“Nobody has ever said people will have to give up their cars and cycle everywhere”: Cyclists hit out at “vitriol and lies” spread about active travel; Geraint Thomas to retire: Strictly on the cards?; “Cycling doesn’t help itself” + more on the live blog

There always seems to be something going on in Dorset when it comes to cycling and active travel, isn’t there?

The county – arguably more than anywhere else in the UK – has been at the forefront of a series of disputes surrounding active travel projects in recent times, as residents regularly voice their outrage at what they see as expensive and under-used cycling infrastructure making their lives worse.

Over the past year alone, we’ve seen hire bike company Beryl pull out of the east Dorset area after drivers claimed that the green bikes were “blighting our pavements”, Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council accused of “eco-vandalism” for cutting down 10 trees to allow work to begin on a new cycleway in Poole, and the construction of a cycle lane in Ferndown blamed for two failing businesses.

That Ferndown cycle lane – which since its initial construction has seen opponents claim it does not represent “value for money”, that “not enough” cyclists are using it, and that more road space should be allocated to drivers because they are “the majority” – also found itself at the centre of a misinformation row in July, after unfounded rumours emerged on social media claiming that several trees will be cut down during the works, claims dismissed by the council as “factually incorrect and negative”.

> “It will completely destroy everything”: Pub owner claims controversial cycle lane construction is costing her business “£5,000 a week”, month after bike lane also blamed for “awful” chippy’s demise

And that’s not all. We’ve seen another cycle lane in Poole make national headlines after upset locals complained to the Daily Mail, Telegraph, and GB News that they had been “blocked” in their driveways by wands installed to segregate the route from traffic – and that they “can’t just reverse out fast anymore”.

We’ve also had a group of motorists threaten to launch a legal challenge against what they described as the council’s “totally undemocratic” decision to permanently close one of the entrances to Poole Park, to prevent rat-running motorists using it as a cut-through.

This campaign even featured claims that the council’s decision was part of a “sinister agenda” also involving the oft-mischaracterised 15-minute cities initiative, 20mph zones, and low traffic neighbourhoods.

And at the end of December, residents in Dorset backed a petition raising concerns about “excessive delays, disruption, and inconvenience” caused by “the construction of extremely expensive and obviously under-utilised cycle paths”.

> "Not everyone has the option to drive": Council addresses backlash over controversial cycle lane projects, including row over 'driveway-blocking wands' and 'Britain's biggest bike lane'

The petition, calling for the Liberal Democrat and independent-run council to “reconsider their current local transport and infrastructure policies” has so far attracted over 2,700 signatures and was given a boost when the Mail published an article on the local anti-bike opposition with the headline: ‘Our council is causing traffic chaos and spending £120m to install 50 MILES of cycle lanes – despite the ones already there barely being used’.

However, the council responded to the petition by pointing out that “not everyone in our community has the option to drive” and that the works are designed to benefit all road users, not just cyclists.

Yes, all of that has really taken place in the last few months.

Of course, since it’s 2025 and all, many of these debates have been fought out on the petty battleground that is social media, where warring Facebook groups of active travel and motoring enthusiasts have taken turns chastising each other through the very modern medium of angry posts and sharing screenshots and links.

And this weekend was no different. On the ‘BCP and Dorset Motorists’ Facebook group – the source of the recent petition – one member, Dave, criticised BCP Council’s “Active Travel Plan” (his quotation marks, not mine), which he argued had led to the local authority “effectively forcing this on our communities with their ‘get on your bikes’ attitude”.

“How many of our councillors actually cycle to work?” he asked. “They all seem good at telling the community to do so.”

“I can imagine them driving into work. Looking around at the mess they have made,” replied James. “While waiting in a slow-moving traffic cue. Seeing nobody riding a bike or even a mobility scooter. And thinking, yeah! What an amazing job we’ve done here!”

> Motorists to launch legal challenge against “totally undemocratic” decision to close park rat-run to drivers to “appease the cycling brigade”

Meanwhile, Geoff pointed out that “there are clearly some parties whose ideology is adamantly against drivers” and that “some people might think the Conservatives to be supportive of allowing a more balanced approach to traffic policy”.

