POGACAR IN FULL CONTROL 🔥 | Giro d’Italia Week 2 Recap | The Gruppetto

The Gruppetto returns for another week! On the latest edition, Rob Hatch recaps another THRILLING week of the Giro d’Italia, and is joined by Ineos Grenadier Luke Rowe to talk through his upcoming retirement.

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[Music] bonjour everybody what a beautiful rest day atmosphere the Sun’s shining we’ve got some fantastic caffeine to help us along need plenty of that don’t we after week two of the Jalia and what a jro it has been Roberto’s along well not the real one You’ got to put up with me I’m afraid we did though get some real assistants in the gretto this week from Luke row he’s along to talk past present and future and to dissect what’s happened at this J with Italia so far without further Ado then let’s get into the gretto and recap what a second week it’s been at this race the jid Italia resumed after a rest day of ice cream pizza and coffee stops in Naples and they’d need the fueling to as the race returned straight away to the mountains a new finish at boka de la SVA gave a chance to the breakway with race leader tachar not seen any real threat in the day’s move Val pantra grabbed his opportunity gloriously a year ago his older brother Oran took a maen bit of grandor success at the Jiro but this was pad Junior’s first ever Pro win 24 hours later less mountains and a nice Tailwind helped the pelan on to Fran Villa almare Crossing four different Italian regions along the way Kon the Brooks was in the white jersey before he had to leave the race on the morning of the stage he’d been ill overnight so Antonio tiberi took on the Mala Bianca and at the end of the day Jonathan Milan increased his lead in the Malia chiclamino competition winning a mad Sprint on the Adriatic Coast four minutes of Madness became 4 hours on stage 12 a special stage one that will be remembered for a long time after being told in the winter to quit his messing around by his boss laf julan alaf Filip responded with a message to you they’ll now have to think of his future because the former two times world champion was on a mission from the start on a day ridden at warp speed after forcing his way into the Breakaway following an opening 50 km that passed in the blink of an eye he attacked that group with 125 km still to ride experienced Italian Breakaway boy mestri was along for the ride and he had to grit his teeth on the many short and steep climbs in the mar region but after so long since any success of note it would be sudal quick step’s flamboyant Frenchman who took it to the line riding away on the final climb and finishing things off alone reminiscent of Peter Sagan’s final Grand Tour hurrah in this part of Italy this though was ala Philip alag Grande Lulu and the rest of the bunch was serenaded by a version of the Italian national anthem at the start on day 13 unlucky for anyone hoping for any more more climbing because this was the pan flat well given the start in bromania the Pina stage the flattest competitive day that most will have ever ridden in their entire careers the wind blew again though and briefly there was a split but after Milan missed out his team failed to panic not only that then they produced one of the best lead outs of the season so far controlling positioning and firing through the final technical Corners leel Trek’s big giant of a Sprint then laid down the power and strengthened his already Ironclad grip on the points competition a third Milan stag win of this jro inchanto 31 km more of time traling were next up and all eyes were on another possible Ghana versus poacha Battle this was a flatter course so the Italian was the firm favorite but with the Slovenian faster at the first time split the local star cut a nervous figure once more in the hot seat it wasn’t going to happen again was it fortunately for filipo and a large Italian crowd it wasn’t POG put in another Sensational time against the clock extending his GC lead to over 3 minutes Thomas took second place back from Martinez but top Gana returned to the box office three years after his last stage win at his favorite race the jeto sequel was finally out the final stage of the week was the longest stage of this jle the queen stage the tap por this kind of Parkour is an endangered species nowadays 52,000 M of climbing and 222 km long you know it’s a hard day when the moro isn’t even the headline climb traveling from the shores of Lake Garda all the way up to linho high in the mountains on the border with neighboring Switzerland a small group of mainly faster Riders got a head start for the opening 30 km but on the first climb between 40 and 50 Riders then made it up the road the most dangerous was Michael Storer who sat at almost 10 minutes on the general classification but UAE team Emirates seemed to have only one goal a simple plan as their leader had said at the beginning of the day they controlled they rode one by one dropping away when there was nothing left to give and 15 km from the finish with gorg steinhauser and naido kintana still fighting it out for the stage seemingly 3 minutes up the road Gat had launched from behind onlookers were left open mouthed as the svan was Sensational the time gaps disappeared into the thin Mountain Air and on a day he was born to attack the greatest allrounder of his generation went about winning a fourth stage at this race he wrote another prestigious Victory on his palmeres adding to his Legend an almost doubling his GC lead in the process it was incredible and at the end of week two two with a lead of 6 minutes and 41 