“This is exactly why cyclists should have number plates,” says Mr Loophole – after “arrogant” cyclist fined £1,200 for squeezing between cars (while riding without a licence plate); Cyclist in outside lane of 70mph dual carriageway + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“This is exactly why cyclists should have number plates,” says a confused Mr Loophole – after cyclist fined £1,200 for squeezing between cars (while riding without a licence plate)
Ah Nick, how have you been? Better late than never, I suppose?
It took him a few weeks, but everyone’s favourite jumper-around-the-neck, loophole-seeking, phone-driver defending lawyer Nick Freeman has finally spoken out about that Operation Snap clip, which made headlines across the country at the end of July.
Just in case it’s slipped your mind (lots of stuff has happened since, so I don’t blame you), here’s a quick recap: two weeks ago, West Yorkshire Police released a video on social media featuring a camera cyclist passing a parked car on a hill as a motorist travelled in the opposite direction in Menston, near the spa town of Ilkley.
The footage was submitted by the cyclist to the force’s Operation Snap portal for driving offences. The Leeds-based rider was wishing to alert police to an alleged close pass he was subject to at the start of the video, only for the force to prosecute him for his “poor cycling”, claiming his filtering distance was “significantly less than the car he reported earlier had given him”.
The cyclist was then fined over £1,200 for the manoeuvre, a hefty penalty road.cc was told was the result of him disputing the matter in court, where the subsequent penalty may also have been means-tested.
The earlier close pass committed by the driver, which was not included in the police’s abridged social media post, resulted in the motorist being offered to take a driver retraining course.
In a statement provided to road.cc, West Yorkshire Police also said it was “not appropriate” to release footage of the earlier close pass, the spokesperson stating that it would be “unfair” to the driver and not “strictly relevant” to the offence posted online.
So, now we’ve covered all that, what is Nick ‘Mr Loophole’ Freeman’s take on the clip? Number plates, number plates, number plates.
“I was really impressed that the police could be bothered to investigate a video that a cyclist in Ilkley had sent in, trying to have the driver of a Volvo car prosecuted,” the lawyer, who has specialised in obtaining not guilty verdicts for celebrities charged with driving offences, said in his ‘Nick Says’ video posted on Facebook, complete with ethereal backing music.
Sorry, Nick, I’m going to have to stop you there. As I just explained above, the cyclist who submitted the footage wasn’t complaining about the oncoming Volvo driver, but an earlier close pass not shown in the clip. But we can’t expect you to actually read up on these things before sharing your opinion online, can we? Anyway, carry on…
“The driver of the Volvo had done nothing wrong, and the cyclist had. And it turned around and bit him, and quite rightly so, expensively in the pocket,” Freeman continues.
“The arrogance of the cyclist, when there’s a car coming, and he’s going to overtake a parked car which, by necessity, means he has to be right over by the crown of the road – and he actually has the arrogance to blame the motorist coming the other way.
“What the cyclist should have done is he should have waited, let the Volvo pass, and then it would have been safe for him to proceed. Just think how many more cyclists will be held to account if we had a registration number for them, and that is the direction I’m afraid we need to move for. But congratulations to the police in Yorkshire for doing a good job here.”
In his written post, Freeman said: “This is exactly why I believe cyclists should have number plates. An Ilkley cyclist uploaded helmet camera footage hoping to get a Volvo driver into trouble.”
Again, that’s not what happened, is it Nick?
“That, for me, exposes a flaw in the way we think about accountability on our roads. Too often, the debate is framed as drivers versus cyclists,” he wrote.
“That’s the wrong question. The real question is this: Why should any road user be exempt from proper accountability? If you’re using the public roads, your actions affect everyone else. Rights and responsibilities should go hand in hand. I’ve represented motorists for over 40 years, and this case simply reinforces what I’ve believed all along.
“Equal rights. Equal responsibilities. Equal accountability. Or have I got this completely wrong?”
In the comments, Andrew Fish pointed out the Freeman’s call for cycling number plates comes as a response to a cyclist being handed a hefty fine for careless riding… despite not having a number plate on his bike.
“So the police in Yorkshire did a good job without a cyclist registration scheme,” Andrew said.
“Maybe the money would be better spent on getting the 800,000 uninsured motorists off the road or, doing something to halt the three people a day killed on our roads?”
Now, there’s a thought.
“Our main objective will be to put the group onto a more stable footing”: Quanta Capital founder and former Irish international cyclist Mel Sutcliffe eyes up takeover of Raleigh’s parent company
We’ve got another update on the future of Raleigh and Lapierre’s parent company Accell, after it was confirmed earlier this week that the Dutch company has been declared bankrupt.
