VeloNews Podcasts

The Tour de France has begun, and so has our special podcast series taking you inside the race. For the next nine episodes we will feature expert analysis with co-host Jens Voigt, as well as audio diaries from riders in the race, and on-the-ground reporting from the event. Jens Voigt joins the episode today to offer his analysis on the first two stages of the Tour. Julian Alaphilippe's stunning win on stage 2 again made him a fan favorite, but Jens argues why Alaphilippe's antics are a sign that he's not a true GC contender this year. Jens also offers his opinions on Team Ineos Grenadiers' decision to leave its veteran rider Geraint Thomas home from the Tour. Thomas has been a part of every one of the team's Tour de France wins. Is leaving him home a blunder? Plus, Jens breaks down all of the crashes and drama from the stage 1 opener in Nice. What is the role of the peloton's 'patron'? Jens takes us inside this very special person of the peloton. Then, we get our first dispatch from Andrew Hood and James Startt, who are both on the ground in Nice for the race. Andrew and James discuss the race's COVID-19 safety protocols, and how they are making life different from everyone at the event, from fans to riders to journalists. What's it like to be a reporter at this year's race? It's totally different. All that and more on the first episode of our 2020 Tour de France coverage! Today's episode is sponsored by a new training supplement called MitoQ. MitoQ is a unique form of the antioxidant CoQ10 that is designed to get inside our cell's mitochondria to help create energy and neutralize free radicals. For more information go to www.mitoq.com/powerupcycling.

Bobby Julich calls him Sir Rod. Bahrain-McLaren racers call him boss. You probably know Rod Ellingworth from his early coaching connection to Mark Cavendish. However you know him, the general manager of the WorldTour squad Bahrain-McLaren comes on the show today to talk about preparing for the Tour de France. Getting an international team ready for the Tour is organized chaos in the best of times, with people, vehicles, and materials scattered around various countries in the weeks and days leading up to the Grand Depart. And this year of course is special, with coronavirus precautions adding layer upon layer of complexity. "We had all the challenges, we didn't just have the COVID challenge," Ellingworth said. "Our partners were in trouble from a financial point of view, and that was potentially the biggest challenge that we had." Bahrain-McLaren recently announced that McLaren will not be returning as a sponsor next year. Selecting which eight riders make the Tour de France team is critical point for any team. Ellingworth explains how his background with the British Olympic program helps inform his selection criteria. Providing transparency and clarity into the selection process is key, he says. "The sports directors give us the demands of the event, which then tells you how many climbers do you take, how many flat riders do you take, and so forth. So you've got the outline," he said. "And then you say to each of those groups, this is what's expected of you. This is the level that we're expecting. This is the level of teamwork we're expecting. So it's all clearly written out in black and white for the whole team to see from very early." Check out see Bahrain-McLaren's Tour de France team here: https://www.velonews.com/tour-de-france/tdf-teams-2020/bahrain-mclaren/

There will be no Chris Froome or Geraint Thomas at the Tour de France this year. The bombshell news was dropped by Team Ineos this past week, and on today's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we discuss every angle of the decision. What does this mean for Froome's legacy and his attempt to win a fifth Tour? Why did Thomas look so bad at the Critérium du Dauphiné? And what does this milestone mean for Team Ineos and its era of dominance at the Tour de France? Plus, the Tour de France revealed a new rule for COVID-19 safety, stating that teams will be booted from the race if they have two or more riders or staffers who test positive for the virus or show symptoms. We analyze this rule, and what impact it could have on the race. Then, our countdown to the Tour de France concludes this week as we analyze our top-five contenders for the yellow jersey. Froome's omission threw off our top-10 list, and we discuss which second-tier contenders deserve a spot on the list of top favorites. All that and more on this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast! Live bike racing is back, and FloBikes is your home for live and on-demand coverage of the biggest events of the year including the Giro d’Italia, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Tirreno Adriatico, and much, much more. Go behind the scenes with exclusive interviews, in-depth documentaries, and a host of other cycling-focused content. Additionally, Canadian viewers get access to the Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana, and the World Championships. Subscribe today by going to flobikes.com/velonews.

In a normal year, Ben Delaney and Dan Cavallari are wandering random hotel parking lots in search of the newest and coolest Tour de France tech, often getting chastised by team mechanics and otherwise making nuisances of themselves somewhere in France. 2020 is no normal year. This year, both Ben and Dan will be watching the Tour from home, squinting at computer and TV screens to spot the new stuff. In this episode of the VeloNews Tech Podcast, Ben and Dan talk a bit about their processes for spotting new tech when they're on the ground at the Tour de France (hint: always look for electrical tape!) and what they will be looking for on their screens at home this year.

