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news
Live blog
“No housing? No problem”: Cyclist baffled why brakes no longer work after shocking DIY cable botch job – then complains mechanic charged him too much; Van der Poel returns to racing – but no Strade Bianche, team says + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Cyclist removes front brake cable housing in shocking botch job (Trench Tales, Instagram)09:08
“No housing? No problem”: Cyclist baffled why brakes no longer work after shocking DIY cable botch job – then complains that mechanic who fixed issue charged him too much
Another day, another live blog, another DIY mechanical horror story – that had quite a few of us in the road.cc office making involuntary noises…
Yikes. And you thought there was only one kind of housing crisis going on at the moment.
This extreme – and inane – form of bike fettling, described by the ever-reliable Trench Tales as “some absolutely outstanding front brake BS”, was part of the owner’s attempt to “improve” his machine, apparently… by just ditching all that completely useless brake cable housing, naturally.
If by ‘improve’, he meant making his e-mountain bike extremely dangerous, then great job (wait until Adrian Chiles hears about this).
“The guy told me he had been ‘changing/ improving things on the bike’. He told me he doesn’t understand why the brakes don’t work anymore,” the baffled mechanic posted on Instagram after being presented with that monstrosity.
“Basically, he just removed the WHOLE housing of the front brake cable. He also removed the end cap of the rear housing, causing it to shrink and decompose.
“He was 100 per cent serious. And at the end, he told me what I charged him was too much.”
Classic. And it turns out everyone else is just as bemused by those cable shenanigans.
“On a suspension fork no less,” one Instagram user commented, amid a plethora of “Oh My” and “Wow” remarks and exasperated GIFs.
“Dude is out here innovating and disrupting,” another, more glass half full, commenter said, while Jason promised: “I’m doing this to all my bikes today”.
Just don’t give off about the price when it all goes wrong, alright?
Meanwhile, in the road.cc group chat, the dismay was palpable.
“I make fun of my own bike-fettling skills (or lack of),” said writer and bike reviewer Simon Withers, “But sheesh, what planet was that person on?!”
Sure, who needs housing anyway?
12:35
“This perfectly sums up 100 per cent of the cycling infrastructure in the UK”: Road safety campaigners produce striking ‘broken bridge’ poster to call for properly connected cycle networks
The Biking Lawyer – the Canada-based “personal injury lawyer for cyclists” who went viral back in 2023 for his tongue-in-cheek ‘advert’ suggesting cars should be hi-vis – is at it again this week, flipping anti-cycling tropes on their head and redirecting them towards motorists and their vehicles.
This time he’s teamed up with cycling safety activist Tom Flood to produce this striking poster, putting a motoring twist on the age-old question: ‘Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes?’
“We’re not seeing drivers using the new bridge we built,” the parody ad poster, featuring a bridge the quality of which most cycling infrastructure can only aspire to, proclaims.
On a more serious note, the poster continues at the bottom: “Connected networks are just as important for people on bikes as they are for those driving cars.”
And, just like that earlier hi-vis car ad, it appears ‘The Bridge’ has captured the imagination.
“Perfect metaphor,” said one BlueSky user. “Exactly what I try to explain to all the ‘no one uses that bike lane’ and the ‘no one rides the metro’ people.
“If it comes from and goes nowhere, who does it serve what does it encourage? Build a network, not an island!”
Absolutely, Paint isn't infrastructure
— Mark On A Bike (@mtonabike.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 2:46 PM
“This perfectly sums up 100 per cent of the cycling infrastructure in the UK,” added Girl on a Brompton.
“This is very likely right. Can anyone think of a single cycling journey they might have reason to make in the UK that would not involve at least one stretch of the ride designed to put you in danger?” replied John.
“I can’t. The sample size is small (so far), but the 100 per cent number holds!”
Some, meanwhile, with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks, saw nothing wrong with Tom and the Biking Lawyer’s bridge.
“There’s no need to even build the bridge,” joked one user. “Nobody is swimming across the river, so they must not need to get to the other side.”
