The King, The Queen and The Prince S2E25

This week we’ll be discussing the fourth and final Monument race of the Spring, the Women’s and Men’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege, where the King and The Queen asserted their positions at the top of the pro peloton, and the Prince made a great big announcement. We’ll also update our Fantasy standing, chat on a couple of cycling news items, and as always, finish it up with a ride in the Broom Wagon.

Seixas Rides the Mur De Huy Faster than POG

Pog Drone Shot from the End of Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Pog Drops Paul

Demi's Interview

Jen's Cycling Art on Instagram

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Thanks for listening... Allez!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It's your weekly breakaway for fun conversations on pro cycling. Come join us for another ride beyond the slipstream. I'm Matt Harper, and together with my brother Justin, we'll do deep-ish dives on professional bike races, teams riders, and all sorts of cycling-related stories. Jump in the saddle and tighten up those shoes, the road away.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Hello and welcome to Beyond the Slipstream. I'm Justin, and this is my brother Matt. And on today's show, we'll put the 2026 Spring Classic season to bed with coverage of the women's and men's Liège Baston Liège Races. It seems like the first time in a long time that the men's race was arguably more exciting than the women's, even if by the end it was another snooze fest. At least as far as the first two steps of the podium were concerned. But the race's two legendary climbs, the Côte de l'Ordre and the Côte d'Ala Roche en Faucon, gave us perhaps five or six of the season's most exciting minutes of racing, and more importantly, set up tantalizing subjects for speculation as we head into grand tour season. The women's race, on the other hand, look much like what we've come to expect of the men's races in the Springs monuments over the past few years. The anointed pre-race favorite riding away from everyone with double digit kilometers left in the race, never to be seen again. And while the race behind for second and third was enjoyable overall, it was a pretty ho-hum day out, made only more so by the insultingly poor coverage for the women. One way or another, this week in the Ardennes each year never ceases to satisfy, and we'll get into all of it today, along with the Fantasy League update and a few news tidbits, and as always, more adventures in the broomwagon. Alay Welcome to the show, everybody. So why don't we uh just jump straight into it and um we will uh be putting the anointing oil on uh one uh Paul Seychas as he has uh proven yet again this week that he is uh going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Um amazing performance at La Flechelle for him, and um it it just was a very interesting week, capped off by a an interesting, you know, finally interesting Sunday where you know somebody is is actually competing with with Tade Pagacar. Uh, how did you feel the week's racing uh unfolded?

SPEAKER_01 3:12

I mean it's it's hard to deny this guy has had a a couple of incredible weeks. I mean, this is we you didn't even mention the fact that you know he he just just won a stage race and along the way got every single every single jersey. Um so it's just like he keeps he keeps like asking the question and then answering it and asking and answering. It's like he he wins that race. That was the uh that was the uh Basque Tour of the Basque Country. Um and immediately we're like, okay, you know, does does this indicate that he's gonna be able to do well? Come come murder we and then we get to the murder we and what does he do? He just basically crushes everyone. What did you say? It was uh he did it faster than Pog.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

12 seconds faster than Pog um from the previous year. And now I I will give you a caveat. Flesh last year was definitely wetter. It was, you know, there was there was definitely moisture on the road. However, Pog got a monster lead out early in the climb. All right, it's about a two and a two and a half minute climb, maybe a little less than two and a half minutes, and he got a monster lead out in the beginning of it before he finally launched. And say shas was on the front of his group the entire way from the base of the climb to the top, and he did it 12 seconds faster than Pog did.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Um in the pace picked up in the hardest part of the climb at the end.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Yeah, and he's he's so so he he, you know, asks the question with the performance in flesh, you know, am I up for it? And Liege. And then we get to Liege, and uh the answer was pretty awesome. Uh glad you mentioned that he was kind of working the front by himself, um, didn't have like a ton of team support at the the very end uh there. Um I I think that was also kind of the case in LBL. I mean, his team was definitely on the front throughout that race, but when when you know push came to shove towards the end, they're not quite there. They are not on the level of UAE, and that will definitely be a I think a difference maker. Come come tour de France time or Grand Tour time, whatever, whatever he's doing. But it's a young, it's a young team. I mean, he's a young guy, and that's a young team that that you know UAE has been building that squad of superheroes for several years now. Um, so credit to decathlon. They've got some good guys in there, they've got guys in there that I think will will become the Tim Wellenses and the uh you know the the uh Pavel Sivikov's of the future for Paul Seychoss. He will be surrounded by a team of hitters, that is, if he stays at Decathlon at all, uh, which you know is another big question, which I'm sure we'll be expending a lot of time talking about. But that that could be a difference maker. But, you know, he kind of he to my mind he answered the question affirmatively, even though he didn't win on on Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I mean, yeah, no, and I and I and I totally agree. I think the Cathlon needs to focus on getting him um some premier climbing, you know, help, the way that Pagacar has premier climbing help. But he need like, you know, one of the very interesting things about uh LBL yesterday was that uh you know you had this giant breakaway out in front that had you know Remco in it. And Tim Wellens, and and and to me, the MVP of this race is Tim Wellens yesterday. Tim Wellens crushed the front of the Peloton and you know made sure that that uh breakaway never got to a point that wasn't manageable and absolutely buried himself for Pagacar. All right, 100%. And it now mind you, uh Seychos benefits from all that work as well, but you know, he doesn't have somebody like a Tim Wellens that can go that hard that long in such a long race and do such uh an incredible amount of work. So you know he's I feel like he's doing more with less than Pagachar. And if you put if if things were on equal footing, I think we may see some slightly different results. I mean, you're absolutely right when you say that they've been building this team around Pogachar for years now, and it is just full of quality riders that would be your top riders on most teams, and they're the B guys on this team.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

