Tadej Pogačar’s ‘easy’ coffee ride “the hardest training session of my life”, says F1 star; Is Tom Pidcock staying at crisis-stricken Ineos after all?; Dutch rider shows officials the middle finger in dramatic track worlds DQ + more on the live blog

Yesterday, during a half-time bit of ‘fun’ at Anfield, a very young Liverpool fan – whose dream of scoring a penalty in front of the Kop was ruthlessly thwarted not once, but twice, by David James (I know, James pulling off two consecutive saves, shocker) – learnt a valuable lesson about elite sportspeople: Never take them on at their own game.

Someone should maybe have told that to Formula One star Carlos Sainz, before the Ferrari driver decided to join Tadej Pogačar for what the world champion promised would be a super-easy coffee ride following his era-defining solo triumph in Zurich last month.

A few weeks ago on the live blog, we noted that Sainz, who finished second behind teammate Charles Leclerc at the United States Grand Prix over the weekend, met up with his fellow Monaco-dwelling resident Pogi for a seemingly relaxed, non-taxing recovery spin, designed to help nurse the Slovenian’s post-worlds hangover, and grab some delicious focaccia from what looked like an abandoned storage unit on the way home.

> “It’s good for a hangover, I can tell you that!” Tadej Pogačar enjoys hangover “zone zero” ride and focaccia with F1 star Carlos Sainz

Well, I say non-taxing… In a clip posted to Instagram, Sainz described the gentle ride around Monaco as “zone four” for him – and “zone zero” for the nonchalant world champion.

And in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad at the weekend, the Spanish driver elaborated on his foolish decision to join Pogačar at his 100km soloing, world-beating best – even for a ‘hangover’ coffee ride – and gave a startling insight into the vast, vast gulf that exists between one of the greatest cyclists who’s ever lived and even the most dedicated of weekend warriors.

“I had the brilliant idea to go on a recovery ride with him just after he had become world champion and was in absolute top form,” Sainz, who says he struck up a friendship with Pogačar after a “chance meeting”, told the Belgian newspaper.

“He asked if I wanted to go with him and I said yes. It sounded simple: we do a ride of 30, 40 kilometres. We stop somewhere along the way for a coffee and then return to Monaco.

“That’s when I discovered: what is a quiet ride for him, is the hardest training session of my life. And I consider myself a good cyclist.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Carlos Sainz (@carlossainz55)

He continued: “For Tadej, these are recovery rides, purely for fun, in which he does not push himself. So that cycling losers like myself can get the idea that they can potentially ride as fast as him.

“The reality is of course that even during those coffee rides we completely die trying to follow him. He does us the favour of not dropping us because otherwise he has no one to talk to.

“Of course, talking is relative. I have a heart rate of 170, 180 while he is barely at 110. Those are not really interesting conversations, I can say.

> Is Tadej Pogačar the greatest cyclist who’s ever lived?

“It was literally the hardest ride of my life. Anyone who has never been on a bike can’t imagine how fast that guy can ride. It’s impressive to see what a powerful champion he is.”

Gulp. Judging by those comments, I’m not sure Sainz will be following F1 colleague Valtteri Bottas into the gravel game anytime soon… especially if Pogi one day opts for the knobbly tyres.

First Dan Bigham, then Tom Pidcock, and now Ethan Hayter – the list of riders and staff queuing up to publicly criticise what appears to be the malfunctioning internal machine that powers the sputtering Ineos Grenadiers is growing longer by the day.

British road race champion Hayter, who turned pro with Ineos in 2020, going onto win 19 times for the team, is set to join Soudal Quick-Step for 2025 on a two-year deal.

The 26-year-old’s five-year tenure with the British squad has been marked by a series of highs and lows. Early GC wins at the Tour of Poland and Tour of Norway, along with stages at prestigious week-long races like the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie, have been followed by recent inconsistency and near misses, with Ineos reported earlier this year to be unhappy with Hayter’s lack of wins.

 (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Like former Ineos rider Eddie Dunbar, the versatile Hayter has also struggled to break into Ineos’ grand tour plans, starting only one in his five seasons at the team, the 2022 Vuelta, which he abandoned on stage 10.

> “To be honest, they don’t help me to perform at my best”: Tom Pidcock admits there are “a number of issues” within Ineos Grenadiers, as pressure mounts on underperforming British team after subpar Tour of Britain and Vuelta

Speaking to Eurosport at this week’s track worlds in Denmark – where he followed up his agonising Olympic silver with another second-place in the team pursuit – Hayter became the latest rider to hint at turmoil and discontent within the Ineos ranks, admitting that it was “time for a change” after a “tricky” year with the British team.

“It’s going to be nice,” he said of joining Belgian squad Soudal Quick-Step. “I’ve had five years at Ineos, and I think it’s time for a change. It’s exciting, the team really has passion for racing and I’m excited to get started.

Asked why Ineos appear to be undergoing such a turbulent transition period marked by personnel changes, Hayter said: “I don’t know what’s really going on to be honest. I’ve not had… Yeah, I’ve had a tricky year working with them. And once I was leaving, it was even trickier.

“I don’t know. I wish them all the best for next year, but they could do with a couple of changes.”

