“Tory proposal to kill more people”: Cycling campaigner slams Conservative’s attempt to reverse 20mph speed limit in Wales; Evenepoel’s mind games with Pogačar and Van der Poel; Could cyclocross come to 2030 Winter Olympics? + more on the live blog

“Donnie, the madman!” was the jubilant exclamation, presumably from many cyclists as Donnachadh McCarthy, founder of Stop Killing Cyclists and director of Climate Media Coalition, appeared on TalkTV to debate 20mph speed limits, kicking off the segment with a sly but effective statement: “It’s nice to be on your programme with some good news that the Tory proposal to kill more people in Wales was defeated.”

McCarthy, author of books such as The Prostitute State and Easy Eco-Auditing, was of course, referring to the latest attempt by Welsh Conservatives to table a bill calling for the reversal of the 20mph speed limits enacted in the country last year and reinstate the 30mph speed limits, but was quite handily defeated in the Senedd, with Plaid and Labour members overwhelmingly voting to reject the proposal, arguing the policy was helping improve road safety.

And while some (looking at you, regular blog readers) might believe that the whole 20mph debate is getting a bit outdated, it’s perhaps worth noting that after a year of being in place, new and relevant data is finally coming out showing that the speed limits have indeed been effective.

> "Every casualty reduced makes a difference": Significant drop in casualties on Welsh roads since 20mph speed limit

How effective? Let’s go back to McCarthy for the figures (taken from 2024, and compared with the same period last year without the speed limits) which he stated on TalkTV…

“Casualties are down 32 per cent… Fatalities are down 54 per cent — that means 24 families will not be burying their loved ones… 20 per cent drops in insurance claims, so insurance will hopefully not have to go up for people, 40 per cent drop in noise.

“The 32 per cent reduction in casualties means that the police, the ambulances and the fire brigades have to tend to 32 per cent less crashes. I don’t know about you, but I always feel for the people who have to tend roadside crashes and the trauma that — not just the families and the victims go through — but the emergency service workers go through.”

According to figures published on the Welsh government's website, the total number of casualties on all roads during Q1 of 2024 was 811 (16 deaths, 188 serious injuries and 607 slight injuries), down 17 per cent on the previous quarter (982) and 16 per cent lower than in the same quarter in 2023 (968). That final comparison is the most significant when considering the impact of widespread 20mph speed limits, the introduction of a default 20mph speed limit coming in September 2023 and increasing the approximate 870km of 20mph roads to 13,000km.

Host Julia Hartley-Brewer proceeded to say: “We all want to see fewer people killed and maimed on the roads, but it’s a trade-off. But why is this policy so unpopular in Wales?”

McCarthy replied: “Because there’s a massive disconnect between what the media have been saying and actually the outcomes of it. I assure you, as somebody who deals with this and as a cycling campaigner, the Daily Mail has raged a massive campaign against this, and I don’t understand why Ted Verity [Daily Mail editor] cannot look at what we have to look at and have empathy for the families whose lives are safe.”

“This is good news for Wales and what really should happen is these statistics say, ‘We should apply to Britain.’ Every single residential and rural area in Britain deserves safety.”

> "Far more pleasant for walkers and cyclists": 20mph speed limit analysis hailed "astonishing", with drivers' journeys just 45 seconds longer

In fact, just this month, a new road safety survey found that 60 per cent think that all roads throughout the city should have a 20mph speed limit, while 70 per cent of Londoners believed that more Low Traffic Neighbourhoods or liveable streets schemes should be introduced in the capital.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Active Travel Commissioner for England joined forces to visit a Bikeability training session in Preston, where kids were learning how to cycle safely to their schools.

Haigh said: "We want every child to be able to feel safe and confident in being able to cycle to school. But for too many, they just don't have the confidence in navigating the roads, or they don't have the infrastructure and the routes to be able to get them threre. That's why Bikeability is really important in delivering that confidence and encouraging safety in those routes to school.

Bikeability is the world's largest cycle training and road safety programme that's owned and funded by the UK Government. According to data, secen out of 10 parents recognise the importance of cycle training, and four out of five children said they wanted to travel to school by walking, wheeling or cycling. The children, speaking in the video, said that cycling makes them feel "faster, freer and elevated".

"We want every child to be able to feel safe and confident in being able to cycle to school"@LouHaigh and @Chris_Boardman visited children in Preston to watch their @BikeabilityUK training session this #CycleToSchoolWeek 🚲 pic.twitter.com/MzIVvkxWz1

— Active Travel England (@activetraveleng) September 27, 2024

Chris Boardman said: "Riding a bike isn't just an activity, it's transport independence for our kids." Emily Cherry, the Bikeability Trust's Chief Executive, followed: "Not only that, it's fantastic for their health, their mental health, well-being, for physical activity."

Haigh said: "It keeps them connected with the community, it means that they're getting out of their cars... It's a really important activity as long as it's safe."

Boardman said: "I'd like England to be a place where every child in the country has access to safe space and has the capability to use it through training like this. And I think that is well within our grasp."

