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Ineos Grenadiers tease Tour de France bike and new colour scheme; ULTIMATE TdF team reveal in a time of pandemic …goes viral; Trump 'will never ride a bike’; Before and after bike lane road transformations; Groupama–FDJ boss in OTT victory dance + more

Welcome to Monday's live blog. Jack Sexty is your blogger-in-chief today, with Simon MacMichael taking over later this evening. ...
Mon, Aug 24, 2020 09:46
17
Ineos Grenadiers tease Tour de France bike and new colour scheme; ULTIMATE TdF team reveal in a time of pandemic …goes viral; Trump 'will never ride a bike’; Before and after bike lane road transformations; Groupama–FDJ boss in OTT victory dance + moreIneos Grenadiers bike Dylan van Baarle
24 August 2020, 19:41
Ineos Grenadier team bike teased, kit appears confirmed

It's been a month now since Team Ineos announced that as of this week they will change their name to the Ineos Grenadiers, in a PR move to support the forthcoming 4x4 vehicle from Jim Ratcliffe's giant petrochemicals group.

This evening the team teased a picture on Twitter of the new colourway on the bike Dylan van Baarle will be riding in the Tour de France, which starts in Nice on Saturday.

Navy blue is the colour it seems, together with a vertical red chevron, echoing the stylised 'A' in the vehicle's logo.

Renderings of the riders' Castelli kit have been doing the rounds for a while, again navy blue with that red chevron on the chest.

Ineos Kit

The initial image, it seems, came via Tour de France organisers ASO, and is now confirmed in the roadbook for the race, from which the (rather blurred, sorry) image below has been taken. 

Ineos Grenadier.PNG

The official reveal takes place on Wednesday.'

24 August 2020, 14:36
Unveiling your Tour de France team, pandemic style

Take it away Trek-Segafredo, who unmasked Bauke Mollema, Richie Porte, Mads Pedersen, Kenny Elissonde, Niklas Eg, Toms Skujins, Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns as their eight-man squad for the Tour de France. 

The team's Sports Director Kim Andersen outlined the team goals, saying: "The objective of our team is to go for the GC with Bauke Mollema and Richie Porte. But our other main goal is to win one or more stages. We will try to keep at least one of the captains up there for GC, and otherwise go full for stage wins.

"In the team we have some strong, fast guys like Jasper Stuyven, Mads Pedersen, and Edward Theuns. I think there will be many stages with breakaways, and we can try to put them in there. They will also be good to protect the leaders. In the second week, we can give a lot of freedom to the Classics riders.

"I have been to the Alps to see the final stages and I can see that it will be a really hard last week. I think that it will be a very difficult Tour de France because you need to be ready at the start of the Tour, as you already have mountains in the early stages, but also fresh enough for the tough final week. I like the parcours very much, I think we will have a lot of exciting bike racing."

24 August 2020, 14:33
How to behave in a car behind cyclists

Not that difficult, is it!?

24 August 2020, 14:15
Police appeal as cyclist was knocked off and "shouted at" by car passenger
norwich road - via google street view.PNG

Norfolk Police are appealing for witnesses following the incident in the village of Booton last Thursday, after "a car collided with a cyclist" shortly after 6pm on Norwich Road. It's said that prior to the incident, a female passenger of the car was shouting at the cyclist, a male in his 30s. 

Police want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the incident or could have dash cam footage, asking those with information to call 101. 

24 August 2020, 14:35
24 August 2020, 14:07
Connor Swift to make Tour de France debut with Arkea-Samsic

Arkea-Samsic have unveiled their TDF team, with the 24-year-old making the cut to assist Nairo Quintana in his quest for the yellow jersey. The squad also includes Nairo's younger brother Dayer, but there's no place for sprinter Nacer Bouhanni. 

24 August 2020, 13:52
"Road safety is everyone's responsibility": Police Superintendent Andy Cox reiterates calls for public to report traffic offences

Superintendent Cox seems to make this blog regularly nowadays for his pro-cycling views, often dipping in on Twitter to urge members of the public who share footage showing bad driving, assaults and more to report it to the police.

He's now asking Londoners to tell 10 others about the Met's road safety public reporting system for traffic offences, encouraging people who may think chances of prosecution are slim to come forward. He also reminded us of these unfortunate stats, asking drivers to be more considerate. 

