Guillaume Martin has won nine races as a professional bike rider, and the mountains jersey at the Vuelta a España. The Frenchman has finished in the top 10 of the Tour de France twice, and the Vuelta once more. He is a solid bike rider, if not quite a serial winner; many would pay a lot of money to have the career of the 30-year-old.
However, Martin has now won something one of his peers in the peloton have ever won, the Prix Jacques de Fouchier, awarded by the Académie Française for a work of literature that is 'remarkable for its subject matter, composition and style' and written by someone who is not a writer by profession.
His book, La Société du peloton: Philosophie de l’individu dans le groupe, was said to give "a subtle analysis of human relationships in the particular environment of peloton, where everyone hopes to win over the others but knows that they cannot can achieve this only supported by them". Martin is known as a philosopher, with an academic background and everything, and he has previously written Socrates à vélo, but this is huge.
He is not the first French philosopher to have another job. Jean-Paul Sartre, perhaps the most famous of the 20th century, served in the French Army in the Second World War, and his contemporary Albert Camus served in the resistance. He is, however, potentially the most academic rider in the peloton. One wonders if anyone wheels alongside him during a race to ask about existentialism. I would.
There might be other GC riders with a more glittering palmarès, but none who have won a literary prize; Chris Froome has never got to within a sniff of the Baillie Gifford Prize, Primož Roglič is nowhere near to the International Booker Prize. Geraint Thomas might have written his own series of books (in collaboration with Tom Fordyce), but ...According to G is yet to claim something as fancy as the Prix Jacques de Fouchier.
What would other top riders write, I wonder? Jonas Vingegaard surely has a children's book in him, to delight his young daughter, while Tadej Pogačar is much more likely to write a taught, political thriller like Robert Ludlum, I think anyway. Meanwhile, Demi Vollering could write an emotional novel about an ordinary achievement, and Annemiek van Vleuten might use her retirement to write chummy crime novels, in the guise of Richard Osman. Something to think about, anyway.
Anyway, that's probably enough about philosophy, although, Guillaume, if you're reading this, can we chat please?
Elsewhere in tweets of the week, Mathieu van der Poel has a mullet, Strava's messaging feature gets memed, and Victory Lafay encounters snow. We really have it all.
1. Meet Sir Grits Hoy, everyone's favourite gritter
2. Victory Lafay, looking like he should be at the front of a rave, not cycling in the snow
Victor Lafay, un flow inégalable ❄️ pic.twitter.com/Ga9nFQUWAWDecember 2, 2023
3. I think this is a goose, but I wish it was a swan so I could make a Hot Fuzz joke. Still: fun.
pic.twitter.com/0wOOAlH6N5December 3, 2023
4. We are informed Strava will allow meme posting in chats soon, but for now, you'll have to use other formats, I'm afraid
5. Will Tidball, world champion, just a normal guy dressed as The Joker. Not my kind of thing, but it is a classic. He also looks a lot more comfortable in lederhosen than Harry Kane
6. This looks absolutely terrifying. Given my core strength, I think I'd severely injure myself within two minutes if I tried it. Fair play to Elisa Balsamo
7. That is a lot of mud. Too much!
8. Poor Red Walters, I'd say we have all been there, but I don't think we have...
9. Tro Bro Leon. An amazing race, but also one with the best artwork. I'd put this on my wall. People would then ask 'why is this on your wall', admittedly, but I'd have a good time
New Tro Bro poster just dropped. That’s Valentin Madouas as a pirate (?) https://t.co/JufBQnrgK3December 6, 2023
10. Hi-vis not enough for you? Dress as Kermit
Parou! pic.twitter.com/6mlAq00899December 6, 2023
11. Congratulations Ollie for winning Cycling Weekly's coveted dog of the week competition. Good boy.
POV: you’re trying to clean your @bikeonscott Foil RC but you’ve an insanely cute dog. 🥺🎥 Pavel Bittner / 🐶 Ollie pic.twitter.com/qfJcLWWp2yDecember 6, 2023
12. Easy to overlook, but what a few years Magnus Cort has had. I'm still envious of his moustache
13. Guillaume Martin, the philosopher king. What a life!
@GuilmMartin reçu à l’Académie Française ?!?!? …Pour y recevoir un prix littéraire.Pour l’occasion, le costume et la cravate étaient de sortie…@TeamCOFIDIS 📷 Juliette Agnel / Académie Française pic.twitter.com/eASCBW34YnDecember 7, 2023
14. Last week I had a haircut, so my mullet is now a relic of the past, soon to be destined to the dustbin of history. Now one mullet in cycling has gone, another can rise - so congratulations Mathieu van der Poel!
💼 Business in the front, party in the back 🎉🎉🌈 #MulletMathieu 🌈🥳🎥 : @sporza_koers pic.twitter.com/Lf95uDI10WDecember 7, 2023
15. And finally... for a Spanish training camp, doesn't it look freezing? Mark Cavendish looks delighted to be back one more time
PHOTOS: Training CampRoutine road training on the roads of Costa Blanca ⬇️#AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/6KbDRs6DTNDecember 8, 2023
