“This could have ended so much worse”: Cyclist hits out at “disgraceful” UK roads and “way too close” lorry driver after nasty pothole crash; Fans boo Tadej Pogačar; Terrible Tour de France hotel forces riders to sleep on balcony + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“This could have ended so much worse”: Cyclist hits out at “disgraceful” UK roads and “way too close” lorry driver after nasty pothole crash
Any cyclist who’s ever ridden in a group knows the feeling: a pothole appears out of nowhere and you just brace yourself for impact. If just one of you go down, you got very lucky. If everyone stays on their bikes, well, that’s a miracle.
Unfortunately, one recent Essex club ride wasn’t so lucky. In a clip posted on Instagram yesterday, one member of the group, which seems to be comprised mainly of triathletes based in Harwich, slams into a nastily deep pothole on the left-hand side of the road, causing him to lose control of his bike.
Despite some mid-air acrobatics, one of his mates then hits the deck, followed by a third rider as a lorry driver – travelling in worryingly close proximity to the group – veers to the right to avoid the stricken cyclists.
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James Holdfast, who posted the crash clip on Instagram, accompanied the clip with the tongue-in-cheek caption: “POV: When your friend hits a pothole and you immediately become an acrobat.”
However, in his post, James emphasised that the situation was far from funny.
“Everybody walked away from this and got lucky, road rash and some bruises was the worst of it,” he wrote.
“However, the UK roads are a disgrace, the worst we’ve ever known them and they serve to put all road users at increased risk unnecessarily. Couple this with the lorry driving way too close behind a group of cyclists, this situation could have ended so much worse.
“Potholes can change a ride within seconds. It’s never nice to watch someone hit the deck, but giving cyclists enough space to react, and for you as a driver to react in turn, can be the difference between people walking away or ending up in an ambulance.
“Be patient with all road users, not just those of us on two wheels. Give plenty of distance, don’t follow too closely and pass nice and wide. Please.”
“To all the guys who booed, they gave us more power”: Tadej Pogačar hits out at the haters and lights the Bastille Day fireworks as the Tour de France’s ruthless tyrant reasserts his authority with another staggering solo win in Le Lioran
Death, taxes, and Tadej Pogačar blowing everyone away in the mountains.
It may not have been as emphatic as his raid on the Tourmalet, and the circumstances preceding his stage-winning move may have been drastically different, but the world champion once again underlined his desire to put the Tour to bed as early as possible this afternoon in the Massif Central with yet another staggering solo display.
There was to be no repeat of 2024’s upset in Le Lioran, Pogačar blasting clear on the Col de Pertus to finish alone, winning his third stage of the race, the 24th Tour stage of his career and, remarkably, his third victory on France’s national holiday.
That move – teed up, rather inexplicably by Visma’s Davide Piganzoli – was enough to put 32 seconds into all his rivals and expand his GC lead over Jonas Vingegaard to 3.36. After just 10 stages.
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While Jonas Vingegaard got the better of him in the sprint two years ago, the Dane – forced to take on the brunt of the work in the chase behind – had to settle for seventh this time, grovelling to the line 44 seconds down on Pogačar, and 12 seconds behind Remco Evenepoel, who mounted an impressive comeback to sprint for second after suffering on the final climb.
And it’s clear that Pogačar had 2024 in mind when he launched this year’s unanswerable attack.
“Today was incredible. We’ve targeted this stage for a long time,” the world champion said at the finish. “Two years ago, Jonas beat me on this stage fair and square and today I had similar legs at the finish, completely destroyed.”
However, revenge wasn’t the only thing driving on the four-time Tour winner, Pogačar making a pointed reference in his post-race interview to some fans booing in his direction.
“I enjoyed today, in the final I didn’t know I was going to win until the last kilometre,” he said. “But then I remembered it was Bastille Day and I wanted to honour the yellow jersey. Thanks to all the fans, it was an amazing atmosphere, even though there was some booing.
