It’s two more sleeps ’til Christmas, and the cycling world is getting into the festive spirit.
This week, Ineos Grenadiers staged their own nativity at their team camp in eastern Spain. It’s uncertain whose idea it was, but I’m sure Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe were the masterminds.
The two Welshmen joined forces with British road champion Ben Swift, swapping their helmets for paper crowns and declaring themselves the “three wisest men”.
Who was the Virgin Mary? You might ask. Well, that role fell to four-time cross-country mountain bike world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. The Frenchwoman, the team’s first female rider, wore a dressing gown and slippers, draped a tablecloth over her head and walked through the hotel lobby trailing the newly instated Wise Men. It looked quite the scene.
Elsewhere, it’s been a bad week for G’s Twitter namesake, and a fiery new kit design has left some with a feeling of déjà vu.
1. A team camp in Bethlehem
2. Happy Birthday, Axel Zingle. Sorry they made you pose like that
Joyeux anniversaire à @AxelZingle qui fête ses 24 ans ! pic.twitter.com/EZysLzpQxLDecember 18, 2022
3. I knew I’d seen that design before somewhere
4. So did Bahrain Victorious, it seems
Turning up the @tourdownunder like…#RideAsOne pic.twitter.com/z08fnkS3hsDecember 21, 2022
5. It’s a chilly time of year, best hold on to that natural layer of warmth
No shaving during winter training camps 🥶 pic.twitter.com/tWiY2xeK1ADecember 21, 2022
6. There’s a bike made of pebbles in this picture and it’s still not the weirdest thing
7. Even in his retirement, 42-year-old Alejandro Valverde is putting youngsters to the sword
Me in hour 6 of a December training ride with @alejanvalverde pic.twitter.com/B4Hs7QNxMfDecember 19, 2022
8. Geraint Thomas is riding the Giro d’Italia next season and doesn’t his namesake know it
9. In fact, it’s been a tiring week of Twitter notifications for ‘not a cyclist’ @geraintthomas (opens in new tab)
And now I’m getting random trees in my DM’s. https://t.co/7pFWylDfexDecember 23, 2022
10. Is there anything Demi Vollering can’t do?
11. A bike saddle is always the best seat in the house
Moments before the last penalty kick, in Buenos Aires pic.twitter.com/nPIdYged8TDecember 19, 2022
12. From World Cup winner to WorldTour sprinter, Lionel Messi might be set for a career change
Lionel Messi: “My legacy in football is complete. I have decided to join Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert…