After their'Back to School' range launched recently, Quick-Step's merchandise push appears to know no bounds with their new Wolfpack Baby collection. There are baby socks, bibs (as in a bib bib, not bib shorts) and a romper available, with the latter featuring 'TheLittleWolf' embroidered across the front, with a number on the back just like the pros in races.
All are for sale now on the Deceuninck Quick-Step website.
In yet another depressing incident of extreme violence that appears to be aimed at cyclists, Norfolk Police have issued a warning after a cyclist was garroted by a rope strung between trees.
Police say the 25-year-old man was left with "extensive lacerations" across his neck after falling victim to the trap in woods next to Edinburgh Way in Thetford. Shockingly, wood containing nails was also placed at head height down alleyways that are regularly used by cyclists from Edinburgh Way and Durham Way used by cyclists.
PC Nike Harris commented: “We are concerned as these throughways are sometimes used by cyclists on their way to from work. We do not know why the rope and wood has been put in place but it may be in attempt to discourage cyclists and bikers.
“We would ask you report anti-social behaviour in the areas to police rather than take matters into your own hands if this is the case. Although we know these routes are not strictly meant for cyclists or bikers we do not want to find people are being seriously injured.”
Norfolk Police have asked anyone with information to contact PC Harris on 101, quoting crime reference 36/60081/20.
It is with great sadness that we received the news that para-cyclist Liz Clarke-Saul has passed away. The thoughts of everyone at British Cycling are with Liz’s family and friends.
Read the full tribute here: https://t.co/0VqefGlvLBpic.twitter.com/VM4IdO1q4H
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) August 28, 2020
British Cycling say in their statement that Clarke-Saul passed away on 20th July, having suffered from a highly rare bone cancer called adamantinoma since the age of 12. After having her leg amputated because of the cancer age 14, Clarke-Saul joined the Great Britain para-cycling team in 2014, competing in the 2015 and 2016 Para-Cycling Track World Championships. Her cancer returned in 2018 and was incurable, which prevented her from competing at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships.
British Cycling's Head of Para-cycling Jon Pett said: “Liz was a valued member of the para-cycling squad since she joined us in June 2014, and I know I speak for all of the para-cycling staff when I say she was a pleasure to work with.
"She was a great person to have on the team – always happy, always upbeat and an amazing attitude towards life, despite everything she was facing.
“The Great Britain team riders and staff who worked with Liz have been saddened by the news, but I know it will make us more determined than ever to perform to the best of our ability, in Liz’s memory. Our thoughts at this time are with Liz’s husband Jack and her family.”
To find out more about the Liz Clarke-Saul fund to raise money to support pioneering research into adamantinoma, click here.
An eyewitness clip of ISN’s @LeTour presentation ceremony , brought to you by our own @Neilands_K . The best angle in the house! pic.twitter.com/RBSWjmoyZg
— Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@YallaIsraelSUN) August 28, 2020
Presentación de equipos en Niza, las tres semanas más intensas de la temporada empiezan mañana!
Team presentation in Nice, the three most intense weeks of the season start tomorrow!@LeTour@Movistar_Team📸 @bettiniphotopic.twitter.com/iyVhYxjc1b
— Enric Mas Nicolau (@EnricMasNicolau) August 28, 2020
Compared to the party that road.cc attended in Brussels last year, things were obviously quite different at the 2020 ceremony in Nice, with spectators and media sat apart at a safe distance. Find out all your need to know about the Tour that nearly never happened in our stage-by-stage guide.
Could charging your phone, e-bike and electric car become a thing of the past? Read more about this potential battery breakthrough from US tech company NDB over on eBikeTips.
The King Alfred’s Way loops takes riders on an adventure through Surrey, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire, featuring gravel tracks and trails with plenty of ups and downs. If you decide to make an epic weekend/week of it and take on the whole route you'll pass Stonehenge, the Avebury and Iron Age hill forts at Old Sarum and Barbury Castle while taking in some quintessential English countryside.
Cycling UK say they've spent three years working on the route, which connects the North Downs Way, South Downs Way, Ridgeway and Thames Path. Some sections were upgraded to allow cycling on existing footpaths, and existing bridleways, byways and quiet country lanes were also added in.
Cycling UK's campaign officer Sophie Gordon commented: “The pandemic has understandably changed the British public’s appetite for foreign travel but with King Alfred’s Way we’re hoping to at least quench its thirst for adventure.
“There’s no need to fly or, for many, even travel far for a challenging trip. King Alfred’s Way is 220 miles of literal ups and downs looping through a quintessential southern England made up of thatched cottages, Iron Age hill forts and stone circles.”
You can find the online route map here.
