Imagine you cycle 11 miles to a city that you don’t live in, spend hours sweeping, picking litter and trimming grass edges off cycle lanes, and then having to worry about the council not being too happy with your work…
Sounds hardly believable, I know, but a cyclist from around Belfast has shared images of cleaning up the bike lanes and even chopping down the grass edges (don’t ask me how), but the real questions are, why does it have to be a random cyclist instead of the council who takes responsibility, and more importantly, how will the council react to it, and finally most importantly, do we now have to rely on this sort of “guerrilla maintenance”?
The Twitter account which goes by the name ‘Belfast Cyclist’ shared an image showing before and after of the entrance to Titanic Quarter railway station, captioning it: “An hours work. I can do it, why can't those who get paid to maintain the City do it and who holds them accountable?”
Entrance to Titanic quarter train station before and after...
An hours work .
I can do it, why can't those who get paid to maintain the City do it and who holds them accountable ? pic.twitter.com/M5fSUBnYnD— Belfast Cyclist (@BelfastCyclist1) July 21, 2024
An hour and half later, the person shared a bunch of more images showing the Middlepath Street cycle lane as well as the underpass, both having been swept by the cyclist. They wrote: “Litter picked the greenway from Comber to Middlepath st… Might go for a spin on the tallbike after lunch”
The replies to the post were full of positive stuff, with people describing them a “legend’ and “inspirational”, however one person replied: “Wouldn’t be surprised if the council tries a bit of bully boy in response to this lol.”
Swept Middlepath St cycle lane and the underpass..
Spent an hour on the entrance to the Titanic train station .. there's another post about that
Litter picked the greenway from Comber to Middlepath st ...
Might go for a spin on the tallbike after lunch pic.twitter.com/ytfL4ayAZR
— Belfast Cyclist (@BelfastCyclist1) July 21, 2024
Another person wrote: “Thanks! There's often litter and broken glass on that section and to be fair the council do seem to tidy it up fairly quickly, but the greenery doesn't get trimmed often enough in the summer,” to which the cyclist responded, defiantly may I add: “It's me that clears it up,” adding lots of pictures from many of his sweeping runs.
It's me that clears it up ....https://t.co/T8G6vMkkEHhttps://t.co/Tjj6egiLjChttps://t.co/rDdIuuKkaqhttps://t.co/MrsJFt9wkn
there's more ..a lot more
— Belfast Cyclist (@BelfastCyclist1) July 21, 2024
Looks like Belfast has found its cycling vigilante of sorts; the cyclist the city doesn’t deserve, but the cyclist the city needs…
After rumours of Pogačar pulling out of the Olympics due to Urška Žigart’s shock omission from the Slovenian women’s road cycling team going to Paris, the recently crowned Tour de France champion has confirmed that while it wasn’t the main reason, it did play a part in his decision, adding that she “deserves her spot” in the team.
In case you’re not up-to-date with the story, Urška Žigart, Slovenia’s top-ranked female rider and the current national road race and time trial champion was left out of the country’s squad for the cycling road race at the Olympic a decision many described as shocking and controversial.
The selection committee defended the decision noting Žigart’s proficiency as a climber and her apparent weakness at riding in a group meant she wasn’t the best suited for Paris’ punchy course — however, not explanation was given behind the decision to leave her out of the time trial as well.
Žigart, who rides for Team Jayco-AlUla, meanwhile, just also happens to be Tadej Pogačar’s fiancée (a power couple, I know), and the three time Tour winner had previously said he was “so gutted” at her partner’s exclusion from the national squad.
So when Pogačar announced that he was “too tired” to participate in the Olympics, and his next goal was to take the rainbow jersey off Mathieu van der Poel at the UCI Worlds men’s road race championship in Zurich in September, fans didn’t lose any time to speculate that there could be an extra hidden reason behind his no-show in Paris.
Well, Pogačar has decided to quel any and all such speculations himself. Speaking before the start of a crit race in Netherlands yesterday evening, he told the Dutch broadcaster NOS: “It’s not the main reason, but for sure it didn’t help. I think she deserves her spot. She’s the double national champion in road race and time trial.”
“She’s the only woman cyclist in Slovenia that ever achieved top 10 in week-long World Tour races. She did great in the last two years winning points for Slovenia and, without her, they wouldn’t have two spots in the [Olympic] road race.”
Pogačar’s announcement of not going to Paris was met with many fans critiquing the Slovenian team selection. One person wrote: “Whoever selected the women’s team needs to be fired immediately,” while another said: “He is riding a bike for himself, not the corrupt Slovenian Olympic committee.”
“Of course he won’t go alone, if they left Urška out so badly,” said Darja. “He is a principled man and he will not tolerate such injustice. If both selectors were at least a little smart, they would talk a little about the composition of the teams. But if they are council f***s, they would wipe themselves with their nose for a medal.”
