Police forced to brake as close passing van driver leaves cyclist “no escape route”, but motorists claim there was “plenty of room”; Was epic Tour de France finale best race ever?; BBC warn Laura Kenny; Aussie cyclist defects to GB + more on the live blog

If you’re going to close pass a cyclist and force an oncoming driver to brake to avoid a collision – though we’d prefer it if you refrained from doing that at all – it’s probably best that you don’t do it while a police officer is driving in the opposite lane.

Over the weekend, Staffordshire Police’s roads policing unit tweeted the following picture of a van driver leaving a person on a bike very little room and with “no escape route”, just as they were approaching on the A460:

Talk about bang to rights.

“Travelling down the A460 between The Rugeley and Cannock when this van driver decided to conduct a close pass overtake of this cyclist,” the force said.

“Causing us to brake and leaving the cyclist no escape route. Driver stopped and reported for careless driving.”

The quick response prompted some (qualified) praise from cyclists on social media, with Richie writing: “Good that you took action. This is commonplace though in Staffs, largely because from experience no action is taken when video footage is submitted by cyclists. I don’t bother reporting any more as it’s proven to be a waste of time.”

“Sorry to hear that,” the unit responded. “We will always prosecute poor driving such as this if we see it.”

> Near Miss of the Day 915: Cyclist slams on brakes to avoid driver who ignored him and turned across... but says “no point in reporting” due to Police Scotland’s lack of online close pass portal

However, since this is Elon Musk’s deranged cesspit of dangerous opinions we’re talking about, there were also quite a few, ahem, interesting rebuttals from some blue check drivers.

“What are you driving, a house?” asked Alex. “There’s plenty of room for everyone by the looks of things.”

Probably best to look again, Alex.

“Utter crap,” added Harry, which remarkably wasn’t a preface for the following take on the close pass. “There is ample room between the van and the cyclist; also the van (if you go by their wing mirror) is only about 12-18 inches in your lane. Is your depth perception really that bad that you somehow can’t negotiate this? I always thought police drivers were trained...”

Fortunately, others weren’t as dismissive of the cyclist’s safety.

“Thanks for your action,” said Ant. “You can see from other comments just how challenging it is to cycle. Please keep prosecuting dangerous drivers, don’t send letters, waste of time.”

It was only a matter of time.

Wout van Aert has endured a rough few months since his classics campaign-ending crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen in March.

But after almost six months since his last win at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, and two consecutive podium places that put him in the Vuelta’s red jersey, Van Aert finally managed to raise his arms in the air (and flap them like a bird) in Castelo Branco, as the Visma-Lease a Bike all-rounder powered past Kaden Groves on the drag to the line for an impressive, redemptive win.

“ABSOLUTE CLASS!” 🔥

Wout van Aert gets his win as he takes Stage 3 at La Vuelta! 👏 pic.twitter.com/5Ve4xT2ISl

— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 19, 2024

At the end of another somewhat sleepy day at the Vuelta, Alpecin-Deceuninck took charge in the closing kilometres, hoping to see up Groves for his second win in as many days.

However, a perfectly timed Victor Campenaerts attack on a slight rise in the final two kilometres put the cat among the Alpecin pigeons – the Belgian may have been brought back under the flamme rouge, but Grove’s lead-out resources were suddenly depleted in the chase.

And it was Van Aert who took full advantage, bursting away on the steady drag to the finish, and gently closing the door on an indecisive and slightly boxed-in Groves in the process, to secure the tenth grand tour stage win of his career, and in the red jersey to boot.

And after six months of frustration, recovery, and near misses, the Belgian superstar will certainly be relieved to chalk a Vuelta victory off the list before he hands over the leader’s jersey in the mountains tomorrow.

More post-Olympics chatter this morning, and a bit of a weird one at that too, as the Telegraph has reported that Dame Laura Kenny was “spoken to” by the BBC for appearing to promote luxury brands that she wore while working as a pundit during the broadcaster’s coverage of the Paris Games.

Britain’s most successful female Olympian, Kenny announced her retirement from racing in March and enjoyed a successful punditry stint in Paris, earning widespread plaudits for her in-depth analysis and refreshing, positive take on the sport.

