Barriers have narrowed available space for people walking, cycling, scooting and also moped users illegally using the street in more conflict. Dublin City Council has said that the chicane barriers on Capel Street and Parliament Street which seem to be in direct violation of two sets of national guidelines are only temporary. There seems to be no exception in the national guidelines for trialling measures outside of safety and accessibility parameters. As reported on Wednesday, the barriers were placed along the streets. In the case of Capel Street, there are nine (9) sets of barriers across the 420 metres section of the street, which is car-free. On Parliament Street, there are five (5) sets of barriers along the 130-metre stretch.Trials and guidelinesThe council did not immediately respond to a question about which legal measures the current trial process is taking place under. The legal method councils use for trials and for traffic calming measures, such as chicanes on streets, is Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act. The guidelines are referred to in primary legislation but were only issued by the Department of Transport after the Court of Appeal criticised successive governments for failing to put them in place this happened in the case of the proposed Strand Road cycle route trial, in which Dublin City Council was also criticised for poor procedures. On the substantive issues, Dublin City Council successfully overturned a High Court judgment against them on the Strand Road case, with key points argued by the council including that it was to be a trial and that the measures being put in place were temporary in nature and could be reversed.The Section 38 guidelines outline that notice must be given before a trial, with details published on the councils website and councillors informed, and that a public consultation process must start after a trial is put in place.The council implemented the traffic-calming trial on Capel Street and Parliament Street without any prior notice, and councillors contacted by this website indicated that they were not informed that the trial was to be implemented. IMAGE An example of barriers being hit or otherwise moved on Capel Street, which made it even narrower. Traffic control staff moved it shortly after the photo was taken, but it was still below the width allowed in the guidelines. Access Control of Active Travel FacilitiesThe spacing between the barriers is also narrower than allowed under the Access Control of Active Travel Facilities, national guidelines which outline that staggered gates may be considered, however, these should be sufficiently far apart (5.0m minimum) to allow all cyclists to negotiate without having to dismount.The guidelines, which cover all shared active travel routes and segregated cycle paths, state: Although the provision of access control points may be necessary, it must be provided in a manner which ensures universal access and the free-flow of cycling.IrishCycle.com observed yesterday that the barrier spacing was far below 5 metres, in some cases under 2 metres, while the free flow of cycling was not provided for, with extensive and regular queuing affecting not just bicycles, scooters, and bicycle-shaped mopeds, but also pedestrians trying to use the shared surface. In many cases, the barriers were pushing people cycling to take wide turning circles, reducing the space available to people walking along the shared area on the former carragway on the street. The issue of space at some points was made worse by the presence of traffic control vans close to the barriers, and, in the case of Parliament Street, a Garda car related to the Dublin Castle policing operation was parked in front of the van.Some people cycling and scooting were also being destabilised as they navigated the barriers or encountered other users coming in the opposite direction. IMAGE: An example of the queuing on Parliament Street yesterday. In some cases, the barriers are also too close to junctions in the guidelines, the defined distance of 10 metres between the barriers and a junction is a safety measure to avoid issues at junctions. A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said: The Capel Street Parliament Street route has rapidly become a very key cycle route in the city since the two-way link was put on Capel Street Bridge linking the two sections, and cycling numbers have increased substantially as a result.However, along with this increase in cycling numbers has been some problems caused by the behaviour of a small cohort of people using quite large and powerful e-bikes, and e-ecooters, and Dublin City Council has become increasingly concerned that the behaviour of a minority of users will lead to unsafe interactions with pedestrians and other users of the street, the council said.The spokesperson said: Therefore, a number of measures have been considered, including targeted messaging about the appropriate speeds to use on the streets, increased signage to remind users that pedestrians have priority on the street, and cyclists should slow and give way to pedestrians as required, and these will be rolled out over the next number of weeks.Alongside these measures we are also looking at what may be put on the street to assist in keeping speeds at a reasonable rate commensurate with the usage of the street by all and to inform this we have been trialling putting in some temporary measures to slow speeds and see configurations can make a difference, the chicanes that are being temporarily trialled provide little impediment to a cyclist travelling at a normal speed, but do require the faster users to slow down, the coumcil said.The contention that people cycling at normal speed were not affected other than slowing down was not the case at rush hour yesterday, when IrishCycle.com observed queues at various points where people on foot, on bikes, and on scooters had to stop and wait. But a spokesperson outlined how: These are only temporary measures to guide our process for considering if more permanent changes could or should be made and what, if any, these should be.The council added: This route provides a really important city centre link for both pedestrians and cyclists alike, and Dublin City Council is very keen to ensure that this can continue like this into the future with all users respecting that it is a pedestrian priority area as the majority of users do at present.IrishCycle.com put it to the council that the number of barriers also undermines its previously made claim that emergency access will be maintained at all times on the street. But the council denied this, pointing to traffic management staff on hand to remove the cones should the need arise.IMAGE: Queuing on Capel Street as a person walking goes up and down a kerb to get around. Replying to some users taking to footpaths to avoid barriers as a scooter rider was shown to do so on the video published with IrishCycle.coms article on Wednesday the council said that they have not seen any instance of this behaviour.Cllr Karl Stanley, a Social Democrat councillor who is not based in the area but uses the street, said: There is a conflict of uses on Capel Street between commuters and delivery riders, who want a fast, direct cycling route, casual cyclists who want a slow, relaxed area to ride through and pedestrians who want to be able to safely enjoy the amenities on the street.I dont think its possible for the first two groups to share space with the second two groups. In my view, the council should either find alternative routes for the faster traffic or segregate the carriageway so theres a fast area and a slow area, he said.He said that the lessons from Capel Street, including the challenges of shared space in a city where some people earn a living by moving quickly on two wheels, are something the council need to figure out before rolling out the Grow College Green project.Cllr Stanley added: It would be a failure to create another area where conflict is baked into the design. The council should seriously consider the needs of professional delivery riders and stop lumping all cyclists into the same category, regardless of how they actually move about in practise.

