Episode 53: Challenge Roth Preview and Mark Cavendish makes history at the Tour de France!

In this episode, the hosts discuss recent racing and training updates, including Fede's return to training and Josh's heat training in Florida. They also talk about upcoming races and Jenna's heat acclimation training for the Duathlon World Champs. 

The conversation then shifts to the recent 70.3 Les Sables race in France results with the Ironman Pro Series. They also discuss the Norwegian method of training and its potential long-term effects on athletes like Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden. 

The hosts speculate about the upcoming Olympics and the challenges of hosting the triathlon event in Paris. 

Finally, they celebrate Mark Cavendish's record-breaking stage win at the Tour de France and discuss his racing intelligence and longevity in the sport. In this part of the conversation, the hosts discuss the recent Tour de France and the upcoming Challenge Roth triathlon. 

They talk about Mark Cavendish's historic stage win and the excitement surrounding the race. They also mention the rules and regulations for the professional athletes participating in Challenge Roth, including restrictions on equipment and drafting. The hosts make predictions for the winners of the race, with Magnus Ditlev, Daniel Bækkegård, Rudy Von Berg, Laura Philipp, and Els Visser being mentioned as potential contenders.

Chapters

00:00 Racing and Training Updates
11:13 70.3 Les Sables Race
25:07 Challenges of Hosting Triathlon at the Olympics
27:38 Mark Cavendish's Record-Breaking Win
33:58 Mark Cavendish's Historic Stage Win in the Tour de France
39:24 Rules and Regulations for Challenge Roth
48:57 Contenders for the Win in Challenge Roth

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Here we are again with another triathlon podcast brought to you by Mana Apparel, and we are so excited to jump into everything. There's going to be lots of triathlon talk, like usual, but we're recording a couple days later than usual, which ended up being perfect timing for something absolutely epic that happened in the cycling world. That honestly had me getting a little bit emotional, but we will dive into all of that. Let's get started. What's going on in our world with racing and training? I got josh and fede with me, as always, but let's start with you, fede. What have you been up to?

Speaker 2: 0:36

uh, yeah, hey guys, just uh, been chipping away the training. Uh, just back in full swing. So, yeah, doing a lot of like bo2 threshold type sessions, which I forgot how painful those are. And yeah, I just watched a Gustav Eden video that I think Giant and Serpas uploaded about his getting back into shape and I feel him like it's hard to to to bounce back. So, um, yeah, taking it day by day, but, yeah, happy to be training and, uh, excited, excited. What about you guys?

Speaker 1: 1:20

excellent. Yeah, we loved here that you're getting back to it. What'd you, josh? What do you got going on?

Speaker 3: 1:25

I spent the last five or so days in Florida, not for heat training, family vacation but it ended up being a lot of heat training. I had a lot of runs on the training schedule and wanted to catch up on some sleep so I got some late starts to kick off the week and uh, I think it feels like was around 102 degrees for some some good hour-long runs and uh was not really pushing it. This week it was. It was more with the travel and everything else like that. It was more about just getting some volume in and getting in the open water swims and things like that. So my runs were keep the heart rate down. So I actually had to walk a little bit on the. The first run, um on and out back and didn't have as much water as I probably should have had. Um, I felt fine, but I just wanted to keep it under protocol and do what I need to do. So second run took a little bit more water with me, went a little about an hour or so earlier and ended up running another half mile on the same time distance. So I was like getting acclimated. My Garmin actually has me at 100% acclimated, which is, of course, for me coming from up here in New England in the cold, so I haven't really focused on it before, but, man, it made a huge difference.

Speaker 3: 2:38

I had hill repeats yesterday before getting on the plane and the one hill which is a bridge from the island back to the mainland in west palm beach. Uh, I ran up and down, uh eight times yesterday and it was an awesome run. Felt great heat, acclimated, perfectly fine. Um, I was soaking wet when I got back to the resort and just felt good, um, and it was a great week, family vacation and got a lot of training done, got a lot of good food and restaurants and water time and sun time and vitamin D. So feeling good.

Speaker 3: 3:14

Went for a bike ride right before we recorded here and was out for an hour and a half and had an average heart rate that was like 20, 30 beats below where it normally would be on a ride like that. An average heart rate that was like 20, 30 beats below where it normally would be on a ride like that. So I would imagine that 20 degree temperature change had a huge factor there. So the body is acclimated, ready to race in the summertime. So I've got Maine Betty and I have Maine coming up in a couple of weeks now. So he's got all 70.3. I only have 56 miles.

Speaker 1: 3:44

Oh, that's going to be awesome. Gonna be awesome. Yeah, seems like there's gonna be a fair bit of the team out there going out and racing, so it's always fun. I see you've got the uh, the mona kid on there too, so didn't even have time to change I.

Speaker 3: 3:55

I got back from my ride, had dinner and sat down to record.

Speaker 1: 3:58

So yeah, appreciate the dedication and definitely nice riding. That's awesome to hear.

Speaker 3: 4:06

It sounds like you're getting some of that heat training in and feeling good yeah, it's, uh, I I think it was something that I hadn't focused on before and just trying to add another piece to the puzzle, especially with a lot of this summertime stuff. Hey, and look, even in october chicago could be warm too. So I've got Maine in the middle of end of July, and then I've got Boston Olympic Tri, super Tri, in the middle of August in Boston. So I'll be ready for those body-wise, heat-wise, staying healthy I did do. Oh, and the other thing I added this week too, is because I had access to a full gym. Whenever I wanted was a lot of strength training.

Speaker 3: 4:45

So that makes me happy you did a bunch of strength training sessions uh, still feeling those hammer curls it was. I was walking around like I had my arm in a sling one day, um, but it was. It was good, um, and and the open water swim man, I did, uh, the, the swim. Janine came down to the the beach and was just kind of walking around just a to b keep an eye on me and there was a bunch of people in there but I was swimming outside them, beautiful water, crystal clear. Got in. I was like man, I did 500 in like a low sevens, maybe even in the sixes, which was like phenomenal for me. And then I got up. I was like, let me turn around, go back, and I did about 200 in about six or seven minutes. There's the current. All right, so we're gonna do point to point that's the way to go she said she had to like almost walk jog to keep up with me.

Speaker 3: 5:43

Um, so that felt good, but yeah, it was. Uh, the strength training was another big addition. It was another piece that we adjusted for this week and and with the travel, so let's get it in while we have that access to that equipment in a little bit more time, um, right there with me, so I feel good about that.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Awesome, sounds like fun.

Speaker 1: 6:04

Well speaking of heat alchemation. I have started to do some of that, realizing that Australia is just hot all the time apparently. So I've been hearing my Australian friends complaining about the winter and it's cold. And I go to look at the forecast in Townsville, where I'll be doing the Duathlon World Champs in Townsville, where I'll be doing the Duathlon World Champs, and it's like 10 degrees hotter overnight and 10 degrees hotter during the day than it is here during technically summer. So, yeah, getting back in the sauna to do some heat training going in, because if that is winter and I'll be heading in, well, heading over, yeah, during winter, heading towards spring. So I need some heat prep.

Speaker 3: 6:45

it is definitely a bit slow start here it's a killer on the run, especially, too, like you might be able to survive the bike. But that second run, that's gonna, that's gonna get brutal totally yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 7:00

So I'm gonna get back on that. Um, I think I'm a little scarred from the heat prep training going into Kona last year, so I'm taking a little bit of mental toughness to get back in there.

Speaker 1: 7:11

I haven't quite gotten to what I was doing pre-Kona, but I've got some time to build up and I've realized it's like five weeks until I head over, which is absolutely insane. Wow, until I head over, which is absolutely insane, wow. Yeah, I'm going to be heading to a race, not this weekend, but next weekend I'm going to go head over to beautiful Victoria BC and do a duathlon over there to try a few things. Yeah, looking forward to that. This one's a little different.

Speaker 1: 7:39

It's on the Ironman Victoria 70.3 course, which is basically a trail which definitely mixes up a bit, feels better on the legs from recovery status but definitely harder to get that speed. So you just don't have that firm surface to push off of. And that's another race where I've got some some mental scars from the 70.3 over the years. But it uh fun to suffer even more there and actually just dropped off my bike, my argon e19, uh to get a, actually end up getting from one of our teammates in oversized pulley wheel with the aero cover. Again, my obsession with the aero stuff is, um, yeah every watt and every one counts.

Speaker 2: 8:24

Hey, next, next time we're gonna see jenna rocking those shades. The guys at the through our wedding right now we know that comes at the door tomorrow.

Speaker 1: 8:36

I've had it on, she's got it oh, even going to the point of like, yeah, getting wireless blips for the front of my bags. There's no wires or anything hanging out at all. So, um, the fitness isn't quite where I wanted it to be, but I will be aero af, so we'll see if that can make up some of the difference in there. It's been fun to geek out. So, yeah, gonna get the bike all dialed in. Gonna do some more aero testing next week with different water bottle setups to see how low I can get that. After my experiment of making the front end lower, the body didn't like. So let's try to make it more dynamic with some of the bottle setups, with some double bottles in the front, and just see what works, what doesn't. I'm just having so much fun with this Ghibli Aero sensor being able to test anything and everything and not have to travel all the way to a wind tunnel. That's been very nice. Yeah, we'll see how fast we can go there.

Speaker 3: 9:33

You're just going to have to make that adjustment now that you're so popular with this amazing podcast that we have going on. Everyone's going to know you at all these races, like they didn't already. But I'm just going to up for tea, jenna definitely.

Speaker 1: 9:49

Oh, that's. You know it's funny. It's such a small world in triathlon. It's always fun going to these events, even like t100 in san francisco like I didn't talk with anyone beforehand, it was more like a last minute thing and you can't go more than a few hours without running into people from the sport because, as many people that do triathlon, it really is a small community, which is it's a lot of fun. You can show up anywhere to race on your own and either talk to random people because you're all crazy enough to do triathlon, so you got something to talk about or run into some familiar faces, which makes it a lot of fun yeah absolutely there was.

Speaker 3: 10:25

That was. That was one thing to get away from this week too. It was just familiar faces, which makes it a lot of fun. Yeah, absolutely that was one thing to get away from this week too. It was me, and there was one person at the pool that asked me like, oh, you run or you do triathlon, other than that, those people just don't. They're there to vacation and eat and drink. Here I come running back from my long run. I've been in the pool all sweaty man. It was nice to get away from it too, but glad to be back Scenery is always good.

Speaker 1: 10:55

Yeah, definitely. Well, speaking of triathlon, there was a race that went on this weekend that well, I'll let Fede pronounce, because I am absolutely decimating this every time I attempt. So, fede, there was a 70.3.

Speaker 2: 11:11

Tell us what went on yeah, so we had over in france 70.3 le sab and we had the likes of Gustav. Coming back to racing, we had Cam Wurf, calame Mignon, 70.3 world champ Rico Bogan, so a pretty, pretty good field and it looked like an amazing race on the French coast. I mean, very little things can beat racing in that part of the world. And yeah, like I mean very little things can beat racing in that part of the world. And yeah, like I said earlier on the podcast, I was watching a video about Gustav and he was getting ready for this specific race and they asked him do you think you're going to win? And he said probably not. But if I do, then that means the sport is not in a good place.

Speaker 2: 12:08

You know, just being completely, completely honest about his uh, form and shape and it's good to see that he's joking around once again and, uh, you know he had a very tough year and a half with injury, of course, passing up his mom, just a lot, a lot of changes on his personal side. But yeah, he finished the race. He didn't win, so that's good for the sport, I guess, because then you know, but yeah, on the men's side we had, from Germany, niklas Mann winning, running a 1.11 half in 3.39. Second place we had Juri Kluin, from the Netherlands and on third place Clement Mignon, who has been on a roll lately. He's a very, very strong swim biker and it seems that he's figuring out the run because he ran a 1.11.40. So amazing performance from Clement. Of course, cam Wurf was there, you know. Like you said, jenna, he's been entering every single race. I think he Googles what's the next race Ironman races near me and then he just goes and enters those ones.

Speaker 3: 13:26

I think it was I mean we talked about this early in the year too where I mean these guys just signed up for every Ironman race that they could, because if they didn't, they weren't getting on the start list.

Speaker 2: 13:36

Yeah, true, true With the pro series and everything, then it means they need to get their name on the list early on.

Speaker 3: 13:43

A lot easier to drop.

