Immigration checks on delivery cyclists condemned by shadow minister who accuses police of "racial profiling"; Town to dump 20mph speed limit...because most motorists ignore it; Dowsett abandons; Anti-cyclist bingo; Pro pay rise + more on the live blog

Finalmente @AndreaVendra! Dopo una serie infinita di sfighe e piazzamenti si toglie la soddisfazione più bella vincendo al @giroditalia.

1️⃣ 🇮🇹 #Vendrame@AG2RCITROENTEAM
2️⃣ 🇦🇺 #Hamilton
3️⃣ 🇮🇹 #Brambilla#Giro#Giro104#GiroDItalia#GiroDItalia2021#EurosportCICLISMO#20maggiopic.twitter.com/XsrZiDVLhc

— Andrea Pecchia (@andrea_pecchia) May 20, 2021

Andrea Vendrame won the Italians their second stage of the Giro d'Italia, outsprinting Chris Hamilton from the breakaway in Bagno di Romagna. Riding for a French team, Vendrame got a maiden win at his home Grand Tour after attacking on the final climb and taking a select group including George Bennett and Gianluca Brambilla to the final. 

After Bennett and Brambilla messed about, the other two snuck up the road and contested the stage. Vendrame, who was seventh on the sprint stage won by Peter Sagan on Monday, easily outkicked his Aussie breakaway companion. Brambilla took third, althought the commissaires might take a dim view of his sprint which appeared to impede Bennett.

Ten minutes behind, on the descent, Vincenzo Nibali shot away from the peloton. Hot-headed Gianni Moscon tried to follow but ended up on the deck after sliding out on a tight bend. Nibali pushed on...seven seconds for his efforts may not seem like a fair result...

Tomorrow promises to be possibly the easiest stage of the entire three weeks. Not so much as a speed bump on the parcours for the peloton to worry about on their 198km cruise to Verona. 

Doesn't add up.

Police say it was 'a road safety policing operation'.
Home Office say it was in relation to 'suspected immigration offences'.

I'm all for public safety. I'm not in favour of profiling low-paid gig economy workers to appease Priti Patel.https://t.co/JTFsY8JZPY

— Dr Rosena Allin-Khan 💙 (@DrRosena) May 20, 2021

Shadow minister Rosena Allin-Khan accused police of "racial profiling" after pictures emerged of officers carrying out immigration checks on delivery cyclists in London. The shadow minister for mental health said the checks could amount to "indirect discrimination" due to the disproportionate impact on ethnic minority groups.

Dr Allin-Khan Spoke out about the checks which saw officials targeting cyclists in Tooting, stopping 48 bikes and seizing two. At this stage it is not yet clear how many of the 48 were cyclists and how many were moped or motorcycle drivers, however the Independent reports that three were reported for criminal offences and two arrested for immigration offences.

The MP tweeted: "This looks like racial profiling and I am concerned that under the Equalities Act 2010, this may amount to indirect discrimination due to its disproportionate impact on ethnic minority groups. If it's not unlawful, then it's definitely immoral and I cannot defend it.

"I've requested a meeting with the police to explain their actions and would encourage them to focus their time on fighting crime - not targeting people at work."

Despite the photo appearing to show a cycle courier being stopped, a spokesperson for the MET claimed its checks were being carried out due to reports of dangerous driving from moped riders. It was also claimed the immigration enforcement was a separate operation. 

The Met spokesperson said: “Following community concerns about dangerous and anti-social driving of mopeds, officers carried out a road safety policing operation in Tooting on Tuesday, 18 May.

“This was not a Covid compliance operation but one of engagement and high visibility.

“Officers from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command stopped a number of motorcycles to check driving licences, insurance documents and to ensure the roadworthiness of the vehicles.

“Where appropriate, advice regarding road safety was given.

“The objective of the operation was in response to community concerns about the dangerous and anti-social driving of mopeds.

“Immigration enforcement officers were also at the location carrying out their own intelligence lead operation, separate from the focus of RTPC officers.”

After MAAP's latest release of Women's Flow Pro Jerseys was mistakenly printed with 'Women's Flow Pro Jereseys', the clothing brand came up with a nice way to make amends. Now, I'm sure plenty of customers would not have noticed or cared too much about the typo but MAAP wanted to hold its hands up...

So rather than keeping quiet or silently cancelling orders and chucking the 'jereseys' in the bin, they decided to be up front, have a laugh at the misfortune and donate money for 10,000 trees to be planted instead. It is a symbolic gesture to prove the brand's commitment to sustainability...rather than landfilling the mistake, something good has come out of it.

Coming to you this week from the comments under this post on West Yorkshire Police's Facebook page...it's anti-cyclist bingo...

Thanks to Anthony Wood we very nearly almost cracked it in one...his comment read: "what about the rules about riding on the pavement, riding without lights, riding more than two abreast, if they are enforcing one rule, then do the others as well."

