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Barcode jacket to ‘protect’ cyclists from self-driving vehicles gets slated; Vuelta highlights as Roglic extends lead; Vinokourov and Jalabert win Ironman 70.3 age group world champs; Close pass op in Cleveland and Durham + much more on live blog tonight

All today's news from the site and beyond.....
UPDATED Tue, Sep 10, 2019 00:11
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Barcode jacket to ‘protect’ cyclists from self-driving vehicles gets slated; Vuelta highlights as Roglic extends lead; Vinokourov and Jalabert win Ironman 70.3 age group world champs; Close pass op in Cleveland and Durham + much more on live blog tonightBarcode jacket for self-driving cars.PNG
09 September 2019, 18:25
Vuelta Stage 16 highlights as Roglic tightens grip on red jersey

 

09 September 2019, 18:15
Design graduate invents barcode jacket to ‘protect’ cyclists from self-driving cars

A design graduate in Richmond, Virginia has invented a jacket that contains a barcode which he claims will protect cyclists from self-driving cars. It hasn’t been well-received among UK cyclists and road safety campaigners on Twitter.

Philip Siwek, who since graduating is working as a junior innovation designer with Lululemon’s Whitespace team won a bronze medal, for his jacket at the 2019 IDEA International Design Conference in Chicago, reports Richmond News.

The jacket has a barcode design that gets scanned by autonomous vehicles to let them know that a cyclist is in the vicinity and thus reduce the risk of a collision.

Barcode jacket

Retweeting a link to the article posted by Susan Claris, Twitter user Real Gaz of Trumpton described the idea as “insane” – and given the responses to his post, he’s far from the only one to think so.

09 September 2019, 16:00
US ex-gravel racer Lambie breaks individual pursuit world record – again

US former gravel  bike racer Ashton Lambie has broken his own individual pursuit world record.

Ashton Lambie (picture via Huub Design)

The 28-year-old stunned the track cycling world in September last year when he took 3 seconds off Jack Bobridge’s 2011 world record in the 4-kilometre event, setting a time of 4:07.251 at the Pan-American Regional Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Riding at this year’s edition of the event in Cochabomba, Bolivia, Lambie – who onlyy started racing on the track in 2017 and last winter rode for the Derby-based team Huub Wattbike – lowered the record further to 4:06.407.

The event, once considered the Blue Riband of track cycling, was dropped from the Olympic programme after Beijing 2008, where Sir Bradley Wiggins successfully defended the title he had won in Athens four years earlier.

09 September 2019, 15:32
Fuglsang wins Vuelta Stage 16 from Geoghegan Hart

Jakob Fulgsang of Astana has won Stage 16 of the Vuelta from the break, with Team Ineos rider Tao Geoghegan Hart - third yesterday - putting in another terrific ride to finish second today.

Also in the break today was another young British rider, James Knox of Deceuninck-Quick Step, who also burnished his growing reputation by finishing fourth today.

09 September 2019, 14:59
Dylan Groenewegen takes his second win in three days at the Tour of Britain

The Dutch rider proved the most powerful on the climb to the finish in Newcastle upon Tyne, with the day's six-man break swept up shortly beforehand. Matteo Trentin of Mitchelton-Scott keeps the overall lead.

09 September 2019, 14:53
Nice Dire Straits reference on the Tour of Britain today
09 September 2019, 14:53
Vinokurouv and Jalabert triathlon victories spark morality debate

It appears not everyone is happy that Alexander Vinokourov and Laurent Jalabert are finding success at amateur level in age-group triathlon after their pro cycling careers. Vinokourov served a one year suspension for blood doping in 2007; and while Jalabert never served a ban, in 2013 the French Senate published his name in a list of doping tests that were found to show up positive from the 1998 Tour de France. Jalabert's was found positive for EPO. 

Screen Shot 2019-09-09 at 15.48.16

Numerous followers of our Facebook page have suggested that neither should be competing given their controversial history in pro cycling - what do you think? 

09 September 2019, 14:33
What. A. Save...

We may have missed this during the last couple of busy weeks; but if you haven't seen it yet, behold the best save we've ever seen. What was the guy in the red thinking though?

09 September 2019, 13:48
Close pass operation in Cleveland and Durham

Cleveland and Durham police’s joint roads policing unit have today launched a close pass operation, targeting motorists who overtake cyclists too closely.

The initiative forms a part of a fortnight-long campaign led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which aims to raise awareness of bikers and cyclists, as well as providing them with tips to keep safe.

In Cleveland and Durham, an unmarked police cyclist will identify drivers who pass carelessly or dangerously, with those motorists adjudged to have done so given advice or handed a fine and penalty points.

