“Full kit wan…that’s Cav!”: Mark Cavendish surprises punters riding in London; Lefevere continues Sam Bennett feud; Shapps stays; Bumper Drum & Bass On The Bike; Special edition kit; road.cc on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change’ + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Full kit wan...that's Cav!": Surprised punter spots Mark Cavendish in full Deceunick-Quick-Step kit taking a spin through the capital
You may also run into Cav, casually weaving through traffic in full Quick Step regalia, which happened to me today. So there’s that! pic.twitter.com/a1c2n0NTyz
— Roy Badical (@TheRadicalBoy) September 15, 2021
My favourite part of this is the sheer number of adults, myself included, genuinely disappointed not to have caught a glimpse of their hero. Anyone see Cav in London, yesterday?
Roy Badical did, and snapped this quick picture before Cav presumably used the slipstream ahead and danced off into the distance…
Roy said: “He was his agile self but stopped at all the lights! I did have a very fun twenty seconds pretending he was my lead out man though. Only had time for a little chat with him while the light was red. Also completely coincidentally did get his autograph last weekend at the Tour of Britain!”
Someone show Eddie Marsan this strange photo of one of our most famous cycling faces, waiting at a red light…
Cycling is bonkers. Just Mark Cavendish out for a ride, for whatever reason, in London. Contractually obliged to wear full team kit. Because, cycling. https://t.co/DsbAClxqyo
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) September 15, 2021
Full kit wan …… that’s bloody Cav 😂
— Simon P. (@thepuncheur) September 15, 2021
Reaction to Boris Johnson keeping Grant Shapps as Transport Secretary
Phew. I do think Johnson is serious about kick-starting a cycling revolution across the country like he did in London and Shapps is onboard and key. Although I’d love them to move at light speed I suspect they’re moving at a sensible pace as to quickly could backfire.
— Real Gaz on a proper bike #fbpe (@gazza_d) September 15, 2021
Thoughts? Happy to see Shapps stay? What should the priority be moving forward?
Drum & Bass On The Bike goes big...bumper Bournemouth beach edition
This is what you call Riding & Raving. pic.twitter.com/PurC4dc0PQ
— Domonic (@domwhiting) September 16, 2021
Dom Whitting’s nationwide Drum & Bass On The Bike tour attracted its biggest crowd yet…can’t be long before someone shuts this down for having too much fun.
An Amsterdam vid would be top of our wishlist, and Dom said he’s already looking to speak to the local critical mass to get out there. Keep your eyes peeled…
Rudy Project marks Sonny Colbrelli's European Championships win with special edition Nytron helmet
Sonny Colbrelli was rocking his new European champ’s kit in Italy yesterday, including matching helmet and shades, thanks to Rudy Project. Bahrain Victorious’ helmet supplier came up with this special edition design to celebrate its rider’s win. The artwork has a nod to Colbrelli’s Italian National Championship win too, with the tricolore on the rear.
As we said yesterday, it’s just a shame that 10/10 Italian kit won’t be seen again…
road.cc on Greenpeace's 'Wall of Change'
road.cc’s Tass found herself on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change’, a celebration of the group’s work over the past 50 years…and, of course, she’s repping the road.cc kit. Does that make us famous?
You can add yourself to the wall over on Greenpeace’s website…bonus points if you get us in there too…
"From now on, he will ride every race": Patrick Lefevere continues Sam Bennett feud, says sprinter will be selected for every race possible until the end of the season
Sam Bennett avoided a hefty pay cut by riding for Ireland at the European Championships on Sunday. The race meant the Irishman hadn’t gone three months without racing, meaning Patrick Lefevere was unable to slash his salary…1-0 Bennett.
The Deceuninck-Quick-Step boss isn’t one to go quietly however, and hit back today by saying Bennett will “ride every race” the team can possibly get him to. Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Lefevere said: “From now on, he’s going to drive every race we can set him up in. On Sunday he will also participate in Gooik, on Tuesday he will start in Vichte plus everything that comes afterwards. He himself wanted it that way.
