Vuelta a España 2026 - Stage 12

0:00Welcome back to Lantern Rouge Cycling Podcast, the recap of stage 12 of the world's responded from Vera to Kalau Rauto 167 kilometers long, a high mountain stage. Indeed, we finished at 2150 meters, but the first half of it is medium mountains or progressive rolling climbs. We are in the Almeria desert. So we were discussing in the RSP discord during the stage. Someone said, oh, this looks like the old western movies. I was like, well, funny, you say that because a lot of the old spaghetti westerns were filmed. The good about the ugly was filmed literally like on the mountain range where they finished today. I started a movie for the first time three weeks ago and I really enjoyed it actually. So yeah, it's the same place and it's dry, it's high altitude, it's remote, it's unpopulated, but we got a bike race through here. And then the second half of the stage, they do the Vellafika Kalau Rauto combo, Vellafika 13K 7% first part steep descent, quite technical debakarez,

1:06and then they do a climb which starts at 1200 meters and goes to 2150. The first six Ks and 9% and there's a flat rolling section and then a sort of stepped kick to the line and the beautiful road surface actually in the final climb, final two and a half Ks. The GC situation to remind you before the stage was Enrich Mus and the Red Jersey 118 had a Roglish 139 had a goal, a 42nd gap then from the podium spot of third to only in fourth in white. He had 545 on Jakob Ormazel. And yeah, that was then there was Carapaz 326, but really we're looking at the three best climbers, Masro, which goal right now. This episode is brought to you by Exposure Lights, but on them in a second, but I indeed used it using the other not going to use them tonight afterwards. What do you expect from today's stage, Benji? Well, we looked at the parkour when we thought to ourselves, okay, Kalau Rauto has a steep portion at the start, non-steep portion in the second half of that climb. So that cloud ride is

2:11what the thing I was looking for is the Kaplan, especially going to send the rider in the breakway that rider could be very relevant for that. Let's steep segment that the finish line in the last seven kilometers either to attack towards or to help golefies behind. So it works both as an offensive satellite rider and a defensive one. There's also the argument to be made that Movis start could have a defensive one up the road and to be honest, Red Bull also. And I'm going through this list, but at the end of the day, all of those teams had a satellite rider in the breakway, but before the breakway formed was a mechanical by Muleberger in break formation. He got back pretty quickly. Then in break formation, lots of teams were attacking, including the Kaplan into the breakway. UAE was very active. Waltveinade was very active. Jay Vine was struggling at the back, so he doesn't seem to be doing too alright at the moment in this race. So not going to be naming him as a stage winner in the next few days, I think based on that. Quick heads up during this break Waltveinade took KWM points ahead of Santiago and that happens a few more times in the stage,

3:15but I do think that at the end of the day, Santiago was the one that is still first in that classification. We'll talk more about Santiago later though. Now lots of small activities, lots of small groups going up the road, the Brian and Luzenko Lorenz, for example, then a crash for Oscar only happening behind and spoilers only did not have the best outcome to the stage. How much do you think that crash impacted him? I think it did. It's hard to know though because this climb is like if you make it, then you could be okay. If you get dropped, it's very hard to come back in the flatter section. If you don't have help, I think he would have been there to help him, but there's a heavy crash, high speed crash through around the bow. He slides away and he starts to get barrage actually, coming back. He's a minute behind the peloton. Break formation is still going. He gets lucky in a way that the break then goes and the peloton stops very soon after. For the beginner listeners, barrage, what does that mean? It means where you're not allowed to sit behind a car and you're

4:19out of the convoy and they're like, you have to make your way back to the convoy of cars. So you need to be able to teammate with him, but it makes it more difficult. Break goes. Big break. We don't really know who's in it. We were looking through. I didn't see we didn't see like a scale mozo. We didn't see anyone in the top five in GC. We did see a few things. I would say a representative of every top five team was there. So we had an EF for carapage, which was Albanese. We had Hague for only, which was in EOS in Physician 4. We had Bizio for Gold in theory in Physician 2 in GC. We had Tuckwell for Roglic and many four movers star. We had Castrio, Arcas and Roel Garcia Pierreinat in the break away. So I think that was like, they're all like, closest guy in GC was Ormazell, the Slovenian talent. He's 10 to GC on 805. Movers star can live