Inspector Jon Curtis, from Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit, said: “Motorcyclists and cyclists remain some of the most vulnerable on our roads. Through this campaign, we hope to educate and raise awareness of the dangers they face to avoid as many tragedies as possible.

“We’ll be urging motorcyclists to avoid taking unnecessary risks, and other motorists will be encouraged to be aware of other vehicles on the roads. It is everyone’s responsibility to drive safely and reduce the number of serious or fatal collisions on our roads.”

09 September 2019, 11:54
Flicked!

It would be Bouhani...

09 September 2019, 11:21
Alexander Vinokurov wins 45-49 age group at Ironman 70.3 World Championships

The Astana GM and 2012 Olympic road race champ is now a fierce competitor in triathlon at age-group level, bagging himself a victory at the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Nice over the weekend. Vinokourov swam 1,900m in 33:55, biked a hilly 90km in 2:24:21 and ran the closing half marathon in 1:25:05 to secure victory in the 45-49 category. 

In the pro men's race, Britain's double Olympic champ Alistair Brownlee came up short against the young Norwegian Gustav Iden. The 23-year-old finished almost three minutes ahead of Brownlee in 3:52:35, and the victory was extra notable because Iden used a road bike with clip-on tri bars instead of the more aero tri-specific bikes that are standard fare in non-drafting triathlon; Iden said the reason for this was simply that he didn't have a sponsor who could supply him with one in time for the race, as he usually competes over shorter distances where drop bar road bikes are compulsory for draft-legal bike legs. 

In the women's pro race it was business as usual for Daniela Ryf, who won her fifth Ironman 70.3 world title. 

09 September 2019, 11:44
Laurent Jalabert also victorious at Ironman 70.3 Worlds

Remarkably the 50-54 men's age group was also won by a former pro cyclist at the Ironman 70.3 World Champs. Lauren Jalabert - two-time Tour de France points classification winner and the 1995 Vuelta overall champ - won in a time of 4:34:55, nearly two minutes ahead of Robert Skaggs in second. Jalabert commented in the Facebook post above that he was also "very happy" for Vino too. 

What is it about these former cycling greats being able to turn their hand to triathlon so well? Guess you just don't lose all that fitness in a hurry...   

09 September 2019, 11:56
Dibben back to World Tour

After an injury-plagued season saw him dropped from Team Sky, Dibben spent the first half of 2019 without a team. He finally secured a deal with Madison Genesis, only for the team to announce that it will be folding at the end of the year.

Thankfully, he's secured a spot on Lotto Soudal for 2020!

09 September 2019, 11:17
Bit of a close finish at Saturday's Brussels Cycling Classic

The win went to Caleb Ewan on the left there.

09 September 2019, 11:05
A Spanish city banned cars ... and here are the results
09 September 2019, 08:05
Things you didn't expect to happen: Franz Ferdinand's frontman offering advice on cycling past a herd of cows

Guardian journalist and cycling campaigner Helen Pidd put the question to her Twitter followers: is it wise to cycle past a herd of cows blocking a cattle grid? It turns out they didn't risk it; and of the people who chipped in to offer advice on her Twitter post, who else but Alex Kapranos, lead singer of noughties indie darlings Franz Ferdinand? Kapranos says it wouldn't be advisable if there are calves around, which seems like a perfectly sensible tip to us. Any road.cc readers/countryside experts care to offer some further advice if we were to go for it? 

09 September 2019, 08:15
Alex Dowsett falls agonisingly short of Tour of Britain breakaway victory

It's often the case with one-man breakaways that even though they look heroic, it's inevitable the lone warrior will be caught... but in the case of Alex Dowsett yesterday, it genuinely felt like the British TT champ was one final heave-ho from making it before the sprinters finally caught up with him less than 50 metres before the line. Matteo Trentin ended up with the stage victory, with Dowsett finishing in 7th; the always self-deprecating Dowsett described his effort as "doing a Cummings", referring to Steve Cummings of Dimension Data who has been known to fancy the odd solo victory here and there (often to little avail). 

09 September 2019, 08:20
"Stop stealing my KOM's"

With just the eight stage tour each year I'd consider us KOM-chasing Brits lucky... imagine the state of your Strava living in France or Italy!

09 September 2019, 08:00
F*ck em, say Joanna Lumley...

...not really, this is very much a spoof Twitter account! We're sure Ms Lumley drives with plenty of due care and attention at all times. 

Jack Sexty

Jack has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of the website including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named Editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master's degree in print journalism and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it's a long story). 