He continued: “After all I believe most people would agree that a reasonable network of single lanes should be offered as long as they don’t restrict the amenity of other groups.

“But we saw that with Cllr Greene last time, he went too far in giving way to the nagging of the cycle cult lobbyists, which has empowered them to demand more and more.”

However, these claims that cycling is being “forced” on Dorset’s communities unsurprisingly received short shrift in that other BCP-based Facebook group, BH Active Travel (I swear, it’s like the Sharks and the Jets, but on Facebook groups, and about cycling).

> Controversial cycle lane wands go viral as furious residents lash out at "blocked" driveways, but local cyclist suggests outrage "overblown" and bike lane bollards only necessary because drivers park in it

In one post from the weekend, BH Active Travel member Robert sought out to “get one or two things straight” about active travel campaigners in the county, and the conspiracy theories spread about them.

“Nobody in this group has ever said that: ‘People will have to cycle everywhere’. Those who claim that is the policy of this group are lying,” he wrote.

“Nobody in this group has ever said that: ‘People will have to give up their cars’. Those who claim that is the policy of this group are lying.

“Nobody in this group has ever said that: ‘You will be forced to live in 15-minute cities and you won’t be able to leave without permission’. Those that claim that is the policy of this group are lying.”

> Why is the 15-minute city attracting so many conspiracy theories?

He continued: “This group exists to safeguard vulnerable road users from death and injuries on our roads and provide a safe environment for vulnerable road users to travel around our conurbation. 

“The policy decisions are made by the relevant authorities, and they may or may not ask for the opinions of the group.”

“It’s the standard straw man, put up something untrue so they can castigate you for it,” agreed Malcolm.

“I would normally say ‘ill-informed’, rather than ‘lying’, it’s less confrontational,” noted Luke. “To me, it’s a campaign for personal choice, the motor-centric policies of the last 50 years have in many ways removed the option to safely walk or cycle short distances in our towns and cities. I would say we are campaigning to be given back that choice.”

“We drive cars, ride bikes, catch buses, trains scoot, wheel and walk amongst you and we’re not trying to take away your cars. I don’t know how much clearer we can be,” agreed Russell.

Robert gave being clear a good go in a follow-up post, writing: “I’m thoroughly fed up with the blatant lies being told, by proper grown-ups, about this group. Either they should provide proof of their claims or STFU. It’s like being in a school playground.”

To be fair, the vast majority of school playgrounds feature more nuanced and reasoned arguments than most Facebook groups…

Just when everything was finally looking up for Egan Bernal, the Colombian climber has been hit with yet another setback, with reports emerging that he crashed and fractured his collarbone during the final 30km of today’s Clásica Jaén.

After three horribly tough years following his almost life-ending training crash in January 2022, Bernal started this year in encouraging form, winning both the Colombian national road and time trial titles, his first victories since the 2021 Giro d’Italia.

During today’s one-day race in Spain, his European debut for 2025, Bernal looked impressively sharp, attacking several times and being a constant, effervescent presence in the chase group, as his Ineos teammate Michał Kwiatkowski took the win in Úbeda.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by INEOS Grenadiers (@ineosgrenadiers)

However, the 2019 Tour winner was missing in the latter stages of the race, after reportedly crashing in the final 30km. And according to AS Colombia, Bernal suffered a collarbone fracture in the fall, which will likely rule him out for the rest of this early-season period, stifling what has obviously been a very productive winter.

Ineos are yet to confirm Bernal’s injury, though the team posted on social media that he was transported to a local hospital after a late crash.

“Our team doctor is currently with him and an update will be provided in due course,” the British squad said.

Here on the live blog, we’re well used to shoddy or misguided cycle parking facilities at major supermarkets.

Remember the Aldi from last year, where the bike racks were used to store bags of compost?

> Aldi apologises after bike racks blocked with compost left customer asking "why do you hate cyclists so much?"

Or Marks and Spencer’s well-meaning but pretty useless ‘handsy’ cycle stands in Sutton Coldfield?

> This isn’t just a bad bike rack, this is an M&S bad bike rack (+ possibly the worst one yet) – Is arty cycle storage bringing “originality to the urban space” or is it just “really inaccessible design”?

