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“Putting cycling behind a paywall isn’t how to grow the sport”: Fans react to “awful, disgraceful” news of ITV losing Tour de France broadcast rights, Does Pogačar lack morals for signing bumper new contract with UAE Team Emirates? + more on the live blog

Another dark, damp morning, but hey, just one more day till we can ride off into the (hopefully sunnier) weekend! In the meantime, Adwitiya’s your host for the day with all the latest cycling news and views
25 October 2024, 12:35
ITV Eurosport logo
“Putting cycling behind a paywall is not how to grow the sport”: Fans react to “awful” and “disgraceful” news of ITV losing Tour de France rights, making Eurosport the exclusive UK broadcaster

Shocking, disastrous, awful, disgraceful… Lots of horrible adjectives Warner Bros Discovery might not have expected to see when announcing the news that Eurosport was to become the sole broadcaster of Tour de France from 2026 onwards, meaning that all those with free-to-air television would lose out on watching cycling’s biggest event on ITV.

Besides being a subscription-based service, this also means fans would have to be content with substituting Ned Boulting’s commentary with… erm, Carlton Kirby.

road.cc contacted ITV for an official statement, and a spokesperson got back saying: “Nothing for ITV to add on this one.”

2024 Tour de France jersey winners Zac Williams/SWpix.com
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

> No Tour de France on ITV from 2026 as Eurosport becomes exclusive UK broadcaster

The announcement from this morning all but means a death knell for the channel’s coverage of the race, which tonnes of fans seemed to enjoy and cherish, despite the otherwise persistent groans about cuts to adverts about life insurances, donkey sanctuaries and funeral homes.

Here’s what road.cc readers and other cycling fans have had to say about the whole deal, and yes, it’s 99.99 per cent, let’s say, not positive.

james-o: Ah well.. there goes the last of my interest in racing. Won't be getting Eurosport just for this. I will miss the ITV coverage though, the commentary team were brilliant and part of the summer for me since the mid 80s. Maybe I'll plan a tour out to France to see it by the roadside.

Rendel Harris: Personally I'm happy to shell out my £6.99 a month for all three GTs, all the monuments and major stage races that you get with Eurosport/Discovery but I think it's a real mistake not to have a least a highlights package available on free to air. As I suspect many on here of my vintage did, I first got into cycle racing through seeing the Channel 4 highlights from 1984 (?) onwards and it formed the basis of a lifetime of devotion. My other two favourite sports, rugby union and cricket, have been severely damaged in terms of fanbase and encouraging young people to get involved by making shortsighted decisions to grab the cash and not have any free to air coverage, even highlights; sad to see cycling going the same way. So now any kids whose parents can't afford/don't want to pay for Eurosport will get to see cycle racing on TV once every couple of years at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics? 

Natrix: Wow, absolutely gutted with that news. I've watched every one of the tours on ITV (and lots previously on C4), really love the highlights programme. The comentators are a great bunch, was chatting with Ned a couple of days ago and he didn't mention this.

Some more comments from social media…

“Urgh, Eurosport highlights are utterly terrible. Less ‘highlights’, more ‘randomly show however many final kilometres fit into our run time’. This plus the loss of GCN+ is continued bad news for the viewing public.”

“ITV 4 commentary was by far better than Discovery but live coverage was ruined by constant advert breaks filled with hugely depressing ads for dying donkeys and funeral plans. However, the ITV4 highlights were basically unmissable and when I was working were my main access to Coverage.”

“Very sad news for the event, Eurosport highlights are absolute garbage.”

“That’s not good, should be on more than one channel so more people have access to view. Unfortunately the biggest cheque has won again!!”

“That’s that then. Won’t be able to watch the Tour after 2026. Can't afford Eurosport. Disappointing as really enjoy Ned Boulting and David Millar along with the rest of the ITV Cycling team.”

“That doubly sucks because ITV4's coverage elevates a sports programme well above the usual boring sports show by being witty, non-sycophantic and informative about the wider picture. Can’t bear to watch other cycling shows without the fantastic presenters + commentators on ITV4.”

“WTF!! So ITV Cycling is going to be done with by 2026?? This isn’t right, Sky have taken football away from free tv for the most part and a sport as small as cycling, begging for more views, which help sponsors and the sport in general is now behind a paywall?? What a joke!!”

“As much as I enjoy Eurosport’s coverage, having free to air on ITV is really important. I think this is a bad thing. I feel for everyone connected with ITV cycling and everything they have built.”

