Hi! Welcome!
Similar to last week’s edition this week we’ll only get to enjoy seven day’s worth of social media together, but I think this version is bigger and better than last time! I thought perhaps I pull this together a bit earlier, but there was just so much to work with this was the earliest I could manage. There are some themes that are beginning to emerge, although sadly rider’s moms don’t really feature this week, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for your mommy fix, at least until the next edition. But there are still plenty of doggies and plenty of love so look forward to those as we begin our journey through the past week in the lives of the pro peloton as told through their social media posts..
Wout Van Aert’s Recovery
The past few weeks we’ve seen Froome, Mezgec, Pozzovivo, and others recover from injury and while many of these riders have demonstrated their health and then moved on to other aspects of their lives Wout Van Aert has decided to document every single step of his recovery. From planks to walking on a treadmill he’s really giving us the blow-by-blow. Finally he recently leveled up with some pretty big strides on the treadmill! Forza Wout, you’re almost there!
The King
The Giro de Rigo is coming up soon and thus many pro riders are visiting Rigoberto Uran for promotional reasons including Sergio Henao, Daniel Martinez, and Sergio Higuita who needed a police escort as he entered the house while being filmed by Rigoberto who was just chilling on the couch. He really is the coolest. Oh, and regarding the Giro de Rigo, or I guess Colombia in general, it might be best for Vincenzo Nibali to keep his distance if he knows what’s good for him.
Vacations!
Alex Dowsett went on vacation in the West Indies, apparently staying on a rather large yacht.. I thought pro cyclists didn’t earn high salaries. :thinking: He also went snorkeling and saw a shark. Even if they get paid more than I expected, don’t forget that cyclists are just like you and me, they too can have bad luck with flight connections (I couldn’t find his complaints to Quantas on social media, but I did find Daryl Impey’s complaints to his mobile phone service provider. Yes, different, but.. Kind of the same.)
Riders don’t just have trouble with flights and phones but their partners can experience the same issues we do at Starbucks, or even the riders themselves! Who is Megan Bernal anyway?
Fabio Felline’s doggo seemed to be longing for some vacation time. Or maybe he was just jealous of Fabio’s snorkeling adventures and otherwise relaxing time in the tropics.
Nicholas Roche was giving Rigoberto Uran a good run for coolest pro cyclist this past week, but... I think he has to do a little more to unseat the king. He’s not giving up his throne without a fight, training both strength and lung capacity.
Noemi Ferré and Sepp Kuss played pick up sticks, drew on bar walls, and walked around while on vacation.. Maybe I’ve discovered another cycling couple!
Wout Poels asks us #whereiswout but unless he’s just sharing a red herring I think it’s pretty obvious he’s in Mauritius.
Letizia Paternoster and her track teammates were also on a wonderful beach vacation, or so they wished. At least Letizia was trying to bring the beach vibes as she modeled these Nike sandals.
Giovanni Lonardi was on a weeklong beach vacation with some mates in the Dominican Republic and there was just too much to talk about so here is a bulleted list: They relaxed. Gregorio Ferri apparently went as someone with abs for Halloween. Gregorio also was… stretching out on the balcony. Someone caught the sun. Giovanni struck a very artistic pose. But then interrupted his friend’s attempt to do the same. They went to a foam party and jumped right in.
After we saw Marta Bastianelli impressed by some beastly tortoises a few weeks ago I guess Bob Jungels just had to go on vacation to see them for himself. Who knows, maybe he reads SSMSE.. Hi Bob! Hang on to those drinks!
Dylan Groenewegen spent the week on a tropical vacation mostly just relaxing but also getting up to some more active fun out on the water and maybe even in the bedroom later last night, although I don’t have proof of any “activities”, I’m only speculating.
Simone Velasco visited Cuba which looks like fun.
Tadej Pogačar was also away on vacation, with Urška Žigart.. Another cycling couple??? I should really work for TMZ or something.
Phil Bauhaus was somewhere a bit more tropical but I don’t know much more than that. (Please excuse the screenshot quality. Sadly there wasn’t so much to this one, so I didn’t find it interesting enough to go back for a better one.)
Mavi Garcia was also in a beautiful tropical location this past week practicing her martial arts.
And Steven Kruijswijk also put in some time at the beach, probably fleeing the first snowfalls out of pure fear.
Tao Geoghegan Hart and Hannah Barnes met up with George Hincapie during an American vacation.
In addition to his iconic beach pictures Nicholas Roche was part of the NBA attendance crew this past week along with Floortje Mackaij and Dylan Van Baarle, even if they were on the other side of the country with Coryn Rivera and Nate Labecki (I’m not sure if they count as another cycling couple considering he hasn’t ridden professionally since 2012).
Poor Chris Froome, everyone else was on the beach or some tropical locale or visiting friends and watching NBA but he was… visiting Wall Street. He did share some classic nighttime traffic from Times Square, as Onur Balkan did in Turkey (although sadly the geotag is covered up in my screenshot).
Dylan Van Baarle and Floortje Mackaij’s vacation finally came to an end and as they returned to home sweet home.
