Roadman at stage 12 of the Euro-Ritalia, let's cue that intro
Roadman at stage 12 of the Euro-Ritalia, let's cue that intro. The big question is this. How do we use cycling as a tool to improve our health, our happiness and our longevity? That is the question and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Anthony Walsh and welcome to the Roadman Podcast. Welcome back, it's stage 12 of the Jiro D'Italia. We're winding our way through this Jiro D'Italia. I can't believe it's 12 days in. I'm kind of settling into this podcast on location in Jiro D'Italia. I'm enjoying it, have my little setup. I'm always with the podcast, you're trying to be conscious of audio quality. And so back home of the podcast set up soundproof walls, but when you're away, you're really trying to magguver the place of like surrounded by pillows and duvays and soft furnishings to try and ease the suiting tones across the air waves to you guys. So hopefully it's working out quite well. Today we went stage 12 from the beautiful Sienna to buigno the Runga. 212 kilometers with 2,700 meters of climbing, including a cat tree climb only five kilometers in the finish. Before I dive in and tell you all about it, let me just remind you about Patreon. As always, Patreon is how you support the podcast. We need Patreon contributions, now more than ever, the cadence of the podcast, it's up, it's every day for three weeks during the jure of the Talia, so we really depend on your support. It's not just a sound boy that I throw in to start of every podcast, it's because it's necessary and it's the lifeblood that keeps this podcast rolling. So if you'd like to make a small donation on talking to Proysva Pointabear, who can't afford the price for Pointabear? Once a month, all you have to do is head on over to patreon.com forward slash Anthony underscore watch the link is in the bio and make a small donation. So the race today was dominated by a 16 man move and there were some decent names and a George Bennett was in from Yumbovizma, Brambi Afintrek, Diego Ulysses, Chris Hamilton from DSM, Jeffrey Bushard, AG2R, Vendramé AG2R, who else was in us. We'd going in from Israel, start up nation, carpenters who seems to be in every single break at the moment. Dries de Bonn, who was in the break yesterday as well from Belgian champion from Alpus and Fenix. I want to bore you with the rest of the 16 names that were in it. But what came down to in the end was a four-man group commented a line with Vendramé from AG2 or Chris Hamilton from DSM, George Bennett and Bram Bier. And what happened in the run-in today, it's worth going back and watching the last three kilometers. What happened in the run-in is just the massive case of self-sabotage. sabotage, one of the biggest cases of self-sabotage that I've seen in a long time. From two experienced Reuters, and I don't know what the fuck they were up to, George Bennett and John Luke and Bram Bia from Lotto and Trick, two world tour teams, they managed to get themselves dropped from the break inside the last 2k by just bitter pettiness and grievances between the two of them. I can't I don't even remember who started it. So someone, I think it was Brambe, I was in Torridewail. And he swung to the right to let a gap open to the front too. And once the George Bennett had come through, one spot ahead of him, and just move up one spot ahead of him. And now he was trying to be coy and get the last position in the group coming into the finish.
