Calls to ban motor traffic from Richmond Park after shocking crash; Litter pocket; Tour of Cambridgeshire postponed; The Killers’ Brandon Flowers needs surgery on cycling injury; Pro back after heart scare; Extreme winter commuter + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
The joy of winning a bike race experienced through a four year old
Here’s a nice start to your Thursday morning…Just a kid delighted to be riding their bike and winning a race. After a week inside avoiding the cold and the snow, I might just sound this excited by the weekend…
Extreme winter commuting
For anyone like me who didn’t brave the outdoors during the cold snap last week, here’s a video to make you feel bad. Cycle commuting in Chicago during winter isn’t for the faint-hearted…This cyclist’s top tip for riding in all conditions: “28mm Gatorskin back and 28mm 4 seasons on front. Don’t try this at home.”
At least that’s more conventional than The Q’s sawmill blade bike used to ride over frozen lakes…
Pro rider given the all clear after heart scare
It’s good news for @DiegoUlissi ! The Italian is set to resume training.
Read more👉: https://t.co/0Pv2UGXr8a#UAETeamEmirates #RideTogether pic.twitter.com/K3lKWTLuPE
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) February 17, 2021
Diego Ulissi has been given the all clear to return to training following an enforced break due to cardiac abnormalities. The Italian hasn’t raced or trained since completing the Giro d’Italia in October after doctors found the issue at a routine medical check up. In a statement, UAE Team Emirates confirmed that he underwent a cardiac biopsy in January and that no risky arrhythmias were found. Consequently, Ulissi is able to resume training. The initial diagnosis from the team’s doctor was that it was a form of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.
The statement explained: “The biopsy found the absence of risky arrhythmias for the athlete during the electrophysiological study, which will allow for the progressive resumption of training.In any case, a periodic monitoring period will follow before confirming any definitive return to racing.”
How did it end up like this? The Killers' Brandon Flowers needs surgery after cycling crash
When mtn biking down hill, don’t squeeze left brake. pic.twitter.com/XKLmBKjTZU
— The Killers (@thekillers) September 6, 2017
The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers is to undergo surgery on a shoulder injury sustained in a cycling crash. He told fans during an Instagram Live that he tore his labrum when he went over the handlebars in 2017 and the injury has never healed. At the time, The Killers tweeted a picture of Flowers bashed up after the crash with the caption “When mtn biking down hill, don’t squeeze the left brake.” Guess he should have used the Brightside instead…I’ll see myself out…No Bones were broken, Everything Will Be Alright and he should be back On Top again soon…
“I went over the handlebars on my bike and an injury from that has manifested itself. I have a torn labrum on that shoulder so I am going under the knife in a couple of weeks to get that taken care of. Maybe one day I will play golf again. I will be in a sling for six weeks,” he explained.
Milan-San Remo to follow slightly altered route this year due to landslide
The first Monument of the season, Milan-San Remo, will follow a slightly altered route with the Turchino Pass swapped out for Colle di Giovo because of damage caused by a landslide on the former. The traditional finale of Cipressa and Poggio before the hurtle home to Via Roma remains unchanged. At 299km the race remains by far the longest race of the year.
Paolo Bellino, the CEO and General Manager of the race’s organisors RCS Sport explained the change: “The previous edition of the Milano-Sanremo was held on an unusual date and took place over an unprecedented route. The results were very positive for the sport, for the media and from the audience’s point of view too.
“This year, for the 112th edition of the race, we have decided to bring the Milano-Sanremo back onto its ‘classic’ route in the Liguria region. So most of the route will remain as it has traditionally been; with the Aurelia, the Tre Capi, Cipressa and Poggio before the arrival on Via Roma, but we will not be able to visit the Turchino.”
Last year Wout van Aert won his first Monument, beating Julian Alaphilippe in a two-up sprint as Michael Matthews rounded out the podium, winning the reduced sprint for third.
Tour of Cambridgeshire postponed until September
BREAKING NEWS: Following extensive consultations with all key stakeholders, event partners, suppliers, and the UCI, the Tour of Cambridgeshire 2021 has been moved to September 24th to 26th 2021.https://t.co/8LaBOSvMIi
— Tour of Cambridgeshire (@thetourofcambs) February 18, 2021
The Tour of Cambridgeshire has been moved to September 24-26 because of the pandemic. The sportives, road races and Gran Fondo will now be staged on Sunday 26th Spetember. All entries will be automatically transferred to the new date. The organisers say that the pandemic and restrictions likely to be in place on the original date in June would make it impossible to responsibly host as mass-participation event.
