Spencer and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the recent action at the Giro d’Italia before stting down with Gravel and YouTube star Dylan Johnson (33:00) to discuss his recent training crash, which left him with a fractured tibia and out of the upcoming Unbound Gravel race, where he finished 10th last year amdist a star-studded field. Dylan talks about the massive training blocks needed to prepare for the event, how equipment and fueling choices can be critical to success,...
May 23, 2025•1 hr 42 min
Spencer and Andrew break down the first week of the Giro d’Italia, including Juan Ayuso’s stage win atop the race’s first summit finish and Primož Roglič going into the overall race lead. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. Get your first month free through this link Sign up for our Beyond the Peloton JOIN Group Beyond the Peloton Newsletter Giro d'Italia Cheat Sheet Choose the Hard Way Newsletter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with...
May 16, 2025•55 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast sit down with Jonathan Kaplan from the Riding With newsletter to preview the upcoming Giro d'Italia, which kicks off tomorrow in Albania, and give their predictions on who will ultimately win the race, before diving into a range of topics, including Turkish hair transplants, Tom Pidcock's poor attitude and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. Get your first mont...
May 08, 2025•1 hr 17 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast give their final thoughts on the end of the spring Classics, reflecting on Tadej Pogačar's dominance and dive into the potential reasons behind Remco Evenepoel's deflation by the time Liège ended last Sunday. They discuss the unique pressure facing Evenepoel, and how he is potentially affected by the massive amount of social media pressure he is under as a Belgian GC superstar. This episode is...
May 03, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Spencer and Andrew discuss how Tadej Pogačar's overly-aggressive racing allowed Mattias Skjelmose to pull off a shocking upset at Amstel Gold, and how his re-emergence at the mid-week Flèche Wallonne with far more conservative, and effective, tactics, potentially lays out a blueprint for even more dominance from him in the future, and tells us who will win Sunday's final spring Monument, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. Get your first month free through th...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss how Tadej Pogačar's overly-aggressive racing allowed Mattias Skjelmose to pull off a shocking upset at Amstel Gold, and how his re-emergence at the mid-week Flèche Wallonne with far more conservative, and effective, tactics, potentially lays out a blueprint for even more dominance from him in the future, and tells us who will win Sunday's final spring Monument, Liège-Bas...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down the thrilling duel between Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar at last weekend's Paris-Roubaix, debating if Pogačar's Richard Mille watch cost him the race and if there was anything the Tour de France favorite could have done to defeat Van der Poel, before previewing this weekend's Amstel Gold race. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. Get your first mo...
Apr 17, 2025•51 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss Tadej Pogačar's recent domination at the Tour of Flanders, before previewing this weekend's edition of Paris-Roubaix, which will see Pogačar's rivals, like Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Filippo Ganna and Mads Pedersen, attempt to topple the red-hot World Champion over the brutal cobblestones of Northern France. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. Get y...
Apr 11, 2025•50 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down the recent Visma-LAB disasterclass at Dwars door Vlaanderen, before getting into Mads Pedersen's strange relationship with his Lild-Trek team, and the looming Tadej Pogačar/Mathieu van der Poel clash at Sunday's Tour of Flanders. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. Get your first month free with the link: https://join.cc/campaigns/beyond-the-peloton ...
Apr 05, 2025•55 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab give their thoughts on the state of the Mathieu van der Poel/Tadej Pogačar Classics battle, the strange absence of Wout van Aert & how the veteran Primož Roglič is taking on the wunderkind Juan Ayuso at Volta Catalunya. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025 Choose the Hard Way Newsletter This is a public episode. If...
Mar 29, 2025•50 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss and debate what Matteo Jorgenson's second-consecutive Paris-Nice wins mean for his and Visma's future in the Tour de France before diving deep into how this weekend's Milan-Sanremo, the first Monument of the season, will be won. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025 Choose the Hard Way Newsletter This is a public e...
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab debate the issue of rider safety, including if true rider safety is even possible in pro cycling, before diving into the racing action at Paris-Nice, where defending champion Matteo Jorgenson has been shadow-boxing his Visma teammate, and what the racing at Tirreno-Adriatico can tell us about the upcoming Spring Classics. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Wat...
Mar 15, 2025•58 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab go through their key takeaways from the start of Classics season, what they think is going on with Visma-LAB and Wout van Aert's underperformance, if Mathieu van der Poel and Alpecin will steamroll through the classics, as well as some background on the recent developments and rumors from the One Cycling project. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cyc...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down why Jonas Vingegaard is riding tiny 150mm cranks, and break down the pros and cons of doing so, before giving their thoughts on the opening weekend of the Cobbled Classics and which riders to watch out for when the 'real' cycling season kicks off. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025 Choose the Hard Way Newsletter ...
