Welcome back to Lantern Rouge cycling podcast presented by Zwift for the first race recap of the season 15th of January roles are reversed.

Santos to an underwomen stage won Benji's up at the cracker to well before dawn. Actually, I think I don't even know if the sun gets up in the UK and I'm I'm happiest in the afternoon for me. No problem. And yeah. So why did you actually get up Benji like I said we could record it later.

Well, dedication, huh, like cycling's back on. I'm so hyped to see it and my alarm that I put at 345 in the morning actually woke me up, which I didn't expect to happen. So I was like, well, might as well watch the race now. Hey, and then I texted you and here we are. So, hey, we might as well get it out there as soon as possible.

So I'm down and in Adelaide courtesy of Zwift obviously also the show partner of LRCP's been pretty good the last few days I got in on Thursday midday went straight from the airport to a panel discussion with Kate Verano.

And this was a Zwift panel discussion on women and cycling, which is really interesting to have two riders and be paid and Jess Pratt to Australian riders and paid looks pretty good actually she won the Australian crit championships. I think she might do something in the classics this year over in Europe.

But that was interesting and yeah, otherwise just been hanging out going to see the event to a village is kind of like we don't have in Australia Eurobike and this is a de facto whether is literally a hall called the bike expo hall. And so all like a major brands and small and large brands are sort of have stalls etc and is great.

I think the riders seem pretty chilled went to a press conference with Brody Chapman and who else is there Roseman Ganon Grace Brown can't forget her and Lauren Stevens I noticed the EF there's been some sock issues they are not consistently wearing I mean maybe an in racing they will have them right but the socks have been I'm trying to get any other anecdotes.

Anyway, just thanks as with them here having all these anecdotes and as an interesting question I asked Roseman Ganon at that press conference which was who is the leader between you and manly in the versatile sprints.

She didn't really say she said she'd play their numbers and then Baker well fair enough she doesn't have to say that she said they use numbers they did the crit last night as well be classic she went in the break away with how.

And then Baker would be the main sprinter which we saw today so that was sort of an interesting tidbit Benji because in this course it was going to be a sprint always even though there was like a drag climb heavy crosswinds for a lot of the day.

What did you think like trek really strong team right but on this parkour do you just nurse brash if she's your GC leader do you try and split it in crosswinds when you might leave her behind they don't really have a top sprinter like this Husking stop there anymore.

Yeah true but firstly like you said it crosswinds when I was expecting to watch the sunset and under the last thing I expected was crosswinds the same the UAE I was surprised you guys have wind down there anyway when the wind actually was occurring I do believe that it would be a strategy for trek to do echelons because Alisa Klein also strong on the flat Hansen Chapman pretty good engines there as well sprad GC right so probably wouldn't be doing the engine work there but that's a team that.

Kind of needs it because when it comes to their pure sprints is on Genetti and and Klein and and Sprat are not the sprinters that I can put toe to toe with the manlies the bakers the Rosemann Ganons of this world and see them I would sprint them with ease at the end that's not what I see intrex intrex wall here but let's.

Let's shall we go over to park wind definitely or shall we just get into it I mean the park yeah it's like from Glenelg on the coast to Oldinger going south although there's a loop through the shaffee's climb where there was a QoM sprint account for and then there was a couple of rises to last of which in well longer but not well longer hill but there was a rise about.

18 20 K 18 Ks from the finish nothing to severe some lumps and bumps but then as a flat run into the last 20 finishing at the beach in Oldinger going north with some crosswind I think from their right shoulder that was a parkour it's a sprint pretty much pretty much but when it comes to that first QoM that you spoke about remember when the two to France fun happened last year and I said that blood is for hills would come out of nowhere and snipe that QoM point on the shawls Alisa while she waited for.

Well she waited a bit longer QoM overall.

I don't know but I don't think I did but you're making it out you're right.

Now she waited a few months and she took the QoM points here so I guess I can still consider that take of six months ago to be half correct I just got the raise wrong.

I think it's the thing you just I take is never wrong you just have to wait long enough for it to come correct that's what I love exactly that's exactly what I'm saying now she took that in front of Claire steals and so if you had words we spoke about Claire steals on the Israel premiere tech Roland preview that might still be coming out at this point so spoilers.

Anyway blood is real steak that she is a new transfer for FDJ by the way this year i'm looking forward to see what she will do throughout the season but outside of that no real breakway no big breakway for the majority of this first part of the stage it really came down to the first QoM so no first intermediate sprint at 55 kilometers to go for action to occur and it was a bit of a weird run into was that sprint to be honest it felt like there was no real pick up.

Outside of like I think it was lose out of his door someone in the team of the Jada was facing at the front of the group and then suddenly brown sprinted on the right side of the road while we saw that many and rose mingannon were both kind of sprinting but need to really doing lead out for each other and then there was track on the left side of the road with a full lead out but despite having a full lead out brown was completely destroying them which.

Looked completely weird from the helicopter angle because you'd expect a full lead out to beat all a single rider in like 400 meters of sprinting but no based brown just straight up took the points ahead of manly and rose mingannon no tracks riders in the top three there in the intermediate sprint so brown getting three seconds already for GC you think those three seconds will matter throughout the week.

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