"When cycling superstars promote SUVs, you know we have a big cultural problem”: David Millar blasted for showing off Ineos Grenadier 4X4; Remco Evenepoel takes 35 KOMs on training rides in Scotland; Is Apple Maps good for cycling? + more on the live blog

What initially started out as scathing attacks on the former Scottish pro by social media users, have perhaps mellowed down and been considered as too harsh, as replies from road.cc readers started trickling in. It's not all pitchfork defenders for Millar though, as there were still quite a few tongue in cheek backhanded comments issued at him.

> "When cycling superstars promote SUVs, you know we have a very big cultural problem": Former Scottish pro and national champion David Millar blasted for showing off his Ineos Grenadier

Here's a roundup of all the reaction. Starting with replies on this blog...

quiff: "I'm not aware (but happy to be corrected) that David has been a particular advocate for active travel or environmental causes - he simply rode a bike for a living, which is not exactly an environmentally friendly enterprise. So personally I don't think he deserves particular disdain just because of his former profession. Just the normal level of disdain for anyone choosing an unecessary SUV."

brooksby: "As has been said by various people on this site over the years, professional cycling has very little to do with utility cycling or with active travel or 'green issues': it's just a sport.  A bit like how Formula 1 has very little to driving to the supermarket." 

HarrogateSpa: "It is a bit different from just anyone choosing an unnecessary SUV because he is using his celebrity to promote this monstrosity.
And the chances are he got it free.
He probably has enough money without needing to do unethical promotions."

And from Twitter, Paul Stewart's reply to the road.cc tweet:

2/2 no easy answers to our dependency on those vehicles and it will take time to reimagine a world that is less dependent on them and facilitate application of a solution. In the meanwhile how about we stop the mudslinging within the cycling community which is doing its bit 😜

— Paul Stewart (@paulo_stewart) August 10, 2023

And on Facebook, Paul Best seemed to be "particularly not bothered", saying that it's "Millar's business, nobody else's", and "as long as he continues to do good commentary" that's all he's interested in.

Andy Dorsett said: "Maybe look at all the other cycling superstars and what they drive and promote before pointing fingers at one person."

Few others disagreed, including Tim Young, who wrote: "Drug cheat and proven liar promotes SUV. Says it all", and Peter Sharp Gerou, who contributed: "Possibly Millar's worst decision ever...including doping".

Four people have appeared in court in Scotland to deny causing a breach of the peace in connection with the protest that held up the men’s elite road race for an hour on Sunday at the UCI World Championships.

> Four plead not guilty to breach of the peace following protest that disrupted World Championship road race on Sunday

After Van der Poel's visit to a Scottish couple’s toilet during protest made front page news earlier this week, following the Dutch rider's conquest of the Glaswegian streets to become the men's road race world champion, there was only one thing to be done.

In an interview with former pro rider Matt Stephens, Van der Poel was gifted a copy of the newspaper Daily Record with the now-famous and unforgettable headline: "THANK POO VERY MUCH".

> Mathieu van der Poo-el: World champion’s visit to Scottish couple’s toilet during protest makes front page news

The newly crowned champion shed some light on Sunday's incidents. He said: "They were really, really nice. It was a super beautiful place as well where they lived."

He mentioned that the couple were rennovating the house, including the restroom. "It was getting quite nice in the inside, they were working very hard to rennovate it... Maybe I was the first one to use it!" he joked.

He was also handed a new BOA dial, after he ripped off the one he had on his shoe following his crash in the final few kilometres of the race on the rain-soaked streets of Glasgow.

> "Going to end up in a Dutch cycling museum": Van der Poel rips off BOA dial on way to World Championship win with a broken shoe

He was also involved in some casual Scottish pancake slander, saying that it "doesn't really look very tasty," but I guess I'll let it slide this one time. 

*insert shocked Pikachu face*

The least silliest thing to happen this silly season, with the rumour mill churning this news out for the last couple months, Lidl-Trek has announced the sigining of British rider Tao Geoghegan Hart on a three-year contract.

The 2020 Giro d'Italia winner joins Lidl-Trek from the Ineos Grenadiers, and will likely become the American team's key GC threat for Grand Tours and stage races. He joins Tour de Suisse winner Mattias Skjelmose, this year's mountain jersey winner at Tour de France Giulio Ciccone and former champion and elite sprinter Mads Pederson, as well as their new signing Jonathan Milan.

The 28-year-old was the victim of an unfortunate crash due to the terrible conditions at the Giro d'Italia earlier this May and had suffered a hip fracture. He was on for a top result at the Italian Grand Tour, and is currently rehabilitating in Amsterdam right now.

Speaking on this new chapter, Geoghegan Hart shared his excitement: "After seven years within the same organisation there are many different emotions to approaching a new challenge in 2024.

"The Team has big goals and partners who are willing and able to support those ambitions. I believe I still have plenty of growth as an athlete and showed in 2023, up until the injury, what I can do as a leader. I’m incredibly motivated to get back to that feeling and place, and I believe that Lidl-Trek will be a brilliant place for me to do so."

⭕️@taogeoghegan is ready for a new chapter and we’re super excited to have him with us!

Read his thoughts on joining Lidl-Trek👇https://t.co/3cLNOo5Ct4

— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) August 10, 2023

Speaking about his sporting ambitions with Lidl-Trek, he said: "I am really looking forward to bonding with faces both new and old within the organisation. I am really looking forward to see what we can achieve at races together. Personally, I see myself as a Grand Tour rider, but I am really hungry to try to take wins in any race that I line up at throughout the season.

Luca Guercilena, General Manager at Lidl-Trek, expressed his enthusiasm for Tao’s arrival: "Tao Geoghegan Hart’s dedication and resilience epitomize the spirit of Lidl-Trek. His journey serves as a testament to the power of determination, and we are excited to welcome him to our team. As Tao embarks on this new adventure, we stand united in our commitment to pushing boundaries, achieving greatness, and creating a legacy of excellence."

