Mike Levy and Pete Cossins return to unpack a wild stretch of Tour de France action from stages 14 to 16, plus all the bizarre, brilliant, and brutal stories behind the racing. Jonas Vingegaard has said many times that he's not at the Tour to race for second, and that's exactly what it looked like as he attacked Pogacar again and again on the slope of Mount Ventoux. Peter Cossins and Mike Levy are back to discuss stages 14, 15, and 16, where we saw the new version of Vingegaard, Mattias Skjelmos...
Jul 22, 2025•47 min
In this episode of Velo’s Tour de France Podcast, Mike Levy and Pete Cossins dig into stages 11–13 of the 2025 Tour and what really goes on during a so-called “rest day.” Pete explains how riders still spend hours on the bike, tending to injuries, staying sharp, and preparing their bodies for what’s next. Stage 11 was shaped by an audacious breakaway from kilometer zero, with Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) ultimately outsprinting Mauro Schmid to take his and his team’s first Tour stage win—just four w...
Jul 18, 2025•45 min
In this episode of the Velo Podcast , Mike Levy and Peter Cossins recap Tour de France stages 8, 9, and 10, which delivered a mix of heartbreaking breakaways, sprints that come just short, and all kinds of tactics in the mountains. Stage 8 saw Italian powerhouse Jonathan Milan power to his first Tour stage win, finally breaking through after numerous intermediate sprint efforts. Pete and Mike marvel at his raw, upright sprinting style compared to the finesse of rivals like Tim Merlier. Stage 9 b...
Jul 14, 2025•37 min
Pete Cossins is back with Mike Levy to explain all the action from stages 4-7 of the Tour de France, including the GC contenders fighting each other for early stage victories yet again, Ben Healy's epic solo win, and they dig into what could be a Tour-defining time trial loss for Jonas. We're all hoping that it's far from over, however, with some monster mountain stages in the coming weeks that suit Vingegaard, and especially considering that Pogi, for all his dominance, isn't infallible over th...
Jul 11, 2025•41 min
Cervelo debuts new aero and climbing bikes at the Tour de France that couldn't be more different, yet also match in one very important way, and we've also spotted the Visma–Lease a Bike squad rolling on prototype Reserve wheels laced with carbon fiber spokes. Tadej and the rest of the UAE team won't feel left out, though, as they're using the just-released ENVE SES 4.5 Pro wheels. But what about that kinda-hook bead rim? Alvin Holbrook and Mike Levy delve into the details as they discuss tire re...
Jul 11, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Tricky roads and strong winds have made it a hectic start to Le Grande Boucle, and the conditions have already seen two big names abandon the race due to injury, while two GC contenders have lost over half a minute to the favorites. Legendary Tour de France reporter Pete Cossins unpacks the sprints, the breaks, the crashes, and especially the wins that make up the first three stages, and he also answers all of Mike Levy's questions about Tour etiquette and racer politics.
Jul 07, 2025•48 min
The 2025 Tour de France is right around the corner, the largest race in cycling all year. Mike Levy, Andrew Hood, and Jim Cotton get together on the Velo Podcast to break down the key stages of the 112th Tour de France – including one with over 18,000 feet (5500 m) of climbing. They dig into the history of the stages relevant to this year, the key contenders and teams to know, and a whole lot more. In addition to this Tour de France preview, stay tuned for a daily Tour de France stage recap podc...
Jun 29, 2025•54 min
Shimano's *mostly* new GRX Di2 12-speed group is the Japanese giant's first single-ring drivetrain for gravel, and it borrows tech from the mountain bike world to make it happen. Senior tech editor Alvin Holbrook has unboxed, installed, and ridden GRX Di2, and this week's episode sees the crew dive into his early impressions on shift speed, gear range, and how it compares to SRAM's wireless offerings. BMC had also just released a new, lighter and even more climbing-focused Teammachine SLR ahead ...
Jun 27, 2025•1 hr 13 min
TRP's new Vistar drivetrain combines a 12-speed cassette with a Classified internally geared hub to give you the benefits of a front derailleur without the hassle and complication, but does it work in the real world? Senior Tech Editor Josh Ross has spent months using it and explains the benefits, drawbacks, and how the hybrid 1X system compares to a traditional drivetrain. Josh has also been riding the new SRAM Force and Rival drivetrains that aim to bring the performance of Red down to a lower...
