Welcome to Wednesday's live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
08/01/2020, 21:47
Some weird and wonderful (?) tech from CES 2020
While early January at the sharp end of the retail industry means New Year sales after the Christmas rush, in tech terms it also signifies a look at what may be some of the biggest sellers in the year to come with the mammoth Consumer Electronics Show – nowadays known simply as CES – in Las Vegas providing a showcase for products from brands big and small.
The sprawling show spans all kinds of sectors – and while in terms of the bike industry there are more important shows throughout the year, CES does tend to throw up some cycling specific products each year, some of which will catch on, others perhaps not.
We’ll be taking a more detailed look at some of those here on road.cc later this week but in the meantime, here are three that have caught our eye.
First off, there’s the AO Air Atmos personal air filter (pictured above). The company’s chief executive Dan Bowden developed it after encountering problems with air pollution during his commute in London. It’s claimed to be 50 times more effective than existing facemasks.
Next up, is it a car or is it a bike? Well, the Wello Family, originating from France, is billed as a bit of both. Costing £6,600 it can carry two adults – one behind the other – or one adult in front plus two kids in the back.
Last up this evening, we have the Benjilock. It’s a bike lock you can unlock using your fingerprint. Nifty, eh? Well, maybe not if our experience of trying to unlock a smartphone in the rain in the same way is anything to go by.
Luckily, it comes with a key as a last resort … although given the whole idea is not to have to worry about a key and you’ll have to take one with you just in case, perhaps that should be a key of first resort?
08/01/2020, 14:37
Organiser of Gran Fondo New York World Championships claims long-term sponsor pulled out because an ad featuring Alejandro Valverde was refused
A multi-year sponsor of GFNY discontinued their sponsorship because I refused to print their ad showcasing convicted doper Alejandro Valverde.
We are told that cycling is different today. That Omertà is history. That's not my experience.
This is a story of Omertà in cycling.
— Uli Fluhme (@ulif) January 8, 2020
Uli Fluhme, who co-founded the GFNY race with his wife and Ironman athlete Lidia Fluhme, has revealed that a 'long-term' sponsor has pulled out because they refused to print an advert featuring Alejandro Valverde; the 2019 world champion served a two-year suspension in 2010 for blood doping.
In a series of tweets, Fluhme - who is known for being particularly outspoken on anti-doping - continued: "Being anti-doping in cycling means acting on it. For us, the most obvious is IC and OOC tests at GFNY that cost $15,000 just for our NYC race alone.
"And we don’t invite active or former pros who have been caught for doping or implicated in a scandal. Think of any former pro and we have likely been offered his appearance. No thanks. Each of our rider is the star of our events.
"Entirely avoiding cycling industry companies who sponsor dopers would mean avoiding the whole industry - which is impossible. But that doesn’t mean we will print an ad showing a doper. And we don’t allow a company's ambassador to lead group rides if he’s a doper.
" won’t get tired of standing up for the clean athletes, even if the cost to do so is significant. Forget $15,000 for doping controls. That’s nothing compared to the losses suffered due to the widespread incestuous behaviour we see every day in cycling."
It hasn't been revealed who the company is, and in the replies a number of Fluhme's followers are speculating that it's GFNY's title sponsor Campagnolo; although Valverde and his Movistar teammates are now riding on SRAM components for 2020.
GFNY is described as an event that allows you to "be a pro for a day", taking place on mostly closed roads over a 100 mile route from New York City to Bear Mountain. In the 2019 edition back in June two riders of GFNY returned positive doping tests, with race rules stating that a rider who tests positive has to reimburse the cost of the test. Fluhme said at the time: "We don't allow course-cutting at our races so why would we look the other way when it comes to doping?”
08/01/2020, 15:58
Mark Cavendish gets stuck in to training
Will we see Cav winning again in 2020 with his new Bahrain McLaren team?
08/01/2020, 15:22
MGIF... of a child, and then hold them up a few seconds later
Pushed by the wind, this Mercedes driver #141d37096 had no other choice but to get in front...
No communication, no excuses, no nothing. pic.twitter.com/2dZjQfQXG2
— icyclet (@bicycletting) January 7, 2020
Perhaps one of the worst examples of the 'must get in front' phenomenon we've seen, with the driver achieving nothing other than endangering the lives of the cyclists they overtook before having to grind to a halt.
08/01/2020, 14:20
Bjarne Riis officially becomes NTT Pro Cycling manager
BREAKING NEWS
Virtu Cycling has acquired a minority stake in @NTTProCycling. The agreement will see former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis assume the role of Team Manager.
Full statement: https://t.co/sxNq7GHBSTpic.twitter.com/JaCqiaUyWq
— NTT Pro Cycling (@NTTProCycling) January 8, 2020
The news was leaked by Danish website B.T. yesterday, and was formally announced at an NTT (previously Team Dimension Data) press conference this afternoon that the 1996 Tour de France winner and current Virtu Cycling co-owner will now become NTT's Team Manager.
Riis said: “This is a proud moment for our organisation, Virtu Cycling, and I’m really excited by this partnership and its potential. Together, I believe we can develop one of the world’s best cycling teams built on being performance and technology-driven, combined with our many years of experience from the World Tour.
“We have had some thorough and fruitful talks and meetings with Doug Ryder on the team’s future and potential. I’m really looking forward to our collaboration and to take on the sporting leadership of the team in this new setup. I have nothing but admiration for what Doug has built and achieved with this team starting on continental level onwards to become a WorldTour-team, for his contribution to cycling and his work and support for the Qhubeka Charity. Together, I believe we can take the team to the next level and make it a team that everybody – riders and staff – want to be a part of.”
08/01/2020, 12:28
On the forum: how do you deal with anti-cyclist relatives around the dinner table?
This topic has sparked a big old debate on our forum, after the little onion says they were subjected to a rant about cyclists "holding up the traffic" around the dinner table over Christmas: "The surprising thing is that this particular relative is actually normally really nice and chilled out, so it was really stunning to hear anti-cyclist venom pouring out."
The question has been asked... how do you deal with this? We've got 68 suggestions and counting on the forum, our favourite being: "I won't get into a battle of wits with an unarmed man."
08/01/2020, 12:16
Valverde has to settle for national champ stripes
The Spaniard is no longer the world champ as Mads Pedersen took the 2019 title, but he did scoop the National crown and Fizik have made him some nice new shoes to celebrate the fact. The Infinito R1's are all white except for the Spanish flag stripe at the top of the tongue.
08/01/2020, 11:49
Luke Durbridge defends Australian national time trial title by beating world champ Rohan Dennis
#RoadNats WHAT. A. RIDE... AGAIN!! @luke_durbridge1 has successfully defended his Australian TT title, once again beating world champion Dennis.
— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) January 8, 2020
Curiously two-time world champion Dennis has been unable to win at national level for the second successive year, thanks to another stunning ride from Luke Durbridge. The 28-year-old Mitchelton Scott rider completed the 37.5km course in 46:18, beating Ineos' latest big signing by 18 seconds.
Dennis won the title three times between 2016-18, but thanks to Durbridge's efforts it has alluded him in 2019 and now 2020 too.
08/01/2020, 10:49
New research finds a third of adults surveyed think it's 'too dangerous' to cycle
The research from Sevanta surveyed 1,040 people aged between 16-69 in the UK, and made some disappointing but sadly unsurprising findings.
More than a third (34%) say they never cycle because they think it's too dangerous, and 64% of all respondents rated cars as their biggest worry on the road. 58% said HGVs, 54% bad road conditions, 50% buses and 44% were most worried by the lack of cycle lanes. 16% of Londoners even said that bike theft was a prime reason why they don't cycle more often.
