Fans mock “crazy” decision for some Alpecin team members to test prototype Shimano pedals at Paris-Roubaix, ‘costing Van Der Poel victory’; Alpecin team manager takes blame for “stupid” call; Naked Bike Ride will return to London + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"If you’ve ever ridden Arenberg with fully functioning kit, you’ll probably sympathise."
The decision by Alpecin–Deceuninck to use Shimano’s prototype pedals for only some of the team has been criticised by fans, after apparent compatibility issues appeared to cost Mathieu van der Poel victory at Paris–Roubaix.
“It looks like Shimano has some yet-to-be-released pedals out there that were being used by Alpecin-Premier Tech’s Jasper Philipsen, but not by the whole team,” road.cc tech editor Mat Brett has explained.
“Mathieu van der Poel was using Shimano’s existing Dura-Ace pedals, and the cleats are apparently not interchangeable.
“Under UCI Article 1.3.006, all equipment used in sanctioned competition must generally be commercially available, but there is a specific, time-limited exception for gear still in the final stages of development – the equipment must be made available for purchase by the general public within 12 months of its first use in competition – so this is perfectly permissible.
“After Mathieu van der Poel punctured on the Arenberg Forest pavé, he tried to swap to Philipsen’s bike with the prototype Shimano pedals, but couldn’t clip in his current-generation Shimano cleats and gave up in seconds.
“In a post-race interview with TNT, Mathieu van der Poel apparently confirmed this, saying he knew he had different pedals to Philipsen but that he hoped to just get out of Arenberg on the borrowed bike – but he was unsuccessful. If you’ve ever ridden Arenberg with a fully functioning kit, you’ll probably sympathise.
According to team comments to Cyclingnews, Jasper Philipsen had previously been able to swap bikes with Edward Planckaert earlier in the season at Kuurne–Brussel–Kuurne, suggesting a level of cross-compatibility between systems.
However, Shimano has not released full technical details. BikeRadar reports that while the pedals appear similar in overall shape, a slimmer central section suggests Shimano may be targeting reduced stack height. It also notes a switch from three stainless steel contact plates to two, a change that could affect cleat engagement.
Whilst the team likely expected support vehicles, or teammates with the same pedals, to be nearby, fans have mocked the lack of standardised equipment.
View this post on Instagram
Gregg Boyer said on X, “Insane that any world tour team would use more than one variation of THE most necessary part of a functioning bicycle at Paris Roubaix. Someone’s head should roll for that errant decision.”
Enrico Crobu added: “Very clever to use different pedals within the same team at the Roubaix, where such things always happen.”
View this post on Instagram
Ole said: “Philipsen was using some prototype pedal, and yeah, crazy that they don’t have the whole team on the same. Especially in a race like this… someone at Alpecin will probably get to hear some not-so-nice words over this.”
Kevin Williams responded: “I mean, especially when in a race like this, having a teammate nearby with a bike, the favourite can just hop onto until they can do a proper swap. That shlemozzle took more than two minutes. Props to Van Der Poel for getting withing 30 seconds, but yikes.”
Paris-Roubaix 2026 Summary (child’s version)
View this post on Instagram
World Naked Bike Ride will return to London, despite opposition
The World Naked Bike Ride will return to London this summer, with organisers confirming the event will go ahead on Sunday, June 14, despite growing opposition in recent years.
Organisers say the route will avoid both Hyde Park and Victoria Park, as they do not have permission from the Royal Parks. They also claim officials in Tower Hamlets warned there was a risk of violence if the event passed through Victoria Park.
The ride will take place on a Sunday rather than the traditional Saturday due to roadworks, closures, protests, counter-protests, and crowds attending Trooping of the Colour, according to organisers.
Riders will gather at various starting points across the city, including Clapham Junction, Croydon, Deptford, Hackney Wick, Kew Bridge, Regent’s Park, Tower Hill and Wellington Arch. From Westminster Bridge onwards, the routes will merge into a peloton of more than 1,000 riders.
Described as both a protest against car culture and oil dependency and a call for improved safety for cyclists, the London event has run annually since 2004. It was only interrupted during the pandemic in 2020.
However, in recent years, the event has faced backlash. During a World Naked Bike Ride in Essex, a rider was reportedly punched off his bike. More recently, a child safety campaigner claimed that the ride “allowed perverts to be seen”.
Organisers say the event does not breach the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which states that public nudity is not an offence as long as it is not carried out with the intent to cause alarm, harassment or distress.
“The ride aims to attract attention to its themes by being a fun spectacle. Riders do not block roads, move slowly, ride dangerously, cause damage, lock on to things, climb buildings, leave mess behind or confront others,” organisers told The Standard.
“It is a non-aggressive, lawful campaign. Extensive route and organisational details are shared with the police, who advise on potential conflicting activities.”
Participants are asked not to undress before the official start or spend unnecessary time getting dressed again at the end. Riders are also advised to wear shoes for safety.
How to fly with your bike — pick the right airline, save money and hassle
If you’re taking your bike to an island in the sun during the next few months, or maybe heading off to ride one of Europe’s big sportives, you need to choose your airline carefully.
> How to fly with your bike — pick the right airline, save money and hassle
Nearly 1,000 attend Drum & Bass On The Bike in Oxford
Organisers said nearly 1,000 attended Dom Whiting’s DJ on The Bike as he rode through Oxford.
It began at 2 pm from the Clarendon Building, and was live-streamed on Facebook.
Dom Whiting, known as DJ On The Bike, has ridden through various towns and cities on a bicycle with modified speakers and decks. Oxford was one of the first places he performed when he started the initiative in 2021.
“It’s mainly because it was a cycling city, I thought ‘Well, it made sense to maybe ride around a cycling city’,” he said to the BBC.
He added that he enjoyed seeing the old buildings in the background of the videos from the event. “Cowley Road’s obviously quite a buzz, but going through the actual town centre where the old market used to be, it’s just got such good architecture still,” he said.
“That’s definitely one of the things that are cool about it.”
It’s a cycling city, so I think it’s more appealing not just to people who listen to music, it’s also appealing to people who are just going out on bikes.
“They might not necessarily be avid music fans, or they listen to classical music, but because they like cycling, they will listen to drum and bass for that day.”
Cowley resident, Alex Harding, said: “It’s nice to see what [Whiting] is doing on the decks and how he combines the cycling around the city with actually playing the music as well – I think it’s crazy how he works both skills together.”
In reverse, or maybe AI?
View this post on Instagram
Nice guys finish first: With the entire cycling world behind him (almost), Wout van Aert finally met his destiny in the Roubaix velodrome
Christoph Roodhooft says pedal mix-up “was stupid of me” but that “it’s more unlikely than winning the lottery.”
Christoph Roodhooft accepts the blame after the pedal incident, saying “it was stupid of me” but that “it’s more unlikely than winning the lottery.”
In an interview with IDL Pro Cycling, he explains that the team car had to stop due to a small crash at the entrance to the Forest. He said: “Us being stuck and having no way to get past on that long sector. It is what it is. And then you add the pedal issue, but there was a long chain of events leading up to it.”
When asked about the compatibility of the pedals, he said: “Well, they fit, they don’t fit. But it’s not the same as normal. Right. It’s done now. I can’t undo it. I should have thought of it, but I never imagined it would all come together in such a crucial way.
“Yes, right now I think it was stupid of me. That sounds harsh. But I don’t understand how I didn’t think of it. It’s more unlikely than winning the lottery, all of it falling together like that.
He also added that it was due to many different factors, clarifying, “What am I supposed to say? It all came together. When you look at the facts now, it was stupid. But look, Mathieu started the season on them. Then he switched pedals. Right. Done. Simple. Hindsight is always easy.”
However, he also understands the devastation from Mathieu, “When you’re in this condition, in this race, and you’ve won the last three editions, and then you have to let it slip away like that? Or rather, you have to let the chance to fight for the victory slip away like that? That’s enough to make you never want to ride a bike again.”
In relation to the new prototype, he said: “It’s just something new. There’s no advantage, because it’s just something new. Next year, everyone in the peloton will be riding this type of pedal.
“Six months after using a prototype, it has to be commercially available and on the bike. So soon, every Shimano user will be on these kinds of pedals. But yes, it wasn’t smart. Though it was also incredibly unlikely that it would all coincide.”
“We are a Shimano team. We are expected to test things. DSM are also working with these pedals. We’re not the only team with riders on them. Every team with the Shimano pedals and Shimano shoes combination will have a number of riders on those pedals. It’s simply a testing protocol at Shimano. Now it came together unfortunately, but that’s where it ends. There’s nothing more to say about it. Marsman rides them, Sénéchal rides them, and Philipsen rides them here. And we also use them in the women’s team.”
Letters forwarded from Hell: Paris-Roubaix, in the words of the pros
> Letters forwarded from Hell: Paris-Roubaix, in the words of the pros
Brand crashes out of contention after colliding with spectator
Lucinda Brand crashed out of contention at Paris-Roubaix Femmes after colliding with a spectator on a cobbled sector of the race.
The Lidl-Trek rider appeared to have caught her handlebars on the outstretched arm of a spectator, bringing her down heavily.
After the incident, Brand addressed spectators on Facebook, writing, “dear spectators, let’s make a deal. I’ll keep a little more distance… and you keep your eyes on the riders coming through. We love the support up close, but in the Netherlands, we say ‘boem is ho!”
A Reddit user translated the Dutch phrase “boem is ho!” as meaning: “the moment you hear a bang, you know you’ve hit something.”
Brand was part of the chase group on the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector, around 15.2km from Roubaix at the time of the crash. She had been riding approximately a minute behind the leading trio of Marianne Vos, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and Franziska Koch, after attacking out of a larger group in an effort to bridge across.
The crash ended her chances of a strong result in the race, where she previously finished third in 2021.
Despite the incident, Brand was able to remount and complete the race in 10th place, crossing the line in a chase group 2:20 down on the eventual winner.
A race like no other: Drama, chaos, and heartbreak at an epic Paris-Roubaix – Gallery
> A race like no other: Drama, chaos, and heartbreak at an epic Paris-Roubaix – Gallery
“I knew my race was over”: pedal mix-up costs Van der Poel victory, but fans praise “unbelievable” ride to fourth
Mathieu van der Poel’s bid for a record fourth consecutive Paris-Roubaix title unravelled dramatically after a double puncture in the Forest of Arenberg.
The Dutchman looked in a strong position heading into the race’s most notorious cobbled sector, but things quickly went wrong when he suffered a puncture. In response, Jasper Philipsen handed over his bike to get him moving again quickly.
> Letters forwarded from Hell: Paris-Roubaix, in the words of the pros
However, Van der Poel couldn’t clip into the pedal, as Philipsen’s bike was fitted with prototype components that didn’t match his cleats. He was instead forced to walk back 50 metres up the road, against the flow of riders, to collect his own bike. By that point, young teammate Tibor Del Grosso had already swapped the wheel on the abandoned machine.
By the time he was moving again, over a minute and a half had been ceded to his rivals. Unluckily, he then punctured again, although this time he was able to swap bikes more straightforwardly with the team car close at hand.
By the time he exited the Forest of Arenberg, Van der Poel was almost two minutes behind the leaders, including Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar.
Van der Poel spent the remaining 90km trying to claw his way back, spending much of his time in the front of the second group on the road.
He managed to pull it back to within 15 seconds of the leaders, and ultimately finished fourth, behind Van Aert, Pogačar and Jasper Stuyven.
> A race like no other: Drama, chaos, and heartbreak at an epic Paris-Roubaix – Gallery
Speaking to Cyclingnews, the team suggested the issue shouldn’t have happened, noting that the pedals were expected to be compatible. They said that Philipsen had even swapped bikes with Edward Planckaert earlier in the season at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
“It should work, eh. But the Arenberg is not the same as Kuurne,” one mechanic said.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Van der Poel said: “It was impossible. I knew my race was over.”