So yeah, he he uh Seychos is also um he you know Pogachar was coming out of Slovenia as a as a kid, and Slovenia ain't France when it comes to cycling. So Seychos as a youngster has had far, far better preparation training, you know. From more optimal. I mean, Pogachar, I mean, the whole Peloton wasn't even really thinking too much about nutrition in the in the you know mid-teens when when Pogachar was coming up uh through the through the junior ranks and stuff like that. Um whereas Seychas, I mean, this guy's been dialed in on diet since he was 12.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Well, yeah, I also th I also think that that's probably why he is accomplishing so much at such a much younger age than Pogachar. Is it took a Paga, you know, Pagacar is you know, obviously uber talented, but it took time to develop that talent into what it is right now.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Pagachar is also I think a physical specimen that's that is, you know, a a once in a generation kind of physical specimen. I think that I think that we have seen we have seen Jonas Vingegaard put on put on pounds in terms of of you know leg muscles and and just overall muscularity to compete with Pogachar because um as I as I watched Pog and Seychos you know going up those climbs and they're kind of side by side, you can really see the difference in their bodies. Like like Pogachar just has has bigger legs. He has he has he's just a bit stronger, even though he's still you know looks like a cyclist, he's got skinny little arms and big quads. There's a there's a big difference. And I think Seychas is gonna need a couple of years to to develop his raw strength and power, but but when he does, if and when he does, he he could be even more more formidable, depending.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Well, and I also think you know, just one of my key thoughts from yesterday is the Pagacar is an apex predator when it comes to cycling. Like he outside of you got e like you can't count these races that are harder for him, like the like MSR. But when when the race absolutely suits Pagachar, he in my opinion, he was toying with with Seychas a bit yesterday. Um the fact that Seychas even took one single turn when it was just the two of them boggles my mind uh why he would have worked with him at all. We talked about this, I think, last week where you know you made the point that when Sagan was you know doing things like that, nobody took a turn. Like he was, you know, tough shit, dude. And so I I I don't understand the tactic because if he sits on the wheel, maybe he can hang on in that second to last climb. But and I don't know if it's just something about Pagachar, but he gets I mean he got Wow, it was the same thing with Wout, you know, in in Roubaix. You know, Wout was taking turns that we all looked at and we're like, why are you taking turns, dude? Like, why are you doing this? The same same thing, but you know, when when it came time to turn it on, it was just like boom, and and Pagachar was gone, almost like he was playing with him the entire time. And I I can't it can't be understated how how high Tade's uh racing IQ is because it is very, very good. All right, he is very, very dangerous in these situations, he knows exactly how to play them, and I you have to bring that into the conversation. Yes, did what Seychos do yesterday? Was it absolutely amazing? Did it blow the doors off of expectations? Absolutely, all right. But at the end of the day, you know, I don't think Pagatar ever felt like he was threatened, you know, in the end. I think he it was a first time a first time for us to see someone actually competing in the points where Pagatar typically would drop everybody else. And so that's you get to go, oh, okay, look, we have a this is a guy that can hang in these situations, but I don't think Pagatar was ever I don't think Pagacchar ever felt like he wasn't about he wasn't going to win that race.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Well, I I think that uh I think that he was a bit surprised. I I think toy toying with him, um, I would not say that Pagachar was toying with him. Um, nor do I think that it took a lot of like incredible tactics on Pagachar's part. I think that he he was surprised at the top of the Redute Um that Seychas was still with him because he definitely threw it at him like three times, and Seychas was right on his wheel the entire time. Although we as viewers get the benefit of the front-on shot where Bogachar cannot see Paul Seychas's face, which was like pulling all kinds of faces um as he was hanging on. Um I think he was surprised to find him with him uh at the top of the Cote de la Redute. He was probably a little surprised that Seychas was taking turns in the valley on the way to Faucon. Um, but I think once they started up Focan, there was that moment where Pog just, you know, gave him the look back. I mean, he he gave a nice long look right in his face. Uh, you know, he knows how he's feeling, and he can see it. You know, that if if anything, that's that's the uh that's that's his his race acumen uh coming into play, is is how he can read guys because he turned, he looked back, he saw Seychas's face, he was like, Okay, now I'm now I'm just gonna ride away from him. That's what he did. I mean, he it was a seated attack, once again, you know, a pogachar signature, and uh there was just no answer. I mean, he he took the measure of the guy and was like, yeah, great job, but you're not staying with me.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Um so and and I will say that Pog did it, you know, Pog is all class too, because right at the end of the race, he he you know went up to Seychos and was like, that was a great job. You know, oh yeah. Like he absolutely was like, you know, 100% dude. Like you that was that was a hell of an effort.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Well, and in subsequent interviews af after the race, too, he was heard to say something about the fact that like like there there a day will come when this guy destroys everybody. Like he he he knows he knows what's coming, you know. But that's good because he also knows that he's still got plenty left in the career tank, as it were. Um I think let's let's talk a little bit about the Seychelles decision to pull. Um Bob Roll gave him a half a pass. Of course, Chris Horner eviscerated him, full knucklehead is him. Um but I I don't know where I land because the reason Bob Roll gave him a bit of a pass was he was like, he's young, and he probably knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not gonna win based on the way that he was feeling, you know, when they got to the top. I mean, it's very possible that he got to the top and was as surprised as Pog was to be there next to him going over the top and thinking, well, I can't I have no idea how I managed to do that, but I'm damn sure not going to be able to do that again. And so he gets into the valley and he's like, he's just a young guy and he just he's he's with Tate Pagacar. See, that's the other X factor, I think. You talk about Wout Van Art and these guys that pull with them. It's like, it's like maybe because we're talking about one of the two greatest riders of all time, that dudes are just like they just have respect, they can't help themselves. You know what I mean? They're just like, I'm with Tati Pagacar. I I gotta, I gotta take a turn. You know what I mean? That's what you do. Who who who knows? Was it bad tactic? Absolutely, but I don't think it would have made a damn bit of difference.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

So you're you so you're essentially saying that it's it's like the star power is is just yes, yeah. It's like on 11. I guess I don't like I don't know, man. I like at some point that I have to assume that that will wear off a bit for Seychos, and he will dial in and say, Okay, I'm I you know, if I really want to win this race, I've got to, I have to get tactically better and not do these types of things because every one of those turns is just is just helping Tade refill the tank slightly when he should have been doing nothing but refilling the tank the entire way through the valley.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

100%. 100%. Like he he definitely he he he was definitely wrong, but but I don't know that that is what led to him not winning this race. Like I just Pog is just way too strong. I have to say though, just overall so damn exciting. That climb up to Cote de la Redute was was like some of the best stuff that we have seen all year. I mean, it was just electric. I loved it so much, and I and I and I love these moments. Like it's like you get it, there's certain things you get once a year, you get the Poggeo once a year, you get the Cote de la Redute once a year, you know. You get the you get the Ehrenberg Forest, yeah. You know, it's like once a year, and it's just it's so cool these moments. I mean, I just love it so so damn much.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

All right. So speaking of bad tactics, so how do you feel? Do you think that that uh excuse me, that Remco should have not gone in the uh in the in the early breakaway?

SPEAKER_01 18:03

No, I I think Remco was was wise to go in the early breakaway. Um, I think that here here's how it messed up. Number one, it it was a shame that they couldn't. I I think he probably was not expecting it to be as large as it was. And with a with a breakaway that big, it's just not gonna work together. You know what I mean? Like you're you're there, you're not gonna be you're not gonna be slipstreaming with 50 guys. Um and he also did not have teammates. He he he should have had more teammates with him if that was the plan. Because this is why I think I think he knew that there was no way he was beating either of those guys, that that he did not have a chance if he just rode alongside them. There was no possible way that he is going to beat Pogachar or Seychos. I mean, it's it that and that's a that's an easy call to make, I think, if you're Remco. I mean, just look at the performance over the course of this season, and that's a no-brainer. Am I right?