Speaker 2: 13:46

Yeah, 100%. But yeah, that was on the men's side and over the women's side we had, from Denmark, laura Madsen taking the win, from Great Britain, nikki Bartlett and, also from Great Britain, kate Curran coming in third place. And it was a much closer race on the women's side than on the men's side Just 40 seconds separating Nikki from Laura and one minute and seven seconds separating Kate from Laura who won the race. So very interesting race over the women's side. And yeah, now that we are in full swing with racing, it was a bit strange that it that this was the only pro, pro field uh happening over this weekend.

Speaker 1: 14:32

Huh yeah absolutely quiet for a while, getting quite a bit. Yeah the thing. It was interesting to see umav's performance in there. But you know what he ticked the box? He's done 270.3. So that means he has his Kona spot for later in the year. Now the question is you know, it's like October, it's like four-ish months. Can he get into Kona winning shape in that time period, like it's always easier when you've been there and know what it takes to get there.

Speaker 2: 15:05

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 15:06

Yeah, curious to see if he can get it done in that time period.

Speaker 3: 15:10

I mean, we talk about it with Christian all the time too, with the Olympics, like he hasn't had great performances, but they're dialing in for the end of this month and it didn't matter what Christian did in April and May, and all of that there was one goal, and then there's a second goal, but the first goal is what he's been building towards and I think the same thing with Gustav. I think this whole rehab protocol has been A get him to Kona, check those boxes, like Jenna just said, but at the same time, do not try and get to a point where you're trying to win those races and just baby steps along the way. Fitness, let it come along and baby walk, that run, and, and now I think he's gonna start really getting into a cone of build where the run has been coming along enough that they feel like they can start to add volume, and I'm sure we'll start to hear that, see that, and and they love to share their technology and share their updates.

Speaker 1: 16:07

So I'm sure we'll we'll get some stuff from those guys up in uh, up in the mountains yeah, that's one thing I think it was might have been pro china's that I was listening to where they're saying, um, uh, bloomfeldt was just saying at this point, they're gonna try to add a whole bunch of run volume and time on the track and hope that that works, when, yeah, from up until this point, they've been very scientific, very structured about it. Very much like this is what we do. This is why it works analyze everything. Here's the plan forward. It does seem a little bit like throwing eggs at the wall and seeing if you crack or not. Obviously, they're a smart team and know what they're doing in there, but it was just, yeah, kind of surprising to hear that with the methodology, the Norwegian method, they have been following for the next little while, but it kind of raised the question.

Speaker 1: 16:56

You had these two guys who are on the top of the world and doing everything, winning everything. You show up at a start line, they are going to win it. Is it something that's sustainable or is it a case of the Norwegian method? Means peaking for a short amount of time but taking years off your career? I'm curious to see how it goes, because now they're kind of nowhere, like I don't. It's hard to say that about Christian, but really he hasn't been there. What do you guys think?

Speaker 3: 17:26

That's a good point. I mean I think that's something we're going to find out over the next few months for sure. I mean your point is a good one. If it's valid, we'll find out in the near future. I think Paris is going to be that first checkpoint and then find out in Kona. Really, if this is something that you're right Maybe it was they got to that level and it's hard to stay there based on how high you went up as opposed to a normal build like the rest of us humans.

Speaker 1: 18:00

Yeah well, and you know what. They did it all ahead of schedule. They're aiming for this Olympics to be the one where they got the gold medal. So, yeah, be curious to see how that goes. There's definitely a lot of talk about the Norwegian method and whether it's something you can replicate or whether it's a case of these athletes were just something special, but curious to see how that goes in the long run, because they do some awesome and crazy stuff and it sounds like that's a lot of the driver behind christian potentially getting offered a cycling contract is because with that that would include a lot of the technology and research and everything that their team has done and giving those pro cycling teams access to that.

Speaker 1: 18:42

so, yeah, be curious to see where it goes. It's definitely been an interesting experiment and something a little bit outside of the box, but long-term see if it, if it sticks yep, yeah, it's gonna be.

Speaker 2: 18:57

It's gonna be interesting to see because, uh, I don't know where I read it, but I saw, like this, an anonymous pro mentioning, uh, or actually questioning about the norwegian method and he basically said, everybody's praising the norwegian method nowadays but, uh, they don't mention that, apparently, for the only guy that seems to be working out long term is for the guy who basically has three lungs, so, like christian, with his massive, massive vo2 and everything, and uh, yeah, it seems like every long distance triathlete who has been, you know, um, lurking with the idea of the Norwegian method, either they get burned out or injured.

Speaker 2: 19:45

So, yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what happens in this Olympics and probably they cracked the code for short distance racing and to peak for like one Olympic cycle but for longevity and sustainability and mental health and all of that we have yet to see with a test of time, because we never saw like a Jan or a Javi Gomez or like an Alistair Brownlee, you know being that, you know having such a I don't want to say bad season when it comes to Christian, but like a completely different season from when, like, let's say, when Ali won in 2012. He was still consistent in 2013, 14, 15, and he went and won the Rio Olympics in 2016. So we have yet to see if Christian can do that, and if he can't, then that's probably something to do with their methods and everything.

Speaker 1: 20:50

Yeah, it's kind of similar to.

Speaker 1: 20:52

I heard the same thing kind of about the Seto Brett Sutton kind of method for a while Same deal like they would just were just throwing the wall and see whoever didn't crack was going to be one of the greatest, like we definitely saw it with, like chrissy and danielle and stuff, and, but again, it works for a very small super like, yeah, just endurance machines that are almost abnormal in what they can actually achieve. But yeah, you'll be curious to see how the next little while comes out, because, you know, at the olympics you never really know anything can happen. Um, speaking of which, though, where will the olympics be? I'm starting to hear more and more rumors about, you know, potential moves, or will they just, you know, dump some fresh water in before, before, where they just say that's good enough?

Speaker 3: 21:44

I can't.

Speaker 1: 21:45

I have a hard time seeing it not be a triathlon. I think they'll do kind of whatever they need to. What do you guys think?

