Homemade sign warns cyclists to “slow down for NHS sake” through village – “not racetrack”; “Concentrate on your cycling!” Police officer scolds ‘rubbernecking’ cyclist, while attending beached car; Jumbo-Visma Vuelta civil war? + more on the live blog

Right, get your Alan Partridge and Hot Fuzz memes at the ready, because some anti-cycling villagers have been at it again.

And this time, I’m sure you’ll agree, they’ve surpassed themselves.

Words fail me. pic.twitter.com/TMt4V87O07

— Tom Jones (@93vintagejones) September 12, 2023

The homemade sign, spotted in the village of Exton, Rutland, by Conservative councillor Tom Jones (no, not that one) is a true classic of its admittedly niche genre.

“Cyclists.” it begins (note the abundant use of punctuation already), “Exton Village. NOT Racetrack. For NHS sake Slow down!”

“Words fail me,” councillor Jones, who noted that the sign was placed on a “50 metre stretch of cycle path between two 90 degree bends”, wrote on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“This sign has it all. The NIMBY demand, the replacement of God by Are NHS: the ultimate reminder that it’s so over.”

It turns that it wasn’t just Jones who was baffled by the sign’s grammatically questionable appeal.

No, the grammar, at least, is right. Their powerfully-made point is that it's "Exton Village" not "Exton Racetrack". I presume there's another sign asking cars to stay out for similar reasons.

— John Deans (@jjbillyd) September 12, 2023

“My head can only read this with Alan Partridge’s voice,” wrote Thomas, while Chris asked: “Do they know how fast anaesthetists, ED docs and orthopaedic surgeons cycle?”

Others, meanwhile, reckon the villagers’ desire to protect the NHS by targeting racetrack-day dreaming cyclists is somewhat misplaced.

“For the NHS’s sake, keep cycling surely!” noted Mark.

“Clap for the NHS while we cut cyclists up in our Land Rovers,” added Adam, rather pointedly.

Some, however, defended the sign makers, with Dan arguing that “asking cyclists to respect the speed limit” is a “perfectly reasonable request”, while Mrs Doodle claimed that “I used to live near this location and the Lyra louts on bikes made it a living hell for residents”. Okay.

> Sign in Cambridgeshire accuses cyclists of "panting viruses" through village

Of course, this isn’t the first time that residents have invoked the NHS in order to prevent cyclists from ‘racing’ through their village.

Back during the first Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020, a sign appeared in the Cambridgeshire village of Coveney, telling cyclists to “stop panting viruses through our village. Stay away”.

That year’s lockdown appeared to start a trend of anti-cyclist messages, as later that day we were sent another picture of a homemade sign asking: “Cyclists. Are you 30 minutes from your home? Protect the NHS.”

And in 2021, road.cc reader Matthew sent us this rather polite reminder to one cyclist, apparently, to “please ride quietly through our village”.

Though Matthew did note that it was strange considering the sign makers did not seem overly concerned about the number of speeding cars cutting through the village… just those pesky cyclists with their small talk, speeding, and heavy panting…

As a road.cc reader, I think it’s fair to say that you probably spend quite a bit of time concentrating on cycling, thinking about cycling, daydreaming about cycling… So you’d probably agree that ‘concentrate on your cycling’ is pretty decent life advice that, if more people adhered to it, could end up making the world a better place.

It’s not, however, the kind of advice you’d normally want to hear shouted at you by a police officer, especially one attending to a motorist who appears to have made a pig’s ear out of parking their vehicle.

But that’s what happened to cyclist Louise Vardeman, who was sternly told by a police officer to “concentrate on your cycling” as she filmed a precariously parked car – and by that, I mean maybe one or two of the wheels were parked on the ground – in Richmond Park yesterday.

Vardeman, who has represented Great Britain at the Gran Fondo world championships, as well as setting team LEJOG records and riding the route of the 2019 Tour de France to push ASO to finally create a proper women’s Tour, posted the video on social media yesterday with the caption: “Me getting shouted at by a police officer as I cycled slowly and carefully past a motorist that had beached himself in Richmond Park. I don’t think I’m the issue here?”

