This is our XL Tour de France preview with Lionel Birnie, Daniel Friebe and François Thomazeau – a bumper episode looking ahead to the race, which starts on Saturday. A few days before the grand départ, as the team line-ups and new jerseys are unveiled we look ahead to see what's in store at the biggest race in the world. It's shaping up to be a clash between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar – who have won the last three editions between them – but is there more to the race for the yellow jersey than that? We weigh up the sprinters and the relatively few opportunities for them to shine and ask the big question – can Mark Cavendish win his 35th stage and claim the outright record? Our Tour de France logo this year features the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the silhouette of the Puy de Dôme, which the Tour will visit for the first time in 35 years. We also hear from Mitch Docker, Ian Boswell and Richard Abraham, who will be joining the podcast team at various points through the Tour. The Cycling Podcast's daily coverage starts on Saturday evening, after stage one, but we are continuing our build-up by kicking off our Kilometre 0 series early. To mark the 10th anniversary of The Cycling Podcast we have created a mini series for Friends of the Podcast called The 100th Tour, 10 years On. It's the story of the 2013 Tour as told by the podcast and it will be released daily as we build up to the start of this year's race in Bilbao. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Science in Sport. Follow us on social media: Twitter @cycling_podcast Instagram @thecyclingpodcast The 11.01 Cappuccino Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am). GCN+ The Tour de France will be live and uninterrupted with GCN’s ad-free coverage so what better time to take out a subscription than at the start of the season’s first grand tour. Join Rob Hatch, Carlton Kirby, Sean Kelly, Orla Chennaoui, Dan Lloyd, Adam Blythe and the rest of the team from Saturday. Go to globalcyclingnetwork.com or download the GCN app on your device to make sure you never miss a moment. All UK listeners can save 15% on an annual subscription at gcn.eu/cycling15 Science in Sport The Cycling Podcast has been supported since 2016 by Science In Sport. World leading experts in endurance nutrition. Go to scienceinsport.com to see the whole range. MAAP The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. D Vine Cellars The 2023 Tour de France wine selection is coming soon at dvinecellars.com Friends of the Podcast Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to more than 60 exclusive episodes. The Cycling Podcast is on Strava The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.