Beyond the Peloton Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Spencer Martin and Andrew Vontz sit down with The Stable Cyclist’s John Peter to unpack the wild, unexpected and exciting finale to the Giro d’Italia, which saw Simon Yates storm back with an incredible ride up the Finestre to take the overall lead from UAE’s Isaac del Toro on the same climb that cost him the win back in 2018. Then (22:00), they invite on recent Unbound winner Cameron Jones to talk about his incredible ride to win the biggest Gravel event on the calendar, and where he sees his career going from here.
Beyond the Peloton Newsletter : Giro d'Italia Final Debrief
Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
John Peter’s The Stable Cyclist
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Spencer Martin and Andrew Vontz give their thoughts on the final week of the Giro d’Italia, including 21-year-old Isaac del Toro’s shocking ride to hold the race lead into the final weekend, and touch on American success at recent mountain bike World Cups, including how Mathieu van der Poel’s broken wrist will affect his season, before giving their predictions for tomorrow’s Unbound Gravel event.
Beyond the Peloton Newsletter Giro d'Italia Cheat Sheet
Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the recent action at the Giro d’Italia before stting down with Gravel and YouTube star Dylan Johnson (33:00) to discuss his recent training crash, which left him with a fractured tibia and out of the upcoming Unbound Gravel race, where he finished 10th last year amdist a star-studded field. Dylan talks about the massive training blocks needed to prepare for the event, how equipment and fueling choices can be critical to success, and how he sees Gravel evolving as it becomes more popular and professionalized.
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Beyond the Peloton Newsletter Giro d'Italia Rest Day Recap
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer and Andrew break down the first week of the Giro d’Italia, including Juan Ayuso’s stage win atop the race’s first summit finish and Primož Roglič going into the overall race lead.
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Beyond the Peloton Newsletter Giro d'Italia Cheat Sheet
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast sit down with Jonathan Kaplan from the Riding With newsletter to preview the upcoming Giro d'Italia, which kicks off tomorrow in Albania, and give their predictions on who will ultimately win the race, before diving into a range of topics, including Turkish hair transplants, Tom Pidcock's poor attitude and much, much more.
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Beyond the Peloton Newsletter Giro d'Italia Cheat Sheet
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
Jonathan's Riding With Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast give their final thoughts on the end of the spring Classics, reflecting on Tadej Pogačar's dominance and dive into the potential reasons behind Remco Evenepoel's deflation by the time Liège ended last Sunday. They discuss the unique pressure facing Evenepoel, and how he is potentially affected by the massive amount of social media pressure he is under as a Belgian GC superstar.
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Get Detailed Pro Cycling Analysis with the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer and Andrew discuss how Tadej Pogačar's overly-aggressive racing allowed Mattias Skjelmose to pull off a shocking upset at Amstel Gold, and how his re-emergence at the mid-week Flèche Wallonne with far more conservative, and effective, tactics, potentially lays out a blueprint for even more dominance from him in the future, and tells us who will win Sunday's final spring Monument, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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Get Detailed Pro Cycling Analysis with the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss how Tadej Pogačar's overly-aggressive racing allowed Mattias Skjelmose to pull off a shocking upset at Amstel Gold, and how his re-emergence at the mid-week Flèche Wallonne with far more conservative, and effective, tactics, potentially lays out a blueprint for even more dominance from him in the future, and tells us who will win Sunday's final spring Monument, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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Get Detailed Pro Cycling Analysis with the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down the thrilling duel between Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar at last weekend's Paris-Roubaix, debating if Pogačar's Richard Mille watch cost him the race and if there was anything the Tour de France favorite could have done to defeat Van der Poel, before previewing this weekend's Amstel Gold race.
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Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Tour of Flanders Preview
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss Tadej Pogačar's recent domination at the Tour of Flanders, before previewing this weekend's edition of Paris-Roubaix, which will see Pogačar's rivals, like Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Filippo Ganna and Mads Pedersen, attempt to topple the red-hot World Champion over the brutal cobblestones of Northern France.
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Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Tour of Flanders Preview
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down the recent Visma-LAB disasterclass at Dwars door Vlaanderen, before getting into Mads Pedersen's strange relationship with his Lild-Trek team, and the looming Tadej Pogačar/Mathieu van der Poel clash at Sunday's Tour of Flanders.
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Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Tour of Flanders Preview
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab give their thoughts on the state of the Mathieu van der Poel/Tadej Pogačar Classics battle, the strange absence of Wout van Aert & how the veteran Primož Roglič is taking on the wunderkind Juan Ayuso at Volta Catalunya.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss and debate what Matteo Jorgenson's second-consecutive Paris-Nice wins mean for his and Visma's future in the Tour de France before diving deep into how this weekend's Milan-Sanremo, the first Monument of the season, will be won.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab debate the issue of rider safety, including if true rider safety is even possible in pro cycling, before diving into the racing action at Paris-Nice, where defending champion Matteo Jorgenson has been shadow-boxing his Visma teammate, and what the racing at Tirreno-Adriatico can tell us about the upcoming Spring Classics.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
Try The Better Lab today
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab go through their key takeaways from the start of Classics season, what they think is going on with Visma-LAB and Wout van Aert's underperformance, if Mathieu van der Poel and Alpecin will steamroll through the classics, as well as some background on the recent developments and rumors from the One Cycling project.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
Try The Better Lab today
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down why Jonas Vingegaard is riding tiny 150mm cranks, and break down the pros and cons of doing so, before giving their thoughts on the opening weekend of the Cobbled Classics and which riders to watch out for when the 'real' cycling season kicks off.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
Try The Better Lab today
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss the highlights from early-season racing, the ever-growing trend of running amongst elite cyclists and dive deep into how WBD's decision to increase the cost to view cycling in the UK by over 300% shows that it will only get more and more expensive to watch live sports as the cost to buy sports rights continues to rise.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Choose the Hard Way Newsletter
Try The Better Lab today
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better dive deep into the world of pro cyclists on YouTube, a crackdown on 'legal' doping, and break down the early-season racing
Beyond the Peloton Newsletter
Try The Better Lab today
Choose the Hard Way Podcast & Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better invite Kip Taylor (of Colorado and Nex Mexico cycling fame) and Jonathan Kaplan of the Riding With Newsletter to discuss their recent training camp/2025 planning retreat in Tucson, Arizona, and how modern the shifting trends in modern top-level training and racing have shifted the historic winter cycling destination.
Beyond the Peloton Newsletter
Try The Better Lab today
Choose the Hard Way Podcast & Newsletter
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better sit down with Jack Burke, a Canadian cyclist, podcaster, and author, who made headlines earlier this year when he took the Strava KOMs (aka fastest recorded times) on some of the hardest climbs in professional cycling (Alpe d'Huez, Stelvio & Mortirolo) a year after stepping away from a career in the lower ranks of professional cycling. They discuss Jack's racing background, his journey through the brutal world of third-division European racing, how he came to record some of the fastest times up the most famous climbs in the world, why he is struggling to get a contract with a pro team, and his plans for 2025.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Try The Better Lab today
Buy Jack's Book Here (How to Become a Professional Cyclist)
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better discuss Sepp Kuss' decision to revert to his super-domestique role in 2025 and how superteams could be using modeling and complex simulations to refine their in-race strategies before getting Andrew's on-the-ground report from Arizona before BTP's Tucson summit next week.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's Where to Watch Pro Cycling in 2025
Try The Better Lab today
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better discuss the on-going Zwift challenges they are participating in order to prepare for the upcoming Beyond the Peloton summit in Tucson (Jan 20-23) before debating why so many pro cyclists are currently posting on social media about their newfound love for running, and, most importantly, if running actually makes you a faster cyclist.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's In-Depth Riders Tier Breakdown
Try The Better Lab today
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better talk festive 500km, modern training camps, nutrition and the upcoming Mathieu van der Peel vs Wout van Aert Cyclocross clash.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's In-Depth Riders Tier Breakdown
Try The Better Lab today
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better break down Tom Pidcock's decision to leave Ineos for the small Q36.5 team.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's In-Depth Tom Pidcock Breakdown
Try The Better Lab today
This episode is supported by buycycle, the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better go through what they were thankful for during the 2024 season, and what they want to see in 2025, over the holiday week.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2025 GC Contender Tiers
Try The Better Lab today
This episode is supported by buycycle, the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better break down how a speed skater exposed a lot of assumptions made in modern cycling training, and discuss how Jack Burke, a Canadian amateur who keeps taking some of cycling's toughest Strava KOMs, could present a money-ball acquisition for a struggling WorldTour squad.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2025 GC Contender Tiers
Try The Better Lab today
This episode is supported by buycycle, the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better check in from the Rouleur Live event in London, breaking down Tom Pidcock's surprising comments about his Ineos team from his recent interview, and much more.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2024 Rider Rankings
Try The Better Lab today
This episode is supported by buycycle, the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle.
