Tadej Pogacar smashes Marco Pantani’s Alpe d’Huez record with epic solo win; Trek announce new e-bike standards allowing 20mph on the pavement; Chris Froome’s next project; Alpe d’Huez mayhem + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Pogacar wins!
Under the flamme rouge Pogacar attacks and opens a gap, when he turns and sees it he pushes on to hammer it home. The sweeping turns are tackled he approaches the finish and raises his arms as if to say ‘who else?’ And I think he’s smashed Pantani’s record by more than a minute…
Martinez wins the sprint for second just a handful of seconds behind on what is surely the ride of the day otherwise, but just think how close they came to victory!
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Next of the favourites is Remco Evenepoel, accelerating all the way to the line out of the saddle, a fantastic ride for the Belgian who has surely silenced doubters about his form over long climbs. A few seconds later comes Del Toro, then Skjelmose and Seixas.
Bloody hell…
Updated GC
How about that? 7 minutes to 2nd, 23 minutes to 10th. Isaac del Toro slightly grew his advantage for the final podium place, whilst Lenny Martinez and Richard Carapaz’s breakaway exploits were a triumph on GC even if they wanted another stage win. But with only 9 seconds over Skjelmose, that might be tough to defend after today’s exploits.
I would say the same thing for Carapaz over Pidcock but the Brit struggled today, as did Juan Ayuso. Here’s the Spaniard crossing the line with Quinn Simmons 6’26” behind the day’s winner…
Es Quin Simmons pero es lo de menos, reventado Juan Ayuso a 6′ 26″ pic.twitter.com/Sfa1alh2qA
— De lejarreta y sean kelly. (@gurpeazkar) July 24, 2026
One final bit of housekeeping, and Richard Carapaz has taken the mountains jersey – which he won two years ago – by a single point from Pogacar and seven points to Paret-Peintre. Whether the now 8th-placed Ecuadorian will be allowed in the break tomorrow to defend it might be a different question…
Caught
1.7km to go and Carapaz has finally been caught by Pogacar whilst Martinez has managed to cling to the wheel. Now, through the town of Huez they come, will Pogacar be able to drop the pair sitting on his wheel?
1.5km he accelerates but Carapaz and Martinez hold on! My word…
Behind, Isaac Del Toro has attacked and distanced Seixas, who still has Riccitello for company, The Mexican’s 25 seconds behind Evenepoel
Chaos!
GET OUT OF THE WAY 🤬
Tadej Pogačar was having to part a MASSIVE sea of fans on his path to victory on Alpe d’Huez 🌊
🇫🇷 #TDF2026 | July 5-July 27 | Every Stage on SBS 📺 pic.twitter.com/lVSFrlxu6l
— SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) July 24, 2026
Tadej Pogacar starts waving at the fans, ordering them to make space. he wouldn’t dare slow down. Finally he emerges into a barriered section and the front three are in sight. 15 seconds the gap.
Behind, Matthew Riccitello has timed his drop from the break and is pacing the Evenepoel/Del Toro/Seixas group, though to what avail I’m not sure…
Goodness me, a farce behind as Remco Evenepoel attacks and gets a gap but can’t get past motorbikes trapped between dropped breakaway riders, finally he gets free…
3km to go for the front 3 and Carapaz finally drops both his rivals. He has 10 seconds on Pogacar to pull off the unlikeliest result.
Pogacar keeps going, he drops Kuss, he catches Martinez and now there’s only one man ahead.
Far behind, Evenepoel has 10 seconds on Seixas and Del Toro
4km
Kuss now attacks, a real, diesel-like acceleration but it doesn’t drop either rival, Pogacar closes to within 30 seconds, an army of fans swarming across the roadside.
4km, 30 seconds to Pogacar, 2,50 to Evenepoel et al, 5 minutes to Ayuso.
5km
Einer Rubio and Tobias Johannessen are next to be caught and dropped by the yellow machine, now only the front three remain but the gap is below a minute. They’re not going fast enough and they know it.
That makes Carapaz attack again, trying to utilise the slipstream of the passing gendarmes on a motorbike. But again Martinez rallies and Kuss opens the gap. And again they slow, and Kuss rejoins. As Groundhog Days go, it’s at least entertaining.
50 seconds the gap, 5km to go…
7km
The fans are so tightly packed, what an atmosphere! Carapaz is spurred on and attacks again, once more Kuss is distanced and Martinez doesn’t budge, now they stop and look. Pogacar is now 1’15” behind and has just as quickly dropped Arensman as he caught him…
Kuss recovers and counters! My word these highlights programmes will be worthwhile…
Evenepoel et al are 1’20” behind pogacar, Ayuso more than three minutes. Lenny Martinez’s stage/GC ambition is working beautifully if only they would work together!
