Can Mark Cavendish break the record for Tour de France stage wins? | Beyond the Podium | NBC Sports

Brent Bookwalter and Sam Bewely review the 2024 tour de Suisse, discuss Matthew Riccitello’s breakout ride, the status of Jonas Vingegaard ahead of the Tour de France, and if Mark Cavendish can break the record for Tour de France stage wins. #NBCSports #Cycling #TourdeFrance
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Can Mark Cavendish break the record for Tour de France stage wins? | Beyond the Podium | NBC Sports
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[Music] there’s more to be gained by giving thems a chance to win the tour with with yonas than there is to just like holstering everything and um and going to try to win the VTA I mean they won every gr tour last year let’s roll the dice a little bit with cev it’s different he’s he’s got something different inside him and and and like I say that dominance doesn’t exist forever in sprinting and and a really does so philipsson hasn’t had the same year this year although he’s won a lot of races he’s still been getting beaten by other guys and uh maybe he won’t be as dominant this year yeah I can see how these these um the Sprinter dominance is hard to carry forward after being reminded given some insight uh in this latest Unchained season you know there the in room discussion between philipson and Vanderpool is the the G-rated version is flicker B flick how is vingo as he bounced back from those injuries from from the B to a Bas country how is pagach come out of the jro is he tired uh probably not um uh so there’s a few layers that we need to look at and and and discuss about you know who who’s going to win the Tour of France welcome back to beyond the podium I’m Bren bwalter we got a good show for you coming up today we are in the pre- tour to France hype show mode just a couple weeks till the start of the tour to France we got to look back real quick at last week’s tour to Swiss the dominance of UAE putting two Riders on the podium there we’re also going to look to uh talk a little bit about a really exciting American Ride from Matthew rello also at tour to Swiss and then looking ahead to the tour also referencing tour to Swiss Mark Cavendish where’s he at how’s he riding is HE capable of beating that tour to France stage win record and then where’s yonus Vima where are they at how’s he doing are we going to see him at the tour to France is he ready what does that all mean we’re going to unpack that a little bit and then also on the top topic of many cycling fans uh right now net Unchained season 2 is now out uh we got to just go into Unchained a little bit talk about what we’re seeing um hopefully getting a lot of fans excited for the tour to France I know it’s getting me going even though I haven’t finished this whole season yet so before we get into that we got to bring in our uh special guest for this show none other than Sam buy welcome back to be on the podium Sam good to be back I always enjoy being back here with you Bren it doesn’t happen as much as it used to but I I enjoy when we are together I miss it I feel like I feel like sort of it’s our show I know you know we got Bob and Christian TJ everyone’s rolling through beyond the podium these days but uh it all started with us back in uh last July so it still feels natural thanks for being here Sam where uh as we find ourselves ahead of the tour to France now tell us where you’re at and what you’re up to and uh what you got coming up I have uh I’m in Andor now back at home uh got a short stint at home before I head off to the tour to France I’ve just finished tour of Switzerland uh so I was the lead DS there at tur Swiss which was great obviously like you mentioned in the in the introduction a bit of a standout breakthrough performance by Matthew rello there the young American guy who’s who’s been on our team for just over a year now and showing showing real potential but what he did at TR Spitz was was really cool uh so that was exciting to be part of that and obviously there with a whole bunch of other guys that are preparing for the tour to France uh now I’m at home for a week uh preparing my own apartment for the arrival of our first child at the end of the month so just trying to get all my duck in a row before I head off to the Tour of France big big uh month coming up be I’m excited for you guys yeah congrats on the appending arrival and entry to fatherhood I can relate to that as uh I think last year when we were at the tour we were also um awaiting the arrival of our daughter just after the tour so yeah I’ll I’ll be able to relate to you in those uh the nerves of being away from home so close to the the D-Day of baby aring but um yeah excited to excited to have you in the front lines of the tour we’ll be calling you up and looking for some dirt um straight from the team car those weeks you’re there so uh you mentioned Matthew Rella let’s let’s just start with him because you are his director he’s an American Rider uh young guy I’ll admit I don’t know a ton about him he’s one of these guys that is clearly after the Generation Um from when I retired uh just a few years ago so I know he’s a climbing Superstar he’s got the numbers as everyone talks about extremely capable on the climbs he’s a little dude I remember seeing him around Jona a couple years ago um what brought him to to your team and um how do you see him developing I’ve been really impressed to see him translate that physical prowess into results in World Tour stages because we see it time and time again certain guys have the power