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Frustrated breakaway contenders miss out on Giro d'Italia stage win after bizarre finale; Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder slams "entitlement" of complaining drivers; "Bycles" is no more; Your stupid cycling moments; Hi-vis + more on the live blog

Ah it's finally Friday...the weekend is a glorious eight hours away...all that's left now is to survive Dan Alexander's final live blog of the week...good luck.....

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27 May 2022, 15:50
Lorena Wiebes wins opening stage of RideLondon Classique

Lorena Wiebes was the winner of the opening stage of the RideLondon Classique in Essex this afternoon. She beat world champion Elisa Balsamo and Emma Norsgaard to the line and takes the leader's jersey as a result. Tomorrow looks like another Essex sprint stage, before Sunday's central London circuit race. 

27 May 2022, 15:27
Agree?
27 May 2022, 15:10
Frustrated breakaway contenders miss out on Giro d'Italia stage win after bizarre finale

From contending for a Giro d'Italia stage win to riding face first off the course in a matter of seconds...

Reporting from the finish area, Bradley Wiggins said there had been a few angry words exchanged between the breakaway riders after this bizarre end to today's stage. Approaching the sharp final bend, eventual stage winner Koen Bouwman accelerated past Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's Mauro Schmid, narrowly avoiding his front wheel as they rounded the bend.

Giro stage 19 GCN/Eurosport

Schmid locked up, moving across into the path of Andrea Vendrame, who in turn dominoed towards Atilla Valter. The two unfortunate riders were sent straight towards a run off area, thankfully unbarriered, but were left extremely frustrated at having missed their chance. Schmid, Valter and Vendrame all crossed the line gesticulating their disgust...

This could be very interesting to keep an eye on...

In the GC group, once again, nothing changed...despite the attacking efforts of Richard Carapaz, Jai Hindley and Mikel Landa. Hindley and Carapaz are seperated by just three seconds ahead of tomorrow's final mountain stage...

27 May 2022, 16:45
What's all this then? road.cc goes riding in mysterious attire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by road.cc (@road.cc)

All shall be revealed next week! 

27 May 2022, 14:36
The content we've waited all week to see...
27 May 2022, 14:13
That didn't last long..."Bycles" warning is no more
No Bycles paint (Dougie Hay)

Shout out to road.cc reader Dougie for delivering the goods...

> "Did a car write this?": Bizarre anti-cycling paintwork warns 'no bycles' allowed

The bycles warning is no more..."the spelling bee champion is out to fix it" he reported live from the scene...

27 May 2022, 13:38
😬

Local knowledge suggests there's a pretty testing 8 per cent gradient before the sharp bend, which might make things a little safer... 

27 May 2022, 13:06
Ba Dum Tss

> Tyre Extinguishers target SUVs on home turf of the ‘Chelsea Tractor’ 

27 May 2022, 13:01
Richie Porte abandons Giro d'Italia — final Grand Tour ends with illness

Richie Porte's final Grand Tour has ended, with an illness seeing the Ineos Grenadiers pro dropping out the race with 80km to go on stage 19. Eurosport and GCN+ on-motorbike reporter Sir Bradley Wiggins said he had seen the Australian throwing up, and shouted "gastro" to him — suggesting a stomach problem.

27 May 2022, 12:49
Cycling UK unveils new long distance cycling route through Kent

Cycling UK has launched its fifth route: 145 miles (234km) through Kent starting in the village of Wye, near Ashford. The loop was launched on Kent Day, yesterday, as part of Cycling UK's EXPERIENCE project and the Queen's Jubilee celebrations.

The Cantii Way is designed to be "a perfect introduction to multi-day cycling and can be ridden in one go over three to four days as it passes through Canterbury, Whitstable, Folkestone, Dover and Dungeness."

Cantii Way Cycling UK

"Using a combination of quiet ways, country lanes, byways and bridleways the route is designed to be manageable by anyone of reasonable fitness on most types of bike. Making use of part of the North Downs Way Riders’ Route that Cycling UK launched in 2018 in collaboration with Kent Downs AONB, the Cantii Way takes riders deep into Kent’s rich history, vibrant modern culture and natural beauty," Cycling UK says.

27 May 2022, 12:38
Time for some more of your most stupid cycling moments

Kapelmuur nominated a friend with some extraordinary tales of cycling stupidity: "This reminds me of an accident prone chap I met on a ride a few years ago. One of his collisions with a parked car resulted in him crashing through the rear window and landing in the back seat.

