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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're buying

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Speaker 1: some peanuts and cracker jacks because opening day for the

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Speaker 1: Women's Professional Baseball League is finally here.

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Speaker 2: It's Friday, July thirty first.

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Speaker 1: And on today's show, former professional cyclist and self proclaimed

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Speaker 1: women's bike racing fan club president Aisha McGowan joins us

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Speaker 1: ahead of the Tour de France fem We talk about

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Speaker 1: why we would have been friends back in high school,

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Speaker 1: how she turned an early career crash into an educational moment,

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Speaker 1: which dark horse competitor in this year's Tour de France

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Speaker 1: is not such a dark horse after all, and why

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Speaker 1: it's so crucial to explain the sometimes confusing dynamics of cycling.

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Speaker 1: Plus hide your favorite players, self inflicted.

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Speaker 2: Pain, and a lay a lay ala.

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Speaker 1: It's all coming up right after this welcome back slices.

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Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today. Let's start with hoops.

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Speaker 1: The WNBA trade deadline is looming and teams have until

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Speaker 1: Sunday at three pm Eastern to decide whether or not

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Speaker 1: they want to make a move. Now, these calculations are

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Speaker 1: never straightforward, but this year is perhaps particularly complex because

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Speaker 1: the significant number of players are on one year deals

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Speaker 1: after the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached in March,

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Speaker 1: and I know what you're thinking. The W trade deadline

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Speaker 1: is almost always a nothing burger. Yes, it has been

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Speaker 1: in the past, but those one year deals, combined with

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Speaker 1: several roster construction tools in the new CBA, could turn

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Speaker 1: what's usually a ho hum, nothing to see here weekend

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Speaker 1: in the W into a major season and team shifting event.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 1: A couple players that people are keeping an eye on

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Speaker 1: include the Connecticut Sons Anissa Morrow, the New York Liberties

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Speaker 1: Benije Lany Hamilton, and the Fisa Collier, who just started

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Speaker 1: playing again for the Minnesota Lynx after being out for

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Speaker 1: the first half of the season with injury.

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Speaker 2: Collier leave the Links.

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Speaker 1: I know it sounds crazy, but this pass off season

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Speaker 1: she signed just a one year Supermax, so the team

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Speaker 1: has to at least consider the chance that she might

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Speaker 1: want to look elsewhere, and if they think she won't

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Speaker 1: return next season, knowing what a haul she'd bring in

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Speaker 1: via trade, they might have.

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Speaker 2: To consider what's best for the team's future.

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Speaker 1: Now, the biggest story is Kelsey Plum of the La Sparks,

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Speaker 1: who's been out since June with injury. Now she signed

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Speaker 1: a one year deal with the Sparks, and sources tell

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Speaker 1: the Athletics Annie Constable she does not intend to re

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Speaker 1: sign with the team and free agency.

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Speaker 4: Now.

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Speaker 1: You might remember Plum was part of a three team

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Speaker 1: trade that included sending her to La and the Spark's

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Speaker 1: number two pick to the Seattle Storm, who turn that

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Speaker 1: pick into none other than Dominique Malonga, an All Star.

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Speaker 1: So the Sparks have a losing record, no Maloga, and

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Speaker 1: Plum reportedly out the door with nothing coming back in return,

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Speaker 1: so put simply, they have to move her. We'll link

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Speaker 1: to a few articles in the show notes where friends

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Speaker 1: oft the Show, Annie Costable and Michael vopol share what

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Speaker 1: they're hearing from sources and why certain players' names keep

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Speaker 1: coming up. And of course we'll update you on Monday

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Speaker 1: with the latest trade moves from the weekend. More w yesterday,

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Speaker 1: we told you about the small gathering outside the Indiana

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Speaker 1: Fever Seattle Storm game earlier this week, where a couple

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Speaker 1: dozen people reportedly rallied to both support Sophie Cunningham and

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Speaker 1: promote to initiatives that would bar transgender students from participating

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Speaker 1: in girls athletics at schools throughout the state. While we

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Speaker 1: have some more news from that night, Seattle Storm Minority

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Speaker 1: owner Celeste Keaton has been fined by the WNBA and

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Speaker 1: suspended for her team's next five home games following an

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Speaker 1: incident that took place at the game that night.

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Speaker 2: Here's what we know.

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Speaker 1: A pair of teenage Sophie Cunningham fans were sitting courtside

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Speaker 1: at the game, wearing shirts for a brand that advocates

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Speaker 1: against the inclusion of transgender women and women's sports, and

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Speaker 1: holding up signs reading we love you Sophie and thank

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Speaker 1: you Sophie for speaking up for girls Now. After the game,

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Speaker 1: political podcaster Brandy Cruz interviewed the two young girls, who

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Speaker 1: said that a woman identified as Storm Minority owner celest

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Speaker 1: Keaton confronted them and told them they were quote effing

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Speaker 1: insane now. Cruz, who has used her platform to commend

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Speaker 1: Cunningham's anti trans remarks, went online in advance of the

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Speaker 1: game to solicit tickets for these two girls to wear

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Speaker 1: their anti trans t shirts court side, and posted a

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Speaker 1: photo of the girl's pregame making their signs. She also

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Speaker 1: revealed on social that ultimately donors had provided the twenty

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Speaker 1: six hundred dollars for the girl's court side seats. Of course,

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Speaker 1: she didn't reveal in the now viral video with the

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Speaker 1: girls complaining about being quote unquote accosted that she of

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Speaker 1: course knew the girls and had worked with them to

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Speaker 1: set up the intentionally provocative stunt. On Wednesday, Storm majority

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Speaker 1: owner Jinny Gilder sent a statement to Front Office Sports saying, quote,

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Speaker 1: we are aware one of our co owners made comments

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Speaker 1: to two fans in attendance at last night's game. We

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Speaker 1: apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game

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Speaker 1: deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating

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Speaker 1: an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: The team also released a statement saying they accept the

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Speaker 1: suspension for Keaton. Now, Cunningham didn't make herself available for

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Speaker 1: questions after the game, but of course she did go

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Speaker 1: to social media to tweet her support for the fans

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Speaker 1: the night the suspension was reported and promised the girl's gifts,

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Speaker 1: also calling Keaton's actions quote truly embarrassing. More w and

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Speaker 1: a developing story coming out of Wednesday's game between the

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Speaker 1: Dallas Wings and the Atlanta Dream Before the game, the

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Speaker 1: WNBA's official Twitter account posted a video of Wingstar Page

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Speaker 1: Beckers and Dreamstar Angel Reese that was filmed during All

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Speaker 1: Star weekend. In the video, Beckers and Reese appear to

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Speaker 1: place a four hundred dollars cash bet between the two

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Speaker 1: of them over which team would win Wednesday night's matchup.

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Speaker 1: Producer Bianca actually remembers watching the video being filmed Friday morning.

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Speaker 1: She could see Reese holding up some cash to Beckers

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Speaker 1: from across the court during media availability, but couldn't hear

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Speaker 1: anything that was said. When the WNBA posted the video

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Speaker 1: on Wednesday, they included a follow up video playfully asking

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Speaker 1: Beckers if she remembered the bet. She seemed to not remember,

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Speaker 1: saying we did with a laugh, and then saying bet.

