Pesky cyclists not using cycle lanes! Oh...that's Wiggo!; Colombian kid keeps up with Tom Dumoulin and Rigoberto Urán; Heavily-criticised NFT Bike Club takes "feedback"; Cav watch; Cycling MP crashes; Bad infra; Muddy misery + more on the live blog

Bloody cyclists! riding along, not using the cycle lane. Who do they think they are? Bradl.... Oh...@RealStephens @SirWiggo 👌👍 pic.twitter.com/TpMHbwKz0G

— 🚴‍♂️🚙Carlton💙🐩🚶‍♂️ (@carlton1512) February 8, 2022

Picture the scene...you're pootling along the river, enjoying a midweek spin when a rather bling-looking Sir Brad in full national champ's kit effortlessly rolls past aboard a Factor (Froomey must have had a word), drafting a camera bike, followed by the Bike Club's Matt Stephens...

> Cycling and NFTs - what's the point? Matt Stephens joins the NFT craze… and Cycling Twitter isn’t happy

We suspect their might be a new episode of The Cafe Ride dropping soon, especially considering this encounter happened just over the bridge from Sigma Sports' London HQ, and incidentally on the same stretch of road where Wiggo won Olympic time trial gold in 2012.

If we're being honest, when you ride at the speed of Sir Brad you can probably ride wherever you want without hearing an unwanted impatient blast of the horn...also it's not much of a cycle lane they're dodging...

The impromptu encounter reminds us of the time one punter was in the middle of cursing a rider rolling through London in full Quick-Step kit, Specialized bike and all... only to quickly realise that full kit w***** is in fact 34-time Tour de France stage winner, Mark Cavendish...yeah, I think he might beat you away from the lights, mate...

Mini ciclista colombiano treinando com @UranRigoberto e @tom_dumoulin pic.twitter.com/RumHeq7FNn

— País do Ciclismo (@DoCiclismo) February 7, 2022

Why is it always Jumbo-Visma involved in these heart-warming stories about the next generation getting an opportunity to ride with their heroes? You probably remember Xander Graham stealing the show at the Tour of Britain, attacking the breakaway on the pavement, before getting a bottle for his troubles from Pascal Eenkhoorn.

The real race we're here for!

Nicely done, @PascalEenkhoorn 🙌

📺 Watch stage seven live on ITV4#TourOfBritain 🔵⚪🔵 pic.twitter.com/C4G646nZ5I

— Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 11, 2021

Well, this kid went one better and got to ride in the bunch alongside Rigoberto Urán and Eenkhoorn's teammate Tom Dumoulin, who is out in Colombia preparing for the 2022 season. The 2017 Giro d'Italia winner didn't fancy pulling a turn, mind...let the young lad wear himself out...

Impressive climbing, impressive cadence...even earning a 'Venga!" from Tom D...

Maybe this is the sequel to Urán's daddy day care? That went viral, within the cycling sphere, when a clip of the EF pro training with his baby strapped to his chest turned up on social media. Don't they grow up so fast...

He's no stranger to training with keen locals...back in 2020 amusing footage of a backpack-wearing local drafting Urán while in full work get-up had us all questioning the point of all that smart pro kit...

Red light jumping is a hot topic at the minute, mainly due to multiple police forces sharing prominent social media posts pointing out they have been cracking down on cyclists who don't wait for green...

> Questions asked after another police force keen to highlight crackdown on cyclists jumping red lights

But have you ever had no choice but to run a red? A road.cc reader got in touch about a light-controlled traffic island at the end of Uttoxeter New Road in Derby which appears to fail to detect people on bikes, meaning the reader waited multiple rounds of light changes before realising they had no choice but to proceed with care...

Anybody had this problem elsewhere? Is it simply a case of using common sense and being careful?

Impromptu day off work so thought I'd go and see my mate for a cuppa using a scenic route. How the f#&@k is this a national cycle route?! #NCN21 pic.twitter.com/N1wNRihH4o

— Crank Handle (@Crnk_Hndl) February 9, 2022

Full picture for your [insert reaction here]: amusement/ horror/ entertainment/ despair... 

Esports, eh. Without giving my age away, I'm probably bang in the target market for this new form of 'sport'...but I can't say the prospect of settling down to watch a virtual race is doing much for me. In a sign of the times, earlier today the Commonwealth Games Federation announced it would be piloting esports events at next year's Birmingham games...

I've been distracted by a topical tangent...the point I was making is that esports is becoming more prominent...which leads me on to today's other news...British Cycling has announced its team for the second edition of the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, including 2019 British National Hill Climb champion Ed Laverack, Zwift specialist Mary Wilkinson and Team CAMS-Basso rider Illi Gardner of Everesting fame.

"I'm over the moon to be included in the squad," power to weight ratio king Ed Laverack said. "To get the chance to represent British Cycling in the upcoming world championships. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it's going to be an amazing experience to be able to share the experience with a great group of riders. Hopefully we can produce a result and do everyone proud."

In both the men's and women's elite races the winning rider will take home 8,000 euros and earn the right to wear the official UCI Cycling Esports world champion’s jersey in real life, with a digital version created for their avatar on the Zwift platform.

