Tour de France Femmes 2025 Preview | THEMOVE

Summary

THEMOVE Podcast: Tour de France Femmes 2025 Preview

Hosts and Guests:

• George Hincapie (Co-host)
• Alison Powers (Co-host)
• Mari Holden (Guest, Olympic Medalist)
• Lance Armstrong (Host)

Release Date: July 21, 2025

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Introduction

In this highly anticipated episode of THEMOVE, Lance Armstrong, alongside co-hosts George Hincapie and Alison Powers, welcomes Olympic medalist Mari Holden to provide an in-depth preview of the Tour de France Femmes 2025. The discussion delves into the race's logistics, key competitors, team dynamics, and strategic elements that promise to make this edition one of the most thrilling yet.

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Race Overview and Logistics

The 2025 Tour de France Femmes has undergone significant changes this year, extending the race from July 26th to August 3rd, adding an extra day to the schedule. This adjustment brings the total duration to nine days, covering 1,168 kilometers with an elevation gain of 17,240 meters. Alison Powers highlights, “It is currently the longest UCI Women's World Tour race. But both Mari and I can attest we have done UCI World Tour races longer than nine days” ([02:20]).

George Hincapie notes the strategic alignment with the men's Tour, mentioning, “there's some overlap with the men's Tour... Hopefully close and exciting, right? Just like last year” ([00:52]). The race kicks off in Brittany, known for its challenging terrains, before moving into the formidable Massif Central region, renowned for its demanding mountain stages.

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Key Competitors and Team Dynamics

The episode delves deep into the roster of elite cyclists set to compete. Alison Powers discusses the absence of a time trial, quoting Cassia Nia Doma: “I wish there was a time trial” ([03:49]). This omission is seen as a strategic move that could influence the race outcomes, favoring climbers and sprinters alike.

Damie Van der Horst and Anna Vanderburg are highlighted as pivotal figures. Powers mentions, “Damie Bolerine, Cassia Nia Doma and Marlon Russer winning the Tour de Swiss beats Damie Vollering” ([08:29]). The dynamic shifts due to team changes are also explored, particularly with Damie Vollering switching from SD Worx to FDJ, which Alison believes will bolster her performance: “She's gonna have a great team supporting her” ([15:43]).

Anna Vanderburg's comeback is another focal point. Powers elaborates on her illustrious career and recent return, stating, “she made her comeback... She's an incredible person. Amazing” ([11:53]). The interplay between veteran racers like Anna and rising stars such as Puck Peters adds layers of complexity and excitement to the race narrative.

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Strategic Insights and Predictions

The discussion moves to the strategic aspects of the race, particularly the challenging stages that could determine the overall standings. Mari Holden anticipates intense competition in the mountain stages, suggesting, “It's going to be pretty exciting” ([05:09]).

A significant highlight is the grueling Madeline climb, described as “very hard” due to its 18.6 kilometers at 8% gradient ([23:08]). Both Hincapie and Holden discuss how this climb could be a decisive factor, with Hincapie reminiscing about its impact on past races: “That was the one where Jan got away from me and I bonked” ([24:08]).

Time bonuses introduced in certain stages are also scrutinized for their potential to influence the general classification. Alison Powers points out, “Neodoma won the dang bike race by four seconds last year” ([35:45]), underscoring the tight margins that could make or break the race.

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Notable Quotes

• Alison Powers on the race's length and competitiveness: “It is currently the longest UCI Women's World Tour race. But both Mari and I can attest we have done UCI World Tour races longer than nine days” ([02:20]).

• Cassia Nia Doma on the absence of a time trial: “I wish there was a time trial” ([03:49]).

• George Hincapie on the excitement of a closely contested race: “This is going to be very interesting... That’s sports. Like, that's what you want.” ([37:59]).

• Alison Powers on Puck Peters' versatility: “She races with heart. That's why I like to call her Lambo” ([18:28]).

• George Hincapie reflecting on past challenges: “I'm looking at the profile. I just love putting this in context for the listener... That is very hard” ([22:25]).

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Team Strategies and Rider Focus

The episode sheds light on team strategies, particularly the role of SD Worx and their support for riders like Anna Vanderburg and Lada Potisk. Mari Holden speculates on possible team tactics: “they have to protect someone, to be able to go forward at the finishes” ([14:53]).

Kristin Faulkner and Chloe Dygert, both American riders, are also discussed with a focus on their targeting of stage wins rather than the general classification, given the race's mountainous terrain and lack of a time trial. George Hincapie encourages them: “You're the Olympic champion... enjoy that. Be celebrated” ([20:30]).

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Emerging Stars and Future Prospects

Puck Peters, a multi-discipline world champion, is spotlighted for her potential impact despite limited road racing experience. Alison Powers enthuses, “she just is so exciting to watch because I don't think she knows that her capacity as a road racer yet” ([27:04]). Her aggressive racing style and dynamic presence are expected to inject fresh energy into the peloton.

