To the casual onlooker it may have appeared to be yet another zany finish-line celebration: Lewis Askey trailing his right leg out and punching the air with his right hand as he won stage two of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, like a strange, lycra-clad version of the hokey cokey.
But the Groupama-FDJ rider had actually pulled his foot out of the pedal in the final sprint after trying a bit too hard.
"My shoe came out because I was wanting to give it everything, a bit too much even," said the 24-year-old Brit afterwards.
Askey's victory saw him romp home at the head of a full bunch sprint after a lumpy 178km stage to Crépy en Valois. was only his second win at the top level, the first of which came only a week ago at the Boucles de l'Aulne on the other side of northern France. That was a win that set him on a roll, he told his team website.
"Last week's victory really gave me confidence," he said. "I knew that today's finish really suited me. We put pressure on ourselves this morning, the whole team worked really well for me and that boosted me for the sprint.
"This year, the team has given me the opportunity and the chance to race as leader, and it's great to be able to reward everyone."
The stage yielded two places on the podium for British riders, with Sam Watson of Ineos Grenadiers coming in third and Norway's Sakarias Koller Løland (Uno X-Mobility) sandwiched between the two.
His win put Askey in second place overall at the same time as Alex Zinglé (Visma-Lease a Bike), with Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) third at two seconds and team-mate Watson ninth at six seconds.
Two key stages on Friday and Saturday, featuring plenty of cobbles and, on Saturday, plenty of climbs, are likely to decide the race, with a flat day to Dunkerque to finish off on Sunday.
Askey – a former winner of the junior Paris Roubaix in 2018 – has a proven record on the cobbles that will stand him in good stead with a view to contending for the top spot over the next couple of days.
"The general classification will be decided mainly on the fourth day and we will try to do our best," Askey said.
