It was a rather eventful week for Tom Pidcock at the Volta ao Algarve, the Yorkshireman’s first foray back on the road after a winter spent showing off the rainbow jersey at the pointy end of some of the most exhilarating cyclocross races we’ve seen in years.
On the Portuguese race’s first stage to Lagos, the Ineos Grenadiers rider was controversially relegated from fifth to 135th– and fined £180 (‘Ow much?) – after a somewhat innocuous push during the sprint.
> Tom Pidcock "pushed another rider" during sprint, relegated by race jury
And then, on Saturday’s crucial stage to Alto do Malhão, Pidcock blew away the opposition on the famously steep hilltop finish, attacking early before launching a devastating long-range sprint to see off João Almeida and secure an impressive stage win and yellow jersey double.
In doing so, the 23-year-old recorded the second-fastest time up the Alto do Malhão in the last decade, his seven minutes dead for the 2.4km, 9.3 percent monster only surpassed during that period by a certain Alberto Contador, who flew up the climb in 6:48 on his way to the stage win in 2016.
⏱️ Tom Pidcock climbed today Alto do Malhao (2,4 km@9,3%) in exactly 7 minutes, setting the 2nd fastest ascent of the last 12 years after Alberto Contador in 2016 (6:48). Also very impressive that big boy Ganna did it in 7:21, huge watts to do that. #VAlgarve2023pic.twitter.com/wfpZ1PpAWA
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) February 18, 2023
However, with a raft of TT specialists, including teammate and Hour Record holder Filippo Ganna, breathing down his beck on GC, it was always going to prove difficult for Pidcock to hang on to his yellow jersey during yesterday’s 24.4km race against the clock in Lagoa.
Fortunately, thanks to his worldclass bike handling skills honed during years on the cyclocross field, Pidders was at least able to hang on to his time trial bike during a particularly sketchy moment in the middle of his effort.
Carrying too much speed out of a roundabout, Pidcock, one foot clipped out in a desperate bid to regain his balance, veered off the road and onto a raised dirt banking, which he navigated masterfully – by railing the berm, as the off-road types say – before bunny-hopping back onto the road to nonchalantly continue his TT.
And all on a time trial bike – machines not particularly known for their handling capabilities – too.
What a save! 😲@tompid had to rely on all of his CX skills to stay up right during this sketchy moment at #VAlgarve2023! pic.twitter.com/Cq4J3kO413
— GCN Racing (@GcnRacing) February 19, 2023
Back in the GCN commentary box, the ever-understated Adam Blythe described the Ineos Grenadiers star’s silky skills as “absolutely mint” and “the best thing I’ve seen all year”.
As for Tom himself? “I’m just happy I stayed upright,” he joked after the stage.
However, all that tekkers ultimately wasn’t enough to win the Volta ao Algarve, with the Olympic mountain bike champion slipping down to seventh overall as another one of his Ineos mates, Dani Martínez pipped Ganna by just two seconds to secure the GC in Portugal.
Solid stuff by Martínez, but is he “absolutely mint”?
While Tom Pidcock’s bike handling skills were on point at the Volta ao Algarve, the race organiser’s safety credentials certainly weren’t, as the yellow jersey wearer almost experienced his second heart stopping moment of the afternoon – thanks to a rather lax approach to road closures just 100 metres from the finish.
Throughout the time trial, a roundabout located just after the finish line – and well before the natural stopping point for a rider on a TT bike who’s just completed an all-out effort for half an hour – appeared open to traffic, with one fluorescent-vested police officer on hand to stop motorists already on the roundabout from continuing on as a rider approached.
(Though no such officer appeared to be on hand at any other entrance to the junction, with the race organisers seemingly happy to rely on the awareness and driving skills of Lagoa’s motorists. Haven’t they read road.cc?)
However, by the time Pidcock crossed the line in the yellow jersey, that one hi-vis officer appeared content that his day was done. As the Ineos Grenadiers rider entered the roundabout – with the officer on walkabout – he was faced with the rather unnerving prospect of a driver approaching him from the left.
Fortunately, the motorist was able to brake in time, but the images of Pidcock making his way around the car-packed roundabout more closely resembled a scene from a Milton Keynes commute than it did the finish area of an elite cycling race.