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab sit down to catch up on some of the latest news in pro cycling, including the on-going drama at Ineos, rumors that Remco Evenepoel turned down at 10 million euro contract at RedBull-Bora, and much more.
Beyond the Peloton newsletter's 2024 Rider Rankings
Try The Better Lab today
This episode is supported by buycycle, the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle.
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab sit down with former WorldTour professional rider Svein Tuft (6:02) to discuss his highly unusual path to the top of the sport and his opinion on the state of modern cycling.
Buy Svein's book here
Get in-depth pro cycling analysis with the Beyond the Peloton newsletter
Try The Better Lab today
This episode is supported by buycycle, the largest global marketplace for pre-owned bikes. Listen to the podcast for a special offer from our friends at buycycle.
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss what the recent changes to the LifeTime Grand Prix series and SBT GRVLs could mean for America's gravel racing scene before attempting to understand the Ineos/Tom Pidcock/Q36.5 love triangle and touching on a few other recent news items.
BTP Newsletter In-Depth Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss last weekend's World Gravel Championships and what Mathieu van der Poel's victory on the fast course tells us about the future of the discipline before breaking down the end of the road season with Saturday's Il Lombardia and the quickly unraveling relationship between Tom Pidcock and his Ineos team. BTP In-Depth World RR Championship BreakdownListen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way PodcastBTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down Tadej Pogačar's stunning ride to win the World Road Race Championships in Zürich, Switzerland, before previewing the upcoming World Gravel Championships in Leuven, Belgium.
BTP In-Depth World RR Championship Breakdown
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss a few enlightening details Tadej Pogačar revealed in his recent interview with Dr. Peter Attia before previewing the upcoming World Championships.
BTP In-Depth Daily Vuelta a España Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss Primož Roglič's impressive record-tying overall victory at the Vuelta a España and the future of Grand Tour GC racing before touching on the upcoming Canadian one-day races and the latest from the world of gravel racing.
BTP In-Depth Daily Vuelta a España Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down the ongoing Vuelta a España, how a small second-division team is better at finding talent than Ineos, and if Primož Roglič will win his fourth career overall title.
BTP In-Depth Daily Vuelta a España Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss Andrew's weekend on the ground at SBT GRVL before checking in on the Vuelta a España, which has been turned on its head after Ben O'Connor's long-range raid on Stage 6 has him in the race lead with a sizable five-minute margin.
BTP In-Depth Daily Vuelta a España Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab call in from the ground at the SBT GRVL event in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. They break down the event's impact and design before taking a Q&A from the crowd and tackling a few topical racing and training topics.
BTP In-Depth Daily Vuelta a España Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Join Us for a Ride-Along and Live Podcast in Steamboat Springs!
Andrew and I are excited to invite you to a special event in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, today, Thursday, August 15th.
With Andrew in town from his remote lair in Hope, Maine, for the SBT GRVL this coming weekend, we want to invite any listeners who may be in town to an easy, 90-minute shakeout ride starting at 2 p.m. from Little Toots Park in downtown Steamboat Springs.
After the ride, around 3:30 or 4 p.m., we'll host a Q&A session and a brief live podcast recording at the Howelsen Ski Hill. Feel free to bring your questions, thoughts, and hot takes.
We hope to see you there!
Shakeout Ride: 2pm at Little Toots Park
Q&A & Live Recording Session: 3:45pm at Howelsen Ski Hill
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down a few takeaways from recent Olympic road race and track events before looking at the key contenders and course details from the upcoming Vuelta a España. At the end of the show, they unveil the podcast's first meet-and-greet/Q&A event, which will happen on Thursday in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, before the SBT GRVL event.
BTP In-Depth Daily Vuelta a España Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab call in from the finish line of the Tour de France’s final stage in Nice to break down Tadej Pogačar’s sixth stage victory that capped off his overwhelmingly dominant overall Tour title before Spencer sits down with Jayco-AlUla Director of High Performance & Racing Matt White (25:15) to discuss his team’s Tour and how they continue to punch above their weight in an era of ballooning team budgets.
BTP In-Depth Daily Tour de France Stage Breakdowns
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab discuss Tadej Pogačar dominant performance to win Stage 19 of the Tour de France, where he dropped his major GC rivals and mowed down Matteo Jorgenson on a stage where Visma-Lease a Bike thought they could turn the tables on him. Before signing off, Spencer gives his first-hand account of the final time trial after a recon ride, and they break down the remaining two stages and debate if the time trial finish in Nice is a good or bad change of pace for the race.
BTP In-Depth Daily Tour de France Breakdowns
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Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down last weekend's scorching climbing performances in the Pyrenees and take stock of where things stand at the Tour de France as things heat up in the third week.
BTP In-Depth Daily Tour de France Breakdowns
Get access to ad-free episodes with a BTP premium subscription
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab welcome on Jonathan Kaplan of the RIDING WITH podcast and newsletter to discuss the past week at the Tour de France, including how the GC is shaping up and debating if gravel stages belong at the Tour de France, as well as the impact Stage 9’s trip off-road has had on the race.
BTP In-Depth Daily Tour de France Breakdowns
Get access to ad-free episodes with a BTP premium subscription
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast/The Better Lab break down the opening few stages of the Tour de France before diving deep into the emergence of a few interesting stage-winning tactics and asking if Tadej Pogačar is being underrated and disrespected as a potential overall winner after some impressive early time gains.
BTP In-Depth Daily Tour de France Breakdowns
Get access to ad-free episodes with a BTP premium subscription
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the route and contenders for the upcoming Tour de France before diving deep on a few recent news topics on the eve of the sport's biggest race.
BTP In-Depth Tour de France Preview Newsletter
Get access to ad-free episodes with a BTP premium subscription
Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down UAE's dominance at last week's Tour de Suisse and what it could mean for the upcoming Tour de France (26:25) before discussing the last half of the Netflix Tour de France Unchained documentary.
BTP In-Depth Tour de Suisse Breakdown Newsletter
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BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Tour de France with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the recent racing action, from last weekend's Tulsa Tough Critériums to what the Critérium du Dauphiné told us about the Tour de France, before getting into some of the major takeaways at the Tour de Suisse and (38:00) unpacking the first three Episodes of the Netflix Tour de France Unchained show.
BTP In-Depth Race Breakdown Newsletter
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BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast unpack the action and bigger-picture questions from the recent Unbound Gravel race before digging into the ongoing Critérium du Dauphiné (48:03) and what it can tell us about the current status and viability of Tour de France GC hopefuls like Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič.
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BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast welcome back Lanterne Rouge podcast co-host/YouTuber Benji Naesen to get his thoughts on the European invasion at the upcoming Unbound Gravel race, Tadej Pogačar's dominance at the Giro d'Italia and how and if anyone can challenge him at the Tour de France, before diving deep on theoretical race tactics and differing views on the best way to challenge a stronger GC rival.
BTP In-Depth Giro d'Italia Breakdown
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BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related.
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the recent USA National Road Race and Time Trial Championships, including the amazing performance of recent BTP guest Scott McGill and the drama surrounding the Olympic Road Race team selection, before breaking down Tadej Pogačar's domination at the Giro d'Italia (24:20) and if we've seen anything like this in the modern era. Before wrapping up, they discuss this weekend's Unbound Gravel event and whether they expect the European road professionals to destroy the American gravel specialists or if they will struggle on the difficult and unfamiliar terrain.
