“It’s a fantastic pension scheme”: Chris Froome branded “the worst signing in cycling history” and a “half-time clown” by former pro after “undignified, meagre” season; Froome admits “I’m not looking for victories” + more on the live blog

So, for reasons unbeknownst to even myself, after falling down an internet music rabbit hole late last night, I stumbled across quite possibly the oddest website I’ve ever seen (even counting the road.cc live blog)… a little page called the ‘Time Traveling Wilburys Generator’.

The generator does what it says on the tin – based on the respective ages of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne at the time the Wilburys were founded in 1988, it allows you to form your own equivalent supergroup from any year of your choosing.

And, when I gave 1992 a whirl in the generator, look who popped up in the line-up – only Britain’s most famous long-distance e-bike cyclo-tourist and one-hit wonder, Timmy Mallett…

I can picture the scene now:

Altogether now – ‘Well, it’s all right, cycling around in the breeze…’

Yeah, it’s that time of the week, alright.

Less than a week after earning plaudits from cyclists for accusing the previous Conservative administration of pursuing “poisonous culture wars against road users of all descriptions”, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has been criticised by road safety campaigners this afternoon, after penning an article supporting lower car insurance premiums, in which she argued that “owning a car for most people is a lifeline, not a luxury”.

In the article for the Mirror, titled “When people are priced out of driving it risks holding them back”, Labour minister Haigh wrote that “car insurance is an essential for millions up and down the country”.

“It’s not just a legal requirement, but something that protects all of us on the road. Yet, in recent years, millions of responsible drivers have seen a hike in premiums far outstripping rises seen in other countries,” she said.

“That’s why this government stood on a manifesto commitment to tackle the rising cost of car insurance. We promised to back drivers and today, we’re making good on that promise.”

> Conservative government “pursued poisonous culture wars” between cyclists and drivers, says new transport secretary – as Labour vows to “take back streets” for all road users

Launching a new taskforce this afternoon, which will include Which? and Citizens Advice, along with representatives from the insurance, price comparison, and car industries, Haigh says she will “bring together industry experts and consumer champions with a simple aim: to reduce high premiums and get drivers a fair deal”.

“I know insurance is a complex market, with many factors affecting prices. But this government was elected to serve working people, and fix parts of the economy that had stopped working for them,” she continued.

“That’s why we’re determined to take action. Because owning a car for most people is a lifeline, not a luxury.

“When people are priced out of driving it risks holding them back from accessing work or medical services; visiting family and friends; or even being able to drop the kids to school.

“It means harder times for families already struggling to get by. I won’t let that happen. That’s why delivering a fair deal for drivers is central to this government’s mission to grow the economy and create opportunities for everyone, wherever they live.”

> Labour government to invest "unprecedented levels of funding" in cycling

Haigh’s ambition to stop people being “priced out of driving” hasn’t gone down too well, however, with cyclists and road safety campaigners.

“A politician could show leadership qualities by explaining that a key reason for high premiums is that drivers are NOT DRIVING AS WELL AS THEY SHOULD BE,” Robert Davis, the chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, wrote on social media this afternoon in response to Haigh’s new taskforce.

“Louise Haigh, couldn’t you have mentioned that people driving badly and causing crashes is a key reason – if not THE key reason – for high insurance premiums?”

Turning his attention to the Transport Secretary’s claim that owning a car is a “lifeline, not a luxury”, Davis continued: “Half the households in my borough in London do not have access to a car. Do we not have ‘a lifeline’?

“Do you want us to have cars and add on to the number of car journeys which the Mayor of London is – correctly – trying to CUT?

“If you want to make things cheaper for the poorest (who in urban areas are in households unlikely to have access to a car), how about shelling out billions for housing etc. etc. first?”

On the list of tasks Haigh implied was impossible without a car, Davis added: “So how do you think those without cars do these things?

“And don’t you want us to be able to do these things by using active travel and public transport? Do you want us to all have cars and INCREASE the amount of motor traffic making decarbonisation targets and much else impossible?

“We thought that you were interested in kids going to school (and much else) by active travel or public transport – please don't disappoint us!”

I think after last week’s cycling PR boost for the Transport Secretary, we’ll call that one a score draw.

A small, family-run e-bike business in Melbourne has been left decimated after it was engulfed in flames twice in one day following an arson attack by ram raiders driving a suspected stolen BMW – with Australian police even suggesting that the bike shop wasn’t even the intended target of the attack.

