I don't like it, I love it: Cricket at the Tour de France
Adam Becket recounts one of his oddest days covering cycling - so far
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Recently, for Cycling Weekly's review of the year, I was asked to think about the odder moments of my year on the road covering racing.
There was the time my phone broke while I was interviewing Mike Teunissen at Paris-Nice, meaning I had to drive to the top of the Col de Turini without a phone, and then had to rush back to Nice to buy a French phone that evening. There was the moment it snowed in Ghent ahead of the Tour of Flanders, putting the whole event into doubt. There was the day I spent in a team car at the Tour of Britain, which involved a crash and an encounter with sheep.
The strangest thing that happened to me this year happened on the second rest day at the Tour de France, however, when I played cricket in Carcassonne.
Carcassonne is famous for many things. Its faux-Medieval citadel, cassoulet, the Cathars, and the tile-based board game come to mind immediately. One thing it is not known as is a bastion of is cricket.
Come to think of it, nowhere in France really is, not since they finished second to Britain at the 1900 Olympics anyway (let's not get into the particular weirdness of this match, please).
This might be why I stood out, striding around the Occitanian city with a cricket bat which had been purchased at a Sports Direct in Bristol and travelled around Denmark, France, Belgium and Switzerland for 15 stages for this moment, a rest day cricket match on a petanque pitch next to the Aude.
The Tour de France can be an all encompassing thing, and so to take a step back, do something different, and puzzle some Frenchman by playing a back garden version of the greatest sport in the world - sorry to cycling - as the evening drew in on Monday night in Carcassonne. The most confused people appeared to be the Cofidis team, who had the pleasure of staying right next to the madness.
Some cursory research by myself and my Cycling Weekly colleague Chris Marshall-Bell had established that there were some fellow cricket fans on the staff of EF Education-EasyPost.
Up stepped their English DSes Tom Southam and Charlie Wegelius, along with South African mechanic JJ, to face a motley crew consisting of CW and CyclingTips journalists, along with Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s press officer, Phil Lowe. JJ, Southam and Lowe all impressed, as did Marshall-Bell, but it wasn’t really about the half-noted score. It was a moment of release in the heat of the biggest bike race in the world, and a chance to bamboozle the people of Carcassonne.
Cricket in Clermont-Ferrand next year, anyone?
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and feature writer – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
-
Bikes of the Atlas Mountain Race 2023: from comfort gravellers to speed weapons, here’s what caught our eye
Covering 1,300km / 800mi of Morocco’s gravel roads and mountain passes, the Atlas Mountain Race demands a tech-heavy approach for its 3+ days of bikepacking racing
By Stefan Abram • Published
-
British champion Cameron Mason hoping for rain at Cyclo-cross World Championships
British national champion says patience will be the key in what’s expected to be a fast race in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
CW Live: Romain Bardet to lead Team DSM at Tour de France; Mark Cavendish robbery accused 'learning to walk again'; Van der Poel reveals his road racing schedule & Extinction Rebellion plan to target Tour Down Under
All the need to know news in cycling today
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Denmark dreaming: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and the country's cycling resurgence
The FDJ rider and her male counterparts, from Jonas Vingegaard to Mads Pedersen, are at the top of the sport
By Adam Becket • Published
-
CW LIVE: Primož Roglič confirmed for Giro d'Italia 2023; Track rider hits 2,271 watts; NCL announces first two teams; Van Aert to ride cyclo-cross Worlds; Sram and Oakley team up with Jumbo-Visma; Rwanda unveils pump track: Evenepoel eyes Pogačar showdown
Join us as we round up the day's cycling news
By Tom Davidson • Last updated
-
'My suitcase is always a bit heavy': The professional cyclists who read on tour
Off the bike, there are some pros who turn pages to relax
By Adam Becket • Published
-
CW Live: Julian Alaphilippe to begin season with Faun-Ardèche Classic; Caleb Ewan confirmed for Milan-San Remo; autopsy confirms impact with truck killed Davide Rebellin; Remco Evenepoel to start 2023 at Vuelta a San Juan and UAE Tour dates confirmed
All the need to know news in cycling on 21 December
By Tom Thewlis • Last updated
-
Why does no one want to buy Tadej Pogačar's diamond-encrusted NFT shoe?
The online charity auction is yet to attract a bid
By Tom Davidson • Last updated
-
Tour de France Grand Départ looks set for Italy in 2024
2024 Tour also expected to finish outside Paris for first time due to clash with the Olympics
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Why a Green Party mayor brought 'polluting' Tour de France back to Bordeaux
Pierre Hurmic will see his city’s 13-year Tour de France drought end next year
By Tom Davidson • Last updated