You will not be surprised to hear Eddy Merckx did not take the news well that Mathieu van der Poel was abandoning the Tour de France to prepare for the Olympics. Merckx had similarly disparaging remarks for Caleb Ewan after the Aussie abandoned the Giro to prepare for the Tour.
Merckx told Sporza: "I couldn't do that. If you start a stage race, it's not with the idea of getting out. Otherwise you have to prepare for the Games in a different way. That does not benefit cycling. Van der Poel himself is asking for such a full schedule. Nobody forces him to do all that. The Tour de France is the biggest race of the year and in cycling, I think it's a pity."
Imagine what Merckx would say if Cavendish won two more stages and then pulled out of the #TDF2021.
— Paweł Gadzała (@8aldwin) July 6, 2021
We all know the story. The stage was shortened, crowds packed onto the lower slopes so a moto got stuck, Richie Porte crashed into the back of it, Chris Froome crashed into Porte. With his team car minutes behind, Froome started running and running...The now-famous images were shared by news outlets from every corner of the globe and were even put to the Benny Hill theme in one viral meme...
Former F1 champion Jenson Button paid tribute to Froome's efforts by hopping off his bike to run part of the way up the climb.
During the first week of this year's race Froome joked that he has his running shoes packed and ready in the team car in case history repeats itself...
🗼 IT'S VENTOUX TIME 🗼
Two ascents of this great beast of a climb coming soon...
📸 @GettySportpic.twitter.com/DWA7xnjN7u
— Team BikeExchange (@GreenEDGEteam) July 7, 2021
It has been in the diary for months now, the double-ascent of Mont Ventoux is now just hours away. The notoriously windy climb will be mercifully calm today, although a slight headwind is expected on the upper slopes. One for the breakaway? A late attack? Pog? Cav? Only joking. Get your predictions down below...
The team at @INEOSGrenadier have just revealed their full interior. Check it out! #BuiltOnPurposehttps://t.co/lrBdlibJUDpic.twitter.com/XuBWA2EmWC
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) July 7, 2021
The Ineos Grenadier, the new 4x4 from Sir Jim Ratcliffe that the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team is controversially named after, had its interior released to the world this morning...and it comes with a cyclist 'toot' button. Described as "amazing" by Toby Ecuyer, head of design at Ineos Automotive, the button is apparently there so drivers can offer a "gentle hoot" to cyclists to "make them aware that you are there"...
Ecuyer said: "Often when you are approaching a cyclist, if you want to make them aware that you are there you often try to do a gentle hoot and it ends up as a full-blown claxon which scares the living daylights out of everybody. You never quite get it right and it comes out as aggressive." Right. The 'toot' is separate from the main horn and is supposedly a kinder, quieter option, although the video does not demonstrate it being used.
Thoughts?
In December, Brexiteer Ratcliffe scrapped his plan to build the vehicles in Wales, with production instead being moved to the former Mercedes-Benz factory in Hambach, France...The cycling team has also come under fire for its relentless promotion of the 4x4...
"It's just not a great look really": Debate over heavy promotion of Ineos Grenadier 4x4 continues, with the vehicle now popping up in the background whenever a rider is interviewed. https://t.co/L928zuzqG3#cyclingpic.twitter.com/xKCJJ1AEsn
— road.cc (@roadcc) September 15, 2020
It's a hat-trick! 3️⃣3️⃣for Cavendish 😍#TDF2021pic.twitter.com/vr8o7ouh5C
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 6, 2021
Win number 33 was like so many of the rest: impeccable lead-out, explosive kick, blur of green jersey, Cav's hands in the air and a brilliant post-stage interview. It's got us all dreaming of win number 34, and possibly even 35, at this year's race...
Seriously though, has a thing in sport ever been more written in the stars than Cav breaking Merkx's record on the Champs Elysee? It's meant to be. Only trouble is him NOT winning one of the remaining sprint finishes in between now and then 😅 #TDF2021
— Katy M, Bike Edition (@writebikerepeat) July 6, 2021
Ex-England rugby star Brian Moore even made the case to the masses for Cav's Tour being up there with the drama of the Euros...we're not arguing, Brian.
The Euros, understandably, are capturing all the headlines, but what Mark Cavendish is doing in the Tour de France is as dramatic a story.
— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) July 6, 2021
The memes were great too...
extremely real tweet don’t go check pic.twitter.com/rmLcWJOTzV
— Robyn (@robynjournalist) July 6, 2021
There is a pretty big football match happening at Wembley tonight, the Olympics still to come, Andy Murray's brief Wimbledon return and almost certainly something else I'm forgetting...but where does Cav's comeback rank in the sporting summer hierarchy?