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast welcome back pro cyclist Scott McGill of the Project Echelon Racing project to catch up on his last two seasons, discuss his success at racing a rare mixed US-European schedule, his preferred hoagie packing method for long-haul flight fueling, as well as his thoughts on the ongoing Giro d'Italia (22:00), and his goals for the upcoming US road nationals and the remainder of the season.
BTP In-Depth Daily Giro d'Italia Breakdowns
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BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Giro d’Italia with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the opening five stages of the Giro d'Italia and why the racing has been so unusually exciting. They discuss whether Tadej Pogačar already has the GC competition won, how Geraint Thomas continues to improve as he ages, and whether pure sprinting is dead in modern cycling.
BTP In-Depth Liège-Bastogne-Liège Breakdown
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BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Giro d’Italia with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)
Hit up Andrew (@vontz) on Twitter/X & Spencer (@spencersoward) on Threads with your questions, opinions, and anything else cycling-related.
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter and Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast are joined by the RIDING WITH newsletter/podcast creator Jonathan Kaplan to preview the start list and course for this weekend's upcoming Giro d'Italia, and go into the main storylines, including whether anyone can possibly beat Tadej Pogačar, how the GC battle will play out, and which currently low-profile riders could breakout during the race.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down Tadej Pogačar's dominant Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory, what it means for his place in the pantheon of all-time greats and his Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double ambitions, before reflecting on if the trend of a few ultra-talented riders steamrolling their way through the sport's top races is compelling for viewers. They also get into a wide range of topics, from the future of Gravel racing in the US and the potential for a Tom Pidcock/Wout van Aert GC battle at this summer's Tour de France.
BTP In-Depth Liège-Bastogne-Liège Breakdown
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With regular co-host Andrew Vontz away on an in-depth investigative assignment, Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter sits down with Israel-Premier Tech rider Riley Sheehan (12:40) to discuss his breakout Classics season, his current tenure at a high altitude camp, how pro riders and teams optimize their training and nutrition, why his IPT team is having such a strong start to 2024 and what he wants to accomplish during the rest of his neo-pro season.
BTP In-Depth 2024 Amstel Gold Breakdown
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down Mathieu van der Poel's dominant ride at Sunday's Paris-Roubaix to win his second straight Roubaix title, complete the coveted Flanders/Roubaix back-to-back and sixth career Monument, as well as dissect how the Alpecin team has become the sport's premier one-day force and how Van der Poel has matured from a talented, yet mistake-prone prospect into an unshakeable Monument-winning machine who rarely puts a foot wrong.
In addition, they discuss how the recent spate of high-speed crashes will affect the rest of the season and what, if anything, can be done to improve rider safety.
BTP In-Depth Paris-Roubaix Breakdown
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down Mathieu van der Poel's dominant ride at Sunday's Tour of Flanders to win his fifth career Monument, what it means in the context of his career-long rivalry with Wout van Aert, and what the race would have been like with Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel present before they get into the ongoing Itzulia Basque Country and the upcoming cobbled showdown at this Sunday's Paris-Roubaix.
BTP In-Depth Flanders Breakdown
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down how Wednesday’s massive crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, which has sidelined Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven, and injured pre-race favorite Mads Pedersen, will affect one of the biggest one-day races of the season, Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders). They briefly discuss what the recent cobbled races, like E3, Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars, could tell us about Flanders, and if any of the recently crowned winners, like Visma’s Matteo Jorgenson, could potentially challenge Mathieu van der Poel, which is an extremely tall task considering he appears to be in great form and is one of the most consistent Tour of Flanders competitors of all-time.
Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss how Jasper Philipsen and an incredibly cohesive Alpecin-Deceuninck team defeated the much stronger Tadej Pogačar at Milano-Sanremo before breaking going into Pogačar's training numbers, his ongoing dominance at Volta Catalunya and their thoughts on the return on the superstars to the cobbled Classics this Friday at E3.
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In a departure from their usual format, Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast are joined by Riding With's Jonathan Kaplan, who turns the table on the hosts and asks them a series of questions, including the ever-important issue of Daylight Savings Time, the BTP Podcast origin story, what bikes they would buy and their ideal, and current, training regimen.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down what we learned during last weekend's Classics, what they expect to happen during this weekend's flurry of top-quality matchups between some of the sport's best riders (as well as making the questionable decision to spend a considerable amount of time talking about Strade-Bianche, which will probably be over by the time this episode is played), and how rival teams and riders can potentially thwart Visma's dominance in the coming weeks. They also discuss the rumors that One Cycling, which was revealed just a few months ago, is already in peril of dying on the vine.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast touch on the recent early-season racing, discuss what they expect to happen at the upcoming Spring Classics kick off this weekend at Omloop before attempting to make sense of Patrick Lefevere's strange public lashing out at his star rider Julian .
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Professional runner Aisha Praught-Leer, 2x Jamaican Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games Champion (3000m Steeplechase), sits down to talk about her obsession with WorldTour cycling, her thoughts on what the sport could learn from the high-performance training used in professional running and how top-level athletes prepare for a life after sport.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast dive into the latest rumors on the breakaway One Cycling league while attempting to discern the ultimate vision behind the project before touching on how Red Bull's surprise acquisition of the Bora-Hansgrohe team will affect the immediate future of the team, and the sport, before getting into some light Spring Classics speculation.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the trend of major WorldTour stars like Matej Mohorič building top gravel events into their racing calendars and how it could affect the existing ecosystem and if it could potentially spell the end of the privateer model. Then they break down the early-season racing action and go through what we can take from events like the recent CX Benidorm WC and Tour Down Under.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast go through a list of topics to kick off the 2024 season, including, but not limited to, Mathieu van der Poel's unprecedented dominance in Cyclocross, Andrew's theory about Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock emerging as GC threats in 2024, and Ineos' takeover of Manchester United and how it may diminish the program's cycling division.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast sit down with recent Paris-Tours winner Riley Sheehan to discuss his breakout 2023 season, which saw him rise from a US-based criterium racer to winning a major professional European race. They also talk about his newly signed three-year deal with the Israel-Premier Tech team, how his life has changed over the last few months, and his goals for the 2024 season and beyond.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the news that the fantastic GCN+ cycling-specific streaming service is being shut down in December and dive deep into the potential reasons for this sudden ending. They speculate on what platform, if any, will allow Americans to watch non-ASO races in the 2024 season, as well as touching on Wout van Aert's apparent plan to race the Giro d'Italia over the Tour de France in 2024 and Geraint Thomas' interesting off-season admissions.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast go over the reports that Jumbo-Visma CEO Richard Plugge is leading a new cycling breakaway league and the rumors that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, is providing financing. They break down how credible the reporting is around the deal, the implications for the sport the league would have if it actually came together, and why we've seen so many failed attempts at this in the past.
At the end of the episode, they identify a few troubling trends around the US gravel racing scene and tie up a few loose ends around their BWR Kansas participation.
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In a departure from the normal program, Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss their experience racing at the recent BWR Kansas event (Wafer distance), what they learned about prepping for gravel events with vague course instructions, their gear setups and how they view the discipline after having competed at a high-level gravel event.
BWR Kansas Wafer Strava File
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast sit down with Jumbo-Visma Managing Director/CEO Richard Plugge to discuss how he transformed the down-and-out Rabobank team into the modern winning machine that is Jumbo-Visma. They go through how he went from being the team's communication officer to owner/CEO in just six months, how the team slowly built a framework to identify and develop the sport's best young talent, the financial future of both his team and the sport, the team's decision to send both Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič to the Vuelta a España and much, much more.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast attempt to figure out what is going on behind the scenes after hearing the news that the Jumbo-Visma/Soudal-QuickStep merger has been called off and that Primož Roglič is headed to Bora-Hansgrohe for the 2024 season. They also give their predictions for the upcoming Il Lombardia race and Gravel World Championships, along with their continued preparation for the upcoming BWR Lawrence event.
