Following on from the separate tragic deaths of Fillipo Corsini and fellow Italian Lucia Ciccioli, both cyclists on London roads, the pressure group Stop Killing Cyclists held a ‘die in’ outside City Hall on Monday night. Fillipo’s was the eighth death of a cyclist on London’s roads this year.
London Assembly Green Party member Caroline Russell spoke out about the “preventable deaths” caused by lorries designed for construction sites, not public roads. The lorry involved in Fillipo’s death was a ‘0 star-rated’ HGV with poor visibility and blind spots...
Read MoreLast night's episode of The Apprentice had a particular resonance for cycling fans as the contestants had to pick a cycling product and launch a crowd funding campaign to promote it. While team Nebula (!) decided to go for some headphones, team Titan picked our old favourites LUMO and set about selling their Holloway Gilet which includes hidden LED lights.
They got off to dodgy start by re-enacting a cyclist being knocked off a bike by a car on the concourse of Waterloo station, and all through the classic medium of mime.
Read MoreTeam Sky launched its new kit yesterday at The Rouleur Classic event in London. Rapha, who have provided the kit for the last four years, ended their partnership at the end of this season to be replaced by Castelli. The new design “contains a mix of British and Italian influences, and the graphic celebrates every victory from Team Sky’s seven seasons.”
They have retained the iconic blue and black styling but have added a new feature: a data pattern with each stripe representing a specific Team Sky victory.
Read MoreAndrew Gilligan, the former Cycling Commissioner for London, has criticised Sadiq Khan , the new Mayor of London for a lack of commitment to promoting cycling in the capital. Writing in the Evening Standard yesterday, he explained that his old job remains vacant after six months and when they do find a replacement they will only spend 11 hours a week on cycling. And despite promising to triple protected cycle lanes and increase spending, “the cycling programme has all but ground to a halt.”
Read MoreBack in June we reported how eight year old Alfie Earl was possibly the youngest person to climb the Tourmalet on a bike. Well, since then he may have had his ninth birthday, but the little blighter has been putting his seniors to shame again, this time conquering Mont Ventoux on Saturday 22nd October on his half term break.
While his contemporaries were amusing themselves on their DS consoles or immersing themselves into a virtual world of Minecraft, Alfie was busy ascending the 1612m...
Read MoreThe Tour of Abu Dhabi started yesterday with a win for Giacomo Nizzolo who held off Mark Cavendish and John Degenkolb in a sprint finish. The race is a last opportunity for riders to take something from the 2016 season and has attracted a star studded cast of high profile riders including Alberto Contador, André Greipel, Vincenzo Nibali, Greg Van Avermaet, Elia Viviani as well as Cavendish and Degenkolb.
Read MoreThis week Ned Boulting sets off on a nationwide tour of his show Bikeology. Billed as “A Live Spectacular Theatrical Event All about Bicycles,” his show will take an off centre look at what it means to ride a bike from the point of view of the humble commuter to the winner of the Tour de France.
Boulting has spent fourteen years following the Tour de France as a reporter and commentator and penned the classic book, “How I won the Yellow Jumper” which documented his early and sometimes embarrassing formative years following the world’s greatest bike race.
Read MoreThink of Chinese cities and the first image that comes to mind is a sprawling mass of traffic congested roads and an over powering smog blanketing its inhabitants. In 2004 Shanghai even banned cycling in its city centre to make it more comfortable for cars. But the country is seeing a return of the humble bicycle in the form of bike sharing schemes more reminiscent of Dutch utopian concepts.
China’s two biggest bicycle sharing services have just landed $200 million in funding. Beijing based ofo is now valued at over $500million...
Read MoreYorkshire has been selected to host the 2019 World Championships. Following on from the success of the Grand Depart in 2014 which saw millions of spectators line the county’s roads, UCI president Brian Cookson declared that, “Yorkshire has proved it is a fitting host for road cycling’s leading annual event. We are sure there will be world-class crowds to match.”
The news will be popular among riders as well as spectators. At the moment the World Championships are being held in Doha in temperatures of up to 40 degrees centigrade...
Read MoreTeam Sky and Sir Bradley Wiggins’ woes continue over the former Tour de France winner’s use of TUEs. Yesterday Jonathan Tiernan Locke who used to ride for Team Sky said, “it definitely looks odd that you would apply for a TUE before the major Grand Tours you have a GC ambition in.” And yesterday the Daily Mail reported that Team Sky are facing a UK anti-doping probe amid claims of a medical package delivered to Team Sky officials ahead of the 2011 Tour de France.
