How New Yorkers deal with parked cars in the bike lane; Conflicting reports about Paris-Roubaix being postponed; Shut up chain; Adam Yates gets first win for Ineos; Rapha's A Day in Hell; Mystery artist's floral bikes; New kit + more on the live blog

Marc Hirschi has spoken out about his delayed start to the season and told L'Équipe he is "learning to live" with speculation and suspicion surrounding his departure from Team Sunweb (now DSM). Hirschi was one of the breakthrough stars of 2020, winning a stage of the Tour (pictured above) before extending his run of form to the rescheduled Ardennes Classics and World Championships where he won Flèche Wallonne and was on the podium at the UCI World Championships Road Race.

Hirschi said: "In cycling, there’s nothing you can do. As soon as a rider succeeds, people think doping is behind it. I’m learning to live with that. I’m trying to accept that there will always be critics. It’s the same for other riders, like Tadej Pogačar. To keep that at bay, I’m working with a mental coach who doesn’t have anything to do with cycling, who helps me to get away from that stress. I’ve been working with him for a few seasons, it’s a bit of an experimental collaboration. He’s become a friend and I call him in the moments when I think I need it."

The Swiss rider left Sunweb abruptly in early January with both parties signing a non-disclosure agreement. He had been expected to debut for his new team at the UAE Tour and the Boucles Drôme Ardèche but dropped out due to a wisdom tooth extraction and a hip issue.

Jens Voigt is Silca's new spokesperson and partner for 2021. The former pro, famous for his 'shut up legs' line, is the new face of the lube brand on a mission to stop squeaky chains. Silca's Secret Chain Blend Hot Wax claims to be the lowest friction and lowest wearing chain lubricant of any type ever tested.

"We knew from developing the product that it was freakishly quiet," Josh Poertner, CEO of Silca said. "If you put it on an indoor trainer like a Wahoo for instance, it's silent. There's no noise, it’s sort of magical. It’s like noise cancelling headphones without the headphones. From the very beginning of testing even before we launched the product, I had this vision of Jens saying ‘Shut Up Chain!’"

interesting... according to l'Equipe, postponement of Paris-Roubaix isn't yet a done deal and there may not be any firm update until next week

ASO travaille toujours sur la date du 11 avril pour Paris-Roubaix https://t.co/svZqjETyyq via @lequipe

— William Fotheringham (@willfoth) March 24, 2021

Conflicting reports coming out of France today about Paris-Roubaix. This morning, Le Parisien claimed the race would be postponed until the autumn after ASO was unable to convince the French authorities to allow the race during a four-week lockdown in the Hauts-de France region.

However, now, L'Équipe has suggested that this isn't the case and that no decision has been made. Their version of events is that, even if the race seems unlikely, the authorities will not make a decision on the race until next week after a recon of the course on Wednesday, and that in the meantime ASO will continue to look for solutions to limit spectator access. 

Paris-Roubaix postponed, new date to be announced soon reports @le_Parisien , likely to be in autumn https://t.co/JOIWUVtuAF

— the Inner Ring (@inrng) March 24, 2021

 Le Parisien reports that the widely-expected news that Paris-Roubaix won't be happening on April 11 is now confirmed. The French outlet says that the organisers have postponed the event, including the inaugural women's edition, until the autumn following the worsening health situation in Hauts-de-France, where a four-week lockdown has been enforced. The signs were clear that this was likely to happen earlier this week when the Prefect of the region, Michel Lalande, hinted that he would not allow the race to go ahead.

ASO worked hard to organise the race behind closed doors with key sectors, such as the Trouée d'Arenberg, to be closed off to the public. However, meetings with the Ministry of Sports made it clear that it would be unreasonable to devote public action to a cycling race with Covid cases rising. Le Parisien speculates that the new date in the autumn could be Sunday 24 or 31 October.

Paris-Roubaix looks increasingly likely to be called off with the Prefect of Hauts-de-France region hinting on Monday that he won't allow the race to go ahead with the region now in a four-week lockdown. So how are we all going to get our brutal fix of cobbles? Rapha thinks it has the answer: the A Day in Hell challenge. Providing you don't live in the UK that is, as all the home rides have sold out in double-quick time...

Covid restrictions depending, rides will set out from the Rapha Clubhouses and partner cafés around the world on the 10th and 11th of April to take in a route inspired by Roubaix. Exploring gravel sections you never knew were in your local area and cobblestone streets, the rides are designed to bring the spirit of Roubaix to you.

The UK rides will be held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds but have already sold out, so if you wanted to inject a touch of cobbled chaos to your weekend let's hope you got in early enough to secure a place or are based in one of the numerous other cities across the globe with a ride. Riders who complete any of the routes will get a limited edition A Day in Hell reward and Rapha has launched A Day in Hell range if you want to get involved but can't jump on one of the rides.

Beth Maciver, a 20-year-old student from Inverness, has won a spot on Movistar's newly-created e-sports team. Maciver turned to virtual racing when the pandemic halted outdoor racing and has thrived since making the transition, so much so she will start racing in the Zwift Racing League Premier Division next month. Beth earned her spot on the well-established WorldTour outfit's new e-sports team by winning the final points race of Movistrar's Team Challenge.

She told The Inverness Courier: "Over lockdown I had more time to focus on it and it gave me something to do, and I fell in love with it. It is awesome. My boyfriend has been cycling his whole life and his dad owns Bikes of Inverness and he got me involved in it. I never expected to get to this stage and it turns out I just loved it and being competitive at it.

"I have no experience of outdoor racing yet, so I hope things from e-sports I can take as I would like to compete outdoors as well. It will be trial and error, but I want to take part in road racing and time trials."