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news
“Does anyone at the BBC watch cycling?”: Fans furious after Tadej Pogačar snubbed for World Sport Star of the Year shortlist, claiming cycling has “gone to the bottom, behind darts”; Spotify Wrapped: Giro d’Italia edition + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
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Tadej Pogačar wins the 2024 world road race championships, Zurich (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)06 December 2024, 09:20
“Does anyone at the BBC watch cycling?”: Fans furious after Tadej Pogačar snubbed for World Sport Star of the Year shortlist, claiming cycling has “gone to the bottom, behind darts”
Imagine being the greatest living cyclist (arguably), and having what was the greatest single season in the history of cycling (arguably), but still deemed not good enough to even qualify for the BBC’s ‘Sports Personality of the Year - World Sports Star’ shortlist.
While I’d assume three-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar isn't losing any sleep over the snub, cycling fans have been quite vocal about it, passing pretty damning judgements on the decision and implying that the British broadcaster has failed to recognise cycling and one of sports’ greatest achievements in recent years.
The people shortlisted for the award include the world’s most decorated gymnast, Simone Biles, the number one pick in Women’s National Basketball Association who broke several records as a rookie this year, Caitlin Clark, five-time world champion wheelchair racer Catherine Debrunner, arguably the greatest pole vaulter of all time, Armand Duplantis, super middle- and long-distance runner Sifan Hassan, and global swimming superstar and heir apparent to Michael Phelps, Leon Marchand.
Notice any connections between the six? Almost all of them — the only exception being Clark — set the Paris Olympic Games alight with their dazzling performances and took home multiple medals. And given the importance Olympic performance can play in deciding the winner of such awards, many fans on social media have speculated that the committee overlooking Pogačar could very well come down to the Slovenian deciding to skip Paris — a decision that was talked about a lot due to Urška Žigart, the Slovenian national champion and Pogi's partner, not making the national squad selection.
Cycling's power couple: Tadej Pogačar with Urška Žigart at 2024 Tour de France (A.S.O./Charly Lopez)
“Seems fully Olympics related, plus Caitlin Clark randomly. No Pogačar, no Sinner, laughable,” wrote one fan on social media, alluding to tennis's top-ranked male player Janik Sinner, the 23-year-old himself having a commendable season, winning the Australian and the US Open, the ATP Finals, three Masters 1000s, and two ATP 500s, and also leading Italy to the Davis Cup win (and of course, having a good old doping case in the midst of it all).
However, there were others who strongly suggested that this could very come down to the BBC simply not giving professional cycling enough importance as a sport. The last time a cyclist won the award was all the way back in 1963, when Jacques Anquetil was named the overseas Sports Personality of the Year, for victories in the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Paris-Nice, and the Critérium du Dauphiné that year (Lance Armstrong was subsequently stripped of the title after being awarded in 2003).
“You have to remember that no one at the BBC watches cycling.”
“Britain is not a cycling country — exhibit 3567.”
“The BBC are probably pissed off with him for snubbing their beloved Olympic Games. They are not serious people!”
“Typical. Cycling goes to the bottom. Behind darts.”
“Could argue for Remco as well, since no real British challengers in the Grand Tours, the BBC has completely forgotten about cycling and reporting on it — I’d also include Katie Ledecky instead of Biles or Clarke, a very short-sighted shortlist.”
Tadej Pogačar on the 2024 Tour de France podium
Meanwhile, some people claimed that it could be due to the fact that it’s voted by those watching the BBC, making it tricky for stars from sports which the BBC doesn’t hold broadcasting right to, to make the cut.
“BBC would likely be more interested in Remco as he had Olympic success which the BBC broadcast, I'd wager most nominees are in sports they hold broadcast rights to.”
“It is defined as the BBC World Sports Star. The BBC does not cover world cycling events, except for the Olympics. The people on this list had outstanding performances at the Olympics. BBC viewers will have to vote for the winner, and sadly, most of them will not have followed cycling.”
And as with most online discussions, there were people who seemed content with the shortlist. One person said: “Is it? It’s an Olympic year and Remco won that. I don’t hate this list.”
Pogačar, meanwhile, has announced he was joining the United Nations’ global road safety campaign yesterday, aiming to promote road safety by recruiting celebrities and sportspeople to deliver messages “focusing on reducing risk factors” such as drink driving, texting at the wheel, and not wearing a bike helmet.