The video, uploaded by Active Travel England on social media, has been received positively who called it a "good step" and a "change of direction from the previous government". Liz Clements wrote: "Made my day to see this, cycling is so definitely a skill for life, as the kids say it gives you freedom and is such a mood-lifter!"

Chris Boardman wrote on Twitter: "Why ride? ‘I feel more free’ says it all really. Eighty per cent of kids want to walk, ride and wheel to school. I think any civilised society has a duty to enable them to do that. Thanks to Louise Haigh for highlighting the importance of what is a life skill."

A campaign to put an immediate stop to the final phase of a cycle lane project in Coventry has garnered support from an unexpected quarter, after Sir David Attenborough wrote to an 11-year-old boy advising him on how to stage a protest to halt the protected bike lane’s construction and save 26 trees that are earmarked to be felled along the proposed route.

> David Attenborough encourages boy to stage anti-cycle lane protest, as veteran broadcaster weighs in on plans to “sacrifice 26 irreplaceable trees” for new bike route

We're just one sleep away from perhaps the two most awaited races as the 2024 road cycling calendar edges closer to its conclusion: the women's and men's elite road races in Zürich which will determine which two riders don the rainbow jerseys for the next year.

And in the men's event, supposed to take place on Sunday, competition is rife, with the triumvirate of Mathieu van der Poel, the defending champion, Remco Evenepoel, double gold-medallist at the Paris Olympics, and Tadej Pogačar, the first cyclist to do a Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998 — all laying a claim on the rainbow stripes, with several others such as Biniam Girmay, Stevie Wiliams, and Tom Pidcock,  also hoping for a shot at victory.

And ahead of the race, Remco Evenepoel, speaking in Belgium's pre-race press conference, has already kicked off the mind-games, saying that Pogačar will be more susceptible to making a mistake owing to the expectations and pressure levied on him, while Evenepoel has already defended his time trial world championship earlier this week.

"Maybe that will cause some extra stress for Pogačar, which could cause him to make a mistake or take a bit more risk than someone else," he said. "But I think that he is so strong this year, that this will not be the case right away and that he has so much confidence in himself that he can win the race even without a top day."

"The most important thing will be to always be well-positioned as a team on the steepest part of the local laps. Because that's where we have to squeeze... Although that won't be the case in the final laps either... But with Tiesj Benoot, Jasper Stuyven, Tim Wellens, Maxim Van Gils, Laurens De Plus and myself, I'm not immediately afraid that we'll be blown away there quickly.

Belgian website In de Leiderstrui reports Evenepoel also assessed Van der Poel's chances at defending his title. He said: "Last time I went on a bike ride with Mathieu [2 or 3 weeks ago], he wasn't climbing that well. But he's rider who can peak like no other. He's heavier than Tadej and me, that's a small disadvantage for him."

Tory leadership hopeful...🫠

In just 3 months the 20mph change saw:

Total number of casualties down 26%.

Number killed/seriously injured fall 23% .

Those killed fall 55% .

Slight injuries down 27%.

Other benefits appear to include delays in meeting James Cleverly. https://t.co/8DAxSfM1TO

— Will Hayward (@WillHayCardiff) September 26, 2024

The big news of the day coming from Down Under isn’t that Lachlan Morton, the EF Education-Easy Post rider attempting to break Dave Alley’s around-Australia ride record, has ticked over 10,000km, but that he even found himself some time to save an injured bird — and that too, somehow in EF’s pink colours!

The Australian cyclist has been averaging over 400 kilometres a day for the last three weeks, as the team’s aim of finishing the ride around the country in 35 days — two days faster than Alley’s effort in 2011, seems to be over in just 31 days if Morton keeps this pace up. That is, assuming he doesn’t do a Derek Gee and indulge himself in too much birdwatching.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by EF Education–EasyPost (@efprocycling)

The bird seemed to a cockatoo of some sort (sorry, your live blog host’s ornithology skills are rather limited), and EF Education shared a clip of the bird-saving act on Instagram writing: “Lachlan spotted an injured bird during his ride and the crew stopped to move the new friend into a safer location. Animal control was also contacted to pick up the bird for treatment.”

> Is this the new Cannondale Synapse? After Lachlan Morton's most astonishing 'Lap of Australia' effort yet, here's what we know about his new bike so far

Fans didn’t miss out on noticing the cockatoo’s pink plumage, with EF tagging Rapha and saying: “Think we have some kit inspo for next year?”

You can follow Morton's 'Lap of Australia' ride here.

Prominent and controversial Italian politician and journalist Vittorio Feltri has been roundly condemned by the cycling community in Italy, including Tour de France stage winner and former European champion Matteo Trentin, after telling an event organised by his Il Giornale newspaper this week that “I only like cyclists when they get run over”.

The highly inflammatory comments came on what would have Michele Scarponi’s 45th birthday, and over seven years since the Giro d’Italia winner was killed while out on a training ride by a van driver who allegedly admitted to prosecutors that he had been watching a video on his mobile phone at the time of the fatal collision.

Read more: > “I only like cyclists when they get run over,” says controversial Italian politician and Giorgia Meloni supporter, as pro cyclist blasts “disgraceful” anti-cycling comments