“I don’t need petrol, because I’m on a bike,” Cyclist mocks panic buying drivers; “I was in the same way as Pantani”, Jan Ullrich talks addiction and reunites with Lance Armstrong; Cycling campaign group called ‘destructive’ + more on the live blog…
SUMMARY
Jan Ullrich reunites with Lance Armstrong and opens up about recovery from addiction
Jan Ullrich has made his first public appearance since 2018 alongside his one-time rival Lance Armstrong.
Ullrich was with Armstrong, George Hincapie and Johan Bruyneel, on the Spanish island of Mallorca when he appeared on The Move podcast.
Means the world to be riding in Mallorca with @JanUllrich5 and getting my ass kicked on the bike by him. Who says great rivals can’t be friends?!
📷: @LizKreutz pic.twitter.com/viSKacTWJQ— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) September 26, 2021
There, he spoke about his struggles over recent years which included a drink driving charge and two physical assaults, one on a sex worker.
He also discussed his recovery from addiction and said at his worst he was ‘like Marco Pantani – almost dead.’
He said: “Three years ago I had big problems.
“And [Lance] comes and visit me. I was so happy you come. I was in the same way as Marco Pantani. Nearly dead”
The 47-year-old German, who won the 1997 Tour de France, added: “I forget for a long time what is good for me.
“All I remember is 20 years ago, or 15 years ago. Then I forget what is good for me. Cycling is good. Hanging out with friends. Love. My kids, my family. All this – I forget this. That was my problem….
“God give me this body and God give me this talent. I’m nothing or full gas. I have my coach for my back muscles. I train every day. I drink water. I stop alcohol and drugs three years ago. I live very healthy, my girlfriend cooking very healthy for me. And this all together brings me in very good shape and good feeling.”
“I have good friends and a good team at home. I’m not alone and that’s important. I needed help, and now I have the help.”
Armstrong has always said he admired Ullrich as a rider and he flew to the German’s home in Mallorca in August of 2018 to support his former rival after he was arrested and admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
Labour calls for extra active travel spending as the amount of traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels
Labour has called for extra spending on safe cycling and walking, saying that as motor traffic levels return to pre-Covid levels the gains in active travel made during the pandemic could soon be squandered, The Guardian Reports.
Kerry McCarthy, the shadow minister for green transport, said: “It’s time this government showed some real ambition, striking while the iron is hot on active travel rather than rehashing old pledges.”
A government spokesperson said: “While we have some of the safest roads in the world, this government will continue to work tirelessly to ensure they are made safer still.
“We are investing record amounts in safe active travel schemes and cleaner transport infrastructure, and recently announced changes to the Highway Code, meaning those who present the most risk to other road users are given the greatest responsibility in creating a safer travel environment for all.”
Could this be the secret to the current run of Slovenian success?
The Goni Pony race in the Slovenian Alps is a retro-single speed competition that has become a popular event in the Eastern European country.
To enter, you have to be riding a 20-inch wheeled bicycle and it can only have a single gear.
The Goni Pony route ascends a punishing climb up one of Slovenia’s most picturesque mountain passes – the Vršica road. On the route the riders climb 801m in just 13km.
Luka Kovacic won this year’s race for the second time in a row. He blitzed the Vršica climb in 39 minutes and 54 seconds.
Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič have yet to take part in the event as far as we are aware – but perhaps it could be the perfect stage for Roglič to take revenge after that Tour de France time trial… We’d love to see it.
Open Letter calls on cycling organisations to recognise the challenges LGBTQIA+ people face in the sport
An open letter signed by Philippa York, Callum Skinner and Clay Davies, the UK’s first elite-level, openly gay male cyclist calls for cycling organisations to do more to support LGBTQIA+ riders.
The letter, which can be read in full here, asks that the sport celebrates lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, intersex and ace / asexual (LGBTQIA+) cyclists and their stories, not just on key dates … but all year round.