Speaker 3: 21:54

well, I mean, I saw an article today I think it was actually in like National Geographic, not Geo Instagram where it was talking about the billions of dollars that they're now pumping out of the water. There's a mad dash to get it as clean as possible and a lot of money is being thrown at it. So it has to be a triathlon, um, and I think they're gonna do whatever they can and and how do you move it logistically? Where do you do it? And you've got your transition and the bridge and everything is set up for the finish. In the end, it's I mean, it's you got to start it there. So it's a, it's a triathlon or or I don't know what the heck they're gonna do, but they're throwing money at it.

Speaker 3: 22:42

The french government is throwing the money that needs to be thrown at it, and let's just hope they can get a good stretch of water clean for a few days.

Speaker 1: 22:51

Yeah, I've heard some rumors about needs and stuff. But yeah, there's a couple officials are supposed to like go swim in it to show that it was fine and like, yeah, I know there's a couple officials who are supposed to like go swim in it to show that it was fine and they're like, yeah, no, there's a bunch of rainfalls so we're not going to be able to. We'll try again later. It's like you're not building cogs, yeah.

Speaker 2: 23:25

I want to stay positive, but right now I think the most smart choice would be to move them to Nice and give the athletes a peace of mind that, yes, there's going to be a swim, okay, you're going to have T2 and run around the Eiffel Tower and all of that, but at the end of the day, like you said, jenna and Josh, it needs to be a triathlon. I mean, it's the Olympics. It would be weird if they said last minute, guess what guys, we're going to do a duathlon and then you lose a whole lot of potential people coming into the sport just because a swim never happened coming into the sport just because a swim never happened.

Speaker 1: 24:01

Man, that's where Hayden and Alex E are just so far ahead of everyone else from the gun. Yeah, exactly that would change up the dynamics for sure. Yeah, I'd be curious to see what happens there. Hopefully it'll happen and there's no detriment, because even if you think about it like there's the individual triathlon but then they all have to do the mixed team relay a couple days later. So if there are like stomach issues or illness issues afterwards, that decimates the mixed relay really, um, yeah, and then you've got all of the, the paralylympians too.

Speaker 3: 24:41

I mean, we had friend of the the pod, ben hoffman, on, and he's one of the guides for that too. So I mean, they've they. They actually did do athlons in the test event last year, so yeah, uh, you wonder how that's gonna go um. So let's not forget about these other amazing athletes that are still out there too, and there's so many different qualifications and categories there too that they've got to get in the water and out too. So it's a big effort.

Speaker 2: 25:07

But like.

Speaker 3: 25:07

Fede said. I'm trying to stay positive as well.

Speaker 2: 25:10

Yeah, like you said, josh, imagine if they do move the men and women's event to Nice and then they decide to go back to Paris for the Paralympics. And what does that mean about the sport? Uh, they need to either move all of the, all of the you know um men, women, uh, and Paralympics to Nice, or have you know all duathlons and invite all of the duathlons around the world to take part there you go.

Speaker 1: 25:40

Some teams will definitely be regretting their team selection. It ends up being a duathlon yeah, I was.

Speaker 2: 25:47

I was gonna say imagine if you're at the olympics and your role is to be a domestic, like on the swim and bike, and yeah, that's when the us should have picked like gwen jorgensen kind of thing get off the run in the front run yeah, not again yeah oh man.

Speaker 1: 26:08

Well, lots of fun ahead. The olympics. We are counting down I've got to actually create a post for cycling canada that we're coming up to three weeks until it starts, which is craziness, but I'm so excited to see it kick off this year. We'll all be watching intently to see it all go down, and you know we'll be watching Taylor Nip, for it feels like half of the Olympics with all the various events she's doing at this point. But it should be a lot of fun.

Speaker 3: 26:34

We definitely have our fair share of events to get us to that point too. We're currently watching that kicked off in the last week and I mean it's unbelievable what the world of endurance sports and cycling and swimming. I mean to watch some of these elite athletes and know that Paris is still out there. We got to get through. We got to A. We had to get to France. Yeah, spent a little time in italy, but uh man, the tour of france has been unbelievable so far, and well it'll make the time to the olympics pass a little bit quicker it definitely helps.

Speaker 1: 27:10

That actually brings me to my what the f of the week that I've been so excited to talk about just well, all afternoon. Now what the F? The record has been broken. Mark Cavendish got his stage win he has the most stage wins at the Tour de France in an incredible finish. Today so many people were saying no, he's washed up. After last year almost getting it and finally making it happen today, which I was hearing a few facts about it. You know what the craziest part is? His first one was in 2008,. His first stage win, and one of the guys he raced against in that stage win his son got into cycling, had his career in cycling and is already retired. In the span of time that, cavendish wins Unreal, you know.

Speaker 2: 28:06

Speaking about that, I wanted to share something with you guys and with the audience. Daniel Lloyd so a former pro cyclist and he's with GCN. He tweeted this and I'm just reading the tweet. I've written Mark Cavendish off at least three times in the last eight years and every time he's proven me and all of the other doubters wrong. His first tour stage victory was 16 years ago. What you said, Jenna. Lenny Martinez was four years old when Cav won his first tour stage. The longevity is incredible, but so is the will to win, the need to win. Whatever had happened over those three weeks, he could have retired a happy man, but I'm beyond delighted that he's just passed this iconic event and this is just icing on the cake. Congratulations, Mark cavendish.

Speaker 3: 28:58

And yeah, I mean the longevity 39 years old and still sprinting like he's I don't know 22 just amazing, amazing especially after a rough day one too, where he's like just inside the clock with nine minutes to go and it was like he just wasn't feeling with nine minutes to go and it was like he just wasn't feeling it. He's like, yeah, normally it takes me a little while to get going on the tour, but I didn't expect it to be that close on day one.

Speaker 1: 29:25

There's not a ton of sprint opportunities in this tour either, like the way they have it set up this year, like it's either going to happen very quickly or probably not.

Speaker 3: 29:37

And it sounds like they were targeting this day, like not the other day. Yes, also, we got to talk about the epicness that happened there and our first African champ and tour stage winner. I mean unbelievable. But this was the stage they were targeting and he said everything about putting this team together was today and everything that happens from here on, and his team was there. Like you could see some of these other stages, the team wasn't pulling together, they were having. Somebody was having issues today. They were there and they got him to where he needed to be and and nobody else could go with him and we talked about, before we go to start recording, the epic crash that was behind him and the bunny hop to get over those speeds and and cav just went alone. I mean I I'd love to see him get another one where we actually see him come from behind and have that patented, have finish. This one was just he outsmarted everyone and took it.