I got to meet the awesome Shane Topley, cycling plumber. He does heading too. 07973 558 426. Much better option than cycle-hating Pimlico Plumbers. pic.twitter.com/ucLrVkNU9S
— ⚫ CyclingMikey aka Bike Gandalf 🇪🇺🇳🇱🇿🇼 (@MikeyCycling) August 27, 2020
With a not-so-subtle dig at Pimlico Plumbers, the camera cyclist shows that a plumber can indeed trade without needing a van for the vast majority of jobs.
For those based in the south west, there's also Pedal Powered Plumbing of Bristol - the website can be found here. Feel free to post more cycle-friendly plumber recommendations in the comments below.
THE REBELLION HAS BEGUN.
Two @xryouthbristol members have locked on the the iconic Bristol suspension bridge. @XRebellionUK@ExtinctionR@XRBristolpic.twitter.com/DCe5Kxdr73
— Extinction Rebellion Youth (@XrYouth) August 27, 2020
Avon and Somerset Police say two females were arrested at 11pm last night on suspicion of wilful obstruction of the highway and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance... and now the police are closing the bridge to all vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians for four days in response.
Site is fully set up with stage and first workshop is now beginning! Come on down
pic.twitter.com/FkoJlf5J7p
— XRYouth UK (@xryouthuk) August 28, 2020
Extinction Rebellion (XR) are reportedly planning a four day protest, with the Bristol Post reporting that they plan to block motor traffic with an elephant and take over "key sites" in Bristol. XRYouth UK said on their Twitter account: "Police last night took the decision to completely close the Clifton Suspension Bridge, for potentially up to 4 days. XR Youth intended to close it from 7 - 4 for traffic while remaining open to pedestrians and bikes. As a result of the closure we are now by the bridge entrance."
XR Youth are also holding 'socially distanced events' at the site of the Suspension Bridge, erecting a transportable stage and running workshops on the subject of the climate crisis.
The new shades have dropped on the eve of the Tour de France, with Team Emirates, Israel Start-Up Nation and NTT Pro Cycling all rocking Scicon eyewear for Le Tour.
Both are wide and retro-looking as seems to be the norm nowadays, and the Aerowing has a 'rimless cylindrical shield' on the face with a vented brow construction to allow for extra airflow.
Scicon claim the Aeroshade's Horizon Adapt system is the world's first height adjustable nose pad, which allows riders to tailor the field of vision depending on their preferred riding position with a push or pull on the nose piece. Like the Aerowing, they have interchangeable lenses that are impact resistant with 100% UV protection.
The Aerowing is priced at £160 and the Aeroshade is £170, both are available now through Scicon's website and numerous retailers.
Let's be honest, anyone who has visited #Brighton despairs at that traffic sewer that runs alongside the beach. This is probably the moment to close the filthy seafront road completely and let this beautiful town breathe its own sea air at last. pic.twitter.com/99kR8rvGoD
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) August 27, 2020
The broadcaster didn't mince his words when giving his opinion on the future of Brighton's seafront, which controversially had a 600m section of cycle lane removed yesterday because of concerns over congestion. The council’s lead member for transport Pete West told The Argus: “Congestion on this stretch has had a knock-on for major bus routes and delays to bus journey times – that is unacceptable."
Of course another way to reduce the congestion would be for people to stop driving so much, but that appears to be a step too far and Brightonians remain bitterly divided over the issue...
I’m from Brighton (born & bred) and I’d like:
- more and better cycle lanes
- more restrictions on cars in town
- better bus routes to help speed up the bus services across town.— Abigail Dombey (@AbigailDombey) August 27, 2020
Please be careful when cycling along Midhurst Ave today, contractors have applied some absorbent material to the carriageway to soak up the oil. @EalingCyclists@SpacePootler@darrenmoore@jamesinealingpic.twitter.com/wfjeLeJnrH
— Robin Williamson 🚴♀️ 🎸🚂 🇪🇺 (@stuntbutt) August 28, 2020
If true, it appears people who have a problem with lower levels of rat-running traffic in their neighbourhood have sunk to a new level of cowardice and stupidity, as there have been various reports of oil on roads where planters have been installed to prevent through traffic in London.
This is the oil poured on Midhurst Road and there is more on Northcroft Road. I’m not connected to any cycling groups but please can anyone who is warn cyclists? @metcc@envagency@xrealing@saddleblaze@spacepootler@cathrosepg@rbourchier@darrenmoore@standardnewspic.twitter.com/Rrja1vYVmc
— Ellie Lock (@ellielockx) August 27, 2020
Full story to follow.
