“From the same paper that brought us ‘52mph cyclists’”: Telegraph slammed for manipulating photos of “law-abiding people exercising” for column claiming “speeding cyclists” endanger drivers… despite riders averaging 14.6mph + more on the live blog

Toronto’s city council has voted against plans to grant Ontario’s provincial authority the power to block and roll back on the Canadian city’s cycle lane plans, which premier Doug Ford controversially described as “just absolutely insanity right now”.

Last month Ford, who back in 2022 rather wisely conducted a TV news interview on road safety while driving through a snowstorm, pledged to limit the construction of cycle lanes in Ontario and rip out some recently installed ones, claiming that motorists should have priority on busy city streets – and that cyclists should simply be shunted onto “secondary roads”.

“We just want to get traffic moving… that’s what it comes down to, making sure you aren’t putting bike lanes in the middle of some of the busiest streets in the country. Put them on secondary roads,” Ford said when announcing the plan, the legalisation for which is titled ‘Reducing Gridlock and Saving You Time Act’.

> Cyclists angered by Canadian politician's road safety interview...while driving through snowstorm

Ford’s proposals – which have been criticised by both cyclists and local officials as an act of government overreach – would block the construction of new cycling infrastructure if its results in the loss of lanes previously reserved for cars, buses, and lorries, while ripping out three of Toronto’s recently installed bike lanes.

However, the local authority in Toronto, where six cyclists have already been killed this year on the city’s roads, voted 21-4 to oppose Ford’s bill, while also voting 22-3 against paying for any bike lane removal under the legislation.

“Ripping up our roads will make our congestion worse, especially during the time that you’re ripping it up. It’s costly and it will make our roads less safe for cyclists,” Toronto’s mayor, Olivia Chow, said after the vote.

Despite Ontario’s transport minister claiming that the cycle lane removal will offset the $11bn Toronto apparently loses every year due to congestion, opponents say Ford’s government hasn’t produced any data to suggest that the three bike lanes under threat due to the plans are causing more delays than those that would be produced by the ensuing construction work.

Instead, they argue that Ford has based his entire anti-cycle lane plan on anecdotal evidence.

> “The reality is cyclists are going places”: Ontario premier slammed for “put cyclists on secondary roads” stance, amid “ineffective and dangerous” plans to block bike lane projects

“He’s deflecting from the failings and scandals of his government,” Albert Koehl, an environmental lawyer and author of Wheeling Through Toronto, told the Guardian.

“He and others are stuck in traffic because there are too many people alone in their cars and they’re trying to scapegoat cyclists. It’s absurd.”

However, Christine Hogarth, a Progress Conservative member of Ontario’s legislature, claimed that her constituents were overwhelmingly opposed to Toronto’s cycle lanes, arguing that “we shouldn’t be creating additional gridlock for those drivers on these roads that were meant to move drivers”.

“There are side roads, safer roads, for people to cycle,” she said. “The reality is there should be bike lanes on some streets and maybe not on others.”

> Are drones the future of close pass operations? Police in Canada to use drones as part of attempt to clamp down on dangerous driving around cyclists

Unsurprisingly, not everyone’s convinced by that ‘cyclists can just use side streets’ argument.

“None of these people suggesting side streets can point to a map and say where it would be good idea to move these larger bike lanes,” said David Shellnutt, a Toronto-based lawyer who represents injured cyclists.

“When you move people off main roads, you’re asking people – on their commutes, on their way to school, on their way to do groceries – to take the scenic route. And that’s just not going to happen.

“If this was really about congestion, if it was about costs and about keeping people safe and about keeping people healthy, then all the evidence is there to support bike lines. But because there’s no real evidence, we can see it’s just politics – and it plays really well for the premier.

“The negative reaction from downtown residents isn’t going to cost him votes. And it does well in the suburbs, so it’s a win-win.”

