“An absolutely MAD stage!” | Today At The Tour – Stage 15 | Tour de France

Join the ITV Cycling team LIVE for a debrief and analysis from Carcassonne as we take a look back at the final day before the final rest day in this years Tour De France.

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[Music] Well, down there, Ted Pagacha is going about his formalities and giving interviews for the final time in the second block of racing heading into the second rest day. Totally in control of the tour to France despite a frenetic day. Yeah, I mean, you’d expect him to be so much stronger than everybody. He’s got a great team and I think just his way of racing suits days like today where it’s chaotic and he just at the front he loves it. You saw at the beginning he was avoiding the crashes. He was in amongst all the guys chasing for the stage win and it’s just that’s just the way he races. He’s rather good at riding his bicycle. And another man who is the master of chaos is Daniel Feb who’s somewhere in the midst of it all. Stage 15 done. We’re finally into the second rest day. Of course a little bit. Are we still a little bit later than usual for second rest day? Feels like it. Anyway, exciting day today. Victory for Tim Wellen. Some PMIA, some controversy after the stage. Quinn Simmons telling us that he thought the motorbikes played a key role. We’ve heard that many times before when solo breakaways have succeeded in the tour to France. Was it any worse today than it is usually? Of course. Sometimes the breakaway, we hear complaints that the breakaway favored the chase too much. Today the well Quinn Simmons finger was pointing very much at the stage winner. It wasn’t his fault of course. In fact, here he comes. Tim Wellins just behind us. He’s heading back to his team bus now. Rest day for his team leader of course Ted Pogat. It’s probably a very much needed rest day. Of course, two weeks into the tour to France. Yesterday he was a little bit sick. We heard him talking about blocks. Of course, there’s been a bit of illness in that team over the last few days. What else have we seen as we go into the final week of the tour? Well, we’ve seen the Vizma Lisa bike riders definitely let off the leash. Victor Campernonauts, he came pretty close today. We expect more breakaways for the Vizma Lisa bike riders in the last week. One of the talking point today’s stage, Julian Alfilipe, his celebration. Not the first time he’s done that when he hasn’t won. Of course, 2020. Le Baston famously celebrates Primo’s Rogich slips under his arm and takes the win. Today, we wondered how had he not seen camps just ahead. And how did he not know about Wellins even further ahead? Well, he didn’t because he crashed earlier in the day and wrecked his radio. Fortunately, Alfa Phipe still had a smile on his face when we spoke to him just a moment ago about that celebration and he’ll have a nice picture to remember the day. As I said earlier though, we’re going into the rest day tomorrow. Important rest day. A lot of tired riders out here. Important day for Oscorn, for Pogatcha, for Vingod. Vingard. He needs to gather himself for this big final week. But we shall see what we get on the other side. Thank you, Ned. Thank you, David. Enjoy your rest day. Thanks, Daniel. Uh, that was a lunatic day of racing, wasn’t it? Absolutely bonkers. A crash very early on, very fast start. Neielson Palace I think was the rider who was off the front and they were chasing him and then a crash kind of like exploded the race and almost exploded Julian Alif’s shoulder. Yeah. And it was just it was so fast. A tailwind again like we’ve seen over and over again and then just a desperation of the Pelon. There’s so many teams so many racers that know they’ve got hardly any chances left in this year’s race. And so combination of that desperation, tailwind, it was absolutely bonkers racing and the crash just added to it. So it was chaos. Hannah Philipe had dislocated her shoulder and the doctor put it back. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s what you’ve got to do with a dislocated shoulder. I remember it happened to Garren Thomas a few years ago at the tour. There are riders that that know that kind of have that recurring injury and they just tell them put it back in. They flinched a little bit, but he got back on and um well, fast forwarding to the end, poor old Julian Philipe sprinting out sprinting out for third place and celebrating like he’d won it. Oh, super awkward moment. I felt for him actually. Yeah, I know. But uh at least he got to enjoy it for a few seconds. which uh which not many people get. Absolutely true. Um all right then. So eventually that that that group went but before that Matthew Vanderpool if he’s going to win the green jersey has to manipulate a race, find a race situation where he can drop Jonathan Milan and go to that sprint and take those 20 points. If he doesn’t do that, he’s not got no chance. That’s exactly what he did today. Yeah, it was textbook. I mean, I think in the team meeting that would have been the objective that they’re a bit dependent on how the Pelaton races and and I think it was predictable how the Pelon were going to race and the fact Matthew Vanderpor has the strength to be there is how he’s going to get himself back in the competition and he’s done it. Yeah. Super exciting. Um and then eventually, you know, it had to settle down eventually and it kind of did although never totally and we got that group of riders off the front. They got on to they got through the categorized climb without too much action. actually the very steep muro where you might have thought that will be where the winning move goes but the climb went on through that for another 10 km and Tim wellins timed his launch to perfection I think it was his strategy it was a smart thing Michael store just ripped it up on the climb because that’s his strength he has to go there but uh Tim Wellins just pegged it back with camparts and the fact that he was there and knew where to go I mean again hats off to UAE because they’ve done their their homework they knew exactly when to go it was perfect because the group behind caught at the same time. So it was a little bit of a lull, a little bit of chaos in that group when Bariel and Carlos Rodriguez joined back on and he just launched on the left hand side and but when he launched it wasn’t just one of those attacks that goes for a couple hundred meters. He was committed for a kilometer and it just blew them off one by one and then he was just go time. It was Warren Bil who very nearly shut him down but then he couldn’t go any deeper. Then Simmons and you thought well he’s got a chance. He did about 30 seconds and then he was done and from that moment on formality. I mean that that was what we often say in racing kind of tactics. Attack once and do it all in. And you saw that Tim Wellins was textbook in that respect. We see the likes of Quinn Simmons who do multiple attacks. The idea is to wait and wait and wait. Choose the moment and when you go it’s everything. And you know if he doesn’t succeed you’ve not won the race and that’s how Tim Wellland raced. All right. Well let’s hear from Tim Wellins who’s a tour of France winner for the first time stage winner in for the first time in his career. And he is also the man in possession of one of the most marvelous Flandrean accents of all time. Listen to this. For the moment, life is smiling. I mean, everything is going very good to win a stage into the France with this beautiful jersey. It’s really a dream come true. Uh, you chose a moment to attack a long way out, 41k, and Quinn Simmons was at the back as well. Was that decisive in your decision to go at that moment? Yeah, I knew that this the my strong colleagues were on the right side of the group and they were blocked when I attacked. So, I knew I had to go on the left and just go full until I have a small gap. And when I had a small gap, I tried to make it bigger and bigger, which I succeeded until the finish. And one final question, um, the joy of victory, there’s a different kind of satisfaction working for someone else to win. Can you compare the two kinds of pleasure, the two sides of your personality that it’s calling on? It’s difficult, huh? Yeah. No, it’s really an honor to work for Tade. I think everybody would be in my place to work for a champion like he is, but I know he’s also a very uh nice person who’s very happy when his teammates win. So I’m sure he’s very happy for me to win today. But as a domestique, it’s a nice life. You don’t have the pressure. You have to work. You can make the others suffer and then go easy to the finish. So it’s a really nice life. And like I say, it’s really nice have the opportunity to do both. Time to answer your online questions for stage 15. Seb says, “Is there a slight chance that Vizma have been moving more towards stage wins because they know deep down that Yonas may not be in the competition for the yellow jersey?” Yes, they have. I mean, that’s been clear since the end of the first week, I think. Yeah. Yeah, they have to. They have to. They have to do something. Um, and they’ve got one already with Simon Yet. Um, uh, JP Felo says, “Did the second team car pick up