And while connecting through the States on his way home Alex Dowsett reminded us all that they really love Halloween over there which brings me to…..
A bunch of international professional cyclists celebrating Halloween around the world!
Robert Gesink went with what might be the most Day of the Dead-themed of costumes of this whole section. Good for him to resist the pressure to go as a sexy nurse.
Nairo Quintana played contractor earlier this week, and looked huge doing it, but for Halloween he appears to have… gone as a goblin to a mall? Weird choice.
Chloe Hosking went on a costumed ride without much of a costume but got her act together later to go as… an Australian?
Sam Bennett dressed up with his partner (maybe?) in a couples Mr & Mrs Smith costume and they pulled it off rather well! He also went shopping and some other festive tolks. But later he went bobbing for apples and for some reason needed to show off his tan lines over the course of the night.. Weird party.
Barbara Guarischi partied with Davide Villella, Dario Cataldo, and Sofia Bertizzolo who was getting a bit fresh even at the start of the evening.. I don’t have any evidence of what happened next.
I can’t tell if Pauline Ferrand Prevot was dressed up but she was certainly with two scary characters, even if I’d be a bit more creeped out by the lurker, all alone in all orange in the background.
I don’t know what he was wearing (although someone else did go with this scary costume, but Mike Woods was certainly up to some creepy activities on Halloween. That “funhouse” might want to look into a bit of rebranding..
I’m also not so sure what Sergio Higuita’s costume was. But that looks like a pretty serious knife Laura is sporting..
And, the last in this short interlude of uncertainty, I’m also not so sure if this is a costume or if Mauro Finetto and Alessandro Fedeli just like wearing lipstick in dark alleys. I think it is probably a costume.
Tao Geoghegan Hart went as a generic olde tyme person with Hannah Barnes and Alexis Ryan. Apparently they all decided to celebrate in America, which makes sense given what Alex Dowsett told us about how seriously they take the holiday.
But the most American of this section is certainly the reigning US champ Alex Howes, who went with his partner and pup as hallowweenies, and found an octopup out who really didn’t look that enthused (not that Alex’s buddy looked to be enjoying it any more than the other doggo).
2020 Races and Offseason Training
Iván Garcia Cortina seemed upset at the loss of the California races from the 2020 calendar, as did Toms Skujiņš, Coryn Rivera, Leah Kirchmann, George Bennett, and probably many more. And oddly, the new addition of a race in Saudi Arabia to the calendar didn’t seem to ease George’s pain. Niki Terpstra also had some opinions on the race calendar moving forward, suggesting to perhaps… move it forward.
This past week we also saw the route announcement of the Tour of the Alps and some pro riders were in attendance. Elena Pirrone nailed a promotional post on Instagram but what happened to the post on twitter? Why did she link the old race account (which is now suspended fwiw)? Or if it was an automatic repost from Insta, why did it try to link the old account? Robots man…
Puck Moonen claimed to be taking some pictures for Instagram while out on a group ride, but these were the closest I saw throughout the week… she lied (or I just missed them, which is unlikely)!
Maybe Bora decided to hang on to the more dedicated sprinter for 2020 because it seems as if while Sam Bennett was out partying Pascal Ackermann was training even if it was a bit of an alternative approach. Or at least they picked the more willing corporate shill.
Michal Kwiatkowski seems less than impressed with his new training partner this week, Łukasz Owsian. If Froome would just come back from his corporate robot obligations and ride with poor Michal, things would be better.
Nathan Haas went on a forest ride and they caught a few itchy bits. I just hope they don’t leave a rash.
Do you think Trek cycling is looking forward to 2020 and another year of turning #data into doing with @splunk? Or am I getting the wrong idea?
Family
Primoz Roglic took his mini human on an autumnal walk while Robert Gesink was happier to keep track of his mini me indoors. Someday both those minis will be 30 and eating breakfast like this, but for now they’re eating whatever their parents give them.
Bigtime congratulations go out to Sacha Modolo and his wife Valentina, for bringing their very own mini human into the world this past week!! As I pointed out one of these past weeks he may have been a little bit distracted this past season, and justifiably so. He’s certainly showing that he’s a loving father, big love to him and his family as they get to spend time together this offseason!
Was Rohan Dennis doing a bit of subtle marketing or is his dog really just the coolest? And I might question whether it is really a great idea to refer to your child as having gone full idiot box regardless of whether you include yourself in that category. The kids are so innocent! They have time to learn to resist television!
Similarly, is Chris Froome suggesting that his child had a horrific cycling accident caught on video which he shared to the world? To be fair, there likely wasn’t much room to pass between that open door and the net, what did Chris expect would happen?? I wish you a speedy recovery mini human!
We can love or hate Mark Cavendish all we want for his exploits, or lack thereof, on the road but he sure seems like loving, doting father with a pretty cool kid. Wait.. is that another subtle piece of marketing for Oakley??
Obligatory pictures of Demi Vollering’s dogs from this week, even if they’re theives they’re still cute! But this is not a dog, unless it is a really big dog.