6km, 1’10 the lead trio have
Break stalling...
Carapaz is so impatient, launching these ferocious attacks then easing up the minute the gap is closed. It’s not conducive to working together to fend off the best rider in the world. Great television though…
Tiesj Benoot has met the Evenepoel/Del Toro/Seixas group and is working on the front, pegging Pogacar to 30 seconds. Saying that, Adam Yates’ job is done and the Slovenian has 10km solo to reign in the front three.
9km to go and the front three are looking at one another, the gap is down to 2’11”, in contrast Pogacar is motoring, he’s found a perfect rhythm.
Carapaz goes again, a vicious sprawling acceleration that distances Sepp Kuss but Martinez will not budge from his wheel. Again they look at one another though and Kuss rejoins them. 8km, 1’50” the gap. They’re throwing it away!
Paul Seixas now pushes on behind but Evenepoel is glued to his wheel as is Del Toro. Juan Ayuso is losing minutes meanwhile…
Pogacar attacks!
Uncertainty? What uncertainty? Just as I press publish, Tadej Pogacar attacks before the first hairpin, 12km to go! Immediately he’s solo and got a gap but he’s got three minutes to make up on the front group, where Sepp Kuss had just countered, dropping Arensman in the process.
POGI STRIKES EARLY 💥 Tadej Pogacar launches with over TWELVE kilometres to go on Alpe d’Huez 🚀 pic.twitter.com/keLHbQe9wQ
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 24, 2026
Now hold on! Here comes Adam Yates, the Brit has timed his ‘catching’ by his teammate perfectly, and the pair are working perfectly, this is looking ominous.
10km, 2’30” Kuss Carapaz and Martinez have. The other favourites are 30 seconds behind except for Ayuso who’s ceded a minute to Pogacar already… bloody hell
Lower slopes, Pidcock/Ayuso dropped
Onto the final climb they go. Bruno Armirail and Tobias Foss have ridden themselves into the ground for Kuss and Arensman respectively, giving the 15-strong breakaway a 3’25” head start over the favourites. Is that enough? I think it could be very tight… 13.7km to go.
Immediately Tiesj Benoot and Matteo Cattaneo drop away, but they’ll likely be working for Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel respectively. Clement Braz Afonso is next to drop away. The crowds are immense but so far barriered on one side…
Now the numbers are really dropping, as behind Mads Pedersen is ripping a new one for Lidl-Trek, but now here comes Decathlon! Sweeping to the front setting a hard pace, that’s a catalyst for Arensman to attack at the front from the breakaway, and he takes Lenny Martinez, Sepp Kuss and Carapaz with him.
Meanwhile in the peloton both Pidcock and Juan Ayuso are dropped already. Still 12km to go for the break, 3 minutes to the peloton. This race is in pieces…
One more climb
Carapaz leads over the Ornon uncontested, the mountains classification now reads Paret-Peintre, 84, Carapaz, 79, Pogacar, 70, with 25, 12, 10, 8,6 and so points available atop Alpe d’Huez.
UAE have meanwhile put Felix Grossschartner on the front, the only knowingly healthy UAE climbing domestique, and the Austrian’s had a big impact, kncoking the gap back down to 3’50” as he leads a very reduced peloton – in fact not even a peloton, less than 20 riders strong. Jordan Jegat, 9th overall has been dropped but he’s got a healthy margin over 11th place Yannis Voisard.
22km, a fast descent and a brief stretch of valley road before one more climb today, with 21 famous hairpins. Just remember the last two winners up there were British…
UAE uncertainty
It seems like there’s only one place to start today’s live blog, on the lower slopes of Alpe d’Huez, where half of road.cc appear to have decamped. For nearly three weeks Tadej Pogacar has seemed imperious, untouchable, [insert another superlative here].
But there are more than just rumours that show all is not well. Yesterday we focused heavily on Adam Yates, who we had seen the previous day crawl over the line, pale and broken with the assistance of teammate Tim Wellens. Yesterday, the Belgian told Flemish media he had a sore throat and was not feeling great himself, but I think few would have expected him to finish with just the broomwagon for company, as captured by us on the ground yesterday…
View this post on Instagram
Yesterday, Brandon McNulty also abandoned the race having been dropped on the opening climb. That leaves Felix Grossschartner as UAE’s only climbing domestique, presuming the team will try and protect Isaac del Toro’s 3rd place, whilst Nils Politt and Florian Vermeersch might not be much use if the race explodes on the opening climbs.
