Photography by Kristof Ramon & Cor Vos

Daily News Digest

Tuesday March 3, 2015

by Matt de Neef - March 3, 2015

In this morning's edition of the CyclingTips Daily News Digest: History to be made at Tirreno-Adriatico as four key Grand Tour riders line out together for the first time; Disruption to Van Avermaet’s schedule likely due to anti-doping hearing; Gerrans set to return to racing at Strade Bianche; My Story - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was my first Spring Classic; Motorist threatens cyclists with wooden bat, rider claims; Driver cuts off cyclist, road rage ensues; What to do about cyclists getting doored?; Take Control - a motivational video by Rick Koekoek; How not to ride Mulholland Drive's 'The Snake'; Doing a 'Superman' on a fast descent.

History to be made at Tirreno-Adriatico as four key Grand Tour riders line out together for the first time

by Shane Stokes

Organisers of Tirreno-Adriatico have confirmed that Tour de France winners Alberto Contador, Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali plus the 2014 Giro d’Italia champion Nairo Quintana will all line out in this year’s edition of Tirreno-Adriatico, which starts on March 11.

The 2013 Tirreno-Adriatico podium.

All have a strong history in the race but have never taken the start of this or any other event at the same time. Contador won Tirreno-Adriatico last year while Nibali was the champion in 2012 and 2013. Both Froome and Quintana have finished as runners-up in the past.

The seven-stage WorldTour race will feature the top 17 ProTeams as well as five Pro Continental invites, and will feature one of the strongest fields in its history. In addition to the four big GC names, sprinters Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin), Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick-Step), Elia Viviani (Sky) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) will also be in attendance.

Also on the startlist will be Dan Martin, his Cannondale-Garmin team-mate Ryder Hesjedal, former Giro d’Italia winner, double Giro runner-up Rigoberto Uran, double Lombardia champion Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), multiple Classic winner Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Tour de France podium finisher Thibaut Pinot (FDJ).

Click here to read more at CyclingTips. Click through for the 2015 Tirreno-Adriatico startlist.

Disruption to Van Avermaet’s schedule likely due to anti-doping hearing

by Shane Stokes

Although Greg Van Avermaet is one of the BMC Racing Team’s biggest guns for the Spring Classics, it remains to be seen how his preparation and thus form will be affected by his implication in the doping matter involving Dr. Chris Mertens.

On Saturday it was confirmed that the Belgian rider had been summoned to appear at an anti-doping hearing held by the Belgian cycling federation Koninklijke Belgische Wielrijdersbond (KBW) on Tuesday March 13. This date clashes with two major races on the spring calendar, Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, both of which are used by Classic riders as an important part of the build-up to Milan-San Remo and other events.

CyclingTips contacted the BMC Racing Team on Monday to ascertain whether or not Van Avermaet planned to attend the meeting as requested and, if so, how this would impact on his schedule and his participation in Milan-San Remo. A team spokesperson said that no information was available at this point in time.

Click here to read more at CyclingTips.

Gerrans set to return to racing at Strade Bianche

Former Australian road race champion Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) is set to begin his 2015 season at Strade Bianche this weekend after recovering from a broken collarbone that saw him miss the Australian summer of racing.

“It’s not something that I even think about any more,” Gerrans wrote on his personal website, about his collarbone injury. “In the nearly three months since my crash, I’ve done a two week training camp each month,” Gerrans said. “It’s been heaps of work, but I’m proud to report that I’m back in good health, I’m fit from all the training, and I’m ready to race.”

Here’s an excerpt from the piece in which Gerrans talks about how he’s approaching Strade Bianche:

“

Having looked at the results over the past few years, the riders that feature in the finale are the same riders that I’m competitive with at other races throughout the season. The course profile suits me. I’m not sure how much my inexperience of the race will come into play, but my preparation for the last period has gone really well.

I’m feeling good in training, and I can’t wait to pin a number on again. I might not have experience racing on the dirt or racing the Strade Bianche course, but I’m looking forward to testing my legs. I don’t have huge expectations for a result, but I’m excited to race all the same.

