How Will Vingegaard's Absence Shape This Tour? | TdF 2026 Stage 15 | THEMOVE

Summary

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THEMOVE Podcast Summary

Episode: How Will Vingegaard's Absence Shape This Tour? | TdF 2026 Stage 15
Host: Lance Armstrong
Guests: Sir Bradley Wiggins, George Hincapie, Spencer Martin
Date: July 19, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the dramatic events of Stage 15 of the 2026 Tour de France, with a particular focus on Jonas Vingegaard’s race-ending crash and the far-reaching implications for the GC battle and podium. The panel—Lance Armstrong, Sir Bradley Wiggins, George Hincapie, and Spencer Martin—also examine Tadej Pogačar's dominance, Remco Evenepoel’s assertive rise, the critical impact of crashes, the evolving racing dynamics, tactics for the late stages, and an impassioned discussion about the controversial anti-doping controls that woke riders up during the night.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jonas Vingegaard’s Crash & the GC Shake-Up

• Crash Details:
  Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour due to a misjudged corner, with inadequate TV coverage of the incident. Half the Visma team went down; Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone.

  • Lance Armstrong: "Not great coverage. Kind of hard to see the crash... just miscalculated a corner and about half the team went down, including Vingegaard. Out looked what appears to be a broken collarbone. And that's it." (00:00)

• Emotional Impact:
  The hosts express collective disappointment—Vingegaard, a past winner, leaving this way is sorrowful for fans and rivals alike.

  • Armstrong: “Nobody likes to see it, right? This is a guy, this is a former Tour winner. This is a hall of famer, without a doubt. That just leaves in the back of a van. It sucks.” (00:59)

• Racing Dynamics Shift:
  With no Visma to dictate, the podium is wide open.

  • Spencer Martin: "It opened up the race suddenly for the podium... It actually made for a very exciting race within the absence of Visma for the first time in how many years?" (03:57)

2. Stage 15: Unusual Tactics and Uncertainty

• First Time on the Climb:
  Stage finished atop Plateau de Solezon, a new summit for the Tour, confounding some riders and tactics.

• Tadej Pogačar’s Role Shift:
  After gaining a huge lead, Pogačar worked as a super-domestique for teammate Del Toro—an extraordinary sight for the race leader.

  • Armstrong: "To see him at the front just riding tempo. You imagine having a domestique like Tadej Pogačar." (05:39)
  • George Hincapie: "I've never seen a guy work for somebody before the second rest day. This is insane." (11:56)

• Del Toro’s Crash & Confusion:
  Both Del Toro and Vingegaard were caught in crashes, complicating in-race decision-making.

  • Spencer Martin: "I felt like he was asking on the radio... He didn't quite know what to do." (04:56)

3. Remco Evenepoel’s Podium Ambitions & Red Bull's Tactics

• Remco’s Climbing & Time Trial Strength:
  Remco shines post-Vingegaard, with his team (Red Bull) proactively taking control.

  • Wiggins: "What we've seen with Remco in the past when that guy gets on the momentum like he goes on a tear. And let's not forget the time trial is Tuesday." (07:44)
  • Armstrong (on GC battle): "Remco is second, five minutes down. You got to go way down the GC to find another five minute gap." (06:51)

• Questioning Remco’s Climbing:
  Panel notes his improvement, but with some past skepticism.

  • Hincapie: "I questioned his climbing due to firsthand accounts of watching him not climb well. But he's proven us wrong." (08:50)

4. Doping Controls at 2am and 5am: Athlete Welfare & Ethical Outcry

• Controversial Wake-Up Calls:
  Both Vingegaard (2am) and Pogačar (5am) had anti-doping controls conducted overnight, arguably compromising sleep and recovery.

  • Armstrong: "2am is a human rights issue. I'm speechless. What are we doing? Why are we agreeing to that?" (21:15)
  • Spencer Martin: "Robbie McEwen summed it up... it's a violation of his human rights." (22:33)

• Comparisons to Other Sports:
  The hosts question why such tactics are unique to cycling, drawing parallels to other professional sports.

  • Armstrong: "Just ask yourself, okay, the World cup final is today. What would have happened if you went and knocked on Messi's door at 2am?" (23:28)

• Potential Crash Link:
  Fatigue’s role in the big crash is raised, underscoring the possible consequences of poor recovery.

  • Wiggins: "He said perhaps that could have been one of the reasons why... made that mistake on that corner." (25:29)

5. Sprint, KOM, and Team Dynamics

• Green & KOM Jersey Situation:
  Intermediate sprints are shaking up green jersey standings; Pogačar likely to take KOM. EF pulls for Carapaz after missing break, affecting the breakaway.

  • Hincapie (on KOM): "Pagacha is going to win the KOM jersey, but Carapaz missed the breakaway and made EF pull the breakaway back..." (13:25)

• Sprint DNF:
  Tim Merlier drops out—showcasing the brutality of mountain weeks for sprinters.

  • Armstrong: "Tim Merlier did not finish. Apparently, he was dropped very early on... He leaves with three Tour stage wins." (14:18)

6. Quinn Simmons: The Breakaway Engine

• Relentless Attacking:
  Simmons is highlighted for aggressive riding, nearly netting a stage win, and climbing with top-10 GC riders.

  • Wiggins: "Quinn Simmons, Captain America. Mr. Aggression... this guy is always in the hardest moves of the day from the beginning." (10:33)
  • Hincapie: "Is Quinn Simmons the best climber on Little Trek?... he's climbing with top 10 guys in the Tour de France." (18:03, 18:42)

• Team Support Issues:
  Simmons apparently unsupported in the breakaway, fetching bottle handoffs from other teams.

  • Armstrong: "No, he has no... So it's as if the team, they don't care." (11:06)

7. Looking Ahead: The Rest Day & Time Trial Preview

• Rest Day Expectation:
  Panel looks forward to a much-needed pause after the chaos.
• Time Trial (Stage 16):
  Detailed discussion on course profile, pacing, and favorites.
  • Wiggins (on strategy): "Most of your effort is out the blocks... that first 9 kilometers, 13, 14 minutes of effort is where you're going to create the gaps." (30:25)
  • Panel: Remco, Ganna, and UAE’s white jersey contenders are all name-checked as possible winners.
• Ineos Motivation:
  In desperate need of a stage win; Ganna targeted as key man.

