Stage 3: “Last year he was close to tears – today he handles it brilliantly”

00:00:02: Inside Red Bull Bora Hans Grohe, the podcast from OVB Online on Tour de France for three weeks via company team manager Ralf Denk and the biggest and most successful German cycling team through the Tour de Frans.

00:00:18: Do you have questions?

00:00:21: Send them to tobias.ruf at ovbmedia.de And now enjoy this new episode!

00:00:31: Tadeh Pogaca has won the third stage of Tour de France and takes the yellow jersey.

00:00:36: Florian Lipovitz and Remko Evernipol finish in seventh-and eighth place, losing only a few seconds to Pogacca.

00:00:43: Wildfires are causing unrest and changes – we have lot to discuss!

00:00:47: And will do that as every day with team manager of Red Bull Borahansgrohe.

00:00:52: Hello to Ralph Denk.

00:00:57: Yes, Ralph before we start where are we reaching you today?

00:01:00: Well.

00:01:01: Where are you exactly?

00:01:01: the day was a bit strange The way things went.

00:01:06: yes indeed because There were very few to no spectators at all on the final kilometers.

00:01:11: Very very unusual for the Tour de France.

00:01:13: I am At the foot of the final climb that team buses are parked here the riders are coming down Here with their bikes and Exactly We have now welcomed the first riders.

00:01:24: we Have already spoken With with Remco, Florian and now we are preparing for the long transfer that is over two-and-a-half hours today to the team hotel in Carcassonne.

00:01:35: That will be a long day today!

00:01:37: It's going to be a very long day so Ralph is out somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

00:01:42: if connection isn't ideal please forgive us.

00:01:45: Before you get into your team let talk about Pogaccia For A Moment.

00:01:49: On stage profile like this With race development Like This And with a pogaccia He's basically unbeatable, right?

00:01:58: Very tough.

00:02:00: And you could tell during the stage how seriously the team was taking it today and... It was a very hard race!

00:02:06: I mean we had outside temperatures of forty degrees in the Team Bus.

00:02:12: It was incredibly hot.

00:02:14: We handed out so many drinks Handed out ice during this stage and it always really disgustingly fast.

00:02:21: It was actually on paper a stage where you could say, well maybe it's the chance for the breakaway group.

00:02:28: For the riders who probably already have quite deficit in overall standings after first two stages.

00:02:35: they can try to win today.

00:02:38: But the boss, Tadeh Pogacar really wanted to win.

00:02:43: He put his team to work and he was very strong.

00:02:46: They kept a breakaway at maximum of two-two-and-a-half minutes... ...and in the end they closed the gap with a sprint for the favourites.

00:02:56: And Tadej Pogaca was the best four seconds ahead of Florian and Remko!

00:03:02: Exactly, now let's move on to Red Bull Borahans Grohe.

00:03:06: For me alongside Pogacar the winner of today is Florian Lipowitz.

00:03:10: this still not his terrain.

00:03:12: he says himself needs a bit time get into tour like and finishes in seventh place excluding the time bonuses.

00:03:20: as you said it was four seconds that could have gone differently too.

00:03:25: so one my big winners is Florians.

00:03:28: how about?

00:03:29: Yes, I always have to remember the first days last year.

00:03:34: And he was almost in tears last year because things weren't going well and it was difficult on the first day of Northern France.

00:03:43: so anything but easy for him this year is managing his first days with flying colors And I spoke with him briefly beforehand.

00:03:52: It felt really good.

00:03:53: now, also it felt good on the final climb and that makes us me... ...and him of course very optimistic.

00:04:00: so the mood there is really good.

00:04:03: Tactically.. ..it actually went well from your perspective!

00:04:07: You were well positioned in a final climb.

00:04:10: The chase work you mentioned was done first by Wismar then by UAE.

00:04:15: So?

00:04:16: Is there anything to reproach yourself for

00:04:18: today?!

00:04:20: No, Jay Hindley also deserves special praise.

00:04:23: He positioned both Florian and Remke in world-class fashion on the final climb.

00:04:28: he was a very valuable helper today which I just told him personally.

00:04:34: The only thing where you'd say okay?

00:04:36: He wasn't quite as punchy as we've seen before is Remke but also here in conversation with him a bit.

00:04:45: Yeah, he hasn't raced for very long time after all and exactly this type of strain as was required at the finale.

00:04:53: today you can only simulate training with great difficulty.

00:04:58: that is why perhaps he finished eighth today not on par with Pogacar which isn't really big deal though He felt super good throughout.

00:05:15: I

00:05:20: received a listener question from Markus Riedl very early on.

00:05:24: He was a bit confused as to why Tim van Dijk had to drop off so early, what were the reasons for that?

00:05:30: I cannot give any reasons yet because Tim, like many others in the penultimate group was at times thirty minutes behind and he has not reached a finish line.

00:05:40: Yet i have not been able to speak with him to find out what the real cause was.

00:05:44: okay maybe we can talk about that again tomorrow.

00:05:46: We are actually speaking right after the stage finished.

00:05:49: how is when gil's doing?

00:05:50: After his crash yesterday you had told us about that after all

00:05:56: As expected, good.

00:05:57: Although if you look at his hand the entire callus on the palm is really missing.

00:06:02: it looks gruesome but primarily he's doing well only the whole cooling with water.

00:06:09: that of course also stinging in the wounds.

00:06:14: so He suffered today But It was within limits.

00:06:18: Let's talk about these wildfires which caused some changes today.

00:06:22: About forty kilometers from the Finnish spectators were asked not to go there, of course somewhere they're anyway.

00:06:29: people live their too and you cannot just lock them inside their homes.

00:06:35: no publicity caravan.

00:06:36: The teams also had to significantly reduce their convoys.

