Coming to the end of the season, the Twitterstream runs a little slower. Until news such as Taylor Phinney retiring comes through. Then it starts moving fast again. We also have a couple of Classics legends, the Tour de France 2020 course and a lovely wedding picture of Mr and Mrs Michal Kwiatkowski
That Boy Phinney
It probably didn’t come as much of a surprise to cycling fans, but Taylor Phinney announced his retirement last week. He was a rider who burned brightly early on, both in the peloton and with the fans, but then he suffered that horrific crash in the US national championships in 2014. It took him over a year to go through rehabilitation and come back to the peloton, but he never has been the same rider since. It truly was a life-changing event – for him physically but also mentally, as a big part of his recovery was through creating art.
While a lot of the commentary around his retirement made it sound like he had passed away (Cycling Weekly and VeloNews, I’m looking at you!), there were plenty of people who shared some of their favourite Phinney moments.
That Boy Phinney featured in many Tweets of the Week before the 2014 crash, but none of them got as much reaction as our Special Tweets of the Week when he came back to the peloton. It’s been one of our most popular posts ever.
I love this picture – but I have no idea what ‘cutting your town template’ means
We love you the most ever @taylorphinney
pic.twitter.com/uqa4dSYuw6
— Tilda (@matildaprice_) October 16, 2019
Personally, I think this is my favourite tweet about Taylor
LGBT D?
This gives Velo love a new definition
Tour de France 2020 route
It might be a real spectacle but what we really want to know is this: is it a LouLou of a parcours?
"It will be a real spectacle. We don't often see stages as hard as these so early in the Tour." @alafpolak1 reflects on the #TDF2020 course.
La réaction de Julian Alaphilippe en Français en vidéo ci-dessous.
pic.twitter.com/garbecHetR
— Tour de France
(@LeTour) October 15, 2019
"It will be a real spectacle. We don't often see stages as hard as these so early in the Tour." 
La réaction de Julian Alaphilippe en Français en vidéo ci-dessous. 
(@LeTour) No Alpe, no Galibier, no Tourmalet … but a cracker of a Colombier stage.
We’re so hoping Thibaut Pinot gets his mojo back for the 2020 TdF – we need some magnficient pedal-stomping!
Already the speculation : who will be Ineos leader? Who will be the super domestique? And already there are conflicting answers
Um, Chris, you might want to have a look at what Egan said here …
The making of a Classics man
If you’re not ready to retire, you need to figure out a new way to win.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of Classics legends. Two who have already retired …
… and one who just keeps on going (and winning)
My 17th season as a pro has come to an end and what a fantastic year it has been once again: four individual victories, my first Roubaix cobble and a lot of unforgettable moments with the @deceuninck_qst team and all my teammates. Thank you all a million times!
#Season17 pic.twitter.com/sgknZnSA68
— PHILIPPE GILBERT (@PhilippeGilbert) October 15, 2019
Number of riders who took part in all five monuments this year: 1
Philippe Gilbert
68th – Milan Sanremo
DNF – Flanders- Roubaix
58th – Liege
54th – Lombardia@PhilippeGilbert— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) October 15, 2019
- RoubaixThe Gruppetto
Michal Kwiatkowski might not have had a particularly sterling season but no doubt this makes up for it. Congratulations to the couple and may they have a long and happy life together.
Mrs. & Mr. Kwiatkowski
#bestday #foreveryours pic.twitter.com/nI5cgf8zFR
— Michał Kwiatkowski (@kwiato) October 19, 2019
It only takes a fist bump
This concept strikes fear in my heart. You could never unsee that …
I do love a naked wind tunnel session
https://t.co/yfZi2e5Upy
— Dan Bigham (@DanBiggles22) October 17, 2019
Oh, the olden days …
Didn’t Albert Einstein say that riding his bike helped him think? Bikes win Nobel Prizes!
Interesting stats …
This is going to run and run
Nils Eekhoff taking the UCI to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over his disqualification from the U23 World Road Race championships (
) https://t.co/nbwLCgbi1P
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) October 19, 2019
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