Cyclist tests World Championships route's pothole-repaired roads... snaps saddle and limps home; Leknessund takes the pink jersey from Evenepoel at Giro d'Italia ; Cycling's last-minute Eurovision entry?; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog

I'm sure all of us can't wait to see Scotland hosting the World Championships later this year, but there's a part of me which is so worried about it all going so bad so quickly...

Those worries were turned into legitimate concerns when Alan Myles decided to cycle down Lennoxtown near Glasgow at race speeds this morning and his saddle snapped, leaving him hoping that the other rail holds on for the next 16 miles home, and us hoping that the East Dunbartonshire Council gets on it quickly.

However, Alan believes that the council has made what is likely to be the last repair to the road. He told road.cc: "It is in a very poor state and simply gets a hand-laid repair each time. I normally ride round all of the mess, but thought I'd conduct an experiment this morning, so did a seated sprint over the repairs and the rail gave way.

"The council re-laid the road just round the corner so it looks highly unlikely this bit will get done before the championships as they would have done it at the same time (the road had to be closed for it)."

@EDCouncil has made what is likely to be the last repair to part of the @CyclingWorlds route. I though i'd ride it at race speed this morning and my saddle snapped. So that will be fun for all the riders... just the 16 miles left for the other rail to hold on till home.@roadcc pic.twitter.com/848ZzubTIN

— Alan Myles 🇵🇸 (@AlanMyles8) May 9, 2023

Campsie Road, between Lennoxtown and Torrance, just after the Crow Road, where Alan broke his saddle rail, has been confirmed to be a part of the UCI's Road World Championship route from Edinburgh to Glasgow, to be held later in August.

We have reached out to East Dunbartonshire Council for a comment.

Last week, Wout van Aert was doing a recon ride in Stirlingshire, Scotland ahead of the Championships. He then went on to do a round of the Glasgow street circuit, also set to feature in the Championship, on a NEXT bike, but he was quick to point out the dangerous cycling conditions, calling the ride a "risky business".

I doubt the Belgian would enjoy cycling there if the roads remain the same.

> Wout van Aert takes time trial bike to Scotland for World Championships recon —then rides an OVO bike on Glasgow’s “risky” streets

Tactical handover? Mind games? Or first signs of faltering?

Only time will tell, but while AG2R Citroën's Aurélien Paret-Peintre put in a mighty shift on the final sprint to take home a stage victory, it was Team DSM's Andreas Leknessund who was handed the maglia rosa by Evenepoel as he reliquished his lead at the top of the general classification.

Leknessund became the first Norwegian in 42 years to wear the famous pink jersey after dropping the breakaway on the final climb with no one but the Frenchman on his wheel. However, by the final sprint, the 23-year-old had nothing more left in his tank to fight for the win but enough to see him go top of the GC.

🔻 The two-man challenge between Frenchman @AurelienParetP and Norwegian @andreaslek in the last exciting kilometre of today's stage
.
🔻La sfida a due tra il francese Aurélien Paret-Peintre e il noervegese Andreas Leknessund nell'ultimo entusiasmante chilometro della tappa di… pic.twitter.com/utqt3G65zJ

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 9, 2023

"It's super special. Obviously I went for the stage and also knew that pink was possible," said Leknessund.

Meanwhile, Paret-Peintre said that it was a "perfect day" for him and he was "super happy". "I know I'm faster than him so we collaborate until the finish line. I think he takes the maglia rosa so everybody's happy, maybe," he said.

What a start to our Grand Tour campaign at the @giroditalia 🎊@andreaslek looking resplendent on that magical podium 💖🤩 and on @dsmfirmenich’s first day of trading, wow!#KeepChallenging #PerformanceThroughNutrition #Giro pic.twitter.com/9ZoiYqJrgs

— Team DSM (@TeamDSM) May 9, 2023

Despite riding at a steady pace with his teammates, Evenepoel found himself isolated after Geraint Thomas picked up on the on the final climb of Colle Molella.

Leknessund now leads Evenepoel by 28 seconds in the new-look general classification with Paret-Peintre up to third place a further two seconds back. After recovering from some early problems in the stage, Portugal’s João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) stands fourth, 12 seconds ahead of fifth-placed Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).

> Kaden Groves defends himself after admitting to causing crash at Giro d’Italia which took Mark Cavendish out

> Remco Evenepoel uploads mind-boggling Giro d'Italia time trial domination to Strava

Now what?!

A study from researchers at the University of Colorado published in the Sports Medicine has revealed that examining the blood of elite cyclists can help treat and prevent chronic diseases.

The scientists studied the metabolism of elite professional cyclists during training and in a world tour race by using metabolomics, a technique that allows them to study thousands of metabolites (or, small molecules made when the body breaks down food, drugs, chemicals, or its own tissues) from just a few drops of blood. 

The researchers also discovered that patients who came into the clinic with long COVID had similar blood profiles to elite cyclists when they reached exhaustion.

"By identifying these healthy metabolomic signatures, we are able to take that information into patient populations with health complications, like those who are cancer survivors or those who are suffering from symptoms of long COVID," said one of the lead authors.

Welp, that means I can't be of any help to the researchers. Anyone got the line to Pogi?