Click here to read more at Simon Gerrans’ website.

My Story: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was my first Spring Classic

Over at Ella, CyclingTips’ sister site, editor Jessi Braverman and her team have been putting together some great content from the first European race of the women’s season, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The most recent piece is this one from Orica-AIS signee Lizzie Williams who gave her perspective on racing her first Spring Classic. The piece is the first in the My Story series - a collection of pieces that looks at the untold stories in the races; not just the story of the winner.

Here’s an excerpt:

“

I was disappointed to finish in 43rd place over the weekend. It’s just like they told me – make one bad decision and it’s a snowball effect. All it takes is choosing the wrong wheel, which I did – and it’s over.

My mistake? I was on the wheel of a rider that crashed in front of me. We were on the Paterberg, which proved a crucial point in the race. I had to get off my bike and run up the hill. I was off the back before I had even reached the top. And that was my day. The lead group was already up the road, and there was no catching back on.

Click here to read the full story at Ella CyclingTips.

Motorist threatens cyclists with wooden bat, rider claims

The Age reported yesterday that a group of six cyclists were confronted on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne on Saturday by a man wielding a wooden bat. According to one of the riders, the man had driven past earlier, waving the bat.

The man reportedly didn’t strike the riders but did get into an altercation.

“He ended up on top of my coach and after a bit of struggling, one of our riders was able to pull him off. The fighting ceased for a few seconds, but then the male driver became aggressive again and attacked one of our other riders, striking them.”

The driver reportedly accused the cyclists of blocking the road. The cyclist quoted by The Age suggested the bike lane on Point Nepean Road was in “terrible condition” and wasn’t safe to ride.

According to The Age police are speaking to the driver involved after the cyclists passed on the car registration number.

Click here to read more at The Age.

Driver cuts off cyclist; road rage ensues

Speaking of altercations between cyclists and motorists, here’s an incident captured on video from the US. What’s your take — who was in the wrong? Warning: the video contains a fair amount of coarse language.

What to do about cyclists getting doored?

The death of a cyclist in Melbourne last week has led to renewed calls to address the issue of dooring and to make the roads safer for cyclists. Despite dooring being an offence in Victoria, there are apparently more than 100 cases reported a year, and almost certainly others that aren’t reported.

Writing for The Urbanist, Alan Davies suggests that the plans for an awareness campaign are worthwhile, but other solutions are also required.

“

Motorists don’t door riders on purpose. The problem is they’ve lived most of their lives in a culture where there’s little cycling. They’ve not learned to reflexively and instinctively look out for bikes before opening the door. It’s not second nature so they do it without thinking; even a motorist who cycles might have a momentary lapse. What’s most needed now is decisive action by government to physically keep cyclists out of the door zone.

Elimination of on-road parking in all or some sections seems the obvious candidate and in some cases it will be. It’s important though to understand to what extent the viability of traders – and hence the vibrancy of the commercial strip – depends on the availability of on-road parking.

Click here to read more at The Urbanist. And click here to read more at the ABC.

Take Control: a motivational video by Rick Koekoek

Here’s an impressive “motivational video” from trials rider Rick Koekoek. Personally we can take or leave the motivational aspect, but what he does on the bike in the video is pretty cool to watch.

How not to ride Mulholland Drive’s ‘The Snake’

‘The Snake’ is a section of Mulholland Drive near Los Angeles that’s popular with cyclists and also with motorcyclists. Some photographers and videographers set up on that section of road, including YouTube user RNickeyMouse who caught this video of a cyclist crashing on the descent. It’s just lucky the driver of the car coming the other way was paying attention.

Doing a ‘Superman’ on a fast descent

As Chris Froome says, please don’t try this. Seriously.

