‘Kid needs to hold his line better – that’s a clear DQ’: Fans point out “outrageous” sprint deviation at Paris-Nice… from Romain Bardet’s child; “Don’t brake” for cyclists, says Mike Graham; Ganna vs Echelons; Roglič’s hairy legs + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“Most insane cycling thing you will see today”: Filippo Ganna vs Echelons
I think it’s safe to say that, with two world time trial championships, Olympic gold, and an Hour Record already under his belt, Filippo Ganna didn’t really need to prove how ridiculously strong he is on a bike.
But then the 26-year-old Italian goes and does this as crosswinds hit the end of yesterday’s Tirreno-Adriatico stage into Foligno:
Føretrøjeiklædte @GannaFilippo havde ikke i sinde at lade en lidt uheldig udgangsposition være skyld i, at han ikke kom med på første vifte, da Jumbo prøvede at køre sidevindsræs i #TirrenoAdriatico i dag 😬😬🏍️🏍️ pic.twitter.com/alceteqtNN
— Morten Thomsen (@maatte_T) March 8, 2023
Or tomorrow or pretty much any day soon https://t.co/Z4HxJOzMSB
— William Fotheringham (@willfoth) March 9, 2023
To be fair, it was only Wout van Aert and the rest of Jumbo-Visma piling on the pressure when Ganna decided to scythe through three-quarters of the peloton on his own.
Easy then…
Primož’s hairy legs: Should amateur racers ditch the razor?
Day 3
Guess who still did not shave his legs 😀
It gives you all something to talk aboutGotta love Primoz Roglic #roglic #tirrenoadriatico pic.twitter.com/tQEqMcxTje
— Ann Braeckman (@BraeckmanAnn) March 8, 2023
Tell me racing Tirreno was a last-minute decision without telling me racing Tirreno was a last-minute decision…
No hair, no glory? 🤩🔥💪#roglic #rogla pic.twitter.com/eW0Nr89rAf
— Debby (@Debby_Drckx) March 8, 2023
With the three-time Vuelta winner unleashing his inner early season Sagan this week, inspiring weekend warriors everywhere to ditch the razor, where do you stand on amateur racing’s eternal ‘racing with hairy legs’ debate?
“What about if you see a cyclist? Just don’t brake… They’re supposed to avoid me – otherwise there could be a problem”: More TalkTV ‘classics’ from Mike Graham
In what will almost certainly be the least shocking news you’ll hear all day, TalkRadio’s purveyor of fine nonsense, Mike Graham, has been laying into cyclists again, for no real reason…
In a typically belligerent ‘interview’ with green industrialist and Forest Green Rovers owner Dale Vince yesterday, ostensibly about Just Stop Oil and electric vehicles, radio ranter Graham decided to spend 30 seconds aiming a few digs, naturally, at people who ride bikes and the Highway Code.
(You’ll want to skip forward to the six minute mark on the below clip, otherwise your ears and brain will never forgive you)…
Joined Mike Graham on right wing radio, this morning…@TalkTV @Iromg
He makes me laugh – I’m certain he does’t take himself seriously. The stuff he says is so extreme – it’s like a spiral of self parody.
We started with JSO @JustStop_Oil – criminals he said, #heroes I… https://t.co/dkoBpJIwVO pic.twitter.com/2Dp9RvsFGO
— Dale Vince (@DaleVince) March 8, 2023
Describing the electric BMW i3, Vince said that “you can drive around town and never touch the brake. When you come off the throttle it brakes for you” – a rather innocuous piece of info that promoted this completely obvious segue from Graham into one of his pet topics:
“What if you see a cyclist? Just don’t brake,” the TalkTV presenter chortled.
“Well you have to avoid them,” a bemused Vince responded.
“No, they’re supposed to avoid me, that would be my advice. Otherwise there could be a problem.”
“You should maybe read the Highway Code.”
“I have read the Highway Code, and I disagree with it.”