Saint Piran Pro Cycling has launched a comprehensive mental health, wellbeing and lifestyle programmes to support its staff and riders, both on and off the bike.

The South-West based cycling group has joined forces with one of Ireland’s leading wellbeing coaching experts EDelia Group to deliver its potentially life-changing programme. The partnership ensures everyone in the Saint Piran family receive crucial support and one-to-one advice on lifestyle, career development and performance whenever they need it from up to 40 specialist advisors.

EDelia will help riders and staff in the following key areas:

• Building resilience to face challenges in everyday life and performance
• Understanding that managing mental wellbeing is a skill that can be learnt
• Development as a leader on and off the bike
• Equipping riders and staff for a life and career away from cycling

Last week, Saint Piran, along with Trinity Racing, was announced as the first teams for the 2023 Tour of Britain. 

Steve Lampier, Saint Piran sports director, said: "The Tour of Britain is the pinnacle of our season. It’s Britain’s biggest race and therefore the most important event on our calendar, so everything’s geared to that first week in September.

"The race is always hotly contested and gives us a chance for us to go up against the big teams. Given that last year we came close to a victory with Alex [Richardson] on stage three before the race got shortened, the fire is burning very bright to try and better that performance in 2023."

Pollença Mallorca (CC BY-SA 4.0/Matthias Süßen)

A Polish cyclist on holiday in Mallorca has died after a motorcyclist, who later tested positive for drugs, lost control of his Harley-Davidson and smashed into a group ride.

> Cyclist killed in Mallorca after motorcyclist under influence of drugs hits group ride head-on

Spanish bicycle manufacturer Orbea has accomplished an increase in turnover of 42 per cent from €282 million in 2021 to €400 million last year,  while also posting a 20 per cent rise in profit after taxes and restructuring.

The company said it managed to do this by doubling the structure of its workforce in three years and also fast-tracking the recruitment of international talent, reports Bike Europe. It now has a workforce of over 1,000 employees, most of them based in the Basque country.

It also said that Orbea will "carry on investing in developing state-of-the-art technological solutions".

The news comes as another respite as the cycling industry faces the post-lockdown decrease in public interest towards cycling, with many brands and manufacturers struggling to keep up after experiencing booming profits during the pandemic.

> ​Pon Bike sales hit £2 billion, doubling from last year

About this crash from the weekend...

> Kaden Groves defends himself after admitting to causing crash at Giro d’Italia which took Mark Cavendish out

All was going well until the final few hundred metres before the final 3km banner at stage two of Giro d'Italia, when things got a little too squirrelly in the peloton.

The 24-year old Australian Kaden Groves, swerved to the right in a defensive manoeuvre, causing a chain reaction in the peloton which caught a lot of riders out, including Mark Cavendish and Mads Pederson.

However, the first one to hit the deck was Team DSM's Martijn Tusveld, who had his entire bike snapped his half. The team's Twitter account posted a video of one of their mechanics rushing towards the crash with the replacement bike and handing it to Tusveld, who had a few bruises and some tears on his kit but fortunately survived any other injuries.

Clear and concise info from our coaches, plus a cool head (and speedy legs) from our mechanic Felipe - to get up to @martijntusveld as quickly as possible after 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 crash at the @giroditalia today.🚲 👏🏻#KeepChallenging #Giro pic.twitter.com/jbIeBchib2

— Team DSM (@TeamDSM) May 7, 2023

But when the mechanic picks up his crashed Scott Foil RC, it appears entirely snapped in half, with the top tube and down tube sliced, the two parts of the bike held together by their internally-routed cables.

The post-race gave us some more drama too, with Evenepoel blaming Groves and Groves defending himself the next day.

> Kaden Groves defends himself after admitting to causing crash at Giro d’Italia which took Mark Cavendish out

Groves went on to finish third yesterday in the stage three, with Pederson coming in second, and another Aussie Michael Matthews claiming victory in the uphill sprint.

Meanwhile, Evenepoel, after posting a ridiculously fast time on the opening day's individual time trial, is still holding the lead, and even gained a bonus sprint second on Primož Roglič yesterday.

The weather has been a hit or a miss, but we're not going to let you miss anything from the news cycle that kept me and the other weekend warriors at road.cc peeling our eyes out and doing double takes every now and then (which is basically most days anyway...), that is, if we were not too busy getting carried away watching the Giro...

And in case you missed it, we started with the "a week without Jeremy Vine" challenge on our blog last week. It's safe to say we're failing that pretty early this time around.

> Confusion as Daily Mail claims Jeremy Vine suspended by Twitter "over anti-motorist tweeting"... but presenter says newspaper has the wrong account

> Vittoria claims new Corsa Pro is “the most advanced cotton road tyre ever made”

> Remco Evenepoel uploads mind-boggling Giro d'Italia time trial domination to Strava

> Conservative MP claims cycling infrastructure is "rarely used" and "takes away from drivers and pedestrians"

> Peloton reports a defect in its bike seats after users report injuries, also announces ninth straight quarter of loss

> BBC launches mobile broadcasting studio on a bicycle in the Netherlands

> Pub owner who blocked cycle lane says he’s “being punished” after council asks to remove all barriers

> Near Miss of the Day 863: Motorcyclist zooms into cycle lane from the wrong side and forces cyclist on the road