This year's race takes place on Zwift’s New York “Knickerbocker” route in a short and intense scratch race format. The 54.9km track is based on a future vision of Central Park and features a total of 944m in elevation, barely containing a flat section. Over two laps of rolling terrain, featuring gradients of up to 14%...hmmm, now I kind of want to see who wins...

Wahoo and EF Pro Cycling will continue to work together in 2022 and beyond...(that went all Buzz Lightyear for a second)...

In a press release, Wahoo dubbed themselves and EF as "two of the most innovative and disruptive entities in cycling"...is this an episode of The Apprentice or a legit press release? Anyway, I'll look past that particular point as Wahoo is committing to supporting the WorldTour outfit, EF Education–EasyPost and Women’s WorldTour squad EF Education–TIBCO–SVB as their official training partner on a multi-year deal.

The partnership will give all team athletes access to the complete Wahoo ecosystem for indoor and outdoor training, including the Wahoo SYSTM training app, KICKR smart power trainers, ELEMNT GPS bike computers, TICKR heart rate monitors, race-winning SPEEDPLAY pedals, and the ELEMNT RIVAL multisport watch. It's a hard life being a pro racer...

If anyone from Wahoo is reading this, I may be willing to take back what I said earlier about you sounding like a cocksure Apprentice hotshot for certain 'individual arrangements'...

I'm sure Baha Men's question was rhetorical...but if we're asking who let the Pog(s) out? Then the answer is the end of the mandatory isolation period...

The two-time Tour de France champion contracted Covid last week but only suffered mild symptoms. Pogačar shared a picture on his Instagram of him back riding outside, before UAE Team Emirates then confirmed their rider's situation.

Dr Adrian Rotunno, the team medical director, said: "Tadej tested positive for the virus and had mild symptoms. As per guidelines, and in the interest of his health, and the greater community, he underwent the mandatory isolation and recovery period, before resuming light training.

"He is still due to undergo some final medical clearance testing, but should be on track to resume his preparation for his first race of the season, the UAE Tour."

The first WorldTour race of the season will be the Slovenian's first major goal of 2022, as he looks to defend his title at his team's home race. As per UCI protocols, Pogačar will have to pass a series of tests on his heart and lungs before being cleared to race.

Only 119 of the new Peter Sagan Race Day special edition 2022 S-Works Tarmac SL7 framesets are being produced - one for each of Sagan’s professional victories. 

"With class and a bit of edge, Sagan continues to bring a new perspective to the world of racing, the same way the muscle car forever changed the automotive industry," Specialized says.

"Through a delicate balance of sophistication, personality, and a little bit of attitude, we created a frame that captures the essence of the classic muscle car era. Most importantly, we capture the spirit of Peter Sagan."

A signed image of Sagan on his Race Day LTD Tarmac SL7 by cycling photographer James Startt will be included with each. Fancy one? That’ll be £5,000. Be quick, there are only size 56s left! 

NFTs. Do I know what they are yet? More than last time I wrote about them. Do I get why anyone would want one? Nope...

Richard Mitchelson, otherwise known as Rich Mitch, was part of the team launching the blockchain-based Bike Club that caught a lot of heat at the start of the week. The cycling artist took to social media to address some of the criticism...

"Because we've yet to mint anything for the Bike Club, it means we've used zero energy. We can take the feedback from the weekend and really make sure we use it properly. I want to make sure that the energy we use is as green as possible [this does exist] and that gas fees are low."

You say "feedback", we say PR shitshow, but tomAHto tomAYto, I guess...

"We're looking into a lot of options before we mint [lots of other coins and chains other than ETH] to make sure this is an NFT project done properly. Properly by the people putting their money in, properly by the planet and properly by cycling.

"I know that a lot of NFTs have been run poorly, rug pulls, scams and the negative press around them even make me not like a lot of them. But I do believe in our project and it is being done differently, one of a handful right now really trying to do this sort of thing better."

That's it I guess.
-
Is this where i insert the meme someone made of me from the other day? 😂

— Rich Mitch (@rich_mitch) February 9, 2022

Welcome in the #BandOfBrothers from 2023 and beyond @Tompid 🤝

We are happy to announce that the CX World Champ Tom Pidcock from Great Britain will be part of our Team from 2023 until (at least) 2027 ✍🏻

We look forward to 2023🎉🥳🍾#BandOfBrothers #BOTAhansglohe pic.twitter.com/xe3mrlf9Lm

— BOTA-hansglohe (@BOTAhansglohe) February 8, 2022

In the undesirable world of 'football Twitter' these parody accounts announcing news is commonplace...pranksters pretend players have signed for a new club, or spread improbable news on fake accounts, snaring the gullible.

For example, they might pretend to be a news site breaking a story as unbelievable and sensational as a Premier League player kicking his pet cat...ah, right, maybe not the best example...

Anyway...BOTA-hansglohe, not to be confused with BORA-hansgrohe, is apparently where Tom Pidcock will be riding next year...they'll have to start a team first, of course...and get the all-conquering multi-disciplinarian to sign a contract...

Yesterday on the blog, Ryan took a look at some of the more serious transfer speculation surrounding young Tom...