Sylvan Adams is an enthusiastic masters racer — with one heck of a philanthropist twist. He fell in love with the sport late, and quickly found his way to national and world masters championship titles. But then.... the successful Canadian businessman and philanthropist went all in on supporting the sport of cycling in general and the Israeli cycling scene in particular, bringing the Giro d'Italia to Israel and launching Israel Start-Up Nation into the World Tour. Tune in for a special episode of Put Your Socks On, as Bobby, Gus, and Sylvan talk about how Sylvan got into cycling, and where he wants to see it go.

The Critérium du Dauphiné is done and dusted, and we have our final glimpse of the Tour de France contenders before the big race. On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we analyze all of the storylines from the Dauphiné and also Il Lombardia, and discuss how these stories impact our impressions of the upcoming Tour. Chris Froome is not fit, Geraint Thomas looked bad, and numerous other contenders are suffering injuries and crashes. What does this mean for the race? Then, we analyze the big contenders who will be battling for the Tour de France overall. In our annual VeloNews Tour de France guide we ranked the top-10 contenders. This week we analyze our riders ranked No. 10 through No. 6 on the list, and discuss each rider's strengths and weaknesses. Live bike racing is back, and FloBikes is your home for live and on-demand coverage of the biggest events of the year including the Giro d’Italia, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Tirreno Adriatico, and much, much more. Go behind the scenes with exclusive interviews, in-depth documentaries, and a host of other cycling-focused content. Additionally, Canadian viewers get access to the Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana, Criterium du Dauphine and the World Championships. Subscribe today by going to flobikes.com/velonews.

As the bicycle becomes more complex, so too does the process for making it look, well, super pretty. Micah Moran from Trek Bicycles knows a thing or two about what goes into all those nifty paint jobs; he has been deeply involved with Trek's in-house custom paint shop, Project One, as well as the Icon paint schemes that grace some of the most eye-catching designs on the road. Micah joins tech editor Dan Cavallari to give us a sense of what's new in bicycle paint, where we've been in the past, and what we can look forward to in years to come.

NFL veteran Eric Studesville has coached for 23 years, including with the Denver Broncos when they won the Super Bowl in 2015. On this episode of PYSO, Eric chats with Bobby and Gus about how football player roles compare to cyclists' roles on a team. Eric got into cycling growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. First, the bike was transportation. Then, it was for workouts. And soon — and now — it is for the love of riding. Now the running back coach for the Miami Dolphins, Eric explains how he lures NFL players into cycling, and what their biggest hesitation is about getting on a bike. Looking at cycling and football, it's not too dissimilar in terms of everyone having distinct roles, Eric says. "Everybody's got a role and function," Eric says. "Running back, you know, you may be a third-down back, you may be a short-yardage or a goal-line back. Are you the two-minute guy? Are you a special teams contributor? I see that on a cycling team; they have a role and a function. You have the GC guy and you have your sprinters and your climbers, but everyone on a team has a role in a function, and everyone has to perform their role and function to the maximum for the team and for the GC rider to have the greatest chance to be successful." "I see the domestique people as the offensive linemen; you may not know who they are, but they're they got to be out there grinding those Ks every day for the team to succeed," he says. On this episode of PYSO, your role is to be the listener, so sit back and enjoy.

Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal drops by the VeloNews Podcast this week. Jason is one of the preeminent sports columnists in the country, and he's also a not-so secret cycling fanatic. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the cycling scene in a multitude of ways, and Jason discusses how he's seen the U.S. cycling scene shift in the past several months. The sale of bicycles is booming — how can the U.S. cycling scene capitalize on new riders entering our sport? Jason has some thoughts on how and how not to welcome these people. Plus, the Tour de France is just 2.5 weeks away, and Jason, like all other fans, is hopeful if slightly worried of the race taking place amid the pandemic. Then, up-and-coming American rider Matteo Jorgenson joins the podcast. Matteo just finished 17th place at Milano-Sanremo in his first ever monument appearance. He discusses his unorthodox pathway to the WorldTour, and his thoughts on how the coronavirus could impact the U.S. development pathway. The Tour de France is just around the corner, and the 2020 VeloNews Tour de France guide is now available for pre-order. This year the guide is again packed with insight and analysis on all 21 stages and 22 teams. We also have feature stories that examine the Tour's history with global crisis, and the simmering battle between Team Ineos and Jumbo-Visma. You can order yours now at www.velopress.com.All that and more on this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast

Senior editor Betsy Welch is going on an adventure. She'll be bikepacking the Colorado Trail, a journey notorious for devouring even the heartiest cyclists to attempt it. She joins technical editor Dan Cavallari to give us the rundown on what gear she's bringing (not much), how long she'll be out (a really long time), and where she will store everything she needs (bags, bags, bags).