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Speaker 2: I'm standing on that now.

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Speaker 1: The WNBA's post was quickly deleted. Because wagering on games

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Speaker 1: is not allowed among players, the new CBA reads, in

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Speaker 1: part quote, any player found to have been guilty of

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Speaker 1: wagering on the outcome, score or any other aspect of

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Speaker 1: any WNBA competition, shall, in the sole discretion of the Commissioner,

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Speaker 1: be subject to a fine, suspension and or dismissal and

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Speaker 1: disqualification from any further association with the WNBA.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: Now the dream ended up beating the Wings for what

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Speaker 1: it's worth eighty two eighty one.

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Speaker 2: No word on whether Angel kept that four hundred books.

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Speaker 1: On Thursday afternoon, in front of the show, Alexa Philip

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Speaker 1: who posted a statement from a WNBA spokesperson reading quote,

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Speaker 1: We recognize that the post missed the mark, removed it

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Speaker 1: shortly after it was published, and addressed the matter internally.

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Speaker 1: We will also use this as an opportunity to reemphasize

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Speaker 1: with the players involved that conversations about wagering on WNBA games,

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Speaker 1: even when intended as a joke, can have negative consequences.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: Sources tell Philip who there will be no punishment for

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Speaker 1: Reese or Becker's a lot of drama.

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Speaker 2: Around the w but what's new.

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Speaker 1: If you utn't know, also want to watch some actual

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Speaker 1: basketball this weekend, You're in luck. You got three games tonight,

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Speaker 1: two games tomorrow, and four games on Sunday. We'll put

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Speaker 1: a link to the schedule in the show notes so

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Speaker 1: you can make your plans to the NWSL. The twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty seven season is expected to start in February, nearly

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Speaker 1: a month earlier than previous years due to the busy

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Speaker 1: international calendar throughout the season. According to a Thursday report

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Speaker 1: from the Athletic, a draft outline of the schedule shows

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Speaker 1: the regular season starting on February eleventh and finishing at

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Speaker 1: the end of October. The Challenge Cup, which was held

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Speaker 1: mid season this year, is expected to return to its

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Speaker 1: pre season format, and built into the draft of the

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Speaker 1: schedule is a nearly two month pause for the FIFA

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Speaker 1: Women's World Cup, with NWSL games pausing for most of

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Speaker 1: June and July. The league is expected to drop the

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Speaker 1: official calendar next week. Speaking of the FIFA Women's World Cup,

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Speaker 1: European nations have come together to threaten a boycott of

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Speaker 1: the World Cup Men's and women's over FIFA's plans to

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Speaker 1: sell stakes in the tournament to private investors. On Tuesday, FIFA,

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Speaker 1: a nonprofit organization, remember proposed selling a significant minority stake

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Speaker 1: in a new entity that would be set up to

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Speaker 1: run its big events like the World Cup. Now the

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Speaker 1: decision to boycott those events, which would mean top teams

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Speaker 1: like Spain, England and Germany would not compete at next

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Speaker 1: year's World Cup was made at a virtual meeting of

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Speaker 1: the fifty five national associations that are members of UEFA,

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Speaker 1: the European Football Confederation. After that meeting, on Thursday, a

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Speaker 1: statement was released announcing what YUEFA called a unanimous and

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Speaker 1: unequivocal rejection of FIFA's proposals. The statement reads, in part

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Speaker 1: quote as a result of today's discussion, no UEFA national

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Speaker 1: teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long

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Speaker 1: as these proposals remain alive. Unless this proposal has been

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Speaker 1: abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given

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Speaker 1: that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions

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Speaker 1: to private ownership. The statement continues later, quote, there are

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Speaker 1: moments when institutions are judged not by what they are

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Speaker 1: prepared to accept, but by what they refuse to compromise.

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Speaker 1: This is one of those moments. Some things are simply

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Speaker 1: too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football,

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Speaker 1: it always will, and so long as Europe has a voice,

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Speaker 1: it will never be for sale.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: We'll keep you updated as other federations weigh in on

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Speaker 1: FIFA's proposal. While we wait for more on that story,

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Speaker 1: we do have a full weekend of NWSL's soccer to

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Speaker 1: look forward to, starting tonight with an eight pm Eastern

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Speaker 1: match between the North Carolina Courage and the Orlando Pride.

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Speaker 1: On Saturday, you can go ahead and just clear your

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Speaker 1: schedule for the second half of the day because we

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Speaker 1: got four back to back to back to back games

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Speaker 1: starting at four pm Eastern, and three more games on Sunday,

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Speaker 1: including an expansion team faceof the Denver Summit hosts the

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Speaker 1: Boston Legacy at nine pm Eastern that day. Oh and

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Speaker 1: if you want to watch the games on TV, pay attention,

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Speaker 1: because the NWSL announced Thursday it's terminated its media rights

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Speaker 1: agreement with Victory Plus, effective immediately beginning this Sunday, August second.

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Speaker 1: All matches that had been scheduled to stream on Victory

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Speaker 1: Plus will instead be available free to fans on NWSL Plus,

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Speaker 1: the league's direct to consumer streaming platform. The NWSL didn't

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Speaker 1: give a reason for the sudden change, but sources within

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Speaker 1: the league told The Athletic that the split is due

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Speaker 1: in part to unfulfilled payments. Now several other partners have

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Speaker 1: announced a split with Victory Plus in recent weeks as well,

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Speaker 1: including the NHL's Anaheim Ducks and the MLB's Texas Rangers

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Speaker 1: to Golf. The final women's major of the year is

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Speaker 1: underway in England, the twenty twenty six AIG Women's Open

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Speaker 1: at the Royal Light Them in.

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Speaker 2: Sant Anne's Golf Club.

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Speaker 1: World number one Nelly Korda is looking to get back

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Speaker 1: on top and capture her third major win of the year.

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Speaker 1: If she wins this weekend, Korda will have enough points

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Speaker 1: to become an LPGA Hall of Famer at twenty seven

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Speaker 1: years old MBD. She's coming off a relatively rough patch, though,

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Speaker 1: having finished hied for sixteenth or worse in three of

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Speaker 1: her last four starts, including a missed cut at the

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Speaker 1: Avon Championship, the most recent major. Corda's biggest competition for

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Speaker 1: this one will likely come from world number two Gino

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Speaker 1: Titskun of Thailand and world number three Hey Ron You

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Speaker 1: of Korea.

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Speaker 2: On both Saturday and Sunday.

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Speaker 1: You can catch the tournament from seven am to New

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Speaker 1: Eastern on USA Network, then switch over to NBC and

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Speaker 1: Peacock till two pm to the.

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Speaker 2: X Game League.

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Speaker 1: You remember we mentioned the start of this league in

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Speaker 1: our interview with TEAMXC Tokyo member Arisa True Well.

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Speaker 2: After three stops.

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Speaker 1: With teams collecting points at each, the new team based

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Speaker 1: competition crowned its inaugural champion in New Orleans this past weekend,

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Speaker 1: with Team XC New York winning it all, taking home

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Speaker 1: the five hundred thousand dollars prize. Chloe Cavell won the

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Speaker 1: women's skateboard street final, moving TEAMXC New York just ahead

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Speaker 1: of TEAMXC Tokyo.

