🏆 ¡REMCO EVENEPOEL! El 'pitbull' se lleva la 18ª etapa
👏 Tremenda pelea entre el belga y Enric Mas, que fue segundo y coge distancia con el resto#LaVuelta22pic.twitter.com/vVU3aXCNe3
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) September 8, 2022
Heartbreak for Robert Gesink caught within sight of the line...
No controversy here, just Remco doing what he does best, let's ignore the Pizza Hut sponsorship, national team falling outs, pushing rival riders, and disappointing children...
Enric Mas lit up the stage but had little left for the sprint although he does tighten his grip on second place. Carlos Rodríguez had a tough day on, or should I say off, the bike, losing plenty of skin before losing time and dropping to fifth behind Miguel Ángel López...
#LaVuelta22 - 🏁 91 km
🇪🇸 Carlos Rodriguez was involved in a crash at the beginning of the stage. Doesn't look good, but he's still on the bike. Hopefully he'll be able to protect his 4th place in GC later on today...#DomestiqueLivepic.twitter.com/VVw6ycLpgW
— Domestique (@Domestique___) September 8, 2022
Ouch.
Jordi Meeus (@BORAhansgrohe) wins stage five of the @AJBell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 in Mansfield.#TourOfBritain🔴🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/kQvIukq2ms
— AJ Bell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 8, 2022
Winner of the bunch sprint in Sunderland, after the breakaway had crossed the line victorious, Jordi Meeus finally got his Tour of Britain stage win. Stanisław Aniołkowski sped up the inside to second while on the other side of fourth-placed Samuel Watson, Tom Pidcock threw his bike to third, taking some cheeky bonus seconds and moving closer to the race lead in the process.
The finish was somewhat overshadowed by a blunder which saw half the field on the wrong side of the barriers, unable to rejoin the sprint as they raced towards the line in Mansfield...
Ai -500 uno spartitraffico ha diviso la strada in due carreggiate, quella a destra era in realtà fuori dal rettifilo finale.
Metà gruppo messo fuori dall'inefficienza degli organizzatori.
Un disastro#TourOfBritainpic.twitter.com/ADMsd14Oi3— Leonardo (@Leonardo44447) September 8, 2022
Well, there's something quite a bit bigger than cycling unfolding this afternoon. Fair enough if your live blog scrolling has gone elsewhere...
Concerns are being expressed across the country for HM The Queen following announcement by Buckingham Palace that she is under medical supervision at Balmoral where members of the royal family including the Prince of Wales have travelled today.
Best wishes from all at road.cc, of course.
First it was puncturegate, now jerseygate...
Remco Evenepoel splits opinion by refusing to sign kid's jersey thrown at him by fanhttps://t.co/szOuW4vshx#cycling#LaVuelta22pic.twitter.com/pMO03pdkxH— road.cc (@roadcc) September 8, 2022
A few more reader comments...
MattieKempy said: "Re. Remco. He has form which suggests he's a bit of a prima donna (the incident at last year's Worlds where he apparently did his own thing despite the agreed team tactics and then sounded off about it later). It's all very well to suggest that he's entitled to warm down in peace and in some respects he is, but he and others also need to acknowledge that he wouldn't be riding a bike professionally if it weren't for the fans that were pestering him! The shirt-thrower was 5m away so it's hardly like he could have asked politely and handed the shirt courteously to Remco."
However, PRSboy commented: "Athletes need somewhere they can go for privacy and recovery, and it looks like this was a cool-down zone. Whilst it would have been better in the scheme of things from a PR point of view for him just to have scribbled on the jersey and posed for a selfie you have to draw the line somewhere.
"I can imagine after a Grand Tour stage you would be barely capable of coherent thought."
After a Grand Tour stage? I'm barely capable of coherent thought after 11am...
Robin Hood was aero 🏹
You heard it here first!
Nice to see @tompidcock getting into the spirit in Nottingham ahead of stage five at the #TourOfBritainpic.twitter.com/EhunnkOZei
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) September 8, 2022
A group of community-spirited cyclists from Southend-on-Sea renovated their favourite bench, giving us a lovely dose of positivity for your Thursday lunchtime...
The full video is over on the Piękna strona Wielkiej Brytanii Facebook group, but as it's a closed page it can't be embedded into the blog, so screenshots will have to do...
Tremendous.
Etapa 1⃣8⃣ Stage | 🏁 - 156 km
😥 Caída en el pelotón de 🇪🇸@_rccarlos, 💙@JayVine3 y 💚@Mads__Pedersen junto a varios corredores. El australiano se retira.
😥 Crash in the bunch with Pedersen, Rodriguez & Jay Vine all involved. Vine unfortunately retires.#LaVuelta22pic.twitter.com/PgD66vZcKg
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 8, 2022
Tough break for the Aussie climber whose abandon means we could have a fight for points on today's double first-category climb stage... did I mention the breakaway's got 40 people in it? Nearly a third of the race...
One of the escapees, Richard Carapaz, is now the virtual leader in the mountains classification, and who'd bet against him making it win number three of the race in a few hours?
Link My Ride, the app founded by Tom Pidcock, has launched on the App Store and Google Play today. Billed as a pre-ride organisational platform allowing cyclists to plan and create group rides, Link My Ride is also free to use.
Co-creator Jacques Sauvagnargues explained the concept: "Organising group rides, finding local club rides to join or connecting with other individuals to ride with has never had a simple solution. We wanted to create a simple way for any rider to be able to explore, plan and create group rides and make connecting and socialising with other riders a more straightforward and enjoyable experience."
