Maëva Squiban Attacks Solo with 32k to Go | Tour de France 2025 Stage 6 | THEMOVE Femmes

Summary

Podcast Summary: THEMOVE Femmes – "Maëva Squiban Attacks Solo with 32k to Go | Tour de France 2025 Stage 6"

Release Date: July 31, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode of THEMOVE Femmes, host Lance Armstrong, alongside co-hosts Mari and Ali, delves into the dramatic developments of Stage 6 of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes. The central focus is Maëva Squibbin's impressive solo attack with 32 kilometers remaining, securing her a notable stage victory. The discussion encompasses race dynamics, individual performances, team strategies, and previews of upcoming stages.

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Highlights of Stage 6: Maëva Squibbin's Attack

The episode opens with enthusiastic praise for Maëva Squibbin's remarkable performance. Lance Armstrong sets the stage by highlighting her progression:

[00:00] Lance Armstrong: "Exceptional. Maeva Squibbin. What. What a ride. She… showed herself last year, got second in a stage this year."

Mari and Ali add context about Squibbin's young age and her historic achievement:

[00:10] Ali: "Young, 23."

[00:20] Mari: "Second French stage winner for the Tour de France Femmes since we started the Tour de France."

Lance reiterates Squibbin's dominance, emphasizing her control and endurance during the race:

[01:57] Lance Armstrong: "If you think about, it's close to an hour. That's a long break. To hold off a strong field on a very, very tough day."

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Race Dynamics and Key Performances

The hosts dissect the intricacies of Stage 6, focusing on how Squibbin managed to outpace the peloton:

• Peloton's Response: Mari notes that while the peloton was riding hard, there wasn’t aggressive attacking among them, allowing Squibbin to maintain her lead.

  [02:15] Mari: "It's an incredible stage win."

• Squibbin's Strategy: Discussing Squibbin's tactical decision to attack with considerable distance left:

  [02:18] Mari: "She attacks like, let's say the GC favorites and just held it to the line."

Ali commends the FDJ team's efforts to reel in Squibbin but acknowledges Squibbin's successful solo ride:

[02:32] Ali: "FDJ was definitely trying to reel her in and not bringing her back."

The conversation also touches on other standout riders and their performances, such as Juliette Labus and Kim Lacourt, and their maneuvers during the stage.

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Team Tactics and Time Bonuses

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around team strategies, particularly concerning time bonuses and their impact on the General Classification (GC):

• Time Bonuses Explained: Mari and Lance explain how time bonuses at intermediate sprints and the finish line can influence the GC standings.

  [07:31] Mari: "Kim Lacourt fortifies her yellow jersey. She now has 26 seconds on Pauline, 30 seconds on Cassia, 31 seconds on Demi, and 35 seconds on Anna Vanderberg."

• Debate on Tactics: The hosts debate whether certain time bonus strategies were purely tactical or had underlying motives.

  [09:15] Ali: "I think there's nothing sinister and I think the idea to take away the seconds is a good one."

  [09:50] Mari: "I don't think it's sinister. I think it's a waste of energy."

Lance and Ali discuss the implications of these strategies on the overall race dynamics and the tight GC standings, emphasizing the potential for surprises in upcoming stages.

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Impact on General Classification (GC)

The tight GC standings are a focal point, with Kim Lacourt currently leading and other contenders like Pauline, Cassia, Demi, and Anna Vanderberg closely trailing. The hosts speculate on how the recent stage results and upcoming challenges might reshuffle the podium:

[10:05] Mari: "Cassia looks good. She does, she does. Pauline continues her chase, I don't know…"

[10:54] Mari: "Right now we got ourselves a bike race."

Lance emphasizes the volatility of the GC with only small time gaps separating the top contenders:

[10:57] Lance Armstrong: "When you talk about those four ladies, right, Pauline, Castinho, Doma, Demi, Wellering, Banner, Briggin, that could be the race."

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Preview of Stage 7

Looking ahead, the hosts analyze the upcoming Stage 7, characterized by demanding climbs and technical descents:

• Stage Profile: Mari describes Stage 7 as having significant climbing segments with Category 2 climbs, maintaining consistency with the men's classifications.

  [17:17] Mari: "No, it's like 25."

• Potential Outcomes: Lance and his co-hosts discuss potential stage winners and how the climbs might influence the overall standings.

  [19:54] Lance Armstrong: "You mentioned the technical descent. I thought, oh, boy."