The Tour de France winner and world champion, said: “As a professional cyclist the open road is my workplace, and I live the reality of the danger of cycling in traffic almost every day.
“I am not alone, as millions of people around the world ride their bikes to work, school or just for leisure. The ability for people to ride their bikes safely is something we need to protect.
“I am happy to support this campaign and believe that together we can help to make the roads safer for everyone, cyclists and motorists alike.”
What do you think? Should the BBC have included Pogačar in the list? If yes, what’s your take on why he wasn’t? Let us know in the comments…
06 December 2024, 17:00
Cyclist returns to UK after 6,000km ride across Europe… and has bike and possessions stolen outside noodle restaurant in Brighton
Phil Gallon, who had cycled to Turkey, says he’s “devastated” by the theft – which saw his late wife’s possessions stolen – and left “boiling with rage”, after police told him there was “no indication of CCTV at this incident”...
06 December 2024, 16:39
Amsterdam? Paris? No, guess again — it's the mighty Tottenham!
Amsterdam? Nope. Paris? Guess again. This is Tottenham! A beautiful sight: kids on cargo bikes, kids cycling… a community embracing cycling. Brilliant to see! ❤️🚲💪
— Francesca 🚲💕 (@francescakms.bsky.social) 5 December 2024 at 19:22
06 December 2024, 15:46
“Cyclocross remains my first love”: Wout van Aert to return to CX, but only for six races — “purely out of love for the sport”
There are a handful of cyclists talented enough to excel in one discipline, let alone two. But Wout van Aert, along with the likes of Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel in the pro men's peloton, is one of those who riders who are as talented on the road, as they are off it.
And it’d make sense, because for the 30-year-old Belgian, cyclocross is just not just an off-season excursion, it is his “first love”. So despite experiencing an injury-laden season (perhaps on par with Luke Shaw) — Van Aert only recently started his recovery process after his Vuelta crash — he’s decided to come back for a few cyclocross races.
The three-time cyclocross world champion has now announced his schedule for this winter, competing in Mol, Loenhout, Gullegem, Dendermonde, Benidorm, and Maasmechelen.
In a press release published by Visma-Lease a Bike, Van Aert said: “Cyclocross remains my first love, which is why I enjoy returning to it every winter. This winter, we’ve opted for a compact schedule of six races that fit well into my training plan. It will be a cyclocross season I approach purely out of love for the sport, but with modest ambitions. After my crash in the Vuelta and my knee injury, it’s essential to make the best use of the time I have to prepare for the road season. A few cyclocross races fit nicely into that plan, but the schedule is deliberately more limited than in previous years.”
Wout van Aert's snapped saddle during 2024 Benidorm cyclocross World Cup (Renaud Breban)
Despite his storming performance in Benidorm this January, which saw him win one of the most dramatic cyclocross races ever in January without a saddle, Van Aert said that he doesn’t expect to hit top form in his first race in Mol. “That will be the first target to work toward, but I certainly won’t reach my highest level there,” he said, adding that he will join his team for a training camp after his first four races.
“After that camp, there are two great races on the calendar in Benidorm and Maasmechelen, where I expect to be in better condition. I’m incredibly excited to get back into the field and look forward to reconnecting with the fans,” Van Aert concluded.
06 December 2024, 15:07
Some very soothing and relaxing bikeshop ASMR
Make sure your sound is on for this one! 🔊
06 December 2024, 14:51
The great active travel funding raid, coming soon to your local council chamber
“While there is a pothole black hole of hundreds of millions of pounds in Oxfordshire and the council is on course to miss its own walking and cycling targets, it beggars belief that the Lib Dems would take millions from the walking and cycling pot and spend it on building new roads, rather than fixing the roads they are already meant to look after or investing properly in walking and cycling,” a Labour county councillor said in his scathing critique of the local authority’s failure.
06 December 2024, 13:29
Police joined by cycling campaign in stopping those riding without lights at night and issuing them tickets
After a couple of weeks ago in Oxford, now it’s time for Cambridge police to stop cyclists for not riding without lights at night, with more than 20 cyclists issued tickets on Milton Road, a busy road in Cambridge, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
A Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said: “Officers, working alongside Camcycle - Cambridge Cycling Campaign have been back out on patrol stopping cyclists without lights on their bikes, this time in Milton Road. In the first hour more than 20 cyclists were stopped without lights. Some of them had lights but had just not turned them on.
"As part of the LIT scheme (lights instead of tickets), those without lights were given a ticket and the option to purchase lights within seven days and have their fine rescinded.”
