# 22 - Inside Le Tour de France

00:00:00: Welcome back to the podcast that makes you faster.

00:00:03: Today we're throwing it back to DCS Tour de France, imagine this!

00:00:07: You are standing at a top of Alte d'Huez waiting for the riders to arrive.

00:00:11: The road is packed and crowd getting louder.

00:00:13: then you hear helicopters approaching.

00:00:15: A few moments later first riders appear around the final corner As fans see.

00:00:20: speed pain drama.

00:00:22: But what does an engineer say?

00:00:24: What happens behind scenes before the riders even reach the start line?

00:00:28: Today we're talking about the Tour de France from a completely different perspective.

00:00:31: Through the eyes of Swiss side founder Jean-Paul Ballard, hey JP how are you man?

00:00:36: Hey Daniel really good recovering from an electric tour de France three week marathon and what a tour de france it was.

00:00:47: so yeah It's interesting to hear your intro because um Yeah I experienced them both sides.

00:00:53: i experience it fan side, which is amazing.

00:00:57: But at the same time from the strategic technical side set up side what are we doing?

00:01:05: How can team act to get most out of each race stage?

00:01:09: so yeah where heavily involved during before tour even more an interesting paradox and we'll talk a little bit about it today as well.

00:01:19: some uh, interesting setups that the tour...that team rode.

00:01:23: But first of all I think just incredible effort.

00:01:26: um..the best ever result in history for this team.

00:01:31: The two key riders so Paul Sexis the youngest rider to start Tour de France since nineteen thirty nine or something uh, Olaf Koy the sprinter both of them having never done a tour de France before.

00:01:48: Both are not knowing what it's going to be like to compete at that level over three weeks.

00:01:53: um and did they deliver absolute things?

00:01:56: So yeah let's jump into it.

00:01:59: Yeah!

00:01:59: It gets crazy.

00:02:00: I read before the podcast this is the team first victory in stage since two thousand four.

00:02:07: amazing Yeah,

00:02:09: and yeah it's brilliant.

00:02:11: And also for Olaf Koye his first ever Tour de France First sprint stage.

00:02:15: first win uh...and we'll come to it later.

00:02:18: but he also got another six podiums.

00:02:21: so finish second or third on the other sprints.

00:02:24: So pretty amazing!

00:02:26: Paul as well you know twice on the podium White jersey one day fourth overall in the GC, I mean we couldn't have hoped really off honestly.

00:02:38: We could've hoped for anything more.

00:02:40: so yeah an amazing first start to this long-term project with DeCastellon CMA CGM team and a lot more to come i can tell you because were working feverishly In the background although this Tour de France was again the fastest ever On record with an average speed of forty three point two to seven kilometers.

00:03:04: now I can tell you it will get faster and more efficient, which is why gets faster.

00:03:11: So yeah that's deep dive into What happens behind the scenes in The Tour de France?

00:03:17: Nice oh my god It's getting even faster.

00:03:21: i cannot imagine how but You Will explain it throughout the podcast.

00:03:26: My first question What do you see that we as fans completely missed when watching on TV?

00:03:34: You know, is there are just some details that use did you have in special eye-on

00:03:39: Sure look?

00:03:40: and I think some fans are highly into it.

00:03:43: And highly technical and probably see even more than me.

00:03:46: But yeah the key things i'm looking at of course going Into each stage looking to stage profile what are The right setups?

00:03:55: bikes, because say for now we have two different bikes on a road stage.

00:03:59: It could be the climbing bike or lightweight bike.

00:04:02: it would be the Aero Road Bike slightly heavier but less drag.

00:04:06: what wheel setups are they using?

00:04:08: What tyres?

00:04:10: Tire sizes and tyre models?

00:04:13: so yeah That's the first thing I'm looking at.

00:04:17: Then, during this stage it is very tactical – a massive game of chess with a couple hundred players and all teams driving those players to their strategy that they are trying to influence the race with.

00:04:35: So yeah….

00:04:39: target of the team for today.

00:04:42: What is the best strategy?

00:04:43: Is it a conservative day, just to mark the yellow jersey or the nearest direct competitor so far?

00:04:50: us who was Del Toro from UAE Emirates because he was the other white jersey holder in the end third place guy and that's our real direct competitor we were following.

00:05:05: So yeah... that rider, that team.

00:05:09: Is it a day to remain conservative?

