A video surfaced this week that I can’t stop watching. It involves Tom Pidcock - the newly crowned cross-country mountain bike world champion - and a speedboat.
Let me set the scene for you. The Brit has just enjoyed an impressive World Championships in Glasgow. Yes, he chose to forgo the road events, but the strategy paid off, and he left Scotland with one gold and one bronze medal on flat bars.
Where did he go next? Well, according to his Instagram followers, the Greek island of Corfu. Here’s where the speedboat comes in.
Filmed from behind the steering wheel, Pidcock makes his way to the bow of the vessel, and looks back with a devilish grin. He then turns to face the deep blue, hands gripping the hull’s metal railing. Surely he’s not going to ju… Oh my, he jumped.
The boat powers on and skips across the sea’s surface, leaving Pidcock but a dot in its wake.
It’s not the video itself that I love. My favourite bit is the way, I presume, the Ineos Grenadiers directors reacted when they first saw it. Can you imagine the panic in the group chat? The boy jumps legs first. Not the money makers, Tom!
It also got me thinking about whether teams should carry out risk assessments for riders' holidays. A cursory Google search tells me that a person is “highly unlikely” to escape injury if they jump off a moving boat. I have no idea how fast Pidcock’s barque was going, but the dial shows ‘45’ (km/h?), which I assume is quite a lick.
Fortunately, the Ineos Grenadiers rider went unscathed. Or at least unscathed enough to publish on Instagram. “Work hard so you can play hard,” he captioned the post. More like work hard so you can frighten the life out of your bosses - am I right?
Elsewhere on social media this week, Juanpe López buys a swimming pool, Blanka Vas shows off her handling skills and Team GB’s Archie Atkinson dines in Nando's for the first time.
1. Skip across to the boat video, you won't be disappointed
2. We've all been there, Juanpe. I once came close to buying a cat basket and I don't even have a cat
Came in for fruit, left with a swimming pool 🤪…#LaVuelta23 essentials 🥵🔥 pic.twitter.com/ej8T1c1vk1August 24, 2023
3. No pots of gold in this picture, but Mathieu van der Poel's white shorts are certainly to be treasured
Champions together shining in their rainbow stripes 🌈Not a bad amount of world titles together all disciplines combined 🤩 #sdworx #alpecindeceuninck #wesparksuccess pic.twitter.com/zXLoxUbLiTAugust 20, 2023
4. A reminder to all fans to please keep your deer on a leash
5. There are two ways to tell when a Grand Tour is coming up. Either you look at the calendar, or you wait to see when Sa Thomas picks up the scissors
6. Riders at the Tour de l'Avenir have been sleeping in what appears to be rice paper. I've seen better quality bedding in haunted house documentaries
l’avenir verwent ons wel pic.twitter.com/gdVnQc2fs4August 21, 2023
7. Chapeau, Blanka Vas. The rest of us mortals would either end up face down in the grass, or with a mouthful of gravel
8. You are Kenough, Fred Wright
My headphones: https://t.co/EsUPfGA3Kj pic.twitter.com/4qSISHrN7dAugust 24, 2023
9. When Zoe Bäckstedt tells you to eat, you eat
She was like, Krista, I told you, more snacky snacks. Kidding, @Backstedt_Zoe said 👏👏 to me finishing my array of gels pic.twitter.com/teqUMilrL1August 24, 2023
10. Archie Atkinson was promised Nando's if he won a world title in Glasgow. He got his prize, and a rainbow jersey
Update: he got his Nando's! 🤩Big thank you to @NandosUK for inviting Archie & his teammates to celebrate their unbelievable @CyclingWorlds with them ❤️#BritishCycling | @ArchieA46240385 https://t.co/DXwVQy3hn2 pic.twitter.com/ERcesUPncSAugust 21, 2023
11. Wondering why Tadej Pogačar isn't at the Vuelta a España? It's because he's about to drop the hottest album of the summer
Tadej's debut album looks fire 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/X6n4JyyL8E pic.twitter.com/pBhTlpvUZSAugust 21, 2023
12. It's amazing to see so many people riding to this festival in London, but good luck finding your bike afterwards
We're winning. https://t.co/8onUorRNwgAugust 21, 2023
13. Here's a fun fix for when you forget to bring a spare inner tube
Front wheel flat tire? No problem for Madis Mihkels 😆 pic.twitter.com/GWY9mo0s3LAugust 22, 2023
14. Yes, we've all forgotten an inner tube before, but have you ever forgotten your right shoe?
