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"This genuinely could kill somebody": Viral video of overenthusiastic Tour de France fan being pushed off mountain for running next to cyclists sparks debate online; Would you pay £1,000 for a pair of aero socks?; Election reaction + more on the live blog

Morning one and all, welcome to the Friday live blog where Dan Alexander will have all the election reaction, Tour de France updates, news and more

SUMMARY

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05 July 2024, 11:48
"This genuinely could kill somebody": Viral video of overenthusiastic Tour de France fan being pushed off mountain for running next to cyclists sparks debate online

You might have already seen the video doing the rounds on social media, it's already been viewed nearly three million times on the 'Cycling out of context' Twitter account. Apparently filmed earlier this week on the Galibier stage of the Tour de France, it shows the moment an overenthusiastic spectator, you know, one of those ones you see all the time and shake your head at for running up the climbs just inches away from the riders. 

Well, things took a turn...

Another spectator clearly not very impressed by the running gives them a nudge, and by nudge I mean — quite a significant shove, so much so the fan is sent tumbling off the mountain. When the camera returns back to the falling fan seconds later it shows they'd dropped even further down the slope. 

And while plenty took pleasure in seeing what they viewed as a moment of mountain justice — a perfect dose of karma for an irritating blight on the sport — the point has also been made that, well, pushing someone off a mountain because you don't like what they're doing might not be wholly virtuous either.

Reaction to Tour fan video (Twitter)

 Admittedly, sympathy was in the minority on this one...

Reaction to Tour fan video (Twitter)

Maybe just leave it to the authorities in future...

05 July 2024, 15:42
Time trial porn — Remco edition

For those of us who spent years watching Dan Martin, Nairo Quintana and Domenico Pozzovivo ride TTs... 

Brent
Remco Evenepoel Tour de France TT (ITV)

aero  /ˈɛːrəʊ/ adjective INFORMAL

aerodynamic.
"we softened the lines for a more aero look"
 

05 July 2024, 15:40
Mark Cavendish makes history, Dylan Groenewegen's bizarre (and stage-winning) aero beak, and the weirdest things we’ve ever seen at the Tour de France
05 July 2024, 15:20
Remco Evenepoel wins Tour de France time trial by 12 seconds, as Tadej Pogačar takes time on Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič

In the end just four riders could beat Victor Campenaerts' time — Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič, Tadej Pogačar and stage winner Remco Evenepoel. If you're going to come fifth, that's not a shabby quartet to lose to. It was clear not long after yellow jersey Pogačar had rolled down the start ramp at 4pm on the dot that the Big Four were going to head the stage standings, the only question over the order.

While Vingegaard started hot before appearing to fade, Evenepoel looked bulletproof, the TT world champion bettering Roglič and the Dane's times and setting a benchmark that even Pogačar could not overhaul.

Hearts sank all over Belgium when Evenepoel signalled for the team car with two kilometres to go, before relief as the mechanical (perhaps chain troubles) was apparently fixed with a slam of the bike. When the yellow jersey crossed the line a winning margin of 12 seconds was confirmed, the Soudal Quick-Step rider cutting the gap to Pogačar. It was an otherwise successful day for UAE Team Emirates' star, who took time on his compatriot Roglič and great rival Vingegaard.

It all means Pogačar remains in yellow, 33 seconds ahead of Remco, 1'15" up on Vingegaard and 1'36" up on Roglič heading into a weekend involving punchy hills and gravel.

05 July 2024, 15:03
When your entire village comes out to watch you at the Tour

Everyone's on the road (or finished) now, Victor Campenaerts' current fastest time about to come under siege from the big hitters. Here are some of the more notable things to happen so far although, let's face it, TT days are rarely that riveting. Poor Stefan Küng had some mechanical bad luck...

Meanwhile, Julien Bernard was living the dream, his entire village out on the climb to welcome him...