It also calls for a strict zero-tolerance policies of biphobia, homophobia, lesbophobia and transphobia and to guarantee LGBTQIA+ cyclists and groups receive funding which is proportional to the size of the LGBTQIA+ population.
Julian Alaphilippe celebrates with huge crowds in Flanders after World Championship victory
Julian Alaphilippe’s win at the weekend on an extremely tough route saw thousands of spectators lining the street.
In scenes reminiscent of the pre-pandemic world Alaphilippe was filmed celebrating with the Flandrian crowds.
Julian Alaphilippe’s post world championships celebration, in Belgium yesterday, shows that we can return to normal. #COVID #hope #cycling #sbscycling #couchpeloton pic.twitter.com/ovwKwDtn7n
— Matthew Keenan (@mwkeenan) September 27, 2021
Also the little Frenchman’s palmares isn’t looking too shabby after that second World Championship win…
Julian Alaphilippe’s palmares
2xWorld Champion
Milano-Sanremo
3xFleche Wallonne
Strade Bianche
Brabantse Pijl
Clasica San Sebastian
Seven Grand Tour stages— CafeRoubaix (@CafeRoubaix) September 26, 2021
Cyclist mocks motorists queuing for petrol after weekend of panic buying leaves stations across country without fuel
After a weekend in which motorists up and down the country ignored government advice and spent their days off sat in long queues desperately waiting to buy petrol it was inevitable that other road users might find the sight of so much standstill traffic slightly amusing.
One cyclist apparently decided that chanting ‘Queueing for petrol, I don’t need petrol, because I’m on a bike’ while riding around motorists trying to buy petrol would be the best way of promoting the many benefits of cycling.
Police search for man who keeps cycling around village naked
Police have been out on patrol after residents in a quiet Buckinghamshire village kept reporting a man cycling around naked.
The Winslow neighbourhood team have scoured Whaddon village over the past month following the strange reports, Bucks Free Press reports.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson from Aylesbury Vale said: “The Winslow neighbourhood team have been out on foot patrol in and around Whaddon village following reports over the last month that a male has been seen cycling around whilst naked.
“While there may be an innocent explanation for this behaviour, it has led to some members of the public to become concerned and report it to us.”
Cycling fans defend British Cycling team coach celebration after Zoe Bäckstedt win
Cycling fans have come out in force to defend the celebration by a British Cycling coach who was accused of being ‘distracted’ while driving the team car.
Our story at the weekend highlighted safety concerns a number of people raised after seeing the clip below. They accused the coach of being distracted by the screen in the car and of taking her hands off the wheel when pedestrians were nearby.
Us too @EmmaTrott1989, us too 🤪🤯
🔈 sound on.#GBCT 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/rdROO0DRsS
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) September 25, 2021
Now, a large number of people have hit back at the critics and have defended professional cyclist-turned coach Emma Trott’s exuberant celebrations.
One person, Charlie Newman, commented: “It’s a team car! People need to understand, the roads are closed and as the car was following the winner it would have been funnelled into the finishing chute with no riders on the road and barriers between the road and the spectators. People really need to calm down and congratulate the fact GB has a female junior world champion!”
Another, Des Pullar, said: “For those complaining watch the Movistar documentary series on Netflix – The Least Expected Day – you’ll see worse driving celebrations than this.”
Alexander Rae agreed, saying: “Clearly the people complaining have never watched a professional race before and seen what happens in the team cars on a daily basis.”
Some remained unconvinced however, with Richard Burton, commenting: “[British Cycling] is supposed to be a cycling organisation, but it’s clearly just about winning races, and sod all the cyclists who get killed/injured by drivers who do the same thing. They don’t even have the guts to admit it’s wrong and apologise.”
Lael Wilcox leads group of women on 700km bike packing endurance challenge
Endurance athlete Lael Wilcox set off last Friday (24th September) leading a group of over 20 women from seven different countries on an epic 700km bikepacking ride.
Komoot, who helped organise the event, said it is believed to be the first such challenge exclusively for women.
The event is self-supported and each participant can ‘create her own adventure’ – whether that’s to ride solo or with others, and to sleep and eat where preferred.