Oh, how we all laughed and laughed and laughed…
Ellen van Dijk announces pregnancy – and Trek-Segafredo wins the internet
Three-time world time trial champion and Hour Record holder Ellen van Dijk announced this morning that is expecting her first child and will take maternity leave from racing for the entirety of the 2023 season.
The 36-year-old follows in the wheel tracks of Trek-Segafredo teammate Lizzie Deignan, who is currently preparing to return to racing following the birth of her second child last year.
After a sensational 2022, which saw her claim her third rainbow jersey in the time trial and smash the UCI Hour Record, setting a new benchmark of 49.254km in Grenchen last May, former Tour of Flanders winner Van Dijk is now planning to return to the peloton in 2024 – with a gold medal at the Paris Olympics a key target.
We are expecting a baby in September!🤰👨👩👦👶🥰❤️ pic.twitter.com/gG6JOLoXIb
— Ellen van Dijk (@ellenvdijk) March 9, 2023
“Me and Benjamin are super excited to share the news that we are expecting our first child in September. It has always been our wish to start a family and so to have this wish come true, still feels a bit unreal right now,” the Dutch rider said in a statement today.
“Together with the Team, and the unwavering support of Benjamin, I have achieved my biggest goals over the past two years. When discussions around an extension of my contract began last year, we spoke about my seemingly conflicting ambitions: I want to win a medal at the Olympics in 2024, but I would also like to start a family. Straight away, the team was open to both scenarios and that was incredibly heart-warming.
“Of course, it’s a shame I won’t be racing my new supersonic shiny Speed Concept this year and I was really looking forward to wearing the rainbow stripes at the Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta, but you can’t have it all. Nevertheless, I’m very pleased to see these races taking the time trial discipline seriously and hopefully they’ll keep it for next year. It will also be weird not to defend my world title this year, but I think by that time my mind will somewhere else entirely.”
> Former world champion Chantal van den Broek-Blaak announces pregnancy
Van Dijk, who discovered she was pregnant while on a Trek-Segafredo training camp in January, says she still has “unfinished business” with the Olympics.
“In 2016, I crashed in the time trial and ended in a disappointing fourth place then, I didn’t get selected to go to Tokyo so, together with Benjamin and Josu, we have already started to tentatively make a structured plan for my comeback in 2024 and for Paris,” she said.
The 36-year-old also praised the example set by both Deignan – who returned to the sport following her first pregnancy to win the inaugural edition of Paris-Roubaix in 2021 – and the team in general, for enabling their riders to start families while continuing their careers, and forcing the UCI to update its rules concerning maternity leave.
Van Dijk continued: “Having Lizzie in the Team means a lot to me. She is a role model and seeing her do what she does, is very inspiring. Lizzie and Phil have proved that it’s possible to have a family and make a successful comeback. I’m sure I will be asking her for advice now and then as well.
“To have the full support from Trek is something special and they really are the game changers in women’s cycling. Having the option to get pregnant during your career should be a human right, but it wasn’t in our sport. However, thanks to Trek, other teams followed the example of supporting pregnancy and that eventually led to it also becoming a UCI rule.”
