“So much anger at evidence”: Chris Boardman hits back at “nasty troll” accusing him of “pushing ideals on public”; Roglič says he didn’t want to win stage… after winning Vuelta stage; Sarah Storey makes history at Paralympics + more on the live blog

Social media is such a bizarre and interesting place, especially when strawman arguments become the norm. Person A will say: “I like eating apples because they’re good for health,” and person B will reply with: “Stop pushing your ideals on me because I prefer burger and chips.”

A similar sort of exchange took place when Chris Boardman shared a BBC article about a study from Cambridge University which showed that more children were walking and cycling to schools in London, which had ULEZ, as compared to Luton which didn’t — and his replies were quickly swarmed by anti-ULEZ advocates lambasting the former Olympian and Active Travel Commissioner for “pushing his ideals on the public”. (Dan shared the news on yesterday’s live blog as well, thankfully he hasn’t received any threats for it… yet)

In the study, researchers surveyed 1,000 children across 44 schools in central London about how they travelled to school in 2018-19, prior to ULEZ's introduction, and then again in 2019-2020 after it was introduced, and then conducted the same study in Luton which doesn’t have ULEZ.

They found that while four in 10 children in central London who previously travelled to school by car are now walking, cycling or using public transport, in Luton just two in 10 had made the same switch.

> ULEZ: Schoolchildren living in London's ultra-low emission zone nearly four times as likely to switch to walking and cycling after its introduction than those outside zone, research suggests

Seems a pretty straightforward survey, with data clearly backing it up. However, things did take a turn when Boardman, perhaps sharing a common frustration with your live blog host at people who failed to read the data, or simply took it as an opportunity to be rude to strangers, hit back at one individual who said: “Stop trying to push your ideals on the public , it’s ok if you like walking and cycling but most people like the comfort of there own vehicles and personal space”.

Ah yes, school children who like their personal vehicles, got it.

“Hey @Derek8533829662,” wrote Boardman in response. “1) this is social media, and a personal account. No one has to listen. 2) I’m reposting an interesting study from Cambridge University. It’s not ‘my ideals’ 3) I am not asking you to change anything. So much anger at….evidence.”

Hey @Derek8533829662
1) this is social media, and a personal account. No one has to listen.
2) I’m reposting an interesting study from Cambridge University. It’s not ‘my ideals’
3) I am not asking you to change anything.

So much anger at….evidence https://t.co/iVqTyETsnb

— Chris Boardman CBE (@Chris_Boardman) September 5, 2024

Boardman was backed by many cyclists, one of them who said: “I cycle quite a lot. I would cycle a lot more if it was safer on the roads and there was less chance of my bike being nicked when I went into a shop. I now dislike driving a car. There are simply too many other cars filled with (mainly) individuals in their own space going as fast as they can to a job to earn money to buy a car in which they can barely move. O [All] for the freedom of a bike.”

Or as someone said: “It’s ok if you like driving but stop trying to push your vehicular ideals on others.”

Primož Roglič, David Gaudu, and Mattias Skjelmose: What a podium at stage 19 of Vuelta a España!

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by La Vuelta (@lavuelta)

But on the other hand, Decathlon AG2R-La Mondiale's Ben O'Connor, who had so bravely held the red jersey for the last two weeks after his heroics on stage six unassumingly put him in the lead of the race, finally has to surrender it to who else but Roglič, who seemed to have an avalanche of mixed emotions today — obviously pleased to finally be in red and celebrating at the finish line, but also taking some digs at his team, for perhaps doing too much.

The race was blown apart on the penultimate summit finish of Alto de Moncalvillo, a typically brutal Vuelta climb of 8.6km at a 9 per cent gradient, as Dani Martinez, and then Aleksandr Vlasov, set an infernal pace for Roglic as the Red Bull trio including Roglič roared away together.

The Slovenian was dropped off by Vlasov with 5km remaining and set off uninterrupted on his one-man mission to the top, but as he would reveal in the post-race interview to Eurosport, he wasn't in search of the stage win today.

"I said I don't need the stage win but some guys I won't say their name, decided to pull anyway," Roglič said. "In the end, I had to make a call and I said ok. Then we went for it."

When asked if the race is now over, Roglič replied: "Not really. The big queen stage is still to come tomorrow – and we don’t do the normal laps in Madrid, we do a time trial, so it’s far from done. But my gap is better than five minutes behind. I’m happy with how I am functioning and I’m happy with the guys."

😬 It was only a matter of time. Relive the LAST KM thanks to @CarrefourES!

Era solo cuestión de tiempo para Primoz. 🔥 ¡Revive el ÚLTIMO KM gracias a @CarrefourES!#LaVuelta24 #CarrefourConLaVuelta pic.twitter.com/UfKR1uVIVk

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 6, 2024

It would be safe to say that the win puts the three-time Vuelta winner in the front seat of the race, almost two minutes ahead of O'Connor, his four minutes advantage reduced to a mere five seconds before the start of today's stage. He said: "I was a bit broken in the end there. I actually felt pretty good until about halfway and then, yeah, Stage 19, I guess. I wasn’t really surprise but I didn’t expect myself to be so bad at the end. But I guess that’s the reality.”

