Marginal flaps? Ganna’s baggy skinsuit and stacked team car under scrutiny; I’m Gonna Bee (500 Miles): Andy Burnham says miserly active travel figures “wrong”; Lack of bike storage hinders commute; ITV on Highway Code changes + more on the live blog

Before I sign off for tonight, I have to thank reader AlsoSomniloquism for pointing out that under Andy Burnham’s revised estimate for Greater Manchester’s Bee Network, “you could walk (cycle) 500 miles but will have to wait several more years to walk (cycle) 500 more”.

If I have to have “Da-da da da (da-da da da)” in my head all evening, so do you…

The GC battle began in earnest on stage four of the Women’s Tour into Welshpool, as FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope’s Grace Brown took her first win of the season, beating Kasia Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini in a three-up sprint after an exhilarating finale.

The trio, who had been part of a ten-rider move which forged clear of the bunch on the lumpy Welsh terrain, contested the stage after Brown had attacked with around four kilometres to go, with Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma putting in a serious shift to catch the flying Aussie.

The Italian champion Longo Borghini, lacking the acceleration of her rivals, was unsurprisingly the first to launch the sprint, with a confident Brown patiently biding her time before surging by for a convincing victory.

Grace Brown (@FDJ_NAqui_Fut) wins stage four of the Women’s Tour in Welshpool 🏆#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/ZIGAAxuTVo

— The Women's Tour (@thewomenstour) June 9, 2022

With tomorrow’s queen stage, and a summit finish on Black Mountain, awaiting the Women’s Tour peloton, new race leader Brown will be hoping she can maintain her sparkling form on the race’s highest slopes.

Lead image: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com

With Top Ganna’s baggy elbows sparking some debate this morning, a staff member from Bioracer – Ineos Grenadiers’ kit supplier – got in touch with road.cc to clear a few things up.

The staffer, who says he drove the time trial world champion’s skinsuit to the Ineos team hotel overnight from Belgium before the stage, told us:

“The suit was long sleeve, standard model (as in the “standard model” we make for him and all the team – albeit his exact pattern fit), with welded seams (as is now standard on our Speedmaster versions).

“The baggy elbows are due to the sleeves and forearms fabrics being not quite as elastic as the “old” lycra previously used here.

“The new fabrics need to be cut and welded to perfectly fit when in the tuck position, slightly baggy when not obviously.

“The new fabric is significantly faster when used correctly, but not as elastic.”

Well, that clears that up (hopefully).

Now, on to the whole team car situation…

Greater Manchester’s Bee Network of cycling and walking routes – once heralded as a “potential national blueprint” for active travel in the UK – has taken a bit of a hit in recent times… Well, that’s if you believe the region’s new strategy document for 2030 (which, according to GM mayor Andy Burnham, you shouldn’t).

Just over two years ago, in January 2020 (ah, those halcyon days), Burnham and the area’s then-cycling and walking commissioner Chris Boardman published a report entitled ‘Change a Region to Change a Nation’, highlighting the Bee Network’s ability to act as a model for others to follow to help tackle the climate emergency, reduce congestion and benefit public health.

According to the report, 1,800 miles of protected space for cyclists and walkers would be implemented over the following decade, resulting in a projected 350 per cent increase in daily cycling trips, from 100,000 to 450,000. Daily walking trips were also expected to rise by a third under the scheme, from 1,480,000 a day to 2,050,000.

But since that report, Boardman has left to take on the role of interim commissioner of Active Travel England, a new body tasked with implementing the government’s Gear Change strategy.

And a new strategy document, released today, appears to show a drastic scaling back of the Bee Network’s ambitions.

According to the Greater Manchester 2030 brochure, 100 kilometres of walking and cycling routes are set to be installed by 2024, a long way short of the original target of 1,800 miles by 2029:

Interesting nugget in the Greater Mamchester 2030 strategy about the Bee Network. Original @chris_boardman vision was for 1,800 miles of safe cycling and walking routes by 2029. Now they are aiming to build just 100km of it by 2024. pic.twitter.com/pC0hg8nCD3

— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) June 9, 2022

Trying to do the maths quickly, is that a thirtieth of the original goal? In what proportion of the time (I'm thinking CB out his goal forward in 2019?), half of the time?

— Dave (@PequodDave) June 9, 2022

Dire.

— Owler Nook (@Owler_Nook) June 9, 2022

However, as any live blogger knows all too well, typos happen (especially in major regional strategy documents), and Andy Burnham’s press team soon got in touch with Guardian journalist Helen Pidd to clarify that the 100km claim was a simple mistake.