SPEAKER_00 19:01

I mean, I agree with you, but I mean, earlier in the week, he literally said that like he thought that Seychos would struggle with how long this race was.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

And you know, what he says and what he's actually thinking and what his tactics are are are two different things, in my opinion. I think he was like, I got a chance to get in this breakaway, and if he could have a couple more teammates with him, then once that once that group started to disintegrate, that is when you put your two teammates in front of you, and I don't know, you pull you pull off the front. You're probably gonna take some passengers along with you. Who knows? But you got them, you got two strong teammates that can push you through kilometers like 100 to like 60 or 50, you know, two guys that can get in there and give you a good 20, 25 kilometer turn at the front and keep some distance from you know Pogachar and them, and he gets to go into the the the really climby last 30 kilometers with a minute, a minute and a half. I mean, what did Pogachar say this week? What is the thing that scares him the most about Remco and Evanapol? He said, Remco in front by himself on a hilly course. That's the thing that scares me. So that's what you know, that's what that's what that tactic was. That's what that's it did not work.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

Trying to play to his strength. Okay. I'm with you. You know, I'm with you.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

So I I don't really have a problem with it. And the fact that my man like got third shows that, like, I mean, let's talk about good tactics, okay? He he knew, and this backs up what I was just saying, he knew he didn't have it in the legs to go with Pog and Seychos, and so he didn't even try. He did the climbs to his threshold and not a bit more, and saved enough so that he made sure that he was gonna meter his his output get that third spot on the podium. If you know, if if before this race ever started, even started, he he his thought was the best I can hope for is third. He went out there and got it, you know, mission accomplished. So I don't I'll agree with you there.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Um I definitely will agree with you there.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

I think Remco is in a funny spot because he kind of has Grantor, he he has Grantor aspirations and expectations in a way, but he is really not suited for Grant Tour GC leadership unless he drastically changes his ability to climb over the course of about five minutes when it gets steep.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

I am very glad that you brought up this point. All right. I personally think that Red Bull needs to, at least in the current formation that they have right now, if let's assume that this current formation sticks for the next I don't know, I don't know how long all these guys are on are under contract. Okay. But if I'm Red Bull right now, all right, if I if I am if I am, you know, the the director sportif for this team and I'm deciding how we're gonna do this, what they need to be doing is letting Remco focus on one day races. And building because they've got all they have all the T all the parts around him. All right. You take Remko, Vlasov, Tracknik, Pithy, and the Van Dyks, and you go for one day. All right. Super huge engines and go out and start collect, you know, collect monuments, man. Collect monuments. Collect one day, big one day races, and let Pelazari and Lippowitz and Hinley and Primos, you know, and you know, the their cast their other cast of characters, these other climbing guys, and go after Grand Tours. Because the upswing for Pelazari and Florian Lipowitz on the Grand Tour stage is, in my opinion, much higher than it is with Remco. I think those two guys are the future of that team in Grand Tours. And Remco is not. And if you play to the strength of Remco, I think that you will end up having better results, and you don't waste these grand tours trying to shoehorn him in the same way that you they did at uh at Sudal. But you know, that's just me. I just feel like they have so many good riders trying to shoehorn, shoehorn, shoehorn him in to grand tour wins, is especially in this day and age, it's just not really possible where you could be taking podiums with the other guys or possibly winning if Pagacar is not there.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Yeah, he uh well he's headed to the Tour de France this year, um, that's for sure. Uh, but he does seem to have a better acumen for winning one-day races. Now, going to grand tours though for Remco Evanopol also means two, possibly three days of of TTing, and his TTing is almost a foregone conclusion. I mean, so so any grand tour he goes to, he can reasonably expect to come away with one, two, possibly three stages, and that's just when you're talking TTs, and then certainly send him in support of the other two. Yeah, I I agree. It's just uh it's it's just will you know, will is will he ever be able to see himself in that kind of a role? Will a team ever be able to bend him towards playing that kind of a role? It's hard to imagine.

SPEAKER_00 24:23

But imagine if they took him to all of the Belgian races, all right, let him be get out there and let him just be the king of of you know of Belgium, the king of you know, France one day races, fuck it, all over the place. Take him wherever you want, all right, because in the one day, one move setting, he can beat the shit out of anybody, all right. And if you want to take him to the grand tour to to to mop up the time trial wins, take him to the grand tour. Just don't put the fucking pressure on his shoulders. You know what I mean? Like I I keep shitting all over the guy, but he is a goddamn great rider. And you know, but I just feel like all these teams want to use him in the incorrect way.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

I really will predict right now that what we're gonna see is is them doing the the last year non-Pogachar UAE strategy, multiple leaders, and see what pans out. They're gonna they're they're gonna send they're gonna send Ren Remco to the tour. Um let's see. Leepowitz. Leipowitz is gone to the tour.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

For sure. I mean, he was third place last year. Of course he's going to the tour.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

Um Pelitzari's gone to Giro, I think, as the leader.

SPEAKER_00 25:40

Um completely deserved, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

And will will you think Primos will get leadership at the uh at the Velta to go for the for the I assume that that's why why they're essentially letting him basically take the summer off. Um let me see. Yep, he's got he's got the Welta on on his on his uh schedule.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

So um yeah, but imagine imagine imagine giving imagine so if we're talking about coming away with a win in the Tour de France, if we're talking about beating Pagatra in the Tour de France, okay? Imagine if you have if you are riding for Florian Lipowitz and you give him Pelazzari, Henley, and Remco at in riding in support and being able to bury themselves where you can take the pressure off of having to have him win. All of a sudden you have a 22 Visma team where you can launch rolling attacks on Pagacar. You can put him put the screws to him. The same we we've seen how to beat Pagachar. We've seen it happen. Why teams have not tried to re you know to to to reimagine that that that form of attack for him in a grand tour doesn't make any sense to me because it's exactly how Vismo was able to beat him the first time. The second time is a different story. He wasn't healthy, he wrecked. You know, there they were, you know, and and he was he was beat, you know, by day 10 or something. I mean it was like over so early in that in that second loss to D Vingigo. But the first time they beat him by having much better tactics.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

Well, I I I would agree with that. I my prediction though is that when they when they start the tour, it's going to well, I maybe it'll it'll depend on on on how uh on how Lipowitz goes over the next couple of you know between now and the tour, but I I would very much imagine that it's going to be a co-leadership situation there, kind of like a or maybe maybe Remco is the nominative nominative leader, but but Leipowicz is kind of waiting in the wings for for for when Remco gets gets hit hard on the first mountain stage and you know ships a minute and a half, you know. So who knows?

