- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Live blog
“Bad luck taking impressive proportions”: Chloe Dygert drops out of stage race… after bumping into a door and breaking her nose; Cyclists slam judge for giving suspended sentence to drug driver who knocked cyclist 20 feet in air + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Chloe Dygert at 2024 UCI Road World Championships (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)10:58
“Bad luck taking impressive proportions”: Chloe Dygert drops out of Simac Ladies Tour… after bumping into a door and breaking her nose
Ahead of the second stage of the Simac Ladies Tour, Team Canyon-SRAM has announced that it’s lost three of its riders in a day, with Maike van der Duin and Soraya Paladin suffering from illness, while former American road and time trial champion Chloe Dygert has withdrawn after she broke her nose… apparently after bumping into a door.
It’s as if you Tyche herself came to the earth and decided to curse the team bus of Canyon-SRAM…
#SLT2024
We start stage 2 with @Backstedt_Zoe and Alex Morrice only.@chloedygert30 broke her nose before stage 1 and will stop the tour for a better recovery, while @SorayaPaladin and Maike van der Duin are, unfortunately, unwell. pic.twitter.com/oJ3JCHOscX— CANYON//SRAM Racing & CANYON//SRAM Generation (@WMNcycling) October 9, 2024
Dygert’s situation has left cycling fans confused and baffled — with the 27-year-old not enjoying a lot of luck lately. She suffered a horror injury four years ago, suffering a severe laceration to her left leg. But while she has recovered from that setback, illnesses and other injuries have never really left her side — which Dygert claims has disallowed her from achieving her full potential.
She did manage to win two medals, one each in road and track cycling at the Paris Olympics earlier this year. However, at the individual time trial, she crashed on the wet Parisian roads, losing crucial time in her bid for gold and had to settle for bronze, and then at the road race was the architect of her own downfall when she divebombed her Canyon-SRAM teammate Elise Chabbey and caused a crash.
Canyon SRAM at the Simac Ladies Tour has gone from a pretty big high to a low...
Stage win yesterday and now down to 2 riders after illness hits and Chloe Dygert...*checks notes* bumps into a door #SLT2024 https://t.co/vKVAsOnSsx pic.twitter.com/3PLimgkwjX
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) October 9, 2024
Just weeks ago, Dygert — a self-proclaimed Conservative and ‘not-a-femisinist’ who was the focus of a controversy a few years ago when she liked transphobic and racist posts on Twitter — once again fell just short of claiming the road world championship title in Zürich, getting outsprinted by eventual winner and arguably one of the best sprinters in the peloton, Lotte Kopecky.
“It’s still hard to say that I’m happy… I just could not wait for Paris because I knew it was going to be a course for me. I knew it was going to be flat and I was so excited. So to not have a good day on race day was frustrating,” she told Olympics.com, after her third-place finish at the time trial, having missed silver by a few seconds.
> Chloe Dygert apology for social media conduct “not sufficient” says Rapha
All that aside, situation has gone from a euphoric high to a difficult low for Canyon-SRAM, leaving the team with just two riders for the six-day stage-race in the Netherlands, the British duo of Alex Morrice and Zoe Bäckstedt, who took her first pro win yesterday, winning the first stage, a 10.1km time trial in Gennep.
12:09
New road.cc podcast episode klaxon: Is Tadej Pogačar the greatest cyclist who’s ever lived? Plus we ask: What’s going on with cycling media in 2024?
In the latest episode of the road.cc Podcast, we dive headfirst into the GOAT debate before going all meta with a chat about the current cycling media landscape, why it’s changed (and changing), and whether we should be worried about the future...
08:59
“A close call is when they miss you, not when they hit you”: Cyclists criticise judge for giving suspended prison sentence to drug driver who knocked cyclist 20 feet in the air
There’s been a lot of chatter around the suspended prison sentence story for the driver who was found with twice the legal limit for cannabis in his system hit a cyclist while overtaking a stalled car at a red light, sending the rider coming from the opposite direction flying 20 feet into the air and leaving him with serious injuries.
CCTV footage of the incident showed Danial Arshad cause a head-on collision with Nicholas Cooper, who suffered a collapsed lung, fractures to his ribs and spine, and even a risk of paralysis, with the judge himself saying “Mr Cooper was very fortunate not to have died.”
