Is this the worst bike rack ever? Substandard cycle rack that looks like toast rack mercilessly mocked online; Cadex unveils crazy top tube-less prototype triathlon bike; Happy Giro d'Italia; Election karma; DnB on a bike to Berlin + more on the live blog

I feel like we've seen this before...

#GiroDItalia #Giro #TDF2021 #LesRP
La chute de Caleb Ewan au Tour de France 2021 à Pontivy. pic.twitter.com/iHZB4shXNs

— Passion Cyclisme (@PassionCyclism) May 6, 2022

💗 Giro d'Italia 2022 - Stage 1️⃣ | Tappa 1️⃣

🏆 @mathieuvdpoel
🥈 @GrmayeBiniam
🥉 @PelloBilbao1990 #Giro pic.twitter.com/zczxVDo17W

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 6, 2022

Mathieu van der Poel will be the first wearer of the pink leader's jersey at this year's Giro d'Italia having outkicked Biniam Girmay on the uphill finish to stage one. Caleb Ewan was in contention when he touched his front wheel into the Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert wheel in front, throwing him to the floor and opening the door for Pello Bilbao to complete the podium.

It was shades of stage three at last year's Tour de France for Ewan who landed heavily from a fall in the finale, but this time was able to limp across the line. We'll wait for the Lotto-Soudal doctor's word before saying for certain if he'll be riding tomorrow's TT.

What is certain is that Van der Poel and Girmay will be...and in nice sparkly new jerseys. The Dutchman resplendent in pink, Girmay glorious in white.

🚴🇮🇹 | Daar staat Van der Poel! Na geel nu roze! 💛💗 #Giro

📺​ Koers kijk je op discovery+ pic.twitter.com/J1Iyt1FzkX

— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) May 6, 2022

Here's Ed's effort in full glorious 24-minute-long HD for all you Strava stalkers out there...

Garmin's fitness sales for the first quarter of 2022 were down $87 million compared to the same time last year, at $221 million compared with $308 million. However, despite this 28 per cent decrease, Garmin Ltd. reported a record first-quarter revenue, according to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

President and CEO of the company, Cliff Pemble, said the reduction in sales was due to a "normalisation of demand for cycling products from the pandemic-driven levels in the prior year."

"We delivered another quarter of growth and record revenue in an increasingly complex and challenging business environment," he said. "High freight cost and component supply challenges persist while new headwinds emerge such as the strengthening of the U.S. dollar and the uncertainty created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In this dynamic environment, we remain focused on creating highly differentiated products that excite our customers and lead to success."

We asked, you delivered...

Not sure which one is more useless, but this is also ugly 😁 pic.twitter.com/QLUj05VHZS

— Gerhard Weiss (@Gerhard_Weiss) May 6, 2022

Inspired by this morning's toast rack, you've been sending in your worst bike racks. Brace yourselves for the cutting-edge forefront of human design...

HK govt ran a design competition for these “something something flower something something nature” pic.twitter.com/ye6iBAEESY

— Transit 💉 💉 Jam (@Transit_Jam) May 6, 2022

Lidl in Dublin, Ireland favoured this design for a while. I know this particular one pictured has been changed to a non-insane design, but I think one Lidl bike parking facility in my area still uses the design.https://t.co/fcvS8LtbJa

— Dermot Ryan (@dermotryanie) May 6, 2022

Flush up against a wall? pic.twitter.com/1skLRy2lue

— crash-in-dirt-later (@ajft) May 6, 2022

You can almost hear the discussion between the people in charge, who have clearly never locked up a bike before, when their new project fell flat on its face...

"Why's nobody using our shiny new bike rack?" 

"I know, we even gave it a nice lollipop sign with a bicycle so people know what it is..."

"Maybe it's not hi-vis, so nobody can see it?"

I wonder why this bike rack is not getting much use 🤔 pic.twitter.com/0yFE8APHuq

— Henry Lee (@HenryLangLee) May 5, 2022

 The good people of Twitter didn't disappoint, saying it must have been provided to the community to keep their toast upright during barbecue season... (can you have toast at a barbecue?)

Because it’s a toast rack

— Bob From Accounts 🚲 (@BobFromAccounts) May 5, 2022

Hey when you really have to put your toast somewhere safe pic.twitter.com/rhf6UbdU6f

— Bikeview.ca (@bikeviewca) May 5, 2022

A local rider offered some insight on the problem...