they have the the actual physical capability but they cannot get themselves in the right position so yeah what um what tell us about Matthew rello and and everything we need to know about him you’ve kind of had the nail on head a little bit there actually because uh Matthew he’s from he’s from Arizona from Tucson Arizona so sort of an area I guess you would know really well Brent where a lot of uh winter training camps happen there for professional teams and things like that and I know that he’s he’s um you know when he was a young when he was a young kid he was doing a lot of writing with some some older professionals American professionals that have since retired uh and he rode for he rode for which is a you know a renowned development team based in the states there run by Axel Ms so he spent some time with that team and then he joined us and and numbers it’s it’s a real interesting thing because that’s a lot it weighs it weighs heavy now nowadays I think when recruiting recruiting Talent um it’s the first thing that most teams look at is like what can this guy do over over 20 minutes or 30 minutes on a climb or whatever it may be and obviously Matthew had had world class and worldclass numbers at a at a really young age so he came onto the team you know largely based on that I would say um but but as you mentioned this the skill set of of of navigating European races or european patons is something that’s not easy and and Matthew’s definitely had his challenges with that uh he he raced a jro last year and that kind of got exposed in some degree um we sort of understood that that that skill set needed to be developed before we could before we could results um so we spent a lot of time over the past six or nine months really just focusing on on on the basics of of of professional racing and and that’s a lot of that is is the skill set side of things navigating the paleton making sure he understands um positioning and how important it is at certain points of a race anticipating The Paton anticipating these rushes so that’s been a really big Focus point for for Matthew we sort of took things back a step uh and and focused on that and and he’s taken he’s taken a massive step and and developing those skills over the last couple of months and and and now that he’s developed that skill set um he’s putting himself in the position where he can race for results and and the first chance he got to do that was at T Switzerland and he finished fifth overall and he was he was third on a stage uh behind behind two Riders from UAE who are you know essentially taking the absolute Micky out of everybody else in that race so uh I I think it was really important that we we focused on that on that skill set develop before we put any pressure on results and uh and now we’re really getting to see the level and potential of of of this young guy and it’s it’s really really exciting because the reality is when you put him at the bottom of a climb and you ask him to go from there to the top of it as fast as you can he’s right out there with the best so really really exciting for for our team really really exciting for him and I’m sure really exciting for for the American audience as well yeah as an American fan American Rider fan I mean this is super exciting you look at that company that he’s with on the top of that leaderboard you got Adam Yates Almeida Bernal skelos he’s in front of Tom Pitcock it’s like uh I don’t know what you’re paying the guy but I think relative to those boys he’s probably underpaid so uh hopefully uh hopefully you guys are GNA G wrap him up and take care of him and uh and keep developing him and I know the Americans love to put the the card of like future GC great um and I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves and put that undo pressure on him now but it sounds like he is developing the goods and has a has a good head on his shoulders and has high capabilities so we’ll definitely look forward to to following along there yeah and’s he’s only 22 years old as well and he’s he’s when you’re that age and you and you you sort of come to the European Paton he’s only he’s only 18 months into a pro contract and the in the first year of his professional career he was you know he was 21 or 20 years old and and in some degrees he sort of got bashed around a little bit and and and you and you lose Confidence from that uh and that’s why we we we we try to put time and effort into developing the skill set and just slowly developing him in that way and then the results come which they have done through Switzerland behind Adam y remembering Adam y was he was uh third at the Tour of France last year so he he’s world class working for Toto Pacha so uh you know he’s he’s one of the best bike riders in the world one of the best GC bike riders in the world so I think it was worth that investment and and the fact that Matthew is only 22 years old and he’s and he’s got this result now TR Switz behind those writers uh it’s really really exciting and we’ve still got time on our sides we can still we still don’t need to get it’s ahead of ourselves yet uh you know we obviously have a longterm vision of what he’s going to be and that is a GC Rider competing for some of the top results but it is important to remember that that that is his age and and we have got time on our side to continue to develop him slowly and progressively without too much pressure and too much EXP ation but certainly the the future is bright for him and and we obviously as a team in Israel Premier Tech we have um you know we have an aligned vision of where we want