Has Patrick Lefevere been giving Remco Evenepoel media training lessons? The white jersey had some punchy comments for the TV cameras immediately after yesterday's gravel stage, the adrenaline possibly still running high and leaving the fiery Belgian to question if two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard has "the balls to race".
"The podium could have been decided today"
Remco Evenepoel says he was disappointed that Jonas Vingegaard didn't ride with him and Tadej Pogačar, but that he understands why he didn't 🤍🇧🇪#TDF2024pic.twitter.com/mmDoZdQIQn
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 7, 2024
"I think Tadej and I were not happy with it because maybe the whole Tour could have been decided today," Evenepoel said. "We have to accept race tactics and race situations, but sometimes you also need the balls to race, and unfortunately maybe Jonas didn't have them today. But it's no problem – the race is still very long, and I totally accept the reasons why he didn't pull, why he didn't race.
"Of course, Tadej and I both like to attack pretty far away from the finish, so we wanted to continue. Jonas is sometimes a bit more defensive, but we have to accept it. He will have all the good reasons to have raced like this, so I also completely understand why."
Vingegaard later made the case for the defence, stating that considering Visma-Lease a Bike had several teammates still in the peloton, more than Soudal Quick-Step or UAE Team Emirates, they wanted to have riders with the Dane "in case something happened". The defending Tour champ had suffered two punctures on the stage, perhaps evidencing a reason for the cautious attitude, the team's goal simply "not to lose time" yesterday.
In the end, Vingegaard completed 100km on the Cervélo of teammate Jan Tratnik, the chaos of the stage never giving an opportunity to get on his spare.
Were you frustrated to see Jonas refuse to work with Evenepoel and Pogačar? Did it make sense for Vingegaard to wait and let as many teammates join as possible? It's going to be a long rest day, so get your thoughts in the comments...
These were Yates's thoughts ahead of yesterday's stage (you probably guessed he hadn't dressed up in full kit for a rest day press conference), sentiment echoed later on by Jonas Vingegaard and Patrick Lefevere.
"Last time I checked we did *road* cycling..."
Simon Yates doesn't appreciate off-road stages in road racing 🇬🇧😠#TDF2024pic.twitter.com/ZAZ91tYDmn
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 7, 2024
The cynical part of me reckons Yates not being particularly proficient on the gravel (he finished 138th, almost 12 minutes down and in the same group as plenty of sprinters) might have something to do with it.
Message to Tadej Pogacar :
Please do not attack during the rest day...#TDF2024— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 8, 2024
Remco Evenepoel wasn't the only one to question Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike after yesterday's stage, Tadej Pogačar also telling the TV cameras: "Yeah for sure [frustrated], because me and Remco did [a] good effort, we break away and Jonas was also there, so obviously he has great shape.
"You can secure more the podium, you can make a gap to the others so to the fourth one would be a bigger gap. But I guess Visma don't want that, they're just focussing on me and maybe underestimate the others. We will see what happens in the next weeks, but for sure today would be nice if we could already break free."
Wout van Aert took the verbals to Strava...
It was an Italian sprinter who triumphed on the Giro d'Italia Women's second stage... but not the one Lidl-Trek were hoping for, Chiara Consonni getting the better of former world champion Elisa Balsamo and current rainbow bands wearer Lotte Kopecky on a slight rise to the line in Volta Mantonava.
Chiara Consonni wins Stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia for UAE Team ADQ 👏🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/8k9ZHlSj7M
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 8, 2024
Shout-out to Ana Vitória Magalhães whose plucky breakaway had looked to have a chance before the big names brought it back to contest the win. Also to Anouska Koster whose late attack added extra drama to the already pulsating finale.
Consonni said she had "no words, really" and admitted her UAE teammates had been "a little scared" when the gap to the breakaway went out to six minutes. "The team was super, they did a really, really good job," she added.
Unsurprisingly, no change on GC, Elisa Longo Borghini keeping the maglia rosa ahead of tomorrow's summit finish at Toano, a 12km climb with reasonably shallow gradients.
Ineos have used the rest day of the Tour de France to launch a campaign promoting its "next-gen laundry offering", the "laundry liquid of choice" for the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team. In a bid to promote their product to the masses, Tom Pidcock was roped in to "power the fastest wash cycle in just 20 minutes" (enough time for him to break the 5km world record again and still have a few minutes to make a brew).
Ineos' Head of Marketing and Innovation Caroline Reynolds was on-hand to provide those all-important PR-friendly soundbites... "Tom Pidcock and the Ineos Grenadiers' remarkable achievements perfectly align with our mission to deliver the best possible cleaning results in every wash.
"Together, we want to set a new standard in laundry and home care. Our formula has been rigorously tested under intense conditions, proving its competitive ability to remove tough stains and odours, whilst maintaining fabric integrity. Our ongoing partnership with the Ineos Grenadiers highlights our commitment to supporting everyday performance, whether meeting the demands of a champion athlete or handling the daily challenges of busy lifestyles."
Where would society be without marketing departments and press releases? It doesn't bare thinking about...
What might be of interest is Ineos is giving away a signed Pidcock jersey (presumably in sparkling condition) and two paddock passes to a stage of the Tour of Britain. You'll have to follow Ineos Hygenics on Instagram, like the campaign competition post, and tag a friend in the comments if you fancy it.
Hamish Falconer is the newly elected MP for Lincoln, the Labour representative waved off at the station this morning as he heads down to London to take his seat in Parliament. More importantly for our purposes, however, was the item he was bringing with him...
Credit to Cllr Joshua Wells for capturing the crucial moment... now, where's the follow-up of him trying to wrench it into those god-awful upright bike storage cupboards?
It was a less positive night for others. Not that we're petty and spent Friday digging back up all the questionable cycling comments of the past four-and-a-half years for an at-length feature. That doesn't sound like us at all...
Praise ye the cycling gods who hath blessed us with a hallowed rest day dose of racing action. The Tour de France peloton may be doing as little as possible today, but over in Italy it's sprint day at the women's Giro d'Italia. Lovely stuff.
Yesterday, home favourite Elisa Longo Borghini was a popular winner of the opening time trial, getting the better of Grace Brown by just a single second. I've set my stall out by saying there's a 'sprint stage' on the cards today, a couple of little lumps with 10km to go might tempt someone to cause an upset. Lidl-Trek will surely want to set up Elisa Balsamo for a second team and second Italian win in as many days. It's been the Tour de France of French wins, but will it also be the Giro of Italian elation?
Tappa e maglia!
Great start for @ElisaLongoB and @LidlTrek at #GirodItaliaWomen💪Our report from Brescia, stage 1 👇https://t.co/nq51SHNbCUpic.twitter.com/iGFfddsWeB
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) July 7, 2024
It was another jam-packed weekend of cycling news, naturally much coming from the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia Women. More on that later. We'll start in Austria, however, where it was another tragic day for pro cycling, the worst possible news coming from the mountainous fourth stage of the Tour of Austria.
Norwegian professional cyclist André Drege died after a high-speed crash on a descent in the Austrian Alps, the race organisers confirming on Saturday afternoon, in news that once again left the cycling world reeling in shock and coming just a little over a year since Gino Mäder's death at Tour de Suisse.
Sunday's final stage of the race was replaced by a condolence ride. Slovenian rider Jaka Primožič, who was the only other rider in the breakaway at the time of the crash, expressed his sorrow about Drege's passing.
"As the only witness I can't explain how devastated I am," he said. "This should never happen. A crash which was nobody's fault. I would give everything to change something so that wouldn't have happened. My thoughts are with his team and family. Rest in peace, may the cycling heaven be nice to you. I can't say that I knew you but we shared the same passion and I will continue so with carrying you in my heart forever."
Elsewhere this weekend, at the Tour de France, the UCI drew criticism for fining Julien Bernard after the French rider stopped during a time trial to greet his family at the roadside.
There were concerns about yesterday's gravel stage too, prompting the inevitable debate about whether white roads belong in Grand Tours or not, Patrick Lefevere and Jonas Vingegaard on the side of them being an "unnecessary risk".
No concerns about whether Eritrea is being inspired by Biniam Girmay's extraordinary Tour, the sprinter who last week became the first black African to win a stage at cycling's biggest race then adding a second on Saturday, prompting wonderful scenes...
The streets of Asmara celebrating the Tour de France victory of Biniam Girmay 🇪🇷😍 #TDF2024pic.twitter.com/74zkjzk4GA
— Intermarché-Wanty (@IntermarcheW) July 6, 2024
Away from pro racing, a cyclist from Cardiff raised the alarm after being robbed of his £2,000 bike after he was punched a dozen times and placed in a chokehold. Damian Slowik also slammed the police for arriving after 40 minutes of reporting the crime despite the police station being five minutes away on foot, while also claiming that no bystanders came to his aid despite crying out for help.