Cyclists appalled as BT ad screen sits in middle of bike lane (never mind the helter skelter); Vingegaard admits defeat; More hills at the Giro + more on the live blog
First Published: May 27, 2026
SUMMARY
“Disappointed of Harrow!"
Earlier this year, Harrow was awarded £1.7m in funding from TfL as part of the attempt to “deliver safer crossings, new cycle routes and less hostile streets”, and reduce deaths and serious injuries by 2041.
However, the new cycle lane running through the suburb of Pinner does not currently seem to make cycling safer, as road.cc reader Peter has pointed out to us.
Instead of making an easy-to-navigate cycle route, there is a BT advertising console in the centre of it, creating an unavoidable obstruction for cyclists.
Peter has said that this makes him “disappointed of Harrow!”
The photographs also appear to show a helter-skelter on part of the route as well, likely part of the Pinner funfair, though it could also be mistaken for a new “obstacle course” feature designed to add a little extra excitement for confident cyclists.
The irony is not lost, given the wider aims of the Harrow to Pinner Cycleway consultation, which emphasises making it easier and safer to walk and cycle, improving access to local destinations, and creating greener, more welcoming streets. The scheme also promises better connections between town centres, stations and schools, alongside traffic calming and safer road layouts along the route between Harrow Town Centre and Pinner Station.
The Borough of Harrow said the scheme is “about more than just cycling – it’s about creating safer, greener, and more welcoming streets for everyone who lives, works, or studies in the area.”
BT told road.cc that it received a request to remove its ‘Street Hub’ – installed in 2022 before the cycle lane was reportedly built around it – in March of this year. Let’s hope for Peter and other Harrow cyclists that it happens sooner rather than later…
* A clarification: An earlier version of this post suggested that the BT advert was placed in the cycle lane after its construction, however we’ve since learned that is not the case.
A BT spokesperson told road.cc: “We installed the Street Hub on Marsh Road, Pinner in December 2022. A contractor on behalf of Harrow Council has started work to create a cycle path along Marsh Road and this has been done around our existing street hub.
“We were not made aware prior to the works commencing or the timeframe for the works. In March 2026 we received a request to relocate our Street Hub.”
Giro: Valgren takes Grand Tour stage win with perfectly timed late attack
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Valgren claimed his first-ever Grand Tour stage victory after a tactical and well-timed final sprint on Stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia.
He launched a decisive attack with just over 1km to go, opening an immediate gap that the rest of the group failed to react to in time. Once clear, he never looked back, holding his advantage all the way to the finish to seal a memorable win. Behind him, Leknessund led the chase but the gap had come too late to close, leaving Valgren to celebrate a landmark victory.
Valgren crossed the line holding a lucky token belonging to his son, adding an emotional touch to a triumph built on resilience after returning from serious injuries.
Behind, Rubio and Arrieta also featured strongly in the reduced lead group, with Caruso taking third place.
Four years in prison for drunk and drug driver who killed cyclist with kids in car + “Lethal hazard” fly-tipping lorry driver jailed after rider seriously injured + Cocaine-influenced driver jailed for breaking cyclist’s neck: road.cc sentencing round-up
The third edition of our new sentencing round-up series, analysing the state of play when it comes to sentencing for driving and cycling offences in the UK
Giro: Final classified climb
It is heating up with 15km to go, the race attacks the final classified climb of the day, and it’s shaping up to be the last real opportunity to change the outcome before the run-in to the finish.
Rubio is now driving things at the head of the group, setting the tempo as the climb begins to bite. Arrieta and Valgren remain tucked in just behind.
The break is still intact with Caruso, Rubio, Vlasov, Arrieta, Leknessund and De La Cruz all present, but the increasing pressure on the climb is starting to stretch the group.
Giro: Change in weather for the peloton
The rain has arrived for the peloton, just as the racing is heating up. With Remi Cavagna still all in at the front, the team also had to tackle wet roads.
It looks like a welcome bit of relief from the high temperatures. If you can’t tell from the many references on this live blog already, I do not cope well in the heat, so I am incredibly envious.
Before they get too used to it, though, the rain already seems to be easing, with reports of blue skies up ahead.
Giro: Family on domestique duties
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Simone Consonni’s family has been spotted stepping up as an unexpected support crew, putting two bananas into the back of his jersey.
Peak domestic domestique energy…
The bike that started life as a Lego model: Auckland Cycle Works Marra first ride review
> The bike that started life as a Lego model: Auckland Cycle Works Marra first ride review
“It’s just how life is sometimes”: Jonas Vingegaard admits defeat
Jonas Vingegaard has finally met his match, and it isn’t in the Giro. The Dane is now rocking the pink jersey with a clean-shaven face, having been defeated in his attempt to grow facial hair.
