Comment & Analysis: Dublin City Council’s Dublin City Centre Transport Plan is on the agenda for the full monthly council meeting this evening. Before that starts, let’s be honest: People can disagree with the Plan, but anybody who didn’t hear about it was living under a rock, disengaged, or only fooling themselves. The consultation ran from September 13th to December 1st. The submissions received included 3,487 responses via the consultation portal survey, 11 paper survey submissions, 77 emails, and 17 postal submissions. The plan gained the attention of the media, with over 40 news items across around 20 different media outlets in print, online, and on air. That’s not including mentions of it on news radio bulletins, panel discussions, and talk shows. In addition to the huge amount of media coverage, during the consultation, there were meetings with groups, public meetings, leaflets from politicians, and a wide range of social media posts about the plan. Some have said that this is only a small percentage of Dubliners. But what exactly do they want? Mandatory responses to public consultation? Are some people lying that they never heard about it? It can be very hard to know or prove that people are lying. For example, one person (whom I’m not going to name here) claimed in a tweet that they had never heard of the plan. But I remembered them tweeting about the plan. After a quick search, I found that they had replied to an article about the plan. Maybe they never read the article? But it is nobody’s fault but their own that they replied to something without reading it or cannot remember what they read a few months ago or didn’t follow up. This website reported in February how a number of Dublin City councillors questioned their fellow councillors why they did not inform the public about the consultation on the plan. This seems like a fantastic question for the councillors, who are now concerned that people didn’t hear about the plan. Surely, with the plan covered at the committee level and so widely in the media, the councillors now complaining should have played their part and warned their constituents about it? Public consultation The public consultation ran from September 13th to December 1st, it the ways to reply included: Online Survey: “A public online survey was published on the Draft Plan consultation webpage. The overarching purpose of the survey was to understand public sentiment towards key principles of the Draft Plan. Further, more targeted consultation exercises will be carried out in relation to specific proposed schemes within the Draft Plan prior to implementation.” Email Submissions: “The City Centre Transport Projects team email address was provided for soft-copy submissions.” Postal Submissions: “The City Centre Transport Projects team postal address was provided for hard-copy postal submissions.” In-person: “A ‘consultation desk’ put in place in the atrium of Dublin City Council’s Civic Offices. A copy of the documents, posters, and paper copies of the survey with a submission box Dublin City Council press releases The first press release was issued by Dublin City Council on September 13th. A second media release was issued on November 16th. Meetings with groups Dublin City Council said that it and the NTA hosted the following meetings (approx number of event attendees in brackets): Dublin Town, Lord Mayors Business Forum & An Garda Siochana (20) Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Committee (80) Online Briefing with IBEC (180) Open Session Dublin Chamber of Commerce (70) Westbury Hotel (1) Public Sector Transformation Week (100, DCC Staff) NTA Transport User Group 13th Oct 2023 — the “NTA Transport User Advisory Group is made up of 15 people who represent: People with disabilities (rep from Irish Wheelchair association, National Council of the Blind and National and Platform of Self Advocates who represents people with intellectual disabilities); Public Transport Users; Pedestrians; Cyclists; Older persons; Students; Taxi Users; Local Link; Chamber of Commerce; Tourism.” Leafets from politicians At a council meeting in February, two councillors said they had mentioned details of the plan and the consultation in leaflets to constituents. This includes: Cllr Ray McAdam (Fine Gael), based on the northside, said he distributed 5,500 leaflets. Cllr Claire Byrne (Green Party), based on the southside, said she delivered 7,000 leaflets. Meetings organised by politicians The following meetings were organised by politicians: Minister Eamon Ryan and Cllr Claire Byrne held a public meeting at the Dublin Chamber offices on November 30th. It’s worth saying this was attended by more than just the Green Party faithful, with current Fine Gael Fingal councillor and Dublin City Council candidate Punam Rane tweeting about it. Neasa Hourigan TD and Cllr Janet Horner held a meeting at The Teachers Club and via Zoom on October 19th. Social media IrishCycle.com found a large number of social media posts about the plan and about articles about the plan. For its part, Dublin City Council said: “Social media posts were published by DCC accounts across three platforms Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The Draft City Centre Transport Plan Presentation (Public Sector Transformation Week) was uploaded to YouTube Video 800 + views.” Some notable tweets with high view counts: From Cllr Michael Pidgeon on September 13th with 110k views and link to consultation; from Dublin City Council on September 13th with 92.8k views and link to consultation in the third tweet; and from RTE News on September 13th with 94k views with link to article about plan. Media coverage Much of the media coverage was inaccurate by way of overhyping the plan’s effect on motorists — there is, for example, no plan for a ban on cars. Yet, if anything the alarmist headlines should have gained the attention of more motorists etc who might have wanted to object to the plan. According to media monitoring results published by Dublin City Council, media coverage reached an estimated 1.4 million people during the consultation. IMAGE: Dublin City Council list of media coverage reach. In this website’s search for media coverage during the consultation period, I did not find the Radio Nova and Sunrise items mentioned above (radio items can be hard to track back), but I did find many more items from newspapers, fully online outlets and broadcasters. If Dublin City Council’s media monitoring is represented by the above list mentioning media outlets, it is highly likely an underestimation of the coverage and its reach. In some cases, the stories were also making news bulletins for at least hours of the day on some radio stations. There were a few “head up” types of articles such as this website’s one on September 6th (IrishCycle.com: Radical shake-up of city centre streets to remove cars from quays at O’Connell Bridge) and, on September 8th, on Thejournal.ie: Overhaul of Dublin city centre roads will address cross-town traffic. During the consultation, the following media coverage referred to the plan and/or the consultation: September 13th: RTE: Nine News (aka 9 O’Clock main evening news) RTE: Draft plan would see cars banned from parts of Dublin city Irish Times: Plan proposes most radical restriction of private traffic in Dublin city for decades Irish Times: The Irish Times view on the new transport plans for Dublin city centre: on the right road Irish Independent: Two-thirds of cars to be banned from Dublin’s inner city in new transport plan Dublin Live (Mirror group): ‘Ambitious’ Dublin City Council plan to see major traffic restrictions in city centre Irish Examiner: Radical plan proposes banning cars from some parts of Dublin city NewsTalk: New traffic plan unveiled for Dublin: ‘The days of driving along The Quays are over’ NewsTalk: Also covered on air on the Hard Shoulder drivetime show. The Irish Sun: Major blow for motorists as radical new transport plan for Dublin aims to ban cars and remove parking spaces Thejournal.ie: Traffic to be diverted from congested quays under proposed rehaul of Dublin city centre roads IrishCycle.com: Through traffic to be pushed out of Dublin City Centre with bus gates on Bachelor’s Walk and Aston Quay, council committee told Dublin People: Consultation now open for draft dublin city centre transport plan 2023 Sunday World: RADICAL | Two-thirds of cars to be banned from Dublin’s inner city in new transport plan Business Post: Dublin streets set for ‘most consequential’ change since Grafton Street pedestrianisation September 14: Irish Times: Ending city-centre car dominance presents opportunities for a better Dublin Irish Times: Draft Dublin traffic plan needs to be ‘thought through’ to prevent obstructing business – Dublin Town NewsTalk: Taxi drivers ‘suspicious’ of new traffic plan for Dublin – ‘We’re not considered public transport’ NewsTalk: Covered on air on Newstalk Breakfast NewsTalk: Covered on air on the Hardsholder Today FM: Draft Plan On Banning Cars From Inner City Dublin Published FM104: Dublin streets set for ‘radical’ overhaul Dublin’s Q102: Dublin streets set for ‘radical’ overhaul September 15: Irish Independent: Speed limit of 30kmh proposed for Dublin city centre as businesses call for ‘clarity’ on new traffic plan NewsTalk: ‘I’d have reservations about it’ – Taoiseach questions radical new Dublin city car ban plan IrishCycle.com: Over 40% decrease in cars on Dublin’s most central quays since 2017 September 19th: Lovin Dublin: Cars banned and more cycle space – main takeaways from the 2023 Dublin Transport Plan IrishCycle.com: How did the media report on Dublin City Centre’s radical new Traffic Plan? September 21th: Dublin People: Overhaul of Dublin city streets planned by Council September 25th: Shelf Life (retailer magazine): DublinTown launches consultation process for Dublin City Council’s Draft Traffic Plan October 8th: Business Post: College Green car lanes to close as part of plan to remove city traffic November 11th: RTE Today with Claire Byrne  November 2th: Irish Times: Dublin city centre street parking charges to hit €4 per hour in some areas [parking charges not part of plan but the second part of the article includes transport plan details] November 14th: Irish Independent: Lorraine Courtney: Congestion charges and higher parking fees are brutal, but necessary in cities November 15th: NewsTalk: ‘Dublin is clogged with traffic’ – Are congestion charges the way to get Dublin moving? [ congestion charges are not part of the plan, but the plan is heavenly referenced in the article] November 16th: IrishCycle.com: Deadline looms for radical Dublin City Centre Transport Plan feedback, but what’s included? IrishCycle.com: How is cycling presented in the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan? November 28th: Thejournal.ie: ‘Too many cars’ on our roads hampering public transport, Dublin Bus CEO to tell TDs November 30th: Irish Times: Consultation on plan to end car dominance in Dublin ends Friday Irish Times: The Irish Times view on Dublin’s traffic plans: finding a way through the gridlock December 1st: Dublin’s Q102: Consultation on City Centre Transport Plan takes place today FM104: Consultation on City Centre Transport Plan takes place today Other notable web pages which linked to or covered the plan: NTA: Consultation now open for draft Dublin City Centre Transport Plan 2023 (September 13th) DublinTown: Draft Dublin City Centre Transport Plan 2023 Summary (October 16th)

Just announced, the Veloci Plan Big V3 all-terrain bicycle features a more upright riding position, countless mounting points, and specs suitable for commuting or gravel and dirt-road touring. Check it out here... The post The Veloci Plan Big V3 is for Upright Touring appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Good valves that are especially well suited to a tyre liner setup 7/10

Remco Evenepoel's spring plans were thrown out the window last week when the Soudal - Quick-Step was one of those to crash hard in a nasty incident at the Itzulia Basque Country.Going down hard alongside the likes of Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard among others, Evenepoel was forced to leave the...

