Telegraph journalists told “check your research” after front page claims cyclists hit 52mph chasing London Strava segments… despite that being faster than Olympic track cyclists

15 comments

1. “Lycra Lout Cyclists”. When exactly did the Telegraph become The Daily Mail?

   This kind of emotive rhetoric is not helpful and could act to increase acts of aggression towards cyclists. Not to mention it’s just crass.

2. *”Clearly they’ve found a bad GPS glitched segment and taken that as hard fact”: Newspaper ridiculed after reporting that London commuters are cycling to work faster than Tour de France sprinters…*

3. Strava occasionally glitches your location and gives you weird maximum speeds. I’m assuming the telegraph found one of these instances

4. >The feature centres around a segment on Chelsea Embankment, Tite St to Chelsea Bridge, where the Telegraph claims a cyclist (who probably “felt that was a commute well spent”) had covered the 630-metre segment at 52mph (84km/h), evidence “cyclists are turning UK roads into death traps”. 

   In theory a very very good cyclist could draught a vehicle and hit that on a flat section of road. But otherwise its physically impossible on normal paving with normal tyres, youd be loosing way too much energy to the road surface.

   >On another cited segment the newspaper alleges a cyclist smashed past Lambeth Bridge at 46mph (73km/h), hitting a max speed of 52mph, despite the average speed for their ride being 16mph (25km/h). A third claims a rider, whose power meter (a calibrated device giving an accurate measure of how much power a rider is putting through the pedals) reports he averaged 204w, but had taken the fastest time at a speed of 42mph (67km/h).

   Yeah vastly more likely these were glitches than people who average 16mph suddenly turning into Peter Sagan for about 100m then back to being a slightly faster than average commuter.

5. The real article headline should be that a car, with a bicycle in the back, was doing 52mph in a 20mph zone, and should be banned from driving.

6. Would this being false change the fact that cyclists don’t obey speed limits or traffic lights? The fact that lots of motorists drive dangerous or illegally shouldn’t excuse cyclists. It’s always ‘what about drivers’. Well both need sorting out. You only need to spend 5 minutes on Jeremy vines twitter to see that even an experienced cyclist doesn’t know how to safely ride on the roads.

7. Having to be told to do something so simple just shows how many ‘journalists’ are just shit at the job.

8. Some numpty is running strava on their car run, or motorbike.

9. Theres literally just a bizarre anti-bike agenda in the rightwing press.

10. When I watch the news or listen to the radio, they constantly report what’s in the papers, what the front pages are, what this columnist thinks etc.

    I don’t get it. Who the hell reads newspapers? Too much of what they print is badly researched or just plain made up.

11. Telegraph trying to drum up outrage in a non-story for the desperate government.

    I guarantee you’ll find plenty of car drivers going 52mph in 20mph zones, but somehow that won’t be a problem for them.

12. Just like to thank u/TheTelegraph for being part of the hate machine that puts people who cycle in danger on our roads.

13. Not possible. Looking at my average top speeds ( Beeline ) on rides around London I’m barely hitting 20 mph.

    I swear this anti cycling rhetoric they keep stirring up is dangerous to cyclists though, It’s becoming noticeably more aggressive out there.

    But, you know, as long as it keeps people clicking their site who cares?

14. The Telegraph has been an utter joke for years. I’m old enough to remember when, despite still being right-wing rag, at least it valued being factual, now it’s all culture war stoking.

15. I love a good cycle but is it even possible for your average bike to travel at that speed without going downhill?