The Gran Fondo was supposed to act as a qualification route for riders hoping to participate at the Gran Fondo World Championships in Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina, from September 1st to 5th. With the new date for the Tour of Cambridgeshire coming after the World Championships the UCI has said they are considering their options and will communicate their decision as soon as possible.
Decent CV...
New President of the Tokyo Olympics is Seiko Hashimoto, a speed skater in 4 consecutive winter games (84-94, 🥉 in 92) and a track cyclist in 3 games (88-96). She’s now a parliamentarian and still rides a bike, pictured here during an official recon ride of the road race course pic.twitter.com/KdOj2s8Kaw
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) February 18, 2021
Marc Hirschi left Team DSM because team management saw him as a risk to their reputation, according to reports
AD.NL reports Marc Hirschi’s surprising early departure from Team DSM was down to a breach of trust and that the Swiss rider was viewed as a risk for the reputation of the team and its sponsors. The story cryptically claims Hirschi wouldn’t have been transparent, nor would he have answered questions asked by the team about certain things. The topic of these questions and the information the team wanted remains a mystery but suggests that his departure wasn’t down to the strength of the team or Hirschi’s undervalued contract, as has been suggested previously by other reports.
Hirschi is managed by Fabian Cancellara and the story claims that as part of the termination of the contract Team DSM are unable to share what their concerns were. The Swiss pair declined to comment to AD.NL.
Prime puppy content for your Thursday afternoon
It’s not just people who enjoy cycling these days pic.twitter.com/Q92Z0zgK5C
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) February 18, 2021
If this doesn’t brighten up your Thursday afternoon I’m not sure what will…For more prime pedalling puppy content, take a trip back to November when we shared this clip of MotorbikeMilly having a pop at a close passing bus driver in Glasgow…
Calls to ban motor traffic from Richmond Park after shocking crash
Officers attended a collision between a car and a cyclist this morning near to Ham Gate in #RichmondPark resulting in the car leaving the road. The cyclist has facial injuries and has been taken to hospital. Injuries not life threatening. pic.twitter.com/nhTloI2OPm
— Royal Parks Police (@MPSRoyal_Parks) February 18, 2021
This was the aftermath of a shocking crash in Richmond Park this morning. Royal Parks Police says the crash involved a cyclist who suffered facial injuries and has been taken to hospital. The driver involved had minor hand injuries. Questions have been asked about how this happened on a stretch of road where the speed limit is 20mph.
The incident has also led to calls from the London Cycling Campaign and many others on social media for through traffic to be banned from the park, which is a notorious route for rat running drivers.
This is not acceptable – we call on @theroyalparks to take urgent action. Close the park to through traffic and end this preventable and senseless road menace https://t.co/m4fGqeI4pZ
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) February 18, 2021
Others were critical of Royal Parks Police’s reaction to the crash, comparing it to another tweet where they warned cyclists to be careful when riding in the park after a cyclist hit a goose. By contrast, this morning their tweet said: “When driving, you must be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear[…] Wishing all a speedy recovery.” The initial tweet also reported it was a crash between a car and a cyclist, rather than a driver and a cyclist. Royal Parks Police addressed this in the tweet below.
Thanks, I did consider deleting and reposting, but thought an acknowledgment tweet would be better. We want to get it right, so it’s good to learn.
— Royal Parks Police (@MPSRoyal_Parks) February 18, 2021
Presumably this will be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back and causes @theroyalparks to ban motor vehicles from Richmond Park Nature Reserve?
— Ben Aston (@benastonx) February 18, 2021
Please tell me how damage of this kind could be caused by a competent driver, adhering to the maximum speed limit within the park and consideration to other users of the park.
— Rory McCarron (@CyclingLawLDN) February 18, 2021
We hope you will be thoroughly investigating just how this happened – and putting pressure on @theroyalparks to reevaluate their policy on cars & speed limits?
— Pearson 1860 (@pearsoncycles) February 18, 2021
Your comments on Ever Ready Lights
I once punched a set of these to death in the middle of the street. I just snapped. Had to walk home but it felt good, man. Hateful glowworm devices. https://t.co/cEMeWWVt12
— 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 (@overlandertheb1) February 18, 2021
I’m probably showing my age if I say I’d never heard of Ever Ready Lights before today, let alone used them. Didn’t we always have LEDs? Anyway, you lot have been sharing some of your favourite, or more often less happy memories of using them…Take a trip down memory lane with our story.