In addition to fixing roads during lockdown, today I’ve announced a first-of-its-kind pothole mapping project, working with businesses like @Uber@Deliveroo@Ocado@Tesco to target nuisance potholes & make roads safer for everyone as people return to the office and school 🛣️🚗🚴 pic.twitter.com/MrlPVQ1ynd
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) August 28, 2020
The Transport Secretary says that the government have enlisted the help of companies such as Uber and Deliveroo to combat potholes. Information published at midnight on gov.uk says that mapping data will be used from these businesses to identify hotspots for repairs, and the work will be accelerated ahead of schools going back next week to make roads safer for cyclists and motorists. They also claim 319 miles worth of resurfacing works have taken place during lockdown, made possible by the quieter roads.
Not everyone is quite so enthusiastic...
Why don't you try and construct proper roads in the first place, so you don't need to spend so much taxpayers money on repairs. Just take other EU countries as an example. Oh wait, we've just turned our back on all those...
— Alex 🇳🇱🇪🇺🇬🇧🇵🇱 (@Mul_Alexander) August 28, 2020
I'll believe it when I see it.
How about funding councils properly in the first place?
— Daniel Winter (@dcwinter) August 28, 2020
If you want to report potholes, you can go directly to the Highways Agency or use apps such as Fill That Hole and FixMyStreet.
Police take action against bike criminal after Pimlico security team make citizen's arrest.
Click below for more information 👇 pic.twitter.com/A3chM8HxgB
— Pimlico (@PimlicoPlumbers) August 27, 2020
This strange episode has just got stranger, as Pimlico Plumbers have now published a blog post where they claim to have detained a vandal who allegedly damaged the Bentley that belongs to their chairman Charlie Mullins.
Last week, Pimlico published a video showing the alleged culprit in the act, asking social media to help them track him down. The male cyclist, on a Santander Cycle hire bike, appeared to kick out a wing mirror on the luxury car, but some people accused Pimlico of faking it following a number of anti-cyclist comments made by the company on their website and on social media in recent weeks.
The statement says: "This morning the Pimlico security team made a citizen's arrest of the cyclist who made a ride-by attack on Pimlico chairman Charlie Mullins' Bentley while it was parked outside the company's Sail Street headquarters.
"Since the mindless act of vandalism last week where the man rode close to the parked car and kicked and damaged its passenger side wing mirror the team has been on the lookout for the criminal responsible and today they were able to stop and hold him as he rode past on another Boris bike.
"The police were called and the culprit is now being dealt with by the authorities after admitting his guilt to the responding officer."
Surprised you don't show the CCTV footage of the citizen arrest you've already shown the alleged crime.
Can @metpoliceuk confirm the arrest too as you didn't strangely tag them to express your gratitude— Doug Mcfarlane (@DougMcfarlane3) August 27, 2020
And the cycling mafia tried to deny he’d done anything !!!! He admitted his guilt to the police.
— WestminsterDragoon (@DavidThurlow1) August 27, 2020
There has been no confirmation from the police that they are involved other than Pimlico's word, and some continue to accuse them of staging the act of vandalism; but their 'supporters' have hailed this as proof that it wasn't just a publicity stunt.
STOP comparing, please!
I’m not like somebody else, nobody is like me. Everybody is just him- or herself and that should be respected.
So just please stop it.
Nobody can be a new version of something he or she has never been and will never be.
Merci.— Remco Evenepoel (@EvenepoelRemco) August 28, 2020
It appears the 20-year-old Belgian isn't too keen on the comparisons with the great Eddy Merckx, venting on social media for everyone to "please stop it" with the wild predictions: "Nobody can be a new version of something he or she has never been and will never be", he says.
Perhaps a particular interview question or speculative media reporting pushed his buttons, but it's clear the Deceuninck–Quick-Step rider doesn't want the pressure and the expectation that will come with being tipped to emulate arguably the greatest cyclist of all time. Some fans aren't being overly sympathetic on his Twitter page...
STUPID 🙄
— Remco Evenepoel (@EvenepoelRemco) August 28, 2020
Is the young prodigy (as he'd hate to be called) being a little over sensitive here?
Expect you to slam into this kerb? pic.twitter.com/XkwJ25XY9u
— Clockwise (@Clockwisesss) August 28, 2020
Another one for the archives.
If you're injured or taking a holiday and don't want Garmin telling you how little training you've been doing as if everything was normal, you can now pause your training status completely and leave it paused until you start up again.
Garmin say there are situations "when tracking your training status can be demotivating or even counterproductive", so rather than watching your status drain you can just get back on the horse when you're ready to. Selecting the pause function will also hide feedback such as your VO2 max, fitness trend, 7-day load and recovery time. Daily suggested workouts are also suspended until training status is resumed.
To use the function on a Garmin Edge cycling computer, simply select 'My Stats' from the home screen, press 'Training Status' and then select 'Pause Training Status'.