Mari Holden complements this by highlighting Peters' adaptability: “she's coming back... she's never raced up it, but... she just doesn't know her road racing capability yet” ([27:04]). This unpredictability positions her as a wild card in the upcoming Tour.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, the hosts express their excitement and anticipation for the Tour de France Femmes 2025. George Hincapie reflects on the race's potential to deliver nail-biting finishes similar to the previous year’s close competition: “That's sports. Like, that's what you want” ([37:59]). Alison Powers emphasizes the vibrant team dynamics and the strategic opportunities presented by the race's design, ensuring listeners that this edition will be both competitive and entertaining.

The camaraderie among the hosts and their shared enthusiasm for women’s cycling shines through, promising an engaging and insightful race covered with expertise and passion.

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Final Remarks

Listeners are encouraged to tune into THEMOVE for comprehensive coverage and expert analysis as the Tour de France Femmes 2025 unfolds. With a blend of seasoned insights and fresh perspectives, Lance Armstrong and his co-hosts ensure that every aspect of the race is explored, offering fans an unparalleled insider experience.

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Notable Exclusions

The summary intentionally omits advertisements, casual banter unrelated to the race, and non-content sections to maintain focus on the race preview and analysis.

Transcript

[Lance Armstrong]

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[Alison Powers]

Something to know is there is no time trial, right? We can discuss that later. There was a quote where Kassia Nia Doma, we love her. She won the Tour last year by the closest margin, four seconds. She said, I wish. I wish there was a time trial. And I was kind of like, do you.

[Mari Holden]

Interesting. I didn't see that one.

[Alison Powers]

I read that quote and I was like, you have Damie Bolering, Marlon Russer. Do you really wish there was a time trial?

[George Hincapie]

All right, everybody, welcome back to the Move podcast. We're talking about. It is a rest day for the. For the men's Tour de France. So we thought, what a. What better way to spend a rest day than talking about the race that comes right after this, the one that's actually going to be pretty, hopefully close and exciting, right? Just like last year. We're talking about the Tour de France femme of Ex Swift. This is going to be the preview show, of course. I'm joined by Olympic medalist Mari Holden. Mari, how are you?

[Mari Holden]

I am good.

[George Hincapie]

Good. And we never know where you are. Where are you now?

[Mari Holden]

I have.

[George Hincapie]

My friends, Jackson, you know, we can never. Jackson Ventura. Boom Boom. It's good. All right, cool. And Ally, how are you?

[Alison Powers]

I'm doing fantastic.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, of course. Already going to get a lot of hits on the. On Allison's T shirt there. Already a lot of demand. Mario. Mario and I already have one coming, so.

[Mari Holden]

Me first.

[Alison Powers]

You got it.

[George Hincapie]

You first. Good. Ladies first. Ladies first. Okay, let's. Let's go through the 2025 Tour de France fam of Ex Swift. Some updates, right? So we added a day or two, and I'm going to be a little behind on some of this stuff, but I have actually just logistical and technical questions that'll help me. That I think will help the audience. But we've added one or two days.

[Alison Powers]

One.

[George Hincapie]

One day. That's right.

[Alison Powers]

It's nine days. So it goes from July 26th to August 3rd, covers 1168 kilometers and 17,240 meters in elevation. It is currently the longest UCI Women's World Tour race. But both Mari and I can attest we have done UCI World Tour races longer than nine days.

[George Hincapie]

And, and there's some overlap with the men's Tour. Right. So I think we have two days. Two days of overlap. I still, I haven't even gone into the, to the timelines on, on each race. And I'm assuming the tour has figured that out so that they. They are not finishing at the same time.

[Alison Powers]

Yes, it'll. I think the overlap will be fantastic for the fans on the road. I think it's really exciting. So it starts in Brittany, and it'll kind of be based around that Brittany area for the first three days. And then it goes into one of your favorite places that you'd like to describe, Massif Central.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. Well, I looked through the route. To me, it's one of these. It's. It's a true buildup. Right. You have these stages in Brittany which, by the way, can. Can be deceivingly hard. And then, of course, the Massif Central is always harder than you want it to be, and then some really tough mountain days.

[Alison Powers]

And I think something to know is there is no time trial.

[George Hincapie]

Right.

[Alison Powers]

We can discuss that later. There was a quote where Cassia, Nia Doma, we love her. She won the Tour last year by the closest margin, four seconds. I wish, I wish there was a time trial. And I was kind of like, do you.

[Mari Holden]

Interesting. I didn't see that one.

[Alison Powers]

I read that quote and I was like, you have Damie Vollering, Marlon Russer. Do you really wish there was a time trial? But anyway, we can talk about that in a bit. But one big thing missing a time trial, which is interesting. I don't think you've ever done a Tour Lance without a time trial.

[George Hincapie]

No, I don't. Yeah. No, I have not.

[Alison Powers]

But I mean, the first couple days, super punchy. So I think it's just game on, fiery, feisty from the gun. The sprinters have to wait maybe to stage three, but that still looks like pretty chaotic. And there's maybe two sprint stages and then you go into the mountains and it's like legit Alps mountain stages. Queen stage on the 8th, and the 9th's no joke either. So we can dive into that.