Me getting shouted at by a police officer as I cycled slowly and carefully past a motorist that had beached himself in Richmond Park. I don’t think I’m the issue here? pic.twitter.com/GW5gLu3QyU

— Louise Vardeman (@lougloug) September 12, 2023

Let’s just say that Cycling Twitter wasn’t too impressed with the officer’s advice.

“Wonder if they told the driver to concentrate on their driving,” Awesome Wells asked, while Sam pondered: “How does a driver capable of doing that manage to actually pass a test to get them a license in the first place?”

Others, meanwhile, reckoned the officer was simply offering up some encouragement.

“I think he was urging you to put in a good Strava segment,” noted Gareth, while Stu said: “Maybe he was reminding you to shout the obligatory ‘Can’t park there mate!’”

> Cyclists blast proposals to introduce 10mph speed limit on Richmond Park hill

Some, however, believed the words of advice were appropriate, and accused Vardeman of ‘rubbernecking’.

“At that moment in time you are because you’re ‘rubber necking’ – either not looking where you’re going or holding a camera in one hand which would impede your ability to brake. You also have no idea what caused the accident, may have been a medical emergency,” wrote Bill.

Brendan added: “Maybe the officer saw you getting closer to the middle of the road just as the cyclist coming the opposite way on the wrong side of the road got nearer. Whatever it was, you filming the scene, though perfectly legal, wasn’t helping the situation” – a response that, Louise replied, “makes perfect sense”.

That actually makes perfect sense and you didn’t throw any insults my way. Thank you.

— Louise Vardeman (@lougloug) September 12, 2023

What do you reckon? Was the officer right to call out the cyclist on their ‘rubbernecking’? Or should they be more concerned about the seemingly endemic poor driving on display in Richmond Park?

Sisisisisisiiiii La Locomotora 🚂 del Carchi está de regreso.

El ecuatoriano Richard Carapaz llegó en el segundo lugar 🥈 del #GiroDellaToscana mostrando un buen nivel, Carapaz tenía posibilidades de ganar, pero a falta de 1km Sivakov lo sorprendió. pic.twitter.com/FkLZQw5n58

— TERADEPORTES (@Teradeportes) September 13, 2023

Well, at least someone in an Ineos jersey is doing something in a bike race, right?

Pavel Sivakov – who is leaving the British squad for UAE Team Emirates in 2024 – took his first win in over a year this afternoon at the Giro della Toscana, powering clear of fellow escapee Richard Carapaz to go one better than the second place he secured behind Adam Yates at the GP Montréal last week.

Sivakov’s performance will no doubt impress his future team leader Tadej Pogačar, who finished fourth behind his teammate Felix Großschartner, as the Slovenian made his return to racing for the first since the world championships, in preparation for next month’s Il Lombardia, where he will be aiming to secure his third straight win at the Race of the Falling Leaves.

I take it back, UAE Team Emirates. After criticising the team for appearing to be devoid of ambition – at least when it comes to the battle for red – during yesterday’s stage, they’ve thrown the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons on today’s first climb, the Alto de la Colladiella.

And by that, I mean they’ve thrown everyone’s favourite purveyor of chaos, Marc Soler, up the road.

🚴🇪🇸 | De nummer 6 van het klassement, Marc Soler, begint er al aan op de eerste klim van de dag, de Alto de la Colladiella! 🙌 #LaVuelta23

📺 Koers kijk je op discovery+ pic.twitter.com/sprpnacoYg

— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) September 13, 2023

The mercurial Spaniard, sitting in sixth place overall, 3.28 down on Sepp Kuss, and just under two minutes off Primož Roglič’s final podium spot, absolutely flew up the Colladiella – but it doesn’t seem like the Robert Gesink-led Jumbo-Visma train are panicking just yet.

Oh, and who’s that at the front of the race? None other than Remco Evenepoel, of course, who bridged up to Soudal-Quick Step teammate Mattia Cattaneo after the typically frenetic start to the stage.