Read MoreThe improved layout for cyclists in Tavistock Place in London is under threat from taxi drivers who are furious about being inconvenienced for pick-ups and drop-offs at local hotels and nearby train stations. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) is lobbying its members to scupper Camden Council’s consultation to make the scheme permanent.
While there have been segregated cycle lanes here for years, in November last year Camden made improvements which removed a lane for motor vehicles and added one-way tracks...
Read MoreCyclists have been up in arms this week over a road safety advert made by the Department of Transport. Released on Monday, the short film alerts cyclists to the danger of a lorry turning left.
Chris Boardman spoke to Cycling Weekly to express his concerns about the message it gives, which appears to absolve the lorry driver, who overtakes a cyclist before turning left and crushing him.
Read MoreChris Froome’s contribution to the current TUE debate today will be seen by many as a sideways swipe at Bradley Wiggins. He posted “My view” on Twitter which stated, “It is clear that the TUE system is open to abuse.”
Bradley Wiggins defended himself on TV on Sunday for taking the corticosteroid injection as asthma treatment before the Tour de France with the unfortunate words of “a level playing field,” a similar phrase used by Lance Armstrong when he admitted to taking EPO...
Read MoreSven Nys, widely considered the greatest cyclocross racer of all time, won two World Championship titles, seven World Cup series titles and over 140 competitive victories. The documentary of his last year of competitive cycling receives its premiere in Las Vegas tomorrow, Tuesday 20th September, but don’t worry, you can catch the whole thing online.
Nys is regarded as the Eddy Merckx of cyclocross and the film features unprecedented behind the scenes footage of him training, racing, wrestling with his demons...
Read MoreChris Froome will be appearing at the ICAP L’Etape London this Sunday 25th September at Lee Valley Velopark. He’ll be riding the route, giving advice at one of the feed stations and handing out medals to finishers.
You still have a chance to enter this event – applications will still be accepted up to Thursday of this week. There are three routes to choose from: either a 42, 92 or 117 mile ride all of which start and end at Lee Valley Velopark next to the iconic velodrome where Bradley Wiggins famously broke the Hour Record and Team GB did so well in the London Olympics.
Read MoreTomorrow, 14th September is Cycle to Work Day. It’s a national event that aims to encourage everyone to take to two wheels for at least one day.
At the moment about 741,000 people regularly cycle to work, but the partners behind the event, which include Halfords, Cyclescheme.co.uk and British Cycling, hope to see those figures increase dramatically. By 2021 they hope that one million people will be regularly commuting to work by bike.
Read MoreA keen amateur cyclist who has raised thousands of pounds for charity, found himself leading the Tour of Britain last Wednesday. But since his escapade attracted the attention of the national press he has had his Specialized S-Works bike stolen.
In a scene not unlike Mr Bean’s Vacation when the eponymous hero gets caught up with the Tour de France, not Lance, but Roger Armstrong was coming off the Horseshoe’s Pass at Llangollen when he was overtaken by some team cars heading the race...
Read MoreNairo Quintana sealed another Grand Tour win when he sailed ahead of Chris Froome on the penultimate day of this year's Vuelta. Froome tried again and again to attack on the final climb, but the diminutive Colombian was comfortable sticking on his adversary's wheel and match him pedal stroke for pedal stroke.
With 50m to go Froome sat up to allow Quintana to pass and was the first to applaud as they crossed the finish line. The stage was won by talented 22 year old Pierrre Latour...
Read MoreOn a scorching hot day between two Mediterranean tourist resorts, Froome was on blistering form in the time trial. He blasted the opposition out the way with a near perfect ride, beating the entire field. Only one rider, Castroviejo, came within a minute of his time. More significantly he took a whopping 2 minutes, 16 seconds out of Nairo Quintana's lead.
The Colombian was absolutely right when he said last week that he needed a platform of at least 3 minutes to ensure victory over Froome. He still has a 1 min 21 advantage...
Read MoreThe day ended with a sprint finish after the breakaway was reeled in with plenty of time to spare. It was the Great Dane of Orica Bike Exchange, Magnus Cort Nielsen, who claimed it. At only 23 years old he was clearly delighted. "It's a big dream come true," he said after the race.
It was a closely fought bunch sprint with a tricky approach involving lots of roundabouts and 90 degree turns. As ever IAM Cycling were at the fore. What a Vuelta they've had despite facing a bleak future!
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