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After their special guest had to reschedule at the last minute, Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the rumors of a potential Jumbo-Visma/Soudal-QuickStep merger and give their final thoughts on Jumbo's recent podium sweep at the Vuelta a España before getting into the weeds on gravel racing/riding and their preparation for the upcoming BWR Lawrence event.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the Jumbo-Visma intrateam drama that has emerged during the final week of the 2023 Vuelta a España, where they are well placed to win the race with Sepp Kuss and sweep the podium with superstar Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič in second and third place overall.
The duo debate the pros and cons of the team's decision to allow their three leaders to battle it out instead of simply consolidating resources behind Kuss after the second rest day, and how the decisions have been fair, and unfair to different members of the team. They also speculate on where these three riders go from here and how the team will manage having three 2023 grand tour winners on the same roster in 2024.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the action so far at the Vuelta a España, and discuss Sepp Kuss surprisingly, and impressively, taking a commanding GC lead, before attempting to predict how the GC battle will play out through the upcoming difficult mountain stages in the Pyrenees.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast are joined by the RIDING WITH newsletter/podcast creator Jonathan Kaplan to preview the storylines for this weekend's upcoming Vuelta a España, from how the GC battle will play out, where the decisive moments will occur, and who will ultimately win the race.
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With the Women's World Road Race Championship coming up this Sunday, the BTP pod is replaying an interview Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast conducted earlier in the summer with Alison Jackson of the EF trade team, and the Canadian national team, about her background and her dream season so far, which saw her shock the favorites to win the Paris-Roubaix Femmes earlier in the year.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast preview this weekend's upcoming World Race Road Championships and how the pre-race favorites, like Remco Evenepoel, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, and Tadej Pogačar will fare on the deceptively difficult Scottish course, which takes the peloton from Edinburgh to Glasgow, against a field stacked with dangerous wildcards who are willing and waiting to grab any opportunity to take the win.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down their big takeaways from the 2023 Tour de France, examine what Tadej Pogačar could do differently to strike back in future grand tours, and much more.
Listen to Andrew and Spencer break down the media coverage of this Tour de France on the RIDING WITH podcast
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast take stock of the race on its second, and final, rest day, before going through the major takeaways from stages 10-15, before discussing the two-man race for the GC win and who has the upper hand heading into the final week of racing.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast take stock of the race on its first rest day and go through the major takeaways from stages 6-9, before discussing the two-man race for the GC win and who has the upper hand heading into a difficult week of racing.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down Wednesday's crazy stage 5, which has turned the Tour on its head and shown Jonas Vingegaard is up to the challenge of defending his 2022 overall title. They also go in-depth on the bunch sprints on stages 3 & 4, advantages some teams may have with their equipment, and much, much more.
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Stage 3 & stage 4 Visual Sprint Breakdowns
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast give a brief overview of the course, and leading GC contenders, for the 2023 Tour de France, before diving into a few major storylines and things to watch out for at the three-week race, which kicks off this Saturday in Bilbao.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down and give their thoughts on episodes 6-8 of the new Netflix behind-the-scenes documentary, Tour de France: Unchained.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down and give their thoughts on episodes 3-5 of the new Netflix behind-the-scenes documentary, Tour de France: Unchained.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast give their big-picture thoughts on Jonas Vingegaard's dominant overall victory at the recent Tour de France warmup race, the Critérium du Dauphiné, before breaking down the first two episodes of the new Netflix behind-the-scenes documentary, Tour de France: Unchained.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the final weekend of the Giro d'Italia, and give their big-picture takeaways, before discussing how the major June stage races (Dauphine & Suisse) can tell us which major contenders will end up at the Tour de France. They finish up by discussing this weekend's unofficial gravel world championships, Kansas' Unbound Gravel event, and what the stacked start list means for the future of the rapidly evolving discipline.
Read Spencer's Post Giro Deep Dive
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast drop in to break down the Giro d'Italia at its midway point. They discuss the race's numerous crashes, Remco Evenepoel's COVID-induced abandonment, Primož Roglič & Geraint Thomas' slow-build GC battle & much more.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down the upcoming duel between Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič at the three-week Giro d'Italia, which kicks off this Saturday in Fossacesia Marina
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast give their thoughts on Remco Evenepoel's dominant ride to win his second-consecutive Liège–Bastogne–Liège and what it means for his looming Giro d'Italia duel with Primož Roglič.
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In the second part of an in-depth conversation (part 1 on Andrew Vontz's Choose the Hard Way Podcast) Trinity Racing's Cameron Mason talks about his rapid rise through the international cyclocross ranks (he finished 9th at the 2023 CX world championships), how he approaches competition against superstars like Tom Pidcock, Wout van Aert & Mathieu van der Poel, and where he sees his career going from here.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast go deep on Mathieu van der Poel's win at last weekend's Paris-Roubaix and what it all means for the future of the Van Aert/Van der Poel rivalry.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast share a few lingering thoughts from last weekend's Tour of Flanders, throw out a few predictions about this weekend's Paris-Roubaix before (18:50) Team Jayco-Alula Sport Engineering Director Marco Pinotti comes on to explain how he has transformed the Australian team into a time trial powerhouse and answers our questions about how the team aims to get the most out of each rider.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast talk to Team Jayco–AlUla professional rider Kristen Faulkner about her rapid rise through the pro cycling ranks, training routines, the season so far, and where she sees her career going from here.
Listen to Kristen talk about her journey from growing up in rural Alaska, attending Harvard, and careers in New York finance and Silicon Valley venture capital before moving to Europe to join the pro peloton on Andrew's Choose the Hardway Podcast
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the recent run of semi-Classics and how the performances there will influence the winner on Sunday at The Tour of Flanders (aka Ronde van Vlaanderen).
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down Mathieu van der Poel's incredible victory at the recent edition of Milano-Sanremo and debate if there was anything the other superstars in the lead group could have done to stop the Dutch superstar. They also get into the Remco Evenepoel/Primoz Roglic battle at the Volta Catalunya and what it means for their looming showdown at the upcoming Giro d'Italia.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down a few interesting stories and sub-plots from the recent flurry of racing, including, but not limited to, Julian Alaphilippe's transformation into Thomas Voeckler, Tom Pidcock's streaky form, the controversial finish at the Womens' Strade Bianche, and how/why Jumbo screwed up their pursuit in the Men's race.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast talk to Benji Naesen of the Lanterne Rouge Cycling Podcast and the BenjiNaesenTV YouTube channel about what the recent block of early-season racing can tell us about the upcoming major races, the dicey optics of pro cyclists killing cats, the shifting identity of Ineos & QuickStep and more.
Keep up with Benji's projects on Twitter (@BenjiNaesen)
Also, catch Benji on Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast to hear more about his background and personal journey
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast touch on some of the key points from the recent duel between Wout van Aert & Mathieu van der Poel at the CX World Championships and what their performances mean for the coming road season.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast rifle through a few off-season topics, like the rise of Jumb-Visma and decline of Ineos (including the continued fall of their disgraced former team Doctor Richard Freeman) and Wout van Aert's domination over the rest of the Big 3 so far this Cyclocross season, as the 2023 WorldTour road racing kicks off at the Tour Down Under.
Please remember that any discussion of potential doping infractions is based on pure speculation and assumption.
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Spencer Martin of the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast sit down with Patrick Broe, founder of the Lanterne Rouge cycling media network to talk about the major looming questions and storylines for the upcoming 2023 season, along with touching on high performance, team dynamics, and race strategy inside the professional peloton.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast are back from a COVID-induced break to catch up on the Cyclocross season, which is quickly heating up with superstars like Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, and Tom Pidcock kicking off their campaigns, before breaking down which team Mark Cavendish could end up on for the 2023 season.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast chat with Scott McGill about his incredible 2022 season, culminating in making the breakaway at the 2022 World Road Race Championships, along with his plans to step up to a full European calendar with the Human Powered Health team in 2023.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the news that UAE signed Jay Vine for the upcoming season before taking a look at the 2023 Tour de France route and breaking down why they think the course favors and what major stars will be present.