00:05:12: You pick stages where you're going be active or combative and there are stages when the breakaway happens.

00:05:24: things like this of course is not just about our GC riders.

00:05:30: so Paul sex us in his case if its flatter stage Making sure he just, he protects himself and stays in the peloton.

00:05:38: And nothing happens.

00:05:39: but then it's about protecting and setting up our sprint to Olaf Koi for the race win.

00:05:45: Then four other stages where The Breakaway is active.

00:05:50: who do we put into The Breakway?

00:05:51: It typically decided before the stage if a break away happened at which point which riders go which right there in that breakaway.

00:06:02: So very strategic and a lot of what if scenarios are already discussed, calculated ahead the stage.

00:06:11: so yeah highly tactical.

00:06:12: when I begin watching this age.

00:06:15: you know i'm watching to see one other moves.

00:06:17: First of all, even the setups that certain riders are using gives you an indication of what their intention is.

00:06:24: So if one of the riders... If it's going to be a sort-of quite a hilly day but a certain rider on the aero bike yeah probably gonna be in a breakaway Probably the intent to being a break away Yeah.

00:06:37: and then of course there other things like Points the climber points polka dot jersey green Jersey Sprinter points if The team is going to be Going for those.

00:06:48: of course there are these intermediate sprints Intermediate climbs where the riders get other points.

00:06:53: That's also really important for the points.

00:06:55: Jersey so hugely, hugely complex.

00:06:59: There's many competitions within one competition and different stages provide a different flavor To what's gonna?

00:07:08: Happen on that day.

00:07:09: And finally, of course the weather where there always plays a role and whether nowadays we don't just talk about rain We talked about heat.

00:07:15: heat management massively important Has a direct impact on performance has a direct effect on how you can break a rider.

00:07:24: So he saw particularly in this year's tour A huge focus on cooling on pre-cooling.

00:07:31: you know, before climbs steep climbs key riders pre-cooling.

00:07:36: So getting ice packs from the car and really trying to cool themselves down

00:07:39: with these Wests in the back.

00:07:41: I saw

00:07:41: four stages.

00:07:43: but then during this stage is You have ice that you preprepare in stockings That you give to the writers out of a team car.

00:07:49: We saw the domestiques for the key riders wedding their GC riders down so playing an active role in keeping them cool.

00:07:57: each year it's getting more technical, its getting more interesting.

00:08:00: It is getting more complex which what amazing.

00:08:04: so for a tech nerd like me ultimately it just awesomeness to the power of ten

00:08:14: pure awesomness.

00:08:18: Who decides the setup in the end?

00:08:20: Is it the writer, is a team.

00:08:22: Is long decided before stage starts?

00:08:26: or do writers have like chance to say oh no today I'm feeling like writing another rymdev something like this.

00:08:35: So In The Past The Writer Had A Big Say.

00:08:38: But this was the same, you know I jumped back to my days in Formula One when i first started in formula one and two thousand.

00:08:45: it Was a time where the riders?

00:08:46: The drivers had A big say on setup.

00:08:49: nowadays the Drivers that the engineers see everything You can set up the car Based On simulations.

00:08:57: You Know what's fastest And of course the Response from the driver is important but the Setup Is decided by the team.

00:09:04: In modern cycling Where we are today It's the Same.

00:09:08: So we simulate, so one of the roles of Swiss side as a major technical partner for team is not just to provide wheels.

00:09:17: The team uses our Swiss side performance platform and has been using it for last three years.

00:09:24: And uh...the first role in the performance platform is to simulate each stage and decide what's right equipment setup For each rider individually based on their weight or roll based on the strategy for the day will simulate The course and that would basically predetermine what set up you'll be writing.

00:09:49: And

00:09:51: a good example where it's going very much beyond You know People's opinions or previous thoughts or whatever and how it's going highly technical is.

00:10:03: those who are watching the podcast will see there's a bike, one of the team bikes sitting behind me.

00:10:09: And It's One Of The Set-Ups that we used in this year's Tour de France and its what we call the Reversed Mullet.

00:10:14: um...and What Does That Mean?

00:10:16: Means We Have A Deeper Rim On The Front Than We Do on The Rear.

00:10:20: Um..And This Is Designed For Climbing Stages where the bike is on the minimum weight with a particular rider.

00:10:27: So this was the case sometimes as poor sex us and with Machu, Richie Tello.