06 December 2024, 12:43
Magnus Bäckstedt becomes the sporting director for Cofidis women’s team
After serving as the DS for Canyon-Sram, former Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Bäckstedt has now joined the Cofidis women’ team as its sports director, the team claiming that he will give them edge in strategising their race especially in the classics.
The Swedish is often seen as one of the architects of the rise of the Canyon-Sram Racing team, and his departure from the team marks an end to the father-daughter duo with 20-year-old Welsh rider Zoe Bäckstedt.
Now, how do you say “Don’t chase my daughter” in French? I’d suppose Magnus might need use of that phrase soon…
06 December 2024, 12:08
“2025 is about to get lit”
06 December 2024, 11:20
It’s official: Tom Pidcock joins Q36.5 Pro Cycling on a 3-year contract, featuring a shockingly underwhelming reveal video…
Looks like most of the UCI ProTeam’s budget went into his wages.
It was announced on Wednesday that Tom Pidcock had left Ineos Grenadiers, after months of reports depicting rifts and tensions between the two parties. The Swiss team Q36.5 emerged as the frontrunners to nab double-Olympic champion, having to allegedly pay €12 million to get the British rider out of his contract with Ineos which still had three years left on it.
“This isn’t just a change of jersey; it’s the start of something special,” said Pidcock. “The chance to work with a team that’s growing, with incredible partners and brands, is something that motivates me. I can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve together.”
Team Manager Doug Ryder said: “We are honoured to welcome Tom Pidcock to the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. Tom is a true embodiment of passion and competitive spirit, qualities that resonate deeply with our team’s values. His extraordinary talent, both on and off the bike, and his proven ability to win at the WorldTour level make him a game-changing addition to our roster. We look forward to writing this next chapter together.”
Luigi Bergamo, Chairperson of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, Founder, and R&D Director of Q36.5, added: “With his revolutionary, multi-disciplinary approach that has versatility at its heart, Tom is the perfect embodiment of our own approach to product development. Having Tom as part of the team offers us the opportunity not just to compete for victory at the world’s most prestigious races but also to continue to push the very boundaries of Q36.5's vision of what the future of performance cycling clothing can be. I can’t wait to send him his first pair of Dottore bib shorts and hear what he thinks!”
Tom Pidcock after the 2024 Paris Roubaix (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Pidcock, who will join the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team squad in the upcoming pre-season training camp, set to take place in Calpe, Spain in January, concluded saying: “I love racing my bike, and I'm looking forward to making that a priority. Joining a team that believes in me and shares my vision of success makes this an incredibly important step in my career. Let’s make it happen.”
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after completing his masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Cymru, and also likes to write about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
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A surprising amount of TV content is produced by third party production companies - Masterchef is made by Endemol and Banijay (I think) so the people on screen don't directly appear on the BBC/ITV payroll and don't feature in the league table of top earners and if they negotiate well can earn a fortune from syndication.
The connection on SPOTY is more likely it's limited to sports BBC have the rights to show clips of and not pay much extra for. Else I'm sure Max 4 time world champion Verstappen would be in the list somewhere.
Equally on the cycling side Cat Ferguson double world champion this year, somehow lost out to a skateboarder, who finished 3rd and someone who plays a pub game for a living in the young sports personality of the year award shortlist.
“Does anyone at the BBC watch cycling?”
No. I'm not sure that they even know it exists. For the 9,785th time, the BBC is institutionally anti-cyclist.
Why get worked up about the BBC sports programme? Not sure that many people watch it and no sportsman or woman lists winning a category as a career achievement.
Wiggo certainly didn't
Probably not, but peversely perhaps many care deeply about not winning.
outrage in the shires
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9wlk45lvn7o
Don't worry, at least in Scotland the opposite is true far more of the time. Latest budget - not only are we a long way away from where we were aiming back under the Bute House agreement, monies have been cut, and apparently in the small print stuff to do with buses is now being counted as "sustainable travel" so now it's "buses vs. cyclists - who will win?"
(I think we should be spending a lot more on re-animating public transport - but that cash should not be coming at the expense of active travel. If only there was some other - vast - travel budget we could tap into...? Of course, couldn't be from general motoring monies because those folks "pay road tax" and "fuel tax" and "pay for the roads" don'tchknow?)
Dining across the divide: ‘I’m not anti cyclist. I’m anti cyclists who ignore red lights and drive three or four abreast in front of me’ (Grauniad)
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/06/dining-across-the-d...
