“Diolch!” Live free-to-air 2026 Tour de France coverage confirmed on S4C and iPlayer; “Left-hooking” driver spared police action after driver doesn’t report incident; Men’s Tour of Britain route + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Live free-to-air Tour de France coverage announced!
Blimey, they left it late but Welsh-language broadcaster S4C have announced they will broadcast the opening three stages and the final four stages of this year’s Tour de France live on their linear channel, their own YouTube channel, and on BBC iPlayer!
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The news comes after the broadcaster negotiated to sub-licence the coverage from TNT Sports which has exclusive rights.
In addition, if for whatever reason Channel 5’s highlights offering doesn’t appeal to you, there will be hour-long nightly highlights throughout the race as well.
Among the presenters are Manon Lloyd, who is expected to front TNT’s coverage of the Tour de France Femmes later in the summer, and Peredur ap Gwynedd, guitarist of the rock band Pendulum.
And, we even have a quote from ‘Perry’:
“I am very happy that S4C is broadcasting the Tour de France once again, for the 13th year in a row. It’s pretty bonkers that we’ve broadcast the race since 2014. And of course, with a stage of the Tour taking place in Wales next year, the word ‘exciting’ doesn’t even come close to how I feel about the future!”
Maybe the ITV Cycling withdrawal symptoms won’t be too bad after all…
Mudslide on stage 20 mountain!
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The Col de Sarenne is due to be tackled on stage 20 as part of a climactic weekend featuring a double ascent of Alpe d’Huez. Ominously, it seems like it’s not the first time the mountain has experienced these mudslides, with Domestique reporting there was a similar incident just last week…
One gets the impression Tom Pidcock might not be the biggest fan of active travel...
There’s been quite a lot of talk about air bags in recent months. In April, we did a deep dive on Van Rysel’s latest design that they hoped would be adopted in the peloton in the coming years, although it’ll take quite a bit of UCI regulation to corral a peloton into carrying extra weight and making themselves less aerodynamic.
But that shouldn’t stop similar safety designs being used for urban and recreational cycling. How about this prototype exhibited recently at the Eurobike trade fair…
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Better late than never...
Hmm…
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Le Col enters administration
For many years, EF had the reputation of being the last team to announce their Grand Tour line-up, this year they might have even been among the first.
Instead, the (dis)honour has fallen to Pinarello-Q36.5, who are fronted by a certain Yorkshireman and backed up by a newly crowned two-time British champion.
Also among the line-up are two Aussie climbers, three Belgian breakaway hunters and a Spaniard who I sadly don’t know enough about. Apologies to Xabier Azparren. The team will also be lining up in a whiter kit that should help them stand-out compared to the strange grey worn so far this season.
Anyway, that concludes the rider announcements for the 2026 men’s Tour de France. 176 individuals hoping to make an impression in some way or another. The time for prepping your fantasy team begins now!
Can witnesses not report crimes?
If you’re wondering to yourself why this page has gone a bit quiet for a couple of hours, this is why…
> Le Col enters administration months after takeover by tennis giant Head
Naturally, a big story happens when one of us is flying in the sky…
Cycle Sundays are back!
That’s the question we’re left grappling with, after twitter account “Cycleway, my arse!” shared a video of a driver overtaking a line of cyclists on Cycleway 1 in London before abruptly turning left and forcing cyclists to stop in the middle of the junction.
I reported this left-hooking driver on #Cycleway1 back in September 2025. The Met Police responded saying: “Unfortunately, we can’t pursue the matter any further as there have been no reports made by the driver or the cyclist involved in this incident.” Does this sound right? pic.twitter.com/5LUcBUgW7P
— Cycleway, my arse! @issaddlethereis.bsky.social (@IsSaddleThereIs) June 29, 2026
“I reported this left-hooking driver on #Cycleway1 back in September 2025. The Met Police responded saying: “Unfortunately, we can’t pursue the matter any further as there have been no reports made by the driver or the cyclist involved in this incident.” Does this sound right?”
This seems like a slightly strange response. Do they mean that they just need a second pair of eyes to corroborate what the video is showing, or are they literally needing either the driver who drove carelessly into the cyclists or the cyclist who had to stop abruptly in the middle of the junction to file a report?
Maybe a police officer has decided this isn’t worth their time and are looking for any old for not taking action? Either way, other social media users seem (broadly) in agreement.
“So the whole “see it say it sorted” campaign is a farce… if you see a crime, you can’t complain because you are neither the victim nor the perpetrator !! its quite backwards in my opinion”
“I saw someone being stabbed but neither the victim or the guy with the knife have made a report, so there’s nothing we can do”
“The police: any excuse to worm out of actually doing anything. Especially if it involves taking any action against a motorist, just in case it makes them unpopular in the gutter press.”