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Um, it's the inevitable thing that's going to happen when it gets really, really hard. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

Yeah, yeah. So um I would like to before we wrap up that that this section though, just sort of talk a little bit about like how chill Paul Seychass is. Like that is one thing that that really, I think it's like it's like this, it's like the underlying thing that that makes all of this so the expectations so high is like he doesn't seem to be stressed at all. I mean, this is a guy who's been who's been racing his bike since he was a young kid. And apparently when he was like in the junior ranks, he won all the time. Like this guy has won dozens and dozens and dozens of bike races. This guy knows how to race a bike, he understands tactics, he understands his body, he's a racer. Um, and he's got his whole career in front of him, and he's already doing this well, and he's and he's he just seems to to have a way of dealing with all of this pressure that's on him. I know that for one thing, he's not like a big social media guy, which is cool. Um I feel like when you're a cyclist, there's can't be a lot of time to dick around with social media. I know some of them are pretty good with it, but um, but uh yeah, it just it's it's so refreshing.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

I mean, it just seems like you know could be the guy he doesn't seem to be phased by all of the hype, which is great because it's that won't be that'll serve him very well in the future. Not not getting wrapped. I mean, you know, you could on you could almost say that you know Remco is the opposite in that situation where Remco gets very wrapped up in his own hype and you know say Shas is just out here just putting it down, you know what I mean. And again, you know, we've said that you know, we I think I said you know, I said last week it's like you know, Remco uh does win, but it just seems like he's he's not winning the biggest races, he's winning the mediocre races, and you know, not not getting the job done in the biggest races.

SPEAKER_01 30:19

And it seems like saying Well, except that he won except that he won Amstel Gold. He did a pretty pretty damn big race.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

But we talked last week that his win there was not nearly as impressive as Skelmos's win the week before. All right, or the year before.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

The year before.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

So you know, and that being that being said, too, um, I do I would love to shout out Skelmos because um I I if there's a person that I feel uh the maybe the worst for in the pro Peloton right now is that is is Mateus Skelmos. He is such a quality rider, and if he was in any other era, all right, he is probably just a absolute household name in this sport. And not that he isn't now, but oh my god, man, like I just feel so bad that he is in the the Pagachar, Vingigo, you know, Del Toro, Remco, Shoss era. Because like he is so goddamn good, man. And it drives me nuts that I can't that he doesn't get the big win somewhere. I want him to get one of the really big ones. So bad.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

Yeah, that that team is struggling this year. It's a real shame that Mads, you know, has is had his accident, and you know, they're not putting a lot of really good guys around Skelly.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

Um yeah, he but he but he keeps but he keeps bringing home those thirds and fourths and fifths all over the place, man.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

And you know, for a while there, for a while there it looked like he had third, it looked like he had third like locked up on this race, yeah. 100% right saying like you know, if only if only he could have got like one other guy to come across to him, that was a shame. You know, when he got out there, it was it was like, yeah, he he he just needs one other dude. Um I had a couple of a couple more things that I just wanted to mention real quickly. Number one, did you catch the Juju Audrey spotting with 12.1 to go? He's he was he's holding the sign, and he was wearing the pig, he was wearing a pig outfit.

SPEAKER_00 32:28

No kidding.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

Yeah, juju Audrey back in action. Um and we have have have to shout out the the from behind drone shot of the finishing straight.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

I have I have Pagacars in this week on Instagram to be in the show.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

I tell you what, it was awesome. And we didn't get it this year, but hopefully in future years. Imagine how cool that shot will be if there's four people sprinting and not one, you know, riding for a you know, victory lap. Like that will be incredible.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

More drones, please. Like please listen to the phone.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

It's still it's still a little weird like having that drone like hovering around in the back of the shot, like right behind the rider when you're seeing the front-on shot. But you know, it's it's worth it. Yeah, and the way it would like pull up over the uh pull up over the over the uh finishing line structure there.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Really, really cool. Um yeah, just so so nice to have like a a uh a Tade Pagacar win that still had a whole bunch of excitement in it.

unknown 33:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 33:40

Especially considering that this is, you know, so we've had we've had what four monuments we've now had four monuments uh and strade, and he so five five monster races, and he came away with three wins. Right? Four wins.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Four wins.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Four wins.

SPEAKER_01 34:03

Yeah. So that's four wins and a third or a second. Did he get a second?

SPEAKER_00 34:08

We got second.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Oh, yeah, second and rue. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

Second and rhube.

SPEAKER_01 34:11

Unreal. It's just ridiculous. The guy literally has raced five days the entire season. He's won four and came in second on the other one. Uh it's too it's absurd. It's absolutely totally absurd. It's gonna be so funny to see what it's like. Because I remember last year he was like at a 50% like like definitely above that. He won just over 50% of the races that he raced last year. It will be very interesting to see where that is this year.

SPEAKER_00 34:41

So it's been a wild, wild, wild uh spring season, and now we are we are like days away, all right, because I'm gonna say day, I know it's like a maybe a little more than a week, but we are like days away from my favorite race of the year, typically, all right, and that is the Giro d'Italia. I cannot wait. We're gonna get all the great coverage from uh HBO Max.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

From Orla and the boys.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

Oh my god, yes. We get the breakaway every day for 21 stages, full full stages. It's gonna be so good.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

And we got and we got Giulio Pelazzari, the hot hand. Uh getting his first leadership role.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

And and hopefully Justin can score some fantasy points.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

So well, that Joao Almeida is not helping.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

No, but I got Jonas Finger goes, so you know.

SPEAKER_01 35:40

Uh, and I have and I have nobody.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

All right. On that note, let's take a break. We'll come back, and we are gonna get into the women's side of Liège Baston Liège. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

Please check out our other show, Inglorious Brothers, a pop culture show with Cult Classics Swagger. Search and subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or click the link in the show notes.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Welcome back. We are going to jump into the women's Liège Baston Diege, where we saw one Demi Vollering win yet again, and uh she also won Flush Wallone this week and did both of those with relative ease. Would you not agree?

SPEAKER_01 36:43

Uh, sure did seem that way. I mean, there's no way you could actually win this one of these races with ease, I would say, given the amount of of power that that woman is putting out, but it certainly didn't look difficult for her in either case. Um she has just got an unreal engine on her that can just go and go and go, what be it straight up a wall or straight up a five-minute long, you know, 10% climb.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

Do you feel like last year was a just her having to get comfortable in the situation in the new situation and the saw a little bit of a of a of a fallback last year versus this year?

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Yeah, she could have had a little less form for whatever reason, coupled with the new team, team environment, starting to get things to gel. But when it comes to at least the uh what I would say the mental side of it, that team is believing. She's given them all that they need to believe in it because it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 37:50

I think uh Yeah, they had three in the top ten yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 37:56

Yeah, and and we'll get to the team. Demi herself this year, 10 race days, eight podiums, six wins, two monuments, one GC win. It's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 38:09

I mean, it's it is it's pretty pretty disgusting.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

It's a defining season. Uh and I think uh I yeah, the sky is the limit for her this season. I mean, I I also don't see I we we haven't seen like really, really consistently good output from any of her competitors, you know. Kapeki's been here and there. Uh for Ron Provot has kind of been a big miss all season long. Um her seems to just her help, her help of yeah, set ELB not in great form. Um Marlin Roysa, you know, again, moments of of greatness, but like, I mean, compared to what Demi's doing right now, she is an absolute steamroller.

