1.Let's talk about Liège Baston Liège

Let's talk about Liège Baston Liège. It's Qudad intro! The big question is this. How do we use cycling as a tool to improve our health, our happiness and our long-chevages? 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 to another roadman cycling podcast. It's been a minute. I had a super crazy busy week last week and didn't get the podcast out as anticipated. I'm working super hard at the moment. Anyone that's been following along on any of our plans, we've had our 14 day quick start challenge, which obviously lasted 14 days. Hence the name, then we moved onto our eight-week challenge and we're calling this holding the road manjourney but the next step on the road manjourney is something that i'm working on at a moment and i'm working super hard on it's called the roadman blueprint and it's going to be a four-month training plan or i'm trying to incorporate training plans strength condition and plans stretching plans hydration guides basically everything you need to succeed in a matter of what your selecting goal but it's a huge member's area and it's a huge undertaking and i'm launching it with a webinar early May is gone in the deadline for a working full gas on it last week trying to get some stuff across the line for some intern deadlines, so unfortunately didn't have the time to get the podcast out as anticipated but it was a super week of cycling which culminated in Lières and that's what I want to talk about today. But before I dive into that let me remind you because I haven't done so in a week about Patreon over on patreon.com forward slash Anthony under score watch the link is in the boil that's where glazing girls continue to support the podcast they make this podcast possible every single episode that goes out so big shout out to everyone that subscribe so far and bought me a point of beer over there and if you haven't please I would encourage you to head on over there because it is hard for all small businesses definitely we're no exception book thanks to your continued support where they keep getting this podcast out. Right guys, before I jump into Lee Ais, just expose one newsworthy story that we all seen coming Tom Dumelan who was named as one of three leaders for a lot of with Roglic and Stephen Kreuzwick at the start of the year. He subsequently announced his sort of impermanence retirement from the sport, walked away for a little bit. I think it was the day or two days after he was named as team leader for the tour. He hasn't been back on the bike since. There's reports that he's back training but he definitely hasn't been back racing so it's no surprise that a lot of today have announced that he won't be riding Tour de France. So unfortunately for big Tommy Deefans we won't see him in this year's tour. I know he's battling with some demons and his question is low for the sport so hopefully he gets all that sorted out, gets his head straight and regardless of whether he gets back to the sport or whether he decides to do a Marcel Kittle and just pursue what makes him happy, wish Tom speedy recovery. He's a guy I'd love to get on the podcast someday because he just seems like such a dude. So I wanna talk about five things that we learned from Liège. Well, I suppose number one, and we've seen it from the Ardennes classics is the GC guys can ride the Ardennes classics. And this is maybe no secret to somebody who watches these classics year after year. but when we use the term classics, we broadly refer to the Belgian flatter style classics and the Ardennes classics, but they're not the same thing. They're two very different types of roiders. We see our Sagans, our Greg Van Avermarts, our set Van Marx, really excelling in the flandering classics, but then when we move with the Ardennes, typically punchier type climbs, we're seeing more of the GC guys. We're seeing our Carapas, our Roglic, our Pogacha, Mike Woods, Alifalee, these type guys, are really up there to finish the race.