> Police officer dishes out fines to cyclists – then crashes his SUV into one in a cycle lane

He continued: “Ford is stoking the flames of this culture war. And we worry it’s going to spill on to the roadways.

“You’re going to see vehicular assault. You’re going to see road rage incidents. It really feels there’s a target on the backs of cyclists in this city. The premier is playing politics with our safety.”

Koehl agrees: “Bike lanes are put in after years of data-based decision making. They’re put in because people have died.

“To have a premier simply come in and say ‘I don’t like it. I’m going to undo it’ – that’s a problem.”

> Bicycle insurance — compare quotes and find yourself a great deal to get your bike covered

This one has been on the cards for a while, but over the weekend – and just days after the Ineos Grenadiers announced a development partnership with German Continental squad Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank – it was confirmed that one of the finest developers of young British talent, Trinity Racing, is shuttering its road outfit for 2025.

In September, we reported that the U23 team, which paved the way for Tom Pidcock, Ben Healy, Ben Turner, Tom Gloag, and Bob Donaldson to progress to the World Tour, was on the verge of closing after racing the Tour of Britain due to the pressures caused by increased running costs and sponsorship woes, after one backer ended its deal last year and another reduced its input.

And now, it’s been all but confirmed that Trinity will be missing from the peloton next year, with the squad reduced to an off-road outfit, leaving Saint Piran as the only remaining British men’s Continental team, the culmination of years of financial turbulence for domestic racing in the UK which has shattered the local scene.

Trinity's Callum Thornley races up Saltburn Bank on stage two of the 2024 Tour of Britain (Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

“Trinity, I think they’re going to continue, but only as a mountain bike team,” the team’s departing sports director, Pete Kennaugh, who is set to join Astana for 2025, told Cycling Weekly.

“That’s not confirmed yet, just from the last conversations I’ve had with some of the guys who work there. [It will be] almost like a small sort of feeder team for the Specialized Factory [Racing] team, I guess.”

It has been suggested that road racing activities have been halted for 2025, with a plan in place to continue in 2026. However, while Bob Donaldson is set to move to Jayco-AlUla, and Callum Thornley and Luke Tuckwell to Red Bull-Bora’s ‘rookies’ team, many of those expecting to don Trinity’s colours again next year could be left without a contract.

“Hopefully it can be kept alive but it’s very tough,” says Kennaugh’s fellow sports director Jon Mould. “It’s a shame to potentially be losing one of the best U23 development teams in the world.”

Managed by rider agent Andrew McQuaid and originally established primarily as a cyclocross squad in 2018, before moving into road racing in 2020, Trinity has become one of the leading and most prestigious talent factories in the world.

The British outfit has produced the likes of double Olympic champion and Tour de France stage winner Tom Pidcock, Giro d’Italia stage winner Ben Healy, Ineos Grenadiers classics rider Ben Turner, Visma-Lease a Bike’s highly-rated Thomas Gloag, American Luke Lamperti, and Groupama-FDJ’s Samuel Watson, along with the extremely promising Donaldson (second at this year’s U23 Paris-Roubaix) and Tour of Britain mountains classification winner Thornley.

Pidcock winning the 2020 British cyclocross title in Trinity colours (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

“I think Andrew McQuaid’s really taken the brunt of it,” Kennaugh continued. “The team was sort of his baby, so to speak, and he put so much effort and time and passion into it.

“He’ll walk a million miles to try and get someone a contract. He’s not just an agent, he actually fully cares about his riders, which is why he’s run this team for so long, and probably spending a lot of money out of his own pocket doing so.

“From my point of view, he hasn’t failed. It’s just how it is at the minute. I just think fair play and chapeau to him for putting so much time and effort into the team for the years he has done. So many other managers or team owners would have pulled the plug years ago.

“He tried so hard to make sure Trinity could continue as a road team next year. But unfortunately, it’s not the case.”