5:22with 805 in the break no threat to them and it's six minutes to the other seven minutes to the other guys in the podium as well. So they're okay with it. It is a fine balance though. It's a fine balance to both go in the break away and try to prevent close riders in GC from going in the break away now. The benefit is that Ormazell being in 10th place, I think, before the stage began. That's still on eight minutes. So there's only a handful of riders that would go in this break away and actually be a danger for Movers star to the point that they have to figure out how to solve the issue that they both have riders in the break away and a close rider in GC there. It would have to be the likes of carapage going in break formation, which I didn't really see that happening so early in the stage. So Movers star played it perfectly already at this point in the stage where having those riders in the break away now. Arcas wasn't the most relevant rider in the end face of this stage when it comes to being in the break away, but Castrino and Garcia Pierna, those two guys, let's be honest about it. They're trucks in whatever way you want to use them,

6:24whether it's defensive or offensive satellite riders. But they're not that good at climbing. So it's really used or lose it. You either get them in the break away so they can play some sort of role on this stage, whether that's on the descent of Velifeeke or the end of Velifeeke, whether that's on the middle of Kalar Alto or on Kalar Alto, the steep bit. If you don't put these guys in the break, then they will get dropped by the pace, probably on Velifeeke, like they don't have any climbing domistiques with Keanu to Brooks out. But they got strong riders. They got guys who, I mean, Garcia Pierna has got to be top three, top five in World Tour Breakway kilometers this year. Biggest. Probably in kilometers, yes. I thought he would be like, I thought he were going to say like top three to five rider in the world. I was like, back to back. I know you like it. I will go to see up here another could be. So they got they use them in a correct way. And because some teams, we want to keep guys around Enrico day. No, they put half the team in the break so they

7:27can play a role later, very smart. But the other GC teams is good. I mean, the Kaplan and Borra have a better climber in the break, Takwell and Bizio, the goal and the rogge, so it's kind of a, what's the thing in the Cold War, like mutually assured destruction, where we both have nuclear weapons. Yes, but it goes to the point where if a breakway, which this break ends up getting seven minutes at a certain point in the stage, if that happens, then it doesn't really matter how great a Garcia Piano and Castillo climb in the ground scheme of things. If their goal is for example, to be the satellite water for the false flat part of the end, you know, because with seven minutes, they're going to get there anyway. It's more that hypothetically if they have to be used on a climb, then you then you want the climbing satellite water, you know? That's a really good point. Think of that. That actually the way to press on that advantage is to make the gap tighter

8:31if you're the Kaplan, so that you Bizio starts Kalal Alto with, I don't know what they started with. Six minutes, I think, and maybe if you do three minutes, 34 minutes, I, yeah, yeah. Then Garcia Piano won't really be there or he'll have to play so hard on the steep it, he can't play a big role. So that's a good point. And yeah, we, well, I think more of a star, they were unbelievably good today. So they've been so cool with the Red Jersey and zero panic, then they'll end the breakout almost with almost all taking the virtual Red Jersey. So yeah, fantastic from them. But they don't have the, I don't want to call it desperation because I don't mean it in a negative light. They don't have like, must is not necessarily the guy where, oh, Mova star wants to keep the breakaway tight. Just in case Enrique must can take the breakaway, they also realize that first of all, must can probably do it, but that their team strength is not there to be able to do that in the first place. So it's not like you were yet the Tour de France,

