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.
Hello!
Welcome back to Spin Cycle,
Today we have burning questions answered, micro-dramas erupting pre-Tour de France and cycling getting in its own way once again. In other words, your bread and butter edition of Spin Cycle (and what's better than a sumptuous piece of bread slathered in lovely, salted butter?)
We also celebrate/mourn the return of the June phenomenon that is the curse of the official Tour de France magazine guide. The Tour is almost here! Rejoice!
Mikk-tell it like it is 😡
Increasingly, everything coming out of the UAE Team Emirates camp speaks to the theory that if Tadej Pogačar isn't present, chaos erupts.
At the Tour de Suisse, following an opening stage that saw UAE team leader and race favourite João Almeida lose two minutes to some of his rivals as a move was allowed up the road, the second stage saw 20-year-old Jan Christen attack late-on in a move that ultimately came to nothing.
"A late attack from Jan Christen, were you surprised by that or did you know?" TV2's interviewer asked UAE's Mikkel Bjerg after the stage.
"No I was very surprised that he attacked but good to see he had good legs," Bjerg responded. "A bit sad he doesn't know how to help us but that's how it is."
Following the Juan Ayuso/Isaac del Toro Giro d'Italia leadership question and then fumbling of Del Toro's pink jersey at the last, maybe UAE Team Emirates getting in their own way is one small thing that could potentially stop, or at least slow, Tadej Pogačar at the upcoming Tour de France? On recent evidence, Pogačar operates as not just the team's star rider but also its most effective DS.
Maybe this is what naturally happens if you pack a super team full of super talents who all have the ability to win for themselves and when Pogačar isn't present it's not as crystal clear who the strongest rider is. We appreciate Bjerg giving us some insight into at least a whiff of simmering tension within the team's most monied squad.
The Midas touch until the mountains 🏔️
"What happened to Remco's gold helmet? Did he break it when he fell," asked PinchFlat_Calif after Monday's newsletter. "He was wearing a regular white helmet for the last 2-3 stages."
A very good question, and after closer inspection the double Olympic champion had also swapped out his gold bike too, but why?
Did we do a good job with this story?
