About as relatable as pro cycling gets, a scene repeated up and down the country every weekend as another group ride curses leaving the navigation to *insert unreliable rider* again...
"Did we take a wrong turn?"
This group of riders encountered some unexpected complications on stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie today, as they took a wrong turn on the finishing circuit around Lac de Joux.
Watch the full race replay over on GCN+ 👉 https://t.co/b1mOJ5qItXpic.twitter.com/OvcWRp1XaB
— GCN Racing (@GcnRacing) April 26, 2023
This was apparently the gruppetto of yesterday's stage who took a wrong turn and would have emerged at the wrong point of the finishing circuit so were quite understandably stopped by the race marshals. Still, good to see even at WorldTour level the usual faces you'd see in the 'group ride gets lost' scenario...
Astana rider: Arms outstretched, nattering away, almost certainly making an entirely predictable joke about 'who left them in charge again?'
Israel rider 195 Giacomo Nizzolo: On the ball, very keen, has the route on his device even thought its not his ride, notices the mistake, communicates effectively. Underrated member of the group ride.
Team Arkéa Samsic rider 161 Kévin Vauquelin: Tired, fed up, started cramping an hour ago and just wants to be home. Annoyed at the extra mileage.
Elia Viviani: Too old for this nonsense. Makes mental note to stay in bed next week and head out solo.
DSM rider: Couldn't care less, he really needed a piss so the stop's very welcome...
Is that French for "I'm sure there used to be a cafe here somewhere"?
— PeteThePaddler (@PetePaddler) April 26, 2023
UAE Team Emirates' sporting manager Joxean Fernández Matxin is confident Tadej Pogačar will have recovered sufficiently to join his teammates at their pre-Tour de France altitude camp.
Speaking toHet Laatste Nieuws, Matxin explained the team's star rider will take three weeks of rest, skipping the planned wind tunnel testing and recon of key stages, instead hoping to be fit in time to join the team in the Sierra Nevada from mid-May to early June.
> Tadej Pogačar forced to abandon Liège-Bastogne-Liège after early crash, suffers fractures
The surgeon who operated on Pogačar's wrist said: "Pogačar is a top athlete, with an incredible medical environment. He has the best cards in terms of recovery. In the best case scenario, he will be ready in time for the Tour. The scaphoid is a special bone, so we have to wait for the scan. But all expectations are that it should work out."