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news
emma trott driving screenshot - via British Cycling on twitter.PNGBritish Cycling criticised for video showing 'distracted' team coach driving while celebrating win
British Cycling has been criticised for releasing a video showing a 'distracted' coach who was driving while celebrating Zoe Bäckstedt's victory at the World Championship.
Clearly thrilled by the win, former professional cyclist-turned coach Emma Trott can be seen at the wheel of the car watching the action on a screen, while celebrating enthusiastically and taking both hands off the wheel.
British Cycling shared the clip, which has now been viewed over 38,000 times, on its Twitter feed after the race, and people were quick to ask if the organisation thought it sent the right message.
Us too @EmmaTrott1989, us too 🤪🤯
🔈 sound on.#GBCT 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/rdROO0DRsS
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) September 25, 2021
Cycling Mikey, who regularly films his encounters with road users driving poorly or using their phone at the wheel, said: "Why are you endorsing such shitty driving?
"I spend far too much of my spare time catching bad drivers and reporting to the police, and now I see a cyclist/driver doing this, and I'm disgusted."
> Number of 'distractions' inside Trek-Segafredo team car at Giro d'Italia branded 'insane'
Another user Pompey Cyclist, added: "Yeah I don't get why everyone's alright about this.
"We rightly chastise drivers sitting still looking at their phones. This is... mad."
Others questioned whether it was a good idea to publish a video of a person driving while watching a race on a screen, while some questioned why teams don’t recruit someone to drive so that coaches can concentrate on the race.
Stuart Baillie said: "Operating a motor vehicle while watching a video stream on in car screen?
"Driving without being in full control of the vehicle, I understand she's happy, but this kind of outburst at the controls of a powerful vehicle is extremely dangerous.
"Cyclists want drivers to be careful."
> Taxi driver hit cyclist then did factory reset to hide his use of two mobile phones
A British Cycling spokesperson told road.cc: "The team car was travelling on closed roads as a race support vehicle.
"Emma was rightly delighted by a landmark win for a group of promising young women she coaches.
"Spur-of-the-moment celebrations like this are part and parcel in men’s and women’s sport and the whole team shared in the victory."
British Cycling also posted a number of YouTube links alongside the statement showing other teams in similar situations, a few of which can be viewed via the links below.
> Davide Bramati Emotional After Matteo Trentin's Win
> Paris Roubaix | BMC Team Car Celebration
> Giro d'Italia 2020: INEOS Grenadiers celebrate Tao Geoghegan Hart's win on Stage 20
Latest Comments
- momove 1 sec ago
Cheers for the lesson! Wasn't expecting one so was pleasantly surprised, especially getting to find the origin of "laconic"!
- ktache 46 min 26 sec ago
Isn't it a rights issue?
- antigee 50 min 58 sec ago
I've checked on Facebook and stopping the red light running cyclists was simply revenue raising and police time is better spent chasing real...
- Mikezerodown 1 hour 30 min ago
They were before change all systems, then went downhill due to bad adminstration aka CEO who agree to proceed with the worst system I have seen...
- AidanR 1 hour 36 min ago
Same here - it took me by surprise. 10:30am doesn't feel like a dangerous time to cycle; apparently I'm wrong on that.
- Daddy Feebs 1 hour 49 min ago
If anything, it looks a bit like an SL6
- wtjs 2 hours 26 min ago
Other commenters have different views True!
- Daclu Trelub 2 hours 40 min ago
Incredibly bone-headed.
- Sriracha 4 hours 43 min ago
Lidl have a window poster emblazoned, "Black Friday. Starts Sunday".
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59 comments
Well the Womens Tour have come up with a solution to this, just dont bother having live TV coverage, then theres nothing the DSs can watch,except maybe Bargain Hunt or repeats of the Saint to get their fix.
BC's own rules don't allow their officials to drive themselves on open or closed roads roads. Why is this not extended to BC teams?
Indeed why despite several high profile instances in major races do the UCI still allow this?
The driver drives, the DS sits in the passenger seat. Simple. Driving requires full attention; not radioing riders, watching the TV screen, etc I'm not sure when the sport is going to get this. It's just a poor look - It matters not a jot that it's a closed circuit.
Wasn't a rider knocked over in the Giro this year due to a driver not concentrating?
remember the Tour de Yorkshire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbec9vnqEdE
or La Vuelta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l9eApjmN0A
lucky there was no one in the way on these closed circuit roads at the time
Expect no less from British Cycling.
Find them to be useless and totally woke, and a CEO who wrote back to me in an extraordinarily patronising manner.
Joined CUK today - hoping for better.