[Mari Holden]

Yeah, I mean, I think this, the way it's set up, it's going to be pretty interesting to see how, how it builds. Like, who's waiting for the mountains, who are kind of those riders in between that might want to be taking some chances. Opportunists looking to maybe get a little bit of time in the beginning. But it's going to be. It's going to be pretty exciting.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah. And I. I mean, so stage one's actually gonna be shockingly short. It's only at 79k but it's super punchy and it's a circuit. But you're doing a 1.6 kilometer climb. That's 5.4%. So I mean a little attrition there. And you know how the first day of a tour starts. It's always just the nerves are high.

[George Hincapie]

By the way, I don't hate a short stage like that to kick things off, lots of action. But Ali, to your point a second ago, I mean I'm looking at the profile right now. You've got a category 3, 15 km, almost 10 miles before the finish. So what I heard you say is that that's, you think that's enough to, to rule out the sprinters?

[Alison Powers]

I do.

[George Hincapie]

Wow.

[Alison Powers]

But we'll see. We'll see. I think it's going to be really hard on any sprint stage to be Weavis, Lorena Weavis, I mean she was our green jersey winner last year and every race she's entered this year, she's won the green jersey in any stage race. Her results look stellar as a sprinter, but I think so. Of course she got the green jersey at the UA Tour Tour Britain Giro. She won two stages there. She won Milan San Remo yet Welvigam Bruge. It's gonna be hard to beat her in a sprint, but I don't think there's that many opportunities the way the race is set up. But then we, I kind of like.

[Mari Holden]

Wonder about that Ali, because I mean those classics that she, you know, won and did really well and those are punchy, difficult little climbs. This, this to me, I think is a, is a great stage for her, you know, for I would think a sprint, the opening one, especially with the distance, it's not super long. They're not tired from the multiple days of racing. She's a good one day racer in that sense. So I do think that that could be a sprint stage and the sprinters are going to be wanting to keep.

[George Hincapie]

Things together and, and, and get a.

[Mari Holden]

Yellow jersey and get a yellow jersey.

[George Hincapie]

I mean that's if you're, which, I.

[Mari Holden]

Mean for sd works is going to be huge because I think they're going to have a hard time during this race getting that yellow jersey. So they have to be ultra motivated for that.

[Alison Powers]

I think we know that Lance will know who wins based on their nail polish color as of last year.

[George Hincapie]

Well, but I mean, look, I, I, I meant what I said.

[Mari Holden]

We'll see what she shows up with. Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

No, but I meant what I said at the start. I mean the, the. And. And you said that. I mean 4 second win in a Tour de France. I mean, that's exciting. Right? And look, spending my days talking about the Men's Tour right now and obviously recognizing the greatness of Toddy Pogachar. He's winning by minutes. Can't imagine watching a race. There's somebody. Never mind. I won't get into that. But, you know, last year was a true nail biter. And that's exciting for. I found myself going, wow, this is. I'm on the edge of my seat. Like, this isn't. This is different than what I was watching for three weeks in the men's race.

[Alison Powers]

Correct. And I think something, Lance, that we love that you're a women's cycling fan. We know you will fangirl out with us every day and it's super exciting.

[George Hincapie]

I do identify as a fan girl.

[Alison Powers]

Thank you.

[Mari Holden]

Especially when he has his cowgirl shirt on. He will be.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, that. That's right. Oh, boy.

[Alison Powers]

I got your hat ready for you too. You're watch the femme hat. But I think something that's interesting is last year we had some dominant teams. Of course, we didn't know that Casio would win. That was just an incredible performance. We not only had a bunch of transfers going on, so SD works kind of splits and these strong riders go different places. You got Damie on fdj, Marlon Roosters on Movie Star, and then fangirling. Speaking of fangirling, we have our Pauline is on Lisa bike.

[George Hincapie]

Visma. Yep.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah, Visma. I was gonna say yumbo. I still am stuck on that. Sorry. Those team names. So, like, I think the. The strength of the peloton has moved around in different teams and they all have different strengths. And so it's going to offer a very unique dynamic. So if I look at the hitters, I'm looking at, of course, previous Stewart defense winner. We got Damie Bolerine, we have Casio Nia Doma and Marlon Russert winning the Tour de Swiss beats Damie Vollering. So I think. And then you. And Pauline hasn't raced a ton, but when she races, she can win or podium. And her preparation, you know, being a world champion in every single discipline in cycling except BMX and track, I think she has a. Could have a very unique preparation. So a lot of altitude camps going on. I wanted to a little bit dive into some of these racers being a little quiet, you know, like Pauline.

[George Hincapie]

I mean, Pauline was on the record that she was making the way I remember she was on the record of saying she was switching to the road to focus on the Tour de France and make this a priority. So I mean this is going to be very interesting. Obviously also French writer and she said.

[Alison Powers]

It right here on the podcast last year. So listeners, if you want to go back, Pauline was on the podcast saying she was coming back to road and targeting the Tour de France. Femmex Swift. Her first win this year was Perry Roubaix. Right. She gets second at Flanders, third at Strade Bianchi. And you know, she's very patient. Her preparation because she has a very cute story waiting to get a water bottle from you. Lance.

