Police slammed for “victim blaming” post telling cyclists “road users can’t look out for you if you are in dark clothing”; Was Tour of Britain finish the most bizarre sprint ever?; Czech footballer out of Euro 2024 after bike crash + more on the live blog

Thames Valley Police may be getting a lot of flak for their approach to road and cycle safety advice lately, but it’s reassuring to know that not all guidance for cyclists and drivers centres on hi-vis and questionable overtaking manoeuvres.

This afternoon, the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership – which, if we’re honest, doesn’t have a completely spotless record on this particular subject – shared a press release calling on “both cyclists and drivers to check their knowledge of the Highway Code to ensure they understand their responsibilities to share the road safely”.

“There are many good drivers and experienced cyclists in Warwickshire who know and follow the Highway Code and we’d like everyone to follow their example,” Inspector Si Paull of Warwickshire Police said.

“Good drivers are patient and wait behind a cyclist until it is safe to pass them. But we also receive reports from cyclists of drivers putting cyclists’ lives at risk by squeezing past when it is not safe to do so.  This is not acceptable.

“Drivers should wait until the road is clear, there are no obstructions, and it is safe to pass and allow at least 1.5metres when overtaking a cyclist at speeds of up to 30mph, and more space at higher speeds.

“Knowing the 2022 updates to the Highway Code is really important so that all road users understand that they must consider each other and do what they can to safely share the space on the roads.”

> Road safety group draws ire after advising cyclists to “stop and allow drivers to overtake”

The guidance for drivers issued by the partnership, which brings together agencies involved in road safety in Warwickshire, includes leaving at least 1.5m space for cyclists while overtaking, giving priority to cyclists at roundabouts, staying behind cyclists approaching junctions, not cutting across those using cycle lanes, and using the Dutch Reach when opening car doors.

On top of that advice, the partnership says Operation Close Pass exercises will be carried out by plain clothes officers riding bikes over the summer to “help educate drivers how to safely overtake cyclists”.

“Any vehicles failing to leave an appropriate safety margin as they pass will be stopped and offered roadside education to explain the importance of allowing plenty of space when passing cyclists.  However, in the most serious cases, drivers could be prosecuted for careless driving,” the partnership said.

> “One tweet cannot always explain the complex rules of the Highway Code”: Road safety group responds to criticism of “motor-centric” post advising cyclists to “stop and allow drivers to overtake”

Along with the advice for drivers, cyclists are also advised to adhere to the Highway Code’s guidance for safe cycling, including on road positioning and behaviour around pedestrians and horse riders, while Warwickshire’s take on hi-vis is somewhat more balanced than their Thames Valley counterparts.

“Cyclists riding two abreast can be a subject of heated debate, but the updated Highway Code advises that cyclists may ride two abreast as long as they are considerate of other road users,” the partnership said.

“Although wearing a helmet isn’t a legal requirement, there are safety benefits to wearing one. You may also want to consider wearing bright clothing, and reflective goods as this can make a huge difference to your visibility especially when cycling at night or in the winter months. And remember it is a legal requirement to use cycle lights and reflectors between sunset and sunrise.

“The public can help improve road safety in Warwickshire by reporting and submitting digital footage showing potential moving traffic offences to Warwickshire Police via Operation Snap. This can range from driving dangerously or carelessly to overtaking on solid white lines, using a mobile phone while driving, ignoring traffic lights or dangerous driving around other road users, such as horse riders and cyclists.”

Now, Thames Valley, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?

He’s been knocking on the door for over a decade now, and finally took his first WorldTour win at last year’s Tour Down Under, but Bryan Coquard finally landed a big one today at the Tour de Suisse, launching early and capitalising on a dropped chain for Arnaud De Lie to win the stage two sprint in Regensdorf.

At the end of a lumpy 177km, a trademark late Alberto Bettiol was foiled just outside the final kilometre – shortly after Ethan Hayter’s chances were scuppered by a crash – as Lotto Dstny finally took charge of a chaotic finish for their young in-form fast man De Lie.

WHAT A STEAL 🤯

Bryan Coquard shocks sprinters to take the victory on Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse 🚀#cycling #roadcycling #sprintfinish pic.twitter.com/4N7INuxhkL

— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 10, 2024

The canny Coquard, however, interjected himself within the Lotto train, and accelerated hard out of the final corner with 250m to go, just as De Lie’s chain deserted him at the worst possible moment.

With the 22-year-old – who still managed to sprint for third despite the mechanical mishap – briefly delayed, Coquard was gone, the 32-year-old Cofidis veteran holding off Michael Matthews for a popular, and long, long-awaited, win.

And with the Tour de France – a race at which Coquard has established himself as a nearly man with a string of top ten placings and no victories – just weeks away, I could think of worse times to ditch your bridesmaid reputation in the sprints…

The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against the decision not to sanction Lizzy Banks, the British pro cyclist who announced her retirement last month after spending much of the previous year fighting a doping charge, following a positive test for chlortalidone and formoterol.