Remco yesterday? And how does the team manage an abandon?” It’s a good question. How do they It was a second team car. Then they’ll take it to the where you have Sweeny team staff at the side of the road giving fees and put him in one of those cars to be taken back to the finish. Yeah. And then or sometimes straight off the race. Actually, they don’t even go to the finish sometimes. If there’s an airport nearby, then get them off or something like that. Simon Burke says, “Watching lour and the open, that’s golf, I believe.” Okay. Yes. Anything to say about golf? No. Okay. Both Tad and Sheffller, who’s a golfist? Okay. Are at the pinnacle of their sport. Sheffller is citing boredom where Tad seems to be loving every moment. Is that the difference in the sport or in the personality? Well, since neither of us know who Sheffller is, we’d have to pass um pass judgment on the sport of golf. You and I played a round of golf once. I’m terrible at it. I’m terrible at it. Um I think it’s just a personality. I mean, I think in every Yeah. T I think that’s one of his strengths is the fact he just loves it so much. And the moment that love goes is the moment I think he’ll start to to lose his superpower. Yeah. Yeah. There is a video online if you want to go to YouTube and type in golf attack incidentally where you can watch a round of golf between me, Pete Kenyuk, and David Miller back in 2020. And um I won’t tell you who wins, but it’s an unexpected plot twist. Um, Mark Ogulvie says, “We usually know the winner of the GC after the final Saturday. Given the changes to the final stage, will this still be the case or will the GC leaders be racing?” Well, I mean, something would have to change in the general classification. Yeah. Rapidly for that to come into play. Unlikely. I mean, impossible actually because the race is going to be for the stage win, which will be so fast. Uh, so there’s going to be minimal time gaps. And the way the GC has exploded, there’s such big time gaps. No one’s taking significant time on the final stage. No. I mean, had it been closer, then maybe that would have been a a a very live possibility. Karen Taylor, um, whose bikes do the team cars carry if they’re behind their breakaway riders, or is a mixture of the team? No, they always have all the riders, one for each rider, two possibly for a leader. Yes. Um, Keith S says, “Can the teams talk back on team radio?” So, the riders, I guess, is what you mean. And how do they signal when they’re in the mountains traveling really fast? How do they get signal? Well, we heard Tad talking back to the car on TV. We heard Tad on TV. He was talking to the car. Um, and equally, uh, today TUDA Pro Cycling lost radio contact with Julian and so that’s why he didn’t know that there were riders ahead of him. Um, finally from us, Dave from Haven’t says, “Ned and David, if you were spectators instead of commentators at this year’s tour, which stage would you like to watch?” Cool. Don’t know actually. I genuinely don’t know. Probably Paris just for the vibes. No, really. Just for the vibes. Just for the vibes. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I really like to been at the top of that climb today. I think that would look pretty good. That uncatategorized climb. Pretty good as well. Lovely part of the world. And the last question from Jack McKillip. That’s for Daniel Free. Thanks Ned and David. We have had a question from Jack McKillip. I think I know at free boss. I often wonder if social media has killed the doomed breakaway that had no hope of stage victory but was once motivated by TV time for the sponsors. Musk and Zuckerberg have changed the float of races in brackets. Maybe uh what do I think about this? I think that it’s not so much social media. Do you know what I blame? wearables and very good feedback data on physiology because I think that riders are so well preoccupied with what they see sometimes on their wearables as we all are whe they had a good sleep, a bad mind, nightly recharge last night is terrible. Um I think they’re acutely aware that by going in a breakaway they’re compromising their the day after and the day after that and possibly the whole tour to France. So that’s why we don’t see any trivial breakaways or breakaway attempts or we don’t see so many of them anymore. That would be my answer. Okay, that’s it. We’ve answered all your questions. Another thrilling day of racing here in Kasson, which is a city we know very well. Uh do join us tomorrow where we’ll have moved down the road a little bit and uh we’ll be enjoying a rest day kind of because we’ll be doing another one of these. [Music]