seconds over Thomas batad has the biggest Stage 15 Gap in the J for 70 years elsewhere the latest Spanish block of racing for the women continued in boros and the race began with a shock as Elisa balam was involved in a nasty crash at the end of the first stage L hental won just ahead of that while Lorena vibas bounced back to win the other Sprint two days later in terms of the overall it was all about Dei fing it’s now three stage races ridden this season all in the last month all in Spain and all one this time the Dutch Superstar took two of the four stages pulling on the race leaders jersey on day two and carrying it through to the Finish aita Musik continued her recent solid form and was fings closest rival further north a long wait was ended but in such a fashion that Sam Bennett and his new dick atlon Aid team would say that it was worth that waight the Irish star a former green jersey winner at the tour to France hadn’t taken a single victory since joining the French outfit in the winter and was coming off a couple of Fairly Barren Seasons by his high standards but at the Four Days of Dunkirk Bennett put in a truly dominant performance winning four yes four of the six stages he was left pretty in the pink leaders jersey and doing his best pogy pose to his team are now only second to Pacha UAE in the number of wins this season it’s now 20 up for dick Adlon plenty of that needed sorry now then this week we’ve had Luke Row in the commentary box it’s been absolutely fantastic having some recent insight into the pettin Luke a top domestique is about to retire he announced his retirement just a couple of weeks ago after suffering from some pretty bad concussion of late but we’ve been picking his brains so let’s get to it and I chat with Luke row before he joined us in the commentary box so we’re into the second week of the J Talia Luke Rose come and join us in commentary this week and he stopped by the gretto a bital place for you showing me the ropes how it’s done um have you enjoyed the last few weeks watching the Telly yeah it’s been exciting of course um been on the sidelines now with injury watching racing is a little bit Bittersweet um but at the same time first of all it’s been exciting racing secondly I think on behalf of our team we’ve ridden a great first first 10 days exciting tenacious being quite big um had big role to play so yeah it’s been exciting little bit Bittersweet but yeah you have to take the positives and that is the Jos on well Bittersweet you’ve announced your retirement at the end of this season because of the concussions that you’ve been experienced I think you thought that it was the right time tell us a little bit about how you arrived at that decision yeah so it’s just kind of that one big hit really um I had a few before for but this one was just kind of the nail in the coffin and you know as uh I was going to do one more year anyway so it’s been cut short by 12 months and I’m obviously missing a lot this year but like you said it’s just the right time and you you got responsibilities now it’s not just me I’ve got two kids and amazing wife and you know I don’t want to kind of hamper myself further down the line and regret doing that one more year and potentially having another knock and another setback so yeah it’s it is what it is at first you’re pretty gutted and disappointed but I think you got to take the positives and that is that I’ve had been lucky enough to have 13 years doing something that I’ve Loved I looked back and I had fun man it it was genuine fun had a certain level of success and that was great you know I was no Superstar but I had my role and I did my bit and that was that was great but when I look back I just smile I’m happy you know I’m happy and that’s you can’t put a price on that well winds the tour of Britain being on the podium with several different Riders winning the tour to France I mean there’s not many more successful Dom streak stroke Road captains than you in the Tour of France in the last few years I mean you look back you you’ve got quite some achievements no exactly and I think it’s only when you get to the end and you do you know do a lot of reminiscing and reflecting and you look back the highs the lows Blood Sweat and Tears and there’s been there’s been a lot of everything um no certainly I you can play it down but yeah realistically I did have a a good career and one that I could be proud of um like you say being part of five toura France victories with with three different Riders that’s that’s the Pinnacle for me um you know I could never be at the top of the Tor of France or anywhere near myself so that’s the closest I can get so no I think I’m proud of what I achieved um I did some good stuff made a few mistakes but no regrets I loved it so yeah who doesn’t make any mistakes in any Walker like exactly um different leaders you mentioned winning with three different Riders yeah were how different were they all to ride for yeah very different because well FY was already my first tour he was already established he was the superstar that we we know um so it wasn’t a big shock uh we kind of went in as favorites and at that point he was he was the creme de La Creme and we went in expecting to win and if we didn’t win it would be a failure um which is actually a really tough situation to be in so the first three were with him and that was that was amazing um but then the G1 was obviously he’d won the doofan and going into the tour he was like backup leader but did we ever really think he could win the Tour the tour is the tour it just seemed like this massive mountain and and he