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news
Sticky bottle controversy hits the Giro d'Italia as fans question stage winner Filippo Zana's team car help; Reaction to British Cycling transgender policy update; Giro queen stage; Paris taken over by waves of cycling commuters + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Filippo Zana Jayco AlUla team car (GCN)26 May 2023, 07:59
Sticky bottle controversy hits the Giro d'Italia as fans question stage winner Filippo Zana's team car help
There's been a bit of discussion about this since yesterday's stage...
I love the aspect of a national champion winning on his home roads, whether it's ahead of Thibaut or not.
But at some point, you may wonder if the team car should get the win too, after all it helped Zana massively, especially the second time round... @UCI_cycling#Giro pic.twitter.com/NWLbh1IoqZ
— Guillaume (@GuillaumeWatt) May 25, 2023
The two incidents showing, an admittedly pretty normal sight in professional bike racing — a rider, having dropped back to the team car, holding onto a bottle while the driver of said car accelerates, bringing them back to breakaway with minimal effort — the famous sticky bottle... (or in the second case 'sticky glasses' as pointed out by one eagle-eyed commenter)...
I dare say you could go back and find a similar incident from every single stage of the Giro so far however, naturally, when the rider involved goes on to win the stage, beating a very popular rider looking for their final Grand Tour stage win before retirement, the scrutiny is always going to be a touch more intense.
But did Zana/Jaco AlUla do anything wrong?
The commissaires thought so, Zana and his team director David McPartland appearing on the jury's end-of-stage fines list for "Irregular feeding (sticky bottle for short distance)" and will pay 200 CHF (£179) each...
Some have suggested the punishment doesn't go far enough, arguing Zana should lose his stage win, the claim being that in the second video he was being dropped, although the languid nature of his dropping back to the team car, plus the fact that once back on the Italian champion stuck with Pinot's attacks on the remaining two climbs before beating him in the sprint, suggests this was hardly a rider pedalling squares...
Anyway, you didn't come here to hear my ramblings, here's what the fans made of it...
He was dropped with Pronskiy and calls his car
I wouldn’t tweet this if it was just a case of going back to the car, otherwise I’d make 1000 of them each race
— Guillaume (@GuillaumeWatt) May 25, 2023
Well yeah but strategically cheating, is still cheating
If you do it because you've gone to your car to get water, that's fine
But he was dropped. That's my issue here
— Guillaume (@GuillaumeWatt) May 25, 2023
At this point Zana's teammate, and fellow breakaway extraordinaire, Alessandro De Marchi got involved... "How could he be dropped and then be one of the strongest with Pinot? I went back to the car intentionally. Please! This are not the bidoncollè that make you win a stage, believe me!
Of course it helps but it’s not changing anything of the race guys! Not in this way and this moment of the race. This comments just show that (probably) you never experienced proper bike racing. And I’m saying this without criticism or offensively
— Alessandro De Marchi (@ADM_RossodiBuja) May 26, 2023
26 May 2023, 16:19
26 May 2023, 15:52
Santiago Buitrago wins stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia — Roglič takes three seconds on G
One of those Grand Tour days with two battles within the day — for stage victory and then, minutes later, for GC. Santiago Buitrago, the Colombian climber, became the fourth rider of this Giro to beat Derek Gee to a stage as the Canadian finished second again (that's SIX top fives for Gee)...
Santiago's MOMENT 🇨🇴
Santiago Buitrago wins Stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia! ☝️@SantiagoBS26 | @BHRVictorious pic.twitter.com/J0fCYhaA3n
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 26, 2023
Behind, after a day that in many ways summed up this entire Giro — a slow burn, tension building, the promise of action further up the road — Primož Roglič took three seconds back on Thomas.
For a few hundred metres it looked as though it might be the Welshman stealing a further advantage but Roglič, on his changed bike with 1x 10-44t gravel gearing, came past to tighten the maglia rosa battle further, ahead of tomorrow's decisive TT.
