Bingo cards ready...'cyclists don't pay boat tax'; Stay calm...Strava's back; Dreaded unclipping fail; Ganna tempted by Hour Record; Millionth cyclist; New Chain Reaction site splits opinion; Bike lane chat; GBDURO; National champs + more on the live blog

The pro road racers may be winding down, but here in the UK the hill climbing season is coming to the boil. Team Kirkley Cycles hosted its first event this weekend and handed out the unique prize of 'most knackered rider'. It doesn't matter how fast you go, just as long as you leave yourself in a ditch trying not to be sick then you're in with a chance.

I should at this point give props to Matty Smith for winning the event outright by one tenth of a second...but it was Mick Chappel who turned himself inside out for the most knackered rider award. As you can see from the picture above, it was well-earned.

Someone spotted this amusing graffiti too...

Don't forget the boat tax...

The pro road cycling calendar is almost finished for another year. I say almost because there is the small matter of deciding who gets to wear the British national champs' jerseys in 2022. That's being decided this week in Lincoln. The time trials are on Thursday, circuit races on Friday, before the main event of the road races on Sunday.

Both the men's and women's road races will have full live coverage through GCN+, Eurosport Player and British Cycling’s YouTube channel (UK-only), plus a full highlights programme on ITV4 at 7pm on Tuesday 19 October. Thursday's time trials aren't being broadcast live, but there will be a highlights programme on ITV4 at 7pm on Monday 18 October.

The circuit races have live coverage through GCN+, Eurosport Player and British Cycling’s YouTube channel (UK-only), plus a full highlights programme on ITV4 at 7pm on Monday 18 October.

Filippo Ganna spoke to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport at the Trento Festival of Sport and had some interesting things to say about the Hour Record. Asked if he has considered taking on Victor Campanaerts' record, the 25-year-old, who recently defended his world TT crown, said he will decide in the new year but had already conducted a half hour test where he'd beaten the Belgian's pace.

"I'll think about it in January, next summer. I tried in Montichiari after a period of altitude after the Giro, but it only lasted 30 minutes, and it was really tiring. I understand that everything must be planned well, it is something that requires an incredible effort. We will see in the future, we will talk about it later. Let's hope one day to uncork a good bottle of rosé to celebrate."

The Ineos Grenadiers rider also credited Elia Viviani with inspiring him to succeed on the track...

"He paved the way for us, he helped people rediscover the pleasure of watching on TV, thrilling us with the Rio gold that has changed many things. He showed us that we could grow and do something important. The track has something special. When you understand it, you won't give it up."

Talking of Ineos and Viviani, the Italian is rumoured to be rejoining the team for next season. The 32-year-old left the team, then under the Sky banner, in 2017 to join Deceuninck-Quick-Step, but has been unable to replicate his previous form in the past two seasons at Cofidis. One to keep an eye on.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Chain Reaction Cycles (@chainreactioncycles)

If you've been looking for some convenient supplies online over the weekend then you might have noticed Chain Reaction Cycles has a new website design. And, par for the course in the social media age, the reaction has been positive...

A quick scan at the most liked comments under this Insta post..."Looks kinda budget"..."Cool, but prefer the original"..."Old logo was well established and instantly recognisable and loved it. +1 for not a fan of the new look". 

Joe Besant reckoned he'd have done a better job on Paint, while Josh Jenner couldn't have cared less about the logo and just wanted to know when stuff won't be sold out...tough crowd.

Anyone a fan of Chain Reaction's new colours?

Elite cyclists who missed out on real life worlds medals in 2021 can hope their Zwift avatar will get them off to a flying start next year, as the UCI Esports World Champs is set to take place on 26th February. 

The UCI confirmed that Zwift will (virtually) host the championships once more, moving from Watopia to a course on its New York map this time around. This takes riders and viewers “100 years into the future with elevated glass roads that take riders high into the iconic Manhattan skyline”, on a two-lap, 54.9km ride with 944m of elevation*.  

Qualifying starts in November, and all hopefuls must use a Zwift-supported smart trainer or smart bike with accuracy equal to or better than +/-2% - more details can be found here, and the main even in February will be hosted on Zwift’s YouTube channel.

Zwift also staged the inaugural event in December 2020 – the men’s race was actually won by professional rower Jason Osborne, while Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio of SD Worx won the women’s event. 

* We’ll get in there before someone in the comments mentions it that yes, we’re fully aware that it is actually no kilometres and no metres of elevation… 

Why people on cycles might not use a cycle lane: an irregular series.

Getting up to speed takes loads of energy.
Riding on the road, a cyclist has right of way over side roads. If a cycle lane's design requires cyclists to give way frequently, it's rubbish.

📷 @ollywomump pic.twitter.com/yI3HJP64RH

— Jon Owen (@anotherJon) October 9, 2021

Jon Owen used Google Maps to demonstrate the problem with so many cycle lane routes...

We're about 75 metres into our trip, and here's our first junction. We want to go straight on, but there's no scope for that: instead, we must take a back street off to the right.

The crossing's a Zebra, so folks on cycles must dismount to cross. < Brakes on >
(5/x) pic.twitter.com/HQhXcOLLIW

— Jon Owen (@anotherJon) October 9, 2021

Brace yourselves: this could be the best bit.

At Kendal Cricket Club, despite the textiles, I'm going to suggest that there's a hint that side road traffic should give way to users of the shared space.

Maybe.

(12/n) pic.twitter.com/cNkG8sTyHa

— Jon Owen (@anotherJon) October 9, 2021

Lots of braking, stop starting, giving way. That all sounds familiar.

On the site this weekend we had the bizarre video of Nairo Quintana performing a Rhythmn of the Night remix while dressed as a chameleon. The performance on the Colmbian version of Masked Singer was pre-recorded and broadcast just hours  after Quintana had finished 11th at Il Lombardia, a race won by Tadej Pogačar.

In doing so, Pog became the first rider since Eddy Merckx to win two Monuments and the Tour de France in one year. Merckx was 24 when he first achieved that prestigious hat-trick, Pogačar has just turned 23...

Elsewhere in the racing world, there were no surprises on the final stage of the Women's Tour as Demi Vollering held on to her race lead into Felixstowe. World champion Elisa Balsamo picked up her first win in the rainbow bands, denying Lorena Wiebes a third consecutive stage win.

The other big stories of the weekend on site...Parkrun was accused of "normalising violent driving" by asking if participants could keep up with car travelling at 93mph...and Google Maps unveiled a new 'lite navigation' system specifically for cyclists.