Is The Tour de France Already Over? | Tour de France 2025 Stage 12 | THEMOVE

Summary

THEMOVE Podcast Episode Summary Title: Is The Tour de France Already Over? | Tour de France 2025 Stage 12
Host: Lance Armstrong
Guests: Sir Bradley Wiggins, George Hincapie, Eddie Merckx
Release Date: July 17, 2025

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Introduction

In this electrifying episode of THEMOVE, host Lance Armstrong delves deep into the unfolding drama of the 2025 Tour de France, focusing particularly on the controversial Stage 12. Joined by cycling legends Sir Bradley Wiggins, George Hincapie, and the esteemed Eddie Merckx, the panel dissects the day's events, team strategies, and the broader implications for the race's outcome.

Stage 12 Overview and Dominant Performances

The episode kicks off with a discussion about Stage 12, transitioning from Osh to Otakam. Armstrong highlights a "dominant performance", noting that a rider won the stage "over two minutes ahead of Jonas Vinge" (01:34). The panel acknowledges the swift takeover by a particular team, raising questions about the Tour's progression.

Eddie Merckx reflects on the expectations set before the stage, stating, "We built it up, didn't we, yesterday? We built it up that this was the stage that suited Jonas after that first nine days of racing" (02:20). The conversation underscores the significance of the upcoming time trial and its potential impact on the race standings.

Team Tade vs. Team Visma: Tactical Missteps

A significant portion of the discussion centers around Team Visma's strategies and their apparent miscalculations. George Hincapie expresses confusion over Team Visma's aggressive tactics over the first ten days, stating, "I just don't understand what they've done these first 10 days of the race... they raced as if they were leading the Tour de France and they weren't" (08:31).

Remco Evenepoel chimes in, critiquing the team's decision-making: "You have to think, like, well, what had we not done that maybe we still would have been there with more guys. Maybe we could have been there with Jonas to help him out, keep the gap closer" (12:33). The panel debates whether Team Visma underestimated their competition or failed to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.

Jonas Vinge's Performance and Future Prospects

Jonas Vinge's performance sparks concerns among the hosts. Armstrong shares his worry: "I think he didn't look good. I think he didn't look good" (16:18), reflecting on Vinge's potential second-place finish. The team ponders whether Vinge can maintain his form in the latter stages of the Tour and what this means for his future races.

Remco Evenepoel adds, "What's weird, George, is it's almost... they're almost just turning around and doing exactly what they did on the final climb today" (31:39), pointing out inconsistencies in Vinge's strategy and bike choice that may have contributed to his subpar performance.

Technological Choices: Bike Selection Controversies

A heated debate emerges around bike selection, particularly Vinge's decision to use a time-trial bike on a steep climb. Armstrong questions the logic behind this choice: "Is there a world where he wins all three jerseys? I mean, there's these talk on these comparisons of Eddie Merckx, the Cannibal. I mean, that's Cannibal-esque" (24:37), emphasizing the potential drawbacks of such equipment choices in mountainous terrains.

Eddie Merckx critiques the practical implications: "Remco was one of the first dropped on the sort of... and he came back. And what a ride he did" (12:33), highlighting how equipment and strategy directly impact rider performance.

Health and Recovery Insights

Interwoven with the race analysis are discussions on athlete health and recovery. The panel briefly touches upon Ketone IQ, a sponsor product, discussing its benefits for athletes in enhancing performance and recovery. While these segments provide valuable insights into athlete maintenance, they are navigated seamlessly without detracting from the main race discussions.

Upcoming Challenges: Time Trial Tomorrow

Looking ahead, the hosts anticipate the uphill time trial scheduled for the next day. They analyze potential scenarios and strategies, debating whether riders like Vinge will adapt their approaches to optimize performance. Bradley Wiggins emphasizes the importance of conserving energy: "You wouldn't want to expend any more energy than you have to riding up that climb because it's quite steep in parts" (28:35).

Cycling's Brutal and Beautiful Nature

Towards the episode's conclusion, Armstrong reflects on the inherent brutality and beauty of cycling. He poignantly remarks on recent tragedies in the sport: "The sport's beautiful and brutal all at the same time. We'll be back in 2 and 32... We lost another Samuel Privitera, a young rider on Hagen's Berman" (20:53). This segment serves as a somber reminder of the physical and emotional toll the sport exacts on its athletes.

Audience Engagement and Trivia

The episode engages listeners with cycling trivia, enhancing audience interaction. Questions about historical Tour de France stages and the significance of cities like Toulouse enrich the content, making it both informative and entertaining.

Conclusions and Forward Look

In wrapping up, the panel acknowledges the uncertain future of the Tour's outcome. Armstrong succinctly summarizes the situation: "I think there's eight question marks, except... But there's one we don't have a question mark about. I think Tadi Poguchar knows he's in control, he knows what he's doing" (33:56). The hosts encourage listeners to appreciate the high level of competition and anticipate the thrilling developments in the upcoming stages.

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Notable Quotes:

• Lance Armstrong [11:25]: "I've been in Tadeh Poguchar's position where you have another team that is taking control of the race. I can tell you exactly what he was thinking."
• George Hincapie [08:31]: "They raced as if they were leading the Tour de France and they weren't."
• Eddie Merckx [12:33]: "Remco was one of the first dropped on the sort of... and he came back. And what a ride he did."
• Lance Armstrong [33:56]: "I think Tadi Poguchar knows he's in control, he knows what he's doing."

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This episode of THEMOVE offers an in-depth analysis of the 2025 Tour de France's pivotal Stage 12, blending tactical breakdowns with personal insights from seasoned cyclists. Whether you're a dedicated fan or new to the sport, Armstrong and his guests provide a comprehensive and engaging narrative that captures the essence of competitive cycling at its finest.

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Note: All timestamps correspond to the provided transcript and are used for reference.

