“How many microphones are there here?” asks Baptiste Veistroffer, sipping from a can of Fanta. “One, two, three, four,” he begins to count, but his Lotto Intermarché team bus is waiting and the tally is taking longer than he thought. “Let’s say around 15.”

As recently as a week ago, the Frenchman had never known such intense media attention. He was, with the utmost respect, a bit of a nobody – a modest second-year pro, riding his debut Grand Tour. The UCI rankings placed him as the 1,266th best rider in the world. Journalists had had no reason to speak to him. But now, with a swarm of microphones closing in on him in the post-stage mixed zone, he seems surprisingly at ease. These huddles are part of his new daily routine.

On stage 12, for the third time at this year’s Tour de France, Veistroffer pulled off his party trick; he went solo in the breakaway, won the combativity prize, and rolled across the line in the bunch, this time finishing a nondescript 161st.

“I didn’t even mean to end up alone,” he laughed to the TV cameras mid-stage. But such is the lure of adventure, the pull of panache, he couldn’t resist going up the road once more.

“It’s my game to give it a go,” he told the reporters. “I gave it my all again today. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough, but I hope it’ll pay off one day.”

Behind the media zone fence in Chalon-sur-Saône, a group of children bellowed the Lotto rider’s name – “Baptiste! Baptiste!” – hoping to draw his attention.

Veistroffer's team bus has been mobbed by fans ever since his 144km solo foray on stage five into Pau. It’s unlikely many of those chanting his name had heard of him prior to this year’s Tour; Google searches for ‘Baptiste Veistroffer’ were basically nonexistent before July, save for a tiny blip when he won a stage of the Tour of Oman in February, his only pro victory to date.

Over the last week, though, the searches have ballooned more than 5,000%. What does he make of his newfound popularity? “It’s crazy,” he said, “but that’s the magic of the Tour.”

For the uninitiated, then, a short recap of Baptiste Veistroffer's life: born in Brittany, the 26-year-old grew up competing in triathlon, and only committed to cycling in 2020 during the Covid pandemic. He has a degree in climate engineering, used to work building ships for the French navy, and joined Decathlon CMA CGM’s development team in 2023. Two years later, he moved to Lotto, where he has now become a cult figure.

His nickname is the ‘Wild Boar of Fouesnant’, due to his strong build and attacking style. In fact, no other rider has dared to go in more breakaways than Veistroffer this season; he’s the only one to surpass 2,000km up the road. The next closest rider has tallied 500km fewer.

“It’s an enormous opportunity and an enormous pride to do that in front of the French fans,” he said after stage five. “I wanted to enjoy myself, and that’s what I did right from the start, at kilometre zero. I thought about it, and then I just went for it.”

Ahead of Thursday’s twelfth stage, EF Education-EasyPost’s Alex Baudin passed Veistroffer a hand-written note. “See you in the breakaway Wild Boar,” it read. “Try not to push me too hard.”

In the end, Baudin never managed to bridge across. The four that did only spent an hour or so in the Frenchman's company, then dropped back to the peloton and left him to his own devices again.

“It was a bit of a shame, but whatever,” Veistroffer shrugged afterwards. “We’ve all got different strategies, different sports directors. [At Lotto] we’ve got sports directors who’ve got more of an attacking vision and try [to win]. But voilà, I’m on the podium and they’re not,” he added with a cheeky smile.

It’s that attitude that has helped Veistroffer become the unlikely hero of this year’s Tour, the plucky antidote to a GC contest already bulldozed by Tadej Pogačar.

The Frenchman’s efforts haven't gone unnoticed, either. Ahead of Monday’s rest day, he was presented with the race's ‘Best Teammate’ award, thanks to his role in shepherding the unwell Arnaud De Lie through the opening stages.

Lotto feel lucky to have him. “He’s a really fun guy to work with. He's always motivated,” said the team's sports director, Mario Aerts, in a Velon documentary about Veistroffer’s first week heroics. “I worked with Thomas De Gendt for years, so I know everything is possible,” Aerts added.

So what is possible for Veistroffer on his Tour debut? Since De Lie’s abandon on stage three, the road has been open for him to attack, and he has wasted no opportunity.

Some wonder if he's plotting a bid for the race's overall combativity award. “I don’t know much about how it’s voted on. I’d prefer to get a stage win,” he smiled. “Stage 17 from Chambéry to Voiron could be interesting.

