Sports mascots are a whole cultural canon of themselves. Whether it be Arsenal’s comically large Gunnersaurus, the harrowing Partick Thistle mascot Kingsley or the NBA’s nightmare-inducing King Cake Baby, sports mascots are an essential part of the fun.
Cycling is no different. This sport has plenty of mascots, from the terrific to the down-right terrifying. In true cycling form, even the mascots get caught up in the drama. One Grand Tour anthropomorphic canine was even banned from entering France.
To make this list of mascots, you need to be a full, living, breathing character. Not to break the magic, but I need a human in a costume. I’m sure we’ll get onto podium stuffed toys another time. With that, let’s take a look at some of the cycling’s weird and wacky mascots.
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Maxoo, the Tour de France’s mascot
While most of the world was trying to negotiate the pandemic in early 2021, the Tour de France‘s organisers revealed the new prepubescent face of the Tour de France, Maxoo.
‘One day, the Tour de France came to town,’ his official backstory reveals. ‘Initially, it was the delightful surprise that captured Maxoo’s attention, from the cluster of motorhomes setting up by the side of the road to the procession of klaxons and happy laughter. The next day, when the winner of the stage crossed the finish line in his yellow leader’s jersey to the sound of a cheering crowd won over by his courage and determination, Maxoo’s conversion was complete,’ the story goes.
It’s pretty clear that Maxoo didn’t have to put up with the customary Tour de France crowd elbow wrestling just to get a momentary glimpse at the peloton roll across the finishing line. If he was lucky, he might have even seen the riders with the naked eye rather than through the lens of a phone obscuring the view with its leather foldable phone case. Simply put, I don’t buy it.
I’ll be honest, I detest Maxoo. Perhaps this comes from a great place of jealousy, but I generally find his backstory unconvincing. Plus, his determination to wear thermal arm and leg warmers throughout July is somewhat insufferable. Not only that, his helmet and glasses combo looks more like a fireman than a cyclist. In fact, the whole outfit looks like the result of a boardroom disagreement on whether Maxoo should be a cyclist or superhero.
What do I know? The Maxoo plush toy has sold out from the Tour de France’s online shop. Remarkable scenes, truly.
Lupo Wolfie, the Giro d'Italia's mascot
Wolves are cuddly and friendly, right?
Well, the Giro d'Italia ran with this and delivered Lupo Wolfie, the adorable wolf mascot to the Italian Grand Tour. I have a slight issue with the name here, Lupo Wolfie is essentially just Wolf Wolf. Anyway, Lupo Wolfie has become a staple of the Giro d'Italia since his roll-out in 2016. I don't suggest you look up the old Giro mascot if you're hoping to sleep tonight. It's truly awful. Lupo Wolfie, however, is a much stronger addition to the cycling mascot hall of fame. He's wonderfully simple and inoffensive – apart from the fact that he wears a t-shirt but no trousers. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Mr Wolfie, however, became a controversial figure to some. He was pushed away from entering France at the 2016 Giro d'Italia after a farmer's union described the mascot as 'a pure provocation that is not humanly acceptable to farmers'. The group claimed that Woflie was a mocking reference to the death of livestock in the Alps. A rather serious leap, if you ask me.
The Giro budged, and Lupo Wolfie was ejected from the Giro for two days in 2016. Since then, the Corsa Rosa hasn't returned to France. Is this Wolfie's fault? We can only speculate.
Argyle, EF-Education First's reptilian mascot
When Jonathan Vaughters' team rebranded at the end of 2017, the team opted to embrace pink, quirkiness and an American-style approach to team sports. As part of this, the team birthed a new character, Argyle the Crocodile. Helped by his Instagram account – which has sadly been inactive since 2019 – Argyle became the first team mascot in the pro peloton.
During the peak of his fame, Argyle was often spotted chomping down on a bike wheel. It's unknown whether this is a fashion statement, a snack or whether he's got a wheel just stuck in his teeth. I'm not sure they make toothpicks for bike wheels. More worryingly, does this suggest that Argyle likes to eat bikes? In that case, he might not be the best person to have near the race convoy.
Argyle has made it onto the team's jersey this year, and the team sell crocodile-inspired graphic t-shirts on their merchandise store. He isn't spotted at bike races as much anymore. The costume was pretty massive and the signing of former Giro winner Richard Carapaz might have cut the mascot budget.
EF's Argyle is not the only crocodile around the pro peloton, though. The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race also uses a crocodile as their race mascot. That one is a little more conventional in its design, it's green instead of pink – boring if you ask me. Maybe one day we'll see the two reptiles clash in a dual to crown cycling's favourite crocodile.
