'You don't decide on building a bridge by counting the number of people who swim acro....'
Wait...never mind... pic.twitter.com/h7vRbWHnjx
— Cycling Professor (@fietsprofessor) February 18, 2020
We sincerely hope this stunt was achieved in one take, and wherever it is some adequate crossings are installed to prevent any less skilled riders trying it again...
Granada Today report that the 41-year-old, who won stage 18 at the 2004 Tour de France and stage 10 in 2006, is been investigated by police for his alleged involvement in a criminal gang that have carried out at least 16 violent burglaries in and around the Spanish province of Granada.
Mercado has been named as part of Operation Zaletasuna, which is been conducted by the Spanish Civil Guard to dismantle criminal gangs terrorising the Granada Metropolitan Area. It's reported that at least 16 robberies took place between December 2019 and this month with more than 120,000 euros stolen, plus vehicles, sports equipment, musical instruments and electronics, and three people have already been arrested. Force was said to have been used in many of the robberies, with numerous traders and homeowners assaulted.
The investigation remains open, however some of the victims reported that those who allegedly committed the robberies were back on the streets within 24 hours of been arrested, and wanted them to be detained. Other Spanish media have reported that Mercado chose "the wrong path" after retiring from professional cycling, according to Sporza.
The remarkable Frenchman completed the 1,145km route in three days, 21 hours and 50 minutes, conquering over 20,000 metres of elevation on the brutal off-road course. At the time of writing, only three other riders are within 100km of the finish line according to the live tracker.
Our very own ultra expert Jo Burt has been informed that Sehili managed the feat on just 2 hours and 15 minutes of sleep (now confirmed by the Atlas Mountain Race official Instagram page). In the last hour, Sehili have also posted on his own Instagram page to confirm his victory.
In the last hour, two-time Transcontinental Race winner James Hayden has finished 2nd in a time of 4 days and 9 minutes - you can dotwatch the rest of the race and get live commentary on dotwatcher.cc.
Andy, sorry to hear this. We would certainly not ever want your son to be discouraged from #cycling. I’m away in Australia at the moment but have tasked one of my team to look into what happened and will update.
— Andy Cox (@SuptAndyCox) February 19, 2020
While it's not a legal requirement to wear high-visibility clothing, Andy Evans claimed his son was spoken to by officers and handed hi-vis clothing to continue his journey despite already running lights and wearing "a bright red jacket".
Pretty sure. This was the picture of him with his mum that the Police tweeted. This was after they’d been ‘talked to’ and dressed in ‘free’ hi vis but before they were sent on their way... pic.twitter.com/Txt1j80Er2
— Andy Evans (@AndyDEvans) February 18, 2020
Mr Evans also claims the police put an unsolicited photo on their Twitter feed to promote the operation, and now Superintendent Andy Cox of the Met Police has apologised and said he will task his team with looking into the incident.
Recently the Met Police denied a scheme carried out by its Cycle Safety Team in which hi-vis vests were issued to cyclists was "victim blaming", with Superintendent Cox saying there is "some evidence" hi-vis can reduce risk; Mark Hodson of West Midands Police, one of the officers behind their renowned close pass operation, was among those to criticise the move.
I categorically deny having any involvement, in any form, in what is mentioned in this article. I have never been in contact with any of the persons or companies mentioned and any allegation to the contrary is false. https://t.co/3togFYhKZ8
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) February 18, 2020
The three-time world champion posted a statement in both English and Slovakian on his Twitter feed last night denying that he had any involvement with an article claiming that he was involved in a cryptocurrency trading scheme called 'Bitcoin Revolution' - full story here.
Just showed this to my youngest as a means of justifying why I constantly go on at him about not riding too close to parked cars.
And if you’re a motorist wondering why “that cyclist in front of you is taking up all of the road”, this is quite often the reason why 👍 https://t.co/dwaguHbJlm
— IronPhil (@PICollard) February 18, 2020
This scary clip shows why so many of us refuse to ride anywhere near car doors, and why infrastructure that puts cyclists near parked cars aren't the greatest idea; we're hoping the cyclist in the clip makes a full recovery.