“Hero” cyclist saves dogwalker from bear attack; Top races of 2020; The “cycling mafia … a powerful, financially supported organisation” ... really?; Pidcock named Yorkshire Post's Sports Hero; + more on the live blog

A woman in Florida who was attacked by a bear while walking her dogs has hailed a cyclist who intervened and managed to distract the animal as a "hero."

WSVN has posted video of the moment Kathy Boyle met cyclist Joe Schmidt to thank him for saving her and her pups.

She said: “Thank you so much. The only reason I’m standing is because you came around that corner and we were able to distract the bear.”

Schmidt said: “Actually, just kinda getting towards the end of the ride and I heard some screaming.

“All I could think about was, you know, it’s a matter of split second,” he continued. “‘OK, I got to get down there.’ I thought you were being attacked. I mean, I thought you were going to be dead.”

He managed to chase the bear away by shouting, with the help of Boyle, who said: “There are only a few people out there early in the morning, and I just was trying to hold on long enough that someone would be walking,”

But Schmidt added: “I didn’t really do as much as she thinks I did. She went full martial arts.”

WSVN reported that Boyle's two dogs were injured in the attack but are both expected to make a full recovery.

didn’t manage to hit my target for the year (was frustratingly close) but cycling in 2020 has made a terrible situation a whole lot better and no doubt kept me sane! 🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲 pic.twitter.com/Kp4mMi2oMW

— Jack Mayorcas (@jackamayorcas) December 31, 2020

It wasn’t the first time the leadership of the Tour de France had changed late on – who can forget the narrowest ever race in 1989 when Greg Lemond overhauled Laurent Fignon on the final day, or 2011 when uniquely three men, Thomas Voeckler, Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans each held the yellow jersey on the final three days – but Stage 20 of this year’s race, ahead of the procession into Paris, saw a stunning change of fortunes for Slovenian riders Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar.

Roglic’s Junbo-Visma team had controlled the race throughout and he led his younger compatriot – two days shy of his 22nd birthday – by 57 seconds going into the time trial from Lure to La Planche des Belles Filles.

Pogacar, the penultimate man on the course, ate into Roglic’s lead on the flatter part of the course and blew him apart on the climb, the race leader’s team mates Wout van Aert and Tom Dumoulin watching incredulously as the UAE Team Emirates rider put two minutes into his friend and rival to take the yellow jersey by 59 seconds.

Tom Pidcock has ended 2020 by being named Yorkshire Post's Sports Hero of the year.

The 21-year-old from Leeds, who will be racing for Ineos Grenadiers next year, has had a stellar season across a number of disciplines.

On the road, he won the under-23 Giro d'Italia, while in mountain biking he added two more rainbow jerseys to a growing collection, winning the E-MTB Cross Country and Under-23 Cross Country titles at the World Championships in Austria.

Earlier this month, at the Superprestige Gaver, he also took his first top-level international cyclo-cross victory, beating world champion Mathieu van der Poel.

Other names on the Yorkshire Post's shortlist included  from the Yorkshire sporting world, including rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield, Leeds United manager Marco Bielsa and wheelchair athlete Hannah Cockroft - although surprisingly, despite victories including La Course by Le Tour de France (see below), there was no place for Lizzie Deignan.

Step aside, the Bicycle Lobby – there’s a new gang in town, the “Cycling Mafia,” and it’s “powerful, financially supported organisation” – or at least, that’s what anti-bike lane and low traffic neighbourhood Twitter account OneTowerHamlets would have you believe.

#CyclingMafia is 'a powerful, financially supported organisation'.

If only ... pic.twitter.com/ve3GKsZNas

— Shivaji Shiva (@ShivajiShivaLaw) December 30, 2020

Unsurprisingly, the monicker has attracted a fair bit of derision on Twitter.

I saw one claiming "cyclists are the new motorists"

Again - I thought "if only we had that much respect, freedom and protection"

— Drew White (@drewsonix) December 30, 2020

Indeed, we are

— The Cycling Mafia (@CyclingMafia) December 31, 2020

Might be worth a try... pic.twitter.com/t1ZSu9lztI

— KarlOnSea (@KarlOnSea) December 30, 2020

Though joking apart, there is a serious point in play here, with accounts such as this and others helping stoke anti-cyclist hatred ...

Unpleasant, or completely unhinged?
Another recent favourite... ban cycling in parks and on towpaths. But also against any measures that redistributes roadspace away from cars and make cycling there safer. Hates LTNs, bike lanes, any cycling infrastructure.
Mad. pic.twitter.com/vMdLACLsAr

— Charlotte (@cvfdavies) December 30, 2020