[19:56] Ali: "Ball. Cur ball. If she's there. But if not, Cassia goes full send."

The anticipation builds around how riders like Cassia and Karbal will perform on the technically challenging descents.

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Listener Questions & Answers

The episode features a segment addressing listener-submitted questions, adding an interactive dimension to the discussion:

1. Synchronization of Women's Races with Men's Counterparts

   • Question: Is there any known reason why the Women's Giro d'Italia and the Welta Feminina don't sync their races with their male counterparts?

   • Response: Mari explains organizational differences and recent efforts to align schedules to enhance visibility and support for women's cycling.

     [21:25] Mari: "The women's Giro no longer will conflict with the men's Tour de France… it was the same for the World Tour schedule… it’s going to look much different."

2. Classification of Climbs in Women's vs. Men's Cycling

   • Question: Are climbs classified the same in women's and men's cycling?

   • Response: Lance confirms that climb classifications are consistent across both genders.

     [22:26] Ali: "Yes."

3. Physiological Indicators: Salt Stains on Jerseys

   • Question: What is the physiological reason a rider's sweat would be saltier on a bad day? Do you have examples of your saltiest days on the road?

   • Response: The hosts discuss the variability in individual sweating patterns and the complexity of correlating sweat salinity with performance.

     [25:32] Ali: "I agree. It depends on the person too…"

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Sponsor Highlights

Throughout the episode, hosts briefly discuss sponsors, integrating them seamlessly into the conversation:

• Zwift:

  Lance talks about Zwift's new cog and click setup, praising its convenience and versatility.

  [02:40] Lance Armstrong: "Zwift just launched the new cog and click setup. So this is pretty cool…"

• Honey Stinger:

  A promotional segment highlights Honey Stinger's new peanut butter flavors and exclusive discount for listeners.

  [16:15] Mari: "Honey Stinger is the first and Only energy waffle to launch new peanut butter flavors… use promo code is the move."

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with accolades for Maëva Squibbin's stellar performance and a humorous nod to her "Boomstick" nickname. The hosts express excitement for the unfolding race and invite listeners to send in more questions for future episodes.

[27:34] Ali: "I thought maybe we were giving it to Colton with the…"

[28:27] Lance Armstrong: "All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in. 3, 2, 1."

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Key Takeaways

• Maëva Squibbin's Performance: At 23, Squibbin's solo attack with 32k remaining marks her as a rising star in women's cycling, demonstrating exceptional strength and strategy.

• Race Dynamics: Stage 6 showcased strategic maneuvers, with time bonuses playing a critical role in the tight GC standings.

• Upcoming Challenges: Stage 7's demanding climbs and technical descents are poised to further shake up the standings, with key contenders like Cassia and Karbal in focus.

• Women's Cycling Progression: Ongoing efforts to align women's races with men's counterparts signify growth and increased support for the sport.

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This episode of THEMOVE Femmes offers an in-depth analysis of Stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes, blending technical insights with engaging discussions among knowledgeable hosts. Whether you're a seasoned fan or new to women's cycling, this summary encapsulates the excitement and strategic complexities of the race.

Transcript

[Lance Armstrong]

Exceptional. Maeva Squibbin. What. What a ride. She. This rider's prom, you know, showed herself last year, got second in a stage this year.

[Ali]

Young, 23.

[Lance Armstrong]

23 years old, got hit by French. What was it? The only. The second.

[Mari]

Second French stage winner for the Tour de France from.

[Lance Armstrong]

For this year, but not many.

[Mari]

No. Second in the. Since we started the Tour de France.

[Lance Armstrong]

Wow. I thought.

[Mari]

Okay, so Cedrine Karbal won a stage last year, and now we have Squibbin today.

[Lance Armstrong]

Welcome back to the Move, everybody. I'm Lance, joined by Mari and Ali and of course, Mel. We're talking about stage six. Mel Henkapi. What's up? Where we go?

[Mari]

Stage six, Clermont Ferrand to Amber. Clermont Ferrand to Ambert.

[Lance Armstrong]

Fun fact. My wife Anna taught English in Claremont Ferran way back in the day.

[Ali]

Wow.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, her French is good.

[Mari]

Better than yours.

[Lance Armstrong]

It's a lot better than mine. It's not nearly as good as Milheen Gappies, but yeah. She lived in Claremont Forron, taught English.

[Ali]

That's pretty cool.

