“Glad a real person put thought and effort into this picture”: American outdoor shop under fire for AI-generated image in bike ad… with drop bars beneath the saddle + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Boo! AI use breaks cover
We don’t much like Generative AI at road.cc. Every and any opportunity we have to therefore put it down a peg must be seized upon. And there have been opportunities already!
Remember the double cassette on a Specialized design? The brand blamed their web layout rather than a cursed machine or insane mechanic.
Or how about the time Komoot launched a ChatGPT app designed to give routes based on a text prompt?
The latest bit of madness comes from the American clothing manufacturer REI who published an ad for the new Van Rysel EDR AF bike.
View this post on Instagram
Sometimes images speak for themselves. But, in the interest of image description, we have what appears to be drop bar handlebars extended onto the back of the saddle. Incidentally we also have both rim and disc brakes, as well as a cyclist with a disproportionately long pinky finger. Thankfully the comments are sarcastically on point…
“Wow this looks amazing! I can’t believe this picture looks so real!”
“The extra handlebar coming out of the seat is pure genius!! so smart to design a bike for people who are extraordinarily flexible.”
“This photography is amazing! So glad a real person put thought and effort into this picture.”
Our thanks to the corner of the internet that is as AI-sceptic as us. And remember you can now skip AI on Google to get all your road.cc delights at the top of the search…
Glasgow could lose out on over 200km of cycle lanes
Burnham on a bike
Well, it’s looking increasingly likely that Andy Burnham will be the next Prime Minister, after all his strongest rivals said they wouldn’t stand in another Labour leadership election. Cue then a stroll down our archives to try and find photos of the next leader of the country on (or near) a bicycle.
Thankfully, our task is made easier by Chris Boardman, and his old job as Greater Manchester’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner.
The other perk of being a Metro Mayor is direct responsibility for a region’s transport network including, in Greater Manchester’s case, the Bee Bikes – now Starling Bikes – that form part of Burnham’s signature ‘Bee Network’. The bikes are 50p to unlock, then 5p a minute. E-bikes are double that, and you can also save money by buying minute ‘bundles’ in advance. But I suppose you want a photo of the incoming PM actually riding. Ask and you shall receive…
Motonormativity strikes again!
The desire to drive whatever car you want, regardless of its consequences for others, has become “normalised” in society.
> SUV drivers don’t care about danger posed to cyclists and pedestrians, new study finds
Score for bad wheel alignment
Councils giveth, Councils taketh away
There were some mixed messages in the world of active travel in England last week.
Oxfordshire County Council is to expand its e-bike hire network beyond the city centre and is planning an additional parking spaces to accommodate them, This is Oxfordshire report.
Meanwhile the council intends to tender a contract to a single operator, rather than multiple operators which fight for the same pool of users. Both Lime and Voi currently operate in Oxford itself.
In Worcestershire though, the council are weighing up if it’s even worthwhile renewing their existing contract with Beryl bicycles after it was used only half as frequently as predicted, bringing in for the council 60 percent of its projected income, the Local Democracy service reports.
The council’s deputy director has admitted there have been “operational difficulties”, and Beryl have proposed plans to reduce both the number of parking bays and the size of their fleet, from 176 bikes to 125. – whilst also fully electrifying their offering.
Former REI marketing man denounces "AI slop"
Among the critics of American retailer REI’s latest ad that depicts drop handlebars beneath the saddle is Massimo Alpian, a former Product Lead for the company and ex-Global Brand Director of Cannondale.
Writing on LinkedIn, he disagreed that, “AI will ultimately replace marketing and creative roles. Having worked for brands in my 15 year+ career that have built a connection between human emotion and sport/the outdoors, this is a marketing hill I will continue to die on.
“My first job in this industry was at REI and I’m proud of that. It was a brand and retailer that I felt emotionally connected to. So I sat there with shock to see this AI slop image posted with hundreds of comments and still hasn’t been taken down. The saddle? Pedals vs. shoes? Rim with disc? That’s just the first few slops to call out. And obviously a human isn’t even monitoring the account apparently or else this post would have been deleted by now.
“It’s not a great moment for one of the largest and most respected retailers in the outdoor space.
“AI will ultimately be incorporated into certain parts of business and yes, likely replace some parts of it. I get that. Yet, if you want to use it to fully create marketing and creative campaigns with zero oversight, I wish you luck with that.
“People want to see human touch, emotion, community and connection in places where they spend time and where they spend money. Especially if it’s sport and the outdoors. The art of humanistic creative thought and inspiration is one that often can’t be duplicated by artificial intelligence. Period.
A record abandoned amid heatwave
It’s really quite hot out there, and I think the world of professional cycling is woefully ill-prepared for extreme weather events. Thankfully Lael Wilcox took the necessary precautions…
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME
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Heaven forbid someone tries to cool down...
As we mentioned earlier, Tadej Pogacar narrowly beat Mathieu van der Poel for victory in the Tour de Suisse’s stage four time trial, but the best part of the story was the unsympathetic UCI commissaire.
Mathieu van der Poel was fined 500 Swiss francs (£467) for “inappropriate attire in the hot seat” after the Dutchman had the nerve to not replace his jersey whilst trying to cool down in 35 degree heat. As YouTuber Benji Naesen put it, “this vile criminal has been brought to justice.”
This vile criminal has been brought to justice. https://t.co/WdrTNUQdQ9 pic.twitter.com/oA4JJHOEEV
— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) June 20, 2026
It’s truly baffling why the UCI would seek to get involved in something like this. It’s Van der Poel’s team jersey, not the race’s so surely the race sponsors wouldn’t be bothered by a topless rider anymore than a clothed rider. And I’m not exactly sure he’s breaching any standards of *indecency*. Then again Isaac del Toro was fined last year after his jersey zip broke, obliging him to cross the line with his jersey unzipped.
Maybe Mary Whitehouse’s legacy lives on in a Swiss industrial estate…
Weekend catch-up: Pog dominance, Reusser reigns in her fiefdom, Lipowitz building form
There’s a lot of action to catch-up on so we’ll try and go in ascending order of importance.
The Giro Next Gen wrapped up on Sunday with Red Bull’s Lorenzo Finn taking overall victory on the back of a strong final-day time trial. The ‘baby Giro’, along with the Tour de l’Avenir is the most prestigious stage race for under-23 riders. Italian Finn, who has a father from Yorkshire is widely considered a future star and signed for Red Bull and became age-grade world champion last year.
Lorenzo Mark Finn seals Giro Next Gen glory in L’Aquila 🏆🚴♂️ pic.twitter.com/qIZuF4mfgM
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) June 21, 2026
Things are looking up for another Yorkshireman, after Tom Pidcock took victory on the hilly Andorra classic on Saturday, besting Carlos Verona and Sepp Kuss on home roads.
Tom Pidcock wins Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica 2026! His fourth win of the season. pic.twitter.com/KzBJoGgq5u
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) June 21, 2026
Meanwhile in neighbouring Catalonia, Paula Blasi continued her astonishing rise by taking a comfortable overall victory at her home race of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Feminina. Blasi beat Celia Gery by more than a minute after breaking solo on the final climb. It was enough for Blasi to beat Lamine Yamal to the front-page splash… The final stage meanwhile was won by the greatest of all time, Marianne Vos.
La victoria de Paula Blasi en Volta a Catalunya acapara más portada de “L’Esportiu” que la de Lamine Yamal con la selección en el Mundial pic.twitter.com/uHYtsWQWSw
— elsterrato (@elsterrato) June 22, 2026
Sticking with women’s racing it was a 1-2 for Human Powered Health in the one-day Lotto Thuringen classic, with Marit Raaijmakers coming in ahead of teammate Iurani Blanco.
In Slovenia, Florian Lipowitz took back-to-back stage wins at the weekend, first finishing alongside teammate Giulio Pellizzari on the summit finish to Kranjska Gora, then breaking free on the final stage to Novo Mesto. Despite podiuming last year’s Tour de France, the German ex-biathlete doesn’t win many races so his performances there will surely give him a big confidence boost ahead of July. I will caveat though that there were only five WorldTour riders in the top 30, and three of them were Lipowitz’s teammates.
🪽 𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐎𝐙𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐈
Florian Lipowitz sigue su preparación y logra la victoria escoltado por un sensacional Giulio Pelizzari en el doblete de Red Bull-BORA en Eslovenia#TourofSlovenia | #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/orsSDbzB11
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) June 20, 2026
The Baloise Belgium Tour is at this point becoming a quasi-world championships and several fast men shared the spoils. Olav Kooij took two stage wins to lead Biniam Girmay, Tim Merlier and Alex Aranburu, but Jasper Philipsen’s consistency, coupled with victory on the final stage, was enough to give him the overall victory courtesy of bonus seconds. The bunch sprints could be a ferocious fight at the Tour, which make it all the more remarkable there’s talk Decathlon might not even take Kooij to the race!