9:34where they have both the strength to keep the breakaway close enough to potentially go for the stage of the, if the opportunity arises and send riders up the road, worst gear, satellite riders, whatever the combination. Either way, small sidequests, Patrick, small sidequests, Wautfenade, like I said earlier, takes KWM points on the next two climbs, I think on the Cove that I've got Cia climbs, and then we basically headed to Villet-Fique, where Werdboot Dragon, after being second at every KWM point today, ends up shredding the breakaway in half, dropping the likes of Wautfenade, which is to the green Jersey points. And I was, I was kind of surprised that some riders dropping in this group, like action was about to happen in the peloton, but in the breakaway, I felt like your Honeston dropped early and expected the brine, it dropped early and unexpected, not surprised about all made are dropping early though. Well, he paced, I don't know why he paced, but yeah, I don't really know either to be honest. But perhaps they knew, I mean, the Bruynia's dropped and then Benji's put the call in

10:35that Mike Pix-Santi has to be a worker, because he could have won the stage. So, San Tee... There's an extra level to it. In my preview before the Velta, I said that, Omnicell would win a Velta stage, so I'm not only putting the call in to boycott you, I'm also putting the call in to help my previous pick. So yeah, San Tee has to sacrifice himself, but he's looking good for KWM, he's the heavy favorite for it, and he's just pulling. Because you know X-WR really committed to the break, it was all on Bahrain, but Pei-O-Bill-Bowl and his final grand tour did a magnificent job, like fantastic effort from him, and he just pulled the break all day. So, Bahrain outstanding. I know we don't have our mugs with us, the mugs that say, Benji, go, gonna walk whatever, I don't know what it says, the quote exactly, I forgot about the quote. Patrick, go get a coffee because I'm gonna go on a rant. Competivity prices have become a useless marketing gimmick. It is the concept itself, the fact

11:40that the competitive price is being given with like 30 kilometers to go, makes it so that on half of the stages, that rider who wins the competitive price ends up getting dropped by someone else, even if that other rider does not win the stage, that's already a reason to why I think they should be given later in the stage or you can't give it afterwards because then you don't have the marketing effect of it, but you don't need to do it for 30 kilometers from the finish line. But on today's specific example, Wout von Art gets it, what are you doing Patrick? You're shining, exposure lights in your eyes. Wout von Art gets it. Okay, Wout von Art gets... I'm shining a light on this injustice. You're like putting the segue in my hand. We can't do that. That's illegal. What I'm trying to see is Patrick, what Dragon should have wanted? Of course, Petrago was I think the most competitive today and Bahrain is a team we're outstanding, but indeed, yeah, thanks for shining a light on that, Benji. And if you want to shine a light, you're in winter or whenever. Not in your eyes? Not in your eyes, but you can light yourself up.

12:46I got to trace a real light here. I won't shine it at the camera, but this weighs 35 grams, just 35 grams. And depending on the setting, it can give you up to 40 hours of runtime. So instead of treating your real light like your phone and plugging it in, practically after every ride, you can charge it and then largely forget about it. Maybe if you're doing 40 hour weeks, you've got to charge it once a week. It's incredibly clean, little unit. So it's just under the saddle. I mean, I attached it to Toby. I attached it to the back of my bikes when I go out even in the day I sometimes ride it, run it as a daylight as well. And when you're riding in a group, Peloton mode detects when another rider is behind you and automatically reduces the output. So you're not being one of those annoying people firing an extremely bright real light directly into their face. So really neat little product. It's like really nicely designed, like beautiful, I don't know, it just feels quality. Just a quality thing for 35 grams. So powerful. I like how you're showing it to the podcast listeners

13:49right now. Well, they're full for not watching on YouTube. But you can get 15% off all exposure road and off road lights with code LRCP15 at exposurelights.com. Also, I've got the serious 11 front light here, which is the beast for its package as well. So I think all the exposure lights are really high quality lifetime service ability. Go and check them out through the link down below. It supports the show and supports a really top notch brand. That's 15% off with code LRCP15. Okay. So, so podcast listeners are being treated as second-class citizens, just like Santiago in this break, where he's almost speaking like crazy for Ommerzel. I don't know exactly when the group falls apart, but but the Trago basically brings it down to Berardi, Bizio and Ommerzel over the village. He can't start off color alto, but Vroom back to the peloton. Richard Carapaz, El Habuard, the Tulkan attacks on one side of the road. And my first impression was, oh, it's because