Don't try this at home ?? #superman #sillybuggers pic.twitter.com/aeqhsQRp8y

— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) March 2, 2015

What You Missed

And finally this morning, here are a few things you might have missed at CyclingTips in the past few days:

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Today’s feature image comes from Kristof Ramon and shows the race-winning breakaway in Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Tags: 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, 2015 Strade Bianche, 2015 Tirreno-Adriatico, Greg Van Avermaet, Lizzie Williams, Rocacorba Daily, Simon Gerrans

http://subcontinentalcyclist.wordpress.com/ Ankush Agarwal

Froome with his skinny arse!
- Dave
  
  I thought it was a bit wonky when I read it, but this shot of what appears to be a concentration camp victim would appear to validate the op-ed piece I read in the SMH today about the rise of fascism.
- velocite
  
  The new aero postion.
- Leroy
  
  That top photo makes it look like a bulimia competition..
velocite

That Mulholland Drive crash video was disconcerting. Dry road, gentle curve, captioned 30 mph. Flat tyre?
- thomasrdotorg
  
  tucked the front.
- MikeP
  
  Tri-bars… #caseclosed
- PeterC
  
  short socks was the culprit #karma
- pedr09
  
  He hits an oil patch and his front wheel slides out. It happens.
  - velocite
    
    Maybe. There was a very slightly darker patch on the road where he lost grip. But I hope it was a flat, because no way would I have recognized that patch as slippery.
    - Dave
      
      No way is that an oil patch.
      
      He just panicked when he saw the car and grabbed a fistful of brake. If his bike was severely damaged in the crash, that would have been a good thing for him.
      - winkybiker
        
        That’s my take, too. He was crossing the centre line earlier. When he saw the car - panic.
- Sean
  
  He look horrible and awkward on the bike, wrong bars for safe descending, predictable result for an elbow steerer.
  - Seb
    
    Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by the term ‘elbow steerer’?
    - Sean
      
      Simple logic really, check out the next bunch of tri’s you see on beach road.
  - Andy B
    
    Yep I thjnk that one was rider error
    Turning that sharply at that angle is asking too much of the tyres
Douglas

The sad thing is it’s commonplace for cars to slow down and turn left before they have completed passing cyclists. They don’t seem to realise the cyclist is moving.
- http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
  
  A similar thing happened to me on the way to the office this morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcF7tT5dILE&list=UUf52eupCfSjvIKtDp9xwZfg
  - http://justincoulson.com/ Justin Coulson
    
    The difference, Matt, is that you didn’t start a provocative confrontation. While it’s perfectly natural to get angry (as the guy in the original video did), it seldom makes things better.
    
    It is a rare occurrence for someone to get out of their vehicle and say, “Sorry, my fault. Are you ok?” And if we hope for that kind of a response, we’re unlikely to get it when we do our block at them.
    
    Getting angry only gives them justification for getting angry in response. Easier to simply get on the brakes, stay out of the way, and then keep riding. (Easier said than done too.)
    - http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
      
      I must admit I did throw a hand in the air as if to say “are you right?!”, but I didn’t say anything to him. If anything I just shook my head and laughed about it, which is certainly easier to do when you’re travelling 15km/h and being very cautious, compared to at high speed when you’ve got no chance to get out of the way.
      - http://justincoulson.com/ Justin Coulson
        
        I think anyone would think that’s a reasonable and proportionate response Matt. The guy in the video was travelling around the same speed and had the same option. Instead, he made a scene because he had a video and wanted to feel powerful.
        
        I’ve reacted terribly poorly in the past. But only on one occasion did it result in an apology. And boy did I feel like a big man when they’d said sorry… not.
        
        Then there was the time I chased someone into a carpark to give them a spray after they nearly ran me off the road only to realise that it was a young girl - and I scared the crap out of her. She was going to call the police I had her so scared. I felt like an idiot and ended up apologising to her even though she’d nearly run me off the road at 40+km/h!
        
        Most people realise they’ve done something done, and they’re most likely to say sorry if we don’t make a huge deal.
        