Lael, an ultra-endurance bicycle racer who won the Trans Am Bike Race in 2016, said: “I’ve been told that it’s impossible for women to ride long distances, to climb mountains, to ride through the remote countryside. Yet I’ve done all of these things and so have many women that are joining on this week-long adventure.”
Also, tonight at 8pm GMT Rapha will be releasing the film following Lael’s latest monumental challenge – beating the fastest known time on the 858 mile (1381km) long Trans Alaska Pipeline from Deadhorse to Valdez.
Cycling campaign group accused of being 'militant and destructive' during 'pile on' of abusive reviews
A cycling campaign group subjected to a ‘pile on’ of negative reviews on Google has called on its supporters to lend a hand in restoring its online reputation.
The London Cycling Campaign, who feature regularly on road.cc and want to make cycling ‘safer and more enjoyable’ for all, asked for help this morning after a number of people decided to abuse them on Google reviews first thing on a Monday morning.
One negative review read: “Destructive and racist organisation that uses disinformation and lobbying of local authorities to promote cycling in London, causing traffic gridlock and pollution, promoting privatised roads at the expense of disabled people, families and businesses.”
Another said: “Cycling is a great activity and sport. This however is a militant arm of the 1 per cent who are determined to do all they can to rally against vehicle owners and drivers”
Looks like there’s a bit of an organised Monday morning pile on toward LCC on Google reviews 😭 if you fancy giving us a hand, check our profile out herehttps://t.co/PsLYslzGjf pic.twitter.com/0vXqXc5lvO
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) September 27, 2021
Following the campaign’s call for help, a number of much more positive reviews have started to appear with one woman describing the organisation as ‘An amazing group of people, one of the best things about London.’
Warning issued after large metal spikes found drilled into road
Police have issued a warning after large metal spikes were found drilled into the middle of a road.
A resident found the metal spikes on Ireby Road, near Ingleton in North Yorkshire, close to the border with Lancashire.
A North Yorkshire police spokesperson said: “Police have been made aware of some metal spikes that were found in the road.
“The local neighbourhood policing team are currently making enquiries to establish the full circumstances around this incident.”
27 September 2021, 08:30
Howard Cox says he was inundated with calls from motorists looking to panic-buy petrol
Fair Fuel UK boss blames “militant cyclist” for marking his house as petrol station on Google Maps
Howard Cox says he was inundated with calls from motorists looking to panic-buy petrol
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Latest Comments
@MaxiMinimalist Really? So this applies only to drivers from Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Garonne and Vaucluse, drivers from the other sixteen départements that make up the south are fine?
Yeah, it's great isn't it........
Handling a bike across a bit of grass is a bit different to descending rock gardens, and drop off in a XCO World Cup....... The top XC guys are on another level to elite road racers.......(Pidcock is an outlier) MvdP has struggled in recent years after spending too long away from it.
45 years without being hit wasn't a bad run. I hope you are back on the bike and are dealing well with the fear.
I’m pretty much expecting this is a restructuring and everything will continue as it was before. Whether pricing and discounting stays the same I don’t know, but the business was acquired recently and this feels like part of that rather than the end. I’m surprised by the negative comments - I prefer my lecol bibs to my Rapha ones. Our club use lecol for our kit and I’ve found the quality is pretty good - I don’t know who else does club kit but I’ve been pretty happy with what was produced for us.
Given how rubbish Wandsworth Council is for active travel they actually did surprisingly well on the Healthy Streets Scorecard: https://www.healthystreetsscorecard.london/results/your_borough/wandsworth/ but this score seems to be mainly based on the roll out of (widely ignored) 20 mph speed limits. I suspect this is a temporary lull and the score will shortly plummet as even other similarly apathetic car-centric boroughs will start to outperform WBC. And the Blade Mews debacle is just ridiculous institutional anti-cyclist bias.