“To all the guys who booed, they gave us more power.”
That sounds fairly ominous. Nevertheless, those fans disgruntled at Pogačar’s dominance can take heart in the chinks of armour in his UAE team, who despite having a stranglehold on most of the stage disappeared from view on the Pertus, while Isaac Del Toro lost a minute and a half, dropping from third to seventh on GC.
However, the prospect of UAE’s demise may be wishful thinking. The final 15km of today’s stage, like they did in the Pyrenees, resembled a race for second place.
That race, admittedly, is shaping up to be particularly interesting thanks to Evenepoel’s yo-yo form, the dangerous Lidl-Trek duo of Ayuso and Skjelmose, and the question marks hanging over Vingegaard’s motivation to battle hard, again, for the second spot on the podium.
Whether it’s not to distract from the chorus of boos increasingly aimed in the direction of the yellow jersey, the most dominant Tour leader cycling’s ever had, remains to be seen.
“It’s hard being a cyclist”: Tour de France riders forced to sleep on balcony as “dirty” hotel room covered in cobwebs and dust – after Tadej Pogačar endures night without air conditioning
Ah, the glamour of the Tour de France. The adoring crowds, the expensive bikes, the spectacular scenery. And the litany of questionable, occasionally very worrying two-star hotels.
While England’s World Cup contingent will be relaxing in the luxurious surroundings of a five-star resort ahead of tomorrow night’s semi-final against Argentina, things are a little bit different at the other big sporting event going on at the moment.
At the Tour, organisers ASO are usually responsible for allocating each team to a hotel every night, leading to a, ahem, significant range when it comes to quality (though it must be noted that ASO do try to average out the good and not so good hotels over the course of the race for each team, ensuring some degree of fairness).
For example, the night before the Tourmalet stage, I stayed in the same hotel booked up by Pinarello Q36.5 and Cofidis, a perfectly acceptable Ibis on the outskirts of Pau.
However, on Sunday night, both UAE Team Emirates (and the yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar) and Lidl-Trek rocked up to their hotel in Vic-sur-Cère, in France’s Auvergne region, only to discover that it didn’t have air conditioning. In the middle of a heatwave.
According to reports, to add to the Carry on Touring feel of the whole debacle, both teams brought their own air conditioning units, but when they turned them on, the hotel’s fuse tripped. Unbelievable.
Things were arguably even worse over at Uno-X’s hotel, where brothers Tobias and Anders Halland Johannessen resorted to sleeping on their balcony over the last two nights to escape their gloomy room.
The Norwegian team’s breakaway specialist Magnus Cort has become renowned in recent years for his daily reviews of ASO’s accommodation choices. Two years ago, you may remember, he gave a scathing review of the squad’s hotel in Le Lioran, describing it as “one of the worst places I have stayed in many years”.
Well, I don’t know what Uno-X have done to offend the Tour, but this year the organisers sent the team back to Cort’s hotel of nightmares. And it looks like it’s got even worse.
Could be worse, this is ours 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ijPNxKc69Y
— Anders H. Johannessen (@AndersHJohanne2) July 13, 2026
In a video posted on social media (in response to the reports of UAE’s stifling night), Anders Halland Johannessen showed off his and brother Tobias’ room, covered in mould, dust, and the biggest spiderweb you’re ever likely to see in a hotel not featured in a horror film.
“Could be worse, could be ours,” Anders joked after hearing about the yellow jersey’s lack of air conditioning.
The bathroom was grimly depressing too:
— Anders H. Johannessen (@AndersHJohanne2) July 13, 2026
Unsurprisingly, the brothers were forced to adapt, shifting their mattresses outside to the balcony with its admittedly lovely views.
“Improvise. Adapt. Overcome,” Tobias, who sits 11th overall and finished second behind Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday in Ussel, wrote on Instagram, with the hashtag: “Itshardtobeacyclist”.
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“The inside of the hotel: Questionable. The outside: reallyniiiice,” he said.