“My legs still feel good. At worst, if I pay the price for it later, I’ll have discovered a new limit for my body.”

Whether that stage win comes or his muscles pack in, Veistroffer’s race has already been a success. France has a new cycling sweetheart. The peloton has a new breakaway pest.

“They won’t stop me as long as I’m here,” he vowed on Thursday. Expect to see the Wild Boar on the run again.

Saturday was one of those stultifying days at the Tour de France where the energy appeared to have been sucked out of the race. Stage eight was designed as a bunch sprint day, with just two category-four climbs on the route, and for most of the day it was ridden as such, with just three riders up the road at a controlled distance, the interested teams at the front, and the inevitable on its way in Bergerac.

It would be hard to blame the peloton, given this was their eighth day in a row of racing in a heatwave, and there are much harder tests to come, including tomorrow's stage nine in the Massif Central, shortened due to "exceptionally intense" heat. A rolling rest day, as much as possible, is to be forgiven.

However, no one had told Liam Slock. The Lotto-Intermarché rider, probably best known up to this point as the rider who crashed while celebrating his victory at last month's GP Gippingen, refused to bow to the received wisdom that this should be a sprint. It wasn't the first time a Lotto rider has done something like this at the Tour, with Baptiste Veistroffer the king of the doomed escape so far.

With 40km to go, the Belgian detached what was left of the break, with apologies to Thibault Guernalec (TotalEnergies) and Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), who are bit-part players in this story now, and charged on alone. The gap, which was never significant, stubbornly refused to come down, as Slock attacked with zeal in the Dordogne.

"Actually, I wasn't supposed to go in the break, but I saw the chance and the opportunity to go and I went," he told Cycling Weekly post-race. "Then on top of the climb, I felt I was the strongest of the breakaway, and I went alone. You never know. If you don't shoot, you always miss."

With 13km to go, the gap was still at 1:15. Slock still believed, and something had enlivened the otherwise slow day in the middle of France. However, something had to give. The 25-year-old had been pushing 400 watts ever since being alone, 30km previously, and the might of the desperate peloton was closing behind, with each rider being screamed at by their respective directeur sportif to put it all on the line.

"In the last 10km, I started hurting a lot and I lost a bit of time," Slock continued. "It was a little bit uphill, a little bit of headwind. From there on, it was becoming clear that it was really hard, but in the end I came really close."

You might already know how this story ends; Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) came from nowhere to sprint to victory, other sprinters disappointed, Slock nowhere to be seen. The Belgian was caught with 1.3km to go, his lonely vigil ended, his attempt to bring some life to a flat stage ruined.

In hindsight, it might seem like a fait accompli that Slock would be caught, that it would end in a bunch sprint; this was what it was designed for, and this is what it was.

However, he believed that he had a chance, even for a moment: “I did believe it was possible, because from 30 to 15km to the end, they didn't come that much close, so I was thinking it was possible.”

The man from Ghent will always have this, whatever else he does: the day he almost held off the Tour peloton. “Just coming this close to winning a Tour de France stage was a dream since I was a kid, so I am disappointed but I think I'll be proud this evening,” he said.

Now, here’s no time for celebration. It will be remembered by him, and by others, as a brave move, one which almost turned convention upside down. What’s the plan for tonight? “The same way as every evening, eating and laying on the bed.”

If you don't shoot you always miss. No one could blame Slock for not shooting. Perhaps next time, it will go in, rather than agonisingly grazing off the crossbar. Thanks, Liam, for enlivening a dull day.

A penny for Arnaud De Lie's thoughts. The Lotto Intermarché rider was forced out of the Tour de France on stage three due to illness, months after he had quit the Giro d'Italia in similar circumstances.

The 24-year-old battled back to fitness after leaving the Giro early, winning a stage of the Tour de Wallonie last month, but a stomach bug has cut short his time in France.

Stage three was brutal, with De Lie suffering in the heat, coming after he finished last on Sunday's stage two. The pace was high all day, first for the fight to get into the breakaway, and then peloton pulling back that break, led by UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

As Tadej Pogačar of UAE celebrated his stage victory, and going into yellow, De Lie was stepping off the bike.

A press release from the team read: "Having suffered from an abdominal infection in the days leading up to the Grand Départ, and despite making steady progress in his recovery, the demands of today's stage, raced in scorching temperatures approaching 40°C, ultimately proved too much.