00:10:33: so Where do you put?

00:10:34: The way?

00:10:34: well You've got to have the weights of the bike at six point eight kilos.

00:10:38: Um, so you don't Just add weight Ballast weights in the bottom of the back which people used to do In the past.

00:10:47: use that wait To give your performance advantage.

00:10:49: So in this case the biggest performance advantage comes from the front wheel.

00:10:53: So we step up a rim depth level in front wheel.

00:10:56: In this case, we have the five fifty ultimate front wheel and on the rear We're running the Hadron Ultimate three eighty carbon spoke wheel.

00:11:04: And with this you are exactly On the minimum weight.

00:11:09: but You've got maximum air performance both for climbing and descent.

00:11:12: so yeah Yeah This is sort of an example Of where predetermined setups based particular riders in particular stages plays a role.

00:11:23: Of course, if it's a flat stage you'll be running deeper rims because weight plays much smaller roll even an negligible on really flat stages and so its not problem to have the bike above minimum weight.

00:11:37: So particularly with the Aero, RCRF bike or road bike On a flat-stage bikes will seven point two kilos.

00:11:46: They're not a six point eight because they don't need to be and the difference in performance of being lighter is uh, a penalty compared to being more arrow?

00:11:56: Yeah.

00:11:57: And what about tie up with and pressure?

00:12:00: Yep So again tire width and pressure based on the particular stage.

00:12:05: yeah What type of roads have we got?

00:12:07: are they smooth roads their rough roads?

00:12:11: Is it isn't going to rain?

00:12:13: So typically if it rains, the team might go for slightly wider tyres.

00:12:19: If its going to rain they will definitely go for lower pressures.

00:12:23: Tire pressure is set for every individual rider and based on road surface.

00:12:28: so yeah... Every stage, every rider has specific tyre setup and pressure defined individually.

00:12:39: Do you know what?

00:12:39: um.... The overall Tour performance of the team now means for them?

00:12:46: because There are so many teams that are not only fighting four stage wins or good positions, but also fighting for being visual and Being like seen on the stages.

00:13:00: And having a word To talk with.

00:13:03: you know when it's about winning a tour or making a lot of points.

00:13:07: and like the team has now three riders in top-twenty Do you know what this means for them?

00:13:12: For future.

00:13:13: Now,

00:13:14: absolutely well if we talked about the future The Decathlon CMA CGM teams goal together with Swiss side to gather with van Riesel Together with the decathlon group is one hundred percent clear.

00:13:28: the goal was to win the Tour de France.

00:13:31: You know, many would have said oh that's a lofty aspiration.

00:13:36: Everyone wants to win the Tour de France but everyone has seen the steps we've made since it was Ajit Azhar and its huge step every year.

00:13:47: The step this years once again fourth fastest team overall in the Team classification.

00:13:52: Fourth with Paul & GC A proper sprinter team.

00:13:57: One sprint stage win as I said six podiums And particularly in the last couple of stages where the Decathlon team really stepped up and led the Peloton, and dictated the pace.

00:14:15: It was very clear to see.

00:14:16: you know... In their attempt to try get the third place off Del Toro on the second-last stage was driving that stage and UAE Emirates was protecting, you know.

00:14:29: So they had Pogacar working as Del Toro's domestic.

00:14:33: pretty good domestic.

00:14:34: if your del Toro And the purpose of the team was then to protect against what the Catholic was doing?

00:14:40: That shows level is now working at their respected and taken seriously and okay it didn't pan out.

00:14:49: but what was brilliant did not leave a stone unturned.

00:14:53: They tried everything, they try to...a good strategy.

00:14:58: You know?

00:14:59: Brilliant!

00:15:00: And then again in the final stage in Paris we saw at the end that Decathlon was the one who took control of the peloton In the final eight kilometres To shut down the breakaway and literally with metres to spare brought Peloton up to give in the purpose, and this case was very clear for us.

00:15:21: It was to give Olas Khoi a chance at sprint win.

00:15:25: probably a few meters more could have helped but again it just showed that Decathlon is here.

00:15:34: They're here to fight.

00:15:35: they hear two drive the peloton there hit a fight for stage wins And I think most of the serious teams would say okay yeah decathlon is now a threat in the coming years.

00:15:48: Maybe not next year, but it's... The goal is to win the Tour de France next year and I think that's an absolutely possible goal!

