Van driver intimidates female cyclist... doesn't realise she's plain-clothes cop; Would this cyclist be fined for using the pavement?; Colbrelli needs "miracle" to race again; What does it take to ride 1000km in 24 hours?; COBBLES + more on the live blog

It's another photo for the Jumbo-Visma scrapbook...

Wout van Aert crossed the line first, followed by Christophe Laporte. Behind, Stefan Küng's late attack earned him a spot on the podium, while Eritrean Biniam Girmay sprinted to fourth on debut.

What a race. What a win... Can anyone stop Jumbo-Visma next Sunday?

Easily the worst Birthday I've ever had https://t.co/BxhuRtHIfJ

— Liam Cahill (@liamcahill1) March 25, 2022

From today the law has changed, expanding the meaning of 'using' a phone behind the wheel. Offending drivers will now get a £200 fine and six points for:

• Illuminating the screen
•  Checking the time
• Checking notifications
• Unlocking the device
• Making, receiving, or rejecting a telephone or internet based call
• Sending, receiving or uploading oral or written content
• Sending, receiving or uploading a photo or video
• Utilising camera, video, or sound recording,
• Drafting any text
• Accessing any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages
• Accessing an app
• Accessing the internet

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Max Walscheid (@maxwalscheid)

Cofidis rider Max Walscheid is being treated in intensive care in Germany after being hit by a driver while training. The 28-year-old says he is lucky to be alive after the incident, and luckily avoided serious injury.

Walscheid did not lose consciousness and has not suffered any broken bones.

"The first thing that comes to my mind is that I was incredibly lucky to survive this accident. Even though we haven't done all the x-rays yet, I obviously don't have any broken bones. I was just doing classic training after Brugge-De Panne. I was on a calm road, in perfect conditions.

"Fortunately, I was not advancing very quickly, on the side of the road. A car came from the opposite direction. She suddenly turned to the right, without blinking, rushed at me and hit me. I didn't even have time to do anything, nor to be afraid before the accident happened.  

"So I was hit in the face. I jumped over the car and fell a few meters away, luckily in the ditch and not on the asphalt. My bicycle was completely destroyed, 10 meters away… People quickly came to help me, the ambulance and the police too. I was then transported to the hospital and admitted to the emergency services where they made a scan of my whole body. 

"Even though they didn't detect anything broken, I had to spend the night under observation. We will continue the tests and examinations this Friday, in particular for my head and to check my breathing and my electrocardiogram."

Sonny Colbrelli has commented for the first time since collapsing in the aftermath of the opening stage of Volta a Catalunya, having suffered an unstable cardiac arrhythmia. The Italian collapsed shortly after sprinting to second on the uphill kicker in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, and admits it is a "miracle" he is alive.

> Sonny Colbrelli in stable condition in hospital after collapsing at Volta a Catalunya finish

"It's already a miracle that I'm alive, now it would take another to get me back on the saddle," Colbrelli told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We will evaluate day by day. There are so many people who love me."

Bahrain Victorious released a statement on Thursday saying the team had "no further news" about the rider's condition, saying he remains in hospital in Girona.

Add this to the folder alongside Oli Naesen...

‘Yeah no it’s going to be tough for sure, but I do think Jumbo can do it this year. I’m just hoping they don’t ride defensively and really bring the fight to Tadej you know? Primoz can absolutely do it, he just has to stay on the bike and not crash’ pic.twitter.com/1SIey7OkWM

— janina (@jeanine______) March 24, 2022

Sun is shining!☀️The cobbles are waiting #E3SaxobankClassic. C'mon @qst_alphavinyl!
📸@jeredgruber pic.twitter.com/cWpg5mCYBH

— RENSON (@RensonWorldwide) March 25, 2022

One of my favourite racing days of the year — E3 Saxo Bank Classic. The Flanders dress rehearsal: harder than Omloop — 204km, Kanarieberg, Taaienberg, Paterberg, Oude Kwaremont, Tiegemberg, plus many more of Flanders cobbled beasts. With Flanders next Sunday it's time to find the form...

#E3SaxobankClassic 🇧🇪

We're getting ready for one of the most challenging classics of the spring!

🚩 Harelbeke
🏁 Harelbeke
📏 203.9km
🕰 12h15-17h
📺 @sporza_koers (13h30) @eurosport (14h35) @tipikrtbf (14h20)

Preview 👉🏼 https://t.co/STjMbfZVp6 pic.twitter.com/imgG8V3t5Q

— Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (@IntermarcheWG) March 25, 2022

Nine times in the past 22 years, the winner of E3 has gone on to win Flanders. Will we get a tenth this year?

On the startline: Kasper Asgreen, Wout van Aert, Zdeněk Štybar, Florian Sénéchal, Tiesj Benoot, Victor Campenaerts, Greg Van Avermaet, Oliver Naesen, Bob Jungels, Gianni Moscon, Matej Mohorič, Stefan Küng, Jhonatan Narvaez, Luke Rowe, Dylan van Baarle, Sep Vanmarcke, John Degenkolb, Søren Kragh Andersen, Jasper Stuyven, Mads Pedersen, Peter Sagan, Anthony Turgis...now that's not bad, is it?

And, of course, it wouldn't be E3 without Oli Naesen memes...

Tomorrow it's time for greatness. @OliverNaesen will get his revenge and will destroy his rivals on the Tiegemberg. Here is the trailer for tomorrow's #E3SaxoBankClassic pic.twitter.com/GaJOmmN4m7

— Cycling Memes (@Cycling_Memes1) March 24, 2022

What does it take to ride 1000km in 24 hours? Good legs. Case closed, thanks for reading...

Okay, there's a bit more to it than that. Last July, Austrian ultracyclist Christoph Strasser rode 1,026.215km at an average speed of 42.75kph to smash the world record for greatest distance ridden by a cyclist in 24 hours.

The six-time Race Across America champ hit the record at the Zeltweg Air Base to beat the road record, he already holds the track record, in just 21 hours 6 minutes, before clocking an extra 26km, presumably just for fun?!

Strasser's record was aided by the support of his INSCYD coach Markus Kinzlbauer, who has now broken down exactly what it took to perform such an outstanding athletic feat...

Speaking to the athletic performance software company, Kinzlbauer, who also won two Paralympic medals in handcycling during 2021, said the effort was highly dependent on nutrition. We all recognise when we haven't eaten enough on a ride, the legs start to fade, the speed drops, until eventually you're crawling home pedalling through mud.

Well, if you're trying to ride for 24 hours, let alone at an average speed of 42kph, Strasser needed: "116g/h (grammes of carbs per hour) in the first 12h and a total of almost 105g/h in the 24h."

"Such a performance is highly dependent on the energy demand and intake. We experimented with nutrition intake. We tried a lot with sugar mixtures. During the race, we fed 116g/h in the first 12h and a total of almost 105g/h in the 24h," Kinzlbauer explained.

In total Strasser took on 13,450 calories, roughly five times the recommended daily intake for men.

"One of the puzzle pieces in the training prior to this historical benchmark was the INSCYD PPD test. We used the fat and carbohydrate combustion graph to calculate nutrition intake and pacing, and saw that the results were extremely reliable," Kinzlbauer continued.

The crucial balance was making sure Strasser has enough energy to complete the distance without suffering digestive issues.

Stats: 24 hours, 1026km, 42.75kph, 272w average power, 136bpm heart rate.

Check out Strasser's mind-boggling Strava file here...