And finally on a lighter note, Lance Rossiter wrote: “Carlton Kirby laughing at his own jokes is worth the subscription!!!” I don’t know if I agree with that or not…

25 October 2024, 16:20
James May forced to complete charity cycle in car after “busting wrist” in bike crash – and drives into bollard
James May after charity cycle (James May, Twitter)

“At my age, this sort of thing takes much longer to heal,” the former Top Gear presenter said after falling off his bike near Hammersmith Bridge...

> James May forced to complete charity cycle in car after “busting wrist” in bike crash – and drives into bollard

25 October 2024, 15:53
Ribble Rebellion Team Girona s
Ribble Rebellion, a brand-new cycling team aimed at “disrupting” the global Crit scene, folds just months after launch

In what can only highlight the volatile nature of domestic racing, Ribble Rebellion has decided to call it a day just months after being launched.

The young team with lofty goals of “disrupting” the global Crit scene was launched by the British bike manufacturer in March this year, and with less than one full season under its belt, the team has announced it won’t continue racing into the 2025 season, leaving many of its riders in a precarious spot, reports The British Continental.

The team had built quite the roster, with Joe Laverick whose has previously raced for Axel Merckx’s Hagens Berman Axeon, along with other British talents such as Matt Bostock and Jim Brown, who’s finished in the top 10 of two Tour of Britain stages.

The team made some big waves during its short stint, winning many races in the US and the UK, as well as winning the title of the Best Team at the National Crit Series.

25 October 2024, 10:36
2024 Tadej Pogacar yellow jersey Tdf credit - A.S.O
Is Tadej Pogačar’s new contract with UAE Team Emirates the latest in a long line of cycling sportswashing, indicating the Slovenian “lacks morals”? Or is it justified for him to stay loyal to his team (and does the sport need to look inwards?)

Lots of big questions there…

If you missed yesterday’s big pro cycling story, the best male cyclist in the world at the moment, and perhaps ever, Tadej Pogačar extended his contract with UAE Team Emirates until 2030 — and on commenced the chatter around sportswashing.

Sportswashing, if you didn’t know, is a tactic through which corporations, governments and nations use sports to improve the public perception of the entity, and cleanse any tarnished reputation they might have accumulated.

And if you’ve followed cycling in recent years at all, there’s no lack of sportswashing — from petrochemical conglomerates such as TotalEnergies and Ineos sponsoring and owning teams, to entire nation states like Israel and UAE having their names on their respective teams.

Tadej Pogačar wins stage four, 2024 Tour de France (ASO)

So with the world’s biggest cycling superstar who’s just had one of the greatest seasons in cycling history choosing to stay with the same team (for an alleged €8 million a year, up by €2 million from his current contract), cycling fans were quick to raise eyebrows.

> Is cycling's 'sportswashing' debate too big to ignore? World Championships protest shines spotlight on less-than-green sponsors

Emma Bianchi asked: “Genuine question: why? With his profile, he could probably go to any team he wants. They would all free a chunk of budget to sign him. Why does he stay? Is it only the money?

“Because he’s actively contributing to the sportswashing agenda of a country that has very *questionable* human rights? I wouldn’t be allowed to exist there, so how can I be his fan? Other people might have to take the contract if they have no option, but he has all the options??”

One person pointed out that several riders choose to ride for teams with questionable entities backing and funding the machinery, the most recent example being the Aussie Ben O’Connor, runner-up at the Vuelta a España this year, choosing to leave Decathlon-AG2R Mondiale to join Jayco-AlUla, an Australian team but co-sponsored by the Saudi Arabian city of al-Ula — then, why should Pogačar be crucified for doing the same?

Bianchi responded saying: “If anyone has the options to demand the world, it’s him. I’m specifically annoyed by him because he’s the only one who’s truly free to choose.”

One more person criticised Pogačar saying: “He has already shown he clearly has no morals, so I don’t think it plays a factor in his decision making.”

2024 Giro d'Italia, Tadej Pogacar, UAE Team Emirates, picture by Zac Williams-SWpix.com © SWpix.com (t-a Photography Hub Ltd) - 1 (4)
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

However, there were once again others who defended his choice, suggesting that he’s been with the team almost all his professional career as well as knowing that they’ve built a big team around him with riders he seemingly has a great camaraderie with, giving him all the right tools to succeed and beat the odds when he’s having a bad day (as preposterous as that sounds currently).

And finally, there was yet another school of thought, which considered the sharp critique reserved for Middle Eastern countries in sportswashing as rather unfair, and called on fans to look inwards, specifically Europe.

> The UAE is investing heavily in cycling — but can we trust that its intentions are genuine?

Cycling fan account going by the name ‘Tratnikuchismo’ wrote: “In my opinion it's highly hypocritical from the Western world to criticise Middle East for sportswashing while not mentioning how we continuously abuse Third World Countries, move our industries there, exploit slave workers and with that support dictatorial regimes without a sense of shame.

