Live blog: Froome fully focused on Tour (not stem); Mumsnet poster irked about having to be careful not to knock cyclists over; Bromptons in Halfords; Beer can thrown at Paralympic champ; Boardman: “Political will” needed to make cycling infra work +more

This was streamed live earlier on Facebook for pros doing a recon of the Bologna time trial course that will be ridden for real on Saturday when this year's Giro kicks off in Bologna (stating the bleedin' obvious there).

Chris Froome is one win away from equalling the record of five Tour de France victories.

He says that after racing and winning the Giro d’Italia last year, the Tour is his overwhelming focus this year.

"I loved riding the Giro – it was such a different challenge," he told the BBC. "It's the hardest Grand Tour for me personally to win, given my riding style and my characteristics."

He continued: "The Vuelta is probably the most enjoyable Grand Tour of the three for me. That time of year in Spain is super-hot, and I love those conditions – so gruelling, so savage. From a pure, suffering point of view, the Vuelta really pushes you to your limits.

"But for now, the Tour is the big aim – I'm putting all my eggs in that basket, not spreading myself thin all across the calendar."

Froome says that as a result of this focus, he’s feeling a lot fresher this year.

“A year ago I was going into the Giro as my fourth Grand Tour in a row, and I'd won the last three.

“I felt as if I was burning the candle at both ends. I'm not doing the Giro this year, I didn't do the Vuelta at the end of last year.

"So I had a really good winter, really stayed on it, and I came into the season a lot more rested, a lot more focused than I did last year.”

The world’s lightest foldable bike (@HummingbirdBike) is given an Artist Stripe makeover for this exclusive cycling collaboration. https://t.co/zDv4i3Da8i pic.twitter.com/rC3m0A8Pbq

— Paul Smith (@PaulSmithDesign) May 9, 2019

On the subject of folding bikes, check out this Paul Smith limited edition Hummingbird. Pronounced as the world's lightest folding bike at just 6.9kg, it's now available with a snazzy hand-painted stripe pattern courtesy of the British designer apparel brand. Only 50 are available to buy at a price of £3,995 each, head over to the Hummingbird website for more deets.   

Well  it's one way to combat theft.

Full story here.

The disgruntled Jemima232, who terrifyingly appears to have a driving licence, titled the thread 'Cyclists and the Highway Code', and typed : "Huh. Just Huh. And Wow, too. So now we have to be careful not to knock cyclists over, when driving past them. Of course, they don't have to be careful not to knock anyone over when they go through red traffic lights, do they? As if they need more legislation in their favour. It absolutely enrages me."

A good proportion of the replies make us think there's hope for the world yet though, with one of the first saying: "You're so far beyond unreasonable, you are being a total dick. You weigh your slight annoyance at someone riding through a red light as more important than than right of a human being not to get mashed by a car. Shut up and grow a brain."

The thread is currently 172 messages long and growing, with Jemima232 eventually backtracking a few pages in by suggesting they just meant they wished cyclists would respect the rules of the road, and wasn't at all suggesting they would behave recklessly in a much larger motorised vehicle. Indeed, at 14:42 on the 8th May Jemima232 informs us that they used to live in London and 98% of cyclists "drive through red lights". We're unsure where Jemima232 got this statistic from, but we do know that officially there was a five year high of 1,792 road deaths in 2016, with over 99% involving a motorised vehicle. Out of 400 pedestrian deaths each year, on average 2.5 involve a bicycle.  

*We couldn't find a suitable image of an angry driver who is also a mum (and not sure how you'd depict this)... so we've used the corker above instead. 

That is one mighty fine looking bike! It's a special creation for US national champ Justin Williams. Underneath the star-spangled​ banner is the latest generation Specialized S-Works Venge, which you can read our review of here. 

View this post on Instagram

We make our own rules! Don’t let anyone down play what you’ve accomplished, you worked for it, make sure you enjoy every minute of it. Here is my 2019 Natty Champ @iamspecialized #venge Designed by: Ya Boi - Painted by @notenoughswedes @spilt_beer . . . . . . . . #cycling #cyclinglife #bicycle #velo #cyclingphotos #cycle #cyclingshots #biking #stravacycling #fixedgear #roadcycling #roadbike #bicycles #bikeride #fitness #fromwhereiride #fixie #rideshimano #swimbikerun #instacycling #shimano #cyclingpics #outsideisfree #focalmarked #specialized #racing #rcc #rapha #draft

A post shared by Justin Williams (@juswilliamz) on May 8, 2019 at 4:01pm PDT

“You need political will, that’s by far the most important, more important than money.”

Former Olympian Chris Boardman sets out the “three ingredients” needed to make regional projects work
 #newsnight | @BenChu_ pic.twitter.com/xD1LpGhwbG

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) May 8, 2019

In a TV interview with BBC Newsnight, Boardman says that politicians genuinely wanting change is far more important than hard cash when it comes to regional projects such as his work on Manchester's cycling and walking network.   

We are proud and happy to unveil this special jersey which @eliaviviani will sport at the 102nd @giroditalia, his last race as Italian National Champion: https://t.co/tUOWK6EF3n
Photo: Sigfrid Eggers pic.twitter.com/ch1dXfpcjq

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) May 9, 2019

Maybe Viviani was going for the serious look, or maybe he's a little miffed about the rather busy design that Dececunick Quick-Step have come up with.
For reference, Groupama FDJ seem to nail their national champion's kit every year.

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Stage Benicasim prépa @letourdefrance avec l’équipe. @equipegroupamafdj

A post shared by Démare (@arnaud.demare) on May 9, 2018 at 10:35am PDT

It’s predictably grim.

Full story here.