Former EF Education–Tibco–SVB rider and double Giro d’Italia stage wnner Banks was notified last July by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) of an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for formoterol, a medication she says she was using for asthma for four years and which “was detected at a concentration in line with how I have been prescribed it”, and chlortalidone, a diuretic, which was “detected at a low concentration indicative of contamination”. The 33-year-old faced a two-year ban for the positive test.

(Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

However, after fighting the case for nine months, and spending £40,000 of her own money, UKAD found in March that Banks held “no fault or negligence” for the chlortalidone and formoterol found in her system, and in what the rider described as “a landmark case”, accepted this explanation without her having identified the source of the contamination.

But now WADA says it has launched an appeal against UKAD’ decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

> Pro cyclist Lizzy Banks' life "torn apart for nothing" after being found of "no fault or negligence" for positive doping test, but only after nine months "living my worst nightmare" and €40,000 spent

Responding to the appeal, Banks – whose two professional victories both came at the Giro, in 2019 and 2020 respectively, while riding for the Bigla team – wrote on X: “WADA have appealed. I don’t know the basis for their appeal, they haven’t stated one. They maintain that I should have a two-year ban and that my results should be taken away. It is both deeply disappointing yet at the same time remarkably unsurprising.

“Whilst scientists, doctors, athletes, lawyers, and so many others have read and critically assessed my article and references and engaged in meaningful discussion about the limitations of the current anti-doping rules, WADA’s response is typical of their approach. That is to say, they bury their heads in the sand and carry on regardless.

WADA have appealed. I don't know the basis for their appeal, they haven't stated one. They maintain that I should have a 2 year ban & that my results should be taken away. It is both deeply disappointing yet at the same time remarkably unsurprising. 1/5https://t.co/3kaV1vD1y3 pic.twitter.com/UyOd29a3Jj

— Lizzy Banks (@ElizzyBanks) June 7, 2024

“I found out on Wednesday and spent a couple of days feeling very fed up and sad. Today I have turned the corner. I am now even more determined than ever to make sure that this system that is so rigorously stacked against athletes is righted and that meaningful change will come as a result of this battle.

“What’s next? The case will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. I’m told this process may take months.”

For being one of the most ruthlessly dominant teams cycling has ever seen, SD Worx sure are prone to snatching defeat, often comically, from the jaws of victory.

At the Amstel Gold Race in April, the team’s ace Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes – who knows a thing or two about winning bike races – threw away a golden, ahem, opportunity to add her home classic to her palmares, as she inexplicably began to celebrate metres from the line, seemingly comfortable in the knowledge she had vanquished her competitors with her trademark finishing speed.

Wiebes’ prolonged showboating display, however, offered that canny old fox Marianne Vos the opportunity to sneak up the barriers and time her throw to the line to perfection, securing her second Amstel Gold win and confining Wiebes to our list of infamous premature cycling celebrations.

> "Steals it on the line!": Lorena Wiebes left red-faced as early celebration lets Marianne Vos snatch Amstel Gold Race win

After that Amstel Gold debacle, you’d think SD Worx would have learnt their lesson? Well, think again.

Fast forward two months, and the Dutch team were busy spending a long weekend across the Channel dominating the first edition of the revamped Tour of Britain Women.

Heading into the final, miserably wet 99km stage around Manchester, finishing in Leigh (the home of the reigning Women’s FA Cup winners, I’ll add), SD Worx had thoroughly SD Worx’ed the revived tour, world champion Lotte Kopecky taking the first two stages in Wales – and control of the GC race in the process – before Wiebes beat Charlotte Kool in Warrington to secure the 83rd victory of her career.

But this being SD Worx, they saved their best Jekyll and Hyde impression ‘til the last.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Despite the best efforts of the Great Britain team – as first Lizzie Deignan and then Anna Henderson (who ultimately secured second place overall) attacked relentlessly through the rain on the tough, punchy course around Greater Manchester – and DSM working for Pfeiffer Georgi to break things up, a 25-strong group approached the twisting, turning finish in Leigh with SD Worx firmly in control.

So much so, in fact, the Dutch squad attempted to tee up the victory for their soon-to-be-retiring Luxembourg champion Christine Majerus.

And that’s when things got weird.

This is how it all unfolded on the final day 🤯#TourOfBritain pic.twitter.com/yZhab8z2sR

— Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain (@TourofBritain) June 9, 2024

Leading out from the front in a bid to repay her teammates, Kopecky instead inadvertently opened up a clear gap to them around the final tricky corner, a mishap the world champion noticed with just over 100m to go.

So, in one of the more bizarre scenes you’ll ever witness on a finishing straight, rather than opt for win number three of the weekend, Kopecky just sat up and freewheeled with the line in sight, urging Majerus through for the win.

Which the 37-year-old appeared to have achieved, at least for a moment, Majerus raising her arm in the air metres from the line to celebrate what she believed was an SD Worx Tour of Britain clean sweep.

But the Dutch team didn’t take into account Australian champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon, who broke through the middle and lunged for the line – and, in the end, comfortably beat SD Worx’s showboating trio for her first ever win in Europe.