As for the yellow jersey himself, yesterday the World Champion switched to black shorts for the first time in the race, having previously worn white in the world champion’s bands or yellow to match his top half. Coincidence? I’d be surprised.
Yesterday in his post-stage press conference, the Slovenian also only answered three questions – he normally answers five – whilst one of his answers was one word.
Last year of course, he was in a private battle with knee injury which we can say now was perhaps behind his race fatigue and apathy towards the whole rigmarole that surrounds the Tour. Do we have a similar situation on our hands? If so, the onus is on Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas to try and make the most of it…
Riders dropped
Valentin Paret-Peintre has been dropped! That’s good news for Richard Carapaz, though he won’t be able to overtake the Frenchman unless he takes points at the finish.
Also dropped is Adam Yates, whether he’s not feeling good or has been called back isn’t clear but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re cutting his losses so he can still contribute at the front of the bunch.
The break has now more than halved to less than 20 riders. Visma are working very hard for Sepp Kuss to keep the gap above 4 minutes over a peloton led by Lidl and UAE. 30km to go and 1km left of the penultimate climb
Pedersen serene
From a British and Irish perspective, today’s breakaway just got much less interesting. But Ben Healy and Josh Tarling have ridden brilliantly to keep the margin to the peloton out beyond 4 minutes. Richard Carapaz and Thymen Arensman are well-placed because of them.
The gap is so big that Pinarello-Q36.5, the team of Tom Pidcock, have started riding on the front of the peloton to try and bring back Lenny Martinez, who is currently in virtual 5th place having not once put his nose in the wind. The gap’s just creeping up to 4’30” though, so I’m not sure it’s working.
Here comes the intermediate sprint and Mads Pedersen, escorted by Derek Gee-West, Quinn Simmons and Mathias Vacek takes maximum points. That puts his lead over Jasper Philipsen at 57 points. With 75 points on offer on the final day in Paris, it’s not yet over but it’s near impossible for Jasper Philipsen to haul him back. If he fancies getting in the break and making it over the hors categorie Col de la Croix de Fer tomorrow, he could even gift wrap it.
Michael Matthews, himself a former winner of the green jersey comes up to Pedersen and congratulates him over the line, a nice touch…
Aww, look at them – Michael Matthews congratulating Mads Pedersen!😍🥰 pic.twitter.com/paouFrltwb
— Cycling_Eve (@CyclingEve) July 24, 2026
36km remaining, 4’40” the gap to the peloton, the category-2 Col d’Ornon begins shortly…
60km to go...
Adam Yates’ radio is not working, with the Brit politely asking the TV camera to inform the team car. On the road itself, we have a bit of stasis. Visma and Netcompany-Ineos are contributing to keep their margin as healthy as possible. After Nils Politt whittled the group down to 3’10”, the break have fought back to stretch their lead out to 4 minutes. We’ll have an intermediate sprint in around 20km. In the meantime, the boatfolk (again all one word) have arrived…
Meanwhile on 🇫🇷 Alpe d’Huez…
🎥 colin_1105 pic.twitter.com/fbcD7QETs5
— Domestique (@Domestique___) July 24, 2026
Beefeaters ready...
INCREDIBLE! 🔥
Hannah gets stuck into the action on Beefeater Bend on Alpe d’Huez! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/OPuiNcYaOe
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 24, 2026
Fans of Bernard Cribbins amongst you will be delighted to hear the Beefeaters plan on playing ‘Right Said Fred’ when the British national champion rides past later today…
Crash!
Goodness me, wheels cross on an arrow straight road and Tudor’s Marco Haller goes sliding into a concrete drum after rear-ending Edward Planckaert, who narrowly missed the barrier.
Thankfully, the race organisers put out padding and he avoids what would have been serious injury, he’s back on his bike and being treated at the doctor’s car.
🚴🇫🇷 | Wat een rare val van Marco Haller! Probeerde hij zonder handen te fietsen?⛰️⛰️ #TDF2026
Koers 👀 HBO Max pic.twitter.com/ZpZemV9cHv
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) July 24, 2026
72km, 3’20” the gap to the peloton
Reminiscipackage (all one word)
Race organiser Thierry Gouvenou has told French TV that an extra 6-7km of barriers have been installed on today’s final climb.