However, the judge also described the incident as a “close call” and said it was clear Arshad being “impatient” and “under the influence to some extent of cannabis” had caused it, ultimately handing him a 10 year suspended prison sentence. He was suspended for driving for three years and is required to undertake 15 days of rehabilitation activity and 300 hours of unpaid work as part of his sentence.
The sentence seems to have caught a lot of backlash from cyclists, who described the decision as “appalling” and “joke of a sentence”.
A cyclist who goes by the name of Orpington Cyclist on Twitter tagged the Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and asked: “What does the below tell you about road safety in the UK?”
Another person replied saying that “the timing of that report coincides perfectly with Louise Haigh’s discussions on road safety” and that “without sentencing that reflects the severity, less people will want to cycle and bad or dangerous drivers will have little to deter them from endangering others in the future.”
Meanwhile, another person replied to road.cc’s tweet about the news criticising the judge describing the incident as a close call, saying: “A close call is when they miss you not when they hit you. What hope do you have with judges like this?”
There were several others who thought the judge’s sentence was too lenient, one even saying: “Judge needs sacking, not competent to take the evidence and create a sentence or needs to fine the driver 50k and ban for ten years.”
Another person wrote: “I know it’s not comparable but a woman was recently jailed for 12 weeks for missing a probation appointment 20 yrs ago, thereby losing her job & her children. What’s worse, missing an appointment, or drug-driving & hitting a cyclist? What’s gone wrong with our legal system?”
Again more compassion given to the offender (showed absolute contempt towards the law) rather than to the victim (received life altering injuries).
“Under the influence to some extent of cannabis” shows diminished view towards what is a serious offence.
— Dj_Caress (@dj_caress) October 8, 2024
On Facebook, Howard Crompton wrote: “That made my stomach turn. The cyclist in question has been let down so badly it’s untrue. I hope he puts in an extensive insurance claim too. How is there any tolerance for drink or drugs I don’t know. I know it won’t stop people doing it, but sentences like this are outrageous.”
Fairley Grist said: “I was initially angry about this and Having seen the video and read the comments from the judge almost excusing the driver and saying it was a “close call” I am absolutely fuming and disgusted at the sentencing.”
However, under the road.cc report, reader alexuk thought that the sentence was harsh on the cyclist but ultimately fair, writing: “May sound harsh, but seems appropriate given the evidence. He didn't see the cyclist hauling ass towards him, if he did, it seems likely he wouldn't have pulled out; clearly intention to do harm could not be proven.
“If he pulled out having seen the cyclist, then dangerous all-day. I'm glad the driver is off the road for the next 3yrs and has to spend the next two years on best behaviour with mandated rehab + 300hrs unpaid.
“Sometimes accidents happen. I hope the rider manages to find himself again and the driver makes a positive change to his life.”
10:26
Some totally out of context Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan cycling in rainy Moscow.
Make of this what you will now...
Some totally out of context Armenian President Pashinyan cycling in rainy Moscow. pic.twitter.com/1MfNeqbFEv
— Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin) October 8, 2024
"There is a very good bicycle path along the Moskva River, and we rode our bikes today," Pashinyanm who travelled to Moscow to participate in the meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council, said.
10:11
Video shows Tadej Pogačar take the lead in discussing with organisers to call off Italian classic Tre Valli Varesine amidst heavy thunderstorm and flooding
More about what went down in the horrific conditions in Lombardy yesterday (thankfully, no one was injured): “We couldn’t see where we were going”: Pogačar leads safety charge as Italian classic race cancelled mid-race due to excessive flooding, with “water as high as disc rotors” and “manhole covers getting lifted up off the floor”
09:10
Some gorgeous Tommasinis to commemorate the passing of Italian bike-building icon Irio Tommasini (ft. road.cc’s Stay Awesome stickers)
In case you missed it, bike-building maestro and just simply a legend in the annals of the cycling world, Irio Tommasini passed away yesterday, aged 91.
And what better way to celebrate the man’s work than road.cc reader and a Tommasini tifoso Mike Curtis’ cave of the beautiful, gorgeous Tommasini bikes. He wrote: “Goodnight, wonderful Signor Irio; sleep well. Thank you for all your wonderful work, and rest assured that your memory will live on forever thanks to your wonderful creations… It was an honour to have met you.”
PS. Thanks for keeping our Stay Awesome stickers in your workshop, Mike!
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
Latest Comments
- Hirsute 32 min 4 sec ago
You dismissed it as an accident. You still don't get it.
