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Riders pose naked in snow to raise Euros for kit

Team La Bande are 15 riders from seven French teams hoping to raise €5,000 to fund the next stage in their cycling careers

A cycling team has appeared naked in a snowy photoshoot in a bid to attract attention – and funds – for racing.

The 15 members of La Bande, young riders from seven French clubs, are hoping to raise at least €5,000 for kit and to launch the next step in their cycling careers. They have raised more than half of that so far.

Riders say they already have bikes, helmets and motivation, and all ride at National Division 3, a high-level amateur category, but they need funds to train and continue to work with the club.

Their crowdfunding campaign has raised €2,858 since its launch on 4 January. La Bande was formerly Team Payname, which in 2014 won the Le Mans Shimano 24 Cycling race, setting a race record, covering 1,004km; the team hopes to tackle it again this year.

We’re not sure if it’s a January thing, or what, but Greg Van Avermaet has also appeared naked on the front cover of a Dutch TV and radio magazine, which is asking readers to choose the sexiest sportsman – the golden stud of Dutch sport, as they put it. We think it’s genuine. 

Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.

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8 comments

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aladdin pain | 7 years ago
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I admire GVA well enough, but is he so good that no actual Dutch athletes could beat him out for top Dutch athlete?

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ianrobo | 7 years ago
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here it is 

 

bander
French slang verb for having an erection. This word comes from the verb for drawing a bow. This comes from both being hard, and all loaded up. This is often used in expressions.
Il vas bander pour elle. 

He will have a boner for her.
#hard on #erection #french #verb #loaded up
 

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ianrobo | 7 years ago
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the guy in the middle is obviously boasting as his cap is self hanging 

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ConcordeCX replied to ianrobo | 7 years ago
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ianrobo wrote:

the guy in the middle is obviously boasting as his cap is self hanging 

worth digging out a decent French dictionary and investigating the verb 'bander' (intransitive), given their name. And perhaps invite this guy to join, when he gets out:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/worldnews/2593837/mafia-boss-with-permanen...

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Yorkshire wallet | 7 years ago
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The guy on the far left clearly has no cycling career ahead of him. I'm in better shape than that after xmas excess and only cycling twice a week. 

He must be the manager. He hasn't got a blue helmet. 

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handlebarcam | 7 years ago
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bendertherobot | 7 years ago
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Naked is practically the norm now for calendar and charity. If I ever have to do one I'm going for fully clothed as my usp.

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CygnusX1 | 7 years ago
4 likes

Their helmets have all turned blue. I'll get my coat...

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