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Speaker 4: Now.

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Speaker 1: Arisa True was a member of the Tokyo team, and

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Speaker 1: at the first stop in Sacramento, she won gold and

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Speaker 1: women's skateboard vert for best trick. Some sad news, though

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Speaker 1: she tore her acl while practicing in Japan ahead of

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Speaker 1: the Chiba competition, True did stay in Japan to cheer

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Speaker 1: on her teammates before heading home to Australia, where she's

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Speaker 1: now recovering. We're sending her our best and we know

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Speaker 1: she'll be back to keep grabbing those golds. To softball,

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Speaker 1: the twenty twenty six International Cup, previously known as the

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Speaker 1: World Cup of Softball is underway in Oklahoma City, with

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Speaker 1: seven national teams from across the globe looking to win

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Speaker 1: it all. Team USA, Japan, Chinese, Taipei, American Samoa, Canada, China,

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Speaker 1: and Australia. Since the tournament started in two thousand and five,

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Speaker 1: world number two, Team USA has earned an eighty three

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Speaker 1: to eight all time record, taking home the trophy a

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Speaker 1: record eleven times. The US roster includes a bunch of

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Speaker 1: AUSL standouts like Nijerie Kennedy of the Texas Volts, Reese

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Speaker 1: Atwood of the Carolina Blaze, and two time champion Ace

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Speaker 1: Montana Fouts of.

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Speaker 2: The Utah Talents.

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Speaker 1: Their biggest competition is expected to come from Team Japan,

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Speaker 1: who have won the tournament three times and are currently

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Speaker 1: ranked number one in the world. All Team USA games

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Speaker 1: are streaming on ESPN Plus and all non USA games

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Speaker 1: are available on USA Softball dot Tv. We'll put a

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Speaker 1: link to the schedule in the show notes. Finally, to baseball,

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Speaker 1: where the first US professional women's baseball league in decades

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Speaker 1: embarks on its inaugural season this weekend. The Women's Pro

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Speaker 1: Baseball League the WPBL has four teams for its first year,

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Speaker 1: New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, each playing

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Speaker 1: fifteen regular season games In this inaugural year. All regular

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Speaker 1: season and playoff game are going to be held at

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Speaker 1: Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, which seats up to

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Speaker 1: fifty two hundred people. I'll be there Saturday for the

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Speaker 1: sold out opening game between the Los Angeles Queens and

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Speaker 1: the New York Heights. We've got a live Good Game

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Speaker 1: episode to celebrate all the opening day festivities. But it's

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Speaker 1: just open to season ticket holders. So if you're there

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Speaker 1: but not able to come to the show, definitely come

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Speaker 1: find me pregame or during the game and say hey.

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Speaker 1: And if you're not local, you can catch the game

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Speaker 1: streaming on ESPN Select at six pm Eastern. As for

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Speaker 1: the rest of the season, thirty seven total games regular

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Speaker 1: season and playoffs we'll stream on ESPN plus. Eleven of

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Speaker 1: the regular season games will also be simulcast on the

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Speaker 1: Script Sports Network.

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Speaker 2: All right, slices.

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Speaker 1: Before we get to my conversation with Aisha, we wanted

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Speaker 1: to give you a primer on the Tour de Front's

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Speaker 1: fem and road cycling at large, because it can get

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Speaker 1: pretty confusing.

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Speaker 2: It's actually something Ai and I.

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Speaker 1: Touch on in our conversation, So before you listen to

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Speaker 1: our chat, let's break it down real quick. Starting with

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Speaker 1: some history of the race, remarks the official edition of

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Speaker 1: the Tour de France fem a X swift, But the

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Speaker 1: women's race actually first began way back in nineteen fifty five.

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Speaker 1: That's when French sports journalist Jean Liliat tried to create

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Speaker 1: a women's equivalent of the men's Tour de France, which

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Speaker 1: had been taking place since nineteen oh three. Over forty

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Speaker 1: women participated, but the race was a one off and

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Speaker 1: it would be decades before it came back. In nineteen

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Speaker 1: eighty four, the organizers of the men's Tour de France

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Speaker 1: introduced a women's version of the tour. For six years,

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Speaker 1: the Tour de France Feminine was held in conjunction with

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Speaker 1: the men's race, often sharing the same finish towns, but

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Speaker 1: the women's edition was ultimately cut, reportedly due to the

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Speaker 1: high cost of organizing the race with limited media coverage

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Speaker 1: and sponsorship. A terrible tale as old as time anyway,

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Speaker 1: the race went through a few more iterations as athletes

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Speaker 1: tried everything they could to fill the void. Then in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, the AMRI sports organization, which puts on

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Speaker 1: the men's race, finally launched a women's Tour de France

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Speaker 1: sponsored through this year by his swift and interactive virtual

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Speaker 1: training app mostly used for cycling.

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Speaker 2: Now, if you're interested in learning.

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Speaker 1: More about the push for this iteration of the race,

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Speaker 1: go back and listen to my chat with one of

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Speaker 1: the most important voices that fought for the return of

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Speaker 1: the women's race, Catherine Berteen.

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Speaker 2: We spoke back in August of twenty twenty four.

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Speaker 1: If you're going to search for that episode, remember it's

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Speaker 1: a split episode with Missi Russell.

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Speaker 2: Okay, Now to this year's race, in particular, the.

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Speaker 1: Twenty twenty six Tour de France spem of XWIFT starts

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Speaker 1: on Saturday, when one hundred and fifty four of the

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Speaker 1: world's top cyclist will begin a nine day, seven hundred

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Speaker 1: and thirty mile journey from las Enne, Switzerland to Nis, France.

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Speaker 1: The nine stages of the race are a mix of flat,

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Speaker 1: hilly and some straight up mountainous terrain.

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Speaker 2: More on that.

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Speaker 1: In the interview, I mentioned how there are one hundred

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Speaker 1: and fifty four riders in this year's race. Well, they're

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Speaker 1: split up into twenty two teams of seven. Because while

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Speaker 1: one single person will win the Tour de France, that

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Speaker 1: person's teammates are very important. They spend their days doing

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Speaker 1: a lot of work to protect their leader and ensure

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Speaker 1: they arrive at the decisive moments of the race with

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Speaker 1: energy to spare. The team's leader does still have to

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Speaker 1: do a shit ton of work, of course, they have

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Speaker 1: to be exceptional climbers, survive nine grueling days and finish

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Speaker 1: faster than everyone else, and the tactics to get there

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Speaker 1: can get complicated and intense, which is why cycling has

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Speaker 1: often been referred to as chess on wheels. A total

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Speaker 1: of about two hundred and eighty eight thousand dollars will

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Speaker 1: be awarded across the different stage, jersey and team competitions,

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Speaker 1: including about fifty seven thousand going to the winner of

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Speaker 1: the overall race. We'll link to a couple cheat sheets

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Speaker 1: in the show notes. If you want to dive into

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Speaker 1: even more stats and strategies, you can watch the race

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Speaker 1: on NBC and Peacock, with coverage starting at nine to

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Speaker 1: forty five am Eastern on Saturday. We'll link to the

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Speaker 1: full schedule in the show notes. All right, I learned

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Speaker 1: a lot. I hope you did too. We got to

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Speaker 1: take a quick break. When we come back, we ride

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Speaker 1: the wave of life.

