This past week will go down in history as the one that gave rise to the greatest camera shot ever taken at a bike race.
The video came at the Tour of Norway, a four-day ProTour event, won by Alpecin-Deceuninck's Axel Laurance. I'll be honest, I didn't watch any of the race. You probably didn't, either. But one 17-second clip put it right at the front of my mind.
On stage three, at some point between the towns of Sola and Egersund, a cameraman from TDT-Unibet's media team embedded himself among a herd of cows, far away from the roadside. At first glance, it seems a terrible vantage point. Cows are kind, but terrifyingly large creatures, they generally come with a pong of manure, and, crucially, they'll only block the shot. What ended up happening was the opposite.
The video, captured from a stationary camera, presents one cow, cartoonishly white with black splodges, standing right of centre and staring back down the lens. Behind, in a thin line across the middle of the shot, the front of the race peloton barrels past in single file. A lone fan can be seen at the roadside, waving a Norwegian flag.
The composition is perfect enough, but the best moment comes towards the end of the clip when, after 10 seconds, the cow realises the commotion behind her and swings her head nonchalantly over her right shoulder. Spotting the last of the passing riders, she then tracks them off into the horizon.
For me, the clip shows a beautifully serene side to bike racing. Some of my favourite camera shots have been at the sport's biggest events – like Thibaut Pinot riding through the masses at last year's Tour de France, or Tom Pidcock descending the Col du Galibier in 2022. Both scenes, in my mind at least, have now been outdone by a Norwegian cow.
Elsewhere in this week's social media round-up, we pick up the final gems of content from the Giro d’Italia, including a bizarre taxidermy fox encounter and Geraint Thomas’s meme-making skills. Likewise, Valentin Madouas gets a mullet, and there are cameos from F1 and tennis stars.
1. Viewed over 860,000 times, this is the most famous cow in cycling
🐄 The shot: https://t.co/GEvGTHXoB9 pic.twitter.com/aKuuY4huquMay 25, 2024
2. What the fox?
First of all, #respecttheriders and don't touch them. Second of all, what the f-#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/IMOZDHsdiBMay 25, 2024
3. Fun fact: Geraint Thomas is the oldest podium finisher at the Giro d'Italia since... Geraint Thomas last year (scroll to the last pic in the gallery for the meme)
4. Thomas told the press he's done with GC racing now, but his son Macs is only just getting started
List of current active Welsh Grand Tour podiums;🏴 Geraint Thomas - 5🏴 Macs Thomas - 3 pic.twitter.com/wgoRW64XL2May 27, 2024
5. Cheers to you, G. Moretti's a much better choice than Peroni, too
6. It's always nice when two cycling legends take time to pose with fans
7. It looks like F1's Charles Leclerc has caught the cycling bug. Add him to the list with Valtteri Bottas, George Russell and Carlos Sainz
Charles Leclerc casually cycling home after winning the Monaco Grand Prix 😂 pic.twitter.com/dWE08HF8NvMay 27, 2024
8. Here's Laurence Pithie, Groupama-FDJ's promising Classics star, and surprisingly accomplished barber
9. You don't need to be fluent in emoji to understand what Luke Plapp went through
🇮🇹 #GirodItaliaThankfully Plappy is wearing black shorts today 💩😆May 24, 2024
10. Forget pasta and rice, real champions ride on tikka masala
All set for @RideLondon Well, after a curry I will be#foodofchampions pic.twitter.com/Mc9kQMxFYCMay 25, 2024
11. Likewise, potatoes are proper race fuel. Here's ambassador Toms Skujiņš eating them how they were made to be eaten – on the floor of a hotel
Boil em, mash em, fry em, est em!Do what you want with the humble potato, but just remember to have some extras today on the #internationalpotatoday pic.twitter.com/gwvQMk4OECMay 30, 2024
12. As for post-race food, look no further than M&S
A birthday during @RideLondon calls for what we’re told is a traditional British birthday cake 🥰(And her Gluten Free cousin in the background) …But who is the birthday girl?#RideLondon pic.twitter.com/hf5TcFYfOaMay 26, 2024
13. Jan Ullrich, is that you?
💗 For those asking, no, T-Mobile is not back in the peloton. #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/BxAgz9UYjbMay 26, 2024
14. Fortunately, Jonathan Milan's handling is much better on the bike than it is spraying bottles of champagne
🍾 Who knew that the worst enemy of @MilanJonathan_ would be a bottle of Prosecco... #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/B0J26xzCwMMay 26, 2024