He said that “I looked in the mirror and realised I looked like a teenager.”
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Despite absolutely dominating the Giro, he added that “sometimes you have to accept your defeats, and this is one of my defeats. It’s just how life is sometimes.”
In the words of Hannah Montana, “nobody’s perfect”…
Worried about going over your handlebars?
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Next year's GB Tour de France Grand Depart is looking for 9,000 volunteers to help spread ‘JOY’
The Grand Depart GB has put out a nationwide call for around 9,000 volunteers for the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes from across Scotland, England and Wales.
Given the upbeat title of ‘JOY Makers’ they are calling for anyone over the age of 16 to volunteer, with full training given.
They will be marshalling junctions, helping out and stage starts and finishes, and other tasks to help the Tour run smoothly.
TV presenter and broadcaster Radzi Chinyanganya has supported the scheme, saying that volunteering changed his life and helped start his media career.
He said, “I’m living proof that volunteering can lead to something amazing. I’m so excited for everyone to get involved – it will truly be an unforgettable experience.
“Whoever you are, whatever your age or your background – JOY Makers is open to everyone – if you want to bring joy, we want you.”
On behalf of JOY, Tracy Power added: “The JOY Makers programme will create a core of engaged volunteers across Britain, who are willing to show up and get stuck in, dedicating their time to bring local events and activities to life. This will not only benefit the cycling community but also help our local communities to thrive and bolster employability.”
If you are interested in spreading ‘JOY’, then the routes of the two races are:
Tour de France route:
- Friday 2 July | stage one: Edinburgh to Carlisle
- Saturday 3 July | stage two: Keswick to Liverpool
- Sunday 4 July | stage three: Welshpool to Cardiff
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route:
- Friday 30 July | stage one: Leeds to Manchester
- Saturday 31 July | stage two: Manchester to Sheffield
- Sunday 1 August | stage three: London
Previous volunteers have said that it is an “incredibly special experience”.
Mavis Evans from Flintshire, North Wales, said: “It gives me goosebumps just thinking about the Tour returning to home soil. If you’re thinking about volunteering, my advice would be to just do it. Events can’t run without volunteers – your help genuinely makes a difference.”
You can get more information here.
Lotte Kopecky and Axel Merckx married
Lotte Kopecky and Axel Merckx got married today at Bruges City Hall. They kept this small, without an announcement on social media, Cyclinguptodate reports.
She told Sporza in the winter that “being in love is very nice, but above all, stability improves your performances. There is someone I can rely on and who shares the difficult moments. That is more important than being in love.
“We are very happy together. Axel knows what cycling entails and what needs to be done for it. He knows the life that needs to be lived. In that respect, we are on the same wavelength.”
How the heatwave is making me want to act…
Another day of intense heat awaits us, let’s find solutions…
#bikesky #vintage #photography #bicycle #bike #fun #cycling #cyclinglife #biking #cycle #vélo 🚲🚴— ᴄʏᴄʟᴏᴢ (@cyclozparis.bsky.social) 25 May 2026 at 08:29
Giro: stage 17 preview
Stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia takes the riders 202km from Cassano d’Adda to Andalo in the Dolomites, another big mountain test. Jonas Vingegaard continues to lead overall by 4:03 over Felix Gall, with the GC battle still open behind him.
With a likely battle for the breakaway and a demanding summit finish, even small gaps could prove significant in the context of the overall standings.
When your trail dog turns into a bear…
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Newly elected Restore Britain councillors demand review into cycle lane Rupert Lowe branded a “complete sodding waste of money”
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Chris King are fairly serviceable. And the warranty does indeed require it. I enjoy the xtr plug and forget on two of the bikes. Until they die, and I just fit another. Chris's headsets are worth it, superb seals. It's such a mucky area, and I haven't had adjustable cup and cone BBs. on a bike since my Peugeot racers in the 80s, I was relieved when starting my mountain bike adventures in the 90"s that the fit and forget square taper BBs just worked. The seals on the hubs were awful back then. Singletrack FGF featured this, https://burgtec.co.uk/product-category/hardware/shimano-crank-bolt/, I'm wondering if it will replace my seemingly made of butter bolt on the xtr 960 cranks, almost impossible to find back in the day.
If I had purchased my special products division 650 back in '96, rather than obtaining it under a warranty replacement, I would apparently have received a signed picture of the fine Nottingham artisan that welded her. The 750 of that year won Barry Clarke another British xc cup, as I recall.
