Pedestrians told to “leave cycle paths free for cyclists” after ‘distracted’ walkers cause two crashes in minutes on same bike lane; Tour de France boss slams “dirty” hotel complaints as Van der Poel “angry” at organisers’ chateau + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Pedestrians told to “leave cycle paths free for cyclists” after ‘distracted’ walkers cause two crashes in the space of a few minutes on same bike lane
Quick, someone alert the Daily Telegraph, I have a story for them… Oh, wait.
In news that almost certainly won’t get published on the front page of your favourite anti-cycling broadsheet, Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner’s office has called on road users to “leave cycle paths free for cyclists”, after two crashes took place within minutes of each other on the same bike lane last week.
Both incidents took place last Wednesday on the protected cycle lane on the Cheltenham Road in Gloucester, and involved pedestrians who stepped out into the path of oncoming cyclists.
The first crash saw a schoolchild walk out in front of a cyclist, leaving the rider with a cut elbow, Gloucestershire Live reports.
And while that cyclist was being attended to by passers-by, another pedestrian, reportedly wearing headphones and using their phone, walked onto the same cycle lane without looking, causing a cyclist to crash into them.
In response to the two back-to-back crashes, Nick Evans, the chair of Gloucestershire’s Road Safety Partnership and the county’s deputy police and crime commissioner, called on all road users to avoid distractions and look out for each other.
“It is tempting to be distracted or let our impatience get the better of us while we’re using the roads, but some consideration and tolerance for others helps avoid injuries and prevents tensions running high,” he said.
“Whether it’s leaving cycle paths free for cyclists, or hard shoulders free for emergency vehicles we all know the rules of the road. Allowing a little extra time, not being distracted by mobile phones and showing consideration for others ultimately helps keep our roads safe.”
Meanwhile, Roger Whyborn, the cabinet member for road safety at Gloucestershire County Council, added: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. Whether you are driving, cycling or walking, paying attention to your surroundings and showing consideration for other road users can make a real difference.”
In case you were wondering, yes, the cycle lane on the Cheltenham Road in Gloucester does sound familiar.
That’s the stretch of infrastructure which found itself at the centre of unfounded social media speculation and some conspiracy theories back in 2024, after residents claimed that the new cycle lane was too wide and had made the road too narrow for vehicles, meaning it would need to be dug up again.
However, the false claims were promptly rubbished by the local authority who said there was no such issue, though that didn’t stop some disgruntled locals from claiming that the project, part of the council’s ambitious ‘Gloucestershire Cycle Spine’ cycle lane scheme, “had caused nothing but problems and stress”.
More recently, the scheme sparked another social media debate, when one van driver (on his phone, unsurprisingly) filmed a cyclist “ignoring” the Cheltenham Road cycle path by riding on the road and “holding up traffic”.
However, some local cyclists were on hand to point out that the loose stones used to surface that section of the bike lane may have inspired his choice of route. Or the threat of oblivious pedestrians walking out in front of him, too…
50.9kph: Fastest Tour de France road stage ever won by Søren Wærenskjold with devastating long-range sprint
Remember when I mentioned earlier today that there was the potential for the Tour’s road stage speed record to fall this afternoon, after 27 years? Well, it did. And by a fair margin, too.
Søren Wærenskjold of Uno-X Mobility took advantage of a messy sprint in Nevers to power away from the bunch in the final 300m, squeezing through a small gap at the barriers to launch an unmatchable acceleration which caught out the big favourites.
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Olav Kooij, who won stage five last week, and Jasper Philipsen attempted to close the gap, bearing down on Wærenskjold in the final 50m, but the big Norwegian had more than enough in the tank to hold them off and secure the biggest victory of his career.
The former Omloop winner also added his name to the Tour record books this afternoon, with Wærenskjold now holding the distinction of winning the fastest road stage in the race’s history.
The Norwegian averaged 50.9kph for the 161.3kph stage, 0.6kph faster than the speed recorded by Mario Cipollini when he won in Blois in 1999. Anything to scrub not so super Mario out of cycling history is alright by me. Cheers, Søren.
“I thought I was too far back, but it opened up on the right side, which it usually doesn’t do,” record-breaker Wærenskjold said after the stage.
