Egan Bernal unveils bizarre new barnet; All TDF riders return negative COVID-19 tests... Prudhomme test positive; "I don't mean to be a crybaby", says Bennett after 1st TDF win; Road Tax Bot's mission to correct 'road tax' myths + more on the live blog

"Let's rock", says the caption on Egan Bernal's latest Instagram story... but according to some on social media, Bernal's new barnet has hit rock bottom. 

That’s not a hair cut, he must have lost a bet, it’s terrible

— mavis Evans (@MaveEvans) September 8, 2020

Did he loss a bet? @LukeRowe1990 did you cut his hair 🤣

— Duke_Rojo_Cycling (@dukerojocycling) September 8, 2020

‘Just fuck my shit up’

— Westland (@Westlan93076769) September 8, 2020

This photo needs to come with a warning.

— Töm Réÿnöldš ❌ (@TomReynolds_AU) September 8, 2020

Although, is there a chance the chop could be the most marginal of marginal gains to shed a little bit of extra weight? You'd think it would be better to cut the lot off, both from a weight-saving and a not looking a bit weird perspective. 

The race is really on now on this exposed coastal section. @RichardCarapazM was held up behind a crash, while Bernal has @kwiato and Rowe for support. 14km to go #TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/TloaBNklYO

— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) September 8, 2020

It seems to be bringing him good luck in the crosswinds on stage 10 so far, safely being sheltered by Luke Rowe and Michał Kwiatkowski while teammate Richard Carapaz was held up in an earlier crash. 

Jean Castex also rode in a car with the Tour de France race director at the weekend and will now have to self-isolate, only returning to normal life if his cornavirus test comes back negative according to President Emmanuel Macron. 

The Prime Minister's press office told Euronews that Prudhomme and Castex wore masks for the duration of their time in contact with one another, but Castex said that he would "apply the rules that the government had decided" and get tested immediately.

Covid-19 testi pozitif sonuçlanan Prudhomme, geçtiğimiz hafta bir etabı, Fransa Başbakanı Jean Castex ile aynı araçta takip etmişti. pic.twitter.com/UAqLTGsDrW

— Cyclist Türkiye (@CyclistTR) September 8, 2020

Prudhomme is now quarantining after a positive coronavirus test, and spent the day in a car with Jean Castex on Saturday. Ironically, the French Prime Minister told reporters that he was happy about the coronavirus situation despite teams pleading with spectators to wear masks, commenting: "We are prudent, but life goes on. The Tour is happening, the party continues."

The party is over for the race's director as it stands, but hopefully all teams will make it to Paris. 

🚩 Stage 10 is underway. And we have a Swiss duo at the front! 🇨🇭

🚩 L'étape 10 du #TDF2020 est lancée. Un duo suisse se détache dès le départ ! 🇨🇭#TDF2020 #TDFunited pic.twitter.com/Qa4Z5jNSnS

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 8, 2020

With four teams missing a staff member each, stage 10 is away. The Tour's first island-to-island stage is summarised by the (now quarantined) race director Christian Prudhomme as this:

"Two islands linked by a stage of the Tour, that’s already a first for the peloton that will find it hard to make it bunched to Saint-Martin-de-Ré. The stage will be marked by the Vauban buildings in Royan, Rochefort or La Rochelle, but also by a course mainly set by the sea… and the crossing of marshlands swept by wind."

🔴Exclusif Christian Prudhomme positif coronavirus #TDF2020 Et 4 membres de 4 équipes 🔴

— Christian Ollivier (@c_ollivier_rtl) September 8, 2020

Earlier it was thought that all riders and staff tested negative, but now RTL claim that four team staffers actually returned positive tests. We're still awaiting official confirmation from ASO and/or the UCI. 

Quite remarkably that is the case according to L'Equipe, who are reporting that the Tour de France chief medical officer Florence Pommery has cleared all 22 teams to start stage 10. The first test was carried out in Pau before the ninth stage, then another in La Rochelle during Monday's rest day. 

It looks like the show will go on... will the race make it to Paris? 

Beep beep. Road tax was abolished in 1937.
Motor vehicles are taxed on emissions. Electric cars are exempt from charges as are bicycles as the emissions are zero.

Road building and repairs are paid from general taxation which the general population pay through many forms of tax.

— Road Tax Bot (@RoadTaxBot2) September 8, 2020

It's come to our attention that the Road Tax Bot Twitter account, created some time in August, has taken the liberty of seeking out people spouting nonsense about the mythical 'road tax' and correcting them. Here are a few more examples...

Beep beep. Road tax was abolished in 1937.
Motor vehicles are taxed on emissions. Electric cars are exempt from charges as are bicycles as the emissions are zero.

Road building and repairs are paid from general taxation which the general population pay through many forms of tax.

— Road Tax Bot (@RoadTaxBot2) September 6, 2020

Beep beep. Road tax was abolished in 1937.
Motor vehicles are taxed on emissions. Electric cars are exempt from charges as are bicycles as the emissions are zero.

Road building and repairs are paid from general taxation which the general population pay through many forms of tax.

— Road Tax Bot (@RoadTaxBot2) September 6, 2020

Beep beep. Road tax was abolished in 1937.
Motor vehicles are taxed on emissions. Electric cars are exempt from charges as are bicycles as the emissions are zero.

Road building and repairs are paid from general taxation which the general population pay through many forms of tax.

— Road Tax Bot (@RoadTaxBot2) September 5, 2020

Tour de France COVID testing is tomorrow. If this was the '90s, the riders would all have ice packs on their foreheads right now to fool the thermometer, and eating phlegm from a COVID-negative mechanic to pass the swab test.

— Phil Gaimon (@philgaimon) September 7, 2020

Rest day at the Tour de France this year is test day for Covid. Teams are stressed over testing and fans lining the mountain tops without masks or social distancing. pic.twitter.com/ANt0jSXpwk

— Fred Herron (@realFredHerron) September 7, 2020

In 2020 'testing positive' has taken on a whole new meaning, as we're talking about COVID-19 and not performance-enhancers of course. 

No news has landed officially from the Tour de France organisers or any teams yet, but Sir Dave Brailsford has said that while he expects his team to be all clear, he thinks staff and/or riders on other teams will have some positives. 

“It’s likely there will be issues but I wouldn’t expect our team to have any", he told The Guardian. 

“We figured that the high-risk area is when everybody sits down to eat. They take their mask off and sit together for longer than 15 minutes and that’s one of the riskiest scenarios. That’s why we brought a second chef.

“We have our kitchen truck, so we have one chef cooking for the riders as normal and the second chef cooking for all of the staff. All of the staff have eaten outside (the hotel) since we got here. Once you buy into it, it’s OK really.”

Results are being analysed by team doctors before stage 10 begins, and if two members of any team test positive, they will be forced to leave the Tour.