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Speaker 2: With Aisha McGowan joining us now.

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Speaker 1: She's a professional racing cyclist, an activist and advocate aiming

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Speaker 1: to improve diversity and inclusivity cycling, especially for women and

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Speaker 1: ethnic minorities, and the first African American woman on a

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Speaker 1: professional road cycling team. She lives in Spain and sometimes

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Speaker 1: rides with her dog Blue on her shoulder.

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Speaker 2: It's Aisha McGowan. Hi, Aisha. How are you?

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Speaker 3: I am great?

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Speaker 5: How are you?

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Speaker 2: I'm good? Thanks for joining us. I'm excited to chat

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Speaker 2: with you.

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Speaker 1: And before we get to your journey, I want to

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Speaker 1: ask you about the men's race, which you call Le

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Speaker 1: Tour de France avek men, which I appreciate because it

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Speaker 1: shouldn't just be avek fam, it should be also avek men.

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Speaker 1: So any big takeaways from watching this year's race.

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Speaker 5: Even if the race is over in the first six

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Speaker 5: days for the general classification, it can still be very interesting.

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Speaker 3: I think that was my big takeaway.

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Speaker 2: Okay, interesting, yeah, because this was kind of a runaway. Yes,

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Speaker 2: uh it.

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Speaker 5: Has been for a few years now.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Okay.

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Speaker 1: I don't follow the men's race very closely, so some

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Speaker 1: is it the same guy or every year it's just

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Speaker 1: been someone takes a lead and never gives it up.

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Speaker 5: Lately, it's the same guy. But it's been the same.

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Speaker 3: Two guys for five years.

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Speaker 2: Or wow, maybe a bit of a dynasty I'm missing

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Speaker 2: out on again.

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Speaker 5: But the other guy crashed out this year, so now

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Speaker 5: it's the same guy.

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Speaker 1: Okay, great, Yeah, maybe maybe one day I'll learn that

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Speaker 1: band's name. I'm sorry to that man, but I still

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Speaker 1: don't know it. I want to talk about your start

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Speaker 1: to cycling. What was your sports background before you got

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Speaker 1: on the bike, because that came pretty late.

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Speaker 5: Growing up, I played quite a few sports. My big

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Speaker 5: dream when I was really little, I was going to

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Speaker 5: be a track star, and then I was going to

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Speaker 5: be in the w NBA. Neither of those worked out,

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Speaker 5: and then I was going to play field hockey, which

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Speaker 5: was my main sport in high school. And I did

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Speaker 5: start the Futures program, which is likely pre Olympic prom

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Speaker 5: I was in it.

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Speaker 3: Heck yeah.

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Speaker 5: But then when I had to decide on colleges, I

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Speaker 5: had to basically pick between academics, music and field hockey,

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Speaker 5: and I chose academic slash music.

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Speaker 1: So III show we would have been friends because I

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Speaker 1: did basketball, field hockey, and track and music. Though there

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Speaker 1: and yeah, like we would have, we would have been

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Speaker 1: rushing between all of our things together, kind of make

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Speaker 1: them all at once. But you were obviously excelling in

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Speaker 1: music because you went to the Berkeley College of Music

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Speaker 1: in Boston.

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Speaker 2: So what was your focus there?

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Speaker 5: My principal instrument was violin. Honestly, I ran out of

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Speaker 5: money my junior year and so I switched majors to

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Speaker 5: professional music, which is super, super vague, but at the

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Speaker 5: time it was kind of like choose your own adventure situation,

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Speaker 5: and so I got to do all of the best

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Speaker 5: parts of Berkeley and kind of make a Hodgepodge degree

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Speaker 5: for myself, which I thought was really great.

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Speaker 1: What was your intention, Let's say, when you got there,

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Speaker 1: maybe a professional violinist, and then when you left.

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Speaker 5: I have generally always been kind of a directionless kind

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Speaker 5: of person, just kind of flowing with the waves of

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Speaker 5: I don't even like the ocean, but just wherever life

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Speaker 5: is taking me. I really enjoyed music. I was tired

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Speaker 5: of the music created by dead white guys, and so

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Speaker 5: Berkeley seemed like a really cool opportunity to not do

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Speaker 5: that specifically.

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Speaker 1: So where does the cycling come in, Because it's a

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Speaker 1: hobby first during college. It's a way to get to college.

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Speaker 1: It's a transportation mode. How did you fall in love

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Speaker 1: with the bike?

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Speaker 5: It was transportation. So I moved to Boston to go

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Speaker 5: to Berkeley in January of two thousand and seven.

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Speaker 1: I'm yeah, don't say anything, because you have no idea

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Speaker 1: how old I'm. So when you say old, you're really

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Speaker 1: just going to be insulting me.

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Speaker 3: I'm old for cycling.

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Speaker 5: That's my cough that one.

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Speaker 2: We'll give you that one.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: So I moved there in the winter of two thousand

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Speaker 5: and seven, and I hated the Boston transportation system the tea.

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Speaker 5: Maybe it's better now, but it was really dumb then.

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Speaker 5: And my friend suggested I get a bike, and so

441
00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:44,080
Speaker 5: I asked my mom if I could have her old

442
00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:46,960
Speaker 5: bike and fell in love from there.

443
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,360
Speaker 1: Okay, but there's a big difference between transportation and oh

444
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:55,440
Speaker 1: now I'm a cyclist. When did you decide, like, maybe

445
00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,760
Speaker 1: I want to race this against other people.

446
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,199
Speaker 5: It actually took seven years before I, like, properly, in

447
00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:02,960
Speaker 5: a sanctioned manner, raced a bike.

448
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,760
Speaker 1: Okay, so your racing debut is the twenty fourteen Red

449
00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:07,080
Speaker 1: Hook crit in Brooklyn.

450
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:09,560
Speaker 2: What do you remember about that first competition.

451
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:10,680
Speaker 3: It was horrible.

452
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,679
Speaker 5: It was a fixed gear crit, meaning we were on

453
00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:16,399
Speaker 5: bikes that were kind of like road bikes but they

454
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,560
Speaker 5: didn't have brakes and doing a KRIT circuit, so it's

455
00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,840
Speaker 5: kind of like NASCAR. So you're just doing these laps,

456
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:26,840
Speaker 5: these closed laps of city streets essentially, And that day

457
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,040
Speaker 5: it was I think it was late March, so it

458
00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:30,240
Speaker 5: was still really cold.

459
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:31,240
Speaker 3: This was in Brooklyn.

460
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,879
Speaker 5: It was pouring rain, and I had no idea what

461
00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,200
Speaker 5: I was doing. So I caused a big crash because

462
00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,680
Speaker 5: I was being lapped because I was going too slow,

463
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,639
Speaker 5: and then they took us all off of the race course.