him to be in a few years time Sam tell us real quick what we’re still on Matthew rello what you know one of the things I keep remarking on is the ambition and the confidence of these Young Riders these days they they come on the scene and there’s they they don’t give themselves a lot of times time to develop time to progress they they’re expecting to win right away when he bags a big result at T to Swiss like fifth place what like where’s he at what’s his personality like is he is he one of these shoot for the moon guys that’s expecting to also be elbow to Elbow with Adam Yates or is he beside himself can’t believe it what what kind of Rider is he as a as a person in the personality no he he understood the the gravity of what he achieved there there’s no doubt about that uh like I say going not to try and harp on it too much but he also understands that he got you know he he had a skill set to develop um and he invested in that development of that himself and and when he finished fifth at the tour of Switzerland and and and the result is one thing uh fifth obviously is it’s it’s a great result of through of Switzerland but the but the way he raced there the way he matched some of those guys on the climbs like on stage seven the final Mountain Stage before the Mountain Time tra which was the last he was the only guy of the whole race who was able to follow those two guys from UAE uh allbe it not not all the way to the finish line but uh but for a fair period of the climb so those are the kind of things that you look at maybe more than the result itself uh to sort of to take away some some real positives about his performances there so he he he’s hungry there’s no doubt about it he’s hungry he wants to win he wants to be he’s motivated to be to be the best and and that’s awesome uh he’s got a high performance mindset which is really important but he understands what he achieved at T Switzerland and he’s really happy with that and that’s it’s all part of the process and obviously he he’ll leave T Switzerland now uh more hungry and more motivated than when he came into it uh and that’s also important to keep to keep the pressure on or keep pushing on on that on that emotion yeah exciting ride we’ll look forward to continue following him talking about Matthew there you we can’t help but already mentioned the dominance of UAE Adam Yates Geral Alida these guys just destroyed everyone uh they really picked off were their leader today paga left off at the jro um total dominance out of UE at the tour to Swiss I’m looking at these guys we follow today Pacha through the jro uh Absolut destroy destroys everyone a few years ago we were talking about how maybe pacha’s weak link was his team that argument is out the window now you know we’re looking at two guys that are going to go to the tour to France they’re going to be riding for him one two at one of the tour to France tuneup races the the the tour to Swiss um big results in their own right um both winning stages onew on the podium like can anyone beat these guys now I think this we already knew today paga was going to be likely the favorite now um for the tour to France with the uncertainty of last year’s champion of fero seeing that his team his his co-leaders his workers just destroy everyone at tour to Swiss I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to touch these guys now well yeah that’s the there I mean it’s a it’s a multi-layered question I guess in some senses yeah like how is vingo has he bounced back from those injuries from from the bass tur a Bas country how has pagach come out of the jro is he tired uh probably not um uh so there’s a few layers that we need to look at and and and discuss about you know who’s going to win the Tour to France but one of one of the things that’s for sure is that UAE is not a is not a team that you have to worry about if you’re today Pacha I mean for lack of a better term and I’m sure they can they can bleep this out if I’m not all to say it since it’s not Li but they’re taking the piss and the the fact of the matter is like if you look at the points which is a hugely important thing for some teams not for those teams but it’s a it’s a point system that looks at um relegation and promotion every three years they’ve got twice as many points as the second best team this year alone so that that team is the depth there and the and the results that they’re getting wherever they go with whatever team is it’s mind-blowing uh and the team that they’re have at the at the toour of France is going to be a team that’s going to have absolutely no problems in any situation and I know that the the way that team operates is you know they we saw it at the jro actually that you know there’s all the stuff in the media constantly day and day out like uh pacha’s bullying the to the jro he’s not letting anybody else win any stages he’s not letting breakaways be successful and all of these sorts of things and he said well I get paid to to win that’s what I’m here and my teammates train and they work hard and they get paid to support me to win races uh so that’s the mindset of that team and when you look at how uh we we don’t have to talk about Pachi we know who he is but when you look at his teammates and you look at what Adam Yates did at T Switzerland and you look at what xia MAA did at T Switzerland I wouldn’t be surprised if vingo is is not at his level after this injury if they literally start to think like can we run 1 two3 at the to of France like VMA did at the wania last year and honestly they’ve got the guys to do it it’s a difficult it’s a difficult