Transcript

[Lance Armstrong]

I've been in Tadeh Poguchar's position where you have another team that is taking control of the race. I can tell you exactly what he was thinking, right? The first thing he was thinking was thanks, guys. My guys don't have to do anything, anything. So thank you. The second thing and the most important thing he's thinking is this. I'm about to show these boys who's boss. I've been there. So whether it was on say whether it was calme, whether it was T mobile, I'm sitting back going, boys, I'm about to run you over. All right, all right. Welcome back, everybody. Welcome back to the move podcast. I'm Lance Armstrong joined by sir Bradley Wiggins and Mr. George Hink. Happy, who still. You can hear that still has his neck cooler on. Did have a hoodie on. Worth noting a minute ago. I had to take it off because he was hot.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Talking about stage 12, Alan, what's up? Stage 12. From OSH to Otakam. From Osh to Otakam. Better. Better. As is the case each and every day, today's show presented to you all by Ketone iq. I mean, I think look what we saw today from today obviously won the stage. Dominant performance. I can't where it was in terms.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Of.

[Lance Armstrong]

Over two minutes ahead of Jonas Vinge go. I mean, look, we have. Nobody wants to sit up here and ask the question, is the tour over? Halfway through. But we have to ask a question.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, it's not looking great. In terms of the anticipation on the battle between Jonas and Tade. Today was a beat down. Like you said, total domination. But, you know, hopefully things change. But as it went today, it's going to be hard to see big changes coming.

[Eddie Merckx]

Well, we built it up, didn't we, yesterday? We built it up that this was the stage that suited Jonas after that first nine days of racing. The question mark over today after the crash yesterday, you know, we factored that in. But are we actually surprised sitting here now?

[Bradley Wiggins]

No.

[Eddie Merckx]

Of the display of Tariq Pugach. I mean, it's no surprise. And yeah, we got the next week and a half to look forward to with the time trial tomorrow where Teddy could take even more time.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, we're going to. There's. There's some interesting. There are interesting twists here. Not, not just for. For tomorrow, but the second half of the tour. Other. Other riders that, that, that are. That are interesting that. That I think are newsworthy. And there were things that were sort of head scratchers for us with today's Stage tactically speaking, that we'll get into. But before we do, I know, gee, we were out at dinner last night. It's just. It's. Of course, you know, my days of, you know, of having quite a few glasses of red wine are over. But you, my friend, not for you. I mean, how do you sleep?

[George Hincapie]

Well, I actually slept like a baby. It may not look like it, but I slept like a baby.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, same here.

[Eddie Merckx]

I had the best sleep I've had in ages because.

[Lance Armstrong]

Because of this. The stream shot, I. I took mine before bed and I woke up. My aura score was one of the best that I've had in recent history.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, same. I slept great. My. My buddy Matt from the feed made. Made this just to sleep his own. Fixed his own sleep problems. And it's called the dream shot. Right in front of your computer. And I think. Yeah, mine as well.

[Lance Armstrong]

That's right. And I forgot. And I forgot, you know, as you get older, I forgot how it feels to sleep so soundly.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Just launched today, available on the feed world. It's the world premiere for this product. You heard it on the move.

[Lance Armstrong]

And so as I get older, it does get tougher to sleep. When I was 20, I didn't even think about it. But even young sir Bradley here needs help sleeping.

[Eddie Merckx]

But you know what I liked about it? There was no pills, no melatonin.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, it's tart cherry, magnesium, a few more things. And what Matt says the secret formula is a peptide that stops you from waking up. And if you do, it puts you right back to sleep.

[Eddie Merckx]

Well, do you know what? Tart Cherry is the hot new thing in the tour this year. You see all the riders, including Tadich and Jonas, drinking it right after the stage. They say it helps reduce inflammation. Lance. Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, it is available today. You heard it here first on the move. A better morning for only 3.99. And our listeners saved 20% today. No code needed. The discount is automatic. Go to the feedback. And as Sir Bradley says, don't forget to feed the animals. I love those. I do. I love those ads.

[Eddie Merckx]

Hey, why wouldn't you? I mean, why wouldn't you?

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, I think we got to go back to.

[Lance Armstrong]

Hold on a second.

[George Hincapie]

Today's stage. For a second? Well, not for a second, but. What are you gonna say?

[Lance Armstrong]

I was gonna talk about something else right here. I was gonna take care of business.

[George Hincapie]

Okay.

[Lance Armstrong]

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[George Hincapie]

I actually do. I can, I can remove cassettes.

[Lance Armstrong]

Zwift ready trainer started just 299. Meaning anyone can jump into world class indoor training without breaking the bank. We've been getting a lot of comments from folks that are that about Bubs Naturals. I'm getting a lot on socials. I think we're getting a lot of emails folks trying the collagen. It's, it's, it's cool to see. But you guys know the deal. I put my body through a lot through the years, decades of racing, training and crashing. Yeah, there's no shortage of wear and tear. So when I find something that actually helps me feel better each and every day, I pay attention. I've been using Bubs Naturals collagen peptides for a few months now. Just a scoop of it in my morning coffee and I gotta say, I feel the difference. My body doesn't ache like it used to. And I know this is gonna be a big hit with everybody that's been out there hating. My hair is even growing faster than before. So take that. And what I love the most about this brand, it's built to honor Glenn Bubb Dougherty, a Navy SEAL and American hero who laid down his life in Benghazi. Glenn stood for self improvement and helping others, which is baked into everything Bubs does. They even donate 10% of profits to. To his charity? To a charity. Sorry. In his honor. I love the tagline die. This is what we're thinking about yesterday. Die young as late as possible. Head on over to Bubsnaturals.com use the code the move for 20% off your first order or if you sign up for a subscription, you get a welcome kit worth well over 100 bucks. That's Bubsnaturals.com and die young as late as possible. George, what was on your mind? I'm dying to hear this.

[George Hincapie]

Well, I'm kind of, kind of not sure what to Think, I mean, the last several years we've seen Beast Melissa Bike as being one of the most cool, calm, calculated, tactically strong team out. The strongest team out there. And I just don't understand what they've done these first 10 days of the race. I mean, they've burned up. You saw materials had a bad day today, which, I mean, he's a top five candidate Tour de France all day long. There could be some good things out of the. Out of him losing 10 minutes today. Like, I love to see him win a stage now he's got some time behind the GC that they might give him the freedom and he's definitely in.

[Lance Armstrong]

The top 10, which is still. I think it's nice for him. He's got. I think he's 12 minutes down, so room to play. But yeah, it's a cool story.

