The Shark of Messina attacks in Andorra (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Mark Cavendish would neither confirm or deny his salute in the 2009 Tour of California was on a bet with DZNuts' Dave Zabriskie. (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
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Young cyclocross sensation Tom Pidcock already has an array of celebrations in his locker, such as this superman pose in the European champion's jersey (Image credit: SWpix.com)
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Juan Jose Lobato tried to squeeze in a celebration for his family and his sponsors on the Hatta Dam in Dubai (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Caleb Ewan celebrates too early and gets pipped at the line by Marcel Kittel at the Tour of Oman (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Alejandro Valverde fires an arrow at the Fleche Wallone (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Peter Sagan does the Hula at the Tour de Suisse (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Lars Boom clearly had a message for someone following his first victory in over two years (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
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Fabio Aru won the Italian national championships wearing the late Michele Scarponi's jersey after it was lent to him at a training camp, Aru dedicated the win to Scarponi's family (Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
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Filippo Simeoni stopped and lifted his bike after winning a Vuelta stage in 2001. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Chris Horner gave a 'karate kid' salute after winning a stage of the Tour de Suisse in 2006. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
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Pavel Tonkov flipped off the world after winning a Giro d'Italia stage in 2004. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
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Brice Feillu forgot to zip up before winning his Tour stage in 2009. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Alberto Contador's 'pistolero' salute never fires blanks. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Mark Cavendish's clever tribute to cell phone maker and sponsor HTC (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Paolo Bettini fired back at the UCI after it tried to keep him out of the 2007 World Championships. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Robbie McEwen has a little fun with the running man (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Carlos Sastre pulled his baby's "dummy" (pacifier) from his pocket and put it in his mouth as he won the Tour de France stage at Ax-3 Domaines in 2003. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Alessandro Petacchi won so many stages in 2003 that he began counting each one. He ran out of fingers by the Vuelta. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Johan Musseuw's 2000 Paris-Roubaix salute was a tribute to his nearly ruined knee. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Bernard Hinault and Greg Le Mond ride to the summit of Alpe d'Huez raising each other's arm aloft. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Juan Antonio Flecha's Robin Hood salute was a tribute to his name, which translates as "arrow" (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Mario Cipollini would win by such a large margin sometimes he'd check to see if anyone was still there. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Mark Cavendish' salutes got strange when he tried an Oakley tribute (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Jimmy Casper had won a few races before his 2006 Tour de France stage win, but it didn't show. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Judith Arndt gave the finger when she took second at the Olympic Games in 2004. (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Lance Armstrong's memorable 1995 Tour de France stage win (Image credit: AFP Photo)
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Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) thinks he is winning the 2004 Milan-San Remo, but Oscar Freire (Rabobank) wins instead.
Winning a race is something that every rider strives for and the victory celebration is a chance to revel in the moment, honour your sponsors and pay homage to those close to you. It's an image that will be beamed around the world and may well be slapped across the publicity campaigns of your team's sponsors.
Most riders will opt for the simple punching of the air or lift their arms aloft, wrapped up in the moment of joy. Some riders like to think theirs through a little bit more. Vincenzo Nibali made a nod to his nickname 'the Shark of Messina' with his shark fin celebration on stage 3 of the Vuelta a España.
At the BinckBank Tour earlier this month, Lars Boom sent a very clear message to his team – who did not select him for the Vuelta – a decision that cost him a tidy 1,000 Swiss Francs. Mark Cavendish was sent home from the Tour de Romandie by is team in 2010 for a similar celebration, which he said was a message to those that had been criticising him.
Perhaps the rider with the widest variety of finish line celebrations, thanks largely to his substantial number of wins, is Peter Sagan. In the early part of his career he had a different one each week and this year has seen a revival in his creativity, including a hula celebration at the Tour de Suisse in June.
There are those that celebrate a bit early too, like Erik Zabel at Milan-San Remo in 2004, and Caleb Ewan at the Abu Dhabi Tour earlier this year.
Flick through the gallery above to see some of the best, worst and strangest celebrations in cycling.
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