Cycling Overtime

This week Randy has a discussion with Canadian cyclist Antoine Duchesne. Over the course of the episode you'll get to hear about what it meant for him to win the Canadian National Road Racing Championship in his hometown, his KOM win at Paris-Nice in 2016, and representing Canada at the Rio Olympics.

This week Randy speaks with Canadian professional cyclist Alison Jackson. Topics include Jackson's move to Team Sunweb, her successful 2019 campaign, the chaos in the final kilometres of a sprint stage, and what it means to represent Canada in races like the World Championships. Next week's episode will be a retrospective on the 2017 Tour of Flanders! Make sure you follow Cycling Overtime on Twitter and Instagram: @CyclingOvertime

Randy goes back in time and re-watches the 2018 edition of Milan San-Remo in which Vincenzo Nibali won his 3rd career monument. Looking at the race from today's perspective, Randy gives some of his observations in re-watching the race for the first time since it was run two years ago. Discussions range from feeling nostalgic about old team kits, to which rider Nibali owes a beer to. Warning: things may get emotional

With the majority of the world going into self-isolation and no live cycling taking place for the foreseeable future, Randy puts your mind at ease with the fact that viruses can't take down podcasts. Randy recaps a crazy week where the spring classics were wiped off the calendar, the Giro d'Italia was postponed, and Paris-Nice provided cycling fans with a fantastic, yet premature end to live cycling for what will be an extended and undetermined amount of time. What can you expect from Cycling Overtime while the world of sports goes on hiatus? Listen today to find out!

With races being cancelled and coronavirus continuing to threaten the 2020 season, Randy picks through the scraps to talk about some of the racing that has actually happened including two amazing stages to start Paris-Nice and Le Samyn.

It was a wet and windy weekend in Belgium but that's exactly how we like it! Randy recaps a great weekend of racing in both Belgium and France and discusses the cancellation of the final two stages of the UAE Tour last week. The episode ends with some exciting news about Strade Bianche and Randy's Top 5+1 for one of the most fun races on the cycling calendar.

Spring is almost here! Randy previews the race that officially opens the cycling season in Belgium, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. We've all been patiently waiting for this day and Randy gets you primed by giving his thoughts on some of the interesting names making the start in Ghent. This episode also marks 2020's first edition of Randy's Top 5+1, where he lists a group of five riders that he believes have the best shot to win on Saturday + a 6th rider, who as a long-shot, Randy feels can upset the favourites.

Randy celebrates the 50th episode of Cycling Overtime by talking about two races from last week that really made it feel like spring. The Volta ao Algarve lived up to the hype and the Ruta del Sol was the most fun race of the year so far. Randy breaks down each of the races, talks about the winners & losers, and heaps praise on some riders who have gotten him really excited for the next couple months of racing. He also comes to the conclusion that it's challenging to podcast while watching the UAE Tour! OMLOOP HET NIEUWSBLAD PREVIEW IN A COUPLE DAYS! STAY TUNED!

In the first half of the episode, Randy breaks down both the Tour de la Provence and the Tour Columbia in what was a busy and exciting week of cycling on multiple continents. He then discusses the storylines taking shape this week as some of the biggest riders in the world will be lining up at the Volta ao Algarve and the UAE Tour, including the much anticipated season debuts for both Chris Froome and Mathieu Van Der Poel.

Randy covers all the races from the past couple weeks around the cycling world as the season already appears to be in full swing. Some of the biggest riders in the sport have already seen early season success and Randy gives you his takeaways on what we've seen so far. PLUS Randy gives out a few Razzamatazz Jerseys to some deserving riders as well as the first ever pair of Razzmatazz Socks!

On this episode of Cycling Overtime, Randy rambles about gravel racing, how he's trying to get a grasp on what it means to those in the gravel community, and how it relates to his previous discussions on cycling's popularity in North America. Finally, the season finale of Randy's Peloton Popcorn Picks where he talks about the French and Colombian national teams for the Tokyo Olympics, and if they might have too much talent for their own good.