Quanta Capital owner Mel Sutcliffe, a former elite Irish racer who sold Raleigh Ireland to Accell 10 years ago, has confirmed that he’s interested in buying the stricken Dutch company, the parent to a wide range of cycling brands including Raleigh, Lapierre, Babboe, Winora, and Ghost.
As a junior, Sutcliffe raced for Ireland at world championships and other international events during the early 1990s.
He founded Eurocycles while still a student, expanding it into a range of stores around Ireland, before buying Raleigh Ireland and founding Eurotrek Raleigh Ireland. He developed the company into Ireland’s largest bicycle distributor, selling it to Raleigh and Accell Group 10 years ago.
He now runs Quanta Capital, a Dublin-based investment and asset management platform, which has entered the running this week to take over Accell following its bankruptcy. Quanta currently sponsors the Junior Tour of Ireland.
Speaking to StickyBottle, Sutcliffe confirmed that Quanta’s interest in the group involves other investors and a currently unknown global financial institution. A bid could be made as early as next week.
“Accell’s portfolio represents a spectacular collection of well-known cycle brands, both globally and in Europe,” he said.
“Our main objective will be to put the group onto a more stable footing as it has endured quite a tumultuous period of trading.
“We have made contact with Accell and its administrators to formalise our interest in purchasing the group.”
According to Raleigh’s website, administrators have been appointed as part of a process separate to its parent company.
“Oliver Wright, Joanne Hewitt-Schembri and Shamil Malde of FTI Consulting LLP (“FTI”) were appointed as Joint Administrators (the “Joint Administrators”) of Accell UK & Ireland Ltd (“the Company”) on 6 August 2026. The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators. The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Company and without personal liability,” the notice on the historic Nottingham-based bike brand’s site reads.
“The perfect example of just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should”: Cyclist riding in outside lane of 70mph dual carriageway baffles motorists
I wonder what Mr Loophole would make of this?
Lola Amuah was driving down the A38 in Derby – just before the national speed limit changes to a 40mph zone – earlier this week when she spotted this cyclist riding in the outside lane:
“Reckon we should undertake him? 10mph in the outside lane on a 70 dual carriageway. Surely it’s not legal? Nowt funnier than folk,” Lola wrote.
And while it is legal for people on bikes to travel on A roads, we’re not sure how advisable it is to opt for the overtaking lane.
“The perfect example of just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do something,” Chris wrote in the comments.
Naturally, a lot of the other comments are of the ‘typical cyclist, they do whatever they like’ variety, though Zoya did note: “Judging by the angle, it looks like the photograph was taken by the driver of the car; that is illegal.”
New Trek alert!
‘Ow much? Tadej Pogačar set to earn record €13 million in 2026, according to reports
42 years ago, Greg LeMond became cycling’s first million-dollar man. How times have changed.
According to a report in La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tadej Pogačar could earn over €13 million this year (up from €12m last year), a result of his mammoth UAE Team Emirates salary, personal sponsorships, prize money, and bonuses, a new record for the sport.
The world champion earns €8 million every season as part of his standard UAE contract, with his fifth Tour de France victory adding a further €1 million in bonuses as part of that deal. Finishing as the number one ranked rider in the world will also see Pogačar net a cool €500,000.
The Slovenian’s personal sponsorship income has also risen by €500,000 to €2.5 million (that KuCoin crypto deal certainly paid off, eh?), while Pogi-based merchandise is expected to generate another €1 million.
La Gazzetta’s €13 million estimate is just the beginning, too – Pogačar could earn a combined €750,000 in bonuses if he wins both the Vuelta and the world championships (and let’s face it, you’re not betting against him at those races, are you?).
Not had for a year spent racing a bike.
Alright Tadej, try this on for size! Scottish ultra-distance cyclist James MacDonald attempts to break world record for riding cycling’s five monument classics back-to-back
It turns out Tadej Pogačar isn’t the only cyclist gunning for all five monuments at the moment.
Scottish ultra-cyclist James MacDonald – who’s held world records for JOGLEJOG, the indoor 100km, as well as Scotland south to north – is now aiming for his own piece of classics history.
On Sunday 30 August, the 55-year-old will attempt to establish a new World UltraCycling Association (WUCA) record by riding the routes of the five monuments (Milan-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Il Lombardia) back-to-back.
The clock will run continuously from the start of the Paris–Roubaix route until the finish on the Via Roma in Sanremo, totalling over 1,349km and taking in the races’ famous hills, bergs, and cobbled sectors.
Unlike most ultra-cycling attempts, however, MacDonald and his support team will travel by van between the five routes, with every vehicle transfer counting towards his total time, along with all stops for sleep, food, mechanical repairs, or medical treatment.