[George Hincapie]

But to have the talent that they have in their team, I just feel like, I don't know, they raced as if they had. We're leading the. We're leading the Tour de France and they weren't. So I just don't understand the tactics.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, there are no bigger fans than anybody on the show of, of Matteo Jorgensen.

[George Hincapie]

We love the correct.

[Lance Armstrong]

See to see his interview at the finish, my friends, I was defeat that. That was. There were questions. I mean, everybody was tired. It was extremely hot. He was so brutally honest in his interview that it was almost hard to watch.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

And hats off to him for laying it out there and just being so transparent. But boy, I mean, that was defeat.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

And we have not seen that. I mean, Matteo Rugens in the last two years has been crushing it. Winning Paris, Nice, always there in the Tour de France stages when it counts. This is the first time we've seen him had a bad day. You know, like I said, I think this gives me a lot of hope that it can actually win the stage in this year's Tour because of the. The room behind the GC he is now. So I'm going to try to look on the positive side of today's bad day for Mateo Ruginson and hope that he gets to win that Tour de France stage finally.

[Remco Evenepoel]

But just to back up for a second. So if you didn't watch the stage today, they hit the first climb, Visma's on the front, like pressing hard, which kind of doesn't make sense because once Remco's dropped, Tad is in the lead virtually. You would imagine you'd want UAE to take it up. Why don't they do that? I guess Maybe they thought, well, we can crack today. But then they start dropping Mateo and then they take off. They. They take their pedal off. They take the foot off the pedal. But then doesn't that. What Was the last 11 days about? If you're just going not to go hard in the mountains when you want to pressure Picacho, when you've gone hard to pressure Picacho, that's kind of my big question is, what was with that?

[Eddie Merckx]

Well, the spanner in the works was when Mateo started getting dropped.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

And I think they hadn't anticipated that. So they had to think for themselves on the road then. And obviously we don't know if the YouTubers call up at that point, but, you know, we don't know, do we? And I, I, to be honest, I like the. I like their commitment to the plan because I don't think they could go back on how they've been racing the last 10 days. And then I think they had to try. It's not a case of isolating Tade. Sorry, getting rid of Tad. It was a case of isolating from his teammates, which didn't happen either because all they did was isolate themselves.

[George Hincapie]

Not only that, but their teammates were looking. I mean, Adam Yates was looking incredibly strong today. Bias did that incredible lead out for.

[Remco Evenepoel]

The attacks, and the breakaway comes back.

[George Hincapie]

You got to wonder, had they not spent so much energy these first 10 days, what could have been closer today and still been in the. In the run and still had Mateo in the top five? I don't know. I mean, I think they gotta. They gotta go back to the drawing board, and I'd love to see them change the tactics. I'd love to see. Okay, Jonas, do your thing. Try to stay on the podium, but I think we need to see some of these guys going for stage wins going into the breakaway. Like, let's make it a race. Let's make it fun.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Look, I've been in Tada Poguchar's position where you have another team that is taking control of the race. I can tell you exactly what he was thinking.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

The first thing he was thinking was, thanks, guys. My guys don't have to do anything. Anything. So thank you. The second thing, and the most important thing he's thinking is this. I'm about to show these boys who's boss. I've been there. So whether it was on, say, whether it was Kelmay, whether it was T mobile, I'm sitting back going, boys, I'm about to run you over. And, oh, by the way, thank you. I mean, it doesn't. They should know that. The team should know. I mean, come on. Yeah, I mean, and by the way, fast forward, look what happened when he attacked.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Almost exact same spot you did on the same climb.

[Bradley Wiggins]

I mean, the.

[Remco Evenepoel]

When Visma knew they were in trouble, probably his base of the climb. UAE has three riders on the front. They have Tim Wellens, Jonathan Marez, Adam Yates. Pagatra is ready to go. It's like, how did. How did we. However we ended up here, we needed not to end up here because they just walked right into the trap. Picacho goes. Bradley and I were wondering, why is he going so early? It's because he knew he could take 10 seconds per km out of Jonas and probably end the tour.

[George Hincapie]

Well, so then rewind to the Cul de Salor, the first climb, and Visma started pulling right away, trying to make the temple super hard. Like, they have to be thinking, like, well, what had we not done that maybe we still would have been there with more guys. Maybe we could have been there with Jonas to help him out, keep the gap closer. Jonas, Poker Pogba was going to win today anyway, but they could have limited that gap a lot more by not doing that earlier on in the climbs.

[Eddie Merckx]

Well, Remco was one of the first dropped on the sort of. Yeah, and he came back. And what a ride he did.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, he had the ride. I mean, next to Poker, the ride of the day. I think to get one of the first guys dropped out of a group of 25 guys, mentally, that's got to be such a hard blow.

[Eddie Merckx]

He limited his losses.

[Bradley Wiggins]

He did.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, when he got dropped, I, I said to myself, I said, he might lose 10 minutes. You know how that goes, right?

[Bradley Wiggins]

You.

[Lance Armstrong]

You try to hang on a. Give him in. It goes to 2 and 2 goes to 10 pretty quickly, if you're having that kind of day. Tough kid.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Still on the podium.

[Lance Armstrong]

Still on the podium.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Only loses. Only loses 335 on the final climb. And he was the first one dropped on the final climb as well. But this is what my evenings are. Just me fielding inbound questions about. You guys criticize Visma. What are they supposed to do? So I'm going to levy that question on you guys. Like, if they messed up today, what should they have done?