Speaker 1: 30:37

That's exactly it that race mindset and intelligence and just finding those spots. There's so many points in there where he could have easily been boxed in. I saw a couple of tweets like that was handed to him or they fabricated this finish. It's like there was some near misses into that run and he was elbowing his way way, making sure he had the spot and just got it done. Surf the right wheels. He just seems to know how to find those holes and the right wheels to follow and then just unleashes it because he's definitely he'll say it himself he's not the fastest sprinter. He doesn't have the power output of some of these other guys. He's twice the age of some of his competitors. But that race intelligence and reading the peloton around him, finding that way through, is just a master class.

Speaker 3: 31:26

That was very cool I was waiting for the review because there were a few bumps in in elbows being thrown along the way. Especially would be like when they were all off to the right and and then when he finally found his hole and broke off to the left, he was gone. But yeah, it was dicey.

Speaker 1: 31:41

It was dicey when they were cutting around to the right there and I was kind of worried for a second because he he definitely deviated from his race line and so I guess, from what I've read since, then if you do that and it puts another rider in danger, then that is something that can get you kind of relegated. But if you're not putting someone else into danger, then it's fine. So, yeah, that was one of those things where I was like I hope like ASO doesn't come back to me Like, wow, you know, but he didn't put anyone in danger there. It was just, yeah, like I said, just trying to get away and make sure no one could be on his wheel, and it wasn't even a close finish, no More than a bike length.

Speaker 1: 32:22

Against some of these guys who have some insane power outputs. It was fantastic. And then actually Fede brought up his chain afterwards, Just flying off insane, insane.

Speaker 2: 32:38

I mean, yeah, I remember watching the the profile stay, uh, for all those 21 stages. And uh, yesterday, uh, I actually was looking at the profile and I was like this has cavendish written all over it if, if it's not tomorrow, it's going to be the day after, because, also, tomorrow's stage could be a day where we could see cav going back to back. Um, and uh, yeah, I was listening to, uh, you know, lance and george hincapi's podcast, uh, the we do podcast, and uh, they were saying I mean it's, it's like he beat a guy, jasper phillipson, who's arguably one of the best sprinters who's ever, who's ever been there, uh, you know, alive. And uh, the fact that, like you mentioned, jenna, he's racing iq got in the right wheels. Uh, also, josh uh texted us um, uh during the day. He was so patient throughout the last kilometer. It's just a master class on how to sprint and utilize your strengths to your advantage. And I couldn't be happier because I mean 35 stage wins.

Speaker 2: 33:47

I mean unreal I mean some people, some people make their careers by just winning one stage. Yeah, let alone, let alone 35.

Speaker 1: 33:58

And, if anyone is curious, the most stage wins in Grand Tours. That record, unfortunately, kev is not going to reach. It's still at 65 with Merck, so I don't think he's going to stick around that much longer. The tour is the one that everyone cares about and it is something, yeah, absolutely incredible. I was like, oh, I was like out of my seat cheering and stuff when I was getting close and got emotional afterwards. It was just so cool to see that dedication, that longevity in the sport and finally just making it happen.

Speaker 3: 34:30

Yeah, it was really cool and it seems like it's fitting too, because this tour is setting up to be an epic tour. Well, it's setting up to be a toddy, like mic drop, but I still think yonas is is back in form enough where he can, he can put a run into him.

Speaker 3: 34:49

It's been a really cool tour to watch. I mean the fact that the two of them went together and yonas answered the bell and when toddy first went, that one day, and and then what Tade did yesterday was just insane. And my social media post of the day is relevant to the tour as well, because now that we've talked about Cav winning, if you haven't seen, it'll be on the Tour de France page and Tade's page. But after the race, cav's son in his Astana jersey is back by the stage before they go up and Tade comes out walking around with his yellow jersey on and has a nice little conversation. His mom goes.

Speaker 3: 35:32

When he saw Mark win he was like wait, and there goes Tade. And it was like he totally forgot his dad had just won and he was more excited about Tade winning. And Tade hands him his sunglasses, as Tade always does something cool with the kids and stuff like that. So that was a really neat thing. And then also in the social media world, keep your eyes out on Mr Jan Ferdinand's page tomorrow, because apparently he's been teasing like he's a true influencer uh, in retirement and he's got a big announcement to make tomorrow. So there's our social media news here's to see what that is.

Speaker 1: 36:07

But you're right, this tour has been incredible and actually just saw saw a video with um yonas saying hey, like, at this point we're expecting to be like four minutes, like two to four minutes down that it's at less than a minute like that's great.

Speaker 1: 36:23

And the first four stages were absolutely monsters and he only lost like five seconds in that um sprint from pagacha. He lost some more time on the descent, which really blame him after a crash that put him in the hospital for weeks and weeks. But hopefully he'll get that feel for the road back and they actually see some battles here. I think a lot of people were expecting by after the first four stages to see today like five to 10 minutes ahead of everyone else, but we actually have a bit of a battle going on.

Speaker 1: 36:55

So yeah, yeah, I think we'll be in fitness and we'll see if yonas gets stronger throughout and could be fun especially with the time trial yeah after last year I, yeah, crazy, I was gonna say that the tour is far from over.

Speaker 2: 37:11

And uh, yeah, jenna, I think I. I watched the same interview where yana said we were expecting to lose time on the first four stages, and the fact that it's just 50 seconds now it gives us a lot of hope. So I think Jonas is raising himself into shape, while Stade is just maintaining his big shape. So it's going to be interesting to see what happens in the time trial and I'm just calling it now. I think Remco is going to be way faster than those two guys. So don't be surprised if Remco spices things up between those two Nice.

Speaker 1: 37:50

Yeah, I'd be curious to see. He definitely has some power. But Josh kind of alluded to it too. We have Benem Grimay. He had absolutely again another incredible record and piece of history in the sport he was the first Black African rider to win a stage of the Tour de France and then today we actually saw him getting the green jersey as well another first when it comes to the sport. So just super inspiring to see. And this first few days of the tour has not left us wanting for anything. It has not been the big teams just dominating, it's been small teams and mix-ups and oh, it's been so good and now they're finally in france, as I mentioned we're just getting to france.