“A couple of ramps and it would be fine,” wrote CykelTony.
Or surely all the drivers could get out and push their cars, right?
16:53
Doddie Aid 2025 raises over £1.35 million for motor neurone disease research
This year’s Doddie Aid, which saw people cycle, walk, run, or swim over a million miles during the first five weeks of 2025, raised a total of £1.35m for motor neurone disease research, the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation announced this week.
That means the foundation, set up by the late Scotland rugby player Doddie Weir, who died in 2022, six years after his MND diagnosis, has now contributed £19.5m to research into effective treatments and ultimately a cure for the disease.
Doddie’s Grand Tour, the latest edition of the now-annual long-distance cycle led by Weir’s former teammate and friend Rob Wainwright also raised £763,304 this year.
This year’s ride saw Wainwright – accompanied by former Ireland international Gordon D’Arcy, Scottish rugby legend Scott Hastings, around-the-world cyclist Mark Beaumont, and Doddie’s wife Kathy – cycle 800 miles from Dublin to Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium, where he handed over the match ball to Sir Chris Hoy ahead of the Scotland-Ireland Six Nations tie.
“Doddie Aid is all about getting active, having fun, and raising money to help fund the research that could change lives,” former flanker Wainwright said in a statement announcing this year’s charity totals.
“Every year, the response is incredible, and this year was no different. A huge thanks to everyone who took part this year and to all those who joined us on Doddie’5 Grand Tour ride and donated to another ambitious challenge.
“Like Doddie, I believe MND isn’t incurable, it’s just underfunded, and that drives us forward every day. Every mile, every donation, and every new research project we fund is all about bringing real hope – and one day, a cure – to people living with MND.”
15:55
Boom! Mathieu van der Poel starts season in style with explosive, dominant uphill sprint victory at Le Samyn
Be afraid, be very afraid.
Those speculative, showboating digs early on all turned out to be a ruse. At Le Samyn, his first day racing on the road in 2025, Mathieu van der Poel wasn’t simply content with launching a few TV attacks and easing his way into the classics campaign, eyes on the bigger prizes ahead over the next six weeks.
Nope. As a whittled down bunch entered the final lap of a race which had proved frenetic if lacking in decisive moments – and where the benign conditions meant it was incredibly difficult for moves to stick – the grey-clad Van der Poel began to lurk ominously near the front, following the accelerations along the cobbles with ease, focus now not on doomed attacks but on that drag in Dour.
For one of his main rivals, Arnaud De Lie, things weren’t so breezily straightforward, the Belgian champion forced into a late chase after an ill-timed mechanical, before ultimately being boxed in during a chaotic final few hundred metres.
Better placed as the road reared up to the line was the other pre-race favourite, the in-form French hope Paul Magnier – in fact, the 20-year-old, a canny operator for one so young, had latched onto Van der Poel’s wheel.
Not that it mattered in the end. When the former world champion hit the front and rose out of the saddle with 150m to go, it was all over very quickly. Magnier, who hasn’t been out of the top three all year, was forced to sit down in surrender, another second place bagged, such was the ferocity of Van der Poel’s opening statement.
And what an opening statement. Considering he wasn’t even meant to be racing Le Samyn – the rain in Spain meant it made more sense to pin on a number in Belgium, apparently – the ease with which he destroyed the opposition in the sprint can only be construed as a signal of intent, a warning shot fired in the direction of Flanders.
“I was feeling pretty strong during the race, but it wasn’t hard enough to make a difference, and I feel like a lot of teams were watching me,” a relaxed Van der Poel, account opened for 2025, said at the finish.
“So, with 50km to go I said to my teammates that I was going to save my legs for the sprint. Because I knew I was capable of winning on a finish like this – and that’s what I did, and I’m very happy with this win.”
And that’s what he did. And, by the looks of things, what he may be doing throughout the spring. Does anyone else hear the Jaws theme?