Yay! https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/26466698.speed-camera-catching-drivers-25mph-oxfordshire/
The fall of Raleigh happened long before this week. Just because somebody bought the name does not mean they were the same bikes. And if you care about the name so much, noone says it won't be purchased by another inverstor as Accell Group is liquidated!
@Destroyer666 I totally see your point. The good news is there are indeed BBs which use industry-standard bearings. Take Neco, for example - they offer exactly what you want. Maybe the bearings in the set are not perfect, but you can replace them with SKFs later.
@chrisonabike I was just reading that myself, it seems a bizarre kneejerk reaction before poor Finlay's cause of death has even been fully investigated. What does Mr.Hansen think has been going on, have the manufacturers had the means to make safer, more robust helmets that are just as light and well ventilated but haven't bothered releasing them? Or does he want the peleton racing in motorcycle helmets, because that's the only way there's going to be a chance of meaningful protection in 100 kmh crashes?
I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work: AFAICS anti-social consequences are inherent in the business model. Models which seem to work better: advertising (Santander cycles), using bikes to make using another service which is more profitable (or less unprofitable) easier (Dutch OV Fiets). After that it's "local authority subsidises it" and then you're down to "flogging customer data"...
Back in the day square taper bb's rolled on bearings that were considerably larger than inside these Maxhit ones. The ball bearings in these fully serviceable models cost a couple of euros. Don't get me wrong, they had their issues, like poor sealing. But those days, servicing bearings was the norm. The current state seems to be something of an attempt at non-serviceability, where efforts made at making products that you DO NOT have to service are accompanied with products that you CANNOT service. And those two things are mixed in different ways. For example with this Maxhit bearing you pay a crazy amount of money for supposed durability - that you are nonetheless expected to service once a year. And once these bearings wear enough, there is no way to service them anymore - no cups, cones, ball bearings to replace, unlike with the old bb's (sure, it was not THAT easy even with them to e.g. find just cups in bike shop). I guess my point is that while I applaud e.g. Enduro for making "bike specific" bearings, I nonetheless long for products that are just easy to service - that is the key to durability. And that does not have to mean it costs a lot. To prove my point: There is absolutely no reason why Shimano could not manufacture it's ubiquitous 20eur BB-MT501 with easily replaceable industrial standard 6805 bearings (where SKF quality bearings cost about 20eur), for the same cost they manufacture the BB in it's current form. They just chose not to. And I would choose that over crazy expensive bb's with marketing schpiel and small print regarding warranty any day.
He's wildly over the top / backwards about what is a risk to the hard-pressed motorist and local places: those are "other motorists" and "mass motoring" respectively. He's almost right though in that many places - even in the UK - are gradually realising that a great way to save themselves money, improve their places and aid their chances of hitting targets on health, obesity, climate etc. is indeed to slow down motorists, restrict parking and deter (not prevent...) much *private motor* travel.
RIP. According to the president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associes the first thing they need to look at is ... helmets? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/czxqqlpnx98o Of course this could make perfect sense for a professional sport, perhaps standards haven't kept pace etc. It's certainly a rarefied extremely fast and hazard-rich environment, compared with my experience of normally <20mph utility-and-leisure cycling. But since the main factor seems to have been an uninvolved vehicle on the course this does sound like a convergence with the standard "cycling safety" narrative? ("Can't fix anything else, so what we *can* do is...")
26 thoughts on “Cyclists appalled as BT ad screen sits in middle of bike lane (never mind the helter skelter); Vingegaard admits defeat; More hills at the Giro + more on the live blog”
The BT street litter appears to have been there before the improvement works. It’s marked in red on the plans*, which suggests it was meant to be removed, although it’s not clear what the red box around it means – other things to be removed don’t have that.
So presumably they took it away and thought ‘It’ll be fine to just stick it back when they’re all done’?
(*link in separate comment, because link purgatory)
@mdavidford Strange thing is; I’m sure is was removed during the initial stages of work! Maybe I just didn’t notice it behind the barriers in place at the time.
What makes this really annoying is it’s such a boring advert. I wouldn’t mind so much if it was for beer or crisps.
Or a new car?
Plans: https://ehq-production-europe.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/77d69d9ee69a946d996aba7b481b9267c1e23b06/original/1749822589/0a074116a99fbcc0c9596da22a23e2b2_Pinner%20Cycleway%20Marsh%20Road%20map.pdf
@mdavidford If I’m reading the plan right the ‘T’ is down as red for removal the final audit should sort that out. Whoever is behind the story should relax, its a work in progress!