In today's edition of Weekend Snapshot, we catch up with a few members of the team who were recently out bikepacking around three different continents. Find an array of vignettes from North America, Europe, and Asia here, and be sure to use the short from to share a scene from one of your recent rides... The post Weekend Snapshot appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

The Estonian brand aims to target bikepackers and commuters with their latest Curt update

In one of the greatest performances of his already storied career at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, Mathieu van der Poel not only took the fastest win in the race's history and the longest solo in 30 years, the Dutchman also made the day of a 7-year-old superfan. Young Ayden Brancart and his parents, Tom...

“I have never seen my age as a barrier to doing anything at all,” says Janine Williams

Cyclist Every Mathieu van der Poel Monument performance ranked From a victory lap in Roubaix to a surprise cameo at Il Lombardia, a photo finish with Wout van Aert and a mud-scarred sprint, Mathieu van der Poel has a fair few anecdotes to share from the Classics. With a Monument career spanning over five years and 17 Monument appearances, Van der Poel has competed in all five of cycling’s Monuments. This is the less impressive statistic though. In total, he has a total of ten Monument podium finishes including six race wins. As the dust settles on Paris-Roubaix 2024, let’s look back on Van der Poel’s 17 Monument performances and rank all 17 rides – recounting the best (and the worst) of his one-day exploits. This ranking is not based on the arbitrary finishing position. It will factor in panache, pizzazz and pathos into its ranking position. Prepare for Mathieu’s ego to be inflated, as we dissect each of his 17 Monument performances. Related Posts Tour of Flanders gallery: Koppenbergcross spring edition Mathieu van der Poel’s insane Strade Bianche watts revealed V is for victory! Mathieu van der Poel profile Classics power play: Mathieu van der Poel’s incredible Amstel Gold winning power data ASO The Lower Rankings 17. Paris-Roubaix 2022 (finished 9th)16. Milan-San Remo 2020 (13th)15. Milan-San Remo 2021 (5th)14. Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2020 (6th)13. Il Lombardia 2020 (10th)12. Milan-San Remo 2022 (3rd)11. Tour of Flanders 2019 (4th) 10. Tour of Flanders 2021 MVDP’s Finishing Position: 2nd This might be the most frustrating MVDP Monument to watch. Starting as the reigning champion and, therefore, the most marked man in the bunch, Van der Poel was rightfully bullish going into the 2021 Tour of Flanders.   QuickStep (remember them?) gambled to their advantage, constantly putting the naive Van der Poel under pressure. Forced to chase, close gaps and show his hand early, Van der Poel was the most daring on the day – that doesn’t necessarily mean he had the inalienable right to take the victory. By dropping all his competitors apart from the Dane Kasper Asgreen, Van der Poel – a powerhouse sprinter fresh from UCI WorldTour sprint wins the month prior – duly signed up for a duel with Asgreen in the finishing straight. Surprisingly, Van der Poel pulled up before the line, yielding the win to Asgreen. Falling short on the day, this Tour of Flanders is the ‘one that got away’. This two-up sprint probably replays in Van der Poel’s nightmares. I know it features in mine. 9. Tour of Flanders 2022 MVDP’s Finishing Position: 1st Mathieu’s second Flanders title came with plenty of peaks and troughs. In a spring where Wout van Aert contracted Covid, Van der Poel emerged as the out-and-out favourite for another Classics title. After a string of impressive Classics performances in 2022 already, Flanders debutant Tadej Pogačar was an eager beaver in Flanders. Stepping up to the plate in Wout’s absence, Pogi and MVDP quickly emerged as the two strongest riders on the day. Testing the former Flanders champion, Pogačar was on the verge of dropping Van der Poel up the Oude Kwaremont – leaving the Dutchman dangling at a critical point in the race. Van der Poel played along, clutching onto the wheel of the then-reigning Tour de France champion in the hope that the woes of 2021 would not repeat itself. In a frantic final kilometre where the victory almost slipped away after allowing a chasing group to catch up, Van der Poel raised his arms in the air, proving his Flandrian mettle. Even if its place in the cycling zeitgeist has been eclipsed by Pogačar’s Merckx-esque debut in the cobbled Classics, this Flanders victory is one of Van der Poel’s toughest Monument