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23 comments

Avatar
Xenophon2 | 5 years ago
1 like

I think the latest 'semi autonomous' vehicles are already very good, despite the occasional media story of a spectacular fail.  Was riding on a road where I had priority, guy in a Tesla was tapping his smartphone and clearly not paying too much attention, I sam him coming from the right.  I was on the verge of braking hard (priority is a great thing but better not to insist if the other guy is sitting in 1.8 tons of metal moving at speed) when the Tesla's computer apparently decided an emergency stop was warranted and slammed the brakes to the obvious dismay of mr smartphone, whose favourite toy went flying.  

Short of plastering every single piece of clothing with that barcode, I don't see how it can help.  On the contrary, it won't take six months before some desperate lawyer remarks that the victim wasn't wearing hi-viz nor a 'barcoded' jacket even though these are widely available.   The high-viz thing is a routine defense argument here, even though the law doesn't prescribe wearing anything in particular.

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 5 years ago
0 likes

Whilst I wouldn't be keen on wearing a barcoded piece of clothing, in the same way as sometimes I don't really want to don my high viz cycle jacket, I would have far less issue with some small, discrete, maintenance free, fitted at the factory and paid for by the automotive industry gizmo attached to the bike. Either an RFID style tag with a 1/2 mile response range or maybe some kind of radar or lidar reflector.

There's also the bigger and more fundamental issue of not tackling the problem (poor driving, or in this case less than perfect AI algorithms and detectors) and placing the burden of expense and inconvenience onto the person who is likely to be the victim of the problem. It's definitely a thin end of the wedge type of scenario.

Either way I'd feel far safer cycling in a world of driverless automobiles than with some of the reckless human muppets who drive with all the awareness and ability of a pithed frog.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Mungecrundle | 5 years ago
0 likes
Mungecrundle wrote:

... I would have far less issue with some small, discrete, maintenance free, fitted at the factory and paid for by the automotive industry gizmo attached to the bike. Either an RFID style tag with a 1/2 mile response range or maybe some kind of radar or lidar reflector.

Because then Big Data or the Men in Black can track you All The Time 

Avatar
Mungecrundle replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
0 likes
brooksby wrote:
Mungecrundle wrote:

... I would have far less issue with some small, discrete, maintenance free, fitted at the factory and paid for by the automotive industry gizmo attached to the bike. Either an RFID style tag with a 1/2 mile response range or maybe some kind of radar or lidar reflector.

Because then Big Data or the Men in Black can track you All The Time 

Mrs Mungecrundle and the little Mungecrundles already have me on Google tracking. I have long given up any idea of anonymous freedom of movement.

Avatar
alansmurphy | 5 years ago
2 likes

If the jacket helps, what is the problem? Innovation shouldn't stop with the first concept, maybe the coding could be put into the frame etc. in the future. May differentiate with more caution applied to recumbents etc. 

Avatar
brooksby replied to alansmurphy | 5 years ago
2 likes
alansmurphy wrote:

If the jacket helps, what is the problem? Innovation shouldn't stop with the first concept, maybe the coding could be put into the frame etc. in the future. May differentiate with more caution applied to recumbents etc. 

The problem is when the powers that be mandate that we MUST wear some sort of tag like this because otherwise it's our fault for any collision, not a failure on the part of the self driving software.

Avatar
Jetmans Dad | 5 years ago
2 likes

If a driverless car needs cyclists to wear a barcode to avoid hitting them, then they have no place on the road. 

Simple. 

Avatar
brooksby | 5 years ago
2 likes

Barcode jacket? I wonder whether they'd make pedestrians wear them too, or dogs, or horses - if the 'self driving' car can't detect a cyclist, it'll have problems with anyone not travelling in a big metal box...

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes

Cows can be quite scary if they're running towards you, but those ones just look curious and would probably moove out of the way. It'd be a miss-steak if they didn't.

Avatar
Simon E | 5 years ago
3 likes

"A design graduate in Richmond, Virginia has invented a jacket that contains a barcode which he claims will protect cyclists from self-driving cars."

What evidence does he have for this assertion? Answer: none. He is just trying to sell a jacket / get himself hired.

Shouldn't the vehicle's software prevent it from ploughing into anyone, regardless of their size, clothing or direction and mode of travel etc etc?

Avatar
burtthebike | 5 years ago
4 likes

Philip Siwek might like to reconsider his career as a junior innovation designer, whatever that might be, if this barcode jacket is his idea for preventing autonomous cars killing cyclists.  What if they aren't facing the right way?  What if it's too hot for a jacket?  What about the children* tm?  Perhaps something in the tourist trade might better suit him, barista for instance.

The incredible assumption that the victims have to protect themselves against a lethal weapon which has no business in public unless it is totally impossible for it to endanger people is an example of just how car-centric society has become.  The car has more rights than you.

