"I'll stop when they stop!": Public-spirited cyclist's mission to remove convenient items covering car number plates; Get the bike song to Christmas No.1; Reaction to 2024 Tour's Italian Grand Départ + more on the live blog

This is actually a VERY common problem in NY and for some reason little is done about it...

— Biological🍉 (@BioLogicalNerd) December 22, 2022

Plenty of comments on the New York number plate declutterer...

I'm always amazed by the amount of completely illegible number plates, obscured by mud and crud, that is the norm on motorways. Seemingly ignored by police too.

— cycletothesea (@cycletothesea) December 22, 2022

 ShutTheFrontDawes: "In what world is returning a car to a roadworthy condition considered 'criminal mischief' or vandalism? What sort of backwards moron would think that?"

AidanR: "I've done this too, removing a conveniently placed bit of tape from the number plate of a BMW SUV driven by a complete tool who likes to park outside our house. The car is of course not taxed or insured. They got clamped for it a few months ago, and took an angle grinder to the clamp and carried on with impunity."

OldRidgeback: "My street is an LTN. Lots of people cover up their vehicle number plates and drive past the camera, then stop by my house to remove the bags or whatever they've used. Some forget about the covers and drive away. I've not seen any parked vehicles with covered up plates though."

And commenting on the original case in NYC which saw the rider arrested... Daveyraveygravey: "This is actually depressing. It shows just how far car culture has gone when someone trying to stop people breaking the law (almost) gets taken to court."

After a year to forget in 2022 Primož Roglič is setting his sights on new targets in 2023...

Dear @giroditalia,

Let’s see each other again in May.

𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆,@rogla pic.twitter.com/ZfWLnWrWxS

— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) December 22, 2022

With new signing Wilco Kelderman as co-leader the Giro startlist is growing stronger by the day...

The Giro is shaping up OK to be fair. Remco, Thomas, Rogla...

— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) December 22, 2022

Add Jack Haig, Damiano Caruso, Aleksandr Vlasov, Thibaut Pinot and João Almeida to that list, with plenty more still to declare, and we're already bursting with excitement for May...

[📷: @cauldphoto/Specialized]

Remco Evenepoel has hinted at a possible duel between himself and Tadej Pogačar at the UAE Tour in February. Pogačar has won the last two editions but suggested he might take a slower approach to peaking this season. Evenepoel similarly has big goals later in the year, namely the Giro d'Italia in May, but suggested an early season head-to-head would excite him...

[📷: Zac Williams/SWpix.com] 

Telling Het Nieuwsblad riding the UAE Tour, a big race for Pogačar's sponsors, is "indeed the plan at the moment".

"It would be good to compete with Tadej on a race where he has already won twice. He will be in top form there anyway, because for his team it's kind of like the World Championships. We're still looking at what the best option is. For now, only San Juan, Liège and the Giro are already 100 per cent certain."

𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐:

🔹 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲

🔹 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗝𝗔𝗬𝗖𝗢 𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗟𝗔 🔹

“𝚃𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝙰𝚕𝚄𝚕𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙 𝚞𝚙, 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.”@JaycoAU | @ExperienceAlUla https://t.co/Oe2a02LTJP

— Team Jayco AlUla (@GreenEDGEteam) December 22, 2022

Pro cycling's latest sportswashing scandal is underway...

 The WorldTour team this morning announced the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is stepping up from official partner to second naming rights partner on a two-year deal. 

So who are AlUla and why is its tourist board stepping into cycling?

The area of Saudi Arabia is, according to the press release, a "boutique heritage and culture destination in Northwest Saudi Arabia" that "hopes to introduce the stunning landscape of ancient civilizations to millions of cycling and sports fans around the world".

"Over the past years the region has developed to establish a strong connection with sport, having hosted a variety of events, including the UCI 2.1 Saudi Tour in February 2022."

In Phillip Jones, the Chief Management & Marketing Officer of Alula's words: "Over the last few years, we have started to become known as an unchartered, intriguing destination for curious travellers and we feel this partnership with Team Jayco AlUla is an important part of our strategy and success.

"We love working with the passionate team, both those competing and those facilitating, and we love the alignment of the two brands as we continue to develop AlUla into a world-leading example of responsible and sustainable tourism. 

"Cycling is a big part of our vision for the future of AlUla with natural assets of stunning sandstone mountains, volcanic plateaus and an oasis with long winding roads running through it all. We are excited to be hosting the inaugural cycling camp in AlUla directly after the Saudi Tour 2023 where the cyclists will have a chance to engage and inspire the next generation.

"We've been cheering the team on and encouraging more fans across the region, and we look forward to more success on and off the road for Team Jayco AlUla."

Brent Copeland, team manager, added: "We had the great pleasure of visiting AlUla in February for the Saudi Tour, and we were blown away with the spectacle that it was. Next year as we grow our partnership, we will have a cycling camp in AlUla to encourage the local community to be engaged with the sport, to inspire new generations for an active lifestyle and to help them dream of becoming the champions of the future."

Needless to say the sponsorship has raised some eyebrows...

They were already there!

— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) December 22, 2022

Saudi money? Really.

— TiPoole (@tip66) December 22, 2022

When will teams stand up and have some morals and refuse to be part of sport washing campaigns by these countries who refuse to offer their citizens basic human rights and equality #Sportswashing #Saudi https://t.co/xK18pIdERs

— Mark Yale (@Mark_Yale) December 22, 2022

Perhaps most interestingly though, yes, the change applies to the women's team too... 

Here's the New York Times feature Gersh mentioned in one of the videos we linked earlier. It's well worth a read and details how the editor of Streetsblog New York — a publication covering the movement for better walking, biking, and transit in the five boroughs — pedals around his daily routine scanning for covered plates.

Corey Kilgannon of the NYT notes drivers covering their plates to avoid detection by speed and red light cameras as well as bridge and tunnel tolls cost the city more than $100 million a year.

"I'm trying to show the political establishment that this is really a widespread problem," Kuntzman concluded. "I could fix 15 plates a day without breaking a sweat."

Reminds us of this classic from the Covid quarantine days...

Song name??
Day 4 pic.twitter.com/4rfTDz00Do

— Cyrus Monk (@Cyrus_Monk) November 17, 2020

> Tacx Neo stars in household object rendition of Darude's Sandstorm