It was an eventful week in the Giro d’Italia – so many amazing stages (for all sorts of reasons) and so many fantastic tweets. So this is going to be the Tweets of the Week equivalent of a peloton spread all over the Gaiu – glimpses of riders here and there, pictures without context, and all jumbled up. We have That Boy Bennett, Ganna Love Corner, rain cape mastery, and The Musette of Courage™ to name but a few! Enjoy the chaos!
One arm at a time
Oh, those pesky rain jackets. I’m still haunted by Jai Hindley’s slo-mo wrestle with his raincape in last year’s Giro, nearly riding into the side of the mountain. And this weekend was no different! All the terror came rushing back.
I think we can safely say Egan is Mr Pink?
Did anyone else catch this moment yesterday when the front of the peloton all sat up simultaneously and put their rain jackets on? I just loved it, thought it had a latter day Reservoir Dogs kind of feel to it. Too cool 😎 #Giro pic.twitter.com/EmBUn9j5wS
— Katy M, Bike Edition (@writebikerepeat) May 21, 2021
Everyone knows a non-pro who has done this and ended up with a broken collarbone when the sleeve tangles up in the wheel. Tucking up under the jersey and showing off the Magia Rosa after a soaking freezing mountain stage ➡️ Super Pro #Giro https://t.co/I3VDy6MbNn
— Jill Greco Bodnar (@LaJillita) May 24, 2021
Forget the stage win, if the confidence Bernal had in taking off that rain jacket, in those conditions, and placing it so neatly in his back pocket doesn’t say ‘I’ve got this’ then I don’t know what does. #Giro104
— Sophie Smith (@SophieSmith86) May 24, 2021
— Luke (@LukeTheCycliste) May 24, 2021
A jacket in the wheel forced @ale_vlasov to stop and loose time on Passo Giau. Helped by @MatteoSobrero and then Gorka Izagirre our leader tried to come back to the GC group, but finished 7th. After this stage Vlasov is still 4th in the GC#Giro
📸 @GettySport pic.twitter.com/YWrjoeLZVs
— Astana – Premier Tech (@AstanaPremTech) May 24, 2021
Oh Ganna!
It’s the love corner for the beast they call Filippo Ganna
😳 @INEOSGrenadiers rider Filippo Ganna leads the dusty descent at full-gas 🚴♂️💨#Giro pic.twitter.com/lUH6zVBmZM
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 19, 2021
Oh! When people were speaking about a #Giro train I just presumed they meant Filippo Ganna… not an actual train.
— Issie 💙 (@IssieAtch) May 22, 2021
The bookworm specs, the bouquet of flowers, the strange giant babyseat … this gets pinned up on the WVA/JakeTapper/FilippoGanna tripych that I have been constructing.
@GannaFilippo 🤘🏽✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/ZffdA7R2Rr
— Egan Arley Bernal (@Eganbernal) May 20, 2021
my unseemly crush on filippo ganna
— sam (@steampie) May 24, 2021
Despite any feelings I may have about INEOS, I have to say I do enjoy the Filippo Ganna, Peloton Boss role that's been established, it very much suits him 😎 #Giro104
— Katy M, Bike Edition (@writebikerepeat) May 22, 2021
Here's my reaction piece to yesterday's Giro stage, which asks why Renaissance artists never did landscape paintings and isn't just about Filippo Ganna.https://t.co/rqcmasjwwz
— Edward Pickering (@EdwardPickering) May 20, 2021
That Boy Bennett
George Bennett has been uppermost in a lot of fans minds over the past week – often for very different things.
First, his shopping
Rest day game: What has George filled his shopping musette with?
— Luke (@LukeTheCycliste) May 25, 2021
I see you’ve gone for the big stuff right off the bat. I was going to say a pair of glasses that sit evenly
— Luke (@LukeTheCycliste) May 25, 2021
This is why we love cycling.
Bennett rides back down the Zoncolan after he finished to ride back up with domestique extraordinaire, Affini.
What a picture 🤩🥰
Credit: @jeredgruber #Giro pic.twitter.com/Uc68hyaXJz
— Dan Deakins (@DanDeakins) May 23, 2021
A lovely story of camaraderie from the Monte Zoncolan stage of the #Giro: https://t.co/ZtldyqzQck
— CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) May 24, 2021
Somebody commented on the Bennett/Affini photo (in Dutch) with "Jumbo are a Wolfpack without a hashtag".
I like that. It's a subtle dig and little bit cynical.
— Dan Deakins (@DanDeakins) May 23, 2021
Looks like George Bennett on the attack. #Giro pic.twitter.com/D4qp5AbWHd
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) May 24, 2021
Executive decision: my report on today's stage will be a fictional account based on what I wish was actually happening. No-one will know any different, and (spoiler alert) George Bennett will actually win a stage. It's going to be epic #Giro
— Katy M, Bike Edition (@writebikerepeat) May 24, 2021
All about the Bennett / Brambilla breakaway bout last week.
George Bennett being the most chilled out dude ever but the ONE TIME he isn’t it costs him the stage
— the george bennett fanclub (@jeanine______) May 20, 2021
Gianluca Brambilla and George Bennett with 3km to go. pic.twitter.com/08BVMeTp0i
— Peter Flax (@Pflax1) May 20, 2021
"Just ask George Bennett how to lose the race."
#sbsgiro #couchpeloton #Giro https://t.co/UqVjiPRuZm
— CyclingCentral (@CyclingCentral) May 20, 2021
Evergreen tweet
We would tremendously enjoy a George Bennett win today.
— nyvelocity (@nyvelocity) May 20, 2021
In the mists of the stage
With patchy 4G pictures that instinctively cut out when there was some real action on Stage 16, we all had to imagine what was going on, while constructing pithy tweets.
By the time Simon Yates finished 6G pictures will be available.
— Journal Velo (@JournalVelo) May 24, 2021
I'll do it on stage 20 if needed
— CycleSystemsAcademy (@CycleSystemsAc) May 24, 2021
Bernal so strong he's even dropped the race coverage.
— Brett Wallis (@mbwallis) May 24, 2021
I'm disappointed they hadn't planned ahead and were ready enact the stage with papermache models based on the timing updates.
— john (@el_snoop) May 24, 2021
Egan Bernal wins stage 16 of #Giro104 by passing the finishline as first in Cortina d'Ampezzo! pic.twitter.com/iraJert0dx
— Bas Tietema (@BasTietema) May 24, 2021
Still has to be longer than a Nairo Quintana turn.
— Katy M, Bike Edition (@writebikerepeat) May 24, 2021
The King Kelly Story Hours got a little Last Tango in Paris …
“My directeur handed me a wedge of butter…”
— Luke (@LukeTheCycliste) May 24, 2021
Sean Kelly's commentary is admirably unaffected by the total absence of information or pictures. #Giro104
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) May 24, 2021
If you're wondering what it might look like for Egan Bernal to descend in this dreadful weather, here's Fuente doing the same back in 1974 with a stunning sound track… https://t.co/m2dy0ihkpC
— Rich Mitch (@rich_mitch) May 24, 2021
Coverage of today's giro stage will be brought to you mainly by rumour. #Giro104
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) May 24, 2021
He's about to take the win, but Primoz Roglic enters just metres from the finish line and takes the stage and the maglia rosa.
— Sadhbh O'Shea (@SadhbhOS) May 24, 2021
Jens Voigt on Eurosport talking about riding in the cold: And so you bite your teeth together to try to stop them chattering madly and then you can't breathe properly. Ouch.
— Peter Warne (@pzwarne) May 24, 2021
Imagine Remco is first one to come into shot when the riders come into the finish… Belgium simply collapses as a country.
— tom owen (@tomowencc) May 24, 2021
Given the current conditions I propose stopping the race now and a quick game of rock, paper, scissors to decide the stage winner.
— David Hunter (@cyclingmole) May 24, 2021
— Belinda (@reallyspoketome) May 24, 2021
Me: I might take some annual leave, finally be able to watch some live cycling coverage properly mid-week
RAI: wouldn't it be funny if you… couldn't, tho? #GIRO
— Issie 💙 (@IssieAtch) May 24, 2021
EF were very bullish at the start, even about prospect of riding original stage route. But they also lost my support when they admitted to listening to Katy Perry on the bus this morning…
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) May 24, 2021
From Giro, with love. 💗#Giro pic.twitter.com/T3xKCXmRGm
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 24, 2021
The Gruppetto
Stats and rants and Remco on a mattress
Rigoberto Urán is the even more surprising modern one – two time-runner up at the Giro, second at the Tour as well
— Andy McGrath (@Andymcgra) May 24, 2021
Find something you love as much as Bernal loves ransacking a Grand Tour in shit weather with no tv on a shortened stage. #Giro104
— CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) May 24, 2021
🇮🇹 #Giro
With racing underway on stage 16, we caught up with stage 15 winner – @VCampenaerts – ahead of the start. ⤵️
"Get much sleep, Victor?" 🖐️#BicyclesChangeLives pic.twitter.com/1d5MHRpKGe
— Team Qhubeka ASSOS (@QhubekaAssos) May 24, 2021
This is all that I’ll be doing from now until Wednesday morning 😴 @latexconv #mattresses #goodnight #Giro #restday
Photo: @BeelWout pic.twitter.com/7bYeMTBP3I
— Remco Evenepoel (@EvenepoelRemco) May 24, 2021
Pain faces
The face Albert Torres was making up that climb is the same one I make getting out of bed in the morning. pic.twitter.com/doNxlQwnPN
— Colin Lynch (@FormerTTchamp) May 23, 2021
Lorenzo Fortunato had a great day on Saturday…
…it could have been horrendous!
Watch 👇
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 22, 2021
says it all #Zoncolan pic.twitter.com/hArbH7fclj
— VeloVoices (@VeloVoices) May 22, 2021
Great finish AND an early night! Well done Fortunato. Thanks again Zoncolan. You never disappoint. #couchpeloton pic.twitter.com/McQPfVk0fk
— Perthgirl/StressKnitter (@perth_girl) May 22, 2021
Helicopters were grounded on Stage 16 so TV transmission was significantly hampered. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth from fans but it was the ones who seemed to know what was safe and what wasn’t, why this should be or how to fix it, why it wasn’t dangerous, etc. Obviously there are a lot of very skilled helicopter pilots who have had experience flying in low-visibility in the Dolomites. On their sofas.
With a sideline of tv outside broadcast engineers?
— Journal Velo (@JournalVelo) May 24, 2021
Imagine having all those qualifications and still have time to tweet all day about cycling 😂
— Journal Velo (@JournalVelo) May 24, 2021
My favourite part of The Last Dance was the 50 times Michael Jordan said ‘… and I took that personally’ about various players/coaches/scenarios so this really tickled me.
https://t.co/XyBEaYptIS pic.twitter.com/LM2f5uYGj0
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) May 22, 2021
getting in shape for my italy trip pic.twitter.com/qnfiIjVNus
— giabuchi lastrassi (@jaboukie) May 23, 2021
🇮🇹 #Giro
After an incredible 2 weeks, all of our riders are safely home. 🖐️
A long bus transfer ahead so they've definitely earned a little treat.🍕🍰
As we say: "it's for the morale!"#BicyclesChangeLives pic.twitter.com/dPWwN1gb3O
— Team Qhubeka ASSOS (@QhubekaAssos) May 24, 2021
The last word
Doubts of all things earthly, and intuitions of some things heavenly; this combination makes neither believer nor infidel
— Moby Dick (@MobyDickatSea) May 25, 2021