Podcasts about Cycling Weekly

Services for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) in England are ‘unviable'. That's the judgement from a report out today by the Public Accounts Committee, who look at the value for money of government services. Anna Dixon MP, who sits on the committee, joins Nuala McGovern to explain more, alongside Katie Ghose, Vice-Chair of the Disabled Children's Partnership.Four Women's Championship football clubs will take part in a new pilot scheme beginning this month to allow fans to drink alcohol in the stands. This is something that's been banned for supporters of the men's game in the top five tiers. Head of Women's Football at the Football Supporters' Association Deborah Dilworth discusses the plans and what this could mean for women's football matches.Holly Bourne, bestselling author of How Do You Like Me Now? and the Spinster Club series, is back with So Thrilled For You, her most personal novel yet. It's a story about four friends navigating motherhood, career ambition, and societal pressures, all unfolding during a sweltering summer's day at a baby shower. Holly explains what inspired her to write this funny, sharp, and moving exploration of friendship, and her experiences with early motherhood.According to stats from Cycling UK, 75% of cycling trips in the UK are made by men - but women are increasingly turning to the gym and indoor classes for their biking fix. Nuala discusses how we can get more women cycling, inside and outside, with Michelle Arthurs Brennan, digital editor at Cycling Weekly, and Clare Rogers from the London Cycling Campaign women's network. Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley

In Episode 59 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Chris and Emma welcome Eric Hill, founder of Project Echelon Racing and Echelon Racing Promotions. Eric has been a visionary in blending traditional cycling with virtual racing, supporting the sport and the veteran community through his groundbreaking initiatives. In this episode, we'll dive into Project Echelon's mission and its impact on cycling and veterans, explore Eric's early adoption of cycling esports as a distinct discipline, and hear about his plans for the 2024/25 Echelon Racing League season. From the race schedule and prize purse to its potential role in qualifying for the 2025 USA Cycling Esports Nationals, there's a lot for racers and fans to get excited about. We'll also discuss Eric's move to MyWhoosh as the platform of choice for the upcoming season, his thoughts on performance verification, and how he plans to address athlete concerns about adapting to new technologies. Plus, he'll share details about an exciting new partnership with indieVelo—now Training Peaks Virtual.   Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to delve even deeper into the intriguing topics discussed in this episode. We've curated a selection of articles that inspired our conversation, providing you with exclusive insights. Wahoo RGT and Project Echelon Introduce Trikes For Disabled Virtual Cyclists [Zommunique, Dec. 12, 2022] One of The Most Momentous Events in Virtual Cycling Recently Took Place, and Not Enough of Us Are Aware, But We All Should Be! [Zommunique, Feb, 7, 2022] Why introducing handcycles is Zwift's most important update so far [Cycling Weekly, Oct. 10, 2022] RGT leads the charge for inclusion of disabled athletes in virtual cycling [CyclingNews, Feb. 7, 2022]   Join us for a conversational ride where we not only lend a voice to the digital athlete but also bridge the gap between athlete and avatar. We invite you to be part of this exciting exploration of the future of virtual sport and digital athlete engagement!

In Episode 58 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Chris and Emma welcome Dirk Friel, co-founder and Chief Evangelist of Training Peaks, and Dr. George Gilbert, the creator of indieVelo, to discuss their newly formed partnership and the launch of Training Peaks Virtual. The collaboration combines indieVelo's innovative approach to virtual cycling and esports with Training Peaks' well-established focus on athlete training and performance. In this episode, they explore the motivations behind the partnership, its benefits for both indieVelo users and Training Peaks subscribers, and how the two platforms align philosophically. We'll also examine what this means for the future of virtual cycling—particularly for elite athletes—and discuss the challenges and opportunities this integration presents. Has anything changed? Is it another RGT-Wahoo situation? Whether you're an esports competitor, a dedicated indieVelo user, or a longtime Training Peaks subscriber, this discussion offers valuable insights into the evolution of virtual cycling and training directly from the two main players.   Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to delve even deeper into the intriguing topics discussed in this episode. We've curated a selection of articles that inspired our conversation, providing you with exclusive insights. New Virtual Cycling Platform indieVelo is Defining the Future of Esports [Zommunique, June 6, 2023] Cycling Esports Platform indieVelo Moves to Open Beta—What it Means For Virtual Cycling Users [Zommunique, June 30, 2024] Meet indieVelo — Everything you need to know about virtual cycling's newest platform [Cycling Weekly, Aug. 17, 2023] New indoor cycling app launched by former Chairman of the Zwift Esports Commission [CyclingNews, June 10, 2023]   Join us for a conversational ride where we not only lend a voice to the digital athlete but also bridge the gap between athlete and avatar. We invite you to be part of this exciting exploration of the future of virtual sport and digital athlete engagement!

In Episode 47 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Chris and Emma welcome elite esports cyclist Elyse Gallegos. The IRONMAN champion and mother to two young boys is proud to represent the USA in the semi-finals of the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship. Elyse shares her experience balancing family priorities while striving for personal athletic goals. She is equally passionate about promoting cycling esports and raising awareness of the potential for athletes throughout the US and worldwide. Her sincere excitement for the future of cycling esports is infectious. Tune in to learn how she plans to get it done and punch her ticket to Abu Dhabi in October. The episode also delivers in-depth reporting on several hot Cycling Esports topics and important updates: Cycling Esports World Championship Open Qualifier details on MyWhoosh Smart Trainer Standardization for the World Championship Live Event Final in Abu Dhabi Upcoming Zwift Elite Racing Season   Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to delve even deeper into the intriguing topics discussed in this episode. We've curated a selection of articles that inspired our conversation, providing you with exclusive insights. Get to Know Zwift Grand Prix 2023/24 Elite Cyclist Elyse Gallegos [Zommunique, January 1, 2024] UCI Releases 2024 Cycling Esports World Championship Race Book Clarifying Event Details [Zommunique, June 5, 2024] 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Public Qualification Pathway Details Revealed [Zommunique, July 16, 2024] Zwift Takes Step Toward Commitment to Elevate Homegrown Cycling Esports Stars and Grassroots Growth in 2024/25 [Zommunique, July 15, 2024] The Olympic Esports Games set for 2025: here's what we know about the event [Cycling Weekly, January 31, 2024]   Join us for a conversational ride where we not only lend a voice to the digital athlete but also bridge the gap between athlete and avatar. We invite you to be part of this exciting exploration of the future of virtual sport and digital athlete engagement!

On today's podcast, It's Only Sport host Martin Devlin tackles a typically slow news day (Tuesdays) and goes around the world, tapping into the expertise of rugby, cycling, and Olympics correspondents.To kick things off, Devlin delivers a sermon talking about the Tour de France, after Slovenian Tadej Pogačar secured his third tour win in five years. But, as the modern-day cyclist achieves things that dug-cheating cyclists of the past couldn't, Devlin wonders if the sport really is fully 'clean' in 2024.Then, All Blacks legend Murray Mexted offers his thoughts on the loose forward trio current coach Scott Robertson should select, Mark 'Watto' Watson talks middle management jobs at New Zealand Rugby and the Warriors, Cycling Weekly's Adam Becket reviews the 2024 Tour de France, and Matt Gunn is positive about his Bulldogs and Wallabies (among other things).Plus, Devlin and producer Lachlan Waugh bicker and butt heads on All Blacks selections, the NRL finals race, and the cleanliness of cyclists on the Tight 5 and What Has More Chance Of Happening. All that and much more!

In Episode 46 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Flamme Rouge Racing's Richard Vale discusses the groundbreaking multi-platform MYTIKAS Games and, along with hosts Chris and Emma, explores the essential cycling esports news that all racers and fans need to know! The MYTIKAS games are the first cycling esports event to unfold across multiple platforms, featuring an exciting lineup of Olympic-inspired events on Zwift, MyWhoosh, and indieVelo. All the details and how to get involved in this celebration of the best cycling esports offers are here! Will Vale's pioneering grassroots promotion provide a proof of concept for an international cycling esports calendar and motivate the platforms and UCI to collaborate? The episode also delivers in-depth reporting on several hot Cycling Esports topics and important updates: Changes to performance verification in the Zwift World Series. indieVelo's move to Open BETA and away from Zwift. Detailed clarification on the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships Open Qualification. USA Cycling's criteria and process for the Esports World Championship Semi-Final Qualifier. The prospect and implications of cycling esports becoming part of the Olympic Games.   Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to delve even deeper into the intriguing topics discussed in this episode. We've curated a selection of articles that inspired our conversation, providing you with exclusive insights. Flamme Rouge Racing Announces the Groundbreaking MYTIKAS esGames—A Comprehensive Guide [Zommunique, June, 5, 2024] The Olympic Esports Games set for 2025: here's what we know about the event [Cycling Weekly, January 31, 2024] UCI Tells Nations How Many Riders They Can Bring To The 2024 Esports World Championship and Other Details [Zommunique, March 31, 2024] UCI Releases 2024 Cycling Esports World Championship Race Book Clarifying Event Details [Zommunique, June 5, 2024] 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Public Qualification Pathway Details Revealed [Zommunique, July 16, 2024] A FIRST Look at the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Routes on MyWhoosh [Zommunique, July 8, 2024]   Join us for a conversational ride where we not only lend a voice to the digital athlete but also bridge the gap between athlete and avatar. We invite you to be part of this exciting exploration of the future of virtual sport and digital athlete engagement!

In Episode 45 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, hosts Chris and Emma catch up with the Purdue University College of Engineering team of Prof. Jan-Anders Mansson and researchers Patrick Cavanaugh and Teal Dowd, who are leading the UCI's smart trainer homologation and data manipulation program. The group is currently in Lucerne, Switzerland, preparing to present their years of groundbreaking smart trainer standardization research and engineering to the UCI. This work is critical for creating a level playing field and essential to the evolution of cycling esports. Creating a device and protocol to characterize smart trainer behavior is crucial for ensuring fair competition and providing competition organizers and governing bodies, such as the UCI and the IOC, with the tools to make informed decisions about the integrity of the sport. We explore the program's practical implementation, market disruption, and necessity in the sport's Olympic aspirations.   Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to delve even deeper into the intriguing topics discussed in this episode. We've curated a selection of articles that inspired our conversation, providing you with exclusive insights.   UCI to develop smart trainer standardization process to level esports playing field [CyclingNews, February 9, 2024] The Olympic Esports Games set for 2025: here's what we know about the event [Cycling Weekly, January 31, 2024] Flamme Rouge Racing Announces the Groundbreaking MYTIKAS esGames—A Comprehensive Guide [Zommunique, June 5, 2024] UCI Releases 2024 Cycling Esports World Championship Race Book Clarifying Event Details [Zommunique, June 5, 2024]     Join us for a conversational ride where we not only lend a voice to the digital athlete but also bridge the gap between athlete and avatar. We invite you to be part of this exciting exploration of the future of virtual sport and digital athlete engagement!

In Episode 44 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, hosts Chris and Emma welcome Andrew Richardson, Ph.D., a foremost anti-doping cycling esports research associate at Newcastle University, UK. The scientific review "Zwift's Anti-Doping Policy: Is it Open to Cheating?" published in the International Journal of Esports in early 2022 was one of the first to tackle the controversial topic of cheating in cycling esports. "Perceptions of Cheating and Doping in E-Cycling," published in Sport in October 2023, challenges the perceptions of a cheating culture in cycling esports. Dr. Richardson shares his perspective on the rapid rise of doping in cycling esports, offering suggestions to curb the widespread issue, appropriate punishments, and the governance model necessary for Olympic recognition. Zwift has revealed the 2024/25 Elite Community Racing Season details.  Chris and Emma will discuss the exciting changes and other developments in the fast-paced digital world of cycling esports, breaking down what they mean for the athletes, community, and fans. Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to delve even deeper into the intriguing topics discussed in this episode. We've curated a selection of articles that inspired our conversation, providing you with exclusive insights. Is Zwift's Anti-Doping Policy enough to eradicate cheating culture? [CyclingNews, April 22, 2022] Perceptions of Cheating and Weight Doping in Virtual Cycling: A Multi-Study Review [Zommunique, February 2, 2024] The Olympic Esports Games set for 2025: here's what we know about the event [Cycling Weekly, January 31, 2024] Flamme Rouge Racing (FRR) Invites You To Be One of the First to Recon the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship Courses and Formats [Zommunique, June 15, 2024] Join us for a conversational ride where we not only lend a voice to the digital athlete but also bridge the gap between athlete and avatar. We invite you to be part of this exciting exploration of the future of virtual sport and digital athlete engagement!