05 July 2024, 14:33
Got the nose (and wallet) to sniff out a Tour de France stage win? Dylan Groenewegen’s bizarre Scicon Batman aero ‘beak’ finally available to buy… for just £300 – but why was it banned in the first place?
05 July 2024, 13:18
TT day at the Tour

What a load of part timers. Only 25km on the menu at the Tour de France today...

Tour de France 2024 stage seven

A huge day in the GC fight. Can Jonas Vingegaard take back time on Tadej Pogačar? How will Remco Evenepoel go? Or will the Slovenian superstar extend his lead? All to play for this afternoon. Pogačar is the last rider off the start ramp at 4pm UK time. 

05 July 2024, 13:02
Hooked vs hookless wheels at the Tour de France — which rims are the pro peloton hooked on in 2024?
05 July 2024, 11:34
"A TV camera is there to capture images and not to influence the race": Mark Cavendish blasts Tour de France motorbike rider for putting him "out the back" after mechanical, as record-breaking sprinter fined for drafting behind team car
05 July 2024, 10:36
Cav's Astana teammate fined for stopping to watch record-breaking win on roadside screen

One of the more bizarre stories to come out of the Tour so far...

Mark Cavendish wins record 35th Tour de France stage, 2024 Tour de France, stage 5 (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Italian website Tuttobici reports that Davide Ballerini, Mark Cavendish's Astana Qazaqstan teammate, was fined 200 Swiss francs for behaviour contrary to the image of cycling on the day the Manx Missile broke the stage wins record.

Why? Well, he stopped by the roadside during the finale to watch the sprint on a giant screen. How dare you, Davide. 

05 July 2024, 10:25
"I'm glad Mathieu eats a greasy hamburger every now and then": Adrie van der Poel concerned by "really not healthy" dieting in pro cycling
Mathieu van der Poel at the Tour de France 2024 (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Mathieu van der Poel's father Adrie has spoken out about "really not healthy" dieting in pro cycling and admitted he is "glad Mathieu eats a greasy hamburger every now and then".

Speaking to Wieler Revue, he said: "In the past, almost all female cyclists had anorexia and when I look at today's cyclists, I almost get scared when I see them walking. They are already so thin and all the food has to be weighed. I am glad that Mathieu eats a greasy hamburger every now and then and that he doesn't care about that nutrition app. When I look at the Tour, I see cyclists of 1.80 meters with a weight of 60 kilograms. That is really not healthy."

That's the approach to nutrition I take too, Adrie, you know, it's all about avoiding being "really not healthy" so you've just got to keep scranning those hamburgers, right?

Retired pro Nathan van Hooydonck responded to Adrie's comments, suggesting that Mathieu is lucky to be able to eat a hamburger as, "If other riders do that, they are no longer competing to win."

"Mathieu can go eat a hamburger because he is exceptionally talented. If other riders do that, they are no longer competing to win. You race to win and to get the best out of yourself, don't you?"

05 July 2024, 10:04
Do you have these cycling essentials? 10 things we think every budding cyclist needs

I know what you're all itching to know: 'Does the aero beak make the cut???' 

> Do you have these cycling essentials? 10 things we think every budding cyclist needs

05 July 2024, 08:48
On your bike! Numerous Conservative politicians who have made questionable cycling claims lose their seats
Polling Station (Flickr Creative Commons - Simon Clayson)

Let's face it, despite relentless culture war noise around cycling in recent times, cycling and active travel were never prominent during the election campaign. With that said, it would be remiss of this live blogger to miss the opportunity to dig deep into the road.cc archives and pick out some of the politicians we've reported on during the last four-and-a-half years and see how they got on.

It's our (at times tenuous) cycling election round-up. We'll start with the most recent Transport Secretary.

Mark Harper (Conservative) LOST

Mark Harper (Parliament)

The final Tory Transport Secretary lost his Forest of Dean seat to Labour (you'll be hearing more of that) in one of the tightest results of the night. Harper's majority from 2019 had been more than 15,000, but in a disastrous night for the former minister for transport, a huge swing to Labour, plus Reform taking 17 per cent of the vote, saw him lose his seat in Parliament by just 278 votes.

> "For most people, the most important mode of transport remains the car, the van, the lorry, the motorbike": Transport Secretary Mark Harper says the Conservative party is "proudly pro-car", as Chris Boardman admits concerns

In more recent times, as one of his last acts in the role, Harper agreed to a proposal to introduce tougher laws for "dangerous cyclists" who kill or injure, as he said "it's only right tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face full weight of the law". That legislation was not passed in time, due to Rishi Sunak calling the election, although during the campaign Labour pledged to introduce it in the next Parliament.

Grant Shapps (Conservative) LOST

Grant Shapps TV interview (public domain)

Where do you start with Grant Shapps? Another former Transport Secretary, Shapps' time was, from the viewpoint of a cycling website's interests, defined by that mad week in August 2022 when he proposed number plates, insurance and speed limits for cyclists... before making a rather quick U-turn. Shapps lost his Hertfordshire constituency of Welwyn Hatfield to Labour after his share of the vote plummeted 19 per cent.

Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative) LOST

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Keynsham High Street cycle lane

North East Somerset and Hanham also went to Labour, Jacob Rees-Mogg presumably already banging on the GB News studio doors shouting to be let in. We've had less involvement with Rees-Mogg than others, although his opposition to a bike lane in Keynsham and use of an "extremely offensive racist term" while talking about "lunatic" cycle lane plans earned him some road.cc time.

Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative) WON

Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Parliamentary portrait)

The former Conservative leader spearheaded the campaign to introduce the aforementioned new 'dangerous cycling' laws. Iain Duncan Smith kept his Chingford and Woodford Green seat, in part due to the opposition vote being split between the former Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen (who was replaced and subsequently ran as an independent) and the then-instated Labour candidate Shama Tatler.

Philip Davies (Conservative) LOST

Philip Davies (Parliament portrait)

During the campaign we heard from a reader who accused Davies of "massive prejudice against cyclists" after "angry email rant" to constituent who questioned his "contradictory" road safety views and number plates for cyclists stance. That was the least of Davies' problems when it transpired he was one of those who'd been down the bookies to bet £8,000 on the election date. It's always the ones you least expect. Anyway, Davies will presumably be joining Rees-Mogg down the GB News job centre having also lost his seat last night.

Nick Fletcher (Conservative) LOST

Cyclist LTN planter, Hackney London (by Adwitiya Pal)

The Conservative former MP who was criticised for touting a known 15-minute city conspiracy in Parliament, and who later claimed cycling routes have turned his city into a "ghost town", lost his Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme seat to Labour last night.

Thérèse Coffey (Conservative) LOST

Thérèse Coffey calls active travel project "anti-driver" (Active Travel Woodbridge/Parliament portrait)

Thérèse Coffey, the Conservative politician who for a brief period during the autumn of 2022 served as health secretary during Liz Truss' stint as prime minister, lashed out at an active travel project in her Suffolk constituency, claiming that it is "anti-driver". Last night, Coffey lost her Suffolk Coastal seat to Labour, her share of the vote down a third on 2019.

Nigel Farage (Reform) WON

Farage screenshot from YouTube

During his years of opportunistically jumping from issue to issue, Farage has unsurprisingly had a pop at cycling a couple of times, perhaps most famously in 2021 during a rant about "insane" cycle lanes. And no, you probably don't need me to tell you in this case "insane" isn't a positive adjective...

> Nigel Farage forges new career as anti-cycling bingo caller

Louise Haigh (Labour) WON

Labour shadow secretary for transport Louise Haigh riding a bike

The shadow transport secretary easily kept her seat in Sheffield, so we're assuming Louise Haigh will be the next head of transport now her party is in government. In November, concerns were expressed after Haigh began to outline her stance on active travel policies, 20mph speed limits and low-traffic neighbourhoods.

> Labour's shadow secretary for transport rides a bike and offers support for cycling infrastructure… gets accused of photo-op (and for riding without helmet)

However, she later insisted that active travel is "essential for economic growth" and "every pound invested delivers a huge return in benefits". She also said comments about Sheffield being too hilly to cycle in were a "light-hearted joke".