It appears that social media sleuths did get it spot-on, and the 25-year-old UAE Team Emirates rider is completely unafraid to put his foot down in front of the Slovenian national federation, who have not responded to a request for comment from The Guardian.
The routes for the first two stages of the upcoming Lloyd's Tour of Britain have been announced, in what will be one of the hardest openings in the race's history.
Stage one on Tuesday 3 September in the Scottish Borders, will be a 181.9-kilometre (113.1-mile) spectator friendly route, starting and finishing in Kelso, passing through Coldstream, Gordon, Melrose, Denholm, Jedburgh and St Boswells.
The route features two loops, enabling spectators in Kelso and Melrose, and on the categorised King of the Mountains climbs at Scott’s View and Dingleton, to see the race in action twice, with the final climb coming 23 kilometres from the finish of the stage.
Commenting on the route, Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men Race Director Rod Ellingworth said:
"The Scottish Borders has a long history with the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men and so we are delighted to have worked with our partners at Scottish Borders Council to come up with this spectator friendly, and challenging route, for the riders.
"With five categorised climbs this will be a tough opening stage, and is by no means certain to end in a sprint, so should set up a thrilling battle between the sprinters and those riders who believe the final climb at Dingleton can be a launchpad to victory in Kelso.”
A day later (Wednesday 4 September), the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men heads to Darlington for the first time since 2009, for a 152-kilometre (94 miles) stage through the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire to Redcar.
The stage crosses the Cleveland Hills and heads through the North York Moors National Park to the coast at Robin Hood’s Bay via a series of short, sharp climbs.
Turning north via Whitby, the stage climbs Lythe Bank and the peloton will tackle the iconic Saltburn Bank twice, the latter ascent coming within the final ten kilometres of racing.
Commenting on the stage, Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men Race Director Rod Ellingworth said:
"The tough opening to this year's Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men intensifies on stage two with another day that is relentless up and down as we cross the Tees Valley and the North York Moors National Park. Two years ago, the climbs in this area provided decisive in the race and we are sure they will once again shape the overall general classification battle.
"Thanks to our partners across the Tees Valley, in Darlington, Stockton, and Redcar & Cleveland, plus stakeholders in North Yorkshire, we have put together a route that showcases some fantastic moorland and coastal scenery, while also providing plenty of opportunities for attacking and entertaining riding. I've no doubt that the closing kilometres of racing, with the double ascent of Saltburn Bank, will be among the most spectacular in this year's Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men."
If you thought the Tour de France was a race for sickos, think again, because the Transcontinental race, the mammoth self-supported, non-stop race from one side of Europe to the other, just got underway in Roubaix three days ago, where some of the world’s finest ultra-distance riders set out on a 4,000km journey across the continent to Istanbul.
And while not the most exciting event to follow, the things these ultra riders manage to do is absolutely stupendous. But what do you do when you have the unpleasant realisation that you've made a costly mistake, only a whopping 270km later?
Well if you're Victor Bosoni, you turn back! The 22-year-old wild card who has been riding within the top 20 at the front of the race, realised this morning that he had forgot his wallet and passport at a petrol station 270 kilometres behind him. A situation that would see some throwing in the towel, he began a tedious though strong-willed journey backwards to retrieve his essential belongings.
Having already climbed over the Grossglockner, it looks as though he may be headed for Brenner Pass, which he will of course then have to come back over again once he has collected his things. Despite a near 550KM detour, the passionate Green Leaderboard rider is still aiming for the Finisher’s Party in Istanbul — a commendable show of determination from the young ultra cyclist!
British bicycle manufacturer Raleigh has received a warning notice from Companies House in relation to late accounts which have not been filed, the news coming months after the brand's parent company Accell confirmed job cuts, restructuring and a move away from the manufacturer's Nottingham headquarters due to a "challenging market".
While the serving of a First Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off on its own does not necessarily mean anything more than a company being late to file its accounts, it can raise concerns about goings on at a business and lead to questions about why the accounts for 2022, due to be published at the end of last year, still have not been filed.
I mean, it's not suprising that the Manx Missile speaks another Celtic language (I know one is Brythonic, and another's Goidelic), but it's nice to see Cav greet Welshman Stevie Williams in Welsh!
From my very limited knowledge of the language (don't ask me why), looks like Cav says: "Stevie - sut wyt ti heddiw?", or "how are you today?"