16:24
League One footballer admits causing cyclist’s death by careless driving
15:26
Brompton celebrates 50th birthday by releasing new 12-speed version of iconic C Line
2025, believe it or not, marks half a century since Brompton was founded by Andrew Ritchie, and to kick off its golden jubilee year, the iconic folding bike company is paying homage to its original model, the C Line, by expanding its range and adding a new 12-speed option.
Famed for its three-part fold, and inspiring the rest of the British brand’s range, Brompton says the C Line is “lighter, more portable, and available in more options” than ever before.
The new 12-speed version, a system first used on the P Line model, now sits alongside the old two and six-speed C Lines, while the bike’s ‘advanced rear frame’, Brompton says, “allows owners to glide and steer their folded bikes through railway stations and entrance foyers with the seat post locked halfway up”.
The new C Line 12-speed, which is available in a range of colours, including flamingo pink, amethyst lacquer (which is apparently purple), and Brompton classic Turkish green, is available to order from tomorrow.
14:55
“Van der Poel lost his rainbow jersey and turned into a showman again”
He may be just a few hours into his 2025 road season, but Mathieu van der Poel – ever the show boater – is already busy lighting the blue touch paper this afternoon at Le Samyn.
With 65km to go to the finish of the Belgian one-day race, the Dutch superstar shot off the front on his own, in what appeared at the time to be an attempt to launch an early bid for the ‘most audacious solo attack of 2025’ (a category that will almost certainly be contested by his old mate Tadej Pogačar come the monuments).
Despite getting us all excited, that move was quickly nullified by a nervous bunch. That didn’t deter Van der Poel, however, who hit out again with 50km remaining, this time in the company of Taco van der Hoorn, as they exited the race’s main cobbled stretch for another brief mid-race interval session.
van der Poel lost his WC jersey and turned into a showman again
— Matthias (@nairoingreen.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Quickly caught once more – they won’t let MVDP get away that easily – he’s currently sitting safely in the peloton as it enters the last few laps around Dour. I wouldn’t bet against him launching another speculative attack before the race is over, of course, the mood he’s in at the moment.
And with Van der Poel in showman mode as he starts his road campaign, it bodes very well for this spring’s anticipated showdown with a certain Slovenian…
14:12
Lorena Wiebes chalks up 97th pro win with dominant sprint at Le Samyn, as Ireland’s Lara Gillespie continues promising start to the season with third place
Lorena Wiebes edged ever closer to that landmark 100th career victory this afternoon, chalking up win number 97 with a perfectly executed uphill sprint at Le Samyn.
The European champion, left isolated as a reduced bunch approached the finish of the cobbled semi-classic in Dour, surfed the wheels perfectly, latching onto Georgia Baker’s Liv AlUla Jayco lead out before launching her trademark blistering acceleration with 150m to go to seal another dominant win.
Uno-X’s Linda Zanetti proved best of the rest behind the on-fire Wiebes, as UAE Team ADQ’s Irish prospect Lara Gillespie continued her brilliant start to the season with a close third.
The 23-year-old’s strong sprint on the drag in Dour saw her secure her second one-day podium in three days, following up on Sunday’s second place at Omloop van het Hageland, as well as her European elimination title on the track last month.
“It’s nice to win in the spring, and it’s nice to do it in this race, and actually, I enjoyed it,” Wiebes, who despite closing in on a century of wins is still two weeks shy of her 26th birthday, said at the finish.
“It was pretty chaotic, like always on the Belgian roads. We had a good position every time going into the cobbled section, the team did a good job.
“Unfortunately, we lost Elena Cecchini in a crash, so we had one rider less, but the girls brought me perfectly every time on the cobbles. One time, I tried it myself because I had good legs, I enjoyed it. I felt really ready for the sprint, and I like it when it’s slightly uphill also.”
I’m sure someone at SD Worx is preparing all the ‘100’ social media videos as we speak.
13:32
‘Oi mate, could you open that gate up ahead for me? Cheers’
Now it’s time for today’s excruciating bike crash video that you’ll end up watching over and over again:
Ouch… Talk about taking one for the team. Deary me.