8. Listener Q&A & Legacy Stories

• Musette Bag Traditions:
  Historical anecdotes about personalizing food bags and feed zone strategies, with modern nutrition strategies compared to older, more chaotic days.
  • Sir Bradley Wiggins: “The man over here never got a feedback. We’d always have to get it for him.” (35:15)
• “See you in the douches” Origin:
  Inside joke from Russian teammate Vyacheslav Ekimov, signifying “attack and see you at the showers.”
  • Sir Bradley Wiggins: "Which means I'm gonna attack and then I'm gonna see you at the showers at the finish line, because you won't see me again in the race." (39:13)
• Soviet Hard Men Anecdotes:
  Legendary stories about Ekimov hiding shoes under bed legs to stop theft, smoking stress-relief cigarettes before World Cups. (41:19-42:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Vingegaard’s Crash:

"That just leaves in the back of a van. It sucks."
— Lance Armstrong (00:59)

On Race Dynamics After Jonas’s Exit:

"The conversation isn’t about 'are we going to beat Pogačar.' The conversation is like, who's getting second or can we get a chance for a stage win?"
— Sir Bradley Wiggins (06:27)

On Doping Controls at 2am:

"2am is a human rights issue. I'm speechless. What are we doing? Why are we agreeing to that?"
— Lance Armstrong (21:15)

Comparing to Other Sports:

"What would have happened if you went and knocked on Messi's door at 2am?... They would be like, no."
— Lance Armstrong (23:28)

On Quinn Simmons:

"I've never seen a guy work for somebody before the second rest day. This is insane."
— George Hincapie (11:56)
"He did roughly around 440 watts... he’s climbing with top 10 guys in the Tour de France."
— Sir Bradley Wiggins (18:32)

On Musette Bags:

"The man over here never got a feedback. We'd always have to get it for him..."
— Sir Bradley Wiggins (35:15)

On Hard Men Stories:

"He picked up his bed and put both shoes... underneath the legs so he knew if somebody tried to steal them, it would wake him up. That, my friends, is a hard man."
— Lance Armstrong (42:13)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00: Jonas Vingegaard’s crash and Tour exit
• 03:57: How his absence opened up GC, podium fight
• 04:56 – 06:27: Team dynamics: Pogačar as domestique, leadership confusion
• 07:44: Remco Evenepoel’s rise, Red Bull strategies
• 08:50: Remco’s climbing ability debated
• 21:15 – 25:50: Anti-doping controls at 2am/5am, ethics, and athlete health
• 30:25 – 32:52: Stage 16 time trial preview and pacing strategies
• 35:13: Musette bag questions and old-school anecdotes
• 39:13: "See you in the douches" explained
• 41:19 – 42:30: Ekimov’s Soviet ‘hard man’ stories

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Thematic Flow & Tone

• The tone is conversational, passionate, sometimes irreverent, blending deep expertise with camaraderie, inside jokes, and open frustration with cycling governance.
• The group oscillates between analytical breakdowns (GC scenarios, TT pacing, team roles) and vivid storytelling from their racing careers.
• The doping control debate is emotionally charged, echoing real concern for athlete well-being.

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Conclusion

Stage 15 of the 2026 Tour de France became a moment of seismic change following Jonas Vingegaard’s crash. With the yellow jersey’s dominance unthreatened and podium spots up for grabs, aggressive riding and team recalibrations have set the final week alight. The episode scrutinizes this new landscape—from tactical shifts to ethical debates—offering a window into cycling’s culture, challenges, and enduring appeal.

Next Up: Stage 16’s time trial, the rest day, and the war for second place.

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Transcript

[Lance Armstrong]

Jonas Wingergaard out of the Tour de France. Not great coverage. Kind of hard to see the crash they caught, you know, bits and pieces of it. His team was on the front. I think that sort of like they have been visma. Just doing the job for uae. Everybody was sort of. That was a head scratcher, but then just miscalculated a corner and about half the team went down, including Vingegaard. Out looked what appears to be a broken collarbone. And that's it. I mean, I think at the start of the Tour, Sir Bradley, you said you didn't think he would finish the Tour. I don't think this was what you were talking about. Nobody likes to see it, right? This is a guy, this is a former Tour winner. This is. This is a hall of famer, without a doubt. That just leaves in the back of a van. It sucks. All right, everybody, welcome back to the Move podcast. We're talking about stage 15. Oh, a lot to talk about today. Really a lot. Not just today, but we're going to talk about some things that happened in the middle of the night last night, which has really got us sort of verklempt over here. But before we do, Alain. What, What. What happened here, because stage 15, just before Alan fires, whatever he says at the end of this thing, he's going to say is the first time you've ever heard anybody say it. This is the first time the Tour has finished on this summit. Finished. So go ahead, go for it, Alain. Stage 15. From Champagne to Plateau de Solezon. From Champagne to Plateau de Solezon. I feel like he even sort of struggled through that because we've never been there before. I'm Lance Armstrong, joined by Sir Bradley Wiggins, of course, to his left, Mr. George Hincappy and the professor, Spencer Martin. Now, before we get in all the day's action we have, I've touched on it a couple of times in the last few days. Our friend here to the left has terrible tooth, has bad toothache, and now is going to have a root canal on Tuesday. So we are auditioning for sit ins, fill ins, substitutions. I don't think my man's gonna make it on Wednesday.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

I'm gonna make. I'm gonna make it.

[Lance Armstrong]

You're gonna have so much cotton in your. You ever had a root canal?

[Spencer Martin]

No.

[Lance Armstrong]

So anybody out there want to get up to Aspen? What time of day is it on Tuesday?

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Caller/Listener]

What?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, 2:00pm oh, no, that's late.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

You're gonna be so messed up on Wednesday.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Nah, I'll be fine.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, anyhow we. We shall see. We shall see. Exciting day. I mean, I think some of it for the right reasons, some of it for the, for the not so right reasons. Jonas Wingergaard out of the Tour de France. Not great coverage. Kind of hard to see the crash they caught, you know, bits and pieces of it. His team was on the front. I think that sort of like they have been Visma just doing the job for uae. Everybody was sort of, that was a head scratcher, but then just miscalculated a corner and about half the team went down, including being a guard out. Looked what appears to be a broken collarbone and that's it. I mean, I think at the start of the Tour, Sir Bradley, you said you didn't think he would finish the Tour. I don't think this was what you were talking about. Nobody likes to see it, right? This is a guy, this is a former Tour winner. This is a hall of famer, without a doubt. That just leaves in the back of a van. It sucks. But what does it do to the rest of the race? What does it do for the final week? I think that's what we were curious about.

