Schrödhangar's paradox: "Unnecessary" bike hangars "not used" by cyclists irk residents when they're being used; How to get around bike sheds being "detrimental to Victorian homes"; New Tour de France kits; Boris bike in Brighton + more on the live blog

That's a new one for the anti-cycling bingo! We have had residents concerned by "giant and ugly" bike hangars, even naming them a "green measles", we have had them accused for "deliberately blocking" drivers' precious parking spaces.

This time, we have residents who think they are unnecessary because they are never in use, complain about how much they are annoyed when they are being used.

Inslington Tribune reports that residents from a "small picturesque" street in Highbury are saying that they have too many bike hangars for demand, calling them "unsightly and unnecessary" if they are not being used.

“We want that hangar gone for starters,” said resident Val Hammond, about one of the facilities which they claim is permanently empty. “We want proper numbers because our research absolutely does not match up with the council’s.”

At the same time, a man with a mobility scooter was reported to be saying that he has to wait to get out of his home whenever someone is using the hangar.

So are the hangars being used, or not being used? Does anyone want to open and see? Or should we let the mystery of Schrödhanger remain a mystery?

Ciccone at Trek-Segafredo for the next four years! No one tell him about that new kit though!

Ciccone has been a part of the Trek team since 2019, announcing himself to the world stage with a memorable stage win at the Giro d’Italia and a stint in the coveted Maillot Jaune at his first Tour de France.

The Italian has had a pretty consistent season this year, and was one of the favourites for a stage win at the Giro d'Italia. However, he became one of the first riders to fall prey to Covid, which would later go on and cause a rampage in the peloton later, and had to withdraw even before he could show up at his home Grand Tour.

However, he's recovered and put in a good performance at the Critérium du Dauphiné, even securing victory in the final stage as he sets his sights on the Tour de France next month.

Ciccone said: "The desire to extend my contract until 2027 is not just a professional choice, but a life choice. I have decided to spend the best years of my career with this Team, this group, this family. My relationship with Trek will extend to nine years and I couldn’t be happier."

"The new sports project we’re approaching is an opportunity for me and the team to confirm our common desire to pursue new and important goals. We are both ambitious and eager to show our value, to grow further. I'm super excited about it."

"In the end, let me say thanks. To Trek, which from day one has allowed me to be myself in and out of racing. To the management, to all the staff, to my teammates. And last but of course not least, to Luca Guercilena, the person who always had the right words for me and never, ever stopped believing in me."

Trek's general manager Luca Guercilena said: "We believed in Giulio from the very first moment. He is a pure talent, his extravagant approach to cycling makes him a unique character in the sport. He has competition in his DNA, he loves winning, and whatever the race, he puts on a show.

"Giulio is a fascinating rider, a bit old-fashioned, and that is why we want to hold on to him. Now, the time for maturity has come. Together, we have set big goals for the future. We will do whatever it takes to give him the best support and to see him bring out all his talent."

Now the question is, with no outright GC leader in Trek, will Ciccone, a brilliant sprinter (he outsprinted Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel at the top of Vallter 2000 at this year's Volta a Catalunya) and a prolific climber, will he become the man to lead Trek's GC charge or go stage hunting?

At least at the Giro d'Italia in May, he was supposed to take on the former duties. At 28 years of age, Ciccone is definitely going to be spending the prime of his career with Trek, but is the weight of winning a GC hampering his chances of winning stages and hilly classics? I'm not sure, but there could be an argument to be made...

AG2R Citroën's Felix Gall should sleep happy tonight.

The 25-year-old Austrian has just won the first WorldTour stage of his life, soloing to the top of Leukerbad in Valais, Switzerland and fending off world champion Remco Evenepoel by more than a minute, and yesterday's stage winner and the current GC leader Mattias Skjelmose of Trek-Segafredo.