12:59
British cycling coach accuses UCI of threatening to fine children, takes governing body to European Commission for ‘unfairly blocking’ riders from cycle event
An interesting development here in the world of mountain bike trials, where a British coach and event organiser is taking the UCI to the European Commission, after accusing the sport’s governing body of breaking antitrust laws for “unfairly blocking” cyclists, particularly children, from competing in rival, non-UCI events.
Read more: > British cycling coach accuses UCI of threatening to fine children, takes governing body to European Commission for ‘unfairly blocking’ riders from cycle event
11:47
Guess who’s back, back again?
Forget the Tour Down Under, forget your Middle East and Med tune-ups, even forget Opening Weekend (I know, I feel bad even writing that). The phony wars are over, Mathieu van der Poel has pinned on a number on the road – the cycling season has properly commenced now.
Roll on Samremo and the Ronde…
11:17
Can I upload this U-turn to Strava?
Strava users can once again share links across the app, after the social fitness giant U-turned on its unpopular decision to remove URL links, hailing “significant improvements” in spam detection and prevention systems in recent months.
Read more: > Strava users can add links again as social fitness giant apologises for “disruptive” policy
10:35
No Strade Bianche for Mathieu van der Poel, team says – as Arnaud De Lie and Paul Magnier join Dutch superstar on Le Samyn start list
Today’s the day, folks. After another imperiously dominant winter on the cyclocross bike, as we reported yesterday, Mathieu van der Poel is set to make a surprise early return to road racing today at Le Samyn, the Walloon cobbled race that serves as an epilogue to Belgium’s Opening Weekend.
The 30-year-old was initially planning to kick off his road season at Tirreno-Adriatico next week, but has now instead opted for an early leg loosener on the slightly more forgiving pavé of Wallonia as he begins his monument preparation.
However, despite Van der Poel’s early return to action spawning speculation that Strade Bianche – the race he won in blistering fashion in 2021 – could be on the cards this Saturday, Alpecin’s co-manager Christoph Roodhooft has come along to spoil the party, telling Het Nieuwsblad that Tuscany’s iconic gravel classic will not make it onto his Dutch star’s programme.
(Cor Vos/SWPix.com)
Instead, Van der Poel will follow his season debut at Le Samyn with an Italian double whammy of Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Samremo, which he won in 2023, before turning his attention to the Flemish classics in late March and a hugely anticipated showdown with Tadej Pogačar.
Nevertheless, with his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen arguably emerging as the man of Opening Weekend, taking third at Omloop and a long-awaited victory at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne after a stuttering start to the season, Van der Poel’s social media proclamation that the “itch” to race was getting too strong will surely send an ominous shiver down the spines of Alpecin’s rivals.
Among those rivals this afternoon will be Belgian champion Arnaud De Lie and Soudal Quick-Step’s in-form wunderkind Paul Magnier, fresh off second at Omloop on Saturday.
(Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)
“Second place is a bit frustrating, especially as I was so close, but at the end of the day, it’s a podium in my first cobbled classic,” 20-year-old Magnier said at the weekend.
“So, at the same time, I am happy with this result after a hard race and an equally hard sprint in the headwind. It’s a good result for us and for our confidence to kick off the classics. Now I will focus on Le Samyn and hopefully I will be in the position to fight for a good result also there.”
10:59
Pog Punk
Speaking of Strade Bianche and a certain world champion, it looks like Tadej Pogačar and Urška Žigart’s build-up to this weekend’s Tuscan classic is of the pleasant, relaxed variety, at least judging by his latest sunny Instagram training and coffee stop video.