This week, it’s Lidl’s turn to join in the fun, with this unique two-in-one trolley and bike storage facility at their shop in Goldstone Retail Park in Hove:

Ah, brilliant – extremely handy.

“There is only one covered bike park, which is currently used as a trolley store,” road.cc reader Martin Kelly, who took the above photo of Lidl’s trolley-first, customers on bikes-never approach yesterday, told us.

“The trolleys that are there seem to be new, and I am sure Lidl will say that they are waiting for the old trolleys to be removed – but they shouldn’t be stored in the bike parking area, Lidl have a large delivery yard at the back of the store.

> Big on congestion, Lidl on cycling: Plans for new supermarket on “death trap” road rejected due to fears extra traffic could compromise “abandoned” bike network

“And I have experienced this issue on numerous occasions at this store, before these new trolleys arrived. To be fair to Lidl I have told the staff about the issue previously and they do action it quickly, but it’s a pain and most people don’t bother telling them about the issue.

“It’s a shame that now they sponsor a pro bike team the bike parking at the Hove store is always full of shopping trolleys.”

Mads Pedersen certainly wouldn’t stand for it…

Speaking of chaos, here’s a clip of the moment a motorbike rider got it wrong on a gravelly corner at the Clásica Jaén, causing a few nervy moments in the group behind – but thankfully no (other) crashes:

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Eurosport Cycling (@eurosportcycling)

Staying upright on those dirt roads at race speed must be difficult enough without having to play ‘dodge the moto’. Well, at least a member of the public didn’t decide to take a quick spin through the vineyards, anyway…

Cambridge-based electric folding bike company Flit has raised £1.2 million as it aims to ramp up production and take on market leader Brompton, the Times reports.

The brand’s managing director Alex Murray – who co-founded Flit with former Jaguar Land Rover engineer Dave Henderson in 2016 – told the newspaper that it needed to expand as current demand “outstrips our ability to supply it”, with customers currently facing a wait of up to four months to receive their bikes.

Tony Purnell, former head of technical development at British Cycling, and a former team principal for Formula One teams Jaguar and Red Bull, was one of the individuals who contributed to the fundraising, which was led by ACF Investors and Cambridge Angels.

This latest investment comes after Flit received £214,000 in governing funding in 2020 to help it develop a new method of manufacturing bike frames, after it faced an 18-month delay from its usual Taiwanese supplier during the pandemic.

Using the grant, Flit developed a technique for bonding bike frames together without welding. The company said this innovation has made its M2 model lighter, now weighing 14kg, and prevents distortion caused by welding, making the bike easier to fold.

“Not only did it improve the product, but it also re-imagined how we manufactured it and gave us a lot more flexibility,” Murray said.

“Because we were using an unusual process, we wanted to set it up in the UK so we could be hands-on and really master that process ourselves.

“We deliberately set the company up in Cambridge because it’s a cycling city. We are very close to our community of cyclists.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior (@clasicajaen)

There are around 60km – and plenty of tough gravel sectors – left in the Clásica Jaén, the Spanish Strade Bianche, where the riders fight for the right to place a massive ceremonial olive on their mantelpiece for the next 12 months.

And Visma-Lease a Bike are piling on the pressure, with young Brit Ben Tulett looking very strong (despite briefly hitting the deck while leading on a stretch of gravel) and Sepp Kuss joining in on the attacks, while Wout van Aert lurks dangerously in the background.

We could be in for a very fun hour and a half…

Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan’s blistering start to 2025 continued today on the opening stage of the UAE Tour, where the big, powerful Italian sprinter needed all of that power to snap the legs of Jasper Philipsen (who was ultimately relegated for a late flick near the line) on the steep ramp to the line at Liwa Palace.

During a tough, chaotic final kilometre, which saw the out-and-out sprinters mingle with lighter, punchier types like Lennert van Eetvelt, Oscar Onley, and Tadej Pogačar (more on him in a moment), Milan timed his sprint to perfection, launching off the world champion’s wheel, head bobbing in trademark relentless fashion all the way to the line.

Philipsen briefly looked like he was capable of overhauling the Italian, but ultimately was forced to pull the pin, darting across the road in exhaustion and frustration and into the path of the fast-finishing Finn Fisher-Black (try saying that after a few beers), leading to the Belgian’s relegation.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Eurosport Cycling (@eurosportcycling)

“I’m brutally tired! The heat, the temperature, the last 700m was so tough, tougher than I was thinking. It was an intense day,” a visibly drained Milan said after the stage.

“At the beginning it was a bit quiet, with a headwind, but then there were some echelons. I have to thank my guys, they controlled the race and supported me, and left me in the perfect position to do the last 200m in the best way I could – so I’m super happy about it, but very tired now. Tomorrow we’ll try to defend the leader’s jersey, but until then I’ll try to rest as much as possible.”

Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar enjoyed a lively first day of term, as the world champion was almost involved in a disastrous touch of wheels in the final 10km, which saw his UAE Team Emirates’ colleague Juan Sebastián Molano hit a pebbly central reservation hard.

Undeterred, Pogačar decided to get stuck in during the final sprint to the line, launching early from the front – in, if we didn’t know any better, what looked like a finely executed lead-out for his old mate Philipsen – before drifting back to take tenth.

There’s never a quiet day in Pogi land – and with a 12km time trial coming up tomorrow, today’s (albeit brief) show of strength and more importantly intent will leave a few of the world champion’s GC rivals quaking in their skinsuits already.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Orbea FOX Factory Team (@orbeafactoryteam)

Following hot on the heels of a potential new SRAM Force groupset in the early rounds of not-very-inconspicuous cycling product leaks for 2025 is this new helmet being worn by Pierre de Froidmont of the Orbea Factory Team, which appears to have a Fizik logo on one of the vents if you look closely. Fizik has never produced a helmet, so this would be a first for the brand primarily concerned with cyclists' feet and bums. 

Although the lid is being used at an XC race, visually there's no indication it's mountain bike-specific, as there is some aero shaping to the silhouette. There is plenty of venting though, so we'd guess it's going to be an all-rounder. There's also a yellow MIPS logo on the back, suggesting Fizik (we assume Fizik, because it says Fizik on it) has opted to go for the helmet safety technology purported to reduce rotational impact injuries to the head. 

Of course we've no more information to go off just yet, and a spokesperson for Fizik had this to say: "An official announcement will follow soon." 

That's a bit more than a straight up 'no comment', so we'll look forward to receiving full details on this mysterious new helmet soon...

The tributes are starting to pour in for Geraint Thomas, after the 2018 Tour de France winner announced that this season would be his last in the peloton.

“On behalf of British Cycling, I would like to congratulate Geraint on a stellar career, one that has shown what is possible within such a gruelling and captivating sport for those who have the grit and determination to succeed at the highest level,” British Cycling’s performance director Stephen Park said in a statement.

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

“His 2018 Tour de France win will go down in history as the first time a Welshman has achieved the prestigious and hard-fought accolade. We will all be cheering him on over the coming months as he competes in his final season and look forward to bidding him farewell as he makes Septembers’ Tour of Britain his final race.

“Representing the Great Britain Cycling Team, we have seen him win rainbow jerseys on the track as a young rider, as well as two Olympic gold medals, and being part of teams who have broken multiple world records. He has also represented his home nation of Wales to the highest level, bringing home four Commonwealth Games medals as a result.

“What stands out about Geraint as a sportsperson is his passion for the sport and how he holds himself as a fantastic role model to the next generation of pro cyclists. His pride in the jersey and unwavering commitment to being the best version of himself are qualities we want to instil in every member of our team.

“G has been a key figurehead in every team he’s been a part of over the years and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. We wish him the very best of luck in his final season in the peloton and in whatever the future holds.”

The Tadej Pogačar-fronted UAE Tour gets underway this morning, I’m sure you’ll all be delighted to hear, from a solar farm:

#UAETour - The start will take place in a solar panel farm.

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— La Flamme Rouge (@la-flamme-rouge.eu) February 17, 2025 at 9:19 AM

Modern cycling, everyone.

In case you missed it yesterday:

> Cyclists’ hi-vis clothing invisible to some car brands’ automated emergency braking systems, shocking crash prevention study finds