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Video: Pony joins peloton at the Tour of Poland

Cue the Pony Gallopin jokes - and even the Lotto Soudal rider's wife, Marion Rousse, joined in...

If you watched the Tour de France on TV last month, you’d have seen a few people riding their horses alongside the peloton, a hardy perennial at the world’s biggest bike race – but today, a riderless pony got inside the peloton at the Tour de Pologne.

The small horse, which we’re guessing bolted away from its owner after being spooked by the passing cyclists, galloped inside the bunch for a minute or so before being shepherded (You may wish to brush up on your animal husbandry terms -Ed) to safety by the Gazprom-RusVelo rider Roman Maikin.

Footage was posted to Twitter by CyclingHubTV, which couldn’t resist a pun on the name of Tony Gallopin, confirmed yesterday as switching from Lotto-Soudal to AG2R-La Mondiale for next season.

CyclingHubTV also suggested that the pony might make a decent substitute for a certain four-time Tour de France champion (Mont Ventoux is one thing, but for the Pyrenees, we’d recommend a Merens – after all, they are native to that range).

Among the people who tweeted about the pony was Gallopin’s wife, former pro cyclist turned TV commentator Marion Rousse who, echoing safety messages put out to specators by Tour de France organisers ASO said: “Don’t run next to the riders!”

Today’s sixth stage of the race was won by Jack Haig of Orica-Scott.

BMC Racing’s Dylan Teuns is the overall leader.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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11 comments

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markfireblade | 7 years ago
2 likes

Brings a new meaning for "having to stop for a pony"....

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JoshCroxton1 | 7 years ago
4 likes

He wasn't in the race furlong. 

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Pavery1 | 7 years ago
1 like

Fair play to the rider that stopped the horse. That wee man will be bloody sore after galloping on the road.

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japes | 7 years ago
2 likes

didn't realise that was a hors catégorie climb 

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mingmong | 7 years ago
0 likes

Nice bit of dray-fting.

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Mungecrundle | 7 years ago
4 likes

Plausible explanation for ketamine in the team doctor's medical supplies?

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Grahamd | 7 years ago
1 like

He's certainly running tubeless.

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Beecho | 7 years ago
3 likes

Is it clip clopped in?

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VeloUSA | 7 years ago
2 likes

Is the pony running Di2, eTap or EPS?

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Boss Hogg | 7 years ago
2 likes

Maikin *shephered* the pony off the race course like a boss!

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check12 | 7 years ago
5 likes

Smooth move at the end of the video. 

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