{"id":2072599,"date":"2026-08-01T07:59:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2072599"},"modified":"2026-08-01T07:59:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T04:59:55","slug":"no-middle-aged-man-in-lycra-you-cant-keep-up-with-tour-de-france-femmes-riders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2072599","title":{"rendered":"No, Middle-Aged Man in Lycra, You Can’t Keep Up with Tour de France Femmes Riders"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MAMIL-Tour-de-France-Femmes-Riders.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\n
\n
The VELO Team<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Published August 1, 2026 01:59AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What happens when a strong amateur cyclist goes on a training ride with a professional women\u2019s pro tour team? OutsideTV\u2018s Chris Leavell found out the hard way \u2014 and the result is one of the most honest, entertaining looks at the gap between \u201cpretty good\u201d and \u201cworld-class\u201d you\u2019ll see this year.<\/p>\n

Leavell gets invited to train with St. Michel \u2014 a pro team gearing up for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift \u2014 at their Boulder altitude camp. Outside CEO Robin Thurston tags along for the suffering. Both men know they\u2019re about to hang on for dear life. No bravado, just a guy who thinks he\u2019s fit finding out what fit actually means.<\/p>\n

\"St.
It\u2019s easy enough to keep up from the back of a paceline\u2026<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The stakes ramp fast: 150 kilometers, 100-degree heat, and a course that lulls you into false confidence on the flats before the mountains deliver their verdict. It\u2019s a front-row seat inside the paceline as the riders get pulled into race-pace rotations \u2014 thrilling until the road tips up.<\/p>\n

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ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The real drama hits on the Super James climb. Four St. Michel riders \u2014 including standout Alison Jackson \u2014 vanish up the road like it\u2019s nothing, and the tension of watching Leavell\u2019s \u201celastic\u201d stretch, then snap, is genuinely sobering.<\/p>\n

\"St.
After the road went uphill, it was a while before Leavell saw all the riders at the top again. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the story doesn\u2019t end at the summit. In a final gut-check, Leavell pushes on to Brainard Lake with a select few riders \u2014 only to get quietly, politely dropped by rider Emilie Morier, who chats casually the entire time she\u2019s riding him off her wheel. It\u2019s funny, humbling, and it lands the story\u2019s real point.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a puff piece and it isn\u2019t a comedy stunt \u2014 it\u2019s a genuine, respectful showcase of just how elite these women are, told through the eyes of someone tough enough to try to keep up and honest enough to admit he couldn\u2019t. Anyone who loves cycling, underdog stories, or a good \u201cthe pros make it look easy and it is not easy\u201d reveal will want to watch this one through to the end.<\/p>\n

Catch the full ride \u2014 and root for St. Michel heading into the Tour de France Femmes.<\/p>\n

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ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Related TV Series:<\/b> R&D on OutsideTV<\/p>\n

See the route:<\/b> View on Map My Ride<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
The VELO Team<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Published August 1, 2026 01:59AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tour-de-france-femmes\/trying-keep-up-tour-de-france-femmes-riders\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MAMIL-Tour-de-France-Femmes-Riders.jpg”] The VELO Team Published August 1, 2026 01:59AM What happens when a strong amateur cyclist goes on a training ride with a professional women\u2019s pro tour team? OutsideTV\u2018s Chris Leavell found out the hard way \u2014 and the result is one of the most honest, entertaining looks at the gap between \u201cpretty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2072599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2072599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2072599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2072599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2072599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2072599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2072599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}