Will Strava have to delete segments where speed limits are routinely exceeded? Whilst cyclists typically do not face the same legal obligations to obey (motorised) speed limits, public pressure is highly likely to lead to restrictions on cyclists’ speeds soon. I’ll cover the recent changes (2024) made to Cycling Time Trials (CTT) in the UK that will severely hinder the sport, then proceed to the logical conclusions and their impact on Strava. Background CTT’s latest guidance for UK Time Trials is that riders have to stick to 20mph speed limits both for safety reasons and to avoid the inevitable public outrage. Failure to do so could lead to disqualification or time penalties. Furthermore, it seems that existing courses already containing more than two 100m sections limited to 20mph will have to be stopped or changed. Basic Solutions & Workaround Incorporating extra marshalls to enforce compliance or timing mats that create non-compete zones sounds all well and good but UK time trials are small-scale affairs, often with only a few 10s of riders, and simply lack the resources. There are no good solutions in many parts of the country — a recent article in road.cc suggested that time-trialling in Wales could effectively end this year. Many clubs have a 10-mile time trial route and many of them are impacted by the new rules. Strava – CTT is just the tip of the iceberg At some point, Mr Angry of Cheltenham is going to discover Strava and the fact that it effectively encourages cyclists to ‘speed’ at over 30mph on very many sections of UK roads. Mr Angry will point out that this is effectively racing. Which it is. Mr Angry already has a few buddies working for the Daily Mail and this would be a half-decent story that could even morph into a nationwide campaign to force Strava to either stop recording times/speeds over 30mph or simply to delete those segments. I would imagine that someone at Strava already has the makings of a plan to mitigate this as, if this ever happens, it could severely dent Strava’s business model in the UK. Speed limits would specifically attack Strava’s key feature…segments. My Take I usually take part in at least one and sometimes up to three or four UK time trials each year, including a closed-road one. Most of the Strava segments that I’m interested in are long undulating routes or (up)hills and are usually on 30mph roads in any case. I won’t be greatly affected. Being in London, I’ve seen the introduction of lots of new 20mph zones including in the Borough of Richmond. In my opinion, 20mph speed limits have improved the quality of life in my local area and probably road safety too. I think Cycling Time Trials is right to bring in this guidance. They can’t advise people to break the law. This change to CTT is severe but will probably only directly impact a few thousand time-trial cyclists. But if Strava also had to make adjustments based on the speed limits, it could affect tens of thousands more, and possibly even cyclists outside of the UK too. However, as we all know, most laws aren’t enforced. So who knows if anything will really change in practice? ← Back to the Strava Hub