“Plus as a part of NATO we consistently invade countries for our interests. In that sense we are in no sense worse than Middle East. If you criticise sportswashing by those countries, please first criticise our own countries and regimes, before standing on the moral high ground and preach about others.

“Yes, Pogačar is sh*t for staying at UAE and supporting a bad regime. At the same time we are also sh*t by not doing anything about abusing third world countries.”

As always, we’d be more than interested to know what you think... Do you think Pogačar should have seen his previous contract out and moved to a new team (if so, which team?), or is he justified in staying loyal to the team which has helped him fulfil all his cycling goals, despite the sportswashing accusations? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

25 October 2024, 15:04
Why did he do that?! Paddy McGuinness getting chamois cream absolutely wrong 🤦🏽‍♂️

You see there's this thing called Google, that tells you how to do things when you aren't really sure...

25 October 2024, 13:55
Halfords says new premium bike range is a hit – but cycling market remains challenging following “UK’s wettest spring since 1986”
Halfords barrier logo 3x2 (copyright Simon MacMichael)

After seeing its profits slashed last year amid “significantly worse than expected” bike sales, Halfords says its leisure cycling sector has remained a challenge throughout the first half of 2024, following the UK’s “wettest spring since 1986”.

> Halfords says new premium bike range is a hit – but cycling market remains challenging following “UK’s wettest spring since 1986”

25 October 2024, 11:52
How to keep cyclists safe when roadworks are taking place vs how not to
25 October 2024, 08:16
“A testament to how popular cycling is”: Cyclists call for converting car parking spaces into e-bike docking areas after dozens of Lime bikes parked on the pavement attract hire bike critics

It might not be a the most stylishly taken photograph, but my word, if a picture could speak a thousand words…

In the foreground, we have dozens of Lime bikes — the London share bikes that just refuse to go down in popularity (remember that video from All Points East this summer?) — parked on a pavement as pedestrians walk past the white and green mosaic, with one person in the corner engaged in the process of either hiring one and riding away, or unmounting and adding their own brushstroke to the hodge-podge.

In the background, we’ve got another row of the Santander bikes on the edge of the pavement, all neatly docked in their stations — a stark contrast to the chaos imposed by the Lime bikes — all while four lanes of motor traffic, gridlocked into a prison of their making wait to be set free.

Now, a lot of people have a lot of opinions about hire bikes, especially Lime bikes which operate on a dockless basis, having designated parking areas where they must be left by those taking them out. For some, it’s the ultimate convenience when it comes to picking their mode of transport, for others, “an eyesore”, “clutter” and “just a blight on our pavements”.

> “We’re an alternative to the selfish customer who wants to leave their bike anywhere and make it somebody else’s problem”: Boris Bikes set for “game-changer” upgrade as Transport for London aims to double e-bike fleet to counter dockless Lime challenge

The image was shared by Sam Bowman, editor of the magazine ‘Works in Progress’ who captioned it: “This is such a pain in the ass. These e-bike companies should be required to lease out car parking spots and make their riders park them in them.”

However, popular cycling account on Twitter ‘Bob from Accounts’ took umbrage at the sentiment and said: “Whilst this is frustrating it is also a testament to how popular cycling is and that given the choice people would prefer to cycle. Campaign for better infrastructure and reclaiming some of the vast amount of space occupied by automobiles (see the 4 lanes behind ).”

And from the outset, it seems that most cyclists tended to agree. Biological scientist and journalist/filmmaker Kate Middleton (no, not that one), replied saying: “We should be converting car parking spaces to e-bike parking in areas like this. Resident’s parking in boroughs like Greenwich is around 30p a day for a tank sized SUV - let’s change some of that public space into e-bike spaces.”

David Burridge said: “It highlights the popularity of the freedom given by non-dockable cycles! Yes, there needs to be better infrastructure, but let’s keep positive: this is a great emerging tech; delivering healthy transport solutions. No to the extreme ‘regulate and ban’ people.”

Another person said: “Dozens of people travelling around a city while emitting almost no CO2 and generating almost no traffic is definitely worth the trade-off.”

However, there were some people who called for organised parking, instead of “dumping” them on the pavement, leading to some interesting replies…

What makes this situation even more interesting is the apparent battle even Transport for London seems to have picked up with Lime, either catching on to the discontent about the haphazardly-parked bikes or playing it a way to tilt attention towards its own Santander bikes.

Just this Wednesday, TfL announced that it will be upgrading its ‘Boris bikes’ fleet by by doubling its e-bike fleet to 4,000, in a bid to quell the dockless private hire bike challenge of recent years.

