Velo Podcast

Some riders are superstitious, believing that they need everything just so in order to perform. They need just the right lucky clothing, or just the right type of coffee. World time trial champion Chloe Dygert is not such a rider. She doesn't even drink coffee. She just thrives off viewing the best riders in the world as benchmarks, and then getting to work on surpassing them. In this episode of Put Your Socks On, Dygert and her Team Twenty20 boss Nicola Cranmer discuss the pursuit of greatness. In Cranmer's case, that means finding and nurturing talented riders in challenging times as well as good times. For Dygert, that means a relentless work ethic and a refusal to settle — even for her current status as one of the absolute best riders in the world. "I'm definitely the kind of person that if you tell me, I can't do something, I'm going to do it, and I'm going to do it better than you would ever think," Dygert says. "I have role models, but I don't look at them and say I want to be like them. I look at them and say, 'you are a benchmark to what I want to be. I'm going to surpass you, I'm going to be better than you.' I want to be the best at anything and everything I do, and I thrive off of pain. I thrive off of other people's doubt, and I think that's also a huge benefactor into who I am today." As the world of cycling contemplates a cautious return to racing, Cranmer floats the idea of racing time trials exclusively for a little while. What does the reigning world TT champ think of this? "I would not be opposed," Dygert says.

Chris Froome could be seeking a mid-season transfer away from Team Ineos. The news broke last week on cyclingnews.com and immediately caused ripples throughout pro cycling. On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we discuss this story, its origins, and the implications it has on the sport. Is Froome really going to depart Team Ineos, or is this news being floated out there for some other reason? We analyze and give our educated opinions on the biggest story of last week. Then, continuing on our discussions around the Giro d'Italia, we examine Marco Pantani and his posthumous reputation in Italy and in pro cycling. While other riders from the EPO era have seen their reputations tarnished, Pantani's legacy has not attained godlike status in Italian cycling. Then, we catch up with U.S. MTB champion Keegan Swenson, who last week broke Phil Gaimon's world record for Everesting. We hear all about Swenson's painful feat, and discuss what the future holds for this bizarre cycling challenge. All that and more on this week's The VeloNews Podcast. This week's episode is sponsored by Roll Massif, organizer of eight iconic cycling events in Colorado. Right now listeners of the podcast can get 15 percent off event entry by going to rollmassif.com and using the code Velonews15 at checkout.

The great debate finally hits the VeloNews Tech Podcast: eTap, or Di2? The electronic shifting systems from SRAM and Shimano each offer distinct advantages and disadvantages — and ultimately, each system has a personality all its own. SRAM's wireless eTap AXS system is the newcomer, attempting to unseat Shimano's wired Dura-Ace Di2 system that has proven itself reliable, smooth, an ergonomically sleek for years now. If Dan and Ben had to spend their money on just one system, which would they choose? Find out on this episode.

After an absence from the top level of the sport, longtime team director Bjarne Riis is back in the WorldTour at the helm of NTT Pro Cycling. Riis is well known for many things — winning the 1996 Tour de France as a rider, his doping confession, and leading many riders to victory as the boss of Team CSC / Saxo Bank / Saxo Bank-Tinkoff. As a team leader, Riis has long been a proponent of team building, often taking teams on military-like exercises in the early months of the year to build cohesion. With NTT, Riis has been working with team management and riders to develop that cohesion remotely, through Zwift racing and regular communication, and other strategies that he isn't yet ready to talk about beyond saying he has established 'six pillars' of training. But he is confident that NTT will come out of the pandemic lockdown ready to race. "I guarantee you NTT Pro Cycling is going to be a weapon when we come out racing again," Riis said. "Because that was what I explained [to the riders]: I want you to be a weapon in what you do." In his recent years away from directing a WorldTour team, Riis said he missed "fighting in a creative way." While Ineos has the the biggest budget and can hire many of the best riders, other teams have to be creative and organized in their tactics, he said. "What's important to me is being a team, not just saying we are a team but showing it," he said. "You know, the way we race the race together in the peloton, the way we move together, everything we do as a team," he said. "And that's the culture you build." Listen in for a conversation with Gus Morton and Bobby Julich, who for a time raced for Riis at CSC.

