#Emma Finucane

[womensworldtour]

The final track cycling events of the 2024 Paris Olympics have wrapped up, and they saw some impressive performances that *almost* convinced us to watch track cycling more.

New Zealand had a very good last week, with Ellesse Andrews winning women's Keirin. Hetty van de Wouw of the Netherlands and Emma Finucane of Great Britain finished silver and bronze, respectively. (Can we also mention how absolutely 🔥 the New Zealand kit is? The stark black and fern motif looks so cool. We almost want to do a best of Olympic cycling kit, there were some other great ones out there.)

Other than the funny bike situation, Keirin seems like one of the track events we understand best. It's a bike race, you race together and whoever is fastest wins. There's a pacing motorcycle on the track? It speeds up, or it just pulls off? I dunno, that's weird, but at least it's just becomes a race, and very fast one!

Sprint is a different animal, and seemingly a misnomer. They just ride around slowly, looking at each other. It's like the silliest, slowest part of a road race that ends in a two-up sprint. And they do it again? Okay, whatever, that's fine.

It was more than fine for New Zealand, because Ellesse Andrews took gold in that event as well, followed by Lea Friedrich of Germany for silver and Emma Finucane of Great Britain for bronze, added to her silver in the Keirin.

And then we come to the omnium, a track cycling race that we truly do not understand. Seriously, what is this event? You race around and there are periodic sprints, and you score points on certain laps, and the points add up over multiple races? This just sounds like an event that makes you race a bike and do math in your head as you keep an eye on competitors and laps, and that makes our heads hurt.

This event was dominated by American Jennifer Valente, who already had a gold to her name in women's team pursuit. She entered the final race in the lead, and kept it all the way for gold. Poland’s Daria Pikulik won silver, and New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston took home the bronze after holding off Lotte Kopecky of Belgium.

(For the record, Australia's yellow and green kit with indigenous designs on the sleeves also looks very cool.)

But it gets worse! Because the madison is a very similar event that is like a tag-team relay involving tagging in and out, and half of the riders aren't engaged at any particular moment, and they sling-shot each other around, all while keeping track of points and competitors and laps. 🫠

The madison was apparently (who knows, we couldn't even tell) won by a resurgent Italian team made up of familiar names in road racing, Vittoria Guazzini and Chiara Guazzini. Great Britain's Elinor Barker and Neah Evans took home silver while Maike van der Duin and Lisa van Belle of the Netherlands leapt into third place after lapping the pack to score big took home bronze.

Our heads hurt just trying to describe it all, but it was exciting racing, and a nice send-off for cycling at the 2024 Paris Olympics!

[sportsallover]

And Emma Finucane sprint world champion!!! 🥇👏👏

[mariacallous]

The government's controversial Legacy Bill has passed after a vote in Westminster, despite widespread opposition in Northern Ireland.

A bid by the House of Lords to amend the bill was voted down by 288 to 205.

The bill ends new Troubles-era cases and inquests and offers conditional amnesty to those accused of killings.

The Irish government is considering legal action against the UK over the bill which the Democratic Unionist Party said was "abhorrent".

The bill will return to the Lords next week before going for royal assent.

It has been widely opposed by victims groups and all of Northern Ireland's political parties.

The government has said the legislation, which applies to all former members of the security forces and ex-paramilitaries, is an attempt to draw a line under the events of the past.

Prosecutions that are currently ongoing will continue to conclusion.

Veterans groups - such as the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement - widely support the bill.

However, some other military veterans have criticised it.

On Tuesday, the Lords backed an amendment to give victims' families a greater say in granting immunity from prosecution to offenders.

But the Conservative majority in the House of Commons rejected that on Wednesday, clearing the path for the legislation to be sent for royal assent.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris told the House of Commons it was incumbent on the government to find a process that "can deliver positive outcomes for as many of those directly affected by the Troubles as possible".

"We must be honest about what we can realistically deliver for people in circumstances where the prospects of achieving justice in the traditional sense are so vanishingly small," he added.

What has the reaction been?

Taoiseach (Irish prime minster) Leo Varadkar said it was "the wrong way to go about dealing with legacy issues in Northern Ireland".

"There aren't many things that all of the five main parties in Northern Ireland agree on but they all agreed this is wrong, and this is not victim-centred and not human-rights proofed," Mr Varadkar told reporters in County Wicklow.

He said the Irish attorney general is preparing advice on whether the case could be taken to the European Court of Human Rights, "essentially saying that this bill, this act is not compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights, of which United Kingdom is a signatory".

'Exceptionally cruel'

DUP assembly member Emma Little-Pengelly said the "abhorrent" passage of the bill represents a "dark day for innocent victims of the Troubles".

Ms Little-Pengelly said the bill "plays into the hands of those who want to airbrush the past".