- brooksby 39 min 28 sec ago
Sorry - I'd meant that it was resistant enought that They'd probably not bother (which is practically the same thing as '-proof', to all intents...
- Capt Sisko 54 min 41 sec ago
None of these tyres are 'winter' tyres in the same sence of the word that winter tyres are for vehicles, i.e. they don't have the sipes & tread...
- Rendel Harris 1 hour 46 min ago
I'm not against cannabis per se, I used to enjoy a smoke myself in my far-off youth and I am broadly in favour of legalisation or at least...
- workhard 2 hours 38 min ago
Bunch of really nice looking bikes there. Love the tubeset mix and the idea of 3D printed lugs.
- thax1 3 hours 22 min ago
Yes, I've increasingly taken to buying consumables when prices fall, and then having a few in the garage....
- Car Delenda Est 3 hours 28 min ago
They likely view the disabled going out and doing things as some frivolous luxury that shouldn't be allowed to get in the way of important things...
- mark1a 3 hours 45 min ago
I'll put you down as a "no" then...
- Jimmy Ray Will 4 hours 5 min ago
My initial thought is that a new, premium subscriber package that allowed linking and promotion is about to be launched. So your Froome's and ...
- OldRidgeback 12 hours 43 min ago
That is an astonishing feat. I cannot imagine what it'd take to ride up to 600km over 16 hours in one day, and then get up the next day and clock...
Add new comment
22 comments
DOn't get this threshold between careless and dangerous driving. If you drive like an arse and someone gets hurt, whether careless or not, it was certainly dangerous to someone!
As I understand it, the difference should be that careless driving is when someone is driving legally, but then causes a collision through their lack of attention etc. Dangerous driving is when the manner of driving itself is illegal, such as speeding or being under the influence.
However, courts/juries don't seem to abide by that distinction and many cases of obviously illegally dangerous driving get prosecuted as careless.
On a lighter note, those Tommasini frames are gorgeous 😍
Yes, but I'm not sure about the fork decals.
It's your website of course so it's up to you, but surprised to see you quoting alexuk's comments here. If you have the facility to look at the entirety of their comments (something that would be a really useful feature to add for all users by the way, at the moment clicking on somebody's name just gets a "No bikes allowed" page) you will see that they are a fairly notorious anti-cyclist, pro-motorist troll in the Nigel mould whose only purpose here is to cause annoyance and draw attention to themselves (and yes, I know I fall for it far too often).
"sometimes accidents happen".
Enough said.
Accidentally deciding to rage overtake a stalled car and using the oncoming lane despite it not being clear to do so.
It's disgusting that some people (including our "justice" system) believe that not seeing a clearly visible road user is some kind of mitigation when it's actually a very good reason to prevent that person from ever driving again. Whether or not they intended to main and injure is beside the point - if they can't drive safely then why are they allowed to hold a driving license?
He went on to suggest that surely all road.cc had made mistakes - that will undoubtedly be true, but I doubt many of us have driven under the influence of cannabis.
I'm not convinced that the cannabis influence is the main cause of his disastrous driving, but simply another reason why his license should be removed. It was his choice to perform that overtake in such a manner and I think focussing on whether he'd smoked or had a bad night's sleep or was just generally irritable and impatient is missing the point that when driving you are responsible for checking that it is safe to perform a maneouvre. Obviously, drinking drastically affects decision making and reaction times, but habitual smokers will often have no measurable change in reaction times or ability to make quick decisions. There has even been some studies that show that a habitual smoker may drive better when medicated to their usual level rather than feeling withdrawal affects (e.g. yawning, aversion to bright lights).
Possibly quoted due to a need to present a balanced report of comments and public opinion.
I probably cycle more mileage than most people on this site. I'm just not a left-wing, ignorant young person. The case was sad, but you have to understand how law works. Thankfully courts work on facts, not feelings and the lynch-mob on this site aren't working in the court. The guy in the car was a d**k, clearly, but the driver hasn't exactly got off scott-free. Is jailing him the best thing for the public? probably not. Most of London is on one kind of drugs or another. Its amazing how much drugs you can smell when cycling through urban and rural towns these days, so its hard for the court to say it was the drugs that caused him to pull out, not see the cyclist and cause the crash. Sometimes people just make mistakes when driving and he made one. Should his life be forever-ruined as a result of one mistake? Justice is what the courts dish out, not lynching. Thankfully the cyclist survived, which is the most important.