"He also got his front wheel stuck in a cattle grid and was catapulted over the bars, I couldn't work out how that was possible. His best was setting up rollers in his living room,  riding off the end of them, sweeping a clock, ornaments and photos off the mantelpiece and wrecking the coffee table he landed on.

"He has survived though, I still see his name on Strava."

nosferatu1001: "Cycling along a new path I've not been down before, looked back for a second to shout about how good a path it was, look back to see a hidden collapsed bit of path down into the river right in front of me. About 3 feet across and too close to avoid. Just managed to hook the front wheel up and kept speed up so it made the other side. Bit of a bump but otherwise ok.... Timing was immense."

PRSboy added another second-hand tale: "Back on the 'stupid things on bikes' theme, a friend was in a group in a sportive, when a bloke decided he'd remove his gilet, pro style, whilst pedalling along at 40kmh. All was apparently going well until he got the garment stuck on the left brake hood as he packed it up..."

27 May 2022, 12:12
Alessandro De Marchi visits his hometown during Giro d'Italia stage 19
27 May 2022, 12:00
Cycling is weird

Left the original tweet in so you can see your stage 19 breakaway — KOM jersey holder Koen Bouwman has to be the heavy favourite if it goes the distance. Teammate, and yesterday's second place, Edoardo Affini is on the front powering the miles away...

The break has nine and a half minutes with 105km to go...looking good for Jumbo-Visma... 

27 May 2022, 10:14
Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder slams "entitlement" of drivers complaining about 20mph speed limits during Good Morning Britain debate

Co-founder of Stop Killing Cyclists Donnachadh McCarthy was on Good Morning Britain this morning to take part in a debate about 20mph speed limits, which was framed as: "Are 20mph cameras a war on drivers?"

On the ITV morning show, McCarthy was making the case for the cameras, while broadcaster Edward Adoo argued there is "no logic" to 20mph cameras being live in the early hours of the morning when "there is no-one around". 

The 'debate' came after a 20mph camera in Plymouth detected more than 23,500 speeding drivers before it was officially switched on — including 1,100 in the first 24 hours alone.

McCarthy said Adoo's claim the cameras should be switched off during quieter times was "the voice of entitlement".

"We're listening to the voice of entitlement," he said. "He talks about families. What about the family of kids who are being killed? The idea that we put the idea of a £100 fine against saving lives is shocking to me. At night time there will be nurses coming home from the night shift. There'll be parents going to work on the Good Morning show."

At this point the host interrupts to make the point..."But they'll be in cars. They won't be at risk of being hit, one would imagine"...erm, right...okay...because nobody in a car has ever hit another vehicle...

Showing the patience of a saint, McCarthy corrects: "Sorry, they could crash into another driver. This is actually safety for everybody. The idea that we have not enforced 20mph zones is a disgrace. Five times more people will be killed at 30 (mph) than 20 (mph). Why have the police not enforced it up to now? This is good news for families, good news for kids."

27 May 2022, 11:07
There's racing closer to home today too

It's not just the Giro today. The Women's WorldTour peloton are rolling through the Essex countryside on stage one of the RideLondon Classique. 100km to go until the stage finish in Maldon: British champ Pfeiffer Georgi, world champ Elisa Balsamo and Lotte Kopecky are just three of the names competing.  

There's another stage in Essex tomorrow, before the central London circuit race finale on Sunday...

27 May 2022, 10:56
road.cc at the Giro
Giro 2022 riders - credit Ryan Mallon

Live blog favourite Ryan is on his honeymoon so, naturally, has taken the lucky lady to watch the Giro d'Italia...no, really...

Here are some of his snaps from yesterday's stage finish in Treviso...

Giro 2022 Fiorenzo Magni pink jersey 1 - credit Ryan Mallon
Giro 2022 fans - credit Ryan Mallon
Giro 2022 1934 Bianchi - credit Ryan Mallon
Giro 2022 fans - credit Ryan Mallon
Giro 2022 finish - credit Ryan Mallon

 

27 May 2022, 10:53
"Peak irony"
27 May 2022, 09:42
"Most drivers wait until the bike is sold": Toronto motorist smashes into bike shop

Even in the supposed safety of a retail establishment it seems bicycles are not safe from harm...

Toronto-based Sweet Pete's at least tried to see the funny side (if you don't laugh you'll cry, and all that)...

If only Sweet Pete's was using the cycle shop lane then none of this would have happened...

27 May 2022, 08:51
"The entire story is lengthy, but riding into the back of a Vauxhall Viva and causing my love plums to explode would be a particular low point": We have a new clubhouse leader...

road.cc contributor Jo should have taken a horse to the shops...ask Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority if you have no idea what I'm talking about...