Richard Plugge, the managing director for Jumbo-Visma, has a very informed perspective on COVID-19 and its impact on pro cycling. Back in March Plugge came down with a fever and a cough, and after more than a week of feeling ill he was hospitalized. Plugge was diagnosed with COVID-19, and he spent more than six weeks recovering from the illness. On today's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we link up with Plugge to hear the story of his experience with COVID-19. We also discuss the UCI's proposed calendar for bringing racing back this fall, and get Plugge's opinion on the plan. While other team directors have criticized the UCI's schedule as being too ambitious, Plugge believes it is a plan that works for pro cycling and provides a lifeline for the teams that are teetering on the edge of financial ruin. Next, we discuss the ladies Paris-Roubaix with one of the peloton's best riders on the cobblestones: Ellen Van Dijk. Van Dijk is a winner of the Tour of Flanders and a 2x champion at Dwars Door Vlaanderen. She explains why the launch of Paris-Roubaix for women has completely changed her focus on the 2020 season. All that and more on this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast. This week's episode is sponsored by Roll Massif, organizer of eight iconic cycling events in Colorado. Right now listeners of the podcast can get 15 percent off event entry by going to rollmassif.com and using the code Velonews15 at checkout.

While tubeless tires have long reigned supreme in the mountain bike world, they have had a harder time gaining traction — forgive the pun — on road bikes. That has changed only recently, as more and more bikes come stock with tubeless-ready tires and rims. Has road tubeless finally arrived? Ken Avery would know; he has been involved in the design process of countless tires, both road and mountain, for Vittoria Tires and other companies before that. Does Ken think road tubeless has shrugged off its reputation as unreliable? Give this week's tech pod a listen to find out.

A novelty at first, six weeks of lockdown has taken its toll on all athletes. With the easing of restrictions now beginning, we check in with NTT Pro Cycling's Michael Valgren to see how he’s been holding up after months of uncertainty and how he’s planning on moving forward with the new UCI calendar just announced. A quick primer on Valgren, for those of you who don't know him: After turning pro at the tender age of 21, the Danish rider quickly won consecutive U23 Liège–Bastogne–Liège editions, establishing himself as a rider to watch in the future. Fast forward to 2018, and Valgren came of age, winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the monument Amstel Gold Race as well as finishing fourth at the Tour of Flanders. Following that break-out year, where he moved from a strongman to team leader, Valgren transferred to his current team, NTT (formerly Dimension Data), in one of the most anticipated moves for the season. Plagued by bad form and a series of setbacks, 2019 was a winless one. With 2020 a chance to redeem an “un-Valgren-esque” 2019, it seems the COVID-19 situation has delayed his chances of getting even in his favorite classics.

The UCI has released a plan to bring pro racing back in August with a competition calendar that squeezes all of the major races into three months. There are more than a few overlapping race dates. On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we discuss and analyze this new calendar and the ramifications it has on pro teams and events. What do we make of the overlapping dates and the compressed season? What pressures will this calendar put on pro teams and riders? And, most importantly, do we believe these races will actually take place amid the coronavirus pandemic? Then, we examine the Giro d'Italia, which would have been starting this coming weekend prior to the coronavirus shutdown. The new schedule places the Giro in competition with the major one day classics, as well as the opening week of the Vuelta. What does this tell us about the Giro's overall importance within the global cycling community? Riders love the Giro, and frequently tell us that it is their favorite race. We dig into why the Giro scores top marks with the riders, and what cultural impact the Giro has on the global cycling fanbase. All that and more on this week's episode. This week's episode is sponsored by Giordana Cycling, makers of fine Italian cycling apparel. Right now fans of the podcast can get 25 percent off their purchase by going to giordanacycling.com and entering the code PODCAST at purchase.

Tech Editor Dan Cavallari chats with Berne Broudy about her research into women's-specific design in the cycling industry. Where did it all start? What did the industry get right — and very wrong — along the way? And is women's-specific design now dead? Broudy guides us through two divergent paths of technology: bikes themselves, and the world of clothing and accessories. As it turns out, there's more to women's-specific design than blanket statements of its effectiveness overall. (Hint: It takes some nuance and research to get it right!)

How is the biggest team in the world dealing with the global coronavirus lockdown? Well, they've been doing a few things - including pivoting to help distribute hand sanitizer to hospitals in conjunction with their sponsor Ineos. Ineos team boss David Brailsford comes on the show to talk about how the riders, the coaches, and the support staff have been collaborating, training, and racing over the internet — and helping create value in new ways. Ineos owner and chairman Jim Ratcliffe told Brailsford that he wanted to produce a million bottles of hand sanitizer a month and supply that to the frontline workers in hospitals, using the well-oiled logistics of the cycling team to handle some of the distribution. "Everybody has been involved, and they've done a brilliant job and it's quite a satisfying thing to be involved in," Brailsford said.