Mr Loophole fury at perfectly legal two abreast cyclists "riding with impunity" (+ Surrey traffic cops aren't impressed); Cattle grid conundrum; Van Aert hopes to make peace with Remco; Josh Quigley set for round the world finale + more on the live blog

*This post is pinned from this morning*

Took this video(from passenger seat) on 60mph road. Forced to travel in line of traffic at 20mph due to obstruction caused by cyclists ahead riding 3 abreast. Anonymous and cycling with impunity. Law should be changed to force them to drop into single file when vehicles behind pic.twitter.com/u3Qt9mRTQu

— Nick Freeman (@TheMrLoophole) December 1, 2021

The new Highway Code changes have been announced, we'll be bringing you all the details ASAP. In that context, Mr Loophole timed his latest anti-cyclist rant perfectly, sharing a video of a group ride travelling safely along a narrow, twisty country road. Mr Loophole, real name Nick Freeman, claimed the riders were three abreast and holding up traffic at 20mph when drivers could have been going 60mph...

In the video shared to his Twitter followers, Freeman can be heard saying, "So here we are now on a 60mph derestricted road with seven cyclists two abreast, not going to give way so all the cars have to go at 19 or 20mph because they've got no intention of moving over...and there's no means of holding them to account. What they're doing is completely illegal.

"This is not right and why we need to know who they are. They're cycling without consideration for other road users, we factually know that is correct, but who is it? We've no idea because there's no means of identifying them."

> Rural A roads are where cyclists are most likely to be killed, road.cc analysis reveals

The lawyer seemed to ignore the fact the road would not have been suitable for travelling at 60mph regardless of how many cyclists were using it...something many pointed out in the numerous replies to the post...

So…

1. It’s a limit, not a target… those bends aren’t 60mph.
2. No safe place to pass till suddenly the video ends.
3. Also, as Mr Loophole… you must also think horse riders and pedestrians are anonymous to?
4. Non this matters as you can’t safely overtake no matter what.

— Thomas O. Cornwallis (@UrbanistTOC) December 1, 2021

You should only overtake when safe to do so, not when you feel impatient. Single file wouldn’t have allowed you to overtake safely. For a lawyer, its impressive how little you know

— Herzberg (@herzberg19) December 1, 2021

He also seemed oblivious to the reason that most of us ride two abreast — it's safer for those on bikes and easier for motorists to overtake because it shortens the overtaking distance in half...if only the group had been riding single file, Mr Loophole could have got round on those tight bends...

Took this photo from a bus on 30mph road. Forced to travel in line of traffic at 3mph due to obstruction caused by drivers in single occupancy cars with seating 2 abreast. Driving with impunity. Law should be changed to force them to pull over when busses are behind. pic.twitter.com/h6LEMNj2hg

— Asclepius (@NaturalMessiah) December 1, 2021

He's got history with this sort of thing. Last year, Mr Loophole claimed cyclists were "abusing" rules on riding two abreast. While earlier this year he started a petition calling for all cyclists to be insured.

Mr Loophole, save us all some time and have a read of our 'Why do cyclists ride two abreast?' explainer...

pic.twitter.com/s2GUwInkRQ

— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) December 1, 2021

We've had Mr Loophole, now it's time for Mr Financial Fair Play Loophole...meeting Tadej Pogačar at City's Manchester training base. I wonder what these two megastars bonded over? A shared hatred of Manchester weather perhaps?

According to City's official news report, the two-time Tour de France winner took a break from his cycling exploits to take a look around and was invited to watch a training session, where he met Guardiola and his backroom staff, before presenting the City boss with a commemorative jersey.

Rumours the boss wants to shell out £20million on Pog as a third choice right back remain unconfirmed...

Our friends at e-bike tips have the full story about Selfridges facing a fair bit of criticism for selling a 50mph e-scooter, currently illegal to use on public roads and pavements...

For the full story head over to e-bike tips...

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Zipp Speed Weaponry (@zippspeed)

Took this video (from TfL cam) on 30mph road. Forced to filter thru line of traffic due to obstruction caused by #drivists ahead queuing 3 abreast. Dressed in black and driving with impunity. Law should be changed to force them to drop into single file when faster cyclists behind pic.twitter.com/X6Ywc2dIcn

— always last (@lastnotlost) December 2, 2021

As the saying goes...cometh the hour, cometh the regional roads policing unit armed with facts and a no-nonsense attitude...

The Surrey traffic cops were quickly on the scene of the Mr Loophole road safety horror show, and got back to him about both his posts: the video of the two abreast group ride and this questionable interpretation of the news cyclist deaths had spiked on rural A roads.

No they shouldn’t Nick.
Drivers should drive their one tonne vehicle more carefully and stop killing 5 people every day.

To use your opinion in a different analogy, should kids in American schools wear bullet proof jackets in case of a mass shooting?

— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) - Surrey Police - UK (@SurreyRoadCops) December 1, 2021

 In reply to the video, the Surrey cops echoed much of the sentiment seen elsewhere in the replies...

Interesting that the male voice in your video says that what they’re doing is “completely illegal” - hopefully you can point us in the direction of where that piece of legislation is…

Also, the MAXIMUM speed for that road would be 60. It’s wet and narrow, so would expect less.

— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) - Surrey Police - UK (@SurreyRoadCops) December 1, 2021 

Rapha and All In Racing have produced limited edition Rainbow Socks in support of #RainbowLaces day on Wednesday 8th December. All In Racing is a new initiative within competitive cycling which aims to help the sport become more inclusive for LGBTQ+ people.

Stonewall's #RainbowLaces campaign, which runs in December every year, has support from football’s Premier League but until now has held a lower profile in endurance sports. 

All In Racing and Rapha are bringing #RainbowLaces to the new Clanfield Cross cyclocross event in Hampshire on Saturday 11th December. They are providing a free pair of Rainbow Socks to anyone in the Men’s and Women’s Elite UCI races who would like to show support for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Anyone else racing the Clanfield Cross event can request socks via the All In Racing website.

In addition, 120 pairs of socks are publicly available for sale at £10 (including postage) through the All In Racing website. To mark the #RainbowLaces day, on Wednesday 8th December at 6.30pm, Josh Jones from All In Racing will host an open Zwift ride with journalist Myles Warwood, where they will chat about the initiative.

 All In Racing will formally launch in spring 2022.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 𝗟𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗦𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗞𝗨𝗥 । 𝗡𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗡 (@lokeshthakur_official)

Wout van Aert may have won the race, but Craskins Farm in Aberdeenshire won the people's Tour of Britain prize. The work of Dr Jenna Ross, parents Brian and Alison and brother Stewart, this 'mini peloton', made from straw bales and recycled materials collected from roadside verges around the farm, has been awarded the 2021 AJ Bell Tour of Britain national land art prize.

The judging panel, which included AJ Bell Tour of Britain race director Mick Bennett, chose the display for its novelty factor as well as its environmental credentials. Ned Boulting commented on the display during the ITV4 live coverage of the race, saying: "Cycling fans have used bales to represent bicycles for decades and I’ve never seen as inventive a use as that!" Big praise from a man who sees the best of what the French have to offer every year at the Tour.

Dr Ross had previously made a straw bale display in support of the NHS, and the mini peloton was repurposed into a Halloween display after the race had passed. "It was such a pleasure to have this world-renowned event come to our very special corner of the world," Dr Ross said.

"The art was inspired by my younger brother, Duncan, who is registered blind and is passionate about cycling. Unfortunately the pandemic massively impacted his ability to get on his bike due to the social distancing challenges of a tandem bike. So this was for him!"