        Abdu
        
        Responding to near death is not usually a controlled thing. Yes, it would be great if when a cyclist is nearly killed he/she responds calmly.
        Blaming the victim, or otherwise justifying violence is unhelpful though.
  - Abdu
    
    No indicator either.
    That is a good instructional video, as Matt is slowing and riding defensively.
    The driver is in the wrong, but Matt stayed upright which is the best result.
    - http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
      
      Thanks Abdu!
Douglas

My German car doesn’t let me do a whole lot of things, or beeps warnings about everything from seat belts to lights. Why not a sensor to warn about oncoming cyclists, and maybe even prevent the door being opened. Many cars offer overtaking warnings so the technology definitely exists.
- RayG
  
  If you don’t know a cyclist is there when you’ve just overtaken him, you’re clearly not concentrating enough that a few warning beeps will help.
  - Douglas
    
    I was addressing the dooring issue.
    - RayG
      
      Ah, yes. I’ll try to pay attention next time.
- Arfy
  
  The tech definitely exists (ultrasound, cameras, and lidar), and could easily be incorporated in the wing mirrors. The problem is that when a car sales person talks about “safety features” car buyers are only interested in their own safety, they won’t spend extra to get a “cyclist warning” system. This means the feature must be legislated, and which political party’s going to put that on their election agenda?
  - Dave
    
    There was a recently released car (I think a Jaguar?) which included a cyclist warning feature.
    
    Going on the uptake of safety features like ABS, airbags, ESP, reversing warnings/cameras and so on, it will be some time before it’s a mainstream item.
    
    A higher priority, in my opinion, would be mandatory reversing beepers on all cars.
    - Arfy
      
      I think we’ll have to wait for the introduction of “autonomous” cars before such a feature becomes widespread. Even then it will take many years before they become common-place.
      - Dave
        
        I agree.
        
        Object detection is simply too expensive to be used just for warning beeps.
        
        Ralph
        
        It’s also lazy. Just pay attention. You can kill someone with your door. A judge recommended TAC run a anti-dooring campaign and they didn’t do it. People treat driving like eating a sandwich, it’s f*cking dangerous so do it well.
        
        Ralph
        
        sorry for the rant. source: http://bit.ly/1B4JLE1
    - Mark Kelly
      
      Improved infrastructure and technology will come eventually. In the meantime a public education campaign is overdue. Drivers should be taught to open their doors with their left hand only, so that they naturally turn their head and shoulders to face any approaching cyclists. It also causes you to open the door more slowly and with more control, rather than just flinging it open with a stiff right elbow.
- steel
  
  It’s been tried, but there’s all sorts of problems with the technology. Infrastructure treatments are still the most likely countermeasure in the short to medium term.
  - Dave
    
    Simplifying cars might actually be far better than loading them up with more technology which encourages leaving the brain in neutral.
    
    I drive a ’92 Camry as my personal car, and I certainly feel a lot more connected to the world around me than I do on the occasions that I drive the Prius that work has. The most sophisticated warning system included is the light that comes on when the fuel tank has less than ten litres left (depending on the gradient) but guess what - I’ve never had a single collision or near miss, and no speeding fines either as I can tell the speed from the engine note.
    
    It’s better for the economy and environment than the work Prius too. While the fuel mileage is worse, I get work done by a local mechanic who trains apprentices instead of importing a new car from a low-wage Asian country, and I could still be driving it in five years when the Prius needs to be scrapped because the batteries are lifexed.
    - Douglas
      
      I am not sure about that. I have a 1959 car which was the last word when it was made - disc brakes etc. It is quite a lot of work to drive, and provides it’s own distractions. Rear vision is awful. The key is concentration, which I suspect goes out the window with lots of drivers when they turn off the ignition.
      - Dave
        
        Apart from power steering, I’m not sure what driving-related features my Camry would have that your 1959 car would not. The difference between them would be that every part is far better than its equivalent in your car.
        
        It was in the mid-late 1990s that all the excessive insulation and brain-numbing driver aids started coming in.
        
        The ideal mix would be to go back to 1995 levels of driver responsibility and awareness, but to keep the modern economical engines and dual-clutch automatic gearboxes.
        
