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Top Gear's The Stig spotted being filmed in London - on a cargo bike

Some say he's seen the light - but would ex-host Jeremy Clarkson approve?...

You may have noticed that BBC motoring show Top Gear is back on TV - minus, of course, petrolhead-in-chief Jeremy Clarkson and sidekicks James May and Richard Hammond. The Stig is still there, though - and yesterday, he was spotted being filmed riding a cargo bike, of all things, in central London.

Sunday's premiere of the new series, co-presented by new hosts Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc, got a bit of a panning on social media, with the hashtag #FlopGear trending, as well as in the media.

So the sight of him pedalling his way through Paddington may give further cause for dismay among die-hard fans of the show.

But with cycling set to overtake private car use in the capital in the coming years, according to Transport for London, perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised at the besuited and behelmeted man of mystery giving a cargo bike a try?

And who knows, perhaps the dear departed Clarkson himself may approve?

When he was sacked by the BBC, reporters doorstepping his west London home were surprised to see him turn up there on a bicycle.

> Jeremy Clarkson on his bike - in every sense

Earlier, in 2012, writing in the Sunday Times, he said he would move to the Danish capital Copenhagen "in a heartbeat" after seeing first-hand how prioritising people on bikes over motor traffic made it a much more pleasant city to live in than ones that don't.

> Jeremy Clarkson - cycling advocate?

As for The Stig, it's not the first time Top Gear producers have made him forgo petrol powered machines when travelling in the capital.

In 2007, armed with a Travelcard, he travelled by public transport as he took part in a race across the city from Kew to London City Airport, while Clarkson piloted a speedboat down the Thames, May drove a car, and Hammond rode a bike.

Hammond won.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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4 comments

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handlebarcam | 8 years ago
0 likes

Who gives a shit? I saw Muffin the Mule on a rollerskate once. The transportation choices of fictional characters, from children's (actual or overgrown) TV programmes that passed their prime years ago, are hardly news.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet | 8 years ago
1 like

"Some say he got he got run over by a lorry turning left..."

Avatar
LastBoyScout replied to Yorkshire wallet | 8 years ago
4 likes
Yorkshire wallet wrote:

"Some say he got he got run over by a lorry turning left..."

Surely "some say he ran a lorry over while turning left"

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
3 likes

He comes on here, wearing a helmet!

Did they learn nothing from the Argentina incident?

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