did it and obviously you know I don’t have to go into M and G’s relationship it’s it’s pretty it’s pretty special and that that’s the standout one for me winning it with him obviously and then Egan was also a bit of a shock you know and yes that was special but yeah G’s the standout one they’ve obviously got their different characteristics as lead As Leaders their different ways of doing things but all special um but that G1 was obviously the top and just for the viewers I mean with gine you were racing since I don’t know I how old were you when you started racing together down in South Wes yeah yeah I it m we it’s hard to pinpoint the exact age but I reckon we must have been yeah 8 10 he’s a couple years older um and it was like the type of relationship where you you spend time together and as kids you go out on the bike and you go I’m going to pretend to be uh pantani today and you can you know as football players do as kids do with football players and yeah and then to think fast forward the and that’s something G actually said when when I told him about retirement he said mate if you could tell yourself 15 20 years ago or even 13 years ago to start of your career that you would do that and we would go on to do this together You’ just snap my hand off if I was to offer you that so just be proud and be happy and um yeah pretty cool fairy tale stuff really when you think it is really it is really yeah and I think you know you can glamorize it and how beautiful and amazing it is and um I just feel fortunate to be honest I think how many people get to go on that Journey for as long as I have and with the people I’ve met you know it’s just um it’s pretty special when you stop and actually think because when when you’re going from year to year race to race you’re just on this conveyor belt next week this race training camp this race form condition weight and there’s so many factors and you’re constantly thinking but you just on this conveyor belt but then when stop and you go look what has happened and what we’ve achieved and like I said the highs and the lows this reminiscence is can be quite a fun thing to do so yeah I think I need to be I need to be happy are you going to go back to Wales you going to stay where you are in in southern France no back to God’s country um where the grass is green and the girls are pretty uh no wait home I was always going to go back to Wales um yeah it’s it’s where my family is it’s where my heart is you know I love it it’s it’s obviously got it positives and negatives it’s not really known for its um beautiful climate is it so we’ll have to pack the Wellies and the rain coats but a part from that you know I’m I’m I’m a proud Welshman I love it there I’ve got the sport there the card Devils the Cardiff City Cardiff Blues I love all the sport obviously got the W um Millennium Stadium this it’s just great back I’ve got a soft for I went to University in North Wales I’ve got soft for Wales um and as a country you really punch above your way and that’s another thing yeah you and gar going back there now and a TOA France winner from a men’s TOA France winner from Wales I mean again something that growing up you’d have only dreamt about really yeah I mean it’s even if you look outside of Wales and as as GB there was you know when I started watching bike racing on TV it was if if one brick was riding there to the France or one or two Brits and or any race that would be quite a big accomplishment and now you turn on any race and not only is there 5 10 15 Brits in the race there’s often a Brit who can win the race so not just how far we’ve come as a country in Wales but as GB we’ve really put the sport on the map and that’s another thing to to have played a small part in that and the you know representing Wales GB and my trade team just the way the sport has come on for you know relatively small uh cycling Nation well it was just to see that progress over my career has been pretty special as well what about the whole sport cuz that’s progressed that’s changed beyond recognition has it I imagine the the practices you do all the talk about nutrition the last couple of years training the people are in it the way it’s written you know we’re on telly from kilometer zero now we’ve been talking this week on the coverage about how that changes racing I mean just some of the highlights few maybe of how it’s changed since you started in my 13 years it’s chalk and cheese it really is um you know I think the biggest one is just simply the speed of the racing you know you see the facts and figures now and throughout the classics it was like that was the fastest ever pyu that was the fastest ever tour of Landers that was the fastest ever news blood that was the fastest ever could every race were breaking records and that’s the biggest factor is the speed and then you can go into why is the speed increasing and it’s it’s attention to detail people big teams small teams Superstars domestics across the board people are just crossing the te and dotting their eyes and they’re going into small details and when it was you know we were notorious for that and we were really focused on that but now it’s everyone across the board and everyone’s doing things right training nutrition the kit everything is gold standard so um and as a as a consequence of that this the speed is going faster than ever which is it’s not a bad thing it’s great it’s exciting um you know we got the J on we’re looking at now it’s 100K to go and you’d say okay that’s 2 hours to go where You’ go normally that’s that’s two and a quarter that’s two and a half hours to go they’ll