"After being dropped, De Lie did everything he could to stay in the race, supported for many kilometres by teammate Baptiste Veistroffer. The three Pyrenean climbs in the final part of the stage, combined with the extreme heat, made the challenge even tougher. To protect his health, the Belgian eventually stepped off his bike on the final climb of the day."

"It's obviously a huge disappointment. I had worked for months to be ready for this Tour de France and I was dreaming of fighting for the sprint finishes," De Lie said. "Unfortunately, this stomach infection weakened me a lot. I gave everything I had over the first two stages, but today I simply didn't have the legs to continue, especially in such extreme heat.

"I hung on in a small group behind Baptiste, but the succession of climbs in the final was just too demanding. I told Baptiste to go on so that he could make it back within the time limit. The only thing I can do now is focus on making a full recovery and come back stronger for the rest of the season."

At least one team has been forced to change their Giro d'Italia lineup late after riders fell ill after racing in Belgium last weekend, possibly because of manure.

Multiple riders who competed in the Famenne Ardenne Classic on Sunday, including a number expected to start the Giro, have been afflicted by a sudden illness that’s suspected to have been caused by bacteria from cow pats on the Belgian roads flicking up onto the drinking bottles of the riders.

Just five of team Lotto–Intermarche's full complement of eight riders attended the Giro race presentation in Bulgaria yesterday, with three riders having been hospitalised after suffering symptoms that included stomach pains, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting, as confirmed by the Belgian team.

The sickness is believed to have been caused by the ingestion of a bacteria called campylobacter, which is found in cow dung – a substance that was present in abundance on the rain-splattered rural roads of the Ardennes at the weekend.

When campylobacter gets in your system it can result in gastrointestinal infections that last anywhere between two and 10 days, with people typically feeling the effects of the illness for around a week. All of which is bad news for those riders who intend to compete in the 21-stage Giro, which gets underway tomorrow (Friday 7 May) in Bulgaria.

Disaster for some riders has created opportunity for others and, as a result of the illness, Lotto's line-up for the Giro has been re-jigged, as reported in the Italian outlet Quotidiano, with Belgian Liam Slock being replaced by 22-year-old British rider Joshua Giddings, who only turned pro last year.

Top riders afflicted by the cow-pat pox include 24-year-old Belgian Arnaud De Lie, who won the Famenne Ardenne Classic, and had been expected to lead Lotto's team at the Giro. De Lie thought he'd escaped the infection but then fell ill while flying to Bulgaria. “He’s not feeling well, but his participation in the Giro is not compromised at this stage,” a spokesperson for the team told The Guardian.

However, Lotto Intermarché sporting director and former pro rider Maxime Bouet was putting a slightly less positive spin on the situation. “Half the peloton is ill,” the Frenchman was quoted to have said on the team website.

Other riders and teams have also been badly impacted. “We have heard that several teams have been affected and that some have had entire squads in hospital," Bouet told CyclingPro.Net. Belgian broadcaster Sporza is also reporting that teams including Alpecin have riders who are suffering the from the illness.

This social media roundup was rekindled in the heights of silly season. Every week Jonas Abrahamsen supplied us with goofy Instagram laughs, and our social media feeds were awash with Christmas jumper-ed teams. Anyone remember Visma-Lease a Bike's beehive knits?

As the new year settles in, January team camps are finishing, and riders are gearing up towards a spring and summer of racing - if they haven't already headed to Australia for the Tour Down Under.

While more serious times are on the horizon, fear not. The internet is still turning up some gold. Anyone fancy an underwater 5k?

1. The people’s princes: Yves Lampaert and Soudal Quick-Step teammates helped one stranded driver get back onto the road. But who is this mysterious helmet-wearing driver?

2. WTF is zone two? For time trial world Champion Marlen Reusser, it looks like its a sit down and a frothy coffee.

3. Robyn Clay and her Picnic Post-NL teammates hold Eleanora Ciabocco on a Calpe shoreline in an idyllic end to a January camp full of cats, coastlines and strawberry smoothies. “A couple more weeks of prep before we go racing,” she writes in her Instagram caption.

4. Lidl-Trek are also calling time on their January camp, but not before they quiz their riders on their favourite Christmas gift (we’re still flogging this horse). Felicity Wilson-Haffenden wins hands down, after taking home the Australian National Individual Time Trial title, and the first win for Lidl Trek in 2026. Meanwhile, Anna Henderson has been gifted an entire new set of kitchen utensils to use on her return to the UK - a peak adulthood pressie.