strategy to to employ but they have their rights to do it so I think the conversation about uh Pacha not having a strong team is is means nothing now there’s absolutely no doubt that he’s going to have the strongest team in the race and that taking a team not that I know the the lineup but like hearing through the rumor mill of riders that they’re taking to the to the to of France it’s a really really climber heavy group uh not a lot of guys to ride on the flat which is interesting in some degree because if you got the yellow Jersey you need to defend it uh but ultimately they’re taking a a group of climbers that are all capable of having results themselves for example Adam Yates when in t Switzerland so uh yeah that that team’s going to have no problems at the to to France and actually they’re going to cause a lot of trouble for for visma if um especially if if yonas is not in his top top top shape and clearly rco you know he’s he’s he’s a we way off a lot can happen in in the in the course of three or four weeks after the Dolph but he was he was clearly not at the level there uh RIT as well he’s you know he showed some glitches uh and DOL um so I think ultimately they’ve got the strongest leader in the world at the moment and they’ve undoubtedly got the strongest team yeah if anything I Sam I think like you said their only possible undoing could be if they did prematurely Shi to that attitude or mentality of like oh we’re so good we’re going to we’re going to try to stack it and this takes me back to a comment Christian vanel I think made recently saying ah maybe these guys have too many uh Cooks in the kitchen could be too many leaders you know watching that I would actually argue that I like seeing Adam Yates and Ja made grab some personal success of the tour to Swiss because that I think that does satiate them they both got to stand on the top of the podium they got that winning feeling they did get some of their own time in the spotlight and now they can turn their attention to really being part of History um and you know trying to carry out that J2 or double uh with their leader today Pacha we we saw we saw those guys including Adam Yates ride selflessly um you know for pagach last year uh and I I think I think the the the situation of too many cooks in the kitchen isn’t really the case um and seeing their after seeing their success as Swiss um but yeah interesting Christian’s not here to defend himself so we could you can just kind of kind of beat him up on that we can B him but they but they but they don’t have too many leaders they’ve got one leader like their leader is today Pacha and and they have they have and and those guys all know that trust me Adam Yates J MAA all of those guys they know that today Patu is their leader there’s there’s no there’s no power struggle within that team um because he’s he that team may be a level above everybody else in recent races but he’s a level above his own teammate so they’ve got one leader that’s clear if if they want a race uh to to stack the podium they can do that but it would never be at the expense of their leader because if the again if you you guys can bleep this out because it’s not alive but if the hasit the fan those guys know what their job is they’re not going to ride away up the road with somebody else they’re going to wait for Pacha so yeah they have they have the Riders capable of um finishing on the podium in the tour to France and if those Riders were in different teams that would be their objective but they’re not they’re in UAE and they’ve got today Pacha as their leader so they understand that so I think they’ve got a what they have is the the luxury of of depth and and ability but they all understand that there’s one leader on that team and I think I think that’s that’s that’s the case and and and those guys will do what they need to do yeah which makes them a extremely formidable force uh so also looking back a tour to Swiss as we look ahead to the tour to France uh let’s talk Mark Cavendish for a minute you know we we’ve seen seen him A lot’s happened in the past 12 months since that hugely emotionally driven experience of seeing him nearly break the record leave the race with a broken collar bone think that was the last we saw of him now we know he’s coming back he’s had a pretty subdued season this year he’s grabbed a couple wins at you know what we would call like arguably lower level races you know some would say a win’s still a win he’s a sprinter um he’s still got that winning mentality I think his team has shored up their ability to support him a little more you were actually at T to Swiss you were in the car we know how that works the team directors they see the grouped form and they’re giving everyone the kind of form check seeing who’s slobbering all over their bars and how guys are looking tell us how Cav was looking um at T to Swiss uh in a race where there wasn’t much but scraps for the sprinters yeah he went to T switon which was and and and there’s a few sprinters that went to tour Switzerland there was we we we even took one pascal aaman uh kevish was there Jordi Muse who was who won the shamps last year he was there which was a which is quite interesting given how that race was there was there was one stage which was the first road stage there was maybe a Sprint um but very very much on the limit and and as it turned out it was won by Brian cochard who won from a reduced group of about 70 or 80 Riders and and and no sprinters made that finish so so it was interesting to see so many high level sprinters or top level sprinters go to Swiss