Lefevere joked he’s even sorry the end of season races in China are no longer on the calendar…it’s the latest barb from the outspoken Belgian. Last week, he accused Bennett of “playing with my balls in public”. Less amusingly, he also compared his rider’s upcoming return to Bora-Hansgrohe to “women who return home after domestic abuse”. Bennett has maintained a dignified silence since pulling out of the Tour de France with a knee injury that his boss said was a mental weakness, not a physical problem.
Josh Quigley nears halfway point of seven-day cycling distance record attempt
1000 Miles 🚴♂️
66 MILES / 1031 MILES TOTAL / 47% OF RECORD
7 DAY CYCLING DISTANCE WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT 🚴🏻♂️🥇
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS: “GREATEST DISTANCE CYCLED IN ONE WEEK – UNPACED” 🏆🌍
Sponsor: @Thomas_Franks_ pic.twitter.com/3bN8psOSo4
— Josh Quigley (@JoshQuigley2026) September 16, 2021
Josh Quigley should pass the halfway point of his challenge today…still looking strong.
Patrick Lefevere hopeful of finding Cav agreement
Last night Patrick Lefevere had something else to say about the Cav contract conundrum. Forgive the fairly shoddy translation, he tweeted: “Water too deep between Mark Cavendish and Deceuninck-Quick-Step? We’re not talking about a bag of fries. How deep? 1cm or 25m? With a little good will, you always find a bridge.”
Earlier in the week, the 36-year-old was offered a one-year extension with the Belgian team. That was before Lefevere popped up in the Belgian press saying Fabio Jakobsen is their man for the Tour de France next year and that Cav is looking to cash in on his success…
Meanwhile, the Manx Missile was pootling around London in full kit…
“Full kit wan…that’s Cav!”: Mark Cavendish surprises punters riding in London https://t.co/IO9IrNxSou #cycling pic.twitter.com/mlgyMrLTLn
— road.cc (@roadcc) September 16, 2021
Alex Dowsett gets stuck
Sat on the roadside on a big tt session day having done 1 of 4 efforts, with a flat rear tyre and a spare tube with a valve not quite long enough. Waiting for my dad for an emergency call out.
After all these years, still deep down an amateur bike rider masquerading as a pro. pic.twitter.com/383aYe3G0I
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) September 16, 2021
Lithuanian government backs 'bicycle streets'
Forget Cabinet reshuffles for a second, Lithuania’s government has voted through ‘bicycle streets’. These will allow those on bikes to use the entire width of the road and limit other vehicles to 30km/h…
You may be wondering why that’s so deserving of the ‘bicycle street’ tag? Transport Minister Marius Skuodis said it’s so “cyclists don’t have to keept to the side of the street, in other words, they are an equal to all other vehicles.” I guess it’s nice to have it in writing…
Some Lithuanian cyclists have said their towns and cities need to do more to become bike-friendly, and that segregated infrastructure would be more helpful than ‘bicycle streets’. “Unless the surrounding infrastructure gives a sense that cyclists are safe here, then what’s the point? It only distorts the situation,” head of the Lithuanian Cyclists Association Paulius Bakutis told BNN News.
Right, you can go back to smiling about Dominic Raab…
Everyone's favourite g̶r̶e̶y̶h̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ whippet welcomes Rein Taaramäe home from La Vuelta
Motu 🐶 welcomed Rein Taaramäe back home with pride (and new toys) #LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/tPmZayI6fz
— Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (@IntermarcheWG) September 15, 2021
Cyclist attacked by occupant of passing car in the Western Isles
About 4pm on Wednesday 15th September a cyclist on the main road at Newmarket, Stornoway, near Baker’s Road, was assaulted by the occupant of a passing car. It is believed a number of passers-by may have witnessed this. If you have any info, please contact Stornoway Police. pic.twitter.com/d4QCk4E97G
— Western Isles Police (@WIslesPolice) September 16, 2021
The Press and Journal reports Western Isles Police are looking for witnesses to come forward after a cyclist was attacked by the occupant of a passing car in the Newmarket area of Stornoway. Police belive a number of other road users may have seen the assault at around 4pm on Wednesday and encouraged anyone with information to contact officers in Stornoway.