5. Pass through the Swiss town of Schöfflisdorf and you might catch a glimpse of Swiss Olympian, Noemi Rüegg on a training ride turned grocery run, eggs tucked into her EF Education-Oatly jersey – all to the soundtrack of panting breath and tweeting birds.

6. “It’s somewhere that makes sense to me,” says Alice Towers of the Cape Town roads she rode on with her brother, Lucas, under looming clifftops and unravelling seascapes. This is another of EF Pro Cycling’s ‘Beyond Your Universe’ series, available to watch in full on YouTube.

7. Taco van der Hoorn soundtracked this post with Karma Police by Radiohead – we hope that's not reflective of his mood.

8. Reckon you could cycle underwater? A cyclist’s horror story or a feat of unmatched daring? 12 minutes is impressive regardless.

9. Nothing will shame me out of Christmas day thirds. If you're recovering from Christmas indulgence, we have tips on how to get back into training and a break down on the science of detraining and retraining.

10. Welsh rider, Stevie Williams, opens up about the struggles he’s had after injuring his knee in 2019, followed by another operation six months ago. As the NSN team heads out to the Tour Down Under, Williams is hoping for a brighter 2026. Poor Stevie won't be at the Adelaide Oval this year.

11. Who needs a top-of-the-range bike when milliseconds can be shaved off from an aerodynamic head?

The final confirmation of the merger between pro cycling teams Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty was heralded as a "new chapter in international cycling" this week, however, there is a human cost to the decision.

The "unification of two historic Belgian teams", which stretched out over months, has created a squad of 30 riders as Lotto-Intermarché. The lengthy process forced riders into a rush to find new teams for 2026 or retire, with some left in the lurch.

Eight riders moved from the now non-existent Intermarché-Wanty to the new team, while 16 remained from Lotto; the remaining six came mainly from the Lotto or Intermarché development squads.

However, two Lotto and seven Intermarché pros are still listed on PCS as being without contracts for next season: Jarne Van De Paar and Logan Currie from Lotto, and Dion Smith, Louis Barré, Gijs Van Hoecke, Kobe Goossens, Kamiel Bonneu, Kevin Colleoni and Gerben Kuypers from Intermarché. This is not definitive, with some possibly already finding places for next season, although it won't be with Lotto-Intermarché, and it isn't confirmed.

A further six from both teams retired, while 10 riders from Intermarché's closing Wanty-Nippo-ReUz development squad have no team for next year announced.

It was always certain the better-known riders would find lifeboats away from the merger; Biniam Girmay, for example, moved to NSN Cycling from Intermarché, while Alec Segaert moved to Bahrain Victorious from Lotto. However, there are still riders without jobs moving forwards. That's also without fully understanding the staffing losses, with coaches, mechanics, cooks, soigneurs and others likely missing out on spots. Two does not go into one.

Twenty-six-year-old Tom Paquot, who spent the last three season with Intermarché's WorldTour team, decided to retire. He explained a bit more about his situation in an interview with RTBF: "As soon as the first rumours surfaced in July, I made contact. But the collapse of Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Wagner Bazin-WB really complicated my search. As the weeks went by, the number of riders on the market increased.

"And then there's another problem: I'm a domestique, a very good domestique, but not a leader, and there are tons of domestiques of my style and calibre who are available.

Paquot went on to describe himself as a a "collateral victim" of the merger. "Restructuring happens in every professional sector. You have to know how to adapt and move forward," he said.

"Starting next year there will be no more numbers pinned to my back," he added on Instagram. "A chapter comes to an end, and even if it tightens my heart a little, it's time to turn the page. My story as a professional cyclist ends here."

Paquot is not alone. Lotto rider Jonas Gregaard also stepped off the bike, writing: "Choosing to retire hasn’t been easy, but it’s the right decision for many reasons. Cycling demands everything, and right now I need to give something back to myself."

The new Lotto-Intermarché team will race on the men's WorldTour next season, while there is also a women's ProTeam.

Jean-François Bourlart, the new team's general manager, said this week: "Today, thanks to the unification of two historic Belgian teams, a new chapter begins in international cycling. In recent months we have worked very hard behind the scenes to build a solid project, based on the foundations of Lotto Cycling Team and Intermarché-Wanty. We are pleased that the UCI places its confidence in us for the next three years to make this project succeed."