Stage 12: "The boys are feeling good – but now things are getting really serious"

00:00:02: Inside Red Bull Bora Hans Krohe, the podcast from UVB Online on The Tour de France.

00:00:09: For three weeks we accompany team manager Ralph Denk as he leads the biggest and most successful German cycling team through The Tour De France – do you have questions for Ralph Denke?

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

00:00:31: A ninety percent chance of a sprint.

00:00:34: That is what team manager Ralph Denk said yesterday before the twelfth stage and that's exactly how it turned out.

00:00:43: Four break away riders were kept on very short leash for long time, perhaps even too short because thirty kilometers from finish got hectic again including a crash in final hundred meters.

00:00:58: In the end Binyam Girmé takes his third victory at this year's Tour de France.

00:01:04: We are taking a look at it together and for that I welcome Ralph Denk here by my side!

00:01:10: Hello Ralph, hello & good evening to Rosenheim.

00:01:13: we're going straight to most important thing from today And That was very heavy crash few meters before finish.

00:01:21: The Most Important Question of course From your perspective.

00:01:24: i believe everyone got through it unscathed right?

00:01:29: Yes, the crash was severe but it happened in second or third row at most.

00:01:36: We were a hundred meters from finish and our riders already so far back due to three kilometer rule that none of them are involved.

00:01:50: Yes, it really looked quite severe.

00:01:52: Fernando Gaviria slipped taking another rider down with him.

00:01:56: Abrahamson crossed the finish line looking very battered too.

00:02:00: from Lotto into March fell right over them.

00:02:03: Something like that.

00:02:04: It doesn't leave you called even when

00:02:06: you're already

00:02:07: riding your thirteenth Tour de France Right?

00:02:09: yes The crashes especially in this sprint are always violent aren't they?

00:02:13: and speeds here are reaching seventy kilometers per hour.

00:02:18: And yeah, so you can imagine it.

00:02:21: You could try driving a car at seventy and falling out of the door right?

00:02:26: It is about the same thing... ...and you would never do that but you can Imagine it!

00:02:31: That's quite hard impact.

00:02:34: It usually ends well.

00:02:35: mostly The majority of riders who are involved in such crashes Are on starting line next day.

00:02:43: Yes, they are tough.

00:02:44: Nonetheless not the kind of images you want to see off course and I must say i think You recommended something similar last year.

00:02:54: Please do NOT jump out Of a car at seventy kilometers per hour don't Do it.

00:02:59: just don't Maybe stick A hand out To get a feel for it.

00:03:03: that's more than enough.

00:03:06: Not that we are encouraging anything here, yes.

00:03:09: Until it got to this point things were actually going the way.

00:03:12: we have seen many of the sprint stages go not too big a lead always just about a minute.

00:03:18: there was also some confusion at times as to why they only kept at forty seconds because then attacks came again after all.

00:03:25: This little trick tried few things avoid the sprint in end and there is real chaos once again.

00:03:32: How did you experience that, were the breakaway riders actually almost too close this time?

00:03:37: Yes.

00:03:37: That certainly doesn't make it any easier.

00:03:39: when you have breakaways You keep them and that's a nasty part of professional cycling often at distance or on short leash.

00:03:48: And...and..you closed the gap today When didn't even want to close.

00:03:52: but clearly when a breakaway group like Today is only forty seconds ahead They aren't going full throttle at the front either because they know exactly we don't have chance.

00:04:03: Only if that gap were to open up for three minutes, then they would ride at full speed in front.

00:04:07: and because of that yeah.

00:04:09: They were reeled back in relatively quickly but it still became relatively difficult again.

00:04:14: anyway I did not commit one hundred percent yesterday That there would be a bunch sprint only ninety percent Because the topography In The last thirty kilometers really invited people To try something to attack to make their race difficult and above all little Trek invested a lot there today.

00:04:34: But in the end it was also up to them, they have a strong team here with a lot of manpower meaning pace setting.

00:04:41: riders even didn't manage open-up a gap today.

00:04:46: that's why finally came down into a bunch sprint.

00:04:50: what we've seen so often happened again.

