Iain Treloar

1 week ago | escapecollective.com | Iain Treloar

Everything's for sale. From to the bashful bowel movement that follows, cycling's institutions have decided that there's a dollar tag that can be put on it. Surely that's the only answer to the Very Bad Thing that we just learned at Escape Collective Towers: that there is an official Giro d'Italia toilet paper, and that the company in question paid some probably immense pile of money to associate its loo roll with cycling's most beautiful Grand Tour.

2 weeks ago | escapecollective.com | Iain Treloar

On October 7, 2023, the fragile equilibrium of the Middle East was shattered. The brutal Hamas attack on Israel, which saw more than 1,200 people killed and more than 250 hostages taken, sparked an intense military response from Israel which continues to this day. Millions of Palestinians have been displaced and tens of thousands have been killed, many of them women and children; hundreds of Israeli soldiers have also been killed.

2 weeks ago | escapecollective.com | Iain Treloar

Compared to bigger sports like tennis or football, cycling is a relatively low-stakes game - its athletes are paid well, but not that well. But what it lacks in prize money, it more than makes up for in eccentricity, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the podium prizes handed out to victorious riders. While it's far from the only race handing out interesting prizes, the Giro d'Italia, currently underway, is particularly notable in this regard.

2 weeks ago | escapecollective.com | Iain Treloar

I have a theory. Well, two theories. Theory one: every cyclist has an aged stash of ride food in their garage, or kitchen cupboard, or handlebar bags, that goes out for the occasional bike ride and comes home again uneaten. Then it sits back on the shelf until its next little excursion. And repeat, ad infinitum. Theory two (if theory one is disproven): I am a horrid little goblin, unique in having years-old gels, chews, powders and potions lying around. Which is accurate?

3 weeks ago | escapecollective.com | Iain Treloar

File this one under 'weird but (probably) true': the organisers of the Giro d'Italia, RCS, are reportedly in discussions with an Australian state about hosting the start of the 2027 Giro d'Italia. No, that's not 'Austria' with a typo. The original airing of this came from the Australian media personality, Mike Tomalaris - until late-2021 a decades-long mainstay of Australian broadcaster SBS's Tour de France coverage.