“I had to spend so much energy to get back to the group, it’s actually a bit unbelievable I was still able to get to the sprint for the podium.”
View this post on Instagram
Fans were quick to praise the ride. Helen Siwan wrote: “Unbelievable performance considering he’d already decided his race was over. Not for one second did he give up when it would’ve been totally understandable. What a legend!”
Phelan Van Deren added: “Terrible luck flatting in the Arenberg, but incredible performance to still be fighting for a podium in the end. If he had flatted anywhere else, he would’ve won this race.”
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
21 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
@chrisonabike exactly, words are cheap. They can safely bang the drum knowing that little will or can be done. OK, some things could be done, but the chance of nobody cocking something up . . ? Realist or pessimist, take your pick; but still optimistic enough to hope that things will work out :-)
@ChrisA isn't this story more along the lines of "tobacco company is demanding government crackdown on nasty rolling papers and dangerous pipes?" Silly of me! How could there be any conflict between and "improving things for their ... definitely not employees ... and the public at large" and these companies' entire business model...?
"Deliveroo has announced a crackdown on modified and ‘dangerous’ e-bikes . . . . . company is calling on the Government to prohibit the sale of unsafe e-bike conversion kits." Really? Do they not know how difficult it is to legislate for such things, the politicians inability to understand details, the competence of the DoJ in drafting such legislation and what seems to be a widespread disregard of those rules; not to mention the total lack of enforcement. Just saying.
@Nigel Garage The Mercedes driver drove through the light three seconds after it turned amber. Official government text: "AMBER means STOP. You may go on only if the amber appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident." Three seconds is more than enough time to stop safely at the speed the Mercedes was going so the driver was breaking the law and therefore committing a prosecutable offence. Deliberately putting others at risk and breaking the law is not "acceptable" and if you saw a cyclist running a red in those circumstances you would rightly condemn it. Is there anything you can't be completely wrong about?
I see quite a few MAAP items out in the Surrey Hills. The new shop has a cafe and they're from Melbourne so the coffee should be good: I'm looking forward to visiting.
@chrisonabike Mercedes was acceptable, but the second one (old Toyota people carrier/ex-taxi) was a prosecutable offence.
I wasn't saying that nor talking about people who say that. I said it was silly to claim that wearing a helmet indicates acceptance of dangerous driving and poor infrastructure. I choose to wear a helmet; I also regularly report dangerous driving to the police and correspond with councils and road authorities about ways infrastructure could be improved for cyclists. I rather doubt I'm the only helmet wearer who does so.
@JamieT (a pedant writes) she's a London Assembly member, not an MP.
21 thoughts on “Fans mock “crazy” decision for some Alpecin team members to test prototype Shimano pedals at Paris-Roubaix, ‘costing Van Der Poel victory’; Alpecin team manager takes blame for “stupid” call; Naked Bike Ride will return to London + more on the live blog”
-‘I should have been safe on a pavement’ – woman recalls horrific hire e-bike crash-
Whilst the incident itself is terrible, it is interesting that the journalist uses the same incorrect language as used in reports of collisions involving drivers.
In this case “hit by bike”.
What is also interesting is how this hire bike operator apparently has no insurance/process in place for an incident like this.
I’m surprised the government has allowed this situation and wonder if the operators will be reviewed to make sure their liability insurance does cover this, and their systems stopped if they don’t.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4glry7k2z9o
It’s outrageous that the rental operators have been allowed to release their bikes on the street without any system in place to cover people injured by their customers, they should have to compensate for any damage and losses and then claim back off the rider. Even if the injured party wanted to make a claim against the rider the companies make it almost impossible as a couple of friends of mine have found out recently, Lime bikes refuse to divulge details of who was riding a bike when an incident occurred, even though they have this information through their GPS tracking; they say they will only release this information to the police so if you report an incident to the police and they refuse to follow it up (as they almost certainly will) it’s going to be virtually impossible to make the rider compensate the victim.
