Spin Cycle is Escape Collective’s news digest, published every Monday and Friday. You can read it on this website (obviously) or click here to have it delivered straight to your inbox.
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Welcome back to Spin Cycle,
It feels like we're slowly ramping up for Holy Week. And not just because a monk is in town over at the Volta a Catalunya.
Wout van Aert is limbering up by flying a helicopter, Richard Plugge is dusting off his vocal cords, we have a new most eloquent young man of the peloton, and Jim Ratcliffe is in a little bit of trouble once again.
Get to the chopper 🚁
In order to attend the unveiling of new/old Visma-Lease a Bike sponsor Rabobank in Utrecht last month and still make it back over to Belgium in time for training ahead of Opening Weekend, Wout van Aert didn't just travel by helicopter, but flew a helicopter.
As you can see, he actually took control of the terrifying airborne deathtrap.
“I am already flying to the Kempen [wetlands area on the Netherlands/Belgium border]”, he announced confidently mid-flight, having donned his sunglasses like all good pilots.
Things then took a turn for the worse: "You have to grab, you have to grab. I didn't know what to do anymore," he later said, obviously, because he doesn't actually know how to fly a helicopter.
If you think this is brave from our beloved Wout van Aert, he's heading back to Dwars door Vlaanderen next week.
A reply from ismilansanremoexcitingyet.com 😮
You may remember from Monday's newsletter that we pointed out one of cycling's best websites ismilansanremoexcitingyet.com failed to flick to yes when the women's race hit the Poggio.
We've since heard back from Matt, who turns out to be the lovely man who runs the website, with an explanation.
Did we do a good job with this story?