2023 Tour de France Route Breakdown
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss what the future holds for gravel cycling as it gets more and more popular before debating if there is a viable business future for North American professional road racing.
Read Andrew's recent essay on the 'spirit of gravel'
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Listen to Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast preview the upcoming Gravel World Championships before diving deep into what this means for the nascent discipline, where it is going, and what it means for top-level road races.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast give a few closing thoughts on the World Championship Road Race before breaking down why the Remco Evenepoel to Ineos transfer rumors might not be crazy.
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In this week's post-race minisode, Spencer Martin breaks down the blow-by-blow action from last weekend's World Road Race Championship and digs into how exactly Remco Evenepoel walked all over the world's best riders.
Read the Beyond the Peloton post-race breakdown post
Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the favorites for the upcoming World Championship Road Race before getting into the weeds on the reasons behind the technical choices of certain riders/teams and if Keegan Swenson, who is making his professional road race debut at the biggest one-day race of the year, has a shot of contending for the win.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss what we can take from Remco Evenepoel's recent overall win at the Vuelta a España, why there are so many great young riders flooding the sport, and what to expect at the upcoming World Championships.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast discuss the GC fight at the ongoing Vuelta a España as the main contenders head into the final weekend of racing before going through how pro cycling appears to be melting down towards the end of a hard season with the promotion/relegation system getting more absurd by the day with September's World Championships struggling to attract a full start list due to the high-stakes points battle.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast ask and answer big-picture questions about what has happened during Remco Evenepoel's reign of terror at the Vuelta a España, as well as going a little bit off book to discuss all things on-bike nutrition and sports science.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast ask and answer big picture questions about the final grand tour of the season, la Vuelta a España before getting into the news of Nairo Quintana's recent disqualification from the Tour de France due to the use of a banned substance.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast ask and answer big picture questions about what was potentially one of the best editions of the Tour de France in the modern era and where each favorite (plus Tom Pidcock, who we can't stop talking about for some reason) goes from here.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast try to break down Jumbo-Visma's Total Cycling approach and what the heck is going on with the sport of professional cycling as we officially enter the Cycling 2.0 era and leave the bygone days of conservative GC racing behind.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast break down a show of force from UAE and Tadej Pogacar through the first difficult stage in the Pyrenees before discussing if Jonas Vingegaard can hold off the surging Slovenian over the next few stages, and much, much more.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast take stock of the last two stages of racing and dig into what to watch over the coming stages in the notoriously difficult and wild Pyrenees.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast take a step back after two impressive stage wins to ask the big questions about this race's GC picture: Does Andrew believe Geraint Thomas has a chance of winning this race more than his Ineos team and did Burning Man peak in the early 2010s? They then give some spicy hot takes regarding Tom Pidcock's and Wout van Aert's standing in their proverbial battles with parallel superstars Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel.
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast try to understand the action-packed first mountain stage at the Tour de France that has turned the race on its head before drifting off the beaten path to discuss if Pogacar has COVID, what is going on with the climate protests and does Geraint Thomas have a chance to turn back the clock and win this race?
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Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton & Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast take stock of the GC picture on the Tour's first (real) rest day and wonder if Tadej Pogacar and his UAE team should be taking the competition a little more seriously and if their uber-aggressive riding style will come back to bite them later in this race. They also get into the macho culture on French teams, break down if Thibaut Pinot will win a stage and why riders/teams go all-in for top ten overall finishes instead of chasing stage wins.
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Following two consecutive stages of Tadej Pogacar domination, Andrew and Spencer ask if anyone can stop the Slovenian terror, and if so, how? They also discuss if he and his UAE team are making a mistake by riding so aggressively this early, break open a clue about the Wout/Tom Pidcock Red Bull helmet mystery & the relative fairness of the Tour's hotel room distribution.
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BTP host Spencer Martin and Andrew Vontz from the Choose the Hard Way Podcast sit down to dissect the action-packed Paris-Roubaix edition Tour de France stage, a stunning performance from Wout van Aert on stage 4, and much, much more. Including, but not limited to, the inter-country transportation methods of the teams, why cycling TV coverage is bad/confusing, and why the sport's top stars aren't more effectively promoted.
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BTP host Spencer Martin and Andrew Vontz from the Choose the Hard Way Podcast sit down to dissect the major storylines as the Tour de France leaves its opening weekend in Denmark and gets back into action on French soil for Tuesday's 4th stage. We get into everything from EF's mustaches, what we already know about the GC picture, why Ganna keeps flatting in time trials, and if Wout van Aert will ever win a stage again.
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Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
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BTP host Spencer Martin and Andrew Vontz from the Choose the Hard Way Podcast kick off a special Tour de France edition of the BTP podcast where we will be both breaking down the racing and larger storylines of the sport's biggest event multiple times per week during the 2022 Tour de France.
In this inaugural episode, we discuss who will win the opening time trial in Copenhagen to take the race's first Yellow Jersey, how the GC favorites will fare in the tricky opening week, why the police keep raiding the Bahrain team's hotels/homes, and much, much more.
BTP Tour de France Cheat Sheet
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This week I go over some surprising recent Tour de France selection news and what it will mean for the race before (07:08) breaking down some key performances at the recent Tour de Suisse & Tour of Slovenia.
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Listen to Kristen Faulkner's appearance on the BTP podcast during his first pro season
This week I briefly break down how their dominant Dauphine performance raised potential Tour de France leadership for Jumbo-Visma, as well as go over a few things worth watching as the Tour de Suisse GC battle heats up.
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Ten Takeaways From the Critérium du Dauphiné
This week Andrew Vontz from the Choose the Hard Way Podcast comes back to talk about the recent Giro d'Italia (07:40). We discuss what went right for Jai Hindley and what went wrong for Ineos/Richard Carapaz before touching on Peter Sagan's decision to race the upcoming Unbound Gravel Race and what challenges await him in Kansas' Flint Hills (1:03:35).
Read my Giro d'Italia breakdown
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Breaking down what we've seen from the GC battle so far, why the margins in grand tour GC battles seem to be getting smaller and smaller, and what to expect as the race enters its final weekend.
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Listen to my new daily stage prediction podcast OŪTCOMES with Johan Bruyneel
Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast comes on to talk about the major storylines through the first two weeks of the Giro d'Italia, then we talk about what we expect to happen to the GC battle when the race hits its final, and most important, block of high mountain stages.
Read my in-depth Stage 14 breakdown
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Popping on to break down what we've seen from the simmering GC battle so far at the Giro d'Italia as well as the individual brilliance of riders like Mathieu van der Poel and Biniam Girmay.
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Listen to my new daily stage prediction podcast OŪTCOMES with Johan Bruyneel
This week I go over the key takeaways (01:55) from Tour de Romandie, Vuelta Asturias & Eschborn–Frankfurt before (15:30) Twitter sensation and Lanterne Rouge podcast co-host Benji Naesen comes on to talk about going from YouTube gamer to a highly respected pro cycling analyst.
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This week I break down how Remco Evenepoel won Liège-Bastogne-Liège with a solo attack when everyone knew it was coming and if he should focus on one-day races and stages going forward, or continue to chase a career as a stage racer. Then I give a few quick thoughts on Thibaut Pinot's win at the Tour of the Alps and the opening stages at the Tour de Romandie.
My full breakdown on how Remco won Liege
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This week I go through a few notes from the recent amazing edition of Paris-Roubaix (0:36) before bringing on Andrew Vontz of the Choose the Hard Way Podcast to discuss our major takeaways from the race and just how much cycling has changed and advanced over the last few seasons (08:09).
Read my in-depth Paris-Roubaix breakdown
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This week I talk to Larry Warbasse about his now-out GCN+ documentary 'The Slow Pro Tour' as well as his path to professional cycling and how he became fluent in French over the course of a month.
Sign up for GCN+ and check out their film library to watch Larry's documentary.
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Going through my Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) race notebook to break down a wild finish at one of the season's biggest one-day classics.
