Tweets of the Week: David Gaudu and Arnaud Démare fight, Cadel Evans the caddy, and snow cycling for some
Social media keeps providing the goods, as we edge slowly into the new season
It is apt that the biggest social media story in cycling this week came from the messaging app Discord, because that is also the name of the mood in the Groupama-FDJ camp this weekend, after David Gaudu used the platform to make his feelings on teammate Arnaud Démare very clear.
"Me, I don't want him to come to the Tour," Gaudu wrote on the messaging app last week, in screenshots that were later leaked to Twitter, adding: "Good Netflix or not, I don't care."
Disharmony among teammates is nothing new in the sport of cycling; just think of Bradley Wiggins vs Chris Froome in the Team Sky years, or going back further, the fight between Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault at the 1986 Tour de France. What is different about this, however, is that it has been played out in public, in front of a baying mob.
Whatever the real reasons behind the Démare/Gaudu spat, it is out there now, and that can't be put back in the bottle. It will likely dominate the press conferences and media duties that either have to do ahead of this year's Tour, and with FDJ boss Marc Madiot saying that both will ride Paris-Nice in March, they might even have to appear before the cameras together.
Away from internecine squabbling, there have been many other fun things happening on Twitter and Instagram this week, including, but not limited to, Ethan and Leo Hayter's dad having a surfeit of spare kit, people losing their minds at British Cycling buying a wind tunnel for £1, and Zoe Bäckstedt playing with Lego. All in an ordinary week.
If you ever have any suggestions for these, by the way, do message me on Twitter - @adambecket - or ping me an email - adam.becket@futurenet.com. If I deem the content good enough, you might even get a shoutout.
1. Cycling's equivalent to the Rumble in the Jungle, or the Thriller in Manila, is here. Gaudu vs Démare in the Clash in Pais Basque, if both head to the Tour de France start this July
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Book your tickets now for the live match or watch it on Netflix this Autumn#Gaudu pic.twitter.com/o8zqvB6QfkJanuary 26, 2023
2. Estonia's Mihkel Räim was not a fan of the sprint finish at the end of day two of the Challenge Mallorca. The corner was so close to the line that the sprinters looked incredibly surprised to be crossing it
I might be wrong but I remember that UCI made rule some years ago that last 200m-300m need to be straight road.🧐🤔 Maybe I misunderstood something but that Mallorca sprint… not sure if we need something like this 🤷🏼♂️January 26, 2023
3. There have been many incredulous reactions to the fact that British Cycling bought a wind tunnel for just £1, but this might be my favourite so far, the idea of 54-year-old Chris Boardman puffing his lungs out to try and help the track team reach peak performance
It’s just Chris Boardman blowing through a straw at people on bikes. https://t.co/iDiIyhVdfPJanuary 26, 2023
4. Just over a decade ago Cadel Evans was one of the best cyclists in the world, world and Tour de France champion. He was so good he had a race in Australia named after him, but now he's been relegated to carrying Jai Hindley's bike
Part time Australian cycling legend, full time bike handler for @JaiHindley 😂🚲 #CadelRoadRace @CadelOfficial pic.twitter.com/jctS47Jc1aJanuary 27, 2023
5. Far be it from me to say that only children should collect football stickers, but come on Barnabas Peák, at least be collecting Panini's cycling collection
Admin has been helping @barneyisriding with his #PremierLeague sticker album. A pack a day pre stage is the current value ⚡️#HumanPoweredHealth | #TrofeuSesSalinesAlcúdia pic.twitter.com/oB8slMDxKrJanuary 26, 2023
6. Chloe Dygert is prepared to go the extra mile to save some watts, maybe she will be wearing the swimming cap under her helmet soon
A post shared by Chloé Dygert (@chloedygert)
A photo posted by on
7. I wonder what kind of treasure trove of old kit Tim Hayter has? The father of Ineos Grenadiers' Leo and Ethan is looking for ways to dispose of the stuff. Imagine if either son goes onto great things and an old jersey has just been quietly binned...
Anyone know how best to dispose of 10 years accumulation of old cycling kit? Just bin it?January 24, 2023
8. Sometimes being a professional cyclist seems like the worst thing in the world, and sometimes you're singing "Russian kaioke [sic]" on a beach in Turkey
Never have I thought after 10 years of being a professional cyclists I would end up at a beach bar with a french teammate , that does not speak a word English, in a Chinese Team, listening to people singing Russian karioke on a Turkish beach. I LOVE MY JOB 👊🙌✅January 23, 2023
9. Zoe Bäckstedt is so young that she probably still has the Lego she played with as an actual child. However, this adorable photoshoot for EF Education-Tibco-SVB shows there is some fun to be had at a training camp
So there was a brief, we stuck to it and added our own twist… and props 🤪Yes we brought Lego to Spain and built it just in time for a photoshoot 😛🔥💗🚕What are your thoughts of this stunning kit?! 😍 pic.twitter.com/uiHr1nLRcrJanuary 21, 2023
10. Poor Bryan Coquard. The French Cofidis sprinter won his first WorldTour bike race ever last week at the Tour Down Under... but then was pictured in the team's sister female squad's kit. It was almost perfect.
Petit problème je crois (merci @MENINBIKE__ qui voit tout) pic.twitter.com/dsmgorKwtJJanuary 21, 2023
11. Tim Declercq here, fiddling with his bike computer at a key stage of a bike race, as you do. I wonder what he was actually doing - trying to get the route page up? Zooming in on how many KMs were left? Trying to reply to a text?
When your Wahoo isn't linking to your heart rate monitor when you're going for it pic.twitter.com/UGfHKyVxBkJanuary 26, 2023
12. Alison Jackson, the queen of TikTok and Instagram reels, has done it again in this advert for cycling in the snow in Canada. It looks so easy!
A post shared by Alison Jackson (@aliactionjackson)
A photo posted by on
13. Meanwhile, in Europe, it has been snowing too. Lorena Wiebes is so committed to getting better than she went out in the cold last weekend for a frosty bike ride
A post shared by Lorena Wiebes (@lorenawiebes)
A photo posted by on
14. Finally, who knew Riche McCaw was into cycling? Geraint Thomas being into rugby was a given, him being Welsh and everything. Are there two more different sports than rugby union and cycling?
Great to meet Richie McCaw and Nathan Cohen today!! Thanks for showing me the roads of Wanaka and giving me a hard time doing it! 💪 Once you shave those legs you’ll be signed up straight away 🤣 pic.twitter.com/oJzedvYcDnJanuary 27, 2023
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Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
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