road.cc recap: our favourite stories this week

1. Campagnolo first to launch 12 speed groupsets

The rumours were true... the Italians got there first as they did with 10 and 11 speed in introducing the first 12 speed groupset for road. Read all about it in the main link below, and you ca also check out the first ride report here. 
Read more here

2. More Campag news - Bora WTO wheels launched

Campagnolo were on a roll this week to celebrate their 85th anniversary, with the new Bora WTO race wheels launched on top of the 12 speed Super Record and Record groupsets. Claimed to be the most aerodynamically efficient ever made, the WTO (wind tunnel optimised) wheels have seen Campagnolo ditch tubular and offer them as tubeless-ready clinchers only.
Read more here

3. Expertly-deployed Ainsley Harriott stickers raise profile of Bournemouth cycle safety campaign

And now for something completely different... everyone's favourite spice-happy chef Ainsley Harriot has unwittingly become the face of Bournemouth’s latest cycle safety campaign, after someone stuck a load of stickers of his face on the road signs to promote it. The Bournemouth Echo reported that the signs on Talbot Avenue feature a car and a cyclist and instruct drivers to “look out for cyclists,” encouraging them to leave at least 1.5m when overtaking. Harriott’s head has been stuck onto the signs, with the TV chef appearing both inside the car and as the cyclist. Would we call his bike a spicycle?  
Read more here

4. Team England cyclist had to miss Commonwealth Games time trial because of admin error

Team England have apologised after Melissa Lowther was not allowed to race the Commonwealth Games time trial due to an admin error. ITV reported that an unticked box meant she wasn’t formally entered. She'll compete in the road race instead, the event she was mistakenly entered in to.  
Read more here

5. Hit and run during vigil for US cyclist killed in hit and run

In a horrible twists of irony, a man at a vigil for a cyclist killed in a hit and run was himself the victim of a hit and run in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The incident took place at the exact same spot, a day after the cyclist was hit.
Read more here

6. New stem cap phone mount from F3 Cycling launches on Kickstarter next week

US innovators F3 Cycling are crowdfunding on Kickstarter from the 17th April with a unique new take on the bike phone mount. Attaching to your stem cap, the mount then sits on your stem and uses powerful magnets to hold your phone in place, vertically or horizontal.
Read more here

7. Europe's longest heated cycle path to link Dutch cities

Two cities in the Netherlands are set to be linked by what, at 1.7 kilometres in length, will be the longest heated cycle path in Europe. The Guardian reports that residual heat from a neighbouring paper plant will heat the path between Arnhem and Wageningen in the province of Gelderland, keeping it free from ice year-round. We hope this catches on!
Read more here

8. Bespoked 2018 preview

Mmmmm bikes, bespoked ones! Som of the most exciting bikes and new gear around will be on display at the show in Bristol next weekend from the likes of Saffron, Shand, Filament and much more. You can also see Campag's new 12 speed groupset in the flesh, and some sexy Chris King hubs. 
Read more here

9. Australian ultracyclist rides almost 900 kilometres for new 24-hour world record

Crikey! A cyclist in Australia has set a new world record for the greatest distance cycled on an outdoor track in 24 hours, after pedalling for almost 900 kilometres. Dr Mitch Anderson’s distance of 894.35 kilometres, which is yet to be ratified by the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association, surpasses the distance of 890 kilometres set almost 10 years ago by the Slovenian ultracyclist, Marko Baloh. We've heard rumours that Harry Kane is trying to claim it but hopefully Dr Anderson's record will still stand... (for those who don't follow football never mind, and those that do, this joke stopped been funny on Wednesday night)
Read more here

10. Cyclist in Russia who hit pothole gets fined for damaging it

A cyclist in Russia who was left bruised after he hit a pothole was fined by police … for damaging it. The unfortunate rider was thrown from his bike as he cycled home from work last November in Penza, around 400 miles southeast of Moscow.
Read more here

11. Police in Sweden stop e-bike rider - after clocking him at 98 kilometres an hour

Police in Sweden have stopped a man after clocking him riding an electric bicycle at a speed of just under 100 kilometres an hour (62mph). Thelocal.se reported that officers hit a speed of 98 kilometres an hour in their car to catch up with the man who was riding the bike in Linköping, which lies 200 kilometres south west of Stockholm.
Read more here

12. Canterbury leg of World Naked Bike Ride cancelled for 2018

A planned World Naked Bike Ride in Canterbury next month has been cancelled, partly because organisers of the event were unable to obtain public liability insurance cover for it. The event, part of a series of rides around the world that act as a protest against car culture and oil dependency as well as highlighting the fragility of the human body, had been due to take place on 26 May. The bare-face cheek of it...
Read more here