The build-up to the 2026 Tour de France starts here. It's not the Dauphiné because the race has been rebranded the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, which may take us a while to get used to.Join Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss as they are reunited to look ahead to the first big preparation race for the Tour, which starts on Sunday. With Jonas Vingegaard resting after a convincing victory at the Giro d'Italia, and Tadej Pogačar focusing on the Tour de Suisse, that puts the spotlight on the young French sensation Paul Seixas.The Decathlon rider won Itzulia earlier in the spring to amplify the growing hype around him. France is starting to believe they finally have a successor to Bernard Hinault, the last French man to win the Tour.But who stands in his way next week, and what other clues will we gain about who's on track for the Tour?EPISODE SPONSORSNordVPNGet NordVPN two-year plan + four months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/tcp It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.SailyIf you are travelling abroad and want to reduce or even eliminate roaming charges you need an eSim from Saily, brought to you by the creators of NordVPN.⛵Download the SAILY app and use our code cycling at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase. Or go to saily.com/cycling for full detailsFollow us on social media:Twitter @cycling_podcastInstagram @thecyclingpodcastFriends of the PodcastSign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.The 11.01 CappuccinoOur 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).The Cannibal & BadgerFriends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.The Cycling Podcast is on StravaThe 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.