George Bennett didn't oblige, so he slowed down
George Bennett didn't oblige, so he slowed down. So the gap went from a bike lens to two bike lengths, to three bike lengths. Now we had these two, what can only be described as juveniles, figuring out going, well I'm not gonna blink first, you close the gap, it's four boitlins, you close it, that's gonna cost me a 20-bit of energy, you close it. Then it went to 10 boitlins, then it went to 10 seconds, then it went to 15 seconds, and before you know it, the race is over, and the two lads have, in cycling what we call taking themselves out the back. And the pettiness didn't end there, and I knew it was going to happen so, uh, then drama won the sprint easy for the stage over Chris Hamilton from DSM, the X mountain boyger. But the sprint for Tor was always going to be comical. So Brambia opened up the sprint and left the gap on his left. And as soon as George Bennett tried to come through the gap, Brambia chopped them, nearly crashed them and closed the gap. He subsequently got the squalified for it and relegated the fourth position. So the The petting has continued into the press conference, it's where a brand B is set after. I love interviews like this. He started the interview, I've nothing to say. And then went on to give quite a long statement. But the hoylot is basically just ask George Bennett how to lose a race. Sometimes it's better to watch some racing on TV so you can learn how to do it. Don't even know what he means. George Bennett said today was an opportunity. And like I said, we gamble for the win. We're not here to close every gap that end up toward the fourth and the sprint. stage hunting and breakaways is not normally what I do and maybe it takes a while to get for the field for that a little bit. I think the stages as we head into the big mountains are be more about legs and playing games tactics cutting else so hopefully that's a bit more for me. Ben has had weird legs for this race because he hasn't been able to follow the GC moves but he seems good enough to get into the breaks. I actually think it went up stage at some point in this race. He missed the chance today I don't think he would have won the sprint anyway and and driving Ramay from AG2 or is quite a fast sprinter. So yeah, but it was just, if you're watching it and you're a boy gracer, even a calf or a boy gracer, it's just what not to do coming into the end of a boy grace. It's so much easier to just close one boy glint than to take a principal stance and throw away 200 kilometers in the break. That was bananas. And then the last talking point from today's stage, which is another interesting We had a cat tree climb 5k from the finish. Sort of a west twisty descent and the shark came over the top, Vincenzo Nibali came over the top of the Inios train who had done a great job again all day protecting Bernal, keeping him out with a wind, keeping him fed, sheltered and they'll do more design tomorrow ahead of that Zonk long stage on Saturday. But Nibali attacked over the top of the descent and he railed the descent and I don't know avoided didn't let him go because they had three kilometers false flat into the finish where they would have closed most of his gap and he's four minutes back on GC and he was going solo it was an ego move from Vincien so he tried to bait them in to follow one and largely they didn't follow but Moscow did follow Moscow tried to follow Nibley and I so often happens when people try and follow Nibley Moscow crashed and it looks like Moscow crashed pretty heavy from what I I can see.
Niebly baited him into it and he talked about hook line and sinker
Niebly baited him into it and he talked about hook line and sinker. Niebly is not looking for somebody to crash, but he's looking to make people uncomfortable. And a result of making him uncomfortable was he crashed. We've seen this last year in with a lumber dia where Niebly forced the pressure under the scent and Remko Evanfield ended up going over the bridge. And people aren't comfortable to send them at the speed Niebly descends at. now tactically moving into the more difficult last two weeks of the race. We have Chaconae who we've talked about as a possible GC podium. He's got an advantage now. Everyone outside Ineos has an advantage now because Moscon has been one of the strongest, if not the strongest Lieutenant Ferburnale in the race so far, and he's after taking a pretty big hit. So you would have to say tactically, Neebly played a great today. Ineos didn't need to get baited into it but Moscon did. It seems like Branon knew what was what and I seen him after the race and he said that after the cent was four kilometers of flat to the finish and I still had teammates with me so when he started taking the descent really hard I knew he could only gain a few seconds advantage I didn't want to take the risk of falling for that few seconds we let him go and we managed to gap he's certainly a great rider and need to pay attention to him though. Branon's just starting to sound more and more like a champion every time I hear him talking. Really like Bernal, one of my favorite riders in the bunch at the moment. So Bernal is leading this race 48 hours, he's being battling for 48 hours. Oh my god, the meltwater and the amount of time he's been on the bike, 48 hours and he's 45 seconds ahead of Blasov. 112, I had a Caruso Hugh Curtis in 4th at 117 with Simon Yates at 122. Tomorrow we've a 198 kilometer stage from Ravina to Verona and it is panflat. So expect the sprinters minus Kailapion to come out and force tomorrow and Zagant to defend that point. It's going to be an interesting one, roadman and you know what I'm going to talk to you all then. Hey everybody it's Anthony again. Really quick I want to invite you to join arguably the best thing I've ever put out inside the roadman community. It's a challenge. It's a challenge called a 14-day Kickstarter challenge. So regardless of where your fitness is at right now, this is going to be the catalyst for making you faster and making you the leaner. I've created this challenge to take the guess walk out of everything. It's 14 days of training plans regardless of what your level is. There's the master's beginner advanced, there's meal plans shopping list and even a video course holding your hand and talking you true at all. So what I What I recommend you do right now is just stop everything, press pause on this audio and go to roadmancycling.com forward slash 14 day or check out the link in the bio that roadmancycling.com slash 14 day.