“Of all the challenges I have taken on, this feels like the one I have been building towards,” MacDonald said in a statement this week.
“The Monuments are the defining one-day races in professional cycling, and nobody has attempted to ride all five back-to-back in this format before. With the clock running continuously, every decision will matter, from how hard I push to when I sleep and how quickly the team can move me between the routes.
“Each Monument is a serious test in its own right. Riding all five back-to-back changes the challenge completely.
“They represent everything that makes cycling compelling. Each one has its own history, terrain, and character, and finishing any of them is a major undertaking. I have spent years finding out what I can do on a bike, but nothing I have attempted compares with this. It is five great races rolled into one continuous effort across three countries.”
MacDonald’s monuments record bid comes ten years after he completed the 3,089-mile Rece Across America as a solo rider, following that up in 2017 by the setting the fastest recorded return time between John O’Groats and Land’s End.
The 55-year-old, a full-time customer engineer at Google, also broke the indoor 100km record in 2021. In September 2025, he added his third Guinness world record for riding 625km from the Mull of Galloway, the southernmost point of Scotland, to John O’Groats.
Daily Mail in pro-cycling social media video shocker
Seriously, what is going on? Was there a memo sent out to all the bike-hating tabloids that we’re not aware of?
View this post on Instagram
(Yes, yes, I know he mentions the classic ‘but what about in the winter?’ trope at the end. But still, it’s the Mail, we can’t expect a complete turnaround in one video.)
“If we want to reduce off-route riding, the solution isn’t enforcement, it’s investment. Build better, more progressive trail systems locally, and riders will use them”
‘Those pesky cyclists, always blocking the road on Box Hill’
View this post on Instagram
How not to do cycling infrastructure, Edinburgh edition
I’m not sure Edinburgh City Council’s active travel revamp of Summerhall Road – suitable for ages eight to 80, according to the local authority – has gone down too well with locals cycling on the route, who now appear to be at the mercy of left-hooking drivers:
Summerhall rebuilt at huge expense – but every hazard in this video still exists, only to spice it up, they moved the left-turn-only car lane to the right of the straight-on cycle lane…
E-tier
— Dave McCraw (@davemccraw.bsky.social) August 13, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Telegraph in pro-cycling headline shocker
Granted, the story itself is more a diatribe against working from home culture (the word ‘bike’ only makes an appearance in the very last sentence, as part of a round-up of possible commuting tactics), but we’ll take it…
Beyond the bubble: Finding stillness (and sweaty climbs) over the hills of Girona
Our Dave’s been living it up (and dreaming of Calippos) in the cycling Disneyland that is Girona. Here’s how he got on:
> Beyond the bubble: Finding stillness (and sweaty climbs) over the hills of Girona
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@mattw I think some of that *could* be sorted. By far the best way would be a general redrawing of the rules / reconsideration of what types of transport we want for which journeys (and the wider consequences of each). (Ideally including adopting a new philosophy e.g. "sustainable safety" / "safe system" approach). We don't have to guess or "reinvent". There are now many examples of how things can be done from all over Europe; places hilly and flat, hot and cold, urban and rural. But principally The Netherlands as they've taken this farthest (with the greatest gains). Unfortunately that kind of reform seems incredibly unlikely to happen in the UK. Indeed very few issues seem to be treated to that level of "in the round" attention. Probably because much of politics at the level which it would need is effectively (political) crisis management. So there would have to be (in the political opinion) almost a "meltdown of transport" before we get that... I'm concerned about "unexpected consequences" in the UK where at best we tend to tackle one item at a time in silos (sale and licencing regulations here, "cycling" there, disability legislation separately etc.)
It's almost as if those who have no respect for the law in one area of their lives have no respect for the law in others.
@Rendel Harris Whilst I would prefer ebike/electric bike were used exclusively to refer to EAPCs, I do feel the horse has bolted on that one, and the quote you've provided seems to support, rather than undermine, that position. The quote implies that your electric bike could be classed as an EAPC if it meets the EAPC rules, or else it's classed as moped or motorbike. In either case, it's still an "electric bike"; it's just classified differently and hence different regulations apply.
As they would say on Craggy Island... "It's not massive, it's just very close by..."