00:04:52: Tim Merlier is unbeatable when he comes.

00:04:57: Maybe a word more about him, he has now taken three wins.

00:05:01: It probably doesn't get much better than that especially when there aren´t many sprint finishes.

00:05:07: the riders already said afterwards they might still be hoping for Paris but with the route change thats likely very difficult i dare say.

00:05:16: I would say made most of what was possible right?

00:05:21: Absolutely and he is definitely the strongest sprinter in this year's Tour de France.

00:05:27: Three stage wins already, what must also be noted?

00:05:32: Jasper Philipsen ,the protagonist of The Musk Sprints In recent years had a textbook leadout today but still failed to finish it off.

00:05:43: He is simply not at the level of Recent years.

00:05:47: that is my assessment.

00:05:49: Yes, why?

00:05:49: Is that probably only he himself could say sometimes just a few percent are missing to no longer be The best or how do you see it?

00:05:57: yes That is off course hard for me to judge now.

00:06:01: I don't know how the preparation went, but i can only put the facts together and normally it was always head-to-head dual Tim Melea against Jasper Philippsen.

00:06:14: But this year Tim Melek is clearly a stronger one!

00:06:18: Yes?

00:06:19: What we also note that you all got through well again perhaps as small symbol.

00:06:25: The mood does not seem to be bad.

00:06:28: It made the rounds today.

00:06:30: Florian Lipovitz tried to get rid of his bottle once and there are always these targets where fans like have cycling bottles.

00:06:38: He threw it quite wide then said that is why he did not become a beer athlete.

00:06:44: Things Like That show, he's in good spirits.

00:06:48: The mood right isn't?

00:06:49: Yes because guys also realize they're doing well.

00:06:53: They feel good.

00:06:55: when its easier on the stage then you can have a little fun like that.

00:07:00: The spectators always set up targets for bottles or some even setup nets, sort of an aquiver facing the wrong way wanting to collect bottles or inviting them to collect bottle.

00:07:13: and Florian did a spectator a favor but I think he missed... Yes exactly!

00:07:21: The bottle landed somewhere in the ditch until the spectator finally fished it out.

00:07:26: And yeah, it's also nice that not every kilometer is being ridden completely seriously here even though we are at the Tour de France.

00:07:36: Today was probably the last flat stage for the sprinters.

00:07:41: from now on We head first to the Vosges then to the Jura and then to Alps.

00:07:46: There're many mountains coming where things will get very serious.

00:07:50: Yes, the fun gets dialed back a bit and the wads probably go up.

00:07:55: Thank you very much Ralph.

00:07:56: I would like to talk to You about A background topic that Jonas Wingegard hinted at a little bit In an interview a few days ago.

00:08:06: he mentioned that, He even thought about retiring towards the end of last year.

00:08:11: He spoke about many challenges he faces as professional cyclist constant weight checks being away from his family always having to perform and tough race calendar.

00:08:23: And then I said Last Year if things keep going like this Then count me out.

00:08:29: Can you put that into perspective?

00:08:31: To what extent can u understand this statement from Jonas Wingergaard.

00:08:35: Yes, I find it difficult to talk about the details at Wismalies a bike and Jonas Wengergaard because i am not involved in their team.

00:08:45: ,i manage our team

00:08:46: but I think i can summarize it in general terms especially the general classification riders those who are fighting for top ten, top five, top three or victory in the big tours like the Giro d'Italia to de France and Vuelta a Espana.

00:09:02: they naturally race beforehand.

00:09:04: you need that race toughness.

00:09:07: That means for those who, for example want to perform very well at the Giro d'Italia in May.

00:09:13: Those have podium ambitions they are already raising from January.

00:09:17: And besides, if you really want to have a chance.

00:09:20: If your are protagonist in the grand tour You have to prepare with at least two altitude training camps.

00:09:27: That means there many days of abstinence due to tours Due to races you ride as cyclist.

00:09:34: that is seventy race day.

00:09:37: That means with travel days, that is already one hundred to one hundred twenty days.

00:09:42: you are away without all the altitude training camps.