“Sharing room with everyone in the world who sleeps outside this night,” a reflective Anders added in the comments.
And this morning, Cort finally submitted his review of Le Lioran’s finest establishment. And he didn’t hold back.
“Two nights in this room and the rest day,” Cort wrote. “We also stayed here two years ago during the Tour. And even though it was only one night it created memories that last. It has an amazing view and looks pretty good on the outside.
“But in reality it is amongst the worst places I have stayed. We had a whole apartment that could sleep up to eight people so Anthon and me couldn’t complain about not having enough space. The apartment was in three levels with the button being entrances and toilet and bathroom.
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“It wasn’t completely soaked this time and only a small smell of rot. We also had the luxury of dry toilet paper. I had a sink in the closet that was nice to have so I didn’t have to walk two sets of stairs during the night.
“It is hard to say much more positive things about this place. It was dirty, no air conditioning, and no WiFi. It was very used with many broken things like the holder for toilet paper and shower head. Even though it was better than last time it will still only get 1 out of 7 stars.”
But at least Anders looked on the positive side of things.
“The big bedroom outside was nice,” he said.
Now that’s the kind of attitude that gets you through a Tour de France.
“It’s like watching two different sports”
The words of Rob Hatch there, as Tadej Pogačar blew past Richard Carapaz, leaving the former Giro winner for dead right near the top of the Col de Pertus, as he stamped his authority once again on this year’s Tour de France.
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A few minutes before the world champion launched his latest devastating attack, it looked – briefly – like the tables had turned. His UAE teammates were all dropped, and Visma had started to turn the screw courtesy of David Piganzoli.
But when Pogačar made his move, Vingegaard didn’t react. The Dane is currently in a chasing group with Paul Seixas, Remco Evenepoel, and Juan Ayuso, about 20 seconds down on the defending champion.
There’s still time for a reaction. Whether it will come or not during the final 10km remains to be seen.
Ouch! Tom Pidcock crashes hard on descent, but British rider back on his bike
Something you don’t expect to see at the Tour de France: Tom Pidcock crashing on a descent.
Unfortunately, however, the Pinarello Q36.5 leader hit the deck on a left-hander on the way down the Puy Mary, almost ending up in the backseat of a fan’s parked car.
Tom Pidcock hits the deck on Stage 10 😬
He’s already back with the main group! 💪 pic.twitter.com/79UzOYBCt6
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 14, 2026
Pidcock is back on his bike, thankfully, and doesn’t appear to be injured as he makes his way back to the yellow jersey group. However, things don’t seem as promising for Pidcock’s Pinarello teammate Chris Harper, who hit the deck in almost the exact same spot and appears to have injured his wrist.
Romain Bardet, reporting from the back of the moto for TNT, also spotted Matteo Jorgenson crashing on the same corner, during what has proved a treacherous descent towards the last big climb of the day.
The Richie rocket ignites
Jonathan Vaughters, sitting in the TNT Sports commentary box, is pretty chuffed right now, as his EF leader Richard Carapaz forges clear on his own after attacking at the bottom of the Puy Mary with 35km to go.
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The marauding Ecuadorian has half a minute on the yellow jersey, though the UAE train is still looking ominously menacing behind, as Adam Yates takes over the pace setting. Pogi on the Pertus, anyone? Or will he even wait that long?
When the breakaway shoots itself in the foot
I know the ‘finale’ of stages is starting earlier and earlier these days, but it’s getting out of hand today.
Just when you thought the breakaway was finally consolidating its lead, despite UAE’s oh-so-steadily asphyxiating pace at the front of the bunch, they start looking at each other, causing the gap to plummet to below a minute.
Javier Romo and Harold Tejada were the first to sense the danger and chipped off up the road with around 95km to go (a move you used to see in the final 50km), gaining a quick gap of 30 seconds as the group dithered.
