After a summer of Olympic success followed by an autumn of disillusionment and burning bridges, British rider Tom Pidcock is finally starting to look at home with his new team Q36.5 Pro Cycling. After being stuck on training rides with his new teammates in his old Ineos kit, which he surely would be itching to get off, the Swiss team has announced that tomorrow’s the day when the full kit reveal takes place, and fans will finally be able to catch a glimpse of how Pidcock will look in new colours going into the 2025 season.
Come on now — who had Peter Sagan ready to swap his S-Works 7s for some shiny dancing shoes and take part in Let’s Dance, Slovakia’s version of Strictly Come Dancing, on their 2025 bingo?
I imagine when they say there is no such thing as bad press, this is what they mean.
Because after a year which saw almost every major news publication in Britain dip their feet in the “controversial” — and also illegal — waters of using mobile phones while driving and the consequences when a cyclist decides to stick a camera on their head and report the perpetrators to the authorities, CyclingMikey has become a rather popular figure on the streets of London.
After interview features in The Times, The Telegraph, the Evening Standard, and the Guardian, as well as compliments and endorsements from BBC Radio 2 host Jeremy Vine, Mike van Erp, the Dutch-born Londoner has risen in popularity even beyond the niche circles of active travel (or, anti-active travel) communities for catching drivers breaking traffic rules, such as using a handheld mobile device.
And while on the lookout for such drivers in an old video from 2023 that was shared on Twitter this morning, Mikey came face-to-face with one who not only was unabashedly holding the phone, but also on a FaceTime video call with someone who recognised Van Erp and couldn’t help himself from screaming: “Oh my god, it’s CyclingMikey — oh my god!”
His phone callee recognised me! Then he showed him me on FaceTime.
It's the second time I caught someone in this vehicle using their phone. I bet he was bricking it when his friend told him who I was. pic.twitter.com/5C0czXvIEV— CyclingMikey the Unspeakable (@MikeyCycling) January 10, 2025
The oblivious driver, who had previously retorted with the question of “Are you the police?” when confronted by Mikey, plainly asks “Who?” and then holds up the phone to show CyclingMikey to his callee via the front camera, before driving off.
Mikey revealed that this wasn’t the first time he caught someone driving that car, even letting out a laugh when realising the fact. Honestly, I’m astounded by the man’s computer-like memory of the licence plates he’s filmed.
“His phone callee recognised me! Then he showed him me on FaceTime,” Van Erp wrote. “It’s the second time I caught someone in this vehicle using their phone. I bet he was bricking it when his friend told him who I was.”
Last week, CyclingMikey was featured in Daily Mail’s “top 12 villains of 2024” list, a belated New Year celebration from the newspaper’s online counterpart, rounding up an awkward and truly confounding compilation, including the likes of the Post Office, VAR, Oasis, Gregg Wallace… and Paddington Bear — amongst everything else villainous in this world.
Perhaps the list might make some sense when you factor in some of the other entries — the person who threw a milkshake at Schrodinger’s Nigel Farage, who somehow bravely walked it off but was also simultaneously frightened at the time, as well as Just Stop Oil campaigners.
“Does this mean I’m one of the good guys?” a rather confused and possibly amused Mikey posted on social media after reading the Mail’s review.