How not to park: Tesco delivery driver just misses cyclist; Why don't cyclists use cycle lanes, No. 9,473; Eight miles of closed central London roads; Milan-San Remo anticipation (Van der Poel starts); Dowsett's pre-race nerves + more on the live blog

Long before the glory of the Cipressa, Poggio and via Roma comes the peril of Milan’s cruel tramlines - as Gatis Smukulis found out in 2015... pic.twitter.com/f920EAZoo6

— Graham Watson (@grahamwatson10) March 18, 2022

No noise from Tesco yet about today's main story on the live blog...

The suspense is killing me...

Don’t worry. @Tesco will look into it immediately pic.twitter.com/7GemaKKkcI

— Lockdown Cyclist (@LockdownCyclist) March 18, 2022

Lincolnshire Police and Keele University have received £150k funding from The Road Safety Trust to explore how ‘Dash Cam’ technology can be used to reduce road offending and improve road safety. 

The Road Safety Trust, dedicated to achieving zero deaths and serious injuries on UK roads, awarded over £1million of funding for technology-focussed road safety projects through its main theme grants in 2021. 

By working with Police Forces across the UK and a variety of road users, this project will establish how using dash cam footage can be utilised to contribute to road safety and provide guidance on the consistent handling of it. 

Andy Cox, Detective Chief Superintendent, Head of Crime at Lincolnshire Police said: "In the UK, five people on average die in a road crash every single day. Road death is preventable and therefore we do not have to accept this devastation.

"The police cannot solve this alone and must work collaboratively with partners to reduce road danger. Additionally, we need the public’s support and this project seeks to evaluate the impact of enabling the public to report road crime via dashcam, headcam or a similar method. 

"The police cannot be everywhere all of the time but the public can be and therefore I am confident this crucial work will identify the many benefits and further improve our approach in this area.

"I am excited to work with and support Keele University in undertaking the project and hugely grateful to The Road Safety Trust for its funding which has made this possible. In time, I believe the results will help understanding in this vital area and, as such, be an important component in eradicating road danger and making our roads safe." 

Poll Creator

At this rate Milan San Remo is getting closer to being an individual TT than a bunch race 😬

— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) March 18, 2022

In fairness, I'd get dropped in the neutral start...

Mathieu van der Poel, on the other hand, seems to be treating the 290km Monument as a training session... 

#MVDP was added to the roster for MSR due to the several sick riders in the team and because his rehab has been going well. However, he will participate without expectations. The 293 km race was preferred over a training session on Saturday.

(complete lineup will follow soon)

— Alpecin-Fenix Cycling Team (@AlpecinFenix) March 18, 2022

So...50km three-up break? Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pog? 

RideLondon FreeCycle is back, returning to eight miles of closed central London roads on Sunday 29 May. Aimed at families and riders of all abilities, the traffic-free route passes many of London’s most famous streets and iconic landmarks including:

   - Bank of England
   - Guildhall Yard
   - Holborn Viaduct
   - London Eye
   - Piccadilly
   - Pall Mall
   - Somerset House
   - Southbank
   - St Paul’s Cathedral
   - Strand
   - Trafalgar Square
   - Waterloo Bridge
   - Westminster Bridge
   - Victoria Embankment

The day starts at 10.00, finishing at 15.00 and includes four Festival Zones at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Waterloo Place, Guildhall Yard and St Paul’s Churchyard and Paternoster Square. 

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of RideLondon, said: "RideLondon FreeCycle is a unique day. It’s wonderful and uplifting to see London’s most famous streets handed over to bicycles with riders of all ages and backgrounds on all sorts of different bikes enjoying traffic-free roads."

You can sign-up to the event here...

'Every little helps' presumably refers to how much extra space you should give this Tesco delivery driver whacking the van into a space, regardless of the cyclist waiting to ride off.

Hello @Tesco. Broom Rd, Teddington, TW11 9PQ, 11.11 this morning. My bike is on the road, I’m about to mount and move off. Your driver wants to park where I am so he just pretends I’m not there. Unbelievable. @RichmondCycling pic.twitter.com/Hp23lxFuZZ

— hauntedbastardmeat (@hauntedbastard) March 17, 2022

"My bike is on the road, I’m about to mount and move off. Your driver wants to park where I am so he just pretends I’m not there. Unbelievable," the rider explained after this incident in Teddington yesterday morning.

Reporting supermarket drivers is a bit hit-and-miss, pardon the pun, with another rider predicting either no response or an all-too-public 'ask you to DM us' to get the angry mob off their back...

They rarely respond, same for all the supermarkets, they have only one directive to their drivers, get the job done and we don’t care how you do it

— Urban_Manc (@MancUrban) March 18, 2022

We've covered our fair share of dodgy delivery driving in our time...

> "That's a human being" - Chris Boardman slams Sainsbury's response to close pass video

In 2017, a cyclist sued Tesco for more than £100,000 after a delivery driver allegedly drove into and then over her in London.

Kate McElroy was riding to work in December when the driver pulled out in her path at the junction of Southwark Bridge Road and Great Guildford Street.

McElroy was knocked to the ground and went under the van. The driver is said to have driven over her, crushing her pelvis.