Seven days in cycling: Your weekly catch up service of the week's big news stories on road.cc

Welcome back to the second installment of our roundup of the week's cycling news on road.cc, where we reprise some of the stories that you loved (or loved to hate) the most over the past seven days.

Click on any headline to read the story in full and join in our reader debates in the comments section.

Contentious polemic on the treatment of women in cycling
 

Sunday was livened up with a bit of feminism (some commenters thought ‘misguided feminism’) - a rare treat in these parts and one that got everyone going.

Perhaps a few recognised previously unseen knobbish behaviour in themselves - others were just pleased to have somewhere to vent.

In any case there’s still time to have your say on how not to be a knob to female cyclists.

Wiggo in row over money with his ex-management company
 

Monday: another day another dollar? We brought you the news that Sir Bradley Wiggins is involved in a legal argument with his former management company over his earnings from his contract with Team Sky and his 2012 Tour de France victory.

The MTC agency is suing Sir Bradley in the High Court for commission on his deal with Team Sky, which is reported to have been worth £4 million plus a £1 million bonus in the event of him winning the 2012 Tour de France.

MTC billed Sir Bradley for £741,000 commission on that deal, and the company claims he refused to pay. He then sacked MTC as his representatives and issued a counter-claim, accusing the company of trying to charge fees it was not entitled to and having a disorganised accounting system.

This sounds like it might drag on; we’ll be watching with interest.

New study shows cycling is really better than running

We’ve known it all along, but on Tuesday we brought you the science behind your decision not to knacker your knees bashing out those road miles on foot.

Research carried out by Appalachian State University’s (ASU) Human Performance Laboratory (HPL) showed that long-distance runners experienced more muscle damage, soreness and inflammation than cyclists after a period of intense workouts.

Click the link to read the science; the bit we liked best was when the principle prof in charge of the investigation recommended cycling over running for beginners as a way to get fit.

He said: “It is going to be a lot easier on the muscles."

Cateye launch cunning little Smart computer

On Wednesday you were in the mood for some tech, lapping up a £69.99 Cateye smartphone-linked cycle computer that uses your phone’s constant GPS updating to display your speed, mileage, time and altitude data, along with notifications from the phone, so you’ll never feel disconnected, if that’s your bag.

Sending the data from the free Cateye app on your phone to websites like CateyeAtlas, Strava and Training Peaks is easy too – it’s just a one touch operation.

Police appeal leads to arrest of aggressive cyclist for abusing driver

Lively debate followed on Thursday, when we brought you the news that a police appeal in Bath had led to the arrest of an ‘aggressive cyclist’ - said to have abused and spat at a motorist.

Police issued an appeal last month following the incident close to Sainsbury’s on Pines Way on 3 December, which involved a couple travelling in their car with their 11-year-old grandson.

The couple admitted that their vehicle encroached on an Advanced Stop Line reserved for cyclists, but said that this provoked an aggressive response from the cyclist.

While there is no excuse for aggressive behaviour towards any road user the police response to this case has raised eyebrows amongst some in the cycling community; as the road.cc user who sent us this link remarked:

"Would the police do anything if you reported every motorist that ‘abuses’ you whilst cycling on the road… I doubt it."

Video: Search for cyclist after London road rage confrontation turns violent…

The tables quickly turned on Friday, when a helmet cam video came to light showing a man in a car attacking an anonymous cyclist.

George 'Jude' Hill, who shot the video, is appealing for the rider involved to come forward so that police can investigate the incident in which the rider remonstrates with a driver and is subsequently punched and knocked to the ground. 

Of course, when the attacker is caught, he’ll get the same treatment as the cyclist above -- won’t he?

Proposed West Yorkshire tunnel would be longest in Europe

Happier news to bring the week to a close on Saturday, when news dropped in that an abandoned railway tunnel in West Yorkshire could be the longest underground cycleway in Europe if local groups and sustainable transport charity Sustrans are successful in their campaign to get it open to bikes.

The plans would see the Halifax to Bradford tunnel, which has been blocked since the 1960s, become part of the Great Northern Trail network of traffic-free walking and cycling paths that have been built over the tracks of the old Great Northern Railway line.

It would dwarf the Combe Down Tunnel in Bath, a project which Sustrans also had a hand in, as the longest tunneled cycleway in Europe.