Meanwhile, Trek-Segafredo decided to mark Van Dijk’s wonderful news with a brand new, family-friendly aero concept:
An extra set of wheels coming soon for @ellenvdijk’s Speed Concept 😜
📰 https://t.co/Nx4yejYabo pic.twitter.com/gIKPJsvdPk
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) March 9, 2023
Poorly timed cycling hot takes
Act One:
Yesterday’s #TirrenoAdriatico stage was yet another perfect example of how bad of a lead-out Mathieu van der Poel actually is. He’s too strong and often leaves his sprinter behind diving through gaps. Curious what Alpecin will do today…
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) March 8, 2023
Act Two:
“Perfectly delivered!” 📬@mathieuvdpoel performed the perfect leadout to set up @JasperPhilipsen on stage 3 of #TirrenoAdriatico, with nobody able to come around the Belgian rider in the finale
Watch the race highlights over on GCN+ 👉 https://t.co/8FSJcLL3Gx pic.twitter.com/p2mVhArlOt
— GCN Racing (@GcnRacing) March 8, 2023
Act Three:
Turns out, to no one’s surprise, that he’s actually the best lead out in the world as long as he gets a clear run at it. Point that he often drops his sprinters off the wheel but today’s finish was incredible. Not my best timed take ever 😂#TirrenoAdriatico https://t.co/dAjZfmr61h
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) March 8, 2023
“This is why people are able to say, ‘waste of money. nobody uses it anyway’”: New narrow, painted bike lanes blasted by Bolton cyclists – while council says there isn’t enough space to do better “without inconveniencing responsible motorists”
This approach to the cyclops junction is part of Bolton’s newest cycle infrastructure, and will also form part of the “flagship” Manchester Road Corridor scheme. This is why people are able to say: “waste of money; nobody uses it anyway”! 1/6 pic.twitter.com/0JUNlOMB2q
— Bicycle-Riding Motorist (@MrHappyCyclist) March 8, 2023
While Bolton installed the UK’s second ever ‘Cyclops’ (Cycle Optimised Protected Signals) junction back in 2021, it appears that the cycling infrastructure close to that innovative design leaves a lot to be desired.
A Twitter thread posted yesterday by local road safety campaigner Grahame Cooper – who blogs under the name Mr Happy Cyclist – highlights some of the less ground-breaking aspects of the town’s new cycling infra on the nearby Manchester Road which, judging by Cooper’s clips anyway, appears to be largely narrow, painted, low-quality, and unsafe:
This another part of the Manchester Road scheme. They have widened this cycle lane slightly after we pointed out it was too narrow; it’s still too narrow. It’s supposed to be getting wand orcas inside the line! And look what happens to it at the pinch point! 2/6 pic.twitter.com/op0k5updWW
— Bicycle-Riding Motorist (@MrHappyCyclist) March 8, 2023
This is another part of the new Manchester Road scheme near Moses Gate. Look at the newly painted cycle lane. 4/6 pic.twitter.com/owmPJ7hJnv
— Bicycle-Riding Motorist (@MrHappyCyclist) March 8, 2023
New!
Yes. This kind of infrastructure is worse than nothing because it will not bring anyone new to cycling, but makes the situation worse for people who already cycle.
— Bicycle-Riding Motorist (@MrHappyCyclist) March 8, 2023
“Apparently the scheme has many compromises because there isn’t enough space to do better,” Cooper says.
“This is because it’s all to be done ‘without, of course, inconveniencing responsible motorists’ (to quote our Executive Member for Highways and Transport).
“This is why people are able to say, ‘waste of money; nobody uses it anyway!’ How will we ever see more people cycling in Bolton?”
Early season safety chaos, Tirreno-Adriatico edition
Jeepers, now there’s a ‘watch through your fingers’ turn if I ever saw one…
Um this is an INSANELY dangerous road furniture situation – spot the course official hiding at the end… 😬#TirrenoAdriatico pic.twitter.com/3UsLlG5iPK
— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) March 9, 2023
Thankfully, it appears that the peloton was able to safely navigate RCS Sport’s questionable attempt to introduce some Mario Kart-style cornering into today’s Tirreno stage to Tortoreto.
What’s next, a hundred metre jump over a cliff at the top of the final climb? To be honest, that might actually suit Mathieu van der Poel…
road.cc Recommends Spring Special
Look what’s back for 2023:
Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert tangle and crash as Primož Roglič sprints to first win of the season at Tirreno-Adriatico
Brilliant sportsmanship from Wout van Aert ❤️
The @JumboVismaRoad rider immediately checks on Tom Pidcock and shakes his hand after a crash at Tirreno-Adriatico 🤝@WoutvanAert | @tompidcock pic.twitter.com/p49xk3cApm
— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 9, 2023
Cycling fans everywhere, excited at the prospect of a ding-dong battle between the world’s best classics riders over the next month, drew a sharp intake of breath at the sight of Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert on the ground at Tirreno-Adriatico today.