Bikes of the year award are being handed out, but what best are actually being testing and why is the industry using these are sales pitches. Zwift release a new bike, Coros enter the bike computer market and Mark Lewis is worries about your motivation.00:29 YouTube Bikes Of The Year5:54 Aero Bike Of The Year11:12 Value Bike Of The Year12:41 Climbing Bike Of The Year16:28 Froth Bike Of The Year20:18 Race Bike Of The Year26:06 Ugly Zwift Bike33:17 Dave Arthur Reviews WheelTop40:46 Coros Bike Computer Disaster 55:23 Mark Lewis Motivation1:04:28 Gravel Nationals Today's Show is presented by Bikes OnlineThe BEST online cycling deals are at BIKES ONLINE. Use Code NERO5 at checkout to receive 5% already discounted items such as the Tambora G7, POC Omni Lite or any of the amazing Helios range of bikesTambora G7

Surprise, it's a podcast! I'm back on the mic with Rachel discussing the current Spanish racing block and whether or not the latest winning streak means that SD Worx will be back to dominating the whole season once again.Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here.Read Rachel's work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15th April 2024 The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast EPISODE 351: Andy McGrath — God is Dead SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles HOST: Carlton Reid GUEST: Andy McGrath LINKS: https://www.the-spokesmen.com/ https://www.ternbicycles.com https://twitter.com/CarltonReid https://twitter.com/Andymcgra https://andydoesart.substack.com https://www.amazon.co.uk/God-Dead-Vandenbroucke-Cyclings-Wasted/dp/0552176044/ TRANSCRIPT Carlton Reid 0:12 Welcome to Episode 351 of the Spokesmen cycling podcast. This show was engineered on Monday, April 15 2024. David Bernstein 0:28 The Spokesmen cycling roundtable podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern are committed to building bikes that are useful enough to ride every day and dependable enough to carry the people you love. In other words, they make the kind of bikes that they want to ride. Tern has e-bikes for every type of rider. Whether you're commuting, taking your kids to school or even carrying another adult, visit www.ternbicycles.com. That's t e r n bicycles.com to learn more. Carlton Reid 1:04 I'm Carlton Reid. And today's show is the first of two episodes with bike book authors. Later this week, I'll share the chat I had with potholes and pavement author Laura Laker a book so fresh, it's not even out yet. But today, I talk with William Hill award winning author Andy McGrath about his 2022 book, God is dead biography of Frank Vandenbrouke the wunderkind who died a mysterious death in a grungy African hotel room. Liège–Bastogne–Liège has been staged since 1892, the oldest of cycling's five monument races, and this year's race will be staged at the end of the month, Sunday the 21st to be exact. Now, Andy, it's 25 years since a certain famous victory of that particular race. So tell us about that. Andy McGrath 2:10 This was the edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège where the great Belgian cycling hope Frank Vandenbrouke seemed to be fulfilling his immense potential. And he did it in his own unique way. He told anyone that would listen in the days for the race, you know, teammates, DS's, rivals and other races and media, where he was going to attack to win the race to make it stick, a bit like Muhammad Ali used to do before his heavyweight fight. And he'd went out for a 20 minute puto, a few days before the age best on the age. And it's covered his teammate saw him come back to the hotel, you know, barely a blink of an eye later. And he told him, that's all all I need, I feel good. I'm going to win lift some of the age. And he was in a state of grace that day, he attacked on by ODU, which sounds different course back then. It finished in an industrial suburb over the age. And the Cordilla. Redo was about oh, at 90k from the finish. And he, he he wrote up in the big room, he tacked up in the big green, which is I could barely walk up it when I was researching the book, which is a astonishing and slightly sinister thing when you really get into that era of cycling. And he was already clearly the best, you know, he he accelerated pass the defending champion makayley Bartley like it was nothing and then he just let the rest catch him up, basically. And he did attack, you know, if we're going to split hairs slightly later than he said he would you know, or maybe earlier actually, I think it was early. And he said he would you know, a few 100 metres earlier. Because Carlton Reid 3:55 Because that's in your book, isn't it? Yeah. It's a very detailed book and you you're knocking on doors, and you give the exact door that he actually did attack on and not the one that you said he's going to attack on? Andy McGrath 4:06 Yeah, the thing is, I actually knocked on the door of the house number he said he would attack which was 256. You know, hoping for some kind of journalistic intrigue and it was a little bit disappointing that I think people that answered the door were very nice, but it was someone looking after their elderly parent and they said they didn't like cycling, they didn't know about it. So so so I was like yeah, that's there's that avenue gone in the book. But no abandoned Brook road away from the last remaining rival Michael Burgard on the court to send Nicola outside the edge and road to victory just like he said he would and you know, a country that was already in thrall to him was an even more rapturous, you know, Eddie Merckx was extremely impressed. You know, the Eddie marks the greatest and that was really, I think it was 24 Back then van of work, and it wasn't so normal for providers to break through in their early 20s, which is what he had done. He was the exception. And it seemed like that, you know, the cycling world was gonna fall to him. You know. During the book research, I kind of ascertained that he could probably have won almost anything apart from a grantor, you know, he was a strong climber, but didn't have the consistency or the or the mentality to do it over three weeks, but everything else was, was fair game. But that was a very brief high point, you know, that was that was paradise. And he was soon into purgatory. And then how, you know, within a year, which kind of summed up his his life and his career trajectory. Carlton Reid 5:41 And, and spoiler alert, the kind of the title of your book tells us that Frank is no longer with us. But you did refer a few moments ago, almost to the fact that this is an EPO era. So he's going up in the big ring, that's kind of Superman stuff that, you know, Nietzsche, God is dead stuff. So clearly he was he was deeping, he kind of admitted he was doping. This is the EPO era. But then what everybody was saying at that time was, well, everybody was doping. So we're all equal. Do you buy into that? Are you if everybody's taken EPO at the time, and he's such a wonderful rider? Let's give him those victories, because everybody was on this stuff. person. Andy McGrath 6:27 I mean, they're all saying at the time, and I was partly what bothered him, you know, 5, 10 years later that he felt that he was being scapegoated. What we know now, is that essentially, you know, let's be the what's the word diplomatic here? Legally, most of the bunch, we're, we're doing it, there's been lots of admissions. Do I think that makes it okay, in a level playing field? No, no, I don't think so. That's too simplistic, you know, that comes down to you know, things like science and natural amount of creates and how much room you have to dope, you know, or to get up to the rudimentary UCI testing limit of 50, which it was back then, you know, which was, like a broken speed Camry on a motorway. It barely stopped cheating. If you are caught over the 50, like, image credit limit you are. I think you were given a small fine, and you couldn't race for two weeks? What kind of, you know, what kind of punishment? Is that really what kind of thing to stop? Anyone from having huge gains, really, that can change, change everything? So no, no, it wasn't fair. Like it's not fair. And there are a fair few riders who were probably in, in the minority who chose to be clean, you know, to ride on bread and water, as they say, who didn't make it who had to take other jobs who. And that was the kind of that's always a sad thing about doping in a way, you know, that. I don't think anyone who's has a positive for doping, who's cheated. When they get into cycling, they don't want to put a needle in their arm or have their blood transfused or whatever kind of ghoulish thing hopefully went on, doesn't go on now. But along the line they get, they get sucked into certain culture and you know, you invest so much time and energy and sacrifice into something you love, and you have to love it. That you realise, well, this is the kind of Faustian deal that many of them thought I had to make that they thought that they didn't do this, they would finish in the last group or second class group and they wouldn't, they wouldn't get the contract renewed. They wouldn't even be close to winning, you know, to fulfilling their childhood dreams. And you have an abrupt turn turn pro in 1994, which was really probably the worst the worst possible year to turn pro maybe in cycling, because EPO was, that was the year that it was about to get ramped, and if it wasn't already ramping. Carlton Reid 9:00 And then Cofidis wasn't exactly the cleanest of teams. Andy McGrath 9:04 No. I mean, this is Vandenbrouke. He was on Mapei who were the Italian super team. You may see their products in your local homeware stores you know, they still make I think it's grouting Yeah, ground tiles, tile, yes. tiles. things are still popular. I still smile when I see them and and b&q and all other good stores, but they were the best number one, and they really complimented in hindsight, complimented Vandenbrouke perfectly because often, you know, in in the classics of old classics, he won and he won a fair few, you know, scale the price hit Volk, obviously Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He could be the attacking foil or tactically to say Tom Steels, a sprinter or Johan Museuw, who was a permanent cobbles rider. But anyway, after three, four years, which were the most stable, far and away the most stable years, results wise and maybe mentality wise over his whole career. He has acted in he he wanted to be a contract. He wasn't ever patient with very much ever. And he he chose good to French Team Cofidis for double the money basically. And they gave him he could pick, you know, his friends, his his teammates, so, pick several of those. And it started off well, but yeah, it transpired that they had they had a kind of sleeping pill and drinking culture. And that's not a good combination. You know, even one thing. One of those dumb two accesses is bad, but they'd be on training camps, you know, in winter, this is how Vandenberg got hooked in the winter of 98. You know, they'd be it'd be bored you know, you do your training in the sun somewhere in Spain and then a radical Philip go mom, who I think one gateway will give himself. This strong, strapping Frenchman, you know, said why don't you take this and we'll have some drinks and what happens is you kind of you have a euphoric high. That's beyond you know, extreme drunkenness. You know, often you don't remember what you do when you're on under the influence of still not an alcohol, you know? And they go out partying or they're still the team campervan. And it's kind of thing you wouldn't believe it happened then, let alone now. Carlton Reid 11:28 So what is Stilnoct? It's in your book loads. So just tell us what Stilnoct is. Andy McGrath 11:34 It's a sleeping pill with various different brand names. I actually think Anglophone listeners might know it better as Ambien. I think that's alright. Okay. Yes. Australian kind of version of it. Yes, it's a sleeping pill. And you know, normally, I think it's used for insomniacs. And if you, you take one you wait 20 minutes, and it should pretty much knock you out. But they will take festivals, you know, handfuls at the very least. And if you resist if you fight the urge to sleep with alcohol, then you you push through to this strange blankness and euphoric high. And David Miller also has some stories, I think in his, his autobiography of strange things, and I'm the influence, you know. And, you know, it's kind of a reminder also, that professional cyclists, young freshmen, cyclists are very suggestible. They're, maybe not quite all of them fully formed as adults, you know, when they turn someone like Vandenbroucke turn pro, at 19. He was more brought up in the sporting culture than really, as a human being, as an app was an adult human being it and kind of influenced by that. So they're very fragile. And that's the other thing, you know, we've covered it. So there was a lacking duty of care, you know, in terms of the management and, you know, they seem to know what was going on, but they didn't do much about it really like they, they hired a psychologist to do a to have a talk with with the riders who basically laughed him out of the room. So you know, hindsight is 2020, but it was not a good team for Benbrook to band with a good culture. Carlton Reid 13:21 Andy, let's let's dig into you, because you've written this book. And we will we'll we'll talk about it, tonnes coming up. But this is before your time in effect, certainly before your time as a journalist you've started working from what I can see from your LinkedIn profile. You started working for Cycling Weekly. And then you became the head of Rouleur, which many people wouldn't want men will know both both titles of course. But this is in effect before your time. Was this before your were You were you like a big cycling fan? From a you know, a youth? Andy McGrath 14:00 Yeah, I mean, whenever its heyday was before my time in terms of cycling fandom, I really got into it, you know, the Lance Armstrong years 2002 was the year that I you know, discovered this fantastic and strange and exotic sport. And I you know, I did come across Vanderbrouke but by then he was really really on the down slide you know the downfall. I do remember his 2003 Tour of Flanders at the time you know, I remember it. It being this remarkable comeback story where you know this guy who was ranked outside the top 500 in in the UCI standings came second in the tour Flanders out of nowhere. But you know, he was kind of the figure of fun the kind of the fallen hero then. But yeah, he was kind of trying to see I didn't think much about him when I was at cycling weekly as a staff writer and then you know, joining ruler like, later on I to my first book was about Tom Simpson. I I published back in 2017 lovely kind of mix of contemporary photographs and stories from those who know Thompson best with Rapha, you know, one of their first books. And I was very fortunate that won the sports book of the year prize that year, which was a huge boon. Yes. Carlton Reid 15:22 What did you do with 30 grand Andy? Andy McGrath 15:25 I bought a Colnago Carlton, which possibly wasn't seeing us, I don't like to ride it in, you know, winter, or spring, sometimes autumn. So, you know, in the UK, I don't ride a bike to get too messy. And then that really leaves you two or three good months of cycling. So that was, that was my dream bike, you know, when I was a teenager that that was a bike. But funnily enough, that was a brand that I saw in all the cycling magazines, and I obviously, cycling journalists are not the best paid people in the world, sorry to disappoint their any young listeners. But that was, I mean, that was a life changing amount of money for me. So I did go ahead and bought a Kona Argo. You know, that was the that was the main thing and the rest went boringly in the savings. Carlton Reid 16:11 Now, I kind of threw that in there a to be rude, and see what you say. And so you know, is it wind, wind? And so on? No, it's a bike. Okay, great. But also, that was a big deal to win that, that, yeah, that's a big cash amount. And that's a big deal to win the William Hill sports book of the year well done on on that. You're basically your your, your, your, you've been writing about people who were from a different era, in effect. So these these are these are almost not united to me, Tom Simpson is isn't a contemporary, obviously. But Frank Vandenbroucke is certainly somebody I would be very, very well well aware of when I was, you know, in into, in writing about cycle sport I was, he was around at that point. So you're writing about people in effect from from from history. So you're almost a historian, not just, you know, not just a biographer, you're digging into past history, Andy McGrath 17:13 I never really thought about it like that, that's an interesting way of putting it maybe I should put historian on my LinkedIn profile. It feels like quite recent history, though. Carlton Reid 17:22 It really isn't, you know, when you look at this, this is 25 years, that's a good time away, you know, for for somebody to still be talked about, and for books to be written, etc. That's, that's, that's a federal what it is history. Andy McGrath 17:36 That's also what I like, because, you know, in a way, you know, Vandenbrouke, and Simpson both have, have had books written about them already. But I had the kind of maybe the naive hunch, which I would have told my publishers that I can get new stories, you know, there's more things to be said, by different people, which I which, which I believed in, you know, turned out to be true. You know, there's, there's deeper perspective says revisionism to be done, there's new things to be discovered. And, to be honest, I think I've found with, with slightly older people, you know, when you're talking about the people around Simpson and Vandenberg, and in general, and in cycling there, they've lived long lives, you know, so they have more more stories, more life, experience, more more regrets, you know, more successes. But they also, yeah, that somehow they're just that appeals to me, you know, they, they're certainly more open, generally speaking. You know, compared to, for example, let's say, if I was trying to write the, the biography of Matthew Vanderpool who, who won the Tour, Flanders, you know, very recently, there will be a whole circle of people around him that comparatively, it will be very close, very hard to get close to him. And very hard to get intriguing things now, you know, in 10 years time, maybe it'd be a different story. So I think that plays as a kind of advantage in a way to be going back rather than rather than always working with, you know, present champions, Carlton Reid 19:14 the people you've written about in their books are clearly flawed heroes. So both both legendary, both died, that that kind of helps if you're going to be a biographer, when somebody is no longer here in many respects, but they're both flawed. So So is that something that naturally attracts a biographer because if you if you're floored by de facto you're kind of more interesting. You know, you're you're you're there's there's chinks in that armour. There's the stuff that a journalist stroke historian can get their teeth into. And most sports people tend to be kind of flawed anyway, you know, there's many psychological studies which show that you know that the absolute top achievers have had some sort of formative bad experience in in their earlier life, which is then forced them to become these, these super men in terms of you know, male sport. So is that something that attracts you the fact that these are flawed heroes you can you can really talk about a flawed here and more than somebody who's squeaky clean. Andy McGrath 20:34 Well, firstly, I think we're all flawed. You're no one's perfect. But the Yes, I completely see what you're saying that these these are top athletes are people who push things to the extremes who, you know, can be quite flawed or extremely flawed, you know. And that's more the thing, but it, there was no middle for Vandenbroucke things were either going fantastic or his confidence was 100%. Or it was the opposite, you know, there seem to be, you know, they will see a sixth gear or a neutral with him. And I think we're all drawn to, to people who push limits that regular human beings wouldn't normally you know, push. Who wouldn't, you know, we we wouldn't want to take you know, 10 sleeping pills, and then down some glasses of wine on a night out, but so there's a kind of, I think there's a slightly vicarious fascination sometimes. But Vanderburgh was also I wouldn't say he was escaping from something, you know, a kind of traumatic incident in his childhood, but it's definitely worth noting that his father was his uncle. He was part of a second dynasty. So his uncle was dubbed the John Louis mercs as Frank would be. Sean Luke, that's right. Race for Persia had some great results. Never quite lived up to that moniker, who Ken and his father who was older than John Luke. So John's brother, John Jack. He was on the cusp of being a pro site because he just signed his his contract. When hit, their father died and he became guardian to John Luke, and John Paul. His brothers, his younger brothers, so his history was snatched away from him before he could do anything about it, and he had to he had to sell off his his father's Frank's grandfather's his basins and toilets and sinks because he was a kind of plumber handyman to shut down the business. So there was a kind of element of his Frank's Father John Jack being being a real driving force for positive and for negative through his formative years, you know, he pushed him so hard, you know, he would, he would follow training with a stopwatch praise was kind of few and far between shows of shows of kind of love work, not not regular at all. And, you know, Frank felt that sometimes you've treated too much as a cyclist and not enough as a son you know, as a as a person. And they had, you know, they had fallings out throughout Frank's life. And, you know, there was also a depression that John Jack had. Or John Paul, maybe it was actually his younger brother. And Frank had that too. So there's a kind of there's a, there's a kind of site genetic, I think, vulnerability to two of, you know, mental health problems that was on show here. So there's that extreme too. And this is what I kind of also find fascinating about not just pro cyclists, but people in general, athletes in general, that when we see them, just seeing when we see them in the Tour de France or tour Flanders, whatever, we're seeing 1% of their life, you know. And for Frank, you know, when he was on the bike, that was a kind of safe place, really, when things are going well. That was his refuge. And it was really like when he wasn't on the bike when he was by himself. And you know, he couldn't be by himself, really, he loved being around people need to be around people to be supervised sometimes. But when he was alone, that was when the problem started, when he had time to think or to do certain misdemeanours or wrong things. That was a problem. And people don't think about that, you know that. Everything really needs to be going well, and in the 99% of your life outside of the bike pace for the bike race to go well. Carlton Reid 24:46 So you mentioned father, son relationship stuff there, which can reminded me that when I was looking at the emails of when we've interacted before, and when you were editor of Rouleur, you actually published I'm getting more into you about, you actually published a ride of my son of coming back from China, in Rouleur, and this is now four or five years back when he did that ride and you, you, you published an account of that ride. But you were with Rouleur for about five years, four years editor? Andy McGrath 25:23 yeah, yeah, every year for nine years and I was here to for five years, you know, which was that was a dream. That was a dream, you know, I was in my mid 20s When I became editor, and I just loved hearing their stories where I'd actually been at cycle sport, which is part of cycling weekly part a part of that IPC Media Group, you know, 15 years ago, that was where I was kind of under under the wing of Ed Pickering, who, who's now the Rouleur editor, you know, I was around all these great writers like Lionel Birnie, and, you know, just learning from them, you know, either by by osmosis or by asking stupid questions, which is a kind of great way to learn. But I've really found I was drawn to longer form storytelling, you know, articles, over 2000 words, long interviews, you know, two, three hours sometimes or, you know, spending a whole day or, or, you know, to with a pro cyclist to really, truly get under their skin, you know, because that's also the media landscape in increasingly at the moment, sometimes, you're given 20 minutes, 25 minutes in a hotel lobby, to write a long feature that's supposed to you know, be chapter and verse about the cyclist. And that's not you know, that's not sufficient. I really was kinda like an entry kind of opened the doors you know, ruler when you said you with ruler that kind of had a special effect, they knew you were gonna do a very thorough, well researched, well written job, which I think really helped. And this is also the last landscape we're in that was, you know, I joined over 10 years ago, and slightly magazines, were more plentiful, were more more profitable. And I still read paper, by the way, I'd never read a Kindle course. And I'm, I'm kind of 35 going on 65 I just like, you know, I'm looking at a bookcase with about 200 books right now. And the same goes for magazines, I just, I'm a magazine guy. And I don't see that changing. And I'm kind of proud of that, because I'm slightly scared that in even in 10 years, Time Magazine might go the way of a vine on and be a collector's item when it really shouldn't be Carlton Reid 27:42 well, Cycling Weekly is older than Liège–Bastogne–Liège. So that was that was 1891. So that presumably, has has a place in the market, almost guaranteed a lot of the other magazines, maybe not so much, and ruler has a place in that is long form. It is something that, you know, the pro riders as well as cycle sport fans will love and look up to because it does go into immense detail and great care, and the quality of the paper, all that kind of stuff. So it's I guess, it's the magazines, in the middle, that that fall between those two kind of different models that are going to suffer. Andy McGrath 28:28 Perhaps, you know, the Rouleur owner told me a few years ago that there was there was going to be survival of the fittest and you know, he's turned out to be right. I think it's also the care you know, the photography and in rural areas, you know, top top notch I think people like that baby surprise, you know, sometimes have little feedback I got as editor, you know, that I could just see the, you know, often the subscription numbers rising and you see the sales figures and I like to think there's a very happy silent majority. And maybe the numbers pull that out that, you know, some people on social media will either go on there to say how fantastic something is, or how appalling it is or that their magazine never arrived, you know, and that's fine, you know, but that's, that's the world we live in. But I'm not even sure about cycling weekly, I've got a huge attachment to that magazine sentimentally. But it could be that that ends up being being an online only presence in 10 years time or you know five years time and I really hope that isn't the case. But that more and more people are reading things on their phones or their tablets. So you know, papers printed so as a find its its place you know, but realised yet definitely one for the connoisseur. Um, and we do crazy thing crazy fun things. You know, I remember taking a crew of photographers and writers to Paris-Roubaix, which is my favourite race. Because Because I said next year we're going to do a whole edition of Rouleur just around Paris-Roubaix. And we designed it with a kind of cobblestone font. And we kind of you know, each story was a sector basically and we did it you know, we were there for a week. We worked bloomin hard. And I think we saw six sectors on the day, which for goes from south to north, took some driving that pushed the limits of the highway code. But it was you know, we, we just had carte blanche to do pretty wild things like you know, we had a Gonzo writer called Mort not bow, who was Danish, who, who who divided opinion, you know, but I've never seen anyone write like that in cycling media, let alone sports media like and he always got the interview, he always ingratiated himself with the biggest names in cycling, you know, and that's what I loved was like different styles make make a magazine, for example, you know, Morton was meant to Morton and Jakob, who we call the crazy Danes is right of geography in a combo for several years, so we're meant to spend two hours with Lance Armstrong in the height of his, you know, scandalous air, I think was 2013 2014. And they ended up spending two or three days I played golf with him, you know, and it was just, yeah, like, the one thing about Rouleur that we wanted to change was that to make it not seem so stuffy or serious, because because we were having a lot of fun making it and we all love cycling, and there's a lot of, you know, humour to be had with it. You know, you might look at the black and white photographs. And you know, think it's been ernest but you know, we tried to change that every now and then. It's Carlton Reid 32:01 clearly it was it was founded in a party in a Guy Andrews but partly with Simon Mottram of a Rapha, so it's like, A, in some ways, like a Rapha, journal it had that certain had that, you know, in the early days, certainly had that Rapha you know, aesthetic. And, and power to its elbow for having that aesthetic, because Simon, you know, absolutely went in it, I can say this into the veins of cycling at that time with with with, you know, a very beautiful magazine. Andy McGrath 32:40 Yeah, he was, you know, he was pivotal to its founding like, along with Guy who, who