A special extended episode of RadioCycling comes live from Paris, as we attend the prestigious Vélo d'Or awards and the 2024 route announcements of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes. Our 24-hour Parisian special begins at the Pavilion Gabriel, just off the Champs-Élysées, where the great (most notably Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault) and good gathered for the first formal presentation of the prestigious Vélo d'Or awards by French magazine Vélo. We hear from the winners – or at least t...
Oct 25, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 46
In a week when the dying embers of the raging fire that was the 2023 season are almost extinguished, we're already looking ahead to 2024... Welcome to the latest slice of cycling news from RadioCycling... We start with a guest appearance by Charlie Quarterman, who lifts the lid on the reasons for his decision to retire from the professional scene at the age of 25, despite a sterling performance in the 2023 Giro d’Italia and his undimmed passion for racing. The young Briton talks candidly about t...
Oct 18, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 45
It may be autumn, the time of falling leaves and drifting woodsmoke, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, but there's still plenty of news and talking points in the pro peloton. These are RadioCycling's latest headlines... Intermarché-Wanty-Circus plunged into racism scandal – The Belgian team has pulled two of its riders from the Tour of Guangxi, the final WorldTour race of the season, after they posted a racist image on social media. We detail how the team and the UCI have responded to...
Oct 11, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 44
The European road season may be heading for its grand finale in Lombardy this weekend, but there's no end yet to the talk of mergers. As uncertainty continues to linger over the men's peloton, these are RadioCycling's headlines... Blood on the carpet – with the UCI weighing in as the Jumbo-Visma/Soudal-QuickStep merger meltdown continues, we examine the latest developments in this ongoing saga. Is SQS boss Patrick Lefevere the good guy? And what of Richard Plugge, the Jumbo-Visma boss who's also...
Oct 04, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Talk of mergers are on the news menu just about everywhere, but before we turn to the latest on that issue, RadioCycling has quite a scoop... X-ray machines and iPads have been touted as the means to prevent motor-doping and reassure everyone in cycling that the sport is technologically clean. However, a RadioCycling investigation has found that, despite the UCI stating that “it carries out bike tests at all UCI men’s and women’s WorldTour events”, that is not the reality. Our canvassing of the ...
Sep 26, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 42
The Vuelta a España may be done, but it's not yet dusted. These are RadioCycling's headlines following one of the most controversy-hit Grand Tours in recent memory... Vuelta wash-up: did the best man win? We examine whether Jumbo-Visma's overdue and belated selection of Sepp Kuss as the team's leader was a sporting or a marketing decision, and hear from the man who made it, Richard Plugge, who insists that social media pressure didn't play a role in them deciding to back the American and that ev...
Sep 19, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 41
With GC Kuss edging ever closer to Madrid and Jumbo-Visma's Grand Tour Grand Slam now inevitable, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... As Jumbo-Visma end their tactical Vuelta skelter, we ask whether the Dutch team is the greatest of all time and whether it can maintain its supremacy. We also hear from former UCI president Brian Cookson, who assesses whether that dominance is good for the sport and why salary and budget caps aren't the solution to the perennial issue of big-money teams l...
Sep 14, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 40
As the Vuelta a España pauses for its second rest day, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... Cruise control for Sepp Kuss: With just six days of racing between the American and one of the unlikeliest but also most popular Grand Tour wins of recent times, we hear from the Vuelta race leader. Kuss explains why the steepness and quantity of the climbing that lies ahead holds no fears for him, his good memories of the fearsome Angliru and confirms that there are, as yet, no team orders being ...
Sep 11, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 39
There's a big weekend of racing ahead at the Vuelta a España and the Tour of Britain. With our special guest host OJ Borg standing in for Jeremy Whittle, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... We start at the Vuelta, where all the talk is about GC Kuss. Could it happen? Will it happen? The American mountain domestique who's leading the race didn't buckle in the TT, is climbing as well as anyone and appears to be enjoying his spot in the limelight. We examine the beautiful dilemma of having...
Sep 07, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 38
As the Vuelta a España caravan pauses for its first rest day and the chance to wipe off the mud and dirt it picked up at the Cruz de Caravaca summit finish, these are RadioCycling's headlines... Is the Vuelta organisation's better judgement going off course? After yet another stage that left questions hanging over the race directors, we discuss the muddy mayhem of the Cruz de Caravaca. Was the decision to neutralise the final kilometres an over-reaction or were they right to avoid a situation wh...
