It’s the week of hype before the biggest bike race in the world. Let’s get right to it.
The sprint to the start
All the news was about sprinters this week. Let’s ease into this …
I think with the other fastest sprinter in the world Bennett out, Caleb has a chance for green. There's no clear number 2 sprinter..
— Hendrik Lemmer (@GrootLem) June 22, 2021
Caleb Ewan definitely does have a chance at the green jersey, but he’ll have to get through Peter Sagan who, although he might not be winning the sprints like he used to, knows how to win it without them. Should be an epic battle.
Peter Sagan and Wilco Kelderman will lead Bora-Hansgrohe's two-pronged attack at the Tour de France this summer. Kelderman will take up the GC challenge, while Sagan is aiming to win back the green jersey after he was beaten last year. #TDF2021https://t.co/cyVTErFwSJ
— VeloNews (@velonews) June 15, 2021
Mark Cavendish made the Tour team for DQS.
World Champion @alafpolak1, Ronde van Vlaanderen victor @k_asgreen and 30-time stage winner @MarkCavendish will all feature on Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s squad for the biggest race in the world – @LeTour. pic.twitter.com/H56OQ9l2rv
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) June 21, 2021
No. Words. Can. Describe. How. I. Feel.
I will do absolutely everything to honour #thewolfpack boys, the @deceuninck_qst jersey and the greatest race on the planet @LeTour.
Big boots to fill for @Sammmy_Be. Can everybody join me in sending him positive vibes please 🙏🙏
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) June 21, 2021
I imagine the press reports in the Isle of Man will be pretty similar to this. Mark Cavendish and seven Deceuninck-Quick-Step riders. https://t.co/pzeScG8wcV
— Sadhbh O'Shea (@SadhbhOS) June 21, 2021
Just remembering the storm of ridicule that rained on my head when I wrote this piece back in April. Nothing more https://t.co/G8xyZalXcU
— Orla Chennaoui (@SportsOrla) June 21, 2021
Meanwhile, over at DQS HQ, Patrick Lefevere was trashing Sam Bennett. His own rider.
Lefevere doubts severity of knee issue that kept Sam Bennett off Tour de France team – Deceuninck-Quickstep manager suggests Irishman suffers from 'fear of failure'https://t.co/IdPmxOnByp
— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) June 22, 2021
@PatLefevere we can't say he's acted like a bully behind closed doors, but he was super quick to send Sam Bennett to the gutter… And yeah, through the press. #sam2022
— Bryan Hanton (@bryanhanton) June 21, 2021
Wouldn't surprise me that Bennett has some sort of anxiety after Lefevere discussed his 'mental weakness' in the media the other day. #TDF2021
He's becoming an expert at trashing his own riders in the media before grand tours – and then acts surprised if it backfires. https://t.co/0aQ2t6w0MU
— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) June 21, 2021
Sam Bennett: "I’m very disappointed to not be able to defend my green jersey. I had a very minor incident during training a couple of weeks ago, which affected my knee. It impacted my training for the biggest bike and without enough time to be race fit."
— José Been (@TourDeJose) June 21, 2021
The Gruppetto
If you’re interested in time cuts, Velofacts has all the … well, facts. Click on the tweet and there’s a handy thread of what it all means.
The #TDF2021 time limit calculatorhttps://t.co/rFe1ydXuTb
I've added a graph to visualize the time cut and added the giro rules for comparison. Stages are ranked in 5 levels from easy to extremely difficult + TT pic.twitter.com/hotMaSB51Y
— Velofacts (@velofacts) June 21, 2021
This could be fun!
A small first, this year Radio Tour will be broadcast online, the race radio from the official car that reports incidents etc in 🇫🇷+🇬🇧 https://t.co/eQ0rrGPQop We'll have to find out how it works, if there's no delay then it'll be faster than TV or Twitter
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) June 21, 2021
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And more…📲 https://t.co/AqDOcH66Xg pic.twitter.com/x3U9QyywlF
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 21, 2021
Love Qhubeka – hope they take the Giro spirit into the Tour and take those stage wins!
Yesterday we revealed our 8 riders for @LeTour 🇫🇷!🖐️
At a difficult time for the world, it’s our shared humanity that helps us believe.
Ubuntu – I am because we are
➡️: https://t.co/2r5QuIOmUe#BicyclesChangeLives pic.twitter.com/tmXjiSyEi3
— Team Qhubeka ASSOS (@QhubekaAssos) June 19, 2021
I know this is an incredibly historical moment. It speaks to what @QhubekaAssos is about and what we’re trying to do as a team with the charity. This moment can serve us inspiration to show young people that don’t come from privilege backgrounds anything is possible
📸 – N Muzik pic.twitter.com/f6FeKqKJYu— Nicholas Dlamini (@nich_dlamini) June 18, 2021
Bring on Movistar The Documentary Part 3
Tour de France: Can Movistar's new-look trident avoid past shambles? There have been encouraging signs that López, Mas, and Valverde can form a slick cohesive unit #TDF2021https://t.co/00yETI6jqg
— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) June 21, 2021
While Ineos has 50 leaders …
Reckon they're going for a 1-2-3-2 formation. https://t.co/Ar0Py4pAOq pic.twitter.com/Jy4b4BgZ0k
— Edward Pickering (@EdwardPickering) June 18, 2021
Just because
🇧🇪 #BKWaregem
Did you have to make it so exciting again, Wout? 😅#samenwinnen pic.twitter.com/Df6koLyCj2
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) June 20, 2021
indeed it does https://t.co/Q5u5UnPDGB
— midge (@pariswheels) June 20, 2021
I wouldn’t want to be Remco with Lefevere in a bad mood …
He's so young! He has so so many more opportunities… I suppose he may be worries he'll end up like GVA as being another amazing rider not to win the NCs https://t.co/MZy9GxNyip
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) June 20, 2021
Double trouble!
TOMS!!!! 🇱🇻 @Tomashuuns has done the double – Latvian RR and TT champ – which means we’ll be seeing him back in this jersey soon 🤩 pic.twitter.com/9aMVPymDYq
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) June 20, 2021
Kevin Reza hangs up his wheels
Reza explains in great detail what influenced the decision.https://t.co/XDXR4Da3Aw
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) June 19, 2021
The last word
…there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.
— Moby Dick (@MobyDickatSea) June 21, 2021