In my 5th year with a pair of their Roubaix gloves. They are starting to look a bit tatty not but have outlasted, by 2 my Castelli winter gloves.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8l5gme7lyo Judge wants to avoid banning motorcyclist from driving cars... why???
I am the Harold Lepper of the BMW story, I don't remember the accident nor the next 5 hours I have little flashes of memory in that time like snapshots. I was unconscious for a minute or two after I had wound up lying on the wrong side of the road after bouncing off the car. I would never ride on the wrong side of the road nor cut a corner it is not the way I ride a bike. I would use my lanes width if safe to do so. I can only guess what happened, I have a flash of memory of checking behind just before the corner to check no car behind as I would be moving to primary thought he corner, another flash of memory going I need full brakes and it won't be enough. I think I would have adjusted my line to the middle of the road hoping they would stop just over the give way line. They actually stopped right across my lane and about 2 feet into the opposite carriage way and the back of their car was just still in the side road. If I had stayed to the far left I would still have hit them. As the Judge said to Miss Sim if he was on the wrong side of the road why did he not cycle round your car? Surely where he hit you suggests he was veering away from your emerging car. Prosecution pointed out that I was braking so hard my back wheel was off the ground, she said she didn't think I had braked. Prosecution asked if she would pull out in the same situation again she said yes 4 times then the 5th time said perhaps not. Prosecution said that it looks like the cyclist was passing this sign on the CCTV about 8m from the accident on the left side of the road, she said it did but it was deceptive the cyclist was nearer the middle of the road. Prosecution paused then said so you deliberately pulled out into the path of oncoming traffic. They tried to muddy the water because they said I overtook another cyclist before the junction, which I believe is correct I have a vague recollection that it was moving very slowly and was more of a moped looking machine. It bumbles into view several seconds after the collision. Navigates round her BMW and was never heard of again! The verdict was reported to me just now that she has been found guilty has been banned from driving for 12 months and has been given a community order of 100 hours work. I think she saw me behind the moped as she approached the junction and before the junction had decided she had time to get out of the junction if the way was clear to the left, so she pulled out thinking she had time when she had given me about 10 yards to stop.
Surprised there's no mention of The Texan's crossfield detour in 2003, say what you like about him (and who doesn't?), the man could handle a bike…
35 thoughts on ““I don’t need petrol, because I’m on a bike,” Cyclist mocks panic buying drivers; “I was in the same way as Pantani”, Jan Ullrich talks addiction and reunites with Lance Armstrong; Cycling campaign group called ‘destructive’ + more on the live blog…”
there is a GREAT story this
there is a GREAT story this morning about Howard Cox, “militant cyclists” and petrol station listings on google maps…. worth a google if you can’t stand the ‘fair fuel’ lobbyists
Yes! Someone got there first
Yes! Someone got there first – see forum topic “Own up then, who was it?”
I’d rather recall this moment
I’d rather recall this moment:
From 0m 55s to 1m 4s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhhUrwyGxHQ
I still grieve for Marco, but I don’t want to listen to Lance or Jan for the rest of this century.
I have a bit of schadenfreude
I have a bit of schadenfreude about petrol although I am more looking forward to fewer vehicles on the road and lower speeds.
Anyone recall the last fuel crisis – don’t think many folk drove more than 35 mph.
Better half drove us to my
Better half drove us to my mother’s on the south coast today, (new car to her, another little very efficient one, my yearly car trip) seemed to be less racing up to queues and less fast lane speeding, or that could be the quantity of speed cameras.
“the gains in active travel
“the gains in active travel made during the pandemic could soon be squandered”
Thanks, now I’ve got coffee everywhere.
Oldfatgit wrote:
Somebody needs to let Labour know that that particular ship sailed a loooong time ago…
See at a critical mass ride
See at a critical mass ride this weekend:
“Police search for man who
“Police search for man who keeps cycling around village naked”
That would make for an interesting identity parade…
‘Helmet’ jokes loading….
‘Helmet’ jokes loading….
10, 9, 8…
I’m not clear – are the
I’m not clear – are the police concerned about the nakedness, or the cycling?