Mar 01, 2025•36 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss the highlights from early-season racing, the ever-growing trend of running amongst elite cyclists and dive deep into how WBD's decision to increase the cost to view cycling in the UK by over 300% shows that it will only get more and more expensive to watch live sports as the cost to buy sports rights continues to rise. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to W...
Feb 14, 2025•56 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better dive deep into the world of pro cyclists on YouTube, a crackdown on 'legal' doping, and break down the early-season racing Beyond the Peloton Newsletter Try The Better Lab today Choose the Hard Way Podcast & Newsletter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepelot...
Feb 08, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better invite Kip Taylor (of Colorado and Nex Mexico cycling fame) and Jonathan Kaplan of the Riding With Newsletter to discuss their recent training camp/2025 planning retreat in Tucson, Arizona, and how modern the shifting trends in modern top-level training and racing have shifted the historic winter cycling destination. Beyond the Peloton Newsletter Try The Better Lab...
Feb 05, 2025•42 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better sit down with Jack Burke, a Canadian cyclist, podcaster, and author, who made headlines earlier this year when he took the Strava KOMs (aka fastest recorded times) on some of the hardest climbs in professional cycling (Alpe d'Huez, Stelvio & Mortirolo) a year after stepping away from a career in the lower ranks of professional cycling. They discuss Jack's racing background, his ...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 29 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better discuss Sepp Kuss' decision to revert to his super-domestique role in 2025 and how superteams could be using modeling and complex simulations to refine their in-race strategies before getting Andrew's on-the-ground report from Arizona before BTP's Tucson summit next week. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025 Try The Better Lab today...
Jan 16, 2025•49 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better discuss the on-going Zwift challenges they are participating in order to prepare for the upcoming Beyond the Peloton summit in Tucson (Jan 20-23) before debating why so many pro cyclists are currently posting on social media about their newfound love for running, and, most importantly, if running actually makes you a faster cyclist. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's In-Depth Rid...
Jan 11, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better talk festive 500km, modern training camps, nutrition and the upcoming Mathieu van der Peel vs Wout van Aert Cyclocross clash. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's In-Depth Riders Tier Breakdown Try The Better Lab today This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscr...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better break down Tom Pidcock's decision to leave Ineos for the small Q36.5 team. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's In-Depth Tom Pidcock Breakdown Try The Better Lab today This episode is supported by buycycle , the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle. This is a public episode. If you'd l...
Dec 07, 2024•58 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better go through what they were thankful for during the 2024 season, and what they want to see in 2025, over the holiday week. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2025 GC Contender Tiers Try The Better Lab today This episode is supported by buycycle , the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle. T...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better break down how a speed skater exposed a lot of assumptions made in modern cycling training, and discuss how Jack Burke, a Canadian amateur who keeps taking some of cycling's toughest Strava KOMs, could present a money-ball acquisition for a struggling WorldTour squad. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2025 GC Contender Tiers Try The Better Lab today This episode is supported by...
Nov 22, 2024•59 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better check in from the Rouleur Live event in London, breaking down Tom Pidcock's surprising comments about his Ineos team from his recent interview, and much more. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2024 Rider Rankings Try The Better Lab today This episode is supported by buycycle , the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our...
Nov 15, 2024•41 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab sit down to catch up on some of the latest news in pro cycling, including the on-going drama at Ineos, rumors that Remco Evenepoel turned down at 10 million euro contract at RedBull-Bora, and much more. Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2024 Rider Rankings Try The Better Lab today This episode is supported by buycycle , the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. L...
Nov 08, 2024•39 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab sit down with former WorldTour professional rider Svein Tuft (6:02) to discuss his highly unusual path to the top of the sport and his opinion on the state of modern cycling. Buy Svein's book here Get in-depth pro cycling analysis with the Beyond the Peloton newsletter Try The Better Lab today This episode is supported by buycycle , the largest global marketplace for pre-own...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss what the recent changes to the LifeTime Grand Prix series and SBT GRVLs could mean for America's gravel racing scene before attempting to understand the Ineos/Tom Pidcock/Q36.5 love triangle and touching on a few other recent news items. BTP Newsletter In-Depth Breakdowns Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of t...
Oct 26, 2024•49 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss last weekend's World Gravel Championships and what Mathieu van der Poel's victory on the fast course tells us about the future of the discipline before breaking down the end of the road season with Saturday's Il Lombardia and the quickly unraveling relationship between Tom Pidcock and his Ineos team. BTP In-Depth World RR Championship Breakdown Listen to Andrew's Choose ...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down Tadej Pogačar's stunning ride to win the World Road Race Championships in Zürich, Switzerland, before previewing the upcoming World Gravel Championships in Leuven, Belgium. BTP In-Depth World RR Championship Breakdown Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Track...
Oct 04, 2024•44 min