Called “Wonder” because you wondered if they were going to work or not… 😳
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) February 18, 2021
Thanks for the dark memories! So pleased we have LEDs now.
— Rob Skinner (@robskinner) February 18, 2021
Caja Rural's litter pockets
With the UCI clamping down on littering, Caja Rural have a solution for their riders in the form of eco pockets. Presumably they don’t want their sticky gel wrappers clogging up their back pockets so have an easy access side option. Sir Dave Brailsford will probably want to check the aerodynamics before jumping on board…
The post said: “One of the commitments of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA this season is to take better care of the environment that surrounds us, with actions such as the #EcoPocket. It will not be the only one. Very soon we will announce more news related to sustainability and respect for the environment.”
18 February 2021, 08:55
18 February 2021, 08:55
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Latest Comments
With so many people using and looking at mobie phones whilst driving and other distractions, may I suggest you always wear Hi viz and stay at home.
The design of the "car" has played a role in this. SUVs and what the Americans call "trucks" are exempt from the pedestrian safety regulations which apply to passenger cars. Had the victim been hit by a car designed in the past twenty years he would have been "scooped" onto the bonnet and either over the roof or off to one side. Still a serious injury risk and potentially fatal but they have the benefit of those passive safety systems to improve their chances. With vehicles with such a high bonnet line as this Volvo has what tends to happen is the person bounces off the bonnet and falls on the road in front of the vehicle where they're then run over. This has happened time and time again and is becoming more of an issue as the numbers of vehicles exempt from the safety standards grows.
@Accessibility for all Reducing the speeds wouldn't have helped in this case as the driver was reported doing 65 in a 40 zone on the approach to the junction, his driving described by the witnesses as erratic and evidently had no intention to stop to give way even though he had been warned by the passenger who apparently shouted "bike" three times just before the collision. He would have likely flown through that junction even if it was traffic light controlled with a red light for him at the time. In my own experience the entire area i.e. east of Lymm towards Warburton and along Dunham Road all the way up to Altrincham and past into Hale Barns, all those wealthy, posh settlements around Manchester Airport are best avoided by road cyclists. A disproportionally high number of psycho drivers must for some reason live in that area because every single time I went there on my road bike in the past, I either got harassed myself or witnessed proper dickhead driving - speeding, close passes, overtaking into oncoming traffic or round a blind bend, accelerating towards pedestrians already crossing the road, you name it. I gave up road cycling in that area years ago and only use the local TPT these days.
In respect of the murder charge: based on him hitting Mr Mullins and making no attempt to help him (this killing him), how would the case compare to a hit and run driver who seriously injures or kills a cyclist, knowingly, and flees the scene without helping? Would this make the cut for a murder charge? Or is there something very different going on here that I’m missing? Genuinely curious because I don’t recall there being a murder charge before for this kind of thing unless it was premeditated. In fact, in my experience most cases like this seem to go the opposite way - where the driver can merely say the sun was in their eyes and get away with a slap on the hands.
@Rendel Harris...and there was me dishing out the praise!
@polainm He must also be an already hardened criminal. It wasn't mentioned during the court proceedings to avoid influencing the jurors and ensuring he had a fair trial, but he had been released from prison shortly before this incident and was couch surfing at his cousin's house days before. Just look at his face, he's only 35, but looks older than his victim who was 56. Must have spent half his adult life in prison.
@jaymack They did offer him manslaughter though but he declined to plead guilty. Without wanting to seem curmudgeonly, yes great that they preferred the most serious charges but hard to see how they could have done differently considering that Richardson got out of the car, saw Mr Mullins was stuck underneath and then got back in and carried on. That clearly moved it above anything that falls under death by dangerous driving.
@thrawed Agree - the UK winters are utterly grim; grey, wet & windy. Not the type of weather you really want to go out and ride. Everything get covered in filth, and takes time to clean it after a ride. Oh for colder, drier & crisper days which can be enjoyable to be out in.
@ymm In my view, lax sentencing of dangerous drivers, especially where cyclists are involved, makes the judge, jury and CPS complicit in UK driver culture. This driver is a sociopath.
@Mr Blackbird i reckon the libido is a bit overrated. I'd let that go rather than a limb or a nice bike.