“Queuin’ for petrol, queuin’
“Queuin’ for petrol, queuin’ for petrol, but I’m on a bike!”
30 seconds later…
“Ambulance called, ambulance called… cos you’re on the floor, when I hit you with my door”
Sorry mate, didn’t see ya
Yes you’re quite right, a
Yes you’re quite right, a substantial proportion of motorists probably would react violently to a harmless – if puerile and painfully tuneless – bit of mickey taking from a cyclist, and presumably you would cheer them on, as is your wont.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Weve already seen fights breaking out at the pumps – Of course this means that some motorists are prone to violence, they’re just looking for a victim.
Love radio 4s reporting this morning, that the violence was due to frustration. Nothing to do with some individuals being unable to keep their fists to themselves…..
Oh give over, it was just a
Oh give over, it was just a joke. If you’d understood any of my 654 posts you’d know that I only approve of courteous behaviour, which is why I disagree with your modus operandi.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
Which is why just yesterday you were seeking, without any evidence, to put forward mitigation for an adult male who attacked a child on a bike. You consistently defend violent and aggressive behaviour by motorists towards cyclists and try to cover it up with a pathetic veneer of “Oh but I’m so courteous.”
Most people don’t view violence against cyclists as a suitable matter for joking.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Er no, I actually said “Think there is more to this, given the ages of the people involved, than simply someone being assaulted for riding on the pavement. According to the local newspaper there was a group of people who were looking after the upkeep of the park but were constantly under attack from vandals.”
My point is that would be a very unusual incident for a 72 year old man to assault a 14 year old for cycling on the pavement. Not least because most 72 year olds wouldn’t be able to just drag a 14 year old off a bike and attack them, nor would want to as typically they would come off second best.
You can read the reports of vandalism at the pond where people of a similar age had put in a lot of effort to increase the biodiversity of the area but had been constantly thwarted.
I might be entirely wrong in my analysis, but the author of the Road.cc article had – without evidence – written a headline of “Teenager assaulted because he was seen riding on the pavement” despite neither the source or police having stated this, merely that he was arrested on suspicion of assault (motive unclear).
Nigel Garrage wrote:
So what you are saying by your inference is that the 14 year old cycling in the park is a vandal because they were on a bike in an area with a history of vandalism. And attempting to vindicate the perpetrator of the assault because the cyclist is a vandal without any evidence of that. You did not do an analysis…… you automatically assumed that a teenager on a bike was up to no good.
No, I wrote that the balance
No, I wrote that the balance of evidence would suggest something was afoot due to the ages of the individuals involved, and that vandalism might be an aggravating factor.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
“The balance of evidence” being a total speculation on your part based on the ages of the charged perpetrator of violence and his victim and something you’d read online about there being vandalism in the area, despite the fact that no connection has been drawn between these things by anybody but yourself; you then used this “evidence” to suggest that there could be mitigation for an adult inflicting violence against a child (an action for which, lest we forget, he has been arrested and charged). You know, and we know, that if the positions were reversed and a 14-year-old cyclist had attacked a 72-year-old man you would have been all on the side of the victim and not the assailant, as all you are ever interested in is blaming cyclists for everything possible.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Well now you’re just being ridiculous and reductive. By your logic, leaving a plate of sausages in front of a hungry labrador and a guinea pig – then coming back to find them gone – deducing the labrador (rather than the guinea pig) had eaten them would be “total speculation”.
Sometimes you just need to use a bit of common sense to reach a sensible point of view, and I’m happy I’ve done so in this case. I’m assuming we’ll find out more information in due course, so happy to be corrected if a more unlikely scenario came to pass – but my guess is that no further action will be taken.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
Yeah…banging on about labradors woofing sausages before guinea pigs to justify your supposition – without, again, a shred of supporting evidence – that an adult was justified in inflicting violence on a child and claiming that no further action will be taken despite the perpetrator being arrested and charged doesn’t fall within the remit of what most people understand to be common sense.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
You are also being ridiculous and reductive.
