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"Is a mid-season transfer before the Tour possible? Asking for a friend": Cycling world reacts to Cav's Tour de France omission; Bristol City FC go cycling; National champs round-up; Council's zero deaths target; Tour teams + more on the live blog

It's Tour de France week! Five days to go between you and three weeks of (rest days aside) uninterrupted elite bike racing...Dan Alexander is here for the first of five pre-Tour live blogs (with plenty of other stuff from the cycling world too)...
Mon, Jun 27, 2022 09:12
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"Is a mid-season transfer before the Tour possible? Asking for a friend": Cycling world reacts to Cav's Tour de France omission; Bristol City FC go cycling; National champs round-up; Council's zero deaths target; Tour teams + more on the live blogMark Cavendish British national road race championship win (SWPix)
27 June 2022, 16:58
27 June 2022, 15:52
Live pictures from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl HQ
27 June 2022, 15:38
27 June 2022, 14:55
Hole load of trouble...
Pothole graffiti (supplied by road.cc reader)

Cheers to the reader who spotted this in Burton upon Trent this morning and sent it in...

Not quite on the level of pothole campaigner — 'Wanksy' — who made headlines with his penis paintings in 2015...

27 June 2022, 14:07
The cycling world reacts to Cav missing out on a spot in Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's Tour de France squad

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's tweet announcing the Tour squad is under siege from disappointed fans of the Manx Missile in scenes more closely resembling a Premier League football team's social media page than a WorldTour cycling outfit...

Here's some of the reaction...

There are more than 300 replies and 200 quote tweets to Quick-Step's announcement at the time of writing... translation: it's pissed off a lot of people...

What have you been saying?

peted76 said: "Taking 'debutant' Fabio instead of the greatest sprinter ever who happens to be in form. I'm miffed because it leaves me less 'invested' in the tour and the Tour, for me, is all about the side story arcs and less so about who wins it overall, (up until the final week obvs)."

quiff agreed: "I think I got about 10 excitable mins between catching up on Cav's nationals win (yay!), and reading that he's still not going to the tour (boo!)"

captain_slog commented: "I'd love to see Cav at the Tour but can understand the dilemma faced by Patrick Lefevere — he's got to balance risk and reward. Cav wins: massive coverage, particularly in the UK. Jakobsen wins: normal coverage but possibly in territories the sponsor cares about more."

Fabio Jakobsen has hardly put a cleat wrong this year, winning 10 races...but despite being arguably the best sprinter in the world at the minute will line up for his first Tour de France under enormous pressure. Petition for Patrick Lefevere cam to be part of GCN's coverage...

Main image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

27 June 2022, 13:51
27 June 2022, 13:01
Tour teams: UAE Team Emirates announce Pog's support crew, third Brit confirmed...but it's not Cav

Tour de France

So there we have it, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl have confirmed their Tour de France line-up...the headlines? No Cav OR Julian Alaphilippe. Full story coming on that shortly...

One Brit who will be in Copenhagen is Team Arkéa Samsic's Connor Swift who has made the cut to support Nairo Quintana. Movistar, Trek-Segafredo, Astana-Qazaqstan, B&B Hotels - KTM and UAE Team Emirates have also joined the party since Friday's blog...so let's dive in...

UAE Team Emirates: Tadej Pogačar, George Bennett, Marc Soler, Rafał Majka, Brandon McNulty, Matteo Trentin, Mikkel Bjerg, Vegard Stake Laengen

Team Arkéa Samsic: Nairo Quintana, Warren Barguil, Connor Swift, Maxime Bouet, Amaury Capiot, Hugo Hofstetter, Matis Louvel, Łukasz Owsian

Trek - Segafredo: Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven, Bauke Mollema, Giulio Ciccone, Tony Gallopin, Quinn Simmons, Toms Skujiņš, Alex Kirsch

