I’ve had a leader’s jersey from a kermesse, a village circuit race, hanging in the van since September. Nobody has asked for it. It smells of degreaser.
At Guangxi in 2024, Lionel Taminiaux won the first stage. The jersey from the podium went to the bus driver. He wore it all week. In 35 °C shade, writes the DH. Taminiaux said: “He really felt he had been given a mission and was extremely honoured to be our guide.”
I don’t dispute the honour. I dispute the fabric. A race jersey is made for one day, one shower, one machine wash at thirty degrees. All week, in 35 °C shade. Was there a washing machine on the bus? Nobody says. I’m asking. That’s a fabric problem, and it doesn’t get fixed.
I read the rest with a spanner in my hand. One lane of the motorway reserved for race vehicles. Boulevards of two times five lanes. Taminiaux says that on roads that wide, nobody has to fight for position, and that the bunch is far less nervous than in Europe. Less nervous means less braking, fewer brake pads worn. I can see the workshop from here, bored.
The driver is the one who arrives first and leaves last. He got the jersey inside the time limit.
Taminiaux is going for the third time. If he wins again, I’d just like to know who on the bus runs the machine. I’m not saying the driver should give the jersey back. I’ll go and wash mine, then, in case someone wants it.
It’s true, we checked: DH Les Sports+.
