"Why I skip red lights": Journalist makes the case for cyclists riding through reds; Finish fisticuffs as Benoît Cosnefroy grabs British rider after sprinting incident; Jumbo-Visma pro tests positive + more on the live blog

"Why I skip red lights": Journalist makes the case for cyclists riding through reds (so long as they give pedestrians priority)https://t.co/9vfrjViSVN pic.twitter.com/BWfSN4wvx0

— road.cc (@roadcc) August 17, 2023

Just a few comments on this one... let's get cracking and hopefully we're all done in time for tea...

Sriracha: "Of course it is safer for the cyclist to make the left turn before the adjacent HGV does the same. But I don't think having cyclists jump red lights is the answer. Longer term I'd like to see separate lights for cyclists (like the little ones you see in France) that would go green ahead of the main lights, anywhere where there is a cycle box/ASL (which need to be the norm, not the exception)."

Rendel Harris: "While I'd be happy for cyclists to be allowed through red lights in certain situations - left turn on red for example – I think it would be an horrendous mistake to allow them to run reds on pedestrian crossings. Just last night I was watching our bikes outside East Dulwich station whilst Herself picked up some shopping, in five minutes I saw at least a dozen cyclists run through the red at the pelican crossing whilst pedestrians were on it; at least half of them were riding in excess of 20 mph (it's at the bottom of a hill) and had to swerve around people crossing.

"If this is the way people behave when it's totally illegal, I can't see any improvement occurring if it was made legal. Any legislation to allow any leeway for cyclists at lights must remember the hierarchy of road users and have pedestrian safety as its #1 priority."  

neilmck: "In France there will be a little sign with arrows on the traffic light telling you which directions you can go on red. Whether or not there are these signs depends whether or not there is a cyclist working in the local town hall (this can also be determined by looking at the width of the cycle lanes).

"I commute 50km by bicycle everyday in Paris and I generally go through red lights in the outer Parisian region where there is very light traffic and no pedestrians, however I would never do so (except at a signalled junction) in central Paris (there is just too much happening to be safe)."

Kerry Palmer: "It's been legal in some States in the US since 1982... and most of the evidence found it's safer."

Fair few Facebook comments, I'd suggest without actually reading the article in question, missing out completely the idea Sophie suggested it become law... and instead just piling into one great big anti-cycling bingo round. Gives 'em something to do at lunch, I guess...

Morgoth985: "Seems to me that a lot of the objections to the going through red lights idea are along the lines of 'don't break the law, it will just encourage drivers to do the same'. But if it was a change to the HC then it wouldn't be breaking the law.

"Granted, it would be giving some road users a right that others don't have, which might annoy the 'have nots', but too bad, that's actually the idea, and wouldn't be the only instance.  [edit: I meant the extra right is the idea, not the annoyance, although who knows, maybe that would be worth it too!]"

More good news for Jumbo-Visma's website to move things on from the past 24 hours...

PERFECT 🔟

Primoz Roglic storms to his 10th victory of the season!@rogla | @JumboVismaRoad | #VueltaBuegos pic.twitter.com/l85uMWjI7Z

— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 17, 2023

[Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com]

We touched on Ben Tulett's Ineos exit a bit earlier while trying to work out the absence of Michel Hessmann's positive test from Jumbo-Visma's website. The latest departure means the team has just 15 riders signed up for next season, half of how many are currently on their books.

And while it would mean just needing three of the hideous self-named 4x4s to ferry the entire squad about, one guesses fulfilling a WorldTour calendar with such scarce numbers might be slightly more challenging.

Tao Geoghegan Hart is off to Lidl-Trek, Daniel Martínez to Bora-Hansgrohe, Pavel Sivakov to UAE and Tulett to Jumbo. Of course, the 11 remaining out of contract riders can still extend their stay, but we'd expect some reinforcements soon... unless the 2024 plan is just Pidcock, Bernal, Kwiatkowski and Geraint Thomas to ride all three Grand Tours, with Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling doing the work of two riders each...

I'm not sure what to say about this, to be honest...

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dr. Of All Things Bizarre (@bizarredoctor)

Good potential for comment section punning, I guess... 

> Do the latest track bikes favour wealthier nations, and how will the UCI respond?

Drama after yesterday's Tour du Limousin sprint, British rider Lewis Askey bearing the brunt of Benoît Cosnefroy's ire... 

A close call! There was drama today at the finish of stage two of the Tour du Limousin, as Luca Mozzato won his first career victory in a hectic bunch sprint!

Watch all the action over on GCN+ 👉 https://t.co/8FSJcLL3Gx (territory restrictions apply) #tourdulimousin #gcnracing pic.twitter.com/PTykwrXbqe

— GCN Racing (@GcnRacing) August 16, 2023

Askey later explained he had gone to see the Frenchman to explain what had happened from his viewpoint, adding that they had shaken hands and there is "no bad blood".

Cosnefroy gave his side of the story too... "You have to look at the last 150 metres. It's the game to put me in the box, but from there to put me at the feet of barriers... It's his job to put me in the box, if he does it — there's no problem, but between putting myself in the box so that I don't pass and putting me at the feet of barriers, there is a difference.

"We already take enough risks on the bike, we are often afraid for our lives, and when you see yourself touching the barrier feet, I can tell you that it's scary. The team worked superbly, so I wanted to look for the win and I felt that I had it surely in my legs. no more fear at the finish, that's just it."