WTFotD2; Video of “Behind closed doors” Paris-Nice Stage 2 as France fights coronavirus; UCI investigating sexual abuse claims; Champagne + Crepes as Groupama-FDJ land in France after UAE quarantine; Ruby Isaac in IWD shout-outs + more on the live blog

Black cab drivers telling porkies about the Tavistock Place bike lane? Say it ain't so ...

Pretty cool to ride with 1200 Zwifters this morning. Had a cool intro to @GoZwift with help from @lvanbon First ride on my @tacx smart trainer was great experience, could even feel also the wooden bridge & gravel. Had fans from South Africa, Colombia and NL next to me today 😍. pic.twitter.com/8mkpoSH6bl

— Annemiek van Vleuten (@AvVleuten) March 8, 2020

Stage 2 of Paris-Nice today was played out effectively "behind closed doors" after France's sports minister banned crowds of more than 1,000 from events in the latest measures taken to halt the spread of coronavirus. 

Morevover, spectators are not allowed within 100 metres of riders at the start of stages, and have to keep a distance of 300 metres at the end of them.

Here are the highlights of today's stage, played out in the rain and the win ... yes there were echelons ... and more drama on the way to the finish.

It's worth noting that the weekend's finale takes place in Nice... just 40 kilometres west of the Italian border, with the neighbouring country tonight going into total lockdown against the virus.

After Spanish newspaper AS reported that Astana Pro Team were yet to pay full wages to their staff in 2020, team manager Vinokourov confirmed it was true in a statement today. 

Vinokourov insisted that the funds had been guaranteed by their main sponsor Samruk Kazyna, but there was simply a delay from the state-funded backers. He said: “We confirm that Astana Pro Team was not able to pay all wages in 2020 yet. The payment was done partially.

"We also want to confirm that the total budget of the main sponsor Samruk Kazyna has been successfully approved.

“It is also worth mentioning the fact that Astana Pro Team has already started its 15th season and during all these years our main sponsor Samruk Kazyna duly provided us the necessary funds. As we are being sponsored by official government organization sometimes there is a delay of payment due to slow administrative processing of the funds approval.”

It's not the first time Astana riders have been left with unpaid wages, after a similar incident two years ago in which Vinokourov reportedly had to intervene to get salaries paid. Like many teams, Astana have pulled out of a number of races and have suspended their schedule until 20th March due to coronavirus, and insist this is nothing to do with their financial situation. 

Who are your female cycling role models? We need your help to choose this year's #100WomenInCycling. 🚴‍♀️

The list celebrates inspirational women from all walks of life who share with others the fun, freedom and friendship of cycling.

Nominate here 👉 https://t.co/DP2MUY5sgz pic.twitter.com/dnWkAMwPpQ

— Cycling UK (@WeAreCyclingUK) March 8, 2020

Ahead of the Women’s Festival of Cycling between 11th-31st July, Cycling UK are asking for nominations to celebrate female cycling role models who promote cycling and encourage others to take part.

"Women from all walks of life and every corner of the cycling world can be nominated, from mountain bikers and endurance cyclists to community group leaders, cycling school-run mums and industry entrepreneurs", say Cycling UK. 

If you want to make a nomination, you can do so here. 

Paris-Roubaix (April 12) potentially affected. ASO declined to comment

— Tom Cary (@tomcary_tel) March 9, 2020

The Telegraph's Tom Cary says that ASO (the organisers of Paris-Roubaix) won't comment on potential cancellations or rescheduling of the race due to the latest French coronavirus precautions. If indeed no more than 1,000 spectators are allowed to watch, there would be no cheering crowds at the velodrome and possibly no fans lining the cobbled sections; although we're unsure how crowds congregating in public places could be 100% policed without a full curfew in place. 

In a move straight out of a Year 5 classroom, Deceuninck – Quick-Step now have special wristbands to show that you're part of 'The Wolfpack'.

The wristbands are available on the team's webshop and thankfully, they look a bit better than the ones you'd have made as a kid.

