S8 Ep116: Kilometre 0 – The sprint finish
The Cycling Podcast
The Cycling Podcast
4.7 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 9 September 2020
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Being the designated sprinter for the Belgian squad at the Tour de France brings with it responsibility. The long line of sprinters who have shouldered that expectation includes Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel and more recently Fernando Gaviria and Elia Viviani.
In this episode we tell the story of stage 10 to Îl de Ré, a day fraught with uncertainty over the coronavirus test results and the threat of crosswinds.
But, as it turned out, it went perfectly for Bennett and his leadout man Michael Mørkøv. We also hear from Sunweb's Nikias Arndt and Life in the Peloton host Mitch Docker – who has experience as both a sprinter and leadout man – gives his tactical breakdown of the finish.
Despatches from our team of audio diarists will appear throughout our Tour de France coverage as well as in Kilometre 0. The full line-up is Nikias Arndt, Sam Bewley, Simon Geschke, Ryan Gibbons, Jens Keukeleire, Michael Mørkøv, Lukas Pöstlberger, Pavel Sivakov, Connor Swift and sports director Tom Southam.
Kilometre 0 by The Cycling Podcast is supported by Zwift, the app for riding, training and racing at home. Kilometre 0 is a 15-part series published on weekday mornings during the Tour de France.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are listening to Kilometre 0 by the Cycling Podcast. |
| 0:07.0 | Power by Zwift, the fitness app where fun is fast. |
| 0:31.0 | Well, Lionel there, when the Tour de France. |
| 0:33.0 | We are in La Rochelle about 20 odd kilometres from the finish today on the Yield-Durais. |
| 0:38.0 | The first time a race has ever finished there and it's a second of a double header of what we expect to be sprint stages. |
| 0:45.0 | Sounds like the back markers are getting more of a cheer than the peloton. |
| 0:49.0 | Here's a huge crowd isn't there but maybe it's the face mask leading to very kind of muffled cheering. |
| 0:55.0 | What strikes me here is just how terrifyingly fast it is. |
| 0:59.0 | I mean this is the leading section before you get to the lead out. |
| 1:05.0 | I mean they are absolutely flying through La Rochelle and it just being by the roadside, |
| 1:10.0 | it always reminds you just how fast the Tour de France is. |
| 1:13.0 | I know that sounds ridiculous but this is nothing compared to the speeds they're going to be hitting on the final run into Yield-Durais. |
| 1:21.0 | The sprint finish and well will it be a first Tour de France stage win for St-Benign, the Irish champion? |
| 1:28.0 | He's got a win in the Giro, he's got a win in the Walter in the last two seasons. |
| 1:35.0 | He's riding the Tour de France again and he's looking for that first victory for the Conequistet. |
| 1:41.0 | Well that's really the question that we're asking in this episode. |
| 1:44.0 | He's got another chance tomorrow of course in Poitier with the historic links to his hometown Carriconshire, |
| 1:52.0 | the great Sean Kelly won his first stage of the Tour de France in Poitier. |
| 1:56.0 | Riding for the Conequistet brings perhaps more opportunities, more support for St-Benign but also a lot more pressure. |
| 2:05.0 | And the longer he goes without winning a stage the more that pressure. |
| 2:10.0 | It's a bit like being the striker for a great football club isn't it? |
| 2:13.0 | Magninated or a Real Madrid Celtic, Watford striker? |
... |
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