[Lance Armstrong]

Not cool. I hope I'm not so many talents. I hope it wasn't like, you know, some other. It was Claremont for all. Exceptional. Mava Squibbin. What a ride. She this writer's prom. Little, you know, showed herself last year, got second in a stage this year.

[Ali]

Young, 23.

[Lance Armstrong]

23 years old, got hit by French. What was it? The only. The second.

[Mari]

Second French stage winner for the Tour de France from. Effect.

[Lance Armstrong]

Swift for this year, but not many.

[Mari]

No second in the. Since we started the Tour de France.

[Lance Armstrong]

Wow.

[Mari]

I thought, okay, so Cedrine Krabal won a stage last year, and. And now we have Squibbin today, by the way.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, as far as I'm concerned, there was no luck involved. She took the race. She took control of the race and she. And she held it. She wrote a hell of a race despite a peloton behind that was riding hard. Not attacking each other ruthlessly, but we're riding hard.

[Mari]

Yeah.

[Ali]

FDJ was definitely trying to reel her in and not bringing her back.

[Mari]

So 32.32k to go. She attacks like, let's say the GC favorites and just held it to the line. So chapeau to her. It's an incredible stage win.

[Lance Armstrong]

If you think about. It's close to an hour. That's a. That's a long break.

[Mari]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

To hold off a strong field and on a. On a very, very tough day.

[Ali]

Yeah.

[Mari]

So, you know, before we get really started here, let's Talk about Zwift.

[Lance Armstrong]

Title sponsor, Warm it up.

[Mari]

Title sponsor of the Tour de France fame of Zwift. And also here on the move. Um, Mari and I actually rode yesterday, so I did not use Zwift, but I did bring the trainer up to the bunkhouse so Blaze could ride the trainer. Zwift just launched the new cog and click setup. So this is pretty cool. No cassette changes, no bike drama. Not like the DS drama going on in the race. And you can use literally any bike, put it on and make any trainer. As with ready trainer. All the big names. Wahoo. My personal favorite, Garmin Jet Black Elite Decathlon. Fully equipped. Starts at $299. But I still got fitness score points riding with Mari yesterday on Zwift because I connect the Zwift companion act with my Wahoo roam. And I'm still, still gaining points on you on Zwift.

[Lance Armstrong]

Congratulations. Congratulations. I, I, I might actually ride my bike today.

[Mari]

You could ride with us.

[Ali]

That was a hard pass.

[Lance Armstrong]

Let's, let's talk about the race. You know, overall, um, you know, I, a little more muted than, than I would have thought. Um, look, by the way, too. And we were just sort of reflecting as we were watching because we were talking about stage two and Mario were like, wait a minute. Who wanted. I mean, we are just like that. We're 2/3 of the way through the Tour de France fame of Exwift went fast.

[Ali]

It's been flying by.

[Lance Armstrong]

It's flying by.

[Ali]

It's been great racing. You know, it's been fun to watch. So.

[Mari]

But our winner on stage two did get most aggressive rider, and she is from Brest, so she is a Britain from Britannia. So that was a big deal for her. And I think that's super cool. But I just totally. We were like, who did win stage two? Now we know. Don't worry, people.

[Ali]

I mean, I think we expected to see some fireworks. But when you look at the size of the group coming into the finish, it was still a pretty select group. So the racing was still hard. It was just, I think, consistently hard. And there were a lot of little selections taking place the whole day.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yep. I mean, things happening when you have, we all know this, right? When you're in a race and you're in the peloton or, you know, you're fighting for the GC when, when there's downhill finishes. And overall, the race can be hard, but it doesn't incentivize. And this is not a critique, but it just, it does neutralize the group. The Favorites. Right. And they also to know what they have tomorrow, when Saturday and Sunday. These are big, big days. So, um, I think it was just a day where hopefully just take some of the. Some of. Some of the sting out of the legs for some folks come this weekend, for sure.

[Mari]

And I think, though it's interesting we could. Mayva came into this race with full expectations of supporting Elisa Longo Borghini. Right. And so now that Lambo's not in the race anymore, I think it gave her some free range to be able to attack that GC group. She lost a lot of time. She started the stage 9 minutes and 33 seconds back, and she probably wouldn't have had that opportunity to attack that group because she would have been in a support rider.

[Ali]

So that was a great move on her part.

[Lance Armstrong]

So that was good to see and certainly helped by. By being nine minutes down.

[Mari]

I mean.