Cav reaction: Does he HAVE to wear Quick-Step kit to the shops? + Bumping into pro rider stories
Was that sign ‘Do not overtake cyclists’ put there specially for Cavendish?
— •••JB••• (@JeffPB61) September 16, 2021
Lots of love for the Cav story. Martin had his own, “full kit wan…Oh! It’s…” moment.
Remember seeing a guy in full KAS gear on a club run. One of the guys said who does that w@nker think he is, Sean Kelly. We caught up, it was his team mate Martin Earley
— Martin Bateman (@martinbateman51) September 16, 2021
The photo also raised the question of when is a pro contractually obliged to wear team kit? At a race? Obviously. Training? You’d think so. Pop to the shops? Taking the kid for a tricycle around the park? To be fair, if I got all that free gear, I don’t think I’d ever be out of it…
wycombewheeler commented: “Love the idea that every time Cav (or any of the others) get on a bike they must be in team kit. Training ride – team kit. Return from dropping the car for a service – team kit. Pop to the supermarket – team kit. Think about using a london hire bike – better have team kit with you.”
Rendell Harris added: “I wonder if when he pops to the supermarket he’s only allowed to go to Lidl?”
We also had a few stories of readers bumping into (not literally, I hope) pro riders…
the little onion used to see the GB track stars often: “I used to regularly ride on the roads in south Manchester and Cheshire, and would often see the GB track riders out and about. Always friendly. Though seeing Chris Hoy pull away from a traffic light was impressive, even if he was barely putting any effort into it. His thighs were bigger than my waist!” If you think his legs are big, wait until you see what that wasp did…
Kapelmuur said: “Same here, Geraint Thomas lived near me and I’d often see him out training. He always waved and said hello. The same went for the other Sky riders. It amused me that Olympic gold medallists and World Tour race winners always acknowledged me while many club hacks would ride by as though I was invisible.”
PRSboy tried descending with the shark…”My only pro cyclist encounter was Team Astana headed up by Nibali when I was having a breather at the top of a climb in the Dolomites. Tried to follow them down the other side of the pass, frankly I did not see which way they went and I am a man who prides myself on descending!”
Any more?
16 September 2021, 08:02
16 September 2021, 08:02
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Latest Comments
I'm sure Scribe will be chuffed to bits referencing a pair of 3 year old wheels, another problem with hunts is you just never know what the prices are with the stupid sales it puts me off
Ards and North Down Cycling Campaign earlier this week held an event with local police encouraging drivers to leave a safe passing distance of 1.5m when overtaking cyclists This will achieve nothing whatsoever, because the drivers and the discouraged potential cyclists all know that the police postscript to the pretend encouragement is: 'but if you choose not to, don't worry because we have no intention of even thinking about enforcing the 1.5m distance, just like all the other UK police forces, and it doesn't matter if it's only 10% of that. Try not to hit them unless you have to get them out of the way, but if you do, scarper and you'll probably get away with it. If you've been drinking, just say you had a few drinks after you got home to calm your nerves after hitting what you thought was a fridge or a sack of potatoes, if they show up at your door.
Sadly, I feel that the reaction to this will be the same as the many multiple shootings that the US endures, every year - shock, tears and platitudes, swiftly returning to the status quo (untill the next time)
@Velo-drone I did not submit reports of either of the two heinous close passes I experienced with my daughter while on holiday there in half term But you could show them to us! I sent one to upRide today: it's the silver Kuga above, and will likely be viewable in a couple of days, and the long holdup on here can be sidestepped by simply omitting the 'h' from the https at the beginning of the link. It's all very easy to do. Other hosting sites are available.
@matthewn5 On which - I've not been there (and I've heard from a couple of cyclists online who say that they *are* good...) but I suspect the following blog post (from 2012 - As Easy As Riding A Bike) nails it: "They built it, and they didn’t come – the lesson of Milton Keynes" Verdict: the place was designed (1) for very convenient driving (not surprising - aspirational driving was the thing at the time, they had a blank canvas etc). (2) While the designer genuinely tried to provide for cyclists that comes across as "we need to get the cyclists off the roads because we fixed it for the cars to move fast". As is common (across the decades) in the UK it's nominal safety from motor vehicles but at major cost to convenience. Not to mention lack of social safety. FWIW there's also videos online by Alexei Sayle of him cycling around giant car parks there...