when there were no Sprints uh but I think the the reasoning behind it is just to because it’s such a hard stage race with big big mountains it’s all about building that condition and resilience for the to of France so that’s kind of the idea behind doing it and and Cav was there and and and I must say and this kind of gives me a bit of an opportunity opportunity to defend myself against the American audience after last year where I was quite vocal about uh not believing that c Cav would win a stage uh last year or break the record last year um oh I was right in the end but um but the the reasoning behind that was he didn’t have M moov who’s who’s who’s been a massive part of his success in the past and other teams uh he does have him now uh so that that that sort of gives him a better chance in my opinion uh and then and then like you say talking about t Switzerland man Kev looks in good shape like of course he’s he’s not setting the world on fire on the on the mountain stages but he doesn’t need to set the world on fire he just needs to get through them safely when you’re talking about the time cut and he also needs to get through them um to a point where he can handle the load of those stages to be able to Sprint well the next day if there’s a Sprint after a big mountain stage and I must say he he he looks in really really good shape uh he had his team around him which I presume would be you know the better part of his tour to France support um they were there with him every day when he was dropped uh when he was dropped it wasn’t it wasn’t uh early it wasn’t by himself it wasn’t in in these moments where you think oh he is he’s creeping uh he in good shape he’s in really good shape and he’s climbing well I know that’s not sprinting but it still gives you a bit of an insight into into the condition that Kev has so I think that on top of the fact he has M morkov uh he he you know I’m still probably not willing to go out on a limb and say he’s going to break the record this year I will say I hope does and I I did say that I did say that last year as well I said wouldn’t do it but I still wanted him to do it uh but this year he’s got a better chance I think I think things are going in the right direction he has won a raceing a stage in tour of hungry um you know like you say a lower level race but it wins a win and actually in tour of hungry there were some fast guys there man some really really fast guys so uh he wasn’t sprinting against any mugs he was sprinting against some of the top tier sprinters so you know I’m more positive about the fact that he can do it this year and uh I hope he does but you hope he does but why don’t you think he will or can’t I’m saying he’s going to do it like I believe in the fairy tale well because yasper Phillipson won every single Sprint stage last year all right yeah yeah maybe well yeah just about every just about every Sprint stage that maybe that we you we still have more prdf pre- tour to France to talk about Sam but I don’t know how much of the recent episode recent season of Netflix Unchained you’ve watched I’ll I admittedly have not got through all of it I think I’m five episodes in but um you know talking yasper philipson I enjoyed uh you know this this additional unique chance to see some inside behind the scenes there these early episodes in the season were really interesting following him his teammate Matthew Vanderpool and it really chronicled that that team uh Vibe and sort of just momentum that they got going they got on that winning way that we talk about we talked about a lot on there last year for the tour to France um and he he was you know nearly unbeatable after that so I think you do bring up a good point there and that we did see the rise of arguably the the new most dominant Sprinter at the tour to France last year in yasper Phillipson and it’s going to be a tall order for Cav to go up against him um Sam did you have you watched any of this recent season of Unchained and and seen those philipson episodes that I’m talking about I haven’t watched a single episode yet and that’s not because I don’t want to I do want to watch it um and I know that you know we we before this show started and went live we we chatted about the tour tour to France Unchained on Netflix and I think the producer was a bit disappointed when I said that I hadn’t seen any episodes and it kind of sent a bit of a spiral into the show but I haven’t and and I can’t change that I didn’t have time to watch any before we went live so uh that’s the reality of things but I will watch it um and I’m excited to watch it because I really enjoyed I really enjoyed the first season um I love cycling I love watching cycling and and and I and I’m certainly interested to watch the the Netflix series and by all accounts the second season is actually has done even even better than the first so that that gets me gets me Keen to get get the Netflix out maybe after after we do this recording and start watching it but um I sort of just going back to the sprinting a little bit there it’s like you know philipson was so dominant last year and we’ve had uh other dominant sprinters in the past for example Marcel K when he was when he was at his top he dominated to the Frances uh but it’s it is rare that a sprinter dominates back to back to back to back to the Frances uh it is it is it is a a part of cycling that changes quite quickly you know that the the world the world’s best Sprinter may only be the world’s best Sprinter for one year or two years and and that’s why it’s pretty exceptional what kavenish has done when you think