464
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,879
Speaker 5: They had to get medical to come get the girl

465
00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:49,440
Speaker 5: off of the course because she was really hurt, and

466
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,960
Speaker 5: I was just like bawling and confused and upset, and

467
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,000
Speaker 5: I didn't go back out when they restarted the race.

468
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,240
Speaker 5: And my takeaway from that experience was like, I could

469
00:21:58,240 --> 00:21:59,120
Speaker 5: be really good at this.

470
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:08,520
Speaker 2: Oh my god, Aisha and the other girl, Okay, did

471
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:09,160
Speaker 2: you find.

472
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:09,800
Speaker 5: Out she is okay?

473
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:10,040
Speaker 2: Now?

474
00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,600
Speaker 5: I felt really really bad. Yeah, no, for sure.

475
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:14,600
Speaker 1: Like once you were like I can be really good

476
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,840
Speaker 1: at this, you were like, oh, yeah, also, is she Okay, well, I.

477
00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:20,520
Speaker 5: Could be really good at this if I learn what

478
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,120
Speaker 5: to do. So I signed up for like every clinic

479
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,600
Speaker 5: I could find. I was like, this is an education barrier,

480
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,320
Speaker 5: not a not an ability barrier.

481
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,119
Speaker 2: Yes, not a talent problem.

482
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,040
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, well.

483
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,679
Speaker 1: And you've You've mentioned interviews you're kind of an obsessive person,

484
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,480
Speaker 1: which I think is how you go from biking to

485
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,359
Speaker 1: school to biking enough that you might want a race,

486
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:41,600
Speaker 1: to entering a race where you cause a giant crash

487
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,280
Speaker 1: and deciding, oh, I'm into this now. So I love that,

488
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:46,880
Speaker 1: and I love where that has taken you. You got

489
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,760
Speaker 1: your first win at the New York State Criteria Championships

490
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:53,040
Speaker 1: in white planes. What did getting a win so soon,

491
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,399
Speaker 1: because that was within the first year of competition for you,

492
00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:57,880
Speaker 1: What did that tell you about what might be possible

493
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,000
Speaker 1: for you? And did it change the trajectory of where

494
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,719
Speaker 1: you were trying to compete, how you were trying to

495
00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:06,320
Speaker 1: access the different teams and levels and support.

496
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:08,639
Speaker 5: Well, to tell you how seriously I was taking this

497
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:12,600
Speaker 5: at the time, I didn't have my own road bike.

498
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,919
Speaker 5: After the very first race that I did, like mid April,

499
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:20,239
Speaker 5: will say, and then I acquired a road bike. Like

500
00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,000
Speaker 5: my mentor was like, you should come do this race

501
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,440
Speaker 5: in white planes, which is the race that I won,

502
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:25,920
Speaker 5: And he had to talk me into it. And he

503
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,679
Speaker 5: talked me into it because he said if I won,

504
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:29,840
Speaker 5: they would give me a free jersey, and that is

505
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:30,639
Speaker 5: why I showed up.

506
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,200
Speaker 1: And he's like, you've been riding in that T shirt

507
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,119
Speaker 1: and this would make you look really cool when you

508
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,320
Speaker 1: were like sold.

509
00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,800
Speaker 5: I had a team jersey you get like a winner's jersey,

510
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,720
Speaker 5: and I thought that was really awesome, and so I

511
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,760
Speaker 5: went for it and somehow did it. And winning feels

512
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,000
Speaker 5: really really good, it really does. It felt really good

513
00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:59,120
Speaker 5: to be good at something that I was. I mean

514
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,240
Speaker 5: the racing part of things I was super new at.

515
00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:02,640
Speaker 5: So that felt great.

516
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,359
Speaker 2: And you got to wear a shirt that told everyone

517
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:05,040
Speaker 2: you were good at it.

518
00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:06,639
Speaker 5: Yeah, they gave me the shirt that said I was

519
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:07,160
Speaker 5: good at this.

520
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:08,200
Speaker 2: Yeah we like that.

521
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:10,879
Speaker 1: I mean you're doing all of this step by step

522
00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,400
Speaker 1: where your aspirations like, hey, I want to become a professional.

523
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: Who's in the Tour de France femme. I mean the

524
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:18,879
Speaker 1: problem with that race is it was here that it

525
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,800
Speaker 1: was gone. Now it's back, Like where where could you

526
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 1: put your highest and biggest aspirations at the time.

527
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,239
Speaker 5: After that first year of racing, I was like, I

528
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,160
Speaker 5: want to be a professional. Did not know what that meant,

529
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,600
Speaker 5: had no idea how to get there, had no like

530
00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:37,159
Speaker 5: concept because the whole chabang of cycling is actually very,

531
00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:39,560
Speaker 5: very confusing, and I don't know if anybody else in

532
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 5: cycling will ever admit that, but I think it is

533
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:47,639
Speaker 5: the most ridiculous like web of confusion. So figuring it

534
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,280
Speaker 5: out was just weighing it, just like college.

535
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,720
Speaker 1: So you're basically, like you said, just letting the wave

536
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,199
Speaker 1: the ocean will continue this metaphor carry you through cycling

537
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,800
Speaker 1: the way you have through life, without a specific aspiration,

538
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,159
Speaker 1: but being competitive enough that you want to keep going

539
00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:05,119
Speaker 1: and whatever's next right in front of you is what

540
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,960
Speaker 1: you're going to tackle. But eventually you end up riding

541
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,919
Speaker 1: all nine stages in the Tour de France.

542
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:12,720
Speaker 2: Last year, not as a race, right, but you rode

543
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:13,400
Speaker 2: all the stages.

544
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,040
Speaker 3: I did ride all the stages.

545
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,160
Speaker 1: To raise awareness about women's cycling and the lack of diversity.

546
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,119
Speaker 1: And you know you're technically retired, but you're now on

547
00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,680
Speaker 1: the race course doing the stages of the Tour de France,

548
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:26,719
Speaker 1: whether or not you ever thought the ocean was going

549
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,600
Speaker 1: to take you to that high a level of influence,

550
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,840
Speaker 1: an ability to change the sport that you came upon

551
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,600
Speaker 1: sort of my happenstance and fell in love with. So

552
00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:38,399
Speaker 1: if I told you back when you were just riding

553
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,560
Speaker 1: a bike to school that one day you would be

554
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:43,440
Speaker 1: on the course of the Tour de France, what would

555
00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:43,880
Speaker 1: you have said?

556
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,480
Speaker 5: That would not have computed whatsoever. There was no radar,

557
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,320
Speaker 5: so that definitely wouldn't have been on it.

558
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:50,080
Speaker 2: Yeah.

559
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,840
Speaker 1: Do you watch now and think I wish I'd started

560
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,000
Speaker 1: earlier so I could be competing in that or do

561
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:57,720
Speaker 1: you like the role you now have as sort of

562
00:25:57,760 --> 00:25:59,720
Speaker 1: the hype woman for women's bike racing.

563
00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 5: I don't wish I started earlier. I feel like I

564
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,400
Speaker 5: was a mess when I was younger, and I think

565
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,880
Speaker 5: I would not have been mature enough to really take

566
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,960
Speaker 5: advantage of that opportunity the way that I feel like

567
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,760
Speaker 5: I was able to. Would it have been cool to

568
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,960
Speaker 5: write in the Tour de France, of course, but I

569
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:18,200
Speaker 5: regret nothing.