TfL’s head of cycle hire David Eddington even said: “What we offer is a safe, well-managed, considerate scheme – a docked scheme. People know where they have to go to get a bike, and where they have to be left.

“We provide an alternative to the more selfish customer who wants to leave their [dockless] bike anywhere and make it somebody else’s problem.”

Order vs chaos, Black and red versus white and green… you know the drill.

What do you make of it? Should there be docks for Lime bikes and if yes, then do you agree if there needs to be reclaiming of some car parking space to make way for them… or does this current system work as it is and should stay the same? Let us know in the comments.

25 October 2024, 10:01
😳 No Tour de France on ITV from 2026 as Eurosport becomes exclusive UK broadcaster
2024 Tour de France jersey winners Zac Williams/SWpix.com

One of the UK’s most beloved televisual sporting traditions of the summer will come to an end in 2026, following the news that the Tour de France will no longer be shown on ITV after next year, after Warner Bros. Discovery and Eurosport announced that they had agreed a new exclusive rights deal for cycling’s biggest race.

Read more: > No Tour de France on ITV from 2026 as Eurosport becomes exclusive UK broadcaster

25 October 2024, 09:35
Does this mean no more silly season rumours about four of the biggest riders for the near-future?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Velon CC (@veloncc)

At least we'll always have new rumours about Remco Evenepoel leaving Soudal Quick-Step and joining *insert team name* every three months I guess!

Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.

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24 comments

Avatar
Hirsute | 1 month ago
3 likes

//pbs.twimg.com/media/Gazs4jUbsAAh5Wy?format=jpg&name=small)

Dave Walker

Avatar
Hirsute | 1 month ago
3 likes

Very disappointed - how am I supposed to get angry over the lack of victim blaming ?!

//pbs.twimg.com/media/GaujaijWAAEpoJc?format=jpg&name=small)

Good morning South Yorkshire. How are you this #Friday? Don't forget that the clocks change this weekend which means we are heading into darker mornings & evenings. Have a look at our checklist to help you stay road safe: https://sysrp.co.uk/campaign/darknights

Avatar
HoarseMann replied to Hirsute | 1 month ago
3 likes

Hirsute wrote:

Very disappointed - how am I supposed to get angry over the lack of victim blaming ?!

Watch the video on the linked webpage??...

When those dark nights roll in, it's time to put away the headphones!

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to Hirsute | 1 month ago
4 likes

What gets my goat every year when driving more in the dark is the number of drivers who use spot lamps, dazzling everyone else, even though it is illegal.  I did write to Viz TopTips, but I'm not sure if they used it:

"Drivers, if you use spot lamps all the time when it's dark, could you please strap a 14" fluorescent pink dildo to the roof of your car so that we'll know in daylight too."

Avatar
levestane replied to Hirsute | 1 month ago
1 like

I find that autolights on cars have the head lights on when not needed. As soon as there is enough light to see the road surface ahead headlights only serve to dazzle other road users reducing safety. On narrow country roads when you have to pull over to pass very few drivers seem to realise that swithching to side lighs when stopped at night helps everyone. I guess this is another instance of 'auto' reducing brain engagement.

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john_smith | 1 month ago
0 likes

Re the pics of the van etc., I don't think that's a very good defence at all (if that's what they're supposed to be).

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Smoggysteve | 1 month ago
2 likes

Ref Pogacar, Can you blame a rider for signing a big contract in a sport in which they have a limited career length?  I would suggest that the teams along with the UCI need to do more to restructure the sport to make it fairer on the less fortunate. For every Pogacar or Evanapoel there is a rider busting their ass every day in support of them getting paid a mere fraction. Even some of the teams on the world tour have very limited budgets compared  to UAE, Visma leaseabike or Ineos etc.

That needs dealing with along with more to encourage womens events which is ridiculously underfunded as with most womens sports. 

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maya replied to Smoggysteve | 1 month ago
0 likes

Agree. Since when are athletes 'policemen' or moral judgers... if anything they could do the most for cycling safety. And non did. 
GIVERNING BODY is the one responsible for this kind of matters. And as @tratnik..sth stated we should first clean infront of our own doors before judging others. This is one of the most ridiculous topics opened uo lately. 

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dubwise | 1 month ago
0 likes

Quote:

Another dark, damp morning

 

No it isn't.

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Adwitiya Pal replied to dubwise | 1 month ago
3 likes

To be fair, it did get brighter and drier here in Cardiff since I wrote that...