And now Ben Healy – for the first time at this Tour – has made a move, alongside Sergio Higuita and Louis Vervaeke, that trio slowly making their way back to the front on the Massif Central’s narrow, technical roads. It just never stops at this Tour, does it?
Where have all the exciting bikes gone? And where are all the gods?
Come on, surely I’m not the only one who channelled the late, great Bonnie Tyler when reading this headline, right?
> Where have all the exciting bikes gone? Is cycling’s rulebook holding back bold design?
Do-do, do-do, ahh, ahh!
Active Travel England publishes new guidance to help local authorities deliver safer rural cycling and walking routes
This morning, Active Travel England published its new Rural Design Guide, which the government body hopes will enable councils and designers to plan and deliver “safe, accessible, and attractive walking, wheeling, and cycling routes” in the countryside.
The guide, unveiled by local transport minister Lillian Greenwood in Cambridge, contains technical advice and historic examples to help local authorities provide “high-quality” active travel routes which are tailored to demands of villages, small market towns, and rural lanes.
17 detailed case studies from across England, including the Keswick to Threlkeld Trail and the Beryl Burton Cycleway, are included in the guidance as examples of best practice, alongside general advice on route design, crossings, junctions, and connections to new developments.
The advice is based on “extensive engagement” with rural communities, councils, and countryside organisations, the ATE saying it has collected thousands of responses from the likes of the National Trust, the Ramblers, and the British Horse Society, as well as cycling and walking groups.
Active Travel England says the guidance marks a responded to long-standing calls for clearer rural design standards, though local authorities are not legally required to follow the new advice.
“Many towns and cities are well on the way to creating safe and attractive active travel options, but our mission extends beyond major conurbations. Everyone in England deserves safe, cheap, healthy travel choices,” National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said in a statement.
“With the publication of this Rural Design Guide, we’re supporting authorities to develop infrastructure that works best for local people. Our aim is to help councils build safe and appealing routes that not only enable more everyday active journeys but also help them make the most of our wonderful countryside.”
Splits! And Pogačar’s been caught out (briefly)
It’s been a fast, frenetic start to stage 10, aided once again by Lidl-Trek’s desire to hoover up the early green jersey points for Mads Pedersen.
That concerted effort, on grippy, energy-sapping roads, has already snapped the peloton into pieces. A group of 30 or so drifted off the front, leaving a number of GC favourites adrift – including a certain Tadej Pogačar (turns out he is fallible, after all).
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The yellow jersey, however, made light work closing the gap on his own, with the seemingly more relaxed Jonas Vingegaard stranded in the second group.
Everything came back together (if you don’t count Tim Merlier, who’s already been spat out the back, a minute behind) in time for the intermediate sprint, which Pedersen won, just about, ahead of the in-form Max Kanter.
Now it’s time for the real attacks to start in earnest. But if the first 25km are anything to go by, today could be pretty explosive and (fingers crossed) unpredictable…
“It’s just generally scary that a car can do that to you so easily”
Twin Simmons
I’ll get my coat…
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Probably best not to ask Quinn No. 2 about his political opinions, just to be safe.
Return to the scene of the crime: Tour de France set for brutal Bastille Day in the Massif Central with finish at Le Lioran… where Jonas Vingegaard last got the better of Tadej Pogačar
Raise Le Tricolore, blast La Marseillaise, and try your best to get in the breakaway. It’s Bastille Day at the Tour de France!
And the race is celebrating the 14th of July in the most French way possible: with a relentless, grippy, stinger of a stage through the Massif Central. A perfect backdrop for the overthrow of a tyrannical regime, then.
Speaking of which, this morning, Jonas Vingegaard promised live on TNT Sports that he won’t be giving up his quest to topple Tadej Pogačar until Paris.
The Dane will be given fresh impetus by the location of today’s stage finish: Le Lioran, where, in 2024, he recovered after being dropped by Pogačar to outsprint his eternal Tour rival at the line for a shock victory, reigniting that year’s GC battle.