SPEAKER_00 38:57

Plagued by injury. I mean, it's you know it it yeah, I will say that it's a the that you know it is a big a bit disappointing um with Roysa because I I really you know I feel like she had a br absolutely breakout year last year where she just showed that she is one of the top competitors on the women's side. And so her being plagued with injury and not not and not having a a major presence in a lot of these races is disappointing because I do think that she would make it even more interesting than it has been.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

Um yeah, I just d Demi just does not have a whole lot of competition to speak of at all this year. Uh so in flesh, it was it was just the the the seated attack from the very very bottom. I mean, literally as they entered the as they made the the right-ish turn and you know started the climb proper, she was right there in the very front and just got that high cadence going and just just churned. And I mean, it was like they were just scrambling behind to see what they could do. And no one, no one could get could get within three bike lengths of her. I mean, she had like five or six at one point, and I think she started to let up um as as she got to the top, just because she felt like she had it pretty firmly in hand, uh, and was, you know, obviously ready for a little bit of a little bit of recovery. And then she sees uh she sees Blah, it was uh it was Blossom and um Puck coming at her hard. And uh she's like, okay, especially Puck is I'm gonna I'm gonna have to sprint a little bit here. Um but really wasn't wasn't bothered, you know. Absolutely incredible.

SPEAKER_00 40:54

I I don't think she was bothered at all. I think that that you know she realized like, oh, maybe I let maybe I let up a little too soon, but hold on, let me let me just turn it back on for a second and we'll we'll put this to bed.

SPEAKER_01 41:07

And you know, she's not she's not gone to the Welta, she's headed to the tour. She is she's won the tour one time, but she she got completely gypped out of it another time. And last year she she kind of ran into a locomotive. I think again, as we were saying, she was with the new team, you know, hadn't really had time to start gelling per se. I don't think her form was that great last year, you know. I I think I think physically, I mean, she was not like she is this year.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Um, so all the it it seems like her headspace is a lot better this year, too. I mean, she is like very, very like very calm, very composed in all of these really big situations. And it it it at and no point and like like let's not forget too that she was in that that group at um at Strade that went the wrong way, or it was at MSR that went the wrong way. She was in that group that like went went off down the gravel the wrong way.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Oh she she could have she could have had that for sure.

SPEAKER_00 42:10

Yeah. So it's I don't know, man. She's she is she is very special in in in many ways. And I think that she has an unbelievable team around her, and I think they all believe in her, and it it it shows because they are they're just they're dominating these other teams that also have major, you know, teams built around these riders, SD works and um UAE, and she's finding ways to win in the really big spots. And it's uh I don't know, man. She is she is something else.

SPEAKER_01 42:54

That is for sure. Um, so not not only is is like her form incredible right now, her her headspace, all everything, but she's also surrounded by just an absolute monster squad. I mean, the the the women on this team, Alice Shabet, Franzi Koch, Celia Jury, and now uh Berthe um coming to the fore in in uh in Liege, they're incredible. I mean, and they and they none of none of them have any issue with writing in support of Dami Vallering. And funny enough, they've each gotten their opportunities. Uh Lee Chavez, Lee Chabet won MSR, Bronzi Koch won Barry Roubaix, Celia Jury won like Brabanza Pale or something, right? So so so even Jury has has gotten her win. And I don't think Bertet has necessarily gotten a win, but like this is a dedicated team. They've got those three wins in the midst of of what we were just talking about with Damie. I mean, wow.

SPEAKER_00 43:57

They've they've wow the team is having an unbelievable. Year. But you're absolutely right. Like they all seem to support each other in huge ways. And they get if you know it the but from the racing aspect of it, when their key star is not there, they are able to pick up the pieces and continue to win and find ways to win. And it's amazing. I mean Shabay's win at MSR was um was uh was unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

She was incredible. I mean this is this is and and I believe wasn't um wasn't Franzi Koch like in there working with her?

SPEAKER_00 44:35

Shabbe's win at at Strade. I'm I'm getting confused. Do you have it pulled up right now?

SPEAKER_01 44:41

No, but I think it was I think it was I think it was um Strata Bianchi that yeah, it was Strata Bianchi that she won. And she had at the top of the climb, the Katarina, she had Franzi Koch with her as well. And didn't didn't Coke end up in fourth? Um and they were able they were able to work, they were able to work Cassia, I feel like it was.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

Um poor Cassia is just doomed to be second or third at almost all of these races.

SPEAKER_01 45:11

Like I I sit here and I wonder if if you except that Cassia's Cassia's about to win the Cassia's about to win the Velta this year, though.

SPEAKER_00 45:20

So she's also in a she's in a contract year. Do you think that she stays with Canyon Tram or do you think she goes to a different team?

SPEAKER_01 45:28

I don't know. It's been a long time, like they were saying on the broadcast. It's but she's been with that team for a long time. So uh I don't know. She'll she'll probably move on.

SPEAKER_00 45:35

I don't know. I think I don't I I can't decide if I feel like she would be better served on another team of you know, with a few she needs she needs the support riders. I think that that's one of the big things that she's missing is she does not have those really key support riders the way that um foron provot and um elb and demi have. I think she needs more support. And I and I think, you know, can you imagine if she went to like a I mean this is probably crazy, but imagine if she went to like an EF and she had Valerie's and um dude, how about PFP's sister? Like out of nowhere, bro. Like they had EF had two in the top ten yesterday as well. All right, like that's a that's a that's a huge, you know, that's a huge get for them as well, you know, for that team. I don't know, man. It'd be very interesting to see what happens with with Cassia moving forward because she she's she's got great form, but she's just you know, she's kind of like that Scelmo situation where you know she's just happens to be in this in this time where you're riding against some of these just absolute juggernauts.

SPEAKER_01 46:49

Well, I uh I think that she has got as good a shot as anyone to win the Vuelta, considering you know, because I feel like her head is she her head is in a much better place. She's now a Tour de France champion, like you know what I mean, like her her career is so secure and she can race, she can race with a sort of carefreeness that she lacked before then, you know. She also tagged on that that that win on the murder. Um, so and she's going up against a lot of kapeki. We already talked about it. Uh Baron Provot, we already talked about like she can be there for them. These women do not seem like they're really on that great a form on a Vronda Bregan, you know, like I mean, she she you know, um Berthe is the leader for for FDJ. Um Naomi Roog has not she's been she's looked worse and worse as the season has gone on. Uh Carline Swinkle's like who's gonna beat her, you know. So I and and and for her to add a uh another grand tour to her Palmares, I think will be really cool because then you know she will be focused on winning the Jiro for the rest of her career, basically, you know what I mean? And that would be awesome. So I agree with you. Um I loved how um first response during Demi's interview after uh the race, she was like, women deserve so much more. She just kind of like, yeah, I'm so grateful to have won this race, and also women deserve so much more.

