Welcome to Friday's live blog, with Jack Sexty, Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
10/01/2020, 15:08
Chris Froome (appears to be) on a training camp... and what's going on with that kit??
On training camp... or maybe not No really, I am pic.twitter.com/HpvyFik1W6
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) January 10, 2020
His tweet doesn't exactly settle the matter, but it looks like Froome has joined his teammates on a new training camp, less than a week after reports from Italy claimed he had left another camp early.
The report in Bicisport magazine quoted Team Ineos' sports director Dario Cioni as saying, "“He is not well and who knows if he will recover?”; however Froome responded via his Twitter account saying that his recovery is in fact going well.
Whether he will make it to the Tour de France in 2020 remains to be seen, but this photo is certainly promising. On another note, is this the Ineos away strip or does this indicate a complete departure from the blood red and black kit of 2019?
10/01/2020, 16:06
Behind the scenes of 'that' Danny MacAskill video
I’ve always wanted to transfer between 2 slacklines on my bike. After 199 goes I didn’t even come close to landing both tires on the line. Then in the 200th go it worked perfect haha!
Full film https://t.co/CWIBLBYaG1
#gymnasium#slackline#trialspic.twitter.com/1fGYr1h3tm
— Danny MacAskill (@danny_macaskill) January 9, 2020
Remarkably the Scot said he'd never came close to landing this trick before nailing it perfectly in his epic Gymnasium vid - watch the full thing here.
10/01/2020, 13:51
Not a bike stand
Who's going to tell him? pic.twitter.com/bBymHcvr8n
— Andy Lulham (@LulhAndy) January 10, 2020
To be fair it's an absolute bargain, and anyone who manages to pick up what is actually a Tacx turbo trainer for a tenner will probably be very pleased so long as it works.
As Real Gaz points out on Twitter, as an item that you a secure your bike to, technically a turbo trainer is sort of a bike stand...
10/01/2020, 16:00
New £1 million cycling and walking route to be built in Northern Ireland
Derry City and Strabane District Council have approved the new route in Strabane, a 3.5km route constructed in the town, connecting the A5, Derry Road, Canal Basin, River Mourne Flood Wall and Strabane Retail Park.
Further proposals include changes to exisiting kerb alignments, new road markings and new path lighting.
10/01/2020, 13:37
The future of e-bike batteries? Scientists claim they've created a battery that offers five times more energy than a lithium-ion battery
Causing quite a stir over on our sister site eBikeTips is the news that a team of scientists say their lithium-sulfur rechargeable battery design is far superior to lithium-ion. If you're not an e-biker, they also say it could power a smartphone for five days or allow an electric car to drive over 1,000km on a single charge - full story here.
10/01/2020, 12:36
Judge in Derry says some roundabouts "are too big and too complicated" as man charged with careless driving for hitting cyclist
Derry's district judge made the comments as 42-year-old Matthew Horner admitted the charge of careless driving, for knocking a woman off her bike on 15th June last year. She told ambulance staff when they arrived that she was on the roundabout when Horner's car entered and hit her.
Horner's defence said that he "did not see" the cyclist and tried to avoid hitting her when he eventually did. The judge Barney McElholm said that some roundabouts with "too many exits" could cause problems for drivers, noting that Horner offered to stay and help the woman and appeared "very remorseful". Horner was £175 and given three penalty points on his driving licence.
10/01/2020, 13:35
Sad but true
Cycling outside a school in the UK Vs Cycling outside a school in the Netherlands. pic.twitter.com/DR1YPBwWdp
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) January 10, 2020
The reality of cycling outside a school in the UK too often looks like the scene on the left; but it should be far more like the journey Dutch children used to making on the right.
10/01/2020, 11:28
That's not a pothole... THIS is a pothole
Although the crater that caused injuries to the unfortunate cyclist in San Diego reported on below (see it on the NBC News San Diego website) was a bad one, over on our Facebook page Shaun Wyllie appears to have topped it with this absolute beast he happened across on a ride recently.
10/01/2020, 10:39
Cyclist settles for $500,000 with San Diego County after suffering brain injury due to pothole
NBC San Diego reports that the woman suffered 'a traumatic brain injury' after being thrown from her bike while riding on U.S Highway 8 in August 2017. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, hit a broken section of tarmac that had risen from a tree root, creating a large pothole in the road.
According to public documents, the road near the city of El Cajon had been in disrepair for years, and this particular section was only fixed after the incident; some potholes were filled on the road following complaints from motorists, but the bike lane was left in disrepair.
Records now obtained by NBC show that the woman settled the case for $500,000 in October 2019. Her attorney Daniel Petrov said: "The County worked diligently to repair the rise in the concrete in the bicycle lane after the fall.
“Unfortunately, it took my client suffering a traumatic brain injury before the repair was complete. Our hope is that the county continues looking for the rises or potholes on public streets, and especially bicycle lanes, so that bicycle riders can feel safe riding in San Diego County."
10/01/2020, 13:00
Definitely true...
'The consensus of opinion is increasing overwhelmingly day by day that bicycle riding produces in the female a distinct orgasm’.
- from an editorial in the Canadian journal, The Dominion Medical Monthly (1896). pic.twitter.com/elDymAHDYN
— Whores of Yore (@WhoresofYore) August 11, 2018
10/01/2020, 08:37
Gino D'Acampagnolo?
Well actually, Gino was probably the only one not using the famous Italian groupset as he headed out with Treviglio locals who were kitted out in vintage kit and Bianchi bikes, while he rode one of their new Aria e-bike models in jeans and a shirt.
Treviglio is the location of Bianchi's famous headquarters, and the convicted house burglar-turned TV chef paid a visit to the factory as part of his new ITV series, 'Gino's Italian Escape'. He also stopped by Milan to check out some cocktail bars, and we were also treated to footage of D'Acampo licking a huge wooden stirring spoon used to whip up fresh Stracciatella gelato in Bergamo.
10/01/2020, 09:06
Mud biker?
Why do we call ourselves mountain bikers when the majority of us have never been down a mountain....I’m going to call myself a gentle slope biker from now on. #mtb#mtbtalk
— Andy (@Andyfragglemtb) January 9, 2020
It's true that 'road cyclist' is largely a more accurate description, unless you're a mountain biker who genuinely rides up and down mountains. As a regular Bristol and Bath railway path commuter, I am now a proud path biker...
10/01/2020, 08:30
That pontoon might need extending a bit?
Here's the map of the Belgian #CXNATS venue and track. pic.twitter.com/H9M70NiPMv
— Bill Schieken | CXHAIRS Media (@CXHairs) January 9, 2020
Unless the Belgian national cyclocross championships have now introduced a swim section, either the course or this map may need a redesign...
10/01/2020, 09:29
Unfortunate...
Another cyclist with their eyes closed pic.twitter.com/EXEALJDKzG
— Thos Major (@ThosMajor) January 9, 2020