Kenny interviews her apparently hilarious husband Jason for the BBC in the track centre in Paris (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

However, the big bosses at the Beeb have apparently had a word with Kenny after she mentioned a number of fashion brands in social media posts during the Games, and appeared on air wearing a £2,000 watch by Breitling, a brand she currently represents as an ambassador.

Kenny also posted several photos of herself which tagged fashion brand Reiss, although apparently she has no formal or commercial links with the company.

According to the Telegraph, the BBC has reminded the five-time Olympic gold medallist of its rules around promoting products on air, with Kenny removing the brands from her social media posts.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dame Laura Kenny (@laurakenny31)

“No on-air talent should promote products, goods, services or clothing they use on air,” the BBC rules state.

“On-air talent, in any genre, engaged by the BBC must not accept clothing or products free, or at considerably reduced cost, in exchange for wearing or using them on air. Nor should they appear on air wearing clothes or using products, goods or services which they have agreed, or been contracted, to promote or in which they have any financial interest.”

Though I wonder what the Beeb will say when Kenny rocks up to her next punditry gig with a few fajita kits under her arm…

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dame Laura Kenny (@laurakenny31)

‘That sprint was a bit spicy, just like my limited edition Team GB Old El Paso Smoky BBQ packs…’

Flawless, Laura, flawless.

On Friday night, the Isle of Man’s most famous sporting son made a glorious return, as part of a homecoming party to celebrate his record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win.

Accompanied by around 100 children on bikes, Mark Cavendish rode a few celebratory laps of the raceway at the island’s National Sports Centre in Douglas, where the Manx Missile first started racing himself as a child, and which is set to be named in his honour next year.

“To have the kids riding with me was really special. I remember how I’d have felt to ride with a professional, so that was really, really nice to do that,” Cav told ITV at the event, which was originally scheduled for Thursday but pushed back due to the typically inclement Manx weather.

“It was beautiful, it was really nice, a wall of noise the whole way round the race circuit and it makes me proud that I get to call this home,” the 39-year-old added on the BBC.

Cavendish also described the decision to name the track after him as “special” and “an honour”.

“Not just myself but so many bike riders over the years long before I rode here have used this as a training ground, as a platform to start what they do,” he said.

“And to be able to know it’s not just the place that I started but the place where my name will continue, it’s pretty special and I’m massively honoured for that recognition.”

Before we move away from the Tour Femmes and onto the relaxed pace and late summer vibes of the Vuelta, let’s take a moment to applaud Yanina Kuskova, who finished 47th overall at her debut Tour de France – despite being the sole remaining member of her Tashkent City team for the final four stages, after all her teammates had pulled out before the end of Wednesday’s rainy stage to Liège.

That’s over half the race.

(A.S.O./Thomas Maheux)

And while there’s been plenty of criticism of Tashkent City’s presence at this year’s Tour, Uzbekistan’s national road race champion Kuskova more than held her own on the sport’s biggest stage – and the 22-year-old even finished higher on GC than any member of the WorldTour Roland and Human Powered Health outfits.

Fair play.

And luckily for Kuskova, she survived the fate of Bjarne Riis, who was the last rider left standing in his Lucas team at the 1987 Vuelta a España, ploughing on for several stages alone – until finally he was forced to pull out with illness, something the big Dane later alleged in his autobiography was down to his own team staff poisoning him, so they could pack up and go home.

Yep, apparently there was another grand tour on yesterday – who knew?

And while we were all being treated to the closest Tour de France finish of all time, the Vuelta a España peloton was enjoying a nice slow Sunday spin through Portugal, followed by a typically frenetic final few kilometres – and a bad crash for Josh Tarling and Max Poole – which saw Kaden Groves start where he left off at last year’s Vuelta by winning the tough uphill sprint in Ourém.

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Meanwhile, after adding to his by now bulging collection of second places, Wout van Aert is in red for today’s final full day in Portugal, which sees the peloton face a lumpy enough course to Castelo Branco, where Groves will be hoping to make it two from two at the Vuelta’s admittedly very limited array of bunch kicks this year.