The 2026 Tour de France has not been a great Grand Tour for Netocompany INEOS so far. Following the team's failure to triumph in the opening team time trial despite a co-favorite status, it's been a downward trajectory with Kevin Vauquelin's 6th place from stage 4 breakaway the closest the team had...

Riding the Tour de France is not just the accomplishment of a lifelong goal for a bike rider, but the fulfilment of an entire family's ambition. The 50 debutants in this year's race are chuffed to be here, but so too are their parents and siblings, and everyone else who has been part of their journey.Take Zac Walker, two years younger than his brother Max, who is riding his maiden Tour at the age of 24 (he will turn 25 on July 12) for EF Education-EasyPost. "This has always been our childhood dream, so I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to watch him," Zac says, placing the emphasis on the collective. "It was always our dream and we're just all so proud of him. He's such a nice guy and it couldn't happen to anyone better."Zac is supporting his brother throughout the Tour by driving "a hire car that is probably a bit too big for my driving capabilities" but he hasn't got much of a plan beyond the first few days. "If my preparation isn't good enough and the worst comes to the worst, there's always the backseat so I can sleep in the car just fine. And if not, I've got a Decathlon tent." It's likely Zac will be visible - and audible at the side of the road over the coming weeks. "I don't think it's a problem at the Tour, but at some cycling races there's not enough cheering, so I'll be giving Max a big cheer. I've got my Isle of Man flag in my bag, as well as a cowbell. My voice does wonders as well.""Everyone's talking about it and knows what Max is doing - they call it the Isle of Man posse, and they're all rooting for him."Sally WalkerThe Walkers' mum, Sally, can't quite believe her oldest son has made it to the Tour when she speaks with CW at the start in Barcelona. "For the family it's massive, huge," she smiles. "He's always watched it, especially with Mark Cavendish and Pete Kennaugh being from the Isle of Man as well. But I never thought in my wildest dreams that he'd make it. He always said he wanted to, and I did believe he could, but I just never thought it would happen. It's not until I've got here that I see that, yeah, it is happening."She turns her thoughts to Dot Tilbury, the Isle of Man coach who has been credited with launching the careers of all of the small island's pro riders. "Dot will be so proud. She's massive to anyone from the Isle of Man," Sally says. "Everyone's talking about it and knows what Max is doing - they call it the Isle of Man posse, and they're all rooting for him."Max, who is in the second year of his first professional contract with EF, was told nine days before the race started that he had been selected. "But I missed the original phone call as I had my phone on silent!" he laughs. "I didn't know what to expect when I called Charly [Wegelius, the team's sports director] back as I knew I was one of the last two picks and that it was 50-50. I was half-excited but half-nervous that he might say no, so when he said I was going I was really happy."(Image credit: Getty Images)But just like most 20-somethings who delay informing their parents of any news - no matter how small or big - Max didn't tell his family of his selection until three days later. "He didn't tell us for ages!" Sally chuckles. "And when he did, he just dropped it in, five minutes into another chat we were having!"The Walkers have twice seen the Tour: in Harrogate on day one of the 2014 race, when their fellow Manxman and idol Mark Cavendish crashed out, and in Morzine in the Alps when they hiked for hours up a mountain to watch a mountain stage - only for incessant rain to leave them sodden. What they've learned from their previous trips is to maximise the caravan freebies."Seeing the riders was cool, but the caravan was even cooler," Max says of that day in Morzine. "I was dancing on the side of the road, getting all the Haribos and caps. I think half of my suitcase was filled with caravan stuff. I've been telling my family to make sure they get out early to see the caravan."Zac has listened and is obliging. "My aim is to have to buy another suitcase to put on my flight on the way home. Not that that's booked, by the way. I haven't got much of a plan for anything."Alex Molenaar with his mother before the Grand Depart in Barcelona (Image credit: Chris Marshal Bell)One family who did have a plan at the start of the race was the Molenaars. Alex, 26, was riding his first Tour for race debutants Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. Born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands to his Dutch father Gerrit, Molenaar lived in Olot, Catalonia from the ages of 10 to 16. His Spanish mother, Dolors, is from Barcelona, and her childhood home was at the foot of Montjuc where stages one and two finished. Molenaar essentially had a home Grand Dpart."Buah, it's everything!" Molenaar tells CW before stage one. "From the first day I started riding a bike until now, I've been dreaming of this. When I was young, when I started my first training sessions and races, through all the suffering, it's all been for this moment. And it's all worth it." Up until this spring, when ASO, the Tour organisers, announced that Caja would receive a wildcard to ride the race, Molenaar had never seriously thought he would appear at the Tour. He's spent his entire career so far riding for third-division Continental teams and second-tier ProTeams. "You dream, but at this level it's difficult to believe it's possible," he says. "For riders who are at this level, it's an opportunity that presents itself very few times. To ride the Tour is something