In fact, that last one looks a bit more similar to Niccolo Bonifazio’s brother, depending a bit on which one of the asses he is.
In addition to fulfilling his daughter’s wishes for more pumpkins, Niki Terpstra was already out training for next season’s cobbled classics but he should keep both hands on the handlebars for his own safety.. Nobody wants to end up like Froomey’s son!
And he wasn’t the only one getting in the spirit of autumn as Anna Plitchta also brought home a big ol’ pumpkin!
Puck Moonen did share some inquisitive doggos this week, even though I’m still not sure what she was grammin’ on that ride.
Love
Dylan Teuns proposed on Planche des Belles Filles and she said yes! Do you think he’d pick 29 October over 11 July as “best day of the year”? I sure hope so!
Marco Canola saw a bear at Naturlandia. Two in fact. While there he also thought of his past and future teammate Damiano Cima, who happened to have gotten married this past week! Awwwwww… Damiano seems to have gotten Davide Martinelli pretty good while opening the bubbly! Bastardo.
Imerio Cima was looking like a boss (although as usual, he was outdone by Rigo). And you may notice his new team even wished him a happy birthday...now you might think this was a mistake, as he was likely dressed up for his brother’s wedding the day he posted that, BUT his birthday was this past week so Gazprom weren’t totally wrong.
Damiano wasn’t the only cyclist getting married this past week as Lotta Lepisto and Joonas Henttala tied the knot (how many cycling couples are there???) and then promptly cycled away! The best part about their wedding? Lotta’s McDonald’s wedding day lunch! Gotta save for the honeymoon somehow!
Ok, I’m getting a bit sick of the love between Elena Cecchini and Elia Viviani at this point. It’s just a bit much friends. Get a room!
An update from last week: I was initially concerned that Davide Cimolai would have another week of loneliness without sharing any human companionship and eating alone but he found some friends! On Halloween he got dressed up in appropriate “scary” clothing and went out with some friends for dinner and some fun and apparently also caught a show :eyes: . But it wasn’t just one night, he also shared this meal with a friend.. Unless he was just double glassing.
Diego Ulissi and Valerio Conti, another couple?? Probably not, but I’m not exactly sure what’s going on in that picture.
Odds & Ends
Simon… you’re a week too late with golf posts, we’ve moved on to full on vacation and halloween mode now. Shake my head my head.
An Androni masseuse must have seen an opportunity while Fausto Masnada is away in Innsbruck (with pup in tow! and Mattia Cattaneo was out to celebrate Halloween as he (with others) went to steal their koms around Bergamo, although Cattaneo is somewhat skeptical they’ll be able to and is waiting for further news.
Michael Matthews seems upset at… something? Did someone steal his bike or just knock over a pole? I’m not really sure what is happening here (it wasn’t a video so you’re seeing what I saw, except in the Instagram story the kangaroo was punching the air, which was kind of cute). He should probably just look back at his idyllic time in Portofino to remember the better times.
Egan Bernal appears to have treated himself to a new car, which is apparently “basic”, although it isn’t a BMW so I’m not sure what he’s on about. What else could we expect from someone who body shames ex-cyclists. Typical Megan.
Trek announced new uniforms with Lizzie Deignan and Giulio Ciccone in attendance and afterwards Lizzie had to pay for the pleasure of riding home next to the loo while Giulio had to.. What? Have dinner with Zlatan Ibrahimovic?? That doesn’t seem fair at all!
Chloe Dygert really thinks Gary Sutton is cool even if I might question his choice in footwear.
Safety first for Demi Vollering! To be honest, I’m almost surprised there isn’t a sly @oakley snuck in there somewhere. Watch out on the roads too Demi!
Gianluca Brambilla went on a gondola ride through Venice, which looks much more relaxing than when I’ve seen the canals packed in the summer months. I hate to spoil his fun but someone might want to tell him that’s not a Range Rover.
Who is this person riding in INEOS kit with Dylan??
Meanwhile Ylber Sefa appears to be really proud of his Candy Crush achievements! I didn’t even know anyone still played Candy Crush..
The Jumbo Visma riders seem to have amphibians (or lizards? Or both?) on the mind with both Primoz Roglic and Dylan Groenewegen sharing these creatures in their stories.
Meanwhile Roman Bardet’s best life appears to be cycling by a field of cows rather than the beach life the others in this run down have pursued. Maybe practicing magic in Japan just wasn’t his thing or Primoz Roglic’s either. Although it does seem like Roglic is taking cycling a bit too seriously, showing up in full kit for this recreational ride, there’s even a pensioner there! Emilia Fahlin is challenging Chris Froome for the most boring of off season activities while cleaning out her wardrobe. It might be interesting to see what’s in there but the actual act of cleaning it out? Zzzzz
I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of SSMSE! If you happen to have those tabloid or gossip column contacts please put me in touch. And keep sending in things you see for me to add to the next edition (thanks to u/BegoniaInBloom for some great tips from this past week!).
tl;dr - Here’s a “summary” that someone was actually paid to write.
Submitted November 02, 2019 at 05:01PM by fewfiet https://ift.tt/2JKXb3z
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