A decisive moment at E3 Saxo Classic...
Oh la chute de Wout van Aert ! Van der Poel en profite pour attaquer dans le Paterberg !
Une course folle à suivre en direct sur Eurosport https://t.co/F0p3kLnebR#LesRP#E3SaxoClassicpic.twitter.com/YpXTHQ8NPS
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) March 22, 2024
Nothing the world champion could have done about his great rival's fall, Van der Poel already cranking out the watts ahead when Van Aert fell on the Paterberg's early slopes. Thankfully he was quickly up and chasing, returning to the chase group as Van der Poel built an advantage out front, before launching off in search of the Alepcin-Deceuninck rider himself, the Tour of Flanders warm-up act looking like an individual pursuit as it approaches a climax. Who will take the day?
Wout wasn't the only one to hit the deck. Spare a thought for Bora-Hansgrohe's Emil Herzog...
As I type this Van Aert is bridging across to Van der Poel, potentially giving us a finale for the ages. We'll keep bringing you all the drama as it unfolds...
Away from the classics it was a second victory of the day for Alpecin-Deceuninck, Axel Laurance taking the fifth stage of Volta a Catalunya.
𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵! 💥
Axel Laurance wins Stage 5 of Volta Ciclista a Catalunya for @AlpecinDCK with a strong finish ⚡️#VoltaCatalunya103pic.twitter.com/31J0aI72hX
— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 22, 2024
More importantly, it puts the peloton into a 3-2 lead in the stage victories head-to-head versus Tadej Pogačar. With another testing uphill finish at the end of a challenging day tomorrow, followed by the punchy Barcelona finale, they might well need that headstart.
What an image. 😍 10 seconds now, Wout is coming. #E3SaxoClassicpic.twitter.com/Pb6bPmhfXz
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 22, 2024
He was until he wasn't. In the end, Van der Poel wins by 1:34. To make matters worse for Van Aert, Jasper Stuyven beat him in the sprint for second too.
The World Champ takes the win - Mathieu van der Poel wins E3 Saxo Classic 2024 #E3SaxoClassic🫡 pic.twitter.com/tQlfhHidOY
— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) March 22, 2024
Wout is chasing sole race leader Van der Poel alone!
It's a game of seconds between the two.
⏱️ 16"
🏁 29 km pic.twitter.com/yuE4y9MnNK— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) March 22, 2024
Just as we were talking up the potential drama to come, the gap's out to 35 seconds now and only heading one way. This looks like Van der Poel's race now...
The family of Chris Barker has confirmed that he was the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride participant who was killed in a collision involving a driver. A second rider was seriously injured in a separate collision a couple of hours later, 7 News reports.
Western Australia Police Force said the incident happened on Thursday 21 March between 5:30am and 6:00am, when the driver of a vehicle, "possibly a truck", hit and killed the 62-year-old, with investigations ongoing.
Aiden Barker confirmed the tragic news on Facebook, writing: "I can't express how sad today is, dad was doing something that he loved. Thanks for the respect regarding today's incident, I can't thank you enough. I've never heard dad talk so much about this one event in my life, today my family lost a great person and so did his IPWR [Indian Pacific Wheel Ride] family. My heart is broken."
It is the second fatality at the event in recent years, ultra-cycling legend Mike Hall killed in a road traffic collision near Canberra in 2017.
> One thousand cyclists ride in Sydney in memory of Mike Hall
That year's edition was cancelled following his death, the race returning in 2018 in memory of the British rider. Hall founded the Transcontinental Race in 2013 and inspired many to participate in ultra-endurance events, also winning the TransAm Race twice and the Tour Divide during his distinguished career.
[Olly Hassell/SWpix.com]
Lora and Neil Fachie, plus pilot Corrine Hall, were mugged following the opening day of the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio, with their silver medals, passports and money stolen.
Neil said they are "all okay, other than being shaken" and called it a "sad way to end the day", the mugging happening just hours after they had won silver in the 750m tandem team sprint.
[Olly Hassell/SWpix.com]
British Cycling has reported the incident to the police and made the UCI aware, confirming that three riders "had their possessions stolen" as they returned to their accomodation.
"The three riders are safe and well and are being supported by our staff both on the ground and at home," the governing body said in a statement shared with the BBC. "We have raised the matter with the UCI, the local organising committee and the police."