[Spencer Martin]

Very sad to see. I mean, I've been in that position. It's not nice leaving the Tour and I hope Jonas makes a full recovery. But what it did do after that point was it opened up the race suddenly for the podium and we saw Remco coming to the fore. We saw Lipovitz getting dropped, Seiksas getting dropped, and it, it actually made for a very exciting race within the absence of Visma for the first time in how many years? But yeah, what a stage. But today I, I, I kind of feel like he didn't know what to do today. There was a, there was an element of him trying to maybe ride Del Toro into position to win the stage. And when that didn't happen, it almost looked like he gifted the stage. I mean, I said, with a K to go, Tade's going to give the stage here to. And you went, what?

[Caller/Listener]

What?

[Spencer Martin]

Kind of jumped out your chair? But it seemed that he, he did that and, and I think Remco was quite. Sorry. I think Tade was quite mourning a little bit the loss of Jonas, because he's quite sensitive soul, isn't he, Tade? And it clearly affected him.

[George Hincapie]

I felt like he was asking on the radio. He kept talking on the radio. He didn't quite know what to do.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, well, I think he was checking on Del Toro status. My guess, who crashed? We should say, yeah, who also crashed. But like you said Bradley, that whole, that crash changed everything and it clearly opened up the race, made it super exciting because I think if Jonas was there, they would have done the same thing, kept the speed really high. Jonas was have attacked, maybe Del Toro, maybe Remco get a little bit dropped and then Poga chart ends up out sprinting Jonas. Something like that.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Completely changed the, the whole outcome of the race. For a sad reason. You don't want to see them be crashed. But it is the Tour de France. You guys have raised many Tour de France. Your job is to stay upright. It's, it's a, it's nobody's fault. But it happens, unfortunately. It happens in this sport.

[Spencer Martin]

It does.

[Lance Armstrong]

And we saw something that, I don't know, it's been a long, long time since you've seen. You saw just an overwhelming champion. Entade Pogatar in the old jersey with a five minute lead, just immediately pivot to be super domestique. Now I'm watching this was this. He's clearly riding for Del Toro. I think it's kind of a three pronged action there. One, maybe set him up for the stage win. Two, Paul Seychelles was dropped so getting back in the white jersey and then three, move him up in the gc. But I've never, I mean, and to see him at the front just riding tempo. You imagine having a Dom Mystique like Tadeh Poguchar.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

It wasn't even George's like, oh, he's trying. He's this one legged, he's that good. Right. And so.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Well. But the conversation isn't about are we going to be Poguchar. The conversation is like, who's getting second or can we get a chance for a stage win? Like even the top guys right behind Poguchar, they don't even talk about him anymore. They talk about their rivals right behind

[George Hincapie]

them, which will be even more exaggerated with Jonas out.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Because now he's the only guy that probably cared about winning and now everybody's racing for second.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

And it seemed like it invigorated that race.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, well. And you got to give it to Remco. I mean he, he, I mean it's one thing to be there, but there were others that weren't. I mean, he's a tough cookie. He's tough. I mean, and internally, Lipowitz struggled. So internally within that team, Seychelles dropped. Ayuso dropped. But in terms of those three things I was just talking about with, with Poguchar and Del Toro, they achieved two out of three, he moves clearly into the lead of the white jersey. He now sits in third on the classification. Now this is all still tight, right. Remco is second. Five minutes down. You got to go way down the GC to find another five minute gap. You got to go all the way to Lenny Martinez. An eighth roughly. Not even that, even more than that. So this race for second, third white jersey, these are, these are races.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Well and we've seen, like you said, you got to give it to Remco but you also got to give it to his team. Once the race went into disarray, losing Jonas, Red Bull took responsibility, started chasing down with Byron, kept the breakaway in check. Super well represented in that group of like 30 guys. I mean that's a huge win for them. Huge win in what we've seen with Remco in the past when that guy gets on the moment momentum like he goes on a tear. And let's not forget the time trial is Tuesday. That's right.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean in the second half of the show we're going to jump into it didn't. It is not a rest day preview. It's going to be a stage preview which is the time trial which is going to suit perfectly for Remco. It's also going to be interesting having a time trial the day after a rest day. I think that's complicated and a lot

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

of people question Remco's climbing ability. He's won the welter before. Spencer, I think you said it was the fastest time ever up that climber or something like that.

[George Hincapie]

But yeah, the first time it's ever been racing the tour.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

But still they did race it recently. They raced it recently. So he's clearly there, he's improving, his climbing is improving. We know there's no question about his time trial skills. This has become an exciting podium.

[George Hincapie]

It shows he has the building blocks to do it. Like if he can climb well today, in theory he could climb all any day. Right. I don't quite understand. I, I questioned his climbing due to firsthand accounts of watching him not climb well. But he's proven us wrong.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, well there's, there's, there's a lot of climbing left but there's also a world where he wins two stages in a row. Right. Got today rest day and time to

[George Hincapie]

be buzzing on that.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, he was pretty fired.

[Spencer Martin]

No, he didn't.

[George Hincapie]

Which is a little strange. Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Whereas today did.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

And obviously the hangover of that crash we're going to talk about but.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Well, let's not Forget he did just win a mountain stage of the Tour de France. His first ever mountain stage victory. I mean, I, I understand that he's not really concerned about anybody else. I mean it's big.

[Lance Armstrong]

You're saying he didn't talk about Jonas?

[George Hincapie]

I don't think he mentioned.

[Lance Armstrong]

No, they didn't mention.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

But I'm just saying he did.

[Lance Armstrong]

He did the interview. Remco did.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Okay. Yeah. Well, yeah, even better.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah. Let's talk about the move of the day presented by eight Sleep. Of course, the pod by eight Sleep is a smart mattress cover that easily goes on top of any mattress. Heats or cools either side independently from 55 degrees to 100 degrees, 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Just head on over to 8sleep.com themove 350 bucks off till the end of the Tour. Sir. Bradley, your move of the day.

[Spencer Martin]

Move of the day. Remco, you know, he, he was in trouble at certain points in the last few days on certain climbs and has limited his losses. He's remained focused. He hasn't, he's has a. Had a head, hasn't dropped off. And to come back today and do a performance like that on a mountain like that was superb.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

So Remco, root canal.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

I'm gonna just keep going with my same thing. I'm Quinn Simmons, Captain America. Mr. Aggression like never quits. I know he has not won a stage, but man, this guy is always in the hardest moves of the day from the beginning. Normally he's getting closer and closer and just a slight change in tactics by ua. Maybe he has a chance to win the stage today. Also pointing out I don't think he had any support from his team in the breakaway today. He was getting water bottles from 365.

[Lance Armstrong]

This is hard to watch. Water balls. Makes no sense.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

I think you're messing with me. But like no break up the Tour de France.