The leather bracelets have the Wolfpack's logo imprinted along with their 'creed':

“For the strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack”

Order yours here

Marion Sicot about Marc Bracke, DS of Doltcini-van Eijk: “he said I was too fat. I had to send pictures of myself in underwear every week. Front and back. He said he’d delete them afterwards but I can’t be sure.”https://t.co/ulpr3arWn3

— José Been (@TourDeJose) March 8, 2020

The French Cycling Federation has asked the UCI to launch an investigation after two female riders on the Doltcini-Van Eyck team made allegations of inappropriate conduct against Marc Bracke. The riders claimed that they were asked to send pictures of themselves in underwear to their male DS so that he could check that they weren't "too fat". 

Marion Sicot and Sara Youmans have made separate allegations, the former in an interview where she admitted to taking EPO.

Speaking to L'Equipe, Sicot claimed that “he said I was too fat. I had to send pictures of myself in underwear every week. Front and back. He said he’d delete them afterwards but I can’t be sure".

Face aux menaces et aux chantages, Marion Sicot
a cédé et a consommé de l'EPO. Retour sur une affaire de "dopage forcé" selon la cycliste, qui témoigne en exclusivité pour #Stade2. pic.twitter.com/CJQEGdG5A7

— France tv sport (@francetvsport) March 8, 2020

France tv Sport reports that Sicot, "in the face of threats and blackmail", was forced to dope using EPO which she was subsequently banned for using after testing positive at the French TT championships last year.

While we can't say for certain that the male riders aren't asked to provide similar photos, it seems highly unlikely when other methods such as body fat calipers, or simply weighing scales offer a far more scientific approach.

More to follow.

Quand Marc Madiot accueille son équipe @GroupamaFDJ avec des crêpes à l’aéroport ! 😂 pic.twitter.com/few6p2UKIB

— Josselin Riou (@josselin_riou) March 8, 2020

Well, it seems that it is if you've just got back from being quarantined in a hotel and your boss is Marc Madiot.

Groupama-Francais des Jeux was one of the teams held in quarantine in the UAE after coronavirus stopped the race. They had some big names in isolation including classics specialist Arnaud Demare.

The flamboyant DS was so happy to get his star riders and staff back that he turned up to the airport arrivals with a bottle of Champagne (obviously) and a stack of crepes. As you do.

Traffic data experts Inrix have released the findings from their annual Global Traffic Scorecard for 2019, which rates cities worldwide for congestion, last mile speed and compares between various modes of transport. 

As you may have guessed, UK cities rank as some of the worst in the world with London the eighth-worst for congestion. London drivers lost 149 hours sat in traffic in 2019, and crawled along at an average speed of 10mph for their last mile. Other cities in the top ten (in order of worst ranking) are Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester, Cardiff, Birmingham, Southampton, Nottingham and Hull. The fastest average last mile speed in the ten cities is Birmingham at 16mph, meaning for the vast majority of us - depending on the traffic lights and various other factors - cycling will be faster than driving in all of these cities. 

Inrix also say that congestion is costing our economy £6.9 billion a year, with road users spending an average of 115 hours stuck* in traffic. Trevor Reed of Inrix TOLD The Daily Mail: "Across the UK's most congested cities, average driving speeds of 10-16mph mean cycling is actually a quicker option for many people. Congestion costs drivers, businesses and the economy billions of pounds each year."

Inrix recommended big improvements to public transport (which is only quicker than driving in London and Edinburgh) and investment in rail could reduce car use, and also said safer roads could go a long way to encouraging more people to cycle. ​​

It's not all bad news, with Nottingham seeing congestion falling by 17% and London dropping from the third-worst to the eighth-worst city in the world for congestion. London's congestion levels also dropped by 9% compared to 2018 according to the Scorecard. Here are some vital stats in picture form... 

*If you're driving to work when you could be cycling or walking... you're not stuck in traffic, you ARE the traffic (but you knew that). 

Spent all weekend at the supermarket queueing for loo roll and missed all your vital road.cc goodness? Here's what you need to know...

Airbus UK employees must wear high-viz and helmets to cycle on site

Near Miss of the Day 386: A very sweary van passenger

Transport for London marks International Women's Day with launch of campaign encouraging more to cycle

Special coronavirus measures at Paris-Nice – but race will go ahead

40 per cent of collisions involving Irish cyclists caused by ‘failure to observe’ on part of driver