37 thoughts on “Calls to ban motor traffic from Richmond Park after shocking crash; Litter pocket; Tour of Cambridgeshire postponed; The Killers’ Brandon Flowers needs surgery on cycling injury; Pro back after heart scare; Extreme winter commuter + more on the live blog”
This child and “Smelly Pants
This child and “Smelly Pants Wee” from the Mayo and Kermode Film podcast are great reminders of the joy of life during the last year.
Tour Of Cambridgshire and all
Tour Of Cambridgshire and all the official UCI events moved from June to September 24th-26th.
Can we assume from Brandon’s
Can we assume from Brandon’s comment that his left brake is for the front?
What kind of madness is that?
Front brake on the right……Always!
Clutch on the left
Yep, right brake is the front
Yep, right brake is the front on my MTBs and my motorbikes. But not on my BMXs.
Crazy Americans!
Crazy Americans!
No way was that car doing
No way was that car doing 20mph, the damage is far too extensive, probably double the 20mph limit.
I clicked the Tweet link and
I clicked the Tweet link and related Tweets showed this beauty from a Taxi driver retweeted by Cylcing Mikey (and others)
https://twitter.com/MikeyCycling/status/1362088029314244611?s=20
So filming kids and women,
Filimg whilst driving
Fiming whilst speeding (he is good enough to show the SL is 20 and goes up to 24 on his car before he stops)
Amazing. Clearly the kid has
Amazing. Clearly the kid has just learnt to ride a bike as well, can’t imagine why they’re not learning to ride on the road from day 1
its so tempting just to reply
its so tempting just to reply to that taxi driver and say yeah Id ride on the flippin pavement too if there were people driving around on the road using their mobile phones to film stuff and not paying attention to the 1 tonne of lethal equipment they are in control of..
the mentality of some of these people, the worst thing is I bet even if you are riding on the road, theyd still give you a hard time just for being a cyclist.
you read that inital setup
you read that inital setup and it sounds just maybe a normal kind of rider gets bounced on to the road after a collision style incident,then you read driver hurt their hand & that sounds a bit odd…click through to the tweet…holy f*** what the hell, 20mph, are they serious !!!
Id guess the car is an automatic, and the driver panic stamped on the gas rather than the brake when faced with a sudden impeding collision with the cyclist, and just steered onto a fence or something, I doubt they pulled it out of the tree to take a the picture, that could so easily have been a fatal or serious injury on the cyclist(s) caught up in that.
wont ban cars through there will they though
No chance of them banning
No chance of them banning cars…….imagine that. I’m not sure what would make them ban cars…
Awavey wrote:
If it’s the long range Nissan Leaf then they’re pretty rapid, 0-60 in 6.7sec.
But they also have Automatic Emergency Braking…
The crash damage looks a lot worse than the NCAP at 40mph. Side and front airbags deployed. Quite a long straight prior to the bend.
Or doing less than 20mph, but
Or doing less than 20mph, but accelerating very harshly – see electric cars & automatics in comments above?
You know, force, power, torque; them things I never paid much attention to in physics lessons…
or cycling for that matter
Fingers crossed the RP
Fingers crossed the RP cyclist is OK. For the car to get to that spot it has smashed through a solid metal rail and bollards and across the footpath. Simply could not have achieved that at 20mph. Absolute miracle nobody was killed.
I saw pics of this crash on
I saw pics of this crash on Twitter first as the Royal Parks Police posted them. That car must have been going considerably faster than the speed limit. It would not suffer that kind of damage at 20mph. I hope the cyclist heals up ok. I also hope the police take proper action against the driver.
And on another topic, I hope Brandon Flowers from The Killers heals up ok too. I’ve seen them live and they were pretty good.
Looking at the pictures on
Looking at the pictures on twitter, it looks like the driver could be an elderly lady, the Nissan Leaf will be automatic. She possibly floored the accelerator instead of the brake, which is frighteningly common.
a Nissan Leaf, so its
a Nissan Leaf, so its electric and the torque at low speed on those electric motors, which is near instaneous no mechanical lag, is greater than some even well tuned sports cars, Nissan once unbelievably claimed it could out accelerate their Nissan GT-R, marketing hype for sure, but you get the idea.
True the Nissan 2018 40kW
True the Nissan 2018 40kW Leaf will outpace many ICE from10mph to 40mph. I know because I own one, Ive embarrassed many a car with the acceleration. The 60kW model has alot more 30-70mph grunt.
If the driver wasnt expecting it by unintentionally accelerating hard, the car can lose traction being fwd and torque steer- if you’re not quick to react.