[Spencer Martin]

I mean.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

No, he has no. So it's. It's as if the team, they don't care. Yes. Maybe says yeah, go ride.

[George Hincapie]

You read your.

[Lance Armstrong]

Not only that, but this point is not self supported. Yeah, George.

[Spencer Martin]

They have a car with muds and they keep a car.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

I'm assuming they have a car with the green jersey and the car with Scalmos and I used. And let's not forget the job he did for Iuso once he got caught. No chance to win the stage anymore. He still has the strength to wait for Iuso and basically tone to the line till 400 meters to go.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah.

[George Hincapie]

I Mean, the flip side of that is if Pedersen misses the time cut because he doesn't have support.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

A guy like Pedersen. Let me. This guy is so strong he can solo away in races like Gwell Winsworthlander being in the group pedal for Matt's Peterson. Not a big deal.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah. But I assume they'll have a spare bike for him if he has a trouble. Yeah, he's bike and things like that to do.

[George Hincapie]

My move of the day is tied up a. I've never seen a guy.

[Lance Armstrong]

I'm with you, Spencer.

[George Hincapie]

Work for somebody before the second rest day. This is insane.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

I like the fact that we all have different moves of the day.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yours. No, I'm with Spencer. I was going to say. If you were going to sit it out, I was going to say Toddy. I just think it's incredible to see a guy and I think he. I think he enjoys that. Like, you know, he's. He's easily winning. He's looking for other things to keep it interesting for himself. For him, this is like cool. I'll go to the front and set tempo and see if. I don't know, maybe we ride Remco off the wheel. That, that, that was plausible. Now, Isaac del Toro was, I think was perhaps because of the crash or. Or whatever, but wasn't having the best day. But I thought it was a hell of a look.

[George Hincapie]

Which is funny we say that because I thought the same thing. Like, ooh, he looks so ragged. Put a minute almost into Paul Sixas and the rest of those guys. So that is a pretty good ride from him. Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Anything to report? Nothing. I mean, the green jersey seems. I mean, we're still. They had the intermediates these for the. At least for these two stages. The intermediate sprints were much earlier in the stage, so the. The risk of a breakaway was much smaller. Phillipson wins both yesterday's and today's. Patterson gets second in both yesterday and today's. I feel like he's in now after this. The intermediate sprints become. They're much later in the stages. So I feel like Peterson's got a grip on this. Unless pure theory, it doesn't make a time cut.

[George Hincapie]

Which. Yeah. I mean the thing is Little track seems worried about it. Like they were. They were having guys attack before the. Maybe they just want a bigger cushion. But you would think like Alp d'. Huez, the intermediate sprint on that day is after an HC climb. You'd have to imagine if Philip. If Pederson gets in the breakaway, it's game over. Then I don't know if you guys noticed, but KOM shaped the race. And what's funny is Pagacha is going to win the KOM jersey, but Carapaz missed the breakaway and made EF pull the breakaway back. And it took forever for the breakaway to get away, which is why your guy got caught. Maybe if that doesn't happen, maybe Quinn Simmons wins because they get a bigger gap.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

That's the third week going into the third week of the Tour de France. I mean, all kinds of different races within the main race, and it makes the race super exciting and sometimes very unpredictable.

[Lance Armstrong]

Speaking of sprinters and DNFs, Tim Merlier did not finish. Apparently, he was dropped very early on. This was. I mean, I think somebody was talking the other day, like, what a rough last week to just be here. Like, I don't know why I'm here.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

But it caught up to him nonetheless. He leaves with three Tour stage wins, so he's. He's going home a happy man.

[George Hincapie]

I just think it'd be because he got dropped with Soren Vernon cold.

[Lance Armstrong]

And who did finish?

[George Hincapie]

Who did finish? And the commentator was like, oh, he doesn't look stressed. I'm like, hey, he might not be stressed because he's thinking, why would I do this?

[Lance Armstrong]

I'm just gonna get in the first feed zone.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

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[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

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[Lance Armstrong]

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[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

On his tooth. Is it working?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

I'm. I'm feeling better today.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

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[George Hincapie]

Okay, good.

[Lance Armstrong]

Just checking. That would be something if all of a sudden you showed up tomorrow. We're into the third week, ladies and gentlemen, it's it. The fatigue is setting in. Your shoes out there are one of the most important contact points on your bike. But usually ultra stiff race shoes make you pay for that power transfer with pure discomfort. Not the Ekoi C12 Full Carbon Pro. Built with direct input from the pro peloton, it pairs a rigid full carbon sole with a wraparound construction that gives you maximum support and all day comfort on the longest, toughest rides. Get maximum power with zero punishment. So if you want the same advantage for your own riding and racing, scan the flow code on the screen, check out the link in the show notes, or Simply head to ekoi ekoi.com to get yours today. That's equi.com boom. How we doing, George?

[George Hincapie]

I have a question for you.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Go ahead.

[George Hincapie]

Is Quinn Simmons the best climber on Little Trek? As you look at that performance today, he's out front a long time and he finishes just a few seconds behind their two GC guys on this climb.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

I mean, how's that possible? Well, one, he's got the power to make those breakaways like he's. Quinn Simmons is not getting in the lucky breakaway. He's getting in selective breakaways. And he's got the endurance to keep doing it climb after climb after climb. I mean, you said on the second last time he did roughly around 440 watts.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Rode away from Tom Pick. Tom pickup. They caught him on the descent, but he still rode away from them on the last climb. I mean, he's. Right now he's climbing with top 10 guys in the Tour de France.

[George Hincapie]

I think he's so consistently strong. I just thought, like, should he just be the GC guy? Like, what are we doing?

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, considering how much effort he has put out in the first two plus weeks, if you.

[Spencer Martin]

If you.

[Lance Armstrong]

If you think back right to the first two weeks and the. The amount of kilojoules that he's expend. Expend. I mean, I think he actually puts out too much. So if there was a little more reserve there, certainly today.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, I mean, if he rode a little bit smarter today. How much further on the last climb does he go?

[George Hincapie]

Well, even Donut, you don't attack the group. You let the group believe that you're all in it together. You still work as hard as you can, like, together, to get to the bottom of the final climb, and you try to win. I don't know why he attacked before they got there.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, he's. And he's not with Panicooken.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

You're with an Adam Yates, you're with Tom Pidcock. You have free reign. Or to just say, guys, I'm. By the way, you don't have to be honest.

