VeloNews Podcast, ep. 239: Primož Roglič's Paris-Nice setback; Mathieu van der Poel's brilliance

VeloNews Podcasts

Pro cycling delivered 10 days of thrilling action as Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico delivered drama and heroics. On today's episode of The VeloNews Podcast, we discuss the biggest storylines to come out of this amazing bloc of early-season racing. Primož Roglič looked untouchable at Paris-Nice, winning three stages and taking the yellow jersey into the final day. Then, Roglič crashed twice and saw the jersey ride away. Photojournalist James Startt watched the race unfold from the back of an official race motorcycle all week, and he saw the inter-race dynamics that played into the outcome. Did Jumbo-Visma's hyper aggressive racing tactics influence the peloton's decision to accelerate after Roglič crashed? Did cycling's unwritten rules come into play? Startt gives us his insight into how things went down at Paris-Nice. Then, we discuss the week of heroics we saw at Tirreno-Adriatico, including Mathieu van der Poel's 50-kilometer solo breakaway on stage 5. Why are the stars of the cobbled classics and the Tour de France revving their engines this early in the season? How does this compare with the usual level of action and excitement that we see in early March? Andrew Hood and James Startt help us understand what, exactly, we're seeing on our TV screens. All that and more on this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast!