Lidl-Trek Denied Again & the Dolomites Loom | Giro d'Italia 2026 | THEMOVE+

And I've seen somewhere, I mean, it's a quote of an interview that said, "It would be nice to win six, two more stages." He said that, so that must be in his mind. And you know, in this hero, I would say, the plan that Visma has before stage, they usually accomplish it. They usually execute it.

Yeah.

“So, I think tomorrow, Vignalard wins the stage, and takes more time on all of his rivals.”

That's, I think, the most logical outcome of the more stage. Everybody, welcome back to the move, plus I'm Spencer Martin, I'm here with Yohan Berniel. We are breaking down stage 18 of this year to TIA, as well as previewing its stage.

I mean, probably the most important, at least most difficult noun stage.

We happen to race, this is a very unusual episode, I am in Brussels. Yohan's home country, and he is at a wedding. A black tie wedding, and it takes you on good frame marks. In this episode, I should have dressed up for this. Yeah, Spencer, so I mean, as to all our listeners and viewers, so I'm in Mallorca for a wedding.

I just run away from the wedding to the podcast. This is how dedicated we are to our move listeners and our move audience. So full disclosure, I, you know, I, here is since this afternoon, I haven't seen much of the stage. I know the outcome, I know it is a bit what happened, but for this time, Spencer, I'm going to have to rely on you a little bit about the details of the stage,

“but I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened, so I hope I can give you my opinion.”

Yeah, but we thought it would be a boring stage, and without it would be a good one to be busy pairing. We were wrong, it was, it was pretty interesting. And thanks to your country's got to be the slowest passport control in the, in the known world. I had a lot of time to watch the start of this stage at the Brussels airport waiting to get my passport checked. It started, it seemed like everyone in the race thought it was going to be a breakaway day.

Everybody, you rarely see this consensus breakaway. It starts, but everyone thinks it's going to be a breakaway to the point that it wasn't because the everyone was waiting.

Waiting waiting for the move, waiting for the move, never really came. It's these flat starts, the 20 K flat starts into a climb,

so everyone's thinking, oh wait for the climb, I'll attack on the climb, no one really wants to go on the flat. There's a, there's a unit that rose rocket rider off the front, they get to the climb. It is hard on the climb, but it's so hard because everyone thinks this is the moment the move is going to go, the move doesn't go. These moments was kind of active. Caruso was in a move for a little bit. It was a very nervous, very cagey. Eventually, two pullties get away with an opposite or an EF rider bridges up and then an opposite rider bridges up.

And everyone says, that's good. We'll let that move sit out there and then the sprinters teams are controlling, which is not what we expected. Basically, in essence, little trek in UAE, controlling for Jonathan Arbaya who needed to get a lot of intermediate sprint points, and he needed to drop the sprinters on the final climb and then win the stage, you're going to high place and on the stage.

We're going into the final climb, the break always getting caught, it's kind of falling into a rhythm here.

The climb comes around, it's extremely, extremely fast into the climb. You can't put in any of us went to the front like it was the end of a stage as sprint lead out. They get to the climb, but it's not so hard. Like Jonas goes to the front with Visma, it's still like he's just trying to stay at the front stage. Say if everyone, all the GC guys can't jump and Paul Monier and Jonathan Malon are climbing incredibly well. Like Jonathan Malon, I was stunned by how well he was climbing on this.

It was 11 and a half percent average, it was like the murder we had for a kilometer and a half. But it's what we said, Spencer, you know, it's a tree, three and a half minute effort, right? And so some of these sprinters, you know, they're going to get dropped, but not far enough to not make it back.

“And so that's what these guys were thinking, we could clearly see a little trek, really controlling it for Malon,”

bringing them in a good position. The thing is also, once you're in the front, you know, you're already 200, 300 meters up the climb before the other guys can come. So it's this only seven out of meters left. My knee was the same thing. Even even, but Robo's rockets, they did the same for Cubis, who's, you know, a sprinter that goes decently uphill. And so yeah, I mean, I was surprised also to see that the sprinters made it.

Yeah, and a one point, what was it, one point, four kilometers, one point, one kilometer, no. One point, one kilometer long.

“It may seem like an endless wall to us, but for these professional riders, man, that's, you basically, I mean, they all take it all to this, everybody can get up to that, and you know, decent speed.”

Well, that, that, to me, that's the message of the day is we think of these sprinters as one trick pony is, and they can sprinkle fast in the straight line. These are incredible bike riders.