[Ali]

Yeah, they all looked at each other. You know, the. You know, it was still a hectic stage. I think, you know, if you're a GC rider or something, you're not wanting to lose anything. On the descent. A couple of those women, you know, Katja and Serval. Wait, how do you.

[Mari]

Curveball, curveball.

[Ali]

We're really going for it. On the descent, which, I mean, the roads were narrow, was completely strung out. You know, that's very hectic for those women. So when it all came back together and that moment when she decided to go, you know, it was a perfect timing. They were all looking at each other and just taking a breath. And she got that time quickly, this girl.

[Lance Armstrong]

I mean, there was that one corner. I don't know if TV was playing it up, but if I wasn't listening and just watching, I would have thought easy. Now she used every inch of the road, I mean, and Neodoma, who. Sorry, I started to start to think about, you know, her and Taylor Finney, and she probably trains a lot of. Taylor was a hell of a descender. So if you're. If you spend a lot of time training with your husband, like, Taylor Finney goes downhill with his eyes closed faster than most people go with both eyes open. Right. Probably learns a lot from him. She was ripping right with her.

[Mari]

I think that's good. Yeah. Two best descenders probably in the peloton right there. And so Dream did say that she was going to go for just these crazy technical dissents. And I mean, when we look at tomorrow's stage, we can talk about that. I did notice that Puck Peters had a better day today, so she was in that Front group. I don't know what happened to her yesterday. So now we might have some more, more players in there. I mean, the group was bigger. But you guys, I have a question here. I know, Lance, you can see it either way, but about 4.7k to go, to be exact. Juliette Labus, who's on FDJ, goes off the front. Now Maeva is already a minute and 30 seconds off their front.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yep.

[Mari]

And this is 4.7k to go, mainly downhill. She's going off the front and so she ends up getting second on the stage by a couple seconds and taking time bonuses. Damie got fourth in the bonus sprint, which we should still talk about the bonus sprint and fourth on the stage. So that ends up that Labuse takes six seconds at the finish. Kim Lacourt gets four bonus seconds because she gets third and Damie got fourth on both of those. So zero bonus seconds today.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Mari]

Why?

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, we don't know, but there are two ways to look at it. But let's first talk about what we know. Right. What you do know is in both the intermediate time bonus sprint and the finish line sprint, Kim Lacourt got time. Right. So if you look at her, she's obviously, she, she fortifies her yellow jersey. She now has 26 seconds on Pauline, 30 seconds on Cassia, 31 seconds on Demi, and 35 seconds on Anna Vanderberg. So she is gaining time. Now there's, there's two ways to look at. One is perfect team tactics. Go up the road, take the time bonuses so that Kim LaCour can't get them. Now she is getting them because she's getting the, you know, she, in both cases she took, well, I guess in the, in the intermediate, she took second place, time bonuses and then third at the finish line, you know, or you could look at it another way, which is a little more sinister. Like you're writing for yourself. You're out there getting time bonuses, you're helping somebody else, and Jimmy's getting fourth. Fourth means equals zero in both of those scenarios. I, I, I feel like, I don't think it's a bad strategy to, to take the time bonuses and hope that Kim, somebody else comes around. Kim Lacourt and she gets fourth two times. If that happens, you look at that and you say, wow, those are perfect team tactics.

[Ali]

I am, I agree. I don't think there was anything sinister and I think the idea to take away the, the seconds is a, was a good one, especially if it's a dissent where, you know, she isn't everyone's having to work pretty hard on the descent, so if you're just technically doing it better and you're a little bit in front and taking the seconds, I don't think there's anything sinister going on. You know, I guess the one thing is you could have looked at that group and thought that Kim would win, win the sprint, so stay behind, you know, and give Demi the chance for, for a second. But that's really, I think, overthinking things a bit.

[Lance Armstrong]

Allie's fallen more in the sinister group.

[Mari]

I don't think it's sinister.

[Lance Armstrong]

Sinister is not the right word.

[Mari]

I don't think it's sinister. I think it's a waste of energy. And Damie, out of the entire group is maybe second fastest to Kim Lacourt, but she's going to outkick Pauline, outkick Cassia, most likely. So I think she had bonus seconds available that Labus would not have.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yep.

[Mari]

Like, I think she took it and wasted energy on a 4,7K slightly downhill where she's doing time trial power, just floating six seconds in front of the peloton.

[Ali]

But I, I could see a team, like meeting, going something like, if there's a way to take away the points or take away the seconds, they did maybe. Well, no, but, but like, that was maybe in her mind when she was coming.

