Stedman sets British Everesting record; Do you prep your bike for autumn?; Council installed "dangerous" barriers on cycle route due to Strava KoM; Quintana denies doping; Chris Hoy in cake form; 'Shimeng' cassette + more on the live blog

That was INSANELY hard. Provisional British Record! Went out for the World Record and was 8 minutes under at half way, but fell off a massive cliff, 36x32, turns out is too big. CANNOT thank everyone who helped out today. Incredible support. 💥 https://t.co/h8HqdfPgQs

— Max Stedman (@MaxStedman_) September 22, 2020

We've all been there, you're casually dropping the watts then bam, your legs say "no more." Well, maybe not at the speed that the Canyon dhb's Max Stedman climbs at, but we can all relate.

Max Stedman's effort yesterday fell short of the Everesting world record, though his provisional time of 7hrs 32mins netted him the British record. 

An official time of 7hrs 32mins gives @MaxStedman_ the British Everesting Record! pic.twitter.com/Q0andGTly8

— Canyon dhb p/b Soreen (@canyondhbsoreen) September 23, 2020

Stedman found his 36x32 lowest gear too heavy in the latter stages of his ride, but was helped out by Swift Pro Carbon's Tristan Robbins who provided a much-needed 34T chainring.

Liam here, just jumping onto the blog while Jack is away for a moment or two. 

It seems like autumn decided to happen overnight. There are leaves on the roads and we've entered that steady state of rain. I've looked at my mudguards a couple of times this morning. They need fitting but I want to know what you're doing to prep your bike for autumn. 

Do you go down my route of getting the winter bike out now? Do you cling onto the summer bike until the roads get icy? Or do you just ride one bike all year round?

Let us know in the comments below.

In his statement shared by PCSO Steve Hill on Facebook, Sergeant Dan Bishop says there has been "an increase in reports of youths on pedal cycles pulling wheelies through Wellington town centre", and the same youth were reported for not stopping at traffic lights and "narrowly missing" pedestrians on pavements. 

He added: "Anti-social cycling is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. The team are currently reviewing photographs of some of the youths involved. We will be visiting identified individuals at home and speaking to them with their parents present. There is both road traffic and ASB legislation that can and will be used to tackle this problem if it continues.

"I would encourage anyone who witnesses youths behaving in this way and putting themselves and others at risk of harm to bring it to the attention of the Wellington Police Team. This can be done by calling 101 or reported on line via the force website."

Look at the product photo on the box. pic.twitter.com/JIkaOH3FCq

— Richard Masoner 🚴‍♂️ (@cyclelicious) September 22, 2020

If you're not familiar, the 'crappyoffbrands' Reddit thread is a mystical treasure trove of copyright violations... including this' Shimeng' 6-speed cassette with a photo of what looks like a genuine Shimano product on the box. 

And there I was thinking Manchester hadn't invested in cycling infrastructure during lockdown...

They've managed to put in barriers on one of the only decent cycle paths around (airport bypass). 3 sets on straight bit for some reason. Great. @ManCityCouncil @allpartycycling pic.twitter.com/74tkMEXmgU

— Tom Timothy (@tom_timothy) July 29, 2020

So literally one person complained twice in 1 year and the risk assessment is the fact strava exists. That is wild. Wish I had that much power about my local road traffic.

— Tom Timothy (@tom_timothy) September 22, 2020

Back in July, Tom Timothy took to Twitter to complain about barriers installed on a segregated cycleway next to the A555 extension in Greater Manchester - and now James G has shared an FOI request from Stockport Council outlining their reasons for installing the chicanes. 

The council say that there were "safety concerns raised by pedestrians directly related to cyclists travelling at speed along this section", particularly where the footway and cycleway link near a local primary school... and it turns out there were three complaints in total throughout the whole of 2019. Two were from the same individual, and one was a letter sent to a local MP. 

When asked what they had done to research the supposed issue of speeding cyclists, the council say they were made aware of a Strava segment "with a leaderboard for the fastest times using the route"; while this does exist, it appears they fell short of investigating the matter aside from recognising that there is in fact a Strava segment on the route for justifying the installation of the chicanes. 

The council say they didn't consult with local cycling and walking groups, and link to an Equality Impact Assessment from 2013 to suggest that the barriers can be navigated by disabled path users and handcyclists. Addressing possible safety concerns, they say: "chicanes of a similar arrangement are in place as safety measures elsewhere on the A555 footway/cycleway and we are not aware of any concerns being raised previously regarding these chicanes."

Mr Timothy added: They [the barriers] are positively dangerous how they are positioned so colour blends into background with no warning, and on a straight bit so possible to approach at speed."

Comunicado oficial. pic.twitter.com/1Vj5kHwxD8

— NairoQuinCo (@NairoQuinCo) September 22, 2020

The Colombian has made an official announcement to defend himself amid a doping probe into his team Arkea-Samsic, and had this to say:

I want to clarify the following: The French gendarmerie carried out an operation in the hotel where my team was staying on Wednesday, September 16 in Meribel, after the end of the Tour de France stage.

For the avoidance of doubt, I want to confirm that doping substances were never found. I also want to clear up a misunderstanding: during the recent Tour or during any previous race, I have never had any assistants or personnel from outside the team.

I, Nairo Quintana, have been a clean cyclist throughout my sporting life, and have an impeccable biological passport. I want to clarify for public opinion, to my fans and cycling followers that in my entire career - junior, under-23 and professional - I have never used doping substances, and no illegal substance was found in the police investigation. I, without fear, will continue to be strong, defend the truth and follow my path, no matter how much the crowd, at times, takes another course.

In this sense, it is necessary to emphasise that I have not been accused of anything by the authorities. For my part, I am and will be ready to clarify any doubts from the prosecution, as I already did on Monday and today.

For now, a preliminary investigation is being carried out and I have answered all the questions and doubts. I am willing to continue doing so on a voluntary basis until the whole situation is clarified on the basis indicated: have I used illegal substances that improve my sports performance and that betray the principles of the sport.

I have, and have never had anything to hide. Yesterday, at the summons of the French authorities, I voluntarily appeared before the prosecution and answered each and every one of their questions clearly and with a clear conscience.

Yesterday, we reported that French prosecutors had taken two people into custody as part of their investigation into suspected doping in the Arkea-Samsic team following a raid of the team's hotel after stage 17 of the Tour de France. Their manager Emmanuel Hubert insisted the investigation is not targeted directly at the team, and that it would“immediately dissociate itself” from any evidence that doping had taken place; although his claim that the entourage members taken into custody were not employed by Arkea-Samsic appears to contradict Quintana's claim that he "never consulted "any assistants or personnel from outside the team".

Great job Peter, thanks for choosing me! 😁👍🏻👍🏻 https://t.co/62Hhwz48U3

— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) September 22, 2020

The somewhat disturbing task saw the latest line-up of bakers in the famous tent ordered to make a famous person's head out of cake for the 'showstopper' round... and the star baker emerged as young Peter from Edinburgh, who rustled up a Chris Hoy to beat other notable heads such as Louis Theroux, David Attenborough and Freddie Mercury. Unfortunately for Peter, some viewers thought Chris Hoy in cake reminded them of something else entirely...

chris hoy the sex toy #gbbo pic.twitter.com/Hdpw16dRSg

— three steaks pam (@alexandrakuri) September 22, 2020

Also, surely a Victoria Pendleton sponge would have been more appropriate? (dad joke courtesy of Jo Burt).