00:16:04: It isn't a guaranteed goal with Paul first Tour-de-France at age of nineteen.

00:16:17: I'd say give us a couple of years, we'll be fighting right up the front.

00:16:22: And how important is Paul Texas in this scenario?

00:16:28: Of course there are rumours that other teams are going to check... How much they have to pay for him!

00:16:36: What do you think about

00:16:37: it?!

00:16:38: There's no question.

00:16:40: In order to achieve the goal winning the Tour de France You need a proper genuine GC contender And for us right now, it's Paul sexes I'd say.

00:16:53: his values probably only increased Since this tour.

00:16:57: I think you know there was some pretty Overinflated expectations particularly from the French public.

00:17:04: You know that he could be further?

00:17:06: I mean everyone would have liked including us Would have loved him to be on the podium.

00:17:10: But we've also got a beer realistic.

00:17:12: first tour ever.

00:17:14: Uh, he didn't know how to pace himself.

00:17:15: He didn't Know how we would react?

00:17:17: How his body Would react over a three-year three uh Three week grand tour In particularly at the level that the Tour de France is ridden out.

00:17:26: so Everyone has To be super stoked.

00:17:29: fourth place is amazing.

00:17:30: So yeah The goal of the team Is very simple right now.

00:17:33: retain Paul sex us No question and I know it was working really hard to do That.

00:17:38: And to Be honest if i was paul sexus Um what would I Do?

00:17:43: I'd say, uh...I'm nineteen years of age.

00:17:47: I've got a long career ahead of me.

00:17:49: i've got Decathlon that's willing to set everything behind me as their number one rider.

00:17:55: um..i can stay at this providing Decathlon can pay him what he deserves and it might not be as much as a UAE might be willing to flop out on the table who knows.

00:18:08: but Superteam behind him with the best possible equipment, with the Best Possible partners and to give them The best possible chance of winning in the Tour de France.

00:18:19: In the next few years If he goes to UAE if you go elsewhere He'll likely be a number two.

00:18:26: Yeah And Why should he do that?

00:18:30: I would say...I think there's very good reasons for Him To stay within Cthulon and i'm sure he will have A vision like I Do Of what is coming in the pipeline.

00:18:39: uh..and I Think There Is a Lot of Motivation For Him To remain with the team and let's be pragmatic.

00:18:45: if he spends another two years With a team, and it's not progressing to a Tour de France win-capable Team then He can jump ship at any time And probably earn even more money.

00:18:54: so true

00:18:56: my advice to Paul.

00:18:57: If you're listening stay with The team is the right thing to do for you?

00:19:02: and See what we can deliver.

00:19:06: Yeah being being desire of the team like one But very, very important part of the team at nineteen years old is crazy enough.

00:19:14: So I think so too.

00:19:16: Not like in football when you go to the big teams and then you are number two or not even number three Or something on a list?

00:19:23: And Yeah, I think that he should stay at Decathlon because this has so much opportunities In the future.

00:19:33: This whole team everything around You, I saw you sent me a video via WhatsApp that you were in the back of the car at stage or

00:19:46: more stages.

00:19:47: Yeah so i joined the team for couple of stages.

00:19:49: um yeah The main one was uh Stage Fourteen which was the Moulous to Markstein.

00:19:59: Uh I can't remember the name of the stage Markstein Fellering, yeah.

00:20:09: How was that?

00:20:09: That

00:20:10: was amazing.

00:20:11: I mean i've been on tour stages many times before uh but I have to say I've never experienced anything like that.

00:20:17: um what was particular about that stage in the middle of the tour?

00:20:22: a lot happening.

00:20:23: it was a weekend.

00:20:24: It was a beautiful day not too hot.

00:20:28: Moulouz is off course On The Three Country Border between Switzerland, France and Germany.

00:20:36: So there were so many fans And of course they went twice up the same climb from at the same cold From different sides.

00:20:46: The fans could accumulate At the top Of the climbs and sort of redistributed themselves.

00:20:54: I've never seen so many people in my life.

00:20:56: Normally on a stage you put sections where There are no.

00:21:00: it was non-stop people.

00:21:01: I read in the press, well over a million people on this stage and we got stuck with the car trying to get up... ...the climb because the crowd was just so crazy!

00:21:17: And they were shaking their car and banging onto the car like oh my god.

00:21:21: i hope there's good insurance policies for cars that look like hail damage at end of it.

00:21:26: but it was insane electric.

00:21:29: And it was amazing, and the great thing was of course.

00:21:32: It was a stage where Paul attacked He stuck with the front riders for the entire race insane to see.

00:21:58: Yeah, Pogacar of course broke away with a kilometer or two kilometers to go and took the stage win I think by thirty seconds something.

00:22:07: but yeah.

00:22:09: Paul then battled together with Del Toro in The Two Of Them Coming Over The Line Together.

00:22:16: incredible.

00:22:17: And on that stage he took the white jersey only for one day For the following stage.

00:22:21: But again so for me To See That Kind effort and combativeness from Paul, to see him battle with Pogacar or with Vinegar.

00:22:36: At the very front was insane!

00:22:38: And podium...and white jersey.

00:22:40: I mean it We say in German, Gänsehaut.

00:22:47: Goosebumps all over.

00:22:50: Thanks for correcting my English!

00:22:53: It was a proper goose bumps moment.

00:22:54: it's one of those ones where you're like.

00:22:57: this is pretty cool.

00:22:58: All the hard work that sometimes... You go into a dark place just like the riders.

00:23:03: do we just do on an office workload level?

00:23:07: Yeah its moments really make it worth while.

00:23:10: Oh man That sounds Once in a lifetime experience, but for the people that drive the cars I always think when i'm watching on tv and see The team cars behind um the riders or behind the field.

00:23:24: And everything I've always think like they have to do Or They Have To Be So Calm Driving These Cars Through The Field these people, was there a tension in the car?

00:23:37: Were you talking with the driver of the car or are they like super laser focused at this moment.

00:23:45: Yeah we don't talk to the driver for the car.

00:23:49: he's typically also on radio as well.

00:23:54: so yeah but we gotta be clear that DSs do have special license and They do special courses so that they're taught to drive on the roads.

00:24:04: Actually, I'll tell you just little side note.

00:24:06: modern cars are a real pain in the arse because modern cars have the anti-collision Warning systems.

00:24:12: Yeah So you have to switch those off?

00:24:14: Because otherwise You know automatically jump on the brakes The car will automatically break which will send the car behind or right of behind Into the back window.

00:24:23: and you've got to remember every time you start the car.

00:24:26: even if you stop for a quick pee Which would you do Every time you start on car, You got to quickly go into the settings and turn off this automatic emergency brake system.

00:24:35: Otherwise it's just dangerous because your riding... Your driving bumper-to-bumper with other cars Bumper-to bumper with riders sometimes.

00:24:43: so yeah It's pretty wild.

00:24:45: And yet its really hard that driver To answer a question there.

00:24:48: absolutely.

00:24:49: DS has to concentrate massively too you know, to focus on what's going on.

00:24:56: Of course he has a another assistant DS in the car with him and The mechanic in the back and everyone is working To deliver information of whats happening.

00:25:06: And so then there Is the Tour de France coming from the lead Car or red car In front that giving information You know certain rider raises his hand gives information to come forward with the team card, deliver whatever.

00:25:22: he's got a puncture.

00:25:23: Okay?

00:25:23: Then you know or and of course the riders on the radio as well telling what is going on Telling about dynamic.

00:25:30: in Peloton if a rider wants more drink than one of the domestics has got the role off-speaking coming back to the team car to collect it.

00:25:40: so It'a really dynamic thing that happens As we said at same time having deal hundreds thousands people.

00:25:50: People get hit.

00:25:51: just to be really clear, you know You end up with I mean a guy jumped on the bonnet of the car.

00:25:56: You Know in one Of The Corners Just Jumped On.

00:25:57: They Would Say you got A Guy On The Bonnet Of The Car?

00:25:59: You Don't Stop.

00:26:00: The Guy Just Sort of Ends Up Jumping Off.

00:26:02: But Yeah There Are Little Bit Filled With Beer.

00:26:05: You See People Get Their Feet Driven Over.

00:26:08: yeah so you see people And The Side Of The Road Does Hold In Their Feets and You Know Yeah Well they've Just Been Driven over By A Team Car Because there's No Space.

00:26:15: So like It is insane.

00:26:17: What happens on these climbs with the amount of people, it's just... Insane!

00:26:22: Insane.

00:26:22: So a little bit crazy to be honest.

00:26:24: Oh

00:26:25: that's really crazy.

00:26:26: I saw some video snippets from people who were holding back their t-shirts because there was millimetres between them and the riders.

00:26:38: Let us see how far this goes in future Because there has been regulation or security stuff to come, I think.

00:26:47: Yeah i mean we saw this year they were putting barriers up in the final kilometers even longer than they had in the past.

00:26:55: but of course you know even if you want to put up five kilometers of barriers.

00:26:59: that's a lot of barriers and certainly can't put up one hundred eighty kilometers of barrier.

00:27:04: so um But at the same time it is part of the sport.

00:27:08: And it was funny.

00:27:09: If you asked the riders how was that?

00:27:13: That they won't.

00:27:19: They won't really say it's bad as long as nothing happens.

00:27:23: As long as no one really pushes them or Throw something in their face, or something like this.

00:27:30: now It's part of the sport.

00:27:33: So as long people respect the boundaries and let the riders ride And don't hinder them and don't do anything nasty Like yeah where people you see, deliberately pushing riders and stuff.

00:27:46: This is not on.

00:27:49: So yeah

00:27:53: Are they really

00:27:54: wild?

00:27:55: Yeah Really, really wild.

00:27:58: What I ask myself also Is are there insights from this tour de France that will directly influence the development of futures with side products?

00:28:08: Yes absolutely so.

00:28:10: for example this year we ran a reverse mullet set up, just opens the door to this sort of thing.

00:28:16: You know five years ago no writer would have accepted that.

00:28:21: so yeah it's just making steps.

00:28:22: you know we are data driven performance-driven team Collective team.

00:28:29: So when I say collective team, you know the Decathlon Team The Van Riesel team the Swiss side team other partners working together And we make decisions based on what makes a team fastest and yeah definitely.

00:28:41: for example this year though We had the team time trial At the beginning which was really interesting.

00:28:48: also new format where the individual riders times counted.

00:28:52: so You know it was a different style of working around giving Paul, so it's a different strategy as you would normally have for team time trial.

00:29:01: I think we got some things really right in that and i think we've got something wrong.

00:29:06: So again taking learnings of how could we have improved?

00:29:11: How can be saved more times on that stage?

00:29:15: dropping riders earlier keeping riders longer all these sorts of thing was the pacing strategy post race homework, particularly the topic of thermal management was one we were tracking very closely.

00:29:31: So will get data from all over the thermal side to plug into our platform and we have a program there too better thermally manage situation for riders because it directly impacts performance power output.

00:29:46: so yeah huge learnings to come from this race.

00:29:50: But I think, you know one thing i wanted to mention today is also the topic of safety and This is something that we in particular together with the cathalon group And The van Riesel team are pushing very hard because again if We see You Know this year Again we had some crashes two really key riders, um due to crashes.

00:30:20: So Vinogadz when he lost his front wheel on a really shitty corner uh on stage fifteen broke his collarbone out.

00:30:32: and then Florian Lipovic when you crashed in the individual time trial also on a pretty shitty corner where multiple riders had problems including Poggy.

00:30:42: Poggie almost lost it you know, a front wheel mono coming in and sliding his backwheel to save it.

00:30:53: So I think beyond what can we do as a team?

00:30:59: We're pushing really hard for rider protection.

00:31:02: so topics like airbags topping like protection on riders.

00:31:08: but if look at the true cause of these Two crashes these two crashes that affect these to major contenders in this stage There are both crashes.

00:31:18: That were I think largely due to the course The way the corner was signed, the way the Corner was in general like I don't know why?

00:31:27: In Vineyard Stage where they had them even being allowed to go a long way around this traffic island.

00:31:36: It's just asking for trouble.

00:31:38: So you know II do believe the UCI really does need step up their efforts to make genuine safety improvements, and it's not handlebar width.

00:31:50: And that's not rim depth is genuine things that affect the riders its courses.

00:31:55: you know what.

00:31:56: I don't see a problem at all.

00:31:58: when You have of course an it goes through a tricky Area which is dangerous so has some dangerous features.

00:32:07: put a speed limit over now that five hundred meters off course That is not a problem.

00:32:11: It happens in Formula One all the time, it's called The Pit Lane.

00:32:14: You have a speed limit you're not allowed to exceed this speed limit.

00:32:18: If you do get a penalty Not a problem!

00:32:22: A really easy way to neutralize dangerous parts of courses.