Jun 20, 2025•1 hr 11 min
New Zealander Cam Jones talks to Mike Levy about escaping early with an eager partner, how they built an 8-minute gap on the field, and the importance of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They also get into the time Cam lived in a U-Haul truck while racing in America, his lifelong love of good adventures, and how he plans to tackle the Leadville Trail 100. For your consideration: Power Analysis: The Watts Behind the Fastest Ever Unbound Gravel 200 Unbound Bike Check: Elite Men’s 200 Winner Cam...
Jun 19, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Unbound gave us some incredible racing and smashed previous course records, but it wasn't without controversy. With higher speeds, larger fields, and more competition than ever before, the Unbound pit zones were hectic and dangerous, especially with pros and amateurs alike taking a free-for-all approach. Should Unbound add more rules to keep racers safe, or should they move to a fully unsupported format without pit zones? Alvin, Josh, and Levy also dig into all the new prototypes, including the ...
Jun 13, 2025•57 min
Fresh off his record-breaking win at the 350-mile Unbound Gravel XL race, Rob Britton chats with Levy about his strategy, how he fuels for an ultra, and why an aero bar and suspension fork make so much sense. They also get into stopping for pee breaks, those low moments before being reborn with the sunrise, and how he mentally recovers from such a massive effort.
Jun 07, 2025•1 hr 19 min
Unbound has become the epicenter for not just the latest gravel bike tech but also some of the most interesting equipment choices of the year. Alvin Holbrook spent the week in Emporia, Kansas, tracking the race and also tracking down prototype bikes from Orbea, Pinarello, and Specialized. He also found Lachlan Morton's Cannondale Topstone with its water-carrying Tailfin rack and custom front bag, some unreleased rubber from Pirelli, and what most of us would consider a reverse tire set-up that e...
Jun 03, 2025•50 min
Today's show takes a deep dive into two new bikes at opposite ends of all the spectrums: State's no-fuss 4130 All-Road sells for under $1,000 USD, and Cannondale's Topstone Lefty Gravel bike that employs a single-sided suspension fork and 30mm of rear-wheel-travel via a clever system combining built-in frame flex with a single pivot. Alvin, Josh, and Levy also dissect Zwift's new outdoor ride-tracking feature that may (or may not) eventually challenge Strava as many people's go-to app, and Alvin...
May 23, 2025•1 hr 5 min
This week's episode sees us go behind the scenes with Amy Charity, SBT GRVL co-founder and retired professional racer, to find out what it takes to organize one of North America's premier gravel races. Did you know that you can never have too many outhouses? Levy and Will take notes on how to find four hundred volunteers, and how to deal with permits, police, and politics while putting on an event that's both fun and safe. Additionally, we dig into the changes made to SBT, what the future of gra...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 2 min
New Tech Alert: A speedy all-road bike with all the tire clearance, an unreleased (and still embargoed) gravel bike, and a clever gravel suspension fork from DT Swiss make this a gear-focused show. Senior Tech Editor Alvin Holbrook chats with Levy about riding Cannondale's completely redesigned Synapse that offers massive tire clearance, a best-in-class storage box, and integrated lighting that (might) finally make sense. Further, he explains how one battery powers all of it and the AXS deraille...
May 09, 2025•57 min
This week's show sees Alvin, Josh, and Levy step into a parallel timeline where they have the power to create the bike of their dreams without those pesky engineering limits we have to put up with here. Impossibly good tire clearance, ultra-light aero everything, more frame storage than a steamer trunk, and gravel bike geometry that's not trying to kill you is all too much to ask for in the real world, but it's entirely possible in today's podcast. The crew also talks about riding Kona's MTB-inf...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 23 min
Beware: this episode of Velo Podcast is a packed one. Amstel Gold has to be one of the best races of the year, and this year was no exception. While everyone thought Tadej Pogačar was gone, he sat up and started to soft pedal. And instead of blowing it all up at the last climb, Amstel Gold ended up being decided in a three-person sprint. The first two names–Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel–are to be expected. But Mattias Skjelmose? He seemed surprised to even be there, much less that he won. In this ...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr
Josh, Alvin, and Levy unpack a massive week in tech that includes self-inflating tires winning Paris-Roubaix under a mountain biker, Pogačar's fresh V5RS, and an aero road bike that promises forward thrust in any wind conditions. The guys also dig into Allied's new Able that combines speed and tire clearance, the smart geometry of Norco's redesigned Search, and why (or why not) drop-bar mountain bikes make sense.