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mdavidford | 1 month ago
2 likes

Why should the bike hire companies have to lease out parking spaces? It not like (permitted areas aside) drivers are having to pay for the storage space, so why should they? Just direct users to leave the bikes in a convenient space, if possible.

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the little onion replied to mdavidford | 1 month ago
7 likes

I disagree. Car drivers pay for parking, or at least should, in such busy areas, and I don't like the idea that these companies are freeloading on public space. Cafes etc have to pay to use the public space if they want to put tables on the pavement.

A small tariff paid to councils, plus strict rules on storing them on these docks, would be most welcome.

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mdavidford replied to the little onion | 1 month ago
4 likes

the little onion wrote:

Car drivers pay for parking, or at least should

Well once they actually do, then maybe the lease argument would hold some water. But the point is (somewhat facetiously) highlighting the hypocrisy of people demanding that space for bikes should be paid for, while expecting to be able to just dump motor vehicles (including those being used for profit-making enterprises) in the same spaces for free.

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chrisonabike replied to mdavidford | 1 month ago
1 like

Hmm... the comments about "what about cars on footways?" are on-point but this looks like a way to get bogged in unhelpful argument.

As always why not look at the future (hopefully): what are they doing in NL?  Well, while they do have some hire companies there (e.g. here) the "big player" is ... a docked bike system, anchored on transport hubs (in fact state owned because the railways are nationalised).

But what about the cars?  Well their philosophy has it the right way round - in most places you can only park where it's specifically marked rather than the UK "park anywhere unless specifically prohibited".  (So no more thousands of miles of don't-entirely-mean-no-parking double yellows).

And "but what about the piles of bikes"?  Well - NL does have a "problem of succcess" - there are a LOT of parked bikes.  However a) people tend to take a little more care of things which are their private property - unlike hire machines and b) they're still adding capacity for excellent bike parking which gets bikes out of the way in the centre of towns.

But whatabout where we are now in the UK?  Why not less of both?  Fewer bikes OR cars abandoned on footways / other unhelpful places.

I'm not a dockless fan.  (I think NotJustBikes' comment about this often being an attempted replacement for a lack of decent street-level public transport is about right).  Do any large cycle hire systems actually make their money from the bikes?  Or is it rather advertising, or venture capital speculation on market share (or selling users' data)?  Even docked bike hire companies have strugged with damage / theft.  Leaving "free moveable stuff" on the streets isn't really a good idea.

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mitsky replied to chrisonabike | 1 month ago
1 like

I  have also wondered how profitable dockless bikes are, especially given they are apparently easy to hack.
Even stolen dockable bike users are visible in areas far distant from docking stations.

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andystow replied to mitsky | 1 month ago
0 likes

mitsky wrote:

I  have also wondered how profitable dockless bikes are, especially given they are apparently easy to hack.
Even stolen dockable bike users are visible in areas far distant from docking stations.

Lime was profitable in 2022, but I doubt they've made money overall. A lot of the startups lost money on every rental, but made it up in volume.

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mdavidford replied to chrisonabike | 1 month ago
1 like

mdavidford wrote:

[throwaway remark]...somewhat facetiously...

chrisonabike wrote:

Hmm... the comments about "what about cars on footways?" are on-point but this looks like a way to get bogged in unhelpful argument.

<gets bogged down in big long argument>

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chrisonabike replied to mdavidford | 1 month ago
1 like

Why argue with others when you can do it yourself?

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brooksby | 1 month ago
9 likes

Those Twitter X comments just demonstrate - again! - motonormativity.  The people criticising the hire bikes dumped on the footway are, I imagine, genuinely blind to the problems caused by cars/vans (and literal rubbish) dumped on other footways…

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john_smith replied to brooksby | 1 month ago
2 likes

They're paying "road tax". What is Lime paying to use/block our footpaths?

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chrisonabike replied to john_smith | 1 month ago
3 likes

Dividends?

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john_smith replied to chrisonabike | 1 month ago
1 like

To its delightful owners, which, I believe, include Uber and Alphabet. What's not to like?

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Rome73 replied to john_smith | 1 month ago
0 likes

Lime and all the other companies do pay the local authority to use bikes in the said authority.  They do not get to operate for 'free'. 

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Rendel Harris replied to Rome73 | 1 month ago
0 likes

Rome73 wrote:

Lime and all the other companies do pay the local authority to use bikes in the said authority.  They do not get to operate for 'free'. 

I believe that's not always the case, certainly in London: some boroughs have signed agreements with hire bike operators which gives them some revenue (quite a lot, e.g. Camden I believe is making northwards of £1 million a year) and some haven't. These agreements are voluntary, as the law stands at the moment operators don't need permission from the local authority to introduce their hire bikes to an area.

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