I’m not sure Remco will be too pleased with UAE’s tactics – and the effect they’ll have on his buffer to the bunch – by the time Soler bridges across, however…

Jeremy – and his poor Brompton – are back in the headlines this lunchtime. And, for someone who churns out clips of his obstacle-laden commute almost every day, this one’s pretty shocking, even by his standards…

> Jeremy Vine’s lucky escape as bike run over by reversing driver who turned onto cycle lane 

A cyclist in London has raised concerns about the way footage of incidents on the road can be reported, using his own case as an example of how reports can fall through the cracks as police forces “follow procedure” and are “drowning under cases”.

“A victim of a crime shouldn’t have to know the system,” the cyclist said. “If you think this is about cyclists vs motorists, it isn’t. It’s about the basic ability for laws and norms to be upheld.”

Read more: > Cyclist bemoans police reporting system as furious driver who shouted abuse and got out car to confront him “gets a talking to”

And speaking of today’s stage…

Set your alarm, because at around 4pm this afternoon, the Vuelta peloton (or what’s left of it) will hit the foot of the notorious Alto de l’Angliru, that narrow slab of mythical Asturian brutality, a former goat track that has carved itself into cycling legend since it was first introduced at the Spanish grand tour back in 1999, striking fear into all but the spindliest, masochistic climbers.

It’s the climb that inspired Kelme boss Vicente Belda, in the midst of what was arguably the sport’s darkest doping period, to ask: “What do they want? Blood?”

It’s where, on a grim day in 2002, an EPO-fuelled David Millar channelled his inner Octave Lapize (expect this one actually happened), stopping just short of the finishing line in protest at the conditions and the severity of the climb, despite sitting in ninth place overall at the time.

Carthy tames the beast at the 2020 Vuelta (ASO/PhotoGomezSport)

It’s where Chris Froome first demonstrated his knack for turning around and shouting ‘Come on Brad, stick to my wheel’ (an art form he would perfect at the following year’s Tour); Where Alberto Contador bowed out with a typical flourish, on his penultimate day as a pro; Where Hugh Carthy scored a career-defining win, as the seemingly imperious Primož Roglič toiled on the savagely steep slopes.

The Angliru is, officially, 12.4km long and averages 9.8 percent, but those numbers only tell half the story (and this year, the climbs preceding it are pretty brutal too).

The last seven kilometres are impossibly steep, always in double digits and hitting slopes of 19, 20, 22, 24 percent in places.

Angliru day ⚠️#LaVuelta23 pic.twitter.com/ZJnlmWiK2j

— Pro Cycling Trumps (@procycletrumps) September 13, 2023

Put all that tactical talk in the bin, the Angliru is all about who can ride to the top the fastest. And it could change the face of the Vuelta. We’re in for a treat.

Oh, and we’re also set to hear Carlton Kirby utter the terms ‘coping pace’ and ‘slow motion bicycle race’ more times than is humanly bearable. Well, the riders can’t be the only ones suffering, can they?

Jumbo-Visma may be crushing the opposition at the Vuelta with all the benevolence of a medieval warlord, but is everything as rosy as it seems around the Dutch team’s dinner table?

As we head neck-achingly skywards to the summit of the fearsome and stupidly steep Alto de l’Angliru this afternoon, what threatened to be one of the most processional and suspenseless grand tours in recent memory (and could still well turn out that way, to be honest) could explode into life, thanks to the apparently emerging internecine conflict within the otherwise imperious Jumbo-Visma ranks.

As I noted on yesterday’s blog, the internal dichotomy of Jumbo-Visma’s current position at the Vuelta – a devastatingly dominant 1-2-3 on the GC that has seemingly reduced all of their rivals to meek surrender, but one that is beset by tactical confusion – was laid bare on the steep climb of Bejes yesterday afternoon.

Sepp Kuss, the current race leader, the people’s favourite, the loyal domestique behind Jumbo’s greatest triumphs in recent years, was forced to soft pedal his way up most of the finishing climb, as his own teammate Jonas Vingegaard took another minute out of his advantage in the red jersey.