The pair – who, along with Mathieu van der Poel, lit up the ‘cross field over the winter and are expected to challenge for the big cobbled races next month – tangled as Strade Bianche winner Pidcock made his way back down the bunch after doing a turn at the front in the final five kilometres.
Van Aert appeared to be briefly squeezed by one of his Jumbo-Visma teammates near the front of the peloton, leading him to clip the slowing Yorkshireman’s bike, with both riders hitting the deck hard.
Fortunately, despite the serious-looking nature of the spill, both Pidcock and Van Aert, after shaking hands, were able to get back on their bikes and ride to the finish, amiably comparing their respective road rash and tattered kits as they tapped along.
Phew.
As one British rider was forced to take it easy on the final climb to the line in Tortoreto, EF Education-EasyPost’s Hugh Carthy, with the Ineos Grenadiers’ Tao Geoghegan Hart closely following, launched a speculative dig with a kilometre to go.
However, lurking in the shadows was Primož Roglič, who proved that even hairy legs can’t stop him destroying the opposition on an uphill drag.
On a finish tailormade for the Slovenian’s monstrous finishing kick, the three-time Vuelta winner made up for his Jumbo-Visma teammate Van Aert’s disappointment by timing his sprint to perfection to beat Julian Alaphilippe and Adam Yates and take his debut win of 2023.
🏅🇸🇮Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) gana la Etapa 4 d la Tirreno-Adriático 2023 🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico #TirrenoAdriatico2023 #Noticiclismo #Ciclismo pic.twitter.com/EqxPZvlpvT
— NotiCiclismo ➡ 🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico (@Noticiclismo1) March 9, 2023
Who needs a razor, eh?
YouTuber CycleGaz has started uploading near misses made to look like car dashcam footage
It’s often said that a lot of misbehaviour and lack of understanding we see from a minority of drivers on the road is because they lack the perspective of other vulnerable road users… and so CycleGaz, the YouTuber who has built up a cult following with his almost daily uploads highlighting poor driving, has flipped this on its head with his latest tactic.
Recent uploads have the clip played twice, once with an overlay that makes it look like CycleGaz is sat in the driving seat of a car, and then the original footage that shows it again without the special effect.
He told Forbes: “Many people are blind to the issues that cyclists face, so I’m shifting the perception.”
What do you think, are these clip modifications likely to shift perspectives of the least understanding road users out there? Perhaps the driving theory test is due a revamp!
Flogging cookers > being a pro cyclist
📽️👩🍳 🚴
Being a professional cyclist is not always easy 😉@mhaller91 @lennardkaemna @Sammmy_Be @ryanmullen9 @MaxSchachmann @BORAGmbH #boracookingsystems #morethancooking #BandOfBrothers #BORAhansgrohe pic.twitter.com/HWU58KcY2m
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) March 9, 2023
In which we find out that you can actually buy an oven with an oddly specific Tomahawk steak setting… erm, take my money, sort of…
Roglic hairy leg-gate: Slovenian says he was waiting for first win of the season to shave them
Roglic zegt dat ‘ie zijn benen zou scheren na zijn eerste zege. ‘Maar dat is makkelijker gezegd dan gedaan, want dit gaat wel even duren.’ En ja, er werd om gelachen in het peloton. ‘En ik moest er zelf ook om lachen.’ https://t.co/5T8eZsPPmO
— Daan Hakkenberg (@daanhakkenberg) March 9, 2023
Well the results are in: if you participated in our super important survey below then I can reveal that 83% of you don’t care about hairy legs amongst us mere mortals… however, the man who inspired the debate himself says that he was in fact waiting for his first win of the season to shave them, according to AD Sportworld reporter Daan Hakkenberg.
“I still have some work to do. For example, shaving my legs,” said Roglic. Expect to see the Slovenian looking a little smoother in the lower limb department at his next big race, then!