(Will Palmer/SWpix.com)

Hayter’s summary echoes that of his current teammate Tom Pidcock, who Hayter dramatically replaced at the last minute at Il Lombardia earlier this month, a decision the Ineos management confirmed was not based on form.

“It is true that there are currently a number of issues within the team that I have to deal with,” Pidcock told Het Laatste Nieuws before his Lombardy drama. “And to be honest, they don’t help me to perform at my best.

“I have to think about a lot more than just performance-related things at the moment. And that means that the focus on the things that are really important, namely racing, is not ideal. I have a contract until the end of 2027. That's all I can say.”

Meanwhile, Hayter’s Olympic team pursuit colleague Dan Bigham, who jumped ship from Ineos last month to join Red Bull-Bora as their head of engineering, also publicly criticised the British team before the Olympics, claiming that Ineos have “lacked clarity” since Sir Dave Brailsford’s departure.

“How I want to do performance is not particularly aligned with how Ineos wanted to go about it. I wanted more autonomy, more ability to action my ideas. And I wasn’t really getting that at Ineos,” Bigham explained.

“I feel that a lot of performance we’re leaving on the table and that frustrates me because it’s clear as day we should be doing things a lot better. Let’s be honest, Ineos are not where they want to be, not where they need to be and the gap is not small.”

Over the weekend, we were greeted with the absolutely devastating news that Sir Chris Hoy’s prostate cancer is diagnosis is terminal, and that doctors told the six-time Olympic gold medallist last year that he has two to four years to live.

In a moving interview with the Sunday Times, Hoy also revealed that his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in December last year.

“It’s the closest I’ve come to, like, you know, why me? Just, what? What’s going on here? It didn’t seem real”, Hoy said of his wife’s diagnosis, in an otherwise startlingly positive interview.

“It was such a huge blow, when you’re already reeling. You think nothing could possibly get worse. You literally feel like you’re at rock bottom, and you find out, oh no, you’ve got further to fall. It was brutal.

> Sir Chris Hoy reveals cancer diagnosis is terminal and he has two to four years to live: “I’m feeling fit, strong and positive, and overwhelmed by all the love and support shown”

“The fear and anxiety, it all comes from trying to predict the future. But the future is this abstract concept in our minds. None of us know what’s going to happen. The one thing we know is we’ve got a finite time on the planet.

“So what I’ve come round to thinking is, why spoil that time? Crack on and enjoy and be grateful for what you do have. I’m not saying that I’m a Zen master and I’ve controlled my thoughts and my emotions in every situation. I’m not trying to pretend that every day is amazing. But I have genuine moments of joy. I have laughter. I’m not thinking about it all the time. I’m back to my old self.”

Since the news broke, tributes and support have poured in from across the cycling and sporting world, and beyond, for one of Britain’s greatest sportspeople and his family.

Here is just a small selection of some of those tributes:

Mark Cavendish: Hero of a human being.

David Beckham: Stay strong mate, keep smiling.

Neil Fachie: Dealing with this in the way only Chris Hoy could. Always the inspiration.

Graham Watson: Devastating news about Chris Hoy, what a fighter he is, and a great gentleman too.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sir Chris Hoy (@chrishoy1)

Matthew Pinsent: Chris Hoy is one of the finest to ever represent our country. Thoughts with him, Sarra and his immediate family.

Rebecca Adlington: A true legend. You continue to be my only role model. Sending so much love to you, Sarra, and the kids.

James Cracknell: Digesting the sad news about Chris Hoy. As Olympic champion his event got cut from the schedule. He refocused, didn’t complain, mastered different events, and won five more gold medals.

Ally McCoist: You, my friend, are a superstar in every sense of the word. Love and strength from us all.

Keir Starmer: Such sad news. Chris is a British sporting legend. To face his diagnosis with such positivity is inspiring. The whole country is behind him and his family.

Ned Boulting: Chris Hoy is one of the finest men I’ve ever been lucky enough to meet. That’s the truth of it.

Anthony Ogogo: Role model. Inspiration. Hero. Good luck Chris Hoy in your fight.

Scottish Cycling: A fighter on and off the track. Sending our love to Sir Chris Hoy and his family.

Everyone at road.cc wishes Chris and his family all the best.

Yep, we’re finally moving on to the mystery that dominated my entire weekend – Is that really Wout van Aert dressed up as a giant, crime-fighting squirrel and butchering Blur on the Flemish version of the bewilderingly popular Guess Who-themed celebrity singing show the Masked Singer?

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by VTM (@vtm.be)

Hmmm…

Now, I can’t say I’m particularly familiar with Wout van Aert’s singing voice (though I have heard Nico Roche does a mean Elvis impression), and it does feel weird that one of the sport’s biggest names would be screaming ‘woohoo’ on TV while still gainfully employed, but fans on social media are convinced it’s the Visma-Lease a Bike star under all the fur.

The clues sprinkled over the celebrity’s pre-song VT all point to Van Aert, apparently – there were references to Van Aert’s home region of Kempen, his two children, and a rainbow jersey, which could refer to his three cyclocross world titles.

