Bottle Rockets

"Thirst is stronger than the rules."
- Stars & Watercarriers

Water, the elixir of life and also something very important to a cyclist. If you don't have a trusty domestique at your disposal, you need to make sure you have enough of the wet stuff to keep going. But the legendary café raids, where the gregari of yore would exploit any watering hole, are now a thing of the past thanks to larger budgets and, of course, stricter rules.

Yes, the rules. There is also an unwritten rule that you shouldn't carelessly throw your water bottle away, but sometimes when riders do - from the sheer thirst for winning and all that brings - it can lead to entertaining viewing (for the spectator at least). Here's three famous examples:

Happy Hour
Tommy Steels notices Frédéric Moncassin is getting rather thirsty during the sprint finish, so kindly offers him a drink.

Blame it on the Bidon
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, also known as the 'Tashkent Terror' gained notoriety with his 'enthusiastic' sprinting style. What made him even more notorious was this crash, and the misplaced bidon that caused it.

Bullseye!
A pattern is emerging, sprinters love throwing bidons at people. This time it's Mario Cipollini showing the commissaire that he can hit any target at 30mph.

New Rapha Bidons are now available to buy in two sizes, 610ml and 710ml. However if you are planning to follow some of the disposal techniques above, we recommend going for the 2-pack and saving 25%.