Peter Sagan makes dance show debut, Remco Evenepoel reps Pizza Hut, and Lotte Claes is boss: Tweets of the week

Long-term (well, short-term, really) fans of Tweets of the Week might remember a piece I wrote a few months ago about Peter Sagan signing up for a dance show.

“He’s quick on a bike, but how good’s his rumba?” I asked. I had no idea what the show was – it’s called Let’s Dance – and a helpful reader commented that I had misled by comparing it to Strictly Come Dancing, the key difference being that they wouldn’t be able to watch it, which I imagine they were sorely disappointed about.

Life then moved on, the cycling season picked up, and people soon forgot about Sagan’s dance ambitions. That is until this week, when social media reminded us of Slovakia’s foremost celebrity dance series.

More than nine months after his final professional bike race, the three-time world champion made his debut on Let’s Dance, and, if I may say so myself, did a pretty good job.

Cycling fans might already know Sagan as a music lover – he was often in charge of blasting heavy rock on team buses during his career – and he and his partner, Eliška Lenčešová, chose Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ as their first number. There was jumping, spinning, thrusting, and even some quite fiery kicking. A solid all-round performance, I thought, but the judges disagreed.

What’s not shown in the social media videos is the scoring that took place afterwards. Unaccustomed to finishing off the podium, Sagan and Lenčešová placed seventh out of the 11 pairings, collecting an average score of just over 5/10. A lowly innings, perhaps, but we must hold faith – there are more weeks to come.

This Sunday, the Slovak will be back on national television, this time waltzing to Nat King Cole’s ‘Unforgettable’. I can’t help but think the seven-time Tour de France green jersey winner might need something a little bit faster-paced to show his full potential, though.

As it turns out, one of the dance styles on the show is called ‘quickstep’ – a rhythm better suited to the former sprinter, and one with a subtle nod to the world of cycling. Expect the stars to align when that week comes.

Elsewhere on social media, Remco Evenepoel swaps his lycra for Pizza Hut garb, a nine-year-old makes light work of the Muur van Gerardsbergen, and Mikel Landa breaks cover as 007.

1. You'll win the judges over next time, Peter

2. Imagine asking for bowls for the salad bar and the Olympic champion turns up at your table

3. Non-Dutch speakers, I've found out this says "Claes = boss", which I don't dispute after last weekend's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

4. Here you have it, the conclusive answer to Tadej Pogačar's Paris-Roubaix plans

5. Now I'm desperate to see the world champion try his hand at track sprinting

6. If you follow non-cycling news (why would you?) you might have read that Amazon has taken over the James Bond franchise. Well, it seems they've already got their next 007 lined up

7. "Do Zwift Academy," they said. "It'll be fun," they said. But nobody mentioned you'd have to race Zoe Bäckstedt laying down 700 watts

8. Let us never forget that Wout van Aert, the ultimate entertainer, dressed up as a squirrel and sang Blur on Belgian TV

9. These wonderkids get younger every season

10. If TNT Sports promised constant bodycam footage from Yves Lampaert, would more people be inclined to sign up?

11. As the old cycling proverb goes: you can ride a bike your whole life, but you will never clip in first time

12. And finally, I'd like to close with a shout-out to Rik Bossuyt, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne's podium escort, who in three years has upgraded from jogging on foot alongside the winner, to riding a scooter, and now to a bike. Porsche next year?