14:51Moeve star has a single rider left in the group. Romeo. I don't believe Romeo is going to hold on that much longer. He's not going to be able to paste back Carapaz because Carapaz is on paper a much better climber. That is the wrong mistake I've given in a long time, you know? It was a great move though, in principle. If Romeo is not this good, then you have to castle and try to make it an Enrich mass problem, and mass I don't think would have blinked. And so Romeo, if he was on maybe his expected level, the carapaz expected, maybe Carapaz gets 45 seconds at the top of Velafique, not for free, but then he had Albanese waiting for the descent. And so like we saw, he did this. When did he do this? Per tous, Pwymery, Per tous. Carapaz went at the base of Pwymery this year in the tour. He got a head star on Groscharna, then Yates brought the captain 15 seconds, but then on the descent, they let it out again. And then he started Per tous with one minute, and then he nearly survived over the top with

15:51Spoggi. And what happened in the Hazalana stage again, the one where Mosnili, Krashten, Roglic, it is something similar. I think so as well. I don't exactly scenario anymore, but sadly, the outcome is that Romeo's just too good. He just too good. He moved up. He moved up. He moved up 15 spots with that manoeuvre in 2024, from 18th to 3rd, because he took two minutes on the GC group. So the end of the problem for him was, and you see him in the radio, he was sitting on 20 seconds, and it was coming to Alan, like Romeo just does an absolutely incredible job for Mass. He was the last man there. They also didn't blink. They didn't panic. Astrio does wait from the breakaway. He then starts to pace from Mayo behind. So Movistar got one ahead. So here's a situation. Movistar, Enios, Red Bull, Decathlon, all still have one ahead that are going to pass at least Valafika in front. Why don't Decathlon pace progressive?

16:59I know this is a bit hindsight, and listen, we shouldn't criticize teams too much for trying. We said it last time. Why doesn't Riccatello introduce proper fatigue on Valafika? He's doing 15 second pulls the way they're doing these leadouts. It's more the idea to me that they end up starting to pace halfway this color auto-climb, like halfway this deep segment of the color auto-second. On Valafika, they sound a-hands. Movistar problem. Yeah. Correct. On one end, it does bring us back to yesterday where we did advocate for the Kaplan using Was it Carapas as an ally or was it Red Bull? I think it was Red Bull. Never mind. Never mind. Like, I see a scenario in which you want to melt Movistar by having him chase Carapas. But after that scenario is done, I do see a possibility where at this point, they deemed Riccatello to be a stronger domestic than Scottson based on their train formation on the next climb.

18:01So from the non-handside scenario, then Scottson can be already basing there towards the top of Valafika to add fatigue to it, hypothetically, is what you're saying. I'm saying Riccatello can't be used in the way they're doing the nuclear leadout. So like, I would- It shouldn't be doing the nuclear leadout in the first place. All like, if you really want to kill a rogue, you make it super hard on too long climbs, steady hard. I think if you do an explosive leadout, rogue tolerates it. He drafts, he comes back a little bit. But anyway, Movistar Solvet is perfect, but they're going into the final climb. We try to still shreds it and the steep bits of the bottom. I'll do the breakway first. Basically, Almazelle starts to attack. He has Barathe in the wheel. Barathe is on the limit. He can't pull. Almazelle keeps pacing. Oh, what made Barathe? If you can get over the steep section. And by this point, this is an important point now. It's very clear quickly on