How is this story in any way 'woke'?
It could be, but then, nobody I've asked has been able to define "woke" to my satisfaction anyway.
Doesn't woke mean that you have some awareness and understanding of social issues outside your own experience so that you can avoid upsetting other people due to ignorance? I'm not really sure how it is an insult.
On local paper websites where there are disagreements I have seen it used an insult eg 'typical woke reaction', 'you must be woke if you think that'.
It means whatever someone wants it to mean.
Seems to be more of an insult currently.
Is it the push for gender equality, an anti-racist position or the openness towards LGBT people that irritates you so much?
Even if being 'woke' is so dreadful I am at a loss to understand how anyone can link this incident with an organisation's policy. Do you think women shouldn't be allowed to drive? If a male rider is spotted having a mid-ride pee in a hedge do we go and burn Manchester velodrome because everyone at BC is therefore a flasher? FFS.
It's because the Daily Mail keep repeating it so often that its eroded his cognitive abilities to evaluate the actual meaning of the word.
Golly gosh, what a LOT of straw men!!
You are are very good at imputing non-existent thoughts! Well done.
Not sure I can agree with you, however, on your contention that the head of an organisation does not in some way represent it. That's certainly a new one on me.
Really? Or are you using that as a way to side-step the obvious question: what's so bad about an organisation or individual being 'woke'?
Maybe the idea of BC trying to make cycling more accessible and more welcoming to women, non-white and non-binary people is a problem for you.
In my experience, the sort of people that trumpet the issues you highlight, are quite happy to be very disrespectful about issues they disagree with.. woke? maybe; arrogant, obnoxious hypocrites? definitely.
It's difficult to parse your meaning here, but it seems to boil down to two points;
That you believe that people who "trumpet" (I presume that you mean dislike, rather than endorse) about racism, sexism, homophobia et al, are "arrogant, obnoxious hypocrites? definitely.".... Illuminating.....
In addition you believe they "are quite happy to be very disrespectful about issues they disagree with". Do you mean that , say, racist views should be treated with respect?
I'd love Chris Boardman to weigh in on this debate. You can rely on him for a sobre assessment. And I'm not taking the piss.
That it was during a closed road race is irrelevant.
Poor show from BC for releasing it, and poor show from the teams and governing body that allow the drivers to be so active in tasks other than driving.
What kind of message does it send out?
Can't use a mobile phone while driving, but *they* can use a handheld radio (not allowed in the UK); we can't send a text while stationary at a traffic light ... but *they* can watch a full video stream?
The haters ain't going to care that it's closed road; it'll just be another hammer to hit is with.
You do realise that we also see cyclists littering, pissing on the side of the road, racing through red lights, cycling on the wrong side of the road and much more, on live TV.
Is it irrelevant that it is during a closed road race ? Should they set an example and follow the same rules as commuters cycling to work ?
I agree that the ds who is driving shouldn't hand out bootle, hold a radio, etc.. But saying that it's irrelevant that it was during a closed road race is just stupid.
The majority of comments condemning the video are from cyclists, not from the anti cycling mob.
Aaw dude, that was great! Tell us another one do
Happy you liked it!
Aaaw yeah, top trolling.
I am sure your response is genuine, and you mean what you said.
But in the off chance it is sarcasm, could you please explain to me what you didn't like about my response?
Not at all, loved every bit!
We shouldn't see the first two - disposal of waste outside of designated zones, and urinating in public view are both race offences that are punishable with fines and, as a last resort, being booted from the race.
Regulations relating to normal use of the road, such as traffic lights and lane markings, will have been suspended by the order closing the road, so those are irrelevant.
"racing through red lights, cycling on the wrong side of the road"
And, unlike in the video clip, it's totally obvious that the road is closed.
What with the barriers, Marshalls or police cars across junctions, and not to mention the squadron of motorbikes calling around like flies.
If you watched a cycle closed-road race on TV , and could honestly think that it's an open-road event then there's no hope.
As for the pissing in public, I can't *quite* remember that being released as a celebratory video. Happy to be wrong though.
The point i am trying to make, is that its a closed circuit, so the road rules (ie not phone while driving) also dont apply to the ds driving the car.
"That it was during a closed road race is irrelevant"
You can't say that it is irrelevant just for drivers and not for cyclists. You can't have it both ways.
But no-one was arguing that it was illegal. The debate was over whether it was advisable, acceptable, responsible, or to be commended.
You don't think maybe that there is a policy/code of conduct/duty of care/race rules which they all sign up to ?
Feel free to show me in that clip where it says "closed road".
Take your time, I'll go get a brew on while I'm waiting.
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