Meanwhile, television’s Matt Stephens has shared this fantastic Instagram Post…
View this post on Instagram
A Lidl paradox
One man in the breakaway, yet again, is Mads Pedersen. With three teammates for company, they’re working to keep the peloton clear so Pedersen can effectively guarantee the green jersey, even if it likely won’t be mathematically secure until the final day. But in doing so, they’re giving a free to Lenny Martinez, who has now overtaken Mattias Skjelmose on the general classification. They’ll be counting on the peloton getting its act together later today.
That said, Lidl-Trek’s pace is not enough for EF who want to make it harder to improve Carapaz’s chances in the KOM sprint atop the stunningly beautiful Col de Noyer. Paret-Peintre’s solution? Attack early. A 250m sprint would likely be too long for a designated sprinter, but Paret-Peintre makes it work uphill, holding off the Ecuadorian to take maximum points. Both men are now ahead of Pogacar in the virtual KOM standings, but will need the Slovenian not to win today if one of them is to wear the polka dots on merit.
95km, the gap to the peloton is now 3’30”. Tim Wellens is plugging away off the back trying to rejoin, whilst Florian Vermeersch has recovered and is riding on the front whilst his legs allow. Red Bull have been doing a lot of early work as well.
Flag drop!
It really is most cruel of the race organiser to start climbing from the off and immediately the sprinters are dropped, scattered all over the road. The 40km or so of flat will be crucial if they’re to survive within the time cut today, but we have two climbs before we get there. Hopefully they can use the descent to regroup and form a grupetto.
Not helping them are the constant attacks to form a breakaway, but it looks like we’ve got a big group that has managed to get away. Several of the strongest breakaway artists appear to have made it in the split, plus several Visma riders reduced to stage hunting without their leader Jonas Vingegaard, and yesterday’s stage winner Richard Carapaz and 7th overall Lenny Martinez. Up to the summit of the Col Bayard they come, Valentin-Paret-Peintre seems to benefit from the lead-out of Bruno Armirail and despite Carapaz launching his sprint first, Paret-Peintre summits first to take the virtual lead in the mountains jersey.
In the peloton, Vermeersch and Wellens are already dropped, and Pogacar is yet again in black shorts. UAE will take comfort though that Adam Yates has made it into the break.
122km to go, the 43 rider breakaway has 43 seconds (near enough) on the peloton.
Do you want to join Chris Froome on his next steps?
The four-time Tour de France champion made his first steps into a post-cycling world of employment by becoming a Skoda ambassador, and his Instagram is awash with him following their race with esteemed guests and fans.
View this post on Instagram
Well we now know what’s he’s going to be up to once the race slowly scatters from the Champs-Elysses on Sunday.
The Kenyan-born Brit has launched the Froome Foundation, which aims “to help young people across East Africa access the same values that cycling taught me: discipline, resilience, confidence, and purpose.”
“The Froome Foundation’s mission is creating opportunities and brighter futures for young people through cycling” and “focused on supporting future generations in Kenya through sport, education and community development.”
And to raise money for the foundation, Froome is inviting to people to join him for a long weekend cycling in the hills above Monaco next month, with fine dining, massages, laundry and a hired Pinarello Dogma F yours for the four-days, plus VIP access to the Gran Salida of the Vuelta a Espana.
All yours for $10,500, plus an optional further donation to the newly launched foundation if you so choose. Seems like Froome’s having a pretty fun retirement to me…
Mayhem brewing...
In my mild take earlier this week I warned that Alpe d’Huez can descend into “raucous sordidness.” Well, we’re about an hour away from the stage starting, and a good four from the stage hitting this famous mountain but there are already signs that today’s stage might get out of control…
Police have already reportedly banned cyclists from riding up the mountain, forcing lots of cleated individuals to walk up…
Absurd druk, nauwelijks hekken (alleen eerste paar honderd meter, in bocht 7 en laatste paar kilometer) en nauwelijks agenten.
Wat. Een. Zootje.
Nu al. pic.twitter.com/g3zKHV6PAi
— Thijs Zonneveld (@thijszonneveld) July 24, 2026
According to cycling superfan ‘Nairo in Green’, Dutch corner has even been barriered off.
The larger-than-before crowds are likely due to the doubleheader of an ascent across today and tomorrow, and it’s making several people nervous…
Love big crowds at bike races, but I have a feeling that the Alpe d’Huez vibe has turned rowdy beyond what ASO or the Gendarmes can control with regards to rider safety.