19:04Kalar Alto that two guys can win. Almazelle and Barathe. It was very clear, I think, Benji, that Bizio Takwil no chance. Right. Yeah, I think that's fair. Takwil especially because he was already being dropped in the first kilometers of Kalar Alto. While Butrago Barathe, Bizio and Almazelle were the last four riders of that group. So, at this point, Red Bull knows that Takwil is not winning the stage. And once Almazelle goes, that's where Bizio drops. So that's where you can be certain that he's also gone, which that is also where, I don't know, 12 kilometers from the finish. That's still three, four kilometers before the road flatens out. There's enough time to set the scene, to use them in a very like metonic way as a satellite wider later, but that's not really how to what happens because we said we do the breakaway first, but I actually think we should combine both in this scenario. And where Benji said methodical and where Movas does executions perfect and I do think they have

20:08a home ground advantage here. At eight points, like four cases to go, the climb completely changes. And you have this sense, like literally dissents and rolling sections. Okay, it's really flatens off at like five and a half, but at eight and a half, that is the key point a satellite has to wait. Maybe even at nine, where it goes to four to five percent, it's an satellite can still start to pull. So just so you know, okay, back to the peloton. Back to the peloton, we saw moved by Gold Wendy, the captain on lead up was done in that lead up. We saw Scottson surging it. Ricki Tello not being able to pull afterwards because he couldn't follow the tempo of Scottson. Muehlberger then launches basically go afterwards. I perceive because Gold was basically Gold suddenly, because we were looking at the breakaway for most of that, but Gold got no gap yet in the wheel, Roglic and must. Then there was a gap on only a carapace who could not follow only was peddling triangles. I don't know if that's the saying. Yeah, squirch, yeah, peddling squirch, squares, shapes, whatever doesn't matter. Shapes are those

21:15Australian crisps. Yeah, Australians, Australians, try to basically see other cloths. I was forced to fit that in Australia, the target. They're too good. Yeah, the point we're trying to make here is, Gal made that attack from that tree group, that tree rider group, Gal must rogla, must that attack us about, oh, maybe at 11 kilometers to go, I really don't remember exactly. It was not like a poggy like you attacked Pikachu and you just counters you. We're back into tactics cycling. Benji and I were discussing with texting each other like, this is tactics cycling again where there's a bit of time between maneuvers. It's not all happening instantaneously. Although a skirmose was dropped off the Pacer Scots and Koo Scone. So that was really like, here today was a very clear division between the top five and the bottom five of the GC. Yeah, even the top three on the rest to be honest. Yeah, well, camera parts. It was pretty good. But like to hire a Rodriguez, Koo Skirmose,

22:16they're really they're out of the top top four fight completely, only suffering. He was somewhere in the middle. And indeed, must counters, but to the point, this is the key point of the whole stage. What if Felix Gold achieved his goal and dropped them all? Then you want BZO should be waiting at 8.5 Ks to go. Exactly. 100%. And also, BZO is not a shit climber in the first place. So even if he's like 400 meters in front of the points at which you ideally want him to wait, you most likely still have a pretty perfect scenario on your hands. So that's not what happens here. Moves start doesn't perfectly actually because while Mastis is dropping Galen Rogla, there's a dude waiting up the road that I will go see a pierna who is waiting at that exact moment you are talking about and must latches on to the back of Raul Garcia Pierna. And he trucks him forward for the next couple of kilometers. And in the meanwhile, I'm looking at my clock. Half a kilometer,

23:17a kilometer, one and a half kilometers, two kilometers. I think it took about five kilometers, six kilometers for first of all, to cool to show up in the Rogla's Gal group. And then eventually, BZO as well, five kilometers later, that is too long. You're now at five kilometers from the finish line. And on top of that, at this point, Mulberger is basically back, but he's not even that much worse than Gal. Mulberger is like, I was joking about it before, but now I kind of believe it. If you reverse the roles and the leadouts, or if Mulberger was like not having to do these explosive leadouts, I don't think carapas would be better, carapas wouldn't be better than Mulberger right now in GC. I think that's true. On top of that, I think Mulberger is also a better charm trollist for retreat, but yeah, that said, I'd have to look back at the first couple of days of the race to see where Mulberger lost time initially. And or because he did lose time working for Galen certain places, but I don't know how much of that he would have been able to not lose if he wrote as

