Sagan on Geraint Thomas' podcast--that 2018 TdF Breakaway
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Sagan on Geraint Thomas' podcast--that 2016 TdF Breakaway
I just recently found Geraint Thomas' podcast, 'Watts Occurring,' which is now part of the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club, with all kinds of sponsorships etc, and there are a lot of interesting looking episodes for indoor cycling or long driving times. They are very very casual, Thomas and his cohost (lately it's Luke Rowe) spend a lot of time chatting and taking the piss, at which Geraint is a master.
I can highly recommend the episode from March 6th of this year, prior to the Giro, where the guest is Peter Sagan. It's an interesting and sometimes hilarious chat; Thomas using every opportunity to refer to Sagan by his supposed nicknames ('Peter the Great' etc) as found on Wikipedia, 'D'you put them in there yourself, mate?'
Here's the Apple link, it'll be on other platforms too.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000603079735
For both Thomas and Sagan, Stage 11 of the 2016 TdF, where they were in an explosive four-man breakaway with Froome and Sagan's teammate Maciej Bodnar from 10k out to the end, was a highlight of their careers, and they clearly enjoyed talking about it. I had to go find a video clip and enjoy it all over again. Here it is, with Phil and Paul narrating...I miss hearing them.
I can highly recommend the episode from March 6th of this year, prior to the Giro, where the guest is Peter Sagan. It's an interesting and sometimes hilarious chat; Thomas using every opportunity to refer to Sagan by his supposed nicknames ('Peter the Great' etc) as found on Wikipedia, 'D'you put them in there yourself, mate?'
Here's the Apple link, it'll be on other platforms too.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000603079735
For both Thomas and Sagan, Stage 11 of the 2016 TdF, where they were in an explosive four-man breakaway with Froome and Sagan's teammate Maciej Bodnar from 10k out to the end, was a highlight of their careers, and they clearly enjoyed talking about it. I had to go find a video clip and enjoy it all over again. Here it is, with Phil and Paul narrating...I miss hearing them.
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I never think I have hit hard, unless it rebounds.
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I never think I have hit hard, unless it rebounds.
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Last edited by Chicago Al; 06-21-23 at 03:14 PM.
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What a great stage, thanks Al! I recently put watts occuring on my pod list, I'll have to checkout that episode!
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It is quite amusing when you get used to it. It's very free-form, no script, just Geraint and his pal Luke Rowe (Rowie) chatting, sometimes just about food and drink, a subject of great interest to racers when they can take a break from strict dietary discipline. They kinda sound like old college roommates, which I guess follows from being teammates and both Welshmen. They are able to get an incredible range of expression out of the single word 'mate,' reminding me of the famous scene from 'The Wire' where all the dialog is variations on a single-syllable Anglo-Saxon word--a different one. It's very different from the usual commentary and analysis, just riders talking about their jobs, like any other 'day in the office' job, so it's insightful to what it's really like for them*.
G has a dry, uninflected take on everything, which is probably one of the keys to his success, he never gets too excited.
And the humor and piss-taking is brilliant, mate. They just had their new Ineos teammate Josh Tarling on, a 19-year-old in his first pro season. Tarling was the youngest rider to ever finish Paris Roubaix, but his crash on the cobbles early on also took down his teammate Rowe, so Rowe started the conversation something like 'First question. Mate. Have you learned how to make a right turn yet?'
Give it a listen, mate!
EDIT TO ADD: I listened to episode #20 last night while on the indoor bike (Concept2 Bikerg), and got a bit of that insight. Rowe was talking about La Route d'Occitanie, which he had just finished, and one stage where he was in a breakaway, with his teammate Ganna ('Pippo') so they could really pull together. Rowe says: 'You know, when you do races like that, and it's just...fun? And then you go to, like, a big World Tour race, it's almost scripted.' To which Geraint replies 'You never get to do that with our team, do you? It's rare that you get to go in the breakaway...there's always a plan.' Now if you follow racing at all closely, you certainly know that this is the method of Dave Brailsford's team, whether it's called Sky or Ineos: they are after the GC, period. And obviously it's been very successful. But to hear the riders acknowledge it, and agree that it makes racing less enjoyable for them, is interesting. A little sad, too, though the Ineos salaries probably compensate for that.
G has a dry, uninflected take on everything, which is probably one of the keys to his success, he never gets too excited.
And the humor and piss-taking is brilliant, mate. They just had their new Ineos teammate Josh Tarling on, a 19-year-old in his first pro season. Tarling was the youngest rider to ever finish Paris Roubaix, but his crash on the cobbles early on also took down his teammate Rowe, so Rowe started the conversation something like 'First question. Mate. Have you learned how to make a right turn yet?'
Give it a listen, mate!
EDIT TO ADD: I listened to episode #20 last night while on the indoor bike (Concept2 Bikerg), and got a bit of that insight. Rowe was talking about La Route d'Occitanie, which he had just finished, and one stage where he was in a breakaway, with his teammate Ganna ('Pippo') so they could really pull together. Rowe says: 'You know, when you do races like that, and it's just...fun? And then you go to, like, a big World Tour race, it's almost scripted.' To which Geraint replies 'You never get to do that with our team, do you? It's rare that you get to go in the breakaway...there's always a plan.' Now if you follow racing at all closely, you certainly know that this is the method of Dave Brailsford's team, whether it's called Sky or Ineos: they are after the GC, period. And obviously it's been very successful. But to hear the riders acknowledge it, and agree that it makes racing less enjoyable for them, is interesting. A little sad, too, though the Ineos salaries probably compensate for that.
__________________
I never think I have hit hard, unless it rebounds.
- Dr Samuel Johnson
I never think I have hit hard, unless it rebounds.
- Dr Samuel Johnson
Last edited by Chicago Al; 06-23-23 at 07:44 AM.
#6
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thanks! i was watching that stage live and it was the best.