[George Hincapie]

Well, I'll just repeat what I just said. Just. I don't see why they kept pushing the pace, why they kept having their top lieutenants attacking all the last 10 days, essentially burning their matches for. For nothing. I mean, they weren't going to drop poguchar on a 1k climb or 2k climb. I think they should have held, kept back their energy a lot more. And today not ridden on the Solar just to have as many guys with the onus as possible for that last climb. I mean Poguchar has been dominating since the beginning of the year. He was second place in Roubaix. He won all these, you know, all these monuments. Like he's not shown weakness once. I don't get it.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean you have a guy who is the overwhelming favorite in this race by a factor of 10.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

You have that same guy, has a team that has suffered some losses, has some crashes, injuries, guys out of the race. That's why you put them on the rope. So you're the favorite. You go control the race. Let, let them. And by the way, that is now what they're going to do. Okay. Um, it's your race to, to win or lose. If there's a 50 man break up the road, you could, you guys go on the road, you are the favorite. Yeah, that's what you do. That's what Johan Brunel would have done. That's what, that's what you do.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I think, I think their information is flawed because they're operating under the assumption the harder we make the race, the better it is for T, for Jonas, the worse it is for Tade. Yeah, that is clearly not true. I just don't, no, like maybe that was true two years ago. It doesn't seem to be true now.

[Eddie Merckx]

Yeah, and where's the evidence to suggest that in the last six months? Yeah, there is nothing, there's nothing to base that theory of that there. It's ridiculous.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I mean I'm like deep in like medical journals, like people on Reddit about the way Jonas's body processes creatine, that he'll be better in the third week. But once you get to that is.

[Eddie Merckx]

Read it now become a demographic for John Reddit.

[Lance Armstrong]

That reminds me. That's right.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

George, Jesus. You remember that, you know that guy read it. His buddies were subs. That dude substacked.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, I know.

[Lance Armstrong]

And the other guy.

[Eddie Merckx]

Don't most people on Reddit live with their mum still?

[Remco Evenepoel]

It has to be 60 or 70.

[Lance Armstrong]

I, I, I, I, I have to disagree with that. There's a lot of good stuff.

[Remco Evenepoel]

The comments may be not what you want to be following in a three week.

[Eddie Merckx]

No, this is my point.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

Isn't that what DS is a page for?

[George Hincapie]

And have any of those guys Done the Tour de France ever.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Probably not many Tour winners in the Reddit.

[George Hincapie]

Very small percentage.

[Lance Armstrong]

Let's. We're not going down the Reddit rabbit hole. No, let's. In the second half of the show. Yeah, Jonas being. I thought Jonas, I thought he looked terrible, frankly, at the end of the stage when you saw Tade was clearly in control, that he's superhuman at this point. Jonas, I'm worried about him and I'm worried about him because I think the easy conclusion to come to is like, well, he's going to get second. I. I'm worried about that. I think he didn't look good.

[Bradley Wiggins]

No, no.

[Eddie Merckx]

Where do they go from here as well? I mean, you know, Jonas has won the Tour twice before, so you know, he's winning is the standard. Second place is a failure because he set his whole season around this. So how. Where'd they go from here? I mean.

[George Hincapie]

Well, it's the same with Jonas. He's won it twice as well and second place is going to be a loss for him. But now I wonder if he's wondering how. How bad do I want to keep this second place. The only way he might have a shot is like to risk everything and lose the podium. The shot for the po like get.

[Remco Evenepoel]

In an early breakaway.

[George Hincapie]

And I'm well, they're not going to let him do that but like just hope for por to have a bad day and Jonas go all in. They'll make him do all the work. That's the only chance to get this race to be exciting again.

[Lance Armstrong]

More discussion too about the bike he's riding.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Poker charge riding. Then I mean, this starts to get you talk about rabbit holes. Starts to go down this rabbit hole of folks saying, well, he anticipated riding ho Kum, you know, at X average speed that maybe an aero bike suits it. I don't know about that. My personal view is that he might. Look, we all know this, right? We've had bikes and FR and makes that we just liked.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

You just don't. You're like, yeah, I know, it's whatever. And there's debate on whether it's 300 grams heavier, 700 grams heavier, whatever. When that bike feels right, just ride it. Especially if you're tidy. Pogo trial today. Could have ridden up in a tricycle.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Well, he was 20. It was 22.6 K an hour.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, I, I can't imagine that there's. You're. They're putting that in the wind tunnel at that speed.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah. Are they? I don't.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I don't know what's scary is Pagachar slightly below his power numbers from last year in the Pyren. So what happens if he starts? I mean, it was super hot, we should say probably because Jonas was slower than his time here in 2022.

[Lance Armstrong]

It was hot in the low to mid-90s Fahrenheit.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

30, 35 Celsius. That's hot.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I should also say, when I say lower, I mean he's only doing 6.8 watts per kilo for 35 minutes. So still pretty good.

[George Hincapie]

How much slower was Jonas on the climb compared to 2022?

[Remco Evenepoel]

He was. So in 2022 he was 36, 34. He was 37. 18 today.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, that's the heat.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

By the way, too, the fastest time still to this day. Bjarne Reese.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

1996. Going up, Hotakam.

[Eddie Merckx]

3441.

[Bradley Wiggins]

34.

[Remco Evenepoel]

40, 40 is what I have here.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Okay. Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

And today was 30, 3508 is what I timed him at.

[Lance Armstrong]

So 30 seconds.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Someone on the show did 36, 19. Lance Armstrong in 2000. But you were feathering at the end.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

We're about to take our peacock break. But before I do yesterday and, and this, this kind of dovetails it also into what we were talking about yesterday. This cycling is a brutal sport. A lot of the guys we mentioned when we were talking, it struck me when I left the set yesterday, a lot of the guys we talked about with this stage in 2000 are no longer with us. As I go home, I get the news that we lost another Samuel Privitera young rider on Hagen's Berman. Jaco Axel Merckx's incredible development team died in a race yesterday. And awful. And Bradley, you got to spend time with them. I know Colton on our team has done a lot of work for that program and has got to spend time with them. We lost a good one. Just a reminder that, boy, this sport's beautiful and brutal all at the same time. We'll be back in 2 and 32. And we are back. Also worth noting, Tade Poguchar's 20th Tour de France stage win. I think we can all agree it's pretty safe to say tomorrow's uphill time trial, which we're going to talk about here in a second, equals number 21. Not far from the cab.

[Eddie Merckx]

Watch 13, 14 odd stages, which you anticipate over the next five years you probably will do.

[Lance Armstrong]

Even this year we have some. I mean, he's not done this year. Yeah, he's not done this year, some incredibly hard stages. Does he start giving some away to the let brakes go tbd. But I think it's safe to say after tomorrow, we're gonna have 21 at a very young age.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

I mean, what did you guys think when you woke up this morning and saw 52 guys in the breakaway?