was the founder, you know, they they saw they saw something different. And they, you know, they put in the money in the effort fearing that no one would buy that first issue which now goes for hundreds on eBay. And, you know, in many ways, it was similar to I think Jacque Waterlase courir magazine in the 50s and 60s, you know, that style and that aesthetic and you know, Guy didn't want any reviews. He wanted to show the cycling that you know, that he loved that also a child with the Rapha aesthetic and their values. And basically, the Rouleur blueprint that he laid out in those first issues is still what Rouleur is, you know, it's you know, in depth interviews, it's photography with a difference. And you ever heard is actually coming up for nearly 20 years. I think it'll be in a couple of years time. And Carlton Reid 33:42 Rapha is 20 years old this year. So that makes me feel old. Because now, I was the first person to report on Rapha's founding on in would have been, it would have been online, I would I probably did a story on bikebiz.com on this, you know, strange aesthetics based, cycled clothing manufacturer, you know, coming in from the advertising world. So I broke the story of Rapha coming in into cycling, and then now it's that 20 years or so their current PR you know, emails me and says, Oh, would you like to do a story on on Rapha being 20 It's like, oh my god, they're 20 and I did a story on them, you know, and it doesn't feel 20 years away. So it's history, as well. So we're kind of coming full circle on on history there. Now on on LinkedIn, you actually say you're one of your career highlights is actually writing for Bicycling. So what why was that a career highlight highlight? Andy McGrath 34:50 Did I say that? Oh, that's good. I just I just wanted to write for you know, one of the tops like a magazine. I've been seeing it all my life. You know, when I went freelance two years ago, that was basically my chance to write for whoever I wanted. And yeah, I'm a fellow fellow news. Now fellow went online. So I just saw this kind of this prestige of writing for for an American publication who, who I always thought, you know, did some really good journalism. And they do. I mean, it's most rigorous fact checking process I've ever had, and they did some beautiful photography, it was a long profile of Peter Sagan in his retirement. Yeah, and I went to Slovakia to see, you know, his family with old friends. And I went to Spain to interview him. And it kind of felt like old school journalism, you know, also that they back you to do that, you know, both in terms of time, word count, and paying expenses. Carlton Reid 35:56 And paying, because that's why I like writing for American magazines is they pay five times more than any British magazine. Andy McGrath 36:06 Yeah, I'm not sure if we should be advertising that this is true. Yeah, saying the Americans taking out lucrative stores. But no, absolutely. Like, that's the thing that I'm not sure why it's five times more. So I understand, you know, the, the kind of living costs, generally speaking, in the US in cycling friendly pockets is probably higher. So, so they were charging more, but five times more. You know, word rates for journalists, and in cycling identity have changed for 20 years, you know, since Rapha's inception, which is kind of sad. It's more of a labour of love than it ever was, and it was still a labour of love 20 years ago. But yeah, like the bicycling and you know, writing for cycling class I've written for basically every Anglophone cycling title in my not so young career now I'm 35. And it's just a pleasure, you know, that something that you know, the teenage me will be super proud of, and you know, that, don't me, it's, it's still proud of, you know, it's something really nice to go in my bookshelf. And it's always new stories and new angles, and well, not new sci fi magazines, really. But I kind of live in hope that I can keep doing that mainly around cycling, but I am you know, one slightly sad thing is that I'm trying to diversify slightly and you know, write about different sports, as well as cycling. Carlton Reid 37:39 I see you on art substack. So that's really diversifying. Andy McGrath 37:45 That's not That's not for profit. That's just for me. I just wanted to ride this is, this is something that I started this year, just going to local galleries and doing short, short reviews, you know, with just to learn about art, and to see what I like what I don't like, you know, I always, you know, I've kind of thought that modern art is a bit pretentious, but I've never really been to see that much. So I thought it could be fun. And it's proven to be fun. But the irony is that my my work deadlines are kind of impinging on my art reviews to the point that I haven't posted anything in about two months, but I will soon for my 20 substack followers. No, it's just fine. You know, you can live in deadlines. And with a bit of stress for so long that it's a nice kind of thing to try to do to, you know, flex some different writing muscles, but also learn about something totally away from sport, which is really the thing that I love. Carlton Reid 38:49 So I want to dig further into that level of cycling and into God is dead, your book. But right now I'd like to go across to my colleague David, who will give us a short ad break. David Bernstein 39:06 This podcast is brought to you by Tern Bicycles. Like you, the folks at Tern are always up for a good outdoor adventure by bike— whether that's fishing, camping, or taking a quick detour to hit the trails before picking up the kids from school. 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Carlton Reid 40:24 So we are back with Andy McGrath and Andy is the well as he's been telling us in the the before the ad break that he's been telling us about his career trajectory through cycling into into now doing an art substack even for the for the fun of it and the hell of it and the learning of it. Which Which sounds fantastic, because I should do that too. I should learn new stuff. But the thing we started this podcast with was with the the anniversary coming up to 25 years since since Frank Vandenbroucke and we can we call him VDB Do you think we can we can really Yeah. Yeah. Or should we say Frank goes to Frank because really it is it's like it's a it is actually an unknown nickname for other people in Belgium isn't is not not just something that's pertinent to him. Andy McGrath 41:23 That's right. There's lots of bands you know something? Yeah, Vanda Carlton Reid 41:27 something. Okay. So VDB we can we can go with that, as we kind of use a shorthand gumming up. So your book 2002. This came out, and he and it's the rise and fall of Frank Vandenbroucke cycling's great wasted talent is the subhead to God is dead. Now God is dead is clearly a Nietzsche reference. Also a reference to when he was coming up when when Frank was coming up through the sport, lots of people treated him as a god. And then in his autobiography, he talks about not being a god, but the very fact that he's saying he's not a God means kind of other people were saying he was a god. So that's, that's a hell of a provocative title for a book. Andy Yeah, absolutely. Andy McGrath 42:25 I just correct you there. It came out in 2022. If it came out in 2002, I would have been 14 and Carlton Reid 42:33 I'm sorry, sorry. 20222. Sorry. Yeah. No, that would have been deep military. Yes. Yes. Yes. Sorry, kind of literal, you Andy McGrath 42:39 know, the spoiler alert as you pointed out earlier as sports which makes it a kind of backwards who done it or you know, what happened to his life when you know, beside nd and also, you know, his friend contemporary or when I went on to wrote a song called Cody is dead. So I just thought it was too there are too many, you know, perfect similarities to not have that title. It does, I suppose it you know, catches the eye, as well, as you know, telling you what happened. And it intrigues and it should stop people in their tracks, you know, make them think, you know, who was this? Cyclists because most people most passing people in bookshops, for example, wouldn't have heard of Frank Vandenbrouke, some people at the time, you know, very briefly, he he was on the cover of pro cycling in the UK, for example, he was in the top three of the world rankings, he was going to be the biggest things since sliced bread on 11 speed. And then and this is the thing that half the book is really the rise of a sporting talent, exceptional sporting promise, despite all his problems, you know, that he had the human for example, he was involved in a in a crash with a rally car when he was four years old. Of all things, you know, in the country lanes where he grew up, and that meant that after a long, long recovery, his left leg was always two centimetres shorter and thinner, and the right leg which you would think will be problematic for for a pro cyclist and it proved to be problematic. You know, often during his career, he was always fighting these knee injuries. But anyway, he he rose up at a time when the stars were older, you know, they were 30 Plus, and they were quite bland in comparison to him. You know, we had Indurain, Rominger, Museuw, and Frank Vandenbrouke was this 20 year old counterpoint who said good things to all the Belgian media and was handsome, you know, he was good looking kid. But he raised with such panache. And he won unusually early unusually often. And for someone that yeah, when he was a junior, he won half his races which is ridiculous for someone who who wasn't a great sprinter either, you know, he he had to attack really to win most of the time. Carlton Reid 45:14 So it's an awful lot of is not just legacy but at the time was he just looked so beautiful on a bike I mean there's there's a little bit of you know, homo-eroticism going on there but he's just he just looked wonderful with you know those those as you're saying those those the legs being shorter and thinner. I hadn't actually noticed that but it just it looks so beautiful on a bicycle. He's just like the dream rider. Andy McGrath 45:42 Yeah, and that's the way that we the most of us wish we could you know, pedal that's like pedalling and in a dream. It's that the French word souplesse. It kind of describes the way that he pedalled you know, with, with no, either body barely moved, didn't move when the back was still when he kind of cycled it was like ballerina esque if that is the right word for a male ballerina probably is. And it was so incongreous, too, because his legs was so thin. You know, they were like pipe cleaners. Really. They weren't particularly muscular. But they were tanned and yeah, like it. It is funny about cycling isn't all Pro Cycling that sometimes it we don't just admire the best riders. With my style, we My grace. For example, I still remember this Russian writer called Mikhail Ignatieff who won a few Olympic goals on the track. And he didn't win any anything of any note, you know, in Tour de France, all the all the big leagues of road racing, but his pedal stroke was just gorgeous, just like you know. I imagine there was no human around years of you know, Russian training in the Velodrome but Carlton Reid 46:55 so that you're definitely getting back to that kind of Rapha aesthetic which, which Simon Mottram tapped into, you know that it's not about always winning. It's sometimes about just looking good and being stylish and having panache. You know, that Tom Simpson also taps into that with his suits and his writing style. Andy McGrath 47:17 Yeah, absolutely. Like, it's not about winning always. It's about how you make people feel. It's about how you bring the fans along with you all, all the media. And there's some riders in their 30s. Now, their favourite cyclists was Frank Vandenbrouke. That 999 the age pastorally. Age is the race of their dreams. I think I'll have an arson who's a former Belgian champion, said he watched it 200 times on replay I feel it was your bet. The great Belgian bike racer, idolise Vandenbrouke, that and there's something it wasn't just results like we can all have, well, not all of us, pro cyclists can have a page on Pro Cycling stats or whatever results. Software, you use that, that shows you what you've won, but it doesn't say anything for how you want it, you know, like with, with daring, long range attacks, like Vandenberg sometimes did, or what you said to the media afterwards, you know, giving them great quotes. And that's part of his charm. And you know, why people wrote books about him in Belgium, although that said, you know, if, if he hadn't been a kind of fatal hero, if he hadn't died so young, it would, it would be a happy a different story. Because Carlton Reid 48:37 there is that Amy Winehouse, you kind of mentioned that, you know, that Marilyn Monroe that kind of that here, who's a die young they stay heroes. So there's there's that element of and Africa somewhere else in your book where you talk about how people couldn't have imagined him getting older anyway. You know, there was that that there was almost a fatalism there. That this is somebody who is, you know, the Icarus figure, you know, burning bright climbing high, that will probably come a cropper like almost wasn't a surprise to many people, the way his his life ended. Unknown Speaker 49:15 Absolutely. I think sometimes that's it's not easy to say that, you know, 10 years after he's died when, you know, after the fact. And the problem was that he had all these issues, he had depression briefly and he became addicted to, you know, cocaine and amphetamines. But he will always find a way out of it that I think a lot of people thought that he would eventually find a way out of his problems, you know, the 10 years from the age when the end of his life in 2009 We were just roller coaster teaser kind of cliche like, but he would always drag himself out. So that's the sadness and and they were under a lot of pain. April, he said to me, there was some regret, you know, in the quotes that his agent pulled the gator that said, when it came to his drug addiction that they were, he compared it to a kind of sinking ship and said that, you know, when they were bailing the water out, they should really be plugged in trying to plug the hole which was quite a kind of poignant quote like I thought so and so one more thing, too We, of course it gets into sad tragic territory, but you know, it's not the kind of misery misery fest biography No, and I found them bro was loved by so many people and charmed and joked around with so many people like, he was a great impressionist, he, he was like a bouncy teenager, really, at the age of 35, still, you know, like, messing around with his roommate, and putting toothpaste on the bathroom mirror. And he had this kind of universal boyishness that people found it very hard to be mad at him, even when he did, you know, quite bad things or selfish things or acted vainly, which he could do. So there's, you know, at the core of it, it goes much beyond the cyclists into this human being who could be lovable, but can also be very frustrating and, you know, do some bad things. Carlton Reid 51:26 So the book is, yes, it's not, you're right. It's not all doom and gloom. But there's an awful lot in there. You can't get away from this about addiction, doping clearly. And then mental health care or lack thereof, in in, in not just in cycling, but in probably in society as a whole. Yeah, like, I Unknown Speaker 51:46 kind of think that. If we look back, even 10 years alone, 20 years, the duty of, of care for professional athletes was really lacking. You know, I think it's really sad that there were top level riders not just Vandenberg, who were going to psychologist or psychiatrist, but we're keeping it strong, you know, because it was seen as so shameful, you know. And to me that shy, that taps into the old school soccer mentality of, you know, the way they used to be the way they used to train, you know, do 300k Drink very little, eat very little. Ride harder, don't complain. And that could work for some people. But that is not a caring way to look up to most people. You know, that's, and that can come back to by many athletes, you know, and I think that's what happened. Vandenbrouke's psychologist probably helped to help him to live longer. You know, that's what he said in his his autobiography. Actually, Vandenbrouke Carlton Reid 52:52 That's Jeff Browers? Unknown Speaker 52:54 Yeah, exactly. And, in fact, he was probably an early kind of adopter of this help that he needed, you know, not just for, you know, the cycling was one thing, but they were trying to cure his kind of addiction problems and is show him that he he was loved, you know, even though he felt abandoned often. And that's the crux of it, that, you know, this need to be loved that I kind of thing most of, well, pretty much all all of us have, whether it's conscious or subconscious. And he always felt unloved or abandoned, despite, you know, the obvious legion of fans that he had and everything else. And that was a tragedy, there are human tragedy. Carlton Reid 53:37 So in your in your book, there's a kind of murder mystery, and to the book, murder, mystery, suicide, whatever. So Jeff, Browers was the psychologist about it, he basically told you that he thinks it was it was it was suicide, because he was, as you've just said that he needs people around and he was quite alone in that grubby hotel room in Senegal. But then other people, family obviously blame the people he was with and don't want to have that association. With with suicide, you don't really come you don't come to a conclusion because you can't really come to a conclusion, especially as it happened in Senegal, where it's kind of difficult to come to any conclusion anyway. But there's, there's various people give their their opinions weighing all that up. What's your opinion? Unknown Speaker 54:40 I don't have to give one you know, like, if it isn't clear, factually, and I can't be certain, but I've laid out you know, that's the job of the biography is to talk to everyone that was close to Vandenbrouke around him at the time. He was actually you know, basically there and include what they said Um, but no. I think that there could be something very well and what you have for hours says, you know, the psychologists who, you know, he was a man who spent hours with him and in that in that room I can see why he would say that. But one of the great, one of the great, strange things about this is, is that mystery like that, you know, Vandenbrouke had never even been to Africa, and he decided to go to Senegal, ye. And this filmic ending, you know, where, whereas you say, a prostitute was the last person to see him alive. So maybe he wanted it to be, you know, clouded in some kind of doubt that it could never be be definitive. But either way, you know what, like, whichever way that he died, it was pretty tragic that that he died, you know, and he's not the only one from that era, either. He had Pantani, you had Jose Maria Jimenez, you know, and I think it's, it's partly a kind of symptom of the doping culture that what they were taking to perform in bike races made it much easier to get into recreational drugs. And both of those things, mess with your mind and your body. And probably your, your, your soul, you know, the core of who you really feel you are and what you're doing, you know, whether you think it's cheating or not that moral maze, it, it can't be easy. I'm there must have been a hot a horrible time to be a pro cyclist. Carlton Reid 56:41 People think of these things doping is a black and white issue. Yet, there's a spectrum here, you know, is I mean, the UCI classifies too many coffees, too many espressos as doping. But, you know, four or five, okay. You know, marginal gains, you know, all these things, which which you can legally do, and yet you somehow trip over a line, if you take this other thing. And the other thing is, is meant to be this evil thing. And that's clearly you know, the wrong thing to do. But vitamin supplements and you know, creatine, all of these things are performance enhancing, why did they not get the stigma that EPO get? So it's a spectrum and addicted, it's very difficult to say this as a black and white thing, when there are many things that can make you better on a bike, including EPO, but then you know, just your energy gel makes you better on a bike, should we be adding energy gels, it's there's very little nuance gets into it talking about doping, it's just black and it's white. Yeah, Unknown Speaker 57:57 when really if you're saying is that it's basically shades shades of grey, you know that the modern game does you're in the peloton is ketones, which are not banned, but they seem to be ethically questionable. And my rudimentary understanding of the science around it is also that no one knows how, how it can affect the career in a few years time or five years time that we might be seeing some writers already suffering from not using them in the right way or overusing them. Well, Carlton Reid 58:35 my wife is a is a diabetes doctor. So she knows about ketones, and she knows about insulin, as well. And insulin was, was clearly one of the things that Frank used to basically say he was going to kill himself and he's going to use insulin to do so. So potentially that was, it's very hard to trace insulin as if you're going to kill yourself with insulin. So potentially, that's, that's, yeah, you're gonna kill yourself insulin is a pretty good way of doing it. Andy McGrath 59:11 Yeah. And you know, why would you why would you take that to Senegal? Or how would you source it? You know, what? He wasn't a diabetic, you know, so. Yeah, I won't give away you know, the ending or, you know, what everyone said about the ending, but, you know, several people were pointing towards suicide, certainly in the book, but yeah, like, I just going back to the grey area of crime doping. I just hope it's a bit more nuanced. Now. The way that people regard dope is like I even think that you know, 10 years ago. It it's really hard. It's very hard, isn't it? Because they have cheated. They have done something wrong, and they've done it knowingly, you know, in probably 99% of cases. Despite the numerous They can excuse. Carlton Reid 1:00:02 Yes, there have been quite a few good ones. False twin Unknown Speaker 1:00:10 Yeah, false twin, pigeon pie, weeks from a Colombian grandmother. It's got Carlton Reid 1:00:17 I bought it for my dog. Okay. Unknown Speaker 1:00:20 Yeah, well, that was bingo. So on the one hand, they are not above appropriate, you know, the rider. They are number one, you know, anything that turns up in their body knowingly or unknowingly, if they're positive, that's that's on them, you know, that's how it is. And I totally get that. But on the other hand, it still seems to me that the culture around doping IE, you know, the people that help them or, or facilitate, you know, people like team doctors, team managers, people in the know, people who are still in the sport, you know, nowadays seem to get away with it, pretty much, often quite, quite scot free. And that's not okay. And I've had, you know, cyclists who were pros in the 80s through to, you know, the last decade, you know, saying a similar thing, but that's a thing that needs to be changed that needs to be snuffed out like the right is kind of like the symptom of a wider problem. And of course, if we knew the answer if the UCI or Wilder knew the answer, you know, anti doping foundations famously have much smaller smaller budgets and maybe even the biggest cycling team in the world they're always fighting kind of a chasing battle they're always you know, one step behind maybe against the latest wonder drug or the kind of latest cheats but I think I can save some some confidence Pro Cycling is is cleaner now than it was in Vandenbrouke's heyday. But I also fear that it'll never be totally clean partly because of human nature partly because of the money was going up and up and partly because of this bizarre kind of will to win this drive is addiction Carlton Reid 1:02:13 Yeah, can even amateur races you know, people have been caught doping that will to win Andy McGrath 1:02:22 Yeah, I mean, that's that's sad in my opinion, you know, if you're, if you're doping to win a category three cap for race. What's the point? You know, Carlton Reid 1:02:32 do you race have you written Have you raced Unknown Speaker 1:02:38 I did a few time trials when I was up at university in York. Beautiful place to ride around there Oh, and I did someone's teenager with the Addiscombe in Croydon that's where I'm from. no great shakes, Carlton. I've never meant to be the next Frank Vandenbroucke much better at writing than riding my bike has put it that way. But Carlton Reid 1:03:08 yeah, you're a rider. Not a racer. So that that that that Colnago that you bought is something that you would ride on a nice day with no mud around so what you're writing normally what's what's if you're not running the Colnago what you're writing Andy McGrath 1:03:33 it's a time XRS I'll steel a nice bike from now not a pub bike. Unknown Speaker 1:03:38 It's a decent bike it was just it just keeps going and it gets me around town if I want to ride in the autumn or winter on the road so I'll use Quickstep used to ride it back in the day me 20 years ago you know Palpatine and all that Carlton Reid 1:03:57 which did you pick that up in your in your magazine days then is that was you kind of like you somehow acquired it back then. Andy McGrath 1:04:07 Well, the thing about me is I'm I'm not I'm no techie I'm really good people that would have seen me trying to fix a puncture back in the cycling weekly office 15 years ago would have realised that immediately now I'm there because I like riding my bike. I just to be completely honest, like I don't know much about bike tech and isn't the most interesting thing about cycling for me, you know, I'm the people that ride the bikes, you know, the pros and all their you know, differences and their opinions and personalities. That's much more interesting to me than say this bike weighs eight kilos or this carbon one weigh 7.5 But that's that's just me, you know, each have their own. Yeah, I'd much rather you know ride a bike then. do the legwork for it, you know, which is but actually need to get better at you know mechanics and changing chains and that kind of thing and maybe on a warm summer's day, I'll just practice doing Carlton Reid 1:05:13 that. That's what bike shops are for. That's my opinion. Now I'm with you. I'm with you on the I'm not fussed about technical stuff I've never really been happy writing about the technical stuff doesn't excite me writing about technical stuff or weighing things and yeah, it's the people that is all the stories that are around it that that are from me, personally. A more interesting. Andy McGrath 1:05:40 Yeah, absolutely. Like, I find it hard to rhapsodise about tech, you know, whereas I can. Yeah, like I kind of wish I was more intrigued by it, but I'm just not, that's just my personality. And the funny thing is, as a former tech magazine, Ed editor, you really you do have to slightly balance the editorial side with not keeping advertisers happy, but keeping them onside. And there was a slight tech element with Rila. But we we did it in our own way with basically treating the bike or the other kit, like a like a model, you know, hanging on trees or oversea wall, or all kinds of crazy sheets. Carlton Reid 1:06:29 So if people want to and we're now wrapping up here, Andy, if people want to get your book and be maybe getting in touch with you or find out what you're doing, where do they find you on websites on on social media? Unknown Speaker 1:06:44 They can find me on X formerly known as Twitter before Elon Musk made it even worse. Yeah, at Andy McGrath, that's a n d, why. MC Gra? So, take off the th basically for my surname. Yeah, they want to buy the book, just any online bookseller, really from from Amazon to Waterstones to Blackwell's to whoever, whoever you like, it's on there. And I'll put Carlton Reid 1:07:19 your art stack substack link in in the show notes. So people can also you know, if they're not interested in cycling, they could they could follow you for your, you know, your your opinions on Anthony Conway says Andy McGrath 1:07:31 the next step comes from me being an expert, what's your, what do you think? Carlton Reid 1:07:39 Well, I guess if you're not into the techie side, you know, and you're just looking at maybe just the people behind these things, rather than the art itself? I don't know. Is that do they? Are you looking at the art itself? What's going to interest you? Andy McGrath 1:07:51 I am mainly looking at the art itself being and that ties into their lives and the era they were in. It's a bit of everything really, you know, if it's modern art that I'm likely to question, you know, how did this make me feel? You know, what do I feel? What does this elicit in me kind of understand how much work is took or, you know, the literal art artistry behind it? That's one element. But, you know, I just went to see Frank Howell back. He's at the Courtauld in London. He's basically the last surviving artist from that Lucien Freud. Francis Bacon set in the 1950s. And I thought it was fantastic and but it's only black and white because he didn't have the money for pain in 1950s, which I've become a pain which is also an insight into a different world, you know, that I'm very fortunate to not be in you know, post World War reconstruction. But anyway, we we digress. Any followers are welcome. Carlton Reid 1:09:02 Yes, no, I'll put that link in. For sure. And to your other things. So Andy, thank you so much for for talking to us on me, us. Andy McGrath 1:09:11 Thank you. Absolute pleasure. Carlton Reid 1:09:15 And that's it for today's show. Thanks for listening to Episode 351 of the spokesmen podcast brought to you in association with Tern bicycles, show notes and more can be found at the-spokesmen.com As I mentioned earlier, the next episode, dropping real soon, will be a chat with cycling writer, Laura Laker. But meanwhile, get out there and ride ...