2.Yesterday we had our Tour de France champion Tade Pogacha winning…

Yesterday we had our Tour de France champion Tade Pogacha winning L'Eige Baston L'Eige, which just goes to show what a brilliant all-round rider and crazy mercurial talent that we have in our sport at the moment. He's the Tour de France champion, I think the second youngest ever Tour de France champion and then to at a one day classic of this note to the Palmer as was unbelievable. So, Shapo Tade Pogacha finally learned how to pronounce his name as well, which is nice. You remember last year's tour that was just thrown out all sorts of pronunciations for the young man's name? Secondly, and I don't want to go because I call this one a while back in our season predictions, Davagado is far eclipsing Tivo Pinot as a Francist du Jour team leader. I expect to see this trend continue an integrand towards Tivo Pinot for me as a man who's been on the fade for several years and he's largely responsible for why FDJ haven't had a fucking result of note for the last six or seven years because they keep backing him and he keeps failing miserably. Davagaro looks the real deal we see in his stage when in Parynis where Roglic and him wrote to the finish and make no mistake it wasn't a gift from Roglic, it was a tactical decision to let him win because he would have won anyway and Roglic would have lost Jersey if he had decided to sit on Roglic. So he again, hoyloted his forearm on a podium yesterday in Liège. I was a little bit disappointed to not see him attacking with two or three K to go because it was a fast group. We had Pogacha, Alephaleep, Woods, Valverde, who can all sprint and then Godot who hasn't got much of a sprint on him but you can't blame the kid for hedging and going for the podium because if he attacks with 2k to go and he gets close down he's gonna get fifth. This case he sat in and he got a podium so look you can't really question it although we always love seeing those riders who just go for a break. Toward lesson I think we learned that Roblach needs a little bit of time off. He's been one of if not the dominant rider for the first half of the season. Now the Tour de France's next big priority. He looked ring rusty yesterday at 30k to go, whom he seen Inyos hitting the front with again absolutely dismal, embarrassing display from Inyos in the one day race. Apart from Dylan Vambara and Pitcock winning two semi-clastics for a team at their budget, they just get it wrong so many times. The whole team hit the front with a 0-0 winner, T.O. Gage and Hurt, Yates, X-World, Champion, Kiekoski, Karapaz, like Tinket a talent there, all Grand Tour winner stage winners, they hit the front, they split the bunch and this is like 30k to go and then they don't stick a man into the top 10 even. There's a 5-man break goes with no representation from any of us, it's just an embarrassment. But when any of us did hit the front there with 30k to go, Rovitch missed the split and I think that's quite telling that his legs just aren't where they need to be. He needs that little bit of time off to get a little bit fresh. Don't forget fitness and form are two different things. Fitness is this gradual build up a training effect but as we gradually build up training effect fatigue comes along with it. So how we get form, how we get those magic days is we build up this huge fitness and fatigue along with it then we take a little break and that's how we bring form and that's what Roglet you'll be looking for a nail into the Tour de France. If I was guessing he'll probably take a little bit of time to just freshen up, then he'll start a super hard trying to block and then he'll start freshening up again, I'd anticipate he'll spend quite a bit of time at altitude between now and the Tour de France. Fourth lesson, the super talk, it's just an absolute joke.

3.We've seen Carapaz yesterday who solo for team in Eos

We've seen Carapaz yesterday who solo for team in Eos. They're in quite a good position at this stage in the race, maybe 20k to go, Karapaz is solo and he's been disqualified for the super talk. But disqualifying him from the super talk, it doesn't do anything because he can't take back how the tactics played out. Karapaz is solo so now he's forced other teams to chase, any else get to sit on, just going back and retrospectively disqualifying him does fucking nothing so it's just another application of how pointless these UCI rules are. Carapaz is solo on his own in a super talk, which we've never seen a crash from the super talk, let alone a crash on your own in the super talk position. But when you go on the squalifil him, the impact that he's having on the race isn't just erased from history. That impact is still felt into the finish. That break went yesterday because of that. It's inseparable one action from the other. So I just don't get it. It's like somebody that doesn't understand so it has no appreciation of how tactics play out is creating these rules and interpreting them. It's just beyond bizarre from the UCI. At number five for anyone out there who is an aging listener shall we say. Vavarade just shows no signs of slowing down. He's 41 and he's a four-time liaison champion. He was sprinting literally for the keys of the palace. Eddie Merckes has won the race five times. Valverde would have been sharing the ceremonial symbolic keys to the palace with Eddie Merck if he had a one. At 41 years old, it's phenomenal and it just goes to highlight something that we all love about cycling, that it doesn't really matter about your age, it's possible to hold your form and progress regardless of your age. And Valverde at the very top of his game still at 41 is absolutely brilliant to see. And I know Valverde has had his history had opened. But anyone you talked, he's just a class acting and he's very much loved within the Peloton. We had Willie Smith during the week, he was a previous guest on the podcast talking about the lack of respect within the bunch. And he even saw his vavary in that. He said it's not coming from Reuters of Vavary's class, it's lack of respect. He's like the guys who can actually throw down, the guys who have the Palmer as Tabraga belt aren't the ones who are bullying the lower grade teams. It's the sort of open common guys who are a bit of swagger about them. But it's just interesting that Valverde at nearly every point a pro-roider gets to, you know, criticize or give credit to a writer. Valverde always gets mentioned as such a class act and he's one of true personal circles I've heard as well. It's such a nice guy. So, shop over Valverde, 41 years old at a top five in Liège, Baston Liège. Guys, I hope you enjoyed the League of the Weeknd and I hope you enjoyed the Roadman podcast and guess what, this week I will be back tomorrow. Chat ya then! Hey everybody, it's Anthony again. Really quick, I want to invite you to join arguably the best team I've ever put out inside the Roadman community. It's a challenge, it's a challenge called a 14 day kickstart 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 leaner. I've created this challenge to take the guesswork out of everything. It's 14 days, training plans regardless of what your level is. There's masters, beginner, advanced. There's meal plans, shopping list and even a video course holding your hand and talking you through at all. So what I recommend you do right now is just stop everything, press pause on this audio and go to roadmansoycling.com forward slash 14 day or check out the link in the bio. at roadmancycling.com slash 14 day.