The app is free to use, but also has a tailored clubs portal designed to help clubs manage membership and club rides, which costs £240 per club per year.
"I've been joining club rides and chain gangs since I can remember but the organisation via other apps or social networks has always been lacking. We're really excited to finally bring the Link My Ride app to riders all around the world. We're on a mission to become the only tool cyclists need to connect with other riders, clubs and cycling hubs, at the touch of a button," Pidcock said.
It is incredible how quickly @hackneycouncil can find enforcement for a pedal cycle, but not pavements like this which have been reported many many times! https://t.co/SOh2unrE8hpic.twitter.com/iKgZdCzabi
— Hackney LCC (@hackney_cycling) September 7, 2022
> Council slaps nuisance notice on family cargo bike parked on pavement
This one's split people down the middle...
🚴🇪🇸 | Foto! En anders een handtekening! Hier tekenen graag! 🙄🙄 #LaVuelta22
📺 Koers kijk je op discovery+ pic.twitter.com/iJy73PjnG6
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) September 7, 2022
Remco appears to shake his head at the kid holding up a red jersey to be signed by the race leader, ignores the man (presumably the boy's father), then looks disdainfully at his soigneur when the jersey is thrown to him, prompting a Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl photographer to hand it back rather more kindly than it was thrown...
One tired rider, one disappointed kid...who's the real victim here?
The Cronoescalada cycling page shared the clip, saying: "Good for Remco denying the photo to the father who harasses him. You have to respect the athlete."
Fans have a sense of entitlement.
I have seen this happen to Cavendish, to Brad Wiggins, in football and cricket and wherever.
There's a way, a time and a place to interact with Sports personalities.
They will do it kindly. But don't force them don't take the piss.
— anenglishmaninspain (@AndyElche) September 7, 2022
Completely agree here! Fans need to be more respectful. Kid just gave his all in a bike race don’t assume you deserve something from them.
— Matt Riggs (@ultra50man) September 8, 2022
However, not everyone backed the rider, with many pointing out how little effort scribbling a pen would have taken, especially when it will make a child's day and possibly inspire them into a lifelong love for a sport (and, more cynically, your photographer is stood five metres away)...
One fan commented: "The father is weird but the child deserves his signature even if you tell him to wait a moment to recover from the effort."
Another said: "He is a professional and part of his job is to attend to the fans (and more so to future generations). There was only one person and he did not even go to approach. That's why he had to throw the jersey."
Rogla wouldn’t…
— LimpioBlancoyNuevo (@CleanWhiteNew) September 7, 2022
Maybe Remco's dehydrated, fatigued and had it up to his Specialized helmet with interviews, doping control and podium ceremonies, maybe he should have just taken ten seconds and signed it in the first place?
What do you reckon?
First it was puncturegate, now jerseygate...
At least the kid wasn't holding up a god-awful cardboard sign...
Here are a couple of your early thoughts on the matter...
Rendel Harris commented: "Remco did seem a bit out of sorts yesterday, it was noticeable directly after the finish that he angrily waved away one of his own team who was trying to take a picture, presumably for their Twitter feed or whatever. However, he is completely within his rights not to let fans disturb his warm down, the dad should have asked once and seeing he got no response given up."
EnjoyTheRide added: "Fully behind Remco in refusing to sign the jersey — the father displayed discourtesy and disrespect in spades by throwing it across in this manner. It's also a terrible, self-entitled lesson to teach a young child. It wouldn't surprise me if the bloke just wanted to stick it on eBay."
Oooooh shiny 'new' bike...
The all new Canyon Ultimate is here, but if we're being honest it's hardly a surprise considering it has been raced by the pros for pretty much all of 2022. Anyway, more important than what it looks like and who rides it are the numbers that have now been released with the official announcement...15 per cent increase in head tube stiffness and a 10 watt saving at 45kph, find out more here...
And for our review, Liam's been out giving it the once, twice, thrice and many more times over to find out exactly how it rides... it's a tough life, eh Liam...
Move over Erling Haaland, we've all got a new favourite Norwegian... Anders Halland Johannessen...
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team’s @AndersHJohanne2 got the memo on Carlton Bank 👏🏻#TourOfBritain🔴🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/xG3Cg5NXCy
— AJ Bell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 7, 2022
At the top of Carlton Bank too...
Legs burning, cadence slowing, double-digit grinding and the Uno-X Pro Cycling Team rider still had the skills to pop a quick wheelie for the grateful masses. Amongst the throngs of supporters, was a dinosaur...not an actual dinosaur, of course...just a grown man dressed as one running alongside home hero Tom Pidcock...
The @AJBell photo of the day.#TourOfBritain🔴🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/v2ojAhwooM
— AJ Bell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 7, 2022
The Beefeaters, more commonly spotted on the slopes of Alpe d'Huez, were there too and got a front-row seat for Johannessen's entertaining cameo...
Decent day out with the @tdfbeefeaters on Carlton Bank. #TourOfBritain🔴🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/vJT6s9Z3El
— AJ Bell Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 7, 2022
Tour of Britain on Carlton Bank with the Beefeaters 🎶🎶 @tdfbeefeaters@TourofBritain#TourOfBritain#carltonbank#stage4#NorthYorkshirepic.twitter.com/1AykHC7gyI
— Ryan Murray (@RyPixelPusher) September 7, 2022