24:22a number stick. In the last week, there's definitely a few days where he probably loses two minutes, three minutes less. The thing is, BZO waiting at that point has to be free all-dained. As soon as he gets the freedom to go for the stage, but as soon as almost all drops him, he has to wait at that point. And it can be like Benji said, he's not about a climber, it can be at 10 and a half to go because then it's like 5%. Really not. Yeah, I would say 9 and a half to 8 and a half to go, he has to wait there where Rale was waiting because then it's still 4% and then you get the downhill, you can it's a 1k pedaling downhill. It make a big, big difference there. Because it has to be pre-all-dained because what if Goliath dropped them all? Then I agree. Then you wouldn't have gotten the bank for Bucky. Where was he going to go? Then you should have and then the back-up as a defensive satellite rider because Mava Star had it, Raul Garcia Piano was waiting at that exact

25:24moment, he waits and Raul, I always knew he had it in him. He's making potentially a grand tour winning pool here. It makes a huge difference. I agree, but I think Mava stays ahead regardless of the pool. I think Mava's also just, are we going to the point? I don't know about that. Do tactics really matter if Mava's diamonds and the legs in 75 degrees Celsius? Is it entering Mava's making cycling boring? Is he too good for his four-danger? He's playing it perfectly. Let goal, let goal keep pulling and then bang explosive counter. He knows Rodg which is going to sit on goal. Goals, he mode about how the satellite ready bang. I think it does make it, he takes 27 second gap. This flat sections six-kays and you're able to recharge, even though Raul wasn't extending the gap, but it allows you to recharge because also eventually yes, Mulberger comes back with Carapaz. Carapaz is doing like 30-30 intervals to come back to

26:29Rodgich and goal. Rodgich not giving a single turn to goal. Taco Bell and Bizio are eventually there and they do ride full really, really fast when Musk was already alone. I think Garcia Pionic did make a big difference. I will say in the last five kilometers or 10 kilometers of the stage, I saw three or four times in a chat with you that you basically verbally expressed that you had your chin on the floor looking at the time gap of Omersel to this GC group because what was happening? Omersel drops Berade at the end of the steepest section of color, Alto. And yes, he loses time when the Catholic and Gold do the lead out and when Musk first attacks, but he holds like to Musk, he held him at like 3-30. By the way, he's doing I think a 10-k solo, 12-k solo with a flat section and as I said Raul pulled for Kays for Musk in the middle. He holds them at 3-30 and he holds the Rodgich goal group at the same time or a very, very, very long time.

27:32So Omersel was incredibly strong. He puts Berade on two minutes in second and he does of it. Yeah, incredible performance. The young Slovenian, he was the winner of the BabyGero last year. And did you do that vibrate way? No. Was that Novak? I'm not sure if we're... That was Novak, don't know. Yeah, Omersel won straight up. He beat Tuckwell on the final stage. He took a gap on the climb with Nautarga and now he wins his first grand tour stage in his first grand tour. He's 20 years old, first year professional, our big, big talent. He looks the right size. He looks the part. He's not a small climber. He looks like what the climbing matter is at the moment with Cixus and Pagature and big, big win. He goes into sixth on GC. He's 30 seconds behind only in the white jersey competition now and he did decline. He did a better performance than only on this climb

28:39from the break. He did. By the way, I am not 100% sure, but I think Omersel is younger, is now the youngest Slovenian to win a Veltar stage, younger than Pogaccia when he won his first Veltar stage. I'm doing the math in my heads. I could be completely wrong, but I'm going to go with it because I like Omersel. So Pagature was... He was nearly 21. He was washed. Okay, okay. He was like, I'm commode. Omersel wins the stage. Enrich takes Barato second, Santi's third, which is important for the KOM points. It was a cat one. Enrich takes 27 seconds on goal. Rogoge carapage, Mulberg brings them into the final kicker. Goal paces. I'll just do not give a call at all. So 27 seconds, then a proper gap. Only's on five minutes, 0-5.

