“Bet the principal drives an Audi”: School bans e-bikes from grounds in “nonsense” move, leaving parents “fuming”; “When’s it going to end?” Anger as two student cyclists killed by driver in US; Tour of Britain Women updates + more on the live blog

It turns out police officers, Daily Mail editors, and Panorama presenters aren’t the only types of people confused about what constitutes an e-bike. School principals aren’t too sure, either.

Or at least one principal in Ireland isn’t, after allegedly banning both e-scooters and e-bikes from their school’s grounds ahead of the new term, in an email sent out to parents.

So, does that mean the e-cargo bike used by wee John, Penny, and their mum to ride to school every morning is outlawed? Or just high-speed, illegal models? Who does the principal work for, West Midlands Police?

> Police seize and destroy delivery cyclist’s legal e-bike hired through council-funded scheme after “bogus” test – but officers claim rider didn’t have insurance

“Email from son’s school today to say that e-scooters will be banned from school grounds from September (understandably) but also e-bikes!” Alan Dunne posted on BlueSky.

“E-bikes, which dozens of kids and families in that school rely on for their commute. Citing a single incident with an unspecified root cause. I am fuming.”

And other cyclists on the social media platform weren’t too happy about the ban, either.

“It’s complete horseshit driven by people who will see parents in oversized cars parked dangerously/illegally all over the place outside the school at pickup time, but would consider it rude to do anything about it,” wrote Dave.

“It’s utter nonsense,” agreed Alan. “I am mainly fuming about the fact that now I have to waste time writing and talking to them about this stupidity.”

I feel your pain, Alan. How do you think I feel when it’s my turn on the live blog?

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“Ask them for a copy of the other version of the email. The one banning e-cars from the school grounds,” I Bike Dublin chipped in.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if some school staff used e-bikes to commute,” noted Alan.

And finally, Peter added: “Bet the principal drives an Audi.”

Audi school ban, anyone?

It’s been a tough, dramatic old day at the Tour of Britain.

After this morning’s delay, due to a “blockage” along the route which forced the early part of the stage to be rerouted, the peloton was brought to a halt and neutralised over lunchtime, after what appears to be a car crash further up the route.

The incident – described by organisers as a “motor accident” – happened, it seems, before the rolling road closures were put in place.

The race was stopped with 73.5km to go, as Uno-X’s Katrine Aalerud led the race solo, 50 seconds ahead of the main bunch. With the red flag raised, the peloton was brought together and stopped along the road.

Considering the cold, wet conditions, it was no surprise to see the riders reach for their jackets, while some even opted for the silver foil in a desperate bid to keep warm.

After an interminably long half-hour wait, the riders jumped back on their bikes for a neutralised restart which led them, at a pretty slow pace behind the organiser’s car, over the Nick o’ Pendle climb and down to the intermediate sprint with 65km to go.

At that point, the bunch was stopped again to allow for Aalerud to reinstate her 50-second lead. All in all, the race was stopped for around an hour, which isn’t exactly ideal on the rainy roads of Lancashire.

We’re back racing now, thankfully, with lots of attacks currently streaming off the front, as some riders try to take advantage of their rivals’ café legs.

The US cycling community is in mourning today following the shocking news that two members of a university cycling team were killed by a driver and seven others injured in a horror crash in Tennessee.

11 members of the Milligan University team were on a morning training ride in Hampton, Tennessee on Wednesday when they were struck by motorist John Benfield.

In a video message, the university’s president Stephen Waers confirmed that Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers were killed in the collision. Seven other members of the team were treated in hospital for their injuries, with four currently in critical condition.

Benfield, a 69-year-old from North Carolina, was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle. Local police say the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

In May, Milligan won the men’s team time trial at the US collegiate national road championships in Wisconsin.

In a statement, the university said: “We are profoundly shocked and saddened to share that members of our cycling team were in an accident involving a vehicle this morning while cycling in Hampton, TN.

“There are no words to adequately describe this level of loss. Our prayers are with all those impacted by this tragedy. Please keep the Milligan community in your prayers.”

As the news broke, Ama Nsek, a multiple collegiate national champion and former student at Milligan took to social media to voice his anger and sadness at another fatal collision involving a driver.

“Shed a good amount of tears this morning. Kids were killed and we’re just supposed to chalk it up to another distracted or angry driver?” he wrote.

In an emotional video message, Nsek asked: “When’s it going to end? Two cyclists killed. Two kids killed, and five in the hospital.

