“Framing it as a battle is false equivalence”: Former cycling commissioner says BBC’s claim of ‘a war on our roads’ is “exhausting” and “troublesome”; “Enough zone 2, time to race”: Tadej Pogačar’s unbelievable numbers at UAE Tour + more on the live blog

> "They told me to 'get off the f***ing bike' and pulled out a hammer": Cyclists demand urgent police action after latest violent bikejackings at Regent's Park

Would it be safe to say that the BBC, having presumably reached its quota of traffic culture war stories in the UK, has now found fertile grounds just across the Channel?

Because the death of Paul Varry, the Parisian cyclist who was run over by a road rage SUV driver, seems to have launched a new “war on roads” in the city, according to the BBC, with “drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians trying to navigate the new balance of power”.

It’s true that the local authorities of the French capital, led by Mayor Anne Hidalgo, have done their due share in laying down improved cycling infrastructure and implementing policies that disincentivise motorists to drive in the city. However, the alleged murder of cyclist and active travel campaigner Varry, described as “sickening” and “unprecedented”, has shown the war, if there is one, is really lopsided in terms of power dynamics.

> “We have reached the bottom”: SUV driver charged with murder after cyclist’s road rage death leaves French cycling community “deeply shaken”

BBC’s latest coverage of the incident, through a written feature as well as a Radio 4 show titled ‘Road Wars: Cycling in Paris’, hosted by the foreign correspondent Anna Holligan who rose to fame for her ‘Bike Bureau’, a mobile broadcasting studio in a cargo bike in the Netherlands, has now come under scrutiny for insinuating the same.

The summary of the show reads: “On 15th Oct 2024, a 27-year-old cyclist was killed in a bike lane in Paris. His name was Paul Varry. He was run over by a car after an argument with a driver. What happened to Paul was extreme, but it resonated with many Parisians.

“For Paris is undergoing a cycling revolution. The city has created a vast network of bike lanes, introduced new restrictions for cars. The number of cyclists has soared. But there have also been conflicts, as cars, bikes and pedestrians try to navigate the new balance of power. So is Paris’s plan working? Is this transformation the future for other major cities? Anna Holligan goes to Paris to find out.”

> “Reasonably balanced or needlessly confrontational?” New BBC Panorama episode about low-traffic neighbourhoods raises concerns over stirring culture war

Former West Midlands cycling and walking commissioner Adam Tranter posted a screenshot of the BBC’s show, captioned: “The BBC’s claim of a “war on our roads” between cyclists & drivers is exhausting.

“Cyclists are vulnerable road users, and framing it as a battle is false equivalence.

“If it were a war, one side would have assault rifles & body armour - the other, people cycling: water pistols.”

He added: “To be clear, I don’t really have an issue with the programme, Anna Holligan is a great reporter and very clearly understands the issues that face people cycling. But the constant hyperbole and framing by editors is troublesome, for me.”

One person replied to the tweet saying: “That's nonsense. How many car drivers have been killed by a bike? The death toll is only on cyclists.”

road.cc reader Rendel Harris also commented: “Doesn't seem very promising for an unbiased programme, does it? As ever, substitute ‘a gay man’ or ‘a black man’ for ‘cyclist’ , would they even think for a second of saying ‘A black man was killed after an argument. What happened to him was extreme but it resonated with many Parisians’?”

> “No war between cyclists and drivers”, say road safety campaigners, as apologetic BBC backtracks after “inappropriately” describing camera cyclist as “vigilante”

The show itself tries to take a surface-level neutral and balanced approach at the overall situation in Paris, featuring both cyclists and active travel campaigners, but as we’ve seen so many times in the past — the counterpoints are provided by disgruntled shop owners who claim they are losing business because their customers cannot drive to the city centres, as well as a very agitated and persuasive member of a motorists’ lobby group, titled ‘Ligue de Défense des Conducteurs’, translating to Drivers’ Defence League.

This is far from the first time the BBC has tested the culture war territories, framing road safety as a cyclists versus drivers versus pedestrians situation. Recently, the public broadcaster was in hot waters for the Adrian Chiles Panorama show on e-bikes, leading to outrage from both cyclists as well as the industry.

In October, there was another instance of backlash, not much dissimilar to the current Paris one, with British road safety campaigners claiming there was “no war between cyclists and drivers”, as the BBC apologised for “inappropriately” describing a camera cyclist as a “vigilante”.

How many times are we going to see more of the same this year? Pogačar gets off his saddle, digs deep, passes everyone, and then sits back down and carries on to build a gap to all his pursuers on a climb like it’s nothing.

Well, that’s exactly what happened yesterday, as Lidl-Trek’s Giulio Ciccone, winner of the mountains jersey at the 2023 Tour de France, tried all he could but couldn’t reign in the Slovenian world champion as he went on to win the final stage of the UAE Tour with a 7.8km attack, and ultimately finished ahead of Ciccone in the general classification by 1:14.

 

 

 

 

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Here are the unbelievable power numbers he put up while doing so. At an approximate weight of 67 kilograms, calculate the VO2max numbers at your risk…