Talking Luft! with Luke Durbridge Rapha presents Talking Luft! Well, he is back for the first time in 2023, because it just would not be a season of Talking Luft without checking in with my mate, the big fella, Luke Durbridge, back for version 4.0 on Talking Luft! It is that time of year again, as we head up north and gear up for the start of the cobbled classics, and who better to check in with than Durbo, to get his unique perspective on the races that he loves and knows so well. We have some curly questions lined up for him this time, some really tricky ones, as it turns out. Like – would h ..read more

  If you´ve been following me over the latter part of my career, and especially over the past couple of years, you´ll have seen my progression from pure roadie to lover of gravel riding and, more recently, mountain biking. I´ve lined up in a couple of MTB races, but next week, I´ll face my biggest challenge yet, at the brutal South African MTB race, Cape Epic.   But before I head off to Cape Epic, I really wanted to learn a bit more about the history of mountain biking, and the evolution that it has gone through to get to where it is today. I wanted to educate myself, and any others ..read more

  Rapha presents Talking Luft!   We’re back with Talking Luft, and I’m chatting with a well-known name in Aussie cycling, you might not have heard his name for a while but you’ll definitely know it. He’s one of only two Australians to win the Italian monument Milan-San Remo, and he’s a former teammate of mine, I’m talking of course about Matt Goss.   A born and bred Tasmanian, Gossy started his career on the track, and was a bronze medallist in the team pursuit at the World Championships in L.A. in 2005, before making the transition to the road and making his professional debut ..read more

  Rapha presents Talking Luft!   Well, it’s the first episode of Talking Luft for the year, and I’ve got something a little bit different for you first up! We’ve kicked off with a recap of our live daily pods from last week’s TDU, as presented at the Rapha pop-up in the race village.   At Tour Down Under, I presented a live daily wrap-up of all the race action, in The Race Communique with my friend and Sports Director Tom Southam. We also chatted with a few special guests, including the legend himself Phil Liggett and caught up with my old mate Matt Goss.   I hope you have ..read more

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton! We are back for the first episode of 2023, and I’ve kicked off the new year in much the same way I finished 2022 – with a cross-border bike packing trip across Australia! This time, it’s The Rat to Radelaide. If you’re picking up on the vibe that I’m loving these trips, you would be right. My Road to the Worlds trip really ignited a passion for this style of riding, and I love taking you along for the journey to show you what it’s like out there, in the hope it will encourage you to explore some of the incredible places in your own backyard by bike. Inspired ..read more

Rapha presents Talking Luft! Well it’s the last episode of Talking Luft for the year, and I’ve got veteran of the peloton and actually one of my first ever podcast guests from way back in 2016 back on the pod. I’m chatting with Welshman from Team Ineos, Luke Rowe. We sat down while he was in Australia for the Worlds, and got talking all the good stuff – kit, caps, mullets, the best of riders and teams, roommates on race, coffee stops, the good and bad of racing, plus a whole lot more. It was great to hear more about what makes Rowey tick. I hope you enjoy the chat. I want to say a big thanks t ..read more

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton! Well, here we are, it’s the last pod of the year and I’ve got a bumper one for you! As you’ll know the UCI World Road Race Championships were held in Australia this year, and I made the 1,250km trip from my home in Lancefield, near Melbourne, to the race in Wollongong by bike, and I documented the trip for the pod.  I gave myself five days for the trip, which meant I was doing big days on the bike, but without any ridiculous pressure, and it turned out to be an amazing pilgrimage through my own backyard here in Australia.   Australia is a huge ..read more

You all know my love for Paris Roubaix, and in that sense I have some cycling royalty on the pod for you this week. Chatting with none other than the man who conquered this year's Hell of the North, Paris Roubaix winner, Dylan Van Baarle. I was keen to hear a bit about Dylan and what makes him tick on and off the bike so I sat down with him while he was in Australia for the UCI Road Worlds and got Talking Luft! Pro kit style, Oreo rice cakes, coffee shop stops, his favourite seat on the bus, the riders who inspire him, best & worst roommates, Netflix on race and a whole lot more! This was ..read more

Rapha presents Talking Luft! Holly Harris is an Australian Mountain Bike and Gravel racer, who I paired up with last week at the Reef to Reef MTB epic. I thought, what better way to get to know her than going straight for the hard hittingTalking Luft questions – style, rituals, training, bikes, and of course, beverages. Naturally, we chat all things MTB and I hear about her favourite MTB and gravel trails around Armadale, we discuss the step up to 29 inch rim mountain bikes from 26, first cycling kits, social rides vs. hour of power, hunting QOMs, cycling heroes and a whole lot more.  Thi ..read more

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton! It's no secret I'm a newbie on the MTB scene. Having raced on the road for 14 years I'm still finding my footing out on the trails. But I'm a firm believer that you learn by doing, and this year I have loved the challenge of getting out and competing in local events. Over the weekend I took part in the Reef to Reef - a 4 day mountain bike stage race on the Tropical North East coast of Australia. It's one of the 3 'epic series' in Australia and I thought it would be a great challenge to tackle. But also a bit of fun to enter as part of a team. I knew I needed ..read more