[Remco Evenepoel]

Well, I did. I thought.

[George Hincapie]

I remember seeing that in a long time. Lance is still sleeping. No, I was.

[Lance Armstrong]

I was. I got up early because the Open started today, and first tee time for the Open at Port rush was at 1:35 Eastern. So actually could have stayed up late and saw the first ball in the air, but, yeah, it started today. I mean, it's a big deal.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, well, I thought.

[Lance Armstrong]

But no, I did.

[George Hincapie]

What'd you think about this?

[Lance Armstrong]

I'm sorry. I was going back and forth, but no. Yeah, that. That's. This is. This new cycling, which is just what this is. Well, I. I watched Bruno X, the first. First team to attack again today.

[George Hincapie]

Well, but did they make it or not?

[Remco Evenepoel]

So the break goes.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

And I thought, 51 riders, this thing's going to balloon. They're going to contest the stage.

[Lance Armstrong]

Time in arms.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Men's gonna win. The cap was like a minute 30 because uno x is on the front of the peloton, pegging it that close, which I. And then EF is there. I mean, it's all great for uae, but I don't really get it. They do have a rider that I guess could contest the podium and maybe.

[George Hincapie]

Well, he was fourth today.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Maybe that's why they were eager to do that.

[Lance Armstrong]

And they're worried about Rodriguez. Rodriguez was in that group.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, even I. I saw. I mean, I did pay attention, George, but when I saw Rodriguez in there, I thought, well, now this. I mean, if he rides like he rode in years past, this. This is a threat. That's why they didn't. I mean, it didn't get very much time.

[Bradley Wiggins]

No. Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

And it's hard when you get so many guys like that. I'd say probably 60, 70% of them are just there kind of along for the ride. They're not going to be pulling through, and if they are, they're going to be taking their time where some guys really want to get a big gap. So there probably wasn't much collaboration going on in the breakaway, and there was a lot of collaboration going on between UNOX and the other thing I noticed.

[Lance Armstrong]

Is when they would show the main field, it was always strung out. I was like, I mean, that just shows you this Race just getting hard. We're halfway through. Yeah, you saw it with Jonas today. I mean, that, that's a. He's tired, everybody's tired.

[Remco Evenepoel]

But, and, and, yeah, that like, he's adding fatigue to your legs before the hardest climb. At the stage, the EF director was saying, interestingly enough on the radio, like, guys, don't worry, it's a big break, but it actually is going to make it easier because there' people sitting on, like six people pulling. So it's like a paper tiger in some ways.

[George Hincapie]

And one person of note that was in that breakaway, Matthew Vanderpoel, got some points there on the green jersey. So maybe he's sliding into the green jersey run. Well, that could be a really interesting race.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Super interesting. Because do you know who's also sliding into there?

[Lance Armstrong]

Pogachar.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Yeah, he's within 50 points. He's going to score 20 more tomorrow. And I believe is that that's what they give in the time trial. And I looked it up. Milan might not score another green point until the, like, final few stages because he can't get into these breakaways because he's too big. He's like a big sale out there.

[Lance Armstrong]

Hey, if you're Tadi Pogachar and you're the. The guy we saw today, which I think he was on cruise control, frankly, the guy plays nice, does interviews. Hey, hats off. This guy, they wrote great. Wrote a hell of a race.

[Eddie Merckx]

Do you know the only team to miss that break this morning was Post nl? The only team to really.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

Which shows they. They were all set with Oscar only.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

All sat around him like 100. Commitment.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

To the cause.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

But real quick, back to poker chart. I mean, is there a world where he wins all three jerseys? I mean. Yeah, there's these talk on these comparisons of Eddie. Eddie Merckx, the Cannibal. I mean, that's Cannibal esque.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Let's go. Let's go. Knock down all three jerseys.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

Well, he'll score more points in KOM tomorrow as well.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

And really KOM is going to come down to Cole De La Los because it's double points. So it's like, does the breakaway go over? Does Tada go over? Yeah, he'll probably go over.

[Lance Armstrong]

Speaking of Oscar Onley, I mean, this is shaping up to be. I mean, this is good. This is our dog.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Like every day we're going to have the Oscar only check.

[George Hincapie]

And he's actually not that confident in the overall. I saw an interview with him this Morning.

[Eddie Merckx]

Well, what is the unknown? Yeah, it's more the unknown, you know. But again, six on GC now.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, he's still looking great.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I mean if, if he did as well, he finished three minutes back today, fifth on the stage. What's left to work? Like that's pretty good indication.

[Eddie Merckx]

Absolutely.

[Lance Armstrong]

22 years old.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

This, we love this guy. Like we just learned about this guy like 10 days ago.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, but it's a long race. I mean we never know what the albums would bring these guys.

[Lance Armstrong]

But you know, we got to talk about something.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

And this is fun to talk about. We will break down tomorrow stage. Before we do, as I said at the top, Ketone iq, our presenting sponsor, they have changed the game. They're changing the energy game. You're seeing a lot of talk and buzz about ketones and its use in the peloton. Not just that new relationship with Jon Jones from the the ufc. Great. Arguably the greatest of all time. Big advocate for Ketone IQ and a lot of science and research going in to ketones. In a placebo controlled study with trained athletes, Ketone IQ boosted average sprint power by 19%, peak power by 13, cut fatigue by 10 and spiked blood ketones 5x in just 20 minutes. Also improving recovery. Ketone IQ recently teamed up with Team VIS, Melissa Bike and Ku Livin to explore recovery and high altitude adaptation. Take your shot, get 30 off your subscription subscription plus a free gift with your second [e-mail] the move ketone.com themove last one of the day Ekoi we are so well, so psyched to have them as a new partner. Began last year. I, I, I love, love my new Equi helmet. I get a lot of questions about it. Equa is a leading brand in Europe specializing in cycling equipment from head to toe. It is one of the few brands develops its products in close collaboration with pro athletes across all disciplines, road, cycling, triathlon, gravel and mountain bike. And it is the most represented brand in this year's Tour de France with four teams. Israel Premier Tech Mike woods had a good day. He was there for a second. He was like, man, this guy kind of has he's gonna have a day. Yeah, I think and I hope he does because I always love going back and talking about how fast he ran back in his day. Like it just shows you the engine. Israel Premier Tech, Lotto, Destiny, Arkea, BNB Hotels and Cofitis. Their products are available exclusively online at ekoi ek o IECOI.com and if you ride a lot, Ekoi products Offer unbeatable value for the money. The entire Equoy website is currently on sale until the end of July with discounts of up to 60%. It's hard to find better deals. Special offer with the code the movement one five. The move 15. That is the code gets you 15 bucks off any purchase of 150 or more. That's equi.com and then there was tomorrow.