570
00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:22,000
Speaker 2: So Okay, I love that. Yeah, what does your advocacy

571
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:22,480
Speaker 2: look like?

572
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,800
Speaker 1: Because you can just be someone who exists and does

573
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:28,159
Speaker 1: something and sets an example that way, or you can

574
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:31,520
Speaker 1: be intentional about pulling up the next group of people.

575
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:31,959
Speaker 2: That look like you.

576
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,480
Speaker 1: How have you found that balance of what speaks to

577
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:35,320
Speaker 1: you as an advocate?

578
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 5: I think the idea of how confusing things are was

579
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:41,840
Speaker 5: a big part of why I felt the need to

580
00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:44,480
Speaker 5: create some sort of something.

581
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 3: I really wanted.

582
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,720
Speaker 5: Folks who came behind me to have an easier time,

583
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 5: or some level of trajectory, or even feel more supported.

584
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,960
Speaker 5: I feel like because I was so vocal about specifically

585
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,560
Speaker 5: wanting to create representation for people of color, black and

586
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 5: brown peaceeople, I was met with disbelief, more barriers, more

587
00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:08,919
Speaker 5: like why is that important? And I feel like you

588
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,000
Speaker 5: can't fully understand why it's important unless it is you

589
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,800
Speaker 5: that is facing it. And so I wanted to create

590
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,199
Speaker 5: that space not so white folks could understand, but so

591
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 5: that black and brown people actually felt supported and felt

592
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,920
Speaker 5: a sense of belonging and felt welcome and felt encouraged

593
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:26,719
Speaker 5: to do whatever it is that they wanted to do

594
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,240
Speaker 5: in the cycling and outdoor space. And I feel like

595
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:31,800
Speaker 5: I've done a pretty okay job with that. There's still

596
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,240
Speaker 5: so much work to be done in that arena. But

597
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,000
Speaker 5: I feel like I have managed to impact quite a

598
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,399
Speaker 5: few people in positive ways and I'm super proud of that.

599
00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, You've done speaking events, blog, podcast, virtual ride series,

600
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,760
Speaker 1: like you found a number of ways to reach people.

601
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 1: And I think to your point the idea of like

602
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,520
Speaker 1: why is that a problem when you can look out

603
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,480
Speaker 1: and an entire array of people who are not on

604
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,520
Speaker 1: those bikes in those races and not ask yourself, what

605
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,600
Speaker 1: are we missing out on in terms of talent, in

606
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 1: terms of experience, in terms of exposure and awareness and

607
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,520
Speaker 1: all the other things that come with having every single

608
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,919
Speaker 1: kind of person falling in love with the thing that

609
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:11,960
Speaker 1: you love. It seems like a no brainer to me,

610
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:14,840
Speaker 1: So I'm glad you're taking on that role. We've got

611
00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:17,480
Speaker 1: the Tour de France from coming up. Do you have

612
00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,159
Speaker 1: certain cyclists or teams that you're looking out for and

613
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:20,960
Speaker 1: excited to watch?

614
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,640
Speaker 5: So I am pretty agnostic about it, which I love

615
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 5: because I can just root for whoever I feel like

616
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 5: reading for in the moment. I want everyone to win,

617
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:31,200
Speaker 5: and I know that's not possible.

618
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 1: Aisha, Come on, we can't want all bikers to have fun.

619
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 1: We must have some cyclists be beruperful well, I.

620
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:43,120
Speaker 5: Am literally excited for everybody, Like, this race is so huge.

621
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,280
Speaker 5: This is the fifth time of this iteration of it

622
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:49,160
Speaker 5: the Twitter France famovx with and it has grown this

623
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 5: sport so tremendously in five short years. And the opportunities

624
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,560
Speaker 5: that it is created for women's cycling, for women's professional cycling,

625
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,440
Speaker 5: Like we have two women in the peloton that we

626
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:03,640
Speaker 5: know about that are making nearly if not a million dollars.

627
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,000
Speaker 3: Or euros, which is even more.

628
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,280
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's huge for our sport where five years ago

629
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:10,880
Speaker 5: they didn't have to pay anybody, like it was not

630
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:15,760
Speaker 5: required to pay professional women cyclists. That's insane to me.

631
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 5: So to go from that to million dollar contracts is progress.

632
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:21,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's awesome.

633
00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:24,600
Speaker 1: Is there a cyclist we should be looking out for,

634
00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:26,400
Speaker 1: maybe not rooting for, but that you think has a

635
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:27,200
Speaker 1: good chance to win it?

636
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,720
Speaker 5: I mean, I feel like most of the time these days,

637
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:35,040
Speaker 5: Demi Voloring is the one whose race it is to lose.

638
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:40,200
Speaker 5: Casia Neudoma surprises us constantly and is always on her tail.

639
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,880
Speaker 5: Pauline Farron provo one last year, but we haven't seen

640
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,320
Speaker 5: much of her this year, so I don't know what

641
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,800
Speaker 5: to expect there. But not so dark horse. Dark horse

642
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:52,080
Speaker 5: is Paula Blassi.

643
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:53,240
Speaker 2: Okay, she is.

644
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:54,360
Speaker 3: They're very young.

645
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,120
Speaker 5: She just won the Vuelta, but she has been having

646
00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:00,360
Speaker 5: a stunner of a year. So usually where it's like

647
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 5: Demi versus Cassia at the Twitter France, FIM, I think

648
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,760
Speaker 5: that Paula is gonna really keep them on their toes

649
00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 5: if she doesn't take the whole thing. And then, like,

650
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,440
Speaker 5: the cool thing about road racing and stage racing is

651
00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 5: that even though there's the GC and the yellow overall

652
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,200
Speaker 5: winner type thing, there are so many other like sub

653
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:20,200
Speaker 5: races within the race that are happening. And you can

654
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,400
Speaker 5: see that I'm getting really excited about this. But you've

655
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,600
Speaker 5: got your sprinters, you've got your climbers, you've got your

656
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 5: best young writers, you've got your Combative awards. It's there's

657
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:33,640
Speaker 5: so many dynamics that happen within the bigger race that like, yeah,

658
00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,280
Speaker 5: the overall is fun, but there's just so much to

659
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 5: take in and I'm just really excited for all of them.

660
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,320
Speaker 5: And I'm really curious to see if if Zoe can

661
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,560
Speaker 5: take the time trial because she has been crushing time

662
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:47,720
Speaker 5: trials lately. Zoe Baxtad, I.

663
00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,440
Speaker 1: Mean That's something we learn across all sports is the

664
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,160
Speaker 1: more you understand it and the better you know what's

665
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,760
Speaker 1: going on behind the scenes, the more interested you are

666
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,240
Speaker 1: in watching. Like we had Kristin Faulkner on the show

667
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:02,040
Speaker 1: after she won at the Olympic and we talked to her,

668
00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,040
Speaker 1: and her taking us into the race and the strategies

669
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 1: she had in her races in the Olympics was like

670
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:09,760
Speaker 1: something I would have never known.

671
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:11,360
Speaker 2: By watching it on TV.