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 46 min
There isn't anything else like the Queen of the Classics and, if this season so far is anything to go by, we've got an exciting weekend of racing in front of us. The women's field will face the thirty cobbled sectors under the sun on Saturday, while there's a chance of rain and mud for the men on Sunday as Tadej Pogačar aims to be the first reigning Tour de France champion to win the Hell of the North in decades. Velo's Andrew Hood, Jim Cotton, and Mike Levy sat down to chat about how to ride th...
Apr 11, 2025•40 min
This week's Velo Podcast brings Mike Levy and tech editor Alvin Holbrook together to talk about our favorite trade show: the Taipei Cycle Show . Velo had Jessie-May Morgan, Shoddy Dave Everett, Alvin, and a video team there to wander all four floors and never-ending aisles that are always packed full of everything from the interesting, exciting, exotic, and maybe even useful to the just plain questionable, and a bunch of stuff in between. This week, we're talking about some crazy carbon fiber wh...
Apr 05, 2025•55 min
Can a $600 pair of shoes really be worth the price? Surely not... but also maybe, depending on who you ask. Today's show sees tech editor Josh Ross and Mike Levy talk about Specialized's new S-Works Ares 2 shoe, as well as how to test expensive bikes and gear, and how relevant that pricey equipment may — or may not — be for many riders who have different priorities.
Mar 28, 2025•43 min
Here's a burning question we've had for quite some time: should your bike complement your strengths or shore up your weaknesses? Wait, hear us out! We thought about the best bikes we've ridden, and there's always something in common: they make us feel superhuman. But what about that that bike makes you feel that way? Is it how it makes up for your weaknesses on the descents, or is it how it only amplifies what you're the best at? We have a bit of an argument here, with some of us believing a bik...
Mar 21, 2025•39 min
Bike racing is back! With the UAE Tour and Volta in the rearview mirror, it's time to jump feet first into what looks to be an epic Classics season that kicked off with Omloop and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Then, it was off to the rolling white roads of Italy's Chianti region for the Strade Bianche, where the women's race climaxed with a duel between Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen up the steep final wall better known as Via Santa Caterina. And if you were watching the men's race and waiting...
Mar 12, 2025•51 min
Some of the Velo team is in the midst of gearing up for a field test, where we're testing all-road bikes and comparing them against a traditional racey road bike and a gravel bike. Between all the testing and riding we're doing, it's got us wondering what the heck is an all-road bike, anyway? Yeah, yeah, all-road bikes are supposed to bridge the gap between the race road bikes and the performance gravel bikes. They tend to offer more upright body positioning, handling that skews toward safe rath...
Mar 07, 2025•48 min
Today's bikes are really, really good. That doesn't mean we don't have major pet peeves, however. Proprietary seat posts and stems, are an easy one, as are companies cheaping out on bolts and bearings. But we went further, talking about the bike industry's propensity to push bikes on us that don't help riders address their weaknesses, and perhaps most importantly, how we wish the bike industry solved these issues. Look, we said the bikes are good. We didn't say they were perfect! In the news, we...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 11 min
If you grew up or currently live and ride bikes in a town with any sort of population, we bet there’s either a group ride of some sort that just happened or will be happening in a few days. Maybe it starts from the local bike shop, or maybe it starts from the go-to coffee shop. Some rides are a chill Sunday spin that's gone on uninterrupted for the past two decades, while others are the three-hour World Championship ride with 50 of the local meatheads. We do our best to define these group tries,...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 17 min
Host Mike Levy has a hot take — or is it Senior Tech Editor Josh Ross who has the hot take? Find out this week as we debate the merits of aero road bikes. And first, we take a closer look at Classified's patent on a self charging shifting system that could make the burgeoning alternative drivetrain maker's offering a whole lot simpler to live with.
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Mike Levy sits down with Dan Sommer, owner of Jack's Cycle, to talk about the realities of running a bike shop.
Feb 08, 2025•1 hr 6 min
If you're listening to this, there's a pretty good chance that you love to ride your bike. That can manifest itself in all sorts of different ways. Some of you like to do shuttle runs with your buddies on the weekend or go to the bike park. Some of you like to pedal up the hill. Some of you like to go down the hill. Some of you like to race your bike for a few hours. And some of you… Well, some of you like to race your bike for over 4,000 kilometers through sand, snow, hopefully, more than a lit...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr
