Tweets: A Phinney roar, a shiny new race and a place called Veloshire

Another week, another set of races. This week, we have the Twitter reactions to the Tour de Pologne and RideLondon, Panache envisions a new society, plus we have Jens at the airport, Cav on TT strategy, That Boy Phinney on a deep U and much, much more. Let’s start with a *very* exciting Tour de Pologne.

Taylor and Thor tear up the tarmac

After a disappointing Tour de France, BMC fielded a strong team for the Tour de Pologne, including Thor Hushovd, Taylor Phinney and the lovely Marco Pinotti. And my, didn’t they do well? There was a real sense of team with these guys – and Thor stormed his way to two stage victories.

In between Thor’s two wins, That Boy Phinney gave us all a real thrill! He won by a whisper but the tweeties certainly weren’t quiet about their enthusiasm. And neither was Taylor!

Then there was the last day’s TT. BMC were hoping for a good result (and in the end, third and fourth was nothing to sneeze at, considering the guys in first and second). Is it just me or does it look like Taylor Phinney has an eye mask on, a la Robin out of Batman and Robin? Just me? Really?

But it was the two titans of time trial – Bradley Wiggins and The Sacred Haunches™ himself, Fabian Cancellara – who were the focus of the day.

Wiggo ruled the stage, winning by nearly a minute over Fabs. Spartacus takes an opportunity to check for an engine in the winning bike.

Seems that Wiggo needs to get more practice on how to open a bottle of champagne on the podium. Dear me, that’s an unfortunate pose. Fabs looks on, aghast at the length of Wiggo’s socks.

But who was missing? The third man on the podium? That would be Mr Phinney who didn’t think he was going to get on the podium so was back at his hotel by the time Wiggo started his unseemly wrestling with the champagne bottle.

One of the great things about these races is there’s always some ritual or mascot or … headgear that is just crazier than a crazy thing from Crazy Town. And the Tour de Pologne did not disappoint. (Seriously, I would have paid big money – BIG money – to see Wiggins in one of those bucket hats.)

London loves me, it loves me not

Ah, London is such a paradoxical city. On any normal day, there are (a small minority of) drivers who are hell-bent on knocking cyclists off their bikes (and in some cases then tweet about it). But this weekend, much of the city was closed to traffic so tens of thousands of people could ride their bicycles unmolested, including a strong field of pros in the first RideLondon-Surrey Classic. It was deemed a great success.

Of course, the race was not without its controversy. Well, a Twitter controversy. Matt Barbet, if you didn’t know, is a little-known journalist for ITV who knows little about professional cycling. The French heard his remark and responded accordingly. (Crazy, isn’t it, that people who should know better think that professional cycling only started last year …)

That said, I thought this tweet was the perfect way of commemorating the day. Looking forward to next year’s race already.

Veloshire! I know it gives a person pause …

‘The rain may never fall till after sundown. By eight, the morning fog must disappear. In short, there’s simply not a more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than here in Veloshire.’ (For isn’t a place like Veloshire a cyclist’s equivalent to Camelot?)

What is your idea of Veloshire? Let us know! We’re ready to build a community!

The Gruppetto

#ArgoCrush! I love this photograph of Tom Veelers. Love. It.

Do you think they’re celebrating the fact that they won’t have to read vitriolic tweets from a crazy billionaire anymore?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Over in Denmark, Cav did rather well in the individual time trial. He imparts his wisdom.

Let this be a lesson to you all – there is no hiding on Strava.

The funniest thing this week I’ve read about the Carrots. (BTW, have you joined Sheree’s #SaveOurCarrots campaign yet? You may have seen the posters on the Veloshire Town Hall notice board.)

Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!

So Mark Renshaw has signed with OPQS to get back on the Cav sprint train next year. Will it be like getting together with an old boyfriend – okay but you’ve both moved on too much to make it gel again? Or will it be business as usual, picking up where they left off?