Tweets of the week: Geraint Thomas is still the king of dad jokes
Get your fix of the week's best cycling posts from social media
![Geraint Thomas with two instagram posts embedded on the image, one of him standing, and another of a mountain sunset with a joke written on it](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NBKxi37PvhPYR3DwSQ79f3-415-80.jpg)
There are disputes in cycling about when the season really begins. Some say it starts Down Under, with the Australian WorldTour events. Others argue it’s Opening Weekend, and the first taste of Belgian cobbles at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
For us at Cycling Weekly, though, the gun fires when Geraint Thomas makes his first dad joke.
That moment came this week, when, on a training camp with Ineos Grenadiers, the Welshman marvelled at Tenerife’s Teide National Park. He posted a silhouetted mountain skyline to his Instagram, set to a backdrop of purple and yellow hues.
No, he hasn't taken up photography. The picture was but an accompaniment to his first gag of the season.
“Stayed up all night to see where the sun went,” Thomas wrote. “Then it dawned on me.”
Social media users worldwide lifted their palms to their faces. The Welshman, a Tour de France winner and father of one, had done it again.
The joke sets Thomas up for another year of cycling success and one-liners, and follows on from a season where he delivered some of his greatest hits.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
At last year’s Giro d’Italia, while he was leading the race, Thomas called out to his Twitter followers. “Do you want to hear a dad joke?” He asked.
He then made his audience wait almost 24 hours, before returning to the mic. “Did you hear about the Italian chef with a terminal illness?” he wrote. “He pastaway. Cannoli do so much. Now he’s just a pizza history.”
The tweet garnered 3,000 likes, and the respect of Hollywood actor Ben Stiller, a known super-fan of the Welshman, who replied: “Not afraid to do edgy material. All the more reason to be a fan.”
The following month, Thomas’s gags continued, this time delivered to a team masseur. “I’ve got a great joke about construction,” he said during a leg rub-down, before delivering the kicker. “I’m still working on it.”
Keep them coming, G.
Also on social media this week, Tadej Pogačar goes riding with the UCI president, Alison Jackson cuts some shapes and Great Britain's cyclo-cross squad show off their winter fashion.
1. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the Hammersmith Apollo, Geraint Thomas
A post shared by Geraint Thomas (@geraintthomas86)
A photo posted by on
2. The Welshman's a professional bike rider, joke cracker and now, volcano hiker
A post shared by Geraint Thomas (@geraintthomas86)
A photo posted by on
3. Nothing to see here, just two mates out for a bike ride
Happy to ride with @TamauPogi in Abu Dhabi today. pic.twitter.com/Ztligk6JfvJanuary 25, 2024
4. Tadej Pogačar's cousin, Tadpole Frogačar, was in action at the AlUla Tour in Saudi Arabia
😂 We don't think we've ever seen a 👆 finger puppet in a bike race before! 🤔Polychronis Tzortzakis had some fun in the breakaway today at @thealulatour #AlUlaTour pic.twitter.com/NGkOf5t3kGFebruary 1, 2024
5. There must have been an offer on bobble hats
A post shared by British Cycling (@britishcycling)
A photo posted by on
6. You just don't see three-quarter-length trousers around these days. Bring them back, I say
Cool image of 12 years old Tadej Pogačar winning the Criterium Grand Prix race in Idrija, Slovenia. Winner from the beginning. 🇸🇮🏆📷: Klemen Petrič pic.twitter.com/ulMPlT15U0January 31, 2024
7. Here's Megan Jastrab, a young graduate of the 'Surf's Up Surfing School'
Clearly happy on the bike from a young age, join us in wishing @JastrabMegan a very happy 22nd birthday! 😊🎁 We hope you have a great day, Megan! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/rzcD2BxYlwJanuary 29, 2024
8. The secret behind track sprinting success, it turns out, is very heavily iced cake
A post shared by British Cycling (@britishcycling)
A photo posted by on
9. Abi Smith was forced to do some impromptu cyclo-cross over in Australia
A post shared by Abi Smith (@abijesmith)
A photo posted by on
10. I wonder if Georgia Baker's slick custom shoes are just as good for running
A post shared by Georgia Baker (@georgiabaker_)
A photo posted by on
11. Anyone fancy some minty fresh Bora-Hansgrohe kicks?
A post shared by BORA - hansgrohe (@borahansgrohe)
A photo posted by on
12. Alison Jackson has got her dancing shoes back on (not literally, she's only in socks)
A post shared by Alison Jackson (@aliactionjackson)
A photo posted by on
13. Road rash, one of cycling's cruelest injuries
Gonnaaaa be a good and long night 🤣#AlUlaTour pic.twitter.com/6IArftSyq9February 1, 2024
14. I once broke a collarbone in a nasty bike crash. Fortunately, it wasn't mine. (How's that for a dad joke, Geraint?)
Life’s a game of snakes and ladders ⚖️Finishing a cool month in 🇦🇺 with my 3rd broken collarbone 🙃 pic.twitter.com/bpafRD8JNNJanuary 28, 2024
Thank you for reading 20 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
Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is the host of The TT Podcast, which covers both the men's and women's pelotons and has featured a number of prominent British riders.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides.
He's also fluent in French and Spanish and holds a master's degree in International Journalism.
-
Star triathlete Taylor Knibb to take on world's fastest cyclists in the Olympic time trial
Colorado-based 26-year-old Taylor Knibb will be representing Team USA in both the individual time trial and triathlon at the Paris Olympics.
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
Ellen van Dijk 'can't unclip from pedals' after breaking ankle, but will still race Olympic time trial
'Walking is more difficult than cycling,' said Dutchwoman who fractured ankle six weeks ago
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Rest day Tweets: Matteo Jorgenson loses track of time and Luis Figo catches the Tour de France at the roadside
Here's the best Tour flavoured content we've spotted in the world of cycling social media over the last week
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tweets of the week: Visma-Lease a Bike unveil new kit, Chris Froome dabbles in acting, and dogs take over
Italian Renaissance tribute or bus seat pattern? Social media has its say on Visma-Lease a Bike's new colours
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tweets of the week: Thibaut Pinot throws croissants in a lake, Lizzie Deignan gets an MBE, and Yves Lampaert builds a tractor
Here's your weekly round-up of the best of social media
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tweets of the week: Cyclists go to the football, and footballers take up cycling
Also, SD Worx-Protime fight over a Garmin, Magnus Cort reviews hotel rooms in yellow, and Patrick Lefevere has some self-awarenesss
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tweets of the week: Grandpa Geraint Thomas, a fox at the Giro d'Italia, and the greatest camera shot ever
As the dust settles on the Giro d'Italia, it's the Tour of Norway that grabs our attention
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tweets of the week: Socks and sandals, pizza, lasagna and Giro d’Italia snowmen
All the goings on from the world of cycling social media
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tweets of the week: Patrick Lefevere hands out the bidons, pink sunglasses, and the kids are alright
All the action from cycling social media in the last 7 days
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tweets of the week: Geraint Thomas's super-fan reappears, and Ellen van Dijk sees the funny side of crashing
Ben Stiller the cycling fan returns. Ben Stiller!
By Adam Becket Published