[Lance Armstrong]

I agree.

[Ali]

Like, I mean, I think that they were looking for opportunities to not let Kim get those seconds. And maybe in that case, where it's kind of a 50, 50 thing, maybe she just chose the thing that maybe didn't make as much sense.

[Lance Armstrong]

And look, this is, this is all stuff you talk about on day six. Kim Lacourt could lose three minutes one day and it's, it's really neither here nor there. And, and the race is stacked here, right between second and fifth on GC is nine seconds.

[Mari]

Right now we got ourselves a bike race.

[Lance Armstrong]

When you talk about those four ladies, right, Pauline, Castinho, Doma, Demi, Wallering, Banner, Briggin, that could be the race. Now, Kim Lacourt could surprise everybody. And if she is prepared to climb and ready to climb, well, she's got half a minute, right? That's real time.

[Mari]

Hey, I didn't realize this though, but Kim Lacour is the first non European to win a stage at the Tour de France. Vomibec Zwift. What? I did not know that fact until I read that last night. Anyway. Oh, another big loser there was Gigante. Mari's Sarah Gigante lost some time today.

[Ali]

No, she's still kind of up there, though.

[Mari]

She's up there.

[Ali]

She only. Yeah, she came back, but, you know, she was lucky to have her teammate that one time.

[Mari]

Justine went back and got her.

[Ali]

Yeah, but she's still, I would say, hanging in there somewhat.

[Mari]

She's going to do really well in the mountains, for sure.

[Lance Armstrong]

Lorena Weavas as well. I don't know. I mean, maybe as expected, maybe not. Was and was isolated when, you know, when. Yeah, when the coverage came on, she was alone back there and. And was 10 minutes down. I believe the Time cup we looked up was around 20, so shouldn't be a risk there, but. And green jersey points totally unchanged, which is a win for Marion Voss. Like a day like this, I'd have to go back and look where the intermediate sprint was, but unchanged. I think it's 208 to 178. And I mean, this is gonna be a fun one.

[Ali]

The green jerseys are really interesting. Yeah. Competition.

[Lance Armstrong]

Because they saw her get dropped right away today.

[Ali]

Yeah, right.

[Lance Armstrong]

If you're. If you're Visa, Melissa bike, you're going, we're gonna get rid of her and we're gonna snag those early points because. Well, having said that, Marianne was struggling on the climbs a little too.

[Ali]

Yeah. But the sprint tomorrow comes up, you know, on the flats, basically, before they.

[Lance Armstrong]

Get well, then they have to ride. Yeah, they have to ride. This is. We had this very same discussion in the Men's Tour. Like, you just have to put the team on the if. Especially if you can play out different scenarios where in the mountains, they think. You think they're going to try to get rid of you tomorrow. They have to ride and just bank those points.

[Mari]

I had another question on your favorite jersey. Not too shabby. Shabby was in the early break, going real hard. I mean, she's obviously going for this jersey 100%. So this goes back to my question on LA Boost. Taking those seconds, you have Elise Shabby on fdj. Why are you wasting a domestique for Damie getting in the break? Don't tell me it's a satellite rider because not so much because she's full gas, sprinting for QOM points. And yes, she did help going leading out into the bonus section. But, like, what do you want, a yellow jersey or a polka dot jersey or both? Is that what they're doing?

[Ali]

Well, it looks like it.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, it looks. It looks like it. Now, would you do that? They know I would not do that, but I'm not in that team. I mean, there are a lot I think it's fair to say that there are question marks around Demi ballering and so if the team, we're not the media or whoever's not the only ones with question marks. Maybe the team has questions and so you could play the game or like, hey, we don't know, let's go get something. Wow. In a perfect world, let's get both. That would be awesome. But we're not inside the team and. Yeah, but would we do that? No, we would not do that.

[Ali]

Thank you.

[Lance Armstrong]

Would we have done that because we doing something now is not happening. Yeah, it's, it's.

[Mari]

I mean I get getting the points if you're in the break and I get satellite riders but going like full tilt for it and putting that much energy where going to be when we hit the high mountains and maybe you're not even going to get the jersey overall anyway those points go up.

[Lance Armstrong]

But anyway, Cassia looks good. She does, she does. Pauline continues her face, I don't know. I.

[Ali]

She made her comments though after the race yesterday though that she didn't feel as good and today it looked like she was definitely disconserving and sitting in. I. So I was, I was surprised to see her comments after the finish yesterday.

