"Wait until he hears about pavements": RBKC councillor doesn't believe in segregation; Slalom cycle lane; CCTV appeal for driver after high-speed cyclist crash; That's not Sam Bennett; Trek-Segafredo equal pay + more on the live blog

Head councillor for transport at @RBKC on separated/segregated cycle lanes: "Personally I don’t believe in segregation as a policy that's prudent in any aspect of our society."

Words fail me. Bad news also for people who use pavements locally. https://t.co/UXNT4RHnpv

— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) January 28, 2021

One of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's councillors stated in no uncertain terms that he doesn't want to see segregated cycle lanes in his borough, at a council meeting this week. Councillor Cem Kemahli was explaining the council's latest plans for transport in the borough and said: "It's important to note that not all of our residents are able to cycle so we have to strike the right balance when making improvements to our streets. Personally I don't believe in segregation as a policy that's prudent in any aspect of our society."

Many commenters expressed concern that the council has claimed to revist their decision to rip out the Kensington High Street cycle lane without prejudice and yet one of their councillors clearly opposes the scheme. Peter Walker, the Guardian political journalist, pointed out the problems Kemahli's stance may have for pavements..."Words fail me. Bad news also for people who use pavements locally," Walker wrote on Twitter.

This week a local primary school that benefited from the cycle lane asked for help in encouraging the council to overturn their decision. In a statement on their website Fox Primary School said: "The introduction of the Kensington High Street cycle lane transformed the commute for many of the Fox staff. Over 20 Fox staff were able to cycle to work because of the improved safety for cyclists, through the introduction of the cycle lane.

"We feel strongly that this is a short sighted decision by RBKC. It is hard to believe that such a backward step could take place middle of a pandemic when the government is encouraging  people to work from home and not use public transport. As key workers, Fox staff are unable to work from home and if they do not have a safe route to work will have to use public transport. I would like you to support us in campaigning to reinstate the cycle lane and expand it further across the local authority."

This Lego product proposal has the noble aim of making Lego City bicycle friendly...

Slaloming down the A56(M) 🚴‍♀️⛷️@TraffordCouncil @Chris_Boardman @A56Safety @OneTrafford @WalkRideM32 @juststepsways pic.twitter.com/rxgu77kc6b

— Rob Fowler (@iamrobfowler) January 29, 2021

@AndrewHWestern can you arrange for the inside bollards to be removed? They aren't required and pose a hazard.

— South MCR Cycle (@SMCRcycle) January 29, 2021

The bollards are endangering, not protecting, anyone cycling.

Misjudge any of those gaps and you'll be off, and because the lane is so narrow the traffic in the next lane will just be inches away.

— Adam Aitkenhead (@AdamAitkenhead) January 29, 2021

Oh my... aren’t cargo bikes getting a little on the big side now?

It’s okay, special flashing lights mean they can stick finger up at everyone else! pic.twitter.com/tXhBComfcf

— Thomas O. Cornwallis (@UrbanistTOC) January 28, 2021

Trek-Segafredo has raised their female riders' salaries to equal, and in some cases exceed, the minimum salary requirement for male riders as set by the UCI. Currently, WorldTour men's teams are obliged to pay their riders a base salary of €40,045, while the figure is €20,000 for women's teams. Trek-Segafredo told Cyclingnews that they have increased their female riders base salary to that of their male counterparts. 

"Salary really depends on the individual but we can confirm that all of our professional road cycling athletes—regardless of gender—make at or above the minimum for the men’s program," said Eric Bjorling, Director of Brand Marketing at Trek Bicycles.

"There has been some talk that pro cycling might require raising the Women’s WorldTour minimum to the same as the men’s and this is something we strongly support. That said, we didn’t want to wait for a mandate, so we made the decision to do this on our own in the fall of 2020. It went into effect January 1, 2021."

Yesterday, Avon and Somerset Police launched a CCTV appeal in the hope of catching the driver involved in this frightening incident. The driver speeds across the junction without stopping, slamming into the cyclist at high-speed before fleeing the scene. The collision happened just after 8.15pm on Wednesday 25 November on Kingsmead Road in the Speedwell area of Bristol. Due to her injuries the cyclist, a woman in her 50s, needed hospital treatment but has fortunately since been discharged. 

The full video can be viewed on Avon and Somerset Police's website. It is believed the car is a light coloured Peugeot 206 or 207 cc. After the crash the driver turned around, drove past the cyclist and left the scene in the direction of Meadow Vale Road.

Avon and Somerset Police has asked that anyone who recognises the car or has information calls 101 and cites the reference 5220266271.

Assume they put the mask on Sam Bennett only hoping most people wouldn’t notice it’s not actually him pic.twitter.com/IQ6uK3hIFG

— Ian O'Riordan (@ianoriordan) January 28, 2021

Congratulations to Rémi Cavagna on having such an impressive 2020 campaign that he even earned an inclusion on Irish broadcaster RTÉ's Sportsperson of the Year awards. Irish cycling fans were bemused to see a photo of Cavagna in place of Sam Bennett at the event which is the Irish equivalent of Sports Personality of the Year. In fairness, behind a mask and cap they do look kind of similar...Some even thought it was Julian Alaphilippe. However, as Irish Independent journalist Ciarán Lennon pointed out below, there were a few hints...

The equivalent of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in Ireland. Sam Bennett nominated and RTE couldn't even get the photo of him right.

What the fuck. How was that allowed to happen? They just do not give a shite about cycling. https://t.co/gZLFci04BO

— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) January 28, 2021

The offending image (miscaptioned) v Sam Bennett
There's a few hints pic.twitter.com/tLbnpmIhRd

— ciarán lennon (@ciaranlennon) January 28, 2021