00:06:40: how exactly where are affected?

00:06:43: Well, apart from the fact that there were a few to no spectators along the route we didn't notice much.

00:06:49: I personally didn't see any forest fire either!

00:07:13: But it is not like we are racing our bikes next to a forest fire, but that's in my opinion more of a precaution.

00:07:21: Although I have also heard from friends who live in the south of France because they do burn from time-to-time... ...but here at Tour de France i haven't seen anything.

00:07:32: But team vehicles were those reduced?

00:07:34: or what kind of impact did this have?

00:07:36: No, you cannot really reduce that because every vehicle has its purpose and also it's task in the race.

00:07:43: And the caravan was stopped earlier?

00:07:46: Well... You do not need a promotional caravan to run a bike race but you can't stop the team buses or supply vehicles of the team cars.

00:07:55: otherwise the whole machinery no longer works.

00:07:59: Okay, let's see.

00:08:00: We'll keep an eye on it.

00:08:01: It could still affect the next few days but we are connected with you daily.

00:08:07: So...we're keeping our eyes on everything Ralph!

00:08:11: Let's go into some background information I brought along today.

00:08:15: I want to talk with you about the topic of team meetings.

00:08:18: Please take us through it!

00:08:20: When and where does a meeting take place before a stage that, let's say starts at one o'clock?

00:08:27: when does this start ?

00:08:28: Where do all these things happen?

00:08:30: Yes !

00:08:31: So if we take the starting point right now today Monday five thirty in the afternoon We are taking our bus to the team hotel.

00:08:40: The racers sitting there but sports management is also sitting here.

00:08:44: I, when i am on site uh also sit on the bus.

00:08:49: But here the riders are left in peace for now.

00:08:52: first they need to cool down after the race and there are always emotions involved.

00:08:57: but we talk about other important things now it's usually about women or cars with the riders but we don't talk about cycling on the way home.

00:09:10: Only once we have arrived at the hotel in the team's massage rooms, there is a round by the sports management where individual talks are held with the riders first.

00:09:20: Where an assessment was made?

00:09:22: How did you feel today and what do you think were the possibilities for next

00:09:27: day?".

00:09:29: And that's a kind of assessment, the sports management does without setting a direction at first but simply gathering information.

00:09:38: Once you have that information there is usually team meeting with the Sports Directors or Sports Management before dinner and thats where it actually decided what plan for next day.

00:09:53: Sorry to jump in.

00:09:54: Is it a mix of DAB brief and a preview or is really just the preview?

00:10:00: No, first off all gathering information from the riders then discussing what we do with that information.

00:10:10: Then, of course the sports directors contribute there know how their ideas on racing and what is possible.

00:10:18: And ultimately we put it all together.

00:10:20: There are three sports directors onsite but they're also a head sports director.

00:10:23: that means We never have a stalemate And this decision is first made by the sports directors overnight.

00:10:30: That means we are no longer talking to the riders today about what we're doing tomorrow, instead –tomorrow before the race on a bus– two hours before start there's meeting!

00:10:39: What do you think?

00:10:46: How will it be implemented and what other tasks for each athlete?

00:10:53: That is how it is conveyed.

00:10:56: But if you trace back from the analysis of this stage, what's possible?

00:11:01: The riders and captains above all are always involved so It isn't a dictatorial decision but actually team decisions And only when things get very difficult then the head sports director has final say usually had a good instinct as well.

00:11:26: Can things get heated in the meeting like that or is it kept on a calm professional level?

00:11:31: No, so... That's a factual level and also my leadership style As far I am involved And this is broken down.

00:11:38: We do not need emotional meetings here at the Tour de France where the stress levels for everyone involved are deep red anyway.

00:11:45: This can definitely be solved in a factual manner.

00:11:50: Everyone is professional and everyone knows how to approach

00:11:53: it.".

00:11:54: Okay, thank you for the insights behind the scenes so let's look ahead!

00:11:59: Let's look at tomorrow.

00:12:01: Tuesday from Kakasson we head to Foix – one hundred eighty-one kilometers will be raced.

00:12:14: What do you think?

00:12:25: Yes, quite possible because we have now had three days where the best riders and the best teams who are the Tour de France region has shown themselves at the front.

00:12:36: And also taken the stage wins And that is why I believe we are also in a breakaway group, and I believe both the lead teams so far.

00:12:49: Wismaliz, Biker or Team UAE Emirates will not push with all their might tomorrow but i see great chance for the winner to come from a break away group because they are already keeping one eye on the sixth stage, which will likely lead over the prestigious Tourmalet.

00:13:11: Options for you protecting captains maybe sensing a chance if it arises.

00:13:16: how what all these ideas?

00:13:19: Yes we have good riders.

00:13:20: Jai Hindley is in good form as we saw today on The Final Climb.

00:13:27: also Maxime van Gils will recover from his crash yesterday, but as I said we will just see what the current situation is and what every rider has to report about today.

00:13:41: Then we'll have come up with a plan

00:13:43: together.".

00:13:58: My colleague, Korbinian Sauter will take over for the next three days.

00:14:03: We'll talk again on Friday.

00:14:05: you hear Ralf Denk and Korbinien Sautern my colleague tomorrow at usual time.

00:14:12: I say thankyou wish u a pleasant evening of course.

00:14:16: safe transfer first then.

00:14:18: good luck tommorow.

00:14:19: many thanks to ralf denk.

00:14:25: That was the latest edition of Inside Red Bull Bora Hans Grohe, a podcast from OVB online on The Tour de France.

00:14:34: You can find this podcast in all major podcasts and on the websites of OVBA Media & IPAN Media.

00:14:42: Thanks for listening!

00:14:43: See you next time.