“Could build a velodrome for that”: Irish Tour de France start to cost €30m; Active travel and motoring groups combine to urge government to protect cycling funding; Cyclist asks court not to fine homeless man who stole his bike + more on the live blog

As part of the line-up that usurped Italy as team pursuit world champions in Paris earlier this month, Ethan Hayter knows a thing or two about beating Filippo Ganna on the track.

And while most of the cycling world believed that the machine-like Italian blew the Hour Record out of the water in Switzerland at the start of October – blitzing even Chris Boardman’s seemingly unsurpassable “superman” mark to set a new benchmark of 56.792km – Hayter reckons he can become the third straight Ineos Grenadiers rider to achieve one of cycling’s most historic and prestigious feats.

“I saw a few things saying nobody’s ever going to beat Filippo’s record, but I think I can get quite close to it if I try it one day,” Hayter, who added the omnium title to his team pursuit gold at this month’s track worlds, told VeloNews last week.

“Give it a bit of time, maybe wait for some new technology to come out, and I’d like a go.

“I beat Dan [Bigham] at the nationals in the flat time trial and he broke the record. Obviously, it’s not the same, but I think I could put a bit of time into Dan, and then see where that leaves me with matching Filippo. But then Filippo did beat Dan by quite a lot, so…

“I know how much time and resources the team put into it, and all the little things that get them the extra metres,” Hayter said.

“It would take some discussion with the team and my calendar, and my training. I’ve not really tried much individual stuff. I’d like to try the individual pursuit one time, but it’s not easy when you do the team pursuit, omnium, and madison already.”

At the rate Hayter – who just turned 24 last month – is progressing in the pro ranks (he won the Tour of Poland in August and took fourth and ninth in the TT and road race worlds before his rainbow-laden week in Paris), and with the weight of Ineos behind him, I wouldn’t dismiss him eventually taking the Hour Record just yet.

Though, Ganna was bloody fast to be fair…

While the prospect of a Tour de France Grand Départ in Ireland has excited cycling fans across the island, the decision to prioritise bidding for one showpiece weekend of racing while the sport – from the grassroots to the elite level – struggles financially has been met with more than a few faint murmurs of discontent.

As we reported on the live blog last week, the news that the Irish government and Northern Ireland executive have submitted an expression of interest to host the opening stages of the Tour de France, in either 2026 or 2027, prompted a somewhat mixed response.

> Ireland bids for cross-border Tour de France Grand Départ

While some cycling fans were in buoyant mood at the prospect of the world’s biggest race on their doorstep, others pointed out the dubious environmental impact of foreign grand tour starts, the legacy of pro cycling’s relationship with doping (particularly the cloud still lingering over the Tour’s only previous trip to Ireland, in 1998), and the lack of political will or funding for the domestic racing scene.

Those rumblings, however faint or preceded with the caveat that a Tour Grand Départ would still be welcomed with open arms, certainly won’t be quietened with today’s news that the estimated costs of hosting the Grande Boucle could rise to over €30 million.

As reported by Sticky Bottle today, following last week’s formal expression of interest in hosting the Tour, a detailed proposal will be worked on by a “project team” involving people and agencies from both sides of the border until the middle of 2023. According to the Irish government, a finalised bid will then be submitted.

Ireland’s Minister of State for Sports, Jack Chambers, told Newstalk this morning that the Tour was one of the “biggest and most prestigious” sports events in the world and that, if the race was secured by the joint north-south bid, it would hold “huge potential” for the island.

Marcel Kittel wins stage two of the 2014 Giro d'Italia in Belfast (LaPresse)

“We see the projected costs at between €20 million and €30 million, which would be shared north and south, that’s the current indication of potential cost but we are at an early stage of the bid development process,” Chambers said.

“We will have to scope out the route, the logistics, the organisational planning, but that’s the projected costs presently.”

The TD also dismissed doping-related issues – including the assertion that Ireland was intrinsically linked to the infamous Festina Scandal of 1998 – and claimed that Irish cycling was at the forefront of the anti-doping community.

“I know there were issues in 1998 but obviously this is something that… every second year there is an opportunity, obviously when the Tour moves out of France for the start of the race, and I think, you know, cycling has had difficulties in the past that people are well aware of, but this is a huge opportunity for the island of Ireland,” he said.

Chambers, who said he had “fond memories” of the 1998 Grand Départ and the Giro’s start in Belfast in 2014, added: “This represents a brilliant opportunity from a north-south perspective… and the shared island approach and having that collaboration north and south. Sport is one of those areas that can build bridges and there is a huge potential from a tourism perspective in showcasing our country.”

While Ireland’s politicians say that the Tour de France could inspire the same, if not greater, levels of cross-community spirit witnessed during the Giro eight years ago, as well as boosting tourism, the bill for hosting the race (a similar amount to the figure paid by Yorkshire the last time the Tour visited the UK, also in 2014) has been criticised by some who have pointed to financial problems closer to home.

> “This decision has not been taken lightly”: No Irish teams for road world championships in Australia

That the Tour bid comes only two months after Cycling Ireland took the decision to not send a squad to the road world championships in Wollongong, citing the mounting costs and the body’s stretched budget, has not been overlooked by those in the Irish cycling community:

Velodrome, multiple Corkagh park initiatives. Sending teams to the Worlds for a start....