I really hope that I’m wrong. #TDF26— Brian Nygaard (@nygaardbn) July 24, 2026
The chance is real that the enormous crowds on Alpe d’Huez will lead to incidents: riders hindered or even stopped by the spectators, riders knocked down…
If ASO does not cordon off the (entire) climb with ropes and fails to put up enough barriers, they are responsible for any… https://t.co/bjqpbwsHyX
— Jonas Creteur (@jonas_creteur) July 24, 2026
Remco Evenepoel yesterday told Sporza the scenes can be “frightening when you see how narrow it gets,” Paul Seixas told L’Equipe, “I hope I don’t crash on the climb because I think there will be a lot of spectators.”
Could the crowds, and a principle of open roads cause havoc and disruption to the race? We’ll find out in a few hours…
Stage preview and loaded headlines
Prior to all the sickness pervading from UAE (more on that in a moment) the talk was centred around whether today would be the day Tadej Pogacar breaks Marco Pantani’s 1997 climbing record on the mountain (37’35”). Unlike when Tom Pidcock won a few years ago, Alpe d’Huez is the only hors categorie climb on today’s route, and the short length of the stage, coupled with the 40km ‘flat’ section could make for some explosive racing.
Here’s what Ryan wrote pre-race:
“Alpe d’Huez, part one. A short, sharp 128km stage starts, rather rudely, with the one-two punch of the Col Bayard and Col du Noyer straight out of Gap where, ironically, gaps could immediately open up. A long flat section leads to the Cat 2 Col d’Ornon, which could prove pivotal in whittling down the break.
“After that, it’s all about the Alpe, one of the sport’s great theatres, tackled from what will now be known as the traditional side. Drink it in, all 21 hairpins of it.”
Now’s a good time to share Mat’s deep dive on the mountain’s lore and allure…
> Why Alpe d’Huez is the Tour de France’s most iconic climb – maybe – even if it isn’t the best
In short, like many things in life, the hype has somewhat overtaken the merits of the climb itself, but that’s no reason to not enjoy the day. Just look at Robbie McEwen’s Instagram stories where he’s meeting and greeting the Beefeaters, or his feed where he’s bumped into a man who knows this mountain rather well…
View this post on Instagram
Right, that UAE update. Wielerflits’ Raymond Kerckhoffs is reporting that the team are now taking several health-related precautions, including riders now eating in their own rooms, wearing masks through the hotels and trying to socially distance on the team bus. Best of luck to them on that last point.
Meanwhile David Walsh, he of Lance Armstrong’s ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ fame has written an article about Pogacar’s parents who are following their sons exploits from a campervan. The headline: Parents’ camper van road trip giving Tadej Pogacar “extra energy”
There remains a real likelihood that Walsh didn’t write his headline. But given his reputation, the historic infamous role that camper vans have played during cycling’s more asterisked years, and scrutiny over the ‘suspicions’ that justified anti-doping tests carried out in the early hours on the Slovenian, it all feels very loaded, even if the article itself is innocuous.
Thankfully, our Ryan is planning on interviewing his compatriot today so we might be able to establish more information on this matter…
Unibet break-in
Deary me…
> “It sucks”: Thieves smash window and steal bikes in raid on Unibet Rose Rockets cycling team van
Cycling to the Airport
In the sky with diamonds in the legs?
That’s the best way I could hammer home The Beatles and Cycling into a sentence on the fly – your own considered attempts are welcome of course.
But this is the news that Liverpool John Lennon Airport have created dedicated parking spaces for Bolt e-bikes and e-scooters, for airport employees and passengers travelling with hand luggage. The fleet is said to offer a 24/7 service compared to less reliable public transport options and is located near the employee entrance, according to CitiesToday.
They also say the e-bike and scooter fleet will be, “supporting the airport’s wider ambitions to improve sustainable access for employees and travellers.” But not the sustainability of their main travel journey – as you might expect.
Bolt already operates in Liverpool and recently expanded south to Speke and Garston, making the airport a natural extension to the network. Active travel for Daytrippers the world over!
About last night...
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If you’re wondering where our Ryan was in all this, he “just about made it past that lot.” No news on Liam’s whereabouts however…
Fast Trek
This being the last live blog of the Tour de France, today’s offerings will be, as you might expect, quite Huez-focused, but there will be a couple of other thing I want to draw your attention to…
We start with Trek bicycles who have announced they want the American bike industry to come together and agree nationwide e-bike standards, to tackle the messy mishmash of safety regulations from State to State.