“It was the same feeling as my first big win at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, like I was too far back and suddenly at the front.
“It’s unbelievable. It means everything, it’s my biggest win so far. When I came here I knew there are two or three guys that are faster than me but if I’m lucky and I have a good sprint like today, then it’s possible.
“Sometimes I have really good confidence and I believe in myself, but there are many, many times when I am super tired, like it’s impossible to win here.”
After the speeds we’ve seen on the climbs this week, it’s perhaps fitting that the 2026 Tour is now home to the fastest road stage ever. And it’s showing no signs of slowing down, either.
Jasper Philipsen relegated from third to 116th in messy Tour sprint
Jasper Philipsen’s woes at the 2026 Tour continued this afternoon, the Belgian sprinter relegated from third place – a promising return after a tempestuous start to the race – to 116th, following a messy sprint into Nevers.
The commissaires haven’t published their reasons for the relegation yet, though we assume it must be for irregular sprinting. I reckon the mood in the Alpecin camp will be quite sour, tonight. Thank goodness for Mathieu van der Poel, eh?
TNT Sports says its Tour viewing figures are up… But is that a good thing for cycling in the UK?
Answers on a postcard, please…
“If we want the race to visit beautiful parts of France and have beautiful stages, sometimes there aren’t five-star hotels everywhere”: Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme hits back at hotel complaints and insists ASO booking system ensures equality – after Mathieu Van der Poel “super angry” at organisers’ chateau stay
It turns out Christian Prudhomme hasn’t taken too kindly to all the accommodation-related complaints at this year’s Tour de France.
The controversy surrounding the state of some of ASO’s chosen team hotels for the race – sparked by clips and photos of Uno-X Mobility’s dingy but admittedly spacious lodgings in Le Lioran (and some of their riders’ decision to sleep on the balcony instead of their hot, cobweb-infested room) – continued last night, with Alpecin-Premier Tech joining the chorus of sanitary disapproval.
Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Alpecin manager Philip Roodhooft, whose team also stayed at the Village Montanha hotel in Le Liora alongside Uno-X and Picnic PostNL, said: “I don’t want to make too much of a fuss about it, and until two days ago the general consensus was that the hotels weren’t too bad this year, but this was still below standard.
“I fully understand that there aren’t many places to stay in this region, but there are certain things that are easy to fix. Make sure it is clean and that there is some decent protection against the sun and insects. And when you see the efforts the riders have to make, air conditioning really should be standard. It is a matter of respect from the organisation towards the riders to do something about it.”
“You surely saw in the photos what the bedrooms looked like,” Mathieu van der Poel’s father Adri, who works for Alpecin at the race, added.
“There were photos of cockroaches. When you see all the investments teams are making, I don’t think this fits the Tour. I understand that we are in a region with limited accommodation, but you still have to ask yourself if there isn’t a different solution. Perhaps the organisation should have stopped by themselves.
“We bring our own mattresses and portable air conditioning units, but there were plenty of other things wrong. Mould, cockroaches, the food for the staff. The team arranges meals for the riders, but not for the support staff.”
Mathieu himself, meanwhile, was said to be “super angry” when he discovered that the Tour organisers were staying in a chateau just down the road. Perhaps he could have slept in his Lambo, instead?
In any case, Tour chief Prudhomme has defended ASO’s booking system for the race, the organisers responsible for booking and distributing the hotel rooms for the entire race, securing around 1,900 beds for the entire three weeks.
As part of that system, ASO tries to dish out the rooms equally based on quality, though in some parts of France that balance can be skewed at times.
“If we want the race to visit beautiful parts of France and have beautiful stages, it means that sometimes there aren’t five-star hotels everywhere,” Prudhomme told French radio station ICI.
“We’re the only ones who can guarantee equality amongst the teams at the Tour,” he added, noting that leaving squads to book their own hotels would give an advantage to the richest teams.
“At the end of the Tour, all the teams will have the same number of hotel stars.”
“They’ve thrown all sorts of white shit over them!” Tom Pidcock says descent crash caused by whitewash sprayed on roads by Tour organisers to stop tarmac melting
One of the great mysteries of this year’s Tour has been solved, it seems.
