Welcome Back And Stage Stakes

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Well, welcome back to the Cycling Men of Leisure's Leisure Breakaway. And that's our mini podcast about all things Tour de France as we uh track each day what's going on there. We are getting close to the end. Uh today they tackled the legendary Alp Duez. Uh wow. Today we got a masterclass on how to climb a mountain and how to shatter records. We're gonna go through all of that here in just a second. I'm Michael, and with me as always is my good friend Adam.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Alp Dez. Alp Duez. Al Kello there. Sorry. Everybody keeps accusing me of mispronouncing, which I am mispronouncing things. I've been practicing. Alp to S. Alp Duez. Okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Very good. Well, we'll get your French classes next year, so it'll be a lot easier.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

We we, me, fee, fee, me, pee, pee. No, just kidding.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Uh uh. Just wait till you get the class. Hey, remember? All right. Today it's hard.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

What? I said, remember what you pay me. It's hard to get help. Yeah, that's a good point.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Today was an incredible day. I told you the Altoez was going to be incredible. It always is. It's a legendary climb. And uh Toddy just showed us how to do it. And uh today's ride, 127.9 kilometers. That was only 79.5 miles for us Americans, which uh is uh, you know, not really much of a day for a professional cyclist if you overlook the fact that uh they climbed 3,650 meters, which is 11,975 feet at an exceptionally steep grade. The temperatures were around 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the valleys, uh cooling to the low 70s. So they got a little bit of break from the extremely hot weather. But the news today is Toddy Pagatcher. That's the that's the news. I mean, the the breakaway, there was a breakaway early. Uh it splintered into, you know, you had two or three chase groups. The yellow jersey at about 10 miles to the end of the ride, the yellow jersey was in the last chasing group, which was about three minutes and 45 seconds behind the three people that were in the in the breakaway. 10 miles out. They're going up the mountain, and let me say, Toddy just exploded.

Pogacar Lights Up The Final Climb

SPEAKER_00 4:12

It was just like all of a sudden, it just clicked. It's like now's the go time, and he just took off. And he just started picking off people left and right, and it is kind of sad because you're looking at this and and he's just flying. I mean, it's like, is he in Iowa? Because the rest of these guys are going pretty slow, and he's just like trudging up, doesn't look like he's under any kind of pain or agony or anything. He's picking people off left and right. It's getting closer to the finish, closer to the finish. He's still a ways out. It's like, is he gonna make it? Is he gonna make it? And he just gradually picked everybody off. And uh till the you know, the very last, the very last two, um Carapaz and Lenny Martinez were the the two guys, the guys leading that really had the the shot, but they I mean they just couldn't hold it off. They wound up Carapaz uh getting second, Martinez getting third, but uh it was incredible. Man, this guy is a monster. And I told you yesterday, I said, excuse me, when you asked me about his team, and there's still, you know, sickness going around on the team and that kind of stuff. And when you asked me, yesterday I told you he's the type of guy that doesn't necessarily I mean, he'll go back and get his own water bottle and hustle himself right back up to the front. That's how powerful he is. Uh, another thing I wanted to point out is Adam Yates. Yesterday, the day before, he's had two days where he's kind of been trailing, talked about he was sick. Today he was not sick. Um, he was in the initial breakaway. The last, I don't know, probably seven miles, six miles. Uh Toddy caught up with him, and he just stepped up and he he did some polling for a while for him to help out, at least through two, if not three, of the hairpin turns, just to give you know Toddy a little bit of assistance, and then he pulled off. So uh great job with him. So,

Adam Yates Returns To The Fight

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I mean that just pretty much wraps it up, but it was incredible. I just cannot get over that whole thing. Um, he did go ahead and set um a climbing record. He climbed that mountain in 35 minutes and 27 seconds. This breaks uh a long-standing benchmark by more than a minute. Um, and then unfortunately, a movie star guy crashed out right at the towards the end uh when he accidentally hit a uh UAE support vehicle after it had to break suddenly. Um, not the support vehicles problem. Uh basically the support vehicle was trying