If only, there were a World Tour British team on the lookout for an U23 team to develop promising, young talent and get them ready for the highest level. Oh wait…

Alright, stop the count. I think we’ve found the most bonkers cycling story of 2024. And I know, it’s a crowded field…

> “I owe cycling a proper goodbye”: Irish cyclist convinced judge to delay 16-month jail sentence so he could ride Gran Fondo World Championships

My first blue sky post will be the dancing cyclocross duck

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— cyclingworf.bsky.social (@cyclingworf.bsky.social) November 13, 2024 at 8:30 PM

Over the weekend, London-based bike lock start-up Mosa – which says it hopes to tackle the increasing problem of bike theft by converting conventional Sheffield stands and racks into secure cycle parking spaces – launched its first ever commercial trial in the capital, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Westfield Shopping Centre.

The company, founded by Josh Liu, partnered with bike manufacturer Giant to create retrofittable docking systems for bike stands, which are battery-powered and weather-sealed, accessible through the Mosa app, are easy to lock and unlock, and, the brand says, offer enhanced security for cyclists without the need for their own heavy locks.

Unveiled on Friday, 20 of these ‘smart docks’ will be available at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Westfield Stratford City until 17 January, and all park and shopping centre visitors on bikes are encouraged to try them out as part of the trial.

Mosa’s new bike parking system at the Olympic Park

“This initiative not only aims to provide secure parking but also explores how technology can tackle a major issue for cities, property owners, and cyclists alike,” Mosa founder Liu said.

“By working with responsible landlords, we hope to create a cycling environment that’s safer and more accessible, ultimately encouraging more people to embrace cycling.

“We’re excited to collaborate with top-tier partners like Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Westfield Stratford City, leveraging innovation to inspire and support active travel.

“With their involvement, we’re confident they will set an example that others will follow, encouraging more responsible landlords to join this movement for worry-free bike parking.”

On Friday, you may have heard, Paddy McGuinness arrived in Glasgow a broken shell of a man, after completing 300 miles, all the way from Wrexham, through the Lake District, and up to Scotland, riding a modified Raleigh Chopper for Children in Need.

And this morning, after being told that his nostalgia-laden, leg-breaking challenge ride has already raised over £9.25 million for the charity, McGuinness pledged to get the Chopper that propelled him all the way to Glasgow – which he named Patch – tattooed on him if the fundraising total reaches the ten million mark.

“If we together get to £10million on this challenge, I’m getting Patch tattooed,” he told Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show today.

“I just thought of it, I’m already regretting saying that,” he laughed. “I’m off to Google tattoo artists.”

> “Will Children in Need be paying for his new knees?” Paddy McGuinness completes epic five-day, 300-mile Raleigh Chopper charity cycle, raising over £7.5m – with a little help from Sir Chris Hoy (and a Gladiator)

As we noted on Friday, the Phoenix Nights and Take Me Out star was joined by none other than Sir Chris Hoy, both during his 300-mile ride and when he was preparing for the rather unique long-distance ride.

So, what was it like cycling on a Chopper with a track legend?

“When Sir Chris Hoy came to my house about three or four days before the challenge, he took me to a hill called Blaze Hill. If you’re into biking, it’s torturous. It’s ridiculously steep and it’s a mile long,” he said about his pre-ride training with the six-time Olympic champion.

 

 

 

 

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“He had me up there, where he was coaching me all the way, which is impressive in itself. I don’t know how he could even talk because I couldn’t.

“And when he got to the top he said, ‘right, you’ve just done that on that Chopper. People on 18-gear bikes struggle with that. So everything you’ve got ahead of you won’t be as steep as that’.

“He taught me about pacing myself and not going too fast. When you’re on a flat area you think you’ll get a bit of time back, but he said to save as much energy as possible. It’s been invaluable.

“I think we did about 17 miles together, and that is like equating it to being a football fan and having a kickabout with Ronaldo or something like that.”

To be fair, I imagine going out for a spin with Sir Chris would be a much more pleasant experience than spending any time in the company of a certain ego-maniac footballer…