It's back-to-back stage wins for Italy at the Giro! 🇮🇹
Chapeau, Stefano Oldani 👏#Giro | @StefanOldani_ | @AlpecinFenixpic.twitter.com/hFlP3dfw0p
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 19, 2022
If I were tell you one of the three Alpecin-Fenix riders in the breakaway would win today's stage, you'd be forgiven for going all in on a certain Dutchman by the name of Mathieu. Van der Poel was one of the three, as well, but it was teammate Stefano Oldani who got the victory after escaping with Lorenzo Rota and Gijs Leemreize on one of the earlier climbs.
In the end, in the sprint in Genoa, Oldani came out on top. In the second group on the road, Wilco Kelderman (whose disc brakes appeared to be behaving today) and Lucas Hamilton re-entered the GC picture, stealing eight minutes on the peloton. Both are back between three and four minutes behind Juan Pedro López who remains in pink.
One big name who wasn't at the finish however was road.cc Simon...
Where the @giroditalia is now is where (on fastest time) they were supposed to be when my train arrived.
My train has now stopped at a signal above Genoa. I'm going to miss the finish FFS.— Simon MacMichael (@simonmacmichael) May 19, 2022
I am on the actual train passing under the bridge here 🤣 pic.twitter.com/L5ovAh9zgw
— Simon MacMichael (@simonmacmichael) May 19, 2022
Another day, another Giro-watching train journey...
An emotional moment earlier today at the #Giro, as the peloton passed by the monument erected in the memory of Wouter Weylandt. pic.twitter.com/KHMTbw2LzT
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) May 19, 2022
It's been 11 years since Wouter Weylandt tragically lost his life aged just 26 on stage 3 of the 2011 Giro d'Italia, following a devastating crash during his descent of the Passo del Bocco.
Race director Mauro Vegni went ahead of the peloton to lay flowers at the monument erected in tribute to Weylandt earlier today.
#WW108#Giropic.twitter.com/jWCGgKyecS
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 19, 2022
I actually don’t mind that if it’s a single toot and done at a distance. I then may or may not adjust position on road depending what’s going on around me
— Ian Hannah (@timanfayadevil) May 19, 2022
Plenty of comments rolling in so let's have a pootle through the toot(le) issue...
Patrick9-32 reckons, "a lot of drivers are unaware of just how insanely loud cars are. Anyone who doesn't suffer from significant hearing loss and who is without noise-cancelling earphones knows you are coming from behind them, how far you are and when you start to overtake and how aggressively you are doing so by the sound alone, we don't need to look round, we don't need you to toot. In the words of Not Just Bikes on YouTube, cities aren't loud, cars are loud."
I’m a cyclist. I’ve recently returned from a cycling holiday in The Canaries where cars do this a lot of the time. It made me jump the 1st time but I got used to it. Kinda liked it by the end of my hols, drivers were letting you know they were coming thru
— Swim_Bike_Run_Jane 💙 (@running_jane) May 19, 2022
hawkinspeter commented: "The problem with car horns is that they have to be very loud to be heard above traffic noise by people inside metal boxes and this makes them quite startling if used behind you when you're cycling. Also, the main (only) purpose of a horn is to warn another road user that you are there (e.g. if a vehicle is reversing towards your vehicle having not seen you), so there is no point using a horn if you are following a cyclist unless they are about to turn across your path."
BalladOfStruth agreed: "You're not adding anything valuable by sounding the horn when passing a cyclist, you're just asking for aggro and risking a crash."
As a driver I have NEVER had to sound my horn (toot or otherwise) at people cycling to make them aware of my presence. and I've been driving since the late 80s.
People on bikes have Spidey senses. They know drivers are there.— Real Gaz on a proper bike #fbpe (@gazza_d) May 19, 2022
"I think part of the issue here is we are all used to drivers being aggressive to us," tigersnapper said. "I have had a few that seem to be aware we are vulnerable recently and being, if anything, overly courteous. I think we might need to accept there are some drivers out there who mean well, even if they are a bit misguided."
Sriracha made an interesting comparison between the horn scenario and ringing a bell at a pedestrian when cycling on a shared-use path...
"I appreciate the difference in scale, but I'd imagine a similar scenario plays out between cyclists and pedestrians when the cyclist uses their bell right behind the pedestrian, or yells out "on your right!'"
Fishpastesarnie replied: "Exactly my thoughts. I have certainly had more abuse using a bell than just shouting 'excuse me'."
Although GMBasix reckons, "It's the difference in scale that makes the difference. This isn't about cyclists racing past pedestrians on a shared path — that would be like a close pass from a driver, which isn't described here. A bell is not like being honked at.
"The cyclist knew the car was there, but the aggression of the horn appears to be his trigger. A bell is just not aggressive. Calling out is not aggressive. The equivalence you're describing is associated with passing the pedestrians.
"There is also another factor. While it is inconceivable that the cyclist was unaware of the car behind, it is not uncommon to encounter single, or groups of, pedestrians oblivious to their surroundings. Regardless of their place in the hierarchy, they retain a responsibility (as all road users do) to be aware of their surroundings and others using the road. In most instances, even a cyclist racing past should not come as a surprise. So a call out or a bell should not make them jump in the same way an unnecessary honk might."