SPEAKER_00 48:35

Well she had she had mentioned she had mentioned about how you know it was a kind of encapsulated her journey and you know her her quote. I I wrote it, I wrote the quote down because I don't wanna I don't wanna get it incorrect. Uh where is it? She said women's sports uh deserves so much more. And sadly, the follow-up to that was like a tactical question from the interviewer, and I get it. That you know they're they're you know, they're trying to get you know get that stuff out. I wish she had let uh you know asked her to to elaborate on that more. But you know, I also think that you know Demi is an is an unbelievable ambassador for women in sport and mental health, and it she just continues to prove time and time again that you know she is so much more than just a you know quality, you know, bike rider. She brings so much more to the table, and she is such a great ambassador for the sport. And I just, you know, I can't say enough about you know my how high my is my opinion of her is.

SPEAKER_01 49:50

Yeah, she's got heart and she um is unafraid to wear that heart on her sleeve. Uh I think part of what she was talking about was the carbon copy of Perry Roubaix two weeks ago, uh, in terms of the coverage for the women's race. Once again, we're doing this like it's all got to be on the same day, BS. And uh when I I watched both of these races in replay um, you know, yesterday afternoon, basically. And uh you press play on the replay of the women's race, and I'm not joking, it literally just came into race coverage while one of the commentators was mid-sentence. Really? Like that that's the best you can do. And then I look in the upper left-hand corner, and how many kilometers are left to watch? Like 46. So you just gave us 180 kilometers of the men's race with like a big whole title sequence and shots of the pre-race stuff, and a couple of interviews or whatever, and a welcome to and the you know, logo, and then the women's it's just like oh, here you go. Here, have 46 kilometers, and uh, you know, you can forget about any like I'm surprised they even put the kilometers to go on there. I mean, why bother? They're just the women.

SPEAKER_00 51:09

So, so let's talk about let's let's let's really hash these two this thing out. So, you know, boo to the ASO, all right, because first off, the men's race was fast as shit. All right, it was long over, and they cut off the broadcast before the podium, all right, yesterday. I never saw never saw the podium because I was watching it live. All right. I don't know if they had the podium in in the replay, but it certainly wasn't on the live broadcast. Then there was like a almost 30-minute like break in coverage.

SPEAKER_01 51:51

Right. It's un it's unbelievable. It's unacceptable.

SPEAKER_00 51:54

Why can't we just go right from the men's race? Like, and especially if they did like they did the dual podium thing at Perry Rubet. If they were doing that, which I don't think they did at this race, which I don't understand. Like, why are you why are you doing it this way there, but this way here? That's also stupid. But do that, but just cut right from the men's coverage to the women's coverage, just pick it up right then. The people are in place. Why it's not happening, I don't understand. All right, it's yeah, it's a total mess.

SPEAKER_01 52:27

Do you know do you know about the use do you know about the UCI's um like rule for coverage? So so a few years back, um the use the UCI came up with this like rule that said like if you are going to be carrying a woman's race, you have to commit to giving at least, I want to say it was like 45 minutes of coverage. Um it should be two hours now, as far as I'm concerned. Like you should you should be required. Like, if you're gonna put on, if you're gonna show the you know, be get get the the broadcast contract, it should be two hours. Um, if not at least an hour and a half. And it's almost feels like they are just like doing this just to be spiteful. It's like, okay, well, then we're gonna we're only gonna give you, you know, the bare minimum. Well, um, because yeah, there is there's no excuse for it.

SPEAKER_00 53:17

Here's the thing that I don't understand. All of the pieces are already in place. Why why do they not just run the coverage simultaneously, start the women's earlier, let people go back and watch more of the race in replay. Like why are we waiting to start the coverage? It makes no fucking sense.

SPEAKER_01 53:37

Yeah, it's absolutely pathetic.

SPEAKER_00 53:39

You know, excuse my French, but like it doesn't make any sense because I would have both of them on at the same time if I had the choice. I would have uh, you know, a screen with one and a screen with the other. I would then go back and watch the whole race if that was if that wasn't the the ability, or at least put more of the broadcast in the replay, like anything. Uh anything other than this, like, you know, uh here's here's some stuff. Because the coverage wasn't like that the year before, by the way. I went back and watched both La Flesh uh Flesh and LBL replays from last year. This is it's it's getting worse, which doesn't make any sense to me.

SPEAKER_01 54:22

It's so pathetic. And it's uh this is on the you know, coming off of like several years of like real progress on the women's side and much better things happening, and so it's just it feels like a setback. I I we're it's a we're a broken record. We were literally having this exact conversation two weeks ago, and you know, it's because of the ASL. We've had this conversation, just it's just disgusting. So um, but good for Demi for calling it out. Uh not so good for Demi for giving us a really boring ass race, but uh the race for second was was decent.

SPEAKER_00 54:53

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 54:54

I don't I don't understand why why von der Bregen just she is I she I don't get her. She gets she crosses the gap and gets up to those three, and then she's like, All right, guys, here you go, hop on, I'll give you a ride to the finish line, and I'll take four. She does this all the time. She's you know, who who who has more experience than Anna Von der Bregen in tactics? Spent three years riding in a car doing nothing but tactics. You know what I mean? Like, come on, come on.

SPEAKER_00 55:21

So um, but uh man, she still got top five, she got fourth place, she's just off the podium. Um, but so yeah, so do you do you have anything else on that before we kind of jump around jump over to uh no I don't our fantasy? So let's let's jump into fantasy. So you um as as has been I feel like this is another broken record. You you dominated the week.

SPEAKER_01 55:52

I like this one, but this one's fun to talk about.

SPEAKER_00 55:54

You dominated the week again for me taking taking first place, um you also took second place um and I believe I got another third place in in LBL and first place at LaFleche Wallone.

SPEAKER_01 56:11

So right. Well, well, but you're both of my first places in those two races were canceled out by your first places. So basically I got I got full points for second and third at LBL.

SPEAKER_00 56:23

Yes, you did. So you had you had 72 um points this week to my 42. So you did take that that that second and third gave you an additional 30 points uh ahead of me this week. Now that brings your your April total. God, this number is so stupid, to 324 points to my 107.

SPEAKER_01 56:50

That's that's just a drubbing.

SPEAKER_00 56:52

Your overall right now, all right, you are leading 660 to 416. So you've got me by well over 200, getting getting close to 250 points.

SPEAKER_01 57:06

I know better than to rest on my laurels because all of this could flip very easily in the next couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_00 57:13

Hopefully, is going to be where where I really start to shine. Now, don't forget, once we get to Tour de France, all bets are off because you you're gonna have pog you're gonna have pog back in the mix. But I gotta I gotta really, really hope that like the Jiro is good for me. I need a pog like uh Jiro from from Jonas Vangu, where he's just like all over the place. Where he wins like five five stages, gets two jerseys. Two jerseys would be great.

SPEAKER_01 57:40

Yeah. Yep. All right. Well, uh, you also have um now activated Paul Manier because of the departure of a Joao Almeida.