Speaker 1: 38:37

Oh man, okay, we know you guys don't come for a tour de france, talk, but we get a little sucked into it. Anything, endurance, sports, you, just you can't go wrong. The story is the fun, the challenges ahead and, like betty mentioned, it's been a little bit quieter on the racing front. But let's get back to our bread and butter here. Triathlon we've got a little race coming up this weekend that there's been a bit of chatter about. We have Challenge Roth, one of the most iconic races in the sport. This is one that is definitely on my bucket list. And all this lead up I've been kind of thinking maybe next year would be good to try it out, but we will see. It sounds like it's going to be an interesting event this year. I was kind of worried that Roth wouldn't have many people out there with all the t100, the ironman pro series. But you know what roth treats the pro athletes very, very well, incentivize them to come out there. So we've actually ended up with a decent start list. Are you guys excited to watch it this weekend?

Speaker 3: 39:36

I don't know how you can't be roth to me it it's a spectacle, it's meant to be watched, it's meant to be enjoyed. The fans are unbelievable, the host families you see some of these athletes getting over there and there's signs outside welcome triathletes and welcome to your new home. And it's just, it's done right. Yeah, I think it is really triathlon done right and and to to enjoy the sport to its fullest. This is what this weekend's all about yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 40:10

Now, before we dive into the start list um, there was a post on the triathlon hour that kind of clears up some of the rules going into challenge off and you know, wouldn't it be nice if all of these series just had the same rules across the board follow distance, shoes, bladders, all that fun but no, no, no, we got it. We got to mix it up every time. So if you're curious for this race, here are the rules for the professional athletes. That might look a little different. Um, so it'll be a wetsuit swim. Don't wear your race bib number that's something that's kind of standard across. You don't want to saw your race bib number During the bike.

Speaker 1: 40:46

All bottles, aero inserts, soft flasks or water bladders are banned from being worn down the front of your tri-suit. So we're not going to see those super aero funny looking in pictures bladders down the front. So if you want to get your arrow gains, well one, get a Ghibli and try it out that way. But you need to do it a different way. So I'm curious to see if we see any interesting bottle setups, like Joe Skipper had for a while. I don't really see much, but apparently it goes faster. Just get behind Magnus and try and stay behind. There you go. Yeah, oh, that guy I can't imagine he provides much of a draft with how slippery he is through the uh, the air with all of his aerodynamic testing, um, and then again into the aero side, because we're all obsessed with aerodynamics these days, all front end aerodynamic setups bottles, aero fairings etc. Will be inspected pre-race and if they're deemed to give an unfair advantage or be unsafe, the athletes will be told to remove them. So something similar we're seeing in the iron man kind of series as well. Um, you can't just duct tape yourself a fairing across the front, which I mean. As long as it's safe, I don't see if there's a big issue because you can just go buy something that does the same deal but costs you $1,000. That would be okay. They will leave it to their discretion.

Speaker 1: 42:11

Then, due to crowding on lap two of the bike Challenge, roth is enforcing a 12-meter draft zone. Grace Ranger will be in use. We've talked lots about it. 12 meters with these pro athletes and the speeds they're going is not much. There's definitely an aerodynamic gain there. Now the question will be is if the refs will be like iron man and use race ranger to give out penalties or be like t100 and see lots of red lights and go oh, that's pretty, we'll see which way they go there.

Speaker 1: 42:47

Um, yeah, and you know, typically rock. Hopefully they've fixed this, but typically roth there's. There tends to be some moto um involvement in the front pack there. Uh, we've heard it from a few athletes and again Joe Skipper said that's why he probably wouldn't do it again is because if you get out of the swimmers you get some assistance there. So hopefully we'll see the motos far ahead so we can have some clean racing, supertuck bike position band. They're totally a safety thing. But here's the interesting one that made us really excited about a couple athletes on course, which unfortunately the showdown won't happen. But World Athletic Running Shoe Guidelines do not apply at Challenge Roth. So that means whatever crazy prototype shoe with a two-foot stack and 10 carbon fiber plates in it you can rock those and see how fast you can go. Any thoughts on some of those rules there, guys?

Speaker 2: 43:49

Yeah, I mean, I think the shoe rule was put in place because there are there is talks that the marathon record was going to go down, which brings me to say that Tomas Rodriguez, a Mexican athlete he said he was not going to race Roth for personal reasons, so it was going to be exciting to see him and Patrick battling it out, whilst Magnus was probably going to be at the finish line 30 minutes earlier than those guys, but they were going to be battling it for the record. But yeah, I don't know. I think, with the shoe thing, I think they need to comply with every other international body that regulates shoes because, uh, I don't know, then some pro who has the resources may come to the race with like a super awesome prototype and then 75 carbon plates and just, uh, bounces himself to the finish line start seeing springs on the shoes yeah yeah, no, it's tough, it's funny.

Speaker 1: 45:01

You know, I kind of find it funny at times how they're more stranded around the shoes things where bikes are kind of like anything goes, and that's the whole impetus behind triathlon bikes. But I think at some point it does become a little less safe if you've got a foot of um padding beneath you. But yeah, that's an interesting one they're definitely. All of these rules say to me that they want to have a new world record yeah, which?

Speaker 2: 45:32

yeah, I mean I understand, but at the end of the day, all of us who follow the sport uh know that it's gonna be like it's gonna have an asterisk, that world record, if it falls down, because then we're going to be talking. Well, which shoe did the athlete use? How many carbon fiber plates did the shoe have? Is it available to the public? What if I don't know? Know he ran in a regular shoe, I don't know? Just just make it fair and honest, like all the races, and if the record falls, then so be it. I mean, challenge roth has always been an amazing race when it comes to taking care of the athletes and everything. But I think this is just one big marketing tool to get more eyes to follow the race. But I don't know, I wouldn't do it myself, I'd just race with the regular rules.

Speaker 3: 46:29

I think it's a hazard for the athletes themselves. If I'm somebody like Magnus, magnus has more to go after this year, magnus I mean Magnus has more to go after this year so would you risk that to put it on a different shoe and never be able to race in it again? So I don't think you're going to see too many people taking advantage of the shoe rule. I mean, you might see some runners who are coming from behind with some crazy-ass run splits and yeah and yeah, like you said, asterisk, but the overall winner isn't wearing a super shoe. That's illegal in the world of triathlon, would be my guess yeah I don't know.