00:09:45: You simply need to be competitive and All these altitude training Camps I am now at my thirteenth Tour de France did not exist in this concentrated amount In this volume back then.

00:09:58: i can still remember when we arrived here for The first tour de France only two riders had trained at Altitude Two weeks before.

00:10:06: Today, you train at altitude for three weeks and maybe even twice before a major tour.

00:10:14: And I think that is what became a bit too much for Jonas where he then raised his hand and said besides the seventy race days Plus, yeah it's another hundred days or at least a hundred of training camps on top.

00:10:29: At some point I'm just not home and there are guys especially those with families who are very attached to their homes for them is naturally harder than people that perhaps aren't yet tied down by family.

00:10:47: every cyclist is different.

00:10:49: for Jonas it became too much.

00:10:51: he raised his hand.

00:10:52: the team made some adjustments i believe to his race schedule, his training camp schedule and well now.

00:10:59: He's sitting here in second place apparently uh... The collaboration between the team and Jonas worked out quite well In that case.

00:11:07: I also said himself That he was much happier again than he was a year ago.

00:11:12: You just touched on it a bit, but I'd still be interested in how you handle that and to what extent you can accommodate the riders.

00:11:19: because you said race days are set.

00:11:21: The riders have been there.

00:11:23: stage races take even longer.

00:11:24: of course altitude training camps are unavoidable these days Doesn't really leave much room to tell the riders, hey you can stay with your family a bit longer here or there.

00:11:37: How do you handle things like that?

00:11:39: Are they individual arrangements or does the rider just have to well put up with

00:11:44: it?".

00:11:46: No we have... To prevent things like this kept team organized training comps as small and by small I mean in terms of volume And we have, yeah already recommended to the riders and you have go their altitude on your own.

00:12:08: We will offer little-to no support there but that is a great opportunity.

00:12:13: take your wife or girlfriend with you and then go to Tenerife or Livigno somewhere else for three weeks.

00:12:24: Livigno for example is super well suited because it has a nice town center, there's plenty to do.

00:12:32: You can go shopping and so on... It isn't as dreary like the winter altitude training camps in Tenerife where you could perhaps even combine family life with children, to some extent.

00:12:45: With training and the racers really appreciate this freedom that they don't just have to stay within their team environment.

00:12:56: but I

00:13:03: see.

00:13:04: So what are the absolute mandatory dates that you offer?

00:13:08: Because, You say there're fewer but surely There's things where there is no alternative because primarily one can always discuss with us Is this training camp useful for me or not?

00:13:20: so The racer does have a certain saying in that

00:13:24: What it actually said is the December Training Camp That usually two weeks in Mallorca.

00:13:30: We want to have the whole team together here because this is also a platform where we create a lot of content for the season or what will roll out during the season.

00:13:40: So, it's not just training in December but content has been created by all the teams.

00:13:46: partners and racers really should be on site there.

00:13:52: And for everything else, because raising is so tough we always try to find individual solutions.

00:13:59: I see Perhaps

00:14:01: the last point on this which also brought up again and again Is weight control data performance.

00:14:09: They look exactly at how many calories are burned?

00:14:12: How much can actually be eaten again?

00:14:15: Sometimes you're hungrier than what you get.

00:14:17: sometimes it's just the other way around.

00:14:20: Can you say that?

00:14:22: That you monitor the riders all year round Let's call it that.

00:14:27: and do they ever get a break an are allowed to say hey, I'm going to eat whatever.

00:14:32: I want for month.

00:14:33: Ultimately They can always do that but they pay the price The prices that I'll get dropped.

00:14:39: no But all joking aside

00:14:41: um It is both a blessing and the curse for us in cycling that we are actually one of few endurance sports or exception where you can really record the actual power that racer produces.

00:14:59: You cannot do this with marathon runner, cross country skier.

00:15:05: You know which heart rate zones they were in during the race of competition, but you do not know what or calories burned.

00:15:15: We can only track that here in cycling.

00:15:20: On one hand, that is very helpful for managing training and nutrition.

00:15:26: But on the other hand we can easily calculate U-bund X calories.

00:15:31: today You have Y calories as your basal metabolic rate And exactly this goes to your plate.