Legendary British cyclist Sir Mark Cavendish gave a greeting in Welsh while competing in his last Tour de France where he won a record 35th stage https://t.co/E2IqKDFdFRpic.twitter.com/nUFs7rXCeY
— BBC Wales News (@BBCWalesNews) July 23, 2024
It's been three days since Pogačar soared to his third maillot jaune in Nice, Biniam Girmay gave Eritrea its first green jersey, Richard Carapaz doggedly held on to the mountains classification and became the first Ecuadorian to win the polka dot jersey and Remco Evenepoel also left his stamp on the Tour by winning the first white jersey for Belgium.
And while this live blog is a good way to fill the void left by all the ubercycling we so dearly miss, it's always a fascinating time to see how the pro teams and riders react to the Tour end.
So revelling in the post-Tour malaise is Derek Gee, the Israel-Premier Tech rider who secured 9th position in the general classification. His team has now posted a video updating on the Canadian's whereabouts and his "distinctive" hobby of birdwatching... is he our new Thibaut Pinot?
You’ve met @DerekGee7, the top-10 finisher at @letourdefrance🚲
Now meet Derek Gee, the birdwatching enthusiast 🦅
We caught up with the Canadian star during the last off-season to learn about his distinctive hobby 🔍#YallaIPTpic.twitter.com/n3yR5w4Miw
— Israel – Premier Tech (@IsraelPremTech) July 24, 2024
"I got into birdwatchin in August 2019 when we're doing an altitude camp in Colarado. There were a bunch of mountain birds I had never seen before and I was sitting out on an Airbnb balcony and started looking them up and started making a list, and then it became a hobby!" explains Gee in the video.
Bonus points to anyone who can come up with a cool nickname for Gee akin to Sepp Kuss'"Eagle of Durango". Hmm, Osprey of Ontario, anyone?
In the latest attempts of one council to crack down on "anti-social behaviour", namely people cycling through parts of Grimsby town centre, a speaker system will play messages reminding residents that cycling is banned on certain streets.
Keano, my club's legend and apparently about to go down a cult classic here too?
Who knew the Irishman would be on this side of the apparent War on Cars, as he discussed illegal parking with Ian Wright, Jill Scott and Gary Neville on the amazing 'Stick to Football' podcast?!
First congestion charges, now this?!
Why are the powerful taking aim at the poor hard-pressed motorists pic.twitter.com/P21LWl18vJ
— AA Roadwash (@aaroadwash) July 24, 2024
"What do you think of people who park, you know people who have a few quid and they have a nice car and they just park anywhere they want, on double yellows or disabled, and they just think I've got money, I can park where I want," says Keane. "And they just take the ticket off, yeah I can pay that... Rude that!"
Wright asks: "So what should we do about it?"
"Slash their tyres," answers Keane... Maybe he's familiar with the Tyre Extinguishers?
Guillaume Martin — the Cofidis climber who finished 13th at the Tour de France, 43 minutes down on Tadej Pogačar — had plenty of feedback about his team's equipment, arguing his Look bike was too heavy and that he would have performed much better if it was not "one kilo more than the UCI's permitted weight", and without a power meter or head unit due to him not wanting "to make my bike even heavier".
Let's spare a thought for Visma-Lease a Bike, shall we? The team which conquered the world of pro cycling last year, winning all three Grand Tours marking an unprecedented moment in modern cycling history, has had quite the disappointing season by its standards.
Both the team's classics star Wout van Aert as well as two-time Tour champion and the only person who looked strong enough to give Pogačar a run for his money Jonas Vingegaard suffered heavy crashed early on, hampering not only their season but also much of their Tour de France training and preparation, yet somehow the two managed to make it Florence for the Grand Départ.
While Van Aert would like to forget this Tour as quickly as possible, Vingegaard, despite being "almost on the verge of death" in his own words, did manage to take the fight to Pogačar for a brief period of time, until the Slovenian went superhuman and run away with the yellow jersey, even pipping Visma's Jorgensen in the breakaway to what could have been his maiden stage win in a bitter blow.
In the end, the Dutch team only came back from Nice with one stage win, when Vingegaard trumped Pogačar in a two-up sprint on stage 11, and thus wrapping up by their standards, a dismal season so far.
However, even before the Tour started, one of the talking points for Visma had been its Mission Impossible-style 'Control Room' van, a “command centre” to monitor cyclists’ performances, analyse data and make tactical decisions destined to take the data analysis side of the sport to its extremes.
Fans were quick to take shots at the van, with the UCI also getting involved, dropping its dreaded email confirming that the sport's governing body is "carrying out verifications to ensure that the setup put in place by the team is compliant with the regulatory framework in force".
Now, eagle-eyed fans have spotted that the van is up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, if you've got €11,000 that is...
Visma are already selling the control van on Facebook marketplace😭😭😭 guess it didn’t work pic.twitter.com/kyAyc56ZEG
— loui (@looflol) July 24, 2024
"Guess it didn't work..." Ouch.