[Spencer Martin]

He looks like he's having the time of his life.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, I gotta sit on.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, he's having. He's having time of his life. That climb was packed with people. The climb was super steep. You're not getting much graphics, for sure. Draft in the breakaway anyway. So he's like, I'm just gonna do my pace. He did his pace, rode through the crowd. It wouldn't. The effort would have been about the same. Sitting behind Tom Pickax with all those people. I mean.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, but he's got his own line into the valley. It was like a.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

But he got caught right away on the descent. I think he just sat up there. Once he got over the top, who knows? Johan, very impressive ride, nonetheless.

[George Hincapie]

Physically, very impressive.

[Lance Armstrong]

Can't wait to get Johan's take on this, the move. Plus, when we come back, we're going to take a short break here in a second, but when we come back, second part of the show. I just want. I want to touch on this month in sports.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Right?

[Lance Armstrong]

Just such an incredible month in sports. Obviously, the World cup, the Open's going on, the Tour de France. We have a new World Record in the mile as of yesterday.

[Spencer Martin]

Wimbledon.

[Lance Armstrong]

Wimbledon.

[Spencer Martin]

And.

[Lance Armstrong]

But where we're going to spend a little time in the second part of the show is, is something that happened to Jonas Venge guard last night at 2am and also happened to Tade Pogachar at 5am this. This is. We have to. We have to talk about this. So we're going to be back in 2 and 32. And we are back. As I alluded to as right before we went to commercial break there, you know, I. And I actually missed this. I. Much to George's chagrin, I went out for an early morning bike ride this morning. So I got down to the studio and the boys told me that. Which I actually have to think that this factors into Jonas's headspace and his rhythm of the day. But I was told that Jonas Vengegaard was had anti doping control at 2am and the Tade had it at 5am now, obviously, if you're going to choose one, you take the 5am they showed up at his room at 2am, knocked on the door and woke him up in the middle of the Tour de France, which I don't need to remind everybody here, but I'm going to say it again. This is the hardest sporting event in the world. Sleep is essential. Now, obviously nobody here is gonna be a proponent of not having controls, but this is. This isn't a sporting issue. Now, 2am is a human rights issue. I'm speechless. What are we doing? Why are we agreeing to that? And when I say we, I mean we.

[Spencer Martin]

Right?

[Lance Armstrong]

We still consider ourselves. Whether anybody likes it or not or wants to believe it or not, we're part of this peloton. We still consider ourselves to be athletes and riders and former riders, and we still relate in that way. Why would anybody agree to do that? That's ridiculous.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, I mean, Robbie McEwen summed it up pretty well on TNT Sports and said it's a violation of his human rights. Stage finished at 6pm last night. So there was a lot of time to get down from the mountain for various people staff race. Apparently Taddy Pagato got to bed at 1am Is that right?

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, that's what he said. He probably got to the hotel at, I don't know, 11:30 midnight.

[Lance Armstrong]

We were saying it was going to be a long transfer, so that played out.

[Spencer Martin]

So then he was woken up at 5am so four hours sleep, you know, and so you have to think that Jonas was very similar. So, you know, just settled into bed and an hour later gets woken Up. I mean, we have to all agree that that's not right, is it? You know, and before a stage like that, after a stage like yesterday as well.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, yeah. In particular these days when everybody tracks their sleep and knows exactly how well they sleep and like mentally, what does that do to you when, you know, you're woken up at 2am and 5am

[Spencer Martin]

if you're rooming with someone else as well?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, look, I mean, we just said it. I mean, we talked about what a great month of sport this has been globally. So just ask yourself, okay, the World cup final is today. Did. What would have happened if you went and knocked on Messi's door at 2am?

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Wimbledon going on a week or so ago. What would have happened if you went and knocked on center's door at 2am what would happen? The Open is going on right now. I have it on my screen. What would happen? What would Scotty Scheffler do if you knocked on. They would be like, no, Serena WILLIAMS Door at 2:00am Absolutely. It just makes no sense. By the way, too. Dear cyclists, dear peloton, dear UCI, you're not going to get any credit for this. You don't get credit. So what are you doing? This is, and I would say for the 58th time, this is the hardest sporting event in the world. You don't do that to these people. So stupid.

[George Hincapie]

Like as Bradley said during the break, where's the response? Is there any statement from the Eclipse?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

You'd have to think there's some justice statements. That's about it. Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

You know, where are the people that make these decisions that are coming out saying this is why we do this? Particularly with the rest day coming up. All the testing you want to do on a rest day, you know, you

[Lance Armstrong]

know, they're in a tough spot. They are, they're in a tough spot. They can't, they can say. They, they can give a watered down version. They, they want to say exactly what we are saying. What the. Did you go to Messi's door? Did you go to Scheffler's? They want to say that. That is exactly what they're thinking, but they can't say it. However, we're just a bunch of podcasters and we don't care. So we get to say it, but they want to say it. And so.

[Spencer Martin]

Well, today actually said in his post race interview, didn't he, that was fatigue a contributing factor to, to the crash?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Am I right?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

He did question it. He questioned it. Yeah. He said perhaps that could have been one of the reasons why, you know, he just wasn't able to react or made that mistake on that corner.

[Lance Armstrong]

I don't think that's far fetched at all.

[George Hincapie]

Well, it's plausible, but what if doping authorities went to Wimbledon and said, we're going to wake Coco golf up at 2 in the morning. Does that sound good?

[Lance Armstrong]

They would have no chance.

[Spencer Martin]

Well, they'd be pushed back on. It wouldn't.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, it would be.

[George Hincapie]

You wonder why ASO is not.

[Spencer Martin]

Well, this is what happens in this sport, isn't it? You know, that the riders ultimately suffer the decisions of other people, you know, and the race will go on tomorrow and this won't be a topic tomorrow.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, that's a fact.

[George Hincapie]

Should they refuse to start the time

[Lance Armstrong]

trial, that'll never happen again.

[Spencer Martin]

But then that's the rider suffering, isn't it?

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

You know, and it's hard. Look, I will say it's hard to do something like that in the middle of the tour, but this should all be done and dusted before the tour starts. Like, look, we get it. You have to control the athletes. And listen, I also know too that some of y' all are watching this going, how dare you, right? The boogeyman talk about this. Well, I don't really care what you think because I'm going to talk about it. But it should be figured out before you should say, listen, we're going to do all these control. Yes, of course, but not in the middle of the night. Not in the middle of the hardest sporting event in the world. We're just not going to do it. Boy, you got me. Well, you got me fired up yesterday. Now you got me fired up again today. You know what, though? Here's the good news. Tomorrow's a rest day. And as soon as this show's over, I'm going to the airport and I'm flying to Ballynol, one of my happy places. Me and that kitten. I'll be having coffee in the morning with that little kitty.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

We're all going to your house to watch the game.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, but can I just say, also say something. I was like cruising the channels yesterday looking for the open and they had the soccer game on for third place. How bad, man? I feel bad for Jonas Vengegaard. I feel bad for France and England playing for third.

