"Single file you Lycra-clad t****" message vandalised on road sign; Tom Pidcock blames rival for causing terrifying crash; Non-fungible motors are now a thing; The real MVP of Liège; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog

TotalEnergies rider Jérémy Cabot has defended himself in the face of comments from Tom Pidcock and Romain Bardet about the cause of yesterday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège crash, which saw world champion Julian Alaphilippe taken to hospital with a punctured lung and multiple fractures.

Cabot said his actions were not intentionally dangerous, tweeting: "In addition to the physical pain, I now read comments that are unpleasant at best and completely untrue at worst.

"A rider pushed behind me, while I was sitting on the far right of the road in the wheel of the Bora-Hansgrohe riders, there was no room for two in this place, my wheel hit that of the rider in front of me, no time to brake… And chaos… In a quarter of a second.

"I have never taken ill-considered risks. My teammates, my TotalEnergies team and the people close to me know how much time I spend at the back of the pack to avoid the dangers… I've never been a hothead. I'm never the last to brake. Never."

Cabot's comments come after Pidcock told media at the finish line that a rider from the French team had risked everyone's life on the descent.

Bardet replied to Cabot's tweet to clarify his position: "Jérémy found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, far be it from me to pass judgment on who was responsible for the fall, the waves, the speed, the road surface. I'm really sorry that my post was confusing, good luck man."

Me when there’s no cycling on for one (1) day pic.twitter.com/d2VKVw6lE6

— Robyn (@robynjournalist) April 25, 2022

Our favourite take on that sign-defacing intellectual's day out with a sharpie...

"I'd prefer to be called a spandex-clad twat, instead of a Lycra-clad one.
It's more Rock 'n Roll 🤘," 0-0 commented. 0-0? Nah, it's 1-0 now...

OnYerBike made a good point about how the message actually reads. Forgive me, it's like trying to decrypt some ancient code..."Pretty sure the first line of that vandalised sign reads "Devil'sINGLE FILE". We'll go with that...whatever it means.

mdavidford spotted another: "Strictly speaking, I think there probably ought to be some punctuation between 'file' and 'you' - a comma, at the very least. Also, it actually says 'Devil's ingle file', which is presumably something to do with the fire[place]s of hell."

Clem Fandango made a wider point about suitability of transport to certain spots..."I've had verbal abuse and dangerous passes (including around the hairpin bends) on Box Hill loads of times - always makes me laugh how some drivers consciously drive to Box Hill* (* insert name of local cycling hotspot here) on a weekend, when the weather is good, and are somehow 'surprised' to encounter cyclists. Before losing their sh*t at having to drive slowly safely for a bit. I mean how could they be expected to have foreseen or be expected to tolerate anything but clear roads and a serene, uninterrupted driving experience, the poor lambs?"

brooksby said: "Imagine being so angry, and yet also having the spare time, to go and vandalise a road sign like that..." To which, Shake added: "You slowed me down by nine seconds so I'm going to waste 120 seconds to write this."

DJ’in on a bike with a baby?!

Hold my beer... pic.twitter.com/U6POstDmBX

— Domonic (@domwhiting) April 25, 2022

For the full set from Brum...

Scrap Car Comparison has decided NFTs are the perfect medium for owners to remember their vehicle by...

When it's scrapped or sold the car-scrappage company will offer motorists the 'opportunity' to "get their (virtual) hands on an NFT of their prized motor to keep for eternity, rather than having to say goodbye when it comes to scrapping or selling."

It's the "ultimate keepsake"...apparently...

Interesting. At least NFTs are completely uncontroversial and never cause a wild social media shitstorm every time anyone announces they're getting involved...

> The angry backlash against NFTs in cycling, and how Bike Club NFT is trying to turn the tide

Oh wait...

Terrifying crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Julian Alaphilippe suffering broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

Romain Bardet, from a different team, showing true sportsmanship to climb down and help, check on him pic.twitter.com/c3ylBAGZIq

— James Dart (@James_Dart) April 24, 2022

Tom Pidcock thinks he broke a finger in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège crash that ended so many riders' chances yesterday. Pidcock eventually crossed the line in 103rd place, more than 13 minutes after Remco Evenepoel. But the Ineos Grenadiers rider was just happy to have escaped serious injury and told reporters at the finish that he had used up one of his nine lives.

Pidcock also blamed a rider from DirectEnergies for taking too many risks at 70km/h, and said the move was unacceptable and had risked the lives of others. It is unclear where we'll see Pidcock next. He had been down to ride the Giro d'Italia next month, but the noises from Ineos suggest he might get his first Tour de France appearance instead...

Riding into the week like... pic.twitter.com/hmM98Nnxct

— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) April 25, 2022

Trying to work out how to add "please read the highway code and stop sucking exhaust fumes" pic.twitter.com/32TKbmwBP9

— noodles (@andykeetch) April 24, 2022

The eagle-eyed amongst you might notice the vandalised message appears slightly differently in our live blog headline. Don't stress, that's just to tidy up all the grammatical errors present...

"Lycra clad"? Yep, that'll need a hyphen. Sure, you're loving the capitals, but only "Lycra" needs one...but by far and away our personal favourite is that it actually reads: "Devil's SINGLE FILE Dyke YOU LYCRA CLAD TWATS!" Cryptic. I wonder what's a single file Dyke?

Who's the culprit? The early money is on 'Chazza'...

Imagine the level of 'bantz' this caused with 'the ladz' down the pub after Chazza did this. Classic Chazza...

— Rich Mitch (@rich_mitch) April 24, 2022

And, some local knowledge questioned the intelligence behind the message (if that was ever not in doubt)...

There's two perfectly functional A roads for cars to use to cross there: the A23 dual carriageway about 500m to the east, and the A283 about 1500m to the west. Anyone driving up Devil's Dyke and getting annoyed at cyclists has made their own bad decisions.

— Georgina Wilcox (@GeorginaWilcox) April 24, 2022

On a more cheerful note, at the bottom of that hill lies the village of Fulking, with one reply noting "they'll enjoy the vandalism of that road sign too".  

You'll be pleased to hear there is 😂

— noodles (@andykeetch) April 24, 2022

See, it's not all bad...

At the top, there's the pic.twitter.com/ea3kaVdvcZ

— Matt Southerden (@mattsoutherden) April 24, 2022

It's not the first time somebody's incandescent rage at people riding bicycles (presumably because "they're slowing me down") has caused a vandal to halt their day to make a point by writing on a road sign...

Last April, a coffee shop took the bold strategy of sharing a photo of one such "Beware of cyclists [...] they're c****!" (Correct use of they're. Well done) on social media. Spoiler alert: it didn't go well. I mean, when have you ever met a cyclist who drinks coffee?