The Tour de France winner refused to participate in the Olympics partly because Slovenia snubbed his girlfriend

FSO:

“It’s not the main reason, but for sure it didn’t help. I think she deserves her spot,” Pogačar said. “She’s the double national champion in road race and time trial.”

In June, Zigart won the Slovenian national title by 11 minutes, but she was snubbed for an Olympic slot in favor of the second-place rider. Zigart’s agent said the coach who made the pick “has damaged cycling and the Olympic committee for personal interests.” 

I didn't see a good explanation for why she wasn't chosen (maybe the woman who was chosen rides for the politically popular team), but check out how big this helmet is.

Mask mandates imposed at the Tour de France after Covid-19-positive riders abandoned the race

@eurosportcycling Masks are back at Tour de France after more riders drop out with illness 😷🇫🇷 #tdf2024 #tourdefrance ♬ original sound - EurosportCycling

"Carlos Rodríguez described COVID-19 as 'an invisible rival,' while on Saturday evening Le Monde described the Pyrenees and COVID-19 as 'the next obstacles.'"

Speculation that Tour de France teams are using the questionably legal practice of "inhaling the deadly gas carbon monoxide to optimise their athletes’ altitude training"

Escape:

A second, more aggressive approach, which is called carbon monoxide inhalation and uses the same equipment and techniques, steps into the scientifically new and much riskier realm of inhaling the poisonous gas for the express purpose of performance enhancement. A growing body of recent scientific research suggests CO inhalation can have a powerful impact on measures of aerobic capacity like VO2max, or maximal oxygen uptake.

...

By inducing hypoxia – a state of oxygen deprivation – CO inhalation can be used to prolong or even replace the performance-enhancing benefits of altitude training. It can also be used in conjunction with altitude training to maximise gains, as part of an approach called “super altitude.”

...

The technique is not banned by WADA, although it appears to conflict with the agency’s rules around artificial manipulation of the blood. And there is no hard evidence that any WorldTeams are currently using CO inhalation for performance gains. But

They're pouring water on Tour de France roads to stop them from melting

Die #Hitzewelle sorgt dafür, dass bei der #TourDeFrance der Asphalt weich wird. Als Gegenmaßnahme wird Wasser auf die Straße getröpfelt. Und vielleicht fasst das die weltweite Klimapolitik ganz gut zusammen. #TDF2022 #Klimakrise pic.twitter.com/iLdYuk1ldf

— Maximilian Rieger (@mjrieger) July 15, 2022

AFP:

"In certain places, the asphalt is going to start melting, not everywhere of course, but it is going to get much softer. So you can imagine how that might end?

...

"We will have vehicles with 10,000 litres of water taken along the way, the regional departments are going to help us to cool the roads."

But the logistical nightmare doesn't end there.

"You have to do it at just the right moment, if you do it too early it just heats up again.

"If you do it too late the peloton rides onto wet surfaces. It has to be around 15 minutes before they get there," he says.

(The Guardian's updating blog.)

Augmented reality cycling coverage

Denmark's augmented reality coverage of the Tour De France wins everything. pic.twitter.com/GmIwxMM0ty

— KPP (@KPP) August 10, 2018