Descending the Puy Mary, the final downhill section of yesterday’s stage to Le Lioran, Tom Pidcock, Chris Harper, and Matteo Jorgenson all crashed on the same left-hand corner.
Harper, Pidcock’s teammate at Pinarello-Q36.5, came off worst, the Australian forced to quit the race this morning after sustaining a “serious” injury to his thumb.
And according to descending demon Pidcock – who claims yesterday’s tumble was the first time he’s crashed at the Tour – the culprit for the multiple crashes was, in fact, an attempt to increase the peloton’s safety.
With the tarmac of the Massif Central melting due to the constantly hot conditions, the organisers put white spray down on the roads to cool them down, a safety solution Pidcock reckons backfired by instead making the roads slippery.
“I did not expect the road to be like that,” the British star told reporters after the finish.
“I do not know what they do with the roads here, but they had put all this white shit on them. It was really slippery, especially in the descents.”
“I crashed right in the middle of the turn and then had to chase. The damage does not seem too bad. I feel fine at the moment, but we will have to see how everything feels later and what the checks show.”
Well, that’s one whodunnit from this year’s Tour solved.
Bye, bye Julian
Pop. With just under 40km left on the final climb of the day, Alaphilippe’s gone pop, leaving three out front, just over a minute ahead of the peloton.
Terminé pour Julian Alaphilippe 🫤 #TourDeFrance pic.twitter.com/ZFRbBs63pS
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 15, 2026
For a while, it looked like today was set to be the fastest road stage in the Tour’s history, quicker than the 50.355kph recorded on the road to Blois in 1999, when Mario Cipollini won.
A stern enough headwind has slowed things down in the last few kilometres, so Cipollini’s record will probably remain intact.
Though the way cycling’s going, it’s only a matter of time before that particular record falls.
Rain! Rain at the Tour! And Julian Alaphilippe’s in the break!
I never thought I’d see the day, but drops of water have fallen from the sky at this year’s Tour de France.
And they’ve made the roads quite skittery, expectantly so after such a long dry period, as Movistar’s escapee Nelson Oliveira discovered almost to his cost on one particularly damp corner:
😱 A scare for Nelson Oliveira, who stayed on his bike.
😱 Frayeur pour Nelson Oliveira qui reste sur son vélo.#TDF2026 pic.twitter.com/kxKzPyRBBy
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 15, 2026
Yikes.
After a surprisingly fraught start, Oliveira and his 50p cornering are currently part of a four-man breakaway consisting of Anthon Charmig, Mathis Le Berre, and Julian Alaphilippe.
Yes, Julian Alaphilippe has made the break. And the whole of France – desperate for something to cling to after last night – is ecstatic.
It must have been the coffee he made this morning:
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“Why are our roads so full of traffic? I bet it’s that cycle lane by Shrewsbury Station causing all the congestion everywhere”
I might keep this post saved in my back pocket to show it to anyone complaining about cycle lane plans in their town:
“Why are our roads so full of traffic? I bet it’s that cycle lane by Shrewsbury Station causing all the congestion everywhere”
In unrelated news.
“Look at this shiny new Land Rover” 👀— Spencer (@plotfolk.bsky.social) July 14, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Things are looking up for Magnus Cort and his Tour hotel reviews
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That’s quite the leap from one star in Le Lioran to five (out of seven) last night. No idea what’s going on with Anthon Charming and his new ‘friend’, however…
‘Alright Tadej, completely kill off the Tour, but make it look fun’
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Who cares if he’s annihilating the best riders in the world anytime the road heads upwards, or that he’s sucked any semblance of suspense out of the GC before the Tour hits its halfway mark? His hair’s yellow and he can do wheelies, so everything’s fine. It’s… fine.
Benoot cuteness alert
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She’s already got that professional style, fluid pedalling motion… She’ll go far. Even with a basket on the front of her bike.
Oi, sprinters! Wake up, we’ve got a stage for you (yes, really)
We interrupt this three-week screening of the Tadej Pogačar Show for a very brief intermission: two flat stages for the sprinters!