@mitsky Doesn't matter ..... Insurance / No insurance, License / No license These types will drive anyway!
@VIPcyclist Agree regarding cycle lanes, but the article is referring to cycle _tracks_ in Milton Keynes, which if I remember rightly are segregated but also don't run next to roads, so they're often quiet, dimly lit and secluded.
First, the actual change from issuing a bunch of "warning letters" to basically taking no action on anything is more or less no change to be honest. There is no evidence that sending a warning letter does anything. Not all forces even keep a record of warning letters. I'm aware of no actual empirical study of outcomes from sending a warning letter. Its main purpose therefore can only be to say that something has been done, rather than to actually improve road safety outcomes, because nobody cares enough to check if it achieves any outcome. It's the equivalent of finding a bike thief, and popping in a note through the door saying "please don't do that", and considering it an effective response. The apparent discrepancy between the NPCC position given early in the article, and the judgment later on that the Derbyshire policy "appears in line with the guidance" muddies the water considerably. There is a gaping lack of clarity over what police forces can and can't (or will and won't) do under the NPCC guidance. The suggestion for cyclists to provide speed measurements is silly - most cyclists don't have that capability, or won't be using it on e.g commuting rides. It's not clear why the speed of the cyclist is particularly relevant in any case? The Highway Code guidance relating to passing cyclists refers only to the speed of the motor vehicle. Saying you'll only take action in "exceptional circumstances" but not giving any indication what those circumstances might be is tantamount to saying "don't bother reporting, because it's 99% likely to be a complete waste of your and our time and we're not going to tell you how you might assess whether your case might be in the 1%" So, unsurprisingly the Derbyshire Police policy does seem to have at least one clear impact. I did not submit reports of either of the two heinous close passes I experienced with my daughter while on holiday there in half term. Why would I? Why would anyone? And why would it be a surprise that some drivers in Derbyshire choose to drive as if they have a free rein to endanger cyclists lives without fear of any consequence - because in fact they do. The notion that "forensic analysis" is needed to determine if a close pass is actionable or not is nonsensical. I would say laughable, but it's not really a laughing matter. It is not necessary to determine if the car is 140cm vs 151cm away. It is generally perfectly obvious whether the car is less than a car's width away, or more than a car's width away. That's sufficient to make a reasonable judgement on whether the driving could be considered careless or not - bearing in mind that the vast majority of actioned cases would be easily visually identifiable as substantially below that distance.
@Pub bike 10,000 men find out a year they’ve got prostate cancer too late. We need to get those numbers down. There’s no screening unfortunately in the UK There's no blanket overall prostate cancer screening because the experts in the UK National Screening Committee have decided that it would do more harm than good. It's not because of cost, it's because the PSA test is not that good. There are big trials in progress to improve testing. When it comes down to PSA testing of specific groups, such as those with a genuine family history, the risk-benefit balance may well be different. I suspect thar Sir Chris has had at least tacit approval of his "just google ‘prostate cancer UK risk checker’ and there’s three questions, it takes you 30 seconds and that will help you assess your individual risk. If you’re high risk, go to your GP and ask for a PSA, a blood test" advice so it's probably reasonable. I am 74 and have never taken a PSA test. I have no family history I know about. 'Better to be safe than sorry' is bad advice when it comes to prostate cancer screening.
20 thoughts on ““Full kit wan…that’s Cav!”: Mark Cavendish surprises punters riding in London; Lefevere continues Sam Bennett feud; Shapps stays; Bumper Drum & Bass On The Bike; Special edition kit; road.cc on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change’ + more on the live blog”
Love the Cav story.
Love the Cav story.
Bloody cyclists, dressed up like they do the tour de France or something….
i used to regularly ride on
i used to regularly ride on the roads in south Manchester and Cheshire, and would often see the GB track riders out and about. Always friendly. Though seeing Chris Hoy pull away from a traffic light was impressive, even if he was barely putting any effort into it. His thighs were bigger than my waist!
the little onion wrote:
Same here, Geraint Thomas lived near me and I’d often see him out training. He always waved and said hello.
