In this week’s regular episode of The Cycling Podcast, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe are joined by Renaat Schotte, one of the voices of cycling in Belgium, to review a scintillating weekend of Classics racing - and one that reaffirmed Jumbo-Visma’s supremacy ahead of the Tour of Flanders.  We savour an E3 Saxo Bank Classic illuminated by three galáciticos of the pro peloton before going on to discuss an edition of Gent-Wevelgem that will be remembered for its hideous conditions, a stunning performance by one team and a remarkable act of generosity by their leader.  The episode en ..read more

This month, The Cycling Podcast Féminin team get what they wished for: a fiercely fought battle between two teammates. Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering gunned it out at Strade Bianche with the Dutchwoman eventually crowned the victor after a tense photo finish. Despite being pipped into second, the Italian classic marked yet another chapter in Kopecky’s extraordinary early season in which she has never finished lower than runner-up.  Rose Manley, Orla Chennaoui and Lizzy Banks discuss the race and its fallout, including the controversial disqualification of Kristen Faulkner for the weari ..read more

In this episode of The Cycling Podcast, after our on-the-whistle analysis in Arrivée at the weekend, we revisit Milan-Sanremo in the company of Larry Warbasse of AG2r-Citroën, who was in the thick of the action right up until the moment of Mathieu van der Poel’s race-winning attack on the Poggio. Larry takes Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie inside the peloton, dissecting and demystifying the wiles and vagaries of the first Monument of the season. We also hear the latest news from the Remco-Roglič battle in Catalonia - and look ahead to a weekend that signals the true start of the cobbled Class ..read more

In this year’s first episode of Arrivée, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe review the action from Milan-Sanremo aka La Classicissima.  Would Tadej Pogačar continue where he left off at Paris-Nice last weekend? Could Van Aert and Van der Poel thwart him? And would Lionel reprise the foccacia-in-cappuccino dunking ritual premiered at last year’s Giro d’Italia?   Arrivée by The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Sports Podcast Awards shortlist The Tour d’Écosse series has been shortlisted for the 2023 Sports Podcast Awards. It’s a public vote so it’s over ..read more

In this month's episode of service course Tom Whalley and Lizzy Banks discuss Victor Campanaerts' secret weapon for the spring classics. Lizzy reveals what she's been up to on her secret mission to Girona and speaks to Cannondale's top nerds, Sam Ebert and Nathan Barry. Tom also set out to gain an insight into the process of kit design and spoke to Kate Wagner, Sam Morgan of Paria and our very own Lionel Birnie. The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport. Sports Podcast Awards shortlist The Tour d’Écosse series – which was produced by Tom Whalley – has been shortli ..read more

In this week’s regular episode of The Cycling Podcast, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie are joined by former Team CSC and Team Sky press chief and Leopard-Trek manager Brian Nygaard to review the two big WorldTour stage races that concluded at the weekend and look ahead to the first Monument of the 2023 season - Milan-Sanremo.  After the usual weekly news round-up, we discuss the latest Pogcineration of Paris-Nice and the Roglication of Tirreno-Adriatico. What do these two results mean for the Grand Tour season and, in particular, Jonas Vingegaard’s chances of retaining his Tour de Franc ..read more

This episode of Explore was recorded in March 2022, when Lionel Birnie travelled to Berkshire to meet Phil Cavell. Lionel fitted squarely into the demographic Phil was writing for in his book The Midlife Cyclist and, as one of the people behind Cyclefit, has spent years trying to make riders more comfortable, more efficient and more powerful on the bike. As the years tick by and the likelihood of aches and pains on and off the bike rises, the middle aged cyclist has to pay more attention to their position, their pre- and post-ride regimes and their diet. But getting old does not mean slowing ..read more

Lionel Birnie is joined by EF Education-Tibco rider Lizzy Banks and Edward Pickering, the editor of Rouleur magazine, to help see through the dust thrown up by Strade Bianche. Saturday was a day when teamwork came under the microscope. In part one we examine the women’s race which was dominated by two SD Worx riders who had everything worked out except the ending. Demi Vollering seemed as surprised as anyone that her teammate Lotte Kopecky sprinted against her. Then we turn attention to the men’s race, won in exhilarating fashion by Ineos Grenadiers rider Tom Pidcock who attacked almost 50 k ..read more

Comebacks, controversy and new rivalries, there’s plenty for Rose Manley, Orla Chennaoui and Lizzy Banks to discuss in this month’s episode of The Cycling Podcast Féminin. We hear from Charlotte Kool who caused a major upset in taking two stage wins over former teammate and sprinting superstar Lorena Wiebes at the UAE Tour. She tells us what it is like taking on the mantle of leadership in one of the world’s best sprinting teams and going head-to-head against a rider you used to lead out. Newly crowned U23 cyclo-cross world champion Shirin van Anrooij talks to Orla about life at Trek-Segafre ..read more

In this week’s episode of The Cycling Podcast, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie are joined by the young and ambitious chief of the Uno-X men’s and women’s teams, Jens Haugland, to discuss their unlikely journey towards the pinnacle of the sport - the Tour de France.  In a wide-ranging interview, Haugland explains why professional football and the priesthood could have been his alternative career paths - and revisits his team’s very humble beginnings.  Before all of that, we round up the week’s main headlines and zero in on key talking points from the Ruta del Sol and Volta ao Algarv ..read more