Sep 03, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 37
After three opening days when chaos was the predominant factor, this Vuelta is turning into a belter, with Sepp Kuss at his climb-conquering best and the youngest rider in the field donning the race leader's red jersey. With the mountains now coming thick and fast, RadioCycling's latest headlines from Spain and beyond are... Lenny Martinez sees red as Remco loses his grip: we could hardly have picked a better morning to speak to the coach of the 20-year-old Groupama-FDJ rider who's already shone...
Aug 31, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 37
The Vuelta a España is off and running, although its opening weekend was hardly auspicious. RadioCycling donned its waterproofs and night vision goggles in Barcelona and these are our headline stories... The Vuelta's chaotic start: glassy and treacherous roads, racing in darkness, rider protests, getting the results of intermediate sprints from fans, and its defending champion's crash into race staff moments after a thrilling victory... The season's final Grand Tour has stumbled rather than spri...
Aug 29, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Our latest podcast focuses entirely on the Vuelta a España, the final Grand Tour of the season that has attracted, arguably, the best line-up of riders seen anywhere this season. In RadioCycling's deep dive into the Vuelta, these are the headline stories are... As Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard rekindle their partnership in Jumbo-Visma's bid to claim a first-ever season sweep by one team of all three Grand Tours, we speak to American ace climber Sepp Kuss, who played a key role in the Dutch ...
Aug 25, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 35
The Vuelta a España is just around the corner, but before the focus switches to the final Grand Tour of the season there are plenty of other big talking points in the pro peloton. These are RadioCycling's latest headline stories... We start on familiar ground, with a look at the latest developments and rumours involving the Ineos Grenadiers, Soudal-QuickStep and, it almost goes without saying, Remco Evenepoel. What began as a quest by the British team to sign the Belgian team's leader is turning...
Aug 22, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 34
With a flurry of big name moves in the transfer market and 10 days remaining until a cast of the peloton's stars gather at the Vuelta a España, these are RadioCycling's latest headline stories... Following the announcement a four-year ban for former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman for possession of a banned substance and lying to UK Anti-Doping investigators, we speak to Matt Lawton, chief sports correspondent of the Times, who has followed the case closely since 2016. We hea...
Aug 17, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 33
After two weeks of non-stop action, the Glasgow "Super" World Championships closed, as they began, with some stellar performances from some of the sport's biggest stars. As we head off for a super beer and a long lie down, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... Worlds in motion... UCI president David Lappartient has hailed these Glasgow Worlds as the biggest success in the championships' history, but there are plenty of talking points in what has been an overwhelming (in all senses of the ...
Aug 13, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 32
There's so much action taking place at the Glasgow "Super" World Championships that there's hardly been time to squeeze in a podcast, but we've finally managed it and these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... We start, of course, in Scotland, with the World Championship version of the Wacky Races. It's been frantic, but fun. There's been griping about too many corners, too many potholes and even too much racing, but it's been impossible to avoid being swept up by the quantity, quality and bea...
Aug 10, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 31
After an enthralling second edition of the Tour de France Femmes finishes with Demi Vollering's overall victory in Pau, these are RadioCycling's headlines... Bigger and better than in 2022, with a stronger, deeper and more competitive field, the Tour de France Femmes built towards a dramatic climax in the Pyrenean mist that will stay in the memory. We get a rider's perspective on the race from French star Audrey Cordon-Ragot. One of the dominant stories of the Tour de France Femmes was the crack...
Jul 30, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 30
nAs the Tour de France Femmes approaches its high-rise finale in the Pyrenees, these are RadioCycling's headlines... Despite the loss of sprinter Lorena Wiebes due to a stomach complaint, SD Worx remain in control at the TDFF with Lotte Kopecky still holding the yellow jersey she's had since the opening day and their GC leader Demi Vollering looking as if she has the edge on her rivals, despite a 20-second time penalty for drafting behind her team car. We look at the key days ahead, and particul...
Jul 27, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 29
that As the Tour de France Femmes reaches its halfway point, these are RadioCycling's headlines... The first three stages of the TDF Femmes have seen plenty of weather, crashes and abandons, but the GC battle has been cagey, with Demi Vollering's Team SD Worx and Annemiek van Vleuten's sparring with each other, but not yet looking to delier knockout blows. We hear from defending champion Van Vleuten on why the GC contest has been a waiting game. Amidst the conjecture and scepticism that was trig...