A wild road brought Isabel King to cycling: Division One soccer at Columbia led to a UCLA MBA that led to Wall Street and then triathlon. Not the usual route, but today Izzy is racking up QoMs on Strava left and right in California. Tune in for a rolling ride on PYSO with Bobby Julich, Gus Morton, and Isabel King.

Pro bike racing is back, and on today's episode we go inside the Vuelta a Burgos and Strade Bianche with dispatches from Andrew Hood and James Startt. Then, our countdown to the Tour de France continues as we provide detailed and extra-nerdy analysis of Tour stages 11-21. We analyze every climb and every sprint to determine who will win the overall. Finally, we have an interview with American Leah Thomas who rode to an impressive third place at Strade Bianche. Leah rode with strong legs and smart racing intellect, joining the early breakaway that gave her an advantage on the dusty, dry course. Leah takes us inside the tense few moments after she dropped her chain on a dirt climb and was pushed by an overzealous fan. The Tour de France is just around the corner, and the 2020 VeloNews Tour de France guide is now available for pre-order. This year the guide is again packed with insight and analysis on all 21 stages and 22 teams. We also have feature stories that examine the Tour's history with global crisis, and the simmering battle between Team Ineos and Jumbo-Visma. You can order yours now at www.velopress.com.

In days of yore (just a few years ago, really), WorldTour team mechanics would spend hours, if not days, building wheels in preparation for big races. Now, most teams have equipment sponsors who send wheels pre-built. What's the benefit to the rider of having a pre-built wheel from one manufacturer? Jeff Schneider from Giant Gear joins tech editor Dan Cavallari on the show to talk about how Cadex Wheelsystems ensure riders get the best balance of light weight, performance, and consistency. It should come as no surprise that it all boils down to research, and hard numbers gleaned from years of testing. In the end, consistency is key. Listen to what Schneider has to say about what you can expect from your next wheelset.

In this special episode, co-host Bobby Julich becomes the hot-seat guest as Tejay van Garderen and Gus Morton pepper the Olympic medalist and Tour de France podium finisher about not only his career, but the decisions behind his actions, his regrets, and his most cherished moments. After watching ESPN's two-part LANCE documentary, van Garderen has questions for Julich about how the sport and society treated riders who doped, citing the depression and drug-related deaths of Marco Pantani and Frank Vandenbroucke. Julich talks about his own involvement in doping, his now-wife's prescient words about it decades ago, and his decisions to not only opt to race clean years ago, but to come clean to Team Sky years after, knowing that it would cost him his job. Van Garderen and Morton are empathetic but probing in their frank conversation. Van Garderen raced under Julich's guidance at BMC and still considers him a mentor. The younger American says he regrets racing too cautiously in the past, and seeing success as a zero-sum game, and asks Julich if he feels the same about his career. Julich also talks about his rare moments of zen on the bike, including one special instance during his Olympic time trial ride in Athens that netted him a silver medal.

We have a packed episode of The VeloNews Podcast this week, with interviews and segments that take you into pro cycling's return to racing. Andrew Hood is at the Vuelta a Burgos this week, which marks the first international pro men's race to be held since the coronavirus shutdown back in March. Andrew provides an on-the-ground account of what it's like to be inside a race during the pandemic, including his perspective on the safety measures being used to curb the spread of the virus. Then, we hear from American Sepp Kuss, who is racing the Vuelta a Burgos about his return to racing, and how he feels about being back in a bike race. Our countdown to the Tour de France continues this week, as we take a deep dive into the opening 10 stages of this year's Tour with James Startt. We analyze each stage's elevation profile and offer our thoughts on whether it's a day for the GC riders, sprinters, or breakaway specialists. We also offer our picks for each stage's winner. Then, Betsy Welch and Fred Dreier link up with American rider Tayler Wiles, who recently traveled back to Europe to start up the pro women's season. Wiles participated in races over the weekend in Spain, and offers her perspective on whether or not she fees safe in pro cycling's return. The Tour de France is just around the corner, and the 2020 VeloNews Tour de France guide is now available for pre-order. This year the guide is again packed with insight and analysis on all 21 stages and 22 teams. We also have feature stories that examine the Tour's history with global crisis, and the simmering battle between Team Ineos and Jumbo-Visma. You can order yours now at www.velopress.com.