Spin Cycle is Escape Collective’s news digest, published every Monday and Friday. You can read it on this website (obviously) or have it delivered straight to your inbox.
Spin Cycle
Enter your email address to get our unique spin on news from the world of cycling delivered directly to your inbox!
Get our unique spin on news from the world of cycling delivered directly to your inbox!
Hello!
Welcome back to Spin Cycle, Escape Collective’s news digest.
We’ve got a real smorgasbord on offer for you today. Jonas Vingegaard dropping some spice in the media, Mark Cavendish’s close call with some hot soup in Australia, and where would we be without a smidge of cyclocross?
Plus, stay until the end for something … scary.
Vinge-go on son 💪
Jonas Vingegaard has started 2025 with a bang after stating some other teams are misusing carbon monoxide inhalation.
“My team uses carbon monoxide to measure blood volume and total hemoglobin mass. We inhale the monoxide a first time, before carrying out an altitude training course,” Vingegaard told Le Monde at a recent training camp. “At the end of this, we repeat the operation to calculate our maximum oxygen absorption capacity.”
But then, against the advice of his press officer the French newspaper adds, he continued with this:
“Some teams are misusing its use by regularly inhaling low doses of carbon monoxide, which causes a significant gain in performance in their riders. This is not fair and the World Anti-Doping Agency should ban it.”
Go on Jonas, of the big cycling stars today he continues to be the most outspoken against any potential dodgy goings on in the sport. The UCI is currently seeking a ban on carbon monoxide inhalation for performance gains, and has requested WADA take a position on it.
Moreover, the accusation that other, unspecified teams are using carbon monoxide for performance gains is big. Up to this point, our Ronan’s reporting had merely pointed out its possibility, but Vingegaard is publicly stating that this is happening in the peloton. He hasn’t provided any further details, that would probably get him in trouble both legally and in the bunch. But good on Vingegaard for speaking his mind when often it’s easier to try and keep your head down and focus on yourself.
A new lease of life, and near-death experiences, for Mark Cavendish 🍲
A fantastic interview popped up over the weekend in Britain, where our pal Tom Cary of the Telegraph went to the Isle of Man to hang out with Mark Cavendish and see how he’s doing post-retirement.
Tidbits include how he’s planning to run the Paris marathon in April and aiming for a time of four and a half hours because his “knees are not really up to going any faster”, how proud he is of his brother for turning his life around after being jailed for importing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply, how on the Isle of Man you have to say hello to the fairies when you cross the Fairy Bridge (he does) and how he reckons he was two different people for much of his career.
“Who you are on the bike isn’t who you are as a person but people expect you to be that person. Do you see what I mean?” Cavendish says. “But I was a dickhead. That’s for sure. I can admit that now. I think that came from a place of no education about how to act when you are suddenly in the public eye. I was trying to live up to how people saw me.”
He also says that a rumoured job with Astana, having apparently helped them to secure the new sponsorship deal with bike manufacturer XDS at the end of 2024, went awry at the last moment and he ended up leaving the team instead. He very much sees his future in team management, though, so watch this space.
However, the old, combative Cavendish remains when broaching topics such as only being selected once for Great Britain after 2016: “That hurts because, I tell you, there are guys who don’t give a fuck. I represented that jersey with so much pride.”
Currently, Cavendish is out at the Tour Down Under, working as an ambassador the race. What a life, you may be thinking, but at least you (probably) haven’t recently nearly ended it all via a bowl of hot soup. What a humungous close-up photo of your own mouth to post on Instagram!
Feed Zone 🥖
🙏 A spectator at the Tour Down Under’s Villawood Classic remains in hospital with serious injuries following a high-speed crash (viewer discretion is advised) into the barriers just before the sprint finish that impacted a number of fans. The race was won by Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe’s Sam Welsford.
🍊 Israel-Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams will be present at Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. The Jerusalem Post has more.
💂♀️ Following Friday’s news that Ineos Grenadiers are looking for new sponsors, CEO John Allert has insisted to BBC Sport his team will remain in the sport but the wanted cash injection is in order to keep pace with other squads. This seems to suggest there is no extra budget forthcoming from Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe than what he already spends on the cycling team.
Cycling on TV 📺
Tuesday January 21st
Men’s Tour Down Under, Stage 1 (Monday evening for USA)
(19:30-00:30 ET/00:30-05:30 GMT/11:30-16:30 AEDT) 🇬🇧Eurosport/Discovery+, 🇺🇸Peacock, 🇨🇦FloBikes, 🇦🇺7plus/7mate
Wednesday January 22nd
Men’s Tour Down Under, Stage 2 (Tuesday evening for USA)
(19:30-23:30 ET/00:30-04:30 GMT/11:30-15:30 AEDT) 🇬🇧Eurosport/Discovery+, 🇺🇸Peacock, 🇨🇦FloBikes, 🇦🇺7plus/7mate
Thursday January 23rd
Men’s Tour Down Under, Stage 3 (Wednesday evening for USA)
(19:30-00:00 ET/00:30-05:00 GMT/11:30-16:00 AEDT) 🇬🇧Eurosport/Discovery+, 🇺🇸Peacock, 🇨🇦FloBikes, 🇦🇺7plus/7mate
Friday January 24th
Men’s Tour Down Under, Stage 4 (Thursday evening for USA)
(19:30-00:30 ET/00:30-05:30 GMT/11:30-16:30 AEDT) 🇬🇧Eurosport/Discovery+, 🇺🇸Peacock, 🇨🇦FloBikes, 🇦🇺7plus/7mate
🐇 Cyclocross of the week 🐇
Maybe running up stairs should be banned entirely from cyclocross and replaced by this?
And finally …
I am from an island where everything isn’t trying to kill you all the time so have no frame of reference. Is this real? Did Welsford get a Photoshop subscription for Christmas and has enlarged this creepy crawly? The Australian contingent of the Escape Collective crew was torn, so now I’m crowdsourcing the answer, although if it is real I think I’d rather not know …
🧺 Send us yer laundry pics
“Here is a photo from a reasonably priced London (but far from cheap, as it’s London) hotel’s laundry room,” writes Stuart Crooks, attaching today’s featured laundry photo. “I stayed back in March and took the pics specifically for Spin Cycle (has there ever been any other reason to?)”
As always, we are accepting your laundry photos (especially ones with the doors open so we can Photoshop riders inside the drum) to star in Spin Cycle. Either send them via the Discord or shoot me an email: jonny.long@escapecollective.com
Until next time …
That’s all folks! Thanks to Stuart Crooks for contributions to today’s edition, and a big thank you to all of you who have signed up as Escape Collective members. If you haven’t, there is no time like the present. To smooth the process just click this link here and hit the Join Today button in the top right of the page.
Every edition of Spin Cycle is available for free so please share it with your friends and help us enjoy limitless growth. You can give them this link to take them to our most recent edition.
And if you’ve been forwarded this email from someone else and want to receive it straight into your own inbox while it’s still hot, you can sign up by clicking the button.
Spin Cycle
Enter your email address to get our unique spin on news from the world of cycling delivered directly to your inbox!
Get our unique spin on news from the world of cycling delivered directly to your inbox!
Did we do a good job with this story?