Join Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss for the final instalment of their pre-Tour de France 'attitude camp'. In this episode they recap the final major preparation race, the Tour de Suisse where UAE Team Emirates – who else? – took the overall honours.
But while João Almeida's overall victory had a feeling of inevitability about it as soon as he reached the midway checkpoint in the final time trial, the week was perhaps more revealing about the two riders who joined him on the podium.
We hear from third-placed Oscar Onley, who won a stage and put together the best stage race performance of his career as he prepares to head to the Tour for Picnic Post NL. And we discuss Kevin Vauquelin's credentials as a potential star for the home nation at the Tour. He won a stage during the opening weekend in Italy last week and he very nearly delivered a huge result for an Arkea-B&B Hotels team that has been struggling in the World Tour this season.
There's a recap of the other races, including two events on the calendar in Copenhagen and Andorra, a brush with the UCI rules and analysis of Tadej Pogačar's foray into the world of children's books with his partner Urška Žigart.
Next up – our XL Tour de France Preview episode will be out in the middle of next week.
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1:04:30
S13 Ep68: Things That Make You Say Ooh!
They may not have made it to their Swiss chalet, but spirits are still high on this month’s Cycling Podcast Féminin as the team tackle several weeks of lively racing. Rose Manley, Denny Gray and Rebecca Charlton set themselves the challenge of picking out some moments that made them say “Ooh!” from the Tour of Britain Women and the Tour de Suisse, which is no easy task after a number of memorable moments and breakthrough performances.
Plus this month’s mini feature offers up a sneak preview of an upcoming Friends of the Podcast special. Four time British national champion Lisa Brambani sits down with The Cycling Podcast producer Tom Whalley to talk about the first ever women’s Giro in 1988. Brambani offers some rare detail as she battled convent dormitories and cold water showers as well as the race itself, all diligently recorded in her diary.
We also look ahead to this year’s Giro d’Italia and explore the punchy eight stage course which includes three summit finishes.
Also on the agenda, Denny’s imaginary Toblerone-inventing grandfather, Rebecca’s 90s hip hop karaoke and a thousand ways of saying “ooh!”.
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Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.
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The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.
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1:06:12
S13 Ep67: The Tour de France Dress Rehearsal
Join Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss as they review the Critérium du Dauphiné and ask whether it was a full dress rehearsal for the Tour de France.
Get ready to check-in for another block of pre-Tour preparation at The Cycling Podcast’s ‘Attitude Camp’.
With Eddy Merckx about to celebrate his 80th birthday, Tadej Pogačar equalled The GOAT's tally of Dauphiné victories (one) and reminded everyone, including Jonas Vingegaard, he remains the number one favourite for next month's Tour de France. But what else did we learn from the Dauphiné?
Brian Nygaard is on hand to remind us that although it wasn’t a winning week for Vingegaard, the Dane and his Visma-Lease A Bike team need not press the panic button just yet.
We ask Rod Ellingworth of Bahrain Victorious about Lenny Martinez’s stage victory on the final day, as the long wait for a French Tour champion approaches 40 years.
And we make a quick visit to Coorevits Corner to find out what Hugo made of Remco Evenepoel’s Dauphiné.
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1:10:21
KM0: Netflix & Hills: Jonathan Vaughters On Where Pro Cycling Goes Next (free for a limited time)
This episode was originally released for Friends of the Podcast subscribers earlier this week. However, on Thursday the UCI confirmed the calendars for the men's and women's World Tours for the next three-year cycle and there was no place on it for the One Cycling project, effectively kicking it into the long grass if not killing it completely.
Much of the second half of the episode was about where the sport goes from here, including Jonathan's hope that the One Cycling project might finally give some coherence to the professional sport's structure.
Jonathan asked if we could make this conversation available more widely and so, for a limited time, it will be on our free feed, with our thanks to our Friends of the Podcast subscribers who help to fund our coverage.
Jonathan Vaughters is the general manager of the EF Education-Easy Post team and in this conversation with Lionel Birnie, he begins by talking about the conclusion to the Giro d'Italia. Richard Carparaz finished third overall after that thrilling stage over the Colle delle Finestre but Jonathan explains the tactics were designed with only victory in mind.
From there, it's a freewheeling discussion about the state of pro cycling in 2025. Is Tadej Pogačar's dominance good for the sport, the One Cycling project, the Netflix effect, even the possibility of AI's influence on racing.
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1:10:28
S13 Ep66: All Aboard the Dauphiné’s GC Sprint Train
Lionel Birnie and Graham Willgoss kick-off The Cycling Podcast’s build-up to the Tour de France, which starts in Lille on July 5.
The Critérium du Dauphiné began in spectacular style with fireworks at the end of the opening stage on Sunday. The three riders who finished on the podium at last year’s Tour de France – Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel – lined up alongside each other for the first time since last July.
And they all came alive on the final climb of the race, breaking clear with Mathieu van der Poel and Santiago Buitrago, to hold off the sprinters in Montluçon.
It was a statement of intent from the three leading contenders for this summer’s Tour as they begin their final preparations for the grand départ.
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Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.
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Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our new virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.
The 11.01 Cappuccino
Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).
The Cycling Podcast is on Strava
The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.
The Cycling Podcast takes listeners to the heart of professional cycling with weekly episodes and daily coverage of the Grand Tours.
Join journalists Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie – and a few special guests along the way – as they podcast about the latest cycling news and the world of professional cycling.
Founded by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie in 2013, The Cycling Podcast is one of the longest-running independent sports podcasts.
To support The Cycling Podcast, subscribe as a Friend of the Podcast to join our community, listen to special episodes released throughout the year and access our archive stretching back to 2015. Subscribe at thecyclingpodcast.com
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