Stage 18: "We are happy with the day – tomorrow will be a fierce battle"

00:00:02: Inside Red Bull Borahanskoe, the OVB online podcast for The Tour de France.

00:00:09: For three weeks we accompany team manager Ralph Denk and the biggest and most successful German cycling team through The Tour De France.

00:00:18: Do you have questions for Ralph Denke?

00:00:21: Send them to Tobias.roof at ovbedia.de And now enjoy a new episode!

00:00:32: Richard Carapaz has won the eighteenth stage of the Tour de France.

00:00:35: The general classification riders are holding back on first three Alpine stages, there is no change!

00:00:42: We go over to France and to the foot of the mountain as he just told me – to team manager of Red Bull Borahansgrohe.

00:00:48: Hello to Ralph Denk

00:00:50: Cheers & have a good evening Back to Rosenheim.

00:00:54: Exactly let's start with the winner.

00:00:57: Carapaz tried again and again during this tour.

00:01:00: Today it paid off strong team performance, strong finish by him.

00:01:05: all in all a very well-deserved victory I think.

00:01:08: what do you say?

00:01:09: Well absolutely so well deserved for the team but also for Richard himself because uh i have said time and again in this podcast here The teams that are not fighting for the general classification For the podium they are riding very passively.

00:01:25: In my opinion I have to exclude EF specifically today because they wrote very, very aggressively.

00:01:32: This stage win was almost forced or achieved with a crowbar and they were represented in the groups again and again.

00:01:40: attacked early brought people back And Richard definitely won deservedly.

00:01:45: But he was also the best of the lead group.

00:01:48: The guys who were left, who rode into final climb together a deserved winner and great racer...

00:01:57: I can only agree with that!

00:01:59: So A strong performance from Mads Pedersen & Littletrack.. The Dane wins the intermediate sprint And effectively decides to battle for green.

00:02:07: so the duty is hereby fulfilled.

00:02:10: Let's come to you.

00:02:11: What is the mood at foot mountain?

00:02:14: The mood is good because we rode a very good race.

00:02:18: We then set the pace on the final climb first with Maxim van Gils, than with Jai Hindley.

00:02:24: It was a fast pace that Jai hindley said Because there were not many left.

00:02:30: There were maybe only ten-twelve riders remaining But it wasn't kind of pace.

00:02:36: where could create gaps For this?

00:02:39: the final time was also difficult enough.

00:02:42: You cannot compare that to the final climb tomorrow, Alpe de Hues which is much longer and steeper.

00:02:50: And today was more of what we call in cycling terms a rolling-climb where you could not make any differences but you can certainly tire out the protagonists who are fighting for this podium here at some extent.

00:03:03: That's also our strategy because we were still represented with relatively large number of riders

00:03:11: And the strategy paid off completely is what I'm hearing.

00:03:14: Yes, well as i said we are happy with today or Ramco also felt good throughout the day and that works for us

00:03:23: Exactly!

00:03:23: We saw Chan Trotnik at the front for a moment.

00:03:27: he was mixing it up a bit when the groups were still in the formation phase.

00:03:31: Was he again like what you said about Jai Hindley yesterday?

00:03:35: Or was the one who sent ahead to have a bit of security regarding the topic of control, or did it just happen as the race unfolded.

00:03:46: No, that's already.

00:03:47: I said yesterday too when such a large group and at times there were more than thirty riders out in front ahead of the main pack then you have to be present You can't just sit on the mainpack And that is why John Thratnik was up front.

00:04:02: But you could really tell almost three races are happening today The fight for the green jersey, the fight for stage win fighting for the podium here, and that is why we saved some energy.

00:04:19: And Jan did not go all out but instead he came back to the main pack.

00:04:25: Exactly, there is a lot of discussion and speculation about Team UAE.

00:04:30: Some things you do not need to speculate about.

00:04:33: You can see them Adam Yates.

00:04:35: yesterday Brandon McNulty had to end the Tour de France Wellens, Vermeerish also having problems.

00:04:42: There seems to be virus going around.

00:04:44: What have you heard?

00:04:45: what are your picking up?

00:04:48: Yes!

00:04:48: There's a stomach virus going on.

00:04:51: whether it just has a stomach or or if it is more, we do not know.

00:04:56: The teams are of course keeping very quiet about it.

00:04:59: but Mauro Gianetti my colleague from UAE Emirates also confirmed that in an interview yesterday.

00:05:06: and That's really tough when you have to go into the final of the Tour de France.

00:05:12: so weekend And you saw it yesterday too, Adam Yates.

00:05:18: He suffered like a dog all alone and then he still got help from Tim Wellens... But that is really tough!

00:05:26: I have great respect for the riders who drag themselves to end of stages when they are sick or can't keep any food down When there might be fever.

00:05:39: You need great resilience and respect.

00:05:44: So what does that mean now for Pogacar and Del Toro?

00:05:47: I mean Groschartner, Felix Groschatner seems to be fit.

00:05:51: He is also a man of the mountains Neilspolit.

00:05:55: i believe it's generally indestructible.