really fuera de normal - extraordinary. It's a huge prize for all of us and the team as a whole."Caja were the first team down the team time trial start ramp in Barcelona, and Molenaar was the first rider across the finish line. For a few minutes, he was in virtual yellow - the de facto leader of the race sat in the hot seat. His mum, watching on with Gerrit and their extended family, could barely believe what she was witnessing."You couldn't imagine that so many years later your son would be riding the Tour de France on the same streets that you played on as a child," she says, just hours after Molenaar passed them. A day later, Molenaar was one of three escapees, and ended the day in the King of the Mountains jersey. "It's just a beautiful experience, truly unforgettable," Dolors says.The Molenaars picked up their family campervan on stage three to follow the rest of the Tour, but two days later were dealt a blow when their son crashed on stage five, sustaining injuries that would see him pull out before the next day. But that wasn't their summer over. In August they go to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift where their daughter, Laura, will make her second successive appearance for VolkerWessels. "It's incredible that our two children are competing in the Tour de France," Dolors beams.Alex Dowsett's unexpected debut(Image credit: The Tour/ Flickr)As thrilling as riding the Tour de France for the first time is, it's not a happy experience for everyone - as Alex Dowsett experienced in 2015. Because he had been focused on the Hour Record in the spring - setting a new record - he was 4kg overweight and failed to finish the Critrium du Dauphin a few weeks before the Tour. But his Movistar team selected him.When Dowsett arrived in Utrecht, the enormity of his imminent debut hit him. "Two days before the organisers gather all the riders to discuss important things," he says. "I remember looking around and thinking: 'shit, everyone here looks so skinny and so good. Every team had brought their A team, there was no one there for experience - and no one called up last minute, except me! It was an intimidating room to be in, and I was looking for people who would be in the gruppetto with me, or the odd few who might be worse than I was."Dowsett finished 13th in the opening-day time trial, but on the cobbles on stage four he crashed hard and required five stitches in a deep wound on his arm. "I probably caved a little under the pressure of it being the Tour," he says. He struggled through the next week of racing, not being able to get his heart rate over 150bpm, before eventually withdrawing on stage 12. "It was like I had a limiter of what I could do," he says. "I was just surviving. It was my first Tour and it was a baptism of fire."While Walker, Molenaar and other debutants, including Netcompany-Ineos's Josh Tarling, are being supported at the roadside by their partners and family, New Zealander Aaron Gate has his two young sons cheering him on. "It was quite surreal that all four of us just jumped in our car and drove two-and-a-half hours from our home in Andorra down to Barcelona to start the Tour de France," he says. "To have my wife and kids with me is pretty cool." Aged 35 and seven months, Gate is the oldest debutant since Mathew Hayman in 2014 and one of only nine riders this century over the age of 35 to make their Tour bows.The Kiwi has spent most of his career focusing on the track, winning four Commonwealth Games medals for his home nation and a bronze medal in the team pursuit at the 2012 London Olympics. It was only in 2017 that he started to properly commit to the road, but he didn't reach the World Tour until the 2025 season, signing for XDS-Astana, who he's riding for at the Tour.(Image credit: Getty Images)There was a certain symmetry that the Tour began with a team time trial, for Gate's first taste of competitive action when he was a teenager was racing 10-mile team time trials in inter-school national competitions. "The guys who I used to race those TTTs with rekindled an old chat last week and they were joking that one of us has finally made it to the Tour de France," Gate says. "It was through those guys that I got interested in following cycling so this is for them as much as it is for me."The super-slick time trial set-up that Gate was on in Barcelona was quite the contrast to the races of old. "We had restricted gearing set at 53-17," he says. "Our best time on a flat course was 20 minutes, 6 seconds. We were gutted we didn't quite break the 20-minute barrier for 10 miles." That definitely doesn't matter now he's riding the Tour."Everyone has dreams, but I've never been someone to set really long-reaching goals. I just go with the flow and when opportunities present themselves, I take them with both hands," he says. But, he confesses, there were fears in the past month that injury or illness might scupper his chances. (Image credit: Getty Images)"I will admit that it was nerve-wracking from a crash point of view at the Tour of Belgium and Copenhagen Sprint," he says. "I was just making sure that I got through them both with my body intact. When I crossed the line in Belgium, I did so with a big sigh of relief. 'I've done it! I've survived without falling off!' I was telling others."Gate had done everything he needed to do to make the Tour squad, just like Walker, Molenaar and the other few dozen debutants. While they will be the ones who are spoken about on TV and featured in the press, their achievements will belong as much to their families as to them."Watching your son at the Tour de France is such a privilege," says Molenaar's mum, Dolors, "We're really, really proud. Our son is a good rider but he's not a superstar. We're so grateful that our son gets some attention in these few weeks - as all other parents will be."