[Lance Armstrong]

And that's right. I mean people have different styles, right? There are people that the whole day you're looking at, wow, they look easy and then they're getting dropped. Like it's just people's style. Other people look terrible, like they're about to get dropped. Next thing you know they're going off front. Like I've not ridden with her on the road nor on the mountain bike.

[Mari]

I don't know if we want to do either.

[Lance Armstrong]

Thank God. Wait, where'd she go? I was just with her. Leave my ass in the middle of France, huh? Help. Surrender. Today's show also brought to you by. We're gonna, before I get into this, we're gonna, we're gonna come back, we'll look at tomorrow's stage. You know, still in the mountains now. We're getting there, right. Finishing Chambray. We're getting close and we got some questions. Questions are flooding in. Not all are ones we can ask on air. That'll be in the post show also today brought to you by Honey Stinger. Many of you guys and gals know I've been involved with Stinger since 2008. I love the, love the team, love the product. They completely invented the energy waffle. So it's no surprise that Honey Stinger is the first and Only energy waffle to launch new peanut butter flavors. Peanut butter, peanut butter chocolate and peanut butter strawberry. They deliver both the fuel and the delicious taste you've come to expect from our waffle. So whether you're out grinding on the bike, getting dropped by Pauline, or preparing for a club championship, the delicious taste of Stingers energy waffles, chews, gels and bars are a great fit for any activity. Head on over to honey stinger.com the move check out all the products, including my favorite, the waffle. Our listeners get 25% off your first order@honey stinger.com the move and the code is the move. What else do we have in our notes here? Yeah, let's look at. Look at tomorrow's stage. Stage seven already. How about this? Yeah, I mean, if you're. Lorena Wavo, the team, they've got a. What are the intermediate points? How are they weighted? Are we. Is it 10?

[Mari]

No, it's like 25.

[Lance Armstrong]

If it's 25, I mean, they have to. I would be worried about these stages on the weekend with the way I saw her climbing today. And if it's 25 points, those, those stages will be weighted the same. This is a race.

[Ali]

She does not want a break to go. She wants those points for sure.

[Lance Armstrong]

But by the way, Marianne Boss is gonna get second.

[Mari]

Yep.

[Lance Armstrong]

Right. So she's gonna get, what, 23 points or it's gonna stay close.

[Ali]

But then the next couple days, you have to get over that category one to get to.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[Ali]

Yeah, it's brutal.

[Lance Armstrong]

This is gonna be fun. Fun to watch it shake out. So we got a cat 2 cat 4, cat 2. I think we all looked at that first category too, and thought, that's interesting. 4K at 7%, the final one. You know these. When you start to get to the. To the five percenters. Not that hard. Right. This, this could. You could almost see another break going again tomorrow.

[Mari]

And the descent is supposed to be highly technical and very fast.

[Lance Armstrong]

The final descent.

[Ali]

Oh, but this cat forward. The cat too. It's almost like one big long climb with just a little break in the center there.

[Lance Armstrong]

You're right.

[Ali]

It's not much descending. There's not much time after that. Four into the two, so.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, then you're looking at 20 kilometers of climbing.

[Ali]

Oh, it's brutal.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yeah, you're right. A little. A little breather there in the middle. Should we do some. We have no tea. The tea is calmed down in. In amongst the. The directors of both visma. And.

[Ali]

But Katja's quote was funny after it yesterday. Did you see that? Yeah. She was saying how, you know, there's all this drama, but they're staying well clear of it.

[Lance Armstrong]

Good.

[Ali]

Basically, you know, alluding to the fact that the directors are fighting.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, her director staying out of it.

[Ali]

Oh, no. Yeah. She and her team are staying out of it. And that there's all this other drama going on. So I thought that was a kind of funny quote afterwards.

[Lance Armstrong]

She is.

[Ali]

She's a sneaky one.

[Mari]

I feel like she's just very likable.

[Ali]

And it was. It's good.

[Mari]

She's probably enjoying watching it from the side, though.

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, you would. I mean, it's so much better to say, what are these guys doing?

[Ali]

Like, you're happy. It's not you.

[Lance Armstrong]

It is. It's what we said yesterday. It's. This is. It's a distracting distraction for the athletes. Right.

[Ali]

Yeah.

[Mari]

I don't know why you do that to your writer, which. I mean, a lot of the men's directors do that too openly. But I just. For. As we wrap up tomorrow for Stage seven, I'm calling. It's a really good stage win for Cassia or Karbal with that descent, if they're in there.