Brace yourselves for the most eye-watering reply I think I've ever put on the live blog...

On the funnier end of the scale...

Here on the live blog, you commenters have had your fair share...

Steve K said: "In the days when I thought it was ok to chuck banana skins into hedgerows, I tried to do exactly that with a good hard throw, whilst completely forgetting about Newton's Third Law, and only just managed to keep the bike upright."

Rendel Harris commented: "Most stupid moment on a bike: coming off the Col de Madone on a hire bike, having pompously drilled into Mrs H ad nauseam that they were a continental setup with the front brake on the left, leaning it into the first hairpin, overcooking it slightly and promptly forgetting myself, grabbing a handful of what I thought was front brake and going into a big sideways drift as the back wheel locked up. Managed to get it upright just in time for Mrs H to coast by on my inside, murmuring, 'Forgot, did we?'."

Keep 'em coming...

27 May 2022, 08:17
24 hours is a long time on Twitter...Peter McKinnon changes his tune

Yesterday, Peter McKinnon asked: "Question. Why do cyclists think they’re vehicles?" and got the educational response you'd expect...

By the evening he'd changed his tune...

27 May 2022, 07:44
"Miracle I'm still alive": Most stupid moment you've ever had on a bike?

Let the floodgates open...

Hmmm, the difficult thing for me is deciding which one counts as most stupid...

There was the busy commute unclipping fail, but that was more a result of stubbornly avoiding buying new cleats until the old ones couldn't...well, unclip...

Somehow getting a ball bearing in my frame is up there too...that's a rattle that's hard to get rid of...

Or how about as a very young kid, having just learnt how to ride a bike without stabilisers when I decided trying to cycle with my eyes closed would be a good idea...*narrator: "It was not a good idea"*...our neighbour's hedge never was the same again...

Come on, don't be shy... get your most stupid cycling moment in the comments...we promise not to laugh too much...

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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68 comments

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

Can't seem to outrun our cats at the moment with the two recent corpses I have had to dispose mean anything. 

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hawkinspeter replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Can't seem to outrun our cats at the moment with the two recent corpses I have had to dispose mean anything. 

House cats can run up to 30mph apparently

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
2 likes

Although ours are siblings so they might have done a wolf pack type chase and interception. Either that or an unfortunate squirrel was underneath were our most erm "fluffiest" cat fell off a fence. 

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hawkinspeter replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Although ours are siblings so they might have done a wolf pack type chase and interception. Either that or an unfortunate squirrel was underneath were our most erm "fluffiest" cat fell off a fence. 

Well, that sounds to me like you're just being fluffist (warning, word may not actually exist). I just hope your cats didn't get a red squirrel - grey ones are fair game.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
3 likes

No red in the midlands unfortunately. Although my mrs does subscibe to the world domination theory well before Rick and Morty covered it. Started when they threw pine cones at her as she was on the way to her work.

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hawkinspeter replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
1 like

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

No red in the midlands unfortunately. Although my mrs does subscibe to the world domination theory well before Rick and Morty covered it. Started when they threw pine cones at her as she was on the way to her work.

I think Antarctica is the only place that doesn't have squirrels

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Rendel Harris replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

 

I think Antarctica is the only place that doesn't have squirrels

Nearly all of Australia as well, just an artifically-introduced colony around Perth I believe.

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hawkinspeter replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
0 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

Nearly all of Australia as well, just an artifically-introduced colony around Perth I believe.

Perth Zoo, I believe. (Most of Australia is pretty much uninhabitable apart from the coastal areas or for Aborigines who really know what they're doing)

I'm surprised no-one's tried to introduce squirrels into the forests of Queensland - they'd have a fighting chance of surving there.

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OnYerBike replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
9 likes

Not the most recent data, but these statistics indicate the rate of fatalities (per mile travelled) is highest overnight and in the early morning when "there's no-one around". Obviously there are various potential explanations but I imagine a significant part of is people speeding because "there's no-one around" until they hit someone (or something - 43% of car fatalities are "single vehicle accidents").

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
4 likes

How many NHS staff were knocked off when cycling to and from work in the shutdown?

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Steve K | 2 years ago
1 like

Driving home last night in the 20mph zone in my village, and I was overtaken by another driver (this always happens when I cycle there, but this was only the second time when I've been driving).  I caught up with the car at the traffic lights.  I was very tempted to try and get in front again when the lights changed, but he had stopped with his front wheels well over the stop line, so it would have been dangerous to do so.

