Rodman, let's preview the World Championship road race course in…
Rodman, let's preview the World Championship road race course in Emmala. 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. This podcast will give you the answers. My name is Anthony Walsh and welcome to the Rodman Podcast. Hello roadman, welcome back to another roadman. I suppose this is almost a special edition roadman podcast. I don't normally come to you guys on the weekend, but I had an itch that needed scratching. Or is it an itch that needed itching? I never know, these scratch itches or the itch itches. Who knows? Nobody knows. I want to talk about the world championships. The world championships is on this Sunday. It's sandwiched in between the Tour de France and and the jir d'etalia. I wanted to run through the course, the unique demands and what makes the worlds, the worlds with its own little idiosyncrasies. Some of the pre-race favourites and I'm going to give a shout out to my big favourite and tell you to get down to patty power or whoever your bookie is and stick some money on this man. Hot tip coming towards the end of this podcast. Before I get started, a quick reminder to head on over to patreon.com. We've launch the secret podcast on Patreon. So if you want access to the secret podcast, it's once a month where it's to ask me anything secret podcast. That's a thank you to you guys and girls who've supported this podcast. True buying me the price of a pint of beer once a month. So if you'd like to support the podcast and get access to the secret podcast, you can do so by heading on over to patreon.com forward slash Anthony underscore Walsh. Right now the business is taken care of. Let's talk about the world championships. This is a classic world championships course. There's 5,000 meters of climbing on it. It's going to be an epic day out. Someday is the day you can box off for at least the last two or three hours of this race. It's going to be epic entertainment. We are of course racing in the Imla race track which was made famous by the death of the great late Erton Senna. I still remember where I was that day. My dad's working the army and I remember being in work with him that day. Obviously they couldn't get a babysitter that day. I was in work walking around doing what kids do and we were watching a Formula One race and I remember it's coming across to Erton Senna, a doiid and the race. So it's funny how those things sort of stick with you. It's one of those nearly a September 11th moment for sports fans but the race is in Imola this year, it's been changed from it was meant to be around the UCO headquarters in Egl and Switzerland and between wanting and another in the crazy year we're having with can you get your podcast without saying covid? No I fucked that one up. The crazy year we're having it's relocated to Imola so big props to them for stepping up and hosting it at short notice. We have 250 grilling kilometers. Think about that for a minute, your weekend ride is like 80 90k and it's a good solid ride. They're doing three times that in the world championships. They're going to cover that over a million laps. So it's a challenging part of the course that you're finding particularly difficult. You're going to have to encounter it nine times, which is never brilliant. The winner of this race, it goes without saying, will wear the world championship iconic jersey for another year. So you win one race and you get to wear it for for the year. The only thing to probably outdo this is the Olympics because you win one race and you get to be Olympic champion for four years. But the world champion, it's a special jersey and it's a special race and it takes a special rider to win it. Incidentally, this has been gone since 1927 and we've only had a short break for the World War. But the winner at the weekend, it's going to be, it's hard to even put your finger on it and say that it's going to be a climber, it's going to be a puncher, it's going to be a sprinter. I'll let you decide. I'll tell you what the climbs are. We have two climbs on this circuit. We have nine times to cover this, don't forget. So the force climb is the Masalano climb.