That makes sense, and makes you grateful that our political system doesn’t give the devolved parliaments the powers to set their own funky rules. I imagine the people of Oswestry and Berwick-upon-Tweed are particularly thankful.
But what we can’t quite fathom are the e-bike category standards that Trek have set and want the rest of the US industry to follow. Here’s their press release, word-for-word:
“All Trek electric mountain bikes sold in the United States will be Class 1 and will:
- Have a 20mph maximum pedal-assist speed
- Will not have a throttle
“All Trek electric bikes designed for use on pavement and shared paths will:
- Limit throttle assistance to 20mph (if equipped)
- Limit pedal assistance to 20mph or 28mph, depending on model
“These standards strike the right balance between delivering the benefits of electric bicycles, respecting shared spaces, and protecting the trails and paths riders depend on.”
20mph on a pavement and shared path! That seems… too fast? In contrast, in the UK, e-bikes max out at 15.5 mph, regardless of any distinction for MTBs – and we’re talking about legal e-bikes obviously.
Could we not end up with a situation where there are national standards that are so widely adopted they then can’t be changed? It all seems rather risky to us, and a little reliant on cyclists riding sensibly and not maxing out their motors… more than achievable but needlessly risky.
Sacked Turkish Governor latest...
Ryan found time up a mountain yesterday to dive into one of the stranger stories that keeps circulating…
> Turkish governor sacked after criticism for wearing “tight” cycling kit… while promoting cycling
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Latest Comments
@mdavidford - is that the new 0-minute cities that I've heard so much about?
@Rendel Harris - yeah, I can't deal with that kind of thing when cycling is inherently an inclusive activity (not that all cyclists treat it as such).
@hawkinspeter A fair bit of "antiwoke, anti DEI" racism crept in towards the end of his tenure as well, as I recall.
Or staying home.
But having recced it, did he go back and ride it properly?
I've posted this opinion a few times, but it feels relevant here. In the general population, there's always going to be some percentage of arseholes (e.g. rude, inconsiderate, selfish etc) and what we should be aiming for is to get those arseholes to not drive motor vehicles as that reduces how much harm they can cause. Ideally, we want them to be walking, but as we know, cycling is so much better for longer distances. So, every time we see arseholes on bikes, at least they're not riding/driving something heavier that goes much faster. Also, when someone keeps doing stupid things on bikes, they're likely to come off and hurt themselves at some point, so at least there's a negative feedback loop that should normalise the worst behaviours.
@chrisonabike - I think rich_cb's comments went downhill quite a bit. They used to be mainly argumentative, but nonetheless had some reason behind them, but then they started spouting some quite horrible right-wing/capitalist views which devalued and reduced people to how much money they make as well as pushing the whole oil agenda. They should have just stuck to their cycling opinions which were, as you say, well informed.
If cyclists treated drivers in the way that drivers treat cyclists there would be 100 extra dead each year.
Tentatively doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Also, who are you to place greater value on one person’s use of a road over another’s. If I am exercising instead of sitting in front of the to am I not reducing my burden on the NHS. My experience of pulling over on a long ride to visit parents (130km). I pulled over as was holding up a stream of commuters. More for my own safety. I then walked to a nearby cafe, had a tea and cake. I still found it challenging to rejoin the flow of traffic having graciously let 20 mins of streaming traffic get on their way. No one wanted to afford me the same courtesy I had afforded 100ds of drivers.
Don’t be so ignorant.
32 thoughts on “Tadej Pogacar smashes Marco Pantani’s Alpe d’Huez record with epic solo win; Trek announce new e-bike standards allowing 20mph on the pavement; Chris Froome’s next project; Alpe d’Huez mayhem + more on the live blog”
On the Pogacar / del Toro short colour conspiracy….
…this was never an issue for the Ag2R cycling team. Hideous shorts as marginal gains.
This being the USofA, doesn’t ‘pavement’ likely refer to hard surfaces (so basically road use, as opposed to trail), rather than the ‘sidewalk’, as they would refer to it?
(Though it still seems sketchy for shared paths, unless that also means something different over there.)
For a site which loves to engage in a bit of culture wars nonsense, you’d expect they’d speak better American.
Oh if only. U.S. already has a 20 mph limit for Class 1s and 2s. The latter have a throttle. Most of them get ridden on what we across the pond call “multi-use trails.” Most of these trails are paved, and attract many ebikes because many ebike riders in the country have minimal bike-handling skills and are thus afraid to use roadside bike paths. The lack of skill is what makes 20 mph too fast. I often now find myself heading off the trail to avoid some throttle-brained idiot who overcooked a corner and is coming head-on in the wrong lane. Maybe no one at Trek rides bikes in the U.S.
1 year and 3 months for…
“dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, criminal damage and using fraudulent registration plates”
But cyclists.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c39e13rp0p9o
Regarding US e-bike laws: The 20 mph assistance limit makes SO much more sense than Europe’s 25 kph / 15.5 mph. Those bikes cost a LOT of money, and then when you pull away from a junction and the motor cuts out after 4 pedal strokes and you realize it’s because you’re already over 25 kph, then it makes them worth a whole let less money. Also, women buy e-Road bikes to keep up with their husbands, but then still can’t do so because 25 kph on the flat on a road bike is so easy to exceed. In addition, I’ve never seen a 25 kph or 15 mph speed limit on any road in Europe, so where did this number come from? 30 kph and 20 mph roads do exist, so either of those would be FAR more logical. Also, if the limit wasn’t so low then people wouldn’t be so encouraged to use illegal bikes or to make modifications to bikes that were originally legal.
Leaving aside whether the current limit is appropriate or not, existing road speed limits are rather irrelevant, since they’re designed to manage the impact of a completely different class of vehicle, which (in theory) you need to be licensed to drive, having demonstrated a certain level of competence, so aren’t at all comparable.
@Chris RideFar “In addition, I’ve never seen a 25 kph or 15 mph speed limit on any road in Europe, so where did this number come from?”
Uhm, in the Netherlands, the default speed limit in “woonerven” (housing/living zones) is effectively 15 km/h. These are generally not through roads for motor vehicles though (though, there may be paths that allow cyclists and pedestrians through going access).
@Chris RideFar The whole rationale behind the restrictions on EAPCs is to exempt them from the mandatory licensing, insurance and helmet requirements of motorbikes and so that you can ride on bike paths without creating any more danger than if you were on a bike. Hence they provide assistance and not power on its own (except for moving off), and limits on maximum continuous power and assisted speed.
If you want more speed and power get a motorbike. For example a Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa which is road legal has 190 ps (140 kW) and can do 194 mph depending on the version. That should be enough for you?
@Pub bike Exactly. So many people act like they need something just like a motorbike, claiming they need it to ‘keep up with traffic’ in spaces where a motorbike is legal. I have no issue with you getting an electric motorbike and riding it at 30mph.
What I do object to is you riding something with the power to do that in a bike lane, and the mere hint that someone might think it OK to ride one on a shared path is the best way to ensure that all bikes, certainly all currently legal pedal assist, bikes are banned from shared paths and pedestrianised zones.
The simple fact that some people want these demonstrates that we can’t rely on people being sensible with more powerful bikes.
@Chris RideFar I can’t believe you wrote this:
“Those bikes cost a LOT of money, and then when you pull away from a junction and the motor cuts out after 4 pedal strokes and you realize it’s because you’re already over 25 kph, then it makes them worth a whole let less money. ”
That’s a completely meaningless argument. I mean, by that logic, the more expensive and faster a vehicle can go, the higher the speed limit should be for it. Bonkers and no sane person would make that a factor in the decision.
@Paul J guessing that in some parts of the US that’s still a reasonable position to take?
Don’t people in the US (and Canada) travel significantly further than Europeans? Some outside of central urban cores a LOT further? And even people travelling short distances are likely drive because most places are set up for that.
There *are* some slightly less active-travel-unfriendly places but I didn’t appreciate just how far motornormativity had progressed until I travelled there.
@chrisonabike Maybe they do travel further in motor vehicles. I’d hazard a guess the average distance travelled by bicycle is far far higher for Europeans than USAsians though.
Presumably if you ridefar, then you’ll want to ridefaster?
Is it “time is money”? It seems this post is consistent with a certain stereotype of folks in the US being concerned about the financial side of things above all…
You’ve obviously never ridden in the U.S. where a whole lot of people lack the bike-handling skill and judgement to ride 15 mph on anything other than a long straightaway. And where most of them ride on multi-use trails, often full of pedestrians, because they are afraid to use roadside bike lanes due to their beginnerish riding skills. There seem to be a whole lot of adults in this country who gained little or no biking experience as children.
These ‘we want more legal electric speed and if we don’t get it we’ll spite you all by getting an illegal electric motorbike’ frequently crop up from idiots in EAPC topics. The reply is NO!
One may wonder how much of his personal money has Froomey injected into his own Foundation. The man’s net worth reportedly amounts to $45 to 50 million.