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was "angry and ashamed" at the outcome of the vote and called on the Irish government to intervene.

"The British Government doesn't care about the rights of victims but the international human rights standards that we all enjoy must be defended," he said.

Speaking before the debate, Sinn Féin MP John Finucane described the bill as devastating for families, adding it would unilaterally close the door on them getting truth and justice.

Mr Finucane's father, solicitor Pat Finucane, was shot dead by loyalist gunmen at his home in Belfast in 1989.

"When we had the New Decade, New Approach political agreement, the British government made a promise, a commitment, in that agreement that they would legislate for Stormont House within 100 days," he said.

"One hundred days later, they made a very public and dramatic U-turn without any consultation.

"The British government have refused to listen and refused to act, and instead they plough ahead with a piece of legislation which is exceptionally cruel."

People Before Profit assembly member Gerry Carroll said communities "must rally in opposition" to the bill.

"Truth and justice are rights that have never truly been afforded to victims here," he said. "Campaigners have vowed not to give up in their pursuit of justice and will not stop opposing this rotten legislation."

How do victims' families feel?

Grainne Teggart, of Amnesty International UK, said it was a "dark day for justice" and that the law only absolves "those responsible for conflict-related abuses - and, shamefully, all under the guise of reconciliation".

Victims' rights campaigner Raymond McCord, whose son Raymond Jnr was murdered by loyalists in 1997, said the UK government had shown no compassion for victims.

"My next step is taking the government to court, [they] simply don't care about truth and justice," he said.

Kenny Donaldson, from victims' organisation South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF), said the government had "effectively relinquished their responsibilities in overseeing justice".

"It is regrettable that they were not willing to accept the very reasonable amendment which came from the House of Lords yesterday which would have ensured that victims and survivors could feel somewhat empowered."

'A terrible injustice'

The family of a man who was shot and killed by a soldier in Londonderry on 15 September 1971 earlier labelled the legacy bill "a disgrace".

William McGreanery was shot in the Bogside area of Derry by a member of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

His nephew, Billy McGreanery, who was just 13 when his uncle was killed, said he feared the bill could rob many families of justice.

Their own family's case is currently with the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

"I think a terrible injustice has been done to every family in this country," Mr McGreanery told BBC Radio Foyle.

"On the worldwide stage it's a disgrace that they are treating people this way and if this was any other part of the UK, I don't think they would get away with this."

The topic of dealing with the past has been a contentious political issue for a long time in Northern Ireland.

More than 1,000 killings from the Troubles have never been solved.

It has been brought into the main news headlines in recent years as a soldier has been in court charged with murdering two people in 1972.

The man, known only as Soldier F, is accused of killing the men during what became known as Bloody Sunday, when the Army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on a civil rights march in Derry.

[goalhofer]

2024 olympics Great Britain roster

Archery

Conor Hall (Belfast)

Tom Hall (London)

Alex Wise (Newcastle Upon Tyne)

Megan Havers (Markfield)

Penny Healey (Telford)

Bryony Pitman (Shoreham-By-Sea)

Athletics

Jeremiah Azu (Cardiff)

Louie Hinchliffe (Crosspool)

Zharnel Hughes (The Valley, Anguilla)

Charlie Dobson (Colchester)

Matthew Hudson-Smith (Wolverhampton)

Max Burgin (Halifax)

Elliot Giles (Birmingham)

Ben Pattison (Frimley)

Neil Gourley (Glasgow)

Josh Kerr (Edinburgh)

George Mills (Harrogate)

Sam Atkin (Grimsby)

Patrick Dever (Preston)

Tade Ojora (London)

Alastair Chalmers (Guernsey, Channel Islands)

Richard Kilty (Middlesborough)

Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (London)

Lewis Davey (Grantham)

Toby Harries (Brighton)

Alex Haydock-Wilson (London)

Sam Reardon (Beckenham)

Emile Cairess (Saltaire)

Mahamed Mahamed (Southampton)

Philip Sesemann (Bromley)

Callum Wilkinson (Moulton)

Jacob Fincham-Dukes (Harrogate)

Scott Lincoln (Northallerton)

Lawrence Okoye (London)

Nick Percy (Glasgow)

Dina Asher-Smith (London)

Imani-Lara Lansiquot (London)

Daryll Neita (London)

Bianca Williams (London)

Amber Anning (Hove)

Laviai Nielsen (London)

Lina Nielsen (London)

Victoria Ohuruogu (London)

Phoebe Gill (St. Albans)

Keely Hodgkinson (Atherton)

Jemma Reekie (Beith)

Georgia Bell (London)

Laura Muir (Milnathort)

Revée Walcott-Nolan (Luton)

Megan Keith (Inverness)

Eilish McColgan (Dundee)

Cynthia Sember (Ypsilanti, Michigan)