titles to date, but certainly not one of his best. 8. Paris-Roubaix 2021 MVDP’s Finishing Position: 3rd Of course, Paris-Roubaix 2021 was a Monument for the ages. Filled with rain, mud baths and plenty of drama, the autumnal Paris-Roubaix gave us everything we wanted and more from a cycling spectacle. On his Roubaix debut, Van der Poel emerged from the muddy trench of Arenberg in a promising position. With the race torn apart across the damp French countryside, Van der Poel surfaced in a leading group of three alongside the eventual winner Sonny Colbrelli and Belgian youngster Florian Vermeersch. On a day when many failed to rise to the occasion, MVDP shoehorned himself in for a podium. Preceded by his reputation on the day, Van der Poel was forced to lead out the sprint in the final desperate dash to the line. After a cinematic day of racing, a bronze medal remains a sour sign-off for this most epic of Sundays in Hell. Hard done by on the road, Mathieu at least entertained us on this cinematic day of racing. 7. Tour of Flanders 2023 Gruberimages MVDP’s Finishing Position: 2nd It’s easy to forget about Van der Poel at the 2023 Tour of Flanders – it was all about Tadej Pogačar, after all. However, look past all the Merckx superlatives and GOAT debate column inches, and we can spot a strong performance from MVDP in 2023. The 2023 Tour of Flanders finally offered the much-anticipated showdown between any-and-all Classics names, from Pogačar to Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert and beyond. No asterisks, no excuses.  The race did not disappoint either. Breathless from the start, the race opened up at 100 kilometres to go, making for a brutal clash of the Classics titans. In a ding-dong battle between rivals old and new, Van der Poel wasn’t afraid to roll the dice, crucially placing the nails in the coffin of yet another Van Aert Flanders campaign. Ultimately, Van der Poel was second best on the day. That’s not to take away from his solid effort in the chase group, which saw him overhaul several rivals to take the silver medal on the day. Second place in the Avengers End Game of bike races isn’t bad going. 6. Milan-San Remo 2024 Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty MVDP’s Finishing Position: 10th This is the underdog of the list. Although MVDP didn’t crack the top five, the Dutchman was all over the race like a rash in the most recent edition of La Classicissima.  Doubling up as a domestique-turned-protagonist, Van der Poel was sure to mark moves and shake up proceedings once the race reached the decisive Poggio di Sanremo. By following Pogačar’s stinging attacks up the climb, Van der Poel’s mere aura placed pressure on the group behind to close the gap – offering his Alpecin-Decuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen a red carpet ride to the line. Clocking in as a domestique on the Via Roma, Van der Poel displayed his versatility and loyalty loud and clear. Served on a fine china plate for Tour de France green jersey winner Philipsen, Alpecin-Deceunick claimed yet another Monument victory. Philipsen is indebted to Van der Poel – he certainly owes him a beer or two. The Dutchman put in a shift and a half to engineer the perfect Philipsen-friendly finish. In 2024, Van der Poel was the video game final boss of Milan-San Remo. 5. Milan-San Remo 2023 Milan-San Remo MVDP’s Finishing Position: 1st After an incognito start to his 2023 road season, Van der Poel’s fate was unknown on the build-up to Milan-San Remo 2023.  Holding onto the cast-iron group of four on the Poggio in Filippo Ganna, Van Aert and Pogačar, Mathieu made his presence felt over the top of the climb. With a picture-perfect acceleration over the top of the Poggio, it was going to be hard for anyone to follow the wheel of the cyclocross star down into the city of San Remo. A descending masterclass later and he was up, up and away. All that was left was an emotional victory salute in homage to his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor. This is how you win Milan-San Remo — an A+ effort. 