Should a cyclist's life be forever-ruined as a result of one driver's mistake? Is it justice to allow the driver to continue making driving mistakes and possibly ruin other people's lives?
To give a bit of perspective to this issue, consider that Just Stop Oil had activists jailed for five years simply for planning on delaying drivers on the M25. Should their lives be ruined for a peaceful demonstration to attempt to get the then government to simply do what the current government has now done in terms of not opening new coal mines or drilling new oil fields?
Did those anarchits intentionally plan do something? Yes they did. Easy for a court to convict. Facts, not feelings. The driver did not intentionally set out to hurt the cyclist at any point and you cant prove he did. He did something that 90% of motorists would do, regardless of drugs, sadly. I don't make the law. Just seems so little of you understand it.
Just Stop Oil are hyprochrits. They should protest in asia and stop preaching to the choir.
Quote "He did something that 90% of motorists would do"
IS that a FACT?
The facts of the matter are that violent protesters (e.g. the rabid right wing that were attacking police and aiming to kill asylum seekers) garner a shorter sentence than peaceful protesters. It's also notable how the court prevented the JSO defendants from using our climate emergency as a defense - that is not justice at work, but money from Big Oil at work.
I think you're confused about how the legal system works (or doesn't as the case may be). Careless/dangerous driving is based upon the driver's actions rather than intention i.e. that their driving falls far below the level of a careful and competent driver. Whether the driver intends their driving to be harmful to others or not is irrelevant to the offence.
Isn't it funny how protestors are always protesting in the wrong place, or in the wrong fashion or not quite how observers wish that they'd protest? It's almost as though oil apologists are pointing somewhere else and stating "well, they're also to blame so why should we not profit from selling new off-shore drilling licenses?"
By the way, do you have an impediment that causes you to write in the way that you do?
I didn't know that they were anarchists? Citation, please.
Anyhoo - I think Peter's complaint is that they were jailed for planning to do something that they didn't actually do.
I think there's a distinction between anarchists who believe that there should not be an "authority" and activists who believe (and have very strong evidence for) that the authorities are controlled by oil corporations who aim to make profit from the destruction of our habitats i.e. authorities that serve the interests of the 1% rather than everyone else.
Some of the protests went ahead, but the jail terms were for the planning of the disruption.
More info available here: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/14/climate/uk-climate-protests-policing-laws-prison-intl/index.html
Quote "Thankfully courts work on facts" and "Most of London is on one kind of drugs or another"
Can you please point me to the FACT that 50%+ of the inhabitants of London are on these drugs?
He is, therefore everyone is: impeccable logic.
You dismissed it as an accident.
You still don't get it.
I wasn't aware our ages were displayed next to our comments. Nor is calling for tougher sentencing for criminals, especially drug users, a particularly left-wing trait. As for the other adjective, there's only one person here so far making statements borne out of ignorance, and it's the "I'm the voice of the silent majority" (aka I repeat third-hand Daily Mail talking points) kind which is most common among those of the right-wing persuasion.
I cycled about 12,000 km last year, I'm definitely not young, I hope with a substantial amount of education up to postgraduate level and 30 years of experience as a volunteer, teacher, writer and editor (including substantial involvement in all those spheres with various aspects of the law and judiciary) I'm not entirely ignorant either. I am left-wing, it's true. I don't think any of the above should make my opinion on this case more valuable than anybody else's, I'm not sure why you think your self-declared "more mileage than most people on this site" (how on earth would you know what mileage most people on this site do?), age and purported lack of ignorance would make your opinion more valuable.
I think it's you who probably needs to understand how the law works. The Sentencing Council defines Category A culpability in cases of causing serious injury by careless driving as "just below threshold for dangerous driving and/or includes extreme example of a culpability B factor." One of the culpability B factors is "Unsafe manoeuvre or positioning"; quite clearly overtaking straight into the face of an oncoming cyclist so that you hit them head on is an extreme example of an unsafe manoeuvre or positioning. So therefore the culpability in this case is clearly Category A. We then move onto the "Harm" category: the highest level of harm (1) is:
Clearly categories one and three apply to the injuries caused to the victim.
Therefore we have a case with the highest level of culpability (A) and the highest level of harm (1). The Sentencing Council recommends a starting point of one year's custody for an A1 offence.
'Thankfully courts work on facts, not feelings'
Except when it comes down to the judge's sentencing in this case and many others.