"Cutest moment of the Champs?": Three-year-old cyclist races against Julian Alaphilippe; Cyclists rave about Montreal’s "incredible" cycling network; Van der Poel, Sagan and Pidcock go mountain biking; Robots coming for cyclists? + more on the live blog

Now isn't this what it's all about?!

🥹 Could this be the cutest moment of the Champs so far?!#GlasgowScotland2023 | #PowerOfTheBikehttps://t.co/YpslFRSS4e

— 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships (@CyclingWorlds) August 8, 2023

Took the corner like a pro, checked for his opponent once across his shoulder, and left Loulou in the dust!

The moment was captured by the little kid's father Murray during that unforgettable and epic Men's Elite Road Race at Glasgow this weekend, where Van der Poel was crowned champion with a broken shoe.

But drawing all eyes towards himself was Cam Duff, as he had the time of his life and raced against the 2020 and 2021 winner of the road race championship, making a memory that will last a lifetime.

Alaphilippe at the UCI World Championships, Glasgow (Alex Broadway:SWpix.com)

Cam Duff, joined Romain Bardet's son Angus in racing the pros and showing them how it's done on their own turf. A month ago in July (it's already been a month?), Bardet's three-year-old stole the show on the legendary and fabled climb of the dormant volacno, the Puy de Dôme, as he sampled the raucous atmosphere on the lower slopes, attacking the climb with all the panache of his dad in his pomp.

> Romain Bardet’s three-year-old son steals the show (again) on the Puy de Dôme

And surprisingly, that attack on the Puy isn’t the first time young Angus has enjoyed riding his bike like a Tour pro. Back in March, the future star made his ‘pro’ debut at Paris-Nice, riding with his old man on his way to the team bus after a stage.

Nonetheless, Cam has proven that you don't need to be a Tour stage winner's son, just need a bike, and the bottle to take it up to the pros and compete. Ahem, I've just got the bike, sorry.

Cam, a keen cyclist already, was gifted his bike on his third birthday by his parents, who took a train from Edinburgh and stayed in Glasgow the whole day to enjoy the race, reported Glasgow Live.

"It was great and really good fun and the atmosphere was incredible," said Cam's father. "We watch the Tour De France highlights every night and we got to see the cycling happening live and it was so fast, it was a great day. You just appreciate it so much because it is taking place in Scotland, this is a once in a lifetime thing you can do and see and we loved it."

He added: "Cam is tilting his head looking for him and we had no idea it was Julian Alaphilippe so it just made it even better and it’s nice people are enjoying the video.

"He was smiling while watching them. The boys were buzzing the whole day and at the end of the day the tracks were still open so Cam was racing down the streets of Glasgow getting cheered on by everyone so that was good fun.

"He is competitive, when I race him I am not allowed to win or it’s a strop."

See, that's the bottle I'm talking about. Mark the name, Cam Duff, coming to take your KOMs, and maybe win some rainbow jerseys in a few years.

I'll be honest, I keep forgetting that Vatican has a cycling team (and turns out teams for a lot of other sports too), so it always comes as a jolt from the blue.

Today, Pope Francis met with the Vatican Cycling Team to sign Rien Schuurhuis’ bicycle that he rode at the UCI @CyclingWorlds in the Men Elite Road Race.

The bicycle will then be auctioned for charity. Grateful for this special opportunity that His Holiness @Pontifex has gifted… pic.twitter.com/2fEwcqn6xE

— David Lappartient (@DLappartient) August 9, 2023

Italian track rider Simone Consonni’s world championships was brought to an abrupt end on Tuesday morning, after a cyclist on an e-bike collided head-on with him and teammate Francesco Lamon as the pair enjoyed a leisurely spin along the River Clyde on one of Glasgow’s cycle paths.

He was spotted last night by road.cc at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome sporting a heavily bandaged left wrist and with his arm in a sling, and it was later confirmed that he had sustained a broken right collarbone and a broken left scaphoid when the e-bike rider hit him head on.

> Glasgow e-bike rider crashes into Italian pros on cycle path, falling into river and ruling Simone Consonni out of world championships

That kid deserves a chapeau from all of us. But makes you wonder, why on earth would someone see this video and not advocate for safer roads where children are free to cycle without constantly looking over their shoulder?

Francesca Savage, the five-year-old's mother, told me yesterday that her son has had no professional training other than from his parents and has been riding a bike since before he had even turned three.

And why does a cycling lane have operating hours? Are you allowed to cycle only specific hours? Imagine if the same was to be done for cars...

“In Haringey less than half of house holds own a car so many people rely on active travel and public transport. The cycling lane parking makes it an unsafe environment for more vulnerable road users and will prevent them from potentially making the switch from their car to a bike,” Save said.

> “The kid can cycle, but can the driver drive?”: Parents demand safer cycling infrastructure as video shows 5-year-old having to navigate traffic and blocked bike lane