26 seconds between G and Roglič, Almeida at 59 seconds. Who will be wearing pink in Rome?
26 May 2023, 15:10
Charlotte Kool wins opening stage of RideLondon Classique, Lizzie Deignan third
Top lead-out duties from Georgi Pfeiffer to set up Charlotte Kool for stage one victory in Colchester...
🥵 A tough sprint
😎 A Kool finish@charlotte_kool takes Stage One 🔥#RideLondon pic.twitter.com/jALRUaRwLc— Ford RideLondon (@RideLondon) May 26, 2023
Got to admit part of me begrudges these pros coming over here and getting to ride British roads with three glorious days of sunshine. Where were they all grim winter? Anyway, ranting aside, Lizzie Deignan took third, just behind Clara Copponi, while Georgi had enough work already done to drift back for 10th.
Tomorrow, it's Maldon's turn...
26 May 2023, 14:29
AG2R Citroën team car kicked off Giro d'Italia after Carlos Verona collision
🤕🙈 @Carlos_Verona | #Giro
Seguimos adelante con @jjrojillas y el madrileño. Más de 8’ de margen, menos de 70 km al final.pic.twitter.com/BR7aSo38yi
— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) May 26, 2023
One that happened away from the TV cameras, but Italian broadcaster RAI quickly reported that one of the AG2R Citroën team cars had been ejected from the race. The reports suggest the directeur sportif struck the Movistar rider while driving behind the breakaway.
Just one team car left for the French outfit. With riders in the break, and Aurélien Paret-Peintre riding a decent GC, that creates a bit of a headache... although admittedly not quite the pain of Verona's literal wounds...
26 May 2023, 14:13
Stopping the sticky bottle... your suggestions
Patrick9-32: "They need to implement (if they havent already) strict and specific rules for bottle handover. i.e. 'Items must be handed end to end with contact for a maximum of one full second. Hands of rider and team car passenger must not touch.'
"They could then implement consistent punishment for violations based on severity of going over the limits set. Leaving it open to interpretation makes the teams push the envelope for the advantage and ends up discrediting the sport."
Rendel Harris: "A pedant writes: the second time wasn't "sticky bottle", it was "sticky glasses" — I thought it was outrageous when I was watching and it hasn't improved on the second viewing, the sticky bottle was naughty but not far away from what seems to have become the accepted norm, with the glasses the driver and rider were pretty much holding hands with the glasses between them, the driver then accelerated towards the group and gave Zana a slingshot back to them. Not sure he should be deprived of the win but he's certainly very lucky to get away with such a low sanction."
Clem Fandango: "I'm sure I heard Sean Kelly on commentary wonder aloud if maybe an Italian Commissaire had been involved."
26 May 2023, 14:02
26 May 2023, 13:04
RideLondon weekend
More than 25,000 cyclists are set to take part in RideLondon's closed-road routes on Sunday, with a similar number expected for the Free Cycle, an eight-mile family bike ride around some of the English capital's most iconic roads, completely closed to traffic.
There's the women's professional race too, taking in two stages in Essex before Sunday's central London finale. Some unfortunate news from the opening day of the race, former world champion Elisa Balsamo forced to abandon having suffered two crashes in the opening 100km.
Plenty out in the sun enjoying the action...
🎥 They're rolling!
Stage 1 at #RideLondon is underway!Follow our liveticker:https://t.co/6JpdfgrFhb pic.twitter.com/fJskQDXU9T
— UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) May 26, 2023
Any plans for the weekend? Family getting involved in the Free Cycle? Taking on the sportive? Watching the racing?
26 May 2023, 12:04
What has British Cycling changed?
26 May 2023, 11:08
Reaction to British Cycling transgender policy update
The big news this morning...
"...all you do is take money from petrochemical companies and engage in culture wars"
Emily Bridges calls British Cycling a "failed organisation", says trans woman have been "banned" as new "Open" category announcedhttps://t.co/fUn7fkBc4i #cycling
— road.cc (@roadcc) May 26, 2023
Bridges' mother Sandy shared her daughter's statement, adding that "British Cycling were due to lift their press embargo at 11am this morning. Everybody knew the outcome by close of play yesterday. Except the people this policy impacts the most."