Finally, it’s the Tour de Suisse, now a five day race for men and women and both races held on the same day over the same parcourse (more or less). Marlen Reusser moved into the race lead with a dominant time trial on Saturday, before dropping Cedrine Kerbaol and Kasia Niewiadoma on the final day summit finish to Villars-sur-Olon to take victory in her home race for the third time.
Marlen Reusser WINS the Tour de Suisse Women! 💛
The Movistar rider prevails in both the final stage and the general classification! 👏 pic.twitter.com/keZiqlyXc3
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) June 21, 2026
The men’s race was the same as it ever was. Tadej Pogacar edged out Mathieu van der Poel by three-tenths of a second to win the stage four time trial – more on the polemica of that a bit later – before launching on the final day just in time to deny Lenny Martinez a famous victory from the breakaway, catching and passing the Frenchman with just 700m remaining. He wins by a whopping 6’32” over Richard Carapaz – remember this is a FIVE day race – whilst Mathias Vacek and Tobias Foss backed up their strong time trials to come in third and fourth. I think Mauro Schmid summed it all up best…
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Primož Roglič meanwhile finished eighth overall, a respectable result for the 36-year old, but sadly (for me at least) not the sort of form that would leave his Grand Tour rivals trembling in their cleats like they might have done even a year ago.
Becca Charlton reveals breast cancer diagnosis
TNT presenter Becca Charlton has revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer during last year’s Tour de France Femmes, just days after being confirmed to front Channel 5’s coverage of the upcoming race.
In an emotional post on Instagram, Charlton wrote, “This isn’t the post I ever expected to write, but as I celebrate returning to the job and life I love, I’ve decided now is the right time to talk about the toughest 12 months of my life.
“During the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift last summer I was diagnosed with breast cancer & discovered it had already spread to my Lymph nodes.
“Nothing could have prepared me for that moment, walking into a room to find 3 people, asking me to sit down and the blur of words that followed, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and knowing that life would never be the same again.
View this post on Instagram
“I had no signs, no symptoms, looked and felt happy and healthy when I discovered a swollen gland under my arm, while breastfeeding my newborn baby, which was my only alarm bell. I had a clear mammogram, ultra sound and examination. They took a biopsy as a ‘precaution’ and thank goodness they did. Everyone said it would be fine, until it wasn’t.
“I sought other people’s stories to help me remain positive through gruelling treatment and I hope I can now be the person that helps someone hearing that news behind me to feel less alone. I’m incredibly grateful for the support around me, and I know so many people go through this quietly — my heart is truly with anyone facing something similar.
“I’ve spent the darkest days of my life in a chemo unit, losing my hair, many, many days spent in hospitals in chronic pain, with drugs being pumped into my arm but I have also found humour and joy, smiled and laughed and remained positive while completing chemo, radio and two major surgeries, with my truly brilliant surgeon.
“I kept my bubble small while my family dealt with things privately but I cannot even begin to say how supportive those close people have been. All the thank yous will come soon!
“I plan to share all these things in time and have been talking to some trusted friends in the cycling world, which I look forward to posting later on.
“If something doesn’t feel quite right, please don’t put it off, go and push to get it checked.
“Big love x”
Fellow TNT presenter Orla Chennaoui wrote, “My love you are simply incredible. I am in awe of how you’ve handled this and so relieved for you that you get to share what you’re going through. I’m excited we get to hang together soon. You are a goddess and I send you all my love always. ❤️❤️❤️”
Olympic gold medallist Joanna Rowsell said, “So proud of you and continually inspired by your strength every day. So much love ❤️❤️❤️”
Everyone at road.cc would like to echo those words and send Becca our very best wishes…
Man once photographed holding a bicycle resigns as Prime Minister
It’s time for Sir Keir Starmer to “get on his bike”. Unfortunately, we have only one photo for the moment…
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Latest Comments
Something left unclear, is this a carbon or an aluminium frame?