"Concentrating on the speedometer instead of driving safely,” ...but it never occurred to them to make the same complaint about keeping to higher speed limits - despite the fact that the onerous multitasking cognitive load involved is far less at slower speeds 🙄
@chrisonabike My view is that motorbikes should be regulated as motorbikes, which is safety gear, training, license, registration etc. And I would apply the SORN regime, too. That can be done technically as eg there are road legal Surrons. I can see a case for a class of S-Pedelecs, licensed for roads only, and we would need to learn from the continent. This Govt would do that; the next Con Govt would not because they are still in the culture-war swamp, and Kemi still doing her "performing seal on a podium in a panto on the end of Clacton pier cosplaying Farage" thing. Until they grow up, I don't think the blues are going anywhere. But I hope that one of AB's serious proposals will be electoral reform to be investigated now cross-party, and joint proposals to be put forward by LD / G / Labour parties at the next election. Given UK politics, a future politics of coalitions will go some way to lock in civilisation. I can see value in EAPCs having a cut off at 20mph, theoretically to ease traffic in 20mph zones, but that may need to be a 10%+2 mph enforcement threshold not these portable dynamometer things. (There's been a national kick-up-the-arse from somewhere for the police, as suddenly enforcement is not in the "too difficult" bucket. I'm not sure where it came from.)
@mitsky Politicians "overlooking" registering / reporting / paying for things is ... not unheard of. But in this case given the incredible efficiency and effectiveness of the DVLA I am inclined to believe him.
@GMBasix Canard or conard?
@mitsky Can't be caught on the forecourt if the car's run on washed red.
18 thoughts on ““This is exactly why cyclists should have number plates,” says Mr Loophole – after “arrogant” cyclist fined £1,200 for squeezing between cars (while riding without a licence plate); Cyclist in outside lane of 70mph dual carriageway + more on the live blog”
Freeman said: “This is exactly why I believe cyclists should have number plates. An Ilkley cyclist uploaded helmet camera footage hoping to get a Volvo driver into trouble.”…
This is exactly why I believe barristers and solicitors should have a modicum of intelligence.
I’m not keen on Mr Loophole content, or the other rage bait stuff that road.cc relentlessly serves up.
It probably is hard to find enough substantial cycling-related stories to fill a daily blog, but still.
@HarrogateSpa the question is: does it encourage Nigel Garage et al. to keep coming back to this site?
@HarrogateSpa : Exactly. Clickbait articles such as this to keep the advertisers happy.
Meanwhile…https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/aug/13/victims-commissioner-road-crime-england-wales
The problem with Mr Loophole & his ilk, is their ability to ignore the facts whilst still knowing which buttons to press.
The cyclist, in the volvo case, probably went poorly prepared to defend his corner (he probably assumed, like most here, that the case would be ‘thrown out’ by the magistrate), and was overwhelmed by a prosecution using numerous & emotive arguments to bamboozle the opposition.
Summerhall – Council facebook post – worth a look for laughs
https://www.facebook.com/edinburghcouncil/videos/right-turn-in-two-stages/1575447567327117/
This is immediately north of Causewayside, which (north of Fountainhall Road) has long been a testing area for road damage, random paint, illegal and/or antisocial parking and general road-mayhem.
I believe Dave McCraw has chronicled the nuisance and danger there for a decade or so – and it shows little hope of improvement. Best avoided and given the parallel roads the best thing would be for the council to make sections access only.
Note there have been improvements to the parallel “quiet route” on the West side from the Meadows and rejoining eg. at Regulas Road.
…because having registration plates led your client to lose their licence, despite pathetic pleas that it would end their career as a best selling writer (ironically, a crime writer)
Yet you still bent over backwards to try to get them off 🙄
When I saw the headline about the cyclist being in the outside lane of a 70 mph dual carriageway, my first thought was “Surely a time trial competitor approaching a turn around roundabout.” How wrong I was.
And further meanwhile…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98vrg40vzeo
Luckily it’s not quite “we traded the latter for the former”…
But having recced it, did he go back and ride it properly?
The problem with roadcc’s coverage of Nick Freeman is that it’s focusing too much on his controversial hot takes, rather than the well-known work he’s done road safety campaigning.
For balance, Nick has been very vocal recently on the dangers posed by electric cars for cyclists and pedestrians, writing (on X):
“Pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users often rely on hearing an approaching vehicle. That’s why I believe EVs should emit synthesised warning sounds at all speeds, not just low speeds.
Road safety must always come first.”
I think we can all unite around that sentiment rather than the more divisive number plates argument which I disagree with.
Nick thinks that “accountability” comes with identifiability. I agree to some extent, but you have to balance the risks posed by a form of transport with the loss of freedom and increase in state power resulting in having mandatory identity numbers. Cycling doesn’t even come close.
I agree – it’s literally free advertising for him as AFAICS this is how he likes to promote himself and get attention.
Seeing how well it works, I wonder if others could make use of that tactic? What do you think?
It’s spelled “shit takes”, Nigel. It’s like a hot take only it’s shit.
They’re never really hot takes, anyway – they’re the same old cold takes warmed over again and again.
Cars have number plates, but it does not stop drivers from killing and injuring thousands of people every year.