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PRSboy replied to Steve K | 2 years ago
4 likes

My favourites are the ones who overtake going through built-up areas, despite there being a parked car or something they will have to stop behind, literally 50 yards away. 

I had a fella do that the other day and overtook him again, only for him to pass me again then immediately stop to turn right.

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brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

I see comments have now been disabled on the article about Emily Bridges.  I'm kind of glad...

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

I was just wondering if they would get up to beyond 300!

I just stay away from those sorts of discussions - whatever you say will offend someone.

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hawkinspeter replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
3 likes

hirsute wrote:

I was just wondering if they would get up to beyond 300!

I just stay away from those sorts of discussions - whatever you say will offend someone.

I was tempted to address some of the comments that demonstrated child-like understanding of biology, but thought better of it.

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nosferatu1001 replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

I started to, as some showed their usual pre1960s knowledge and misogyny, but glad they got closed. 

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Steve K replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
4 likes

hirsute wrote:

I was just wondering if they would get up to beyond 300!

I just stay away from those sorts of discussions - whatever you say will offend someone.

Yep.  And it's also one of those times where the perspective of a straight, white, CIS male is really not that relevant in the scheme of things.

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sparrowlegs replied to Steve K | 2 years ago
0 likes

A LOT of assumptions made about the posters there. 

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Steve K replied to sparrowlegs | 2 years ago
6 likes

sparrowlegs wrote:

A LOT of assumptions made about the posters there. 

I was explaining why I don't post on those discussions.  I'm pretty sure I'm not making any assumptions in saying that I am a straight, white, CIS male.

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sparrowlegs replied to Steve K | 2 years ago
2 likes

That's ok then. Carry on. 

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hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
3 likes

Oops - looks like the Emily Bridges article has closed for comments. From what I saw, it was like watching a slow-motion train wreck.

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joe9090 replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
0 likes

It did get a bit partisan. Alot of assumed outrage

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
4 likes

Although it gave a chance for PBU to pop up again with a new name and be the most offensive of the lot. 

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Hirsute replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
0 likes

Who was that ?

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
2 likes

CycleSmurf or similar name. 

All the hallmarks of him anyway. 

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Grahamd | 2 years ago
0 likes

Racing and not remembering the route. To this day I don't know who was wrong, just that a friend turned off towards a junction, just as I was passing him at full pelt. Net result a bike crash and one ruined Peugeot bike. I did learn how to fly though.

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Kapelmuur | 2 years ago
4 likes

Banging on the side of a 4x4 that passed too close, forgetting Newton's 2nd law (?) and the reaction putting me into a ditch.

Also on holiday in France in 2012 after Wiggins had won the TdF, buying a Union flag jersey to annoy the locals then falling off in front of a cafe full of them when forgetting to unclip.   Then having to pedal away one legged as blood streamed down my leg from a damaged knee.

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OldRidgeback | 2 years ago
1 like

Hmm, quite a few to choose from, but I'll mention hammering down the narrow, twisty and steep road towards the old Cramond Brig on my 10 speed Falcon and rounding a corner to see a JCB trundling up the hill towards me. Quite how I managed to squeeze past it on its left side while my back wheel was locked up I'll never know. There was about a hand's width from my bars to its bucket on one side and to the stone wall on the other. I do remember seeing the driver's shocked expression as I shot past.

It was most definitely my fault, not his. Blasting full pelt down a narrow and twisty road when there might be oncoming traffic isn't smart. But I was just 17.

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Collins | 2 years ago
10 likes

Noticed my quick release skewer on my front fork was loose.

Tried to kick it back in as thought this would be quicker than pulling over, but it didnt move.

Tried to give it a harder kick, but missed and put my foot into the spokes, braking about 14 spokes and bringing the bike to abrupt stop, sending me over the handlebars.

Had to walk the bike the rest of the way to work, so definitly wasnt quicker.

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nniff | 2 years ago
9 likes

I habitually unclip my left foot.  There was a very slow/stationary lane of traffic that I was filtering past  The other side of the road was clear and so this was straightforward, until a police car - one of the big, fast ones came screaming aournd a corner, blue lights and siren on.  No problem - I'd masses of time, so I pulled in behind a white van and unclipped my left foot.  My error was to lean to the right to look around the van to see how far away the police car was - the answer was very and, dear god, that was close...

A long time ago, as I kid i was rolling along with my hands on the bars just each side of the stem.  I wondered idly what would happen if I swapped my hands over. left to right and vice versa.  The answer is that you crash.  I still occasionally wonder if I'd crash now but i haven't been stupid enough to experiment

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