SPEAKER_00 57:53

Yeah. So and and Paul Manier will be at at the Jiro, so I think that is a good a good move on my part. Um you know, we'll we'll stick with him for the month and and then reassess things come back.

SPEAKER_01 58:07

Well, no, I think the way that I think the way the rule works is if Joao's back in till Joao is back riding, I guess. So Right, right. So uh so right now you've got you've got uh you've got Almeida and Lippert on your bench, right? And everybody else is activated, and I think right now I have Merlier and uh who do I who what's in? No, no, no, Kim Lakourt Pinar is still out.

SPEAKER_00 58:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Roysa, Roysa and and Kim Lakourt Pinard are both out for you, right?

SPEAKER_01 58:41

Yeah, yeah. So that's so so SquiBon will go back out when one of those two.

SPEAKER_00 58:50

I thought you were gonna grab some points of Squeebon yesterday. She was in the mix.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

I know she was in the mix. I was kind of hoping for it, but hey, she hasn't been doing a whole lot this year. All right.

SPEAKER_00 58:59

Um uh so other other you do you have any other news and notes before we jump in the broomwagon?

SPEAKER_01 59:06

Or yes, I have a I have a couple of things I wanted to mention.

SPEAKER_00 59:09

I do um I want to shout out a couple of things, Rick. We don't have to even really go crazy into them, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 59:15

Well, well, we should mention that the tour of the Alps was this week. Um, and I know that's one of your shout-outs was from stage one of the tour of the apps, but uh Pellatzari looked like pretty pretty magisterial here. Like, I mean, he was he was calm, cool, collected, and like in control of this race with like no problem. Um and uh it was it was cool. I I like I like the guy, and you know, he's he's kind of one of these young guys that's sort of been flying under the radar with the Paul Seychosses and the Isaac Del Toros of the world. Um, but yeah, this guy seems like the real deal, and he is gonna be the team leader at the Giro, and I'm looking forward to it. Let's talk about stage one.

SPEAKER_00 59:53

Um, so let's talk about Tomaso Dotti from Team Ukyo. Ukyo. Um, so this this dude, hold on, where's my stuff here? So he races for Team Yukio, which is a Japanese UCI continental cycling team established in 2012, and it's managed by Japanese race car driver Ukyo Katayama.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

I love it.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:19

And like if this dude doesn't end up picking up a contract off of this, like I I would be completely surprised.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:28

Um he took Yeah, I feel like he was mixing it later in the race, too.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:32

Yeah, absolutely. Um we he got um the the team got a third a a first and a third. Uh and then I thought that he took a I thought he took a mix on the mix on stage.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:50

And Pidcock, dude, shout out to him. Like, wow. Dude really came back from that crazy, you know, off the road getting lost accident.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:58

Yeah, he's like up and he's down, and he's up and he's down. Then he gets the LBL and he gets a crash and he's stuck behind and just can't get back. I mean, uh the poor dude, but also shout out to the third place on stage three uh of that race that the that Tom Pitcock won. Aegon Bernal, who has just been looking better than he's looked in a long time. So I'm really looking forward to good things from Aegon this year. That would be wonderful. Um yeah, and one one last thing I want to mention from from that. I'm gonna I'm just I'm making the final judgment right now. Derek G's Canadian National Champs jersey is an absolute stain upon the the face of pro cycling.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:38

Derek G West jerseys it's unforgivable jersey.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:43

It's unforgivable. The poor guy.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:45

It's just it looks horrible.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:48

I've my kids love the cowboy episode of Ren and Stimpy that I've been a big fan of for years. And one of the funniest parts about it is that the one of the big dumb sheriff, he's got a he's got a a badge, and like from shot to shot, his badge is just located in stranger and stranger places. Like it starts out off on his hat and then it's on his shirt where it belongs, but then at one point it's on his shoulder, and then it's like stuck to his face. And that's what they're doing with the with the damn maple leaf on Derek G's jersey. I mean, just like you just are you just you know flipping a coin, you're spinning a wheel to decide where it's gonna be. It's it's a mess. All right. Um some other uh news stuff I want to talk to you. Did you hear about um the uh the uh Jerry Ryan, the the the billi the Australian billionaire who's who's owned the Jaco team for years and years?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:38

I heard somebody, I heard something about about him this week, but I can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:42

He went on a podcast this week and he basically said that after 2027, like he's done funding Australian cycling, Jaco, et cetera. He's pulling his money out. He's like, I've been at this for 30 years, you know, I've done I've done more than anyone could ever have possibly expected from me. But and I thought this was kind of strange that he said this. Uh he was like, but my kids are starting to worry about their inheritance. He literally said that. Like, dad, enough with the cycling, like leave leave some for us. You know, we don't ever have to want to work a day in our lives, dad. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:13

Um 25 million makes it so you don't ever have to work another day in your life and have a great life, but okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:21

Uh I would say a lot less than that in this day and age, but um so and then basically he uh he he also said so you know they were like so what do you think? How's how are they how are they gonna be able to make a go of it? And he's like, Well, you know, there's Jaco, there's the Jacob part of the team, but then there's also the uh Alula part. You know what Alula is? Alula is a town in Saudi Arabia that they just made, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:46

And then like one of those things where they just made a city in the desert.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:49

Yes, it's the Oasis town. Uh so you know, more petrodollars, more sports washing, yay. This is uh not a good story, and you got a feel for the Aussies, and it's just a shame that even a country that's the size of a continent, it's really kind of just like a regular size country in a lot of ways. And being able to prop up, you know, an entire very resource-intensive sport like cycling uh without some billionaire behind you is just not really feasible for that country. Yeah, you know, I guess I guess. So I don't know, it's a real shame. Um the uh everybody was very notable at the end of LBL, uh total class Pagacar puts his hand over his heart, points to the sky in honor of Christian Camilo Munoz, who's a former UAE rider, uh, who is now was riding with a team called New Columbia. It was like a continental team, a South American continental team. Uh they were racing the Tour de Ura. Uh, that's the race that Ricotello won like a week ago. Right. And this guy has a knee injury, goes to the hospital, the injury gets infected, and there are complications, and they cannot save him, and he dies from complications of a knee infection. It seems insane that that's that kind of thing could happen to a young, healthy person in this day and age, but it happened is incredibly sad.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:22

It can be very dangerous, dude. Pete just lost his leg and all. I mean, you know, there's there's a there's tons of possibilities of what could have happened there.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:31

Yeah, a real shame. Um, and you know, good on you, Pogachar, for for for making the finish of that race about that guy, even though he's making history himself. Uh, you know, wearing the black armband. I thought that was great. Um, the last thing I wanted to mention, the very end of the coverage of the men's race, they the the helicopter panned around a wild looking church. Did you catch this?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:55

I probab I'm sure that I had it on, but I I don't know if I caught it. I was thinking notes.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:00