Since then, however, it’s been all Pogi-sided at the Tour. Can Vingegaard turn back the clock on the up-and-down roads of the Massif Central?
After all, today’s route is tailormade for an ambush (potentially capitalising on UAE’s energy-depleting rides last week?), featuring four Cat 3 climbs, one Cat 2, and two Cat 1 ascents, including the very steep Col de Pertus.
Oh, it’s also a stage that suits – in normal Tour times at least – a breakaway. And there’s nothing the French love more than a plucky win from the break on Bastille Day. Valentin Paret-Peintre, over to you…
Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes? London tourist edition
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I think we’ve reached peak ‘residue under handlebar tape’
No, just no. Pass the sick bag, please…
Is renting out a monster truck the only way to beat Tadej Pogačar at the Tour de France?
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Daniel Smith has now said: "... and there was a cyclist in front, and they’re going really slowly." and "... the psychological thing during a test, that you want to keep getting on with it. Then when something slow moving is in front of you, you’re going to feel that pressure." So I will revert to my original comment: " 1) If the student (edit to add: ANY DRIVER) is frustrated at a cyclist, what is their response when stuck in queues of slow moving/stationary drivers/motor traffic? 2) If this is the instructor’s attitude, they need to lose their teaching qualification and attend re-training to prevent instilling such a negative attitude in learners. “Painfully slow that is”… If THAT speed is painfull, what about going even slower (or being stationary) behind a queue of drivers? “Do you think he has any idea he has a trail of cars behind him?” A trail of cars that is MOVING. What about when a trail of cars is stuck moving even slower or stationary in rush hour traffic?? "
Presumably, given the username, you're more familiar with the former?
@the little onion On my, driving test, my very good instructor actually said 'hazards' are a time to show you understand the Highway Code (206, 205, 125 & 126) - ": He advised to slow down significantly below the speed limit when passing children, particularly in residential areas, near schools, or close to stationary buses and ice cream vans etc. The suggestion to drop your speed to 15–20 mph in a 30 mph zone when hazards (like children) are present is a core defensive driving technique taught by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). https://www.rospa.com/siteassets/images/road-safety/road-safety-information/driver-safety/speeding/top-10-tips-for-staying-in-limit-factsheet.pdf This instructor's 'nightmare, nightmare on test' remarks, and, remarks on only doing 15mph + 'does he know of the cars behind ' - seems to put him at odds with the RoSPA and the Highway Code.
Surreyrider incoming…
@mctrials23 Indeed. But a significant influence could be the signs on the back of trucks and buses that put the responsibility for their safety on cyclists. The same image could have legend beware of this vehicle passing you on the outside (since you will be in the same relative position). A bit long but accurate.
ROOTminus1 It wasn't the outfit, it was his unusual stance in that photo
@mdavidford Mea culpa. Potato / starchy tuber of the Solanum genus, Tomato / edible fruit of a different species in the Solanum genus.
Just thinking about this but, if fans are camping out for days all the way up, those backwoods are going to stink. Ewww.
@jackcycles and the best way to convey the correct attitude and behaviour toward slow moving road users is to call the situation a nightmare. There are plenty of clips of good driving instructors out there who explain that cyclists aren't an issue. Aren't a nuisance and aren't a nightmare and just another thing you have to handle on the roads. If he was trying to convey what he says he was, hes shit at his job. He didn't reassure her, he made a big deal out of it.
@jackcycles I imagine that all of us ride our bikes a lot on the roads here. We don't need good examples of driving to offset the bad. Most overtakes I get are fine. The issue is the significant number that aren't. The (I would suggest) very obvious issue with that driving instructor is that he is conditioning and teaching his student to consider cyclists a nuisance, a negative presence on the road and "a nightmare" to deal with. None of this is good or positive. Its pretty simple; the things we teach people as they grow up become their views. The irrational hatred for cyclist doesn't come from cyclists actions, it comes from societys treatment of them and the constant negativity towards them. People are very impressionable and their views easily reinforced. A driving instructors job should be to produce safe, considerate drivers who treat everyone on the road or who interact with the roads with patience and care. He was not doing these things. And yes, cyclists tend to react really badly when we see the next generation of drivers being taught precisely the sort of attitude that leads to injury and deaths for our kind.
