VeloNews Podcast, ep. 219: Could Alaphilippe have won Flanders? Sepp Kuss and Brandon McNulty

Summary: The busy 2020 WorldTour season continues, and this week we have two grand tours and one monument to discuss! Over the weekend the Tour of Flanders was held on empty cobbled streets in Belgium, and both the men's and women's editions produced plenty of drama and action. The men's race saw newcomer Julian Alaphilippe force the day's decisive move with Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. The stage was set for a three-man battle to the finish, and then Alaphilippe struck a race motorcycle and crashed. We discuss the crash and its impact on the finale, which saw van der Poel win the sprint by inches. Could Alaphilippe have upset the two cobbled crushers in the final 35km? What impact would he have had in the sprint, or on the ascent of the Paterberg? Our resident Alaphilippe expert, James Startt, provides some expert opinion. In the women's race, Boels-Dolmans used its superior team tactics to set Chantal van der Broek-Blaak up for the win. We wonder what could have happened, however, if Anna van der Breggen and Annemiek van Vleuten would have continued their attack, instead of sitting up with 25km to go. Then, the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España are both going strong, and we break down the action from both races. What do we make of Chris Froome's dismal performance on the opening day of the Vuelta? And, is Wilco Kelderman really the favorite to win the Giro now? Finally, we have interviews with American stars at the grand tours. First up is Sepp Kuss, who is leading Jumbo-Visma's domestique ranks at the Vuelta. Sepp discusses the Tour de France finale as well as his Vuelta ambitions with us. Then, we hear from Brandon McNulty, who is racing for GC at the Giro d'Italia. Brandon just scored a third place finish in the Giro's long ITT — an amazing result for a grand tour debutant. Today's episode is brought to you by flobikes.com, your home for live streaming action of the Giro d'Italia for U.S. and Canadian viewers. Flobikes.com is also broadcasting the Vuelta a España in Canada. To sign up, go to www.flobikes.com/velonews.