Places for next year’s Ford RideLondon-Essex 100 will go on sale next Tuesday – and for the first ever time, they will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis rather than via ballot.

Ever since the event, aimed at providing a legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, was first held in 2013, hopeful participants have been required to register for the ballot.

The new entry format for hugely popular sportive spells end of the road for the dreaded magazine that informed hopeful participants that they’d missed out on a place...

> Entries open on Tuesday for 2024’s Ford RideLondon-Essex – and will be first-come, first-served rather than ballot

I know he's a monster, a machine, a once in a generation cycling talent. But 35 KOMs on Strava? On two rides in two days? That's pushing things way too far. 

Remco Evenepoel, fresh from handing over his rainbow jersey to the new world champion Mathieu van der Poel in a magnanimous manner,  set out on his time-trial (TT) bike in Stirling to prepare for the UCI individual TT championship tomorrow.

And in the process, the Belgian laid down the hammer so hard, that KOMs in Scotland's central region, which have been established for years and haven't been broken since, came tumbling down faster than a house of cards, setting the Scottish cycling community on Strava on fire.

> Remco Evenepoel uploads mind-boggling Giro d'Italia time trial domination to Strava

On Tuesday, he went on a 87.66 km ride, starting and finishing in Dunblane, and completed the loop with 536 metres of elevation in just under two hours, with an average speed of 44.9 km/hr.

How many KOMs on this ride? Twenty-four.

Just look at this series of segments. Evenepoel's title for the ride fits, in my humble opinion.

And the next day, he headed out on a time-trial recon ride, once again starting and finishing in Dunblane. This time, 121.55 km with 767 metres of elevation, in just under three hours with an average speed of 42km/hr. Crazy? I know.

And this time, he managed to nab 11 more KOMs. Including one on what will rouhgly be the 47km long TT course for Friday's race. I know that, and the ones along that segment are sure to be broken, but the 23-year-old, making his first appearance in a pro event at this multi-disciplinary UCI world championshpi event in Glasgow for the first time since his untimely departure at Giro d'Italia this May due to Covid, will be meaning business and looking to don the rainbow colours once again, especially after conceding his world championship title less than a week ago.

If I had to wake up to one of the 'Uh oh' messages, I'm sure it would ruin my day (not that I have any such experiences, because I don't have any KOMs in the first place...). But Scot cyclists seem to be more generous and not as petty as your live blog host, so credit to them. 

The Daily Record reports that one of the riders who was dethroned from the top of the leaderboards was Scottish junior TT champion Sammy Edgar. He had been delighted to be ahead of 7,000 riders in one segment near Stirling — until Wednesday morning. But even after he received the notification of losing the KOM, was glad to be in elite company.

He said: "When I got a notification that I’d been ‘dethroned’ I had a bit of a laugh when I saw who it was that did it. I’m quite happy to sit on the same Top 10 list as a guy like Remco Evenepoel. I hope he sets a bunch of new records when he does the big race on Friday."

The KOM in question saw the Belgian average 41km/hr despite a 4 per cent gradient over a short hill. He pipped Edgar by just one second on the road near Port of Menteith. Other KOMs segments by Evenepoel saw him hit speeds more than even 50km/hr for extended distances.

Evenepoel, however, is no stranger to mind-boggling feats on Strava. During the opening day TT at this year's Giro, he blew the competition out of the water with his crazy ride. None of Filippo Ganna, Stefan Küng nor Primož Roglič could get close, and the Belgian took the stage and opening maglia rosa of the race by a quite incredible 22 seconds.

Similarly, Scots also wouldn't be too unfamiliar with pros stealing their KOMs on TT recon rides. Evenepoel's countryman Wout van Aert also gave the country a visit in May with his Cervelo P5 TT bike for a recon ride. Van Aert claimed two KOMs back then, one of them being the Kippen Looper — which now belongs to Evenepoel. Bring on the time-trials tomorrow.

> Wout van Aert takes time trial bike to Scotland for World Championships recon —then rides an OVO bike on Glasgow’s “risky” streets

I don't know about everyone else but I avoid Apple Maps like the plague. For me, Google's cartograph just works miles better when I'm out riding, or for any other navigation in general. But this Guardian article has set the age-old debate alight once again. Is Apple Maps better for cycling than Google Maps?

"...Apple has become more competitive with Waze and Google Maps on driving instructions, it’s on cycling and public transit that Apple Maps has built perhaps the most impressive resource yet available – with incredibly detailed instructions than can open up a city even for a nervous cyclist," reads the article, written by Sam Wolfson from New York.

Now from what I know, I think Apple Maps works better in the United States than anywhere in the world, but transport journalist Carlon Reid seems to be a fan of the Cupertino-based company's navigational software, especially for cycling.

He replied, to a frustrated Glaswegian who posted a screenshot of "Cycling directions not available", saying that "you're golden if visiting London".

But you’re golden if visiting London. pic.twitter.com/IPzN2Q6sun

— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) August 9, 2023

Other people also posted their preferences, with screenshots of which app was giving better directions.

Google maps gets it right. pic.twitter.com/nLgoslhCJh

— Ş̧̛̭̺͔͕̖͉̞̩͙͙̦̲͉̦͠t̛̜̼̲̬͖͙́u̕͞͏̥̪͇̼͙̮̺̣̣͕̹́ͅ (@stucoates) August 9, 2023

In my opinion, it's this selective "goodness" that makes me continue sticking with Google Maps. But hey, I'm sure these are not the only apps for navigating when cycling. I've been using Strava a lot lately when out on my bike. What other apps do you use?