Unlucky, Anthony, just a couple short of the full house. Let's see if anyone can help him out...

Alexandra Sutcliffe should win an anti-cyclist bingo prize for this humdinger: "I don’t need education on how to pass them but they sometimes need education on how to use their bikes on roads too. After all drivers pay a lot of money to drive but pushbikes pay absolutely nothing." 

One final comment from Jennie Goddard: "Can you not educate cyclists who insist on going in groups and taking up entire road when they should be in single file and the ones that swerve in and out from the kerb."

For our dose of common sense, we're going over to Sally McGregor: "Here's a thing... Let's just imagine each road user is a mate or a family member going about their business. They aren't a target to have a pop at."

Dan Martin distanced the day after Ireland's failure to make it to the Eurovision final. Dark times.

— Orla Chennaoui (@SportsOrla) May 19, 2021

This is the other side of gravel stages at Grand Tours...they are great for us watching but less so for some of the riders involved. Dan Martin lost six minutes to Egan Bernal and told GCN after the stage he did not think making the front group was worth the risk. "I told my wife this morning that I won't crash, so for me personally cycling is not worth the risk," the Irishman explained. 

"I had guys crashing all around me on the first section [of gravel] so I just did my own pace, I nearly came back but my licence is road cycling so it's not my thing. Fair play to the guys who are at the front, but I just didn't want to take the risk today and that's it.

"The cycling fan in me thinks this is a beautiful stage but it was on an unpredictable road surface and I don't have much experience on that particular terrain. No excuses just didn't feel like taking the risks. Personally, I was a bit too relaxed. Everyone was battling for positions; I got a few pushes and lost my head for a while."

Martin dropped ten places to 18th on GC ahead of stage 12 this afternoon. After a big battle to make the break, 14 riders are now up the road with a three minute advantage. Among them are George Bennett, Gianluca Brambilla, Diego Ulissi and king of the mountains Geoffrey Bouchard.

A 20mph speed limit in the Fife town of Markinch is to be scrapped because drivers do not obey it. Council officers say by changing the limit to 30mph it will "align the mandatory limit to drivers' perception."The Courier reports 85 per cent of drivers ignore the 20mph signs on the B9130 in Markinch, with most travelling around 30mph.

Labour councillor Altany Craik was disappointed by the move and said it may encourage drivers to decide what speed they want to drive on other roads. "Basically, we’re saying we should make it 30 because drivers can’t stick to 20," he explained. "We need to be careful of the impact this will have. Drivers are determined to speed on this road. Drivers themselves have decided it should be 30.

"I’m not sure that’s the best way of determining what the speed limit should be. The impact of having this kind of justification for a change means all over Fife we’ll be encouraging people to say we don’t like that 20, 30 or 40 and start making a case for it. We need to be careful we’re not making a rod for our own back."

The 20mph limit has been in place since 2016, when a new housing development was built. However, transportation officer Dhusjan Sivaratnam believes that despite measures being taken to encourage compliance, drivers are just not interested.

"The persistent lack of compliance with the speed limit and the results of the speed surveys clearly indicate that drivers perceive 30mph to be the appropriate limit on this stretch of road," he said.

"The replacement of the 20mph zone with a 30mph limit would align the mandatory limit with drivers’ perception. The road is quite wide and that might be a factor in why people are speeding. We could even put more speed cushions there and they’ll still speed."

We are saddened to hear about the tragic loss of Gwen Inglis. The Masters Road Race National Champion was hit by a driver on her training ride Sunday morning and later passed away at the hospital. We are sending our thoughts to Gwen's family during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/5elhU027Iu

— USA Cycling (@usacycling) May 17, 2021

US national champion, Gwen Inglis, was struck and killed by a driver while training in Denver on Sunday. Inglis, the reigning road race champion in the 45-49 age group, was hit by the driver who drifted into the bike lane where she was riding alongside her husband. Local news reports say the driver of the Nissan Sedan, Ryan Scott Montoya, admitted to drinking and using marijuana the night before. He has since been charged with DUI vehicular homicide.

The Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado released this statement mourning Gwen: 

Colorado cycling lost one of their best yesterday. There are few words that can express the feeling of loss for any of our cycling community, and Gwen was a particularly special person. She was a multiple National and State Champion on the bike and very well known across the cycling community in Colorado. Even more impressive was her character off the bike. Knowing Gwen, you would immediately be aware of her strongest qualities. She consistently brought joy into all her relationships, and she openly accepted everyone.

Wow! The most considerate cycle path I've ever seen, smooth and gently snakes up a hill. Up it first time in on a fully loaded touring bike without any dramas. National cycle network route 78 in the Caledonia Way, heading south from Duror. Well done @sustrans! pic.twitter.com/RnEmZT2ljD

— Ian Muirhead FRAS (@ian_muirhead) May 18, 2021

Just look at those hairpins...