24 August 2020, 13:23
Mathieu van der Poel wins Dutch Road Championships with monster 44km solo breakaway

The 25-year-old Alpecin–Fenix rider was in a different league to everyone else yesterday and here is the moment he got away from the peloton. There's also the part where he rode on a tiny strip of smooth tarmac next to the cobbled section to get some advantage over his rivals: "a strip thinner than his tyres", according to Wieler Revue. 

24 August 2020, 13:09
UCI confirm first Esports World Championships to be held on Zwift
uci esports championships promo pic - august 2020.PNG

The UCI's president David Lappartient said the virtual event, taking place between 8-9 December,will be "an exciting step forward for our sport during these challenging times."

There will be Men's Elite and Women's Elite categories, with the real-life 2020 UCI World Champions getting rainbow jerseys on their avatar for sanctioned esports events in 2021 (that's if the worlds do go ahead somehow). The UCI will allocate National Federations with participation quotas, to be announced soon, and automatic invitations will be sent by the UCI. They also say the aim is to represent all five main continents, with the same number of total entries for women as men.

Lappartient added: “It’s with great pleasure that we are able to confirm the dates and plans for the first UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. The year has certainly been a challenging one for all, but we are now back to enjoying racing and have a new UCI World Championships to look forward to at the end of 2020.

"Virtual races were hugely popular during the period that competitions ceased, and I truly believe in the potential of esports to help grow participation in our sport. This is a historic moment.”

24 August 2020, 12:36
24 August 2020, 11:34
Trump "will never be riding a bicycle" he confirms during campaign trail speech
donaldtrump-credit-notions-capital-flickr-creative-commmons

This might not come as a surprise, but the US President has confirmed that he won't be following in the pedal strokes of his 2020 rival for the White House Joe Biden (the latter was spotted out riding with friends two weeks ago), as he doesn't want to "get hurt" riding a bicycle. 

During the speech in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, Trump appeared to link a cycling accident suffered by US Secretary of State John Kerry in 2015 with the way he handled the signing of a nuclear deal with Iran, saying he "never got up and walked." 

Trump continued: “He (Kerry) rode his bicycle remember. He was in an accident. I promised at 73-years-old, I said I’ll never be riding a bicycle. He had the helmet, he had the names, the insignias all over. He had insignias like, you know... like he was a 20-year-old great cyclist from France.

"...so I promised I wouldn't do that. I might get hurt, but I'm not getting hurt riding a bicycle."

It's not the first time the president has referred to Kerry's bike accident; in simpler times when he was simply a 'White House-hopeful', Trump incorrectly stated that Kerry was in a bike race when he fell and broke his leg, saying: "He falls, breaks his leg. I don’t want him on a bicycle during nuclear negotiations.”

It all seems a little contradictory when we consider that Trump was the headline sponsor for a US bike race called the Tour de Trump back in 1989, that he believed could "rival the Tour de France" one day. He did also admit that the last time he rode a bicycle was when he was "7 or 8 years old", and it sounds like he probably hasn't got in the saddle since. Knock yourself out with the full archive clip below, and imagine a world where The Donald was simply organising one of our sport's biggest bicycle races, rather than holding arguably the most powerful position in world politics...

 

24 August 2020, 13:04
24 August 2020, 11:25
Remco Evenepoel will be able to leave hospital "this afternoon"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I’m coming home ❤️

A post shared by Remco Evenepoel (@remco.ev) on

The 20-year-old Belgian had a horror crash at the Tour of Lombardy last Saturday, and will reportedly finally be able to leave hospital today. Sporza claim he will be out this afternoon, while the man himself simply said he's "coming home" on his Instagram and Facebook accounts. 

24 August 2020, 09:27
Everyone needs to "take a deep breath" over new cycle lanes, says Labour MP
Brighton street closed to motor traffic (via YouTube)

There's been much debate in Brighton and Hove recently about the installation of new cycle lanes on busy roads to promote safer cycling around the city, with some claiming that the lanes are increasing congestion. Last week, B&H Buses of Brighton appeared to state as fact that heavy traffic in central Brighton was "due to the new cycle lane on the coast road", and Labour Councillor Peter Atkinson wrote in Brighton and Hove News that the lanes on Brighton's busy Old Shoreham Road "must go". 