Not jealous at all…
And cheers Tadej for ditching the usual rap Insta soundtrack and for catering to us pop punk (or should that be Pog punk?) millennials with a smattering of mid-90s Green Day…
09:51
“If they really wanted to clean up the sport, they should have stayed and done something about it. They knew what was going on all along, they were there when all the big scandals happened”
Following last week’s news that Rabobank is returning to professional cycling as the jersey sponsor of its old Visma-Lease a Bike squads, road.cc spoke to the team’s former leader Michael Rasmussen – an ex-pro synonymous with the Dutch bank’s scandal-laden years in charge – to discuss what’s changed in pro cycling since 2012, and why Rabobank should never have left in the first place:
“If they really wanted to clean up the sport, they should have stayed”: Rabobank’s return to pro cycling – decade after leaving due to doping scandals – a “no brainer”, says Michael Rasmussen
After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
Latest Comments
- Matt Page 13 min 51 sec ago
It might well be called the British Gravel Championships, but it is not and never has been sanctioned by British Cycling, or by any other governing...
- Type1Roadie 35 min 14 sec ago
I hope they start resurfacing the roads soon so that they don't need to start the stages on gravel bikes 🤷🏻♂️
- mdavidford 42 min 27 sec ago
Literally, when you end up skating along the ground on it.
- bobbinogs 1 hour 1 min ago
I think you could easily argue that 90% of vehicles on the road are unnecessarily sized and add a considerable risk of injury (to others) in the...
- headingley 1 hour 45 min ago
Cameras (front & rear) are the only way to (try and) sort this kind of behaviour. I've run front and rear camers on my commute for several...
- SimoninSpalding 1 hour 59 min ago
I have Cors N:ext on my summer bike, mainly because they do a 24mm, 25 is REALLY tight on rear brake clearance. I am not impressed with how the...
- Tom_77 2 hours 55 min ago
Typically you will signs like this one.
- chrisonabike 3 hours 1 min ago
However, the highway code revisions now provide more detail and the cyclist overtaking picture has been updated. e.g.:...
- eburtthebike 3 hours 49 min ago
And they were right. It says something about our society that people are prepared to put so much money and effort into opposing something as...
- stonojnr 4 hours 52 min ago
Could make a crass joke about how youre only supposed to flip pancakes today, but i wont...
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14 comments
That brake stuff is absolutetly jaw-dropping. It's brakes 101 - put a cable end on!
Literally, when you end up skating along the ground on it.
“No housing? No problem”: Cyclist baffled why brakes no longer work after shocking DIY cable botch job
Are they related to Elon or Donald?
I like that bridge metaphor
Cheapest mechanical ABS design ever!
Alternatively, should have got brake fluid top-up at a motorbike garage
I get the impression from this person's Twitter account, his appeal to the Community Protection Notice, preventing him from filming driving offences in Ealing, was unsuccesful. Will CyclingMikey be next?
@CitizenUddin
Just did a little search, he is Mark Ecclestone and Road.cc has reported on the isues he has raised in the past.
Perhaps Road.cc can get the latest news?
While I don't think "councillors are crooked from top to bottom" (per some comments you see here) the exceptions are sometime ... exceptional. And if you are unlucky enough to cross the wrong one there may be a lot of unfairness coming your way.
(I'm thinking of some of the unbelievable - but apparently true - stuff in Private Eye's "Rotten Boroughs" page. Plus a comment by the late Simon Hoggart which I can't recall exactly but was something like "once you've witnessed local government up close you'll be baying for more centralisation".)
And vice-versa. Boris, Truss, Cameron: shining examples of honesty, morals and efficiency.
That sounds very much like an abuse of power and definitely against the councillor code of conduct. I hope walking Marky has made a complaint to the council.
The solution to the "issue" of no outer with suspension forks is obviously just to lock them out. This is no doubt why the lock-out function exists.
Also, when you need to loosen the cable for maintenance you just unlock the forks and get someone heavy to sit on the bike whilst you do whatever fettling this great innovation needs.
He should be sent off to work for Elon at doge, that's the sort of innovation only the USA can truly appreciate!
Removing the cable outers, what a smart way to reduce weight! I see the routing also ensures the shortest cable can be used, another way to lower weight. Maybe he could start drilling the forks and frame to make his bike lighter still?
He should apply the drillium technique to save weight on that big heavy battery, it's so bulky too, aero holes will help.
The frame is metal, so doesnt need the cables from the battery to the motor, just pass the current through the chainstay