The season opened with a bang and Richie Porte is once again the king of the Tour Down Under. Randy discusses all the GC action from the week as well as discussing the sprints and a few of his top performers from the race. Randy then goes on to introduce a new competition that is going to change professional cycling and provide year long entertainment for the fans. The first leaders jersey of this competition is also handed out to one of the biggest stars in the sport.

Cycling. Is. Back. The festivities kicked off last week with the Women's Tour Down Under and the men get started this week in Australia as well at the 22nd Tour Down Under. Randy takes a deep dive below the equator and gets into everything you need to know about the race before it begins!

Who will win the Tour de France? The Olympics? What kind of year is Mathieu Van Der Poel going to have? Who is going to surprise with a Grand Tour podium? Which sprinter is going win the most races? Who is going to breakout and become a star? Which riders are going to leave 2020 disappointed? This week, Randy takes a stab at guessing the winners and podium finishers of the biggest races on the cycling calendar. He also gives some team predicitons, over/under win totals for riders, and makes some picks for head-to-head matchups between riders throughout the season. Some of these predictions are reckless, some will surprise you, and some are total shots in the dark, but the one guarantee is you'll be pondering your own guesses by the end of the episode with some serious food for thought.

In the first episode of the year, Randy has a conversation with Canadian professional cyclist James Piccoli who will be making his debut in the World Tour for Israel Start-Up Nation in 2020. The two talk about Piccoli's breakout 2019 season, Canadian cycling, moving up to the World Tour, and his program for 2020.

With 2019 coming to a close Randy looks back on the decade that was and gives you his list of five riders that separated themselves from the rest. He then reflects on the memorable moments that made the decade special for him and gives his thoughts on the the first season of Cycling Overtime.

Jumbo-Visma and Team Ineos - the two superpowers of cycling will be battling it out in the Grand Tours in 2020. Will Jumbo-Visma take the crown as the top Grand Tour team in cycling, or will INEOS continue to prove that they stand above the rest? Randy digs deep into both of these teams and all the storylines that will be surrounding them throughout the season.

Grand Tours. Tokyo 2020. Sophomore slumps. Cross-discipline riders. Sprinters galore. The 2020 season is inching closer so we're getting you ready with all the biggest storylines that will be driving the conversations in the new year.

Every year we get a group of riders in the peloton who take the next step up in their careers and put their names in the consciousness of cycling fans. We've created a list of 8 riders that we believe can breakout in 2020 and raise their stock in the World Tour. Some of these riders are making the jump to the World Tour in 2020, some have signed with new teams, and some have been riding with their top level teams for a few years, but all of them are in prime situations to have their best seasons yet. Plus, another edition of Randy's Peloton Popcorn Picks!

The countdown to the Olympics in Tokyo next year is on! On this episode, Randy discusses the different approaches that riders dreaming of Gold will be taking in preparation for the climb heavy course in 2020. Is it best to ride the Giro and skip the Tour, or vice versa? Is it possible to rider both Grand Tours before the Olympics and still be in contention for the top place on the podium? Details are beginning to trickle out about the different race programs that the biggest contenders have scheduled for next year and we break down all the different possibilities on this edition of Cycling Overtime. Plus, Randy introduces a new segment at the end of the episode!

In the first half of today's episode, Randy responds to Total Direct Energie team boss Jean-Rene Bernardeau's comments regarding UCI points and how they affected the management of his team's tactics in 2019. He finishes the episode by discussing Floyd's Pro Cycling and how important the continental team was to Canadian cycling, before getting into a discussion about sponsorship ethics in the pro peloton. R.I.P. Raymond Poulidor

Cycling Overtime goes virtual.. This episode is a discussion of the pros and cons of Zwift/E-racing at a professional level and whether or not it can benefit the popularity of road cycling. Randy talks about how E-racing might be able to help the growth of road cycling spectatorship before getting into why it might be too early for the UCI to have sanctioned a World Championship in the discipline. This is the first in what will be an ongoing discussion of the positives and negatives of E-racing and how it affects the world of professional cycling on the road.