Cyclist who blasted police inaction after alleged hit-and-run sends complaint letter with the help of Cycling UK
Police complaint sent, huge thanks to @WeAreCyclingUK for the help in putting it together. Change is coming! I’ll keep you updated. pic.twitter.com/dwnykRprCv
— Alan Myles 🇵🇸 (@AlanMyles8) March 9, 2023
A cyclist who criticised Police Scotland’s “appalling” inaction that enabled a motorist to escape punishment for an alleged hit-and-run has sent a letter to Police Scotland’s Professional Standards department, with the help of Cycling UK, after originally receiving little response from East Dunbartonshire Police despite contacting them around 30 times.
Alan Myles told road.cc: “Cycling UK have been really helpful in submitting the request, so that it shouldn’t be sorted with an apology and then swept under the carpet.”
Since our original article was published, we also reported how delays to the introduction of an online road safety reporting portal in Scotland is potentially putting cyclists “at risk.”
Scottish cyclists currently have to use the Police Scotland Online Reporting Form, said to be time-consuming and inconsistent, and how much action is taken can often be down to the attitudes of individual forces and officers.
Police Scotland and the Scottish Government announced funding for a national safety portal last year, but it hasn’t been implemented yet.
Olav Kooij sprints to biggest win of career at Paris-Nice
Until today, Jumbo-Visma’s sprinting protégé Olav Kooij had racked up seven top four placings in bunch sprints this season without tasting victory.
But the prodigious 21-year-old put that near miss record behind him on stage five of Paris-Nice this afternoon, beating Mads Pedersen and the fast-finishing Tim Merlier into Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to secure the biggest win of his young career.
The 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 win of Olav Kooij’s career! 🥇
The Dutchman takes @JumboVismaRoad back to their winning ways with a last-second overtake in Stage 5 of Paris-Nice 😍#ParisNice | @KooijOlav pic.twitter.com/5stSLoZmQw
— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 9, 2023
I have a feeling the floodgates might have just opened…
Snowy podcast listening
That’s all for today’s live blog, but I thought I’d leave you with some early evening easy listening on the road.cc Podcast, featuring some insightful contributions (don’t laugh) from your bloggy favourites:
‘Kid needs to hold his line better – that’s a clear DQ’: Fans point out “outrageous” sprint deviation at Paris-Nice… from Romain Bardet’s child
I thought I’d kick off this wintery edition of the live blog with one of the more heart-warming moments so far from this year’s Race to the Sun:
🚴🏻♂️ Décrassage en famille pour @romainbardet 🥰
🚴🏻♂️ Family cool-down for @romainbardet 🥰#ParisNice pic.twitter.com/k8A8OlERu4
— Paris-Nice (@ParisNice) March 8, 2023
Cuteness alert. #parisnice pic.twitter.com/wMtNm1rfHg
— daniel mcmahon (@cyclingreporter) March 8, 2023
Some serious cycling fans on Twitter, however, noted that young Angus Bardet – who astutely closed the door on his old man in the sprint for the team bus – may be following more closely in the chaotic wheel tracks of a certain anarchic French sprint line deviator, Nacer Bouhanni, than his polite Tour de France podium placer dad…
Kid needs to hold his line better
— Nich Carlson (@nichcarlson) March 8, 2023
Bigger deviation than bouahnni
— Dylan Curtis (@DMCX1998) March 8, 2023
If that was Bouhanni!!!!!!
— Adam Wood (@Gotwood25) March 9, 2023
smh, if it was Nacer Bouhanni the UCI would’ve slapped him with a 6-month ban already 🙄🙄🙄
— miguel (@mcmalveiro) March 9, 2023
That shockingly dangerous post-stage manoeuvre from three-year-old Angus (who allegedly raced against Arnaud De Lie and Juan Ayuso in the U4 category last year) also prompted several calls for the Paris-Nice organisers to throw the book at the upstart:
That’s a clear sprint deviation by the child. 😠
They deviate from their lane & endanger the adult, should be a full-blown DQ and a few months suspension. 🚫 pic.twitter.com/edvaDEtwxh
— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) March 9, 2023
Definitely take 200 Swiss Francs from his piggy bank! 🫣😜❤️🚴♂️
— Mark VRR5 (@MarkhillR5S) March 9, 2023
Look like he was ready to put the shoulder into the bloke too. Vicious.
