The Cycling Podcast

In this week’s regular episode, Daniel Friebe, Lionel Birnie and Rob Hatch of GCN and Eurosport commentary fame reflect on two thrilling days of racing at Opening Weekend in Belgium.  On Saturday, a dominant Jumbo-Visma performance culminated in victory in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for a rider whose winning moves typically display all the stealth, cunning and deftness of a gemstone heist. This was followed on Sunday by another Jumbo masterclass and success for one of the team’s less prolific yet most versatile stars.  As usual, there’s also a full round-up of the week’s news and we also look ahead to Strade Bianche next weekend.    The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. 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). Supersapiens Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com 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. GCN+ Watch Strade Bianche and Strade Bianche Donne this Saturday with GCN+ Both races will be live and uninterrupted with GCN’s ad-free coverage. 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 MAAP The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. D Vine Cellars To order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit 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.

Comebacks, controversy and new rivalries, there’s plenty for Rose Manley, Orla Chennaoui and Lizzy Banks to discuss in this month’s episode of The Cycling Podcast Féminin. We hear from Charlotte Kool who caused a major upset in taking two stage wins over former teammate and sprinting superstar Lorena Wiebes at the UAE Tour. She tells us what it is like taking on the mantle of leadership in one of the world’s best sprinting teams and going head-to-head against a rider you used to lead out. Newly crowned U23 cyclo-cross world champion Shirin van Anrooij talks to Orla about life at Trek-Segafredo and about enjoying some time off the bike before the Ardennes Classics. Plus we discuss all the main headlines to come out of Setmana Valenciana and the UAE Tour, including the rejuvenation of Ashleigh Moolman and the polemic surrounding Elisa Longo-Borghini’s win on Jebel Hafeet. The Cycling Podcast Féminin is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. 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). Supersapiens Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com 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. Babbel Make language learning a fun part of your daily routine with Babbel’s 15-minute lessons. Get an additional six-month subscription free with the purchase of a six-month subscription at babbel.com/play with the code CYCLING MAAP The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. D Vine Cellars To order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit 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.

In this week’s episode of The Cycling Podcast, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie are joined by the young and ambitious chief of the Uno-X men’s and women’s teams, Jens Haugland, to discuss their unlikely journey towards the pinnacle of the sport - the Tour de France. In a wide-ranging interview, Haugland explains why professional football and the priesthood could have been his alternative career paths - and revisits his team’s very humble beginnings. Before all of that, we round up the week’s main headlines and zero in on key talking points from the Ruta del Sol and Volta ao Algarve, ahead of Belgium’s Opening Weekend. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport.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).SupersapiensSupersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.comScience in SportThe 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.NordVPN Exclusive NordVPN deal – go to nordvpn.com/tcp to try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee. MAAPThe Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range.D Vine CellarsTo order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit dvinecellars.comFriends of the PodcastSign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to more than 60 exclusive episodes.The Cycling Podcast is on StravaThe Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

This is a trailer for La Marseillaise, a five-part series for Friends of The Cycling Podcast subscribers. Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.comLionel Birnie and François Thomazeau tell the story of Marseille's cycling history and take in the opening race of the 2023 French season.Lionel heads to Marseille in search of a mid-morning coffee, pre-lunch pastis and the perfect bouillabaisse. François tells the story of the city's rebellious history and its newspaper's Communist roots. There's a trip to the Vélodrome, the role of Bernard Tapie in revolutionising Olympique de Marseille and professional cycling in the 1980s and the origins of the French national anthem.Friends of the PodcastThere are more than 80 original episodes on the Friends of the Podcast feed. The episodes include:2016• Mont Ventoux: Heat, Wind & Fear• Young Americans• Joe Dombrowski's 2016 Giro d'Italia Diary• The Rise and Demise of HTC-High Road2017• The 1987 Giro According to Stephen Roche• Youngish Americans• The Lionel of Flanders series• 15th Time Lucky2018• In Search of The Pink Panther• Meeting Jean Bobet2019• Chasing Sky• Lionel of the Ardennes• The Revenants2020• The Stage That Didn't End• The Cycling Podcast Live on Tour: The Best Bits• Janez Brajkovič: A Private Battle• Van der Poel• My First Tour – series featuring Daniel, Richard, Lionel and François• Tao's Giro2021• A Virtual Lunch with Rod Ellingworth• A Team Apart• Paris-Nice and The King• Covering Team Sky• Supersonic: The Mark Christie Story• Magnus Backstedt: Cuddly Lions and Cobblestones• Introducing... series featuring Daniel Friebe, Richard Moore, Orla Chennaoui and Lionel Birnie• Between the Covers: A love letter to cycling magazines• Banks & Boswell• UFO: The Gabriel Muller Story• Never Give Up: James Shaw• Who Is Mick Bennett?• Ten Years of Green Edge2022• The Managers Boxset- Look, It's Lunch with Matt White- Coffee with Patrick Lefevere- Lunch with Dave Brailsford- Lunch with Jonathan Vaughters• The Story of The Cycling Podcast series• Girovagando: The Giro Road Trip 2022• Record of Records• The Summer of 2012• When Orla Met... The Backstedts2023• Ryder on the Storm & Rebirth of a Team• La MarseillaisePlus:• The Grand Tour Diaries 2018-2021and access to the full archive of Kilometre 0 episodes.