A couple of users have the gumption to suggest the driver is in the right, having driven slowly and indicated when turning into the junction, despite the Highway Code giving priority to cyclists at junctions.
“If l were a cyclist l would put my own wellbeing & common sense over undertaking a left indicating turner.” wrote one user, to which another had the perfect rebuttal…
“Undertaking? It’s the car who was overtaking, the cyclist is going the same consistent speed the whole time. The car never even makes it in front of the cyclist enough for the cyclist to even see the rear indicators.”
Near miss!
Transport for London have announced the return of Cycle Sundays, enabling people to cycle across the capital free of charge in July. On a Sunday of course.
Promo codes will be available on Santander Cycle’s website enabling riders to redeem a free day pass that would otherwise cost £3.50. TfL have also collaborated with various organisations, including British Cycling, the London Cycling Campaign and the WalkWheelCycle Trust to design 50 ‘beginner-friendly’ routes which will be available on the app. Lovely stuff…
Men's Tour of Britain route revealed!
Dutch door-opening needs to be taught quickly…
Drivers: Don’t cycle in the middle of the lane (road).
Also drivers:…
#DNRPoliceScotland
— David Brennan (@magnatom.bsky.social) 1 July 2026 at 09:52
Netcompany-Ineos announce Tour team - Tarling and Bernal make the cut
Time to start planning the biggest bike race of the year… in Britain. On the road.
Last week we got confirmation of the start and finish towns on the men’s Tour of Britain, and now we know where they’re going in between.
Stage One is properly punchy, heading into the Lincolnshire Wolds as they exit the city, through Market Rasen, Caistor Waddingham and Ingham before heading back towards Lincoln.
The riders will then tackle the prestigious 11.3% average gradient climb of Michaelgate five times on a final circuit in the city centre after nearly 120km of racing, taking in the renowned Lincoln Grand Prix circuit. (View on Strava)
Stage Two should be a bunch sprint by the seaside in Skegness. From Boston, the route will pass through Coningsby, Woodhall Spa, Horncastle, Wragby, Louth, and the coastal towns of Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea. (Strava)
Stage Three is a rather long 200km stage departing from Hull on Friday 4 September, and heads through Withernsea, Hornsea, and Skipsea. Can you tell we’re on the coast?
A series of climbs face the riders around Driffield before heading downhill into Wetwang (great name) as the race gears up for an exciting climax. Four laps of a 16km circuit in Beverley mean it should be an uphill finish – maybe even a drag – to the line. It’s probably the best day to see the riders multiple times. (Strava)
A mini Tour de Yorkshire on a late summer Saturday? Go on then. Stage Four should decide the race overall with 2500m of climbing starting in the North York Moors and heading over to the Dales. Easingwold, Boroughbridge, and Ripon are the towns en route, Pateley Bridge, Wharfedale, Kidstones, Greets Moss and Grinton Moor are the climbs before a finish in Leyburn. (Strava)
The final stage should be a bunch sprint with laps around Earlston in the Scottish borders. Before then, the peloton will skirt Kelso before heading north to take in Duns and the excellently named Longformacus. If that doesn’t excite you I don’t know what will… (Strava)
Tech! Specialized SL9; Zipp wheels; Look!
The British team have become the penultimate team to announce their Tour de France line-up (all eyes on you Pinarello), and if they don’t win the opening Team Time Trial, a lot of questions will be asked…
Two-time TT world champion Filippo Ganna, 2022 TT world champion Tobias Foss, and former European champion Josh Tarling (who has recovered from a broken collarbone at the Dauphine last month) all make the cut. Thymen Arensman is also one of the fastest time trialists among GC riders, having beaten Jonas Vingegaard at the Giro d’Italia in May, whilst Kevin Vauquelin’s impressive results last year while riding for the not so aero-R&D focused Arkea-B&B team (now defunct) attracted a lot of attention.
Kwiatkowski is an Sky/Ineos mainstay and surely falls into the category of rider Geraint Thomas would now describe as ‘solid’. A Dorian Godon stage win on any of the several ‘punchy’ stages would lift the pressure off the whole team. He remains one of the few riders to have beaten Tadej Pogacar over the finish line this year – when Pogacar was aiming to finish first that is.