When it comes to roundabout safety during 2023’s early-season races, I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. Just last week, we reported on the live blog that motorists were able to make their way onto the same roundabouts used by the bunch on the finishing circuit of the Clásica de Almería – prompting British sprinter Dan McLay to politely brand the race organisation a “f***ing disgrace”.
“If you can’t close a road properly you can’t have a race on it. Just playing with our health,” the Arkéa–Samsic rider tweeted.
Last month’s Tour Down Under was also marred by lines of parked cars dramatically reducing the width of the road in the closing kilometres of a stage, while over in Argentina, world champion Remco Evenepoel lambasted the organisers of the Vuelta a San Juan after a “hectic and dangerous” finish which forced the peloton to navigate spectators standing on central reservations and in the middle of the road.
Let’s just hope the safety standards are raised dramatically by Opening Weekend… (Just five more sleeps to Omloop!)
It appears that February is well and truly shaping up to be the month of the ‘Great 15-minute City Debate’.
> GB News presenter claims 15-minute cities and LTNs are "un-British" and "illiberal"
After Tory MP Nick Fletcher raised a known conspiracy theory in parliament last week – namely that the scheme, which aims to ensure that most local amenities can be accessed by bike or on foot within 15 minutes, will lead to a “surveillance culture that would make Pyongyang envious” – former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies performed her latest mandatory, and somewhat confused, belly flop into the discussion:
Yeap & Meantime we’re going to get fined for travelling 15 mins from our house! pic.twitter.com/Br5kvp1c4f
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) February 16, 2023
And then, on Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Oxford – on foot, I may add – to protest against 15-minute cities, carrying signs warning us about ’15 minute city communism’ and imploring us to ‘wake up’, along with, for some reason, the Welsh flag (your guess is as good as mine).
The Oxford LTN protest is now headed across Magdalen Bridge. I've seen at least three Welsh flags, for some reason. pic.twitter.com/auOwQvikYo
— Dave Vetter (@davidrvetter) February 18, 2023
The composition of the protesters – and the other things they may like to protest – was a subject of considerable interest on Twitter:
Among those attending today’s Oxford anti-traffic measure protests:
- far right racists Patriotic Alternative
- increasingly odd ex-Ukip culture warrior David Kurten
- Piers Corbyn
- Laurence Fox
- lots of people who dispute global warming/Covid vaccines(1/2)
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) February 18, 2023
I am sure there were plenty of attendees who had valid reasons to protest, and who aren’t conspiracists. But if I was one of them I’d be very worried about my cause being taken over by extremists, ne’er do wells and carpetbaggers. Traffic schemes are becoming the UK’s crap QAnon.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) February 18, 2023
The rally is, at heart, a climate denial protest. This man says carbon is good because we're made of carbon. "When they talk about reducing carbon they mean they want to reduce you."#oxford#ltnpic.twitter.com/dgjeqLBupy
— Dave Vetter (@davidrvetter) February 18, 2023
Many of those at yesterday’s anti-LTN, anti-15-minute-cities protest in Oxford were far right conspiracists. But this chap used to be a key figure at demonstrations against road building so he’s made quite the u-turn. https://t.co/T2ccbRNIFS
— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) February 19, 2023
“It would be fantastic if we have all these nice little community hubs with amenities within close reach, but the actual reality of what this means is that you are being tracked and traced within your own town,” one conspiratorial-minded protester told the Oxford Student.
While most focused on the idea of the schemes representing a kind of ‘climate lockdown’, one of the grimmer and more distasteful conspiracy theories around 15-minute cities and LTNs in Oxford was expounded by local hotelier Jeremy Mogford.
Last week Mogford compared the city council’s cabinet member for highways management, Andrew Gant, to the Nazi ‘angel of death’ Josef Mengele, who performed deadly experiments on prisoners during the Holocaust.
Oxford’s first Jewish Lord Mayor Elise Benjamin reacts to Jeremy Mogford’s comments. @TheOxfordMailpic.twitter.com/spk5cDj7fl
— Tom Seaward (@t_seaward) February 18, 2023
Speaking at a counter-protest on Saturday organised by Oxford Stand Up to Racism – a response to the presence of the neo-Nazi Patriotic Alternative in Oxford – former Green party councillor Elise Benjamin, who in 2011 became the city’s first Jewish lord mayor, said: “I’m still struggling to articulate it because it’s so deeply upsetting and offensive.
