Some slightly surprising transfer news to wrap up Thursday. Rohan Dennis is heading to Jumbo-Visma, according to Dutch outlet Wielerflits. The two-time world time trial champion has impressed since signing for Ineos, adapting to his new role as a super domestique following a controversial ending to his time with the team now known as Bahrain Victorious.
Media reports suggest that despite having the option to sign a new deal with Ineos or link up with his former sports director from BMC, Allan Peiper, at UAE Team Emirates, Dennis has decided to sign for GC rivals Jumbo-Visma. The Dutch team reportedly sees the Aussie as the heir to Tony Martin's vital role within their Grand Tour unit. It will be interesting to see if Dennis makes an appearance when Ineos reveal their Tour team in the coming week...
The inaugural edition of the women's Tour de France will start on Sunday 24 July 2022 with Zwift on-board as a presenting partner. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will begin in Paris on the Champs-Élysées and is the biggest step in creating an equal competition for female riders running alongside the biggest event in the men's calendar. Zwift founder Eric Min explained why he was so keen to be involved: "This is an incredibly important announcement for us as we look to build on our investment in women’s cycling and really help grow and develop the sport. Together we can bring women’s cycling to a larger audience and inspire new generations of female cyclists for years to come."
Zwift has signed a deal to be involved for four years with the event which will see female riders compete for the yellow jersey over eight stages with full TV coverage.
Primož Roglič has distanced himself from the favourite's tag ahead of the Tour de France Grand Depart next Saturday. Roglič suggested there will be more competition than simply just himself and Slovenian compatriot Tadej Pogačar in the fight for yellow.
"I wouldn’t even place myself, I don’t consider myself as so big a favourite,” Roglič told RMC Sport. "I’m not the defending champion. At the end, I didn’t race for a while. I will just go there and in the end we have to see how it goes. There are lots of guys who are super strong that are capable of winning. It’s not just a fight between me and Tadej. You have twenty other guys and I think all the race is just bigger than we are, so we definitely just need to go there, do our best with our guys. And in the end, we’ll see what that means with the result."
Yves Lampaert needs to give Rob some advice on panniers. In true Belgian style the Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider returned home from his second national TT championship win on a humble steed without any of his flash team kit. The video shared on Instagram shows the 30-year-old being cheered on by the people in the car behind as he basks in the glory of his win.
Lampaert isn't quite at the 50.3km/h average speed that won him his title but he finds the time to give a victory salute. On a similar note, last week Team GB track star Laura Kenny hitched a lift to the velodrome on a cargo pulled by fellow serial gold medal winner and husband Jason Kenny.
We need answers. Can Rob even use those aero bars or are they merely there to mount everything around? It doesn't look very...well, aero...but we're guessing that's not the point. He's been on the road for a month now, riding more than 2,000 miles from Bournemouth to Land's End to John O' Groats and back again on his Mason Cycles Bokeh GRX and has probably broken a record for most stuff carried in the process.
For a proper look at bikepacking, and what kit we'd recommend, head over to our friends at off-road.cc where they've got a complete guide with everything you need to know when preparing for a two-wheeled adventure...
We've also got a round-up of 26 of the best bikepacking bags so you don't have copy Rob's unique set-up...unless you want to, of course...
Good news for all those seeking to make our streets safe for walking and cycling @TfLhttps://t.co/36mW4D9eR2
— Ruth Cadbury MP 💙 (@RuthCadbury) June 17, 2021
Yesterday's Court of Appeal decision against a ruling from the High Court that Streetspace active travel initiatives were unlawful was greeted warmly by active travel proponents...
Jeremy Vine called it a "massive moment for cycling in London". Saying, "if confirmed, the Bishopsgate judgement means more protection for vulnerable road users and less chance of 'professional' drivers pretending they need access to all roads for all customers."
This is such good news. Massive thanks too all those @TfL and our legal team who ensured that common sense prevailed. https://t.co/nwlgH1Y9hu
— Heidi Alexander (@Heidi_LDN) June 17, 2021
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the decision "is a vindication of our policies". He continued: "Our world-leading Streetspace schemes are helping protect the health of Londoners, and this decision reinforces my determination to make it safer and easier for Londoners to walk and cycle, and to help ensure a green and sustainable recovery from the pandemic."