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This week I chat with Choose the Hard Way podcast host Andrew Vontz (01:36) about what we are watching for at the upcoming Tour of Flanders before sitting down with AG2R's Oliver Naesen (35:25) to talk about his new GCN+ documentary 'How to Win the Tour of Flanders' before digging into what it is like to actually compete in the race, what it means to the Flanders region & the inside scoop on life as a pro cyclist.
Sign up for GCN+ and check out their film library to watch Oliver's documentary.
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This week I touch on a few key points that decided last week's Milano-Sanremo (01:08), before breaking down takeaways from the ongoing Volta Cataluyna (12:22) and then finish by going through the first real Cobbled Classic on the season, E3, (29:02) and if the dominating performance we saw from Wout van Aert & Jumbo will be par for the course throughout the Spring.
This week I tie up some loose ends surrounding last weekend's fantastic stage races (01:18) before getting into (22:04) why Tadej Pogačar will have a harder time winning Milano-Sanremo than most pundits think and who could emerge victorious instead.
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Listen to my appearance on Andrew Vontz's fantastic Choose the Hard Way Podcast
This week I give my extremely late thoughts on Tadej Pogačar's Strade Bianche win and if this means he is now the hands-down best rider in the world (01:24), why more wins are coming from breakaways post-2020 (13:03), Paris-Nice stages 1/2 (17:52), Tirreno–Adriatico stages 1/2 (25:43), before getting to today's action at both races (36:03).
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Ten Takeaways: Strade Bianche, Paris-Nice & Tirreno-Adriatico
This week I break down who will come out on top on Saturday at Strade Bianche and then dive into the great sprint and GC battles waiting next week at Paris-Nice.
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Strade Bianche Preview Post
This week I break down the standout performances so far from the UAE Tour and how all signs point to yet another season of living under the reign of the great Tadej Pogačar. I also touch on how Mark Cavendish's might affect the ongoing sprinter battle with Fabio Jakobsen at his QuickStep team before touching on the upcoming big weekend of racing.
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UAE Tour Stage Breakdowns/Takeaways (3/4) & (5/6)
This week I break down the highlights so far from the Tours of Algarve and Andalucia before stopping to ask what any of these results actually mean in the big picture and in the context of the rest of the season (09:36).
With so many of the major GC contenders still holed away at their high-altitude training camps, the biggest takeaway so far is Richard Carapaz's poor performances so far, and if this means he will struggle to be a real contender at the Giro d'Italia in May (11:14). I then break down the modern training trends of grand tour winners, which have them coming into races at full fitness, versus the more old-school, race-into-fitness, strategy (21:27).
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This week I break down the sprint action from the Tour of Oman (01:58) before diving into the Tour de la Provence (09:22) and whether Ineos is using the incredibly talented Filippo Ganna in a way that maximizes his vast potential.
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Video clip breakdowns of the action
This week I break down the early-season racing action from the low-key cool Saudi Tour (01:30), the spicy action from Etoile de Bessèges (09:22) before getting into the best race of the season so far, the Volta Valencia (13:25). I also dive into how the relegation battle is already affecting the racing (22:30) before briefly discussing what Tom Pidcock can achieve this Spring (28:24).
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Video clip breakdowns & trying to find Tom Pidcock's road racing ceiling
This week I break down Tom Pidcock's decision to travel to the USA for the upcoming Cyclocross World Championships, Wout van Aert's altered spring schedule, QuickStep's decision to bench Mark Cavendish and take Fabio Jakobsen to the 2022 Tour de Frane and touch on the newly released 2022 BTP NET Ratings.
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Complete 2022 BTP NET Ratings
This week the Queen of in-depth rider profiles and world-famous Roglic-whisper Kate Wagner joined me for a wide-ranging conversation touching on everything from the recent wave of Slovenian dominance, the Primož Roglic/Tadej Pogacar rivalry (along with house to properly say their names), the inside scoop on the Bahrain team, and what it is like to spend an afternoon at Matej Mohorič’s house.
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Kate's Derailleur newsletter
Kate's fantastic Primoz Roglic profile
This week I break down the possibility of Wout van Aert being suspended by the UCI (02:27), the chaos at EF and their pursuit of Mark Padun (07:36), and then (18:11) PEZ Cycling's Richard Pestes interviews me for his site's new YouTube series.
Post link: Would Mark Padun Be a Good Fit at Ineos?
PEZ YouTube Interview
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This week I talk to Andrew Vontz, Vice President of communications and a member of the executive management team at Strava, who is also the creator/host of Choose the Hard Way, a podcast about peak performance and the obstacles people overcome to do great things. Andrew, beyond being a pro cycling superfan, spent the first decade of his career as a freelance journalist. Outside of cycling, he wrote features, interviews, and profiles about people, places, and things at the limits of human experience that regularly appeared in the country's top outlets. A cyclist himself, he has twice placed second at the 100-mile Unbound Gravel Half Pint race.
In this conversation, we discuss Andrew's career path from getting an MFA in creative writing at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) to being an executive at the most influential company for the fitness of recreational athletes, along with the evolution (or lack thereof) of cycling in the United States and where we see things heading in the future.
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Andrew's Choose the Hard Way Podcast can be found at iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify & Google Play
This week I break down the four most interesting teams so far in the transfer market (01:30) and then discuss Movistar's odd decision to bring in two extremely controversial former dopers to help manage the team going forward (34:01) and why this is likely a bad idea.
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Post Links: Weekly Rider Transfer Analysis: Astana, UAE, DSM & Movistar
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This week I breakdown the 2022 Tour de France route (1:31), go through the end-of-season UCI rider and team point rankings (12:37), talk about what is going on with the management shakeup at Ineos (43:26), and then touch on why Remco Evenepoel is making a trip to Kansas for the Belgian Waffle Ride (50:43).
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Post Links: A Season in Review: Breaking Down the UCI Point Rankings
Initial Impressions From the 2022 Tour de France Route Reveal
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This week I break down Pogačar's dominant win at Il Lombardia (01:20), how his long-range attack capitalized on a tactical shift in modern racing (24:30), why he isn't taken more seriously as a one-day contender by the media and other riders (29:20), and then measuring how Pogačar stacks up against the all-time great Eddy Merckx after three full professional seasons (43:07).
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Post Link: Il Lombardia: Breaking Down a Scenic Coronation
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This week I break down Sonny Colbrelli's stunning Paris-Roubaix victory (01:28), unpack why riders with such little experience fared so well at the extremely difficult race (25:38), discuss how much equipment choices affected performances (26:28), and then preview the upcoming Il Lombardia one-day race (36:02).
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Post Link: Paris-Roubaix: Breaking Down the Chaos on Cobbles
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In a special bonus episode, pro rider Sarah Gigante comes on to break down the recent Women's World Championship Road Race (01:41), as well as giving her thoughts on the Women's inaugural edition of Paris-Roubaix (33:00).
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Post Link: Balsamo's Worlds Win Confirms a Changing of the Guard
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This week I break down how Julian Alaphilippe played the stacked Belgian team to win at the World Championships (01:50) and then preview this weekend's much-awaited return of Paris-Roubaix (22:32), along with my favorites for the win and who to stay away from (30:35).
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Post Link: Breaking Down a Beautiful, Yet Brutal, Road Race
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This week, I break down the thrilling duel between Filippo Ganna & Wout Van Aert at World TT Championships (01:30), what we should take from Remco Evenepoel's third-place finish (13:17), what to make of the supersonic average speeds from the top riders (20:28), Ellen van Dijk's victory in the Women's TT (29:07), and what to expect in the upcoming road race (31:00).
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Post Link: Ganna vs Van Aert Was a Battle of Two TT Titans
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This week I breakdown what we learned from Wout van Aert's overall win at the Tour of Britain (1:56), Sonny Colbrelli's win at Euro Championships (4:10), how Remco Evenepoel's lack of race awareness could cause problems for Van Aert at Worlds (8:35) if Mathieu van der Poel's win at the Antwerp Port Classic means he can race Worlds and Roubaix (11:45), and then sit down with 20-year-old phenomenon Sarah Gigante (14:58) on the difficulties of breaking into pro cycling and moving abroad as an Australian teenager, highlights of her career so far, and joining the powerhouse Movistar team for 2022 and beyond.