[Mari Holden]

You know, you also. You left out Vanderbraggen too, who's also said that this is a really big priority even though was only sixth at the Giro. And I think because there's no time trial, you also have to look at the riders like Sarah Gigante who had that she had an amazing finish at the Giro on the Queen stage and made up a lot of time. And when you look at the difference between winning the GC at the Giro and where she finished, it was about a minute and she lost a minute in her time. So she's climbing really well. I maybe not for the win, but. But a podium possibly, you know, and there are a couple mountaintop finishes.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah. She also lost a lot of time in crosswind. It was.

[Mari Holden]

Well, which I mean it's definitely a possibility. Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

With this route. I mean in Brittany and. And even in the massive central. I mean look, it's bike racing. Crosswind is part of it. So that. Yeah, yeah.

[Alison Powers]

And not to stir the pot. So I think Anna Vanderbergen is incredible looking at her results. So it's a little sleepy this year. She at Stra Bianchi to Damie. So at least Amy didn't have to sprint her own teammate. But she also was sprinting her former coach and DS Anna Vanderburg is a multiple time Olympic medalist. Seven time winner of Flesh Wane world champion the road race and time trial. Four times winning the Giro. Bl like one Liege but stone Liege Flanders AMEL gold. She's incredible. But this season she's won a stage at the VA IT. So I'm curious. She retired in 2021. She started directing SD works and she just made her comeback. She's an incredible person. Amazing. Her husband's actually a coach for Visma Lisa bike by the way. He used to race for them. But I think this is going to be interesting. Not to stir the drama pot here, but.

[George Hincapie]

But please do.

[Alison Powers]

Thank you. Ladaka Pecki, world champion, also has had a pretty slow start Tour season. I mean, coming back from the Lotta that we were watching, spending all these days in yellow and climbing out of her mind and of course winning world championships. And I did quote, it's Lotta's world. We're just living in it. It's a little different. I mean, it's a slower start, I think, than she's used to. She pulled out of the Giro saying her back hurt, but I'm thinking she pulled out of the Giro to rest up for the Tour is my guess. And she has won Flanders this year in the Belgian national time trial. And that's it. That is a different lot of than we saw last year. And so when you're looking at what SD Works is coming in, are they going to work for Anna or Lada and Anna Lotta are supposed to be very good friends. I think they get along well and Anna's such a sweetheart and she's. I don't know. I think she's very nice woman. I mean, they all are, but I think they have a couple cards to play. But both of them haven't had the seasons that we've seen them have before. And Lance, you had a comeback and you know, Anna retires in 2021 at the top of her game. You know, double gold medalist world champion, you know, this. These amazing images and this beautiful racer. And she's coming back in 2025, and I just feel like she's missing that last punch that she needs. Like second at Strato Bianchi is no joke. Like, it's good, but the levels come up.

[Mari Holden]

It's possible that she, you know, was right. I mean, she was disappointed with her result at the Giro, but she may come through it and have better fitness after it. But the like, I mean, looking at it, we'll be able to kind of tell what SD Works is thinking as they go in. If Capeki tries to get into things like before the climbs and Anna's holding back and waiting for the mountains, I mean, because they're going to want to protect someone, to be able to go forward at the. At the finishes. So I think we all know pretty quickly, you know, what their strategy is going to kind of look like. I mean, it's great that they have options.

[Alison Powers]

I think their strategy is options. Right. Like when you do that as a director, Amari. Because they're.

[Mari Holden]

Yeah. I mean, I think that Kopecki and, you know, she has such a good chance to get stage wins, and I think that. That they have to be more confident in the stage wins, in the overall, I would think. So they're going to need to try and get some. Like, maybe they get the yellow jersey on the first day, but I think that the stage wins are going to be a big deal for SD Works this year because I think that if Demi's riding the way she should be able to ride, you know, it's going to be very hard to beat her.

[George Hincapie]

Well, that. That was. That was a question I had, obviously, huge news through the off season with. With Demi Vollerin switching teams from SD Works to ftj, I guess High level. How has that worked out and. And thoughts on how it will work out for her?

[Alison Powers]

I think she's shining during the Tour. Yeah, I think she's shining. She's gonna have a great team supporting her. She's got Evita Musik, she's got Labus writing for her. She's signed huge deals. I mean, she's making a million euro, which is impressive. But also, we've had her on the show as well, and she's a. A nature lover. She knows how to train. She likes to hide in her Swiss Alps and spend time with her partner. Her results this year, I mean, she did get second to Marlene Rooster at the Tour de Swiss, but she won Star Bianchi. So, I mean, they've had these battles, but she's been a little quiet. Except, Lance, this might be interesting. She commented on Taareh Pagachar's Instagram post the other day. Can I swear on this, because we're not on. Yeah, but so you know how the.

[George Hincapie]

And we're not live, so we could bleep it out if you want later.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah, but you know how we. We've been having these big debates on whether or not the peloton should have waited for Tade when he did that crash. 5k to go. And so he's like, thank you. You know, to the peloton, thanks for the respect. And Damie writes on his Instagram and says, looks like you had all the shit I've experienced. Only for me, it cost me a Vuelta GC win and a tourist.

[George Hincapie]

Oh.

[Alison Powers]

So she's. She's coming out with some. Because you remember that last.

[George Hincapie]

No, I remember. How could you forget?

