Welcome And Stage 20 Setup

SPEAKER_00 1:30

All right, welcome back to Cycling Men of Leisure's mini podcast, the leisure breakaway, where we are looking at every stage of the Tour de France and breaking it down. What happened, what didn't happen, who won, who should have won, who didn't win. Anyway, we're at stage 20, second to last stage. Today, the polka dot jersey was decided. The race for yellow is all but settled. Let's break down this truly unforgettable and record-setting day. I am Michael. With me as always is my good friend Adam.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Good evening.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Wow. Let me just tell you everybody is saying, even the ride producers, all the commentators, all the people that have rode the tour before, they're all saying today was in fact the hardest day ever in Tour de France history. I mean, you had some killer mountains, uh, some crazy climbs. It was just insane. But uh today's distance was 170.9 kilometers for uh you and I and the rest of America. That is 106.2 miles. Elevation, 5,450 meters. That's 17,880 feet. Yes, 17,880 feet of climb. Average temperature today was in the low to mid 20s, that is Celsius, which would be 73 to 77 degrees in the valley, much cooler conditions up on the mountain. Um let me tell you, I well, let me just tell you, the winner first off was Richard Carapaz, EF education. Average speed was 35 kilometers, that is 21.7 miles per hour in extreme hills. Uh, it was a disappointing day for Seth Coots, American writer. The guy got out ahead, got out ahead of the breakaway in the last like two miles, he crashed twice. He crashed once coming out of a tunnel,

Carapaz Takes The Win

SPEAKER_00 3:52

which they didn't have on camera. Tunnel was very dark, so I don't know if you know, went through the tunnel, it was very bright coming out. He didn't see the you know the curb and kind of clipped the curb. He just basically sat down, he immediately hopped back up on his bike, took off, lost no time at all. Carapaz is coming up behind him about 20 seconds back, flying down a uh descent,

Sepp Kuss Crashes And Loses It

SPEAKER_00 4:17

going in uh to the village, uh, cuts a corner out too far on the left-hand side, the cliff side, hits like one of the concrete barricades, and basically puts his, you know, basically winds up setting on top of this barricade, lost out on time, hopping up there. So there weren't big crashes, but they were just like little mistakes that were made. And that final one, uh Carapaz passed him, wound up coming in like 30, 30 to 40 seconds ahead of him, wound up winning the race. Um, so it was kind of disappointing for that. Um, I was looking for an American to win, but EF Education is an American team, so we got a victory there. Uh again, we've got to go back to uh Toddy. Uh he was in the back group. Again, this has been a fun race because the group, these pelotons, they break up sometimes, but man, we have had day after day of Pelotons breaking into like five segments. Yellow jersey, Toddy, is in the very back, takes off with like I don't know, probably 30 miles to go, and just starts riding like crazy. And he starts picking off groups, and he had Del Toro with him, and basically he

Pogacar Rides For Del Toro

SPEAKER_00 5:47

basically drug, became the domestique for Del Toro, and basically drug him up the mountain. Um if he would have had another 10 miles, they probably would have caught the leader. Um, just incredible. Uh, but it was nice to see because he was a good team player today. I mean, he wasn't going for victory, but Del Toro had really been um, you know, really been working hard for him. He's right there at the edge of, well, unless something incredible happens, we'll win the best young writer. Uh, so it was nice to see him put aside any personal ambition and and really help him because Del Toro did struggle a little bit. So uh just crazy, crazy day. Um, you know, heartbreaking for Sepkus, uh fabulous attack by uh Richard Carapaz, and then Pogachar rode defensively instead of aggressively. So great day. Big mountains, incredible speeds. What do you got? That's that's all I got. I mean, it's just incredible. That's all I can say. It was a great day to watch. It was really kind of tiring, actually.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

You're like, go, go, go, go!

SPEAKER_01 7:10

But all right, so now I have a question. Okay. Should Richard Carapaz have waited? I mean, usually the answer would be no, right? I mean, uh, he was just doing what he was, it's a race, I mean, uh, but uh, you know, for sportsmanship, um for for, you know, just just the feel-good moment, I guess, if you will, and just curious. Um I don't know, just was curious.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

When you when you say waited, you mean like waited for waited for well uh I guess

Should Carapaz Have Waited

SPEAKER_00 7:51

for Koos?