[Lance Armstrong]

You mentioned the technical descent. I thought, oh, boy.

[Ali]

Ball.

[Mari]

Cur ball. If she's there. But if not, Casia goes full send. And I think those are interesting stage win picks. We'll see.

[Ali]

I think the court's doing pretty well, too. I mean, I wouldn't. With a descent to the finish. If she's anywhere close to those girls.

[Mari]

Yeah. If she's. Can get there. And I think she's the quickest one at the moment.

[Lance Armstrong]

But we'll see more time bonuses.

[Mari]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

So there's no intermediate time bonus. I think we're. We're done. We said yesterday we're done.

[Mari]

No more intermediate time bonuses. It.

[Lance Armstrong]

But still 1064 on the line, right?

[Ali]

Yeah. She's just picking away at those time bonuses and patting her time for, like, the big climbs where she may suffer a little bit. I mean, it's interesting.

[Mari]

We haven't seen her on long climbs yet, so we'll see here.

[Lance Armstrong]

All right, we have a question from Celeste. This is a good question. This is. Is there any known reason why the Women's Giro d' Italia and the Welta Feminina don't sync their races with their male counterparts?

[Mari]

Yes. They are not owned by the same organizations all the time, but that has changed in recent years. So the Giro, the women's Giro no longer will conflict with the men's Tour de France, which is the silliest thing, because you forget the women's Giro is going on when the Tour de France is happening. So next year, they're going to start sinking up more. But I think it's the owners of the organization and just budget and convenience. And the Women's World Tour schedule didn't used to always align with the Men's World Tour schedule, but as we're seeing it progressing, it's. It's going to look much different.

[Lance Armstrong]

Same for the Welta.

[Ali]

I would imagine that the teams would want that, too. I mean, now that the men's teams all have their women's counterpart teams, you would think that the sponsors would start pushing for that, too. So, you know, I think we'll probably see them trying to bring it together.

[Lance Armstrong]

And of course, the Vuelta is owned by aso, which. Which owns the Tour. I'm assuming the Welta Feminine is also the same.

[Mari]

But this just started happening in recent years.

[Lance Armstrong]

Okay.

[Mari]

Before it was like the Giro was. It was a different owner, so it was called, like, Gira Rosa, and, you know, so it was just a different owner. So they didn't correlate. And now they are all starting to come together. So we are going to see that. Because I remember raising the Juro during the Tour like no one cares. You're racing the Giro when the Tour is going on. So now I think it's going to be really good for women's cycling to start aligning those. Just like teams are aligning, too.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yep.

[Mari]

Similar team ownerships.

[Lance Armstrong]

Agreed. Agreed. Rick asks, are the climbs classified? This is a good question. Are the ClA. Whoa. Hello, Lance. Are climbs classified the same in women's and men's cycling?

[Ali]

Yes.

[Lance Armstrong]

Yes. And the answer is yes. Right.

[Mari]

Okay.

[Lance Armstrong]

But it's a good question. I mean. Yeah. I mean, an HC climb is. Is an HC climb. Like, it doesn't mean that. I'd have to think of a Category 2 climb we did in the Men's Tour this year. But if the women go over, that is not a one or an hc. That's. That's a Category two. So the climbs we'll see tomorrow, that Category two climbing would be a Category two climb in the men's field.

[Mari]

Yep. Yeah, that was an easy one, right?

[Lance Armstrong]

That was.

[Mari]

But it was also good. Good question, Rick.

[Lance Armstrong]

It's a good question. Matt comes in hot here with enough anatomy and physiology questions for you. Is there a. This is. Yeah, we had to look this up. Is there a promotional Caravan with a Tour de France fam of ex wife. If so is it the same vendors? And so we looked on in the road book. Cause if you have the actual race book, that's, that's what the riders get, the directors get the swan years. The, the, the staff gets that tells you the, you know, the. How to get to the start line, how to get out of the finish line. But it lists all the different time options. The first time slot they show is caravan. So in the women's steward or the Tour de France family starts two hours before and then there's three different average speed time. So you can calculate where the peloton is in the feed zone, where they, when they're going to get to the finish. But the. Yes, there is, there is a publicity and we don't, I don't know if they're the. There's not there, there are different sponsors. Some of the, some of the sponsors are the same but I suspect because of like jersey sponsors et cetera are different. The caravan's probably different.