4th Dutch TT title🇳🇱🥇 pic.twitter.com/fBeRr47u22
— Tom Dumoulin (@tom_dumoulin) June 16, 2021
After an extended break from the sport Tom Dumoulin is back near the top of the world in TTs. Dumoulin yesterday won his fourth national championship in the discipline, beating Sebastian Langeveld and teammate Koen Bouwmann.
"In the second part the heat started to play a role. My legs became slightly tired. It was hard work," Dumoulin said. "But I have recovered well after a week of racing in Switzerland. I rode a very good time trial. If I had ridden this time trial a few years ago, I would have been very happy too. I am close to my good form. In Switzerland it went a little bit better every day. I started to like racing more and more. I have continued that feeling. I am very happy with the title today. This is really a victory over myself."
The win will be a confidence boost ahead of his main goal of the year at the Tokyo Olympics where the Jumbo-Visma rider will look to add a gold medal to his world title from 2017. Elsewhere, Aleksandr Vlasov, Emma Norsgaard, Stefan Küng and Rein Taaramäe all won their respective country's TT championship.
Even the Pope isn't into disc brakes. https://t.co/6Yjg5POTvD
— Xylon van Eyck (@XylonVE) June 16, 2021
If you missed yesterday's big story about Egan Bernal visiting the Pope with a brand new Pinarello Dogma and maglia rosa, check it out here.
Most of us are enjoying the Euros by setting up camp on the sofa and enjoying a few cold ones...Gordon Miller will be putting in some big miles on the bike for an excellent cause. Riding between every Premier League ground between 27 June and 11 July, Gordon is hoping to shine a light on modern slavery, specifically child trafficking in sport.
Starting at Wembley, Gordon will be visiting all 20 top-flight stadiums in time for the final of the Euros and must be ruing Norwich's promotion. A mammoth ride but it's not his first epic cycle challenge...last year he set the Guinness World Record for the largest GPS drawing by bicycle by riding 620.5 miles (998.7km) around England to spell out the message 'end modern slavery'.
You can find all the details on the Ride for Freedom website...
In 9 seconds of video, count the people cycling along the #CS3#Embankment cycle track and compare to the number of motorised vehicles using the other 4 lanes.
Which is the more efficient use of space? pic.twitter.com/7tUBScsVVE— always last (@lastnotlost) June 15, 2021
I'm going for 11...but there was definitely another group of riders coming into the very blurry shot at the end of the video...
Sadiq Khan hopes to bring the Tour de France back to London for the first time since stage three of the 2014 edition (pictured above). During his re-election campaign the Mayor of London pledged to push for the Olympics back in the capital in 2036 or 2040 and the Evening Standard reports Khan is eager to host Tour de France stages too.
Khan admitted that bridges may have to be rebuilt after Boris Johnson's decision to pull out of hosting the 2017 Grand Depart, saying it's "not worth it". Johnson insisted the money would be better spent on cycling infrastructure and should not be "wasted" on something that "would only deliver very brief benefits".
Some even suggested that the 2017 route was designed to troll the now PM over Brexit by passing through four of the six countries that signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, founding the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Union (EU). Niche.
Clown Of The Day: this young smartphone user looks like he's pretty good at driving without touching the steering wheel, but because this is Kensington High Street, where @RBKC has removed all protection for cyclists, sadly my footage must go to the police. pic.twitter.com/LGj6kSduv6
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 17, 2021
'Clown of the Day' with Jeremy Vine...I'm sensing the start of a new series. Riding down Kensington High Street, Vine's nifty 360-degree camera spots this driver completely oblivious to the presenter. The motorist doesn't have either hand on the wheel and continues to scroll his phone as he rolls forward with the traffic.
Despite the BMW driver's protestations, Vine tells him: "I'm going to have to report you I'm really sorry. Why should I have to share the road with somebody as dangerous as you? You're not even putting your hands on the steering wheel."
I guess it would be nice if Kensington High Street had a protected cycle route for riders to avoid having to filter through traffic past distracted drivers...Oh, that would be the one Boris Johnson was said to be 'ballistic' after it was been ripped out last December.
Who is going to be the next clown in Jeremy Vine's circus?