Elinor Barker everests Great Dun Fell...in a Jaguar...we're not sure why; NC500 record smashed; Phil Gaimon takes on LA's steepest climb; Macaw-esome ride; Scaffolders' lane; Tao's heartbreak; Cargo bike removals; Traffic jams + more on the live blog

This is a weird one...Elinor Barker Everesting Great Dun Fell would normally be right up our street. A GB Olympic champion on the track completing an epic cycling challenge on the UK's highest surfaced road? Class. Oh, she's doing it in a Jaguar electric car? Right. Why?

 Promoting the manufacturer's I-PACE electric car, the 2016 Olympic team pursuit gold medallist climbs the 848m elevation road 16 times to show off the model's regenerative braking technology to complete the challenge on a single charge...I am glad that's been cleared it up...

Barker explained, possibly with some input from the brand, that: "Even as a professional rider, it’s a daunting feat of endurance, so I was happy to do it behind the wheel of the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE. When I found out that Jaguar Racing drivers typically need to regenerate 30 per cent of their I-TYPE's battery capacity in a Formula E race, as a competitor I naturally wanted to beat that figure! I’m delighted to have smashed that target – all while enjoying the comfort, silent power delivery and single-pedal driving of the I-PACE."

Earlier this week, Barker encouraged drivers to be patient after she was knocked off her bike by a hit-and-run motorist while training in Manchester.

These photos were sent in by road.cc reader Max...anyone got any sympathy for the scaffolders in this instance? Could we soon see cargo bike scaffolding? Now that would be something...

🏁 Un sprint entre leaders pour la victoire de 🇪🇸@alejanvalverde. 💪
⏪ Revivez le dernier kilomètre de la 6ème étape du #Dauphiné.

🏁 Sprint between the favourites and victory for 🇪🇸@alejanvalverde. 💪
⏪ Relive the last kilometre of stage 6. pic.twitter.com/G2FLygftjk

— Critérium du Dauphiné (@dauphine) June 4, 2021

At 41, Alejandro Valverde has the 129th win of his career and first at a WorldTour race since the 2019 Vuelta a España. Valverde tracked the early sprint of Tao Geoghegan Hart, toying with the Brit, before powering past in the final metres to take an impressive win. Bora-Hansgrohe's Patrick Konrad was third.

Alexey Lutsenko finished in the select front group and will take the yellow jersey from Lukas Pöstlberger ahead of the penultimate stage tomorrow. Stage seven will take the riders above 2,000m to the summit finish at La Plagne before another relentless Alpine mountain stage concludes the week on Sunday. 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Parrots Of Primrose 🇬🇧 (@parrotsofprimrose)

Parrots must be the new must-have pet...I saw a man walking a pair to Sainsbury's last night...no, really. I've got no idea if they let him in...

The late Michele Scarponi also famously used to be joined on training rides by a parrot called Frankie who would fly after the cyclist as he rode through Filottrano.

This is going on a bloke’s windscreen in the village tonight. pic.twitter.com/v8k3uMFBBA

— Duncs (@__Duncs__) June 4, 2021

This reminded us of those homemade parking tickets one cyclist, fed-up with drivers parking where they please, handed out in Glasgow before Christmas. The motorist's charming reaction? "I own my own law firm, now f*** off." I guess you can't please everybody...

Imagine if we made cycling THE feature of Richmond Park.
Implement a free bike borrowing scheme like in De Hoge Veluwe park in the Netherlands where there are 1,800 free bikes for people to use while visiting the park. https://t.co/OCdQr0BG4j pic.twitter.com/kgzjAOv5hS

— filter more streets (@iambrianjones) June 4, 2021

We asked, and you delivered...the footage of a child cycling in Richmond Park while being passed by a steady stream of drivers, coupled with the bank holiday queues in the Lake District got us thinking. What can be done to encourage people to leave their cars at home when visiting beauty spots?

Improved public transport access, cheaper tickets and investing in cycling infrastructure were popular suggestions for encouraging less driving...restricted motor vehicle access, tolls and extortionate parking charges were some of the top ideas for possible deterrents.

Here's what you had to say...

Carrot
Cheaper, more obvious and accessible public transport especially for families.
Stick
More Draconian parking charges and restrictions esp in places like lakes and snowdonia.
And just ban cars from some roads completely..

— Real Gaz on a proper bike #fbpe (@gazza_d) June 3, 2021

Just going to point out Snowden has a massive park and ride car park…. It’s laziness and entitlement.

— Charlie (@Charlie_k1234) June 4, 2021

Shut some roads to private motor vehicles.
Reduce car parking.
Provide cheap, convenient and safe alternatives to driving.

— Don Shipp (@Don_Shipp) June 3, 2021

Over on Facebook, Felix Rayner made the case for a more hard-line approach: "Cars are the menace...Not bikes, not people, not wildlife. Ban them. Big external car parks with buses. Think of how quiet and peaceful the park will be."

PyroTim pointed out that any rules need to be properly enforced: "Roadside parking is banned in the New Forest, but it doesn't stop them. BBQs and fires are also banned in the New Forest, but it doesn't stop them. Shitting in public is banned, but it doesn't stop them. Rules if we are going to have them, need to be enforced, and properly. Tow the cars away, and make it eye-wateringly expensive, linked to means. I know some wealthy people that don't care if they get a ticket, because they can afford it, so park where they like."

This sort of guff doesn’t help.
https://t.co/6j1fVABAaA

— Mud Dock (@Mud_Dock) June 4, 2021

Thoughts? 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Alex Rins 42 (@alexrins)

Much like Jay Cartwright in The Inbetweeners, MotoGP rider Alex Rins found out the hard way that skill on one type of bike doesn't necessarily carry over to another. Luckily, Rins did not crash his mate's 18th birthday present into the garage it was bought from...but the Suzuki rider will miss this weekend's Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona after crashing his bicycle as he rode the track, breaking his right arm.

According to a statement released by his team, Rins was taken to Dexeus Hospital and will undergo surgery later today to stabilise the break...

The Spaniard fell during a training lap and as a result he suffered damage to his right arm, with a large contused area and a lot of pain.

 He was quickly taken to Barcelona’s Universitari Dexeus Hospital for further examinations and the medical checks revealed a fracture in the radius bone.

 The fracture was immobilised and tomorrow morning Alex will undergo surgery to fix it.

Rins told his fans about the news on Instagram: "Shit happens...but you know what they say: When you are going through hell...keep going! Better times will come."

 Just last month, triple Superbike world champion Troy Bayliss fractured a vertebrae and suffered spinal damage in a cycling crash with another rider near his Gold Coast home. Bayliss had no recollection of the incident when he was taken to hospital, however reports suggest he collided with another bike rider who moved out from between two parked cars.