Now, after claiming to have completed journeys in the area by bike, car, on foot and even by e-scooter, Labour MP for Hove and Portslade Peter Kyle has spoken out, urging people who are angry to "take a deep breath" over the new measures. 

He said: “I have seen with my own eyes people shouting at each other across a road, a driver in a rage bulldoze bollards on Hove seafront, and experienced a cyclist whizz past swearing at me and everyone else for not going fast enough when in fact he would have been breaking the speed limit had he been in a car.

“Please everyone, take a deep breath. Cyclists can’t wish away cars and drivers can’t wish away pedestrians, and none of us can stop the rise in popularity of new forms of getting around like e-scooters.

“Powerlessness is a horrible feeling. Right now there are a lot of people feeling utterly powerless and bewildered about who and how decisions about road use are being made.

“Having spent so much time in recent days travelling around, plus reading so many of your messages, I really do understand and share this feeling.”

These quotes are part of a lengthy essay Mr Kyle has written on the subject that was posted to his Facebook page over the weekend, which can be found here. 

24 August 2020, 09:56
Grunduro Wales postponed until 2021
grinduro wales promo pic.PNG

While at the start of the pandemic we were seeing events being postponed until later in 2020, it's now become apparent that even this won't be possible, with a number of events now postponing until next year. Grinduro Wales is the latest, with the organisers saying in a statement: 

"​The middle of October 2020 was due to be the date when the Grinduro express rocketed into mid-Wales and painted the landscape a vivid purple hue. We had hoped to bring the ultimate party:race ratio to the town of Machynlleth, but even though we kept our fingers crossed and made regular offerings to the trail gods, the Covid19 situation has conspired against us.

"As event organisers, we’ve got a huge responsibility to make sure all the competitors, local residents and event staff remain safe, but we also need to make sure the spirit of Grinduro continues with an event that is fun and everyone has a great time.

"With current UK Covid19 guidelines we just don't feel we can offer the Grinduro experience we pride ourselves on - we are an event about bringing riders together not distancing them. For this reason, we’ve taken the difficult decision to postpone Grinduro Wales until 2021."

Anyone registered for 2020 will automatically have their entry carried over to the 2021 event, which will be held on 24th July. 

24 August 2020, 09:07
Bora-Hansgrohe sign 22-year-old Brit Matthew Walls

Road and track rider Walls - who won bronze in the Omnium at the 2020 World Championships - will get to ride with that man from Slovakia after signing with the German team. Bora have also signed 19-year-old Frederik Wandahl, with both penning three-year contracts. 

Sports director and Scout Christian Schrot commented: "Matthew completed British Cycling's talent development program on the track. We are confident that this foundation will enable him to cope well with the jump to the WorldTour. We will endeavour to bring him up to the necessary level in the next few years and build him up as a sprinter. With his speed, we believe that he possesses a strong basis for this.

"Frederik is a very young athlete, however, he possesses a lot of talent for various tasks. At the junior level, he showed himself to be a complete rider, whether in one-day or stage races."

24 August 2020, 08:32
Before and after vid show how bike lane has transformed a Toronto road

The clips from Michal Kapral (who in unrelated news holds the world record for the fastest marathon while juggling, or 'joggling', at 2 hours 50 mins) show the same journey taken before and after the cycle lane installation... and what a difference it makes. 

We should note that the video is sped up, but in the pre-bike lane footage Kapral is close passed at least twice, and it generally looks like quite an unpleasant experience with cars whizzing past. In the post-bike lane example, wands are installed to separate cyclists from traffic, and some locals have commented that they're now cycling on the road when they rarely, or never, would have previously. 

24 August 2020, 08:27
Marc Madiot's NSFW celebration as Demare wins French national champs is hilarious and terrifying all at once

Hilarious because it just is, and terrifying because if his star rider Thibaut Pinot does actually win the Tour de France, then there's a strong possibility Madiot could actually explode. If you want to see what set him off, here are the race highlights...

Jack Sexty

Jack has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of the website including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named Editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master's degree in print journalism and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it's a long story). 