Astana Qazaqstan: Alexey Lutsenko, Gianni Moscon, Joe Dombrowski, Fabio Felline, Andrey Zeits, Samuele Battistella, Simone Velasco, Dmitriy Gruzdev

Movistar: Enric Mas, Gorka Izagirre, Carlos Verona, Imanol Erviti, Iván García Cortina, Matteo Jorgenson, Nelson Oliveira, Gregor Mühlberger

B&B Hotels - KTM: Pierre Rolland, Alexis Gougeard, Franck Bonnamour, Cyril Barthe, Jérémy Lecroq, Sebastian Schönberger, Cyril Lemoine, Luca Mozzato

27 June 2022, 11:05
POLL: Would you take Cav to the Tour?

QuizMaker

27 June 2022, 10:38
Oxford County Council vows to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries from traffic collisions by 2050
Oxford vigil (Cyclox)

Oxfordshire County Council has set targets of a 25 per cent cut in casualties by 2026, 50 per cent by 2030, and eliminating all road deaths and serious injuries by 2050. A spokesperson said "a commitment to minimising deaths on our roads has been long overdue".

> "One month, two dead cyclists": Oxford's cycling city sign defaced after second death

"Recent tragic incidents on our roads have focused everyone's minds on the vital importance on making our roads and streets safer for all users — especially the most vulnerable," Andrew Gant, cabinet member for highways management told the BBC.

The council will commit an initial £250,000 to improving road infrastructure and comes after three cyclists were killed in the city since the start of 2022. 

27 June 2022, 10:29
27 June 2022, 09:47
How many centre-backs does it take to fix a puncture?

If their gaffer doesn't ride a Pearson I'll be very disappointed... 

27 June 2022, 09:11
National champs round-up: Bora's 1-2-3-4-5; Sagan makes it EIGHT; Mavi's mastery; Slovenia's best cyclist?

So, you were busy all weekend and missed the results from across the world. Don't fear, here's your one-stop live blog shop for national champions...

Here at home, Alice Towers won the women's title, you probably already know who won the men's race...

Alice Towers, British road race championships 2022 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Tim Merlier is Belgian champion once again, while there was something of an upset in the women's race as Kim de Baat took her second pro win, ten years after her first. What a time to do it. Over the border bidon-sharing Pascal Eenkhoorn took a popular Dutch title and Riejanne Markus won the women's title.

World champion Elisa Balsamo has a fresh non-team-issue kit for January (assuming she doesn't defend the rainbow bands, that is), winning Italy's Tricolore. Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè rider Filippo Zana took a surprise men's title.

Ineos Grenadiers' Carlos Rodríguez and UAE Team ADQ's Mavi Garcia are Spain's champions, the latter winning the TT champs and road race...for the THIRD YEAR RUNNING...domination.

Bora-Hansgrohe finished first, second, third, fourth and fifth at the men's Austrian race...Felix Grosschartner was the chosen son to cross the line first. What a photo...

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig was a popular winner in Denmark and will be lighting up the peloton with her red jersey (and entertaining interviews) for the foreseeable. Trek-Segafredo's Alexander Kamp won the men's race.

In France, Audrey Cordon-Ragot did the double, adding the road race title to her sixth TT championship...Cav's teammate Florian Sénéchal showed his speed to sprint into the men's jersey.

Nils Politt and João Almeida are Germany and Portugal's men's champions respectively, while Kristjan Koren can claim to be Slovenia's best male cyclist (although two lads at the Tour de France might have something to say about that)...

WiV SunGod's Rory Townsend won the Irish men's title. Further afield, Merhawi Kudus won Eritrea's road title, Yukiya Arashiro Japan's, and Teniel Campbell Trinidad and Tobago's women's crown.

Oh, Peter Sagan's Slovakian national champ too...water's wet etc. And breathe...