4. Tour of Flanders 2020 MVDP’s Finishing Position: 1st The tense Cold War between Van der Poel and Van Aert never felt as icy as it did in the Covid-tainted 2020 edition of the Tour of Flanders. In the shadow of a cluttered re-structured calendar, the 2020 edition saw a paradigm shift in the Classics world. Following an acrobatic crash from Julian Alaphilippe in the leading group, Wout and Mathieu renewed their rivalry up the final climbs of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, gearing themselves up for the Hollywood-directed finale to this Tour of Flanders. Unable to distance each other on the hills, the childhood rivals were content to settle this in a sprint. Regardless of the empty roadsides, you could hear the cycling world collectively lean into their TV screens to see how this skirmish would end up. Skin-to-skin almost in a final lunge to the line, Van Aert and Van der Poel’s clash never felt more intimate. The Messi vs Ronaldo of the cycling world, this clash in Flanders was cycling’s El Clásico. Despite the Michael Bay-style race, MVDP’s maiden Monument win needs more oomph to move it up on this list. Who knows, maybe Alaphilippe would have pipped the others to the line. 3. Paris-Roubaix 2023 Alex Broadway/Getty Images MVDP’s Finishing Position: 1st After two previous appearances in the Hell of the North, it’s fair to say that Van der Poel had an on-and-off relationship with the race. Denied in a sprint in 2021 and dropped in 2022, his hopes of Roubaix glory seemed to be diminishing by the year. In 2023, things started to favour him in a race where lady luck holds the balance of power. In a flyer over the Carrefour de l’Arbre alongside Van Aert, Mathieu made the difference at the exit of the sector. Or, at least, Wout’s tyres made the difference here. After a puncture for the Belgian, the advantage was in the Alpecin-Deceuninck corner. As teammate Jasper Philipsen rejoined the mix, the team’s plan had worked out a treat. With Van Aert trapped in checkmate, MVDP could relish in the glory as he prepared to enter the Colosseum of the Roubaix velodrome. In short: he came, he saw, and he certainly conquered. 2. Tour of Flanders 2024 Dario Belingheri/Getty Images MVDP’s Finishing Position: 1st Now we’re stepping up a gear – we are into the territory of the untouchable Van der Poel Monument rides. Nothing quite compares to these final two performances, kicking off with his record-equalling win at the 2024 Tour of Flanders. Rivals tried and failed to outfox Van der Poel and his Alpecin-Deceuninck for much of the opening phase of the race. Once the Tour of Flanders entered its meaty section of steep cobble kickers, he wasn’t afraid to test his legs and stretch out the favourites. Lift-off came early as he oozed with confidence from his now mud-stained rainbow jersey. Up and away he went with 45km to go, and no rider even came close to following him. While others walked up the Koppenberg, the Dutchman rocked and rolled with a boyish swagger that his competitors could only envy. A foregone conclusion from the moment he saw daylight with the main body of riders, Van der Poel’s one-minute margin of victory places this ride into another stratosphere of Monument performances. You’ve got to admit as well, lifting his rainbow-coated Canyon bike in the air was the most badass race celebration possible. 10/10, there’s no better way to win a Monument than this – or is there? 1. Paris-Roubaix 2024 David Pintens/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images MVDP’s Finishing Position: 1st Recent, I know, but Mathieu van der Poel’s magnum opus has got to be this year’s Paris-Roubaix.  It’s rare to see a rider trace the path of L’Enfer du Nord in such an effortless and collected manner. With Alpecin controlling the race with an iron-fist, and with other favourites on their hands and knees by the time the race entered the Trouée d’Arenberg, the sharks were circling around the Roubaix Velodrome. In a characteristically biblical seated effort, the peloton was left in Van der Poel’s wake. In an attack for glory longer than anyone had dared to attempt in the 21st century, there was only going to be one outcome. In a cycling masterpiece carved by Michelangelo, Van der Poel fought against fans’ loose caps, mud puddles and strong winds to take an unassailable lead in the Queen of the Classics. No scenario could separate the World Champion from glory as he headed into the iconic velodrome with a three-minute advantage. A modest victory salute later and he entered an elite club with a total of six Monument victories. With even enough time to catch his breath and watch the sprint for second place, the 2024 Paris-Roubaix may go down as Van der Poel’s crowning moment in history as the greatest Classics rider of his generation. This is the pinnacle of his dynasty. Disagree with our list? Join in the discussion in the comments or over on Cyclist’s Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook. To revel in his glory, check out our gallery of his Tour of Flanders 2024 triumph The post Every Mathieu van der Poel Monument performance ranked appeared first on Cyclist.