Asked what he’s now looking forward to after 13 days in red, the Australian said: “Monday and having beers and sitting on the terrace and relaxing... I tried [to stay in the podium places] today but didn’t really do my best work, but there’s still tomorrow and two more big days.”

Paul Magnier wins stage four of 2024 Tour of Britain (Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

Although Quick-Step may have had a disastrous day in the Vuelta yesterday with Mikel Landa dropping five places down to tenth position in the general classification, the Belgian team continues its strong showing in the Tour of Britain with Frenchman Paul Magnier winning bagging another stage with a superb, confident sprint, with British rider Ethan Vernon and Uno-X Mobility's Erlend Blikra coming in second and third, respectively.

Today's finish at Newark-on-Trent was a thrilling one, with Vernon leading out a few hundred metres before the finish line, but as the road drifted slightly to the right, Magnier came up the narrow gap on Vernon’s left side, “through a mousehole” in his own words, and the 24-year-old from Bedford, perhaps in a sporting manner, decided to not shut the door at the last minute, giving the Frenchman a straight run to the line.

Magnier, who already beat Vernon and Trinity Racing's Bob Donaldson in the first stage which also concluded in a sprint, now sits at the top of the points classification with 71 points and 21-point lead over overal leader Stevie Williams, and if the last two sprint finishes are anything to go by, it definitely looks like the 20-year-old is becoming a force to reckon with.  

Cyclists in Torquay have claimed that revamped designs for a regeneration project in the seaside resort are “unsafe and unsuitable”, and will force cyclists either onto the pavement or “into direct conflict with motorists”, as a petition calling on the local council to rethink their plans is set to be discussed next week.

According to the petition, the revisions to Torbay Council’s Harbour Public Realm scheme in Torquay have, by reducing the width of the road but scrapping plans to include a protected cycle lane, “worsened the provision for cyclists and are not acceptable”, and have created infrastructure which will potentially “discriminate” against those who use cycles as mobility aids.

> Cyclists say they are being forced “into direct conflict with drivers” by holding up traffic or onto pavement with pedestrians, as petition calls on council to rethink “discriminatory, unsafe” decision to scrap cycle lane plans

Are you wanting to race on Zwift, and looking for a team? We're hoping to put one together for the Winter season. There's almost certainly going to be a team of ordinary choppers in the C category, as that's what many of us are! But if you're interested in another category of racing, stick your name in this neat little form and we'll see where we are. We'll be in the Open EMEAW Eastern league, which is an 1845 start in the UK.

Meanwhile, don't forget to check out Dave's feature on all the things you need to know about the virtual-riding platform as it turns 10.

The fatal collision took place at around 1pm on 1 September in Avignon, in southwestern France’s Provence region, as the 25-year-old motorist was driving at “high speed” on the departmental RD907 road outside the city often used by cyclists, and at “well over” the 70kph speed limit, according to French police and several witnesses.

The motorist appears to have hired the powerful supercar through social media without disclosing that he is banned from driving until December.

> Questions asked as speeding suspended driver kills French cyclist in “125mph” hit-and-run crash after hiring Lamborghini without valid driving licence

After three stage wins at La Vuelta — the joint most any team has so far — it’s safe to say Equipo Kern Pharma has not only conquered the brutal Spanish terrains this September, but also fans’ hearts.

And when Urko Berrade crossed the finish line yesterday, with an amazing late attack six kilometres from the line, dropping his breakaway companions, with teammates Pau Miquel finishing third and two-time stage winner at this Vuelta, Pablo Castrillo finishing in the top 10, there was a sense of collective admiration before the final two mountain stages to determine who takes the red jersey to the time trial in Madrid.

However, later last night, the UCI announced that Miquel was relegated for “deviation from the chosen line that obstructs or endangers another rider”, the rider being Jayco-AlUla’s Mauro Schmid.

Apparently, Pau Miquel was relegated from his 3rd place because of sprint deviation. WTF?! Joke decision. 🤡 He didn't hinder anyone there. #lavuelta24pic.twitter.com/7qEI8vKyr6

— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) September 5, 2024

But watching back the replays a few dozen times now, neither I nor many other fans have been able to figure out at what point did Miquel deviate from his line, raising doubts whether the said infringement happened before the riders turned the corner in the background, which was perhaps missed by the broadcast cameras that were instead focused on the winner Berrade.

And the lack of transparency from the sport’s governing body has led to some frustration amongst fans, with many baffled by the announcement, some even calling it a “joke decision”.

Some reaction from social media:

• "If this is a relegation, there will never be a sprint without relegations anymore."
• "This is a joke, right?"
• "Ridiculous. They don't even know how to apply their own rules. 0 common sense. he didn't endanger schmidt and there wasn't even a real deviation. 100 times of season they ignore blatant stuff and then they punish this non-event."
• "Ridiculous. If this is the standard Philipsen would never have had a stage win so far."

Even more, the reaction from the decision has once again circled back to Alpecin-Deceuninck’s sprinter and winner of the points jersey at the Tour de France last year Jasper Philipsen’s sprinting style, which has been called into question several times over the last couple years, in instances where he’s pushed, or at least appeared to push opponents into the barrier, deviating from his line in bunch sprint finishes.