“To make a comparison between traffic congestion reduction measures and a man who conducted experiments on children as part of a mass genocide, I struggle to understand how anyone in their right mind can think that is an appropriate comparison.”
On Friday Mogford told the Oxford Mail that the message was “sent in error” and that he “regretted” its contents.
Meanwhile, transport journalist Carlton Reid couldn’t help noticing that, by protesting on foot the idea of being able to more easily walk to local essentials and amenities, the protesters were, in fact, proving that 15-minute cities could be the way forward:
These anti-pedestrianisation protestors are on foot, and demonstrating — quite literally — that cities such as Oxford work best at human scale, not at car speeds. https://t.co/K4OcGW9NC4
— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) February 18, 2023
Interviewer: What are you protesting, sir?
Protester: We're here to protest the WEF-Communist 15 minute cities program.
Interviewer: How do you feel?
Protester: Great! I'm out in the street. I'm walking. I'm seeing friends, meeting new people. Why can't we do this all the time? https://t.co/iBq77OJMKN— Ryan Ruby (@_ryanruby_) February 19, 2023
Now, there’s a headline for a Monday afternoon…
Nathan Maverick, who spends his evenings snarling as the frontman of tribute act Sex Pistols Exposé, is taking on the 1,000-mile ride from one of cycling’s spiritual homes, Milan, to… err, Wrexham, to raise funds for the Candy and Tibby Trust, a local small rescue which rehabilitates and rehomes feral, stray, and unwanted cats.
Last summer, the trust launched an urgent appeal for donations as the number of rescues increased dramatically amidst spiralling vet bills.
Im cycling from Milan to North Wales to help poorly cats.
Help raise £5000 to Candy and Tibby Trust (Wrexham) who work tirelessly to .. Please #donate on @justgiving and RT https://t.co/fwnpBvQY6X— Nathan Maverick (@NathanMaverick) February 15, 2023
“I’ve taken some time off from my band to make this happen and if people can make a small donation of even a pound it will go a long way for these animals,” the 40-year-old Johnny Rotten impersonator told the Leader.
“Seeing how Candy and Tibby Trust struggle to manage with this heavy workload, I thought I can help do something. I love cycling and cats, so why not combine them and plan an event.”
Though he’s setting off from Milan (unlike the riders of this year’s Milan-San Remo, incidentally), the ride back up to Wales, through all the road-related Anarchy in the UK, will be anything but a Holiday in the Sun for Nathan – let’s just hope what he calls his “rather old bike” doesn’t have too many Problems, and while he may ride himself into Submission (leaving his legs with No Feelings), by the time he’s finished he should be left with a lot more than just a Pretty Vacant expression on his face.
(Right, that’s enough of that…)
You can donate through Nathan’s JustGiving page.
Cycling infrastructure which isn’t selfish driver proof isn’t infrastructure https://t.co/R9x2An4xyI
— Sheffield CTC (@sheffield_ctc) February 18, 2023
In the same week several pro riders, including Tadej Pogačar, put their weight behind a campaign encouraging cyclists to use front and back lights at all times and to “understand that increased visibility while riding your bike on the road can actually save your life”, Trinity Racing prospect Bob Donaldson was struck by a driver – while wearing perhaps the most visible kit the peloton has seen for years.
The 20-year-old’s awful crash, which left him with a broken back, has underlined to many that while hi-vis and lights certainly have their benefits, they will prove no match for a distracted, impatient, or just downright dangerous driver.
Here’s some of the reaction to Donaldson’s collision:
It doesn't matter how brightly you are dressed, or how experienced you are, if a driver doesn't look or doesn't care then you're screwedhttps://t.co/LgIaoZ2fU3
— Real Gaz on a proper bike: gazza_d [at] toot.bike (@gazza_d) February 19, 2023
Yes. The very notion of telling people to "be seen" is nonsense. You can't grab people's eyeballs and make them look at you. That's THEIR responsibility. It's shifting responsibility to the potential victim.