Jessie Knight (Epsom)

Lizzie Bird (St. Albans)

Aimee Pratt (Stockport)

Desirèe Henry (London)

Amy Hunt (Nottingham)

Yemi John (London)

Hannah Kelly (Bury)

Jodie Williams (Welwyn Garden City)

Nicole Yeargin (Bowie, Maryland)

Clara Evans (Hereford)

Rose Harvey (London)

Calli Yauger-Thackeray (Flagstaff, Arizona)

Morgan Lake (Reading)

Holly Bradshaw (Preston)

Molly Caudery (Truro)

Katharina Johnson-Thompson (Liverpool)

Jade O'Dowda (Oxford)

Badminton

Ben Lane (Milton Keynes)

Sean Vendy (Milton Keynes)

Kirsty Gilmour (Glasgow)

Boxing

Lewis Richardson (Colchester)

Patrick Brown (Sale)

Delicious Orie (Wolverhampton)

Charley Davison (Lowestoft)

Rosie Eccles (Newport)

Chantelle Reid (Allenton)

Canoeing

Adam Burgess (Stoke-On-Trent)

Joe Clarke (Stoke-On-Trent)

Mallory Franklin (Windsor)

Kimberley Woods (Rugby)

Climbing

Hamish McArthur (York)

Toby Roberts (Elstead)

Erin McNeice (Rodmersham)

Molly Thompson-Smith (London)

Cycling

Tom Pidcock (Leeds)

Josh Tarling (Aberaeron)

Stephen Williams (Aberysthwyth)

Fred Wright (Manchester)

Jack Carlin (Paisley)

Ed Lowe (Stamford)

William Turnbull (Morpeth)

Joe Truman (Petersfield)

Dan Bigham (Newcastle-Under-Lyme)

Ethan Hayter (London)

Ethan Vernon (Bedford)

Oli Wood (Wakefield)

Charlie Tanfield (Great Ayton)

Mark Stewart (Dundee)

Charlie Aldridge (Crieff)

Kieran Reilly (Newcastle Upon Tyne)

Kye Whyte (London)

Ross Cullen (Preston)

Lizzie Deignan (Otley)

Pfeiffer Georgi (Castle Combe)

Anna Henderson (Edlesborough)

Anna Morris (Cardiff)

Sophie Capewell (Lichfield)

Emma Finucane (Carmarthen)

Katy Marchant (Manchester)

Lowri Thomas (Abergavenny)

Elinor Barker (Cardiff)

Neah Evans (Langbank)

Josie Knight (Dingle, Ireland)

Jess Roberts (Carmarthen)

Ella MacLean-Howell (Llantrisant)

Evie Richards (Malvern)

Charlotte Worthington (Chorlton-Cum-Hardy)

Beth Shriever (Braintree)

Emily Hutt (London)

Diving

Jack Laugher (Ripon)

Jordan Houldon (Sheffield)

Noah Williams (London)

Kyle Kothari (London)

Anthony Harding (Ashton-Under-Lyne)

Tom Daley (Plymouth)

Yasmin Harper (Sheffield)

Grace Reid (Edinburgh)

Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (London)

Lois Toulson (Cleckheaton)

Scarlett Mew-Jensen (London)

Equestrian

Carl Hester (Sark, Channel Islands)

Tom McEwen (London)

Scott Brash (Peebles)

Harry Charles (Alton)

Ben Maher (London)

Lottie Fry (Den Hout, The Netherlands)

Becky Moody (Gunthwaite)

Ros Canter (Louth)

Laura Collett (Royal Leamington Spa)

Field hockey

Tim Nurse (London)

Nick Park (Reading)

Jack Waller (London)

David Ames (Cookstown)

Jacob Draper (Cwmbran)

Zachary Wallace (Kingston-Upon-Thames)

Rupert Shipperley (London)

Sam Ward (Leicester)

James Albery (Cambridge)

Phil Roper (Chester)

David Goodfield (Shrewsbury)

Ollie Payne (Totnes)

Liam Sanford (Wegberg, Germany)

Lee Morton (Glasgow)

Thomas Sorsby (Sheffield)

Conor Williamson (London)

Will Calnan (London)

Gareth Furlong (London)

Laura Unsworth (Sutton Coldfield)

Anna Toman (Derby)

Hannah French (Ipswich)

Sarah Jones (Cardiff)

Amy Costello (Edinburgh)

Sarah Robertson (Melrose)

Charlotte Watson (Dundee)

Tessa Howard (Durham)

Isabelle Petter (Loughborough)

Giselle Ansley (Brixham)

Hollie Pearne-Webb (Duffield)

Fiona Crackles (Kirkby Lonsdale)

Sophie Hamilton (Bruton)

Lily Owsley (Bristol)

Flora Peel (Cheltenham)

Miriam Pritchard (Loughborough)

Golf

Matt Fitzpatrick (Sheffield)

Tommy Fleetwood (Dubai, U.A.E.)