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17 comments

Avatar
nortonp | 4 years ago
1 like

"Trump "will never be riding a bicycle" he confirms during campaign trail speech"

Good.

Avatar
Biggie Smells | 4 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for the Danforth video. It used to be my neighbourhood and now I want a gyros and some fresh baklava! 

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Nick T | 4 years ago
0 likes

Ineos riders spending the rest of the season looking like a shit Captain Atom

Avatar
eburtthebike | 4 years ago
3 likes

Look, I'm all for the odd cycle-related political comment, but I do draw the line at Trump.  Unless he gets run over by a bicycle.

Avatar
ktache replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
9 likes

I always thought this one was a good trump bicycle related thing.

Avatar
brooksby replied to ktache | 4 years ago
0 likes

That's always the first picture I think of when I hear 'Trump' and 'bicycle' 4

IIRC she lost her job over that little expression of freedom of - er - gesture...

Avatar
ktache replied to brooksby | 4 years ago
2 likes

But I believe there were offers of employment after.

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to ktache | 4 years ago
1 like

ktache wrote:

I always thought this one was a good trump bicycle related thing.

Yeah, ok, that one aside.

Avatar
handlebarcam | 4 years ago
3 likes

I hope Marc Madiot never gets Covid, because with his lung capacity he could be a super-spreader.

Reporting on Trump's comments regarding cycling is a bit like reporting that a sewage outflow pipe has burped out a big blob of effluent in the shape of a bicycle. It is meaningless.

Avatar
brooksby replied to handlebarcam | 4 years ago
1 like

handlebarcam wrote:

I hope Marc Madiot never gets Covid, because with his lung capacity he could be a super-spreader. Reporting on Trump's comments regarding cycling is a bit like reporting that a sewage outflow pipe has burped out a big blob of effluent in the shape of a bicycle. It is meaningless.

Not meaningless.  Viral Youtube and front page news on the Daily Star, I'd wager...

Erm.  So: yes, pretty much meaningless.

Avatar
kil0ran | 4 years ago
1 like

Madiot is one of my favourite DSs. It's all joy or despair with him. After Chavenel got taken out by Shimano Neutral Service a few years back he was incandescent with rage

https://www.velonews.com/news/road/neutral-service-cars-take-out-two-rid...

He reminds me of Herve Poncheral in motorbike racing (who won his first MotoGP yesterday)

Avatar
Liam Cahill replied to kil0ran | 4 years ago
0 likes

Can you even imagine the scenes if Pinot wins the Tour

Avatar
eburtthebike | 4 years ago
8 likes

“Powerlessness is a horrible feeling. Right now there are a lot of people feeling utterly powerless and bewildered about who and how decisions about road use are being made."

Peter Kyle is right, and that's exactly how I've felt for the past thirty odd years; powerless.  I was just trying to get councils to follow their own transport policies, but all we got were more roads, creating more motor trips, more danger and more pollution.  Isn't it funny  how your perspective changes when they stop doing what you want, Peter, and do something else?

Avatar
HarrogateSpa replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
3 likes

It's the usual rubbish - 'everyone is equally responsible for any problems, and we all just have to be nice and everything will be fine.'

The truth is that motorised vehicles have been given extraordinary priviledge and priority over decades, and we've developed a culture of 'might is right' on our roads.

It's past time to redress the balance, and reduce the carnage caused overwhelmingly by cars, vans and trucks.

Avatar
brooksby | 4 years ago
1 like

That Danforth Ave clip - in the 'before' - shows a ,lot of motorists who don't appear to be looking ahead of the end of their car's bonnet: even the ones who aren't (IMO) 'close-passing', are doing a lot of 'sudden swerving out'.

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TheBillder | 4 years ago
0 likes

Groupama FDJ had 17 of the 132 starters, so they did have numbers on their side a bit.

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Awavey replied to TheBillder | 4 years ago
0 likes

In terms of probabilities of winning yes just by sheer numbers of riders having a chance,but it's what kept bugging me on the Eurosport commentary during their coverage of races saying such and such team would bring a breakaway back or that the breakaway contained x many members of a team and thus had numerical team advantage,basically treating it like a normal race, but there are no teams in national championship races,each rider is supposed to ride to defend their own chances,that some of them wear the same kit with the same sponsers isnt supposed to impact how they ride it

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