about the fact that he’s won 35 stages now equal with Eddie MKS uh and he was so dominant for so many years in different teams uh you know that it it is exceptional what he’s done and and there’s no doubt that he he’s got something different inside him that that that gives him if it was if it was a different Sprinter who was who we’re talking about now then I’d probably be pretty categorically saying no uh but with C it’s different he’s he’s got something different inside him and and and like I say that dominance it doesn’t exist forever in sprinting and and a really does so philipson hasn’t had the same year this year although he’s won a lot of races he’s still been getting beaten by other guys and uh maybe he won’t be as dominant this year and and the Sprint field itself at the to of France could be interesting as well to analyze because a lot of the top guys uh Tim murer Jonathan Milan those guys are all at the jro and they’re not going to be at the to of France so the the Sprint field may not be at the very very top when it comes to the depth because of those guys that went to the jro obviously M A was there because uh Quick’s going all in for Rimco and they want to support him at the toour of France Jonathan Milan was at the Juro because he’s preparing for the for the track uh at the Olympic so he won’t be the toour tour to France either so the depth maybe is not going to be quite the same and and the dominance of philipsson hasn’t been quite the same so things are things are aligning B for C this year I would say yeah I can see how these these um the Sprinter dominance is hard to carry forward after being reminded given some insight in this latest Unchained season you know there the in room discussion between philipson and Vanderpool is the the G-rated version is flick or be flicked it’s like you you kill them or they kill you um it’s it’s pretty Savage uh you know you you have sprinters on your team Sam do you think um is the sprinting is it is it a subject of is the sprinting more dangerous is it always the same level of danger are we seeing the sprinting more dangerous now because the margin is so small and I don’t want to get too far into the weeds and the rabbit hole here but I also while I have you here I got to ask you about this proposed uh yellow card system um for directors and Riders um and what you can tell about tell us about that as it pertains to sprinters and and going into the tour to France well there’s a big there’s obviously there I mean there’s clearly a big push for safety in cycling at the moment and and I remember I remember being on the show uh with you last year Brent when we were together covering the to of France and we had multiple days where we were talking about possible relegations or disqualifications and philipson changing his line and and all of these sorts of things um you you don’t even have to go back that many years like maybe two three four five years like that stuff would never like you wouldn’t even sneeze at that but now all of that stuff’s like heavily heavily under the microscope uh but it is the mentality of sprinters like be flick or be flicked and but they have to be kind of careful now because because it is under the microscope that you can easily be relegated or or disqualified in a worst case scenario from just these sorts of things that we would have seen or or thought as normal not that long ago um so there so so that sort of stuff does change it because sprinters aren’t wired to think that way when they’re when they’re looking at a white line in front of them 200 M or whatever um but if they are thinking about it and they are aware of it then maybe they start touching the brakes a little bit more that gives opportunities to other guys sprinting obviously will become more cleaner so it’s it’s a pretty interesting topic and and it it is dominating um cycling at the moment that the the safety issue and and that’s why they they’re going to trial this this yellow card system uh I think throughout a few races this year and then look to implement it next year at at you know across all Races and I don’t know about the yellow card system like not it’s not it’s not football you know um I think like you you got to hope that the the person who’s got the card in his pocket is is not a power hungry got as high of his vest on and he’s got a whistle in his mouth and he just wants to start flicking yellow cards everywhere because there’s a lot of that goes on in the in the in the sports director’s Convoy in the inside the pallet on that that okay maybe it’s not always that safe but it’s it’s part of the sport and um we kind of have you kind of have to let it happen to some degree obviously not not not uh not too much but hopefully hopefully the yellow card system is is regulated regulated well because you could see you could get to Stage 21 of the tour to France there might be one team car behind The Paton at that point oh plenty of uh plenty of drama and debate to unfold um yeah I’m bumed you’re not going to be there to to Hash it all out and and critique him with us in the studio there Sam but uh yeah like I said we’ll be we’ll be hitting you up for the in race inside those first two weeks when you’re there so we’re still on tour to France obviously that’s that’s the big headline as we go into these next two weeks we cannot miss talking about yonas spingo is he gonna be there where’s he at you know I think last last beyond the podium show I did with TJ a couple weeks ago I was thinking no way man I’m looking at his injury list still the the the track record of riders being able to