Four days at 10 grand, I’ll have to pass because my banker rejected my request for a loan.
@MaxiMinimalist One may also wonder how much of your time you have given to charity recently. Froome is giving his time, his experience, his contacts, his expertise…couldn’t you just say that’s good that he’s doing something rather than implying that it’s not genuine unless he puts in his own money?
Today’s TDF stage was pure theatre.👏
Cyclist fined for causing oncoming driver absolutely no inconvenience whatsoever: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cd9w2l2wqvdo
Good on you West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Magistrates Court, fighting the good fight and clearly doing the right thing to keep the streets safe.
C’mon now. He came close to possibly scratching the parked Beamer.
@OnYerBike That is absolutely insane. How can you be fined for close passing a car coming the other way when you’re on your side of the white line? When there is no mandatory or suggested rule regarding how closely a cyclist can pass a car? Cars pass each other like that all the time, if they didn’t the roads would literally grind to a halt. If the cyclist is close passing the oncoming car whilst on their own side of the road, why isn’t the car driver being fined for close passing the cyclist? The cyclist should appeal as the magistrates are clearly wrong in their interpretation of the law.
The “Leeds based wheeler” was fined for cycling without due care and attention.
The reason the fine was so high was because he opted to take the case all the way to magistrates court, where he gambled and lost. If he’d have paid the fine first – which was entirely deserved – I reckon it would have only cost £100.
As you’ll know, cyclists should leave a 1 to 1.5 metre distance between themselves and a car door. This is not only an issue of self-preservation, but also to protect pedestrians who rank above cyclists in the hierarchy of road users. Not doing so is indeed careless cycling.
The police social media quote about the distances was indeed nonsense, but the illegality of the cyclist’s manoeuvre remains, and was proven in a court of law.
I hope this has helped your understanding of the situation. If it has, please do feel free to leave me a “thumbs up” 👍.
@jackcycles
It’s the weekend. Have a day off.
@perce as a fellow music aficionado, let me quote Jon Bon Jovi and reply “I’ll rest when I’m dead”. Have a great weekend.
@perce I understand the police are experiencing difficulties in finding enough recruits who can comply with the the entrance requirement of ‘two O-Levels (GCSEs!) or less’ but we’ve got one for them, announcing himself here! West Midlands Police need people with this level of intellect to operate their revolutionary method of identifying illegal electric motorbikes by lifting the rear wheel, spinning the pedals and taking a photo of the bike speedo.
@jackcycles
@jackcycles A more detailed discussion from a cycling groups point of view here. It seems to imply that the police went straight to court without the offer to just pay a fine but it is not 100% clear.
Your point about pedestrians is a good one but I think it applies to lines of parked cars where visibility is restricted. This was a single parked car where you can see through the windscreen and under the wheels and you have a good view of the pavement side of the car for a good while. I suppose it is possible that a small child was waiting behind the car in line with the wheels ready to jump out as the cyclist passed.
Personally I would have waited. I run cameras and I want the police to know that I wait behind a car until there is enough gap to overtake without inconveniencing any other road users. It annoys me when drivers do the same thing to me and I have to swerve or brake but the police usually come with an excuse for not taking any action against the driver.
This ruling needs to be challenged and overturned.
“Cyclist who reported bad driving told to pay £1,200 over bad riding
… police said the video also captured him “riding without due care and attention” as he approached a parked car and an oncoming vehicle. A force spokesperson said the distance he gave was “significantly less than the car he reported earlier had given him”.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cd9w2l2wqvdo
@mitsky A force spokesperson said the distance he gave was “significantly less than the car he reported earlier had given him”
This confirms my oft-repeated statement that the people the police really dislike and will try every dodge to prosecute are not offenders but those who report offences they don’t want to know about (which is pretty much any offence by drivers such as No MOT for years, handheld mobile use, unbroken white line offences, red light offences), especially if the police are presented with indisputable evidence- they REALLY hate that! These two offences are at the same position and in the same direction
ttps://upride.cc/incident/kn21axh_lancspolice_closepass/
ttps://upride.cc/incident/px12dnv_stagecoach41_closepass/
Needless to say, Lancashire Constabulary ignored both of them. The police reference numbers for the reports are (just for the record) are LANCSPE-188202 17.3.25 (this is the report to LC’s DoItOnline portal where incidents are always rapidly closed by an un-named officer, which I submitted because there was, as expected, no response at all from OpSnap Lancs.) and APL198377 23.7.26 (this is the OpSnap type of reference). Police corruption is rife in the UK!
@wtjs