Live blog: British Cycling head of tech says Lotus/Hope track bike is "world's fastest"; Tour de Pologne retires 143 jersey in memory of Bjorn Lambrecht; Edinburgh car-free on Sunday +more

Testing bikes isn't so glamorous this time of year, as tech ed David Arthur has been finding out today

Should have brought a boat pic.twitter.com/qQhYMqyuba

— david arthur (@davearthur) November 1, 2019

Speaking to the Press Association, British Cycling’s head of technology Tony Purnell has said that designing the striking new bike that the British team will ride at the 2020 Olympics was "fraught with risk" due to the tight deadlines the team were working to. New rules mean that the bike had to be ready eight months early for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, whereas in previous Olympic years, equipment didn't have to be submitted until June: “I thought, ‘Right, we’re just going to have to cut every corner. Basically, we’re up for the challenge or we scrap it. You know you’re sentencing yourself to long weekends, working night after night and lots of dramas because engineering is difficult and people let you down.

“We’ve lent on our sponsors to an embarrassing extent. The amount of riding time has been almost minutes, not hours, but we’ve got it straight in at the last possible moment.

“Those first tests, God, I was nervous. These riders, they call a spade and spade and I was thinking what if they get off and say, ‘Look, Tony, it’s not right.’ There’s not time to do anything about it, so it’s been fraught with risk.”

Despite this, Purnell is confident the bike is the fastest around looking at the numbers: “Every manufacturer is going to say they’ve built the most aerodynamic, lightest, stiffest bike and we’ll say the same.

“They’ll all come out with a percentage number about how much better it was than the last bike. We don’t want to get into that game.

“All we want to do is look our riders in the eye and say this is the fastest bike we know how to make and that’s what we’ve done.”

The cyclist reckons he was going maybe half that speed.

More here.

The star of the show

The new cutting-edge @Hopetech & @lotuscars track bike that the Great Britain squad will ride at the @Tokyo2020 Olympics was unveiled at @rouleurclassic last night! #LotusEngineering #HopeTech #RouleurClassic2019 pic.twitter.com/BdGlk3OgFK

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) November 1, 2019

"The psychological advantage we'll have before the games will be huge." First glimpse of the bike @BritishCycling are banking on bringing home the medals at #Tokyo2020. Opening the #RouleurClassic 2019 theatre pic.twitter.com/qcOfb40Nxd

— Rouleur Classic (@rouleurclassic) October 31, 2019

The bike everyone has been talking about was shown off on stage at the Rouleur Classic last night, with British Cycling saying it will give their track cyclists "a huge psychological advantage" going into Tokyo 2020 - just in case you were in any doubt that it's super fast. 

Find out more about the bike here. 

Devastating news. We're thinking of this person's loved ones right now as we await further information on this fatal collision. Please keep them in your thoughts. https://t.co/pg0TWpvlzZ

— Dublin Cycling (@dublincycling) November 1, 2019

The Irish Times reports that a male cyclist died this morning on the South Circular Road in Dublin, after colliding with a cement truck. The incident happened between 8.30-9am this morning, with the Garda carrying out a forensic investigation and appealing for any witnesses who may have been at the scene during that time.  

We will join a community vigil in memory of the man who was killed while cycling in Kilmainham this morning.
The vigil will take place at the Brookfield Road/South Circular Road junction from 5-6.30pm this evening.
We ask that no signs or banners be displayed at the vigil. pic.twitter.com/H9psND95dY

— Dublin Cycling (@dublincycling) November 1, 2019

The man is the eighth cyclist to die on Dublin's roads this year, and there will be a vigil between 5pm and 6.30pm this evening in memory. Louise Williams of the Dublin Cycling Campaign said: “This is just tragic and shouldn’t have happened. People should be able to cycle safely.

"There was a need to have more physical infrastructure between cycle routes in Dublin and motorised traffic. A few painted lines are not going to protect you.

"While there had been talk for years, and lots of money spent, on proposed major cycle routes, such as the proposed Liffey cycle route, the fact was that little or nothing had happened. On paper it looks as if Dublin is progressing, but when you look at what is actually happening, it is very disappointing.”

Christopher Storm was handed a 13-month driving ban for driving under the influence of drugs after he hit a cyclist with his wing mirror and knocked him off in Spalding in May, reports Spalding Today. 

57-year-old Storm was driving a Renault Clio when he knocked the cyclist off his bicycle in Park Road at 4pm on May 11 and admitted to police he had taken cocaine the previous night.

The sentence? A 13 month driving ban, £120 fine and £117 in court costs. In mitigation, Beris Brickles said Storm's wing mirror had caught the cyclist causing him to fall to the ground, and that he has now sold his car to avoid temptation to drive under the influence of cocaine in the future. Even so, Storm could be back on the road in December 2020. 

Results and Live Timing here, follow throughout the weekend https://t.co/NOxVHPl5LK#TissotUCITrackWC

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) November 1, 2019

Just a flimsy excuse to publish that photo again, to be honest.

ACLMS would like to remind members of the public that cycling is not permitted on the cliff paths. Read more at: https://t.co/tXxbkQORr7 pic.twitter.com/xRWikfK7Tm

— States of Guernsey (@Govgg) October 30, 2019

Guernsey's Committee for the Environment and Infrastructure’s Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management Services are reminding cyclists not to use south coast cliff paths, because the say this could cause conflict with other path users and cause damage: "The Committee encourage the use of bicycles where lawful, however in some cases they can cause conflicts with other road users and damage to pathways.

"Steps are also being undermined by cyclists habitually riding down the soft banks alongside them. Such erosion can lead to the destabilisation of the steps and also loss of grass and coastal plants. This is exacerbated during wet weather when cycle tracks cause deep rutting and large areas of mud where groups of cyclists have passed through. Cliff paths noted to be particularly affected by cyclists include St Peter Port, St Martins and Torteval. Notable damage to a newly laid concrete path near Bon Port was caused recently by cyclists riding through it overnight.

"Temporary signs are being put up along the cliff paths between La Vallette and Fort Pezeries to remind users that cycling is prohibited by law and that offenders may incur a fine."

The sign says cyclists could be fined £100 for flouting the rules.

“Clever girl” @GoZwift pic.twitter.com/vrk153oUAW

— Matt Wheeler (@Matt_Wheel) October 30, 2019

The German doctor who took a remarkable overall victory at this year's Transcontinental Race has kept a pretty low profile ever since, but has inevitably picked up a few sponsors for her efforts. The latest is apparel brand 7Mesh, and Kolbinger actually wore the one pair of shorts from the brand for the whole 4,000km Transcon ride. She said: “I’ve always liked things to be in a certain order. I was obsessed with getting everything right for TCR.” That included shorts: “I bought several pairs of shorts - one of which was from 7mesh,” she recalls. “The bib from 7mesh was the only one that did not have seams around the pad. That changed everything.”