Speaker 1: 47:09

I wouldn't be surprised if um patrick lang I came out with because he's used some prototype, prototype shoes in the past to try to get those faster run splits. So he I would not be surprised if he comes out with um something that's not available and kind of super secret things, but that's the thing. Like he said, he has the resources, the sponsorships where they're able to give him these shoes to race and train in. And I know there are a few shoe brands that have um, I can't remember which one it is, but they have a one-time use marathon shoe, that's like 600 euros.

Speaker 1: 47:40

Wow, really time he is shoe which is god crazy um let's do the math.

Speaker 2: 47:51

Yeah, 600 over 42, that's like 15 euros a kilometer right, if I steps, come on right oh, it's craziness and you know what it really is.

Speaker 1: 48:06

It's sad to see that, uh, rodriguez won't be at this race. It sounds like um roth was gonna be giving out this big bonus, uh, to see if anyone could go under 230 for the first time, and whoever did and went the fastest would get that time. So obviously the headliners you'd be thinking for that is rodriguez and patrick langa. Um, unfortunately, he has dropped out due to personal reasons and has not said what that is and, interestingly, hasn't told the race organizers what it is at all.

Speaker 2: 48:37

Um, yeah, so weird hopefully everything's okay there.

Speaker 1: 48:41

Um was listening again to the triathlon hour at the first little bit there and had belinda granger, who's the athlete rep for challenge raw and they kind of went into a conversation. That's very valid these days is, um, you know, when we give you these contracts and pay you to show up and come to the events, and you know, in some cases there's the events and you know, in some cases there's absolutely valid reasons. We don't know what's going on. Could be something serious where you can't race, but it's like when you don't show up to this and then a week later show up at a T 100 and your Ironman 70.3 or something like that we kind of know it's nothing, it's

Speaker 1: 49:14

true, it's this year more than ever, I think. The t100 is realized. They're seeing a lot of that, which is unfortunate, but there's just so much racing these days. But I I would have been really curious to see how that go down, like if him and patrick had a very good incentive to go under 230. Are they just soft pedaling on the bike and trying to run a fast marathon or do they have that racer mindset Like I want to win, wow doing this? It's exciting if they were like an hour behind on the bike and then run 230.

Speaker 2: 49:49

Like a 555 bike split and then just run 224.

Speaker 3: 49:59

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just under the cutoff time. Yeah, look at him, pass all those age groupers oh man, yeah, unfortunately.

Speaker 1: 50:12

Well, you know what? Still, I think I know all the talk was more around rodriguez, but I wonder if I think pat Lange has the same kind of deal in there. So I'll be curious to see what he does on the course. But I can't see him kind of holding back and saying I mean, yeah, 20th place, but a 230. He has enough of a Palmeiras that doesn't make a big difference.

Speaker 3: 50:34

So instead of averaging 320 watts, does he average?

Speaker 1: 50:37

280? Right.

Speaker 3: 50:39

Really Right, nearly aero yeah.

Speaker 1: 50:45

But he can't go two aero because we've got restrictions around the glider.

Speaker 3: 50:48

Yeah, true, you don't want to take those running hips out 12.000 meters behind the person for the moto.

Speaker 1: 50:58

Yeah, Race Ranger allows him to get that close yeah, and that's the funny part, like I think we've talked about it before, it's like the 20 meter draft zones that make sure the athletes are far enough, but the 12 meter draft zones it almost helps them stay closer because they can see where the edge is right I think it's one of the reasons for it is is a.

Speaker 3: 51:23

I think it's always been about safety and clean racing, but it's also to make for more competitive racing, because if you can get hacks together coming off the bike, it's going to make for a more interesting run and finish to the race. So if people can do it legally and safely at 12 to 15 meters and not be at 18 because they don't have a light in front of them and don't know that they're not drafting as well as they could be, it makes for a better race no, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 51:50

And you know what? I think that's a lot of the thought around um iron man, which it's just silly that jimmy riccatello is saying, oh, there's no proof that there's a draft in there. At least be honest about why you're doing it. Not just like I can understand the age groupers, there's not enough room on course for them to all be 20 meters, but pros they should be 20 meters. I mean 26, 28 miles per hour. Found it challenging to find the details on the challenge roth site. Ironically, uh, we have a few starters here. We got magnus dietlove, daniel backguard, rudy von berg, peter heimrich, patrick langa, uh, jan stratman, leon chevalier, clement mignon andy starkowitz haven't seen him on a start list for a while wow yeah, and nick chase from the.

Speaker 1: 52:51

uh, there, let's see.

Speaker 3: 52:54

And Clement is out too.

Speaker 1: 52:56

Oh right, right, right. He's out. And then, yeah, heard rumors that possibly Cam Worf is just going to jump in last minute to do an Ironman, because why not Like he? Doesn't show up to a bunch of the races that he's in and he's like I'm not on the start list. I'm going to go race that one.

Speaker 2: 53:13

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember one time Cam Wurf was asked this question and he was like I still get to train and gels are expensive. So races are just like catered training days.

Speaker 1: 53:27

Going to all the Ironman courses to get those Morton gels, yeah, stuck up. Oh. So what do you guys think? What are we looking at with Challenge Roth this year? What's this race going to look like? We always know it's a, you know, a fast bike and middling a little short run, so it should be fast there. Do you guys think we're going to see that 230 um barrier broken at Challenge Roth this year?

Speaker 3: 53:53

mmm barrier broken at Challenge Roth this year. Maybe if Rudy's cheesed by a pack of bees.

Speaker 2: 54:03

Hey, unleash the bees.

Speaker 1: 54:05

Yes, Fair point. If anyone hasn't heard, in the lead up to Challenge Roth, rudy Von Berg was on a training ride and during his ride he was attacked by a large group of bees riding at 52.6 kilometers an hour, causing him to crash. So he lost a bit of skin because of some bees. We're getting some weird animal interactions. There was like someone was attacked by it. Was it the seal or something? Man it's dangerous out there what's next?

Speaker 2: 54:40

like a capybara attacks someone on the run man, don't, yeah, stress me.

Speaker 1: 54:47

There's so many animals in australia that can kill me. I'm like that's one of the things I'm trying not to think about. Well, let's go with the predictions here, with challenge Roth. Uh, we'll start with you. Fede, who do you think takes it out on the weekend?