In the second part of our series on The Silly Season, Randy takes a look at the riders switching teams in 2020. He starts off by talking about some of the biggest names in the sport including Tom Dumoulin and Vincenzo Nibali and how their presence on their new teams could positively or negatively impact their new teammates. Randy then moves on to discuss some of the more underrated transfers that he's excited about before going way off the radar with some names that no one is talking about but could have bright futures ahead of them in the World Tour. Finally, Randy discusses 5 teams that he thinks have either gained or lost the most during the Silly Season, and which riders will have the greatest impact on those teams in 2020.

We say goodbye to the Tour of California.

Well, that went well!.....or did it? In the first of a two part series Randy looks back at the biggest rider transfers from 2018 to 2019. He discusses the riders that have impressed for their new teams and those that underachieved and gives his picks for both the Best and the Worst transfer of the year. He finishes the episode off by paying tribute to the riders who have chosen to retire in 2019.

Who were the best riders of the year? Best team of the year? Best race? Best haircut? Best name? This is the episode you've all been waiting for! The 1st annual edition of the Cycling Overtime Awards Show Extravaganza, the biggest and most prestigious awards show in cycling has arrived. All the biggest names in the cycling world were on hand and the academy honoured the top names in the sport. Hosted by Randy Back, this was an event for the ages!

Il Lombardia and the Italian Classics wrapped up the cycling season last week and we had 4 incredible races to put a cherry on top of what was an incredible year on the bike. Randy discusses the races from last week that led up to Il Lombardia, and then takes on the final monument of the year and gives his views on what was a great week for the Cycling Overtime family.

The final Monument of the year takes place in Italy on Saturday as the cycling year is starting to wrap up. This is a race that favours the climbers and the puncheurs and some of the biggest names in the sport will be on hand. Can Julian Alaphilippe, Primoz Roglic or Philippe Gilbert put giant exclamation points on their seasons, or will Vincenzo Nibali take his 3rd win in Il Lombardia?  Randy also reviews the races that have taken place since the World Championships and talks about some of the big news from the week in the cycling world.

It was an incredible week in Yorkshire that certainly lived up to the hype. There was crazy weather, multiple controversies, legendary exploits, and surprise victories. Randy takes you through all the action from the time trials and the road races for both the men and the women. He gives his thoughts on the riders that will be wearing the Rainbow stripes for the next year and also on those who missed out on golden (or rainbow) opportunities. 

Matieu van der Poel or Julian Alaphilippe? Marianne Vos or Annamiek van Vleuten? The World Championships have arrived in Yorkshire and the anticipation for this weekend's races is rising every day. Randy dives deep and breaks down both the men's and the women's road races and finishes by giving his Top 5 (And 1) picks for who he thinks will be wearing the rainbow stripes by Sunday evening.

The Vuelta a Espana finished in Madrid and what a wild and amazing three weeks it was. We saw many first-time winners, a few controversies, and some incredible exploits on the bike. This year's race lived up to the unpredictable nature that we've grown used to in the Vuelta, and Randy takes you through the thrilling final week and gives his takeaways on Roglic, Pogacar, Movistar, and more! This is the essential wrap-up of the 2019 Vuelta a Espana. He concludes the episode by talking about the Tour of Britain and the incredible show Mathieu van der Poel put on. He gives his thoughts on MVDP's odds at winning the World Championships and compares his chances to those who took part in the two big races on Canadian soil this weekend.

With one week to go, Primoz Roglic is in the driver's seat at the Vuelta a Espana with a comfortable lead. Can he keep his form through the third week and seal the deal? Can anyone make an incredible third-week run and knock him off the top step? It's going to be hard, but the Vuelta is always the most unpredictable Grand Tour of the year.  In this episode, Randy discusses the action from this past week as well as giving his take on the Vuelta in comparison to the other Grand Tours.  