I have a couple of alternative hypotheses given the available evidence. The teenage cyclist spotted the 72 year old man committing acts of vandalism and asked the pensioner to stop and they were attacked for asking the penisoner to stop vandalising something.
Another possibility based on the article you linked is that the kayakers who have been been singled out by the volunteer group are the ones perpetrating the vandalism.
To quote the article. “The volunteer group’s work – including bringing fresh water back into the pond – has suffered multiple setbacks including numerous incidents of vandalism and increasing conflict with local kayakers who have repeatedly flouted long-standing rules banning them from going out on the pond.” The kayakers have a motive to commit acts of vandalism in retribution.
Is it not entirely possible that the pensioner jumped to the same conclusions that you have? They viewed the vandalism as being perpetrated by teenagers, then decided to randomly attack a teenager because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And before you say that kind of thing never happens…. it does to a lot of cyclists just because they are cycling on the road and some psycho in a car who has seen another cyclist do something wrong decides to close pass/throw something/drive at an innocent cyclist.
Oh Nige, it wasn’t a joke and
Oh Nige, it wasn’t a joke and everyone here who knows you knows it wasn’t a joke. and “If you’d understood any of my 654 posts”?
We do understand your 654 posts. You always try to find some way that the cyclist could possibly be to blame in any situation. I’m pretty confident that if I was to look at every single one of your posts on here that you would be blaming the cyclist/absolving the motorist in virtually every post.
You also try and proclaim that you are better than everyone else in the posts by saying you would do this that or the other and would never find yourself in that position as a cyclist…… then turn round in the same post admit that whilst you are in your car you flagrantly break the laws of the road…. or have you conveniently forgot about the admission that you dont use mini roundabouts correctly because most other people dont?Your third para is wrong.
Your third para is wrong. That was nicmason.
Best to skip over what nigel writes though.
If you keep going and strike
If you keep going and strike through the other paragraphs, your post would be 100% correct
I
Presumably this is another attempt by Nigel at a ‘joke’,
TBF to Boo, he does
TBF to Boo, he does occaisially post some bike related good advice. But that still leave a good majority of his posts being trolling efforts to get responses which unfortunately too many do.
Rendel Harris wrote:
The irony is, of course, that the ambulance with which the petrol-scented gammons goad the cyclist will never get there because they are too busy trying to find petrol stations that haven’t been supped dry by panick-buying motorists.
GMBasix wrote:
Is that one of this Christmas’ Heston creations?
There’s a certain deep irony
There’s a certain deep irony in Lab calling for more active travel funding, when in many places Lab councillors are the biggest barrier to building infrastructure.
Might have been helpful to
Might have been helpful to actually mention what the event is in the Lael Wilcox item.
https://www.komoot.com/collection/1234066/the-komoot-torino-nice-rally
As it is, “each participant can ‘create her own adventure’ – whether that’s to ride solo or with others, and to sleep and eat where preferred” makes it sound like it’s just riding any old where, which wouldn’t really be much of an event.
Drivers – fed up of being
Drivers – fed up of being triggered by top-level banter like ‘Queueing for petrol, I don’t need petrol, because I’m on a bike’? Simply get up early on the weekend, drive out into the country and buy up all the cake.
Can’t see the point in being
Can’t see the point in being smug about petrol. Most cyclists also drive cars and most of them will NEED to use them at some point. I can cycle to work but I can’t ferry my parents with dementia about on a tandem or easily get my son to hospital from where we live without a car.
I’m sure there are PLENTY of journey’s that don’t need to be made by car but also plenty that do. I’m guessing the cyclist wouldn’t laughing if he ate shit and the emergency services ran out of petrol.
It does seem a bit pointless.
It does seem a bit pointless. I suspect a good chunk of the cyclists who were at the Drgon Ride Sportive this weekend had some butt clenching moments looking for fuel. I know I did, and that was for something a million miles away from life and death.
Its not just the average bike hating motorist affected either. Ambulances, good vehicles etc etc.