The band is back together! Amy is joined by Tilda and Rachel to talk all things cobbled Classics. Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here.Read Tilda's work here.Read Rachel's work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The frenzy of the cobbles are just about behind us, the Ardennes Classics now lie in wait and soon the high mountains of races like the Tour of the Alps and, of course, the Giro d'Italia will fill our screens...  Meanwhile, off the road, the UCI has just announced that it is bringing in a new face to lead the fight against technological fraud….but who is this guy…? We profile and hear from Nicholas Raudenski – a former criminal investigator who has also worked for the US Department of Homeland Security – who's about to head up the UCI's beefed-up battle against motor doping. We also reveal the main focus for Raudenski and this new initiative, which is being driven by UCI president David Lappartient. Continuing our series of interviews with the managers of the peloton's leading teams, we speak exclusively to Bora-hansgrohe boss Ralph Denk. In a wide-ranging discussion, Denk reveals the latest on team leader Primož Roglič's recovery from his Itzulia Basque Country-ending crash, Red Bull's increased investment in the team and potential links to Red Bull-sponsored Wout van Aert, why he'd like to see budget caps on top teams, his disappointment with Cian Uijtdebroeks' departure to Visma-Lease a Bike and his suggestion for improving the sport. In the wake of the horrific Itzulia crash, we also speak to Safe Cycling CEO Markus Laerum, whose company acts as a safety consultancy to many major races including the Tour France. He opens up on pre-Itzulia concerns about safety on that race, his conversation about dodgy Basque descents with Jonas Vingegaard, and about how receptive race organisers are to Safe Cycling suggestions and initiatives. Plus, after making his journalistic debut at Paris-Roubaix last weekend, our intrepid presenter Chris Marshall-Bell talks Hell of the North with Cycling Weekly's Tom Thewlis. This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle. Music provided by HearWeGo  Marion - High Hopes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another bike race, another Tadej Pogačar exhibition. The Slovenian didn't just win the Volta a Catalunya, one of cycling's toughest week-long stage races, he completely annihilated the opposition.Pogačar's only 25, but already he counts 69 victories on his palmarès, including two Tours de France and five Monuments. Is there anything he can't do? Is he now knocking on the door of eternal greatness?We put that question to the man himself in Catalonia, where Pogačar tells us that he's stepped up a level this year and is now going into every race determined to win, and always with a smile on his face.We also also hear from George Bennett and Guillaume Martin, who admit that the rest of the peloton are now racing for second place almost every time Pogačar takes to the start line.We also look ahead to this Sunday's Tour of Flanders, where there's also one name on everyone's lips, that of two-time champion Mathieu van der Poel. With Pogačar not defending his title and Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven now sidelined by broken collarbones sustained in this week's Dwars door Vlaanderen, the world champion is the outstanding favourite for a third Ronde success.We hear from Mads Pedersen, Michael Matthews, Jordi Meeus and Matteo Trentin on if and how Van der Poel can be beaten.And, finally, as Tour de France Femmes goes from strength to strength, what is happening with the British women's scene? Cycling Weekly's Tom Thewlis reveals the latest on the Women's Tour of Britain, which now, of course, has former Ineos team manager Rod Ellingworth as its race director.After a period when it appeared that the Women's Tour might not take place in 2024, there are growing reasons for optimism, with a route taking shape that includes two opening stages in Wales.We also speak to Ford Ride London Classique technical director Kevin Nash on the strides being made by that three-day May race, and hear from Britain's emblematic road racer Lizzie Deignan, who highlights the continued growth and wider popularity of women's racing in Britain and how the scene has changed since she won silver in the road event at the 2012 London Olympics.This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle.Support the show