return from injuries like that you know now we’re seeing these these pictures come out from their training camp um he’s still there in teens uh arguably preparing and training for the tour um maybe I’m buying into the some sort of you know visma propaganda show hype um leading leading me down to believe he’s going to be there but I’m starting to get the feeling that he’s going to be at the tour and I don’t think that team uh would put him out the Start If he if they didn’t believe he had a chance maybe not the same chance of dominance that we saw from him last year but I I’m feeling like we’re going to see him there at the start line and if he’s there he does have a chance I think as well I think he’ll be there and um like man they’ve won the they’ve won the last tour to Frances tour to tours to France I think we learned that last year on the show that’s how you pronounce it BR don’t forget that this year um but the and then and they also won the three grand Tours last year so H how important is it for them to win the Welter for example this year maybe it’s not that important what what what’s important is doing the tour to France and without yonas they haven’t got anybody else who can who can challenge you know obviously SE cus won the the Welter last year but he he hasn’t been great this year and he wasn’t great at Dolph he’s certainly not at a point where you could say if we don’t have yonas at least we’ve got sip I don’t think that’s the case at the moment unfortunately uh so if I was yo and he was and yonas was was healthy Yambo visma and and yonas was healthy and he was fit and it wasn’t you know obviously medically um advised against I would just take him and just throw him a hat in the ring because because pacha’s coming off the jro we don’t know how he’s going to come out of it you know it’s very very hard I mean when was the last time someone did the jro to to France double it’s been a big topic of conversation but it hasn’t it’s been more than 20 years now uh so the the the I would throw my hat in the ring even if he is a little bit off off off his best uh and just hope hope the race goes in his way in his favor for the first half Because by the end of the tour to France he’s going to be at a good level he he he he’ll take the the benefits from those first 10 days or whatever and he’ll be at a high level uh uh obviously UAE would need to race strategically understand that as well which could make things more difficult but is it important for them to win the to of France or at least try to win it or is it more important to go okay let’s give yonas more time and then go and win the Welter I don’t know the answer to that I’m not in that team uh but I’ll just throw my hat in their ring because they haven’t got another option that’s the reality of it at the moment so give the owners the best preparation he can have based on on what’s happened over the last couple of months and then just see how it goes I mean I guess I got jensson but again like Mata jensson he’s also he’s probably a pretty genuine Podium Contender uh but I wouldn’t say he’s going to challenge for the win at the to of France yeah I would I would I would say the same not to sh sell Mato sh because I love the guy the guy was skiing on his mid-season break a few weeks ago and then he’s again back to cruising at the Doan really strong ride there I think he is capable of of riding Podium at the tour but I think even a a lately under primed vingo is probably a better chance for tour Victory than Mato or sep uh and you know as a fan like I I love this I love I love the idea of a you know watching Unchained uh these first few episodes even has reminded me and brought me back to that dominance we saw from vingo last year that that TT and that big Queen Mountain Stage those things were out of control and they come along with all the the doubt and sort of skepticism that we also see in in those episodes of when chain from that but to for vingo to come back to the tour not maybe be quite his best that recovery in doubt some question marks around him if he is able to persevere through that still lead his team still achieve tour to France success I mean to me that like that’s almost like a as defining or more defining in his legacy as a tour to France Champion as as winning the two back-to-back tours um that he won you know the past two years and and unseating goer uh during his first tour to France win so so I I love it it’s an awesome storyline and I think I think you’re on to a great point there Sam in that there’s more to be gained by giving themsel a chance to win the tour with with Jonas than there is to just like holstering everything and um and going to try to win the VTA I mean they won every Grand Tour last year let let’s roll the bit and and and what’s the worst case scenario you you go to the to French and you don’t win it you can still go and win the Welter after that like he he he he probably could have won it last year off the back of winning the toour of France so the worst case scenario is you throw your hat in the ring at the toour of France you go there yon F go in today paga are levels above any other bike rider when it comes to to of France so the worst case scenario is he probably still finishes on the podium and then he goes to the Welter and wins that so I I can understand that you you you know you wouldn’t send an athlete that’s not ready uh to to the the toour of France but more from the medical side 100% if if his health is not up to up to standard yet then then the smart decision is to not is not to send him but if he if he’s got the green light