This is what I sent to my rep. These racks are built to meet the parking requirements for Grindhouse, not the office. But they are too far from the Grindhouse entrance. Brookhaven code says the bike racks should as close to the entrance as the closest non-handicap parking space. pic.twitter.com/1qpLdmM6AI

— Adam Treaster (@adamtreaster) May 5, 2022

So I tried my best. The office building's blueprints state about 11K sqft, split between retail and office. For some reason Dekalb county says its a 18K building.

Turns out they only need 5 bike parking spaces outside, so no clue why they put like 15. pic.twitter.com/HYh6lkQHLf

— Adam Treaster (@adamtreaster) May 5, 2022

Cue the obligatory crap cycle rack pile in...

this triggers a flight or fight response in me

— vincent (@vincent_trivett) May 5, 2022

Here’s a lovely bike park in Macclesfield, Cheshire. If you could get your bike in here, you’d bend your wheel quite easily. pic.twitter.com/miGpDve1Rb

— Peter Hall (@Carlislehall) May 6, 2022

Not quite as bad but placement of street furniture in Dublin not great either @DubCityCouncil pic.twitter.com/OiXnqfCuSx

— Siobhán McHugh (@Siobhan_McHugh_) May 6, 2022

Seven masked assailants in two vehicles stole £30,000 worth of bikes and other items from bike maintenance and repair firm The Bicycle Doc Ltd just after 6pm on April 23. The crime happened at their unit in Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, and saw the group's neighbour at The Window Blind Centre threatened and locked in his unit, before the group smashed their way in, stealing seven customer bikes and other items.

"At about 6.10pm about seven people turned up in a gold BMW X5 and a black Fiat Ducato Van. Some of them were wearing masks," Chris Franklin of The Bicycle Doc told Yahoo.

"Our neighbour notified us of the break in and the group took what they could in the five or so minutes before the police arrived. They decimated the entrance to our unit and ransacked the shop floor.

"Thanks to the incredible bravery and courage shown by our neighbour in what must have been a very scary scenario, it was highly likely the burglars had to shoot off earlier than they planned thanks to him calling the police.

"Thirteen of our loyal customers' bikes were taken, along with cash registers and a bike helmet, to the total value of around £30,000."

𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗬!!

Drum & Bass On The Bike Heads to Germany, 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡 this 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗬 (8th) Starting at BRANDENBURGER GATE from 2PM.

(Full Route TBA) pic.twitter.com/vKBLlfaOVu

— Domonic (@domwhiting) May 6, 2022

We'll have something more in depth about yesterday's elections, and what they mean for LTNs, up on the site later today. Simon will have all the results, analysis and knowledge, but in the meantime let me offer my personal expertise on the subject...the memes and shithousery...

Anti-LTNers standing for election: Haha fuck yeah!!! Yes!!

Anti-LTNers seeing election results: Well this fucking sucks. What the fuck.

— m̶a̶i̶d̶s̶t̶o̶n̶e̶onbike (@maidstoneonbike) May 6, 2022

LTN opponents took one hell of a beating.

— Brian Whelan (@brianwhelanhack) May 6, 2022

Europe's largest motoring association has sent a clear message to its members, get on yer bike...or just drive slow. 

Obviously we prefer the first suggestion: tip number three of the ADAC's top tips on reducing fuel consumption to reduce dependence on Russian energy imports. In an open letter published on ADAC's website, Christian Reinicke said:

The war in Ukraine and the incomprehensible suffering of the population fill us in the ADAC Presidium with horror and deep sympathy like everyone else. Watching helplessly is hard to bear.

In recent weeks, our country's dependence on Russian energy imports has become very clear. It is all the more important to reduce these quickly. Each individual can contribute to this.

You, dear ADAC members, can use many options to reduce fuel consumption when driving a car. Speed ​​plays a major role in this. However, anticipatory and steady driving is also important. On our homepage you will find many tips on how to reduce fuel consumption. All in all, you can reduce consumption by up to 20 percent just by driving.

At the same time, we ask you to check whether and which car journeys you can possibly do without. If you have good access to public transport, you should make more use of it. Some routes can also be covered by bike or on foot. With this in mind, let us remain mobile and exploit the potential together.

Dear members, we can already see how you are getting more information and how willing many of you are to save energy. If more than 21 million members behave more consciously and more fuel-efficiently, the effect will be clearly visible. And a strong sign is set. In the spirit of personal responsibility and voluntariness: "Save fuel. Help. Stay mobile."

So, there you have it...just drive slow (or ride a bike). We know which one we'd rather do...