Instead, Burnham says that “the target is to deliver 500 miles of cycling/walking routes by 2024” and that the completion of the entire 1,800 Bee Network by 2029 is still very much on the cards.

A lot less dire.

— Owler Nook (@Owler_Nook) June 9, 2022

You just can’t find a descent editor these days…

Finally, one of the sport’s great unsolved mysteries has finally been put to rest, by the style icon himself…

People worrying about my socks… why does it bother you that you can see ankle…? Because I do wear socks!!?? pic.twitter.com/6B1D5sRyKU

— Adam Blythe (@AdamBlythe89) June 8, 2022

Some marginal socks there, eh Adam? Marginal socks, geddit? Ah, I give up... 

Set your VHS for 8.30pm this evening, as ITV’s Tonight show takes on the recent changes to the Highway Code (there were changes? Why did nobody tell me?).

Popcorn at the ready for ITVs Tonight programme “Who Rules Britains Roads?” tomorrow at 20:30 “investigates the biggest changes to the Highway Code”
They are using some of the close passes from my video compilation https://t.co/xiozQFggmS

— Bikery (@Bikery1966) June 8, 2022

Can’t say the programme’s needlessly provocative title fills me with much hope, mind you – presenting Britain’s roads as a place of conquest, rather than a shared space for all road users, isn’t the most sensible strategy from the outset, I’m sure you’d agree.

But surely it can’t be worse than Countryfile’s recent segment on cycling safety, described on social media as “vile”, “disgraceful” and an “utter shitshow triggering anti-cycling hatred”.

The bar’s pretty low, to be fair…

But if you do find yourself screaming at the telly at half eight tonight, you can always flick over to ITV4 for highlights from the Women’s Tour. Much better.

As Filippo Ganna powered to victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné yesterday, the more nerdy corners of Cycling Twitter began speculating about a possible new breakthrough for the Ineos Grenadiers and their aero guru Dan Bigham.

That ground-breaking new discovery? Eh… baggy elbows, apparently.

With more than one Ineos rider having these flaps around the elbow, Ineos history and Bigham as staff this is no accident.

Didn’t see similar in the Jumbo suits. Another aero breakthrough by Bigham? https://t.co/CaGkChI99E

— Lena Kolumna (@reathina) June 8, 2022

My guess is that they are cut to be tight with elbows bent on the aero bars. The downside is that it’s looser with straight arms on the base bars. But I’m no aerodynamicist/tailor.

— Josh Warburg (@jcwarburg) June 8, 2022

They were definitely experimenting with suits then. Ganna had a different one from Hayter and arms could probably be tighter but today was a completely different level. If that wasn’t planned it was complete sabotage aerowise

— Lena Kolumna (@reathina) June 8, 2022

If by some weird twist of fate it turns out that saggy elbow flaps are actually aero, I would laugh so hard 😂

— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) June 8, 2022

Some, however, have claimed that Ganna (like any mediocre club ten rider) was merely wearing arm warmers underneath his time trial suit.

According to one Twitter user, who posted a photo of Ganna warming down in short sleeves, the arm warmers probably slipped during his stage-winning effort, causing him to resemble a trackie-wearing teenager from the 1990s (that’s Tour-winning attention to detail right there).

@anewcd found the probably answer. Ganna didn’t wear a long sleeved suit. The “arm warmers” probably slipped up a bit after 30km riding and created that unintentional flap. Also explains the double wc bands https://t.co/EQi78y6FUr

— Lena Kolumna (@reathina) June 8, 2022

That claim has been countered by other tech geeks, who maintain that the world champion's suit is indeed "optimised for bent arms":

Definitely not wearing the same suit in that picture, as he wore on the ride! His TT suit is one piece with long sleeves. I think it's optimised for bent arms!

— Neil McGurk (@mcgurk_neil) June 9, 2022

To be fair, if loose-fitting cycling clothing and shoddy arm warmers really were the key to success, I’d have cleaned up back in the day…

While ‘90s Kevin and Perry chic was enough to propel Ganna to victory by two seconds over the more streamlined Wout van Aert, Ineos teammate Ethan Hayter adopted an even more novel approach to time trialling, on his way to third place:

Sorry but as a contact lens wearer, for Ethan Hayter to put in THAT performance despite losing his visor is some king shit. A light breeze is enough to discombobulate me when I'm wearing mine 😅 #Dauphine #Dauphiné2022

— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) June 8, 2022

Is marginal sight the new marginal gain?