Speaker 2: 55:05

uh well, I mean I think we all three can agree that we would pick Magnus, so I'm just gonna not pick him and let you guys pick him. I'm going to go with another Dane. I'm going to go and pick Daniel Beggegaard for the win.

Speaker 1: 55:24

That's a good one. Do we all just want to say we think, magnus, but next pass?

Speaker 3: 55:28

Yeah, Magnus is off the board. We'll take two, three, four.

Speaker 1: 55:32

There we go. How about you, Joshosh? Who do you got here?

Speaker 3: 55:35

I'm gonna go with rudy. I I mean he's, he's there, let's, um, I'll leave, I'll leave the rest of them out there for you, jenna, but uh, it's a, it's a short field. I think there's. I don't think it's too deep of a field, um, but this race is special and some of these people that have done it before which is, I think, that's on top of everything with magnus he's done it before, he's won it before and he knows what it's about. So, um, let's see if we can get another good performance from american. We had ben canute had a great performance last year. Rudy vandbergh's had a pretty decent season. We know he's in shape, he's. He's been at, I think, every t100 um and gotten a little better at each, but hasn't had a great year. But maybe he's building to roth and and we'll see what what he does here I like it, I want to.

Speaker 1: 56:24

Part of me just wants to say starkey, because that would be like the if you're betting and that should be like the biggest return. No, you know what? Super shoes, money on the table for a run record. I got to go.

Speaker 1: 56:37

Patrick Lange, I think he is just going to have a crazy run out there and, yeah, I think he's got a shot at that 230 barrier. I just hope he doesn't soft pedal on the bike to run. But he's going for that Ironman Pro Series and this doesn't count for it. So, yeah, yeah, curious to see how he prioritizes it.

Speaker 2: 56:58

but can't go too wrong um patrick langa I don't think, I don't think it's in the german dna to soft pedal the bike, so probably you're safe with that pick.

Speaker 1: 57:09

Yeah, especially in roth like yeah yeah, that's the big thing. I think there's a lot of um pride in that race as well, when it comes to being a German in Roth. Well, let's jump to the women's side. So on the list we've got Laura Phillips, els Visser, anne Reichman, danielle Lewis, svenja Throes, benya throws.

Speaker 3: 57:32

Annie Hogg, Ben added.

Speaker 1: 57:33

Annie Hogg. Yeah, we got a last-minute call-up there Like Laura Phillips, annie Hogg and stuff. Like I kind of wonder what the T100 and everything.

Speaker 3: 57:47

And Els Visser too, I saw, is on the start list for Vittoria the following week. So you've got the big Ironman Pro Series race. So is she both? Is she dropping from iron man? Is she going to drop from roth I? She's had a great year, so that's another interesting one for me. Like what if she does a back-to-back iron man full distance?

Speaker 1: 58:08

I mean, can't morph it yeah, right, yeah, there's been a lot of chatter that, um, the women's field was soft and wrought this year, so they've definitely, unlike iron man, prevented or presented some financial incentives for some athletes to show up, which you know good on them. They really do have a reputation for treating the pro athletes so well and recognizing that they bring value. Um, so, yeah, I wonder if she'll switch it up after that or do back to back, because why not? Everyone's racing everything all year this year? You never know.

Speaker 3: 58:39

And she's leading the way. I mean this has got to be like her seventh eighth race, something like that at this point on that longevity.

Speaker 1: 58:56

Um, this doesn't crack people because beyond injury there's just that deep-seated fatigue kind of thing. When you dig yourself in a hole talking about mark cavendish and stuff, like he went through years with that just deep fatigue where he couldn't really do much. So yeah, you don't want to see that anyways. Um, we'll start with you, josh. Who do you have for the win here?

Speaker 3: 59:13

Well, I mean, do we take Annie Hogg off the board and go for the rest of them?

Speaker 1: 59:18

I think so.

Speaker 3: 59:20

I think that's probably how we should go here. And you know what, if Els is there and she's starting, I'm going to go with Els Visser. Yeah super strong and tough.

Speaker 1: 59:29

Yeah, I can see that. How about you Fede?

Speaker 2: 59:34

I'm going to go pick another German with Laura Phillip. I think she has a chip on her shoulder and everybody's talking about Annie and maybe she's there to prove a point. So yeah, I'm betting on Laura. That's a good pick I like it.

Speaker 1: 59:51

You know what Danielle Lewis has been having a great year so far, you know. Let's see if we can get a north american up on that podium and see what she can do over in roth. I think it'll be her first time at challenge raw, so yeah, it is.

Speaker 3: 1:00:05

Yeah, she's been documenting the whole thing on social media, from from the travels to get over there and how many flights and how many layovers and how many hours. I think they're both doing it too. I think her husband's doing it as well.

Speaker 1: 1:00:23

Oh, awesome. Yeah, that's definitely I need to get over to that race. It just looks epic so much fun.

Speaker 3: 1:00:27

Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 1:00:29

We've got a fun race to watch this weekend, something a little different from the T100 and Ironman series that we have been watching. Hopefully they'll have some good coverage. It sounds like they'll have lots of good commentary. You've got Belinda Granger, who's always great at this. Jack Kelly will be over there and, I think, sebi Kinley, I think, is their commentary. Yeah, awesome. So he'll have some good insight into the races. But do you guys have anything else that we missed this week that you wanted to chat about in the world of triathlon.

Speaker 2: 1:01:00

I think that's it on our end.

Speaker 3: 1:01:02

We did have another couple at least one more mono teammate punched their ticket in the last week of 70.3 up at happy Valley, which apparently wasn't so happy with the heat and all that. I know my coach, uh, had a struggle of a day, but she still pulled out a second overall, which was amazing. Um but yeah, kudos to everyone who had a good day in penn state, because it looked like it was brutal. They had nasty storms and nasty swim and it was not wetsuit legal. So tough day for all and they still threw down some amazing times.

Speaker 1: 1:01:37

No, it's going to be great to see some racing and definitely great to see the Monathletes crushing it out, on course, but we're looking forward to watching seeing how Challenge Roth goes down and continuing to geek out over the Tour de France, because it's stage five. There's a whole lot of racing to go. I'm so stoked it's early have a great night, guys. We will be, back next week. See you later guys.