29:41Presumed Jack Hague waited and then pulled him into middle section. So Omel loses... Yeah, five or five to Omersel, but loses to the podium guys. A minute and 40 seconds. And then Schnellmose, Roger Egez, Beltar, Riccatello, Kus, Taha, all coming on about six minutes 45. So the revised GC Mass Extenses lead one minute 45 ahead of Rogoge. He will not lose that in the TT. Goal is on two minutes, 0-6. Carapage three minutes, 53 into fourth. He's now 38 seconds, 36 seconds ahead of only. Omersel moves into sixth. He's on 4-59. Gailmo drops a spot. He's now a proper gap. Two minutes, 43 from Omersel to Schnellmose, and they're on 742, Kus, 758, Mulberg at 827, and Taha, at 833. And then from Taha, it's a birthday. There's like five minutes. So I would say this... Oh my god.

30:42I just remembered. Jakob Omersel was the guy we were speaking about in the love welter, previously when we said, is a stage when we're more than a top 10 in GC. That was the guy we're talking about. And he's going to get both. Just do both. That's always the answer. Always answer. Just do both. So... But this is everyone, this is what people do now. If you're 10th in GC and you have a good day, you sneak into these big 30-man breaks, no one knew he was there, then it was formed in the minutes, two minutes, and then Mulstar didn't care, bang. Carapage launched to go for the stage. So good on it. And Bahrain do this. They did it with Lenny in the tour. Lenny in the tour did this exactly the same thing. They did. We're trying for the Red Jersey in the world to last year. So it's what they do. It's a tactic and it works. And KOM Santhi's got a 22-point lead. That's a big lead actually on that. Laliol at the Giro, by the way. Laniol. Who's the Giro? If you hadn't crashed, probably twice would have won the stage. And so it's the way it's the matter. It is the

31:45matter. Vanart in the Green Jersey competition has 100 points on 98 points on Ramele and like 77 points on Brennan. He took 20 points. I'm contested today. So good worthwhile being in the break. Teams class Bahrain moved up six spots during an hour. They're moving. What do we learn today? They were also on an hour ago. I can tell. I see it very difficult for the Gaffelon not to wind out based on the fact that with I think 13 kilometers to go, they had four riders of eight in the GC group and one rider in the break away. And it's still backfired. That's insane actually. And that's also that's a testament to the fact that Gulls not good enough. Yeah. Maybe. Because if Gulls the exact level of climber as most then with that team strength, you should be

32:47able to gain an advantage on us. Yeah, Mars is really good. I'm not sure the explosive lead out after walking around the stages to what Gull is looking for. I agree. But they'll keep doing it. Yeah. But I agree. Mars is in the driver's seat because he's the strongest climber right now. So that generally helps. Although he doesn't have the strongest climbing team. So yeah, very, exciting stage. I enjoyed it. Tomorrow stage from Almanjeca to Lofa, 193 kilometers. We have 3000 meters of elevation gain. We start with the category one. So Santi's going to want that. 14 Ks, 5% 9 Ks at 6% in the first half an hour begins. Then it's rolling medium mountains or hills. Hope you want to say then the Puerto de Granada is a bonus gate and an intermediate sprint at the bottom of that. Six and a half K, 6%. It is 30, 39 Ks from the finish to finish is the last two

33:47Ks, a seven, like a dipper and then a kick into a 700 meter, 5% ramp at the end based on what we saw in stages stage 10. This is uncontrollable breakway. I fully agree with you. The thing that scares me with these kind of stages is this gives me flashbacks from the stage in was it the well thought 2024 where or maybe the Twitter friends before that I'm not completely sure where. Woud went into a breakway with components and but lemon or something and then that a back firing in the end because you all tried to control for Woudfinade who couldn't finish it off. That scenario is what I'm scared of when it comes to his Malizabai in a stage like this. When we see a stage like this we go towards riders like Paterson and so forth as as the guys when they have the team to control it like we cite the the Tour de France in the first week. I actually am still thinking about which Friday could

