Twas the Friday before the elite road races, and all along the course, not a creature was stirring, apart from the birds which keep attacking Bauke Mollema. Sorry to mangle Clement Clarke Moore's famous poem there, but it is time to get properly excited about the men and women racing for the rainbow bands this weekend.
Before we get there, here is a special bumper edition of Tweets of the Week to keep you going before you wake up in the early hours to watch the races on Saturday and Sunday.
1. We start off with a lovely moment - a moment of reconciliation between Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen, two riders connected by a terrible incident
2. Who is Michael Leonard? How much does he weigh? What's his net worth? How tall is he?
3. Bauke Mollema has not had a great week in Wollongong, what with a mechanical in the TTT and the constant attention of Australian birds
4. It is not just Mollema who has faced the ire of the winged creatures
5. Annemiek van Vleuten might have crashed and put her road race chances in doubt, but at least she has a funny picture
6. It was a week that started off so much better for the flying Dutchwoman, nothing like a tow from Mathieu van der Poel
7. It is quite scary that people born in 2004 are this good at cycling
8. Ellen van Dijk might be world champion for a third time, but all she wants is chocolate
9. Filippo Ganna was very honest about his performance in last weekend's time trial, labelling it the flop of the year. Let's hope his Hour Record goes better
10. Rick Zabel, cyclist, son of a legend, entertainer?
11. Do not butcher Italian food in front of Elisa Longo Borghini, she will be mad
12. Remember to work out who actually won before congratulating your teammate
13. Look, Remco Evenepoel might have just won the Vuelta a España, the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour in 44 years, but now he is really winning, with a new speaker. Err
14. Imagine turning up for a local race and Wout van Aert just being there. I'd give up
15. Ellen van Dijk is funny! For those who don't remember, she won some, err, interesting prizes for winning the EasyToys Bloeizone Fryslân Tour earlier this year. She does not need more
16. Someone give the Intermarché social media person a raise! This is actually funny. Congrats
17. It was a sad day for Leo Hayter in Wollongong, as documented by his dad
18. Imagine walking into a barber and asking for a Geraint Thomas or a Marc Soler. You might have to take a picture. I'm not going to do it, I'm busy working on getting my mullet back, but maybe you should. Go on, try it
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