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Sonny Colbrelli's Euro Performance Showed Us He is a Legitimate Threat for World Champs
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This week I go over the key takeaways from Roglic's Vuelta win (01:25), why time trialing is the key to winning grand tours in the modern era (15:20), what is going on with Movistar & Miguel Angel Lopez (22:30), will the emergence of formerly unknown talent like Jack Haig & Jonas Vingegaard have teams looking down their own roster for 'new' talent (31:50), and who is looking good as we approach the road race world championships (33:32).
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How Roglic Won La Vuelta
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This week I breakdown why La Vuelta's final week will most likely be more bark than bite (01:47), touch on if Odd Christain Eiking or Guillaume Martin can actually win the race (12:04), Ineos' bizarre GC strategy so far (16:11), why sprint fields at grand tours have been so bad (19:49), and then go over who should lead the Belgian team at the upcoming World Championships (29:30).
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This week I break down why La Vuelta will be the best grand tour of the year and why Primoz Roglic will be almost unbeatable in his quest for his third-straight victory (01:07. I then go over the major rider transfers and what to make of UAE signing seemingly every rider in the pro peloton (21:15).
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This week I unpack Neilson Powless' incredible win at San Sebastián (01:15), if Deceuninck-QuickStep made the right decision not riding for Julian Alaphilippe (11:15) and Sagan's move to Total Direct Energie (13:30). I then break down what Adam Yates and Egan Bernal crashing at the Vuelta a Burgos means for Ineos' Vuelta a Espana plans (and why that race could be the best grand tour of the year) (18:37), before attempting to figure out where Roglic stands as a rider after his impressive Olympic Gold performance in the TT (22:32).
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This week I attempt to contextualize Wout van Aert's absurd achievements in the final weekend of the Tour de France (02:50), the future of sprinting (5:55), unpack Van Aert & Van der Poel's Tours (13:26), try to understand what Ineos was doing at this Tour and where they go from here (17:58), and break down where Pogacar won this race and what that could mean for strategy at future Tours (29:57).
This episode is brought to you by Idahoan Foods. Use the discount code 'BTP30' during checkout at shop.idahoan.com to save 30% on every order during the Tour de France.
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This week I talk about why rival GC teams are having such a hard time challenging Tadej Pogacar and his relatively weak UAE Team (03:11) and then (22:00)Tokyo-bound Jamaican Olympian and cycling superfan Aisha Praught-Leer comes on to talk about her love of pro cycling, ask me seven questions about this Tour de Franc, why the transition to Japan might be more difficult than the cyclists are expecting and how that should affect their preparation.
This episode is brought to you by Idahoan Foods. Use the discount code 'BTP30' during checkout at shop.idahoan.com to save 30% on every order during the Tour de France.
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The Tour starts up again with a bang after the first rest day and today I talk about Cavendish's win on stage 10 (02:15), the race for the GC never taking a day off (15:02), if Ben O'Connor can hang on for a podium finish in Paris and how, despite being touted as having the strongest team in the race, Ineos is failing to impress so far (19:57).
I then do a quick preview of tomorrow's stage, which features a double ascent of Mt. Ventoux (34:00).
This episode is brought to you by Idahoan Foods. Use the discount code 'BTP30' during checkout at shop.idahoan.com to save 30% on every order during the Tour de France.
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In this minisode, I unpack the totally bananas Tour de France stage 7 & touch on what the mountain stages this coming weekend mean for the fight for the overall classification.
This episode is brought to you by Idahoan Foods. Use the discount code 'BTP30' during checkout at shop.idahoan.com to save 30% on every order during the Tour de France.
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Unpacking Mark Cavendish's incredible stage win and if he can do it again at this Tour (02:14). Also, I break down the race for Green (11:25), where the GC stands after a few action-packed opening stages, and what we should expect in tomorrow's time trial (13:02).
This episode is brought to you by Idahoan Foods. Use the discount code 'BTP30' during checkout at shop.idahoan.com to save 30% on every order during the Tour de France.
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This week I breakdown the opening few stages of the Tour de France (02:18), dive into who the main GC contenders will be (04:41), how the somewhat subdued route could help Ineos (15:16), try to forecast how the race dynamics will shape the day-to-day racing tactics (21:18) and then take a look at how the battle for Green will affect the race for the GC (23:26).
This episode is brought to you by Idahoan Foods. Use the discount code 'BTP30' during checkout at shop.idahoan.com to save 30% on every order during the Tour de France.
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This week I go through Ineos' just-released Tour de France lineup (01:10), talk about the pros and cons of their selection, why they left Rohan Dennis at home, and if Richard Carapaz should be the team's main leader after his performance at the recent Tour de Suisse (14:10). Then I get into how to avoid falling into the trap of thinking second-tier riders will win the Tour (20:07) if Julian Alaphilippe is flying under the radar as a GC contender (22:47), if Jumbo-Visma is just a bad team now (30:30), why ISN made a mistake in sending Chris Froome to the Tour as a road captain (33:41) and then a few notes on the upcoming US Road Race Championships (37:51).
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I go through my notebook from the Criterium du Dauphine (01:30), talk about the flaws in Ineos' confusing multi-leader strategy (04:12), if it is a problem that Mark Padun thoroughly outclimbed the team on both Saturday and Sunday (17:40), who they should back for the Tour (21:14), the incredibly exciting racing at the Tour du Suisse (26:20) & how many early Tour stages Mathieu van der Poel could win (32:40).
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This week I break down where exactly Egan Bernal won the recent Giro d'Italia (01:16) before diving into what we've learned so far at the Criterium du Dauphine (24:20) and what it means for the upcoming Tour de France.
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In this minisode, I go through my race notebook from today's Giro d'Italia stage 19 (01:00) before Team BikeExchange Performance Director Marco Pinotti joins (13:30) to talk about the looming final time trial on stage 21, DQS' potential mismanagement of Remco Evenepoel, how Joao Almeida is emerging as the strongest rider in this race and his thoughts about how this pivotal final weekend will play out.
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This week I talk about the Giro d'Italia's abridged stage 16 (01:10), preview tomorrow's stage 17 (21:07), and throw out a crazy theory about how Egan Bernal should lead Ineos at the upcoming Tour de France (29:05).
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This week I go through my notes from stages 9 (01:50) & 10 (06:37) before sitting down with 6-time Italian time trial champion & current Team BikeExchange performance coach Marco Pinotti (21:10) to talk about what the heck is going on with the recent trend of riders like Remco Evenepoel coming into grand tours with tip-top form after long layoffs from racing and how he sees the rest of the Giro playing out.
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In this mini-episode, I break down Ineos' strategy from yesterday's Stage 6 (01:44), go through the big takeaways from the race so far (18:57), and dive into the rationale behind Ineos' decision to invest so much energy into breaking up the race mid-stage on Thursday (21:19).
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This week I go through the big takeaways so far at the Giro d'Italia (02:04), who the GC winners are (06:26), Deceuninck-QuickStep's strange tactics on stage 4 (09:33), why the GC outcome at the Giro is so hard to predict (16:39), the curious case of Remco Evenepoel (19:50) and previewing tomorrow's stage 6 (27:53).
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This week I touch on why so many of the big-time GC riders skipped the Tour of Romandie (01:27), go through my notes from the race and touch on what Geraint Thomas' definitive victory means for his position at Ineos (05:09) and discuss if Chris Froome's continued struggles mean ISN will leave him off their Tour team (24:20). Then I jump into the Giro d'Italia and discuss the route, the health issues plaguing the favorites, and, ultimately, who will win (27:07).
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I go through my race notebook for Tadej Pogacar's incredible win at the Men's Liège-Bastogne-Liège (01:40) as well as SD-Worx's flawless tactics in the Women's edition that delivered Demi Vollering to her first major WorldTour victory (29:14). Then I dive into the interesting intra-team battle brewing at the Tour de Romandie (42:55).
Men's Liege Breakdown
Women's Liege Breakdown
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This week I dive into my race notes on what the heck happened on the final stage of the Tour of the Basque Country (01:31) and what I got wrong about Jumbo's tactics leading into it (09:00).
