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Cargo bike cyclist rear-ended in traffic jam...by police; Covid forces Adam Yates and Jumbo-Visma out Tour de Suisse; Roadside fan's impressive bottle catch; Who's got the best commute?; Van der Poel NOT targeting green at the Tour + more on the live blog

It's Thursday and Dan Alexander is in the hot seat (literally, this week) for your live blog action...
16 June 2022, 09:37
Cargo bike cyclist rear-ended in traffic jam...by police

Not to be too facetious but the "Oh Jesus" really makes this clip...

Getting rear-ended in traffic can't be fun at the best of times, let alone when you turn around and your sheepish bumper is, in fact, the very people whose job it is to keep you safe...

As one reply pointed out there's probably a cake fine to be paid for this. Doesn't seem to have been any damage, but at least go buy that person a coffee...

Others called for more serious action...

16 June 2022, 15:38
It's the circle of life (as a promising Belgian cycling talent)
16 June 2022, 15:13
Racing round-up: Anyone got Patrick Lefevere's number? Vlasov, Philipsen, Démare and Groenewegen win as Jakobsen and Evenepoel falter
Baloise Belgium Tour 'sprint'

How's that for a 'sprint' finish? The speed of the fast men meant they were fairly unchallenged by the final 100m ramp, but it did make for entertaining viewing...

Tour-bound Jasper Philipsen beat Tour-bound Mads Pedersen, Tour-bound (as a lead out man for Sam Bennett) Danny van Poppel and Tour-bound Fabio Jakobsen. You get the picture — there are a lot of riders sharpening their tools ahead of next month. Jakobsen, who has seemingly got the Quick Step nod over Cav, got a little boxed in and could only manage seventh...

In Switzerland, Quick Step's day got worse...Remco Evenepoel blowing spectacularly on the roads of Cadel Evans' 2009 World Championship win, losing over two minutes to stage winner Aleksandr Vlasov. In Adam Yates' Covid-induced absence, Geraint Thomas showed his class, climbing with the best to finish fourth. Vlasov now holds the race lead, but Thomas is at seven seconds with a TT to come...

And finally, in Slovenia, Team BikeExchange Jayco's Dylan Groenewegen bagged his fifth win of the season, finding form ahead of his return to the Tour de France, while Arnaud Démare won on return to action after the Giro at La Route d'Occitanie.

Aaaand breathe, we go again tomorrow...

16 June 2022, 15:05
And who has the worst commute?

Earlier we shared some snaps on socials of sunny commutes looking lovely. Here's the other side of the coin... 

16 June 2022, 13:39
Most expensive bike ever nicked?
Bike stolen (Philadelphia Police)

A prototype military bike made in 1996, and worth an estimated $100,000, was stolen from a Pennsylvania bike shop, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. The news was reported by The Kansas City Star who say a surveillance video shows the suspect walking off with the bike after a break-in at 7:01am on Saturday morning.

16 June 2022, 13:16
😬
16 June 2022, 12:59
How many cols could you climb in two weeks?

A group of four climbing-loving riders from the Netherlands are coming to the final stages of a leg-burning goal to ride 100 cols in two weeks. Some simple maths will tell you that means they need to average 7 (7.14285714286 if you want it to be less simple) cols per day. They're currently on day 11, taking in the Télégraphe, Galibier, Lautaret, Izoard, L'Ange Gardien, Vars and Bonnette in 215 punishing kilometres...

They're riding the challenge to raise money for (at least) 10 defibrillators, and are detailing the journey on Instagram and Strava...

16 June 2022, 11:00
Adam Yates OUT of Tour de Suisse following Covid positive

Adam Yates has joined Jumbo-Visma in sitting out the rest of Tour de Suisse after testing positive for Covid ahead of stage five. With the Tour de France starting in just 15 days it remains to be seen if Ineos Grenadiers will change their plan of heading to the race with Yates their GC leader.

Either way, this morning's been a strong reminder that Covid is very much still on the table ahead of the Tour. 

16 June 2022, 10:50
Jumbo-Visma abandon Tour de Suisse following Covid positive

I too sometimes find "depsite all precautions, Corona has crept in again". Oh, different Corona...

The team is out of Tour de Suisse following a positive test. A team statement read:

Team Jumbo-Visma doesn't reveal who became a victim of the covid infection. For the time being, the situation has no consequences for the Tour de France shortlist, although we have to wait and see what happens in the next few days.

The adequate action of Team Jumbo-Visma is based on the daily testing of riders and staff so that a possible corona case can be isolated as soon as possible. The use of mouth masks, air purification columns and single rooms is still common practice on the team.

The majority of the team's expected Tour de France line-up raced at last week's Dauphiné, however, Rohan Dennis, Sepp Kuss, Robert Gesink and Mike Teunissen were all believed to be in contention for a spot and racing in Switzerland this week. 

16 June 2022, 09:08
Who's got the best commute?

The sun's out. In the words of everybody's favourite Channel 4 teenagers "It's well hot" "Might be too hot" "Might be"...

But at least in the relative cool of the morning, and out of the direct heat in the evening, we're getting plenty of nice commutes. Think of all those winter mornings when it felt sub-zero, had you toiling into a 30mph headwind as it lashed down with rain, sleet or snow...

Let the competition begin...

16 June 2022, 08:48
Helmet talk? Helmet talks?

If anything, I'd say there were too many helmets on show...

16 June 2022, 08:40
"I want to fully focus on stage wins. It takes away a lot of freedom": Mathieu van der Poel won't challenge Wout van Aert for green jersey at the Tour de France
2022 Canyon Aeroad CRF Van der Poel - 1.jpeg

Mathieu van der Poel doesn't fancy taking on his great rival in a battle for the Tour de France points jersey next month. Not because he's not up for the fight, just he'd rather target stage wins.

That's the line he gave RIDE magazine, saying: "I'm not going to get involved in the battle for the green jersey. It takes away a lot of freedom, while I want to fully focus on stage wins. Maybe this is something for teammate Jasper Philipsen.

"I don't deny that three weeks of fighting for that green jersey is a heavy mental load. It also takes away some of the freedom. I will therefore not interfere in that battle in this Tour, but I want to fully focus on stage victories. Don't forget that Wout already has a few big Tours in his legs. I think he can handle that combination more easily.

"I'm definitely not going to try it this year."

16 June 2022, 08:31
Primal donating 10 per cent of sales to the Grenfell Foundation
Primal Grenfell

To mark the five-year anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy, clothing brand Primal is donating 10 per cent of proceeds from sales this weekend to the Grenfell Foundation to help with relief and rebuilding efforts.

"Let's take a moment to remember those who lost their lives, and act to help prevent such a tragedy from happening again," the brand says.

16 June 2022, 07:53
Ben Stokes would be proud! Roadside fan's impressive Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert bottle catch

England are looking all right at the old cricket thing again (for now) so maybe the ECB won't be scrambling to check this lad's eligibility just yet. Either way, what a take, son!

Lorenzo Rota with the throw, delivering it bang on the money into the catching zone, and the Baloise Belgium Tour spectator making a moment to remember. He will, of course, have more than just the memory to bask in the glory of. As any pro cycling fan will tell you, the team bidon is the most prized souvenir you can win. A prize often hard-earned, with a strong dose of luck required.

Pick your roadside position. The feedzone seems like cheating, but drastically improves your chances. You'll need quick reactions to bat off your rivals (possibly shoving kids out the way in the process), all for your prized possession. A probably soon-to-be defunct cycling team branded bit of plastic. 

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert aren't probably soon-to-be defunct, however, with Biniam Girmay, Jan Hirt and Co. smashing up the big boys on a tiny budget. And they're pretty good at throwing too...

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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27 comments

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Jenova20 | 1 year ago
0 likes

RE: Nick Freeman: "Should all be wearing helmets"

There's quite a few visible helmets there...And boobs, butts, etc

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ktache | 1 year ago
2 likes

I'd stil rather be weaving my way down the advisory murder strip than be stuck in any of those cars.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to ktache | 1 year ago
0 likes

Although notice they had to make thinner double yellows otherwise the bike lane would have just held those. 

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Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
2 likes

Might be too hot if you get a puncture… the Garmin after sitting in the sun for five minutes while I switched tubes…

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andystow replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
0 likes

These are all terrible designs for recording temperature whilst out in the sun. The sensor is embedded somewhere inside black plastic. I'm a measurement engineer, and would be hard pressed to come up with a worse design. Here's what my Lezyne recorded for my ride home from work yesterday. It was hot out, but the actual temperature was "only" 97 °F / 36 °C.

Ride starts out at 109 °F / 43 °C because the device has been in the sun all afternoon. It eventually settles to 99 °F / 37 °C once the air has cooled it for 15 minutes and I'm in some shade. Once I get back out into the sun it goes up to 102 °F / 39 °C.

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IanMSpencer replied to andystow | 1 year ago
0 likes

There can be a couple of degrees variation between Garmins on the same ride in the same condition.

I mainly consider the temperature an opportunity for idle chatter on a ride.

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Sriracha replied to andystow | 1 year ago
1 like

Yes, if you're a meteorologist looking to record the weather, you want a correct temperature reading in the shade. But if you are a mad cyclist out under the midday sun, are you not more interested in what that feels like? I can certainly relate to your graph, cycling in the South of France - the moment you stop it feels so much hotter, because it is.

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andystow replied to Sriracha | 1 year ago
0 likes

The first and last five minutes of the ride felt equally hot, because they were, but the start of the ride shows 4 °C hotter.

Just got home. Today it started at 117 °F (47 °C) (🔥😲🔥) then settled down to 97 °F (36 °C.) The actual temperature was a comparatively pleasant 91 °F (33 °C.)

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PutMeBackonMyBi... replied to andystow | 1 year ago
1 like

Aren't you describing it working correctly? If the actual temperature (i.e. the temperature that presumably came from the weather Channel or the weather information on the news, was given as 36 degrees, then that is shade-air temperature, so the actual temperature, out in the sun will be significantly higher. If your unit is showing 1 degree above that once "the air has cooled it for 15 minutes and I'm in some shade" then it is reasonably accurate (1 degree "out" - although slight variations from the geographic point of forecast or meteorological measurement could account for that). And if it goes up to 39 degrees when you are "back out in the sun", that would be expected as it is no longer measuring shade-air temperature.

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brooksby | 1 year ago
0 likes

Quote:

In the words of everybody's favourite Channel 4 teenagers "It's well hot" "Might be too hot" "Might be"...

Is that a quote we're all supposed to recognise?

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Awavey replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
0 likes
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brooksby replied to Awavey | 1 year ago
2 likes

I've heard of it, and recognise the actors, but I've never watched it.  Isn't it another show where a group of people in their mid to late twenties pretend that they're 17?

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henryb | 1 year ago
1 like

I was once rear-ended by a massive rubbish truck. I stopped at a mini roundabout and a few seconds later there was a massive screech of brakes and the lorry just nudged my back wheel. I turned round and there were three very worried-looking binmen looking at me.

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Surreyrider replied to henryb | 1 year ago
5 likes

A case of rubbish driving?!

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belugabob replied to henryb | 1 year ago
2 likes

Hope your wheel wasn't trashed

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Global Nomad | 1 year ago
5 likes

I think you'll find that a large number of helmets have been airbrushed out.....

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peted76 replied to Global Nomad | 1 year ago
9 likes

Global Nomad wrote:

I think you'll find that a large number of helmets have been airbrushed out.....

...And yet they still missed Nick Freeman!

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IanMK | 1 year ago
7 likes

Sorry it's not better resolution but that's a red kite sharing the road, commuting home on Monday

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mdavidford replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
7 likes

Overtaking approaching a bend, with poor sight lines...

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belugabob replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
0 likes
mdavidford wrote:

Overtaking approaching a bend, with poor sight lines...

Bird of pray?

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hawkinspeter replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
6 likes

IanMK wrote:

Sorry it's not better resolution but that's a red kite sharing the road, commuting home on Monday

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belugabob replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
0 likes

Fork in the road?

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dubwise | 1 year ago
0 likes

Who is Ben Stokes?

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ShutTheFrontDawes replied to dubwise | 1 year ago
10 likes

It's a cycling problem where one or more wires which structurally connects the hub to the rim on either wheel breaks and becomes distorted such that it interferes with the bike frame. It can easily render the bike non-functional.

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Rendel Harris replied to dubwise | 1 year ago
6 likes

dubwise wrote:

Who is Ben Stokes?

Not who, what, it's a shop run by a chap called Benjamin that sells loose joints - the editor should of course have corrected it to the proper name of Ben's Tokes.

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Drinfinity replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
3 likes

It's a chain of shops. The one referred to is in Stoke, there's another at a port town down south. 

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chrisonabike replied to dubwise | 1 year ago
8 likes

As any fule kno "Ben Stokes" is a very popular Scottish road climb.  It's notable for being an expatriate Munro, being located in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

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