Charley Hull (Kettering)

Georgia Hall (Bournemouth)

Gymnastics

Joe Fraser (Birmingham)

Harry Hepworth (Leeds)

Jake Jarman (Peterborough)

Luke Whitehouse (Halifax)

Max Whitlock (Hemel Hempstead)

Zak Perzamanos (Liverpool)

Becky Downie (Nottingham)

Ruby Evans (Cardiff)

Georgia-Mae Fenton (Gravesend)

Alice Kinsella (Sutton Coldfield)

Abi Martin (Paignton)

Bryony Page (Sheffield)

Isabelle Songhurst (Poole)

Judo

Chelsie Giles (Coventry)

Lele Naire (Weston-Super-Mare)

Lucy Renshall (St. Helens)

Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown (Pembury)

Emma Reid (Royston)

Pentathlon

Charlie Brown (Kidderminster)

Joe Choong (London)

Kerenza Bryson (Plymouth)

Kate French (Chapmanslade)

Rowing

James Robson (Oundle)

Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Guildford)

Tom George (Cheltenham)

Oli Wilkes (Matlock)

David Ambler (London)

Matt Aldridge (Christchurch)

Freddie Davidson (London)

Tom Barras (Staines-Upon-Thames)

Callum Dixon (London)

Matt Haywood (Burton Upon Trent)

Graeme Thomas (Burton)

Sholto Carnegie (Oxford)

Rory Gibbs (Street)

Morgan Bolding (Weybridge)

Jacob Dawson (Portsmouth)

Charlie Elwes (Radley)

Tom Digby (Henley-On-Thames)

James Rudkin (Northampton)

Tom Ford (Holmes Chapel)

Harry Brightmore (Chester)

Henry Fieldman (Barnes)

Liv Bates (Nottingham)

Chloe Brew (Plymouth)

Rebecca Edwards (Aughnacloy)

Becky Wilde (Taunton)

Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (London)

Emily Craig (Pembury)

Imogen Grant (Cambridge)

Helen Backshall (Truro)

Esme Booth (Stratford-Apon-Avon)

Samantha Redgrave (Frinton)

Rebecca Shorten (Belfast)

Lauren Henry (Lutterworth)

Hannah Scott (Coleraine)

Lola Anderson (London)

Georgina Brayshaw (Leeds)

Heidi Long (London)

Rowan McKellar (Glasgow)

Holly Dunford (Tadworth)

Emily Ford (Holmes Chapel)

Lauren Irwin (Peterlee)

Eve Stewart (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Harriet Taylor (Chertsey)

Annie Campbell-Orde (Wells)

Lucy Glover (Warrington)

Rugby

Abi Burton (Wakefield)

Kayleigh Powell (Llantrisant)

Amy Wilson-Hardy (Poole)

Ellie Boatman (Camberley)

Ellie KIldunne (Keighley)

Emma Uren (London)

Grace Crompton (Epsom)

Heather Cowell (Isleworth)

Isla Norman-Bell (Gillingham)

Jade Shekells (Hartpury)

Jasmine Joyce-Butchers (St. Davids)

Lauren Torley (Flackwell Heath)

Lisa Thomson (Hawick)

Megan Jones (Cardiff)

Sailing

Connor Bainbridge (Halifax)

James Peters (Tunbridge Wells)

Fynn Sterritt (Inverness)

Sam Sills (Launceston)

Micky Beckett (Solva)

Chris Grube (Chester)

John Grimson (Leicester)

Emma Wilson (Christchurch)

Ellie Aldridge (Parkstone)

Hannah Snellgrove (Lymington)

Freya Black (Redhill)

Saskia Tidey (Dublin, Ireland)

Vita Heathcote (Southampton)

Anna Burnet (London)

Shooting

Mike Bargeron (Bromley)

Matthew Coward-Holley (Chelmsford)

Nathan Hales (Chatham)

Seonaid McIntosh (Edinburgh)

Lucy Hall (York)

Amber Rutter (Windsor)

Skateboarding

Andy Macdonald (Newton, Massachusetts)

Sky Brown (Takanabe, Japan)

Lola Tambling (Saltash)

Swimming

Ben Proud (London)

Alex Cahoon (Fairford)

Matt Richards (Droitwich Spa)

Jacob Whittle (Alfreton)

Duncan Scott (Glasgow)

Kieran Bird (Street)

Daniel Jervis (Resolven)

Oliver Morgan (Bishops Castle)

Jonathon Marshall (Southend-On-Sea)

Luke Greenbank (Crewe)

Adam Peaty (Uttoxeter)

James Wilby (Glasgow)