672
00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:13,960
Speaker 1: The way she knew the tendencies of the people in

673
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:16,040
Speaker 1: front of her when she was going to go, how

674
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,240
Speaker 1: the pack works. And I feel the same way about

675
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: the tour in France. It's an individual race, but within

676
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,880
Speaker 1: that team you have the different people who are great

677
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,040
Speaker 1: at different things, and then eventually it all sets up

678
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:27,720
Speaker 1: to use the pack and those strengths to get one

679
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,120
Speaker 1: person who's most.

680
00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:29,960
Speaker 2: Likely to win to the front.

681
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,239
Speaker 1: And so how do we get first of all, just

682
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:35,680
Speaker 1: more eyeballs in general on races like this for the women,

683
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,440
Speaker 1: but also how do we get people watching to know

684
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:41,280
Speaker 1: about that stuff so they're not just like, oh, beautiful view,

685
00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,400
Speaker 1: that looks hard, but they're like, wow, that was cool.

686
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,600
Speaker 1: How they use this to get that and strategized around this.

687
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,720
Speaker 3: So the first step is to actually broad cast the races.

688
00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:54,440
Speaker 5: We've been struggling to get access to these races, and

689
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 5: like that has been getting better and better over time,

690
00:31:57,360 --> 00:31:59,440
Speaker 5: but there's still a lot of instances where we only

691
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 5: see the like last thirty forty kilometers of the race.

692
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:05,240
Speaker 5: Whatever has happened has happened, and we just kind of

693
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,360
Speaker 5: get thrown into this race and we're like, how do

694
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:11,040
Speaker 5: we get here? What is going on? And it's super

695
00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:14,240
Speaker 5: confusing for the viewer, and then you just maybe you

696
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,440
Speaker 5: keep watching and maybe you don't. But even getting to

697
00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:21,600
Speaker 5: that point is hard because accessing those broadcasts is usually

698
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:26,239
Speaker 5: behind a paywall, or the coverage is terrible even if

699
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,280
Speaker 5: you can pay to see it. So there's just a

700
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:32,240
Speaker 5: lot of like literal barriers to seeing the sport. It's

701
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:33,920
Speaker 5: really hard to be a bike racing.

702
00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:35,840
Speaker 1: Fan and then have it explained to you in a

703
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,240
Speaker 1: way that makes you want to jump in and watch

704
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,440
Speaker 1: it even more. Well, you can help with that, so

705
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:42,040
Speaker 1: you gave us some names to watch. How about a

706
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,240
Speaker 1: stage of the race that's expected to be the hardest

707
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:45,840
Speaker 1: or maybe the crux of this competition.

708
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,080
Speaker 5: Okay, so I have two actually I think the most

709
00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,920
Speaker 5: exciting stage is going to be stage seven, when they

710
00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,720
Speaker 5: go up Mont von Tu. That's like the big climb

711
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,040
Speaker 5: of the race, and usually that is where stage races

712
00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:59,400
Speaker 5: get decided. The second thing I think you should watch

713
00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:02,200
Speaker 5: is stage eight. Stage eight is going to be one

714
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:04,240
Speaker 5: hundred and seventy one kilometers and I do believe it

715
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,840
Speaker 5: is the longest stage of the Twitter France that they've

716
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:08,120
Speaker 5: ever done. So they're going to have to do one

717
00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,880
Speaker 5: hundred and seventy one kilometers during a nine day stage race,

718
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 5: which is that's a lot, but women's races used to

719
00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,360
Speaker 5: be like one hundred and ten hundred and twenty something

720
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:22,240
Speaker 5: like that, so to make it so long is really awesome.

721
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,200
Speaker 5: They don't think that it's going to break our little bodies,

722
00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:27,160
Speaker 5: and I love that for all of us.

723
00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,120
Speaker 2: But what about your uterus is falling out?

724
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:34,520
Speaker 5: I'm still I mean, I'm not a scientist, but I

725
00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:36,280
Speaker 5: just don't think that's going to happen.

726
00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:38,440
Speaker 2: Hasn't yet, no.

727
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,280
Speaker 5: But I'm really curious to see how they race that,

728
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:43,560
Speaker 5: because yeah, we could totally do it, but we don't

729
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:46,360
Speaker 5: have that experience yet, so I'm really curious to see

730
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,040
Speaker 5: how they feel for it. How they approach it strategically, Like,

731
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:52,240
Speaker 5: I think it's going to be really fun to watch,

732
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,200
Speaker 5: and we might see some new people that we haven't

733
00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:59,840
Speaker 5: seen doing well do well because of this new kind

734
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:00,480
Speaker 5: of racing.

735
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:02,160
Speaker 3: So I'm really really looking forward to that.

736
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:02,480
Speaker 2: Okay.

737
00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:04,480
Speaker 1: So let's say we're all watching the Tour de France

738
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,720
Speaker 1: fem Aves fift and we decide we love it so

739
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:09,759
Speaker 1: much that we now want to watch more. Give us

740
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:12,200
Speaker 1: two other events during the calendar year that we should

741
00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 1: try to look out for and keep an eye and

742
00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,320
Speaker 1: if we want to become better fans of cycling.

743
00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:20,200
Speaker 5: Oh there's so many, okay too. So another really really

744
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:25,120
Speaker 5: big classic is Perry Rube because there's like these big,

745
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:29,280
Speaker 5: gnarly cobbles that aren't necessarily super close together, and most

746
00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:31,719
Speaker 5: of the race, honestly is luck like can you make

747
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:34,759
Speaker 5: it to the end with your tires not puncturing with

748
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:36,760
Speaker 5: your bike not like without falling?

749
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,440
Speaker 3: Like it is just so fun to watch.

750
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:41,920
Speaker 5: It is the flattest race, I think, so it is

751
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 5: way more dynamic, at least the flattest in the world

752
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:47,040
Speaker 5: tour for sure. And they finish in a velodrome, which

753
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,000
Speaker 5: is a cycling track. Cool, and they do last around

754
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,200
Speaker 5: the beldroom and then they get the trophy is one

755
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,960
Speaker 5: of the cobbles, so it's a big rock and one

756
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:58,719
Speaker 5: of the past winners is Alison Jackson and she is

757
00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,239
Speaker 5: hilarious and did this whole thing about how she want

758
00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:01,959
Speaker 5: to rock and.

759
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:03,319
Speaker 3: It's so fun.

760
00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:03,720
Speaker 2: Okay.

761
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:05,279
Speaker 5: And then second race would be.

762
00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:07,640
Speaker 3: Flanders.

763
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:11,160
Speaker 5: I think Flanders is probably the biggest race on the

764
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:13,799
Speaker 5: calendar other than the Tour de France. It is a

765
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:17,319
Speaker 5: Belgian classic. Also cobbles involved, punchy climbs in this one,

766
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:21,200
Speaker 5: super dynamic, just chaos and like if you've never seen

767
00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:23,560
Speaker 5: Belgian cycling fans, it is a site to the hold,

768
00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:26,000
Speaker 5: so definitely.

769
00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:30,640
Speaker 1: So yes sold Okay, last question for you. You're one

770
00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:32,360
Speaker 1: of many to pick up cycling kind of late in

771
00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:34,640
Speaker 1: life and find great success and have it kind of

772
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,680
Speaker 1: turn your life upside down in the best possible ways.