It's a bit conflicting on E3 Saxo Classic day. On the one hand you've got a personal favourite bike race on the calendar, the Tour of Flanders warm up, attracting a stellar field of cobble-crunching classics stars. On the other hand you've got the fully stocked archives of stories...
> E3 Saxo Classic apologises after being accused of homophobia in backlash to Wout van Aert cartoon
In 2015, the UCI stepped in and said it "was extremely unhappy" with a promotional poster for the race, that referenced Peter Sagan pinching a podium girl's bottom after the 2013 edition with the words, "Who'll squeeze them in Harelbeke?" Classy.
At least they learnt their lesson... ah... right... in 2019 the UCI ordered E3 Harelbeke to withdraw another controversial advert that promoted its event using an image showing two women in bodypaint entwined to form a frog, with the headline, "Who shall crown himself prince in Harelbeke?"
> Sick as a frog? E3 BinckBank Classic organisers unveil new poster — and have dig at UCI
You might notice there won't be any coverage of a women's event today. That's because it was scrapped in January as the organisers stated the "economic model for women's competitions is sputtering".
Maybe just maybe any future promotional efforts should focus on a classic classics route fought between the best of the best?
#E3SaxoClassic
🚩 Harelbeke
🏁 Harelbeke
🚴🏻♂️ 207.5 Km
Weather: 🌧 12°C, moderate rain
Route: https://t.co/4Def5mZ71Wpic.twitter.com/mI8yyFggOu— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) March 22, 2024
That's right. It's the return of Mathieu van der Poel vs Wout van Aert today, the world champion taking on Visma-Lease a Bike's imperious classics line-up (minus Christophe Laporte). Oh, and that's without mentioning the talent elsewhere...
Arnaud De Lie, Victor Campenaerts, Tim Wellens, Nils Politt, Michael Matthews, Oier Lazkano, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven, Toms Skujiņš, Ben Turner, Jhonatan Narváez, Stefan Küng, Alberto Bettiol, Fred Wright, Matej Mohorič, Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert, Biniam Girmay.
I hope you're working from home...
Last month we first reported the reaction to this newly painted contraflow bike lane that has appeared on King's Road near Kingston, at one of the entrance gates to Richmond Park. The road was formerly two-way, but with parked vehicles reducing the width of the route, plus a constant stream of traffic in both directions, it was often gridlocked.
As a result, the route was made one-way, with a questionable contraflow cycle lane added to continue to allow riders access in both directions. However, it was slammed a "sick joke" by cyclists when it was first unveiled and attracted accusations that it "invites conflict", the thin strip of painted infrastructure coming right between a row of parked cars whose doors could be opened at any second and oncoming traffic...
The Kingston Cycling Campaign has urged riders to give feedback via the consultation page, another cyclist this week sharing a video of how problematic the route now is...
Having to get the attention of a driver on their phone so they don’t drive into me on the new King’s Road one-way system outside Richmond Park. Absolutely zero awareness.
This is not safe cycling infrastructure.@KingstonCyclingpic.twitter.com/bi7eNtFOx5
— Ollie (@ohbee07) March 20, 2024
Ollie has his suspicions as to why this driver failed to spot him approaching, but that's not shown in the video, so we'll focus on the infrastructure layout here. The prevalent point is, however, that he had to "get the attention of a driver" so they didn't drive into him.
"Absolutely zero awareness. This is not safe cycling infrastructure," he concluded.
'Guess which car door is going to be opened while you're millimetres from oncoming traffic' is not a particularly fun game to play. We probably shouldn't be too surprised given some of the other local infrastructure I've 'enjoyed' in the past. Personal favourite being the one that quite literally runs through a bus stop.
Last month, a local cyclist who uses King's Road regularly told us that style of contraflow cycle lane "creates conflict". "There is no space for cars going up, to safely pass cycles coming down," they said.
"This kind of cycling infrastructure invites conflict. Cyclists don't feel safe cycling next to parked cars, and oncoming motorists will think they have some sort of implied right of way to squeeze through the gap."
As mentioned earlier, the road leads up to the Kingston entrance to Richmond Park, meaning much of the traffic using King's Road is heading up to the end, turning left and into the park. A couple of weeks ago we reported the latest calls for through-traffic to be banned from the park, which becomes incredibly busy during rush hour with people using it as a cut-through to Richmond and beyond, but that's another issue entirely...