[Mari Holden]

Yeah, exactly.

[George Hincapie]

By the way, these. These are apples and oranges. I mean, let's just be honest. You know, he. We all watched, right? And we're like, what, wait, what are we waiting for? You you got to get going. I mean, Toddy Poker bounced up like a. Like it was on a trampoline.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

She did not bounce up off the trampoline.

[Alison Powers]

And, and, and the race was on. But she was in yellow and they didn't send one team bait, like, teammate back for. No, but the race was on. Like, that was the front of the race. It is completely.

[Mari Holden]

She's on a new team, though.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. Yeah. I almost file that up as, as you know, that was then, this is now. Like Mari, to your point, new team, new environment, new year, new season, new race. Let's go. Like.

[Mari Holden]

And it will make interesting. I mean, with a different team. You know, I like what's going to happen out there. Obviously she has their full support, but since we haven't seen her race, I mean, it's always hard to predict what someone's going to come out of so much time out of racing, you know, so I think it's going to be pretty interesting. And Katja is the same way. Haven't seen her race either.

[George Hincapie]

No, no.

[Mari Holden]

So either they could be flying or they could just not have that last, like that race legs, I guess.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Alison Powers]

Kasia has been a little. Yeah, She's a Polish championship. She won that. She got third at the Tour de Swiss and then a lot of fourth places. Fourth at Flanders, fourth at Strada Bianchi, and then the last hitter were. Well, there's probably a lot of hitters in there, but Elisa Longo Berghini just won her second Giro and she's not a pure climber, she's not a pure time trialist. But this woman races with heart. That's why I like to call her Lambo. She. I had her for the podcast. Lance, we missed it. I. I have her. She's. She's ready.

[George Hincapie]

She's.

[Alison Powers]

She's on. But. Yeah, just don't have pineapple on your pizza. That really makes her mad.

[Mari Holden]

But, like, I mean, it was amazing. She had such a good ride at the Giro and it was great to see her win again. But, you know, with Marlon being sick in, in those last few days, it's kind of like when you're trying to figure out where someone's fitness is and what the form is, you know, it's. It's hard to say, you know, if she's was. It would be better than Marlin in this race, you know.

[Alison Powers]

And, you know, Marlon was a domestique for Lada and Damie, you know, last year. So this is going to be a super exciting stage. Um, also, she got fined 750 Swiss francs, lost some UCI points and got a yellow card. And so then I got dived into this yellow card thing because that's kind of a new thing. Um, she was going into a sprint. She raises her arms and gets mad at a human powered health writer. They didn't even file a protest. It was the jury. And the woman opened up a gap in the sprint. She's in the pink jersey, leading the Giro d', Italia, and she raises her hand because this gap opens. And I think I actually feel bad for the human powered health because they didn't file it. It was just. The jury was like, you get a yellow card, you get this. And I found out. So then I was interested if what the yellow card thing was, and I was like, oh, no, what if she gets another yellow card in the Tour? And that's okay. She can't get three. So it's two yellow cards in one race. Stage race. If you get three yellow cards within 30 days, then you're suspended.

[George Hincapie]

And they've been rare. I mean, they're not throwing that many of those out there.

[Alison Powers]

No, it was weird. And she is a doctor, so she's our doctor of the peloton, of course, but she does have a yellow card.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, the doctor.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah, you should call her the doctor.

[George Hincapie]

Mari, let's question about Kristen Faulkner. Obviously, our Olympic champion American and Chloe Dygert, both in the race. Kristin was on the record of saying that she's targeting the Tour and that's her main focus for the season. I think that's great. And I have actually chatted with her just a little bit. You're the Olympic champion. Savor that, enjoy that. Be celebrated. So be out there. And maybe that time of celebratory stuff is passed. And now time to focus on the Tour. What is this Tour? How does it play out for her? If you had to guess?

[Mari Holden]

If I had to guess, I would say that a stage win would be a huge.

[George Hincapie]

Awesome.

[Mari Holden]

Awesome and realistic. You know, I mean, her style of riding, where she's opportunist and goes. Goes for it, I could see her doing that. I think she's going to struggle on the Madeline, but, I mean, she may still be. If she gets top 10, I think that would be awesome on a climb like that. But I. I don't see her going for the overall gc. I would think it would be more of a stage and I think the same for Chloe. And Chloe is really strong right now and motivated, so I think that those opening stage. Well, not the Opening stages. But maybe the, the middle stages are the ones where we're going to see the Chloe's and Voss and Kopecki kind of going for it.

[Alison Powers]

It'll be so exciting.

[George Hincapie]

You bring up the Madeline. I'm just sitting here looking at the profile. I love looking at this stuff every day. I have enjoyed it the last two weeks.

[Alison Powers]

Well, Lance, you have done it. You've done.

[George Hincapie]

I know I've done it, but these things. Listen, I don't remember. I don't know what is wrong with me. I like, I just, I don't. I'm not a reminiscer. I'm not. I don't sit around and reflect like I know I've done it.

[Alison Powers]

I'm here, I got you.