The same went for the other Sky riders. It amused me that Olympic gold medalists and World Tour race winners always acknowledged me while many club hacks would ride by as though I was invisible.
the little onion wrote:
My only pro cyclist encounter was Team Astana headed up by Nibali when I was having a breather at the top of a climb in the Dolomites. Tried to follow them down the other side of the pass, frankly I did not see which way they went and I am a man who prides myself on descending!
Love the idea that every time
Love the idea that every time Cav (or any of the others) get on a bike they must be in team kit.
Training ride – team kit
Return from dropping the car for a service – team kit
Pop to the supermarket – team kit
Think about using a london hire bike – better have team kit with you.
I wonder if when he pops to
I wonder if when he pops to the supermarket he’s only allowed to go to Lidl?
Maybe he’s proud of being in
Maybe he’s proud of being in Quickstep. A few years ago when at Quebeka he was training in Essex in plain black kit. Maybe he was behind with the washing 🙂
I wonder if he was riding to
I wonder if he was riding to a chat with Matt Stephens for his Sigma sponsored coffee rides. Hope so as they were great fun, especially his one with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
Quote “You may also run into
Quote “You may also run into Cav, casually weaving through traffic in full Quick Step regalia, which happened to me today. So there’s that!”
I won’t but I wouldn’t be surprised if some driver did. I hope he got home safely.
drink driver struck cyclist
drink driver struck cyclist before fleeing scene
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19582378.colchester-drink-driver-struck-cyclist-fleeing-scene/
only 2 years in jail.
shocking
shocking
“road.cc on Greenpeace’s
“road.cc on Greenpeace’s ‘Wall of Change'”
Wall of change or first against the wall when the glorious revolution comes?
Love the drum and bass, I
Love the drum and bass, I imagine this is like Kryptonite for some folks. On the phones – check, more than one abreast – check, on the pavements – check, no hands – check, wheelies – check, having fun – double-check.
Although I wouldn’t normally condone any of this sort of thing.
When your best hope is Grant
When your best hope is Grant Shapps…
Dunno if Boardman could / would take a national role? Andy Burnham was saying he’d stick in Manchester last I heard but if he had another crack at leader maybe he’d bring Chris along?
chrisonatrike wrote:
Or they could bung Chris some money to work as a consultant – just run ideas past him and get a thumbs up or thumbs down from him.
I thought Boardman had a
I thought Boardman had a national role of some kind as I remember discussing it on here, as I didn’t think it was a good idea as it would spread his existing commitments too thin, and a national view just wouldnt cater for local differences, as in what London needs is radically different from what outside London needs, and what you wanted were more people like Chris, but in local roles.
Yes (not spreading too thin)
Yes (not spreading too thin) and not entirely (local approach). Definitely need local knowledge / understanding of people’s travel needs in the existing environment – to get local buy-in if nothing else. But the actual infra only really works for mass active transport if it’s (high quality) standard. Otherwise you have the status quo e.g. “that’s not what people want here” (e.g. none), or it’s unsafe because everywhere has their own conventions so the road design’s not legible, or its unsatisfactory because “in Stroud we think cycle lanes on dual carriageways are fine and also 50cm wide is plenty”.
We have “standards” but I believe it’s the usual – a combination of “guidance” rather than “must”, very low “minimums” and a tangle of where this actually applies / who is responsible. I doubt think we’re so wooly when it comes to designs for cars though, but I’m not a designer (links to UK stuff listed here and a review of the Dutch version here).
Well there is always Michael
Well there is always Michael Green…
Riding through the Brecons a
Riding through the Brecons a few years back, saw a guy at the traffic lights going the other way in full Sky kit. Me: “Would you look at that sad bugger, full Sky replica kit, he looks like an OK rider but I mean Jesus, oh my God look he’s even got a Dogma in Sky colours, get a life!” Mrs H: “Isn’t that Luke Rowe?” Me: “Oh. Yeah. Suppose I’ll allow it this once then.”
I see the 9sp chain thread
I see the 9sp chain thread has disappeared – perhaps it was sent back to Amazon.