After 9 stages in Spain where there weren't many (if any?) flat roads to be found, Nairo Quintana goes into the first rest day with the Red Jersey on his shoulders. This was the end result of a crazy week that saw the jersey jumping around to a few different riders (and back again).  The weather didn't make it easy but it certainly made it entertaining, and Randy fills you in on all the action plus gives you his takeaways and where he sees the race going from here.

As the title of the last episode indicated, there were so many races going on in the past couple weeks that it took quite a while to catch up. Randy was locked away in his cycling cave watching all the races and took a few extra days to get this episode to you. In lieu of a Vuelta a Espana preview this year, Randy decided to go through all the races from the past two weeks and give you a summary of the notable results.  But first...a rant about team time trials in Grand Tours.  Next episode: Full Vuelta a Espana Coverage!

The European Championships are done and the Vuelta is a couple of weeks away. What could we possibly do in the meantime? Hopefully, your internet package has a lot of bandwidth because there are more races this week than we know what to do with. There aren't enough hours in the day to watch them all so Randy gives you some insight on how to pick what to watch after breaking down a windy weekend of racing in the Netherlands.

It's a sombre day in the cycling world as we lost one of the rising stars of the sport, Bjorg Lambrecht. Cycling Overtime extends it's deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Lambrecht and the entire Lotto-Soudal team.  On a day when race results and transfer announcements seem insignificant, Randy recaps the weekend races in Spain and London. 

This episode is dedicated to the 106th Tour de France. It's been a depressing week since the Tour de France ended, but it's finally time to let go. Join Randy as he gives you five final takeaways from this year's race. With 11 months to go before the start of the next Tour, this is your last chance to get your Tour fix.  The episode finishes off with some quick previews of the races taking place this weekend in a post Tour de France world. 

The craziest Tour de France in decades ends with a 22-year-old in the Yellow Jersey, as Egan Bernal stood on the top step in Paris. Randy recaps the 3rd week of the race and gives his thoughts and takeaways from one of the greatest stage races we've ever seen.  Bernal, Alaphilippe, Pinot, & Kruijswijk are all discussed at length, and Randy is very disappointed with Bardet's polka-dot shorts... He finishes the episode by giving out his awards for this year's Tour, and teases some bonus Tour de France content for later in the week!

One Frenchman is in Yellow, and a second is surging towards the top of the General Classification as we head into the third week of the Tour de France. Only the Alps stand in between France and a first homegrown Tour de France victory in over 30 years. Will this finally be the year, or will Ineos win their first Grand Tour in their new colours? All the action from week two is analyzed, and Randy gives you the most realistic scenarios for what we'll be witnessing when we reach Paris next Sunday.  Strap in...it's only going to get better from here!

Will the race only get better from here?  After an incredible first week of the Tour, it's time to catch our breath as we head into the first rest day. Alaphillipe has taken back yellow, the GC competition was blown up in the most unexpected way, and Ineos looks primed to strike as we move towards the Pyrenees. Randy takes you through all the action of the past few stages, gets you up to speed on who is placed where in the General Classification, and gives some riders to look out for as we are about to hit the high altitudes that have been promised. It will be tough to top the first week, but this Tour de France appears to be a classic in the making. Randy finishes the episode by reviewing the final stages of the Giro Rosa.

This has been the most entertaining first six stages the Tour de France has seen in years. We had a surprise 300-to-1 winner of the first stage, a popular Frenchman wearing Yellow, and a crazy difficult climb that almost brought the peloton to a standstill.  In the first half, Randy discusses the battle for GC, the riders who have dug themselves early holes, the under-the-radar heroes of the early stages, and his favourite moments of the Tour so far.  In the second half, the Giro Rosa takes centre stage as Randy goes over the dominant performances that we've seen in this years edition.  The podcast closes with a juicy edition of the Rumour Mill!