[Spencer Martin]

It was a great game.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, I think there were like

[George Hincapie]

10 people watching games I've ever seen.

[Lance Armstrong]

Come on.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

The stadium was packed.

[Lance Armstrong]

It was crazy. Six to four.

[George Hincapie]

Oh, my Lord. It is a weird tradition, isn't it?

[Ad Host/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

We are going to your house today.

[Lance Armstrong]

That's totally fine. Like I said, George said to me

[Spencer Martin]

last night, can you ask Anna if

[Lance Armstrong]

we could come back?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

And then he goes, anna, George asked me to ask you if we can go to the house.

[Lance Armstrong]

Did one of y' all steal my. My chart, my phone charger? It's not in the kitchen.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

No, no.

[Lance Armstrong]

Because I've been just going like the Tasmanian Devil around the house this morning. I can't find it. Yes. Tomorrow's a rest day, but after that, coming out of that rest day, we have the time trial that is going to be our stage preview. Let's just have a lookie, lookie.

[Spencer Martin]

Also lovely.

[Lance Armstrong]

I just think I like it.

[George Hincapie]

You like it?

[Lance Armstrong]

I do too.

[Caller/Listener]

Yes.

[Lance Armstrong]

You know who else likes it? Remco likes it.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, Remco.

[Lance Armstrong]

This is a perfect.

[Spencer Martin]

Remco is a favorite.

[Lance Armstrong]

This is a perfect profile.

[Spencer Martin]

But having said that today.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, the way this form and that climb in the beginning, the way he

[Spencer Martin]

went in Tour Swiss in that time

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

draw, I don't think it's a shoe in for Remco either.

[Lance Armstrong]

You know what's interesting about the TT and, and, and I'm. I think we're all just sort of learning about Pulse Asia.

[Additional Guest]

Right?

[Lance Armstrong]

And, and he had a. He had. I wouldn't say he had an off day today. He, he didn't have the best day, but one of the most common questions. I know I had the question. You even asked it today. Like, how is he.

[Additional Guest]

How's.

[Lance Armstrong]

How's his time trialing? I don't think a lot of people know and apparently it's damn good. I'm super curious how he reacts after today's stage. Throw in a rest day. This time trial.

[Caller/Listener]

We're.

[Lance Armstrong]

He's going to be on the main stage. We're all going to get to see. And, and again, I've heard the boy can ride a TT bike.

[George Hincapie]

Very good time trials. Yeah. One of the best in the world.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

He didn't have a great start to the race today. He had a mechanical on one of the big climbs. Had to chase back on for several Kilomet owners. Perhaps that affected his last 5k of the race today. Who knows? But I mean, he's still in it. He's still in the battle.

[Lance Armstrong]

Like he just.

[George Hincapie]

For example. So Bass country this year. Tour of the Bass country time trial. 14K to start the race. He smokes Primus Rugby. 28 seconds.

[Lance Armstrong]

Okay.

[George Hincapie]

Like.

[Lance Armstrong]

All right.

[George Hincapie]

That's a good time, Charlie.

[Lance Armstrong]

Data point.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. So Bradley, but you Said you like that? What would you like? What would you be?

[Spencer Martin]

It's just the distance the. It climbs straight away.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

And it's a nice distance. 20, 26K. You know, it's, it's a 25 minutes of effort, 30 minutes of effort. So it's, it's a good distance to get your head round. It's not too short like the prologue was or the team time throughout the start of this race. So.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, you know what else, so talk

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

about though, like the pacing strategy for this. The guys know exactly. The top guys know what watch they want to hold on this game.

[Spencer Martin]

So if you look at it from A to B as fast as possible and you, you know, take everyone else out the equation and you look where are you most likely to gain your time in terms of the execution, how much power you put out? You would say it's in that first 9.7km and then what you're doing after that on that descending part is maintaining your distance or your gap you've created over the other parties. And then the last parts, there's three parts of this you're just hanging on till the final. So most of your effort is, is out the blocks. You'll be really well warmed up. And that first 9 kilometers, 13, 14 minutes of effort is where you're going to create the gaps of your rivals.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Right at your best. Give me your what watch you're holding on this climb, what you're doing on

[Spencer Martin]

the description 9.7K at 4%, that's a great gradient to, you know, to stay in position on your time trial bike. And I would be looking at going really high threshold subs, you know, capacity type thing. If it's 14 minutes of effort, I'd be looking at 474, 70.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Would you be staring at the watt

[Spencer Martin]

meter on the climb equation equating all the time watts to the speed you're traveling? So what's the power? So those guys will be looking at touching 50km an hour up there, I would say, in your time trial position. Yeah.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

And then are you recovering on that descent before the next flat part?

[Spencer Martin]

Recovering at power. So you're still maintaining sort of, you know, high zone two, high zone three

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

powers, but way off of threshold power on the descent.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Because once you're at 60, 65 kilometers an hour, there's no point sitting at 450 watts because you're not going any faster for the watts.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

So with the aerodynamics now, once you're at speed, it's just constantly, you know, you're riding at speed more than anything. Holding speed, whatever power required to hold that speed on a descent that might be 300 watts.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Well and then the last five carries just like everything and then, and then

[Spencer Martin]

you're just back into sort of capacity type effort. Holding is what you can so you, that's the way you get your effort out.

[Lance Armstrong]

And for what it's worth, you don't get a good indication from it by looking at the, the elevation, the profile. But I mean the course is not. I mean this is a technical. Who knows. It's actually a very technical. Yeah, look at this stuff. The other thing, the downhill could be technical.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

There's.

[Lance Armstrong]

It's not an out and back time

[Spencer Martin]

player factor here is the wind close to the sea.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

I, I don't know if Remco is going to win this. Hearing you describe that, that kind of sounds like a flippo g. Well, it's,

[Spencer Martin]

it's unpredictable this far into the race,

[Lance Armstrong]

you know and I think that is a great point.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

And Filipo Ghana has been probably chilling the last week. He's just been a guy like him making the upetto is not essentially rest days for him.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Except for the first part if he's trying to make the breakaways. But I think he's all in for the time trial as well.

[Lance Armstrong]

And you know what else? I mean ineos, I mean they need a stage. They have to have a stage win. I mean a team with that history, with that stature, with that budget, they have to have a stage win.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

And their, and their time is running out that Yep, this could be their day.

