Howard Cox says cyclists who “rule highways” are overtaking drivers in 20mph zones; Motorists drive on pavement to avoid protests; Epidemiologist claims Roglič wore mask at Giro; Supermarket wars in peloton; fake race accounts + more on the live blog

> Belgian pro cyclist placed in coma undergoes spinal surgery after training crash

Custom bike designer and sensational modder Gustav Gullholm aka Dangerholm is back with his eye-catching bikes and this time, he has once again tried his hands at a road bike.

And the Swede has proven his Midas Touch, with a Scott Foil RC Liquid featuring a "liquid gold" custom special effects paint job, shifts dramatically from being completely transparent, allowing the black carbon fiber to be visible as if just clear coated, to flipping between green, gold and in some angles even blue tones.

> Dangerholm’s 7.49kg Scott Contessa Addict gravel bike

Known for making incredibly lightweight mountain bikes, his iteration at the road bike also weighs in at just 7.1kgs with the Scott Foil chassis.  He said: "I decided that I would try to take the essence of the Foil to the next level, building an aero bike with elegance and performance turned up to 11. To make it a bike that appears as a whole and not as a selection of parts and components simply put together.

"The goal was that it would in some ways resemble and bring the feeling of looking at a beautiful super car. Things like having matching body panels, small logos, clean tires with no big brand patches and so on - but a bicycle."

We'll have a deep-dive on this miracle coming out soon on our Bike @Bedtime series, so stay tuned for that, but I'll give you my two cents: I think the madman has outdone himself this time!

> The Dangerholm Scott Foil - A masterclass in custom built bikes

It's that time of the year again. Fake race accounts trying to scam or phish you into doing something unwise and leaving you pretty embarrassed. If you've been one of those people, it's fine, mistakes do happen, even by the best of us.

But here's the road.cc PSA, with the help of Paul James' tweet, that please don't open any messages or click on any links sent to you by genuine-looking race accounts (I know, we all dream of getting DM'ed by TdF, don't we...)

Hey Cycling Twitter a fake tour of Norway are sending people message saying they’ve won a prize and to claim it using some link. After I replied they blocked me.

The actual ToN is @tourofnorway. The fake one is @tourofnorway_ with the dash #Cycling #Scam pic.twitter.com/WC7pCpkO4J

— Paul James 🇯🇪 (@JerseyPaul90) May 31, 2023

Several other cyclists also reportedly got DMs from this fake Tour of Norway account. Another user John Maguire also mentioned that the actual ToN account is running a competition right now, which makes things worse.

The news comes just two weeks after Jumbo-Visma's account got hacked and became a cryptocurrency-advertising and Musk-retweeting account. These pesky scammers I tell you...

After epidemiologist Dr Eric Feigl-Ding embarassed himself a little bit after getting his facts completely wrong in claiming that 2023 Giro d'Italia winner Primož Roglič wore a mask during the "strenuous mountain time trial", which eventually won him the title over Geraint Thomas, another nephrologist has weighed in on whether you shoud wear a mask when on the bike.

Dr Satoshi Akima from Australia replied under Dr Feigl-Ding's tweet, saying "cycling in an N95 is the new normal" for him. "I'd recommend the valved versions as they are more breathable and don't trap heat. Valves are designed with exercise/labour in mind,"  he added, referring to the 3M (9322+ P2) N95 mask.

Cycling in an Ν95 is the new normal for me. I'd recommend the valved versions as they are more breathable and don't trap heat. Valves are designed with exercise/labour in mind. https://t.co/lNFZf8reO1

— Dr Satoshi Akima FRACP 『秋間聰』 (@ToshiAkima) June 1, 2023

Dr Feigl-Ding did make a point about masks helping to reduce inhaling of car's fumes from the exhaust when riding behind one in traffic, but what do you think? I know I struggled when I once tried doing it in 2020, seems so long ago...

Active Travel England has confirmed that it is now officially a statutory consultee on all planning applications for developments equal to or exceeding 150 housing units, 7,500m2 of floorspace or an area of five hectares.

The new role will enable Active Travel England to help planning authorities in their work to implement good active travel design – for example, by ensuring developments include walking, wheeling and cycling connectivity to schools and local amenities. This will help improve public health, save people money and reduce harmful emissions.

> Active Travel England rates councils' capability to deliver infrastructure — 94% fall in lowest three categories

Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said: "Active travel is essential to improving public health, reducing emissions and tackling the cost of living crisis. That’s why we’re working to ensure millions more people have the opportunity to walk, wheel or cycle from their doorstep to where they need to be.

"Designing activity back into our neighbourhoods and creating places where children have transport independence is achievable – it just needs smart planning.

"As a statutory consultee Active Travel England will work with planning authorities and developers to help them ensure new estates give people what they need to get fresh air and exercise, save money on petrol and help fight climate change.”

> “It’s about the safety of our kids”: Residents claim proposed cycleway could put children playing in danger

At least Sussex police is up to some good.

A cycle lane isn’t a parking space! ❌

Following complaints from the local community about this vehicle being abandoned for a number of days it has been ticketed and recovered. pic.twitter.com/DyWlSRPnKL

— PC Tom Van Der Wee (@PCTomVanDerWee) June 1, 2023

2023 Trek rider wheelie Giro d'Italia stage 15 Bergamo (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

We've got a new rivalry going on in the peloton, and it's one you don't want to find yourself in the middle aisle of.

After Trek-Segafredo confirmed that German discount supermarket Lidl will be taking over the team as the title sponsor from 30 June, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty was apparently left a bit shaken, maybe even stirred, at the presence of a new sheriff in town.

In a now deleted tweet, the Belgian team which is sponsored by the French supermarket giant Intermarché, shared the gif of the Special One, the Judas, the serial winner José "respect, respect, respect" Mourinho from a post-match conference during his (second) stint as a Chelsea manager, where he said: "I prefer not to speak, if I speak I am in big trouble".

While he said this about the refereeing during his team's loss to Aston Villa, I'm sure José will have something to say about the refereeing in yesterday's Europa League final...

Anyway, I am mildly excited to see where this feud goes next in the peloton. Maybe a competition to see who has the most outrageously garrish kit? (I, for one, would welcome this wholeheartedly...)

Intermarche-Circus-Wanty's Biniam Girmaye on a TT bike (Zac Williams/SWpix)

An NHS Wales' survey has found that a majority of the Welsh population support reallocating local road space to improve active travel — 75 per cent in favour of reallocating it for walking and 68 per cent in favour of reclaiming space for cycling.

In fact, 64 per cent of people said they are interested in increasing the amount of active travel they do, with 21 per cent claiming they were "very interested" in the same. I wonder what's stopping them from doing so?

Most people in Wales support the reallocation of space for active travel. So why aren't we seeing this delivered on the ground? https://t.co/0SkfOlM3UL

— Cycling UK Cymru (@CyclingUK_Wales) June 1, 2023

We are all prone to speaking our mind a bit too quickly without checking what's right or wrong, right?

It's a shame that a leading American epidemiologist wrongly, and quite naively thought that Primož Roglič won the final nail-biting, gut-wrenching and action-packed time-trial at the Giro d'Italia... while wearing a mask.

> Heartbreak for Geraint Thomas as Primož Roglič seals sensational Giro d’Italia win despite dropping chain during dramatic time trial

Let this sink in—N95/FFP2-wearing cyclist @rogla just won elite @giroditalia 🚴‍♂️race! This man even won a strenuous mountain ⛰️time trial while wearing a mask. Several top contenders got knocked out with #COVID. No more “can’t breathe in a mask” excuses. 🚵‍♀️pic.twitter.com/94rVxSCOuj

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 31, 2023

And as you'd expect, it's given all sorts of Covid deniers and anti-maskers just the right ammo to have a field day with this honestly astonishing tweet. Maybe Feigl-Ding could have just, you know, Googled it? Or looked at the countless other images where they are not parading with their bikes and actually on the road? Or maybe he took our April Fools too seriously...

3) honestly masking to reduce inhaling car’s 🚗 exhaust when riding a bike behind time-keeping cars spewing fumes isn’t a bad idea either. https://t.co/XRVITEpX4l

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 31, 2023