I guesswork until driver, witnesses and victim comment
Perhaps electric cars with
Perhaps electric cars with such rapid acceleration should have enhanced brakes?
Reminds me of a mate in the early 80s who put a Porsche engine into his VW Beetle. He couldn’t wait for the upgrade brakes to arrive, so drove it. Let’s say it wasn’t very good at stopping, but luckily the engine survived the ensuant smash.
He didn’t follow the Hayes
He didn’t follow the Hayes manual then ?
Refitting is the reverse of
Refitting is the reverse of removal ? 😉
The brakes are very good on
The brakes are very good on the Nissan Leaf, vented discs front and rear. My Tesla acclerates 0-60 in ~4 secs It too has excellent brakes.
Its the right foot thats connected to the slow brain reaction is the issue.
I’m a advocate of driver retest every 5 years, both skill, reaction and physical assessment. This would be a huge revenue earner for HMG and remove many poor drivers, either skill or phyical problems from the road.
After a thorough re training or medical control should said driver be allowed to drive again.
We need a much, much higher standard of driving skill on UK roads
But, but driving is a right
But, but driving is a right that cannot be taken away.
#irony
#irony
I agree with you about
I agree with you about retesting. I took my car test a very long time ago. Curiously enough, it was doing my motorbike test a few years later that really taught me how to drive.
Chris Hayes wrote:
Sounds like he couldn’t control the acceleration. The brakes weren’t the issue….
Yeah we have a couple of the
Yeah we have a couple of the bonkers Teslas at work plus a couple of the Porsche Taycans. The acceleration is beyond silly. It’s like warp speed with no build up. Electric car and old lady equals disaster.
Has anyone else noted that
Has anyone else noted that the revised Tour of Cambridge date is the same weekend as the revised date for the London Revolution?
28mm Gatorskins in the snow,
28mm Gatorskins in the snow, Goodluck with that.Speaking as someone with a broken hip in a 4c dry crash, now in week 5 of non weight bearing, I could only watch the first minute. Clearly I need to man up and invest in the saw blade wheels!
now in week 5 of non weight
now in week 5 of non weight bearing
Best wishes with this- I am reminded how lucky I was with my own free fall.
So sorry to hear of your
So sorry to hear of your broken hip. I’ve commuted in similar conditions this winter but I dragged my old mountain bike out with 2.1″ knobblies. No way I would do that sort of thing on 28mm road tyres these days although there was a time when I would but as I get older I’m so much more warey of breaking bones. A good friend of mine came off his bike at low speed and broke the head clean off his femur. I few days later I came off on a diesel spill and landed hard on my hip. My first thought was have I done any serious damage. Fortunately nothing more than bruising and soem broken skin. Get well soon.
The Caja Rural litter pocket
The Caja Rural litter pocket is an old idea, the Saur-Sojasun team had this feature on their jersey in 2011.
Wouldn’t have hurt to include that MSR is taking place this Saturday. I had to go and search for it (or have I not been paying attention?).
but what do pro riders put in
but what do pro riders put in their jersey pockets though that needs not to be covered in sticky gel wrappers? bearing in mind the likes of Alice Barnes has her whole career I believe just used her jersey pockets for used gels and never discarded any and doesnt need an extra pocket.
And I get us normies have keys, moneys,mobiles,airpump,tools, maybe tissues, I just put empty gels in my saddle bag tbf, but what are pro riders carrying that needs protecting, its not like they wear the same jersey the next day without washing it anyway.
just seems a roundabout way of them literally saying,hey we wont litter anymore, but rather than just saying that, it has to have an extra hook that shows their previous littering habits were just they didnt have enough jersey pockets before…
Awavey wrote:
I have no idea but if the little pocket means they don’t simply toss their used wrappers away then it has to be a good thing.
I’d be happy to have a small ‘litter’ pocket in a jersey so that empty wrappers are stored separately from full ones (and anything else I’m carrying). If nothing else, it prevents the wrapper being removed accidentally when I pull out the next piece of food that I want to use.
But the topic of wrappers and bottles allows people to sidestep the much more significant issues of pollution and the environmental damage caused by pro racing.
Possibly they just don’t want
Possibly they just don’t want to be wasting time and attention rifling through empty wrappers to find the unused one, when they need to be concentrating as much as possible on the race.
MSR is taking place on the
MSR is taking place on the 20th March. Not this Saturday.
Sniffer wrote:
Doh!
Thanks for the correction.
Catching up late on a Friday evening, was beginning to think that the build-up had passed me by.