BOURGES, July 2025 — In a move that has left cycling purists sweating in lycra, the Tour de France has introduced a brand-new daily prize: the Social Yellow Jersey, awarded to the rider whose TikTok gets the most views, shares, or ironic duets in a 24-hour window. “It’s time we took the Tour out of 1903 and into the algorithm,” declared race director Christian Prudhomme, who now ends press conferences with “like and subscribe.”
The prize was cooked up with BikeDance — a group of middle-aged dads who went viral trying to bond with their Gen Z kids via TikTok. Their signature move? Posting cringey videos in too-tight Peloton gear. They blew up with the trend “you got BikeDance’d,” where viewers were tricked into watching just long enough to regret everything. Now, somehow, they think they can get the Tour de France onto the For You Page. Bold. Delusional. Inspirational.
A Race for Relevance
Gone are the days where cyclists only raced uphill; now, they race uphill while filming a thirst trap to lo-fi beats. Entries are judged nightly by a jury of social media interns, a meme account admin named “@chainlube_daddy,” and one TikTok-famous barista who thinks the Tour is a DJ.
The inaugural winner? Dutch rider Rik van der Smelt, who posted a teary, wind-blown close-up captioned: “Sometimes the only thing heavier than your bike is the weight of generational expectation.” It hit 3.7 million views before he finished the climb. “I’ve never won a stage,” van der Smelt said, blinking through a VSCO filter, “but I’ve won the hearts of the people by staying authentic to myself.” He then ended the video with a finger heart and a sponsored plug for mango-flavored hydration tablets.
To keep the hype wheels spinning, BikeDance pitched two bonus events: Tour de France: Filtered, where influencers cycle on stationary bikes in Paris cafés while lip-syncing to audios like “hustle harder, babe,” and Tour de France: Challenged, where riders earn bonus points by completing TikTok comment dares — like racing while applying glitter sunscreen or doing a wheelie while unpacking their childhood trauma.
Innovation or Insanity?
Not everyone is spinning with joy. “This used to be a race, not a glittery parade of spinfluencers,”
growled cycling legend Bernard Leclerc, who has refused to learn what TikTok is. “Cycling was about pain, pride, and butt rash — not dancing in bib shorts to Olivia Rodrigo.”
Still, the stats speak louder than Bernard: since launch, the Tour’s TikTok following has grown by 9 million, with 76% of new followers listing their main hobbies as “vibing” and “reparenting via memes.” Said BikeDance rep Chloë Vanhoucke: “Today’s Tour isn’t about time trials. It’s about TikToks with depth. Sweat, yes — but make it cinematic.”
Because in 2025, the age of BikeDance, if you didn’t post it with an ironic caption and pastel filter — did you even ride?