You know that Belgian bike race which produces those stupid sexist, crude posters to advertise itself? Well, yes, it has done it again. It's 2024, and the E3 Saxo Classic is still being deliberately horrible to promote itself.
The less said about it the better, as it took all the oxygen it needed last week, and the homophobic cartoon post has now been deleted and apologised for, but it does seem insane that this kind of thing is still happening. That's not the point though, they know they're offensive - 2011 and 2014's objectified women, and 2015's was even worse, with some casual sexual assault thrown in. The point is to court controversy.
It's the same tactic as those comedians who say awful things and then state "you can't say anything these days". Punching down is not funny.
Anyway, that's enough of a lecture for one week, it just felt silly to avoid the social media storm of the week in a roundup that's ostensibly the biggest things that happened on social media.
Let's move onto the more trivial. This week, Geraint Thomas announced that he's going to ride the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this year, a move designed solely to make my Welsh friend Rich happy, I think. That wasn't the biggest thing that happened to him, though, as he got his regular haircut from his wife, on the Welsh version of Valentine's Day. Who said romance was dead?
Elsewhere, it was Bora-Hansgrohe rider Luis-Joe Lührs' 21st birthday, and the German celebrated how everyone does, with a birthday... pizza. It makes sense in Bavaria, I'm sure.
Also, everyone fortunate enough to be in Australia is still having a lovely time Down Under, Zoe Backstëdt is exciting about her new helmet, and the nascent Sam Bewley/Daryl Impey double act shows no sign of slowing down. Enjoy.
1. I hate it I hate it I hate it. The E3 Saxo Classic is such a good race, why is it run by idiots?
2. Oscar Onley, fresh from winning atop Willunga Hill, had to sort his own rucksack out. Some things don't change
3. It's nice, in a way, that even the best crash like the rest of us. That's what Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock found out in Benidorm last week
4. It's always fun when pro cyclists show that they have skills outside of cycling. I'm not sure a song about GCN+ is the one though, sorry to Q36.5's Cyrus Monk. It was an app, not a long-term relationship. The song is catchy though, I'll give him that. How much time do you reckon this took? Three hours?
5. Nothing more romantic than having your haircut. Maybe.
6. Speaking of Geraint Thomas, I'm delighted he's continued his "tired old man" schtick and is currently trying to convince Tadej Pogačar - 12 years his junior - to not ride the Giro
7. Candles on a pizza make me feel so weird. Who commissioned this photoshoot? Why? Why does he still have his race mitts on?
8. A fun guessing game! With no context, I'm going to guess that he was sprinting at 10km/h.
9. Sam Bewley and Daryl Impey were just living their best lives Down Under, weren't they.
10. Happy birthday Henrietta Christie! Here's a crocodile to celebrate! At least it's not a pizza with candles in it.
11. Wheelie, wheelie good stuff.
12. I thought I'd seen it all, but not sure I expected to see Pieter Serry coming face to face with kangaroos while out on the bike
13. The ultimate honour for Zoe Backstëdt, a helmet sponsored by an energy drink company. It's actually a big deal, so congrats to the best thing to come out of Wales since... I dunno actually, Simon Jones?
14. There weren't many riders at the Tour Down Under who seemed to be having as great a time as Matilda Raynolds. What a rider
15. Another Australian having fun Down Under was Chloe Hosking, who rather stood out in zebra print during the Down Under Classic
16. Finally, Pavel Sivakov looks happy at UAE Team Emirates, that's all well and good. But imagine going out on a training ride with Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel. I think I'd give up straight away