[George Hincapie]

But if you dropped me. But for example, if you drop me there like that show destiny, you put you somewhere blindfolded and take off the blindfold, say, where are you? If you drop me on the battle and said, where are you? I was. I don't know where I am. And by the way, I'm not. I'm not so sure I'm proud of it, but that's just the truth. Anyhow, I'm looking at the profile. I just love putting this in context for the listener. 18.6 kilometers at 8%. I mean, is it.

[Mari Holden]

It's hard.

[George Hincapie]

That is very hard. As long. What it is, is long.

[Alison Powers]

It's long. It's been in the Tour de France 27 times. And Mari, if you did the Grand Bukol In 2002, you did it twice in one day.

[Mari Holden]

Yeah.

[Alison Powers]

And Lance, you've done it twice. By the way, it was first featured in the tour.

[Mari Holden]

We've done it the same amount of times. I don't remember it either.

[Alison Powers]

I mean, I'm here for that.

[Mari Holden]

In my mind.

[Alison Powers]

It was first featured in 1969. It has been on the tour, like I said, 27 times. Lance, you have done it twice. The highest you place was sixth place but one and. But in 2004 it helped launch you to your attack on al duets. So like it was part of a stage. It's. You only finished on the top once. But I did look up to see if you had the fastest time or anything like that. You don't.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, no, no.

[Alison Powers]

I knew you wouldn't remember it and I have never raced up it, but I thought I would, I would help you out there because Johan will text us later.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. In an interesting. Like if I. If I just. I mean, we're talking about Madeleine and how difficult it is and if I go to the final stage now, this is a. This is a climb. I remember stage eight, the climb right now. It's. It's. It's awkward because it's in the middle of the stage. That stage is 124km long. Right in the middle they have Col de Juplant. Cold as Jupiter is. Is one I, I actually remember very well. That was the one where Jan got away from me and I bonked and we. We had to do the descent and the finish was down in Morzine. It was. It was brutal. But that is a very hard climb. And then, of course. But it's only halfway through the stage, right? And then you descend down and then you've got one more category one. And then you descend from that and then on and on. But this is. It's kind of an interesting final stage of the Tour de France family.

[Mari Holden]

Not a procession.

[George Hincapie]

No, that. Not at all. But also a difficult day.

[Alison Powers]

It.

[George Hincapie]

Let's just say if you had somebody that, that, that just had to go on some sort of a kamikaze attack, this is a hard day to do that.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah. I mean there's over 9,000ft of elevation in the last. 9,450ft of elevation gain in the final stage.

[George Hincapie]

Final. The final climb's 30 kilometers. The top of the final climb is 30 kilometers from the finish. So. And that. It is not necessarily flat. You descend down and it kind of falls flat up to. To the finish. That's a hard day to make. Make a move, so to speak.

[Mari Holden]

Definitely. I think that, you know, you would think that at the top of the Madeline is going to be where the race is decided, but there's definitely.

[George Hincapie]

Oh, yeah, no.

[Mari Holden]

On this next day, if you don't have a team around you to help to bring things back in the beginning part of the race for the. All the people trying to attack it, it's going to be a crazy stage, but fun to watch.

[George Hincapie]

Took the words out. Took the words out of my mouth. Your plan is nasty with a capital N. You know what?

[Alison Powers]

We're going to be having a great time in Aspen covering this, and we are not racing up it, but it is going to be a hell of an exciting race. I had one rider I wanted to bring up that we haven't talked about is the name of my cat, but we haven't talked about Puck Peters.

[George Hincapie]

Why do we. I keep hearing about this said cat. There was rumors that the cat was coming to Aspen.

[Alison Powers]

Spencer told me.

[George Hincapie]

No, no, we're not. No, we don't. That that. Are you, Are you, are you hearing a cat?

[Mari Holden]

I'm hearing cat, but I. I just can't even imagine traveling.

[George Hincapie]

You can't, you can't. Into like a rental, like a cat. Cats. Look, and I have nothing against cats, but anyhow, go back to the writer. You were talking.

[Alison Powers]

I did ask if I could bring the cat. I heard the firm. No, I was allowed to bring Blaze, thankfully. But. So Puck, though, is interesting. She was our best young rider last year in the Tour, and remember this? The Tour de France Van Beck Swift was her first stage race she's ever done. She's a world champion in mountain bike cyclocross. She's incredible. A U2,3 world champion as well. And road. But she won flush this year, which was super exciting to watch and. Cause this girl races elbows out. And I think we just really enjoyed watching her. She's just like a spitfire and she just doesn't. She's 23 years old at the moment and she doesn't. Just doesn't know her road racing capability. And she launches on flesh and wins it like Anna Vanderburg has won it seven times. And Puck just looked like she was doing a mountain bike. Short track start. Um, she's super fun to watch on mountain biking, but I mean, she's coming back. She hasn't raced a ton of road. She's done maybe 10 road races world Tour races this year. She's never finished outside of the top 10. So she won flush. Second at LBL, third at Amstel. Of course she wins all the World cup mountain bikes races. She basically enters. So a week ago she kind of had a bad crash in the World cup mountain bike and then she's like, I have a week to become a roadie. So she's doing this fun, like, road to roadie. I'm not saying she's a GC contender, but that woman just is so exciting to watch because I don't think she knows that her capacity as a road racer yet. She's not developed and this form. And she does. I listened to this interview where they were like, oh, so you're getting, you're ready for the tour? And she goes, no, I do road racing for fun. Mountain biking's my job.