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, you know, for them from the crashes and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

You know, there has been times in the tour where like the lead guy or the guy that's in, you know, first place and it's a close race, there has been a time, there have been a couple of times when uh the leader of the race has gone down in a big crash, and literally, you know, other teams will slow up the Peloton so that they can get back up there just to be true sportsmen because you know they don't want to win on that. Um in this case, when you're in the mountains and that type of thing, I don't really, you know, I mean it's it was the last couple miles of the ride. Um waiting, I I I don't I don't think so. I mean it it it was hard fought as the last couple miles of the ride. Uh I see if if you're you know respecting the team, but this is just an all-out effort. Uh it was anybody's game. You weren't just holding back because, you know, this person, you know, has been ahead or something. So I don't think so. I mean, I don't mean to sound like a bad sportsman, but I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Okay. I just want just wanted an opinion because I mean, like I say, this whole time, this is kind of my first year of really diving in and you know, looking at the and and I was truthful with you, I I was out chasing the white ball today, but when I got back, I watched the two uh recaps, Tour de France, actually official recaps, and and uh as I was watching it, I felt like you know, you and I, if we were somehow doing some sort of long distance thing, and I I led all day long, and then at the very end I I had some sort of mishap or something, and I was that close to the end, you know. That's why I just was curious. So I appreciate it. Uh, what about um the queen stage? Why did they call it a queen stage? I kept hearing I'm queen stage. Is that because it's the it's the stage before the end?

SPEAKER_00 10:00

That I really don't know.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Okay. All right. I have no idea on that one. Because what I would hear is oh, the queen stage. I'm like, is the queen there? No, just kidding, but I was just wondering. I'll have to look that up. So um, let's see here. I did have another question. Um we this morning I was doing my my workout. Um, and because I was let me let me stop you right here.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

I did just

What “Queen Stage” Means

SPEAKER_00 10:31

look it up. Uh, the queen stage of the Tour de France is the toughest mountain stage of the race. Oh, okay. Okay. Um yeah, I wasn't familiar with that term myself, so thanks for bringing that up.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

No problem, no problem. So this morning I was doing my workout. I was um multitasking and pushing some social media stuff of yesterday's show out, and I was tagging Tour de France, and and when I did, um it came it came up and said something along the lines of, would you like to hear the most you know, hotline news or whatever? And I said yes. And we found out that stage 21, due to the wildfires, is gonna be shortened. And this morning I I threw a question at you and said, Don't answer. Uh, answer tonight on the show. You know, I understand that um that they've decided that they were gonna they're they're shortening it. Let me see if I have some verbiage

Wildfires Shorten Stage 21

SPEAKER_01 11:26

here. Uh why it was shortened. Uh stage 21 was shortened uh in connection with serious wildfires affecting France, particularly uh the region in the southwest area. The interior ministry is redeploying police and uh internal security personnel who who had been assigned to the tour. Those officers are needed to protect communities, assist emergency services, and secure fire-affected areas. A shorter course reduces the amount of the roadway requiring police protection. The riders will still appear for their team presentations, but will travel into Paris by bus. Uh, racing begins in the champs uh leases, uh two extra champ laps have been added before the previously planned uh portion. Now here's my question. If if if Toddy Pagaccia was close, or if it were to be not as foregone conclusion of all things considered that Toddy Pagaccha will take the yellow, overall yellow and and go in history with his fifth win. Um if it were to be close, I I asked you this morning, would that decision still be as easy being made?

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Or uh I think so. Honestly, you know, it's it's it's not one of those decisions where they're just making it, it's like, yeah, let's just do this for I mean, it's for

Would A Shorter Stage Change Yellow

SPEAKER_00 12:56

an important thing. You know, we all saw the fires out in LA a couple years ago and things like that. Uh, so it makes sense, but is it really going to affect the race? If if it was close, would it affect the race? You know, you still got a good distance to to run or to ride. Um, even if it was, you know, they've got one point, they always have one point uh on the king of the mountain on the last day, and that was specifically designed so that if there is a tie in the king of the mountain on that final day, statistically, um, you know, they can break that tie. Um, so I I don't really see I don't really see that that would be a big deal. You know, you're just you're you're shortening it. Uh it may have some effect on somebody who is thinking, you know what, I'm a I you know I'm feeling super great, and the rest of these guys are, you know, really sluggish and something, I can outlast them, and maybe a long, a long day would would serve me better, but uh not not really. Because tomorrow, honestly, well, in the case of tomorrow, you're gonna see a lot of ceremonial, you know, celebratory stuff, and then the race will intensify the closer you get to Paris. So gotcha. Get onto the Champs-Lysee and that kind of thing, it's it'll it'll uh get a little bit more exciting. So I don't I would say no to answer your question.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

