Category Archives: Cycling

Underwater bike garage solves Amsterdam station’s storage headache

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Central station is replacing its messy, overflowing cycle parking facilities with a low-cost area that’s tucked away out of sight

Beneath the clear waters and pleasure boats by Amsterdam central station is a remarkable feat of engineering: an underwater garage for 7,000 bicycles.

The garage, which opens on 26 January, is the result of a four-year, €60m (£53m) project to clear heaps of rusty bikes left by hasty commuters and install rows of clean, safe parking spaces underground, where bikes can be left free for 24 hours and then at a cost of €1.35 per 24 hours.

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Amsterdam calls for crackdown on menace of souped-up e-bikes

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Demon young riders speeding at 40kph are making the Dutch city’s once cycle-friendly streets dangerous – and the problem is spreading

Debby Nieberg was cycling home from the dentist last October, when she was knocked to the pavement and broke her shoulder.

According to her police report, the youngster on an e-bike – overtaking Nieberg on Amsterdam’s narrow cycling lanes – got up and cycled off, a crime in itself. “This unfortunately has become a big part of my life because of the ‘need for speed’ of those on e-bikes,” says the 56-year-old freelance translator, who has just started cycling again. “The bike situation is definitely unsafe.”

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Bike maker Brompton to source fewer parts from China and Taiwan

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UK company makes decision because of growing tensions between Beijing and the island

Brompton, the UK’s largest bicycle maker, has said it is planning to reduce its dependence on China and Taiwan for parts, amid fears of a growing military threat to the island from Beijing.

The company known for its folding bikes is among various western firms hoping to ensure they can source supplies from other countries, as concerns mount over rising geopolitical tensions, and even a possible future invasion of Taiwan by China, which considers the island to be a breakaway province.

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Suspect identified in only one in 10 bicycle theft cases in England and Wales

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Figures uncovered by Lib Dems show that only 1.7% of 74,421 cases over 12 months resulted in a charge

Almost 90% of all bicycle theft cases reported to police over the past year were closed without a suspect even being identified, and just 1.7% resulted in someone being charged, analysis of crime statistics shows.

The Liberal Democrats, who uncovered the data from statistics for England and Wales from July 2021 to June this year, said it was indicative of under-funded police forces being unable to properly investigate such crimes.

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Photos permitted as evidence of parking offences, Bavarian court rules

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Ansbach court rules in favour of two cycling activists who had been fined €100 for breaching data protection regulation

People who notify the police of parked cars blocking pavements and bike paths will in future be able to submit photographs as evidence of offences, a court in Bavaria has ruled.

An administrative court in Ansbach has ruled in favour of two cycling activists who had been fined €100 (£87) each for breaching data protection regulation for photographing apparently illegally parked cars and emailing the images to the police.

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Mathieu van der Poel: Dutch cyclist pleads guilty to common assault of girls on eve of world championships

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Van der Poel flies out of Australia after being fined A$1,500 in local court but lawyer says his client will appeal convictions

Dutch cycling star Mathieu van der Poel will attempt to overturn a conviction for assaulting two teenage girls in a Sydney hotel the night before the men’s world championship road race.

The Tour de France stage winner was arrested hours before Sunday’s race in Wollongong where the 27-year-old was one of the favourites.

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Cycling Road World Championships favourite Mathieu van der Poel charged with assault in Sydney

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Dutch cyclist retires early from Wollongong race following alleged night-time altercation with teenagers at hotel

Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, who was the favourite going into the UCI Road World Championships elite men’s road race in Wollongong, was arrested and charged with common assault on Saturday night following an incident at his hotel.

He started the race on Sunday morning but retired after less than an hour of racing.

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Cycling journalist believes governing body blocked him from world championships for critical reporting

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Iain Treloar says Union Cycliste International blacklisted him after he examined its links to a Turkmen autocrat and a Russian billionaire

A respected cycling journalist who was twice blocked from attending the Wollongong world cycling championships believes he has been blacklisted for reporting on the governing body’s links to a notoriously repressive regime and a Russian billionaire under sanctions.

Investigative journalist Iain Treloar’s recent reporting has posed uncomfortable questions for the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) – the powerful governing body for world cycling.

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Ellen van Dijk pips Grace Brown to win Road World Championships opener

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  • Dutchwoman defends time trial crown in Wollongong
  • Australia’s Brown set blistering early pace on first day of cycling

The sun was shining, the waves were rolling in and a Dutch woman was winning the opening race of 2022 UCI Road World Championships. It was seemingly the natural way of things – a predictable result in a flawless setting on the beachside streets of Wollongong, as Ellen van Dijk defended her women’s individual time trial crown and the Dutch national team won the sixth edition of the race over the past decade.

But if the 35-year-old’s victory on Sunday seemed predestined – her third world title since first winning the discipline in 2013, alongside four European time trial titles – it almost wasn’t to be. Australia’s Grace Brown sat in the hot-seat all day, after starting in the opening wave of riders and setting a blistering pace over a technical, undulating 34.2-kilometre course.

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Kenyan cyclist Sule Kangangi killed in crash at Vermont Overland gravel race

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  • 33-year-old dies after crash at high speed on Saturday
  • Kangangi was committed to growing cycling in Kenya

Kenyan cyclist Sule Kangangi died in a crash on Saturday while competing in a gravel race in Vermont. The 33-year-old was riding at high speed in the Vermont Overland race when he crashed.