do 50k an hour the last two hours so it’s yeah big changes but I’d say the biggest one is simply the raw speed of the racing media’s changed as well you’re you’re a podcaster now how did that come about wow how did that come about literally me and G went to the tour to France and we were sat opposite media World in a big um uh business uh district and we said to George the media guy should we just get one of a little recorder and start with a podcast it was like yeah all right we’ll give it a go so we laid on our bed put it in the middle press play press record and off we went and um I don’t know how long it’s been four five years ago now and it’s just slowly you know increased in stature and it’s just it’s just a fun thing to do you sit down with G you know we just say it as it is we’ve got some uh got ourself in some bit of trouble over the years but you know you need a bit of uh need need to be a bit edgy or or or it’s boring it can’t be all yes no yes sir no so three bags full so yeah bit controversial in some ways but we say as it is we stand by that and um but it’s just fun you know it’s sitting down and having a chat with a mate like we’re doing here off the cuff and um yeah who but who would have thought when we sat on a sofa four or five years ago that we’d still be doing it we’d still be enjoying it and it’s grown to where it is now well we’re lucky enough to have you in here with us for the next few days what’s next for you are you going to be doing more of this with us or something that people have often said about you and Adam BL sitting across us eating his chicken whil they asked this very serious question Bon as they say aington Adam proper side of the penin up by the way is it is it um what’s next would you think about sports directing because from your position in the pelan what you’ve seen you know the way you sort of accompanied your leaders into the Right Moves a lot of people have said to me down the years that you’d be good he’s going to be good at that when he retires is that something that you think about again with all the time away from family or would you be rather on these nice comy sers with us well it’s it’s a trade-off isn’t it if you did want to go down that DS route um you know it’s a it’s it’s a job with a nice stature you know you got it’s a job with you can do with quite a lot of Pride but with with that it comes with a lot of time away from home so you know with two young kids you want to be there you want to be present you want to be them there for them and with the DS in that kind of that’s the polar opposite but you know I wouldn’t I wouldn’t rule out doing something you know perhaps part-time dsing x amount of days I don’t know what that entails um it would definitely be good to dip my toe in the water uh but I I would also want to go down not a stereotypical DS route I would want to work with with the younger guys and within the classics to go to a tour to France with a big leader doesn’t really excite me but to go and get a young guy who’s maybe struggling to get a contract or has come in a year or two early and he’s not quite at the game and to see him achieve success I think I’d get a lot out of that um and then the classics I think I could add quite a lot there just knowing the roads and and the way of the racing style um so it’s not something I ruled out but you know I’ve come in here for a few days and worked alongside some some great people who have really kind of put an arm on my shoulder and helped me along my way which you know I’m grateful for and I think definitely I need to look at this route and it’s something I enjoy um so this is my stag year this is my first day at work so yeah I have to see if I can get a contract and take it from there well DS Adam BL team managers is looking on and casting his eye over you you’re about to go and I better let you go in 97 Cas to go you’re supposed to be in commentary 3 km ago so Adam might be already looking at next season’s roster as he tries to get his world tour Squad together and get it sorted so so I’m late for my first day of work good job you’re bloody good at it is trouble right Luke thank you m a fascinating insight into past present and future of professional cycling from Luke row and of course his debut in the commentary box as well it’s been brilliant Hearing in this week next week on our live coverage of the Jed Italia we’ll have Nat aunk joining us again we’ll be continuing off these brilliant Classics debut with us at strad bian it’s not just the jro you can watch this week we’ve got the tour of Norway coming up as well and for Hon’s good friend wat for not will be back into action he returns after that crash in the classics and of course six more stages to go in the Jalia live and demand all on Euros sport and Discovery plus and for you us viewers you can watch us on Max sorry about that well there’s enough meat on the menu of the final week of the J Talia isn’t the mountain after Mountain after mountain and well all in all the GC is probably done there’s plenty to go for though so we skip to dessert it’s Paka NOA for those of you wondering what else is there to come then we’ve got a couple of Sprint stages we’ve got those Mighty Mountain stages and next week we will be back with a the final jro gretto before we move on to other things to preview the tour what we be bringing you well I can tell you right now we’ll be going behind the scenes at Euros Sports Studios the Breakaway the commentary box everybody will be there and we hope you’ll be there as well thanks for joining us I’m getting off now I’ve got this to finish ciao [Music]