"This genuinely could kill somebody": Viral video of overenthusiastic Tour de France fan being pushed off mountain for running next to cyclists sparks debate online; Would you pay £1,000 for a pair of aero socks?; Election reaction + more on the live blog

You might have already seen the video doing the rounds on social media, it's already been viewed nearly three million times on the 'Cycling out of context' Twitter account. Apparently filmed earlier this week on the Galibier stage of the Tour de France, it shows the moment an overenthusiastic spectator, you know, one of those ones you see all the time and shake your head at for running up the climbs just inches away from the riders. 

Well, things took a turn...

pic.twitter.com/6bzuXmMZs7

— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) July 4, 2024

Another spectator clearly not very impressed by the running gives them a nudge, and by nudge I mean — quite a significant shove, so much so the fan is sent tumbling off the mountain. When the camera returns back to the falling fan seconds later it shows they'd dropped even further down the slope. 

And while plenty took pleasure in seeing what they viewed as a moment of mountain justice — a perfect dose of karma for an irritating blight on the sport — the point has also been made that, well, pushing someone off a mountain because you don't like what they're doing might not be wholly virtuous either.

Idk, the guy is in the same position as the other one was running. Not like he was staying away from the riders himself

— King Arthur 👑🇧🇷 (@crash22crash) July 4, 2024

 Admittedly, sympathy was in the minority on this one...

Maybe just leave it to the authorities in future...

Reminds me of Bergen 2017 pic.twitter.com/76wZYDRKd5

— Melhus skatepark 🦐🦈 (@skateparken) July 4, 2024

> Mark Cavendish makes history, Dylan Groenewegen's bizarre (and stage-winning) aero beak, and the weirdest things we’ve ever seen at the Tour de France

Everyone's on the road (or finished) now, Victor Campenaerts' current fastest time about to come under siege from the big hitters. Here are some of the more notable things to happen so far although, let's face it, TT days are rarely that riveting. Poor Stefan Küng had some mechanical bad luck...

😫 Terrible for @stefankueng. The Swiss champion has a mechanical issue that's costing him time!

😫 Terrible pour @stefankueng. Il est victime d'un ennui mécanique qui lui coûte du temps !#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/hvbgJ4UXRk

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 5, 2024

Meanwhile, Julien Bernard was living the dream, his entire village out on the climb to welcome him...

All the love for Julien Bernard 🥰@lidltrek #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/b34LEYwgJN

— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 5, 2024

What a load of part timers. Only 25km on the menu at the Tour de France today...

A huge day in the GC fight. Can Jonas Vingegaard take back time on Tadej Pogačar? How will Remco Evenepoel go? Or will the Slovenian superstar extend his lead? All to play for this afternoon. Pogačar is the last rider off the start ramp at 4pm UK time. 

> "A TV camera is there to capture images and not to influence the race": Mark Cavendish blasts Tour de France motorbike rider for putting him "out the back" after mechanical, as record-breaking sprinter fined for drafting behind team car

Mathieu van der Poel's father Adrie has spoken out about "really not healthy" dieting in pro cycling and admitted he is "glad Mathieu eats a greasy hamburger every now and then".

Speaking to Wieler Revue, he said: "In the past, almost all female cyclists had anorexia and when I look at today's cyclists, I almost get scared when I see them walking. They are already so thin and all the food has to be weighed. I am glad that Mathieu eats a greasy hamburger every now and then and that he doesn't care about that nutrition app. When I look at the Tour, I see cyclists of 1.80 meters with a weight of 60 kilograms. That is really not healthy."

That's the approach to nutrition I take too, Adrie, you know, it's all about avoiding being "really not healthy" so you've just got to keep scranning those hamburgers, right?

Retired pro Nathan van Hooydonck responded to Adrie's comments, suggesting that Mathieu is lucky to be able to eat a hamburger as, "If other riders do that, they are no longer competing to win."

"Mathieu can go eat a hamburger because he is exceptionally talented. If other riders do that, they are no longer competing to win. You race to win and to get the best out of yourself, don't you?"

Let's face it, despite relentless culture war noise around cycling in recent times, cycling and active travel were never prominent during the election campaign. With that said, it would be remiss of this live blogger to miss the opportunity to dig deep into the road.cc archives and pick out some of the politicians we've reported on during the last four-and-a-half years and see how they got on.