— Mark Textor (@textor_mark) March 9, 2023
Reckless for sure but the elephant in the room is the deliberate obfuscation of what are surely illegal socks
— Kristian Doolan (@kednelly) March 9, 2023
Also I’m pretty sure that bike is not UCI approved. Typical UCI lack of consistency. What a joke.
— Jeroen Kooij (@JeroenK_MTB) March 9, 2023
Though I reckon kicking two generations of Bardets off the race in the space of six years might be pushing it, even for ASO.
Romain Bardet disqualified from Paris-Nice for taking car tow. #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/bUEED8E3Fi
— Peter SagFan (@Peter_SagFan) March 5, 2017
> Stickiest of ‘sticky bottles’ gets Romain Bardet kicked out of Paris-Nice
It’s a good job that Primož Roglič is over in Italy at Tirreno, otherwise we all know who would be getting the blame:
It was Fred Wrights fault.
— Paul James 🇯🇪 (@JerseyPaul90) March 9, 2023
It just goes to show, Peter Sagan was right: all these youngsters flooding into the pro ranks these days before they’ve properly served their apprenticeships, putting the old timers in danger with their sketchy bike-handling and youthful swagger.
There’s no respect in the peloton anymore these days, I tell ya!
9 March 2023, 09:45
9 March 2023, 09:45
9 March 2023, 09:45
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@Backladder Oh I think I can guess - the nearest indoor velodrome to road.cc HQ looks to be some distance away in Wales, whereas Odd Down Cycle Track (where this test was conducted) is just 2 miles away.
There are a number of causes of "the divide between motorists and cyclists". Only one is to do with the technology (of bicycles and cars) and that's the nature of the car, which is designed to induce the sort of dangerous and careless behaviours that providing humans with a lot of power and glamour fetches out of us. Other causes are much more insidious - A culture of hyper-individualism bordering on solipsism, with violently ultra-selfish and aggressive anti-heroes being promoted in every mass media channel as the ideal. A "news" media that overwhelmingly seeks, creates and offers pariahs and scapegoats to the rabid individualists, which pariahs and scapegoats includes all kinds of those perceived as less powerful and therefore easy victims, including cyclists. The near complete lack of any curb upon the dangerous antics of vast numbers of media-maddened motorists by the forces of law and order, many of whom are actually members themselves of the mass media maddened motorist ilk. ******** No amount of a more rational discourse about active travel or the means of making it safer will change these root causes of the vast numbers of deaths and maiming due to inept, incompetent and deliberately violent antics of vast numbers of motorists allowed their dangerous "weapons of choice". Yet many other highly damaging aspects of modern societies would be solved by a much more effective curbing of mass media mob-building and goading along with a serious attempt to prevent motorists and a whole range of other damagers from behaving as badly as so many do. It'll not happen, of course. Large and powerful elements of the modern world obtain far too much ultra-riches and power from current conditions for them to allow any significant change. And vast numbers of the population have long had their minds, attitudes and behaviours captured and directed by various oligarchical monsters and their mass media propaganda horns. About the only chance of safe active travel becoming extant is for the population at large to become mostly too poor to afford a car, ironically one other likely outcome of the machinations of those same power and money-mad monsters that have created the car-issue in the first place. Their need for zero-sum socio-economic arrangements degrades everything, including the wallet-contents of the masses.
@Astralstroll The hierarchy of road users does not mean priority of road users except in certain circumstances, e.g. stopping to let pedestrians cross junctions before turning. It doesn't mean that cyclists have priority over motor vehicles at all times any more than the pedestrians have priority over cyclists at all times. It certainly doesn't mean that you have priority in the circumstances you describe; personally, unless the driver is being a complete dick, on a narrow country lane I accept that it is easier for me to turn around and go back to the nearest passing place, which is never that far if you're on a bike, than for a tractor or other large vehicle to reverse back down the road for my benefit.
If you were spending that much money on the device the obvious thing to do is to book a couple of hours in a velodrome for testing in a stable environment, I can't understand why Road.cc tried to do it outdoors.