Oops.

Roseman-Gannon’s surprise victory not only left a splattering of Premier Inn egg on SD Worx’s face, but also provided a more than welcome consolation for her Liv AlUla Jayco team after Letizia Paternoster’s podium place was dashed by the most ill-timed of punctures with 4km to go.

“I just can’t believe it – the plan today was to really race aggressively and take some seconds back,” the 25-year-old Australian said at the finish. “We had a really good team ride and they were actually smashing that first climb. I was actually struggling and then there was full commitment into the next climb and some selections made.

“We really wanted to get Letizia out there, but unfortunately she got a puncture so it didn't go to plan. I asked whether I should go back, they said no and to focus on the finish. I still can’t believe I have won that. It’s my first European win and I’m still in shock.”

If Roseman-Gannon couldn’t believe her luck, neither could SD Worx.

 (Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

“We made the choice to go for Christine in the sprint, and we did it perfectly until the last gap around the corner,” Kopecky – who added the Tour of Britain to her Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix titles for 2024, of course – said after the stage.

“It was too big for me so I was not going to take the win as I saw Christine going. We made this deal that she is going to win today but maybe it was a stupid mistake. I still, however, would have done the same. It could have been a nice ending for Christine, but we finished well as a team.

“Ruby is a good rider so it was nice for her but I am happy that Christine got the bonus seconds to get third so it is nice. Maybe it is a little funny and it is what it is and I’m not disappointed.”

> Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory — when cycling celebrations go wrong

Majerus, meanwhile (who as Kopecky noted, moved up to third overall thanks to the bonus seconds accrued despite her premature celebration), was also able to see the funny side of things.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

“It’s OK, you can laugh,” she wrote on Instagram last night.

“My mistake for being happy too early and congrats to Ruby for believing in it until the line. Thanks teamies for giving me my chance today, you know I am sorry for messing it up. But not all is bad today because Lotte won the Tour of Britain and I was able to move up in GC and join her on the GC podium in third position, which I am more than happy with.”

So, even when they mess things up spectacularly, SD Worx still end up with three out of four stage wins, the overall victory, and two riders on the podium. Not too bad, eh?

Just a few weeks after one probable fantasy merchant claimed he’d snagged a Team Sky Pinarello after a crash at the Tour de France (hey, we’re not even allowed to take photos of their bikes, never mind walking off with one during the biggest race of the year), Fesshole – the popular Twitter account posting its followers’ anonymous confessions – has ventured back onto cycling turf this weekend with another dubious cracker, this time from a ‘club cyclist’:

My local cycling group has transformed from a nice relaxing chat down the pub into a militant, anti-car organisation. Most of it is now spent reviewing camera footage to send to the police instead of getting pissed. I want to leave but then I'll need to find a new pub

— Fesshole 🧻 (@fesshole) June 7, 2024

While some claimed to know the ‘fesser’s identity (“Is that a J. Vine?” being one of the most popular, and predictable, responses), others were quick to point out the holes in this airtight narrative of what a real cycling club gets up to.

“Militant anti car organisation”

Tell me you’ve never been a member of a cycling club, without saying you’ve never been a member of a cycling club.

— Phil Conway (@phil_conway) June 8, 2024

“I know most of these are made up, but this is clearly made-up bollocks by somebody imagining what a ‘militant cycling group’ would be like,” wrote one Twitter user. “Even they wouldn't be reviewing camera footage down the pub.”

“This is bollocks. 99 per cent of cyclists just what to ride around, follow the rules, have fun, stay alive, and have a coffee in the middle,” added Shawn. “They don’t want to spend their time sending watching boring videos.”

> Viral internet confessor claims to have taken Team Sky Pinarello home after Tour de France crash

“You’re speaking out yer hoop,” said Hantsman, continuing the diplomatic theme in the replies. “Cyclists go for bike rides, coffee, and cake. If they are reviewing any footage together it’s awesome fast descents or reviews of new bikes.

“This fess is clearly a cabbie waiting out his six points for using WhatsApp at the lights.”

Cyclist or Cabbie? Now there’s a gameshow format that could take off…

> Banning cyclists and pedestrians from Britain’s “most expensive street” slammed “a selfish and spiteful act” by Labour candidate standing for election in the area

The Paris-Roubaix spectator who caused outrage by throwing a cap at Mathieu van der Poel’s bike as the world champion charged across the cobbles on his way to victory at the Hell of the North has been offered a deal to avoid prosecution.

Following a complaint by the French cycling union UNCP the woman faces a charge of ‘intentional assault and battery’, something it has now been reported that she will not be prosecuted for if she accepts a deal that has been offered, which includes volunteering with Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix and being part of a safety campaign designed to educate fans about roadside behaviour during races.

Read more: > Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw cap at Mathieu van der Poel offered deal to avoid prosecution, must participate in rider safety campaign

SD Worx - a history of posting up#TourofBritain pic.twitter.com/b43D6JfvhG

— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) June 9, 2024

Well, I suppose they win so much, they can afford to throw a few shockers away…