Obviously we can only speak for ourselves, but we received our press release at 10:31am, prompting some urgent flapping as the 11am embargo neared, but talk of the announcement had been doing the rounds on social media for most of this week.
The news has swept around the UK media, it's currently the top story on BBC News, and high up on just about every other news outlets' websites. Something tells us the weekend column writers are sharpening their pencils as we speak.
Here, new British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton spoke with BBC Sport's Dan Roan...
NEW | British Cycling to ban transgender women from competing in female category of competitive events under new participation policy "predicated on fairness".
My interview with new CEO Jon Dutton here ⬇️ https://t.co/E7Oh2GDMTf pic.twitter.com/QSWn4Vp7b2— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 26, 2023
26 May 2023, 10:08
BREAKING: British Cycling updates transgender policy, introduces open category
26 May 2023, 09:46
WIRELESS Super Record leaked! Is Campagnolo about to shake up the groupset market?
26 May 2023, 09:43
Madis Mihkels putting the circus in Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
Who needs police escort when you have Madis Mihkels? 🚨 #TourOfNorway pic.twitter.com/c8TA4Ys5yG
— Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (@IntermarcheCW) May 25, 2023
26 May 2023, 09:02
Incredible scenes of Paris taken over by waves of cycling commuters
Things we like to see...
Paris - 25 mai 2023, 20:43 ☀️🚴♂️🚴♀️ pic.twitter.com/lPG10cAIJj
— Fouad Khayat (@Khayat_Fouad) May 25, 2023
26 May 2023, 08:55
Hugh Carthy will not start stage 19, leaves the race with stomach issues
Hugh Carthy's Giro is over, the climber from Preston abandoning the race ahead of the queen stage, his team citing stomach problems that he has been struggling with for a few days. Carthy, who has twice finished in the top ten of the Italian Grand Tour, lost more than four minutes on maglia rosa Geraint Thomas after being dropped early on the penultimate climb.
His team announced: "Hugh Carthy won't be able to start today's stage of the Giro d'Italia. He has been struggling with stomach issues for a few days so he'll return home to rest and recover. Great effort, Hugh."
26 May 2023, 08:48
Queen stage mountain showdown — warning for any sprinters left to look away now
A look ahead to today. Drumroll please...
The admin posting the stage profile on twitter 🔥#Giro #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/NIF3yhLuhI
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 26, 2023
- Passo Campolongo: 4km at 7%
- Passo Valparola: 2,194m 13.9km at 5.7%
- Passo Giau: 2,227m 9.8km at 9.3%
- Passo Tre Coci: 1,802m 8km at 7.3%
- Tre Cime di Lavaredo: 2,307m 7.1km at 7.8%
Ridiculous office today pic.twitter.com/3qckTULXBD
— Ned Boulting 🏳️⚧️ (@nedboulting) May 26, 2023
26 May 2023, 08:45
Petition with "factual errors" to scrap low-traffic neighbourhood launched by a "keen cyclist" after just two months of trial
Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. 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 joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.
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55 comments
andystow
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1 year ago
0 likes
Caught on video in Tunbridge Wells, cyclist thrown off by pot hole.
brooksby
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1 year ago
3 likes
Nothing at all to do with cycling, but it made me laugh:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/26/jeff-bezos-money-l...
Giving money away is hard, says Lauren Sanchez, who is currently touring Europe with Bezos on his 417ft yacht
brooksby
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1 year ago
5 likes
https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/25/jeremy-vine-called-terrible-person-by-bus...
Stopping at a red light, he [Jeremy Vine] signals to the driver [of a bus], unclear of why they hooted.
According to him, she signalled back that he 'should have been further over to the left'.
'What did I do wrong? Am I supposed to be over here?' he questions, before taking the opportunity to approach the driver.
