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"But cyclists!": Count the red light jumpers in this clip; Adam Tranter addresses "nonsense" talked about Highway Code changes; Second Ineos rider hospitalised in Colombia; Pro Jake Stewart offers old kit to young riders + more on the live blog

Happy Friday! It's (almost) the weekend...let's start it with the final live blog of the week with Dan Alexander...
Fri, Jan 28, 2022 09:10
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"But cyclists!": Count the red light jumpers in this clip; Adam Tranter addresses "nonsense" talked about Highway Code changes; Second Ineos rider hospitalised in Colombia; Pro Jake Stewart offers old kit to young riders + more on the live blogRed light jumpers (screenshot Clover Summers/Twitter)
28 January 2022, 17:30
It ain't over 'til it's over

Second time this makes an appearance today, mainly just so I can watch it again, but hey it's quite fitting for half five on a Friday...listen to Primoz..."it ain't over 'til it's over". Well, that's another week on the live blog that IS over...we'll be back on Monday, but until then enjoy your weekend on two wheels...

P.S. There was no rule six, but if there was I'm sure it would be 'go and crack open a beer'...

28 January 2022, 17:18
28 January 2022, 17:06
Egan Bernal grateful for treatment — says there was "95% chance of becoming a paraplegic"
Egan Bernal training crash (Mundo Ciclistico/Twitter)

Egan Bernal has tweeted for the first time since his crash while training on home roads in Colombia. The 2021 Giro d'Italia champion thanked his fans for their support, saying:

> Egan Bernal in intensive care following successful surgery on training crash injuries

"Having had a 95% chance of becoming a paraplegic and nearly losing my life doing what I love to do most. Today I want to thank God, the hospital, all the specialists for doing the impossible, my family and all of you for your wishes. I'm still in the ICU waiting for more surgeries but trusting in God everything will be fine."

28 January 2022, 15:58
Cycling UK: Communicating the Highway Code changes
Highway Code.PNG

With various reports circulating in the media, some deliberately misleading and spreading fake news, Cycling UK has created a simple toolkit to help everyone communicate the rule changes accurately...

Have a read here...

28 January 2022, 15:36
cYcLiStS sHoUlD bE lIcEnSeD aNd InSuReD

You may have already seen the story about the driver in his 80s, stopped by police in Nottingham, who told officers he'd never had a licence or insurance...it's doing the rounds today and is quite amusing in the context of the eternally tedious 'why don't cyclists have insurance?' line, especially in a week where Highway Code changes have got many feeling a bit insecure of their place on the road...

The Guardian reports the man was stopped by Nottinghamshire Police officers in a Tesco car park. Just a regular stop? Nope...

The driver born in 1938 soon explained he'd been driving since 1950...without insurance or a licence...

Posting on Facebook, Bulwell, Rise Park and Highbury Vale Police said: "We can't quite believe what happened next, as the driver, who was born in 1938 (!!), coughed that he had been driving with no licence and no insurance, since he was 12 (yes TWELVE) years old.....and somehow had managed to never be stopped by the police. (We'll let you do the maths!!)

"Thankfully he had never had an accident, caused anyone an injury, and never made anyone lose out financially, by hitting them whilst uninsured! Due to the increased number of ANPR camera's in Nottingham, even on the small trips, you are likely to hit a camera, so make sure your documents are in order.....because it will catch up with you.....one day....."

28 January 2022, 15:01
Canyon appoints Nicolas de Ros Wallace as new CEO
Canyon

Nicolas de Ros Wallace will step up to Canyon's top job having been appointed CEO of the brand. Winfried Rapp, who has held the role of leading the executive management on an interim basis since October 2021, will continue to be part of the senior leadership team.

De Ros Wallace has decades of experience in international management positions and worked as vice president and general manager of the Jordan brand for more than ten years.

"I am convinced of the superior value proposition offered by Canyon in the bicycle industry. Above all, there is a passionate culture and love for cycling, as well as strong entrepreneurship mindset. I look forward to working with the team to continue to build on the great track record of Canyon, in a context of a structurally growing industry," Nicolas de Ros Wallace said via a press release.

28 January 2022, 14:04
28 January 2022, 14:00
Try not to laugh challenge: UK cycling infra edition

Presumably called the road to nowhere? Or just part of an upcoming cyclo-cross race?

Better or worse than Wednesday's painfully bad piece of 'cycle lane', complete with a four-year-old's painted bike, that was knocking about on the live blog? 

Sad cycle lane (Paul Baker/Twitter)
28 January 2022, 13:55
Nothing to see here, just people getting from A to B under their own steam. No pollution, quieter roads, better health, nicer place to live, natural security for everyone on the street. It’s exactly the non story we need

Newly appointed interim commissioner of Active Travel England Chris Boardman spoke to us on the road.cc Podcast, saying ironically he has much less time to ride bicycles now because he is "trying to enable lots of people to ride a bike."

He also told us how he reluctantly came around to the world of indoor training...and that the only bike he rides regularly outside is his gravel bike...don't tell Alex Dowsett.

28 January 2022, 12:52
28 January 2022, 12:30
Primož Roglič's top tips for the Winter Olympics

I'll be thinking about this for the rest of today...

28 January 2022, 12:01
"Cycling is super expensive and I dread to think how much it is for parents to support their kids in this sport": British pro Jake Stewart's a good lad

FDJ pro Jake Stewart started the week proclaiming "cycling in the UK is doomed" after seeing some of the reaction to the Highway Code changes. He's ending it back on the blog after once again showing himself to be an all-round decent chap...

And before any of you lot try weaselling your way in for a team-issue freebie..."it ain't for you lot on full carbon set-ups"...so I guess if you ride titanium or aluminium your good? Just kidding...

28 January 2022, 11:33
28 January 2022, 11:10
Second Ineos rider hospitalised in Colombia — Brandon Rivera suffers multiple fractures
Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers)

Egan Bernal's Ineos Grenadiers teammate, and fellow member of the team's Colombia training camp group, Brandon Rivera is being treated at the same hospital as his compatriot after a crash on Thursday. The team confirmed Rivera fell three days after Bernal and suffered a fractured and dislocated elbow, and has dislocated his AC joint.

There is little information about how the crash happened, but it now means two of the seven Ineos riders preparing for the season in Colombia are now being treated at Clínica Universidad de La Sabana hospital in Bogotá.

On Tuesday, Bernal was taken to hospital after crashing his TT bike into a parked bus at a toll. The reigning Giro champion's Tour de France return has been plunged into uncertainty after doctors revealed he was operated on twice and remains in intensive care with serious injuries.

His teammate's crash prompted Tom Pidcock to yesterday claim time trial bikes now too dangerous for training on public roads.

Both crashes in Colombia came the week after a video of the group narrowly avoiding being hit by a driver overtaking on a blind bend surfaced on social media.

28 January 2022, 11:09
28 January 2022, 11:02
"There aren't actually a huge amount of changes. A lot of this just formalising basic courtesy": Adam Tranter addresses "nonsense" written about Highway Code changes
28 January 2022, 10:59
London’s rental e-scooters are all going to produce the same sound so that pedestrians can hear when they’re approaching
London e-scooters (TfL)

London’s three e-scooter operators – Tier, Lime and Dott – are working with University College London (UCL) to develop a universal sound that will alert pedestrians when the vehicles are approaching. The work could result in an industry standard, which operators across the UK could then adopt.

Read the full story over on our sister site e-biketips...

28 January 2022, 09:25
Restrap adds new colourways to Canister Bag and Tyre Boot Kit
2022 Restrap canister bag

Restrap’s Canister Bag (£44.99) for keeping tools, snacks and spare layers out of your pockets and on the bike is now available in two new colours: Olive and Orange.

Handmade in the brand’s Yorkshire workshop from 100% waterproof textured nylon with a waterproof nylon inner lining, the bag features elasticated side pockets and a Hypalon loop that offers an attachment point for hanging a front light. 

2022 Restrap tyre boot kit orange

A new Orange colour option has also been added to the Tyre Boot Kit (£8.99) which we rated as a neatly packaged, effective kit for patching tyre cuts or tears. The kit can now be more easily spotted in the dark depths of a fully-packed dry bag or frame bag. “The Orange colour will also add contrast to the black of a tyre, allowing you to easily locate the boot inside a tyre,” Restrap says.

> road.cc review: Restrap Tyre Boot Kit

28 January 2022, 09:01
"But cyclists!": Count the red light jumpers in this clip

This might be a new regular game for the live blog...count the red light jumpers.

After all, we've heard plenty from certain circles about how terrible it is for drivers to have to give priority to more vulnerable road users in certain situations, as per the new Hierarchy of Road Users in the Highway Code changes, when cyclists just race through red lights without helmets or road tax...

If you watch to the end of the clip you'll find it hard to argue, as we've heard before, 'oh, the lights must have been faulty' it's not against the Highway Code to proceed with care if that happens.

You've probably had time to have a count by now, so spoiler alert, it's four road users (not on bikes) who nip through this temporary traffic light set-up...the last of which jumps a whole seven seconds before the lights turn to yellow...always good to sit in your next traffic jam as soon as possible.

Should probably stress we're only sharing this as a thought provoker considering how often people on bikes jumping red lights is used as a stick to beat any idea that cyclists might deserve to feel safe on the road. In this week more than any other, it feels quite apt...

Dan Alexander

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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94 comments

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 2 years ago
6 likes

If only there was some way of determining who those drivers were...

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to OldRidgeback | 2 years ago
7 likes

This old chestnut again! The costs of admin of such a registration system would far outweigh any benefits. This is because drivers are so poor they are already unable to pay for the full costs of their motoring and the government recognises this and gives them subsidies.  For example they don't cover pollution, crashes causing damage to infrastructure and health, health consequences of our motoring culture related to inactivity, suppression of independent mobility for children and others who can't drive (all roads with barriers / full of dangerous motor vehicles)...

Avatar
TheBillder replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
3 likes
chrisonatrike wrote:

For example they don't cover pollution, crashes causing damage to infrastructure

I never thought of this - so when barriers, street furniture, walls, bridge parapets etc are repaired after collisions in which fault is determined, the costs are not recovered from the party at fault or their insurer?

So I, the hard-pressed, hard-working taxpayer ((c) Daily Express) foot the bill yet again, when I could be paying for Liz Truss to take a private jet to Australia instead... Oh.

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to TheBillder | 2 years ago
0 likes

TheBillder wrote:
chrisonatrike wrote:

For example they don't cover pollution, crashes causing damage to infrastructure

I never thought of this - so when barriers, street furniture, walls, bridge parapets etc are repaired after collisions in which fault is determined, the costs are not recovered from the party at fault or their insurer? So I, the hard-pressed, hard-working taxpayer ((c) Daily Express) foot the bill yet again, when I could be paying for Liz Truss to take a private jet to Australia instead... Oh.

Quite right - let's be rigorous and you're correct - there is legal provision for this:

The AA wrote:

Section 149 of the Highways Act 1980 gives the Highways Authority the power to clean the road and recover its expenses from the person causing the obstruction or nuisance. Charges should be related to reinstatement costs.
The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles (Prescribed Sums and Charges) Regulations 2008 lays down charges ranging from £150 to £6000 depending on the type of vehicle and the nature of the incident.

Damage to third party property, including highway infrastructure, must be reported otherwise it is in itself an offence attracting severe penalties. The Highway Authority can also recover the cost of damage from the driver.

Not sure that always comes into effect and they key is "when fault is determined" as we know lots won't hang around to say "it was me" and / or are not insured and good luck getting the cash.

Don't know who pays for e.g. road crash compensation (Scotland) but suspect general taxation.

I believe some pollution costs are in the VED though that's limited to a theoretical CO2 calculation. Exceptions and as mentioned you can happily pollute off-road if you've SORN.  I think health (emissions including particulates especially from brake / tyres) and other health (toll on others via crashes, effect of all that sitting around - with high blood pressure!) appear nowhere.

But "cash cow"...

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