Finally Egan Bernal! With Oscar Onley injured and Carlos Rodriguez out of form, what are the team’s expectations for the 2019 champion? 10th in the Giro earlier this year, Bernal finished 12’54” behind Vingegaard and 5 minutes behind teammate Arensman. A bit of combativity or a mountains jersey mission surely wouldn’t go amiss. How good would it be to see him on a podium in this race?
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@Rendel Harris you've painted a rather alluring picture of social harmony there, but unfortunately you've got my name wrong. I'm Jack, not Nigel. However, to return the compliment, I must think of a story for you. I imagine you sat outside a pub, real ale and pipe propped on the adjacent table, in a similar fashion to Nigel Farage at his populist best. You turn to your wife. "You know what dear? I think I've been a bit harsh in my time. I've shunned the politeness and wisdom of others for too long and want to change my ways.* "There there Rendel", says Mrs Harris. "You're not a bad old stick, it's just living in London that's emptied your soul of kindness and compassion. I've found a lovely new place where we can settle down in our later years. It's on a leafy cul de sac, surrounded by friendly neighbours and smiling faces. There's a guy a couple of doors down, a remarkable man. As well as his towering intellect and rapier wit, he's also a keen cyclist, holding severa local KOMs. Don't be perturbed dear - he'll ride with anyone provided they show other road users the kindness and courtesy they deserve." Rendel turned emotionally, voice shaking. "Oh my dear, thank you for this second chance", and with that the rest of the pub goers turned and applauded the couple, throwing garlands of petals in their wake. The end.
As a Councillor, Edward needs to be paying some attention to all that parking obstructing visibility and manoeuvres at the junction, and sorting out those radii.
Ed Hill was chucked out by Reform in 2025, though TBF to him it was about how to run it rather than ideology I think. He is now reportedly closer to Advance UK, which is distinctly more extreme than Reform. I'd call this Alan Amos style attention seeking.
Emily, thank you for such an insightful piece. I’m a man, but I enjoy watching the women’s races, possibly more than the men’s. The racing is so much closer, we rarely know who’s going to win. You painted a wonderful picture of how a true champion is able to ‘rise above’ setbacks and distractions, and focus their energy on the task in hand. ‘All’s fair in live and war -and sport, but always good to hear riders expressing their admiration for their competitors
@Nigel Garage ...and then everyone applauded my courtesy and I waved courteously to all the people who were courteously throwing flowers and cheering and courteously waving flags that said "Nigel is the best!"
The picture from street view clearly shows give way lines from the roads to the green painted cycle/pedestrian lane. The road user should give way (or must...) to the user of the green lane. This would of course apply to any cyclist on the roadway.
If I recall there is a cave or two along the route - perhaps they were sheltering from the heat in one of those having taken it for a Golf bunker?
“So if there’s a cyclist travelling down the cycle path at the moment, from this position I can’t see them because my blind spots are too big on the left hand side of the vehicle”, claims Hill. Well, there's your problem, right there...🙄
First impression from the headline that he's likely a twit. Then the detail he was expelled from Reform makes you suspect that failing even their low bar requirements he really is. Then he clearly explains his vehicle is unsafe for the highway because he can't see to give way when turning. Any collision he now has should have that video run out explaining he drove a vehicle he knew to be unsafe. Advice for motorists; instead of thinking that pedestrians and cyclists are low risk 100kg objects, imagine them as a 300 Tonne trains that will crush you and your vehicle if you cross into their paths. You'd give way to the train, so you equally can to the others.
I've had a brief look on Facebook, and Ed Hill (who now appears to be affiliated with Advance UK) seems to have taken some useful road safety improvements under his remit, including an initiative to help local pedestrians on unpaved roads, where the wider council won't help due to planning failures. Regarding the cycle path, I think this is linked to a wider misunderstanding about giving way at junctions and I'm afraid I cannot agree with Mr Hill's conclusion. Regardless of the suitability of the cycle path, vehicles should give way at the junction to both pedestrians crossing and cyclists. It seems to be a poorly understood rule among motorists where some believe they have priority at junctions like this, where they certainly do not. I once had a similar issue myself, while leisurely walking to Waitrose to buy some lunchtime fripperies. A driver beeped their horn as I crossed the junction, despite me having priority, and was shocked and apologetic when I explained I had priority. A polite conversation later, the driver departed, educated and updated on the rules of the road.
24 thoughts on ““Diolch!” Live free-to-air 2026 Tour de France coverage confirmed on S4C and iPlayer; “Left-hooking” driver spared police action after driver doesn’t report incident; Men’s Tour of Britain route + more on the live blog”
RE: witnesses can’t report crimes.
