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Matt LeBlanc and The Stig (picture credit BBC Top Gear).jpgTop Gear's Matt LeBlanc: Cycling in London "seems like a death sentence"
Matt LeBlanc, who replaced Jeremy Clarkson as Top Gear host in 2016, has said that cycling in London “seems like a death sentence” and that he gets annoyed at cyclists riding more than two abreast.
> Top Gear on Cycling: Well, what did you expect?
The 50-year-old former Friends and Joey star was speaking in an interview for the Daily Mail’s Event magazine ahead of the new series of the BBC motoring programme, which starts on BBC2 on 25 February.
The American, who rents a home in central London while filming Top Gear, said: “I wouldn’t ride a bicycle there – it just seems like a death sentence.”
While Clarkson was never one to shy away from the opportunity of making a joke at the expense of cyclists, he may disagree with his successor's views – the day after he was sacked by the BBC, he turned up at his west London home on a bike, to be met by doorstepping reporters.
> Jeremy Clarkson on his bike in every sense
LeBlanc went on to say that he has a problem with people who ride more than two abreast.
“It’s when there are three or four of them, side-by-side so they can chat – but they don’t move out of the way. That’s frustrating.
“Do I bump ’em with the car? No,” he clarified.
“But I maybe give a tap on the horn like, ‘Beep-beep! Come on, move over!’,” he added.
He also shared his views on driverless cars, revealing that he is opposed to the technology.
“I’m not a fan of the idea,” he explained. “The car represents a sense of freedom, it broadens your horizon. With the driverless car you might as well be in a taxi.
“I assume there is a place in the world for autonomous cars. There’s not a place for it in my world, yet.”
> Top Gear's James May hits out at "complete bollocks" bike lanes and the myth of 'road tax'
Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns and legal at the charity Cycling UK, commented: “So Matt LeBlanc says he’s not a fan of driverless cars, because the car represents a sense of freedom and broadens your horizon.
“There’s no place for them in his world, but then there seems to be no place there for cyclists either, who he has issues with and who must move out of his way.
“If he asked Cycling UK members, 90 per cent of whom also have a driving licence, they’d probably tell him that cycling also gives them a sense of freedom, but they have no issues with the vast majority of drivers, just those in too much of a hurry to wait to get past them.”
He added: “Rather than constantly focusing in speed, perhaps Matt needs to try a little patience, and he might find those horizons expand.”
> Top Gear's The Stig spotted being filmed in London - on a cargo bike
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.
Latest Comments
- SimoninSpalding 2 min 28 sec ago
Just to add, is this why people think cyclists are odd, the fact that a brush can ellicit such strong views? 🤣
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I guess I'm odd as this time of year I'd normally do a 4 hour gravel ride on 1/2 bottle of water, a latte and a bacon roll....
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Bit of googling gone wrong in the article - the JAT is the Junction Assessment Tool, the Joint Approval Team appears to be a coutner terrorism...
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Can't believe that child threw his bike on the floor at the end of that. Young people today have no respect... ;))
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Its not the same stem fitted to the two bikes though, and we aren't talking about HTA we are talking about stem inclination or "stem rise" to use...
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52 comments
Ratings obviously struggling a bit
This is nothing but public relations style click bait... to advertise the new series, however it's a very 'gentle opinion' never stepping too far into the troll zone.. ergo.. nonsense.
Top Gear presenter in "bicycle related statement that shouldn't cause offence to anyone, cyclist or not" shocker
Top Gear continues to be come less relevant by the day. Perhaps the BBC should start to fund a similar programme for cycling where people like Chris Boardman can enlighten the population about the dangers presented by motorists, even when they drive in single file.
“It’s when there are three or four of them, side-by-side so they can chat – but they don’t move out of the way. That’s frustrating.
“But I maybe give a tap on the horn like, ‘Beep-beep! Come on, move over!’,”
Do know what I find frustrating Matt? Drivers with no patience who use their horn to bully you out of the way.
So based on the fact you've not commented on the 3 or 4 abreast bit as being inconsiderate or illegal, I'll assume you're happy to ride illegally and inconsiderately but then get upset when a someone gives a polite pip to let you know they're there?
So based on the fact you've not commented on the 3 or 4 abreast bit as being inconsiderate or illegal, I'll assume you're happy to ride illegally and inconsiderately but then get upset when a someone gives a polite pip to let you know they're there?
Hello Paddy.
Nope, you shouldn't assume. It makes an ass out of.... forget it.
To be honest, I very raely see riders four abreast. In my experience, drivers often say they see riders doing this, but reality tends to be much different from their perception.
Whilst riding considerately two abreast/chainganging in Essex yesterday, a number of drivers felt the need to honk or close-pass, despite the fact there was plenty of road to be used. I indded found that frustrating.
PS; even if riders were four abreast, it's not illegal to ride this way under the Highway Code btw. It's not advised, but you'll find that the phrasiology is 'you should...' rather than 'you must...' which indicates advice rather than a legal requirement.
You do know that's against the law, right?
If not done aggressively, it is legal:
[Highway Code Rule] "112. The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to
warn other road users of your presence."
I've not yet encountered a motorist able to give "a polite pip of their horn to let you know they're there" in anything other than an aggressive manner...
Perhaps you're just being a tad over-sensitive?
You're right: cos a two tonne metal box coming up behind me and going "baaaaarrrp!" just always sounds so gosh darn friendly
Car horns at the moment only have one tone and one volume, intended to be clear to other drivers, not to pedestrians, cyclists, horse-riders or skate-boarders.
The Car Of The Future will classify the things in front of it and sound off accordingly, thus "Excuse me, madam", "Die, you liberal commie tree-hugging bastard lycra-clad lout!", "Naff orf!" or "Du-u-u-de!" respectively.
I have plenty of times. Spanish, French, Italian motorists are all very good at it. Years ago I did some guided riding in Greece and the guide warned us not to start shouting "wanker!" at any motorist who hooted as they were just doing it to make us aware of their presence.
I've thought many times about giving a "pip, pip" on the horn when overtaking (as you'd do in a road race) but it would be misinterpreted by the vast majority of riders. So I just content myself with making an obviously careful safe overtake - hanging back until safe then keeping the RH indicator on throughout the overtake and pulling right over into the other lane.
That's exactly what your horn or flashing your lights is suppose to do - warn others of your presence - but thick British people use it the wrong way. So I was taught to NEVER flash my lights while driving due to the increased numbers of road users from other countries who would interpret the correct way and so you would be the cause of an accident.
Oh and none of the local cycling or tri clubs cycle more than two abreast. Some are actually annoying and cycle in single file making it harder to get passed as a cyclist or in a motorised vehicle.
I waved a driver through on Saturday and he pipped the horn as a thanks as he drove past. One of our group though the was being an arsehole so it's easy to to confuse!
Yeah, I missed the bit where he said "bikes are bad" too.
So.... he said cycling in London looks dangerous and cycling more than 2 abreast is annoying BURN THE WITCH!!
Reminds me of the spoof advert, showing a slinky car, with a blonde in the passenger seat, photographed in a vast expanse of mountains and empty roads. That's the freedom dream the advertisers very successfully sell the gullible like Matt Leblanc. The reality is sitting in a traffic jam while cyclists go past you, because all the other gullible people fell for it as well.
Still Top Gear always was a fantasy, loved by people who can't cope with reality.
Top Gear presenter talking to the Daily Mail in "bikes are bad!" shocker
Ha! Exactly. Dim-witted petrolhead acting like a dim-witted petrolhead. Who'd a thunk it! And in the Daily Heil as well - that paragon of diverse views!
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