It's 2.8 kilometers at 6% and we have the force kilometer at 10%
It's 2.8 kilometers at 6% and we have the force kilometer at 10%. Then the second climb, which I think is quite pivotal, it's the Cheema Galsterna. That is two kilometers long at 6%, but the max kicks, max peaks on that climb are up to 14%, but why this climb is particularly important in this race is the somewhat of the climb. It's only 12 kilometers in the finish line. So if you think about now who the type of rider is and the demands it is, you need to be somebody who can explode over that climb, you need to be able to go downhill and probably sprint out of a small group. So keep that in mind as I'm starting to go true to favourites. You need to grip that last climb. So again it's two kilometres at 6% with peaks of 14%. Goals without saying you obviously need to be able to endure 250 kilometres and 5000 metres of climbing before you get there. But that last climb, you need that climb and ability, you need the descent and ability and then you need the sprint and ability. Mads Pedersen of course is our defending champion from last year in Yorkshire. You'll remember last year in Yorkshire was a particularly shit British day, pissed rain for the entire day and Mads Pedersen won a difficult day. He's not coming back this year to defend it. He's tough to order France and he's cited a difficult course and non-suitability to the course for him. Don't blame him. Smart decision. If you think about the Tour de France, we're coming off the back of the Tour de France and especially we're coming off the back of the Tour de France daily podcast where I've try to unpack the Tour de France and give you guys a look at the tactics. So I briefly want to do the same with this race. The Tour de France, why it's great in a lot of ways is it's this play, it's a tri-actener if we have a beginning, we have a middle and an end. And in that we have the size of scenes, like with the time trial and the plot of Belfis, we have the call the Paris suit, we have these really pivotal moments. we have to wait three weeks for these moments to play out. So there's big periods of lull during the Tour de France. One day race and especially the World Championships is very, very different because all the drama gets played out in a single day. All the tactics unfold in a single day. So it's like a Tour de France race compressed into one single day where you get all the drama, all the trials, all the tribulation packed into 250 kilometers. That's why I love one day racing and that's why I much prefer one day racing to long stage races. They're just so entertaining. It's absolutely brilliant. You know what it's for sometimes? It builds it open and builds it open. The GC guys didn't attack and you're like, that never happened in a one day race. It can't happen in a one day race. The extra special dynamic we have in the world championships that we don't have in other one day races is you represent your nation, your country in the world championships. So Ireland are hope are Nicholas Roach, Rohan Mullen and Ben Healy. I think Dan Martin actually as well sorry Dan Martin before Reuters and so but if you think about those Reuters they're all writing for different trade teams like Nicholas Roach is just off the back of the Tour de France with Sunweb. So if Nicholas Roach comes to the finish with Bling Mathews, who's also his trade team mate, what happens there? Bling Mathews is his boss on his trade team and he's gone back to being his boss next week, but for the moment, the rivals. And that's why we've seen it very difficult historically for riders to gel together. Like if we take Belgium. You've Greg Van Evermert, who's used to being a team leader and you've wanted a pre-race favourite Wout Van Art, who would be a team leader at Yum Bo Visma for the one day races and you've teased Benute who would be one day later at Songweb for one day races. So you've three bosses in the same team. When it comes to it, who's gonna work for who? What's the hierarchy in this? Also are Reuters more loyal to their trade team loyalties than their national team? I'll answered that but yes that we have seen that play out over the years in catastrophic comedy for Italy at times they never seem to be able to get together and they regularly just completely fall apart.
See this race panennale as a punchy sprinter is gonna win it
So I see this race panennale as a punchy sprinter is gonna win it. Someone who can win from a group so you gotta be it's the Milan San Remo type rider that's gonna win this. If you you need to be able to get over the poshia and the chapressa and Milan Sanremo to win Milan Sanremo. I see this as the same. It's going to be that fast finishing punchy climber. It's not the course for the big Nands, Peters, Rulare, type thing. This race is nearly as the start list is packed, but we do have some big, big names not to. And the team in Eos have decided that guys start the Juro d'Italia, they're not allowing them out of the bubble to compete in it. So, Garant Thomas, Felipe Bogana are newly crowned World Time Trial Champion, Ron Dennis, who must have been disappointed with his time trial ride. They're not allowed outside the Ineos bubble, so they're not going to compete, they're going to continue to get ready for the Jiro, starting next week. We obviously have Remko Evanpaul, who milled himself out of it, I think he's recovering from a broken pelvis after his crash last month. We've Peter Sagand, who's decided to rest up before the start of the Jiro, I already said Mads Pedersen to defend the champion and for me this is one that was, didn't make a lot of sense. Sawncorn Anderson, our two time stage winner in the Tour de France apparently did want to ride but he wasn't selected by Denmark. Strange, strange. So let's have a look at the race favourites and there are a lot of names we'll know from the Tour de France. We have Julian the housewife favourite, Alaphaleep. One of my favourite moments of the tour was when Alaphaleep got dropped out of the brake. I didn't go to stage 1011 and he was looking at his bike, he'd be banging the