Jeremy Vine films impatient driver who gets stopped at next set of lights; Disc brake debate continues as Movistar pro says they're more dangerous; BBC accused of "cyclist-bashing" story; Cav's second debut; Dutch flooding + more on the live blog

Isla Rowntree, who founded the popular children's bike brand in 2006,  will step back to be replaced by her first employee Tim Goodallas managind director. After meeting Rowntree at a bike race, Goodhall started out as assembling bikes for the company, working his way up through his 15 years of service. 

Rowntree said: “It has long been my ambition to build a lasting company, so passing on the baton to someone who shares my values has been of the utmost importance. I firmly believe in businesses being a force for good; a vehicle for individuals to have a greater positive impact on society than we usually can alone”.  

Goodall commented: “The humble bicycle is a phenomenally efficient vehicle that can benefit our towns and cities. We are at the consumer end of this, and with thoughtful design we can play a small part in encouraging people to cycle more - that is why Islabikes was founded, and it is why we will remain relentlessly focused on designing bikes that remove barriers to cycling”.

There's a new Strava update that lets you search for activities or special races without having to scroll through your feed. Searches are done using keywords or filtered by sport type, distance, time, elevation and date range. You can now also see how many activities you've completed in your Training Log or Activities section by clicking on the magnifying glass icon.

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— Wayne™ (@Dog_in_a_hat) February 10, 2021

Three giveaways that you're a cyclist...

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— James (@jayshi2105) February 10, 2021

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— James (@jayshi2105) February 10, 2021

#JoyRidersOxford is getting ready to take off! @katherinesmiles @cllrbartington @maryoxford @CoHSATOxon @OxonCyclingNet @oxcivicsoc
Spread the word so more women can find out how to become a volunteer JoyRiders' Ride Leader
5 info sessions to choose fromhttps://t.co/wDttVQwNXW

— JoyRiders Oxford (@JoyRidersOxford) February 7, 2021

JoyRiders, the women's cycling network, has set up a new group in Oxford as part of their plan to run 400 rides across the country, focusing on helping female cyclists gain the confidence to cycle. With men making up roughly 72% of journeys by bike in the UK, JoyRiders aims to encourage and empower more women to get involved. Once Covid restrictions allow they hope to continue their group rides in London and Oxford and have plans to expand to Manchester too.

Dr Alison Hill, chairwoman of Oxford's cycling group Cyclox told the Oxford Mail: "It is so exciting to know that JoyRiders will be coming to Oxford. Support for women by women through JoyRiders is a brilliant way of building confidence.”

Winner of the @Clasica_Almeria back in 2015, @MarkCavendish is making his first appearance of the season at the Spanish race, part of a very strong Deceuninck - Quick-Step team: https://t.co/RMfF25uJ1Z pic.twitter.com/cWEhYg9nw5

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) February 10, 2021

Mark Cavendish will make his second Deceuninck-Quick-Step debut this weekend, at Clasica de Almeria – the race he won in 2015. That year Cav went on to win Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and a stage of the Tour de France. Normally a race for the sprinters, Quick-Step will have two or three sprint cards to play with Colombian Alvaro Hodeg and young prospect Jannik Steimle both also on the Wolfpack's startlist for the race.

"Like every rider in these times I’m excited to get the season underway. We are fortunate that the races can go ahead and I’m even more excited to pull on the jersey of the Wolfpack once again and race with the boys. The fact it will happen at an event which brings back a lot of beautiful memories makes it even more special”, Cav said ahead of his first race back at the team where he won 44 races between 2013 and 2015.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Elia Viviani (@eliaviviani)

Elia Viviani is back in training after three weeks off the bike due to a cardiac arrhythmia. Viviani underwent atrial ablation surgery to treat the arrhythmia, which he noticed while out on the bike last month. Before the surgery, he explained that he was doing normal strength-resistace work at 140-150 beats per minute when he felt palpitations and his heart rate rocketed to 220 beats per minute 20 seconds later. 

Viviani sought out his old Liquigas doctor Roberto Corsetti before undergoing tests at hospital. His return to training at Cofidis' team camp in Benidorm is a big relief for the Italian sprinter who is still hoping to get his season underway at the UAE Tour later this month before heading to the Giro d'Italia in May. 2020 was something of a disappointment for Viviani who failed to win a race all year, the first time he's failed to do so since 2009.

Looking at the picture, they aren’t wearing collars - they are wearing harnesses. Difficult to slip.
Unleashed dogs spooked by cyclists I can believe. But who leaves one of three to wander esp if there are roads nearby?

— Debra 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺 💙 3m paths. Wear a mask (@dmstorr) February 9, 2021

The BBC has been accused of "cyclist-bashing" for their reporting of a story about a dog on the Isle of Wight which was running free when it collided with a cyclist and narrowly avoided being run over by a bus driver. The BBC's story, headlined 'Scooby the dog rescued by police after being hit by cyclist', some cyclists have said, ignores the fact that the owner had lost control of the dog.

The dog's owner Jackie Dale says the basset hound named Scooby slipped its collar when a group of cyclists "came whizzing from nowhere". One commenter claimed that they were walking on a National Cycle Network path when the cyclists passed. Scooby had tyre marks on its back and was found away from the scene by PCSO Stephen Hull who said the dog also narrowly avoided being hit by a bus driver.

Since posting the story the BBC has received criticism from cyclists who say the story unnecessarily frames the bike riders as having run the dog over, rather than questioning why the dog was out of control. Scooby was reunited with its owner who said she hopes "this will be a warning to cyclists".

On Facebook, Bob Moore commented on the story saying: "This is the flimsiest pretext to run a cyclist-bashing article I've ever seen." Leonora Fletcher added, "Slipped its collar. So basically it was running loose then. Wish people would read the article and not just the headline."

I assume the bus "came out of nowhere" too.

— Llama Lout (@LlamaLout) February 9, 2021