773
00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:39,239
Speaker 1: So what's your advice to someone who's thinking about trying

774
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 1: it but not sure where to start?

775
00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:43,480
Speaker 5: Uh? First step, get a bike. Second step, find your people.

776
00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:46,960
Speaker 5: And that is the thing that makes cycling so beautiful.

777
00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:49,640
Speaker 5: It's the people. They can make or break your experience,

778
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:50,040
Speaker 5: for sure.

779
00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:51,520
Speaker 2: I love that. Very simple too.

780
00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:53,000
Speaker 1: Some of us think we have to have a big plan,

781
00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:55,640
Speaker 1: but you've already proved not necessary. Just get on the

782
00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:57,440
Speaker 1: bike and start riding and see where it takes you.

783
00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:59,200
Speaker 1: I usould thank so much for joining us.

784
00:35:59,200 --> 00:35:59,680
Speaker 2: This was great.

785
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:00,880
Speaker 3: Thanks so much for having me.

786
00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:05,239
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Aisha for hanging out with us, and

787
00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:07,600
Speaker 1: don't forget. You can now watch full length good Game

788
00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:10,759
Speaker 1: interviews on the Iheartwomen's Sports YouTube channel. We have to

789
00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:13,879
Speaker 1: take another break when we return. A pastry lesson from

790
00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:20,200
Speaker 1: producer Bianca.

791
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:21,320
Speaker 2: Welcome back, slices.

792
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:22,960
Speaker 1: We love that you're listening, but we want you to

793
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:24,759
Speaker 1: get in the game every day too, so here's our

794
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:27,960
Speaker 1: good game play of the day. Follow Aisha on Instagram.

795
00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:30,759
Speaker 1: She posts a ton of smart and fun content about

796
00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:33,440
Speaker 1: cycling all year round, but she'll be a particularly good

797
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,600
Speaker 1: follow during the Tour de France fem. We'll put a

798
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,680
Speaker 1: link to her profile in the show notes. We always

799
00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:40,040
Speaker 1: love to hear from you, so hit us up on

800
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,080
Speaker 1: email Good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us

801
00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,680
Speaker 1: a voicemail at eight seven two two oh four fifty

802
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:48,920
Speaker 1: seventy and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.

803
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:51,480
Speaker 2: It's so easy. Producer Bianca can do it.

804
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 4: Watch you say cycling race, I say pastry. Rating three

805
00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:01,000
Speaker 4: out of three days well spent review. France isn't the

806
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:04,960
Speaker 4: only famous bike race in France. There's also the Paris

807
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:08,160
Speaker 4: Breast Paris Race, where cyclists go from the city of

808
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:11,480
Speaker 4: Paris to the city of Breast and back again, almost

809
00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:14,400
Speaker 4: seven hundred and fifty miles in total. It's the world's

810
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:18,120
Speaker 4: oldest long distance cycling event, with the first edition held

811
00:37:18,239 --> 00:37:22,040
Speaker 4: back in eighteen ninety one. Since nineteen thirty one, though,

812
00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:25,400
Speaker 4: it's been a non competitive event open to everyone, and

813
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:29,160
Speaker 4: it still takes place every four years. That's great and all,

814
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:32,440
Speaker 4: but to me and my fellow sweet toothed friends, the

815
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:36,399
Speaker 4: race is most well known for inspiring one of the best.

816
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:37,919
Speaker 2: Foods I have ever had in my life.

817
00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:41,360
Speaker 4: It's called the Paris Breast and it's a classic French

818
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,760
Speaker 4: dessert made of hazel nuts, cream, a lot of butter,

819
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:48,720
Speaker 4: and crispy shoe pastry. It's all assembled in a circle

820
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:51,600
Speaker 4: to look like a bike wheel and pastry chef Louis

821
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:56,239
Speaker 4: Deran created the dessert in nineteen ten to honor the

822
00:37:56,280 --> 00:38:00,040
Speaker 4: Paris Breast Paris Race back in twenty twenty two, so

823
00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:04,200
Speaker 4: I decided to make a Paris breast from scratch at

824
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,000
Speaker 4: home over Christmas time. I use the New York Times

825
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:10,840
Speaker 4: recipe by Clear Saffits, which says it takes three hours

826
00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:12,839
Speaker 4: plus cooling and chilling to make.

827
00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:16,040
Speaker 2: But you guys, this took me three days.

828
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,359
Speaker 4: I was doing it leisurely, for sure, but still I

829
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,600
Speaker 4: had to caramelize the hazelnuts, make the prey lean, then

830
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,520
Speaker 4: the pastry cream, make a pad of shoe, make the

831
00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:27,880
Speaker 4: mussoline filling, which I didn't even know what that was

832
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,120
Speaker 4: until this project, and then assemble it all. And it

833
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:33,040
Speaker 4: was a lot of work, but honestly, it was worth it.

834
00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,200
Speaker 4: If you like nutty, caramelized flavors and the perfect combo

835
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,600
Speaker 4: of soft and crunchy textures, then this dessert is for you.

836
00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:41,959
Speaker 2: Just pack your.

837
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:45,000
Speaker 4: Patients, as they say, and invite over a bunch of friends,

838
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,680
Speaker 4: because this thing feeds a crowd.

839
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:49,160
Speaker 1: Okay, I have two questions for you, Bianka. Number One,

840
00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:52,359
Speaker 1: if you were to make it again by request, would it.

841
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:56,680
Speaker 2: Ship well to say Chicago? Absolutely not. It doesn't even

842
00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:59,279
Speaker 2: travel on my car. I don't think. Okay, I gotta

843
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:01,840
Speaker 2: do it myself. Number Two, I believe it's Paris breast

844
00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:06,600
Speaker 2: br est. Correct, That's exactly right, Sarah. Thank you for clarifying.

845
00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:08,799
Speaker 1: I'm just worried if our slices google it looking for

846
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,600
Speaker 1: this delicious dessert and they search Paris Breast, they might

847
00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:15,040
Speaker 1: get something else. And in that case, I guess enjoy

848
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:19,000
Speaker 1: Now it's our jurn y'all rate and review. Thanks for listening,

849
00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:22,120
Speaker 1: See you next week. Good game, Aisha, Good game to

850
00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:24,960
Speaker 1: that cycling man who I don't know but is apparently

851
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,239
Speaker 1: crushing it you. The fact that the vertical gain of

852
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,520
Speaker 1: the Tour de Francis seventh stage is almost twelve thousand

853
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,920
Speaker 1: feet my ass, and quad's literally hurt just thinking about it.

854
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,400
Speaker 1: Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports

855
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,560
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You

856
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:49,520
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

857
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:52,920
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,

858
00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:56,520
Speaker 1: our producers are Alex Azi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive

859
00:39:56,520 --> 00:40:00,080
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.

860
00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:03,279
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rutter, Lucy Jones, Brittany Martinez and

861
00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:07,080
Speaker 1: Gianna Palmer. Production assistance from Avery LOFTUS and I'm your host,

862
00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:07,920
Speaker 1: Sarah Spain.