(And in doing so, defy the expectations of one unnamed live blog commenter, who last week reckoned the Aussie sprinter’s chances wouldn’t match his tally of three wins from last year, thanks to the limited opportunities on offer throughout the 2024 route. The lesson here is to never underestimate the Vuelta’s ability to loosely define the word ‘hilly’…)

It may be transfer announcement season on the road (Wout Poels to Astana being the latest move for you contract watchers), but this morning’s news of Olympic-themed switching took us by surprise, I’ll admit.

One of the best track sprinters in the world, Matt Richardson, has confirmed this morning that he will be joining the Great Britain Cycling Team from next month, after his application to switch nationality from Australia was accepted by the UCI.

Born in Maidstone, Kent, Richardson moved with his family to Western Australia when he was nine, maintaining dual citizenship in the process.

Since beginning to compete for Australia as a junior, Richardson has gone on to establish himself as one of the fastest men in the world, winning a world title in the team sprint in 2022, along with two Commonwealth golds that same year, before winning silver in both the sprint and the keirin, along with a bronze in the team sprint, at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

However, despite his success in the green and gold, the 25-year-old believes the time is now right for him to move back to the UK permanently, and join up with Jason Kenny’s sprint team in Manchester.

(Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)

“I have made the decision to pack up my entire life and move halfway across the world to begin the next chapter in my cycling career. It is with a sense of excitement and renewal I announce I have joined the Great British Cycling Team,” Richardson said in a statement today.

“Switching nationality was a difficult decision, and not one I took lightly. It was a personal choice, made after careful consideration of my career and future. I deeply respect Australia and the Aus Cycling Team and it will always be a part of who I am. As this new chapter in my life begins, I would like to sincerely thank the coaches and support staff who have worked with me over many years in Australia. 

“But this decision is about following my passion and pushing myself to new heights. This isn’t about leaving something behind, but about embracing a new chapter in my journey and chasing a dream, a dream that is to race for the county which I was born in.”

According to the UCI’s regulations, Richardson’s move means he will be forced to sit out this year’s world track championships and the 2025 European champs, but is free to represent Team GB immediately at all other events.

Things are already starting to look interesting for 2028…

I think it’s pretty clear that yesterday’s Tour de France stage to Alpe d’Huez will go down as one of the most memorable, exciting, and iconic cycling has ever seen.

It’s just a pity we only got to see half of it, then.

In a theme that’s becoming all too familiar for fans of women’s cycling, even in this golden age of both racing and exposure, the live TV coverage of yesterday’s decisive, exhilarating stage only began halfway through, as the riders were already tackling the HC-rated Col du Glandon, and the first moves in the high-altitude chess had already begun.

 (A.S.O./Thomas Maheux)

The long, agonising wait for the live pictures to reach our screens – don’t worry, we were still being treated to the glorious spectacle of watching paint dry and grass grow at the Vuelta – called to mind the revamped Tour Femmes’ inaugural 2022 edition, when Annemiek van Vleuten blew the field to shreds on the Petit Ballon, the first of the penultimate stage’s three mammoth climbs… and we didn’t get to see any of it.

And while Demi Vollering at least waited for the television cameras to start rolling before launching her attack through the fog on the Glandon, it’s clear that cycling fans were not happy at the mid-2000s approach to live women’s racing on the telly.

“It’s criminal not to have full coverage of the queen stage of the biggest race in women’s cycling in 2024,” wrote the Tratnikismo account on Twitter, while watching archive footage of the men racing up Alpe d’Huez as the broadcasts got underway.

“I did think it was odd the final two stages were not from flag to flag... even on a weekend too,” said Rob.

> The Tour de France Femmes’ Long and Winding Road: A brief history of the women’s Tour de France

“No disrespect for the Vuelta, but why is there TV coverage of a peloton cruising slowly on a lovely Sunday ride, while we still have to wait another 30 minutes for the Tour de France Femmes?” asked Sebastian. “The queen stage, Alpe d’Huez, Col du Glandon, SD Worx sending four riders into the attack. So annoying.”

“To not have full coverage of stage 8 is genuinely a disgrace. I would rather watch the break formation of this stage than the Pologne final,” added Kristoffer, who apparently isn’t a massive fan of the Tour of Poland.

Meanwhile, Eurosport commentator José Been put it all in perspective: “The fact this is causing an outrage (and rightly so) shows how far we have come in women’s cycling.”

Good point. Now we just need proper coverage of the big stages at least and we’re sorted.