And we pull out, you know, like Marco Pintani out there. And it's like what you're saying, there's a GC group, Jonas probably wants to get over the climb to descent to pick his own lion on the descent. So he attacks on the climb, but it's not a real attack. He's just trying to get to the front, he's descending down. In a sin, I believe, is in the move. They've carbon strong up there, so they're pushing it, but there's nobody else really to push. So the sprinters are right behind, they catch back on.

We're going into the final kilometer, and Paul Monet was kind of kind of out of position, kind of by himself. Yes, persuade, and comes up from behind and picks him up says, hey, get on my wheel. We're literally muscles his way to the field and doesn't incredible. Sprint lead out from on yay money. He gets the shorter line to the final corner. The lawn has to go around, Stephen, that's kind of the difference.

“Second place that was not malon. It was Eduardo Zambanini from Bahrain, the victorious. And if you remember that name is because he got second on stage five of the jury to tie a last year to Matt Peterson.”

And he stuck out to us as a really talented rider. He is in 25 year old Italian.

And I guess he emerges once a year to finish second at the most interesting team jury to tie his stage, but congrats to him.

Monet probably seals up the points jersey because what this winning now has a 195 points to Jonathan Arvius is 158. So even if Narvius wins intermediate sprint points, the next two mountain stages, he would need to win the intermediate sprint point and probably place ahead of money in the final stage in row, which unless there's a terrible mechanical will not happen. You're going on what this is another one of these bottle ups, so it's we had, which is an interesting stage, but it doesn't really have any bearing on the GC and we're kind of in neutral waiting for the GC to kick off tomorrow.

Yeah, I mean, listen, we have to have stages like this, you know today, I think today was a very interesting stage because yesterday we didn't really know if it was going to be break away or sprint, we had, you know, we had our doubts that these big sprinters could make it up. That climb. I was, you know, I was more in favor of a guy like Narvius or Sylva who looked really good, but for a moment there, I think when they were like 10 to 12 riders, Sylva from from Astana was up there, strong rider, but finally, you know, the two first groups came together, it was not a bunch sprint with the whole Peloton, what was it 40 50 riders max probably.

He was like 59 riders, yeah, yeah. So, you know, little track had a few guys there, so that quick step had four riders in that group, so they were really motivated and believing before the stage that money could make it up there.

And that turned out to be key to have these teammates there for that lead out.

Let's not forget also Spencer, the attack of the Lalu on the climb, you know, really really balled move from him, after having crashed at the middle of the stage, looked back, he had earth himself pretty bad, but came back and then was really, really very courageous to attack that was, that was, you know, a good sign, I think, for him to to show that, especially for himself, that he's still in good shape. And that he can, you know, hopefully for him to defend the what jersey is his main opponent is now going to be paganzole.

So, paganzole is obviously a better climber, but he has to do the work for Jonas.

“So, yeah, I think it's still, it's still very interesting. We all know that the GC for first place is over, right, but these other classifications are still going on.”

The podium may still very open, so we'll see what happens. I think today was a nice stage was a transition stage, but been an unknown outcome, which, in my opinion, made it much more exciting. Yeah, one of the most interesting stages of the race, and then Ullalu, so he attacks on the climb. He attacks again, going into the finish with Jonas Colzett from underwax mobility. I found out last night, you know, Jonas Colzett's father CEO of new ex mobility kind of a funny. Oh, wow, okay, funny coincidence there. I wonder how they got involved in cycling.

Yeah, well, you know what we also found. Well, I also found out yesterday's Spencer. I guess you read it also, we're about yesterday's stage and and Michael Volgrin.

And you're and Jonas was actually a big fan of Volgrin when he started cycling.

So yeah, yeah, crazy. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, if Volgrin, Volgrin was probably a big star by, I don't know, 2015, 2016 and that time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, interesting. Wow. That makes me build for Michael Valgrin is a, is a childhood hero of a veteran GC writer. Wow. The big thing, the like the big thing we're left with is palm money now has three stage wins. Jonathan Belon and little track has zero. That's not what I expected money a loss. He looks like a star of the future star of the present. Really, I mean, this guy skies the limit on what he can do.

I was surprised, you know, I thought for a moment like a few stages ago that he was washed, you know, that me to me.

The long efforts and, you know, the two weeks, two and a half weeks of racing already got to him, but when today he looked good, it is good. I mean, he had to be really good to be there in that position.