There are also some generational stats, with Generation Z (aged 25 and under) being the most keen cyclists, even though 25% said they aren't confident enough to ride regularly. Baby Boomers and Gen Z are more likely to cycle for environmental reasons than any other age demographic, despite being the most concerned age groups around road safety.
For both leisure and commuting, the main motivator for cycling was the health and fitness benefits, with 61% of leisure cyclists citing this reason compared with 44% of those who cycle as part of their commute to and from work. The next most popular reason was the lower costs compared to driving or using public transport.
08/01/2020, 10:34
Vélobici launches Albert thermal winterproof jacket
The new British-made thermal jacket has a fleece-backed three-layer laminated fabric that Vélobici say is breathable, water resistant and windproof, suitable for a wide range of conditions - it will also pack away when you're not using it.
We're not sure of the price yet but it should be on their website later today.
08/01/2020, 09:14
Sainsbury's delivery driver admits killing cyclist, after driving off because he thought he had hit a deer.
65-year-old Vincent Cassar from Basingstoke admitted causing death by dangerous driving, after knocking down and killing 61-year-old Stephen Gibbons in Bracknell and initially driving off because he says he thought he had struck a deer.
Police initially launched an investigation into a suspected hit-and-run, and yesterday the judge at Reading Crown Court accepted Cassar was active in coming forward to the police when he stopped his HGV later on after realising an accident had taken place.
Judge Paul Dugdale said: “You have pleaded guilty to causing the death of Stephen Gibbons by the careless manner in which you drove the HGV on August 4, 2018.
“That is a serious offence, as you know. You understand and you need to know that it is an offence for which you may well receive a custodial sentence but you are a man in your mid-60s, you are of good character, you have 20 years of clean driving experience driving an HGV for Sainsbury’s."
Prosecutor Charles Royle said: "We would put this in the higher category of careless driving.
“There is a critique of sight lines. This took place about 300 metres after a roundabout leading up to a Sainsbury’s on the left hand side before going into Bracknell town centre. The view would have been about 180 metres.
“It would appear that there was an obstacle in the road which had been seen just before the collision. Reactions were too late to avoid it. We say this is an inattention of what is ahead. He came off the motorway at 04.40 in the morning. The collision occurred at 04.42.”
The judge gave Cassar unconditional bail and disqualified him from driving, saying there was "a very real risk" of a prison sentence. Sentencing was adjourned until 7th February.
08/01/2020, 09:11
Progress...
2010: didn’t own a bike.
2020: casually pedaled a week’s groceries + 3 kids (8, 5, 3) home in 35°F weather on my @UrbanArrowcom. #bikechi— Elsbeth Cool (@ElsbethCool) January 7, 2020
08/01/2020, 08:57
You might have already guessed which one won
We already have a winner while second place is not far behind in our Top Gear-style race to the office using Leeds' transport - can you guess who won? https://t.co/LdCC8bSXNW
— YorkshireEveningPost (@LeedsNews) January 7, 2020
We've seen this done a couple of times before... and coupled with our own experiences, it will come as no surprise that the latest local paper to send staffers into rush hour traffic found that the one on the bike won, with train in second, car in third and the bus coming last. The cyclist took just 26 minutes to make the journey from Horsforth to Whitehall Road in Leeds city centre, with the same bus journey taking a huge 1 hour and 33 minutes.
08/01/2020, 08:47
You aren't made of sugar": how the Dutch carry on riding through the rain
In his blog post (and demonstrated in the video above) the Dutch cycling ambassador to the Dutch Cycling Embassy Mark Wagenbuur observes Tilberg residents riding in the wet, and not appearing too fussed. The solutions are fairly simple, i.e. take car and dress in the appropriate rain gear: "This was on a Friday afternoon in mid-December. It was 5.3 degrees and it had been raining all day long. According to the weather service for a total of 8.5 hours and there had been 7.4mm of rain.
"When I cycled back to the station I noticed many young people coming back from school. They were cycling in the rain, often in groups, just like I was. But there were not only children, many elderly, doing some shopping in town, rode just as well, often in rain gear."