And finally, anyone know how this guy got on last night? At least he'll have a driver taking him everywhere from now on...

Sir Keir Starmer official portrait

> Sir Keir Starmer was 'making U-turn' when he hit cyclist, says witness

05 July 2024, 08:00
Would you pay £1,000 for a pair of aero socks? Mark Cavendish's 'Project 35' Nopinz socks available online

It's been the Tour of expensive aero tech. Dylan Groenewegen got his nose in front to take yesterday's sprint wearing his 'aero beak', an attachment that Scicon has now made available online, priced at £300 for UK buyers. Don't all rush at once...

Dylan Groenewegen's aero beak, 2024 Tour de France stage three (Eurosport)

Well, once you've got that you can head over to aero clothing specialists Nopinz who are selling the socks Mark Cavendish has been seen in during this Tour de France. That's if you've got a spare £999.99 down the back of the sofa.

NoPinz aero socks

Named P35, a reference to Project 35 and Cavendish's hunt for the outright Tour stage wins record, they are, Nopinz says: "Designed by champions for champions. These exceptional socks are crafted for a groundbreaking project, offering unparalleled performance and comfort. Elevate your ride with the perfect blend of innovation and excellence."

Unfortunately for the brand, Cav's history-making win on Wednesday was achieved in a pair of the team's standard-issue socks, the Manx Missile changing back having been spotted rocking the extra aero ones earlier in the week.

Mark Cavendish at 2024 Tour de France
Nopinz aero socks

If you sign up to Nopinz's mailing list you'll get five per cent your order and can very truthfully tell that significant other you got £50 off. Or just buy an entire bike, or a set of wheels, or a top of the range turbo trainer, or a different cycling outfit for every day of the week, or a holiday, or you know, anything you want that costs almost £1,000. 

Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.

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33 comments

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mdavidford replied to chrisonabike | 3 months ago
2 likes

chrisonabike wrote:

Maybe.  "the only party on the side of drivers" probably doesn't mean "...but we are on the side of cyclists more" though!

No - I wouldn't expect anything like that - more likely "...while cyclists aren't important enough for us to care about either way".

I imagine 'on the side of drivers' probably means keep the freeze on fuel duty (and hope oil prices come down because geopolitics), maybe some sort of gesture towards a scrappage scheme, and a few pennies for potholes. On ULEZ I suspect they'll 'reflect on' it for a few years until it becomes the new normal, and then quietly forget about it.

Avatar
Jetmans Dad replied to chrisonabike | 3 months ago
3 likes

chrisonabike wrote:

Hopefully more local authorities can realise it's to their advantage to find money and put it into cycling, rather than just dumping it into holes in the ground or speculating to try to bring in more income.

This is the key. Most of the roads cyclists will ride on in their communities will be the responsibility of the local authority not central government. What we want is for Westminster to set down minimum standards for acceptable infrastructure, encourage local authorities to actively look for opportunities to create it and not block them when they do.

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chrisonabike replied to Jetmans Dad | 3 months ago
1 like

Jetmans Dad wrote:

chrisonabike wrote:

Hopefully more local authorities can realise it's to their advantage to find money and put it into cycling, rather than just dumping it into holes in the ground or speculating to try to bring in more income.

This is the key. Most of the roads cyclists will ride on in their communities will be the responsibility of the local authority not central government. What we want is for Westminster to set down minimum standards for acceptable infrastructure, encourage local authorities to actively look for opportunities to create it and not block them when they do.

Yep.

Unfortunately "money from Central govt." may be an issue.  Now, that itself doesn't mean they can't shuffle the funding and find money if they wanted.  Nor would extra money go to cycling in most places.  It's political choices. to some extent

As for "national standards" - that was my cry for a long time.  However I've recently learned that in the most successful cycling country it may in fact work differently.  Still digesting this one (and almost certainly "we can't get there from here" anytime soon), but maybe worth a watch:

https://youtu.be/b4ya3V-s4I0?t=597

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