It’s on! And we’ve got the first Tour Tweets of the Week for 2018. We have a rider whose name is so smooth to say … Sylvain Chavanel … we have the yellow jerseys from the past few days, a 160km swansong, a big Texan heart, a sausage king (yes, indeedy!) and a lion that wants to kiss us. And that’s just for starters …
Let’s start with a little lion love!
Bidding adieu
Stage 2 saw Sylvain Chavanel give it his all as he went into the break, dropped his fellow breakers and then spent most of the day out on his own, cycling through beautiful countryside and soaking in the cheers of the French crowds on the roadside. A fitting swansong for a great rider who is riding his 18th (!) and last Tour de France.
Don’t look behind you!
Chava tats
Chava records of distinction
Getting the love from the crowds that were on the roadside. I love this little clip. One of the reasons I love bike racing – the (good) interaction between cyclist and fans.
When Chava was a pup
Mellow yellows
We’ve had three riders in yellow in three stages. With the look of the rest of the week, we might have more … but for now, here is your maillot jaune parade. First up, Fernando Gaviria …
The changeover – Gaviria crashed out of Stage 2 sprint, taken handily by Peter Sagan. I like the camaraderie in this picture. Two classy riders, no doubt about it.
Sagan’s yellow skinsuit didn’t help him in the TTT on Stage 3 – first time we’ve seen the Velvet Samurai dropped so emphatically in a long time. But he’s as philosophical about it as ever.
BMC, the TTTing juggernaut, took the stage win and put Greg Van Avermaet – yes, you heard us right – GVA! – into the yellow jersey. He’s not had the best of seasons but I suspect this makes up for it.
Interesting
Patch him up and watch him go!
Lawson Craddock has been through the thresher, but that’s not stopping him. Predictions that he would be spit out the back in the TTT and possibly miss the time cut were unfounded (thankfully).
The Gruppetto
Daniel Oss – no matter what the picture, he looks like a wonderfully debauched 70s rock star.
“i believe you dropped your sunnies, ma’am”
EF Dratpack With More Names Attached is really the team of the Tour so far for me – the team that has that extra sparkle, with the guys wearing their hearts on their sleeves.
Oh, it’s so lovely to have That Boy Phinney back in the peloton (and in Tweets!)
KwiatKrush with some high fives
Wouldn’t be the Tour without a farming report in Tweets.
Meanwhile, in Austria, there be sausages
And a school trip to Romania
Let’s have some drums
The last word
Header image: ©GETTY/Velo/Chris Graythen