Record Breaking Time And Late Crash

SPEAKER_00 7:06

to avoid uh a spectator, and the spectators got really bad. Uh, there was a couple of times where the spectators were actually impeding uh forward progress of some of these guys because they were coming up and they wanted to pass and stuff, but I mean they could they couldn't. So um that did pose a little bit of problem, and it's you know sad that Movistar had to had to lose somebody, and certainly sad for the UAE support driver who had no option other than to slam on his brakes or hit a spectator who's out in the middle of the road. So that's what I got. It was a great day. It's a great day for a bike ride. Uh I wouldn't say a great day for a bike ride for me up a mountain, but it's definitely a great day for a bike ride.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

What are you talking about? It's only 35 minutes going straight up a hill.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Uh yeah, when you're going like 20 some miles an hour, I'm going up the hill at like three miles an hour, paper boying it back and forth across the road. It's gonna take a little longer than 35 minutes if I make it.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

How many hairpins today? Do you know?

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Uh Alp Duez has 21 hairpin turns.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

21 hairpin recognized because if it's 21 numbered switchbacks. Yes. The bends count downward, beginning with bend 21 near the bottom and ending with bend one near the summit. Signs on the bends um uh honor riders who have won tour stages on the mountains. Each turn briefly reduces gradient, giving riders a few seconds to accelerate, change position, or recover before the road pitches upward again. Let's talk about Dutch Corner. You know what Dutch

The 21 Switchbacks Explained

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Corner is? I do know what Dutch Corner is. Well, let's hope the community does because hairpin number seven is known as Dutch Corner. You know what color they wear?

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Uh well, I'll tell I don't know what color they traditionally, whatever the Dutch national color is, but uh what color do they wear?

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Orange. Dutch writers won eight out the Huez uh stages between 1976 and 1989, and thousands of Dutch supporters traditionally gather dressed in orange.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

That I will say this year there

Dutch Corner And Alpe History

SPEAKER_00 9:35

was just a lot of supporters, Dutch or otherwise, there. So, but uh yeah, it was pretty incredible.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Uh spectator who nearly changed the result in 1999. Uh Guepsi, I don't know how to pronounce that. G-U-E-R-I-N-I Granny was riding alone towards the victory when a spectator stepped onto the road to take a photograph. Unfortunately, the gentleman crashed, remounted, and still won the stage. One of the mountain's strangest and most memorable finishes. Um, the first yellow stage winner. Mr. Thomas in 2018 became the first rider to win a stage while wearing yellow jersey. He carried the yellow into Paris on the Alp Duez. Uh four seconds thriller in the women's race in 2024, Tour de France uh Femmes, the ladies' race, ended at Alp Duez. And Demi uh Volaring won the stage retained the overall title by four seconds. So uh just wanted to give you a little bit of history there. Um, you know what today reminded me of, all kidding aside, because I was watching some bullet points and highlights of recording, getting ready for recording with you for this.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

No.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Today reminded me of 2021 when you and I were in Ragbright and probably had the easiest century we've ever had. That's what today kind of reminded me of.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

2021. That was the easiest century we ever had.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

When to Mason City, it was like 78 degrees, and it was like a hundred feet of climb for the entire day.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Oh, yes. You're right. That was the easiest one we've ever had.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

And I think like everybody, and and it wasn't

The RAGBRAI Century That Felt Easy

SPEAKER_01 11:36

wasn't that the year that nobody even had a choice. Everybody was doing the century.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Uh you had to do the yeah, uh, that wouldn't have been in 2021.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

2022, maybe?

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Um yeah. It yeah, I think it was the year that everybody had to do it. It was just built into the uh into the fabric of the ride or the map of the ride, whatever you want to call it. So it reminded you of that, huh?

