I've got a punctured... thru-axle? Bizarre Fisherman's Friend ad; Cav jumps on NFT train; TDF crash like a "war zone" says race doc; Thomas crashes with reports of dislocated shoulder; Positive Twitter thread about London cycling & more on the Live Blog

We're not sure how much the Fisherman's Friend social media person knows about bikes, but that ooks like it could be a puncture. Of course, it could be that Laura did indeed forget her front thru-axle (we've been there) but took the above picture as it was easier to frame.

Commenting on the caption, Paul Murphy said: "Except that's the back wheel and the tyre being soft is nothing to do with the quick release axle..."

Adrew Hooper added: "They’ve [Fisherman's Friend] helped out on many a situation, like that time stuck in a blizzard on snowdon, and the soothing lozenges got us through it." 

Whatever the case, Laura had her strong menthol Fisherman's Friend lozenges to make everything better. Extra points for colour-matching them with the Hope brakes too!

Gilbert Versier, the surgeon working on the Tour de France as one of the in-race doctors has described the mass peloton pile-up on the first stage of this year's race as looking like the scene from a war.

Versier, speaking to l'Equipe, told of how he arrived on the scene to find "the same chaos, the same moans, bodies everywhere, and tangled machines."

The crash, the first of two big incidents within the first stage, was caused by a fan who was holding a cardboard sign out into the road. The woman, who the police are yet to identify, was facing away from the road, trying to catch the attention of the passing TV motorbike.

Versier says that when a large crash happens in the peloton "you can't imagine so much breakage. In the midst of the commotion, the riders are getting up and wanting to start again, the most serious cases must be identified. 

"In general, these are the ones who are furthest from the accident site, because they have been thrown."

Thankfully, despite the two high-speed crashes taking down countless riders, only three riders were unable to finish. Marc Soller, meanwhile, finished with two broken arms and did not start stage 2.

At Kalas in Tabór, CZE, they quickly made new bibs for Mathieu van der Poel

For replica kits check https://t.co/HsB0fpnYQk for team Alpecin-Fenix team versions and Nat champs kit in 🇳🇱 and 🇧🇪 available pic.twitter.com/AYKrevPo4b

— José Been (@TourDeJose) June 28, 2021

Want a pair of custom bib shorts made for you last minute and then overnighted to you, all so that you don't have to colour clash navy blue with yellow? You just need to be one of the best bike racers on the planet.

This also answers our earlier question as to whether Van der Poel would go full yellow or break out his much-loved white bib shorts. 

There’s a few lycra-clad colleagues who bike to work each morning (for some reason, they all work in our financial PR team). I’ve always viewed them with a mix of respect (hardline exercise at 06:30 - gruelling !) & as a bit bonkers given how dangerous urban roads look to me.

— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021

My first error (and I appreciate this is both a rookie one and a fundamental one) is that I didn’t wear a helmet. It’s not the kind of thing one carries around. The speed was fun - downhill! - but I was acutely aware I was one pothole away from a life-changing brain injury.

— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021

I was amazed at the speed of getting from place to place. That shouldn’t be a revelation but it was. 5 tube stops in about ~15 minutes! Urban areas are actually pretty small as the crow flies and I can now see the attraction of biking over the car, bus or train. And it’s healthy!

— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021

I appreciate much of the above are the naive ramblings of a novice - but that pretty short ride taught me a good deal about cycling, why it’s easy and fun and how it can be made a bit safer. I’ll give it a go again at some point!

— Daniel Hamilton (@danielrhamilton) June 27, 2021

Looks like we've converted another one. One at a time, people, one at a time.

It's Monday again and we're feeling a little like Mathieu. Admittedly, his tiredness was caused by an exceptional stage win that also netted him an emotional rendevous with the Yellow Jersey. Ours is caused by a couple of easy rides and some light gardening, but it's all relative... 

Here's what you might have missed at the weekend, starting with non-TdF news.

• Leah Goldstein makes history by becoming the first woman to win Race Across America
• There's £1000 worth of NamedSport prizes up for grabs with 11 chances to win!
• Had saddle pain on your weekend ride? Here's how to avoid it

And now for a round-up of TdF news...

• Men's road World Champion, Julian Alaphilippe took stage one with a huge attack on the day's punchy final climb
• But massive crashes marred the stage with the first being caused by a spectator who stands to be sued by the race organisers
• The pile-up was big and the chaos is shown perfectly by this video from a Jumbo-Visma mechanic
• Having missed one chance, Van der Poel wasted no time in putting things right, winning the stage and taking the bonus seconds needed to also secure the Yellow jersey, something that his grandfather, Raymon Poulidor never managed
• Oh and this is why Jumbo-Visma have those strange blue tyres. No, it isn't one to be used on the indoor trainer