When you pop out to the shops and end up in the Giro d'Italia — e-bike-riding nonna steals the show; Stunning hairpin-loaded Welsh climb goes viral... except it's in Norway; Headset spacers? Never heard of them; Weekend round-up + more on the live blog

Sorry, Brandon McNulty, Ben Healy, Marco Frigo and the rest, but there was only one real hero on yesterday's Giro stage...

pic.twitter.com/ylqPG3biIQ

— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) May 22, 2023

The maglia nonna as she's since been dubbed...

🩷🩷🩷 pic.twitter.com/ZSIhIxIGtP

— Jakub Kobik (@kobaseek) May 22, 2023

The e-bike-riding local took the acclaim of the tifosi on the final climb into Bergamo in an attack described by one fan as more exciting than the first two weeks' GC battle. Think the UCI might have something to say about the legality of her bike but hey, at least sock length shouldn't be an issue... Zac Williams of SWpix was thankfully on hand to keep the heart-warming images coming...

> Suella Braverman criticised by cycling campaign group for "avoiding public scrutiny" over speeding offence

As quick as the announcement came at the Astana Qazaqstan rest day press conference, the news spread like wildfire across cycling media and beyond. Cav almost certainly one of the few British riders whose retirement would earn a breaking news update on Sky Sports... (even if their footage is erm not exactly very recent)...

BREAKING: Mark Cavendish announces he will retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2023 season 🚴‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/xoOcDpY3wf

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 22, 2023

 The UCI, the sport's governing body, thanked Cav, saying his 20-year career was "glittering"... hard to disagree with that.

🎙️ “This will be my final @giroditalia and 2023 will be my final season…” - @MarkCavendish #Giro #GirodItalia #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/ofcvGwESRU

— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) May 22, 2023

British Cycling's performance director Stephen Park CBE called the Manx Missile the "sport's greatest sprinter", a title repeated in much of the coverage from reporters, fans and riders alike...

"Cav is without doubt the sport's greatest sprinter and will be remembered by fans across the world for his 53 Grand Tour stage wins, and I'm sure that we will all be cheering him on as he looks to add to that total in his final months of racing," Park said.

"From a Great Britain Cycling Team perspective, we have seen him win rainbow jerseys on both the road and the track, a silver medal at the Rio Olympic Games, and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year title in 2011.

"What most stands out in Cav as a sportsperson is the overwhelming sense of pride he showed each time he pulled on both the Great Britain Cycling Team and British national champion's jerseys – a quality we want to instil in every single member of our team.

"Professional and passionate, Cav has been a real asset to our team over the years and will be remembered as both a peerless rider and a fantastic teammate with time for everyone. We wish him the very best of luck both for the rest of his final season in the peloton and in the next stage of his career."

If a rider can achieve 1% of what @MarkCavendish has in his career he would consider it a successful one. Proud of you mate 👊🏻👌🏻

— Luke Rowe (@LukeRowe1990) May 22, 2023

Another huge win for Cat Ferguson 💪

A great day out on the roads from the GB team of Cat, Imogen Wolff (7th), Awen Roberts (11th) & Holly Ramsey (43rd) led to Cat & Imogen making the decisive attack with 1.5km to go - and there was no stopping the winner from there! ⚡️ https://t.co/YubwZ4cACf

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) May 22, 2023

Hmmm, I recognise the name from somewhere...

Ben Wiggins became the frist British male to win the GC at Trophée Morbihan Juniors! 🇫🇷

Elliot Rowe, Max Greensill, Ben Marsh, Seb Grindley and Tomos Pattinson helped GB take the team classification too 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/rkmxwGVDIx

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) May 22, 2023

Who knew this absolute climbing gold was hidden in one of the valleys?

Probably the best thing about living in Wales, the scenery and the roads. The Barmouth estuary and climb out to Dolgellau is a favourite. pic.twitter.com/FHY4ZLLxvU

— Tuffer (@TufferB) May 19, 2023

Unfortunately for all of us (except our Norwegian readers), it's not, and is instead the Lysevegen climb out of Lysebotn, in between Oslo and Stavanger in the south of the country...

Anyway, while a couple of people spread the word about its actual location, many of the 700,000 people who saw the post were left head scratching at where exactly this hidden gem was, considering the lack of map evidence. 

The master trollsman in charge of the daring act of deception then claimed it was a restricted byway and only about two miles long, telling those curious to look for Llandiberrison, Merthyr Tydfil, Tal-y-Bont, Llanidloes and Corris, keeping the wind up rolling.

Yet another classic for the 'don't trust everything random person on the internet tells you' genre. Except reputable live bloggers, of course...

The @ballero_94 fan club in action on the roads of Lombardia 😁#Giro pic.twitter.com/VRi9Z0tX61

— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) May 21, 2023

I will never call them headset spacers again… pic.twitter.com/3YmrTO3KAG

— Rich Wood (@bigrichwood) May 20, 2023