“I think Milan was probably first of both over the, I mean, didn't make it in the first group, but shortly after, but that man here was five 10 positions behind Milan on the climb.”

And so yeah, and Milan's a great climber too. I feel like people forget that. Yeah, for a sprint or he's definitely a good laser strong guy, you know, he's strong guy. I really found it interesting Spencer to see that these guys know exactly what they can do. And they know exactly exactly, okay, this is the climb. This is the percentage. This is how long it's going to take us. Yes, we can make it, you know, and that's exactly what these teams did and believed in.

So, so I think that was that was really interesting and something that personally I had not thought that both Milan and when you would make it over this climb. Of course, it also depends on the rhythm right and how fast they go, but you know what at this point in the race. Even the big guys, even the strong climbers, there's not that much power left, you know. Even the good climbers were struggling on this wall because it was hard for everybody and nobody really could make a difference. And then also you have to take it to account, you know, it would be crazy to to for one of the climbers who's in GC to put his team there and make it hard on a one kilometer climb.

Knowing that you're probably not going to go anywhere and taking to account that the next two stages are the most important stages to defend their GC.

“So, I think in the coming days, you know, all of that probably contribute to the fact that some of these sprinters could make it over the climb.”

I mean, you had to feel it's going over four seconds before Milan. So, yeah, it shows you that the powers is probably not there. Does that happen? If that's a one day race, it's probably a bigger gap. They kept saying, so it all quicks up, kept getting interviewed during the stage and they say, what's your, you know, what's your goal for the day and they say, it's not a money a day, it's it's, it's soybeans too hard for money a. And they said the same after the stage, was that robbing the queue and thought they were messing with us and that this was the plan the whole time.

What would you guess? Do you think they were legitimately surprised by this? I mean, I don't know, so they said that during the stage.

“Yeah, you know, they're going up and interviewing them in the car and then they say, no, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a really good.”

It's a really good way of getting out of the responsibility to contribute to the chase and trying to control the break away. So I'm going to guess. I mean, I haven't seen that part of the stage. I'm going to guess that's the dog, which step did not do any work. Not really, you know, okay, okay, well, there you go. That's a good way to, it's a good way to avoid say, oh, you know, it's too hard for money. So we're not interested in bringing the break back. And then, of course, if you get in that position, you know, you get four riders of your team that make it over the climb because they haven't worked.

So it could be part of a, you know, a strategy interesting. Yeah, yeah, I didn't thought about that. They did have more firepower than everybody else at the end. That probably, they also, they don't smart smart smart smart. I mean, so that quick step is back like they got the swagger back. This is a dangerous stage when a team in a way they haven't been in recent years. Yeah, you know, they've been here. They've been successful all year. You know, obviously in the classics where we were used to see them dominating.

That's not the case anymore. But other than that, man, they're very present. They have a lot of wins already. You know, let's not forget they have, you know, one of the two three strongest sprinters in the world with Merlead.

You know, if we count, uh, Milan as well as one of the best sprinters in the world, and Milan has in one stage here and money has beaten him three times already.

You know, positions might be shifting soon, you know, to be in that select elite group of best sprinters in the world. Man, yes, he's knocking on the door.

“Yeah. And I mean, I have, is, is Dylan Vembaro not on the team. He's on the team now, right?”

Yeah, yes, yeah. And he was, I mean, obviously there's a limit to what you kind of kind of accomplish in one day is right now. If you don't have, we've got Charlie Vanderpuller, well, but they were pretty good. I mean, he was strong, especially in the early, like the dinner opening week in the classics. So they're back. It's exciting to see them back.

Money is probably going to win the pointers now. So anything else today, stay Johan?

Um, no, not really. Not really. I think everybody's just, you know, listen, 80, 85% of the peloton is just, you know, okay. Please let bring us to Rome. Please, you know, let's get to Rome and make a party. But, but yeah, I mean, listen, today was, was survival for the most, the peloton just the guys who thought who would make it. I mean, 59 riders is still a lot of guys. Uh, but everybody's thinking now. I mean, the GC guys are thinking about, you know, Friday and Saturday and everybody else is thinking.

Okay. Let's, let's get this over. Wait, wait, do you know what I'm going home? Yeah, and if people were not, you know, dying to get in the breakway, you'll know why when we preview station. Which we'll do right after this break. Okay. You're on. So tomorrow's stage 19 today is whatever day you're listening.