@chrisonabike 'Minimisation' please!
@Astralstroll The Hierarchy of Road Users, announced with great fanfares in 2022, has been rendered into complete fiction by the attitude of the police: there is this hierarchy/ priority list but we don't take it seriously and if drivers ignore it we don't care! The same applies to the ludicrous notice of close-passing - No KSI'd cyclist = No Offence ttps://upride.cc/incident/lwa190_minicooper_hierarchy/
Hope Barcelona keep the transport improvements (they've been making for a while) coming! Better streets, more infra to help active travel where necessary. And while it's a major investment (though can be lower operating cost than busses) maybe more trams where they can. That may be more effective in making places active travel friendly and replacing taxis than mass public bike hire. They've a good start with 6 lines already.
I think this is a positive story. They're not getting rid of public hire bikes - they're expanding their in-house one. They're merely kicking out cowboys who've shown they've a lack of interest in the game they claim to be playing. It seems logical that companies whose business model is to extract (venture capital) money by invading public space are even less likely to make the efforts to keep things in order than a local "in house" scheme. (After all the "bikes and riding" part of these schemes always *costs* money, they don't generate it.) So not surprising their experience shows those firms are not particularly motivated to follow the rules - especially when scrapping for "market share". It's nice the European Cyclists’ Federation is thinking about tourists also (i hesitate to say "follow the money...") - as they note, where it's safe to cycle locals will largely get their own bikes. Tourists aren't going to stop coming because lack of public bike share - I think this is mostly a "nice to have" ("hey - why don't we go on one of those bikes there? ").
Harm minimization - at least they're not driving...
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
26 thoughts on “‘Kid needs to hold his line better – that’s a clear DQ’: Fans point out “outrageous” sprint deviation at Paris-Nice… from Romain Bardet’s child; “Don’t brake” for cyclists, says Mike Graham; Ganna vs Echelons; Roglič’s hairy legs + more on the live blog”
More of this please, as at 11
More of this please, early this morning, just
light hearted positive news, what a refreshing change.
Edit, now spoiled by the Mike Graham story.
Presumably Mike Graham’s own
Presumably Mike Graham’s own (idiotic) words can be used against him in court when he ends up there for causing a collision?
Mike Graham is the best
Mike Graham is the best argument I know for the abortion law.
Womens tour stages & route
Womens tour stages & route just revealed #doesntcomepastmyhouse
https://www.womenstour.co.uk/womens-tour-2023-stages-revealed/
I will take Mike Graham’s
I will take Mike Graham’s advice and avoid him.
I’ve managed to do this, admirably, so far, and fully intend to maintain my 100% record
So Mr Graham thinks he can
So Mr Graham thinks he can just ignore any guidance or laws with which he happens to disagree? I don’t think it works like that…
brooksby wrote:
Yes, but you actually think…
Motorists’ convenience >
Motorists’ convenience > cyclists’ lives
Quote:
And that attitude right there is the real problem.
Or as I recall a police force
Or as I recall a police force put it in a NMOTD: “the driver is going to have to inconvenience someone“.
I remember that one.
I remember that one.
https://road.cc/content/news/nmotd-674-driver-inconveniences-cyclist-288521
That one got NFA but this one in the same place
https://road.cc/content/news/near-miss-day-848-299017
got a warning letter. Small step in the right direction.
Re complaint letter to Police
Re complaint letter to Police Scotland.
Brilliant news that Cycling UK is involved. Good luck wth it.
Time for another contribution to the Cylists Defence Fund I think.
Brilliant news that Cycling
Brilliant news that Cycling UK is involved. Good luck wth it.