I’m sure wtjs will be along with proof that even victims can’t report crimes in Lancs if it’s a road offence (and Police Scotland have arranged things similarly)…
… but isn’t this all of a piece with the creeping “gosh this Op Snap seems to generate lots of work and our superiors have given us the nod that ‘these are not the crimes you’re looking for’ in the current political climate” viewpoint?
@chrisonabike Yep, its just a convenient excuse. Much the same as GDPR and “we can’t be sure that the person who was very clearly not even 1.5m from the edge of the road passed you within 1.5m”.
@chrisonabike Aha so the police have progressed. No longer is it just “Oh yeah it’s a terrible problem but there’s nothing much we can really do” but a more finessed version: “Oh yeah its a terrible problem but there’s nothing much we can really do as you aren’t the victim or the perpetrator”. Not so catchy though. I think the folks at police training college will struggle to get the coppers to remember this one. Oh well. The original is still the best one.
@chrisonabike I’m sure wtjs will be along with proof that even victims can’t report crimes in Lancs if it’s a road offence
I don’t need to, you CAN report them, but they’re all ignored- anyway, it’s already been done with my videos of the recent spate of Stagecoach bus attacks, with no response from the police, and you’ve all seen the dire RLJs, unbroken white line offences, mobile phone use etc. where the reports are all immediately binned by the out-of-control, hopelessly inept, idle and bent Lancashire police. However, for variety this is yet another of what Lancashire police refuse to admit are offences. This is B16 NEA, belonging to Neil Armstrong of Plumbwise (some sort of franchising operation), Garstang, which can be found by searching plumbwise.net Garstang. You can see that he has ‘misrepresented’ the ‘6’ as a ‘G’ by the deliberate use of a white cap on the plate fixing screw. This is supposed to be a serious criminal offence, but it’s condoned in Lancashire and I saw it again yesterday- first seen a couple of years ago. The address is about half a mile from Garstang Police Station. It’s either too much effort for them, or they’ve come to a private arrangement with the offender.
This news is definitely one for the “no news” category:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3g20yxvm4o
Reputable high street retailers blurring the lines you say? Shocked, I was… actually, not.
Reputable retailers? Well, I suppose it’s true that Amazon do have a certain reputation…
Absolutely ludicrous from the police.
I would file a formal complaint.
I reported this driver for phone use and left hooking another cyclist.
The phone use was not actioned due to the dark tint of the window making it too difficult to see (I should have reported the tint too).
But the left hook definitely was actioned.
@mitsky I wonder what the police think those little fingers in their lap were holding onto and doing? “Officer, I was just twiddling my thumbs”.
@mitsky But the left hook definitely was actioned
With what action?
@wtjs
I got an NIP ref and subsequent update saying
“The case has been transferred for court proceedings.” but nothing after that (request to attend as witness or result).
I’ve chased the police for an update but I won’t be surprised if I get no response.
@mitsky Roger. Thanks
Saw a bit on BBC News this morning about the weight limit on Vauxhall Bridge starting today.
Nothing on the BBC website as of today, just the previous article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4p10l3833o
But it was mentioned here:
“Hammersmith Bridge car plans axed over £300m cost”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yzqv29d1eo
@mitsky And long may Hammersmith and Albert bridges remain for foot and bicycle traffic, hopefully with Vauxhall to follow soon.
There was me thinking you could do that any time you liked…
27! Exclamation marks! On today’s live blog! Maybe too much! Of a good thing!?
And why is the second item overlooking a perfect opportunity to use the wonderful interrobang‽
Why would one expect a nearly 27-yo professional with millions at the bank, who rides a bicycle for a living and wins cycling races, to cycle to the start of TdF?
@MaxiMinimalist Absolutely, and there is not one inch of middle ground between cycling there and using an incredibly selfish and wasteful supercar, is there? Fortunately I suspect the whole thing is AI, as the footage on his Instagram shows the numberplate GT3…
(Plus I’m pretty certain TDF team leaders don’t drive themselves to the start nor bring their own bicycles)
My last collision with a car happened like that too, except we were pulling from a red light and she didn’t signal til I was next to her. But I wasn’t hurt, damage to my bike and clothing was minimal, and she stopped and apologized profusely, explaining she had a brain fart and simply forgot I was there. Fair enough. I already knew her insurance adjuster, and we had a good laugh.
So, it’s now the month of July and I’m going to have to pay to watch the TdF, for one month only. On a tablet unfortunately, as I didn’t manage to get a laptop to rig up to the TV, grrr. Just wondering, what package will I have to fork out for? Not wanting to pay for the wrong one…
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn’t have a kind mate’s login that’s what I’d do!
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option…