        Douglas
        
        You may be right. My view is coloured by having been doored twice in Italy, both times by drivers emerging from old Fiat Pandas with enormous doors. Drivers there are wonderful from the cyclists point of view, and their roads and traffic conditions demand concentration. The trouble is, they seem to turn their brains off with the ignition.
    - Ralph
      
      Completely agreed. Nothing like a small, simple, light car (i.e. closer to a bike) to make you aware of your surroundings and attentive to danger.
      
      Also, treat things lighter on the road road as precious is one of my mottos, making pedestrians king (or queen). This also means it’s an honour to drive a heavier vehicle (e.g your German x5) and treat it as such.
      - Dave
        
        +1
        
        Anyone who hasn’t driven a Lotus Elise doesn’t know what it is to drive. Uses less fuel than a first-generation Prius too.
  - Leroy
    
    Actually, better driver awareness would be the best. Drivers have to be taught to do it, just like they have to be taught to put a seatbelt on - make it second nature. My partner instinctively tells me off if I don’t check now, and I say thanks. You need to tell those around you to remind you.
    
    Infrastructure has to improve but can you wouldn’t bet $10 on when sydney road would be changed would you?
Ian

Nice feature image. Just need to add a speech balloon for Tom: “Three against one, we’ve got this one in the bag…..”
- Marcus
  
  Are you Ian Stanard?
peter howard

That car was in the wrong, but sometimes we need to cut them a bit of slack. If that was me on the bike I would have slowed and let them in, I would have shook my head but every one makes poor decisions
- Andy B
  
  That dude was pretty agro, I’m agreed on just letting things like that go
  
  If I reacted that way every time someone cut me off I would get into a lot of yelling matches
  sometimes with people like that it is easier to just let it go.
  - peter howard
    
    yep , agree. the cyclist was pretty cool , but he did have plenty of time to slow down , it was pretty clear what the car was going to do.
- Driver
  
  Why was he in the wrong?
  Under the rule of the road, if you indicate that means you are free to change lanes. Indicating removes all responsibility for looking, waiting, etc.
Craig

The Dooring Zone bike lanes were probably OK back in the day when you could see into the parked cars but with the increasing prevalence of dark tinted windows it makes it virtually impossible to safely use the Door Lane. Is the same organisation responsible for Door Lanes and modifications to vehicles allowing such dark tinted windows? If so, then they need to think a little more clearly about the road environment that they are creating.
- Douglas
  
  And headrests.
Gabby

On the “lowside crash” it looks like hes got his feet almost parallel. Its a little hard to tell from that angle but from when he stop pedalling his feel are at almost 9 and 3 and it doesnt look like he moves them much. But like i said, its hard to tell from that angle.
And the car is obviously in the wrong and im not so sure i wouldnt give the car a little tap too just to let him know that he was within touching distance of me. I think that guy was just pissed he was driving a minivan. It also makes a really good argument for divided bike lanes in the us.
Cadel

Tirreno-Adriatico: Hands down the best trophy you can win
- http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
  
  Fair call. I love this vision (from 1:30 onwards) of Cadel Evans pretending to throw the trident after winning the 2011 edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xPuhjjXIO0
  
  I like to imagine that the footage cuts right as he’s about to throw it because the camera operator stopped rolling, on the off chance that he actually did throw it.
  - Dave
    
    If so, that cameraman would need to take some lessons from the more committed bloke who was filming Margot Robbie’s celebrity lap on Top Gear a couple of weeks ago!
    
    Picking the right bits to include when distilling a multi-day event down into a short clip like that is a tough job that will always let down somebody, but I think that is one of the best examples I’ve seen in the world of sport.
- Stuey O
  
  Roubaix?
Abdu

Just my opinion, but…I found the comments from ‘Brad’ (the cyclist who was attacked) off the mark.
Nothing justifies the violent attack. Therefore, to suggest you were somehow at fault, ie. “holding up traffic” or were not in the bike lane allow drivers to justify aggression.
You are a legitimate road user, and you are not required to “get out of their way” in that instance.
Stop justifying the attack.
It’s the same with dooring. If I push a child into oncoming traffic, I would rightly be charged for that grievious crime. Why does it become less of a crime because “I didn’t see you” ?