00:05:57: That Man he Also says he feels good.

00:06:00: Is that enough?

00:06:01: is that big disadvantage?

00:06:03: well we have two extremely tough mountain stages.

00:06:05: Now then It is Paris Then it is over...is

00:06:08: it still such A Big Disadvantage at this stage?

00:06:12: I have also said, or often said in recent days that we are not the ones who have to make a race difficult now and attack because taking four minutes of pogacha on the final weekend.

00:06:26: That is utopian unless he's deathly ill.

00:06:30: And as of today We're sitting relatively safely at the podium.

00:06:58: Yes, but I actually would have expected a somewhat larger wave of attacks.

00:07:05: What measures does a team take when a situation like this occurs?

00:07:09: Yes, the riders are separated.

00:07:11: It is already standard practice for most teams here that the classic traditional double rooms no longer exist and That the riders have single rooms that it's all ready.

00:07:23: good so that When something like these happens you do not infect each other.

00:07:29: But if you have a music riser, then actually don't let them eat with the group either.

00:07:36: Then you actually do not let him travel to start or from finish to hotel by bus but he sits in car and only has one driver with him... ...but keeping away of his teammates is really important measure.

00:07:58: Right, before we get into the Alpe de Hues stories that await us on Friday and Saturday.

00:08:04: let's choose The Time.

00:08:06: Today is I think a good perhaps last opportunity for one of our background topics.

00:08:11: Let us talk about the topic of safety today!

00:08:15: I have also received listener questions About this.

00:08:18: Niklas Heiberger wants to know why are no fences or air fences as One knows them from racetracks in motorsport installed on descents with a high risk of crashes.

00:08:30: Yes, it is an overarching topic.

00:08:32: there are already efforts and initiatives in professional cycling to make it safer And the working group has been formed for that.

00:08:41: The Working Group Is Called Safer.

00:08:44: It includes representatives from the riders, representatives form teams Union Cycliste International and also race organizers and primarily all four mentioned parties want cycling to become safer.

00:08:58: But each of the four parties mentioned naturally has their own interests, that is why it's super difficult for example securing routes better with barriers padding etc.

00:09:12: That obviously a huge challenge.

00:09:13: when you are racing two hundred kilometers from point A-B The race organizers hold the view that cycling is all about history.

00:09:21: You have to race from point A-to-point B every day at Tour de France.

00:09:26: If you want create more safety on circuits, That's obviously much easier.

00:09:30: so if I ride two hundred kilometers From a to b i have secure two hundred km which actually not possible because you can ask yourself where do start?

00:09:43: Where do stop?

00:09:45: If you race on circuits, let's say circuits that are ten or fifteen kilometers long then you can obviously do much more because than I only have to secure fifteen kilometers.

00:09:55: Is it the charm of the Tour de France to race more on circuits?

00:10:00: The beautiful television images are created more when you drive a long way from A to B and also have camera cuts on the right or left of the route.

00:10:10: So those are many, many discussions.

00:10:12: but now back to listeners.

00:10:13: question that is deliberately not done because simply cannot secure it over two hundred kilometers like in motorsport The strife, for example in Kitzbühel.

00:10:24: A very well-known ski race that has a length of six eight nine kilometers.

00:10:30: You can off course secure that perfectly but securing two hundred kilometers super difficult.

00:10:36: Then let's approach it from the other side.

00:10:39: Christoph Eiser sent me along message.

00:10:42: He comes from a background of functional training and parkour,and says that in BMX mountain biking & skateboarding controlled falling rolling and absorbing impact are trained as matter-of course.

00:10:58: Let's summarize this as crash and fall training.

00:11:01: does it exist on road cycling?

00:11:05: No, what does exist is that teams hire downhill coaches.

00:11:12: That exists for racers who might have a bit of need meaning those are afraid or perhaps aren't as technically refined.

00:11:22: you can train them to limited extent but never turn bad downhill skier into good one just by training.

00:11:31: There is no specific crash training because there's also very, very limited time for the whole thing meaning downhill runs technique or even crash training.

00:11:42: We have a ten month season.

00:11:43: we've so many training camps and already talked about how often guys are away from home then race calendar over ten months.

00:11:53: That is all very, very limited.

00:11:55: But a good basic training especially in the youth sector helps and that's why our scouting approach is now advanced or broad.

00:12:06: so we definitely scout mountain biking en cyclocross and also road cycling because thats where you learn skills like Peter Sagan or Matthew van der Poel.

00:12:19: I can only speak about Peter Sagan here.

00:12:20: He was on our team for a long time, he hardly ever fell because he was such a master of bike handling.

00:12:29: Okay that means instead doing the training there you find ways beforehand?

00:12:33: Actually smart start...

00:12:37: Yes well as i said if guys are riding in the road for three hours in winter wrapped up warm at zero degrees it is much better if they ride in the woods somewhere.

00:12:49: You learn so much more about bike handling there and that's also part of our strategy, our training.

00:12:54: but we take a very close look at junior categories especially mountain biking and cyclocross because those skills always help you!

