Peter Cossins

French hospital treats man with WWI shell up his rectum Bomb disposal experts had to be called to a hospital in south-west France on Sunday after a patient arrived with a WWI shell lodged in his rectum.

I always thought that those people who insist on trying to take souvenir WWI shells on the Eurostar and end up closing down Gare du Nord win the prize for the dumbest use of historic munitions. I was wrong . . .

I mean a match-up in cyclo-cross, not on the road. It's the kind of crazy challenge Pogačar might just fancy

As we look ahead to another Pogi-MVDP match-up in the spring Classics, I can't help wondering how things might play out if they were to contest the CX Worlds. What a duel that could be

A romp to a record-breaking eighth world title for MVDP, beautiful to watch, especially on the banks where his power advantage was so evident

There are always bad things happening, sport's one of the balms

That is a nice one, stood there a few times myself

It's been 8 at Grand Tours since 2018, security concerns one of the reasons for that reduction

Lots of disappointment over the TDF wild card choice of Caja Rural over Unibet Rockets (who are as French as fish and chips), but should there even be a 23rd team given safety concerns? Wasn't having 23 in 2025 supposed to be a one-off?

LIV and let die: Reed’s return to PGA fold shows why Saudi golf experiment is doomed | Ewan Murray Despite an estimated outlay of $6bn since 2022, LIV appears to be far away from establishing itself in the the manner of PIF projects in other sports

Interesting read on how Saudi investment in golf looks doomed. The LIV Tour has shaken up golf, to its benefit in some ways, but ultimately status and heritage count far more than cash it seems. Lessons for cycling perhaps

The cycling equivalent of a pre-season friendly

While Lidl has 4 countries are in the top 10, France isn't one of them, which suggests it's got a way to go to match its peers abroad. A recent revamp of our local Leclerc has resulted in less space for veg and more for frozen food 🤦‍♂️

Lidl dominate the top of these rankings detailing how closely aligned European supermarket chains are to the Paris Climate Agreement and to the sale of more vegetable-based products. Not surprised to see Leclerc floundering as my local outlet doesn't sell any veggie "meat" products at all

The Legislation Upon winning a general election, a Reform government under Prime Minister Nigel Farage will: 1) Leave the ECHR 2.) Repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. 3.) Pass The Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill: This Bill will: Create a legal duty to remove illegal migrants for the Home Secretary The Bill opens with a blunt obligation for the Home Secretary: "The Secretary of State shall ensure the removal from the United Kingdom of each person who does not have extant leave to remain and is not an Irish citizen or otherwise protected by regulations made under this Act." The following parts of the legislation are introduced on an emergency basis, with an in-built sunset clause after 5 years: Disapply the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture, the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention (ECAT) Derogation is justified under the Vienna Convention doctrine of state of necessity: Britain faces a national emergency in which uncontrolled illegal migration undermines public order. These treaties will otherwise be used by activist judges to frustrate deportations, even after the repeals of the HRA and ECHR. Create Detention Power Without Hardial Singh Constraints This means illegal migrants can be detained until they are deported. Activist lawyers routinely use Hardial Singh to secure their client's bail, after which the client absconds. If you came to the UK illegally, you are ineligible for asylum. End of story All asylum claims will become inadmissible if made by a person within the Act's scope. If you came to the country illegally, you are ineligible for asylum in the UK. This strips the Home Office, the immigration tribunals and the higher courts of jurisdiction to even consider claims. A claim that cannot be considered cannot suspend removal and therefore, cannot delay a flight. Re-entering after deportation and destroying ID becomes a serious criminal offence Re-entry after deportation will be…

The Operational Plan We will create an enforcement unit called UK Deportation Command, including an Illegal Migrant Identification Centre - harnessing cutting edge data fusion A Reform government will create a cutting edge enforcement data centre to relentlessly identify and detain all illegal migrants in the UK. Using powers granted by the new legislation, it will automatically share data between the Home Office, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, banks and the police. It will power bulk warrants, including mandatory biometric capture during any police encounter. Each power addresses a failure mode observed over the past decade - for example, banks and GP surgeries unaware of a customer's status, or overstayers slipping through because a warrant covered only a single property. Secure Immigration Removal Centres (SIRC) will be built rapidly to detain up to 24,000 Detention capacity for up to 24,000 will be created within 18 months. The Home Office will build Secure Immigration Removal Centres. This will be modular accommodation built in remote parts of the country. Conditions are basic but not punitive: prefabricated two-person rooms, canteen catering, on-site medical suites. Robust perimeters and internal movement controls prevent escapes. This enables detention-on-arrest: no more bail. This capacity would allow for up to 24,000 illegal migrants to be deported per month. Initial Voluntary Return Window A six-month Assisted Voluntary Return window precedes large-scale raids. Illegal migrants will be offered a financial incentive to self-deport. An app will be launched to facilitate this. The Deportation Flights The Home Office will scale up charters to 5 flights per day. To guard against last-minute aircraft unserviceability, the RAF will keep one Voyager aircraft on six-hour 'hot-spare' readiness. If a commercial charter breaks down, detainees can still be flown out that night, preserving operational integrity. The legal reset will mean activist lawyers will no longer be able preven…

The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions.

It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.

Rest in Peace Alex Jeffrey Pretti🙏🏾 The VA ICU Nurses send him off right 💔

Alex Pretti, and ICU nurse with the VA, was murdered by ICE today. This photo is of him and his mountain bike

Alex Pretti was one of us. Rest in power.

“Everyone should be allowed to carry a gun for their safety but the government can murder you in the street if you have a gun” is an incredible endpoint for the conservative moment

457 UK armed forces personnel died in Afghanistan during the 20-year deployment.
This is a fucking hideous thing to say. Even by his non-existent standards.

Congrats

The British taxpayer pays them. £40m plus I’ve read

This would make a big difference, bigger than hosting the start of the tour that’s for sure

Cycling Weekly mentions a figure of £65m, but doesn't make clear if this is the overall cost of hosting the TDFs or whether that's all going to ASO

I agree, I don't see the point of hosting the World Cup, Olympics, TDF or any other sporting event. They come in, clean up and move on

These numbers will get another boost from the UK's investment in the 2027 Tours

Investing in cycling infrastructure would provide far more benefit in terms of national wellbeing, as would more financial support at the sport's grassroots

Absolutely. You get a brief post-event rise in interest and some happy memories and not much of a legacy beyond that.

Great to see the TDFs coming to the UK, but I don't buy this from BC's Jon Dutton: “This is a once‐in‐a‐generation chance to build a healthier, more active and more connected nation... to help deliver a legacy that will be felt long after the peloton has left UK shores.” Didn't happen in 2007/2014

I don't hold to this rule. As far as I'm concerned any of my books will do

Just seen Grok putting the body of the victim of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis into a bikini. Digital corpse desecration now available to the public.

Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.