A big day in the pro career of Felix Gall! 🇦🇹

A first pro win on Stage 4 of the Tour of Switzerland 🏆 and he takes the GC lead from Mattias Skjelmose by two seconds 🟨

Remco Evenepoel in third after a strong finish to the stage 💪#TourdeSuisse2023 | @AG2RCITROENTEAM pic.twitter.com/W7j9m2Zqyj

— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 14, 2023

Speaking after the victory, Gall said: "I'm a little bit overwhelmed with the situation. I still don't know what to think, I still cannot really believe it. The first professional victory at the Tour de Suisse and also now the leader's jersey... I didn't think it would be possible."

The stage 4 win takes Gall to the top of general classification at the Tour de Suisse, but only 2 seconds ahead of Skjelmose and 16 seconds ahead of Soudal Quick-Step's Evenepoel.

In other classifications, Jumbo Visma's Wout van Aert stays in control of the points jersey, with Gall behind, while the Dane himself is leading the Youth classification too.

Funnily enough, the top three of the GC currently is the same as the top 3 of the the Youth classification. With 19-year-old Lenny Martinez also taking his first stage win at Mont Ventoux yesterday, these young crop of riders continue to amaze me with their sheer determination and capabilities (it does also make me feel old and not good enough, but maybe the blog isn't the place to talk about this...)

Huge ride from @EvenepoelRemco to take second on this tough #TourdeSuisse2023 stage 👊 pic.twitter.com/U563ImCRcL

— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) June 14, 2023

The 23-year-old Evenepoel, meanwhile, is making a return to pro cycling after his brush with Covid at the Giro d'Italia from which he was forced to withdraw while wearing the pink jersey. Evenepoel seemed to struggle to regain yesterday, and even in the early parts of today's stage 4, however, he came alive in the closing phase, finishing strongly.

It wasn't enough to get him the victory, but it still keeps his chances of winning the Tour well and kicking. But the Danish Skjelmose will also be looking to regain his lead in tomorrow's stage, which features some tall climbs with steep gradients and finishing on a descent.

And according to Skjelmose, today's loss of the yellow jersey was more or less strategic, and the stage played out nicely for Trek-Segafredo's plans. The 22-year-old had told Danish TV right after the stage that the plan was to lose the jersey to anyone but Evenepoel, and preferably to Gall since he was confident that he can take a lot of time on Gall on the upcoming TT.

Well, mind games and strategies galore! Surely seems to be unfolding into a rather gripping second half to the Tour.

There's been quite a few mixed reactions to Netflix's Tour de France documentary (wait a little while to hear our thoughts on road.cc's next podcast 👀), but it seems the 2018 yellow jersey enjoyed being in it.

James Gay-Rees, the founder and producer of Box to Box films, the production house behind Unchained as well as the Formula 1 docuseries Drive to Survive, came to Luke Rowe and G's podcast 'Watts Occurring' to share his process of making the show... and why wasn't Luke featured more.

Netflix's Tour de France: Unchained is the talk of cycling at the moment. We invited producer and founder of @BoxToBoxFilms James Gay-Rees on the latest pod to tell us all about making it - and ask why Luke didn't feature more 🤣🎥

Have you watched it? #TDFUnchained pic.twitter.com/FAiStGaPk9

— Watts Occurring (@Watts_Occurring) June 13, 2023

In the interview, Gay-Rees reveals that he wasn't a fan of the sport before his production decided to tackle last year's Tour and make a show out of it. "I was a bit like Tour de France, I don't get it, I don't understand it. It's too complicated," he said.

"I was a bit scared of it, to be honest with you. And I'm a massive sports fan," he continued. "It's been a real pleasure for me to get my head around it, because I really was a bit sceptical, not in the sense that I didn't think it would be a good spectacle, but I was just a bit like, I didn't get it. But I've been really pleasantly surprised by the whole thing."

What a shambles this whole thing has been...

First, parked cars, moving traffic including a large bus, and wayward spectators threatened the peloton's safety, then the next day was marked by protests and neutralisations, and finally the third day of the tour in the Iberian mountains was cancelled by the UCI after overnight negotiations with the pro cyclists' union CPA.

But the horror wasn't over yet (is it ever over?). On Monday, we reported that the "sexist" race organisers faced severe backlash after referring to pro riders as "girls" and "spoiled children" for cancelling the tour.