— Conor McGrane (@ConorTMcGrane) October 24, 2022

Not to mention announcing this after the whole not sending riders to the Worlds thing.

— Patrick Kane (@patrick_kane_) October 24, 2022

Nor have two of the elephants in the room when it comes to the ‘legacy’ of the Tour and Giro starts in Ireland: the lack of an indoor velodrome and the current squeezing of the domestic racing scene.

Just under three weeks ago, Irish track star Lara Gillespie said that a velodrome in Ireland would be a “huge asset” both for the island’s elite racers – who have been forced to train on the boards at their base in Mallorca for a number of years, despite producing world champions such as Martyn Irvine – and at grassroots level.

“It would be a huge asset if we had [a velodrome] and we could knuckle down on all the little small parts we maybe are lacking right now,” Gillespie told RTE 2FM at the start of October, ahead of the track worlds in Paris.

“But we’re definitely getting there and the track in Mallorca is such a life saver for us but in future, once we get kids (on the track) younger and getting those skills and just getting people used to it, it would just make such a huge difference.”

> “It’s like the world championship for Irish riders”: Iconic Rás Tailteann stage race makes triumphant return

Meanwhile, 2022 marked the long-anticipated return of the Rás Tailteann stage race, one of Ireland’s most iconic sporting events, in a reduced five-day format and with a much more local field than in the past – the first time that the Rás had been held since 2018, after several funding and sponsorship issues forced the organisers to cancel in 2019, a  precarious economic situation that was later exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Tour of Ireland, the Rás’s old rival in terms of major international week-long stage races, has not appeared on the calendar since 2009, when Lance Armstrong showed up and Russ Downing took the overall win.

It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that some have blasted the decision by the governments north and south to seemingly prioritise a showpiece spectacle like the Tour over the island’s own racing scene and talent – though others hope that the legacy of a second Tour de France start in Ireland may kickstart an Irish cycling renaissance:

See why some are not particularly happy about this when there’s SO much could be done for domestic cycling with money like that. https://t.co/hHVMZBPpO3

— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) October 24, 2022

Hard to see relevance of that that comparison. Investment in TDF will be recouped with just two days of tourism exports.

— Noel (@noel_mcglynn) October 24, 2022

It's not really.
Granted, you spend on the Tour and you get back that money (and some, hopefully) on tourism etc.
But it's still frustrating to see the political will to get the Tour here for a few days whereas a velodrome that could grow the sport for decades is still not built.

— StickyBottle.com 💚 🚲 (@sticky_bottle) October 24, 2022

Does my head in that the Guards and councillors who will be all over the pictures of the Tour are the same lads who are actively killing the sport by getting local races cancelled.

— Aidan (@onthenickel) October 24, 2022

So as long as the 30mil comes out of Bord Failure’s purse, and not Cycling Ireland, we’re grand.

Needs to be assurances that local racing will be supported. How many editions of the Rás could be run for €30m?

— Donal (@Spelt_D_o_n_a_l) October 24, 2022

Is it really worth it? How much revenue and interest did it develop after the last time? Also, if its a positive thing, why still bring up the doping incident?

— Michael Butler (@mikebuts) October 24, 2022

It's completely worth the €30m provided the legacy is built on as it has been in Yorkshire. We had the Giro and did sweet FA with the legacy. It's also completely worth putting €3m into the Ras which would fund it for a decade or more & do wonders for Irish cycling.

— @edenglish (@edenglish_) October 24, 2022

What do you think? Is hosting the Tour de France worth it? Or should that money be pumped into local races and riders instead? Or maybe even better cycling infrastructure? Let us know! 

#CourtResult - After we had recovered the stolen bicycle, the victim asked the court not to fine the offender, a local rough sleeper. He was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and required to pay a £26 surcharge. https://t.co/Ei5gXaHNzx

— BTP Lancashire (@BTPLancs) October 21, 2022

A cyclist whose bike was stolen from Lancaster railway station asked the court not to fine a local homeless man for the theft.

According to the British Transport Police for Lancashire, the bike was stolen on 2 September from the railway station. Within an hour, the police had reviewed the CCTV footage and arrested the suspect in the city centre.

While the bike was not initially recovered, the suspect – who was interviewed and bailed after denying that he had entered the railway station – was spotted the following day, after failing to answer his bail, riding the stolen bike near the scene of the crime.

The man was then arrested, with the bike returned to its owner.

However, the British Transport Police tweeted on Friday that “after we had recovered the stolen bicycle, the victim asked the court not to fine the offender, a local rough sleeper.”

The man was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and required to pay a £26 surcharge.

Cleaning the canals of Amsterdam 🚲

pic.twitter.com/ojuDqWSWKa

— Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) October 22, 2022

Oh Netherlands, I'm shocked.😲I thought you were above such boorish and loutish behaviour. At least we in the UK have the decency to steal the bicycle rather just dump it in a canal.

— Pickleman (@Pickleman1967) October 23, 2022

Ah, it appears that cycling author Simon Warren has solved the mysterious case of the conscientious bike thief:

Disc brakes?

— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) October 23, 2022

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