Jeremy Vine narrowly avoids being hit by driver as MPs call for cycle lane to be scrapped; Close pass on children riding to school; Tao hints at Giro defence in 2021; Cloud 9 Cycles launch £10,000 diversity scholarship + more on the live blog

Nothing better than a crisp, still day for bike riding. I never thought I'd get hooked; I was wrong.

— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) November 26, 2020

It's always nice to see famous faces catch the cycling bug. Last week we found out Alan Shearer has become a keen cyclist since hanging up his boots, this week it's Brian Moore. It's good to know that even with 64 caps for your country you can still enjoy life on two wheels. Not that I'll be getting a call-up...well, ever.

Tao Geoghegan Hart has hinted that a defence of his Giro d'Italia crown may be on the cards in 2021. In an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Geoghegan Hart asserted his belief that he can win the Tour de France one day and said he was keen to return to Italy next season. He said: "Of course, that's my dream. I think to win the Giro as your first Grand Tour is amazing, really – especially this year, with everything that's happened and how difficult it's been for everyone.

"But definitely – that's the objective, I hope I'm going to have another 10 years or more of my career, and the plan is to fight every year for those races. And also for the Giro, of course. I've always loved racing in Italy, and I'm looking forward to hopefully having a more regular season next year.

"There are so many races that I'm looking forward to, and so many beautiful races in cycling, and I've always love racing in Italy, so I'm sure I'll be racing a lot there next year."

Owain Doull has bravely told his story about losing one of his best friends to suicide earlier this year, in a video to raise awareness for men's mental health charity Movember. In the UK, 84 men a week take their own life and Doull experienced first-hand the negative effects lockdown can have on people's mental health.

He said: "Movember's such a worthy cause for the work they do. Of all they years to donate, this is the year. With the impacts of covid and the lockdown on mental health, people need support more than ever. It makes a difference, you can save lives."

Coming this Sunday... the return of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup! #CXWorldCup
pic.twitter.com/S10z334oDt

— UCI (@UCI_cycling) November 26, 2020

Fabio Jakobsen will join his Deceuninck-Quick Step teammates at their January training camp in Spain. Cyclingnews reports the Dutch sprinter has voiced his desire to return to professional racing in 2021. On Tuesday, Jakobsen got back on the bike for the first time since his Tour of Poland crash in August. 

Team doctor, Yvan Vanmol, told Sporza that reports of some of Jakobsen's injuries were exaggerated: "There have been stories about Fabio, that every bone in his face was broken, that his windpipe was crushed, that he had 1,000 stitches. The damage was great, but there was a lot of exaggeration.

"The aesthetic was not the main concern. You know that a lot is possible nowadays. The question of whether you will ever be able to practice your profession again was taken much more seriously.

"For Fabio, the next step now is to see how he digests training rides. He just got back from a vacation. Before that he already cycled but he felt tired after an hour and a half or two. On Wednesday he told me that he is now clearly feeling better physically. His holiday has also done him good mentally to reset the head.

"On the camp, Fabio will immediately know how he feels about cycling in a group. And if necessary we will guide him in this. Just like we sometimes do with riders who have problems with descents."

Work on the Queensbury Tunnel in West Yorkshire, which cycling and environmental campaigners hope can be made into a new greenway connecting Bradford and Halifax, has been delayed. The cost of the project to shore up the disused railway tunnel has risen by 25% to more than £1 million as the works which were meant to be completed by now are yet to begin. 

The project has been delayed by floodwater in the tunnel and Highways England failing to pay the rent on a pumping station. In July, plans were revealed for divers to fit bags below the shaft and fill them with grout pumped from the dry part of the tunnel, 500 metres away. Preparations started in August, with the main phase due to finish in September. However work has not yet started due to a ‘concept redesign’ and logistical constraints. The estimated cost has risen by £100K to £863K, whilst additional investigations and minor works at the shaft have taken the overall bill to £1,013,177.

Absolute madness this morning on a stretch of High Street Kensington where there's not yet a dedicated lane for cyclists.
This is the most frightening scenario on a bicycle, when the danger comes out of nowhere. pic.twitter.com/QNQBB9Ek7H

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 26, 2020

Kensington High Street has been the topic of much debate this week after two Tory MPs called for the segregated cycle lane to be scrapped. Just hours before their statement, Jeremy Vine was almost hit by a car driver who cut across two lanes of traffic to turn left...on one of the only stretches of the High Street where there is no cycle lane. 

You really couldn't make it up. Just a reminder of what Nigel Havers wrote in a column about the Kensington High Street cycle lane: "Maybe I wouldn’t be so cross about these cycle lanes if it was not for the fact that so many of the cyclists I encounter do not obey the laws of the road.

"I ride a Vespa and I see so many of them jump red lights, mount pavements and go the wrong way down one-way roads. But not once have I seen any of them stopped by police. One gets a strong sense that many think they are more special than everyone else."

kids on their way to school, taxi driver just wont wait 🤬pic.twitter.com/Mk4oGh4Mrq

— Alan D (@AlanDub13) November 25, 2020

How not to encourage children to cycle to school. This father challenged the taxi driver, videoed here trying to get round two kids on a very narrow stretch of road, on his dangerous driving. The man in the video, Dan, can be heard telling the driver that he's on camera and will be reported.

Dan wrote: "Speaking of a curse, this **** couldn’t wait a couple of car lengths to pass us and tried to force through. Close enough to bang on car. Reported to TrafficWatch."

Typical "Must Get In Front" driver, who is willing to recklessly endager lives of children just to prove a point that cars rule.

— Kätlin Bowden (@BowdenKatlin) November 25, 2020

Nope. Sadly 😢.

I'm a teacher, and was riding into schools same time as the kids rode in.

It's utterly, mind-blowingly, terrifying how some reckless "entitled" drivers treat school kids on bikes.

— gavincooks (@aLeedscyclist) November 25, 2020