Announcing the Ineos Grenadiers line up at the tour, Brailsford said “We won’t win this tour by sitting in the wheels. We have the team to make it a racers’ race, take the initiative, seize every opportunity and make our opposition focus for every kilometre of every stage.
“We have changed our race philosophy this season to being more open and aggressive. Our performances have built all season and a joy of racing has infused the whole team. This more adventurous approach has led us to fearless racing and this is exactly how we will hit the Tour. We will seek out every moment in every stage where the race is on and try to exploit it. Key for us this Tour is our collective strength and camaraderie to the end.
“Expect the unexpected.”
The Ineos team at the TdF will consist of: Richard Carapaz, Jonathan Castroviejo, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Michal Kwiatkowski, Richie Porte, Luke Rowe, Geraint Thomas, Dylan van Baarle.
'It is a very busy route for #cyclists - and they should all know about this new danger' - he told the News #Dulwich@MPSSouthwark@southwarkcyclehttps://t.co/mDlIsDBhw5
— Southwark News (@Southwark_News) June 16, 2021
A cyclist 'was fortunate not to break his neck' after someone pushed him off his bike while he was riding along a cycle path at night.
Andrew Mayers, a 59-year-old carer from Dulwich, was riding on the Greendale cycle path just after 11pm on Thursday June 10. He was travelling from Denmark Hill when a person on a moped accelerated behind him and shoved him off the path.
Speaking to Southwark News, Andrew said: “When I staggered to my feet I was covered in blood from a million cuts, but amazingly no broken bones. My front wheel was mangled into oblivion. I was extremely fortunate not to break my neck.
“This was a deliberate, planned attack. It is a very busy route for cyclists – and they should all know about this new danger.”
What better news could there be on a Friday... you could win free beer and all you have to do is ride your bike. Sort of.
Small Beer Brew.co are inviting riders to plot and ride a route on Strava in the shape of one of its stubby beer bottles.
The company will then shortlist the best attempts and the winner will win a mixed case of its award winning Small Beer.
That might seem like quite a bit of work to some for what is a low alcohol beer... but I'm sure plenty of people will take on the challenge for any form of alcohol after a long week.
A unicyclist and a penny farthing rider are setting out to tackle the whole of the South Downs way.
Tom Clowes will be on the unicycle with his mate Neil Laughton on the penny farthing. Together they will take on the 100 mile (160km) route which features 12,637ft (3795m) of climbing over three days.
Tom, an adventurer, who has previously climbed Mt Everest and Mt Kilimanjaro, said: "The unicycle is known as a mountain unicycle (or muni for short).
"It has a 29 inch fat 3 inch tyre. It is made by a Canadian chap called Kris Holm who was one of the pioneers of mountain unicycling.
“The ride is all to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. My father died from this disease 16 years ago. I want to raise as much as possible by doing something that I will find incredibly hard.”
Tom added that although the route will be tricky on a unicycle, it might be even harder on a penny farthing.
He said: "The Penny Farthing is not built for off-road riding whereas the unicycle is built to be very strong. [The rider] sits much higher on his wheel and therefore the danger of falling off is greater.
“The hardest part for me will be the chafing and saddle sores… I shall be liberally applying chafing cream and I shall be wearing padded shorts of course!”
If you wish to support Tom and donate to Prostate Cancer, you can do so here.
Daisy wanted to learn to take drinks and snacks without anyone passing them to her, it tight to get a bottle off a tiny bike with the small space, getting food out of your pockets is definitely a skill 👏@Elite_cycling@gcntweet#roadcycling#3yearoldpic.twitter.com/Ueaik3XkZa
— Daisy_tiny_biker (@biker_tiny) June 17, 2021
Daisy is back at it again, this time showing off her impressive skills on the rollers as she learns to get food out of her back pocket and her bottle out of the cage.
Daisy Adams made the live blog back in November when she cycled from Bristol to Bath and back again, racking up a 34-mile, six-hour ride at just three-years-old and again in February of this year when she showed what she could do on a BMX.
When I started my career we we told and thought that lying down in your hotel room for hours was good for performance…it’s rubbish, get out and about, jump off things, let loose.
If you hurt yourself tell the physio it was definitely training related 😬 https://t.co/1cXJmN6LHc
— Callum Skinner (@CallumSkinner) June 17, 2021
Former Olympic cyclist Callum Skinner says it is 'rubbish' that athletes should spend their down time at races and competitions 'lying down in your hotel room for hours'.
He makes a pretty valid point that it might be more beneficial to take a leaf out of the British & Irish Lions book, and get outside and have a bit of fun.
The Lions commented: "Absolutely Callum, high performance is about balance and knowing when to switch off but also when to go all in."
Head of Performance Lifestyle at the English Institute of Sport, Joanna Harrison also agreed, adding: I never bought that legs up constantly crap either! Get out and do something!"
“I wish I had knocked you off, and then I could have said the idiot was on his phone riding with no hands.” Vulnerable road users have to share Richmond Park (yes, a park) with violent motorists like this. pic.twitter.com/vWFHXftRlg
— The Department of Parks & Recreation 🦌 (@ldnparks) June 17, 2021
People have reacted to the video we posted earlier showing a confrontation between a driver and a cyclist who was riding no-handed and using his phone while cycling through a park.
One road.cc user commented that the video was a bit depressing in that it reflected how often parks, meant to be relaxing places, became flash points for confrontations between motorists and cyclists.