Amy sat down in a bona-fide podcasting studio with Aussie rider Sarah Gigante to talk TDU, AG Insurance - Soudal Quickstep, who she looked up to as a young aspiring pro, her disappointing 2023 season and more!Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! Chaos levels are nearing Tour de France Femmes heights and it's only March but we managed to pull it together to dissect Strade Bianche and look ahead to Ronde van Drenthe and plenty more in between. Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here.Read Rachel's work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Johnson (www.ironstring.com) is a sportswriter and sports photographer. He has covered cycling and endurance sports since the 1980s. His work often focuses on the business of pro cycling—a topic that frequently intersects with the sport's long history of doping. Along with U.S. publications like VeloNews, his work is published in Cycling Weekly in the UK, Velo in France, Ride Cycling Review in Australia as well as general-interest publications including the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Mark has bicycled across the United States twice and completed an Ironman triathlon. A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, the author also has an MA and PhD in English Literature from Boston University. VeloPress published Johnson's first book, Argyle Armada: Behind the Scenes of the Pro Cycling Life, a documentary in words and photos of a year with the Garmin-Cervélo professional cycling team.  Today we discuss his amazing book Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sports. As the book description reads, "The history of doping in sports is one of good versus bad. Or so the story goes. Truth is, athletes have doped to do their jobs since the dawn of organized sports. But cleaning up drug-soaked sports has been a mission at odds with the spectacle-hungry interests of advertisers, Olympic organizers, governments, reporters, and fans, none of whom want to spit into sports' nourishing broth of money, power, and national pride. In Spitting in the Soup, Mark Johnson traces the shocking trail of hypocrisy that belies the tidy myth of clean athletes fighting corrupt deviants. Journalists spin false claims about amphetamines and EPO. Cold War governments treat anti-doping as an inconvenience. Olympic organizers dismiss the pursuit of clean sports as a budget breaking nuisance. And U.S. lawmakers tie themselves in knots to enrich snake-oil supplement makers while railing against performance-enhancing drugs as a stain on the American Way." PUT IN YOUR BULK BOOK ORDERS FOR OUR BESTSELLING BOOKS!: Programs such as UNC soccer and lacrosse, Syracuse lacrosse, Stanford Lacrosse, Middlebury College, Colby College, Rutgers University, and many other champions are using THE CHAMPION TEAMMATE book with their athletes. Schools and clubs are using EVERY MOMENT MATTERS for staff development and book clubs. Are you?  We have been fulfilling numerous bulk orders for some of the top high school and collegiate sports programs in the country, will your team be next?  Please click here and grab yourself a copy of The Champion Teammate today.   Please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com if you want discounted pricing on 10 or more books on any of our books. Thanks everyone. This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports.  Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs.  There are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams.  Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs.  So if you've been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG. Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don't have to crash your car trying to take notes! A code to get free access to our online course called “Coaching Mastery,” usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron. Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences  