We received this footage from a concerned cyclist in the @SouthStaffsNPT area.Luckily it’s cracking footage and we will be making contact with the driver to see if they thinks it’s acceptable to pass this close to a cyclist 😡 pic.twitter.com/A53qtgaRuA
— Staffs Police Road Policing Unit (@RoadPolicing) May 18, 2022
The lead subject of the blog this morning has reminded us that we've been here before; although the source was Ashley Neal, an advanced driving instructor who knows a thing or two about how to pass a cyclist as you'll see from browsing his YouTube channel.
In the video above, Neal uses his horn to as a way to tell the cyclists that he's there, saying to give cyclists “as much space and care as you would do overtaking a car… A little beep of the horn is key, no problems, do it safely.”
Perhaps the difference here is that the driver in the thread at the bottom of this page was talking about a 'warning toot' while Neal considers it a way of simply alerting the cyclists to his presence.
Still, our article around the debate on that video is at 170 comments and counting... what do you think, is a toot ever ok?
Sorry Biniam, we couldn't help but chuckle at this... although in all seriousness, he'd still be riding the Giro if they did this on the podium instead!
> Biniam Girmay out of Giro d’Italia with eye injury after bizarre podium prosecco incident
As someone who started cycling in London in 2003 & commuted on Blackfriars bridge road for over 5 years, this still feels like an impossible dream: especially the bit at the end with the guy delivering beer kegs on a bike… pic.twitter.com/eeoV6Ptoz8
— Tim O'Callaghan (@nimtimtim) May 18, 2022
🇮🇹 #Giro@CalebEwan will not be at the start of stage twelve of the Giro. As initially planned, the Australian will leave the Giro during the second week of racing. With plenty of mountain stages coming up, together with the team it was decided that Ewan will be heading home. pic.twitter.com/LyqduJS5dR
— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) May 19, 2022
With just one, or two, or maybe even three (but most likely one) sprint stages left, Caleb Ewan is heading home to prepare for the Tour de France. The Australian fast man failed to win a stage, crashing out of maglia rosa contention on stage one, before finishing 2nd, 5th and 8th in the other sprints he contested.
Ewan described his race as the "Giro from hell" in an Instagram post on Tuesday...
Rob Whittle's take on the day's Giro d'Italia stage is fast becoming a live blog favourite...
GIRO NEWS EXCLUSIVE!
Today’s stage is essentially a BMX course.
Should be fun.😀#Giropic.twitter.com/0222Gi099F— Rob Whittle (@PolkaDotRob) May 19, 2022
At least it should be a bit more entertaining than yesterday's surprisingly action-packed pancake sprint stage. Thomas De Gendt? Breakaway? Thomas De Gendt? Reduced sprint? Thomas De Gendt? Surprise GC action?
Predictions?
And to think Elon Musk nearly paid $44 billion for this blue bird app...
You can always rely on Twitter to make you laugh (or cry) at fellow human beings...
Driving behind a guy on a bike positioned in the centre of the lane...I kept well back, waited for the road to clear, didn't see him do any checks behind so I gave a warning toot, overtook completely in the oncoming lane, and he still hurled abuse at me. 😐
Fucking cyclists.
— TheSapper (@InfosecSapper) May 18, 2022
Thankfully some seemed keen to engage in some well-mannered education...
For sure, blasting the horn and/or giving it the big "I am" while passing is aggressive and "get out of my way". But a tap on the horn on approach followed by an overtake without incident? Tell me you wouldn't just take a breath and shrug it off as clearly not meant angrily.
— TheSapper (@InfosecSapper) May 18, 2022
Others didn't get a reply...in fairness, by this point there was probably not enough time in the day to reply to everyone pointing out the error of his ways...
Trust me, the cyclist knew you were there. You didn’t need to sound your horn. You just needed to give space.
— Debra 🏴🇪🇺 💙 3m paths. Wear a mask (@dmstorr) May 18, 2022
"didn't see him do any checks behind so I gave a warning toot"
Lol.
— R C D Mitchum (@PaulCra33107260) May 18, 2022
There are simply too many replies that need including...
So how about we begin by taking this scenario off the road and into another walk of life? That might leave the bare realities of the situation on the table...
Obviously the sensible option is to yell
BOOOOOOOOOOOOO
in their ear from behind and then complain they look annoyed and didn’t even have the manners to say thanks for you taking the time to give them the warning.
— Richard Livings (@want_away) May 18, 2022
And one more for luck...
The person on the bike was literally holding primary position, because of your presence.
You got far less than you gave. ‘Warning toot’, my eye!— Family ByCycle (@FamilyByCycle) May 19, 2022
The original poster went on to say he just "really felt like poking a hornet's nest today" (strange hobby, but whatever floats your boat) but graciously admitted "I continue to support cyclists on the road, and still think the Highway Code is somewhat lacking"...how nice of him...
Just another normal day on Twitter...