Stage 19 on Friday, 151 kilometers. Well, that's not that bad. First 45K are flat. That's not so bad. Well, in the last 105 kilometers of the stage there is roughly 4,000 meters of climb. I mean, so it's a total of 49 100 meters of climbing on the stage. That is 16 to 17,000 feet.

And then this step blew me away, Johan. So we have had a total of 13. No, sorry, 15 kilometers over 1500 meters. So far, this year to tie a tomorrow. We have almost 50 kilometers over 1500 meters of elevation.

“That's a whole different game, a whole different game. I mean, you have mountains stages and high mountains stages, right?”

Yeah, yeah, that's that's different. Of course, it's more in the advantage of the real pure climbers. But, you know, of course, we have to consider Johan as the best climber by far in this race, so he won't have any problems. It's more the others. So sometimes you could see we can see probably guys who have been performing pretty well until now in those climbs until 50, 600 meters. But once you go to 2000 meters, something different happens. So we could potentially see one of those guys really, you know, fall disappear in the top three top four, you know, it's a possibility. It's really different.

If I had a circle of guy, I hate to do it, Tom. I'd probably say, well, Leo is the most suspect.

Yeah, other top five. Yeah, when we describe a stage like that, maybe he is just naturally an amazing high mountain climber.

“No, I doubt it. No, no, no, no, I mean, no, I think I think with all these, the most logic.”

The potential victim. You know, okay, today he attacked twice in the final, probably also with the adrenaline still, but you know, the crash from today, will have more consequences tomorrow. And also a lot of you know, these kind of short climbs, that's his preferred terrain. We've seen him already in several races. He would be really with the front guys in these kind of climbs along the climbs. He's a bit more struggling, but still, he will fight for it. He will fight for his top five place and he will especially fight for his, for his white jersey. So I wouldn't count him out yet, although it's not going to be easy for him to stay there.

So the last 100 kilometers of the stage, we have six category rise climbs. It's crazy, including an HC climb, which I didn't even know the zero had, the Paso, jou, Paso, jou, Baso, jou, Baso, jou is the beast, yeah, which is the Chima copy, I believe is what they call it. Yeah, the highest point of the year, it's 2300 meters basically, very, very high, 10k long at 9 and a half percent and that altitude. So that's incredibly hard. And they have two more climbs after that, including a final climb, if I'm reading this right, it 10% average for 5k. So 517k, I think, yeah, that's it.

Julia, a pelisari plus 200, field score plus 2200, and then just a wild card I would call out is eager for an all plus 8000, the stage kind of yells for an all at me, if you want to go break away, but who, how do you, who do you think is going to win this and how is it going to play out? No, I think I think Spencer with 150 something kilometers, especially with the majority of all the climbing in the last 100k, I think is DC, I think this ma will control and Jonas will win is fifth stage, I think, and I've seen somewhere, I mean, it's a quote of an interview that he said, you know, it would be nice to win six two more stages.

He said that, so that must be in his mind. And you know, in this zero, I would say, the plan that Visma has before stage, they usually accomplish it, they usually executed.

“Yeah, so I think the moral vingular wins the stage and takes more time on all of his rivals, that's I think the most logical outcome of the more stage.”

I'm surprised it's actually plus odds for Jonas on this stage, the books must, I guess, the money must think a breakaway could stay away, but I don't know, even if I, as I say that sentence, I just think that seems so hard to imagine, right? So who's, who's then, if you look at the bedding, it'd be Chicone, it would be the right, it's like Gianone, Paul's Rubio would be the Chris Harper who won the Queen stage. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was a possibility, but it's difficult, especially, your puzzle job is incredibly hard, and then what's the next line?

That's not so steep, I think. Yeah, I wasn't familiar with this, it's the. So, full, like, falls, like, F-A-L-Z, Regio, Regio, yeah, and what's the, what's the, what's the, I mean, still pretty hard, it's it's five, it's only five and a percent, but the last six cares six and a half percent.

“That's not nothing, yeah, yeah, no, no, no, but I think with Paso, Joe, and then the last five k, 10 percent, you have to have a lot of time.”

You have to have at the bottom of the last line, you have to have three minutes at least.

And then it's still, you know, it always comes down to how much energy has it cost for the remainder of the break away to stay ahead.

To have it off time, and then you pay for it at the end. The way I see in the difference with Jonas, being in the, and his closest rivals, imagine what it will be with the guy who's in the break away and has spent already so much energy, so. I think it's going to be difficult for the break away to have to have to be a front and have it enough time before the last line.