> “They think they’re on the Tour de France”: Backlash against “sexist” race organiser who called pro riders “girls” and “spoiled children” over cancellation due to safety fears

If your finale looks like this, with random vehicles everywhere, you're not worth organizing a race. What were they even thinking? The attitude of the organizers makes it clear: no single rider will participate if there comes a new edition without drastic changes. pic.twitter.com/VUvJOhXjdt

— BramDesmet (@BramDesmetKoers) June 11, 2023

The Cyclists' Alliance, made up of former and current female pro cyclists has released a scathing statement, condemning the organisation of the race and expressing their disappointment.

"After day one, we understood that the organiser assured teams that the safety situation would improve. This was not the case. Day two was equally unsafe. 

"Despite the concerns being expressed by riders and teams, the organisers were reluctant to cancel the race after the conclusion of day two. The procedure for evaluating the safety of the race was not clear. 

"Furthermore, responses to teams’ concerns during the race appeared, at times, dismissive and disingenuous.  The organisers have subsequently been reported in the French media as saying that the riders, teams, and the UCI are at fault.

"TCA expresses disappointment that these antiquated attitudes about rider safety and women’s sport still exist. In light of these events, we urge the UCI, national federations, UCI race organisers and UCI road cycling teams to renew their commitment to ensuring modern and safe working conditions for all UCI riders."

> Tour Féminin des Pyrénées stopped amidst rider safety issues

The TCA pointed out under the UCI regulations, ot is a standard expectation across all disciplines that "all traffic shall be stopped on the course as the race passes through". 

It said: "Professional female cyclists expect these conditions are standard and should not be expected to compromise on safety just to have the opportunity to race. Equal standards of safety for female athletes is the bare minimum.

"The race organisers for the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées boasted an impressive prize pot of €50,000 and live coverage on GCN.  It is evident that they failed to allocate money to ensure a safe race which complies with UCI objectives and regulations."

🤬 Caótico final, y etapa completa, en el Tour des Pyrénées con coches en marcha en los últimos kilómetros, gente en la calzada, autobuses parados...#EsenciaCiclista #TourPyrenees #CICTourFéminin pic.twitter.com/OOBWBgOyZC

— Esencia Ciclista (@EsenciaCiclista) June 9, 2023

The TCA also criticised the decision-making procedure and how it bestows power in the hands of the organisers, failing to acknowledge the "vested interest of the organiser in maintaining the status quo i.e. continuing the race and not spending money to make the race safer for riders".

The cyclists' representative body added: "We call upon the UCI to urgently reconsider these aspects of the protocol, in light of the events at the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées, in order to ensure greater independence, free from conflicts of interest, when difficult decisions around race safety need to be made.

"After the conclusion of the race on Sunday, we have seen riders speaking up to emphasise that they want to see races which prioritise safety first, then media exposure, and then prize money – in that order. 

"TCA expresses gratitude that no rider was severely injured, or worse, during the event, and hopes that the major stakeholders involved in women’s racing can all work together to ensure there is no repeat of events like this. For any riders with outstanding concerns relating to race safety, we invite you to connect by e-mail: info [at] cyclistsalliance.org."

"The right to life, and to safe working conditions is a universal human right."

> Strava Heatmap could allow identification of user addresses, say researchers

How much is too much to ask for? Apparently, a wee bike shed for a Clontarf couple in Dublin, Ireland. But fret not, a lovely chap has a "modest proposal" to get around the rules.

In a letter to the Irish Times, Dara Hogan reveals how to pull a sneaky one and stick it to the authorities and get yourself a nice, okay maybe not so nice but completely permissible bike storage space.

Sir, – There is a simple solution for the Clontarf couple who were refused permission for a bike shed in their front garden (“Bike shed in front garden ‘detrimental’ to Victorian home setting, planners rule”, News, June 13th).

Simply apply for planning permission for a driveway, cover the front garden in concrete, park a dilapidated old van in the driveway and store their bikes in it. – Yours, etc,

Wonderful world we live in, where bike sheds are detrimental to Victorian homes but a concrete driveway parked with oil-burning, smoke-spewing, old vans are not!