If you scroll down in my show notes, you will see a photo that I put in there. Did you see that picture? Uh no, but I will right now. So this is a derelict cathedral in the middle of Liege called the Eglise de Sacra Quant. Uh the you know, the Sacred Heart Church. It was part of an inter-allied memorial that was constructed after World War One. So like a bunch of the different Allied countries got together. They wanted to put up a huge memorial to World War One. It was decided that it would be in the city of Liege. And this was one of the one of the things that was constructed as part of this memorial. There's also a big ass tower next to it and like a memorial garden and some other stuff over there. Yes, yes. So this thing just like never got finished. Like they they consecrated it in 36 and they kept working on it, but they never actually finished it. And then it was like deconsecrated or whatever at some point, like in the 60s or 70s, and it just wasn't used and it fell in disrepair. Um, there were like giant hunks of concrete falling off the side of the thing, exposing the bricks that were underneath, and it was just looking a mess. They decided to get a little bit of money together to just kind of dress it up somehow. And what they came up with was hiring Bonam, the Belgian Banksy, to do a mural on the side of this thing. And quite frankly, it's pretty damn cool. And they say that the people in the city have sort of sort of adopted it as like their own, you know, because it's kind of been been there so long. It looks really neat. I mean, it was a wild thing when I when I when I saw the helicopter flying around, I was like, oh my god, I gotta I gotta talk about this on the show. This is wild. So apparently it's it's been for sale. There's been plans to to to do different things with it over the years, including uh putting a giant climbing wall inside of it, which would be unbelievably cool. Can you imagine if you could go there and like do a climbing wall, like crazy, like inside of a cathedral, like that would rule. So let's hope that wins out or whatever. But uh pretty wild. So that's all I got. It was it was kind of cool. It was right at the end of the the Peacock uh broadcast. If you want to, if you want to go and watch it, it's just a really, really cool looking shot. Um, yeah, so that's all.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:09

Well then, uh I think you are up for the broom wagon. So let's jump in the broom wagon. Let's fire it up. What do you got for us this this week?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:21

Let me see if I can get through this quickly. We're gonna do the mid-season quiz. All right. The first part of the season is over. We're headed into grand tours. First of all, I can't believe I can't even believe that like LBL is done and dusted. Like I it has gone by in the blink of an eye, the first part of this season. So um, all right, so here we go. I'm gonna record, I'm gonna record your answers and then we're gonna check back at the end of the season. Question one: Will Demi Vollering win the Tour de France Ven? You gotta give me a hard yes or no for every one of these. All right, all right. You're saying yes, and I'm saying yes. Um will Ana Von de Bregan get a win this year? No. No, I'm gonna say yes. Um, how about a grand tour stage when you're obviously saying no? No. I'm saying no. Will Casia add a second grand tour to her Palmares at the Vuelta Espana in three weeks?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:24

I'm saying hard yes. Will Paula Blasi win a grand tour stage? Yes. She will she will be at the Velta, and you know the kind of form she's on, Justin saying yes, I'm saying I'm saying yes. She looks so good.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:39

It's not even funny. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:40

Okay. Will will Paul Seychos go to the Tour de France?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:47

It would be a crime if he didn't, so I'm gonna say yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:50

Yes, I think yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:51

And I think there would there would be another revolution in France if he doesn't go to the tour.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:58

Um will Paul Seychas. Will Paul Seychos win a grand tour stage?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:09

Yeah, I'm saying yes as well. Uh will Remco Evanople podium the Tour de France. No. You're saying no, and I'm saying yes. Um can Jonas beat Tade Pagaja? Yes. Notice I did not say at the Tour de France. You're saying yes. And I'm saying yes. Um lastly, will Tom Pigcock win a grand tour stage this year?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:48

They will be at the Tour de France.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:53

I believe so. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, the team will definitely be at the at the Tour de France. I'll I'll tell you the Pigcocks.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:01

I'm gonna say no. I'm gonna say no. I just I don't know. I'm just gonna go with my gut. I'm gonna say no.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:09

Alright. Then I will say yes. I like that. Alright, that's all. We will check back on this uh at after the grand tours. What do you got?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:20

Alright. I so two things. I just wanted to shout out the the the first Liege, Baston, Liege. So the first race for LBL was in 1892, but it actually went from spa to Baston and back. So that is like the whole that's the where the impetus was was it was a race out and then back to spa. All right. Um what was it you know, and psych cycling was very expensive back then. It was it was considered a gentleman's, you know, affair. And um, so I just wanted to shout this out because I thought this was so cool when I looked at it. So only 17 33 riders from Leah from the Liege Cycling Union and the Peasant Club Le Joie, all Belgians, and most of them from Reliege took the start. Only 17 finished. The co the course halfway turn point was the train station in Baston, chosen because of the convenience for race officials. Some tired riders just abandoned right there and took the train back to Spa. Leon Hua, a Liege, a Liege native, won the race after 10 hours and 48 minutes on the bike.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:30

It's crazy what they used to do back then. 10 hours, dude. It's so crazy. That's not even there. There's longer ones, too. Like you go back in the history of I mean, some of these stages just used to be absurdly long. They would have 400 and something kilometer long stages and stuff. It was crazy.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:44

The second place finisher, Leon Lost, came in 22 minutes later. Third was Louis uh Raskine at 44 minutes, and then riders kept arriving for another five hours.

unknown 1:12:59

Five.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:02

Okay. The last thing I wanted to shout out was Jen's cycling art at Gen CyclingArt on Instagram. All right. Click the link in my broomwagon. Look at the bottom.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:13

I'm looking at it. I'm looking at it.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:16

Maybe the my favorite poster of the year. I almost should say, let it like I'm about to buy this, and whoever wins the fantasy gets this poster. Because that poster is unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:30

Hell of a Perry Rubet, Chef's Kiss, Gen Cycling Art.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:36

Go check her out on Instagram. All right. That is my broom. Definitely. That is my broomwagon. That is all for this week.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:44

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This gives me vibes of I I don't know the artist's name, but anytime I've ever gone to uh like one of those art, those like art expo things, you know, art in the park or whatever where people are setting up booths, like especially down south, there's always this one person that that has like every like the facade of every college in America, you know, Ohio State and University of Maryland and all this other stuff. Um they've got like every famous neon sign in America, they've got every national park in America, um, and it is this same exact style, this kind of like blocky, colorful, colorful um um style. So, yeah, absolutely beautiful. I love it. I can't wait to go down this rabbit hole.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:38

Yeah. Alrighty. That's all for this week. Join us next week for coverage of the Tour of Romandy and the Ashbourne Frankfurt One Day Classic, and we'll do a preview of the first grand tour of the season for the women, the Vuelta Espana Feminina. Until then, for my brother Matt, I'm Justin Harper. Thank you for listening. We hope you'll join us again soon for another ride Beyond the Slipstream. Ale.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:04

Beyond the Slipstream is a part of the Harporama family of podcasts. Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Please like and subscribe, smash that button, leave a five star review, and most importantly, tell all your friends about us. Thanks for listening. Talk to you next time.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:21

Alex,