The FT article was short, did not say much. But this paragraph added some clarity for me:

Many of the new penalties are designed to enforce traffic rules that are
rigorously applied to motor vehicles but for which cyclists — from parents
conveying children to school to couriers delivering lunch boxes to office
workers — have long faced only verbal warnings.

Thus, sounds like it is not a specific attack on bicyclists, more of a reaction to not following rules.

Another paragraph:

One particularly controversial new rule will require cyclists to ride on the road,
rather than the pavement. Children and those over the age of 70 will be
exempt, but the rule stands to force millions of cyclists on to unfamiliar streets,
where they will encounter drivers unaccustomed to sharing road space.

I think what I provided here is not enough to get in trouble for copyright violations, but I hesitate to provide more for that reason. That last paragraph indicated that polling of the population indicated most were supportive of the new system.