[George Hincapie]

Part time. Side hustle.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah, I mean, she's the one that. She chugged the beer. Did you see that? Lance Amstel. She was on the podium of Amstel and everyone's like sipping their beer and Puck just like grabs it and she chugs the whole thing. She probably weighs like both. She's 35 kilos, but, yeah, small little thing, but she will be interesting to watch, I think. Very dynamic for Alpis and Phoenix.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. And I should have mentioned at the top, but this is just so cool for us. This. Our. Our show. Our little show here. Right here. The three of us going to be live on Peacock. It's been interesting. I say it's been interesting. It's. It's actually been. And I think we've done it the right way. We just. We just been doing it like we always do it. Let's take a commercial break in the middle. But what a hit. Like, that's. That's awesome.

[Alison Powers]

I'm so. I didn't know I could say anything about it. I was so excited. It's like 2 minutes and 32 seconds. Can I do that when we're on the show?

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, well, you got to. You can only do that if you go back and watch Chuck woolery highlights on YouTube from him hosting Love Connection for many, many years.

[Alison Powers]

I have no idea what that is.

[George Hincapie]

Well, I'll send you some links. Mario, that's because you're young. Mari and I are old enough to remember it's okay to REM Member Love Connection and Chuck Woolery and, you know, this debonair dude. And. Anyways. But it's. It's been great. It's been great and. And just awesome.

[Alison Powers]

So super excited.

[Mari Holden]

A lot of work for you, Lance, those first couple days, though.

[George Hincapie]

Well, this is. This is what I was sort of hinting at at the start. And if I. I mean, I'll go through the websites here or the. The road books and look at how they're staggering. I mean, it's a lot of work for the tour. They have two days of the men's race, which are eventful days. Right. They've tweaked the finish into Paris. That is no longer sort of a procession. They're doing Montmartre and very similar to the Olympic course. So they gotta focus on that. And then they have to start the women's tour and not just allow viewers to watch both and also allow us to watch both and cover both. But, yeah, we'll just have to. And speaking of Peacock, I mean, I'm Surely they've figured out how these things stack up.

[Mari Holden]

So does that mean Lee and I are working out with you, George, and.

[George Hincapie]

You know. Sure. You know, George is a little more Instagram workouts, to be honest.

[Mari Holden]

Well, we don't want to ride with him. We've heard so.

[Alison Powers]

No, no, I don't But I am a little disappointed. Lance, you have your hat on. Were you worried about your hair?

[George Hincapie]

I am having a bad hair day. That's. That's for sure. And I am not. We're getting off topic here. But that's. I'm. Since you asked. I am. After this. I'm a slightly. I'm going to get a slight tweak. I'm going to trim my hair a little bit. And so it's just getting a little gross. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna cut that. I'm not. I'm not buckling to this pressure.

[Alison Powers]

Do not. Do not.

[George Hincapie]

All these.

[Alison Powers]

I'm here for affirmations.

[George Hincapie]

Your hair looks good. I'm not the thing. The top and the sting, but just a little. It's just getting a little dirty. I mean, Mari.

[Alison Powers]

Mari can be our fashion icon.

[George Hincapie]

By the way, Maury, that we had the best time in Hawaii. Let me. Let me tell y'. All.

[Alison Powers]

I don't even want to talk about that.

[George Hincapie]

But let me tell. Let me tell the listener this. Everybody knows Mari Holden can ride a bike. Got a silver medal in the Olympics in the time trial. Let me. Let me just say this for the record. Homegirl can swim fast. I was like. She's like, oh, we're gonna do this open water swim. I was like, I've swam with some cyclists. Like, it's not too good. Homegirl can swim.

[Alison Powers]

Like, getting my hair wet.

[Mari Holden]

That was so fun.

[George Hincapie]

So good.

[Mari Holden]

I'm perfecting my rock workout, though.

[Alison Powers]

Running.

[Mari Holden]

Rock running down.

[George Hincapie]

Whatever. You crushed the rock. Rock running. Laird Hamilton, your heart out, bro. Crushed it. But no, we had a damn good time.

[Alison Powers]

I'm glad you guys did. I have Mario and find my friend. So I do know where she is. She knows where I am.

[Mari Holden]

I know. I realized that the other day. I'm still on your. You're still following me everywhere.

[Alison Powers]

I am. I'm like, oh, she's in Jackson Hole. Oh, she's in Hawaii. Oh, Mari's just at Rosewood.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. Where's Mari? Okay. Any before we go, anything else stand out here? We've touched it. Well, we touched on, obviously, Chloe and Kristin. Any other Americans that we should recognize? How many Americans total in this. In this year's Tour de France? Fam of eggs with.

[Alison Powers]

I was digging into that. And a lot of the rosters aren't super finalized.

[George Hincapie]

Okay.

[Mari Holden]

Is the one EF Girl. Oh, and I'm spacing. What is the. The climber on EF American Girl. When. Let me see.

[George Hincapie]

But ballpark. I mean, it's less than a handful.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah, it's less than a handful.