It does look like it is still work in progress, and not finished infra. Raised manhole covers etc. The barrier suggest that work is due to happen?
@NickSprink
Which is pants, if they do the work afterwards!!!
Nice new cycle path, with an iffy repair of bumpy tarmac in it before it opens!
That reminds me of the relatively recent conversation about whether women would want to come across a bear or a man when alone in the woods…
In case anyone hasn’t seen this bit about Cycling Mikey from BBC.
The bit about him (and other cyclists using cameras) “policing” the roads needs to be amended.
Shame they promoted Ashley Neal though.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yr6654kz9o
A longer version of the conversation:
@mitsky not sure they really promoted Ashley Neal, the article basically boils down to this…
Q: Is it the public’s job to police Britain’s roads?
Those for:
– Cycling Mikey
– Det Ch Supt Andy Cox
– The AA’s head of roads policy Jack Cousens
– Rich from “Exposed: UK Dash Cams” YouTube channel
– Dr Helen Wells, a criminologist at Keele University who specialises in road safety
Those against:
– Driving instructor Ashley Neal
With so many ‘experts’ lined up against him, you can tell he’s on to something and the deep state wants to shut him down.
When anyone complains that cyclists should have registration to be trace-able…
-‘Deceased’ drivers fined in city’s traffic schemes-
“Two PCNs were cancelled as the vehicle owner was in prison…”
“…and more than 4,000 vehicles without a registered keeper.”
“… untraceable and foreign vehicle owners received cancellations.”
But cyclists.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx2q1v9404o
@mitsky Surely this just shows we *should* have registration for cyclists though? We simply don’t *know* how many deceased cyclists are getting away with flouting the law currently. And of course the answer is “too many”.
Deceased lycra shroud clad louts, floating through red lights, forming ghostly apparitions pedalling furiously on pavements, haunting narrow roads two abreast, don’t pay road tax….
Explains how they come “from out of nowhere”.
Also why we shouldn’t build any infra for them and indeed why Edinburgh council wisely didn’t make any bus stop bypasses when it made protected cycle lanes at the start of the lock down – they can just pass straight through the bus (though possibly causing unwanted tingles down spines).
“This [the JOY Makers programme] will not only benefit the cycling community but also help our local communities to thrive and bolster employability.”
How? No figures, no business plan, just the usual loud PR annoucement that nobody follows upon.
It’s a press release – it’s not meant to be a full business plan – that would be elsewhere.
@MaxiMinimalist “Those aged 18 to 25 years old will be eligible to join the Readiness to Work scheme, that will be launched as part of the JOY social impact programme. The scheme will provide a comprehensive package of employability skills training and career-focused mentoring across multiple sectors. Coupling this with the volunteering experience will provide young people with a well-rounded and practical work experience offer.
Together, the volunteer programme and Readiness to Work scheme aim to leave behind a passionate and skilled collective of volunteers, creating a lasting legacy for the Grands Départs in communities across the country. In addition to this legacy, British Cycling – supported by partners across the three nations – is urging government to commit £30million critical capital investment to deliver a range of new and upgraded cycling facilities across Britain, reaching underserved communities.
This investment would supercharge the hugely successful ‘Places to Ride’ programme – a £15m Government investment to cement the legacy of the 2019 UCI Yorkshire Road World Championships – delivering over 150 community cycling projects across England, saving the NHS £13.1m. ”
Took me thirty seconds to find that on Google, why not try it yourself as a change from spouting malcontent hogwash?
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15851967/Moment-furious-farmer-sprays-dozens-cars-slurry-baking-heatwave-illegally-parked-field.html
Quite amusing, but curious that the article mentions: “Dylan Wakley, 25, recorded the video at 3.20pm as he was driving through the area to Buttermere with his partner Emma Hudson, 24.”
Now, I know this area well and that road is access only – so I do hope their holiday accommodation was only accessible via this road and they were not using it as a cheeky rat-run to bypass the traffic in Ambleside 🤔.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/etFajs5oRWGTfjzcA
“He launched a decisive attack with just over 1km to go, opening an immediate gap that the rest of the group failed to react to in time. Once clear, he never looked back…”
What’s he doing here?
Wiping his nose on his sleeve – doesn’t want it dripping in the finish line photo.
Don’t worry, Jonas. I too tried to grow a mustache at that age, and when I see it in photos I wish someone had shaved it off for me, or brought me to my senses.
And now? 😉
@ChrisA See profile pic.
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