Rachel joined the pod to talk about all things Opening Weekend and look ahead to Strade! Was Omloop a fluke or are we in for a more balanced 2024 season? Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here.Read Rachel's work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Had enough of sandstorms, palm trees and camels at the roadside? Get ready then for beers and techno, bergs and burgers: it's time for Opening Weekend...We start with a preview of Saturday's two editions of Het Nieuwsblad and Sunday's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. The men's edition of Het Nieuwsblad will see Visma-Lease A Bike start with a stacked team that features the race's last two winners, Dylan van Baarle and Wout van Aert, and very much tagged as favourites. We hear from Sep Vanmarcke, who won this race in 2012 against an equally powerful BMC team and is now director for Israel-PremierTech in the Classics. Vanmarcke explains the hurdles facing Visma-LAB and reveals his hopes for the young IPT line-up.The women's Classics campaign also starts at Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. We speak to Human Powered Health's Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who tells us about the significance of this race and why she's hoping it'll be wet and wild this weekend. The French racer also reflects on the latest more optimistic news for the Women's Tour of Britain.With that event in mind, we also hear from Cycling Weekly's Tom Thewlis,  who provides an update on the latest developments for the Women's Tour of Britain, which has returned to the UCI calendar as a four-day event and, assuming British Cycling can fulfil the financial and logistical requirements, is likely to run as a "hub" race based on one or two cities.Finally we turn to a quite astonishing story. It's a tale that could have had an absolutely awful outcome, but which ended up with Cofidis pro Axel Zingle perhaps saving the life of one of his close friends, Yael Joalland, during the GP Marseillaise race in France last month. Support the show

In Episode 37 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Si and Chris invite freelance cycling writer and multi-platform elite esports star Zach Nehr to a roundtable discussion.  Don't let the length of this episode scare you off. It's packed full of exciting cycling esports news and inside information. Zach has jet-setted worldwide, competing in live esports events, including the La Vuelta Virtual '23 in Madrid on ROUVY, the Olympic Esports Series in Singapore, and recently in Abu Dhabi for the MyWhoosh Sunday Race Club.  He brings a unique perspective from the pointy end as an elite racer and his insight as a writer to react to Chris' recent interviews with UCI President David Lappartient and Head of Innovation and Esports Michael Rogers. Chris asks Rogers why the UCI awarded the Esports World Championships to MyWhoosh, not Zwift.  Zach explains why he feels the Zwift Academy isn't about Zwift anymore and needs a rebranding. He tells why he thinks MyWhoosh is at the forefront of cycling esports and doing all the right things to take the sport to the next level.  Chris gives an update on the MyWhoosh in-house testing of Lionel Vujasin and Michal Kaminski in Abu Dhabi.  Si asks Zach if he could only win one more race in his life, would it be the Zwift Games or the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships on MyWhoosh? Please tune in to find out his answer and so much more! Check out the articles cited in the episode for an even deeper dive. ‘It builds bridges and brings many opportunities': UCI announces deep partnership with the UAE for years to come [Cycling Weekly, Jan. 26, 2024] Virtual Platform MyWhoosh is Changing the Cycling Esports Game [Zommunique, Nov. 5, 2022] “The Olympic Esports Games will start in 2025 and will include cycling esports” —says UCI President [Zommunique, Jan. 31, 2024] Smart Trainer Standardization is Only Months Away, according to the UCI [Zommunique, Feb. 14, 2024] Will Virtual Platform MyWhoosh's Millions Sway Racer Loyalty and Forge a Path to Professional Cycling Esports? [Zommunique, Apr. 19, 2023]   Clip in and take a conversational ride with us as we lend a voice to the digital athlete and bridge the gap between athlete and avatar!

In Episode 36 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, MyWhoosh's Race Control and Events Manager Matt Smithson gives the first look into the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship. The format, courses, dates, qualifications, and all the specifics the community has been anxiously awaiting.  The MyWhoosh platform is the home of the World Championship for the next three years, and Matt lets us know why and what to look forward to.  Plus, Matt shares insight into the developing news surrounding multiple high-profile annulments in the Sunday Race Club. Chris is on the ground in Abu Dhabi while attending a press tour with MyWhoosh and gives his first-hand perspective on the UAE's investment in cycling infrastructure. And a preview into interviews he had with UCI President David Lappartient, the head of Innovation and Esports Michael Rogers, and 2-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar. For an even deeper dive, check out the following articles cited in the episode. 'It builds bridges and brings many opportunities': UCI announces deep partnership with the UAE for years to come [Cycling Weekly, Jan. 26, 2024] Virtual Platform MyWhoosh is Changing the Cycling Esports Game [Zommunique, Nov. 5, 2022] MyWhoosh and UCI's World Championship 2024-2026 Partnership is an Investment in Cycling Esports [Zommunique, Aug. 25, 2023] Zwift Games Will Crown World's #1 Across Three Championship Races [Zommunique, Nov. 9, 2023] Will Virtual Platform MyWhoosh's Millions Sway Racer Loyalty and Forge a Path to Professional Cycling Esports? [Zommunique, Apr. 19, 2023]   Clip in and take a conversational ride with us as we lend a voice to the digital athlete and bridge the gap between athlete and avatar!

