“That has to be a record”: Cyclist counts 20 vehicles parked in short cycle lane stretch – as council finally considers installing wands; Leeds’ new AI traffic lights “turn green for cyclists”; “Department for Cars strikes again” + more on the live blog

A few readers in the Facebook comments reckon their local car park/cycle lane could give Boscombe a run for its money…

“Hulme High Street in Manchester would like a word,” Karl says. “Council doesn't know what they're doing here with a hybrid parking/cycle lane. Pretending it's for cycles just makes it more dangerous.

“There is a council run 'free’(!) multistorey carpark at the end of the street, but you know, that would involve walking.”

Down in the comments, Patrick9-32 offered a simple, elegant solution to the Christchurch Road bike lane blockers:

£70 fine multiplied by 20 cars. That's £1,400 of revenue the council could make instantly while also making the road safer for both cyclists and drivers. There is no downside for the council other than people who do crimes being annoyed that there are consequences for their crimes.

Though cyclisto came up with a rather more forceful alternative – “a brave man and a red study bicycle”:

In yet another damning indictment of Northern Ireland’s approach to cycling and active travel, the Department for Infrastructure has axed its funding for cycling proficiency lessons in schools, telling the BBC that “budget constraints” mean it can no longer afford to pay teachers and instructors to deliver the scheme.

While the DfI says it will continue to provide training for teachers (who have to register with the department to deliver the scheme), schools will have to pay those teachers during the 12 weeks of lessons, which usually come at the end of the pupils’ final year of primary school.

The cycling proficiency scheme – known as Bikeability in the rest of the UK – has taught more than half a million children how to ride and look after their bike, as well as the rules of the road, for over 50 years.

In 2021/22, more than 300 primary schools took part in the scheme, with the department providing £32,000 in payments to teachers. So far, around £42,000 has been spent during the 2022/23 school year.

> “This is the reality of cycling in Belfast”: Cyclists blast ‘protected’ bike lane packed with parked cars and bins

However, schools who were planning on holding the classes after Easter have now been told by the DfI that “there will be no budget available for the payment of instructors for delivering the cycling proficiency scheme”.

A spokesperson for the department told the BBC: “The cycling proficiency scheme is delivered by teaching staff in schools, who receive payment from the department for doing so.

“Due to budget constraints, we are not currently in a position to fund this payment to teachers. We will still provide training for teachers, should that be needed, and any practical resources needed to deliver the scheme, should schools want to continue to provide the scheme.”

Schools have until 21 April to inform the department if they intend to run the cycling proficiency classes before the end of the current school year.

> Sinn Féin minister “neglecting Northern Ireland’s future” and “locking us all into a fossil-fuelled dark age”, says Cycling UK

In a year which has seen the Department for Infrastructure blasted for showing “zero ambition” when it comes to active travel, the news has, unsurprisingly, been met with disappointment and anger amongst teachers, politicians, and cyclists.

Kevin Donaghy, principal of St Ronan's Primary School in Newry (and, incidentally, this writer’s vice-principal when he was taking his own cycling proficiency lessons. Northern Ireland is a small place), told the BBC that uptake for the scheme had always been high.

“The kids loved it, they actually got a qualification at the end of it to say they were safe to ride on the road,” he said. “It’s a huge thing in the summer term for Primary Seven and at the minute we don’t know whether or not it’s actually going to go ahead.

“We can’t keep asking teachers to do more and more and more and get paid less and less and less.”

The Department for Cars strikes again. I've worked incredibly hard to push DfI in the right direction on active travel and space for people, but with every success we secure, we see two or three examples like this that set us all back. Time to break it up and start again. https://t.co/6gUmEFqKb2

— Cllr. Séamas de Faoite (@SeamasBelfast) March 28, 2023

Meanwhile, SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite pulled no punches in his appraisal of what he calls “the Department for Cars”.

“The Department for Cars strikes again,” he tweeted. “I’ve worked incredibly hard to push DfI in the right direction on active travel and space for people, but with every success we secure, we see two or three examples like this that set us all back. Time to break it up and start again.”

“This is very disturbing news,” added Alliance Party rep Luke Patterson. “Stats released last week show only one percent of primary school children, and zero percent of post-primary pupils cycle to school.

“With climate and cost of living crises, cycling is a sustainable, healthy, and more affordable form of transport.”

Someone just needs to tell the Department for Infrastructure, eh?

Strade Bianche winner Tom Pidcock will make his return to racing tomorrow at Dwars door Vlaanderen, the final tune-up race on the Flemish bergs before this Sunday’s hotly-anticipated Tour of Flanders.

The 23-year-old has been in sparkling form this spring, winning a stage of the Volta ao Algarve and placing fifth at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, before soloing to a sensational win over the Tuscan gravel at Strade Bianche earlier this month.

> Tom Pidcock to miss Milan-San Remo after concussion diagnosis

However, a crash on the final day of Tirreno-Adriatico left the former cyclocross world champion with mild concussion, ruling him out of Milan-Sanremo and the opening races of Flanders’ ‘Holy Week’, E3 and Gent-Wevelgem.

#DDV23: The place to be! 🇧🇪👊

Here's how the boys will line up tomorrow in Waregem. pic.twitter.com/sMaVLWnRHQ

— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) March 28, 2023

But the Ineos Grenadiers have this afternoon confirmed that Pidcock will make his return tomorrow at Dwars door Vlaanderen, where he finished third last year behind Mathieu van der Poel and Tiesj Benoot.

The Yorkshireman, who will add some extra firepower to an already strong team which includes the in-form Filippo Ganna and Ben Turner, will be hoping the prescribed period of rest over the last two weeks hasn’t dulled his race-winning legs, as he aims to hit top form once again in time for the Ronde and the rest of the spring classics.