— Chris Cox (@CoxyJindas) February 20, 2023
Indeed. High viz and lights don’t matter when drivers aren’t looking. https://t.co/RGGMBaj4BU
— Prairie Czar (@PrairieCzar) February 19, 2023
No amount of signal green, neon yellow or lava orange can save you from distracted driver that doesn't care to pay attention to the road #biking#bike#cycling#cyclist#bicyclehttps://t.co/YMC2tzFwjN
— Milan Asanović🌻Слава Україні 🇺🇦 (@SphereByMilan) February 19, 2023
🚨 Tour Series update 🚨
An update on the 2023 Tour Series, full story here 👉 https://t.co/rVNgYd3wRw#TourSeriespic.twitter.com/EHRYU58Nvb
— The Tour Series (@TourSeries) February 20, 2023
In another worrying sign for the national racing scene in the UK, the annual crit-based Tour Series will take a one-year hiatus in 2023, organisers SweetSpot announced today.
“This decision has been made in light of the most challenging economic climate the series has faced since its inaugural edition in 2009,” SweetSpot said in a statement today.
“It has proved impossible to compile a commercially viable calendar of events for the intended series in May owing to the pressures on local authority funding, combined with the wider economic challenges all businesses face.”
The unique team-based format saw Britain’s best racers take part in a series of circuit races around the UK, usually in May and June, and until last year was televised on ITV4.
SweetSpot, who also organise the Tour of Britain, say that they “will use this break to work with British Cycling and partners on plans for the return of the series in 2024 to celebrate its 15th anniversary, complete with a refreshed format and events in Britain’s major cities as part of a fun filled, community day celebrating cycling and active travel.”
Adam’s bid for twin superiority continues… with the acquisition of a middle name for 2023:
You’ve heard of Simon Philip Yates, now meet Adam Richard Yates https://t.co/EnSwWdJMHS
— The TT Podcast 🚴 (@ttpdcst) February 20, 2023
You tell us who won stage 1 of the #UAETour😁 pic.twitter.com/8pjiP9w63I
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) February 20, 2023
A dramatic, echelon-packed opening stage of the UAE Tour ended with one of the closest photo finishes we’ve seen in a long time, as Soudal Quick-Step’s Belgian champion Tim Merlier pipped Caleb Ewan by the faintest of margins in Al Mirfa.
That impossible tight sprint finish – which we can only presume was decided by a game of rock, paper, scissors, or as Brian Smith mooted in commentary, an arm wrestle – came after world champion Remco Evenepoel instigated a decisive split in the crosswinds in the final 30km, catching out a number of sprinters, including Sam Bennett and Dylan Groenewegen, as well as almost every major GC contender bar 2023’s Mr Consistent Pelle Bilbao.
#Replay🎥 / #UAETour🇦🇪
La victoire de 🇧🇪 Tim Merlier (SOQ) à la photo finish devant 🇦🇺 Caleb Ewan (LTD). Le jury a mis plusieurs minutes à lui décerner la victoire tellement c’était serré.pic.twitter.com/S2UXZJewM3— Renaud Breban (@RenaudB31) February 20, 2023
With the field thinned out by the finish, Soudal Quick-Step’s lead-out Ber van Lerberghe timed his surge to perfection to tee up Merlier, who – according to the UAE’s version of Stockley Park anyway – had enough in the tank to just, just, hold off the fast-finishing Ewan.
There's a rule that allows for a 1km race to decide a winner in situations like this...I say go for it!#UAETourpic.twitter.com/ZiORc0vpAx
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) February 20, 2023
"My wheel is ahead!"
"No! My wheel is ahead!!"#UAETourpic.twitter.com/ueHOTvREzp
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) February 20, 2023
As the internet knows by now, there’s only one way to decide a bike race properly:
There was a better way to decide who won #uaetourpic.twitter.com/NGwTo6gMEj
— Jens (@Jeennnzzzz) February 20, 2023
Behind the seemingly inseparable pair, Mark Cavendish’s hopes for a dream start to the season were dashed, with the Manx Missile forced to settle for third after failing to latch onto Ewan and Merlier’s initial acceleration.
More of the same tomorrow, please.
Just in case you didn’t think there was enough bike racing on at the weekend, with the Volta ao Algarve, Ruta del Sol, Setmana Valenciana Fèmines, and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, and a handful of cyclocross races all taking place, there were rainbow jerseys being fought over in the virtual world, as the UCI Esports world championships took place on Saturday in Scotland (oh, you know what I mean by now).