@tomlew At least there isn't a mirror image picture of the derailleur in the article. It would have been a little bit comical if Mr. Pidcock had damaged the rear derailleur by kicking it and then found that the button worked only for some other calamity to happen due to the damage. Maybe SRAM can use it in their marketing of their groupset: "Tougher than a speeding Tom Pidcock in a dash to the finish line"
@Mr Blackbird I agree, there was no way he was going to outsprint Matthieu, the only way I could see him winning that stage would have been to jump from long distance and try to out-TT him using his aero advantages as a much smaller rider, in which case he could have stuck the bike in the biggest gear using the hood buttons and then just left the gears alone.
@mdavidford Even a mirror image of the piece of asphalt would have been better than nothing.
@mdavidford The grassy knoll theory seems to be the most plausible explanation yet. The whole saga is obviously a conspiracy and likely sabotage against slam dunk tour winner Tom Pidcock otherwise why in this world where every device contains a camera hasn't a photo of the offending piece of asphalt emerged? We should be told!
Re the AI spectacles. I read a UCI leaked report yesterday. The spectacles were actually a brand that used to be advertised for sale in the 1970s/80s Sunday tabloids. They supposedly enable X-ray vision allowing the wearer to see through peoples' clothes. A quote from the leaked report. "....The opportunities for distraction within the race peleton presented huge dangers to cyclists and spectators alike ...."
@Smoggysteve "...he'd have had..." Sorry, couldn't resist.
The gear problem would almost certainly have hampered Pidcock, but I don't think he would have beaten VdP on such a tailor made finish.
It was fired from the grassy knoll.
£7000 for Ultegra Di2 is a ‘pro price tag’ in most people’s books. X-LAB at half the price is looking better value every day for 90% of cyclists. It goes to show that Cervélo bling is now aimed squarely at the fashionistas.
15 thoughts on ““Glad a real person put thought and effort into this picture”: American outdoor shop under fire for AI-generated image in bike ad… with drop bars beneath the saddle + more on the live blog”
Seems like a genius innovation to me. It’s always a frustration when you want to ride the trails, but you have to cover a bunch of road to get there. Now you can do the first stretch on your drop-bar bike, switch out for flats for the trails, and stash the bars you’re not using under the saddle.
It’s for reversing out of trouble quick?
‘We don’t much like Generative AI at road.cc’…
“Boo! AI use breaks cover. We don’t much like Generative AI at road.cc.”
Fair enough. But that piece could at least use a proofread or spellcheck. “Double-wheeled cassette”? “insane maechanic”?
A maechanic is an eldritch bike shop worker dealing with cursed parts.
@quiff human errors happen! Long may they continue 🙂
“Man once photographed holding a bicycle resigns as Prime Minister”
Terrible recycling of the story of Boris’ exit?
(Of course it couldn’t be Theresa May, Liz Truss … and Rishi was more a helicopter-to-the-motorcade kind of chap).
a Keirful end for Starmer after two years of backing austerity, racism and genocide
@Wales56 a Keirful end for Starmer after two years of backing austerity, racism and genocide
I am not inconsiderably opposed to this tripe. We have so many stupid people in the UK electorate, that it’s becoming ungovernable, with the dimwits piling-in on an imaginary hate figure, who is actually a decent man trying to do his best but who made a few mistakes, who they can blame for everything they don’t like. They voted for Brexit, Johnson and Truss and now they’re voting for the Trumpian liars and crooks in Reform. Hands up those who think recent elections would have been any different with any New Messiah in charge! Democracy is the worst possible political system, except for all the others etc. etc.
@wtjs ‘a few mistakes’ – FFS
@wtjs ‘a few mistakes’ – FFS
@wtjs Vote Keir get Mandelson – which ultimately led to the downfall of both of them.
Obligatory cycling content: Mandelson was once seen riding a Brompton in London in October 2009 according to the Telegraph. This could of course just been an attempt by the Telegraph to smear him with another “crime” (of being a cyclist).
Say what you will about the braking efficiencies of both rim and disc brakes. Or of seemingly having only one pedal and crank. Or of the angled-in brake hoods on flat bars. Let alone the rearward facing handlebars.
I’m so impressed though, by the chain that traverses one side of the bike, to switch side somewhere around the dropouts, to the other side of the bike!
Every side’s a drivetrain side!
New party game. Find a generative AI picture and the first team that circles 10 obvious problems wins a shot of rum.
Those dudes going downhill, sparks flying from their modified shoes is the equivalent of children attaching football cards to their stays for the ‘motorbike’ effect; pointless, but fun.