Jeremy Vine on 5's 'dobbing in drivers' debate attracts worrying comments; Police release image of cyclist after pedestrian dies in collision; British Cycling redundancies; Cop knocks cyclist off at Portland demo; Welsh 20mph limit + more on the live blog

If you have a British Cycling race licence, then any races you do manage to take part in will not be point-scoring. British Cycling say: "Following internal and external consultation, British Cycling can also confirm today that events across all disciplines will be designated as non-ranking for the remainder of 2020, or until further notice.

"Given that riders will not be able to claim ranking points, no rider will be moved down a licence category at the end of the year, while those who collected sufficient points to move up a category prior to the suspension of racing in March will be able to retain that higher category. It is hoped that the opportunity to race new formats across a variety of disciplines will encourage many new riders to come and get involved."

A 'collective consultation process' has began at British Cycling to make 38 roles redundant, which will affect 31 staff as seven of those roles are already vacant.

CEO Julie Harrington, commented: “This is a decision we would rather not have to make but one we are taking in a measured way and with due care for the well-being of our employees.

“Since March we have furloughed over two-thirds of the workforce under the government’s job retention scheme – a huge team effort which means that many jobs which would have been lost, have been saved.

“Had we not taken those steps then, our situation now would be more severe. However, with income still limited and the likelihood that our sport will continue to be affected into the winter months, we have no other option than to cut costs.

“As a not-for-profit organisation, all revenues we make are invested in cycling and these steps are necessary so that we can continue to deliver on our three strategic priorities – a healthy domestic sport, growing participation, and supporting our most talented riders to achieve their best."

The announcement also says that British Cycling has submitted their action plan to the government, which lays out a 'phased return' process for racing to restart. This would mean that all events other than road racing would start to pick up from 1st August as part of Stage Four of its six-stage plan to resume all cycling activities. There is no set date for progression to Stage Five yet, which would permit a return of all competitive and non-competitive event formats and wider indoor facility access.

Have a couple of spare Pirelli F1 tyres lying around? You could always use them to make a very impressive and very inefficient bicycle like this guy. At least you won't be needing a kickstand...

Are you using clinchers in training? Or did @BahrainMcLaren get both clincher and tubular versions from @ContiTyres?

— MeridaProRoadRacing (@MeridaProRoad) July 17, 2020

The team have equipped their Meridas with the handsome new special edition tan wall rubber from Continental, made in tribute to the Tour de France. As noted by the Merida Pro Road Racing Twitter account, these were launched as clinchers only... so does that mean the team are training on clinchers, or have Continental made some tubular versions for pros as well? That would make them special edition versions of special edition tyres, as if they weren't already special enough... in any case, we'll make some enquiries to see if we can find out. 

I have bought a dash cam after nearly being killed by a bike. Swerving to avoid a hole in the road I had to swerve to miss him and nearly had a head on collision, as he drove off into the sunset totally unaware.

— Mark from Stockport (@marktay13350168) July 17, 2020

How was the man on his fone doing anything wrong?. He was in a traffic jam at a stand still. He wasn’t driving. I’ve done the same..

— tracy (@tracy19114619) July 17, 2020

Perhaps they should receive the kind support of the "fist of friendship"... They're breaching GDPR rules and deserve a good kicking!!! 💩💩💩

— Patrick McCarthy (@McCarthaigh1953) July 17, 2020

Dob? If I see one cyclist
Not wearing a safety helmet. Or high viz. Run a red light. Not have lights on bikes. Then I will seek pleasure in annoying them and grassing them in

— Andrew Meldrum (@AndrewMeldrum16) July 17, 2020

The Channel 5 show, hosted by cycle-friendly broadcaster Jeremy Vine, was this morning discussing camera cyclists "dobbing in drivers", after well-known YouTuber CycleGaz recently announced he had amassed £20,000 in fines through his reporting to the police. Viewers were also shown a clip from another well-known camera cyclists CyclingMikey, where a driver is caught using their phone at the wheel. It's fair to say not everyone who replied to the thread above agrees with their actions, and come up with increasingly nonsensical reasons for this. Perhaps Patrick McCarthy needs a light refresher on what GDPR is, and we're thinking that Andrew Meldrum might be disappointed if he reports a cyclist for not wearing a helmet or high-vis...  

What do you think, are CycleGaz and Cycling Mikey doing us a useful public service, or are they infringing upon the rights of people who should be free to use their phones while driving without fear of being snitched on? (Yes, that is a leading question). 

WATCH - Portland Police officers knock a protester off of his bicycle and arrest him outside of Lownsdale Square Park near the Federal Courthouse downtown #LiveOnK2 pic.twitter.com/tow0GzeyzW

— Dan McCarthy (@DanMcKATU) July 16, 2020

The latest example of alleged police brutality from the states comes amid huge demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, as the footage shows a cyclist being knocked to the ground before another five officers rush over to assist. 

Longer clip. This was part of a Facebook Live I was shooting.
Prior to the tackle, the bicyclist was riding up SW 4th in downtown Portland, when an officer made a move towards him.
When he turned back down the street- they took him down.
We've reached out to PPB for more info pic.twitter.com/a9NXixKMhF

— Dan McCarthy (@DanMcKATU) July 16, 2020

Some on social media are questioning why the officers used heavy force; however in the longer clip above, Dan McCarthy of KATU News says the cyclist was riding back down a street the other way because an officer previously "made a move towards him". The cyclist has now been identified as Brandon Thomas, according to KATU News, and Portland Police Bureau said he was arrested for interfering with a police officer and disorderly conduct. The incident was also referred to PPB's Professional Standards Division.

To salvage some of the huge fundraising cash that would have gone towards charities over the RideLondon weekend, organisers are encouraging those who would have done the event to cycle one of the distances "from wherever they are in the world". Participants simply sign up for the free event, select the length of their challenge (100 miles, 46 miles, 19 miles or 'FreeCycle') and then take part in the ride at any time over the weekend of 15-16 August. An app will be provided that includes a GPS tracker so participants' friends and family can follow them, plus a direct donation button for the participant's chosen charity. 

RideLondon say the event was created to generate some much-needed funds for charities, as the charity sector has been decimated by COVID-19. They say there is a £10 billion funding gap in the sector as a whole, thousands of staff are on furlough and one in 10 charities are facing bankruptcy.

Event Director Hugh Brasher commented: “After the disappointment of the cancellation of Prudential RideLondon, we were determined to create something special for our riders, partners and the hundreds of charities that rely on the event for vital income.

“My Prudential RideLondon is building on the success of The 2.6 Challenge – created following the postponement of the London Marathon - which became the biggest collective fundraising effort in the world involving nearly 4,000 charities.

“Charities desperately need help to continue to provide vital services to every sector of society and fund critical research. In this socially-distanced world, it’s also vitally important to encourage people to get on two wheels rather than use public transport. The My Prudential RideLondon campaign has been created to achieve both these aims.

“My Prudential RideLondon is completely free and offers a fundraising challenge for everyone, whether that’s an amateur rider doing 100 miles or a family enjoying a 1km bike ride together. It can be done wherever you are and at any time on 15 or 16 August. Whatever you do, we urge you to raise funds for a charity of your choice – and have fun!”

You can sign up to the Virtual RideLondon here.