Surely, with Kuss – regardless of the fact this is his third grand tour of the season, and that he’s unproven battling for the overall win – over two and a half minutes clear of the first non-Jumbo rider on the standings, UAE’s Juan Ayuso, the Dutch team should try to shepherd the American to a career-defining triumph, safe in the knowledge that, if or when he eventually cracks, Roglič and Vingegaard (both at least a minute clear of Aysuo) can easily step up and take control of the race?

A Vuelta win would be a life changing experience for Sepp while the win is just another “grand tour victory” for Jonas or Primoz.

I don’t understand the motive of his teammates who are second and third on GC attacking early on the climbs. Sepp’s hands are tied as he cannot go…

— tom danielson (@tomdanielson) September 12, 2023

That’s the question that was asked last night by Kuss’s fellow American, ex-US Postal and Garmin rider Tom Danielson, on Twitter.

“A Vuelta win would be a life changing experience for Sepp while the win is just another ‘grand tour victory’ for Jonas or Primoz,” Danielson wrote.

“I don’t understand the motive of his teammates who are second and third on GC attacking early on the climbs. Sepp’s hands are tied as he cannot go after them. Their rivals are not able to chase Jonas or Primoz (or drop Sepp for that matter). They can just as easily ride for the stage win by attacking in the last km on these stages and keep Sepp in the jersey.

“While I understand Jonas and Primoz have the biggest salaries and have the best palmares on the team, it seems like it’s worth the risk from a PR standpoint, a fan viewpoint, and from a team unity perspective after the race to try to win with Sepp.

“If you have worn the leader’s jersey for eight days into the final stages with a two plus minute gap to your first rival then having your teammates protect that is not asking for a gift. Instead, it is asking for respect and trust. Just as they have always trusted Sepp to be there when it counts, now they should trust him to finish the job when it counts.

“He earned the chance, now let him finish it.”

Kuss looks on as Vingegaard attacks on the Tourmalet (Luis Angel Gomez/SprintCyclingAgency)

And, as if things couldn’t get any spicier, Roglič’s wife also reportedly liked a post from an Instagram fan account which slammed Jumbo-Visma’s tactics as “unacceptable” and Vingegaard’s stage-winning move as a “clear attack on the leadership”.

Ohhh… Better get the popcorn ready for the Angliru, where all those pesky team tactics need not apply anyway. Maybe we’ll see Jonas and Sepp doing an Alpe d’Huez 1986 and cross the line arm in arm?

Now, where’s Kathy LeMond when you need her?

Some good news emerged from Belgium last night, as Jumbo-Visma confirmed that Nathan Van Hooydonck, who was taken to hospital yesterday morning after falling ill and crashing his car, is not in a critical condition and did not suffer any serious injuries in the incident.

Van Hooydonck was reportedly driving his pregnant wife to the hospital when he fell ill while stopped at a set of traffic lights, causing him to accelerate across the junction, colliding with five cars. A spokesperson for the Belgian police said that he had been resuscitated at the scene and taken to hospital. His wife, who was not injured in the collision, was also taken to hospital for a check-up, while three other people involved in the crash, including a child, suffered minor injuries.

While the Belgian pro’s condition was initially believed to have been life-threatening, with Jumbo-Visma DS Grischa Niermann telling reporters that he had been placed in an induced coma, it emerged following yesterday’s stage of the Vuelta – won in emotionally charged circumstances by Van Hooydonck’s teammate and friend Jonas Vingegaard – that the 27-year-old was awake and recovering better than expected from the crash.

Nathan Van Hooydonck is awake and doesn’t suffer injuries because of the traffic accident earlier today. His health situation is not critical. Further medical examinations have to determine why Nathan became unwell, while driving his car. We want to thank everyone for the…

— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) September 12, 2023

That promising news was then confirmed last night in a short statement by Jumbo-Visma, which said that Van Hooydonck will be monitored in order to establish the reasons behind the worrying incident.

“Nathan Van Hooydonck is awake and doesn’t suffer injuries because of the traffic accident earlier today,” the team said.

“His health situation is not critical. Further medical examinations have to determine why Nathan became unwell, while driving his car. We want to thank everyone for the messages and the medical staff in the hospital for taking such good care of Nathan and his family.”