Avatar
Organon | 5 years ago
0 likes

ToB on Strava; a few years rolled up one of my local climbs (which I am not super hot on, but can descend.) I though, oh how nice... but wait, which way did they go at the top? I checked Strava and I had dropped from 3rd on my descent to 73rd! Charlie Brown Arrgggh.

Avatar
Hirsute | 5 years ago
1 like

I'm liking the Carl Gustav 84 solution to dangerous driving rather than a bar code in the jacket

Avatar
peted76 | 5 years ago
3 likes

I agree with Simon E, it's a bit sickening that those two old proven dopers are allowed potentially benefit from cheating by competing in age category racing beyond their careers. 

Jalabert - caught for EPO.

Vinokourov - caught for Blood Doping.

 

 

Avatar
Simon E | 5 years ago
2 likes

"What is it about these former cycling greats being able to turn their hand to triathlon so well?"

Reminds me of Paul Kimmage's question to Lance in 2009:

What is it about these dopers you seem to admire so much?"

Those f.ckers have never come clean, they just carry on as if nothing happened. Just like old man Valverde, powering up Sunday's final climb out of the saddle like he was on an e-bike.

surprise

Avatar
brooksby | 5 years ago
2 likes
Quote:

Joanna Lumley says her policy when it comes to driving past cyclists is if they’re on their way to work or whatever, she’ll give them plenty of room but if they’re just riding round for fun then fuck ‘em

Point taken on "its a spoof account" but it does raise an interesting point.

I know people who feel very differently about 'people cycling to work / for a reason'  vs 'people who are just riding for fun'.

I've never been entirely sure how they can tell the difference between the two... 

Avatar
HoarseMann replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
2 likes
brooksby wrote:
Quote:

Joanna Lumley says her policy when it comes to driving past cyclists is if they’re on their way to work or whatever, she’ll give them plenty of room but if they’re just riding round for fun then fuck ‘em

Point taken on "its a spoof account" but it does raise an interesting point.

I know people who feel very differently about 'people cycling to work / for a reason'  vs 'people who are just riding for fun'.

I've never been entirely sure how they can tell the difference between the two... 

Sunday morning in a bunch - fun. Solo rider at rush hour with a bag - commuter.

But it’s an odd view, as lots of car journeys are for 'fun', maybe not the Sunday morning drive anymore, but certainly to get to the cinema, restaurant or (ahem) the trail head with a MTB on the roof.

Avatar
brooksby replied to HoarseMann | 5 years ago
0 likes
HoarseMann wrote:

Sunday morning in a bunch - fun. Solo rider at rush hour with a bag - commuter.

I ride on my own at all times, and my clothing depends on the weather rather than one what 'type' of ride I'm doing.

Quote:

But it’s an odd view, as lots of car journeys are for 'fun', maybe not the Sunday morning drive anymore, ...

Remember people just going out for a drive: just driving around?  Then maybe stopping for tea from a thermos and a plastic box full of sandwiches, on a layby just off the Axxx?

Avatar
HarryTrauts replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
2 likes
brooksby wrote:

 

Remember people just going out for a drive: just driving around?  Then maybe stopping for tea from a thermos and a plastic box full of sandwiches, on a layby just off the Axxx?

[/quote]

That still describes my dad's perfect Sunday.  

Avatar
HoarseMann replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like
brooksby wrote:
HoarseMann wrote:

Sunday morning in a bunch - fun. Solo rider at rush hour with a bag - commuter.

I ride on my own at all times, and my clothing depends on the weather rather than one what 'type' of ride I'm doing.

Quote:

But it’s an odd view, as lots of car journeys are for 'fun', maybe not the Sunday morning drive anymore, ...

Remember people just going out for a drive: just driving around?  Then maybe stopping for tea from a thermos and a plastic box full of sandwiches, on a layby just off the Axxx?

Entertainment has progressed since then. But we could do with some more of this...

https://youtu.be/gkBOIToUBrY

Avatar
Hirsute replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like
brooksby wrote:

Point taken on "its a spoof account"

I like the way one reply talks about what is worn.

Are there groups of drivers who make similar comments on runners with their technical tops and specific shoes (road, trail, the others), footballers, rugby players, cricketers in whites (!), tennis players etc etc

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like
brooksby]</p>

<p>[quote

 wrote:

I've never been entirely sure how they can tell the difference between the two... 

Why, the same way that you can tell the difference between drivers who are driving to work, and those who are driving for recreational purposes. 

Avatar
brooksby replied to Captain Badger | 5 years ago
0 likes
Captain Zhap wrote:
brooksby wrote:

I've never been entirely sure how they can tell the difference between the two... 

Why, the same way that you can tell the difference between drivers who are driving to work, and those who are driving for recreational purposes. 

Yup. That was kind of my point... 

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