Tadej Pogačar, whose UAE Team Emirates team recently announced all its riders are fully vaccinated, chipped in with a GIF for Andrew Talansky and Thomas De Gendt. The Slovenian was part of De Gendt's analogy of Talansky's heavily-criticised view that Covid disappears if you turn your phone off and stop listening to the media...
— Tadej Pogačar (@TamauPogi) January 21, 2022
In the context of the day's events the Mr Bean choice seems very apt...if only Talansky's performance was as funny as Rowan Atkinson's character...
Tadej Pogačar just added 'The Internet' to his palmarès
— Kit Nicholson (@kit_e_nicholson) January 21, 2022
We reckon Talansky might want to turn off his social media permanently after this...
— Mikkel Hjortshøj (@MHjortshoej) January 21, 2022
This is how you get a wheel barrow to your plot... #allotment#funny#gardens#growyourown😅🤣 pic.twitter.com/QFTFBQduNx
— Holger R Thomas (@GardenerHolger) January 20, 2022
This is what cycling disabled in Stockport is like 👇
Video alt text - compilation of obstacles and barriers on cycling and walking paths in Stockport borough. Including chicanes, narrow shared pavements, steps on cycle paths, bollards, street furniture blocking shared space pic.twitter.com/kbW5PbpS1C
— Harrie Larrington-Spencer (@tricyclemayor) January 20, 2022
Before Christmas we saw the case of York's outdated gates causing disabled people, and those using cargo bikes, problems. One campaigner called the gates "shameful", and was pleased to see the council listen to his request, subsequently removing them over Christmas.
> Council removes “shameful” barriers that blocked access to York cycle route
The problem is obviously not limited to York though. Harrie's Tweet above shows some of the accessibility issues in Stockport, while Adam shared this pic of a cycle route in Nottingham...
This is a recommended cycling route in Nottingham, I literally said for fucks sake aloud when came to it.
Just trying to run a business without cars @MyNottingham. Getting sick of this shit. pic.twitter.com/mbQgsxjJOA
— Adam (@plasticfreeAdam) January 20, 2022
And it didn't end there...
I’m trapped!
Tell my wife I live here now. pic.twitter.com/YSFYE2rPXF
— Adam (@plasticfreeAdam) January 20, 2022
Nice ride back from The Strand just now. Bit annoying when I got held up on narrow London roads by a series of driveists driving one abreast. But I guess they were entitled to be there, so fair enough.
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) January 20, 2022
Alexandre Geniez accused by his ex-wife of violent conduct. A six-month suspended sentence has been requested. Verdict on 22 March. In the meantime he can keep racing for Total Direct Energie in what’s due to be his final pro season https://t.co/rIbVpEIcft
— Peter Cossins (@petercossins) January 20, 2022
Total Energies climber Alexandre Geniez appeared before the court in Rodez to answer accusations of domestic violence. The Frenchman has three times won a stage of the Vuelta, and in 2015 finished ninth at the Giro d'Italia.
Geniez's partner and mother of his two children said he threw his phone at her and threatened, "You will understand, you will see what will happen to you." Luci Garrigues produced two medical certificates showing a frontal hematoma and one other on the forearm after a second incident.
"I wonder what would have happened if my daughter hadn't been in the hallway when he took my arm,"France 3 reports she told the court.
Geniez's lawyer said although his client accepts making threats, he disputes the physical violence claims. The prosecutor is requesting a six-month suspended sentence, the final judgement has been reserved for March 2.
You're and the others are heros to me, Gaz. You're the one that pushed me into doing a spreadsheet. Plus I'm honoured to be friends with all of you. It has resulted in higher standards for all of our reporting, and kind support for when incidents have turned nasty.
— CyclingMikey tired of road crime. 🇪🇺🇳🇱🇿🇼 (@MikeyCycling) January 21, 2022
Yesterday we brought you Ineos' soothing video of Richard Carapaz's gold Pinarello being built. Today it's the turn of turbo Tom Pidcock. Pre-warning: you may find yourself getting sleepy with the relaxing music. Perhaps guided bike build meditation videos will be the next big thing.
If you've got no idea what we're talking about...
> Weird Mamnick gun ad breaches Advertising Standards Agency code
He is correct. I stayed of social media and haven’t read any news about Pogacar. If he isn’t real, he cannot hurt me.
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) January 21, 2022
When De Gendt goes on the attack you know you're in trouble...
Trek's holiday fundraising campaign has raised a total of $1.8M for World Bicycle Relief's aim to benefit communities in developing regions through access to Buffalo Bicycles. Trek promised to match donations up to $500,000, surpassing the fundraising goal of $1M comfortably.
The amount raised is estimated to be able to help provide more than 11,000 bicycles to World Bicycle Relief works in Zambia, Kenya, Colombia and Zimbabwe.
Trek's president John Burke said he was "super proud of the Trek family for crushing our goal".
Andrew Talansky, eh. Most pros disappear out of the world of racing with little or no noise, you can look back on their achievements in a few years and remember watching them at their best. At most, you might hear occasionally from them in their new staff role at a team or when they release a product. That can't be said for Mr Talansky.
> I'm not cycling's Novak Djokovic: Greg Van Avermaet defends plan to delay Covid-19 booster
The 33-year-old retired in 2017 after a career including a Critérium du Dauphiné win, second place at Paris-Nice, fifth place at the Vuelta a España in 2016, and years of being touted as America's next big thing. But Talansky's post-racing fame has come for a very different reason to many of his peers, with the former Cannondale rider now catching heat for his outspoken views on social media.
Exhibit A...
Want to end the scamdemic? Stop living in fear. Stop getting tested. Stop injecting toxins. Stop supporting segregation. Stop buying into the crap you are force fed daily and learn to think for yourself. START taking responsibility for your own health through diet and exercise!
— Andrew Talansky (@andrewtalansky) January 18, 2022
Oh, there's more...
Out of curiosity I went off social media and turned off the news for a few days. It confirmed what I already knew: there is no pandemic. Without social media and “smart” phones providing 24/7 fear mongering news, this whole charade over the past 2 yrs would have been impossible.
— Andrew Talansky (@andrewtalansky) January 18, 2022
One of Talansky's former teammates Nathan Haas was quick to reply, saying: "How old? And you still haven’t learned object permanence?" (That filthy climb near the end of your ride still exists, even when you can't see it)...
One (former) fan thanked Talansky for reminding him to unfollow the social media ranter, another said he was "somehow getting stupider". Perhaps the most effective reply was one simply asking for some peer-reviewed research...
BRB, gonna go to medical school then internship then residency so I can accurately parse contagious disease data
— Cuck Norris (@statelypenguin) January 19, 2022
Unfollowing.
— Kevin Schroth (@kevinschroth) January 18, 2022
In July, Talansky shared a story on his Instagram, which said: "Got your Covid 'cure' right here: daily exercise, fresh air, time in nature, eat healthy. The end. No [syringe emoji] or any other nonsense required."
In November, he caught a similar wave of social media criticism after responding to one person challenging him on his Covid comments by arguing "you have pronouns in your bio. Bye".
Think this is one and done for us on reporting Talansky's Twitter thoughts...one, mainly because I'm not sure we want to...two, because we may be blocked within the hour...