The 2023 edition of Gent-Wevelgem is already a few days old, but the discursive aftershocks have continued to linger well into Flemish Holy Week.

While it was all a bit too easy for Jumbo-Visma on a grisly days in Flanders’ Fields on Sunday, Wout van Aert’s decision to gift the win to loyal teammate Christophe Laporte has prompted a much stronger level of opposition than the dynamic duo faced on the Kemmelberg.

> Gent-Wevelgem leader takes wrong turn and strays off-course – but holds on to win

On the one hand, former cobbled classics titan Fabian Cancellara praised Van Aert’s generosity, which the retired Swiss rider claimed “elevated” his standing as a true champion. And, as others online pointed out, one victory at Gent-Wevelgem will mean a lot more to Christophe Laporte – who will, we presume, be even more driven to sacrifice himself for his team leader at this week’s Ronde – than a second win in the race would mean to Van Aert’s career.

Christophe Laporte WINS @GentWevelgem ! Amazing gift from Wout van Aert, so generous from him. 👏 #GW23 pic.twitter.com/oeNJIjV933

— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 26, 2023

“With that gesture he showed humility, generosity, chivalry... he showed humanity,” Cancellara said in his column for Cyclingnews. “For me, a champion is not only defined by races they win; it’s also the way they win, their personality, the human touches. All these things together add up to make a champion, and if you are willing to raise someone else up, then you are extra special.

“Of course, this was not an entirely selfless deed. I'm not sure winning Gent-Wevelgem changes Wout van Aert’s life. He has won it before, and he won another major Classic just two days ago. What matters most is the Tour of Flanders. That’s the one he wants to win above all else. It’s his one big goal for the entire season – everything else comes afterwards.

“He can afford to give Gent-Wevelgem away as it serves a higher purpose. This was a team victory and it makes the team stronger. He now gets more respect from Christophe Laporte and from his teammates – not to mention the fans.”

wout gift to laporte = people buttmad
wout wins it = people would also be buttmad

amazing how champions like wout always get put into this position (he can't do right, always wrong) by people shouting at a screen, eating their 7th donut of the day

— Kjell 🇧🇪 (@FerrexCS) March 26, 2023

Some onlookers, however, such as Belgian cycling luminaries Eddy Merckx and Tom Boonen, were more critical of Van Aert, and argued that a major one-day classic should never be decided on a whim.

“It’s his choice to let a teammate win, but I wouldn’t have done it,” the famously relentless Merckx – who was criticised for not letting a teammate win in a similar manner at the 1969 Liège–Bastogne–Liège – told Sporza after the race.

“Of course I don’t know what’s going on within the team. Wout van Aert was by far the best, you saw that on the Kemmelberg. He could write history by winning [E3] Harelbeke, Wevelgem, and the Tour of Flanders.”

Cheers, Wout (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Meanwhile, Boonen dismissed the gesture as a nice PR move by Jumbo-Visma, and expressed his concerns that Van Aert could “regret it” by Sunday afternoon.

“I have also helped teammates to the win, but never in such a situation,” the three-time Tour of Flanders winner said.

“You help teammates to let them fight for the win. This again looked good for the team’s marketing, but I don’t know if I would have done it.

“Jumbo scores, but Gent-Wevelgem is Gent-Wevelgem. That race is a nice addition to your list of honors. It is more than a ride in Paris-Nice. Do you want to win like this? I would have sprinted for it. Such a sprint would have looked strange, but it was the fairest.

“Wout is going to regret it. Riders come and go. Christophe Laporte will probably become the key figure for Wout in Flanders and Roubaix, but that is not a guarantee.

“Suppose you have a hard fall after 5km on Sunday [at Flanders], then you will regret it very much.”

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Cycling writer Herbie Sykes, meanwhile, offered an interesting, and nuanced, take on the subject on Twitter this morning.

Sykes argued that Merckx’s opinion on the matter stems from his own experience as a pro, when – through his ruthless desire to win and prove himself as the strongest rider in the bunch – he single-handedly dragged the sport out of its former corrupt shell, where riders like his former domineering teammate Rik Van Looy could gift, buy, and sell races at their leisure, such was their dictatorial grip on their teammates and the peloton.

Sykes wrote: “You might argue that it was fine for WVA to ‘gift’ the race to Laporte, and that’s fine. Laporte is great, he alone was able to stay on, and he was good enough to do a turn. In isolation it’s cuddly and heart-warming and nice, and of course he’ll work for WVA at the business end.

“However we shouldn’t delude ourselves that he was the deserving rider on Sunday because he wasn’t… The point is that it doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and a cycling paradigm in which races are ‘gifted’, bought, and sold risks becoming institutionally corrupt.”

Worse still, ultimately it leads you right back to 1964, and the original Emperor of Herentals.

Van Looy was a great bike rider, but nobody in their right mind would want that.

ENDS.

— Herbie Sykes (@herbiesykes) March 28, 2023

What do you think? Was Van Aert right to ‘gift’ his teammate the win on Sunday? Or should the strongest, fastest, and smartest rider always triumph at the biggest races?

Or, and I assume this is what you’re thinking, should we just stop talking about this and look forward to Sunday’s Tour of Flanders – where, I’m sure, there won’t be any gifts.

‘Hello, is that Mr Musk? I have an idea you might be interested in…’

Like, when you really think about it, is it necessary?

 

 

 

 

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Here's a street in Salford before and after it was closed to rat running traffic pic.twitter.com/ZzOWnMgGjj

— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) March 28, 2023