In a new, intriguing format which resembled a particularly cruel Zwift version of the omnium (or like a cycling version of the X Factor, with auditions, judges’ houses, and the live shows), the racing in the elite men and women’s categories was divided into three separate races which served to whittle down the field before the final ten riders took on the brutal Devil Takes the Hindmost-style Glasgow-based crit to decide the medals.
> Elite Zwift racing on the road.cc Podcast
During the men’s first round, The Punch, we all donned our road.cc colours to cheer on our very own Aaron Borrill – off-road.cc’s editor – who was racing for South Africa alongside former Dimension Data pro Jacques Janse van Rensburg.
“The pace from Race 1 was a bit unexpected to be honest,” Aaron says. “Having raced a few test events on the same course leading up to the event, I expected a hard start but not that hard – Tim Rugg from the USA hammered it out of the gate and the pace stayed high the whole way, so there no real chances for any recovery on the course.
“It was merely a matter of fighting for position and not trying to fall too far back. Jacques and I were tasked with rolling through and closing gaps which probably also added to the lactic acid party taking place in my legs.
“With 2km to go, the pace up the corkscrew meant 11w/kg was needed to stay in touch. While I managed to roll into the finish line sprint approach in a good position, my legs were fried so nursed home for 74th.”
Aaron’s 74th ultimately wasn’t enough to take him through to the second stage – but Victor Campenaerts also fell at the first hurdle, so you know the standard was sky-high.
“It was a great race and very special to be part of for a second year in a row,” Aaron added. “I was super stoked that Brad Gouveris and James Barnes got through to Race 2 with James managing to make the final race and secure eighth for South Africa.”
That final race proved something of a shock, as Denmark’s Bjørn Andreassen decided to just simply ignore the potential tactical complexities of the rapid-fire elimination style final, shooting off the front from the gun, never to be seen again.
While Andreassen time trialled his way to the rainbow jersey, Freddy Ovett (yes, yes, his dad’s Steve, we all know that) fell victim to the stop-start nature of the race behind and had to settle for sixth, while another pre-race favourite, 2020 champion Jason Osborne, took silver ahead of German teammate Marc Mäding.
Things were much more nail-biting in the women’s race, where the Netherland’s Loes Adegeest took her second-consecutive rainbow jersey by outsprinting Great Britain’s Zoe Langham and American Jacquie Godbe at the end of a thrilling race. Unfortunately, we all missed that dramatic sprint, as the live pictures cut out in the closing metres. Goes to show, you can be on a turbo trainer and still fall foul of the weather gods.
It's just like being on a remote Spanish mountain, eh?
It seems as if, after the whole glasses debacle of December 2022, Geraint is finally open to trying out all manner of new looks in his old age:
Am I doing this right @TamauPogi? #tuftpic.twitter.com/iT8aJds2i8
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) February 19, 2023
You save now 10 watts. 👍
— Tadej Pogačar (@TamauPogi) February 19, 2023
Ah, that explains why he’s so good; marginal tufts, hair-o gains, and all that…
Over the past year, Egan Bernal has become known for his mammoth, super-long training rides, in all kinds of weather, as he continues his impressive return to the sport following last year’s devastating crash.
However, judging by his recent Strava uploads, the Colombian has decided to adopt a slightly different approach to training as he nurses a knee problem sustained at last month’s Vuelta a San Juan:
I know, I know, it’s 2023 and the days of ‘just getting in the miles’ are long gone. Though I do feel like Bernal might be taking things a touch too far in the opposite direction.
‘Micro-training’, that’s what Ineos will call it…
While most of us were slumped on the sofa, doing our best to keep up with the TV-viewing chaos that ensues when, all of a sudden, thousands of bike races are on our screens at the same time, it was a busy weekend at road.cc HQ.
On the same day that road safety expert Dr Robert Davis accused a pro cyclist-led lights campaign of “feeding into victim-blaming culture”, Trinity Racing’s Bob Donaldson (who, despite his name, is only 20) proved that you could be wearing the most garish, eye-catching kit out there – and believe me, he was – and still prove no match for an impatient driver, who left the British prospect with a broken back after pulling out in front of him.
Elsewhere, we had a sticky bottle storm, deliberate doorings, and some, errr… Strava “art”:
> 'Sticky bottle' rider gets sarcastic "chapeau" from rival who he accelerated away from
> Government considers inviting evidence for lifetime bans on dangerous drivers who kill