10 thoughts on ““This could have ended so much worse”: Cyclist hits out at “disgraceful” UK roads and “way too close” lorry driver after nasty pothole crash; Fans boo Tadej Pogačar; Terrible Tour de France hotel forces riders to sleep on balcony + more on the live blog”
Spotted yesterday.
Good to see Thames Valley Police out to “catch ’em all”!
Nice. Pikachu with some ugly-injections.
Two good news stories on my local news website.
20mph coming to Cheltenham town center soon :
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/latest-cheltenham-20mph-roll-out-11053445#comments-wrapper
The usual comments on 20mph but the waiting list for those who want 20mph limits in Gloucestershire is so long many will not see them any time soon.
And a “one more lane will fix it” in doubt, potentially saving up to £950 million :
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/new-gloucestershire-m5-junction-solve-11054222
Gone to bike thieves, every one.
When will they ever learn?
@mdavidford Very good; to better keep with the original, may I suggest, “Young men nicked them, every one”?
ASO makes massive money during the TdF thanks to the pro peloton’s performance, which is as good as the rest they get at their hotels. Yet ASO don’t seem to pay minimum attention to teams’ accommodations. In 2026, how can they possibly book hotels without functioning aircon units in each room, including mecs’ and soigneurs’? Why do they book 2-star hotels with dodgy facilities? You bet ASO procurement manager books himself in a comfy and plushy suite every single night. C’mon ASO, up your game!
Not that inexplicable, Visma had to try something as Pogacar was clearly getting ready to tee off and Vinegaard didn’t look as if he had the legs to go with him if he did, so they tried setting a high pace on the climb to see if that would deter him and keep him in the group. Optimistic, definitely, but not inexplicable.
On another issue, booing someone for winning is about as low as sports “fans” can go. It would be nicest not to boo anyone, given that, especially in cycle racing, they are shattering themselves for our entertainment, but it can be understandable if you think your chosen team/person aren’t doing their best, but getting pissed off with someone for winning? What’s he supposed to do, throw the race to let your favourites have a chance?
I also can’t understand why any cycling fans would boo Pogacar. Even though he is dominating the GC, the TDF is multi faceted with stage wins in breakaways, sprints, TTs and one man can’t win them all. It probably means as much to one rider winning his first ever stage as it does to Pogacar winning his 5th GC.
Pogacar also comes across as a likeable, modest, thoughtful, level headed young man.
Maybe the booing fans had bought into the French media narrative that a Frenchman should win on Bastille Day?
In 10 or 20 years time those same fans will be reflecting on the great when they saw Pogacar in his pomp.
@Mr Blackbird I also can’t understand why any cycling fans would boo Pogacar
They’re not so much fans as morons. Wasn’t MvdP booed even in the Low Countries, his home turf, because he kept winning? These are the same type of despicable people as those who riot and destroy on any pretext?
So much of cycling safety outcomes is just dictated by luck. We’re constantly put into dangerous situations that are only OK because there was no bad luck involved. This is why cyclists don’t ride in door zones. This is why cyclists want you to always give them space when you are waiting to overtake and when you overtake. This is why the police need to act on bad driving when its reported and doesn’t result in an accident, because that exact same driving does result in accidents when someones luck runs out.
I can’t count the number of times I am forced into the door zone of parked cars because drivers will not yield to a cyclist. They don’t give a shit that I have 2 young children on the back. This is why it boils my piss when you see stories about drivers being given lenient sentences for bad driving because “it was a one off”. “It was an accident”. No, it was a pattern of dangerous driving that was finally rewarded with hurting someone.