[George Hincapie]

I mean you saw today with Quinn Simmons, that's about as good of a ride as you could do in a breakaway and doesn't get the stage win like it's actually going to be hard with these breakaways to get the stage wins. Let's say Remco has a good ride. How far can he take this gc? You guys think he can finish on the podium? Second place, first place?

[Spencer Martin]

I think the podium now.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, now the way he was.

[Spencer Martin]

He almost got a second lease of life today.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Once he realized, you know, that, that the race is wide open.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, I think there's a lot of climbing left.

[Spencer Martin]

There is a lot of climbing left.

[Lance Armstrong]

We're going to see somebody here is, is, is gonna, is gonna be a big story and it's going to be the bad story. It's going to go the other way.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

And he's taking a ton of motivation from.

[Lance Armstrong]

I don't know if it's him.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

But dropping his competitors and knowing that he can hang at Del Toro space and still win. So technically, like the only way.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Poguchar is he's going to have to drop Del Toro to win the stage, essentially. Maybe moving forward, if he wants to help Del Toro stay in the white jersey and podium, he's not gonna be able to drop.

[George Hincapie]

Well, the biggest thing is Bogacha is not going to attack him.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, it is.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Red Bull will now do in this third week is take up the riding a lot more.

[George Hincapie]

Yes.

[Spencer Martin]

Which they haven't done up to this point. They've let other teams do that. Which kind of works against Remco when the speed is. Is quite varied.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

And they got quite a strong team.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, they have a great team.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Four or five guys left.

[Lance Armstrong]

They have a team to do.

[George Hincapie]

How good is this for uae who kind of look like the wheels are falling off today? Tim Wells is having a bad day, but other guys come and work for them, so congratulations.

[Lance Armstrong]

Let's. Let's take some calls like we've been doing every day. Here's the number. Give us a shout. Leave us a voicemail. That number is 9707. Jimmy. I'll start over. Is that your tooth? 970-718-2736. Caller number one.

[Caller/Listener]

Hi, my name is Jennifer. I'm from Virginia. I have a question about the musette bags, actually. When you were riding, when all three of you were riding, could you request things to be put in there and what did you really like and what did you really, really not like? Thank you.

[Lance Armstrong]

It's actually a good question.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

That is great question.

[Lance Armstrong]

I think it's some good ones.

[Ad Host/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

I mean, I remember our first tour was going 2010. It was a nightmare because everyone requested different bags. So you had two guys in the team that had the celiac, you know.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Couldn't have anything that was gluten or anything like that. You know, I had my own bag with whatever I needed it. Rice cakes. If I was on a low fiber diet for the mountain stages, where you wouldn't eat any fiber to lose weight, you know, you'd have stuff in there that was just like pure sugar and it was just crazy. So then you obviously had designated riders in the team that would say, I'm going to get Brad's bag as well as mine. Like a Christian niece or someone like that. It was just crazy, you know, and it's a lot easier when everyone has the same bag.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, it's a lot easier. And the man over here never got a feedback. We'd always have to get it for him. So. And then if you didn't like what was in there, we, we'd always sometimes trade with other riders. But nowadays the other teams. Other teams. Nowadays the nutrition is so specific. They're not doing that anymore. Like everything is so dialed in and planned out.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah. I have a few feeling it might even be, you know, each rider gets their own bag. But you're, you're also right. I, I didn't like feed zones. I thought feed zones were dangerous.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Well, they go back to the car a lot more now.

[Lance Armstrong]

A lot of stuff, A lot of stuff can go wrong in a feed zone. A lot of people in the feed zones, a lot of spectators, a lot of fans. They know that, that not long after the feed zone that the riders are going to be discarding those. Either the bag themselves, which has obviously the branding of the team, which is kind of a cool keepsake. Water bottles, et cetera, et cetera. So I, I always wanted to just stay as far away from that madness as I could. But I do think that, and these guys are so dialed nutritionally now that it, it's very, I mean, we've seen some images of the last couple years with them having a plan actually taped on their top tube of, you know, minute, yes, X, minute, Y minute, Z. Like very specific.

[George Hincapie]

But this car stuff, if you miss a, like a feed, it's like a battery coming out. These guys are just like would cave.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Like when you're. I was hearing last night and we

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

didn't see Quinn Simmons get fed once by his team today.

[Lance Armstrong]

And the one he, he tried to get on the roadside, he dropped.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yep.

[George Hincapie]

Well, he, but he must have been getting carbs somehow, right?

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Well, yeah. I mean they carry all their gels. Well, he's getting fed by tutor. 365. But it's different nutrition, obviously. You know, it's not the same.

[George Hincapie]

I was hearing last night someone was saying they're taking on 165 grams of carb an hour. That is unbelievable. We would, we would poop in these seats if we tried that on.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, you'd be very sick. Yeah, that's what they're doing. I, I, I, you know, as I don't. I'm glad we didn't have to do that. And I'm not sure. I'm just curious how that plays out long term. Like 10 years hard on the stomach. I get it. Like, fuel tank stays full, we can run all day long. But boy, that'd be rough. I will see, but that's how they're. That's the way they play the game. Caller number two.

[Caller/Listener]

Hey, guys, this is Jay and Kelly from the Tampa Bay area in Florida. We were just wondering, where is the to you in the douches come from? What's the origin of that statement and what does it really mean to you guys? Thanks. Love the show. Watch it every year. Appreciate you guys. Have a good one.

[Lance Armstrong]

Appreciate you, George. You tell you you're the one, George, isn't it? It's George's story.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

It's not. Well, we had a very iconic teammate called Vyacheslav Ekimov. Russian guy, came from, like, the hardcore Russian system, worked his way up through the track, made it pro Olympic champion. But he was. And then he started learning slang from us when he turned. When he turned pro for. When he signed for our team. So he would always mix with different slang terms. And this one day, we're talking, like, about the race plan. And he's like, I'm gonna attack here and then see in the douches.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Which means I'm gonna attack and then I'm gonna see you at the showers at the finish line, because you won't see me again in the race. So we just kept using.

[Lance Armstrong]

Which is sort of. Sort of inspired by Perry Bay. I mean, that's kind of the only race where you end up the. The race finishes on the velodrome. There are these iconic slash disgusting showers there. So I keep.

[George Hincapie]

Where everyone comes and takes pictures of you showering.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

It's kind of funny because it's caught on. Like, my kids say it. Like, my friends at home, they say in South College, people probably look at them like, what? What did you say?

[George Hincapie]

Yes, I was having dinner here last year with that shirt on.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Someone just goes, does your shirt say see you in the douches?

