<div> <p>Who would have thought it possible to take such a deep dive into a team time trial stage? Join Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss as they recap the story of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – the race formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné – so far.</p><p>After two entertaining wins from the breakaway to kick things off, the 'new' team time trial format finally captured the imagination, perhaps because it's a dress rehearsal for the opening stage of the Tour de France in Barcelona in a few weeks' time.</p><p>How did the teams stack up against each other? Which squads got it right and who still has work to do?</p><p>And, now they have reached the halfway mark, who is poised to seize the yellow jersey in the mountains?</p><p><strong>EPISODE SPONSORS</strong></p><p><strong>NordVPN</strong><br>Get NordVPN two-year plan + four months extra ➼ <a href="https://nordvpn.com/tcp">https://nordvpn.com/tcp</a> It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.</p><p><strong>Indeed</strong><br>If you are looking to hire someone for your company, maybe the best way isn’t to search for a candidate but to match with Indeed. Go to <a href="http://indeed.com/cycle">indeed.com/cycle</a> now to get a £100 sponsored job credit and get matched with the perfect candidate fast.</p><p><strong>Follow us on social media:</strong><br><a href="https://twitter.com/cycling_podcast">Twitter @cycling_podcast</a><br><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thecyclingpodcast/">Instagram @thecyclingpodcast</a></p><p><strong>Friends of the Podcast</strong><br>Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at <a href="http://thecyclingpodcast.com/">thecyclingpodcast.com</a> to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.</p><p><strong>The 11.01 Cappuccino</strong><br>Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. <a href="https://thecyclingpodcast.substack.com/">Subscribe here</a> for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).</p><p><strong>The Cannibal &amp; Badger</strong><br>Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal &amp; Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. <a href="https://thecyclingpodcast.supportingcast.fm/">Log in</a> to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.</p><p><a href="https://www.strava.com/clubs/thecyclingpodcast">The Cycling Podcast is on Strava</a></p><p><em>The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.</em></p></div>