This rare double bill of fast twitch fibres and dive bombing starts with the most routine of routine stages, a 161km jaunt through the middle of France from the spa town and former collaborationist capital of Vichy to porcelain-loving Nevers.
Save for a few short kickers, it’s almost entirely flat and features a dead-straight 6km run to the finish, which looks perfect for Tim Merlier to make it win number three at this year’s Tour.
My money’s on the in-form Max Kanter, however. The XDS Astana man is up for it, has a string of top placings to his name so far, and pushed Mads Pedersen close at yesterday’s intermediate sprint. Or will Jasper Philipsen gain revenge and some redemption after a tricky start?
In any case, the sprinters, whoever they are, need to take advantage of the next two days. After tomorrow, it’s slim pickings for the proper fast men, including in their spiritual home of Paris, as we resume normal Pogi programming for the rest of the Tour. Yippee.
On Blue Bayou (on a bike)
Here on the live blog, we love a tangential reference to cycling. And they don’t get much more tangential than this:
Singer Linda Ronstadt barefoot in a bike shop in 1978
Happy #BicycleBirthday, Linda!
Born July 15, 1946— Cool Bike Art (@coolbikeart1.bsky.social) July 15, 2026 at 10:39 AM
To be fair, she did record a tune called Bicycle Song with her early band the Stone Poneys, so the connections are adding up. Anyway, happy birthday to cyclist Linda Ronstadt!
“The machines we are seizing are not bicycles”
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Latest Comments
I'm always in favour of vigorous condemnation of the police, but not when they're doing the right thing. 'E-bike' means nothing to the law, unlike EAPC which is a good term as is 'fully legal, licensed taxed and insured electric motorcycle' which is what the police are using. This must be a good thing and a worry to the little b******s wearing face masks while riding illegal electric motorcycles, unless the Met is running the whole operation from the Charing Cross station
The Velcro tabs on the Pro Discover saddlebag are useless, no wonder it’s only 10 quid.
@jackcycles One should be informed by speed limits, not ignore them. Nevertheless, the limits per se are applied to motorised vehicles, and not to pedestrians, horses, or cyclists, and initially for the most obvious of reasons.
@Ben Graham It is about energy, and to a degree momentum. Kinetic energy is m*vv/2 so yes, a cyclist and bicycle (say 100kg) at 40kph has noticeably more energy than one at 31kph (50 times 40*40 vs 32*32) a driver and car at say 2000kg firstly has vastly more energy than the faster cyclist, and secondly the increase in energy of the car from 32 to 40kph is also a lot more significant. One might think about frontal width and so on as well, but mostly consider the differences in energy involved. Actually, specifying the limit in terms of energy might have a salutary effect on Range Rovers and suchlike.
There is zero moral equivalency between a speeding driver and speeding cyclist. The capacity for harm and the likelihood of causing harm is so much greater for the driver, and this is bourne out in the statistics. 1,700 dead every year and 30,000 seriously injured; a tiny fraction of which can be blamed on cyclists not following rules.
I feel all cyclists need to grow up on this issue. Cyclists cannot claim that 20 limits save lives, and in the same breath they don't apply. Morally they do. The legal position is a little greyer. Speed enforcement doesn't work the same way, and it requires a Police Officer to make a non-endorsable charge where speed may be a factor. Highway Code rule 69 is quite explicit - obey all traffic signs and road markings - all though of course this is simply a statement not the actual law and there are other errors in the Highway Code too (MUST stop at an advanced stop line on amber for example). We need other road users to respect and look out for cyclists and pedestrians, and all following the rule book and looking out for one another is all part of this.
Not only does this seem to be an inadequate amount, it's a one off token gesture that ignores the need for a constant program of updates and improvements that will start to redress the 50 year head-start that the Netherlands have on us.
Those who complain about the cost of these measures should simply Google "cost of road traffic collisions" and work out how long the ROI takes (and then add in the safety benefits)
Wouldn't giving them legitimate arrangements ... legitimise them though? If you're representing a party that holds there's a war on drivers, major "green climate scams", too much petty bureaucracy stopping people going about their lives etc ... then doesn't it stand to reason that encouraging cyclists to get in the way of drivers cannot be part of the solution? Or even encouraging them at all - as if not on the roads won't they endanger pedestrians by going far too fast? Or when their bikes spontaneously combust? (I know there *are* a few Reform councillors who appear to have quietly ignored some of the company's - er, i mean organisation's - core policies).
