Eugene Oppelt

Froome not included in the Tour de France. The end of an era for the 4 time winner. I would imagine that Brandon McNulty of the USA will be included showing off the national jersey he just claimed. Wout will be wearing the Belgian tricolor speedsuit in the race against the clock. Remco crashed out after admitting that he "was taking risks" during the time trial. Top Ganna too in the Italian stripes having won the Italian national TT for the 4th time in 5 years. Geez! Kruijswijk out for the Dutch-based team in yellow. That is a sizeable loss in high mountain wattage for the team that placed all their GC hopes on a young man that used to work in a Danish fish market. Min slapies, cycling fans. Pic: SWPix.com

Northerly gusts

Lots of noise in the media about the team dynamics within the Groupama-FDJ team. Significantly, Pinot is slotted in more or less last-minute it appears. He will be doing his farewell tour and will be a very handy support to the French CG hope in Gaudu. Tadej heads back to Slovenia for his final race after time at altitude. Primoz definitely not making an appearance and says he is so "switched off" and cannot even think about the Tour of Spain at this point. Is it the Jumbo vs UAE drag race? Which other teams will make a powerful GC impression while doing the 'hiding in plain sight' while the spot light and camera obsesses over the two favourites? Min slapies.

RULE 9: If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period. Fair weather fighting is a luxury reserved for Sunday afternoons and wide boulevards. Those who ride in foul weather - be it cold, wet, or inordinately hot - are members of a special club of riders who, on the morning of a big ride, pull back the curtain to check the weather and, upon seeing rain falling from the skies, allow a wry smile to spread across the face. This is a rider who loves the work. 💋

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” - H.G. Wells

21 kms north of Durbanville

Meanwhile, With the recent death of Gino Mäder crashing at 97 km/h , the peloton resumes racing today after a day of mourning and honouring. Born in 1997, Mäder was also an activist in environmentalism. He was found motionless in a ravine and passed on in hospital overnight. Somehow Magnus Sheffield, who also crashed at the time, suffered concussion and soft tissue damage. The rainbow jersey has, as expected, made a comment on the descent of the Albula Pass, questioning safety standards. The safety standards of the Tour de France will likely have another round of due diligence and review. TdF favourite Vingegaard continues to build his form as he prepares for the 01 July. Also, looking forward to the future of cycling on the Mother Continent, such cool news:

Youth Day: One whose shoulders I stand, those courageous youth that resisted the apartheid state police. More than 500 were killed and 2000 wounded fighting for freedom. 😔

Pregnant clouds all around.💧

Meanwhile, no weight bearing yet for the GC leader with red hair. On the mend. I’m wondering about a Vuelta appearance for him. One day at a time. One session in the pool at a time. The high performance life has high highs and low lows with tons and tons of hard work without the crowds.

Out of office auto reply 💋

Who can forget that dramatic day, hey

BaboonLand

About the big budget 3 giants in the World Tour: JV: Some speculation around the media that Jumbo-Vlisma quietly aims to be the first team in history to win all 3 Grand Tours. Hence, Roglič going home after being away from home for nearly two months preparing for the Giro. Meanwhile. Vingegaard is running a 1x at the Dauphinè (at least for yesterday’s stage) UAE: Pogačar to race two days before the TdF and that is Slovenian Champs (road race and TT). Off to altitude camp now after big volume on the road wearing a wrist brace. IG: Bernal progressing steadily. Lots of race days. 30th thereabouts on GC at the Dauphinè. X Factor for the big French race. No other GC leaders in the stable there or is my Friday brain a bit slow? EDIT: How can I forget about Pidcock or is he on the mountain bike this summer? I wonder what his long term career arc in the GC arena is. Hmmm. Who can compete with the big 3? I think they’ve won 9 of the last 10 Grand Tours or something like that.

“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.” - Paulo Coelho

My demons do not like fresh air and me meeting the sunrise. 😈

Simone on Spes Bona Rd, Durbanville Hillz

That’ll warm me up, hey. 🫠 1022 watts for 11 seconds of sprinting for 66 kg Keegan Swenson to win after just over 10 hours of racing. He mentions on U-Toob that he recently completed a 49 hour training block over 8 days to build form. Laurens ten Dam had a normalised power of 306 watts over 10 hrs of racing (about 10 000 kJ’s burnt) with chasing back the leaders after repairing a puncture. Last year’s winner also struggled with a broken deraileur after 30 kms only. There were several current and former World Tour riders in the mix. The Lifetime Grand Prix Series is picking up nicely.

Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.

And to think it was National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the USA yesterday. 🫠

The biggest annual sporting event in the world. In a grid of sorts.

Golden hour, 07:36 AM 💋

Winter is officially open. ☕

“You are searching the world for treasure, but the real treasure is yourself.” ~ Rumi

38 = The oldest to ever win a stage at the Giro. Several years too since the win for the Kazakhstan-sponsored team. Would he have won without the assist of Geraint Thomas? Who cares. What a confidence-boosting stage win in Rome (surprisingly only the 4th time or something the Giro finishes there). I suspect that Roglič and Thomas will be crossing swords again at the Vuelta; maybe co-leadership again with Geoghegan who is calling himself “fatty” while recovering in hospital after quite lengthy surgery on his hip area (hmmm, as I am typing that I am not sure he will be ready in time; then again medical wonder and relative youth and the best of rehab?) What rider depth for Jumbo-Visma - losing 5 in the final week before the Giro, ending on 8, yet winning the maglia rosa. Meanwhile, 3 weeks and a bit before taper time for the Tour de France…