Is the squirrel’s clothing a reference to Wout’s win at the Tour of Britain last year???????!!! (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Others have pointed out that his speaking voice resembles that of someone from Herentals, Van Aert’s hometown, while some Sherlock-inspired sleuths have noted that Van Aert posted a series of training rides on Strava in May which appear to reference his stint on the show, with titles featuring squirrel and dancer emojis, ‘long tail’, and ‘youhou’ (which I presume would be his take on the 1998 Blur classic’s simple refrain).

And, with his season marred by crashes, it’s fair to say that Van Aert has had enough time on his hands to record a TV show and dress up like a squirrel. Or maybe it’s Tom Boonen.

But if it is WVA, he also wouldn’t be the first current pro to take part in the Masked Singer, madly enough, after Nairo Quintana’s 2021 appearance on the Colombian edition, when the former Giro winner appeared as a chameleon.

> Nairo Quintana appears on Colombian TV singing show dressed as a chameleon

So, don’t be surprised if Van Aert appears when the squirrel’s mask is finally lifted, an event that apparently takes place on Friday. I. CAN’T. WAIT.

More than 200,000 video submissions of dangerous driving and other incidents on the roads of England and Wales have been made through Operation SNAP’s online reporting portal since the start of 2021, new figures have revealed.

Read more: > “Road safety is everyone’s business”: 90% increase in video footage reported to police

Over the past week or so, we’ve had last-minute bus deselection drama at Il Lombardia, we’ve heard the thoughts of Tour de France winners, anonymous pro columnists, and (most importantly) insider dogs, and we’ve been subjected to the kind of relentless transfer gossip that would have Jim White running for his best yellow tie.

But now, after all that, it seems like Tom Pidcock might be staying at the Ineos Grenadiers after all.

Yes, according to Daniel Benson, talks to negotiate the Olympic mountain bike champion’s exit from the British squad appear to have broken down over the weekend, with sources reporting that Ineos will now attempt to force Pidcock to see out of the remainder of his contract… which runs, like all good cycling contracts these days, until 2027.

While Red Bull-Bora and Visma-Lease a Bike were interested in snapping up the wantaway multidisciplinary star, second-tier Q36.5 initially appeared to be in pole position, with Ineos apparently happy to continue to pay part of his salary to ensure Pidcock a swift exit from the Death Star.

Who says cycling is turning into football, eh?

(Elliot Keen/British Cycling/via SWpix.com)

However, despite Ineos already sounding out potential replacements, Benson says Jim Ratcliffe’s turmoil-fuelled team has now backed away from a deal with Q36.5, and Pidcock looks set – against all the odds – to stay put, simmering discontent be damned.

And right as we recorded a podcast segment on Pidcock’s seemingly impending departure. Classic.

However, our podcast conjecture may yet come to fruition, and Ineos could well be playing the long game to make sure they get the best deal out of losing one of their star riders, albeit one who seems at odds with a squad currently experiencing a prolonged, painful transition period.

I knew this one would rumble on for a while…

It turns out that the UCI do think angrily stamping on a rival’s bike after a crash is worse than kissing your wife at the side of the road, after all.

Yes, leading cyclocross star Eli Iserbyt – who took out what appears to be a few years of pent-up frustration at former teammate Ryan Kamp on the Fenix rider’s bike after a crash at last weekend’s Exact Cross – has been handed a three-race ban for his WWF-style stamp, following a review by cycling’s governing body.

Iserbyt had originally been disqualified and fined 100 Swiss Francs for his volatile reaction, which he later claimed was made in “heat of battle” and the result of Kamp’s alleged dive bombing in corners (both historic and during the race itself) and “insults” apparently directed at the Belgian champion.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Eurosport Cycling (@eurosportcycling)

However, after the commissaire’s report was sent to the UCI, it was later confirmed that Iserbyt’s early winter season will be a subdued one, with the next three weekends spent stewing at home after his disqualification was upgraded to a ban.

Despite the obvious friction between the pair, Kamp spoke out in Iserbyt’s defence, arguing that he shouldn’t be banned and that the warring duo have since spoken to each other and moved on.

“It happened, I can be difficult about it all week and lose sleep over it, but the season is still long. It has only just started, I can better focus on that,” Kamp said.

> “It was in the heat of battle, something had been simmering for a while”: Disqualified Eli Iserbyt claims he stamped on cyclocross rival’s rear mech in response to “dirty” insults – but admits reaction was “not necessary”

“We already called on Saturday evening, then it was over for me. We can keep making things difficult, but it happened. He apologised personally, I accepted it, I don’t know why I wouldn’t.

“It is not up to me to decide [if he should be banned], the UCI has chosen this. Perhaps to avoid such incidents in the future. I do not really have an opinion about it myself. It would have been fine for me even without the suspension.”

More from cycling in parks-gate (not sure that’ll catch on), where the charity responsible for London’s Royal Parks has asked the government to amend legislation “with a view to setting speed limits for cyclists” in its parks which, if introduced, could see riders exceeding 20mph speed limits prosecuted.

Read more: > Charity that runs London parks wants new laws to prosecute cyclists for breaking 20mph speed limit in Regent’s Park and Richmond Park