'I'm so sorry, I couldn't hear you,' Vine begins, before she replies: 'I said, you're a terrible person.'
'Why?' a baffled Vine replies.
She says: 'You knew what you was doing. You guys are very provoking human beings. and I don't know why you do it.'
"very provoking human beings" - so: is that a new version of bl00dy cyclists?
https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/25/jeremy-vine-called-terrible-person-by-bus...
"very provoking human beings" - so: is that a new version of bl00dy cyclists?
The cognitive dissonance is amazing with this kind of drivist.
They use their horn to tell a cyclist that they obviously know better than the cyclist how to cycle, and when the cyclist is puzzled and asks as to the meaning of the horn, they accuse the cyclist of being provocative. Why don't they just follow at a safe distance or overtake when safe - there's literally no benefit in using their horn to indicate some disagreement and it's probably not even legal.
I'd embrace the opportunity. Someone's taking time out of their busy life / working day to engage in some discussion of the appropriate use of the road - what's not to like? And a "friendly toot" also!
Devil's advocate here, but it's possible the driver was correct about some issue and was genuinely horning correctly (to let Vine know they were there). (I know...) How's that different from if the roles were reversed?
I'd embrace the opportunity. Someone's taking time out of their busy life / working day to engage in some discussion of the appropriate use of the road - what's not to like? And a "friendly toot" also! Devil's advocate here, but it's possible the driver was correct about some issue and was genuinely horning correctly (to let Vine know they were there). (I know...) How's that different from if the roles were reversed?
We're back in the territory of needing two different horns. One for the official use of warning other road users of your presence (seems unnecessary if you're in a big bus just following another road user) and maybe a softer sound (tambourine?) to indicate that you'd like a friendly discussion with someone or you've seen a friend walking along the pavement etc.
It's technically possible for a driver to use their horn to get the attention of a cyclist to then impart some sage advice, but it seems about as likely as Rishi using public transport to go visit his millionaire buddies.
....and maybe a softer sound (tambourine?) to indicate that you'd like a friendly discussion with someone or you've seen a friend walking along the pavement etc.
A tambourine is a bit harsh - more of a noise. Possibly some kind of metallic tuned idiophone though? Hmm...
I always thought a short "toot" of the horn was a "thanks/take care" and a double toot being "hello my friend"
a longer "blast" of the horn was "watch out for my death machine"
I would say the bus does a short "toot" - so not aggressive, but then the driver doesn't help by refusing to talk with Mr Vine. They may have been taken aback by the cameras (I think he uses several?) but "you know what you did" isn't helpful - clearly he doesn't or he wouldn't, politely, ask.
I don't think he comes off as rude or aggressive. If the driver felt threatened in any way, they could simply close their window. They are in a box designed to protect them, after all.
Ashadi
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1 year ago
2 likes
Just to be clear those are not commuters in Paris but there is a bike ride event every thursday evening. The event name is Okami. Here is the link of the event 
https://instagram.com/okami.riding?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
NickSprink
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1 year ago
4 likes
For all you lycrist infiltraitors with you LTNs, protected bike lanes and 15 minute cities, this is what you are missing https://youtu.be/8nZh7A7qTPo
would be a good usage for all the cranks left in circulation.
Legin
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1 year ago
0 likes
I await all the clap trap (some arrived already) about the "sticky bottle". Yes this was a minor offence hence the fine.
- Did it give him some huge advantage over others; no.
- Was it an obvious attempt at cheating: no.
- Did it affect the outcome of the race: no
It was a team car giving the rider a short tow to get him back to the group after he'd picked up a bottle.
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Worth noting as not mentioned above, the bike rider could only undertake (perfectly legally) the refuse lorry driver because the latter was in the...
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One further thought. Does an audible tap on the window as the vehicle does its close pass dodge any of this garbage by demonsrating how close it was?
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Obviously everyone in cars, usually a single person is going about their very very serious and important business.
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