[Ali]

Yeah, I'm sure the caravan is, you know, different to whoever is sponsoring. So I'm sure Zwift has a huge presence. Probably throwing out the squirrels everywhere.

[Mari]

Scotty the squirrel is being distributed as well as those, those hats that sunny Dakota. So yes, the watch, the femme hats are going. Scotty the Squirrel is, you know, parading around.

[Lance Armstrong]

If you all will remember, we did have questions about this particular animal a couple of days ago.

[Ali]

At least we remember that.

[Lance Armstrong]

This is. I'm going to ask this one just because I, I'm not sure I know the answer to this. I think there's kind of a two part answer. Gabe says I've heard you mention a few times that salt stains on the jersey are indicative that a rider is suffering particularly bad on any day. What is the phys now this is where it gets confusing. What is the physiological reason a rider sweat would be saltier on a bad day? And do you have any examples of your saltiest days on the road? I think, I don't know that that's necessarily a guarantee that somebody's suffering. I think when we would race and you'd see a guy starting to salt up mentally, you're like, oh, they're suffering. Now whether or not that's true, some people sweat more than others. As Ali thank you sweater. I've never seen Mari sweat.

[Mari]

No, she doesn't.

[Ali]

I sweat.

[Lance Armstrong]

I don't know but. And we haven't seen a ton of that in the Tour de France fam this year. But I think, you know, we saw.

[Ali]

A little yesterday, a little bit, you know, we were seeing some. I agree, though. I don't think it's necessarily. You can tell if someone's having a good or a bad day based off of, you know, their sweat. So I mean, they do a lot of the salt testing now, though. Yeah, I know that. See how much a person sweats salt.

[Mari]

Yeah, I agree. I think it depends on the person too. And sometimes too, like maybe you've overloaded on sodium and your electrolyte so you just have excess that your body is like good on electrolyte. I know that happens. And you know, also women on different times of the month are going to use electrolytes different and need more like. I don't know. I like it when I get salty because I'm like, oh, good. I feel good when I'm okay. Yeah, I know. I like being salty.

[Ali]

You worry us sometimes.

[Lance Armstrong]

You know what? You should wake up really happy every.

[Mari]

Day because I am salty.

[Lance Armstrong]

We've had some other inbound, you know, people wondering why Ally is just less salty here in 2025. Did you know that?

[Mari]

Less salty, like spicy.

[Lance Armstrong]

Like, you know, like, you know what I mean?

[Ali]

I know what you mean. I think she's salty.

[Lance Armstrong]

She's funny.

[Mari]

Oh, you just wait. I have some surprises for you, Mr. Armstrong.

[Ali]

By the way, you're riding with Meredith today. You may get a little salty out there.

[Lance Armstrong]

I was race didn't come on till 7:35 mountain time today. So I was up early and waiting for it to come on. But I. The sort of the teaser pay. I just love our look on there. I gotta say, you know, thanks to everybody at Peacock and having obviously we were there every day for the men's tour. But just had like that shot of us.

[Ali]

Yeah.

[Lance Armstrong]

With the new look, the pink.

[Mari]

Oh, speaking of which, real quick.

[Lance Armstrong]

Okay.

[Mari]

Boomstick.

[Lance Armstrong]

Because that's a. That's very prominent. That's very prominent in the photo.

[Mari]

Boomstick. Obviously. Obviously. Mari, who is this going to? Mavis Squibbin. Boomstick. Come on. This is well deserved.

[Ali]

I thought maybe we were giving it to Colton with the. With the new look.

[Lance Armstrong]

Colton, you Colton, you get honorable mention. Mavis Scribbin, though, by the way. I mean, sometimes. And we. We kind of joke about it sometimes there are these TV attacks. This could have even appeared to be a TV attack early on. She. She sent it.

[Mari]

Yeah.

[Ali]

But the way she pedaled away, I mean, made it look so easy. And she me sent. She looks so good on the bike. Watching her ride. You know, there are people who you want to watch ride, and there are people who you're just not super happy to be watching ride. And she's one of the going, wow, that's a really beautiful woman on her bike.

[Mari]

Yes.

[Lance Armstrong]

She's moving.

[Mari]

Boom stick. Sending more questions tomorrow. Infoedo team. That's right. We accept all pictures with Lance and cats.

[Ali]

Oh, God.

[Mari]

And tomorrow, more boomsticks to. To be given out, I think.

[Lance Armstrong]

That's right. That's right. All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in. 3, 2, 1.

[Ali]

Bye.