Round One, Match One: Jasper Philipsen V. Sepp Kuss

Mathieu van der Poel is through!

Round Two, Match One: Sepp Kuss v. Mathieu van der Poel

Sepp Kuss Propaganda

Vuelta 2023, need I say more. And he even brought his dog there with its little special pass.

you absolutely cannot forget world's greatest domestique and 2023 Vuelta winner (GC Kuss!!!!)

The little domestique that could! He has been steadily working for tjv, been integral in their victories, just participated in all 3 grand tours, helped lead the team to victory, and won one himself. He's also cute af, married a spanish woman and speaks the language well. Oh, and he has an adorable puppy. He is an adorable puppy

Mathieu van der Poel Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Third-Place Playoff: Matej Mohorič v. Wout van Aert

Matej Mohorič Propaganda

YouTube

Post-race interview - Stage 19 - Tour de France 2023

The Tour de France 2023 will hold its Grand Départ in the Basque Country, with a first stage in Bilbao on 1st July, and will finish in Paris

Wout van Aert Propaganda

muddy wout. you agree

Look how pretty he is. Look how dad-shaped he is. Don’t make him sad.

I’m gonna be honest with you, I don’t think he’s pretty. But he’s human. He’s fierce. He never gives up. He comes back from having a rag stuck in his chain to freaking winning races. He comes back from giving it his all in pulling to… pull again and leave all of his leader’s adversaries behind. He may not have won much this year, but he still gave 125% and it was a joy to see.

And

Most importantly

He’s kind!

He has kind eyes. He is friend-shaped. He is generous with his teammates. You can tell that, while he’s focused on himself (as every and all athletes), he never forgets that he is not alone in this, and he honors the other cyclists both from his team and the peloton as a whole. He doesn’t leave people behind. He passes on victories to reward the efforts they put in for him in past races.

He has honor and courage and class and panache. So so much panache.

He is, truly, my favourite cyclist.

Neilson Powless is through!

Round One, Match Five: Neilson Powless v. Fabio Jakobsen

Neilson Powless Propaganda

I mean just look at how happy he was starting that many days in the polkadot jersey in the tour this year

Fabio Jakobsen Propaganda

how can you not love a man getting back to such a good level after that harrowing crash. The drama of the 16 sec he had left in one of the mountain stages in the tour of 2022 was *chef's kiss*

Semi-Finals, Match One: Wout van Aert v. Tadej Pogačar

Wout van Aert Propaganda

muddy wout. you agree

Tadej Pogačar Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Primož Roglič is through!

Round Two, Match Three: Neilson Powless vs. Primož Roglič

Neilson Powless Propaganda

I mean just look at how happy he was starting that many days in the polkadot jersey in the tour this year

Primož Roglič Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Wout van Aert is through!

Quarter-Finals, Match One: Mathieu van der Poel v. Wout van Aert

Mathieu van der Poel Propaganda

As much as I hate the white bib shorts, Mathieu can definitely pull them off. Hate to admit it but he *does* look good in white.

Wout van Aert Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Tadej Pogačar is through!

Round One, Match Eight: Michał Kwiatkowski v. Tadej Pogačar

Michał Kwiatkowski Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Tadej Pogačar Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Round One, Match Five: Neilson Powless v. Fabio Jakobsen

Neilson Powless Propaganda

I mean just look at how happy he was starting that many days in the polkadot jersey in the tour this year

Fabio Jakobsen Propaganda

how can you not love a man getting back to such a good level after that harrowing crash. The drama of the 16 sec he had left in one of the mountain stages in the tour of 2022 was *chef's kiss*

Quarter-Finals, Match Four: Jonas Vingegaard v. Thibaut Pinot

Jonas Vingegaard Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Thibaut Pinot Propaganda

how can you not vote for absolute cycling legend Tibo. The small documentary they made at the end of the season? Fucking broke me man.

Chala-la-lala-lala TIIIBOOO PINOOOOO

Please accept Thibaut age 7 in his cycling gear as additional propaganda (x)

He was full of dreams, and already he wanted to be “Champion of the Tour de France”.

Jonas Vingegaard is through!

Round Two, Match Seven: Jonas Vingegaard v. Marc Soler

Jonas Vingegaard Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Marc Soler Propaganda

He may be ranked #130 in the UCI rankings but he is #1 in my heart ❤️

More propaganda under the cut.

As you may know, Marc Soler moved to UAE Team Emirates in 2022 and has since been one of Tadej Pogačar's most valuable mountain domestiques – pulling the peloton for kilometres on end, being there in the final group before Tadej and Jonas start attacking each other. Then there's stage 17 this year; his infamous ‘scary eyes’ and comforting hand, pulling his leader up the Col de la Loze and helping maintain his podium place.

However! There is much more to Marc Soler than that! Before 2022, his entire professional career was spent with Movistar – that blue-clad stalwart of Spanish cycling hopes. With them, he was again an invaluable domestique to the likes of Enric Mas, Alejandro Valverde, Nairo Quintana, and Richard Carapaz. In the intra-team ~drama~ that plagued Movistar’s 2019/2020 seasons, he remained if not neutral, but relatively uninvolved. This is well-documented in their documentary ‘Movistar: The Least Expected Day’, the series that first endeared him to me.

In 2018, he had his day as a GC challenger – a week, really, swooping to victory at Paris-Nice to take the overall win with a fantastic attack on the final stage to make up more than a minute on Simon Yates

Now let me discuss stage 5 of the Vuelta 2022: Marc’s second stage win at this race – the first being in 2020. There was a battle for the breakaway, and Marc missed out! Never fear – the intrepid Spaniard did what he does best; launch a seemingly futile attempt to bridge, riding solo or in a small group for 50km+ that never really gets anywhere. Not today, though! He joined them, when Stewart attacked he countered brilliantly and rode solo for the final 15km. Brilliant stuff. This won him the stage, the combativity award, and later actions brought him the overall super-combative award, all while supporting Juan Ayuso to the podium.

Oh yeah, did I mention the mullet?? And the earring??

Outside of racing, he comes across as a genuinely nice guy – though I have yet to come across an interview in English, translations of Spanish-language seem cheerful and respectful, having fun in UAE’s social media videos!

He recovered brilliantly from having to abandon in both the Giro and the Tour in 2021 – breaking both of his arms in a crash in the latter, yet soldiering on and completing the stage.

Soler in his natural habitats; pulling the peloton up some steep, steep slopes, or breaking away for a hail-Mary attack that’s seemingly done only for the sheer joy of doing so. He’s a valuable domestique, brilliant rider, and most certainly embodies the spirit of ciclismo!

Thus concludes my Soler propaganda.

Vamos, Marc!