34:50take. This I'd like to see us but in the breakway for Pinarello just as a vibe but I'm still thinking. What up? I'm trying to get you to say your picks first. That's not how this works. That is not how this works. Do you know what the score is right now? I should be winning. I should be winning. I'm leading by seven points right now. I think I think Wauvin Art Wins ahead of Alexi Luchenko in a Walth-Bulls and Lucey install two-up sprint like Bulls beat him in 2022. All so realistic for Wauvin. I'm looking for like a groves like character like we saw in that Tour de France. It reminds me of that Groves victory stage in the last week of the tour last year. That's the vibe I get with the basketball. It's going to be harder I think. Yeah it's a bit harder. I'm too good. I have an I'm array I am special. I am special.

35:58You know how far away that Alexi Luchenko's second place in the 2022 under Lucey stage four was from the finish tomorrow? Yeah far away it is. Two meters. 90 minutes dude. You're right. I'm so happy for you. That's like Geogess of the I don't know what version. Who's the who's the groves that I'm looking for? It's not groves themselves. Brennan. He's climbing really low. Yeah but he's struggling to get in the break where you're just trying to get me to pick Brennan here but if Brennan goes in the break he's going to be riding for Wauvin Art. We both know it's true. Oh yeah yeah. Right. It grows, it grows, it grows. Ramele. Ramele is climbing really well. Yeah but he's going to be hugging Wauvin Art all day. I'm looking for a good willer. Magnus cool. I'm munching the start list right now trying to find for one. Magnus cool. My pick for this stage Patrick is

37:06I have no clue. I'll go. I'll go. Vanart. Okay. I think the best thing to do when you don't know who to pick is picking Wauvin Art as well so that the points are equal, that it's in non-stage. Let's go. That's why I'm peep first because you're right, Cowardous. I'm happy to be cowardous if it means I can win the fucking competition for the fourth time in a row. Yeah it's going to be interesting stage. I don't know if it's full coverage, probably not. Do we see a GC? I reckon there'll be GC guys jumping in the break. It's an uphill start in the break formation so that we like why not just go for it. What am I going to do? I'm picking a randomly deep one ace. You won't know. Yes. Yes. It's in some Madison, Madison, who also on the team bus. He's now a really good bike rider again. He's things to be back. Any other news in cycling?

38:21Actually don't think so. There's a few interesting transfers but that's for a separate podcast. Tim Merleig got the jump on a left-coy and to Catherine Indy sprint into a sprint today and won the stage comfortably. There was a flat for Ganner and he lost his position in second in GC. Indy Zedalem tool, we had really crazy Eschol wind conditions in Vierch. So we had a... Yeah, we had a... Did you just try to say an end Dutch and just sound it German? Vierch. Vierch. Abanikos. Eschol wind. And Vat chick won back to backstage. He won the TT late last night and he won a head of Tim Van Dyke today. Any worse, that final. How that happened? Had Dunnevein poppull in third? Sending Matias Vatsek to Zedalem tour is... Right. ...the beer bomb versus coughing baby. Track Zedalem team is way better than the hip-walt.

39:22Alvaraz is flying. Why is Alvaraz not at the Vuelta? He's in the Divo team. Because he's still in the Divo team. We've had this fucking discussion for two years straight where I've been shouting at Alvaraz as if he's a world tour rider. Do you know how good... Alvaraz would win tomorrow. Yes, Alvaraz would have won tomorrow easily. Easily. What if I pick him? Pick Marlwina, a Hector Alvaraz. Yes. A Hector Alvaraz. A Hector Alvaraz for tomorrow. Is that a little tricky? It's crazy. He should be in the Spanish elite World Champs team. Really? Yeah! Even if it says a ruler, who cares? Yeah, but... Yeah, so that's um... Any other well-ears and cycling... That'll do. All right, thanks for listening. As always, go check out Exposure Lights. And we'll see you in the recap tomorrow.

40:22Ciao, ciao.