First of all, I’d like to start this edition of Tweets of the Week with an apology.
Avid followers of the series, and fellow social media addicts, will have noticed that we failed to publish our usual round-up last week. This, of course, vastly undermines the ‘of the week’ part of the headline, and for that I am sorry.
In our defence though, the name of this series has had little integrity for a while now. Twitter hasn’t been called Twitter since last July, so ‘tweets’ have been old news for six months. We’ll update the name as soon as we can figure out something that rhymes with X.
Until then, and by way of apology, here is a bumper edition of the best posts from the last two weeks.
We’ve been blown away this week by the reaction to the news that Eurosport is closing down in the UK next month, and cycling is moving to the more expensive TNT Sports channel.
Like 100 Climbs author Simon Warren, who mourned Eurosport’s loss with a picture of a gravestone, I, too, will miss the channel – and not only because it’s going to make live cycling more than 300% dearer to watch.
No, believe it or not, I’m going to miss the snow sports. I used to complain to my friends that cycling – the best sport in the world – shared a TV channel with curling and ski jumping. But over time, I began to welcome the frost.
Often, I’d tune in 15 minutes early to the cycling coverage, just to catch a glimpse of the white glow. A competition in Planica? Don’t mind it I do. How about some slalom skiing? Absolutely. Biathlon, you say? Count me in.
I imagine these sports will also migrate to TNT, but it won’t be the same when the programming is diluted with rugby, football and boxing. Make cycling niche again, I say – if you'll excuse the Trumpian turn of phrase
Elsewhere on social media, Marianne Vos gets a post-race hose-down, Egan Bernal surprises some Colombian pubgoers, and Lachlan Morton sits on a throne of oat milk.
1. RIP Eurosport UK, you and your glorious snow sports will be missed
2. "You've got to believe me, I was just sat there enjoying my beer, and Egan Bernal clip clopped in. I swear it's true!"
3. At cyclo-cross races, bikes and humans are treated as equals, so it's jet washers all round
4. Lachlan Morton's new throne puts the OAT in GOAT
5. The cycling season doesn't begin until we've seen helicopter shots of kangaroos at the Tour Down Under
🦘 Someone clearly deviated from their line… But for those who had a doubt, we are well and truly Down Under 🇦🇺📺 Stream the race now on 7plus:https://t.co/k2Exq3FDwlHealth Partners | @santosltd#TourDownUnder #CouchPeloton pic.twitter.com/JUqabS0DDNJanuary 22, 2025
6. Have you ever seen anything more Australian than Luke Plapp's shoes?
7. On the topic of shoes, I believe the top left is called a 'shoey'
8. I can't tell if this looks more like a toddler drinking milk, or a uni student necking shots. Either way, it's not the most flattering angle of Tim Merlier
Tim Merlier takes his ketones after today’s hectic #AlUlaTour stage. pic.twitter.com/MxBcgZxKSHJanuary 30, 2025
9. I present to you an 18-year-old Geraint Thomas
10. Who remembers the scooter guy from Opening Weekend last year? Well he's back, and now he's rightfully the poster star
‼️Eén man, één legende: onze hoofdsteward Rik Bossuyt! ‼️Dit jaar zetten we Rik in de spotlights als het gezicht van Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Dankzij Rik én onze vrijwilligers blijft #KBK uitblinken. Samen maken we de koers sterker, sneller en beter. 🙌❤️⁰⁰#KBK2025 pic.twitter.com/GMDUcDHlZyJanuary 23, 2025
11. Some say the most aero skinsuit you can wear is the one you were born in. Valtteri Bottas certainly agrees
12. And finally, I'll leave you with an existential conundrum that's been torturing me. Note here that Lucas Hamilton says his favourite food is "spag bog". It's definitely 'bol', right? Or have I been saying it wrong all these years?