“It’s so sad that we live in a world where we can’t just ride our bikes in peace. I’ve seen so many cyclists get killed or heavily injured by negligent drivers, and it’s just really sad. It’s really frustrating.”

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A delayed start, lorries blocking the road, a car crash on the route, a lengthy, freezing neutralisation, torrential rain. Oh, and a Lorena Wiebes victory.

One of the most bizarre, unpredictable days of the 2026 season came to an entirely foreseeable conclusion in damp, cold Blackpool this afternoon: Lorena Wiebes blowing everyone else away.

No matter what you chuck at the Dutch superstar, Wiebes, let’s face it, is inevitable.

For a while, as a heavy downpour battered the riders on the run-in to the seaside town (and put the race’s 5G coverage under considerable pressure), it looked like Wiebes might have to work for this one, thanks to the attacking impetus of Uno-X and Picnic PostNL.

Hitec Products’ 19-year-old Norwegian Oda Gissinger (who’s used to wet and cold conditions, to be fair) gave a good crack at upsetting the SD Worx train, but was reeled in with 4km to go.

After that, the result was never in doubt. As rival mini-trains swarmed around her on Blackpool’s promenade, Wiebes remained as cool as a granny at the bingo, waiting patiently for a gap to open before engaging her unmatched burst of speed with 200m to go.

One acceleration and she was gone. Irish champion Lara Gillespie tried to jump on the Dutch phenom’s wheel but simply had no response, fading to finish fifth.

 

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A Wiebes sprint is a bit like the Big One at the Pleasure Beach – you know it’s always going to be there, it’s always exciting, and if you’re one of her rivals, you just have to hold on and hope for the best.

Human Powered Health’s Maggie Coles-Lyster was the best of the rest (though, in sprint terms, Wiebes could have finished a fish supper by the time the Canadian crossed the line), while Kim Le Court, not a pure bunch sprinter by any means, took an impressive third and some handy GC seconds in the process.

But the big news in Blackpool was Wiebes’ second win on the trot at this year’s Tour of Britain, a predictable, cosy ending to a tumultuous day. I reckon the organisers deserve a big stick of rock after that one.

Josh Tarling has been named as part of Netcompany Ineos’ squad for the Vuelta a España, less than a week on from the death of his brother Finlay at the Volta a Portugal last Friday.

According to the team’s director of racing, Geraint Thomas, the decision to take part in the Spanish grand tour, which starts in Monaco on Saturday, was made by Tarling.

The 22-year-old completed his first Tour de France last month and made his grand tour debut at the Vuelta in 2024.

“It goes without saying that, as a team, we all fully support Josh in his decision to take part in the race,” Thomas said in a statement issued by Netcompany Ineos this afternoon.

The squad will be led by Scottish GC rider Oscar Onley, racing his first grand tour for the team after missing this year’s Tour with a shoulder injury.

The 23-year-old raced the Vuelta for DSM back in 2023, helping the squad win the opening team time trial in Barcelona before crashing out the following day. He finished fourth at last year’s Tour, sealing a move to Netcompany Ineos in the process.

Onley will be supported by Tarling, Carlos Rodríguez, Jack Haig, Lucas Hamilton, Embret Svestad-Bårdseng, Axel Laurence, and Ben Turner, who won his first Vuelta stage last year.

“La Vuelta is a big opportunity for us to finish the Grand Tour season strongly,” Thomas said.

“I’m confident in the team we’re taking and their ability to adapt to whatever the race throws at us over the next three weeks. It’ll be a tough race, because La Vuelta always is, but the team is united and looking forward to taking it on.

“This is Oscar’s first Grand Tour riding for us and he is ambitious, excited and wants to get racing. He has had some setbacks this season, but his win in Burgos showed that he has recovered well and has good legs. We know what he is capable of so we are giving him the freedom to just go and race, and enjoy it.

“Overall, we’ve made positive strides forward this year. There have been ups and downs as there always are, but the Vuelta is an opportunity to continue to build on the progress we have made over the whole season.”

“I’m really excited to be lining up for La Vuelta and my first Grand Tour with the team,” Onley said. “We’ve got a good mix of riders giving us a lot of opportunities throughout the race. Personally I’m feeling really good just now and looking forward to testing myself in the coming weeks!”

On what has been a tough, tumultuous day for the organisers of the Tour of Britain, spare a thought for Alice Wood, the race’s first ever female race director.

Wood (formerly Barnes), a former British road and time trial champion who retired after a decade in the pro peloton in 2024, as appointed as the Tour of Britain Women’s race director in March, a position she described as the “perfect role for me”.

But where first two days in the job marked by complaints about drivers on the course, stage start delays, and a lengthy neutralisation caused by a car crash on the route, it’s fair to say it’s been a baptism of fire for the 31-year-old.

Writing on his Substack this afternoon, Ned Boulting said: “I feel for everyone in the race organisation, but in particular for Alice Wood, who has all the makings of a brilliant race director. She’s had a load to deal with today.”

That’s an understatement.

Well, I never. Maybe they’re finally learning?

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It turns out that we’ll get to watch the vast majority of today’s Tour of Britain stage after all, after the start in wet and rainy Clitheroe was delayed to 12pm due to what the organisers have described as a “blockage in the road on the route”.

Not the best news for the organisers after yesterday’s complaints. But at least we’re underway now, with the YouTube livestream also up and running. Let’s just hope the weather perks up by the time we reach Blackpool…

And we’re live!

I’ll keep this towards the top all day, to save you scrolling through the blog or having to fire up YouTube yourself (the horror). Never say I’m not good to you…

I know what you’re thinking. He’s 36, he hasn’t won a grand tour for ten years, he popped that tramadol positive, remember?

And you’re right. But still, I can’t help feeling a touch sorry for Nairo Quintana, who was denied the opportunity of saying farewell to grand tour racing after being left out of Movistar’s Vuelta squad.

After all, nostalgia’s a powerful thing. The little Colombian climber, who always looked a few decades older than his actual age, was a rare bright spot of grand tour hope during the bleak Sky train years, pushing Chris Froome to the limit at times at the Tour de France and winning the Giro in 2014 (becoming the first Colombian to win a three-week race) and the Vuelta in 2016.

Things fizzled out after that, and he left Movistar under a cloud, his relationship with the team’s management strained, before enjoying a, ahem, mixed time at Arkéa-Samsic. After being left without a team following his tramadol positive, the Spanish squad offered a Quintana a lifeline in 2023, giving him the chance to end his career where it all started in 2012.

However, despite some decent results (including a stage and the overall at the Vuelta Asturias in April), the 36-year-old apparently didn’t do enough to earn himself one last three-week hurrah in Spain.

But in an interview this week on Caracol Radio, Quintana insisted that his relationship with the Spanish team remains a “good one”.

“It’s been my team all my life, I’ve raced a great deal for them, and you have to understand the decisions,” he said.

“They’ve chosen the riders who will represent them in the Vuelta and, in the end, I’ve been left out. Now it’s a case of carrying on cycling and looking ahead to the goals for the rest of this year, which is the final year of my career.”

During the interview, Quintana thanked Movistar for “all this wonderful history we’ve made together,” but noted: “Ten years ago, I won the Vuelta a España, and I would have liked to say goodbye there.”

Instead, he plans to bow out at the worlds in Montreal next month, ahead of a Gran Fondo-based farewell to his fans at home in Cartagena.

“I feel very happy because I will be able to represent my country in such an important event,” he said.

Alright, that’s enough Nairo nostalgia for one day, I promise.

Some classic Edinburgh parking (and weather) here:

What an absolute roaster.

@therealyplac.bsky.social @yplac.bsky.social

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— Steve (@lollercake.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 6:23 PM

Get your stick of rock, fish and chips, and ballroom dancing shoes at the ready, because the Tour of Britain is heading to Blackpool!

Today’s 110km second stage of the women’s race takes the riders out of the Ribble Valley for a lumpy, attack-friendly loop around the start town of Clitheroe, featuring Waddington Fell and the iconic Nick o’ Pendle, before a long descent down to the seaside.

Yesterday’s stage winner Lorena Wiebes will have been rubbing her hands in glee this morning at the prospect of a long, promenade finish under Blackpool’s famous tower (not sure how it’ll compare to her victory in Paris at the Tour Femmes, however). But, you never know, someone could spring a surprise – maybe Lara Gillespie could be extra inspired by the sight of the Irish Sea and upset cycling’s most dominant sprinter?

The stage got underway at 11.30, though the live YouTube stream is set to start at 12.10, so we should get over two hours of racing action.

Some worrying news from the Tour of Britain Women this morning, where one rider claimed she was almost hit by a member of the public who drove onto the course during yesterday’s stage around Cockermouth:

> Tour of Britain Women rider almost hit by motorist on race route, claiming “there were cars coming at me from all directions”

At the end of what has been a harrowing, painful week for professional cycling, this is the last thing we needed to hear.

 

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> Police sergeant claims “under current legislation e-bikes are deemed to be motor vehicles” after targeted crackdown on illegal “nuisance” vehicles