Jul 26, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 28
On cycling's Super Sunday as the Tour de France finishes and the Tour de France Femmes gets going, these are RadioCycling's headlines... As Jonas Vingegaard completes the most dominant Tour victory of recent years, we pick out the race's highlights including an unforgettable first week, the return of the Puy de Dôme, Bora's poignant tribute to Gino Mäder, and, last but not least, Thibaut Pinot's tremendous swansong in the mountains. British riders were also to the fore during the Tour, from the ...
Jul 23, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 27
After two weeks of frenzied and close-fought action, the Tour leaves the Alps with its leader holding the biggest lead of this century. As the race pauses in "Chickentown", these are RadioCycling's headlines... At Combloux and Courchevel, Jonas Vingegaard became the demolition man, putting a wrecking ball through the general classification and eviscerating Tadej Pogačar. With scepticism of his performances spreading, we get a Danish perspective on the Jumbo-Visma leader and his place in his coun...
Jul 20, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 26
After Jonas Vingegaard's torching of his rivals in the Combloux time trial, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... Like Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault or Miguel Induráin in their time trialling pomp, Jonas Vingegaard not only beat Tadej Pogačar in the Tour's only TT, but blitzed him, putting an astonishingly large gap between himself and his arch-rival. We reflect on this incredible performance, on what it means for the GC battle, and on whether Pogačar has the ability – and enough road...
Jul 18, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 25
As the Tour de France pauses in Saint-Gervais for its second rest day, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... The Tour remains on a knife-edge, with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard so close to each other that they might as well be riding a tandem. We reflect on a Tour that's shaping up as even better than last year's and potentially as one of the best of all time. There's another fascinating battle going on away from the Tour action. The race for Remco Evenepoel is heating up. Although ...
Jul 16, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 24
In a very frank interview with Radio Cycling's Chris Marshall-Bell, Israel-PremierTech team owner Sylvan Adams explains why four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome didn't merit a place in their Tour de France line-up and says that the British rider hasn't fulfilled the hopes IPT had for him when he signed an extremely lucrative multi-year contract three years ago. "He’s supposed to be our leader at the Tour de France and he’s not even here, so no I couldn’t say he’s value for money, no," ...
Jul 13, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 23
In this special episode, RadioCycling pays tribute to Gino Mäder, the 26-year-old Swiss rider who died after crashing while racing in his national tour last month. Produced in collaboration with journalist Kate Wagner, who got to know Gino well during his professional racing career, it features extracts from interviews she conducted with the Bahrain Victorious rider. These interviews highlight not only Gino's love of cycling and racing, but also his passion for issues beyond the sport, notably t...
Jul 11, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 22
As the Tour de France pauses in Clermont-Ferrand for its rest day, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines... 2019 Tour de France champion Egan Bernal has made a miraculous return to racing after his near-fatal training crash in Colombia last year. The Ineos Grenadier tells us why he's proud of what he's achieved in making it back to the Tour, what he's hoping for from the rest of the race, and why Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar are racers "from another planet" and that his long-term goal ...
Jul 09, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 21
As the Tour de France leaves the Pyrenees, these are RadioCycling's news headlines... It's been frantic, the tactics have been crazy at times, but it's also been totally captivating. We look back on two days in the Pyrenees when Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar tried to knock lumps out of each other and in doing so served up racing action that was every bit as enthralling as last year's epic mountain duel between the pair, the sport's two outstanding climbers. While the dynamic duo have fought...
Jul 06, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 20
As the Tour de France heads for the Pyrenees, these are RadioCycling's news headlines... Wout van Aert hasn't looked like a happy camper at times during the Tour's opening days, but Jumbo-Visma's head of performance Merijn Zeeman tells us that there's no rift at all between the Dutch team's multi-talented Belgian powerhouse and their Danish leader and defending Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard. It's nothing more than the Belgian press creating something out of nothing, Zeeman asserts. Our man in t...
Jul 04, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 19
With the Tour de France's first weekend completed, these are RadioCycling's news headlines... Ineos team manager Rod Ellingworth acknowledges that at least three of the British team's GC leaders are angling for transfers, but denies that there's going to be a mass exodus of their stage race talent. Bullish in his defence of Ineos's Grand Tour strategy, Ellingworth tells us why he's excited about their future and the role he hopes Egan Bernal will play in it. After several days of unrest followin...
Jul 02, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 18
