In this episode Patrick and Benji recap the second stage of the 2026 Giro.
*Exclusive deals from our trusted partners* đ
đ´ââī¸ The bigger the GC gap, the bigger your savings. Get up to 60% off JOIN Cycling during the Giro đ https://join.cc/campaigns/lrcpgiro
⥠Fuel like the pros with Maurten, trusted by some of the fastest riders in the peloton. Get 15% off your first order with code LRCPGiro26 đ https://www.maurten.com
đĄī¸ Get your first 30 days free with Laka using code LRCP. T&Cs apply, new customers only đ https://laka.co
â Become an LRCP Ko-fi member and join the Lanterne Rouge Discord đ https://ko-fi.com/lanternerougecyclingpodcast
*Other ways you can support us* đ
Like and subscribe – it helps us grow!
Leave us a tip: http://www.ko-fi.com/lanternerougecyclingpodcast
Grab a TugBuddy shirt: https://shop.lanternerouge.com
Find us on your favourite podcast player: https://shows.acast.com/lanterne-rouge-cycling-podcast
Find us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LanterneRougeCP
*Meet the team* đ
đĻđē Patrick Broe – Host: https://www.youtube.com/@LanterneRougeCycling & https://www.instagram.com/the_lanterne_rouge_/ & https://www.twitter.com/lanternerougeyt
đ§đĒ Benji Naesen – Host: https://www.youtube.com/@BenjiNaesenTV & https://www.instagram.com/benjinaesen/ & https://www.twitter.com/benjinaesen
đŗđą Luc Grefte – Producer: https://www.twitter.com/lucgrefte
Some links in this description may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a commission if you make a purchase through them. This helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
41 Comments
Patrick Vs Benji stage 2 results
Total scores:
Benji: 0
Patrick: 0
Benji Stage 2 picks
Route release: "I dont care Patrick it's in a year!" 0 pts
Week before: Lund Andresen 0 pts
Day before: Christen 0pts
Stage 2 score: 0
Patrick Stage 2 picks
Route release: Van Der Poel 0 pts
Week before: Turner 0 pts
Day before: Narvaez 0 pts
Stage 2 score: 0
Still at zero points all round, but that finale was very unpredictable. Still hoping to get off the starting blocks tomorrow.đ
Looking to the next stage Patrick, during the week before picks, changed his mind multiple times. For stage 3 he initially selected Milan. Patrick was then reminded of the existence of this spreadsheet and started fiddling with his picks, much to the annoyance of Excel. He then changed his stage 3 pick to Malucelli. We'll see tomorrow if that was the right decision or not.
On Benji's side of Excel it's not looking overly promising points wise, as he didn't lock in a pick again on route release. With Patrick picking Kaden Groves back in December, this could be a chance for him to take a lead…..Let's just hope someone takes a lead soon! đ¤
(To avoid this becoming too tense and exciting I can confirm both competitors failed to lock in 3 picks each on route release, across the 21 stages. This means both have an equal chance of success as the race progresses. Normal dull data focus can now be resumed)
⥠Fuel like the pros with Maurten, trusted by some of the fastest riders in the peloton. Get 15% off your order with code LRCPGiro26 đ https://www.maurten.com
Insane ball knowledge by benji
interesting conversation between Remco & Pellizzari…. "why the f**k are you working with that wheel sucker?…."
Women's Angliru was superb! Heli camera angles showed just how brutal this beast of a climb is đ
Forlan 2010 WC BEAST
I thought as soon as Jan Christen closed the gap to the Vingegaard group, it is better for vingegaard to not sprint because with Jan Christen you never know if he puts you in the barrier
Stiasny has never shown this climbing level in her career.
1. Third race this year where Jonas benefits from the crashes of main rivals: Ayuso, Pidcock and now Adam Yates and two of his lieutenants. I guess we need to wait for TdF and Tadej to see good he is.
2. Think at the back of his mind Jonas thought about matching Tadej for a Stage 2 Giro win.
Gall simply was too far back. His climbing looked alright
Need Pelli to step up even more now Yatesy is out of GC.