21 thoughts on “Pedestrians told to “leave cycle paths free for cyclists” after ‘distracted’ walkers cause two crashes in minutes on same bike lane; Tour de France boss slams “dirty” hotel complaints as Van der Poel “angry” at organisers’ chateau + more on the live blog”
How unaware was this driver?
There should be almost nothing to distract a driver on motorways…
Or was he on his phone…?
“Police ring van driver blocking emergency response”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjwgwv1wznzo
“Hello mate – are you on the M40?”
“Yes”
“OK – just to let you know you can expect a prosecution for using your phone while driving…”
@mdavidford
I think that’s called Entrapment!
Sounds good to me – after all it would be no offence if people were hands-free / device was in a cradle “and they were not distracted” at the same time, shurely?
@mdavidford
I think that’s called Entrapment!
@mdavidford They can’t see from there if he was using handsfree, and it sounded like he was sort of shouting at his phone, so probably was.
On the other hand, “We’ll call you a bit later to discuss your driving without due care and attention, we’ve been behind you on blues and two’s for ages”
Right. Not quite as pithy, though, is it?
@mitsky Um, how did they know his number?
@arowland
Presumably it was a company van with the logo/name and contact info on the back.
@mitsky Ahhhh! So it wasn’t blurred out IRL?!
@arowland
Have You watched the clip in the article?
It appears to be body cam footage of the police officer in the passenger seat whilst they are driving closely behind the van on the motorway.
So they could see the company logo and read the phone/mobile number and then call it.
@mitsky Presumably it was a company van with the logo/name and contact info on the back
Police haven’t worked out how to do this in Lancashire, even if they’re at their usual position sat around at the police station. Transit HN21 VXB has Marcus Wright’s Joinery phone number, Facebook details etc. all over it, but 11 months after the first report with photos they still haven’t managed to talk him into getting MOT and VED. It’s difficult to work out the motive for this protection of criminal offenders by the police.
@wtjs
Of course they won’t unless Marcus Wright is actively blocking them from attending a scene under blues and twos.
You can’t expect the police to do good solid coppering when there are thrilling chases and high-profile glory cases to be taken on
Handy for the bidon run.
“If we want the race to visit beautiful parts of France and have beautiful stages, it means that sometimes there aren’t five-star hotels everywhere,” Prudhomme told French radio station ICI.
Obviously, tempted to add – in a typical French way, Prudhomme can’t stand negative comments on his team’s underperformance. It’s actually the race organisation’s job to deliver great racing in breathtaking landscapes (this means good audience and juicy TV rights) while sourcing the best accommodations for pro teams and their entourages (this means rested cyclists and competitive racing for 3 weeks). Based on this year’s performance, ASO procurement manager should be fired or demoted.
“The machines we are seizing are not bicycles”. In the same vein, SUVs ain’t cars.
“all this white shit” (what Pidcock actually said in the full quote) is somewhat different from “all sorts of white shit” (how you’ve quoted him in the headline) – the former is clearly referring to a specific substance that’s supposed to help, whereas the latter makes it sound rather as if they’ve just grabbed various different things they found lying around at random and chucked them on.
Woo!!!
@mdavidford Yes- it works!
Rider: You promised that the breakfast would be toast with jam, cereal and boiled eggs, all I’ve been given is a slice of untoasted plain bread.
Prudhomme: Sometimes steak with oysters, caviar and champagne isn’t available, stop complaining.
Pathetic from the top man, all the riders are asking for is clean rooms with air-conditioning. The attitude that they are asking for the Earth with such minimal demands shows absolute contempt for the people whose incredible efforts pay for his enormous salary (I assume it’s enormous, given that he seems to have taken great care to make sure that the figure is not publicly available as far as I can see). The attitude towards riders doesn’t seem to have changed in some respects from the days when they used to sleep on the stone floors of churches overnight to try and keep cool.
Sometimes steak with oysters, caviar and champagne isn’t available,
… because we’ve eaten them all.