00:13:04: And now with PaulSix he comes from cyclocros.

00:13:07: what great bike handler

00:13:10: Absolutely, the topic of rider equipment is also discussed time and again.

00:13:16: Is there a current status on that?

00:13:18: How could we ensure more safety through

00:13:21: equipment?".

00:13:23: Yes primarily safety would be improved if you took this speed out.

00:13:28: yes starting with the tires, rims and aerodynamics of wheels, handlebars, helmets and clothing.

00:13:42: It is all really fast!

00:13:46: A hobby rider who has been cycling for a long time, perhaps twenty or thirty years notices that you might have averaged twenty seven kilometers per hour in training back then and today an average of thirty is almost standard.

00:14:03: But that is also largely because the equipment you can buy today, it's so much faster than road bikes were twenty or thirty years ago.

00:14:11: And this speed does not always bring safety in cycling and professional cycling... You could remove safety if you took out speed but There I have a conflict of interest again because, of course the manufacturers invest in us.

00:14:33: Because they want to make the bikes faster and faster if we were to ride with standard bikes now which are slower meaning not as aerodynamic.

00:14:43: If we were use more spokes again... ...if we used lower tires well then the industry would no longer invest in professional cycling.. ..because that is the platform for making their products faster and better.

00:14:55: So this another conflict of interests.

00:14:58: And well, that can be discussed for a very long time.

00:15:03: In the committee or in the safer air working group many fruitful discussions are taking place but we haven't found an ideal solution yet either.

00:15:16: And we won't find him today either, speaking of the king.

00:15:20: The queen stage is Saturday but things really heat up tomorrow.

00:15:23: it starts at two o'clock.

00:15:25: expected arrival is around five fifteen.

00:15:28: It goes from Gap to Alpe d'Huez.

00:15:30: one hundred twenty eight kilometers will be ridden.

00:15:34: We start with a category to climb then move into Category One where it gets steeper followed by a category To Climb before heading up to Alpe de Huez.

00:15:46: We also head up Alpe du Huez on Saturday, but Alpe is not the same as Alpe Du Huez tomorrow.

00:15:53: it's a classic climb The Great Myth of Alpe De Huez.

00:15:58: That one is being written tomorrow.

00:16:00: What does that mean?

00:16:01: Well there is someone who has not yet won alpe du huez.

00:16:06: His name is Thadeh Pogachar And for those following the career of Tadeh Pogacar, well Paris Roubaix comes to mind.

00:16:15: He wants to add his name into these lists.

00:16:18: it leads one to assume if he is healthy that will give him all tomorrow to conquer the legend of Alpédouez.

00:16:27: That's my guess.

00:16:28: what you are?

00:16:30: Yes!

00:16:31: It definitely a myth.

00:16:32: so... For those who have not been to Alpe d'Huez its purpose built village at one thousand eight hundred and something meters.

00:16:43: The mountain road up there is fifteen or fourteen, fifteen kilometers long on average about nine to ten percent.

00:16:53: it's relatively wide the road And it is also called the mountain of the Dutch.

00:17:00: Apparently many Dutch people won there in the past and The record still held by Marco Pantani from the nineties with a solid thirty six minutes.

00:17:12: And there is naturally speculation, can Pogacar break a record tomorrow or not?

00:17:17: I expect the fierce battle for the podium because it's such prestigious mountain.

00:17:23: It will definitely begin after Alpe d'Huez has been closed in two days.

00:17:29: It is being besieged in a positive sense by spectators.

00:17:34: They are camping there, having barbecues and preparing for tomorrow.

00:17:39: it's of course a mega backdrop very large open-air stadium tomorrow And I believe the weather also forecast to be quite good.

00:17:50: So this will be a cycling festival tomorrow at the foot of mountain The last breakaway.

00:18:09: So your strategy is to protect Remco, get him into position and then he will likely have

00:18:17: Exactly, so we will naturally try with Jai Hindley and Maxim van Gils to stay with Remco as long possible but ultimately every one of the captains will be on their own.

00:18:29: We are hoping for good legs from Remco and our entire team.

00:18:34: Right!

00:18:34: A listener Markus Halle contacted me today.

00:18:37: He is not far from Grenoble heading to Alpe d'Huez Today.

00:18:41: His racing bike & others were stolen overnight.

00:18:44: I know many who are there, listening to us both.

00:18:47: Ralf for those on site keep a close eye of your equipment and Marcus all the best!

00:18:52: So tomorrow my colleague Corbinion Sauter will take over part one of Alpe

00:18:56: d'U.S.,

00:18:57: i'll be back Saturday for Part two of Alp de U.S.. Ralf All The Best To You For Tomorrow.

00:19:03: Thank you very much today and best regards to France.

00:19:06: Thanks Your welcome and greetings to Rosenheim.

00:19:10: That was the latest edition of Inside Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe, The podcast from OVB Online on Tour de France.

00:19:19: You can find this podcast in all common podcatches and on the websites of OVBMedia & Ipenmedia.

00:19:27: Thanks for listening!

00:19:28: See you next time.