To quote âIâm not having it..â You chastise any rider who relays with Pogacar siting âheâs the favorite so do not work with himâ, defending Visma (Wout van Aert, JonasâĻ) failure to help pull, and then question the 2 ridersâ decision not to help more with Jonas, when he is by far more the favorite for this Giro than Pogacar was in the Monuments! Wout can out sprint Pogacar. MvdP can best Pogacar and has. Hypocrisy. No way should they have helped Jonas win the stage and gain an advantage over them. I wonât ask if âthatâs fairâ because it is. đ
for Benji it's your "comparing apples and oranges"
Can Jan Christen go for Top5 in GC?
Benji, thank you so much for your comments at the end of this episode. (And Patrick for chiming in as well.) I just had the 5-year anniversary of my sister passing away suddenly at age 23 (not cycling related, but not so different from someone like Wouter Weylandt either), and it's exactly as you said, death is a devastating thing but when you aren't able to talk about it that can be even more devastating. Here in America at least, people seem to avoid thinking about death at all costs, and that at times, including the last couple of weeks, has made me feel isolated and crazy when trying to cope with the experience of grief. I wasn't expecting a cycling podcast to be the thing that made me feel a little better today, but it was – so thank you for that. I really appreciate, today and every day, how you guys manage to mix technical cycling analysis, fun and humor, and meaningful personal reflections all into the podcast.
2 stages and 2 massive crashes. Obviously this is all SRAM's fault for having a 10 tooth cog on their cassettes.
UAE's crash curse continues.
Uruguay won 1930 and 1950, Italy won 1934 and 38.
Italy won in 34 and 38… Uruguay won in 30 and 50, in front of full Maracana stadium. Stick to the cycling boys đ
If he gets to attack in 2nd stage and almost win I predict Jonas is winning like 6 or 7 stages depending on Pelizzari
Question, with all of the millions these teams invest in the riders and the talk of rider safety why not make it mandatory for teams to use ârain tiresâ or tires with some grip in the wet, when there is a probability of rain. And if people say these tires are slower, surely thats a good things in the rain. Love the show .
Someone in chat said Vingegaard can't sprint. He can actually, he has really good snap for a GC guy, like Tadej does. However in that situation, its a lot of risk to try, and he is definitely more risk adverse than Tadej. Which is probably smart but less fun for us =)
So much bad luck for Jay Vine this year. He needs an Exorcist by this point.
Who tf is out here drinking menthol flavour Morten đ "I love drinking mouthwash!"
Hey guys, been following the pod for 5 years now and never had a complaint, but I gotta say the women's Vuelta deserves to be more than a side note on a podcast of a men's race. I know you're busy people, but the women's GTs need everyday episodes! Especially with an exciting and unpredictable race like this Vuelta.
Could someone who's raced explain to us why Soler is pedaling at that point?
You're in the second wheel, so in the slipstream, leaning on slippery asphalt, what the hell are you pedalling for?
If you look at him, he falls off right then.
It was a brutal crash.
compare apples and pears in german is in english compare apples and oranges.;)
The Hainan field and by extension, Dusan Rajovic, being completely vindicated day by day at this Giro, serious wheel-knowers already knew.
as far as i know it's a range of about 5w between a brands flagship tire to the same brand's ~faster TT version~ of the tire. shouldn't that mean it's a merely a drop in the bucket in comparison to the hundreds of watts they're pushing… no?
wait i love the Group1 vs. Group2 đđ amazing
It's apples with oranges!
Benji the English expression is comparing apples to oranges
If thereâs a mass peloton crash like this, they should just neutralize GC times on the stage and leave the stage win and time bonuses on the line up for grabs only.
It's never Kopecky's fault!
Sorry Benji, need to work on your World Cup history đ Uruguay won in 1930 and 1950 đ still slacking though!
If ever there were a situation where a race director could neutralize a descent BEFORE someone gets hurt, this would be it, right? No breakaway, rain, sketchy roads – come on. As a fan, I'd much rather see the stage get mixed up a bit by a neutralization than see riders taken to the hospital. Pro cycling needs to admit that the descents have to be slowed down.
they're spamming the ads like crazy
Dangerous sport not many sports where multiple ambulances follow a race and periodically they run out of ambulances.
Vingegard drops everyone on a bump imagine what he will do on a proper mountain.
Diego Forlan – Yellow Submarine!