Spoiler: "Occupation: Police and crime commissioner for Surrey"
You can't have a rational discussion with people like that - "full-Sky-replica-kit Sunday cyclists" - only 5 years out of date. Surprised she didn't use wiggins wannabies.
I'm torn because I am completely the opposite of her politically and find her views ridiculous, but on the other hand it's not often that one hears Half Man Half Biscuit lyrics quoted by those in power. It may of course have been accidental…
Bless her. I reckon if you gave her two minutes to talk on cyclists she would get a full house on the anti-cyclist bingo.
"I know it’s not great but it would never be a political priority for me to give cyclists better infrastructure, particularly when they don’t contribute in vehicle taxes."
Whos going to tell her that general taxation pays for a lot of the roads and other things we enjoy (or don't in many cases). I think she might be shocked that many of us cycle and...own a car.
Oh and I'm not anti-car, I'm just anti drivers who put my life at risk, pollute the enviroment, trash our roads with their oversized wankpanzers and cause 99% of traffic from the sheer number of people on the roads, one person in the car, driving barely past the end of their road because they are so unfit and lazy that they can't entertain the idea of moving from their sofa unless its in their car.
What about all those schools that they keep building along with all of those highly paid teachers that get more time off than Gregg Wallace's agent? I have it on good authority that NONE of those kids has ever paid tax. And then they've got the cheek to want us to slow down whilst we drive past - who do they think we are, some kind of priest?
Crikey! I thought it was a joke!
Swung by to post the same article, glad to see @brooksby beat me to it.
Depressing article viewpoint, but not surprising. Surrey seems to be the worst around here. From Reading I can easily ride out to Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Bucks and have a fine ride. I've given up cycling in Surrey however, the drivers are hateful (and hate-filled).
I assume this ill-informed trollop got voted in on a message supported by such drivers.
I can confirm there are an awful lot of those drivers in Surrey and there is a much smaller number of considerate drivers. The former are generally a danger to all road users too.
I'm in Reading too. My Strava heatmap shows a complete blank in the Surrey direction. I never go there now.
Not defending Surrey drivers by any means but in the summer I caught the Elizabeth Line out to Reading and rode 112 km back home to London and experienced some of the most shocking aggressive wankpanzer close passing I've experienced anywhere - including Surrey - before I got back within the M25.
By the way, sorry to be "that guy" and the woman's clearly a dreadful individual but calling women with whom you don't agree trollops - not cool.
Ooh, I just googled the definition of trollop!
OK Rendel - she's a complete cock.
With you on that, 100%.
She must be anti an awful lot of drivers here too then.
Does that continue "in their large SUVs on their way to lap Richmond Park before driving home again"? If so I might be in agreement
Otherwise depressingly full bingo card of anti-cyclist bs and Tory spin.
re: SPOTY
Well, firstly, who really cares anymore?
Secondly, whether cyclists like it or not, the UK isn't Belgium; Cycling is a minor sport. And it's a minor sport which has ridden well above its FTP in recent years, SPOTY-wise, despite being dogged by doping suspicions. So for a cyclist who isn't representing GB to do well, they need "a story" (read into that what you will) which Pogi doesnt have.
Finally, I can only assume the BBC is planning to make something of Chris Hoy on what is sadly likely to be his last appearance on the show and that plus Olympic medals is cycling's quota of screen-time for the year.
Well quite, not all sports can be hugely popular and have mass participation like, um, polevaluting...
What are you saying? The cost of entry is just a stick! Or is it "but we don't have dykes"? Not true!
Maybe a different sponsor would be needed?
(Nevertheless - the quality and independence of the BBC are impressive and need to be supported - even if we'd like to see Tadej here...)
Except when it comes to managing talent, dealing with complaints, apologising for editorial gaffes, and its non-zero tolerance approach to misogyny, bullying, harassment, homophobia etc.
The more I look at this, the more I have this odd feeling that there is something off with this picture...
You don't remember seeing those beautiful pastoral rolling hills from the top of le Tour Eiffel?
It wasn't that, but I think my bike is a bit... bigger? And neither of my seat stays connect to the rear rim. And as I recall my shortest cranks are a fair bit longer than 100mm, and are centred on the bottom bracket...
I'll be looking out for a pair of those magnetic levitating water bottles though, they look cool! Or is is aerogel brackets for thermal insulation there?
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