VN Pod, ep. 163: 2020 Tour de France vs. Giro d'Italia; plus Annemiek van Vleuten

On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast, Andy Hood and Fred Dreier analyze the routes for the 2020 Tour de France and Giro d'Italia. The Tour has adopted a modern route with shorter stages, punchy climbs, and a lack of flat time trials. On paper, this course appears to cater to French riders like Julian Alaphilippe or Thibaut Pinot. The Giro, meanwhile, has revealed another long and punishing route that is packed with stages over 200 kilometers in length. The Giro is again hoping for week 3 dramatics, with three punishing mountain stages and a final individual time trial to keep fans hoping for a last-minute win. Will such a scenario play out? Finally, we're joined by recently crowned UCI World Road Champion Annemiek van Vleuten, who takes us inside her big win in Yorkshire. Van Vleuten also believes her new rival, Chloé Dygert, has become the big favorite for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. This week's episode is sponsored by VeloSwap, the nation's largest used bike expo and swap. It's happening Saturday, November 2 at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado. Get your tickets today at veloswap.com/tickets.