Jimmy Guy (Timperley)

Tom Dean (Maidenhead)

Max Litchfield (Chesterfield)

Joe Litchfield (Chesterfield)

Jack McMillan (Belfast)

Hector Pardoe (Wrexham)

Toby Robinson (Wolverhampton)

Kate Shortman (Clifton)

Isabelle Thorpe (Clifton)

Anna Hopkin (Chorley)

Kathleen Dawson (Kirkcaldy)

Medi Harris (Porthmadog)

Honey Osrin (Portsmouth)

Katie Shanahan (Glasgow)

Angharad Evans (Cambridge)

Keanna Macinnes (Edinburgh)

Laura Stephens (London)

Abbie Wood (Buxton)

Freya Colbert (Grantham)

Eva Okaro (Sevenoaks)

Lucy Hope (Melrose)

Freya Anderson (Birkenhead)

Leah Crisp (Wakefield)

Table tennis

Liam Pitchford (Chesterfield)

Anna Hursey (Tianjin, China)

Taekwondo

Bradly Sinden (Doncaster)

Caden Cunningham (Huddersfield)

Jade Jones (Bodelwyddan)

Rebecca McGowan (Dumbarton)

Tennis

Jack Draper (London)

Dan Evans (Dubai, U.A.E.)

Joe Salisbury (London)

Neal Skupski (Liverpool)

Sir Andy Murray (Leatherhead)

Katie Boulter (Woodhouse Eaves)

Heather Watson (St. Peter Port, Channel Islands)

Triathlon

Sam Dickinson (York)

Alex Yee (London)

Beth Potter (Bearsden)

Georgia Taylor-Brown (Leeds)

Kate Waugh (Newcastle Upon Tyne)

Weightlifting

Emily Campbell (Bulwell)

[sophieebridgerton]

YESSSSS EMMA FINUCANE

[bbcviral]

Track Nations Cup 2024: Emma Finucane claims third gold with women's keirin win http://dlvr.it/T4Bnm6

[weshipyourride]

Bikeflights Ships Bikes for Track Riders at UCI TCL

Seventy-two of the best track riders in the world will race at the UCI Track Champions League (UCI TCL) in four different countries throughout Europe over the next four weeks, and Bikeflights will be there, too, as the official bicycle shipping service, helping riders transport their bikes.

Racing will kick off on October 21 with round 1 in Mallorca, Spain. It will then move to Berlin, Germany and St-Quentin-en-Yvelines (near Paris), France for rounds 2 and 3, respectively, before ultimately finishing with two final rounds in London in the United Kingdom on November 10 and 11.

National, Continental, World and Olympic Champions representing 28 countries are among the riders who’ll be competing. Half of them will be contesting endurance events like elimination and scratch races, and half will be racing in sprint events like keirins and individual sprints. Great Britain will be the most represented nation with 14 total riders.

As the official bike shipping service of the UCI Track Champions League, Bikeflights will transport riders’ bikes from velodrome to velodrome, both within the European Union and back and forth from the last two rounds in London. After the competition wraps up, Bikefiights will also ship many of the EU-based riders’ bikes directly back home to them.

Endurance

Current Olympic champion and four-time UCI World Champion Matthijs Büchli (Netherlands) is among the 18 riders named on the men’s endurance roster, joining recently crowned UCI World Champion William Tidball (Great Britain) and former rainbow jersey holders Theo Reinhardt (Germany), Quentin Lafarge (France) and Sebastián Mora (Spain). Reigning UCI TCL Men’s Endurance Champion Claudio Imhof (Switzerland) will also be back to defend his title along with 2021 winner Gavin Hoover (United States).

The 18-rider strong women’s endurance start list features Olympic and UCI World Champion Katie Archibald (Great Britain) and fellow rainbow jersey holder Neah Evans (Great Britain) along with two-time European Champion Sophie Lewis (Great Britain) and European Points Race gold medallist Anita Stenberg (Norway).

Sixteen endurance riders (six men and 10 women) are set to make their UCI TCL debuts – including two-time European Under 23 Champion Lara Gillespie (Ireland), two-time European Junior Champion Hélène Hesters (Belgium) and three-time Asian Games gold medallist Eyia Hashimoto (Japan).

Sprint

Reigning Olympic Champion Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) tops the list of 18 women’s sprint riders, joining fellow Olympic medallists Lauriane Genest (France) and Katy Marchant (Great Britain) and current European Champion Alessa-Catriona Pröpster (Germany). The quartet will compete alongside UCI World Champions Emma Finucane (Great Britain) and Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand).

The 18-rider strong men’s sprint roster features 2023 European Champion Tijmen van Loon (Netherlands) and former European gold medallists Mateus Rudyk (Poland) and Melvin Landerneau (France), with two-time Olympic and 13-time UCI World Champion Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands). Fellow rainbow jersey holder Kevin Quintero (Colombia) and defending UCI TCL Men’s Sprint Champion Matthew Richardson (Australia) are also on the roster.

Two sprint athletes from China and Taiwan, respectively, will be making their first UCI TCL appearances: Wang Lijuan and Hsieh Nien Hsing.

Follow the Action

Since its launch in 2021, the UCI TCL has consolidated its place as one of the “Monuments” of track cycling, sitting alongside the UCI Track World Championships, UCI Track Nations Cup and the Olympic Games at the very pinnacle of the global racing calendar.

As well as captivating thousands of fans inside each velodromes, the exploits of the world’s best riders will again be beamed across the globe, with Discovery+, Eurosport, GCN+ and a host of international broadcast partners bringing the sport to countless screens.

Last season over 18,000 fans watched the action in person, with 11.4 million TV viewers tuning in from 81 countries around the globe and millions more fans following the action on the official UCI TCL app and social media channels.

2023 UCI Track Champions League Schedule

Round 1: Saturday, October 21: Mallorca / Velòdrom Illes Balears, Spain Round 2: Saturday, October 28: Berlin / Berlin Velodrom, Germany Round 3: Saturday, November 4: St-Quentin-en-Yvelines / Velodrome National de St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France Round 4: Friday, November 10: London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK Round 5: Saturday, November11: London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK

Find out more about the UCI Track Champions League.

All photos courtesy of the UCI Track Champions League.

[seachranaidhe]

Sinn Féin and the DUP now neck to neck in North Belfast according to the Bookies

Conversation

Seán South @Seanofthesouth

#NorthBelfast From today #JohnFinucane has caught up with Dodds in the betting stakes, now neck in neck -looks like Finucane could pull ahead as momentum

seems to be building for his anti-Brexit/pro-remain message! #SouthBelfast Doesn’t look good for E.Little-Pengelly in 3rd spot

7:54 PM · Nov 12, 2019·

[urbancreativitylund]

Programme for Wednesday 15 May

In parallel with the below sessions, the WRITERS’ WORKSHOP will take place 10:30 – 12:15 (LUX:B167 and LUX:B168).

08:30 – 09:00 Conference registration opens (LUX FOYER, HELGONAVÄGEN 3)

09:00 – 09:30 Welcome and introduction to Day 1 (LUX:C121)

09:30 – 10:15 Keynote talk by Emma Nilsson (Lund University): Bracing urban materiality: Figuring parkour, learning from the traceur. (LUX:C121)

10:15 – 10:45 Break (LUX FOYER)

10:45 – 12:15 Panel 1 (LUX:C121):

Elton Chan: Commodification of public space: The case of Hong Kong.

Marwa Dabaieh: Urban dynamic in revolutionary cities: A case of Tahrir Square in Cairo.

Elizabeth Faier: Out of the margins: Everyday resistance and claims to place in Dubai’s (almost) public spaces.

James Finucane & Espen Monserud: Subvertising Norway.

12:15 – 13:30 Lunch (THE PUFENDORF INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES, BISKOPSGATAN 3)

13:30 – 15:00 Panel 2 (LUX:C121):

Nina Gren: Creativity within urban gardening at times of emergency.

Tina Bitouni: The human body in the urban space.

Marina Amaral: Bodies in the street: Gestures between power and vulnerability at the Bourse Square of Brussels.

Sandra Cowan: Walking the city.

15:00 – 15:30 Break (LUX FOYER)

15:30 – 16:15 Nuart panel (LUX:C121):

Laima Nomeikaite (chair).

Martyn Reed & Susan Hansen: The ethics of “uncurating”.

Gøren Moya: Urban wilderness: Urban art in non-urban environments.

Viktor Gjengaar: Critical policy making and strategies for critically engaging city councils and other institutional bodies.

16:15 – 16:30 Information about activities at the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies (LUX:C121)

16:30 Walk to the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies

16:45 – 17:45 Nuart roundtable session (THE PUFENDORF INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES)

17:45 – 19:00 Mingle / Unlock Showcase / book tables / tote bag workshop (THE PUFENDORF INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES)

PARTICIPANTS IN THE WRITERS’ WORKSHOP:

Moa Bladini & Mårten Edh

Danielle Foushee

Malin Fransberg

Laura Parsons

Sofia Pinto

Rachelle Sabourin

[womensworldtour]

We don't follow track cycling much, but you can't ignore it at the Olympics. This week we saw the American women's team win team pursuit for the first time, with a team of Lily Williams, Chloe Dygert, Jen Valente, and Kristen Faulkner.

It perhaps shouldn't be too surprising, given the power that Dygert and Faulkner can put down in other events, and with experienced riders like Valente and Williams (both silver in Rio). But no American team has ever won this event before, so this was an impressive ride from Team USA, and it gives Dygert a gold after her crash and disappointment in the time-trial, and gives Faulkner her second gold.

In the team sprint, we saw the world record broken a whopping five times, before the women's team from Great Britain topped them all. Katy Marchant, Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell put in a blistering time of 45.186 to take gold.

Of note, this was the first time the women raced the same distance as the men on the track. We honestly don't know why the cycling world is so obsessed with making women's evens shorter, and are reminded of a famously spicy quote by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig about that, so it's nice to see the events brought to parity.

[emmfin-blog]

Rationale Studio One Communication Design Emma Finucane s3663403

My prompt under the overarching theme of food was ‘Culture’ which can have a vast variety of interpretations. I decided to deviate from the usual interpretation as culture based on a country/religion and instead focus on the culture surrounding student eating. This is a topic that has been foreign to me before this year, moving out of home and learning to budget. I thought a satirical recipe book of cheap, disgusting student meals could be a resource in which the issue of eating on a tight budget could be explored. Under eating and eating unhealthily is normalised in student culture which was something I only realized recently with my friends jokingly telling me that they ‘couldn’t afford to wake up before 12′ because skipping breakfast would save them a few dollars. I was inspired by the over-saturated, kitsch photography style prominent in 60s cookbooks as well as the care in which meals are plated- typically associated with fine dining. This was in contrast to the inedible and gross meals displayed. The photos were taken and edited by myself.

[votingforturkeysatchristmas]

Runners and Riders - Where’s Jim?

I thought it would be worthwhile to put all the confirmed candidates so far in a post. 

Belfast East

Alliance                                 Naomi Long                                        

DUP                                       Gavin Robinson

Belfast South

Alliance                                 Paula Bradshaw                

SDLP                                      Claire Hanna      

UUP                                       Michael Henderson                        

DUP                                       Emma Little-Pengelly

Belfast West

People Before Profit              Gerry Carroll                      

SDLP                                      Paul Doherty      

Alliance                                 Donnamarie Higgins        

Sinn Féin                              Paul Maskey

Belfast North

DUP                                       Nigel Dodds        

Sinn Féin                              John Finucane                                  

Alliance                                 Nuala McAllister

East Antrim

Alliance                                 Danny Donnelly                

SDLP                                      Margaret McKillop

Sinn Féin                              Oliver McMullan              

DUP                                       Sammy Wilson

East Derry

SDLP                                      Cara Hunter                                        

Alliance                                 Chris McCaw                                      

Aontú                                   Seàn McNicholl                                

Sinn Féin                              Dermot Nicholl

DUP                                       Gregory Campbell

Fermanagh & South Tyrone

Alliance                                Matthew Beaumont                                      

UUP                                       Tom Elliott                          

SDLP                                      Adam Gannon                                  

Sinn Féin                              Michelle Gildernew

Foyle

SDLP                                      Colum Eastwood                                              

Alliance                                 Rachael Ferguson                                            

People Before Profit              Shaun Harkin                                    

Sinn Féin                              Elisha McCallion                                              

Aontú                                   Anne McCloskey                                              

DUP                                       Gary Middleton

Lagan Valley

UUP                                       Robbie Butler                    

DUP                                       Jeffrey Donaldson                          

Alliance                                 Sorcha Eastwood            

SDLP                                      Ally Haydock

Mid Ulster

Alliance                                 Mel Boyle                                            

SDLP                                      Denise Johnston                                              

Sinn Féin                              Francie Molloy                                  

UUP                                       Neil Richardson

Newry & Armagh

Sinn Féin                              Mickey Brady

SDLP                                      Pete Byrne

Alliance                                 Jackie Coade

Aontú                                   Martin Kelly

North Antrim

Sinn Féin                              Cara McShane

Alliance                                 Patricia O'Lynn

DUP                                       Ian Paisley          

UUP                                       Robin Swann

North Down

DUP                                       Alex Easton

Alliance                                 Stephen Farry

South Antrim

Alliance                                 John Blair

DUP                                       Paul Girvan

SDLP                                      Roisin Lynch

Sinn Féin                              Declan Kearney

UUP                                       Danny Kinahan

South Down

Aontú                                   Paul Brady

Sinn Féin                              Chris Hazzard

UUP                                       Jill Macauley

SDLP                                      Michael Savage

Strangford

Alliance                                 Kellie Armstrong                                              

SDLP                                      Joe Boyle

Upper Bann

DUP                                       Carla Lockhart                                    

Sinn Féin                              John O'Dowd                                    

Alliance                                 Eóin Tennyson

West Tyrone

Sinn Féin                              Órfhlaith Begley                                              

Alliance                                 Stephen Donnelly                                            

SDLP                                      Daniel McCrossan

 As widely covered, David Simpson and Sylvia Hermon are stepping down at this election. All other incumbents are re-selected, with the interesting exception of Jim Shannon in Strangford. I’ve checked all the usual places but I can’t see any confirmation of him being selected, or even confirming he wants to run again. It’s probably just a case of them being a little slow to get the paperwork completed, but there are only 2 days to go until nominations close.

[leftunsatisfied]

gender roles + tag games por emma-finucane en Polyvore

[urbancreativitylund]

Lund Urban Creativity Conference 2019

The conference was an opportunity to initiate an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas between scholars, artists, activists, planners and others who work within the diverse field of urban creativity.

The conference took place 15 – 18 May 2019 and was hosted by the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies in collaboration with the Division of Art History and Visual Studies at Lund University.

The full day-by-day conference programme can be found below.

[seachranaidhe]

A vote for the DUP tommorow is endorsing Terrorism and support for Loyalist Paramilitaries of the UDA & UVF and the future of the North of Ireland !!!

UDA-Linked Ulster magazine urges support for four DUP candidates and urges its members not to support Ulster’ s Alliance Party & AND THREATENS ANYONE VOTING FOR THE ALLIANCE PARTY THAT THEY “WILL BE SHOOT” ULSTER DEMOCRACY! A recent photograph of Jackie McDonald, commanding officer of the paramilitary UDA – laying a wreath on behalf of the UDA.  As two UDA members salute Jackie their leader as he…

[votingforturkeysatchristmas]

Throwing An Elbow

First past the post elections tend to put parties in situations where the least worst option available is to find a dignified way to withdraw. The way the SDLP withdrew from North Belfast was the way to do it. They sent Claire Hanna into the TV studios last week. Her failure to confirm an SDLP candidate would stand in North Belfast floated a trial balloon, and was an attempt to nudge the UUP into standing. Had they read between the lines they would have realised the SDLP would do the same in riposte, and that withdrawing would have the effect of humiliating their new party leader, without offering any real benefit to Nigel Dodds.

The UUP membership didn’t read between the lines. Aiken was humiliated. The SDLP followed through with the action they had hinted at, and found fig leaves for themselves in East Belfast and North Down. Chris Hazzard has previously floated a Sinn Féin trial balloon about withdrawing in South Belfast and that will now happen. The smart money is that Claire Hanna and John Finucane will both now be elected to Westminster and the exercise with have been worth it.

Both nationalist parties get something tangible out of this. It’s very difficult to see what the UUP are actually getting out of withdrawing from North Belfast. Fermanagh & South Tyrone is an uphill battle even for an agreed unionist. A single unionist candidate hasn’t been able to take the seat in 2 of the last 3 elections, and the demographics of the constituency are moving away from unionism.

The DUP were able to bounce the UUP out of North Belfast, and obviously don’t respect them. The UUP party membership are, to put it mildly, a diverse bunch. There isn’t much they agree on, but despite them being prepared to take their medicine in North Belfast, the rank and file can’t stand the DUP. This latest humiliation will do nothing to temper that attitude. If only for the sake of self-respect, the UUP need to do something to let the DUP know they are there.

The UUP probably won’t take a seat in this election. The Alliance surge probably takes South Antrim out of the reach of Danny Kinahan. The outside chance in Fermanagh and South Tyrone is likely the best shot they have. It’s a shitty situation but the thing they can do is leave a mark on their unionist rivals.

They can do that in South Belfast. The extended logic of reluctantly withdrawing in North Belfast because the risk of an abstentionist MP is so unpalatable, is that a Sinn Féin withdrawal in South Belfast allows them to play their strongest possible hand there.

Mike Nesbitt is popular and enjoys a high profile. He spend the better part of his live being beamed into all our houses alongside his wife on the UTV. The viewers shared in the significant moments in his life and feel they know him as a person in a way that just isn’t the case for any other politician in Northern Ireland. And he lives in South Belfast.

At the last assembly election the UUP scored 9% of the vote with a much lower profile candidate. Nesbitt would only have a slim chance of taking the seat for the UUP at this election, but it would be enough of a chance to be able to claim a realistic hope of winning. He would also have an excellent chance of winning an assembly seat there, while another UUP candidate could likely hold his assembly seat in Strangford.

Crucially it help would unseat Emma Little-Pengelly. The narrative of the election would end up being lost seats for the DUP, who would know the UUP had stitched them up in one of them. The UUP could then point to their withdrawal in North Belfast as being evidence of their willingness to embrace co-operation among unionists.

And there will always be another election on the way. Possibly with new boundaries and new least worst options in new areas. The DUP will probably be looking for another arrangement, but an Ulster Unionist Party who have demonstrated their ability to throw an elbow would be able to cut a better deal that they can this time.