Tourli, the Tour de Suisse fox
Staying with the theme of threatening animals as cute lovable mascots, the Tour de Suisse has adopted a fox as its race mascot. A fox seems like an odd choice. At first, I assumed it had something to do with the local Swiss wildlife, but no. It's because 'the mascot moves and behaves as smart as a fox-smart rider in the peloton,' the race organisers confirmed.
I'm going to give it to Tourli, That fox is one hell of a Duracell...fox. They are one of the most vibrant and involved mascots in the game. Tourli can be seen all over the Tour de Suisse, from rider sign-ons to the finishing line. Tourli is also busy racing with kids in the start village as well. They put all the Grand Tour titans to shame.
Eight years on from the fox's big reveal, Tourli has become the ultimate race mascot for not only the men's race, but also the women's Tour de Suisse. Where do they find the energy?
Tudi, the Tour de Hongrie's... bird
A relatively new race, the Tour de Hongrie has given us Tudi the bird. I'll be the first to say it, Tudi looks pretty cool. In terms of the animal-like mascots, this is the wackiest but also – dare I say – the most charming.
Now, I don't have a full backstory for Tudi. In her glamour, she didn't require a press release. However, I have found out that she is a stork, potentially from the grasslands near Hortobágy. I should probably share that I discovered this through a Facebook page that posts from the perspective of Tudi the Hungarian stork. You're welcome.
Tudi is paraded around the race on the roof of the commissaire's car – in plastic form, I reassure you. My investigative skills have also led me to find out that Eddy Merckx has been handed a plush toy version of Tudi. She also receives an outfit change to correspond to the appropriate jerseys on the podium. This is full commitment to the mascot game.
Wout van Aert, the Wout van Aert mascot
At the beginning of 2022, Jumbo-Visma rolled out a short-lived Wout van Aert mascot. Some food for thought here, what's the point of having a mascot for a real person? He's literally at the race.
This monstrosity is a little odd, but it luckily steers well clear of uncanny valley territory. There's no way you're mixing up the 8-foot tall Wout with a harrowing smile for the real deal. That said, the mascot does pick up on Wout's light-coloured hair strands in the centre of his comically large mascot quiff. That's where the praise ends. There's no real resemblance to Wout van Aert here, apart from the Belgian national jersey.
However, it must be noted that the tailoring of this mascot's costume – if it really is a costume – is a little shabby. Take a look at the legs of this Wout doppelgänger. It certainly takes away from the magic. Also, why is he wearing Doc Martens 1461s? This is a bike race, not Camden Market.
Tobi, the Tour of Britain's chippy chappy
Now, for one of the better race mascots out there. Tobi, the Tour of Britain's mascot is a pale-faced boyish mascot for the UK's biggest bike race. Tobi's doll-like eyes are terrifying. I wouldn't want to come across him at night, he might morph into a demon for all we know. He also hasn't aged in at least a decade, so I dread to think what that costume smells like.
The Tour of Britain hasn't posted his origin story. British Cycling, work on this, please. However, what we do know is that Tobi exclusively wears red, white and blue, and has a custom helmet. I don't think this Union Jack-style helmet is available on the market. Not yet, at least. Tobi – which is either short for Tobias or, more realistically, a play on the race's abbreviation 'ToB' – pushes Tadej Pogačar's hair tufts to a new level. Tobi's curtains haircut poke out from below the helmet in voluptuous fashion. He has this in common with Maxoo from the Tour de France. We need to stop this epidemic of mascots not tucking their hair away into their helmet. Do they not know that it's not aero to keep your locks fluttering in the wind?
Carrying on with inconvenient cycling footwear, Tobi is wearing Converse. I think these mascot designers need to do some wardrobe consulting and wind-tunnel testing because these mascots are very unconvincing cyclists.
The Champs Coo, the World Championships Highland cow
Ok, you caught me. I'm lifting my stuffed toys ban for one special mascot. Last year in Glasgow, a new commercial giant of the cycling mascot world was born. Gifted to each medallist at the 'Super Worlds' last year in Scotland, the rainbow-adorned highland cow became a transcendent symbol of the event.
The uncreatively named 'Champs Coo' – answers on a postcard please – the cuddly Highland cows sold out during the World Championships in Glasgow. All 5,000 cows made for the event sold out by the end of the Championships, and a further 3,000 were preordered after the last rainbow jersey was won in George Square. Not only were there stuffed toys, but there were hats, fridge magnets and all sorts inspired by this cow.
Getting a Champs Coo might genuinely be the closest experience I have to rationing. I remember friends stocking up, sharing the locations of the re-stocked cows as well as the immense jealousy I felt when I spotted someone wearing a Champs Coo hat.
Why the Champs Coo took off instead of Tourli the fox or Tudi the stork? I'm not sure. Maybe these guys need to grow out their hair and relax a little.