chain and then he came out the next day and said, I love this honesty, I absolutely love it because we've all had this moment. He said, no, it wasn't a mechanical at all, the legs were just gone. And I love that because so many guys would have hidden and lied about the mechanical and that just goes to measure of how secure the man is in his own skin at the moment. But we've, Julian Alifley for France, you gotta think he's gonna be dared here about, He's a fast uphill, he's a fast finisher, he can descend well, it seems nailed on for a rider like him. We have Michael Bling Mathews and he's backed up by a pretty stellar team, Richie Porsche coming fresh off of podium, Luke Dorbridge, Clark, strong, strong support and cast for Bling Mathews. We've fugel sang for Denmark and our very own podcast guest, Irishman, honorary Irishman, Chris Hill Jenson backing him up. If the Columbians have a stacked lineup but they just never seem to be able to get it right. It's like the OE cliches were African teams in the soccer world cup, they just can't get it together and the Columbians are a bit like that. They have all the talents they've low-peas leading the team with Cantana and Martin is a completely stacked lineup but they won't get it together. We've Michael Woods who as fuck all of a team with him, he's got a couple of guys but they're not at the level to really support him for Canada. seen him two years ago in Inn's Brook, putting it up to Valverde, almost winning the world, cramping. We heard him on the road, man podcast, saying he taught you won the World Championships that day. He just cramped at the last minute. I'm tipping my goals for a podium. And then we've got, you know, this, the gruesome to some, the Paul Jean Rodshaw, Paul Gacha and Roglich. Now, Pogacha's already said it'd be a dream if Roglich won the race. I don't think it's, I don't think, I don't see him as a fast enough finisher. I don't see him as fresh enough after the Tour de France. Remember, he completely imploded on La Plata Belfis and has he recovered from that? That was basically the last day of the Tour de France, Bardis, Patrick Stéperade and de Paris. So yeah, I just don't see him recovered. Pogacha, has he been partying? What's he been up to? Has he been sleeping? He's a 22 year old and he just won the Tour de France and celebrated his birthday in between. I don't know if he's going to be there either. Yanny Brackovich is on the team again, another roadman podcast guest supporting the guys and we've looked on Meskets, who two top trees in the Tour de France, which epic.
Both days actually, it's Sarn Corn Anderson actually won, which is…
Both days actually, it's Sarn Corn Anderson actually won, which is interesting, but he's there as well. So Slovenia for a small nation have a stacked roster. The Italians, as we said, they can never get it together. These lads couldn't cooperate to run a pizza takeaway place. We've neebly, we've betty old, Flanders winner from last year, but they'll fall apart. They just can't seem to agree who's the leader. They can't seem to agree on strategies. The passion that's so brilliant and romance and why we love the Italians, they just don't seem to be able to harness it in any sort of creative way. For me it's a miracle to Chippeline, he was that 1998 to the Wonder Worlds that he even got it together once to produce a winner, for me as a miracle. Maybe more America, Mario, Chippeline is talent than Italy's organizational skills. Would you bet against Alejandro Vaverde? You might say yes you would bet against him because he's 40 years old. But honestly where we sang this two years ago, a 38 year old I now chance in Innsbruck and he went in one end. He's over 100 career wins, now I would say he didn't like to play some for in the tour. But again, it's Valverde, you bet against some Atcher Peril. Then we have the out-now pre-race favourites, the best boygrutter in the world at the moment, Woked VanArts. He's Tees Benoit, Craig Van Avermert, a bunch of other hitters to support him there. But it's a battle of Eagles. The Belgics have got together more recently than the Italians in Volcanburg in 2012. We've seen the extraordinary Philip Juber pulling off the big win that day. already all going to roll in behind Wilt, I don't know. He seems a difficult difficult man to beat when you can go uphill, you can go downhill, you can ride on the flat and go solo and you're the fastest finisher around. Seems difficult to beat but I'm gonna go and I'm gonna say he will be beaten by Airman, friend of the show, Michael Bling Matus. He's my tip for the world championships. I think Bling, he showed Grey Form last week in Terraino. He He has that freshness from that coming out of Tour de France, he's the chip on his shoulder, it's fucking a dangerous thing for arrivals to have someone with his talent who's been on the podium in the Worlds before, let's not forget, with a chip on his shoulder. I think he has something to prove after being left out of Tour de France and he's my tip. I'm even going to call a podium for you. I'm going to go Bling Matches, Wout Van Art, Alejandro Vavard. No, Bling Matches, Wout Van Art, Mike Woods. the podium for you. Doesn't get much better than that. This podcast will go down in history if I've accurately predicted that podium. Get on to, I don't even know where you put your bets on. Get that podium nailed in. Get bling mattutes nailed on for the win. I'm really excited for it. If you can't tell it in my voice, I am massively excited for it. It's even my own birthday weekend and what better way than to stuff my face, full of cake and watch the world championships. Roadman, I'm super excited about this and that's why I brought you broke tradition and brought you a weekend podcast. I'll be back on Monday to unpack this world championships and gloat at the accuracy of my predictions. Until then, Roadman, right safe out there. 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 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 roadmancycling.com forward slash 14 day or check out the link in the bio that roadmancycling.com slash 14 day