Velo Podcast

How are pro riders spending their time amid the coronavirus shutdown? On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we dive into our recent Day in the Life series with Betsy Welch. Over the past five weeks we have been reaching out to pro of every variety: European and North American; roadies, gravel racers, and mountain bikers; veterans and fresh-faced youngsters. We've asked them nine questions to help us understand how the COVID-19 shutdown is impacting their lives, and how they are maintaining their physical and mental health during these strange times. We have seen trends and outliers, and major differences between different types of riders. We break down these trends and differences on today's podcast. Then we conduct an actual Day in the life interview with Catharine Pendrel of the Clif Pro racing team. Catharine is a two-time world champion and an Olympic Bronze medalist in cross-country mountain bike racing. She is riding out the shutdown in Kamloops, British Columbia, where the singletrack is dry and the sun is shining . 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.

We are certainly living in strange times, and Alison Tetrick, like other professional athletes, is stuck in a holding pattern to see if and when the race season might resume. But she's not sitting by idly; Tech editor Dan Cavallari chats with Tetrick about her training during the Covid-19 era, what gear gets her through recovery, and why she carries a whiskey flask at every race.

Michele Acquarone ran the Giro d'Italia and RCS' other races for years, and pushed for revolutionary change such as teams sharing in TV revenue and all races having men's and women's events. On this episode of Put Your Socks On, Michele talks with Bobby and Gus about where the sport of cycling should be headed. Michele argues that all pro races should include women's and men's events. "It's so easy to do combined events, that it's crazy that all the pro cycling movement is not doing that," he says. "It should be a must if you want to have a first level race. You have the TV production, you have the operations already in place. For the organizer, it's easy. You have the streets closed, you have the helicopters and the airplanes in the sky. Everything is in place. You just need to invest a little extra money to have a great show with the two races at the same time." And what about esports in cycling? "Esports are not the future but the present of the sport, and you cannot ignore it," Michele says. Before talking with Michele, Bobby shares some indoor training tricks from TrainingPeaks' guru Tim Cusick, such as the importance of investing in a quality trainer with a flywheel for mimicking inertia, using your own power meter if you have one instead of the power from the trainer, and cooling your environment as best you can. "At the end of these indoor rides, you often end up looking like a salt lick," Bobby says.

Pro cycling has a partial competition calendar for 2020, with the UCI approving plans for the Tour de France to start on August 29 and the world championships to begin September 20. On today's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we dig into this tentative plan to bring pro cycling back. Is it even a good idea to schedule events amid the pandemic? What does this sketch of a calendar mean for the sponsors, pro teams, and pro riders? Plus, how do we think this tentative schedule will impact the Tour de France in general? Nobody is quite sure how riders will react to so much time away from racing before the Tour. We're in uncharted territory with 2020, and the proposed calendar leaves us with more questions to ponder than answers. 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.

Gravel bikes have gone soft! By which of course we mean suspension has become a stable in some form or another on most gravel bikes. Flexing seatposts, decouplers, and even full-suspension designs have all aimed to make gravel riding more comfortable. But is it necessary? Tech editor Dan Cavallari talked with VeloNews editorial director Ben Delaney to get his take on the gravel bike he has tested over the years. Does Ben think suspension is here to stay? And Cavallari chats with Zack Vestal from Niner Bikes to get deeper into the design considerations behind the MCR (Magic Carpet Ride), the first full-suspension gravel bike to hit the market.

Steve Maxwell and Spencer Martin of The Outer Line join the show to talk about what the sport of cycling could like in a post-coronavirus world from a business perspective. Will there be fewer teams and fewer events? Possibly. Along with the rest of the world, the cycling industry is now scrambling to figure out what it can do to stay afloat and what the waters will look like once the storm subsides. "Clearly we can't really imagine at this point in time, what the overall impact of COVID is going to be on the sport, just just like we can't really imagine what the impact is going to be on society in general, when we come out of the other side of this whole thing," Maxwell says. "But I think there are a few things that are starting to be apparent. We're not going back to the same old normal. Some things will probably change permanently as a result of this whole calamity." In this special edition VeloNews collaboration of PYSO and The Outer Line, the gents on the pod dig into a laundry list of possible effects of the coronavirus shutdown: How does it affect the teams, the managers, the events, the regulators, and the UCI? "Each one of these stakeholders is going to come out of this thing on the other side a little bit different than the way it went in," Maxwell says.

Pro Zwift racing has arrived, with the start of the Zwift Classics pro/am series. These six races feature $5,000 in prize cash, short and challenging courses, and fields comprised of pro and top amateur riders. So, what do you look for in a virtual race? On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we take a deep dive into pro Zwift racing with two experts: Leah Thorvilson and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. Leah Thorvilson was the first winner of the Zwift Academy talent search back in 2016, which earned her a pro contract to race with the Canyon-SRAM road squad. Thorvilson breaks down the similarities and differences between Zwift and IRL (in real life) bike racing, and discusses her own experiences in WorldTour-level road events. Then, WorldTour veteran Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio explains why she's embraced Zwift riding during the coronavirus shutdown. Moolman-Pasio won the most recent Zwift Classics event, and it came after she dedicated herself to a month of training on the online platform. Why is she racing indoors, and how has it changed her riding style? We find out. 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.

What role does sport play in a pandemic? And more importantly, what role will it play in a post-pandemic world? Bobby and Gus ask the head of the world Players Association, Brendan Schwab, these questions and more. Bobby says the world of cycling has no overarching organization. "There's no alliances, there's no loyalties. And that just has to change." Bobby, Gus, and Brandon discuss how that could change.

On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we are breaking down our favorite recent editions of Paris-Roubaix by re-watching the YouTube video and then analyzing the action. The three editions we have on tap are from 2014, 2016, and 2019. These were the races that saw Niki Terpstra, Mathew Hayman, and Philippe Gilbert take historic wins on the jagged cobblestones of Northern France. What did we learn about Paris-Roubaix from rewatching these past editions? Well, we learned that Tom Boonen really wanted a fifth Roubaix title, among other things. We also saw a generational shift occur amongst the Roubaix peloton's heavy hitters, and we saw how daring team and personal strategies paid off. Fire up the YouTube clips, watch your favorite editions of Paris-Roubaix, and listen along.

Tech editor Dan Cavallari and editorial director Ben Delaney give you the basics on what you need to take advantage of power both indoors and outdoors. Since many of us are doing a fair bit of Zwifting these days, Delaney and Cavallari discuss how to use your power meter — and more broadly, power in general — to get the most out of your Zwift sessions. There are three fundamental ways to use Zwift: riding, training, and racing. Listen to find out how to optimize your power meter and settings to get the most out of each type of virtual ride.