Live blog: Cavendish and Poels to Bahrain-Merida? Velolife crowdfunder smashes target; Steven Kruijswijk abandons Vuelta; Ineos buy Nice FC for €100 million; Green Party councillor has e-bike stolen; Quintana's not-so-custom green Oakleys + more

Max Hill, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has urged dockless hire bike users to park them considerately after having to move one out of the way of a blind woman.

If you abandon a hire bike in the middle of the pavement, you create an obstacle for the blind. I cleared the way for a blind lady this morning, whose dog sensed danger and would not let her pass. And swerving to walk in the road doesn’t work for the blind. Wise up, bike users.

— Max Hill (@MaxHillQC) August 22, 2019

His appeal comes as London Councils, the body that represents the capital's local authority, is considering a by-law that would require operators of such schemes in the city to ensure users to return bikes to designated locations, with a potential £500 fine for any infraction.

The usually very well-informed Italian sports daily Gazzetta Dello Sport is reporting that Mark Cavendish, Wout Poels, Eros Capecchi and Bernhard Eisel could be set to join Bahrain-Merida for 2020. 

The team unofficially has a new team principal in Rod Ellingworth from the 1st January, who was one of the founding members of Team Sky; it therefore makes some sense that he would sign two riders he's worked with in the past (Cavendish and Poels) while Bernhard Eisel (also a former Sky man) would be following Cavendish out the door from Dimension Data. Capecchi would end his two-year association with Deceuninck–Quick-Step by switching to Bahrain Merida. 

Do you think Cav will get a new lease of life at Bahrain-Merida, and could Poels become a GC force? 

This is enterprising - Hammersmith Bridge is currently closed to motor vehicles due to safety concerns over the structure, and now there is a pedicab service to ferry people across.

It runs from outside Hammersmith Apollo to Castlenau on the Barnes side of the river.

This is awesome. Please use it if you want to connect to buses on the other side of #hammersmith bridge. pic.twitter.com/j7eQqfkmEM

— Andrew Pendleton (@AJPendleton) August 27, 2019

Keep 'm peeled ... 

This glorious electric Gazelle stolen from Highbury Park last night. Let me know if anyone tries to sell it to you. Meanwhile has anyone got a bike I can borrow. pic.twitter.com/NEbDiMa1XM

— Caroline Russell (@CarolineRussell) August 27, 2019

(1/3) The #SRMR2019 was the hardest challenge I've faced. It was a complete test, not just about physical strength but mental resolve. From scorching plains to sub zero nights, snow storms to little water. I took all I've learned over the previous years racing and applied it. pic.twitter.com/RZ2BL37Gyu

— James Hayden (@JamesMarkHayden) August 27, 2019

The two-time Transcontinental Race winner battled on even after fleeing from an attempted robbery, and was forced to dig deep into his mental reserves to finish in a highly impressive fourth place despite the adversities. After the above tweet Hayden thanked his bike sponsor Canyon and continued in a thread: "I reset mentally after the attempted robbery and pushed on to the finish. I set out with the aim to finish and anything in the top 5 being lofty. Finishing in 4th place after what happened is exceptional and I am ecstatic.

"And yes, I'll see you back here in 2020, I've got a point to make." 

Ride a gravel bike? Well in that case you definitely need gravel shoes (probably, anyway). The new Powerstrap X4 is the latest addition to Fizik's Terra off-road lineup, and promise a shoe "purpose built for today’s gravel-orientated adventure cyclists". Described as supportive, protective and tough yet light and comfortable, the Powerstrap features a ribbon that wraps round the foot rather than a  traditional Velcro closures that just pulls together two sides of the shoe’s upper. In theory this should provide more secure containment using just two straps. The instep and the midfoot are also separately adjustable for customised fit and compression.

Available in black, anthracite/grape or mud/caramel colourways, you can get them now for £149.99 from Fizik and dealers worldwide. 

THANK YOU ALL so much for the overwhelming support so far!
And if @rbwm cease legal action & the threat there of, we’ll donate all funds not used to @WeAreCyclingUK& @Qhubeka#savevelolifehttps://t.co/QBzSj5tapK

— Velolife Cafe (@thevelolife) August 26, 2019

This never-ending ludicrous saga now appears to be somewhat going the way of the beleaguered Berkshire cafe rather than the barmy Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead council they are in a legal wrangle with; as the 'Save Velolife' crowdfunder set up to raise funds for legal fees and to fight the council's injunction has now topped the £15,000 target in a little over 36 hours. Velolife say they will donate any funds not used to Cycling UK and the Qhubeka charity. 

789 people have donated at the time of writing, with the total currently standing at £15,851. As spotted by a road.cc reader Tinbob49, one of the donors shares a name with a certain Simon Dudley, the leader of RBWM who has come out in support of the cafe despite his own council's injunction causing the furore.... coincidence?

Help us find the suspect responsible for this hit & run by retweeting this video.

It occurred August 22nd in Boyle Heights, on Whittier Blvd near Calzona St, and left a cyclist with severe injuries. Any info contact LAPD Central Traffic Division (213) 833-3713. pic.twitter.com/0qR6iVabOV

— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) August 27, 2019

According to the LAPD the cyclist was left with severe injuries, and they are appealing for information. A similar incident occurred on Swain's Lane in London earlier this year when 22-year-old Josh Dey was knocked off his bike by Sean Fagan, who was on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into Mr Dey in a BMW convertible. Fagan was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.