Have you ever heard of semantic satiation? I'd hazard probably not, so let me start by distilling it here for you.
Semantic satiation is a psychological phenomenon, tracing back to 1962, in which words lose their meaning as a result of repetition.
You've probably experienced it before. You know that feeling when a word, a simple word, just doesn't seem to make sense anymore? That, dear reader, is how I currently feel about the word 'chicane'.
This week, an oblong-shaped traffic island in northern France has been at the centre of world cycling . It will be one of the stars of the men's Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, when it steps in to slow down the peloton on the entrance to the feared Forest of Arenberg.
A video of the traffic island – or chicane, if that word still means anything to you – has been circulating on social media this week. At the time of publishing, it has 2.1 million views. Never before has France's D313 road known such stardom.
After the safety measure was announced by the organisers on Wednesday, it triggered a wave of disagreements. Mathieu van der Poel, Roubaix's reigning champion , questioned whether it was a joke. Others praised it as a smart way of stopping riders from hurtling into the stony trench at over 60km/h.
Fortunately, there was one thing everybody on social media could unite over. One animal, I should say. If you stand at the chicane and listen close enough, you can probably hear them bleating.
Yes, I’m talking about the Paris-Roubaix goats, the race's fleet of cobble cleaners, and the real celebrities of the Forest of Arenberg. This year, their appeal has skyrocketed, with our friends at Velo even seeking an exclusive interview with them. It makes for a surreal read , with, as expected, a lot of bleating.
We broke the goats story last year (no brag), and are delighted to see them finally getting the mass attention they deserve. So the next time someone tries to talk to you about the chicane, ask them if they’ve seen the goats. Show them a picture, if they haven’t. And tell them about their insatiable appetite for muddy grass. It'll stop you getting semantically satiated yourself.
1. Long live the goats of Arenberg
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2. Since nobody asked, here's what the inside of their mouths look like
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3. This goat doesn't look like any I've ever seen, but maybe things are different in northern France
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4. There's nothing funnier than a traffic island
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5. Earlier this week, we wrote about six ways to tackle the Arenberg conundrum . It turns out we missed one
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6. The chicane discourse has gotten too much for some (me included)
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7. Can Elena Cecchini and Florian Sénéchal add their names to the list this year?
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8. While we're on stats, here's one that Lotto-Dstny's Jacopo Guarnieri was glad to be reminded of
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9. It was kind of Dutch champion Dylan van Baarle to lease a bike to Tiesj Benoot at the Tour of Flanders
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10. Graphic design is Mads Pedersen's passion
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11. Who remembers the scooter steward from Opening Weekend? Elisa Longo Borghini does, and she managed to nab a photo with him. Thumbs up all round
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12. It's a thumbs up from Lizzie Deignan, too, albeit an ailed one
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13. Sometimes you've just got to lie down in the luscious grass
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14. Podium gifts are getting stranger and stranger these days. What happened to a simple, inanimate trophy?
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15. And finally, to get us in the mood for Roubaix, here's Marta Lach with her best 'allez!'
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