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Stages 2-4 Breakdown
Stage 6 Breakdown
What This Could Mean for the Tour de France
This week I go through my race notebook from the Men's (02:25) and Women's (19:05) Tour of Flanders. Then Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank rider Kristen Faulkner comes on (27:11) to give us her Flanders debrief after riding to an impressive 10th place. Then I dive into a few key points from the ongoing Tour of the Basque Country (56:50), where Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic are giving us a sneak preview of a looming Tour de France showdown.
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Women's Flanders Breakdown Post
Men's Flanders Breakdown Post
This week I go through my race notebook from E3 & Gent-Wevelgem and what this tells us about the upcoming Tour of Flanders. Then (24:00) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank rider Kristen Faulkner comes on to talk about her breakout European road season, (1:04:40) how her background as a VC investor has helped her bike racing career, (1:10:36) her struggles to get on the US National Team for the upcoming Olympics and World Championships, (1:16:04) challenges Women face in the sport, and grills me about why BTP doesn't cover Women's cycling.
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This week I go through my race notebook from Milano-Sanremo, discuss Adam Yates looking like one of the best riders in the world at Catalunya, where this leaves Ineos' Tour leaders like Geraint Thomas and Richard Carapaz, and touch on the sad news that Paris-Roubaix has been canceled for the second year in a row.
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Going through my race notes from Tirreno-Adriatico & Paris-Nice and breaking down if Wout is now a legitimate GC contender, if Mathieu van der Poel is the best one-day rider in the world, why unwritten rules don't really exist, if Jumbo is a bad team and Ineos' horrible week.
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Breaking down Mathieu Van der Poel's impressive victory (not Wout van Aert's, despite what the intro says) at Strade Bianche, a few notes from Paris-Nice and looking into the case of the missing Marc Hirschi.
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I go through my notebook after spending all weekend glued to the TV watching the first two 'real' races of the year, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, and briefly touch on and talk riders to watch for Strade-Bianche.
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This week I talk about the Pogacar/Yates showdown at the UAE Tour and what it means that the Tour champion looks even better than he did in 2020. I also answer a listener question about the emergence of a possible new Ineos superteam and quickly preview this weekend's coming one-day Classics.
This week I talk about (01:50) Wout van Aert & Mathieu van der Poel's showdown on the beach at CX Worlds, (14:00) what to take away from early-season road races GP La Marseillaise & Etoile de Bessèges and (31:54) talk through Ineos' decision to send 2019 Tour Champion Egan Bernal to the Giro instead of the Tour de France in 2021 and who will have to step up for the team in his place.
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This week I talk about Tom Dumoulin's shocking decision to unexpectedly leave his Team Jumbo-Visma training camp to take an indefinite leave from the sport, my BTP NET Team Ratings, upcoming rider previews, the confusion around the Olympic Games rumored cancellation, and where the heck to watch cycling now that NBC Sports is gone.
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This week I talk about Marc Hirschi's shocking premature exit from Team DSM and where he is likely headed next. Then Keegan Swirbul comes on to talk about how he went from living in an RV to racing professionally in Europe in the span of a week.
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This week I talk about the possibility of Wout van Aert going to Ineos for the 2022 season, if Mathieu van der Poel's overloaded racing schedule means he is hurtling towards disappointment in 2021, and why a salary cap will never work in pro cycling.
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I talked about Wout van Aert's shady podium exchange with a soigner at a recent CX race, dive into opportunities presented by the early 2021 Tour de France odds and break down what Rod Ellingworth's possible move back to Ineos means for the team in 2021.
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This week I break down who will lead Ineos at the 2021 Tour de France and why the team with endless resources seems to be struggling to produce a top-level GC contender. Also, Tao Geoghegan Hart is still looking for a job for 2021, NTT gets a new sponsor, and strange EF rumors.
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This week I breakdown where and how Roglic won an incredibly close Vuelta a Espana and give an initial analysis of the recently released 2021 Tour de France route.
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This week I discuss the Vuelta GC battle heating up with Roglic & Carapaz tied on time in the second week, ask if Mike Woods is over or underachieving, and briefly review last weekend's Giro d'Italia.
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The GC band is back together again at the Vuelta a Espana, but this time the racing is actually exciting! Also, the Giro d'Italia gets ready to enter a brutal few stages in the high mountains. Also, we got a taste of the future Tour of Flanders and I talk about if this new rivalry is actually good racing.
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This week I break down the first few stages of the Giro d'Italia, talk about an exciting Liege finish and then bring on superagent João Correia, who represents Giro d’Italia leader João Almeida, on the young rider’s rapid rise, Portuguese cycling, and his view on how to nurture young talent. Also, an easter egg for BTP listeners is Laurens ten Dam piping up in the background.
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This week I discuss World Championships, break down the Giro d'Italia route and go over why Aleksandr Vlasov should be considered a potential winner for the overall.
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I break down what went wrong for Jumbo-Visma at this year's Tour and if there is anything Primoz Roglic could have done to avoid his crushing Stage 20 defeat to Tadej Pogacar. I then talk about the surprise news that Nairo Quintana's hotel room was raided after Stage 17 and then play some roadside audio from Stage 20 sent in by Kevin in Basel.
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I review a brutal stage 15 at the Tour de France, talk about where Ineos goes from here, and if anyone can derail the Jumbo train. Then EF Performance Manager Nate Wilson comes on to talk about their pre-Tour camp process, training theories, the incredibly fast climbing speeds at this year's race, and how he sees Roglic and Pogacar handling the high Alpine climbs in the third week.
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In this week's episode, I go over the first week of the Tour, take a look at the looming Stage 20 TT and go over why it is going to be difficult for Egan Bernal to shake Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic in the Alps.
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In this episode, we through stages 1-3 of the Tour de France, answer a listener question about the Green Jersey, and briefly preview what I think will happen on stage 4.
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On the eve of the grand depart of the Tour de France, we preview the betting odds for the overall contenders (4:07), green jersey (22:48), young rider's jersey (29:50) climber's jersey (31:15), team classification (32:35) and then distill it all down to key advice at (33:34).
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We talk about Team Ineos' decision to leave Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas off their Tour de France team and where they go from here (1:30), discuss their new-look Tour squad (4:30), compare and contrast Egan Bernal and Primoz Roglic's weaknesses (10:30), talk about who benefits if the Tour is shortened due to COVID (19:40), layout why Sagan is a lock for green (29:20) and quickly go over notable results from national championships (31:08).
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We go over Jakob Fuglsang's impressive win at Giro di Lombardia (3:45) and take stock of what Tour de France favorites are left standing and why Team Ineos is in deep trouble after a chaotic weekend of racing at the Criterium du Dauphine (8:45)
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An emergency podcast to talk about the case of Ineos' missing form at the Criterium du Dauphine (1:31) and a brief preview of the upcoming Giro di Lombardia (15:28)
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We discuss Wout van Aert announcing himself as the new classics overlord at Milano-Sanremo (1:25), talk about Ineos getting crushed by Jumbo-Visma at Tour de l'Ain (12:45), and do a quick preview of the Criterium du Dauphine (23:20).
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This week we go through Spencer's notebook from Strade Bianche (4:50), discuss major takeaways from Vuelta a Burgos (22:40), preview Milano Sanremo betting odds (25:21) and talk about the Ineos intra-team drama at Route d'Occitanie (37:58) and what it means for the upcoming Tour de France.
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Spencer talks about the return of the highly compressed cycling season (:15 to 2:07), breaks downs stage 1 of Vuelta a Burgos (2:08 to 5:22), previews the favorites for Strade Bianche (5:25 to 18:15) and then digs into some of the betting odds (18:30 to 22:45). Sign up for the companion newsletter on https://beyondthepeloton.substack.com/
In the first-ever episode, Spencer introduces the Beyond the Peloton podcast & newsletter, as well as breaking down Chris Froome's chances of winning or even appearing at the Tour de France. Also, we touch on the current betting odds of overall contenders at the French grand tour as well as Simon Yates' no show.
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