#VoltaCatalunya100 - GC after Stage 2 pic.twitter.com/tqOeOYTILM
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) March 23, 2021
Rohan Dennis dethroned Rémi Cavagna with a huge TT performance at Catalunya to beat the Frenchman by five seconds. Cavagna had set the best time but was bested by Dennis' 49km/h average on the rolling course around Banyoles. There'll be plenty of relief for the Aussie who failed to win a race last year and hasn't won a TT since the World Championships in Yorkshire in 2019.
Of the GC riders, João Almeida came out best in third, 28 seconds behind Dennis. However, he did enough to take the overall race lead by one second. Adam Yates led home the British riders, finishing seventh for his new team, 12 seconds faster than Geraint Thomas and 35 seconds faster than his brother Simon.
Data from last November estimated that 110,000 bikes had been stolen since the start of the pandemic. You've probably all seen the video on the blog earlier of the gang of bike thieves using an angle grinder to cut through locks in Victoria Park during the middle of a busy Sunday afternoon, so we're asking: what can be done to stop bike thefts? If thieves aren't put off by hundreds of people watching their crime and have tools for cutting through locks then is there anything we can do other than cross our fingers and hope for the best? What extra steps do you take to stop your pride and joy getting nicked?
Getting your bike signed up to the national bike register, Bike Register, is probably a sensible start for making it easier to identify if the worst does happen. Good quality locks would be the next obvious port of call. Our buyer's guide for the best bike locks out there is worth a read if you're in the market for some extra protection.
I've started using multiple locks too: one to fix the bike to wherever you're parking it, and another two to lock the wheels to the frame. Maybe it's excessive but definitely better than having to walk your bike home without a front wheel...
Help from the public and well-doing bystanders is obviously greatly appreciated by cyclists. Our earlier blog post attracted loads of comments from you lot praising the pair who tackled the thief and chased him off. But what can we do to make sure this isn't necessary?
If you've got any less obvious top tips for keeping your bike safe, let us know and we'll share some of the best ones later on...
This video from Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets shows the shocking moment four hooded bike thieves attempted to steal bicycles on a busy Sunday afternoon. A witness said the group were cutting bike locks with an angle grinder at around 3pm and didn't seem to care that there were hundreds of people around.
Several bystanders got involved to stop the thieves with two of the offenders fleeing. The other two were confronted by a man who tried to restrain one of the thieves before he scrambled away with the help of his mate. The video works best if you watch in full screen mode.
Cheryl Chance said she'd "never have seen anything like this, these youth are so brazen, not the least bit scared. Shocking."
Iqbal Khan added: "Thieves have become so brazen nowadays. It was good to see that some people are willing to stop it."
Last year in nearby London Fields in Hackney, a bike thief was caught on camera lunging at a bystander with an angle grinder when they tried to intervene. At the time, a senior police officer said that thieves "have become brazen, greedy and lazy" due to the slim chances of being caught.
#Oxford cyclists told not to leave bikes ahead of filming https://t.co/Hf0fM1yYGCpic.twitter.com/cfLdMUW9RP
— OXFORDSHIRE (@DailyOXFORD) March 22, 2021
Cyclists trying use the railings or bike racks in a part of Oxford were met with this sign asking them to stop doing it ahead of filming this week. The Oxford Mail speculates it could well be for season eight of the Inspector Morse spin-off, Endeavour. Good news if you like the show, bad news if you've got a bike to park.The signs appeared on the railings and bike racks on Catte Street, near the Bridge of Sighs on New College Lane.
Here's a couple of exciting things happening here at road.cc for you to keep an eye out for. We've launched road.cc Recommends, a new curated section and monthly YouTube show with all the best cycling products out there. It'll be a one-stop shop for all the best bikes, tech and gear that we've tested. And rather than giving you our annual round-up of the best stuff in the road.cc Bike of the Year awards, we thought we'd have a change up and give it to you all year round, as and when we test it...Check out everything you need to know about road.cc Recommends...
As if you needed another excuse to crack open a cold one or pour yourself a glass of something nice this Friday...We'll be bringing the drink at your desk Friday spirit to you virtually with a live chat with former England goalkeeper Ben Foster, who far more importantly also loves his cycling. You can catch the first episode of Drink At Your Desk Live this Friday at 4pm on YouTube and our Facebook page.
As it turned out today, I have a fractured rib 🙃 It hasn't been an easy Italian campaign since the crash in Laiguelia, physically and mentally on the same time. "Rest to be the best" mode ON@INEOSGrenadiers
— Michał Kwiatkowski (@kwiato) March 22, 2021
Michał Kwiatkowski let his Twitter followers know that he'll be off the bike for a little while after finding out he has a broken rib dating back to a crash at Trofeo Laigueglia at the start of March. Since then the Polish rider has struggled for form, suffering at Tirreno-Adriatico before finishing 17th at Milan-San Remo at the weekend. The former world champion says he'll be taking some time off to regroup for bigger goals later in the season, notably his fifth Tour de France in a row with Ineos Grenadiers.
In today's racing, Rémi Cavagna is in the hotseat at Catalunya after setting a rapid time of 22:32 in the stage two time trial. Of the other early starters, nobody has managed to get within 30 seconds of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider yet. Chris Froome was exactly two minutes behind and currently sits in 20th place with most of the field still to go.
I was a young teenager when I acquired this autograph as I sat having a pre match lunch with him. My mate and I turned up at hotel on our bikes and he looked after us. “Don’t leave the bikes outside, they’ll get bloody pinched round ere” Post House hotel, Middlesbrough. Genius pic.twitter.com/k9v5VnO5nJ
— Graeme Bandeira (@GraemeBandeira) March 21, 2021
We are delighted to announce our new partnership with the high-quality cycling clothing of @LaPassionecc🇮🇹. It will be celebrated with an exclusive Tour of Flanders collection this spring. 🤩 We are very much looking forward to it!
More info 👉 https://t.co/ZS7dlqMHJg#RVVpic.twitter.com/oeQ7z1vc8L
— Ronde Van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) February 15, 2021
It's that time of year. The Tour of Flanders is just 12 days away...La Passione has partnered with Flanders Classics, the organisers of most of the major Belgian cobbled races, to present a new Ronde van Vlaanderen collection, inspired by the Monument. Featuring the traditional black, yellow and grey colour scheme of the race, the collection is designed to represent the heritage of Flemish cycling.
The kit is made to La Passione's high standards and features a race fit to keep you aero even in the most hostile Belgian conditions. The jersey also has several nice touches including the race's race profile on the chest and full climbs logo on the back as well as the RVV logo and cobbles on the right sleeve.
seems more people in France watched a Twitch livestream of Styros and David Gaudu playing Pro Cycling manager on Saturday than saw Milan-Sanremo... something I didn't expect to type
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) March 23, 2021
FDJ climber David Gaudu took part in a Twitch stream on Sunday where he played the cycling computer game Pro Cycling Manager against other gamers. One for the younger generation I'd imagine, Gaudu attracted 200,000 people to watch the stream...That's ten times more than watched Milan-San Remo in France...
This was largely due to the race not being broadcast on TV, instead it was only available via the Eurosport player. The result: an audience of just 20,000 in a country with one of the largest cycling fanbases...
Climate-positive cycling kit brand Presca is offering a 20 per cent discount on their clothing to celebrate the end of winter and the upcoming easing (hopefully) of restrictions on gatherings and exercise. The Joy of Six discount allows you to get 20 per cent off any six items, including their latest Link collection. If you're not in the market for a whole new wardrobe then you can grab a six per cent discount on any purchase with the code joyofsix. You can also join their Strava club to see their favourite group rides around the country come March 29.
All Presca's kits use materials that are fully recycled and recyclable and redesigns materials that pollute the planet into performance sportswear built to last.
🇮🇹 #CoppieBartali Victoria para Jakub Mareczko en el sector inaugural de la primera etapa. @aular_orluis no ha podido pelear en el sprint por una caída en la parte final del recorrido.#SúmateAlVerde💚 pic.twitter.com/mtOOB0tyWE
— Team Caja Rural-RGA (@CajaRural_RGA) March 23, 2021
He's getting closer...Second place for Cav this morning at Coppi e Bartali. I'm sure the riders weren't thanking whoever decided to have a race finish just before midday local time...Anyway, plenty of time to rest ahead this afternoon's team time trial. Cav was pipped by Italian sprinter Jakub Mareczko and importantly looks fully recovered from his crash at Nokere Koerse last week...
Cav's teammate, Jannik Steimle, who also crashed at the Belgian race last week has returned home from hospital. The German suffered a fractured rib, a minor pneumo and concussions. It was decided that he wouldn't be operated on due to the "specific nature of the fractures in his shoulder".
Race bound 🛫 @voltacatalunya🚴🏻♂️💨 #voltacatalunya100pic.twitter.com/pN40YKFv7e
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) March 20, 2021
Chris Froome says he knows his week at the Volta a Catalunya isn't going to be about him and is an opportunity to build more form ahead of the Tour de France. Speaking before stage one in Calella, the 35-year-old told Eurosport that he doesn't feel ready to challenge for victories just yet. Froome finished the opening stage in 96th place, 8:30 behind the lead group.
"I know I'm not going to be personally fighting for the victory here," he explained. "I won't be at that level yet, but I'm hoping to see some progression. It’s good to have a good team of guys here, and we’ll look to be up there fighting for the victory with Dan Martin and Mike Woods. It’s a good week ahead. I’m just coming off an altitude training camp, so it’ll be good to see what my progression is."
On March 9, Tom Harris was cycling along the A4174 near the Hambrook lights in Bristol when he was hit by a driver at speed. He was then hit by two more drivers after the initial collision. Tom was transported to hospital with a severe head trauma, was anaesthetised by the critical care team and underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. His family say they were preparing their last goodbyes.
Two weeks on after a successful surgery Tom remains in intensive care but is awake. For the first five days after the surgery he was under full sedation and on a ventilator but can now breathe on his own. The 20-year-old is unable to eat or drink and can only speak a few words.
The family say the crash means he will need to relearn many things he previously took for granted due to the severity of the brain injury and they are asking for donations to help Tom rebuild his life when he is eventually able to leave hospital.