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!
It is no longer a surprise that Ben Stiller is a cycling fan. In fact, the Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Night at the Museum etc star even shared a Cycling Weekly article last year. Still, it's fun when a Hollywood star gets involved in our little thing, and he is back, this time wishing Geraint Thomas luck at the Giro d'Italia.
It is unclear what got Stiller into cycling in the first place, but he has been a fan for decades, originally through Lance Armstrong (whatever happened to him?) and then latterly being into Thomas and Mark Cavendish. What his opinions are on the current promising crop of American riders, like Matteo Jorgenson and Brandon McNulty, is unclear, as is any love for women's cycling, but his public level of enthusiasm for Thomas is endearing.
Perhaps it's something to ask the Welshman - does it give you an extra bit of confidence in your abilities that the star of Dodgeball is a fan? It's not something Tadej Pogačar can claim, although maybe Jim Carey or Will Ferrell like him.
We will keep our eyes peeled on how Stiller's support goes throughout the Giro, and we really should talk to Thomas about it sometime.
That was not the only exciting thing in cycling social media this week, with everyone's favourite Instagram poster - and really good cyclist - Alison Jackson winning a stage of the Vuelta Femenina, which meant a whole load of dance content.
Elsewhere, Ellen van Dijk saw the funny side of quite a painful crash which took her out of that race, and teams have really got quite good at squad announcements. Plus, Biniam Girmay looking delighted at his new kit. It's all here!
1. Who had Jayco AlUla boss Brent Copeland quote tweeting Elon Musk on their bingo cards? Anyone?
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😂😂😂 https://t.co/iIueRRTFujApril 26, 2024
2. Absolutely delighted that is not only Visma-Lease a Bike who have to wear the crazy Giro TT helmets, and Zoe Bäckstedt even has one in Red Bull livery. Nice.
A post shared by Zoe Backstedt (@backstedt_zoe)
A photo posted by on
3. How many tins of alphabetti spaghetti did this take Lidl-Trek's social media team? Ghebreigzabhier is not a name that has ever been spelt out in pasts, I will wager. Maybe it was all AI anyway...
We've cooked up something tasty for #GirodItalia 😋🇮🇹 @giroditalia pic.twitter.com/g75UENEfMQApril 29, 2024
4. Ellen van Dijk had quite the brutal start to the Vuelta, which saw her crash quite spectacularly on the opening stage
A post shared by Ellen van Dijk (@emvandijk)
A photo posted by on
5. Still, at least she could see the funny side...
Left: Faas trying to roll overRight: me trying not to roll over pic.twitter.com/UUKj3Y9WnjMay 1, 2024
6. Alison Jackson won a stage at the Vuelta Femenina, so we all know what means - fun celebrations
When the whole squad pulls up to the finish line celebration 😂 >>> pic.twitter.com/ikSp1sUABJApril 29, 2024
7. EF Education-Cannondale won a second stage this week too, so the dancing didn't end
The dancing shoes are ON 🪩💃Kristen Faulkner finishes the day with a stage 4 victory and moves up to third in the general classification!Hear from Kristen on her win: https://t.co/xnzrwKnHcP📸: Anouk Flesch pic.twitter.com/URpRFa0cnSMay 1, 2024
8. Ah, a haircut. The telltale sign that Geraint Thomas is Grand Tour ready. Giro d'Italia, here he comes
A post shared by Geraint Thomas (@geraintthomas86)
A photo posted by on
9. The racoon meme that won't die. Lotto Dsnty know how to have fun
Getting in the race zone like 💃🎧 Stage 4 @LaVueltaFem pic.twitter.com/XY3e7lLFvCMay 1, 2024
10. The fastest track sprinter in the world, Harrie Lavreysen, knows how to wash his clothes. That's right, Ariel helps him "push boundaries"
A post shared by Harrie Lavreysen (@harrielavreysen)
A photo posted by on
11. I mean, can the Vuelta social media admin really complain when the race has gone through quite a few names in its short history?
🫸 ☝️POV: You’re talking about La Vuelta Femenina La afición cuando habla de #LaVueltaFemenina: pic.twitter.com/GEwIQCFRgpMay 1, 2024
12. This is adorable, but my favourite thing about this is that Adrien Petit is going to the Giro d'Italia by TRAIN. What an eco-friendly guy
The daughter of Adrien Petit says goodbye to her dad, on his way to the #Giro 😍🩷 pic.twitter.com/W09KJYWv8IMay 1, 2024
13. Talking of Intermarché-Wanty, how excited does Biniam Girmay look about his new kit? I'm going to say he is positively ecstatic
NEW KIT DAY 🩵💛Bini reveals our special kit for the #Giro honoring our partner 𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗜 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗜 😍🎥 @cyclingmedia_ag pic.twitter.com/9jC9UefujXMay 2, 2024
14. I don't particularly care for Taylor Swift, so maybe Connor Swift is my Swift? Has he ever dated Matty Healy? I doubt it, but it hasn't been denied
A post shared by INEOS Grenadiers (@ineosgrenadiers)
A photo posted by on
15. Poor Juan Pedro López, he just stood next to Daan Hoole, not realising that he would become a meme. Still, it's nice to be reminded that cycling is a sport for all heights, if not quite all body shapes.
📈 I've seen HC climbs less steep than the Lopez to Hoole pass... #Giro pic.twitter.com/5Yvd6NA0dTMay 2, 2024
16. And finally, a return of Ben Stiller the cycling fan. Keep it up Ben!
✊ Have a great #Giro https://t.co/fsXnN8zbStMay 2, 2024
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Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
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 riding bikes.
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