Largely playing devil’s advocate, but why should hire bikes be treated differently in this regard? There is no general requirement for a cyclist to have liability insurance, and if someone is hit by a cyclist who fails to stop at the scene, there is very little chance of successfully tracking down said cyclist in order to pursue them for compensation (I note in this case the boy did stop and talk to the police).
How is the situation different because the kid was on a Forest bike rather than an EAPC that his parents had bought for him?
As an aside, it’s unclear if the child has any liability cover under a home insurance policy and, if so, if that is an avenue the victim could explore. I don’t know if it’s a bit of a loophole that if the child would not be found liable by a court due to their age, if the insurer can therefore refuse to pay out.
It would be a slippery slope to mandatory insurance for all cyclists if these dockless e-bikes were required to be insured.
It’s also a bit ‘after the event’. Whilst her injuries were awful, she is at least in a position where getting financial redress is the main concern. Has she considered whether being crushed by a well-insured HGV driver would have been a better outcome?!
It’s not really the lack of insurance that’s the issue, nor really that the rider was under 16 (you can legally ride an e-bike, although not a dockless hire one, from 14). It’s the lack of enforcement.
Surely the better outcome here is not that some insurance company takes the hit, but that the rider is prosecuted for their reckless use of the public highway.
Sorry to bang on about this road.cc, but you’ve now had one very long article about the men’s race and two very detailed posts above about the fourth placed rider’s cleats and yet still not a single line about the women’s race, even the bike that won the men’s race in 2012 has got more attention than them! Really not good enough.
Plus a gallery article that features *counts on fingers*… zero pictures of the women’s race.
All good now – there’s a blog item about a rider who, er, crashed and finished 10th. With her name spelt wrong. Sorted.
But just to counterbalance that extensive coverage there is now a third separate item (along with its extensive mentioned in the main race article) about MVDP’s cleats.
And 24 hours later there is still no mention who won the women’s race – are we sure it actually happened?
The women’s race was also a cracker. No disrespect to Franzi Koch but I’m still not quite sure how Visma didn’t win that.
Balance bikers the world over would like a word.
Also possibly wheel manufacturers…
Are clips necessary at all? Necessary to win perhaps, but not as a “part of a functioning bicycle”.
Not to mention hand cyclists. What do they use?
Um, why is Shimano making a new and non-compatible pedal?
The current SPD-SL is trouble free. My only issue is that the soft plastic parts (i.e. the colored parts – yellow, red, blue) you walk on get chewed up well before the actual engagement areas.
I do wish that the Dura-Ace pedal were easier to service, like the Ultegra pedals.
Neither of these issues would need a new pedal standard to solve.
“My only issue is that the soft plastic parts (i.e. the colored parts – yellow, red, blue) you walk on get chewed up well before the actual engagement areas.”
I actually like this feature – the sacrificial coloured tabs are slightly grippier than hard plastic for walking about on and the engagement areas don’t get worn down.
More generally, my read of one of the articles is that the current cleats won’t work with the new pedals, but the new cleats will work with the old pedals. i.e. saddle height issues aside, Philipsen could have used MVDP’s bike. More importantly, getting a new set of pedals won’t mean needing multiple pairs of shoes / changing all pedals at once. I might be wrong in that though.
I’d go with “Boom is woah!” for ““boem is ho!”.
“Yes, right now I think it was stupid of me. That sounds harsh.”
Nope. It doesn’t. In the corporate world, you’d have been terminated on the spot with no compensation for gross negligence that results in reputational damage. Instead, you are chatting with the media, how cool ia that?
At this level of responsibility and seniority, there is no margin for errors.
Should that not be no margin for error – singular? Using the plural, ‘errors’ implies a second chance; which, under the circumstances, would be a more than magnanimous gesture.
I’d say rather that it should be ‘error’ because it’s acting here as a mass noun – it’s measurable, not countable. If you have error in one part of the system and error in another part of the system, what you have is not two errors, but a total amount of error that is the sum of the amounts of the components. Your margin is what you allow for the maximum reasonable total amount.
These were announced a very long time back and seem to have been finally released. My Saints have been excellent, and servicing is a doddle.