medically um and he’s in half decent condition I don’t see I don’t see what the L the the loss is because if he doesn’t go you don’t win the Tour of France if he does go you at least got a chance and then you can go to the Welter and win win that if if it doesn’t go to Planet the tour yeah makes sense I I hope we see him there I think um I think everyone wants to see the obviously it’s the tour to France you want to see the best Riders there all showing down with their best form so we’ll keep our fingers crossed we won’t know uh obviously for a few days here Sam I think you’re part of this this process you’re in a team these tour to France selections are they’re happening like real time I mean it’s uh the Tuesday after tour to swis so I remember when I was a rider um waiting for two or to France selections like this actual day Tuesday Wednesday Thursday after tour to Swiss I’m like holding my breath at home waiting for the call to see if I’m going to do the tour um Sam can you tell us about the the tour to France I know you can’t tell us probably your uh your selection for the team but tell us a little bit about yeah this this time in the season this tense time of selecting the tour tour to France team and then what is your team’s um sort of like Global objectives what we’re going to see out of you guys uh for those three weeks in July yeah it’s it’s it’s a hard it’s a hard um and for our team this year the selection was made uh throughout throughout today Tuesday um you know and and and it has been made just really recently um so and the writers knew that they knew that today was the day that they were going to be getting a call that they were going to the tot of France so they weren’t and it’s it’s it’s a tough day for those guys and it’s it’s a tough go day for the for the management who who are making the decisions as well because uh we’ve had a really good couple of weeks we we obviously had a a successful Dolph with Derek G finishing third we had a successful uh TR switon with Matthew finishing Fifth and we had a lot of good uh Team support from from a number of number of guys throughout those two races so the the selection I can imagine I’m I’m not part of the the official selection um but I can imagine was really really difficult and and the writers understand that as well when you have a list of 10 or 11 writers or 12 writers uh you know there’s going to be a few guys that are going to miss out and there’s going to be a few guys that are going to be disappointed and and that’s really hard that’s it’s a hard conversation to have with them I’m sure and and it’s hard for those guys to to deal with it as well uh but thankfully for us we it was a hard decision from all accounts because you know we have we had a long list of riders with with everybody performing really well at those two races recently and um essentially at the end of the day you have to make you have to make a decision you have to choose your your eight right writers and and for us we’re going to the Tour of France with with a big focus on winning stages and and it’s about spreading the spreading the writers across 21 days to give ourselves as many opportunities as we can um based on you know all the different types of stages and different types of terrains and and of course analyzing the the the stages and and the tour and understanding which days are going to be the best for us and who is going to be the best rider for those those specific stages so you know we we tried to we’ve tried to make a team that’s that’s capable of of creating opportunities across the across the three weeks to to win to win a stage at at at minimum but hopefully hopefully even more I’m just going to be journalist a little bit here I mean you guys have a good track record of that like you’ve won two to FR stages the past two years is that do you finding in the internal sort of like feeling is that does that build confidence or all a sudden is there like a pressure of like whoa we’re we’re two for two the past two years like we’re under the pump to like make this happen again we’ve now raised the standard and the new standard is we got to win a stage yeah I don’t know if we’re under the pump um or I don’t know if there’s there’s pressure but it’s it’s it’s the expectation for sure um you know like every single team wants to win a stage at the toour of France and um some teams obviously focus on winning GC those guys generally win about 20 stages along the way uh but but but ultimately the objective is is to put your hands in the air with with one at least one Rider throughout the to of France so there I wouldn’t say there there’s necessarily pressure but there’s certainly an expectation that that’s what that’s what we want to or should leave the tour to France with is at least a stage one and and that’s why the selection is so hard because you have to pick the right the right horses for the right courses and and and that makes things difficult well I’m happy for you guys that it sounds like that decision’s been made we’ll know uh we’ll know soon your your tour to France team will be announced we’ll be anxiously awaiting as More tour to France teams are announced the next few days uh Sam it’s been awesome talking um wishing you all the best at the F two or the first two weeks um when you’re going to be there and then wishing you the best with uh the entrance into fatherhood and uh yeah we’ll look look forward to having you back on beyond the podium for the next show so until then thanks everyone for tuning in to this edition of beyond the podium and we will’ll see you next time [Music]