Cycling Weekly January 20, 2022

These days there is very little cycling related news that shocks me. Massive drugs scandals thankfully seem to be a thing of the past and cycling as a whole seems to rub along fairly consistently despite the regular ups and downs common to a sport dependent on sponsorship. Perhaps that’s why things get so heated when sock length comes under scrutiny from the governing body. But the latest news of the proposed change in wording of one rule in the Highway Code is genuinely shocking, and it’s no exaggeration to say it could put lives at risk. You can read more on pages 6-7, but in short the new wording – that was apparently added at the last minute with no warning, even for the groups that were involved in previous…

A revised version of the Highway Code due to be published this weekend is set to create the expectation that groups of cyclists should stop to let cars pass. While much of the changes to the Code that have been announced are very positive for cyclists, including the creation of a hierarchy of road users which will put more responsibility for safety on those using heavier and larger vehicles, the Department for Transport’s final wording could threaten the viability of club runs up and down the country. The wording on the rules on group riding has been a source of controversy since the proposal was first announced in July 2020. A government response last year appeared to indicate the plans had been dropped. But now Cycling Weekly has learned that the proposed wording…

The changes to the Highway Code as they are currently constituted risk creating two tiers of road users. Sure, the mention of stopping is merely an example, but as anyone who’s ridden in groups on British roads will know, drivers frequently don’t even know you’re allowed, nay encouraged, to ride two abreast. Anything, no matter how small, that gives legitimacy to the idea that riders shouldn’t be allowed to continue their journey on the roads, just because their mere presence might marginally delay a driver, can be used to put cyclists on a lower level to car drivers. Already, we’ve all had situations where you have no choice but to conclude that’s how the driver feels and obviously this should never be encouraged. Is it sometimes better when climbing slowly to stop…

Anna Kay (Starcasino) powered to a solo victory in the sixth and final round of the National Trophy Cyclo-Cross Series in North Yorkshire last weekend, while fourth was enough for Amira Mellor (Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus) to clinch the overall win with her fourth victory in the series. “It’s always nice to get a win in Britain,” said Kay, who was over two and a half minutes clear of second-placed Josie Nelson (Spectra Wiggle), with team-mate Xan Crees another minute back in third. “It was quite a slippy course, there wasn’t a lot of grip anywhere but I like it like that. Now I’m heading back to Belgium this week for one last weekend of racing before the Worlds.” Meanwhile newly crowned national champion Thomas Mein (Torman’s Circus) went it alone in the…

The domestic pro road scene needs a shot in the arm and fast if it’s to avoid dwindling to nothing. That’s the view of Team SwiftCarbon Pro boss Paul Lamb as he folds his team due to a lack of sponsorship funding. The Yorkshire-based outfit has been a UCI team for three years and this season counted the likes of Alex Peters, Pete Williams and Will Bjergfelt among its riders. In 2019 it placed James Shaw fifth overall in the Tour de Yorkshire. SwiftCarbon’s demise adds to the steady drip of top teams closing over recent years – others include Vitus, Madison, OnePro and JLT. It leaves the UK with four UCI teams this season: Ribble Pro Cycling, Wiv-Sungod, Saint Piran and Trinity Racing. Attempting to sell the idea of funding a cycling…

The Rayner Foundation, which funds young riders to chase their dreams of becoming professionals by racing abroad, has announced the 31 riders who will be funded for 2022 from one of its biggest set of applications it has ever received. Rayner Foundation board member Keith Lambert told Cycling Weekly that despite the ongoing Covid pandemic and Brexit complicating the process of racing in Europe and further afield, the foundation had received 86 applications. “There’s a lot of uncertainty around going abroad but I don’t know that 18 and 19 year olds see it that way. They just want to go and do what they want to do anyway,” Lambert said. He said there were “a lot of good ones to be excited about” among the riders on the programme for 2022. Some of those…