It's our (at times tenuous) cycling election round-up. We'll start with the most recent Transport Secretary.

Mark Harper (Conservative) LOST

The final Tory Transport Secretary lost his Forest of Dean seat to Labour (you'll be hearing more of that) in one of the tightest results of the night. Harper's majority from 2019 had been more than 15,000, but in a disastrous night for the former minister for transport, a huge swing to Labour, plus Reform taking 17 per cent of the vote, saw him lose his seat in Parliament by just 278 votes.

> "For most people, the most important mode of transport remains the car, the van, the lorry, the motorbike": Transport Secretary Mark Harper says the Conservative party is "proudly pro-car", as Chris Boardman admits concerns

In more recent times, as one of his last acts in the role, Harper agreed to a proposal to introduce tougher laws for "dangerous cyclists" who kill or injure, as he said "it's only right tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face full weight of the law". That legislation was not passed in time, due to Rishi Sunak calling the election, although during the campaign Labour pledged to introduce it in the next Parliament.

Grant Shapps (Conservative) LOST

Where do you start with Grant Shapps? Another former Transport Secretary, Shapps' time was, from the viewpoint of a cycling website's interests, defined by that mad week in August 2022 when he proposed number plates, insurance and speed limits for cyclists... before making a rather quick U-turn. Shapps lost his Hertfordshire constituency of Welwyn Hatfield to Labour after his share of the vote plummeted 19 per cent.

Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative) LOST

North East Somerset and Hanham also went to Labour, Jacob Rees-Mogg presumably already banging on the GB News studio doors shouting to be let in. We've had less involvement with Rees-Mogg than others, although his opposition to a bike lane in Keynsham and use of an "extremely offensive racist term" while talking about "lunatic" cycle lane plans earned him some road.cc time.

Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative) WON

The former Conservative leader spearheaded the campaign to introduce the aforementioned new 'dangerous cycling' laws. Iain Duncan Smith kept his Chingford and Woodford Green seat, in part due to the opposition vote being split between the former Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen (who was replaced and subsequently ran as an independent) and the then-instated Labour candidate Shama Tatler.

Philip Davies (Conservative) LOST

During the campaign we heard from a reader who accused Davies of "massive prejudice against cyclists" after "angry email rant" to constituent who questioned his "contradictory" road safety views and number plates for cyclists stance. That was the least of Davies' problems when it transpired he was one of those who'd been down the bookies to bet £8,000 on the election date. It's always the ones you least expect. Anyway, Davies will presumably be joining Rees-Mogg down the GB News job centre having also lost his seat last night.

Nick Fletcher (Conservative) LOST

The Conservative former MP who was criticised for touting a known 15-minute city conspiracy in Parliament, and who later claimed cycling routes have turned his city into a "ghost town", lost his Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme seat to Labour last night.

Thérèse Coffey (Conservative) LOST

Thérèse Coffey, the Conservative politician who for a brief period during the autumn of 2022 served as health secretary during Liz Truss' stint as prime minister, lashed out at an active travel project in her Suffolk constituency, claiming that it is "anti-driver". Last night, Coffey lost her Suffolk Coastal seat to Labour, her share of the vote down a third on 2019.

Nigel Farage (Reform) WON

During his years of opportunistically jumping from issue to issue, Farage has unsurprisingly had a pop at cycling a couple of times, perhaps most famously in 2021 during a rant about "insane" cycle lanes. And no, you probably don't need me to tell you in this case "insane" isn't a positive adjective...

> Nigel Farage forges new career as anti-cycling bingo caller

Louise Haigh (Labour) WON

The shadow transport secretary easily kept her seat in Sheffield, so we're assuming Louise Haigh will be the next head of transport now her party is in government. In November, concerns were expressed after Haigh began to outline her stance on active travel policies, 20mph speed limits and low-traffic neighbourhoods.

> Labour's shadow secretary for transport rides a bike and offers support for cycling infrastructure… gets accused of photo-op (and for riding without helmet)

However, she later insisted that active travel is "essential for economic growth" and "every pound invested delivers a huge return in benefits". She also said comments about Sheffield being too hilly to cycle in were a "light-hearted joke".

And finally, anyone know how this guy got on last night? At least he'll have a driver taking him everywhere from now on...

> Sir Keir Starmer was 'making U-turn' when he hit cyclist, says witness