27 June 2022, 09:03
The man of the moment
27 June 2022, 08:50
Kaitlin Armstrong sold black Jeep Cherokee for $12,000 day before fleeing Texas
Kaitlin Armstrong via US Marshals

Police in Texas say they have found the vehicle belonging to on-the-run murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong, who is the prime suspect in the investigation into the shooting of gravel cyclist Moriah Wilson.

> "That's why it's so shocking": Colin Strickland says on-the-run murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong "one of the least volatile people I have ever met"

The black Jeep Cherokee was sold to a dealership on May 13, the day after Armstrong was questioned by Austin Police Department, and the day before she was spotted at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (above). Investigators believe she may have used her sister's name to board a flight out of the state.

An anonymous donor has added $15,000 to the $6,000 reward for information leading to Armstrong's arrest.

27 June 2022, 08:30
Some late additions to the reaction party

A couple more...

27 June 2022, 07:55
"Insanity if Cav not at Tour de France": All the reaction to Mark Cavendish's second national champs win

Moments after winning his second British National Road Race Championship, Mark Cavendish asked the TV cameras: "Can you imagine winning your 35th Tour de France stage in the British champion's jersey? It would be pretty beautiful".

It would indeed...BUT (there's always a but), Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl and Patrick Lefevere have well-documented other ideas about how to win stages at next month's Grand Tour.

To the backdrop of his team boss making it clear Fabio Jakobsen is no.1 sprinter at the Belgian outfit, Cav promised to be ready if he's required...and boy is he ready...

No sitting behind Michael Mørkøv today...Cav was in the breaks, pushing the pace, shutting down attacks, leading from the front...not bad for just a 'sprinter'...

It's fair to say the performance has sparked a few calls for the Manx Missile to make a last-minute appearance in Copenhagen this Friday, not least from retired racer David Millar who called the idea of his former teammate not racing the Tour "absolute insanity".

> Wiggins: "Any other team would be crazy" not to take Cav to the Tour de France

Patrick Lefevere, the people have spoken...

I mean, if the Giro can decide the combativity prize via a Twitter poll, the natural next step is team selection for the most important race of the season.

So what did the main man have to say? 

"I felt incredible. I know I've got better form than last year. I'm going so much better than I was this time last year"...

Main image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Dan Alexander

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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39 comments

Avatar
Ride On | 2 years ago
0 likes

Cav - you need one more stage win, and you'll still have it in you in 2023 2024 or 2025. Keep the faith brother.

Avatar
nniff | 2 years ago
3 likes

What if:

Cav wins just one stage - global coverage for years and years.

Cav crashes out - global coverage, but top effort for setting up the chance.  Did the right thing, team to stand behind etc.  Let's see you put on a slightly differnt show...

Jakobsen wins a stage - good effort, but it would have been better if Cav were there. What's tomorrow's stage like?

Jacobsen crashes out - you bunch of cnuts - you just squandered the opportunity of many generations.  'Sod Quickstep....Any other teams looking good?

 

PS - is anyone really invested in any other rider this year?  

Avatar
Surreyrider replied to nniff | 2 years ago
0 likes

I'm really not bothered about Cavendish. Quick Step always said he was going to the Giro and Jacobsen was heading to the Tour. That's what's happening. 

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to nniff | 2 years ago
1 like

nniff wrote:

PS - is anyone really invested in any other rider this year?  

There's a certain Welsh chap, currently fourth favourite, whom I wouldn't mind seeing do well.

Avatar
mdavidford replied to nniff | 2 years ago
0 likes

nniff wrote:

PS - is anyone really invested in any other rider this year?  

Pinot.

Preparing to be disappointed again...

Avatar
stonojnr | 2 years ago
2 likes

Did I read that wrong or did Cav just tell everyone he found out he wasn't on the team via his social media feed ?

Avatar
ShutTheFrontDawes replied to stonojnr | 2 years ago
2 likes

Yep. How awful for him. I still can't believe that this genuinely nice bloke, who says he will support his team any way he can, is the same guy I saw win in Fugeres in 2015, who was frankly a complete prick. (Not that I expect one of the best cyclists in the world to be anything less than an arrogant arse)

Avatar
Surreyrider replied to stonojnr | 2 years ago
1 like

Read comment above. He knew at the start of the season. 

Avatar
stonojnr replied to Surreyrider | 2 years ago
1 like

He knew it was unlikely, but that's not the point I'm making.

Is Cav saying instead of learning of who was on team for the TdF via direct contact from QSI, he learnt it same time as us via social media shares ?

Avatar
Surreyrider replied to stonojnr | 2 years ago
0 likes

No. He knew at the start of the season that he was going to be reserve unless Jacobsen had a problem (form, fitness, Covid etc). Quick Step stuck to the plan. What's the problem? Why all the (admittedly British) wailing?  

Avatar
marmotte27 | 2 years ago
6 likes

The council will commit an initial £250,000 to improving road infrastructure.

Wow, £250000! A whopping 36p per inhabitant. Per what, year, month, week?

It would have to be per day to amount to anything meaningful...

 

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to marmotte27 | 2 years ago
1 like

Just the once!

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Owd Big 'Ead | 2 years ago
1 like

As for not taking Cav to the tour, nothing more than expected.
Luckily it gives him another reason to stay in great shape for another year before having another crack at it.

Avatar
Owd Big 'Ead | 2 years ago
8 likes

Oxford City Council are allegedly going to end death and serious injuries on their roads by 2050?
A bit like saying we're going to end climate change in the same time frame.
A noble commitment to make, but all it is is kicking the can down the road.
Surely if they were serious they would be coming up with some pragmatic solutions that would start the process now rather than 18 years time.
Am I being too cynical?

Avatar
Despondent2022 | 2 years ago
2 likes

Classic Derby, can't have cycle lane because Cars:

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/cycle-lane-plans-change...

Not surprised from the city that brought you:
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/...

Not related to any articles above but rather a vent.

Avatar
Owd Big 'Ead replied to Despondent2022 | 2 years ago
1 like

Yay \o/

My fine figure can be seen in the second clip 

There are some well intentioned people working tirelessly behind the scenes, but the councillors as a whole are so pro-motorists it's unbelievable.

My mate was complaining the other day of taking almost an hour to drive from Rolls Royce on Raynesway to the city centre. Even on a slow day I can cycle it in 15 minutes.

Cars, eh? Aren't they great?

Avatar
peted76 | 2 years ago
3 likes

The Cav news has ruined my day. 

 

UCI Rankings - Cav is 31st and Fabio is 30th (there's literally a fag paper in it)

Fabio is unproven in the TdF and Cav with 34 wins under his belt, won the Green Jersey last year (surely there's another tick in the box for him to 'defend the jersey).

Cav in national stripes would bring TV coverage from national news agencies around the world, Fabio simply won't. Coverage for the team = money from sponsors.

I'm sure Fabio is a cracking bloke and all but I just can't see the logic here. Even if Fabio's 'numbers' are better than Cavs.. experience counts for a lot in cycling.. so why not here?

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to peted76 | 2 years ago
1 like

I'm as disappointed as you are but Jakobsen has 10 wins and 3 points jerseys this year against Cav's 5 and 0. Experience does count for a lot, but Jakobsen also took a GT points jersey last year, he's hardly wet behind the ears. He also has the potential to be part of the team's future for many years to come, which Cav doesn't. From a pragmatic perspective I'm afraid it's probably the right decision.

Avatar
Surreyrider replied to peted76 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Presumably you've got over the ruined day way back when the season started when Quick Step made it clear Jacobsen was riding the Tour and Cavendish was going to the Giro?

Avatar
brooksby | 2 years ago
2 likes

Meet Mr Pothole, the campaigner fixing Britain’s roads (The Grunadia)

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/27/the-people-making-a...

Quote:

Each week, one cyclist dies or is left with life-changing injuries because of a pothole on Britain’s roads, according to a 2019 Freedom of Information request. “Those deaths are avoidable,” he says. “If the government resurfaced our roads properly, we could get rid of most potholes.”

Avatar
mark1a replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
2 likes

Back in 2020 I was taking my son back to university in Colchester between lockdowns and the road through Wivenhoe was resplendent in quickdicks. The road was repaired in a matter of days.

https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/18745719.rude-graffiti-painted-aroun...

 

Avatar
peted76 | 2 years ago
2 likes

Ah shite..  they've just annouced the quickstep team and Cav is not in it.. 

https://www.quickstep-alphavinylteam.com/en/news/5618/quick-step-alpha-v...

Taking 'debutant' Fabio instead of the greatest sprinter ever who happens to be in form. I'm miffed becuase it leaves me less 'invested' in the tour and the tour, for me, is all about the side story arcs and less so about who wins it overall, (up until the final week obvs).

Avatar
quiff replied to peted76 | 2 years ago
3 likes

I think I got about 10 excitable mins between catching up on Cav's nationals win (yay!), and reading that he's still not going to the tour (boo!) 

Avatar
Freddy56 | 2 years ago
2 likes

Quick-Step's Tour team: Asgreen, Bagioli, Honoré, Mørkøv, Jakobsen, Cattaneo, Declerq and Lampaert. Sénéchal and Cavendish as reserves

Avatar
captain_slog | 2 years ago
1 like

I'd love to see Cav at the Tour but can understand the dilemma faced by Patrick Lefevere - he's got to balance risk and reward.

Cav wins: massive coverage, particularly in the UK.

Jacobsen wins: normal coverage but possibly in territories the sponsor cares about more.

Avatar
peted76 replied to captain_slog | 2 years ago
1 like

captain_slog wrote:

I'd love to see Cav at the Tour but can understand the dilemma faced by Patrick Lefevere - he's got to balance risk and reward.

Cav wins: massive coverage, particularly in the UK.

Jacobsen wins: normal coverage but possibly in territories the sponsor cares about more.

I have a theory that LaFervere and his sponsors would strongly prefer 'their mate' Eddie Merckx's record to be the 'main' record that people talk about when discussing the TDF. 

I think Jacobsen is a convienient excuse. 

LaFervere wins either way..... Takes Jacobsen, wins a stage or two, safe bet, keeps sponsors happy, keeps mates happy.

Takes Cav, wins a stage or two, safe bet, keeps sponsors happy, mates not so happy, probably secures some extra exposure for the team in future from extra worldwide exposure to future sponsors.

Avatar
BalladOfStruth | 2 years ago
10 likes

Unrelated, but I noticed that this week's episode of UK Dash Cams feaured a few more instances of "driver nearly causes multi-car pile-up by overtaking cyclists on blind corner" than usual.

I had similar happen to me on the way home on Friday as I took primary round a blind corner approaching a mini-roundabout, some woman in a Golf decided to overtake me, got surpised by the Nissan Micra coming the other way, and nearly had me off the bike when she swerved back in. All so she could sit at the red light ~45m further down the road...

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism replied to BalladOfStruth | 2 years ago
4 likes

Usually at least one per episode. Normally also followed by several overtaking lorries and other slower vehicles and almost causing the same accidents. 

Avatar
Surreyrider replied to BalladOfStruth | 2 years ago
7 likes

This happens numerous times every single ride in Surrey. Don't even need a blind bend - so many drivers feel entitled to never have their journey held up or impeded in any way, and that includes by oncoming vehicles being driven correctly on their side of the road. 

Avatar
IanMK replied to Surreyrider | 2 years ago
2 likes

Agreed. Riding Beds/Bucks border, 3 on Saturday, I could see the oncoming car in all three instances and one was so close that the oncoming vehicle hit the verge an virtually stopped.

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