Weirdest Cycling Race Prizes

While some would expect prize money and some a trophy, there are races that provide the winners with something rather unusual...

Transcript

00:00 Cycling can be weird and the most obvious way that this wonderful sports

00:07 eccentricity manifests itself is in its race prizes. So with that in mind we

00:12 decided to draw up a list of the most bizarre podium prizes. But before we get

00:17 into it don't forget to tick that little notification bell so you get told every

00:21 time we release new content.

00:27 Kern is known for its donkeys but what was once a term of derision is now worn

00:32 with pride by the town. That's why the winner of Kern Brussels Kern is awarded

00:36 with a little cuddly donkey. That and they need to be a real hard-ass to get

00:40 through one of the toughest races of the year.

00:44 Nothing says congratulations like a roundel of stinking cheese but that's

00:51 exactly what past stage winners of the Tour of Britain have been rewarded with.

00:55 Their teammates on the team bus must have been absolutely thrilled. If tasty

01:03 local cheese doesn't float your boat then how about heading to Austria for

01:07 some massive sausage. Yet the lucky race leader of the Tour of Austria receives

01:11 one whopping Weissbauer sausage for every day the jersey is worn. The phrase

01:19 "going the whole hog" really takes on a different meaning at Trobriolion,

01:24 otherwise known as the Tour of Lyon. It's a unique race in a number of ways.

01:27 It's 204 kilometers long, features 25 off-road sections and includes everything

01:33 from farm tracks to cobblestones to gravel paths. But perhaps the most unique

01:38 thing about the Tour of Lyon is that it crowns two winners. The actual race

01:42 winner and then the first place Breton who's lucky enough to win a real living

01:47 piglet.

01:49 The lucky rider that takes the king of the mountains jersey in the Arctic

01:53 race of Norway will be rewarded with a giant salmon toy. If they're lucky enough to

01:58 take the overall king of the mountains classification then they get rewarded

02:01 with 500 kilograms of prime Norwegian salmon. The lucky winner of Torino

02:10 Adriatico, a coast-to-coast race in Italy, is bespowed a large trident, the weapon

02:16 most commonly associated with Neptune, the god of the sea. But the marine theme

02:20 doesn't end there and in the days preceding the race the trident is

02:24 ceremonially raised from the Tyrrhenian Sea by divers of the Italian Coast Guard.

02:31 Each time the Vuelta a España visits Toledo the stage winner receives a

02:37 Toledo sword, a traditional piece of craftsmanship that dates back to before

02:41 the Roman times and every time one is given out the mayor quips good luck

02:45 getting this through customs.

02:49 So there you go a list of our favorite weird and wonderful cycling prizes that

02:56 have been awarded over the years. If you have any good suggestions then please

02:59 let us know in the comment section below and don't forget to Like and subscribe.

03:05 (whooshing)