“And what do you think happens that to me, the big races, I think we can pencil you on us and is being fine. The big races feel a skull, time and arms been jahently are all within 57 seconds of each other.”

How do you think that plays up? That's going to be interesting.

I don't know, man, listen, I've said for a few days already that I thought Jai Hindley was going to be the major candidate for the podium for the third spot.

I'm having doubts now. I don't know. I've said for a few days already that I thought Jai Hindley was going to be the major candidate for the podium for the third spot. I'm having doubts now. I don't know. I think armsman defended itself really well, but you know, looking at their pure. Climber qualities, I'm still going to go too fast. I mean, I kind of agree with you, but then if you think about it.

My parents have been potentially a bigger engine than Henley and in the last grant tour he did, he was absolutely ripping it up in the third week in the mountains.

So from breakaways from breakaways, it's definitely well, was one not from the GC group. No, I thought he went to the final one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. I think that was, yeah, that was it, but I think that was, yeah, that was it.

Yeah, I think that was, yeah, that was it, but I think personally, Spencer on on a steep climb like this, like, you know, five to longer 10%.

It's more the pure climber than the big engine. Especially for guy who's one as you were to tell you, on a stage just like this. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I'm super excited to watch.

“I think the point sure's the out of excited to watch that, I think that's probably done.”

So what we have left is the podium. I think Jonas is going to win the stage, and I don't think it's going to be particularly close. I think he's, I mean, maybe, timeatically, it could be close, but it won't physically be close. He will be in control, the entire stage, do you have anything else? I think it's, I think it's at least another minute tomorrow, at least in one minute is not going to be much, it's going to be more.

Could be, yeah, that could be like a last two kilometer attack, you know. And Spencer, and tomorrow, we're watching the stakes together from from most end of it from Belgium, that's crazy to think about. Yeah, we will be watching the stage together.

So, Pagachar, okay, never mind.

I was going to say, let's see what Pagachar won the zero by, and Jonas is going to try to beat that, but do you know what Pagachar won the zero to tie you by? This is shocking. More than seven minutes, nine minutes, 50 seconds. Wow, shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nine minutes on the table, though, if he, if Jonas really wants it, he could probably do that over the next two days.

“Well, how much, how much does he have now? Five minutes?”

Four, four minutes.

Four minutes. I know going to take nine minutes, I don't know. He's not going to take five more.

He's going to take five, two and a half minutes a day. No, no, no, he's good. I guess we'll have enough. It should take three days a day. Doesn't, doesn't need to, you know, doesn't need to, he doesn't have anything to do anything.

He just needs to stay with his rivals. So, um, no, I don't think he's going to win with that margin. But I would not exclude the six statements to make it even with Pagachar. Well, I did hear today, if you're gambler, this is relevant information that he's choosing to start stages in jerseys that he wants on his wall.

“Because like, that's how, that's how easy this is for him.”

He's not wearing skin suits on some of the stages because he wants a jersey on the wall, not a skin suit. That's how, in back your races, he wants a race worn jersey. He wants up. Yeah, it's a race worn jersey. By the way, 100 things, Spencer, before I forget about today's state, I don't know if you saw something I really don't really understand why they did that. But, you know, you saw four writers of this much changing bikes. What was it deal with? Well, and then they interviewed, uh, was it, yeah, I think they, it was Adam Blake actually asked Jonas on the bike.

Uh, and so apparently they started the stage with a one bike, what single chain ring. And they changed to a double chain ring. In the final of the race, something I don't really understand why they would do that on a stage like today. Do you have any more information about that? But, but upon hearing that, my thought goes to, I wonder if this is, if this is a test for something later.

You know, I don't know. Like, let's change bikes in a race situation and see how that goes. Yeah, okay. Like, you could do that. I mean, okay, I can understand, for example, if, if, um, you're not saying, and, and, and, I don't know, I just, I don't know, may this, but there must be something, something, something behind it. I don't know what, what it is. Maybe if some of our audience have any ideas, leave it in the comments.

These must definitely the most interesting team in terms of, you know, just thought like shower thoughts. We're like, hmm, what if you just sat at the back in a sprint stage and then they actually go and do it? It's kind of interesting to watch at times. Well, you all have anything else on the stage? That's it Spencer. I'm going back to the wedding and I'll see you through tomorrow.

Okay. I'll see you soon. Thank you for making time for us, you all. Okay. Thanks. Okay. Bye.