Cargocycles, in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East, was destroyed after a group of unknown offenders rammed an allegedly stolen BMW into its garage door at around 2.55am on Tuesday morning, before entering the shop and setting it, along with the car, alight.

Police have been told that one of the attackers also accidentally set his own arm on fire, and was spotted by witnesses running from the scene.

(David Crosling)

Sky News reports that emergency services quickly gained control of the fire, moving the shop’s array of now-destroyed e-bikes – which also included those belonging to customers that were in the process of being serviced – into a pile outside.

However, while checking the bikes to ensure all the flames had been extinguished, a lithium battery belonging to one of the e-bikes exploded, setting off a second fire.

“We were devastated to be targeted by ram raiders and firebombed last night,” Cargocycles posted on Facebook following the attack, which destroyed their entire shop.

“Police, arson chemists and insurance are investigating so we will keep you posted on socials. We are a small family-run business and are passionate about cycling and will reopen as soon as we can. Thanks for your support during this difficult time.”

Cargocycles in Brunswick was unfortunately burnt down in this ram raid. My friend’s cargo bike was in for servicing and was completely destroyed. ☹️ https://t.co/7DXJ45vgNf pic.twitter.com/Bn9v67avmr

— Stephen B (@BicycleAdagio) October 15, 2024

9News has since reported that the bike shop, however, was not the intended target of the attack, with local police reporting that the gym upstairs – which has links to a prominent criminal underworld figure and which only moved to the area in April, after it was gutted by another fire – appears to have been the focus of the arson attack.

Chris Froome may be the current favourite punching bag of the ex-pro punditry clique, but the four-time Tour de France winner is at least realistic and honest about his own standing within the peloton of 2024.

Speaking to Wielerflits at the Tour of Guangxi, 39-year-old Froome admitted that he’s no longer aiming for individual victories on the road, as he enters what is expected to be the final year of his career at Israel-Premier Tech.

Froome’s last pro victory came at the 2018 Giro d’Italia, which he won in dramatic fashion following a breathtaking long-range attack on the Colle delle Finestre on stage 19.

However, since his career-threatening crash at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné, the British rider has experienced a dramatic dip in form, his third-place finish on Alpe d’Huez at the 2022 Tour de France, behind winner Tom Pidcock, remarkably remaining the only top ten he’s recorded since joining Israel-Premier Tech the previous year.

(ASO/Pauline Ballet)

When asked by Weilerflits for the one goal he hopes to achieve during the final year of his contract at IPT, Froome laugh: “Good question, good question! I’m going to sit down with the team at the end of the season and figure out what next year looks like, and get stuck into it.”

Are you still looking for results yourself, the Dutch cycling site asked.

“No, no,” Froome quickly responded. “At this point, I’m looking to just do what I can in the sport, and realistically I’m not looking for victories myself. I love the sport, I love riding my bike, that makes it a lot easier.”

When asked if he’d settled into a new domestique role at Israel-Premier Tech, the kind he was accustomed to before his dramatic emergence at the 2011 Vuelta, Froome added: “I don’t know if it’s a new role, I’ve always done a job if I can help a teammate to try and win, and I’m happy to do that.”

Britain’s Joe Blackmore sprints alongside Remco Evenepoel at the 2024 Tour of Britain (Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

One of those riders currently being helped by Froome, of course, is Joe Blackmore, the 21-year-old British pro who won the Tour de l’Avenir in the summer before finishing fifth overall at the Tour of Britain, and who is currently racing in Guangxi with Froome.

“In terms of the future for Britain, I think he’s got a great chance of developing into a very big rider,” the 39-year-old said. “I’m not necessarily looking for their respect, but I enjoy working with youngsters and sharing all the experience I’ve had over the course of my career.”

Asked about his own legacy in the sport, Froome continued: “Obviously I’ll be able to reflect a little bit more when I finish my career, but I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved and happy to still be doing what I love most.”

Froome during his final Tour win in 2017 (Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

And, even if he’s not aiming for big wins anymore, Froome can at least enjoy some of the perks of being a pro cyclist for another year, including trips to far-flung places in October.

“Discovering new cultures like this has become a big part of professional cycling, I think, getting to travel the world and see places you’d normally never get to see,” he said.

“I have definitely been to places this season that I haven’t expected, or been to before. Rwanda was on the programme out in Africa, I’ve been to Romania this year, and now to Guangxi.”

Well, I suppose that’s one way of looking at prolonging your cycling career past the point of it being professionally viable, the free trips…

Ouch. These trips to Turkey are getting out of hand…