Rachel and Tildz take us through their experience from on the ground at TDU including their numerous Adelaide food recos (giant donut, anyone?) Plus, we chat about whether the peloton will bring more of a challenge to SD Worx in 2024. Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here.Read Tilda's work here.Read Rachel's work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy's asking the questions as Rachel and Tilda go head-to-head in the WCW end-of-year quiz. Who can remember the most about the 2023 season and take home the honour of the WCW Christmas Quiz Queen? Remember to play along at home and let us know your score! Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here.Read Tilda's work here.Read Rachel's work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In potentially the most chaotic episode of WCW to date (itself a solid achievement) Rachel, Tilda, and I (Amy) headed over to Belgium to watch the CAPS Urban Cross X2O Trofee in Kortrijk. I forgot the muff for the microphone (sorry about the wind!!) Rachel doesn't own any appropriate shoes, and Tilda was going to go without gloves. If you make it through this entire episode you are a saint!!!! Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter here. Read Tilda's work here.Read Rachel's work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Zwift Racing League is quite possibly the largest community-based racing league in the world. Does it also have the most cheaters, cruisers, and sandbaggers?  WTRL's Martin Carew is here to say he's doing things on his end, but can he and is Zwift doing enough?  In episode 34 of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Chris and Si ask those questions and more!  Martin explains the built-in anti-cheating system he has in place, the challenge of finding the perfect balance between credibility and inclusivity, and the limitations he faces.  Plus, the guys introduce a new recurring feature they call “Cycling Shorts.” A complete rundown of cycling esports headlines, insider information, investigative reporting, and industry trends. Another way that the Virtual Velo Network is your Central Source For Cycling Esports! Chris also shares insight from his conversations with Eric Min, USAC's Jim Miller, Matt Stephens, and other cycling dignitaries while covering the Star Track Benefit for Cycling Weekly. We want to hear from you! Let's get the conversation started. Comment below! For an even deeper dive, check out the following articles cited in the episode. The “Met Gala of US Track Cycling” draws stars and dignitaries in support of the sport's youth [Cycling Weekly, Nov. 13, 2023] MyWhoosh Enhances Route Selection and Introduces App Upgrades  [Zommunique, Nov. 13, 2023] 2024 USA Cycling Esports National Qualifiers and Echelon Racing League Info Now Available [Zommunique, Nov. 12, 2023] IOC Sports Director Opens the Door Wider For Cycling Esports Medal Recognition [Zommunique, Nov. 11, 2023] Cycling Canada Returns to Zwift for 23/24 Esports Season, National Team Selection on MyWhoosh [Zommunique, Oct. 31, 2023]  Wahoo and Zwift Bundles Now Across Full KICKR Range With New Pricing [Zommunique, Nov. 21, 2023] To support the great work they do over at Star Track Cycling, visit. http://www.StarTrackCycling.org/benefit  Clip in and take a conversational ride with us as we lend a voice to the digital athlete and bridge the gap between athlete and avatar!

In the latest podcast from the RadioCycling team, the headlines are...Tour of Britain in limbo – Following British Cycling's sudden and dramatic termination of its 10-year agreement with Tour of Britain promoters Sweetspot, we examine the probable repercussions and hopes for survival of both the men's and women's races.We hear from the journalists who broke the story, Cycling Weekly's Tom Thewlis and The Guardian's Jeremy Whittle, who explain the financial dispute that led to the apparently terminal breakdown in this long-standing relationship and the likely ramifications for both parties. The pair also examine the future of both the Tour of Britain and the Women's Tour, and highlight reasons for optimism in both cases.The past, present and future of Palestinian cycling – In an exclusive report on the cycling scene in a country that's currently beset by conflict, we speak to Sohaib Zahda, the Palestine Cycling Federation's director of development and planning. He describes the challenge of fostering a sporting culture within a population that's perennially affected by unrest and warfare, and the everyday restrictions and dangers that combine to make racing and training so difficult, undermining efforts made by the UCI and other national federations to support grassroots cycling projects in the West Bank.Dave Brailsford back in Manchester? – Having played a fundamental role in turning the national velodrome into a medal factory, it's our understanding that Britain's former performance director is heading back to Manchester to play the key managerial role at Manchester United, who are on the verge of being taken over by Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe.We discuss what the loss of the man who oversaw now fewer than seven Tour de France victories could mean for the Ineos Grenadiers, a team that's losing five major talents and hasn't made a single big-name signing.This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle. Support the show

It's another interview pod! This week Amy chatted to 21-year-old Kiwi, Kim Cadzow who has spent the 2023 season racing for the Jumbo Visma women's team but will join the new EF team for 2024. Kim is a promising climber and showed her strengths at the Tour of Scandinavia and the Vuelta Ciclista Valenciana this year going head-to-head with some of the biggest names in the sport. Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A brief pause in the interview pods as Rachel returns to the pod to discuss the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route which was revealed this week! From Rotterdam to Alpe d'Huez with a weird split day and an Ardennes stage this route has a LOT going on, but is it all good? Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter.Follow Rachel's work at Rouleur.cc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the WCW podcast's interview era. Throughout the winter I'll be bringing you chats with various guests from pro cyclists to industry professionals and the people BTS in the sport. This week, I spoke to Cassondra Spring. Cassondra is the Global Marketing Manager of the women's-specific bike brand, Liv. We talked about her experiences in the sport and the cycling industry as well as a brand new female-led mentorship programme that Cassondra is part of, Uplift.I hope you enjoy the episode! Find the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter on Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back for another great episode! I'm joined by Dr. Carla Meijen to discuss her book, Empowered Birth: Lessons From Sport Psychology for Your Maternity Journey. Her book is a fascinating take on how pregnancy can be viewed as an endurance sport. Join us to learn more! Dr. Carla Meijen is an accredited sport psychologist and Associate Professor of applied sport psychology at St. Mary's University in London. In her work, she focuses on the mental demands of endurance performance, stress, and emotions in sports, and how to turn pressure into a positive challenge. Dr. Meijen has published her research in academic journals and has provided expert analysis for publications including the New York Times, Runner's World, The Sunday Times Magazine, Cycling Weekly, Women's Health, and the BBC. Dr. Meijen explains how to approach birth as a positive challenge and how it can be linked to endurance sports. She also shares sport psychology strategies that can be adapted to the birth process and how decompression can help in the postpartum period.  Show Highlights: How Dr. Carla's work relates to pregnancy and the postpartum as a strength-based approach to the maternal journey Why people seek out a sport psychologist How a sport psychologist teaches people to manage pressure, expectations, and challenges How we learn to view our demands, stress, and resources in terms of perceived control How anxiety can have beneficial physiological responses A look at Dr. Carla's book How we can think of goals as outcome-based or process-oriented Strategies that apply well to the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum processes: chunking goals, self-talk, imagery (visualization), and more Why tools should be customizable to each individual's needs How to apply a six-step approach to making sense of emotions and feelings Why Dr. Carla includes in her book the importance of social support  Resources: Connect with Dr. Carla Meijen: Website, Instagram, Twitter, and Empowered Birth book Mentioned in this episode: The Postnatal Depletion Cure by Dr. Oscare Serrallach Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!  Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.   Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode Thirty-One of the Virtual Velo Podcast, hosts Chris and Si sit down with elite cyclist and Indoor Specialist Kristen Kulchinsky and her coach, Josh Lipka, to discuss her recent triumphs on the road. Kristen's victories are not just a personal milestone but also a legitimization of the impact of indoor specialists in real-world cycling competitions. Key Highlights: Kristen's Real-World Victories: Kristen and Josh delve into the training regimen, mental preparation, and tactical decisions that led to her recent wins on the road. Indoor Specialists Making Waves: Chris and Si explore the broader implications of indoor specialists like Kristen proving their mettle in real-world races. Will it silence the critics? $100,000 2023/24 Zwift Grand Prix Scoop: Get the inside track on the upcoming Zwift Grand Prix, featuring a whopping $100,000 prize pool. What can we expect from this high-stakes virtual race? UCI's Future Plans for Cycling Esports: Exciting news from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) about the future of cycling esports. What does this mean for the sport and for athletes like Kristen? For an even deeper dive, check out the following articles cited in the episode. One Woman's Journey from Newbie Zwift Rider to Gravel Pro in Two Years [Cycling Weekly, November 5, 2022]

It's been a few weeks since we got behind the mic so Rachel and I caught up with the recent Women's WorldTour races including Annemiek van Vleuten's LAST EVER pro race. Elsewhere, we chatted about transfers and, since it's basically the end of the season, we went over our fav moments from this year!Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter on Substack. Read Rachel's work at Rouleur.cc and in the print magazine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode Thirty of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Chris and Si dive into some hot topics following attendance at the “This Season on Zwift” press conference. Here's a quick rundown of what they discuss: Zwift is All-In on Racing: The duo breaks down what this renewed focus means for the racing community within Zwift and what changes racers can expect moving forward. Zwift and Wahoo Make Peace: Chris and Si share their take on the resolution between Zwift and Wahoo and discuss its implications. They also ponder if it's enough to keep the RGT platform afloat. Zwift and indieVelo Partnership: The podcast delves into what this partnership for independent performance verification means for the integrity of Zwift races, specifically the Zwift Grand Prix. They discuss whether this changes anything in the racing scene. New Features in “This Season on Zwift”: Finally, they talk about upcoming updates, new routes, and gear in Zwift, sharing their thoughts about how these additions will impact the user experience. Tune in to get an insider's perspective on all the latest Zwift news and what it means for the virtual cycling community. For an even deeper dive, check out the following articles cited in the episode. MyWhoosh and UCI's World Championship 2024-2026 Partnership is an Investment in Cycling Esports [The Zommunique, Aug. 25, 2023] Competitors challenge Zwift's dominance in virtual cycling as UCI accepts bids for future Esports World Championships [Cycling Weekly, May 17, 2023] Zwift and indieVelo's Partnership Leads the Way For Legitimization of Cycling Esports [The Zommunique, Sept. 6, 2023]   Clip in and take a conversational ride with us as we lend a voice to the digital athlete and bridge the gap between athlete and avatar!

In Episode Twenty-Nine of the Virtual Velo Podcast, Si and Chris discuss the news that hit like a bomb, sending waves of shock and “wuh?” reverberating through the virtual cycling and esports community. On August 17, 2023, the Union Cyclist Internationale (UCI) announced that it awarded the Cycling Esports World Championships to the cycling esports platform MyWhoosh for the next three years. There's international intrigue, corruption, politics, and significant ramifications for the future of cycling esports. The guys take an in-depth look at the past and current history of MyWhoosh, Zwift, the UCI tender process, the decision, and what it means for the sport.   For an even deeper dive, check out the following articles cited in the episode. MyWhoosh and UCI's World Championship 2024-2026 Partnership is an Investment in Cycling Esports [The Zommunique, Aug. 25, 2023] Competitors challenge Zwift's dominance in virtual cycling as UCI accepts bids for future Esports World Championships [Cycling Weekly, May 17, 2023] What is MyWhoosh and is it a legitimate free alternative to Zwift? [Cycling News, May 13, 2022]   Clip in and take a conversational ride with us as we lend a voice to the digital athlete and bridge the gap between athlete and avatar!

