"Peak UK nonsense": Disbelief from cyclists and walkers at "utterly bizarre" barriers and signage installed on popular route controversially closed by council; Pro cycling's next noughties-born superstar? + more on the live blog

You've been filling the comments section with thoughts on this... (what's the best way to describe it?)... bizarre (being kind)... face-palmingly baffling (being less so)... barrier. Let's get stuck in...

Benthic: "In a prominent display of ignorance, they have erected a 'no cycling' sign in addition to the 'no vehicles' sign."

mctrials23: "Luckily as a cyclist that barrier looks like a lovely little bunny hop." Too dangerous, I'm afraid... now get back on that fast, busy A-road...

I think Muddy Ford gets comment of the day however...

"Obviously someone key to the decision is an equestrian. They need to get off their high horse and allow the commoners access to what they were legally entitled to do."

Cue the puns...

hawkinspeter: "Has the route been closed furlong? Back in the day, it used to be that motor cars were only for the wealthy and horses were for the poor people, yet now it's only the wealthy that have horses and cars are for the poor. My, how the stables have turned."

Steve K: "Is it a mane road?"

And plenty more after that worth a chuckle. On a (marginally) more serious note...

Creakingcrank: "Somebody should talk to the horses, to find out why their lobbying for access was successful while the cyclists and pedestrians failed." 

Which would mean of course, as pointed out by the little onion, getting the answer straight from the horse's mouth... our work here is done...

Derbyshire County Council has published an open letter to residents on Derby Live, apologising for the deteriorating state of the county's roads and pledging to tackle the issue:

Dear residents

On seeing this, we can hear the immediate response: don't write about it, just fill them! We do agree but we also wanted to acknowledge the problem.

We're stating the obvious to say there's been a massive increase in potholes to what we would usually see. We’re sorry for this. Whilst we always prepare for winter, the last few months really have thrown exceptional things at us. Many communities sadly are still dealing with the destruction of October and Babet's floods (with a month of rain in a single day), November's freeze and snow, and December's double the usual rainfall. You're right though when you say this recent damage isn't the only problem: this has been decades in the making with ageing highways and reducing investment comparatively.

But we're not going to fluff or filibuster with reams of stats or politics on what we're facing. We're filling hundreds of potholes each day and have extra teams on. It doesn't matter though how many potholes we're filling if the one outside your house or on your journey is still there. You, rightly, don't care about the 90,000 we filled last year, just the ones that are there now. We're also not doing comparisons with other counties. What matters is Derbyshire.

So, we're further bumping up resources to deal with the current backlog and changing from how we usually do things to focus on wider fixes where we can. We've also started a resurfacing patch programme of an extra 250 sites where we have pothole hotspots.

We'll post further updates over the next few weeks on this but, crucially, we want you to see it on the roads in action. We know that's what will make the difference.

Just to touch on a few further points, we can't always resurface every road immediately. All the budget and resources still wouldn't make that possible given how far we cover.

Sometimes the weather or underlying road problems also means a repair won't last. So we have to do temporary repairs to try to make things safe. But we do try to do permanent repairs or resurfacing where we can. Likewise, we're reviewing the materials and methods we use so we can make sure we're using the most efficient and longest lasting solutions.

Many also ask why one road has received works over another which looks worse. We sometimes have to intervene at the point we do so it protects and prolongs the life of the road at a lower cost. This then means we can do more and focus on more places.

We’re also making the case nationally for more investment — this is starting to filter through, which is what means we can do the above, but we will keep working together with others on this.

As a final but no less important note, we're seeing an increase in abuse towards our staff who are out working on the network. We understand the frustration, and share it, but hope people don't take it out on those teams. In many cases they're working round the clock in often rubbish weather. Many are stepping into roles they don't usually do to help. They're doing the best they can so, genuinely, thank you to them.

We don’t doubt this letter will get criticism. It probably would've been easier not to do it when we read the comments back. But please take this for what it is: acknowledging the challenges and problems, and being open in what we're doing. We're human, we use our roads too and we want to sort this.

We'll be out too with the teams when we can. We know actions speak louder than words so please be assured that’s what we’re doing.

Tadej Pogačar is the highest-paid rider in the men's WorldTour, a new report published in La Gazzetta dello Sport has suggested. The Slovenian will earn €6 million this year, compatriot Primož Roglič's transfer to Bora-Hansgrohe reportedly seeing him jump to second in the earnings list on €4.5 million per year, while Jonas Vingegaard is third on €4 million.

Away from the Grand Tour big hitters, the Italian newspaper reports Mathieu van der Poel is also on €4 million a year, while Wout van Aert will be paid an estimated €3.5 million for his 2024 efforts.

[Alex Broadway/SWpix.com]

The top ten is rounded out by Remco Evenepoel (€2.8 million), British duo Tom Pidcock and Adam Yates (€2.7 million), and Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodriguez (€2.5 million). This does not include the commercial deals enjoyed by the aforementioned riders, so in reality the figures will be higher. Not bad... especially if you live in Andorra or Monaco...

"No athlete in my career has had such a strong appeal to brands," Pogačar's agent Alex Carera said. "In cycling, Pogačar can be seen as the most universal, the most versatile, the one with the greatest communicative reach."

The number of hit-and-run collisions in London has hit a record high, with a London Assembly member who carried out research on the issue concluding that the offence has been "almost normalised".

Caroline Russell was speaking to Ross Lydall of the Evening Standard, her research looking into the fact that there were 7,708 hit-and-run incidents recorded in 2021, the most on record for a year where data is available.

That is up 14 per cent on the 7,079 recorded in 2020, with 761 people seriously injured and 12 killed in hit-and-runs in 2021. This compared with 682 serious injuries and 14 fatalities in 2020. And while the shorter-term year-to-year statistics may also be impacted by Covid lockdowns, Russell explained that in the long-term the number of casualties in hit-and-runs in London had doubled since 2009.

The number of cyclists injured in London by hit-and-run drivers in 2021 was 1,859, with 1,327 pedestrians injured in incidents too.

"This apparent increase in irresponsible and dangerous driving on our roads is worrying," she said. "In 2021 there were nearly two-and-a-half times as many hit-and-run casualties on London's roads as there were in 2009. Not stopping after a collision seems to be almost normalised and the people that do it appear not to care about their victims or to fear any legal consequences."

The campaigner and Green Party London Assembly member has called on the city's mayor Sadiq Khan to establish an action plan to reduce such offences as part of the wider Vision Zero project.

If you missed our story on the Public Accounts Committee's report on the Department for Transport's work on active travel here's your bullet point summary:

• Not on track to meet its active travel targets by 2025
• Not ensured active travel schemes are sufficiently joined-up with wider transport infrastructure
• Failed to communicate effectively with the public to help tackle perceptions that active travel is unsafe or to encourage more people to take part
• Is holding back local authorities from delivering on projects due to "considerable uncertainty" in funding

Yep, not the most positive appraisal...

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