For historical significance, uh, if Pagacy is able to win, um, he will join a large group of individuals uh who have won five, and it says no writers ever officially won more than five. There was a guy who did, but those have been scratched.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Well, you know, it's called drugs, it's called illegal. Um don't get me going on it. I know he's your favorite, so yeah, of course, yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

So tomorrow we have 88.7 kilometers, about 55 miles. Ah, it's nothing. You and I do 55 miles all the time.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Yeah, but we don't do 55 miles uh going 30, 40 miles an hour or more.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

True, true, true, true. Got uh it was reduced by about 27 miles or 44 kilometers. Um so then in uh all kinds of photographs it says lots of uh uh all kinds of let's see, it says here's what to say traditional photographs and celebrations

Paris Predictions And Race Dynamics

SPEAKER_01 15:41

for Pagatya. Uh that's pretty bad when AI is already uh asking it to formulate my news stories for tomorrow, and it says there'll be all kinds of photographs for him tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

So they're gonna assume he's gonna finish this ride, which I think is a pretty safe assumption.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

So now there is some questions going back and forth whether the shorter distance will create a faster and more aggressive race. Will you see something more since it is shorter, people can go you know all out. There, that is kind of one of the interesting pieces.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

So not sure. You know, I don't ever everything is pretty much set. I mean, it really is. I mean, there's still the who's gonna be second, who's gonna be third, but there's still a pretty good size separation there. So honestly, I think as as rough and tough as this tour has been with the temperatures and the distance and like today, uh and the day before, I I think everybody's just gonna be satisfied to finish it. I think nothing is going to really change. I could be wrong, but I think all the jerseys are set. I think you'll see the podium finishes just like the podium is currently. I think you'll see uh obviously Toddy first, Rimco second, and Del Toro third. It's my prediction.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

So if I am at home and I have been paying attention to Adam and Michael, actually, correction, Michael and Adam. Um on this particular miniseries, you have definitely taken the lead, so we appreciate that. Um if I am listening right now, what would be the incentive of listening tomorrow? Besides, of course, saying you made the whole marathon of Adam and Michael's miniseries, uh, what would I be is there something to be watching out for, like a push by Del Toro to maintain third or um you know Remco, Evanpool, uh, you know, doing something. I mean something to look forward to tomorrow. What would you say?

SPEAKER_00 17:44

Well, just listening to us. If you're just looking for us as opposed to the ride,

Why Watch Tomorrow And How We Close

SPEAKER_00 17:51

there you go. Uh, you know, I I think we'll have some interesting things to bring up tomorrow in our discussion. Um, but as far as watching the ride, like I said, I I think there's gonna be more celebratory type stuff, and it's always interesting to watch them go into go into Paris and ride down to the Champs-Élysées, uh, you know, around the Ark of the Triumph Triumph, uh, that kind of thing. Um, but uh I think I think we'll have something to add tomorrow. Cool. That will make it uh not just, hey, look at that, just exactly what we've been expecting, but I think we'll have a little bit more information to add. Perfect.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Perfect.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

That's my goal at least.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Well, um, I I want to tell you that a few community members have reached out and and said they're highly enjoying the the series and and appreciate that. We received uh fan mail from uh our good friend Alex Bell about the uh other episode that we put out, one of our main episodes. So um at this time, I believe uh, if not four o'clock Eastern time, if you're paying attention, you're getting this on Sunday, you'll see an episode. Unless you're a subscriber. That's why Alex Bell was able to put out a fan mail. Um and you too could become a subscriber. Uh and uh but a lot of people are really enjoying this. Uh, you and I have recorded every night somehow, somehow, uh, except for the one night the aliens abducted you, but they brought you back, so we appreciate that. Uh fire in the sky. I remember when that happened, and I'm glad you're back. So um. But do you remember where you were? Arkansas.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

I was in Arkansas.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Well, buddy, all right. In that case, uh, I'm sad to say, but only three more times are you gonna get to hear the following.

SPEAKER_02 19:56

Welcome to the new show, Michael.