[George Hincapie]

So we got an uphill TT tomorrow. Yeah, I know. Bradley, you broke down your warm up for the normal tt. Is the warm up the same for an uphill tt?

[Eddie Merckx]

Yeah, I mean it remains the same. It's. It's just.

[Lance Armstrong]

Might it be shorter though?

[Eddie Merckx]

No, I mean, well, I'm only talking about 16, 17 minute warm up anyway. But just getting into those threshold powers, I think the, the key to tomorrow will be riding in the morning and.

[George Hincapie]

Shaking out the legs from the climb or just riding.

[Eddie Merckx]

A lot of guys might do.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

I mean you wouldn't want to, you wouldn't want to expend any more energy than you have to riding up that climb because it's quite steep in parts.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

But I imagine they would recon this before already.

[Lance Armstrong]

Let's have a look. Let's look at tomorrow's profile. This. It is steep. Oh, nasty.

[George Hincapie]

So did I hear this correctly? Is that Jonas thinking about using his tt?

[Eddie Merckx]

Bradley said, well, he rode his TT bike on the rest day and it's apparently been quoted somewhere. He said it on TV that he's confirmed he's riding these times.

[Lance Armstrong]

There would be no reason to ride that bike on your rest day. Unless, I mean there has to be a reason.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Is he gonna change like at three.

[Lance Armstrong]

Go back one more time? That's even, that's even four kilometers. Not even. It's three kilometers and then it starts to kick up. That makes zero sense. I, I think you're right.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Is it faster? I mean look at the pitches of the.

[Lance Armstrong]

It is not. And, and, and we've talked about the, the mini dispute on Tade riding his Arrow road bike. And the weight. These time trial bikes are heavy. I mean that makes I, I will be shocked if I see that.

[George Hincapie]

I would be too.

[Lance Armstrong]

And, and then, then you just got to say what, what, what are we doing?

[Remco Evenepoel]

I mean Tom Dumalon did it 20, 20. You guys remember that, that time trial super steep climb where Pagatra wins. He did it on a TT bike and it was super slow.

[George Hincapie]

So when Jonas won the TT though, he stayed on his TT bike back in about 20.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, that was, that was not that.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Was a steep climb. That was a steep climb, but there.

[George Hincapie]

Was a lot of flats, too.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Yeah. This seems to be stretching.

[Eddie Merckx]

I mean, psychologically tomorrow for Jonas as well, he's rolling down that ramp with Tadde two minutes behind him.

[Lance Armstrong]

That's.

[Eddie Merckx]

That's after today.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, you want to get your popcorn out and watch something. I mean, and we don't have to just say that to. To our audience. There's a. There's one guy in this world who knows that very clearly. And again, I'm gonna go back. I've been that guy. They're like, where? Oh, it's only two. It's not three minutes. Two minutes. Okay, check. I'll see you in a little bit. Yeah, you said that to somebody.

[George Hincapie]

So I just look at it.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

See you in a minute, mate.

[George Hincapie]

I just looked up briefly. The Cervelo P5 is 8.5 kilos, almost 8.4.

[Lance Armstrong]

It's crazy.

[George Hincapie]

So if that's the case, that's one and a half kilos more than your average crazy bike. I don't know.

[Lance Armstrong]

Is that with what wheels?

[George Hincapie]

I didn't ask in the wheels.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Those were the bricks tied to the.

[Lance Armstrong]

That's, that's, that is. I'll be shocked.

[Eddie Merckx]

68 tooth chain.

[Lance Armstrong]

Is going to. He's going to rip the pavement off the road. He has. I mean, it's a time draw. I mean, that's a day where you have.

[George Hincapie]

Well, let's see. I mean, all the French people could do a good ride, too.

[Remco Evenepoel]

But what's weird, George, is it's almost. They almost are just turning around and doing exactly what they did on the final climb today.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

So today was a little bit longer, 3k longer. But they all rode the climb alone, so.

[George Hincapie]

Exactly right. But I think a lot of people were affected perhaps more by the heat today.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Tomorrow they'll start. It's a short effort, so hopefully there'll be some closer time gaps tomorrow. Let's hope.

[Remco Evenepoel]

It's going to be really interesting to watch Remco versus Lipowitz, maybe future teammates. Lipowitz looks stronger in the mountains.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

One of those guys is going to be working for the other next year.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, that would be interesting.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, Rimco does have. I mean, if all of this buzz and we. And we've kind of fed into a lot of this, that, that he's leaving the team, getting bought out. Whether it's any else, whether it's Red Bull, this is an important bike race for him. I mean, if he disappoints here and lose and say he gets eight in this Tour de France. I'm just making that up. The price of poker really changes.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah. Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

And so, yeah, this is a bit.

[George Hincapie]

If I'm him though, I'm coming by the way too.

[Lance Armstrong]

Today could have been a bad day for him and look, he's still there and he, he did fight hard. But this is important in terms of what the payday looks like going forward.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, I felt like he bounced back pretty incredible. I think he's coming at it today with, you know, some, some disappointment for not being able to hang with the first group, but also being proud of his effort that he was able to sort of regroup, not give up and claw his way back to kept third place overall in the gc. Pretty incredible ride for him.

[Remco Evenepoel]

The only thing I worry about, Remco is like, today it worked out really well. Like, no notes. That was perfect. Like, in a few days we're going. The first climb of the day is Tormalay. And so like, if, yeah, if you get gapped on a bigger mountain stage and then you're not going to ever catch back on and you're going to lose minutes in the valley chasing like, that's when the pace yourself strategy becomes a problem. But maybe it was just a bad day.