[George Hincapie]

Okay.

[Alison Powers]

But we have two really good stage hunters on two different teams. Obviously. We have Faulkner and Dieger. I think both have a huge shot at a stage win even without their time trial. So I think that's going to be very fun to watch, especially the way the course is set up, that no day is easy. There's not one day where you're like, that's going to be a snoozer. Everything's very punchy. It's going to be very feisty and spicy, which is going to give a huge opportunity for stage winners. And I think those courses both suit them quite well, like all like, besides the huge mountain stages, unless they're in a break. But I don't think that'll happen because they're very. Those are tough. It's tough.

[Mari Holden]

You are so motivated. I mean, they're really going to be going for it. This is super important to them. I know for Chloe, she's been really focused on this.

[George Hincapie]

What a story that would be.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah, we have a lot of good stories. I think, Lance, you're going to be on the edge of your seat and fan curling with your great new haircut.

[George Hincapie]

And my new cowgirl T shirt.

[Mari Holden]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Hey, you know what? You never know what's going to happen. I'm down for whatever. I'm just also seeing in because this would have made a difference last year. Let's just cover this because I'm seeing, as has been the case in the past, these time bonuses within the stages. You go to stage two, 87km. How are they weighting those this year? Let's see.

[Alison Powers]

And there it's like on a non categorized climb as well.

[George Hincapie]

Right. But what is it? 1064 is it?

[Alison Powers]

I believe it's 1064.

[George Hincapie]

I mean, that's a lot that starts to be. Look, that's stage six.

[Alison Powers]

There's one.

[George Hincapie]

Stage two. There's one.

[Mari Holden]

I mean, that could, yeah. Change the yellow jersey even.

[George Hincapie]

Absolutely, absolutely. I mean it's, it's, it's, it's easy to sit here and go, well, 10 seconds. But you know, Neodoma won, won the dang bike race by four seconds last year. So all I'm seeing is stage two. Also interesting right here towards the finish of stage five, Right. Yes. So, yeah, I mean, you started getting a couple of those two, two tens is 20. I mean.

[Alison Powers]

Well, we'll have fun watching that sounds Stage six.

[George Hincapie]

Stage six as well.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah, yeah, that's what I was saying.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah.

[Alison Powers]

Towards the end it's not categorized client, but it's still.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah, but they just put them in there. And if you're there. So we've got. I mean, it matters.

[Alison Powers]

Huh?

[George Hincapie]

It's. I'm curious what the. If it's. And that's. Those are the ones. Right? And here we are. Madeline. Obviously nothing. Go get your own time on that stage. How about the final day? Nope, not on the. That's. That's appropriate.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah. The final day is brutal.

[George Hincapie]

That can matter.

[Alison Powers]

Accurate.

[George Hincapie]

Keep an eye on that. All right. Well, what do we have, a week?

[Alison Powers]

Yep.

[George Hincapie]

Okay.

[Alison Powers]

I guess I'm not bringing my cat, but I'll be there.

[Mari Holden]

And I have a new puppy, too. Well, I haven't picked him up yet, but next year he'll be there.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. You know, Pitkin county just put out an alert. No felines from California are allowed. There's something. There's something. No, I'm serious. Like, it was. It was a countywide notification.

[Alison Powers]

I need that.

[George Hincapie]

I don't know what's going on, but.

[Mari Holden]

It'S an Aspen thing.

[George Hincapie]

It's an Aspen thing. Well, we could have a lot of fun with this. Never mind. Do not bring your. No. Just kidding. All right, on that note.

[Alison Powers]

On that note, ladies and gentlemen, we have a hell of a bike race coming up.

[Mari Holden]

Yeah.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. And. And let's hope for one like last year. I mean, I, it's. It's. I struggle with the men's race. It's. It's. It's amazing watching what I do consider the greatest of all time. But it's. He's so unbeatable. Right? So as a fan, like, we have to sit there as fans. And then you reflect back to last year's Tour de France fami. Right down to it. Like, that's. That's sports. Like, that's what you want. I mean, that's. You're. They're in the red zone. They're. 2 minute offense. Whatever. Like, it's. You don't know what's going to happen. Like, pretty badass.

[Alison Powers]

And all the teams split up. We've got some serious racing. You're gonna have so much fun with us, Lance.

[George Hincapie]

Okay, yellow cards.

[Alison Powers]

We got yellow.

[George Hincapie]

Come on.

[Alison Powers]

I'll do some drama llama. We're gonna have a great time.

[George Hincapie]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, cool. I'm looking forward to it. I will see y' all in a couple days. And of course, Tour de France Fam of Exw kicks off next Saturday week from today.

[Alison Powers]

Yeah. Watch the femme. Watch the end.

[George Hincapie]

Watch.

[Alison Powers]

Oh, do I get to do it? Lance.

[George Hincapie]

Do I do. No, not. You got. You don't want to do it in person?

[Alison Powers]

Okay.

[George Hincapie]

Okay. Do it in person. All right, we'll see y'. All. See y' all in a couple days.

[Alison Powers]

All right, bye.

[George Hincapie]

There it is. See? You did it.

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