[Lance Armstrong]

That's right, it does. People come up to me. I'll ride by people seeing the douches. But that was ecky. I mean, ecky was. And I don't know if George, you were too young to remember this, but when he came off the track, and of course, this was an interesting time, right? The wall had come down. And I am talking about the late 80s. The wall comes down and it opens it up for these Eastern bloc riders to turn professional. I mean, he was at that period of time. I mean, he was the most sought after cyclist in the world. And Peter Post and Panasonic was the team that won the bidding war. And I mean, this was Like. Like Wimby coming to the NBA. I mean, he was. And by the way, he delivered. He had a fantastic career.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

He was just like, hard man. Legendary hard man. Hardest can be. I mean, and he would do the most rant. Like, one time we're sitting, I think it was, like, in the welter or something. Or even those in classics. Most stressful racing you can do. You guys all know. I'm like, where's Eckie? I like to smell smoke. He's out in the balcony smoking a cigarette the day before a World Cup. Eki, what the hell are you doing, man? I'm sitting stress, bro. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day. I just needed one little puff of this.

[Lance Armstrong]

You know what? Those days are done.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Now they're doing 165 carbs an hour. Nobody's smoking cigarettes tonight. That would be kind of cool if they did. No pouches either. Ah, there'd be some pouch. There'd be some zins. It. They are illegal in France.

[George Hincapie]

Illicit.

[Lance Armstrong]

Zen. So we're gonna see a bus. That could have been the 2am thing we're looking for.

[Spencer Martin]

Zen. Be like Festina in the.

[Lance Armstrong]

Just. Becky told me this story once last Decky story, and then we'll get to the trivia.

[Spencer Martin]

But he.

[Lance Armstrong]

When he was coming up through the Soviet system, none of the kids had money. By the way, none of these kids that we watch all day, every day have money. You can't come from money and be good at this sport. Fact. But equi's coming up through the Soviet system, and. And they would go to these camps and sleep on these janky beds. And they were.

[Spencer Martin]

So.

[Lance Armstrong]

He was so worried that somebody would take his shoes in the middle of the night. And he's telling me the story, and I didn't come for money, but I didn't have it like this. And I said, well, what'd you do? He said, he took his shoes. He picked up his bed and put both shoes under. One shoe under one leg of the bed, and another shoe, like in the. In the. In the.

[George Hincapie]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

In the sole of the shoe. One shoe under one leg of the bed, another shoe under the. Another leg, and went to bed. So he knew that if somebody went to go get his shoes, they'd have to move his bed, and that would wake him up. That, my friends, is a hard man.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Plano has nothing on that. That's crazy.

[George Hincapie]

It's crazy.

[Lance Armstrong]

So you can smoke as many cigarettes

[George Hincapie]

as you want, man.

[Lance Armstrong]

You're worried about your kicks getting stolen.

[George Hincapie]

It's like you know, it's like they have MLS academies, but then there's Liga MX academies in Mexico. And some guy was telling me he. He went to Monterey, I think, to like do his academy, and he had to sleep. You have to sleep with your suitcase, like, because people, like, rifle through your

[Lance Armstrong]

bags in the academies.

[Spencer Martin]

It's no surprise that everyone who came through that team pursuit squad of eckies from the 80s, Evgeny, Berzin, Ugramov, they all made it successful in the pro ranks.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Hard men.

[Lance Armstrong]

Hard men. And then others came out. I mean, Olaf Ludwig. Yeah, just space the. The Polish guy's name. Hal Yaskula. These guys. But E was, man, this. This dude was Abdu.

[Spencer Martin]

I mean,

[Lance Armstrong]

where is Jamal Adine? I met him this year.

[Spencer Martin]

Come on. Yeah, I was in.

[Lance Armstrong]

I would love to chill with that guy.

[Spencer Martin]

I was at the start of the Giro in Sofia with Petal Mafia. And they were. We had a bit of a legends ride with Olaf Ludwig. Abdou Japarov was there.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Because it was obviously as an ex Soviet country under Soviet rule. So it was. They gathered a lot of those old expired riders up Cheslor Lang, you know, all these.

[Lance Armstrong]

So, yeah, Abdul is doing okay.

[Spencer Martin]

I mean, looked exactly the same. Bigger belly, but you know, that. That sort of tiny little. You wonder how he ever rode a

[Lance Armstrong]

bike as well, because he was the meanest mofo ever. That's how he rode a bike. Ventum Trivia Enter to [e-mail] the move. $5,000 credit towards a bike your choice. You know, could be the NS one, could be the GS one. Those are the ones that Sir Bradley and I love. Yesterday's question. Stages 13, which I actually thought was a good question. Stages 13 and 14 crossed the Ballon d', Alsace, a category one climb credited as the first major mountain climbed in the Tour's history. In what year did it earn that distinction?

[Caller/Listener]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

First tour was 1903. They climbed the Ballon d' Alsace in 1905.

[Ad Host/Announcer]

Wow.

[Lance Armstrong]

That would have sucked.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

121 years ago. Imagine the bikes then.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Today's question, the. Oh, my God. I need Alan for this. The Plateau de Solacent makes its debut as a Tour Finish Dirge Stage 15 just weeks before the Tour. The same climb was the decisive battleground of the Tour, which I can't even say this name, but it used to be the Dolphine Libre, but it was the decisive battleground of the Tour aver the traditional Tour warmup race, which promising young rider won there, attacking 9k from the top and finishing a minute clear of his rivals again ventumracing.com the move to enter your answer and $5,000 credit. All right boys, have a good rest day. Have fun watching the the World Cup. Send me pictures, videos, everything.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

We will.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, we got Spain and first all Spanish finals since like the 60s.

[George Hincapie]

I believe it's 1930. The first ever World cup was Uruguay versus Argentina.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, but there was another one. I thought there was another one in the 60s.

[Sir Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, I don't know.

[George Hincapie]

It's very unusual to have both teams speak the same language. Very unusual.

[Lance Armstrong]

Feel sorry for the refs,

[Caller/Listener]

right?

[George Hincapie]

I mean, yeah. Anyways, I think all communique has to be in English I think.

[Lance Armstrong]

All right, well everybody have a great rest day. We will see you again on Tuesday morning. Awkward time to ask this but. Hey, did you download the trail map?

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah, no, I don't need to.

[Lance Armstrong]

I don't understand.

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[Spencer Martin]

Whoa.

[George Hincapie]

I don't trust my carrier that much.

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We'll just use your phone as a flashlight.

[Lance Armstrong]

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[Lance Armstrong]

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