SQUIRREL_13988489The Scicon Aeroshade 2.0 Titanium glasses launched back in March, and Tadej Pogaar is currently wearing them at the Tour de France.The previous Aeroshades, launched back in 2020, clocked up more than 500 pro wins. But beyond the pro endorsement, I was intrigued by some of the new model's details.So I got my hands on the cycling sunglasses, and Ive been using them through the recent hot, bright weather weve experienced here in the UK.I havent been using them for long, but my Oakleys have ended up languishing on my desk.Titanium temples The glasses have titanium temples. Stan Portus / Our Media One of the selling points of the Aeroshade 2.0 Titanium glasses is the titanium temples.Scicon says it chose the 'medical-grade' material for its strength and flexibility. As proponents of titanium road bikes like to say, the material resists corrosion. Added to that, it wont deform, which Scicon says helps the glasses maintain a consistent fit.The use of titanium contributes to the Aeroshades' weight. The glasses weigh 4g more than their predecessors, but thats nothing in the scheme of things.Unlike the 950 Rudy Project Performance 40 glasses, which use 3D-printed titanium for the entire frame, the Aeroad 2.0 Titanium glasses have a frame made from the Grilamid TR90. This polyamide is used in protective eyewear and is said to be lightweight and crack resistant. It also means the glasses can come in a variety of colours 20, in fact.And also unlike Rudy Projects limited-edition glasses, Scicons specs wont cost you an absolute fortune at 192 / $265 / 220.Sorry Oakleys The Scicon Aeroshade 2.0 Titanium glasses come with a spare lens. Stan Portus / Our Media This price is part of the reason Im leaning towards the Aeroshades over my Oakley Velo Kato glasses.Oakley sunglasses are often lauded for their lens quality, but Ive found that Scicons lens stands up to established brands.The lens in the Aeroshades has fared well in the recent bright weather. The high-contrast lens also helped me pick out details on the road surface.I was also concerned that the Aeroshade lens wouldn't provide the same wrap-around effect as the Velo Katos. But despite the smaller lens shape, the wind didnt whip around and into my eyes too much and they still protected my peripheral vision from sunlight.Added to all this, the Aeroshades come with a spare low-light lens included for the price, which would save you from buying a whole new pair of specs. They also come with a carrying case that doubles as a saddle bag, a microfibre sleeve and two wipes one for cleaning and one that provides an anti-fog finish. The Oakley Velo Kato sunglasses. Scott Windsor / Our Media The glasses, then, offer good value for money over the 271 Oakley Velo Katos. But I would say the lens in the Oakleys is slightly better suited to general riding in the UK. It lets through slightly more light, which is rarely as blinding as it has been in recent weeks here.When I headed out for a ride in more typical UK conditions, I found myself wishing Id either switched the Aeroshades' lens to the low-light option, or more practically stuck to the Oakleys.But either way, the Scicon Aeroshade 2.0 Titanium glasses are a compelling alternative to top-price cycling glasses, especially with the extras thrown in and 79 left in your pocket.SQUIRREL_13988489

Tadej Pogacar put the Tour de France general classification contenders to the sword on Thursday, first on the slopes of the Col du Tourmalet before emphatically extending his lead on the rest of the field on the mountain's descent and ascent to the finish. When the dust settled on Thursday evening,...

Adam Yates has become accustomed to witnessing Tadej Pogacar achieving stunning results with UAE Team Emirates - XRG. Once again supporting the Slovenian in the Tour de France, the British rider saw a familiar sight on Thursday - Pogacar attacking up the road and riding into the yellow jersey. Poga...