In this week’s regular episode, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie are joined by former Team Sky and Katusha ace turned gravel-racing maestro Ian Boswell.  After our usual round-up of the week’s news, it’s time to reflect on Tadej Pogačar’s 2023 racing début at the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior - and his scintillating victory on the white roads of what has already established itself as Spain’s answer to Strade Bianche.  The Pogcineration on the Andalusian farm tracks is also our cue to quiz Ian about what’s in store for him and the gravel scene generally in 2023. Then, in the last part of the episode, we hear from EF Education First - Easypost’s Esteban Chaves about his recent victory in the Colombian national road race championship and what made it so poignant.  The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. 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). Supersapiens Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com 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. Better Help Visit betterhelp.com/cycle to get 10% off your first month of convenient and affordable therapy. MAAP The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. D Vine Cellars To order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit 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.

This week Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie are back and joined by one of the most illustrious and recognisable voices in Belgian cycling, Sporza’s veteran commentator and reporter Renaat Schotte. After the usual news round-up, we review the action from the cyclocross Worlds in Hoogerheide, where Fem Van Empel and Mathieu van der Poel went double Dutch by taking the women’s and men’s titles respectively. Defeat for Wout van Aert meant disappointment for Belgium, although spirits there will have been buoyed by the latest evidence of Arnaud De Lie’s prodigious talent at the Étoile de Bessèges. With Renaat’s help, we find out more about a rider who is already being hailed as a Tom Boonen-Philippe Gilbert hybrid. Neilson Powless took overall victory at Bessèges - and the American would be most people’s choice as the rider of the early season. We hear from the EF Education-Easypost man about his early-season success, why he’ll try his hand at the cobbled Classics and why his Native American ancestry is so important to him, especially when things are going well on the bike.  The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport.  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).  Supersapiens Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com  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.  NordVPN Exclusive NordVPN deal – go to nordvpn.com/tcp to try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee.  MAAP The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range.  D Vine Cellars To order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit 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. 

Explore is about cycling with a sense of adventure, journeying into the unknown and setting off for a challenge not knowing quite what lies ahead. This episode is no exception, although it features a slightly different type of journey. Lionel Birnie talks to American cyclo-cross rider Ben Frederick, who made the trip of a lifetime to Belgium over the Christmas and New Year period. It was his first visit to Europe and he was there to take part in the big festive cyclo-cross races where he rubbed shoulders with Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock. There's nothing especially amazing about that, you might think. After all, Frederick, who is 32, has talent. He was eighth in the US nationals in December and had earned his place on the start grid. But Frederick's sojourn to Flanders was the culmination of an extraordinary journey. A few years ago, an innocuous crash while training on the trails caused a serious concussion. He had to re-learn how to do simple tasks, such as making coffee, and how to read before he could even contemplate getting back on the bike. It was almost two years before he could race again. He set himself a goal – to experience something most cyclists can only dream of. To line up with the stars of modern cycling, the giants of the sport, amid the feverish party atmosphere of a Flandrian Christmas. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. 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). Supersapiens Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com 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 To order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit 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.

In this week’s episode, Daniel Friebe is joined by Rob Hatch and Lionel Birnie, fresh back from his trip to the GP La Marseillaise for the start of the French season. We round up a flurry of racing over recent days, including that curtain-raiser in Marseille, and exchange hot takes about what we’ve seen so far in Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Spain. We also reflect in greater detail on an emphatic start to the season by two teams, Intermarché Circus Wanty and Team DSM, with contrasting approaches to rider recruitment in particular. In the final part of the episode, we ponder the news announced by Peter Sagan last week - that 2023 will be his final campaign in the sport’s biggest races. What was Sagan’s impact, what is his legacy and what chance is there of a Monumental swansong?The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. 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). SupersapiensSupersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com Science in SportThe 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. BabbelBabbel makes learning a language fun and listeners can get an additional six months free with the purchase of a six-month subscription at babbel.com/play with the promo code CYCLING MAAPThe Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. D Vine CellarsTo order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit dvinecellars.com Friends of the PodcastSign 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.

In this episode of Service Course, Tom Whalley speaks to Ian Boswell about the upcoming gravel season, the rule changes made by Unbound, and his plans for a very podcast-y Cape Epic ride partnering Mitch Docker. Boz also talks about his plans to transition from the pointy end of gravel races to the party end at the back. Beyond that, Tom and Lizzy Banks discuss the UCI rule changes for road bikes in 2023, Artificial Intelligence doing us all out of a job, and that Lab 71 bike that no one is confirming the existence of. Turns out there may or may not be one in Lizzy's kitchen. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. 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). Supersapiens Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.com 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 To order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit 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.

After their first appearance to look back on the 2022 season a few weeks ago, we reunite Joe Dombrowski of Astana-Qazaqstan and Larry Warbasse of AG2R Citroën and turn our gaze and thoughts forward to their respective 2023 campaigns. We ponder their hopes, dreams and fears for the coming campaign, and reflect on a broader question: to what extent is the grunt work that goes into arriving at and staying in peak condition science, and to what extent is it art? At the heart of the discussion are some of the points raised by the trailblazing triathlon coach Olav Aleksander Bu in a recent appearance on the Rich Roll podcast, which you can access here. https://www.richroll.com/all-episodes/As ever, we also review the week’s main news stories, including the shock non-retirement of Nairo Quintana. Colombian journalist Juan Carlos Berajano joins us to talk about how that plot twist has been greeted back in his and Quintana’s homeland. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport.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).SupersapiensSupersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. See supersapiens.comScience in SportThe 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.NordVPNExclusive NordVPN deal – go to nordvpn.com/tcp to try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee.MAAPThe Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range.D Vine CellarsTo order The Cycling Podcast Highlights case, or any of the cases commemorating the 2022 Grand Tours visit dvinecellars.comFriends of the PodcastSign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to more than 60 exclusive episodes.The Cycling Podcast is on StravaThe Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.