Tadej Pogačar had done his homework. The Slovenian is a showman at heart, and strode onto the stage at the Tour de France team presentation with a Basque phrase in his head.
“Aupa Bilbao,” the 24-year-old said. “Aupa Athletic. Gora Euskadi.”
Come on Bilbao. Come on Athletic. Long live the Basque Country.
The six words caused pandemonium outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Pogačar’s moment of charm working wonders on the thoroughly sodden crowd. He become an honorary Basque in that moment.
Switch on any bike race in the world, and one of the first things you see will be a red, white, and green flag, a bit like the Union Jack put through a funny wash. This is the ikurrina, the flag of the Basque Country, and it is present at every bike race because the people of this small nation love cycling.
It is seemingly in their blood. The Grand Départ of the Tour de France from Bilbao gave fans the opportunity to show their support at home, rather than travelling the world. Outside the chaos of the stage one village were stalls selling the ikurrina to expectant fans; to say they were popular would be an understatement, with the flag pedlars claiming to have sold 20,000 on Saturday morning alone.
The passion for cycling is everywhere. Just standing outside a bar in Bilbao, an old man spots my Tour de France lanyard and immediately starts talking about the glory days of Spanish or Basque cycling, telling tales of Grand Tour protagonists Miguel María Lasa, Francisco Galdós and Domingo Perurena.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 06, 2023 من Cycling Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 06, 2023 من Cycling Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Shorter TT bike
A British shop brand that backed two of the greats of time trialling
Gut health
A gastroenterologist's advice on limiting gut distress and improving your microbiome
7 THINGS I LEARNED FROM BREAKING MY FACE
When a crash left CW's Tom Davidson with a titanium plate in his cheek, his perspective on cycling started to change. Here's what he took away from the saga
Syncros Capital SL Aero wheels
Owen Rogers reviews bling carbon wheels with a price tag to match
SRAM Red AXS
SRAM improves shift quality and tackles braking woes of old in its latest road bike groupset, reports Joe Baker
CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?
Cancelled races, folded teams, bankrupters, Britain's domestic road racing scene appears organis to be in tatters. But is the outlook really as dire as it seems? Charlie Graham-Dixon investigates
AMERICA'S GREAT AGAIN*
*But can it last? The US finally has a clutch of star riders again, but is its top-level success built on solid foundations
THE HUB
All the news you might have missed from the last seven days
Lifeplus-Wahoo aim for pro ranks
Continental squad hopes to mark 10-year anniversary with ProTeam status
Matt Holmes kickstarts comeback with Lincoln win
Former Lotto-Soudal rider returns from retirement with victory at big domestic fixture