Tweets of the year: GC Sepp Kuss, AI Jonas Vingegaard, and Alison Jackson excellence
Tadej Pogačar and Thomas De Gendt remain social media kings, while Thibaut Pinot did some stirring and Tour de Tietema ruled the Tour of Britain
As 2023 winds down at last, and time inexorably marches on, we thought we would look back at the best social media posts of 2024, rather than just of this week. Most parts of the cycling world - apart from cyclo-cross, obviously - have had this last week off, so spectacular tweets are rather thin on the ground. Instead, here are some of the funniest, intriguing, and entertaining tweets and Instagram posts from cycling this year.
There are things I had forgotten even happened, like Filippo Ganna, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel sharing a two-seat sofa at Milan-Sanremo for some strange reason, and the AI version of Jonas Vingegaard which Jumbo-Visma produced to announce his contract extension. It feels like it's from a different year.
There are also moments that very much do still loom large in my mind, like the whole mania over GC Sepp Kuss and his Vuelta a España tilt, and coo-mania at the World Championships in August. Take a trip down memory lane with some of the best of social media from 2023. Have a good new year!
1. Who remembers the tiny couch for the podium at Milan-Sanremo? An absolute classic, and we will simply never know if or what the three talked about. Iconic.
Captions please pic.twitter.com/yqnhoLe3zLMarch 18, 2023
2. Geraint Thomas coined a nickname for Remco Evenepoel: "little bastard". The Belgian seemed to not mind it, though
Ahhh @EvenepoelRemco, we meet again 👀🤣 #littlebastard pic.twitter.com/p0HxjSsVV4March 20, 2023
3. The creepiest thing we saw all year was AI Jonas Vingegaard when Jumbo-Visma announced the Dane was getting a new contract. Not because Vingegaard is creepy, but the AI Macaulay Culkin-y video that Jumbo made for him made my skin crawl
A little boy can dream. Because dreams are forever. 🌟What a touch of AI can do. 🥹#Jonas2027 #rideyourdreams 💭 pic.twitter.com/620MJXa1WaApril 18, 2023
4. Alison Jackson kept up her one-woman mission to bring joy to the world of pro cycling through the mediums of song, dance, and TikToks. This particular Instragram Reel came after her historic victory at Paris-Roubaix in the spring, and her delight at winning proved that cycling does not have to be cold and emotionless
A post shared by Alison Jackson (@aliactionjackson)
A photo posted by on
5. Thomas De Gendt is one of the best posters in the men's peloton, but we thought we'd pick out one particular highlight, when he tried to ape Tadej Pogačar. Sadly, it did not bring 17 wins for the Belgian
Channeling my inner Pogacar. Let the hairodynamics do the work. pic.twitter.com/9pLHIttHI8April 16, 2023
6. One of the standout riders of the Giro d'Italia was Charlie Quarterman, who not only was in a breakaway seemingly every day, but did his best to keep people entertained on Twitter too. Sadly, he has now retired, but he'll always have the Giro.
Maybe shortening the stage because of the rain and cold but waiting for a decision. Reminds me of when there was maybe enough snow to cancel school but not loads, sitting next to the radio waiting for the verdict…but this time I revised for the test, don’t mind a wet day out😅May 16, 2023
7. Also at the Giro, Thibaut Pinot decided to be a bit snide for fun. This post created some online beef between Jonathan Vaughters and Lance Armstrong, too, which was briefly diverting
Who are you ?May 21, 2023
8. As well as arguably being the best cyclist in the world, Tadej Pogačar is also a fantastic user of social media, as proved by this collaboration with Urska Zigart, his partner. He's fun!
A post shared by Urška Žigart (@urskazigart)
A photo posted by on
9. In August, the world of cycling descended on Glasgow and Scotland, more broadly. It was a lot of fun, but my personal highlight was Michael Matthews taking a swig of Tennents lager. Sadly, it didn't help him in the road race, which he didn't finish
A post shared by Leon Cerrone (@leon_cerrone)
A photo posted by on
10. The World Championships also brought with it stuffed Highland Cows, or "coos", which were given out on the podium of all events. They were adorable, and here's Stefan Küng talking about his coo
A post shared by UCI (@uci_cycling)
A photo posted by on
11. In September, the Tour of Britain returned, and the Tour de Tietema lads had the time of their life, racking up breakaways and generally livening up the race. Their social media game was pretty good, too
Everytime we win a Combativity Award: pic.twitter.com/Qs2QXHuHzBSeptember 5, 2023
12. Then came the Vuelta a España, and the furore over Sepp Kuss's GC ambitions. The unassuming man from Durango went onto win the race, but not before his two Jumbo-Visma teammates seemed like they were racing him. The memes poured forth, and here are a couple of highlights
A post shared by Midweek Cycling Club (@midweekcycling)
A photo posted by on
A post shared by i_simp_alaphilippe (@i_simp_alaphilippe)
A photo posted by on
13. Lotte Kopecky is another candidate for best cyclist in the world, but she is also very entertaining, as you can see here - imagine how fast you could go on a beer bike tour if you had a world champion on board
Only in Belgium 🇧🇪🤩#wesparksuccess #LotteKopeckyFanday pic.twitter.com/PXpPu5My3ISeptember 30, 2023
14. Finally, a return to Pogačar as a festive treat. Merry Christmas, and a happy new year!
A post shared by Tadej Pogačar (@tadejpogacar)
A photo posted by on
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Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
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