that Road.CC would show these jackets rolled up so we can gauge how packable they are.
18 thoughts on “The ‘glamorous’ life of a Tour de France cyclist: Horrible hotels, mouldy walls, foul smells, and peeing in bottles; Mark Cavendish “really upset and angry” with sprint relegation; Primož Roglič abandons Tour after heavy crash + more on the live blog”
Sad news that Roglic has
Sad news that Roglic has pulled out of the Tour after yesterday’s crash. I know he’s been criticised for his bike handling before, and sometimes rightly so, but yesterday was definitely not his fault.
I’m pretty sad about anybody
I’m pretty sad about anybody having to withdraw, after all that effort, especially with a serious injury. In retrospect, Wright is a bit better off but it must have been a lonely and exhausting day
Not sure how this cyclist
Not sure how this cyclist remained upright – bmw of course
https://x.com/but_cyclists/status/1811596238418043016
Hirsute wrote:
WTF was the story there?? That looked deliberate.
(if it wasn’t deliberate, that driver needs to hand their licence in RIGHT NOW).
” Looks like early morning
Cyclist on main road, driver turns right out of side road, does not give way.
” Looks like early morning low sun straight into drivers eyeline (prob no sunglasses to minimise glare, maybe a fogged up windscreen as well), if cyclist in dark clothing would’ve blended into the shadows & background. “
” There’s something wrong with that BMW the indicator worked “
” Shocking how many people say “You were in the blind spot created by a pillar a few centimetres wide for a fraction of a second”, rather than “Bloody hell, you rode across the entire width of the windscreen and STILL they didn’t see you”. “
No indicators
No indicators
Hazard Warning Lights came on after they had stopped.
brooksby wrote:
They need to hand back their licence (and go to jail) if it was deliberate.
Had a similar situation and
Had a similar situation and wary of the driver’s blind spot I slowed.
Obviously we shouldn’t have to, and the driver should look properly, but given the size of the vehicle I’d rather slow for a bit than the other option…
https://youtu.be/i96CaQEwuVk
Sun was in his eyes !
Sun was in his eyes !
Another cyclist killed
Another cyclist killed
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/24438875.tributes-paid-colchester-harriers-arthur-whiston/
He ran and cycled everywhere.
One twitter comment was
“In his later years Arthur did not own a car, his bike was his primary means of transport. In 2018 he cycled from Colchester to Dolgelleu, in Wales, to attend my husband’s birthday.”
-Stonehenge tunnel could
-Stonehenge tunnel could ‘cost £250k per metre’-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ng8l2lnpdo
I appreciate that figure is for a tunnel rather than a normal road, but would be good to get the figures for comparison to hold up when people complain that the money spent on cycle lanes is a waste.
It’s getting the alignment
It’s getting the alignment with the solstice just so and avoiding the underground power lines (ley) what puts the cost up… plus it’s a large tunnel, being a druid carriageway.
That lane divider in the
That lane divider in the photo looks nothing like the ones in the video. Also missing in the photo, the concrete kerb one rider landed on.
andystow wrote:
That’s what I thought, the divider that caused the grief was way longer, straighter, wider and in several sections, no? Screenshot from YouTube doesn’t match it at all.
The one pictured could be the
The one pictured could be the last of those sections (it comes to a point at the far end) so technically the same divider, but not actually the same section of it.
Anyone know if this is
Anyone know if this is accurate ?
https://roaddamagecalculator.com/?vehicle_one=road-bike&vehicle_two=large-hatchback
404 on how it works
Hirsute wrote:
It may just be using the 4th power rule. 110589^0.25 = 18.24, and that’s a pretty reasonable mass ratio of a hatchback + driver to roadbike + rider, say 1500 kg / 82 kg or 1600 kg / 88 kg.
Cheaper solution to the
Cheaper solution to the concrete divider removal problem, line of straw bales on it, which are in abundance in France based on all the land art with them, and a safety marshall. Simple ain’t it.