“Sule is our captain, friend, brother. He is also a father, husband and son. Gaping holes are left when giant’s fall. Sule was a giant,” his Team Amani posted on social media. “Instead of leading us at the front of the pack, he will now lead us as our guiding pole star as we press forward in the realization of his dream.”

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GPs to prescribe walking and cycling in bid to ease burden on NHS

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Suggestion of activities to help improve mental and physical health part of wider movement of ‘social prescribing’

GPs around England are to prescribe patients activities such as walking or cycling in a bid to ease the burden on the NHS by improving mental and physical health.

The £12.7m trial, which was announced by the Department for Transport and will begin this year, is part of a wider movement of “social prescribing”, an approach already used in the NHS, in which patients are referred for non-medical activities.

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North Korea – a model for Grant Shapps’ bicycle licence plate proposal?

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The secretive state demands each cycle display a registration number – although officially women are banned from bikes

• UK cyclists could be made to have registration plates

If the British transport secretary, Grant Shapps, is looking for a “model” for his bicycle registration plates proposal he could turn to one of the world’s most illiberal countries: North Korea.

After decades of being frowned upon as a primitive means of transport for citizens of a modern, socialist paradise, cycling gained official acceptance in the secretive state in 1992 – although it is officially banned for women.

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Registration plates and insurance for cyclists being considered by government – report

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Whitehall review is also said to suggest cycling speed limits, along with licence penalty points and fines

Bikes could be made to have registration plates and insurance as ministers weigh up bringing speed limits for cyclists into line with those for drivers.

The government is also considering the possibility of cyclists receiving licence penalty points and fines if they break speed limits or run red lights, the Daily Mail reported.

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Michael Matthews brings the heat with epic win at Tour de France

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  • Australian rider claims first Tour de France victory in five years
  • Matthews braved 40 degree heat to fight back and win late duel

Australian cycling star Michael Matthews believes he’s reprised the story of his distinguished career with one epic triumph of rare courage and heart at the Tour de France.

The man from Canberra, known throughout cycling as “Bling” for his love of shiny baubles, produced his most glittering victory on Saturday on an exhausting, undulating 192.5km slog from Saint Etienne to Mende.

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Australian veteran Simon Clarke triumphs at the death in drama-strewn Tour de France stage

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  • Clarke left in tears after edging final sprint
  • Terrible day for other Australians Haig, O’Connor and Ewan

Australian cycling veteran Simon Clarke has earned a magnificent, last-ditch Tour de France triumph to crown 20 years of slog on Europe’s roads after a brutal, crash-strewn cobbled stage.

But while the 35-year-old Israel-Premier Tech rider was left in floods of joyous tears after edging a lung-bursting sprint to win the fifth stage in a photo-finish on Wednesday, it proved a calamitous day for Australia’s biggest hitters on the Tour.

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‘There is a lot of excitement’: Tour de France comes to Denmark

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Anticipation mounts in greatest cycling nation in the world for world’s greatest cycling race

Cycle paths have been painted yellow, knitting enthusiasts have made a giant yellow jersey, and preparations are being made for a flotilla of boats flying yellow flags. The “big yellow party” comes to Denmark on 1 July when the country widely regarded as the best in the world for cyclists hosts the opening stage of the world’s greatest cycling race.

The Tour de France was originally slated to start in Copenhagen in 2021, but was transferred to Brest in response to a Covid-related scheduling conflict with the European Championships.

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‘I’m good’: Joe Biden falls off bike during Delaware ride with first lady

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President braked to speak with a crowd and tipped over, saying the ‘toe cages’ on his bike got caught

Joe Biden fell off a bicycle near his Delaware beach home Saturday morning, moments after greeting reporters with a wave and a cheery “Good morning!”

The president was near the end of a bike ride with the first lady, Dr Jill Biden, near Rehoboth Beach where the couple are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary.

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Melbourne’s ‘pause’ on new bike lanes sparks outrage on World Bicycle Day

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Advocates and key councillor hope the halt is short-lived, but transport union criticises existing lanes

Cycling advocates are holding out hope that a halt on new bike lanes in Melbourne CBD announced Friday will be short-lived, warning of the risks posed by gaps in the network.

The Melbourne lord mayor, Sally Capp, said Friday there would be a “pause” on the construction of dedicated cycling lanes in the CBD. The City of Melbourne council said it would instead prioritise upgrading cycling infrastructure on arterial roads.

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Robbie McEwen apologises for using ‘offensive phrase’ during Giro d’Italia broadcast

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Robbie McEwen, the former cyclist and now commentator, says he’s ‘genuinely sorry’ for using a homophobic slur during a broadcast, which he says was ‘unintentional’

Robbie McEwen, the former cyclist and now commentator, has apologised for using a homophobic slur during a broadcast of stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia.

The Australian three-time Tour de France points classification winner, who retired from professional cycling in 2012, said he “unintentionally” used the phrase during commentary on Eurosport and GCN+ earlier this week.

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Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay makes history by winning Ghent-Wevelgem classic

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• 21-year-old takes victory in Belgian classic race

• Girmay becomes first Eritrean to win Word Tour race

Biniam Girmay became the first rider from Eritrea to win a cycling World Tour (elite) race when he prevailed in the Ghent-Wevelgem classic on Sunday.

The Intermarche-Wanty Gobert rider beat France’s Christophe Laporte (Jumbo Visma) and Belgian Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) after he and three other riders attacked 24 kilometres from the finish. The 21-year-old Girmay mastered the cobbles along the 248.8-km course in Belgium and had just enough has left for a perfect sprint finish.

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