It was hot in the south of France on Thursday, possibly too hot. This was clear to anyone riding or watching the Tour de France as stage 12 was raced from Auch to Hautacam, with temperatures of over 34 degrees on the first proper climbing day of the year. Water was endlessly thrown over heads, bottles were emptied at an alarming rate, and every cooling technique was employed.
The heat, apparently, was the reason why Primož Roglič of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was wearing ankle socks on Thursday, a fashion choice which mildly set social media ablaze.
"It's hot, no?" Roglič joked when asked by Eurosport at the finish line why he had opted for socks which barely peaked above his shoes, a crime to some on two wheels.
Of the 171 riders who finished the gruelling day in the Pyrenees, Roglič was the only one not sporting socks which cover the ankle, which are almost all white. This was not an accident, a case of a man forgetting his socks, this was a deliberate decision. A deliberate decision to go against the style conventions not just of the professional peloton but the wider road cycling world. Ankle socks are for triathletes, remember.
Not that it matters what socks you wear, but for Roglič to do so halfway through the Tour does stand out. It's not something he has done before, it's an innovation for one of his biggest race days of the year.
My colleagues at Cyclingnews theorised that the decision was a tactical one, one reached after deciding that there were little aero gains to be had if normal socks were worn, with the cooling benefits more important. The team, after all, is the one with cycling science's Dan Bigham on board.
However, is it really as simple as the heat? This is not the first time that the Slovenian has appeared to be a little bit loose at this Tour, with the laissez-faire attitude he has displayed at this race prompting questions about his commitment. A day in which the 35-year-old randomly turns up in unusual socks only feeds into this narrative. Maybe it is a tactical thing, or maybe he just fancied wearing short socks.
At the finish line, he joked: "I work on my tan for the summer without the lines."
It was not the worst day for Roglič or for Red Bull, all things considered. While he finished ninth and therefore conceded buckets of time to Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), so did everyone else. He sits in seventh overall, and his young teammate Florian Lipowitz is in fourth now, close to the podium.
"I'm happy," Roglič said when asked how felt about Lipowitz forging up the road without him. "I'm really happy. And I hope, yes, he keeps the level, that we keep it up until the finish."
It was hot, and ultimately it doesn't matter which socks he wore on Thursday, but it doesn't do much to dispel the vibe that Roglič is not all in. However, Red Bull have two riders in the top 10, and he's the fastest Slovenian at the race not called Tadej Pogačar. Maybe the vibe is working.