They added: "If I was the park authorities, I'd be asking myself what changes to access I should be making that would reduce this. (In case not clear - no cars in the park.) It's finely balanced for me, but I think we have to set the example to drivers of what we need them to do, so at least one hand on the bars, no phone calls, no selfies, or wheelies if if you're able to pull them."
Another commented: "Why are people even allowed to drive through a park in the first place? It's place of recreation for people on foot or cycling, not a bypass for drivers. Need to bear in mind that people with mobility issues need to visit the park free from car traffic."
The man who filmed the video also gave his own opinion to the public reaction.
He said "If this makes people think more carefully about when it is appropriate to sound their horn, then posting the film was worth it, even if public opinion falls against me."
Would taller people benefit from bicycles with larger wheels, theNew Scientistasked this week?
The science magazine asked readers whether they thought the tallest among us should in fact be riding bikes with bigger wheels.
The response generally was no they should not. Aerodynamics and weight were both cited as pretty convincing reasons for riders to stick to more normal sized wheels.
In the video middle-distance runner Andy Baddeley, who represented Britain at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and finished 9th in the 1,500 metres, goes up against former Wiggins Le Col rider Lawrence Carpenter in a running and cycling challenge to see if they can find out who is the most formidable athelete...
Zwift will be sponsoring a week long women's Tour de France next year on a four year partnership.
The race has been added to the Women's World Tour and will kick off on July 24, 2022 on the Champs-Élysées. Unlike La Course by Le Tour de France - a one-day race that the Tour's organisers have put on for women since 2014 — the new event will be a multi-stage event.
Double world champion Anna van der Breggen, who rides for SD Worx, said: “This is a huge moment for professional women’s cycling.
"The Tour de France is the most famous race in cycling and it’s long been a dream for many of us in the women's peloton to compete in such a race. "I’m hopeful that the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will help us grow our sport even more by providing us with a media platform to take the excitement of women's cycling to new audiences.”
James Golding previously broke the Guinness World 7 Day Record in 2017 with 2,842.4km before it was eventually beaten.
The challenge simply requires riders to cycle as far as they possibly can over a seven day period.
James was given a 5 per cent chance of survival in 2008 after being diagnosed with cancer. After having to learn to walk again as part of his recovery he is now training to take part in the Race Across America in 2022.
As part of his prep for the brutal endurance race, he is aiming to ride more than 3,505km over 7 days in the UK starting on 20th June.
James will attempt the challenge on the roads he grew up on in Warwickshire and anyone wishing to support him can join him by riding with on the RGT cycling platform.
People can cycle along with an avatar representing James, which will be going at the speed required to break the record when riding for 18 hours per day - an average speed of around 18mph. To find out more click here.
LOL at all the motorists exaggeratedly hand-wringing about me cycling care-free through a park on a sunny day, with my hands off the handlebars and my iPhone in one hand. You’re driving a massive polluting metal box through a park mate… https://t.co/fELU57sOoB
— The Department of Parks & Recreation 🦌 (@ldnparks) June 17, 2021
In the video posted by The Department of Parks & Recreation Twitter account, a heated conversation takes places between a cyclist who was riding no handed while using his phone and a driver who beeped him for apparently 'veering into the middle of the road'...
The couple, explaining why they beeped the rider say: "You were veering towards the centre of the road you had no hands on your handlebars and you had your phone in your hand.
"Drivers aren't allowed to have their phones in their hands are they? You're a road user on wheels so you have to conform to the same rules."
To which the rider replies: "No, different rules sir."
Commenting beneath the video, people seemed pretty divided on who was in the wrong...
Leicestercyclist wrote: "Hmm I’m a cyclist that’s submitted plenty to Op Snap and I think this cyclist is being unnecessarily challenging . WE know riding no handed is fine but it can spook a nervous driver and crucially, give them a credible get out for “over reacting” to the rider."
Another user Urbane Cyclist, had a different opinion: "Riding with no hands is really quite easy.
"The element of risk really depends on the circumstances, e.g., it might not be a good idea if racing down a windy hill or crossing tram lines, but in a park it should be fine. And its not illegal!"
A new study has use Instagram data to rank the world's best cities for a scenic bike ride and topping the list is Chiang Mai in Thailand with Amsterdam coming in second.
The UK had three cities in the top ten with Bristol coming at number 5, Cambridge at 6 and London at 10.
Mike Rees, CEO of MoneyBeach.co.uk, who sponsored the study, said: "We wanted to discover which city proves the most popular and picturesque for cyclists."
To rank the cities, MoneyBeach analysed 350,000 city specific cycling hashtags on Instagram to discover which city has the most cyclists sharing their pictures.
The results were then weighted against city size to crown where’s best to ride.
The full list is below - are there any glaring omissions or perhaps some unusual contenders?
1. Chiang Mai, Thailand
2. Miami, United States of America
3. Paris, France
4. Beirut, Lebanon
5. Bristol, United Kingdom
6. Cambridge, United Kingdom
7. Barcelona, Spain
8. London, United Kingdom
9. Dublin, Ireland
10. Athens, Greece
11. Amsterdam, Netherlands
12. Copenhagen, Denmark
13. Bath, United Kingdom
14. Florence, Italy
15. Atlanta, United States of America
16. Seattle, United States of America
17. Taipei, Taiwan
18. Warsaw, Poland
19. Berlin, Germany
20. Oxford, United Kingdom