[Bradley Wiggins]

I don't know.

[George Hincapie]

Bad day. And let's not forget today was the first horse category mountain stage. I mean, people just react differently. Like they've been doing these 1, 2, 3K climbs, really steep, short efforts. Today was, you know, 40 minutes of threshold efforts. It's very hot. So everybody just reacts differently to that. And we saw that today. First stage of the mountains, I mean, caused chaos for a lot of guys.

[Lance Armstrong]

I think, I think you have. We have eight question marks, except. But there's one we. I don't have a question mark about.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

I think Tadi Poguchard knows he's in control, he knows what he's doing. I think there's eight other ones, right. Oscar on, like, can he stay in the top 10? Remco, did he have a bad day? Can he. Does Jonas get second? Where's Roglic end up right, etc. Etc. So there's. I think that's a perfect point, George, for those eight questions. Except for the one big one.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, that.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Yeah, we have. I, I will push back. We have seen riders win after getting in early breakaways. Like, think of like Nara Quintana, the Vuelta. And what was that? 2017 where he jumps into the early breakaway.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Chris Fruman and Sky at the time. Don't react quick enough. Like I wouldn't rule it out for a guy like Jonas to try that because he's got to try something.

[George Hincapie]

I agree.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Are you ready for some questions?

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, let's take some questions. I just have one quick question for George because we've. We teased it enough. When is the hat. The Kim Wasabi Aspen look hat coming, bro.

[George Hincapie]

I'll bring it. Just you tell me. Somebody's got to remind me before I leave in the morning. I leave at like 7:40, so somebody texts me for then and I'll bring it.

[Lance Armstrong]

Okay.

[George Hincapie]

Forgetting.

[Lance Armstrong]

Bless you. Oh, God bless you.

[Remco Evenepoel]

The hat does not disappoint. I've seen a sneak preview.

[Lance Armstrong]

Let's do the. Let's do the Ventum trivia real quick.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Okay. For.

[Lance Armstrong]

Because otherwise I'll forget if we don't. If we don't do it. Now the question yesterday stage 11 started. It ended in Toulouse. What historical significance does Toulouse hold in the Tour? It was one of the very few cities featured in the very first Tour de France, 1903. I think there were only five finish downs.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

It was. It was. Was it Lille when Paris. You know this. It went Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Toulouse Leon, Paris. Think about that. We talk about how hard the bike the. The Tour de France is now. It's the hardest sporting event in the world 100 year ago. 100 years ago, dog like two gears, you know.

[George Hincapie]

Not only that, you'd have to change your tire. You have to switch your wheel around.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

500 kilometer stages, maybe more. That now that was the hardest sporting event in the world. Anyhow, the question for today, first featured in 1994, the Hatakam, which was the climb they finished on today earned a reputation as an infamous Pyrenean climb. Including stage 12. How many times has it featured in the Tour de France? I'm going to say that one more time. First featured in 1994, has earned a reputation as an infamous Pyrenean climb. I'm not sure what. What happened. Something bad happened. Anyhow, including Stage 12 this year. How many times has it been featured in the Tour? Come back tomorrow to get your answer.

[Bradley Wiggins]

All right.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Do we have an answer for yesterday's question?

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, it was the first. It was. Was featured in the first Tour.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Okay.

[Remco Evenepoel]

And okay, so this question triggered me. So I'm asking it and it lets us talk about. We haven't mentioned Ben Healy lost the yellow jersey. Great defense. Did as well as he could. Probably paid for his efforts so he could leave today.

[Lance Armstrong]

That's a five star tour for him. One stage he had the yellow jersey, by the way, even for his team. Team could leave today.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

In his struggles on that, if you watch the climb, it's like that should answer the question. If you're like, why don't they attack every day? It's like, well, that's why, because you pay for it. So this is from Liz. With all the talk about tactics, I wonder why do we even celebrate jerseys someone has quote unquote earned when they might only have it simply because a stronger writer didn't want to deal with the press that night? I mean, it's still a big deal.

[George Hincapie]

Huge deal for a team to be in the yellow jersey. It's, you know, every rider's dream. Even for one day.

[Lance Armstrong]

Absolutely.

[George Hincapie]

I got it for one day in 2006. That's my claim to fame. But yeah, no, don't be that big. But my point is it's very, very hard to get a yellow jersey in the Tour de France and not many writers can say they had it.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Yeah, yeah. I want, I wanted this question to be a palate cleanser because we're talking about Taday. Is he going to pass Mark Cavendish? Like that is unusual. Like just to win a stage or to wear the yellow jersey is a career defining achievement for most people.

[Lance Armstrong]

There are two guys in this race. Going into the race, there were two guys that, that they only wanted it at the end. They would have given it to whoever all the way to the end. Everybody else in the bike race would kill to have that jersey for a day. It doesn't matter if somebody handed it to you, gave it to you, didn't want it, etc, that's a huge deal and for the sponsors that's a big deal.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

And you have to be really good to be in the position to be given a jersey.

[George Hincapie]

Oh, yeah, sure.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

You're not riding last place. So would, would Tate have a realistic. Just this is from Tosh. Would tattoo tosh 2.0 would tada have a real realistic chance of winning all three Grand Tours in the same season?

[Eddie Merckx]

Yes, I think he would have done it last year had he ridden the Volta.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Wow.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I think I agree with you, Bradley. I think though, so, so let's take this question further to real provocative territory. Could he win all three Grand Tours and win the World Championships?

[Eddie Merckx]

I mean, I mean, I wouldn't put anything.

[George Hincapie]

Nowadays you can't put anything past him.

[Lance Armstrong]

But his team is smart enough. They're not going to put him out there and then attempt that. Who cares?

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

What matters is the Tour. He's one of each of the other ones.

[Bradley Wiggins]

They're not.

[Lance Armstrong]

Now the bigger. When I hear that, I say, because that's exciting to me. Winning all three. Like a lot of sports, tennis, golf, etc. That's called a Grand Slam.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

We love it when a player either wins a Grand Slam in a calendar year or in a career.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

There's the career Slam. That's, that's newsworthy. People follow that. That's what sports need. Cycling. I mean, we're talking about that. We're like, no, that would be great. So then, then my brain goes to, why do all three of them have to be three weeks?

[Remco Evenepoel]

I was just gonna ask that.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

Is it not better for the sport? Because these stories. Because if we, I think if we pose the question in another way and said the Giro's two weeks, the Vuelta's two weeks, Tour stays three weeks. Can a rider attempt the Slam pretty consistently?

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

And, and, and, and, and feel good that they're not going to wreck themselves for the following season or down the road. Now that's newsworthy. That's. I love that.

[Eddie Merckx]

And when you're comparing it to the Merck's era and when we're comparing him to the Mercs era, the Vulture used to be two weeks long. So when Freddie Martin's won, it was two weeks long. So we're almost putting unrealistic expectations on tally trying to do it in the modern era when they're three weeks long and in a different month, the year.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Do you guys want. We have Ventum trivia. Do you want Spencer trivia?

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

I would even make the argument or make the case that, that the Tour could go to two weeks. Okay.

[Bradley Wiggins]

All right.

[Lance Armstrong]

So I didn't realize that, that the backlash was going to be quite that extreme. Okay, fine. Keep it at three weeks. The others. I love the idea of the Grand Slam.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I'm 100 on board because I think it's too taxing. Like the answer to the question would be they would. The team wouldn't let them do it because it would fry him for Worlds. It's too risky. Look at Sepkus. He's maybe never been the same of Grand Tour recently. Has not been three weeks and nobody noticed. Do you guys know which Grand Tour it was? The 2020 Volta was like 18 stages and it was better because of it. And nobody noticed it wasn't three weeks.

[Lance Armstrong]

That's why the professor's here. I mean, boy, I mean. Got you on that one, sir. Bradley, what would you know?

[Remco Evenepoel]

Everything. Well, our brains have all been scrambled, like, because of the events of that time, but because of COVID they slammed the schedule together. And like, the Vuelta and the Giro are running at the same time, and they had to fit the classics in. So the Vuelta got stages taken out.

[George Hincapie]

The Tour was in September. Right.

[Eddie Merckx]

So there was a reason it was.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Snowing during the Tour.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

You guys remember?

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Crazy. So, one more question.

[Lance Armstrong]

Spencer Trivia. That's a whole new thing.

[Remco Evenepoel]

I. I thought that actually was the. One of the best vaults as I've seen, because fair. You cut, like, five stages out of it, basically.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Fair.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Is. Is this from corneal? I guess. Is there something in a champion's DNA? In other words, his athletic performance mainly determined by genetics. Look at the Yates brothers, Audrey and Matthew Vanderpoel, and the grandfather, George and Enzo Hincapi. Bradley and Ben Wiggins. I think about this a lot. What do you guys think?

[Eddie Merckx]

Good question.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, that is a good question.

[Eddie Merckx]

What the thing I find interesting is, you know, how. How much that rider. Sons look like their dads on a bike.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

And is that nature or nurture? You know, when I mean, Nicholas Roach looks like Stephen on a bike, Enzo looks like you on a bike. Axel Merckx look like Eddie. Same style, although different body shapes. And Rick Zabel, Eric Zabel, they both had the same style. Very interesting. And I don't know the answer to it.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, I don't either.

[Lance Armstrong]

It's got to be quite a bit of nurture, I would think. Just if you're starting out and you're riding with dad and you're seeing his pedal stroke, you're seeing everything about it when he stands up. It looks like I would. I mean, I think the nature part, the genetics part comes. The engine is the engine, but the style is from watching dad.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Yeah.

[Eddie Merckx]

I.

[Remco Evenepoel]

So I should stop writing with my son.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, go watch. Go watch. Go watch Charlie woods and Tiger woods go watch their swings.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah, right.

[Lance Armstrong]

That Charlie woods was standing around since he was three years old, a little plastic golf club. And watching dad, like, that's. He's like, oh, that's how you do that.

[Bradley Wiggins]

I'm.

[Lance Armstrong]

I'm just gonna try. I'm a little boy. I'm just gonna try to copy that.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Right.

[Lance Armstrong]

And on and on and on.

[Bradley Wiggins]

And here we are.

[Remco Evenepoel]

There definitely is a genetic engine component, but there's also. There's probably someone as talented as George and Bradley and you who just didn't know how to get into professional cycling and then never pursue this. If you have the guidance from a parent, it probably helps you get through the first couple steps.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yep.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yep. That's it for questions.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Okay.

[George Hincapie]

Big day tomorrow. Big day tomorrow.

[Remco Evenepoel]

It is a big day.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, again, we have potentially be.

[Bradley Wiggins]

We have.

[Lance Armstrong]

There. There's. There's now a bunch of whole, you know, new questions.

[Remco Evenepoel]

If Jonas wins, do we have to call Visma live on the show and apologize?

[Lance Armstrong]

Happy to. I'm happy. I'm happy to. There was years. There was years ago. There's a particular team. I said, if they win something. There was like, we used to have, like, this metal Eiffel Tower, and I was so convinced I couldn't win anything, I said, I will eat this Eiffel Tower complete. Fortunately, they didn't win anything. So if the Eiffel Tower was sitting here right now, I would probably say the same thing. But, yeah, fine.

[Bradley Wiggins]

We'll call them.

[Eddie Merckx]

If he doesn't win, they can apologize to us.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, you're right.

[Remco Evenepoel]

Because that needs to be a. That's an unbalanced bet the way.

[Lance Armstrong]

Okay. Hey, I'll leave you with this. We're seeing one of the greats of all time. Like, we can see here and say, oh, folks, sit back.

[Bradley Wiggins]

He is. And.

[Lance Armstrong]

And whether. No, we'll let the race play out. This might be a blowout, but just appreciate greatness.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, the kid is.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Is.

[Lance Armstrong]

Is one of a kind. And in the world of sport. In the world of sport. And so just cycling. Appreciate that. I know we do. And enjoy it.

[Bradley Wiggins]

All right.

[Lance Armstrong]

Thanks for tuning in.

[Bradley Wiggins]

Sa.