00:15:39: That is much more difficult in other sports like, say marathon running or cross-country skiing to calculate as precisely as encycling.

00:15:50: And yes our goal is of course have a very linear weight curve.

00:15:55: that means the cyclist goes let's take case study into the Tour de France at sixty three kilos and ideally should come out at sixty.

00:16:04: He should not come out heavier, but he shouldn't come out lighter either.

00:16:08: And that is actually the art of nutritionists on site to put together an exact amount of food for every racer so their weight does not increase and also doesn't decrease.

00:16:20: And yes, it is also no secret that simply lighter riders can ride up a mountain faster than heavier ones.

00:16:29: That's why you go to the limit with weight but you must of course know your limits work out because too light means loss of strength susceptibility to infections and so on.

00:16:44: So it is a fine line that you are walking, but as a top team we naturally have experts for every area and That's the approach.

00:16:53: I do not see any massive loosening or anything like because if the plan is not strict, then I come back to what i said at the very beginning.

00:17:03: The racer than pays the price right?

00:17:06: Also and he wants too...the racer want's as well!

00:17:09: And when you get into the final week of the Tour de France in the Alps no racer wants to ride around with two kilos more than they had at start of the tour de France Because that certainly won't lead to success

00:17:23: Definitely, but is it also before and after that?

00:17:26: You say you set the guidelines because in training how many watts they are pushing.

00:17:31: And then give some kind of recommendation so that they arrive at their right shape before heading into joint training camps.

00:17:38: or is this strictly just for a tour?

00:17:41: No, that is the case for every bike race and I really emphasize recommendations because if you have to force someone it won't work anyway.

00:17:50: We provide recommendations And we try to find characters who follow the recommendations on their own.

00:17:57: It is or To make our system so attractive That they want to follow it Because if you just apply pressure from the top saying You must?

00:18:06: You must!

00:18:06: You

00:18:06: must?!

00:18:07: That doesn't work.

00:18:08: Anyway Instead, we have to offer a system that makes the riders better and that the riders are happy.

00:18:25: It

00:18:40: won't be quite as much fun, As it seemed at times today.

00:18:43: We touched on it briefly before the flatter stages are over... ...it starts off relatively flat but it lasts over two hundred kilometers.

00:18:53: tomorrow with a category one climb towards the end It looks more like one for the breakaway, especially since there is a decent descent after the climb.

00:19:03: Would you agree with me?

00:19:04: Yes it's possible that tomorrow will be a race for the Breakaway!

00:19:09: It could also be two races take place within one race tomorrow.

00:19:14: Maybe a group will form on the long approach to the first climb, which is about one hundred sixty or one hundred fifty kilometers.

00:19:22: But the riders must be good climbers because they still have go up over the Grand Ballon Alsace.

00:19:30: that's this category One Climb.

00:19:32: So if you can't climb at all tomorrow but your in the breakaway, You have no chance of a stage win anyway.

00:19:39: so it has to be riders who can climb Who will attack and maybe they'll even get A ten or twelve minute lead Or maybe just five.

00:19:51: We see.

00:19:51: And then It could very well Be that a second race for The yellow jersey For general classification Develops further back.

00:20:00: I would give the breakaway a good chance tomorrow to make it to the finish, but i also expect a race for general classification especially on that first category climb.

00:20:13: Does this mean just cruising along for the hundred and sixty kilometers?

00:20:22: Yes, but we also have riders in our ranks who might be able to win something like that from a breakaway group.

00:20:33: As I said, We have the talks now about Who will feel ready or who would be motivated.

00:20:39: try something and then we'll forge a plan together for tomorrow.

00:20:46: But priority one is of course that Remco and Florian climb with the best tomorrow.

00:20:55: Then we will see who raises their hand tomorrow, maybe risks something!

00:21:01: That

00:21:07: was the latest edition of Inside Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe, a podcast from OVB Online on Tour de France.

00:21:15: You can find this podcast on all common podcatchers and on the websites of OVBMedia & Epenmedia.

00:21:23: Thanks for listening!

00:21:25: See you in our next episode.