True, but I caution against undue optimism in the face of institutional police idleness and hostility towards cyclists. You can present these things correctly and well with impeccable evidence, but police forces with no standards, morals or shame (Scotland looks to be about as bad as Lancashire) will still bin complaints with the stupidest of made-up ‘reasons’. I have shown these before- the main reason claimed with the first was a rule they had made up which meant they “had to have a confirmation video from this ‘APC overnight’ van” and since the “video in the van wasn’t recording” they couldn’t do anything. I anticipate some such nonsense from ScotFilth, but I hope I’m wrong: that would give us all hope if there’s ‘something more than an apology’.
https://upride.cc/incident/md68fwc_apcovernight_whitelinecross/
Or this one where there were 2 similar offences at the same spot by the same driver within 2 days. It was all set to go to court after a couple of years Covid delay when the police withdrew the case because they had ‘suddenly discovered there was no rear view camera’ and they had invented a new Lancashire only law where it’s only an offence if you actually have film of them crossing over the unbroken white line to get on the wrong side of it!
https://upride.cc/incident/j111kdw_bmwgrancoupe_uwlcross/
https://upride.cc/incident/j111kdw_bmwgrancoupe_closepassuwlcross/
wtjs wrote:
— wtjsNot just the police, the BBC have an excellent complaints system, which has the sole purpose of excusing its employees*. Having sent many complaints over thirty years about their overt bias against cycling, all supported with impeccablish evidence, and having seen all of them denied, I’m pretty sure they could teach the police a thing or two.
One case springs to mind; I complained that the BBC misrepresented the facts about helmets, and provided a list of 41 articles, 40 of which accepted that they were wonderful and would save your life, and one questioned their efficacy. This was dismissed because 40:1 wasn’t considered decisive, so I did a bit more digging, found another 40 articles saying that they would save your life, so that was now 80:1, only for it to be dismissed on the grounds that they had dismissed the first one. I kid you not.
*Excluding Lineker, for not supporting free speech i.e. whatever the government says.
I can confirm that indeed the
I can confirm that indeed the BBC do not consider the purpose of their complaints system to be one designed for the continuous improvement of the organisation, it is merely the first line of trenches at the Somme, and advancing a complaint is a similar exercise of futility.
I know the Met gets all the
I know the Met gets all the bad press about their culture problems but I’m willing to bet they are a shining example of reason and tolerance compared to most of the knuckle dragging minority of rozzers in the regions.
Bragging about his BMW i3 –
Bragging about his BMW i3 – who would have thought that Mike Graham is a Champagne Environmentalist!
I think it was Dale Vince
I think it was Dale Vince talking about the BMW i3, Mike Graham drives a Range Rover AFAIK.
Range Rover? Loud, wallowing,
Range Rover? Loud, wallowing, desperately holding on a British heritage which has long since past. No – doesn’t sound like our Mike.
https://www.standard.co.uk
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/driver-speeding-a40-westway-london-galicia-b1065631.html
Don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
It’s a war on motorists I tell you. Or a stupidity tax. You decide.
I can’t help wonder what the headlines would be if “cyclist jumps same red light 22 times in short time period”. Unless the usual suspects prove me wrong by hosting frothing phone ins (hah) It’s clearly less socially acceptable than speeding in a motor vehicle for some reason…..
CyclingGaz and his overlay:
CyclingGaz and his overlay:
If I can ever work out how to do it in DaVinci Resolve, it’s certainly something I’ll be having a go at .. maybe with some royalty free music on in the background to reinforce the illusion.
Now … what colour *is* Chromakey … ?
With cost overtime on HS2, I
With cost overrun on HS2, I am now hopeful that we will soon have a first class cycle superhighway infrastructure from Birmingham to London.
There were plans when the
There were plans when the scheme was first drawn up for a cycle path to run the length of the project… however, it was cut due to the cost of the scheme…. something like £100m.
There has been one positive
There has been one positive about the HS2 development – where they obstructed cycle access they spent money on constructing bypasses and manning plant crossings.
Solihull abjectly failed in providing something similar in constructing J5A on the M42 which probably has cost a cyclist’s life.
Was this a NMOTD?
Was this a NMOTD?
“The driver was initially offered an educational course followed by a conditional offer of a fixed penalty for Driving without Due Care & Attention. The case was sent to Court after the driver failed to comply with these offers and was given a fine of £417 and 5 penalty points.”
This tickled me:
This tickled me: