Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla), the newly crowned Dutch national champion became the talk of the Internet when he had some new SciCon sunnies…with a beak.
The aerodynamic nose piece which looked a lot like Batman’s schnoz on his cowl, was…unique, let’s say. “It can’t hurt, every little bit helps,” Groenewegen said to WielerFlits.
The Australian was also wearing his team’s special new orange and green kit for the Tour. But the nose piece…stood out.
But toward the end of the stage, Groenewegen was sans beak. “I need to put it off, from the UCI. that was a big surprise! I think they saw me not pedalling and said, ‘this is not fair, we need to stop these fast sunglasses’,” he said to ITV. “I like the glasses. In sprinting you have to be as fast as possible and if you can change small things, that can change a lot.”
🚴♂️🇫🇷 | Na de haarband van Memphis hebben we nu… de Pino-zonnebril van Dylan Groenewegen! 😎😎 #TDF2024
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The Internet, as you could imagine, had a field day with the new sunnies. Social media was full of memes and jokes about the new shades. They sort of resemble Oakley’s Kato eyewear that you may see on fellow sprinter Mark Cavendish’s face. Except in those, the ‘nose’ is integrated into the lens. Groenewegen’s is much bigger, plus you can take the damn thing off.
Maybe he was joking about the UCI (and yet, it would seem totally normal for them to ban the beak). But either way, he has them on during Stage 5.
Wednesday’s race is 177 km from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas. After a tough mountain stage featuring the legendary Galibier, it’s another day for the sprinters…or opportunists. It’s also another day for Cav to try and break the all-time record of 34, which he shares with Eddy Merckx.
And you never know, maybe the gang in Switzerland is gathering around a boardroom table as we speak with a plan to regulate the size of sunglass beaks. I for one, would for once agree with the UCI. Ban those things, stat.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…