00:32:25: Because I understand on twenty plus stages of one hundred eighty kilometers-ish Of racing...you can't ensure that there are no dangers cornering things against them.

00:32:41: And I think as well like why on earth is the UCI not man making it mandatory to wear protections, elbow protections hip protections.

00:32:51: these are things that yeah okay they won't be super comfortable but hey it's about preventing injuries

00:32:59: keeping right

00:33:00: our riders to ride-on and not abandon the tour which I don't think it will make them ride faster, to be honest.

00:33:09: Because adding these kind of things will hurt the aerodynamics which actually makes them slower.

00:33:17: So yeah so anyway The topic of safety is a big one and there still needs more done.

00:33:22: there Procycling was where Formula One was in the nineteen eighties And Formula One has gotten massively faster since then and massively safer.

00:33:38: You know, the UCI should be taking a book out of... Taking a leaf out from the FIA and speaking together with them and focusing more on rider safety or track safety course-safety.

00:33:52: And I think here these two crashes that we had in this tool could have probably been prevented.

00:33:58: But Let's see.

00:34:00: I don't think anyone you know people could argue with With that point, but I didn't think any one can argue that more needs to be done for safety.

00:34:06: so Yeah Hopefully there'll be a ramp up of those efforts in the future to make the racing even Even more More interesting and keeping all the key competitors in All the way up till the Champs Elysees.

00:34:18: yeah

00:34:19: It seems like wearing your helmet.

00:34:21: back in today's day it didn't had to wear her helmet But how important is easy to wear?

00:34:26: And now everyone's wearing Thank God, everyone's wearing a helmet.

00:34:29: So maybe these steps will be able to go in the near future because that is what people love to see their idols finishing a race like this and not being...

00:34:44: Absolutely!

00:34:45: And to be honest N-Consumer riding on the road also want protection.

00:34:50: To Be Honest You don't see Road Riders using protection Because it isn't cool.

00:34:56: Yeah, I

00:34:57: can

00:34:57: tell you if the pros are wearing protection.

00:35:00: The amateur riders will start um wearing protection as well.

00:35:04: i think it would be brilliant.

00:35:06: and uh maybe even certain countries make a mandatory to wear these sorts of protection on the road like helmets.

00:35:13: so yeah Yeah, there's more to be done that.

00:35:17: but yeah overall I think we're making the right steps forward.

00:35:21: The technologies are there.

00:35:22: they can be introduced in a short-term basis and anyway together with the Cthulon We're doing a big push on this.

00:35:29: so i think what will see in the coming years Are these sorts of solutions?

00:35:34: Reaching the Peloton and the Tour And That Will Be Great for the Sport.

00:35:40: that would be great.

00:35:42: One last question, you already mentioned it before but how often do the drivers have to stop and take a pee of their cars?

00:35:51: I mean its an inevitability i'd say on typical stage at least once or twice car will quickly pull over You know, and then normally you do it on a section where there's.

00:36:06: the riders are going into a climb or something.

00:36:09: So you don't lose too much distance yeah?

00:36:13: And then you just have to fight your way back through the caravan or the colonna To get back to your designated position.

00:36:23: Yeah in the line.

00:36:24: so I tell ya stop a few times for a pee You're not paying in bottles.

00:36:30: I mean, on certain stages maybe you are if there's no chance to stop but yeah it's typically possible to have a stop.

00:36:37: Oh nice!

00:36:38: Hey man thanks so much for the insights was amazing for me as a fan and watching on TV.

00:36:44: But you were there and you had the insight And i learned alot.

00:36:48: So... Yeah?

00:36:49: Thanks a lot.

00:36:51: Yeah, pleasure.

00:36:51: It's been great to talk about it.

00:36:53: and the season.

00:36:54: the seasons are finished.

00:36:57: now We've got Tour de France farm which is yeah just about kickoff Which was brilliant?

00:37:02: And Then we've got the Vuelta still to come.

00:37:06: so there's a lot of play for this year in in world tour cycling.

00:37:11: So you're looking forward to see how the team goes In the coming months.

00:37:16: until end

00:37:17: We will do a wrap up of the whole season as soon it ends.

00:37:21: So, absolutely!

00:37:22: Let's see... Thanks again and thanks to all listeners for supporting us And if you have any questions about Tour de France or insights just drop a comment.

00:37:33: Thanks guys!

00:37:33: See ya next time.

00:37:34: Bye bye.