It is no longer a surprise that Ben Stiller is a cycling fan. In fact, the Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Night at the Museum etc star even shared a Cycling Weekly article last year. Still, it’s fun when a Hollywood star gets involved in our little thing, and he is back, this time wishing Geraint Thomas luck at the Giro d’Italia.
It is unclear what got Stiller into cycling in the first place, but he has been a fan for decades, originally through Lance Armstrong (whatever happened to him?) and then latterly being into Thomas and Mark Cavendish. What his opinions are on the current promising crop of American riders, like Matteo Jorgenson and Brandon McNulty, is unclear, as is any love for women’s cycling, but his public level of enthusiasm for Thomas is endearing.
Perhaps it’s something to ask the Welshman – does it give you an extra bit of confidence in your abilities that the star of Dodgeball is a fan? It’s not something Tadej Pogačar can claim, although maybe Jim Carey or Will Ferrell like him.
We will keep our eyes peeled on how Stiller’s support goes throughout the Giro, and we really should talk to Thomas about it sometime.
That was not the only exciting thing in cycling social media this week, with everyone’s favourite Instagram poster – and really good cyclist – Alison Jackson winning a stage of the Vuelta Femenina, which meant a whole load of dance content.
Elsewhere, Ellen van Dijk saw the funny side of quite a painful crash which took her out of that race, and teams have really got quite good at squad announcements. Plus, Biniam Girmay looking delighted at his new kit. It’s all here!
1. Who had Jayco AlUla boss Brent Copeland quote tweeting Elon Musk on their bingo cards? Anyone?
2. Absolutely delighted that is not only Visma-Lease a Bike who have to wear the crazy Giro TT helmets, and Zoe Bäckstedt even has one in Red Bull livery. Nice.
3. How many tins of alphabetti spaghetti did this take Lidl-Trek’s social media team? Ghebreigzabhier is not a name that has ever been spelt out in pasts, I will wager. Maybe it was all AI anyway…
4. Ellen van Dijk had quite the brutal start to the Vuelta, which saw her crash quite spectacularly on the opening stage
5. Still, at least she could see the funny side…
6. Alison Jackson won a stage at the Vuelta Femenina, so we all know what means – fun celebrations
7. EF Education-Cannondale won a second stage this week too, so the dancing didn’t end
8. Ah, a haircut. The telltale sign that Geraint Thomas is Grand Tour ready. Giro d’Italia, here he comes
9. The racoon meme that won’t die. Lotto Dsnty know how to have fun
10. The fastest track sprinter in the world, Harrie Lavreysen, knows how to wash his clothes. That’s right, Ariel helps him “push boundaries”
11. I mean, can the Vuelta social media admin really complain when the race has gone through quite a few names in its short history?
12. This is adorable, but my favourite thing about this is that Adrien Petit is going to the Giro d’Italia by TRAIN. What an eco-friendly guy
13. Talking of Intermarché-Wanty, how excited does Biniam Girmay look about his new kit? I’m going to say he is positively ecstatic
14. I don’t particularly care for Taylor Swift, so maybe Connor Swift is my Swift? Has he ever dated Matty Healy? I doubt it, but it hasn’t been denied
15. Poor Juan Pedro López, he just stood next to Daan Hoole, not realising that he would become a meme. Still, it’s nice to be reminded that cycling is a sport for all heights, if not quite all body shapes.
16. And finally, a return of Ben Stiller the cycling fan. Keep it up Ben!