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Yeah, kind of. I mean, just like the way he was just going and climbing and climbing. I mean, I mean, to him, it was just like no effort. And you and I were like, that's the only time I remember us having no end, no effort doing a century.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Yeah, it was just like it was just like another day riding 30, 40 miles, and we cruised that day. So that was a good day. Yeah, I mean, he just man, no, I you there's no way anybody can say, you know what, the guy doesn't deserve the yellow jersey. I mean, he's been attacking on mountains, and to attack on this mountain, wow, it was just incredible. So and there's more mountains tomorrow, so this will be it'll be fun. Now we're really looking at we know who's gonna win the overall. It's Michael Sharp. Of course, well, it's always been Michael Sharp. Um, yeah, I wish. Uh, we know really pretty much who's gonna win the green jersey. Those are pretty much solidified. Um I think most of the jerseys are kind of solidified at this point in time. I don't think you see any changes. I think the big question is gonna be who's taken the other two positions on the podium, second and third for overall. So we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

From Eastern Time Zone, a man who enjoys a bourbon, Adam Buransky.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

You might take the podium, but it ain't gonna be the Tour of France to podium. Oh, okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Uh, while you were talking, I did some magic research. Okay, ChatGPT did the research. But the last time Mason City was a ragbry overnight town was 2022, so you are correct. It was uh riders arrived from Emmitsburg and left the next morning for Charles City. Mason City hosted concerts by Don Felder from the Eagles and Sugar Ray. Uh Mason City's previous overnight stop was in 2014, but yes, you are correct. We went in in 2022, Mason City. I'll tell you what, anyone who was on that century ride probably went home and be like, that was easy. I truly, when I say this, I mean this. The wind was at our back, it was beautiful temperature. I mean, it was literally like we were just cruising that day. So um, all right. Now, I ask you this every episode for the last like five episodes. At this point, I mean seven minutes and eleven seconds. No. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Great show. Well, good to see you. You're gonna ask me, is there any chance that anyone could take Toddy's position?

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

And the answer is no.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

No. Uh, the only way that's gonna happen is heaven forbid, is he just rides his bicycle off of a cliff. And let's certainly hope that doesn't happen. Uh I mean

Jerseys Look Locked Podium Still Open

SPEAKER_00 15:05

there's no there's no conceivable way that's gonna happen. Like I said, I think the jerseys are pretty pretty solid, even though there's 70 points on the on the king of the mountain tomorrow. Um so yeah, I think at this point in time the question the big question should be who's taking second and who's taking third overall.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

We have been talking about one all the way through this whole thing. Um uh Ayuso. Um Ayuso. And I I have been calling him one F Soto in honor of our friend, but um, according to this, today he got dropped six minutes and twenty-six seconds by Pagaccha. He fell the seventh overall, and effectively ending his hopes of reaching any final podium. So uh very interesting, very interesting. So um tomorrow, as you mentioned, um stage 19 was the first of two consecutive summit finishes at the Alp duas, and then the first time the tour is uses Legendary Mountain on a back-to-back day. So that's kind of cool. The history in 2026, first time they've done that. Um, our little mini podcast series has got two more episodes. We'll have 20 and then 21. We'll be talking about the big finishers, um, the overall winners. Um this has been uh kind of cool. I've even found myself like today. I was mowing along. I'm like, all right, I can't wait to get back in. I want to see the highlights, and so been

Back To Back Summit Finishes And What’s Next

SPEAKER_01 16:44

in uh been enjoying that. So kind of give me a whole new new perspective. So um I know this was uh kind of your original idea, uh, but really, really been enjoying it. And uh kind of gives me a new perspective. Maybe maybe next year I'll have to uh um Armando, forgive me, not one, but Armando told us about the Fantasy League. I think I think next year we should do that.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

I think that'd be fun. So get a uh Tour de France Fantasy League going and see. I think that'd be fun and let uh any of our listeners who want to participate in that. That would be good. And we'll have to see. We've had a lot of listeners uh send in information and tell us they like the show and and do different things. So we'll have to see. You know, we might we might do it again next year. If we do do it again next year, I will be putting together. We just decided to do this like the night before when we were recording another episode. It's like, oh, we should do this. I think if we did do this in the future, I would put together basically what the you know Phil and Bob have as uh somewhat of a uh media book ahead of time. So uh, you know, we know the teams and we know where they're going and we get some of the uh the language and the uh the names down better, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

So we'll see. I'll have to practice my my uh pronunciations. But uh well, uh you stuck around this long. Um unless you have anything else, we'll go ahead and give it to the community what they've been waiting for. They only uh I was gonna say they only have about five more times, including number one right here.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

Welcome to the shop.