I'm joined by Rachel again to talk about Scandinavia, Tour de l'Avenir, and transfer news as well as dissecting everything that is wrong with the WWT calendar and why it means we're ready for a holiday. Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter on Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tour de France Femmes band is back together with a wrap-up of the 'super worlds' and some other chaotic ramblings about whether the season is too long, and where Rachel is going on her holidays in a few week's time. Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

O inglês Ed Pickering escreve sobre ciclismo há vinte anos. Foram alguns livros como o RONDE e YELLOW JERSEY CLUB. E várias redações de revistas como Cycling Weekly, Cycle Sport, Procycling. Desde 2022, ele é Editor-chefe da Rouleur.Nesse bônus que reforça a colab Gregario Rouleur, Ed e Alvaro conversam sobre a edição #121 "Mulheres", tema do nosso episódio de sexta-feira. Na pauta também, o desafio de coordenar e criar as matérias da ROULEUR.A ROULEUR foi criada em 2016 pelos sócios da RAPHA para falar de competições, equipamentos e, fundamentalmente, sobre histórias de quem é apaixonado pelo ciclismo - como nós.E se você ficou curioso para ler a revista, então, temos um cupom para você. Use GREGARIO10 e assine a versão impressa ou online (EM INGLÊS) com desconto. Acesse: www.rouleur.ccThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

This year marked the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Each of the eight days of racing were filled with excitement, drama, and inspiration. Our guest this week, Anne-Marije Rook, is the editor of Cycling Weekly, and gives us her inside scoop on all of the Tour action this year. As a veteran of the sport and long-time cycling journalist, Rook chats with us about how the racing has evolved from year to year, as well as how we watch and cover events. You can find Rook's work at cyclingweekly.com and follow her on Instagram @amrookFollow us on Instagram:@girlsgonegravel @feisty_media Girls Gone Gravel Website:https://www.girlsgonegravel.com/ Feisty Media Website:https://livefeisty.com/ Fueled Course:Fueled: A Comprehensive Nutrition Course for Active Women - fueledcourse.com Support our Partners:The Amino Co: Shop Feisty's Favorite 100% Science-Backed Amino Acid Supplements. Enter code GRAVEL at Aminoco.com/GRAVEL to Save 30% + receive a FREE gift for new purchasers! Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at https://www.previnex.com/ Get 20% off at insidetracker.com/feisty JoJé: Use code FEISTY for 20% off one time purchases and subscriptions at jojebar.com Get 30% off with the code GIRLSGONEGRAVEL at fiercehazel.com/discount/girlsgonegravel

It's the Tourmalet and time trial wrapped into one. Rachel and I have completely lost the plot and so, apparently, have SD Worx if their post-race press conference is anything to go by. Subscribe to Women's Cycling Weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's stage six and oh my goodness the Tour is long, eh. I spent a wonderful day with the lovely Arnaud while Rachel sweated in the press room. We both get pied by riders at the finish and WCW pod gets an exclusive from the ice bath with Ashleigh Moolman Pasio! Subscribe to Women's Cycling Weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SD Worx reckon they're above the law and Rachel is jealous that I'm heading out for a whiz through the French countryside with her man. Plus, another popular solo victory from a relative underdog at the Tour de France Femmes!Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's only stage three but nerves are frayed in the press room. Meanwhile, the vibe was the same in the Fenix-Deceuninck team car as Julie Van de Velde got oh-so-close to a solo stage victory. And why on earth won't SD Worx...work? Subscribe to Women's Cycling Weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stage four was not a good day for our nerves, but in racing terms it was the best one yet. A big break went away, and Fenix - Deceuninck got the win they so very much deserved, while the GC race got started in earnest. Meanwhile, Rachel was crying over literally anything and I was getting a bit overprotective of the paintwork on my car. Subscribe to Women's Cycling Weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Less from riders and more of our rambling on a chaotic second stage at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.Subscribe to the Women's Cycling Weekly newsletter.Get in touch at mamilrepeller@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tour de France Femmes is officially underway and while there's no Orangina in sight there's been plenty of excitement to make up for it. I roped in Rachel once again to chat about the stage and we hear from Kasia Niewiadoma, Elisa Longo Borghini, Lizzie Deignan and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio before beginning our sweaty pilgrimage back the press room. Subscribe to Women's Cycling Weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Women's Cycling Weekly Podcast is back! With a slightly chaotic, hopefully informative or at the very least entertaining preview of the Tour de France Femmes. In the absence of TIlda (who I refuse to acknowledge may not come back) I have previous pod guest Rachel Jary alongside me to discuss what we can expect from both the racing and the press room freebies at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.Subscribe to Women's Cycling Weekly on Substack.Read Rachel's work at Rouleur.cc and in the magazine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not only a survivor of the 2023 mudfest of Unbound Gravel, but also finishing 2nd. Did we mention she is also the North American Editor for Cycling Weekly? Anne Marije Rook on The Packfiller Interviews. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maghalie and David are in the small town of Emporia in Kansas to experience the Unbound Gravel event for the first time. Follow along as they talk to people and discover what this gravel hype is all about! We hear from: Cyclocross star Kerry Werner, Cycling Weekly journalist Anne-Marije Rook, Ted King, gravel hall of famer Yuri Hauswald, superstar Sarah Sturm, European pro Jade, SRAM's very own Nico, and way more.

As a respected journalist, Ben Delaney has written and edited for top outlets like VeloNews, BikeRadar, and Cycling Weekly. He's also the director of content at FasCat Coaching. Last year, he decided it was time to take a crack at creating his own cycling content. Enter Ben's YouTube channel, The Ride. With a million views in just a year, it's clear that Ben has hit the mark. The Ride offers expert reviews on bikes, gear, and tires, as well as exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from some of the toughest gravel races around. Though he is humble about it, with wins at the SBT GRVL Blue Course and the BWR Utah 45+ field, he's a force to be reckoned with on the trails. In this episode, Ben joins host Andrew Vontz to share universal lessons that come from career changes, gravel races, and going out on your own. To learn more about Ben and The Ride, check out the show notes. In This Episode:  Ben Delaney YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn  Watch on YouTube Sign up for the Hard Way Newsletter - - - - - - - - - -  Choose The Hard Way Website | Instagram Andrew Vontz LinkedIn Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher

This week, Randall connects with Anne-Marije Rook, North American Editor at Cycling Weekly with an exploration of how she got into cycling and from there into cycling journalism, with fun tangents into competitive cycling, exploding e-bikes, and a bit of gear nerdy. Episdoe Sponsor: Athletic Greens  Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: [00:00:00] Craig Dalton: Hello, and welcome to the gravel ride podcast, where we go deep on the sport of gravel cycling through in-depth interviews with product designers, event organizers and athletes. Who are pioneering the sport I'm your host, Craig Dalton, a lifelong cyclist who discovered gravel cycling back in 2016 and made all the mistakes you don't need to make. I approach each episode as a beginner down, unlock all the knowledge you need to become a great gravel cyclist. This week on the broadcast, I'm handing the microphone off over to my co-host Randall Jacobs. Who's got an Mariah Rook on the broadcast. She's the north American editor at cycling weekly randall will take us on an exploration on how she got into cycling. And from there into cycling journalism, with fun tangents, into competitive cycling. Exploring e-bikes and a bit of the gear nerdery that Randall is famous for. Before we jump in and hand that microphone off to Randall. I do need to thank this week. Sponsor athletic greens. Athletic greens and AIG. One is a comprehensive daily nutrition made from simple, powerful ingredients. It's made up of 75 high quality, whole food sourced ingredients. Carefully curated to nourish all the body's systems holistically. As many of you know, I've been an athletic greens user for many, many years, predating the podcast. So I've been super stoked that athletic greens has been a big partner for what I do The key to ag one is that it replaces key health products in one simple scoop. AIG one combines nine health products working together as one, replacing your multivitamin. Multimineral. Pre and probiotics. Immunity support and more, that means ag one does more for your body and saves you time, money and confusion compared to taking multiple unique products. And that is a hundred percent key for me. I do one scoop in the morning, mixed up with a little bit of ice, and I feel like I've got some of my nutritional basis started before I've even begun the day. If you're interested in learning more about athletic greens, go to www.athleticgreens.com/the gravel ride. For podcast listeners, our friends at athletic greens have given us a free year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs. If you ordered today. Simply visit athletic greens.com/the gravel ride to get your age. The one on the way today. With that said i'm going to hand over the microphone to my co-host randall jacobs [00:02:35] Randall R. Jacobs: Let's talk about how you got into this particular field. How did you end up as a cycling journalist? [00:02:42] Anne-Marije Rook: Sure. Yeah. So I was actually, uh, a real journalist before, um, not that second journalist aren't real journalists, but, uh, I did a lot heavier topics, um, you know, worked at newspapers, just straight up outta college, became a newspaper journalist, and then, , uh, at some point, I think I was 22, I started racing bikes myself, and when I did, I, I was looking for content and I realized there wasn't a lot of women's seconding content coming out of the us. So I started kind of dabbling with that on the side. And, uh, then started riding for some different publications and eventually seconding tips reached out and were like, Let's do something. So we founded Ella Cycling Tips, which was the, the women's side of Cycling Tips. And then, um, yeah, just stayed in the field. I quit my day job and started doing cycling journalism while still racing, and I've been doing it ever since, going on 10, 11 years now. [00:03:39] Randall R. Jacobs: and was your educational background in writing in journalism specifically? [00:03:44] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, I did, uh, journalism, German and French. So interestingly enough I get to use all of that nowadays [00:03:51] Randall R. Jacobs: Are you native in any of those other languages? [00:03:53] Anne-Marije Rook: In Dutch. So I was born and raised in the Nets, the, the biking country, and then, uh, lived in Germany for three years and then ended up in the US uh, when I was almost 16. [00:04:04] Randall R. Jacobs: That's quite a skill to have, and makes me think of a joke about Americans. What do you call someone who's speaks three languages trilingual, two languages bilingual and one language. We have US Americans. [00:04:13] Anne-Marije Rook: I think a lot of people actually do, you know, they dabble in Spanish and some other languages. I think, uh, you shouldn't sell yourself so short. [00:04:22] Randall R. Jacobs: True, maybe I'm projecting a little bit. In my personal case, I studied six years of Spanish in middle school and high school and was able to get by during a month stint in Peru. But, it didn't seem immediately relevant at the time. And so later on in life, I moved to China and learned Mandarin and actually being present and having to use it in day-to-day life just makes such a, a world of difference. And for I think a lot of people who are born in the us and who don't grow up in a household or another, the language is spoken, there's just not. That impetus versus in Europe you have surrounding countries where with different languages or maybe even within one's own country there are different dialects or different languages being spoken. [00:05:04] Anne-Marije Rook: That's really good though. So you're a trilingual. [00:05:06] Randall R. Jacobs: I wouldn't go as far as to say trilingual, other than in the sense of trying , a little bit of Spanish and enough, what I call cab driver Cantonese in order to be able to fool somebody that I speak some Cantonese before switching over to Mandarin. [00:05:21] Anne-Marije Rook: That's, I mean, that's pretty impressive. Those are really difficult languages. I never studied, uh, Cantonese from Mandarin. I, I studied Japanese and just having to learn a whole new way of, of writing, uh, is, is, yeah, it's difficult to do. [00:05:34] Randall R. Jacobs: that's probably the hardest part. I would say that , Mandarin the scripts for sure. It's a very abstracted pictographic script. To be able to read a newspaper, you need, two, 3000 different characters and to have a higher level of sophistication, you need 5,000, 10,000 characters. And, even a native speaker. , especially in this day and age, we'll have difficulty remembering how to write a character. Cuz everything is being tight. [00:06:00] Anne-Marije Rook: Hmm. [00:06:01] Randall R. Jacobs: But on the other hand the grammar is really simple. So in English we say, yesterday I went to the store and we have to go and we conjugate it as went, which actually comes from an entirely different language family than to go. and in Chinese you just say, ah, yesterday, go store. [00:06:20] Anne-Marije Rook: Ah, yeah. [00:06:21] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. English also has way more synonyms because it's such a hodgepodge amalgamation of other languages, whereas Chinese also has external influences, but it's arguably more insular versus English. You have Germanic, you have Latin, you have Greek, you have various forms of cockney and so on that are all in there and the occasional Chinese phrases, very little that comes over for Chinese. Uh, one example being longtime nok, which is a direct translation from the Chinese [00:06:50] Anne-Marije Rook: Really, that's fun. Here's the thing I I discover with my language skills or lack thereof, is that, um, learning all the bike parts, for example, I had, like, I never learned those in my native tongues. So like suddenly I had to learn like, oh shit, what's the railer or what's, what's the railer hanger in Dutch or in German or whatever. And it's been fun learning those terms for the first time, even though, yeah, I grew up with that. [00:07:19] Randall R. Jacobs: that's actually a common phenomenon and one that I definitely resonate in my own experience too. I have friends who were born in China, but largely grew up here or even who came over to go to college. And, they're native speakers. I'm not at that level but I will have terms that I know that they don't because I am in this highly technical context of the bike industry of manufacturing, materials and production processes and so on. Um, and so it's kind of the same, same sort of phenomenon. [00:07:50] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of a fun thing where I was like, wow, I never learned any of these terms in those languages. Yeah, [00:07:55] Randall R. Jacobs: So you've been doing cycling journalism for, you said about 10, 11 years now. [00:08:00] Anne-Marije Rook: yeah, yeah. It's been a minute. [00:08:02] Randall R. Jacobs: I'm curious to hear more about the project at Cycling tips. How'd you get brought into that and, and how did that come about? [00:08:09] Anne-Marije Rook: So they, uh, I think they found me on Twitter. Uh, Twitter was really where. , um, women's cycling was, was living for quite a while cuz there was very little streaming and you can watch any of these races live, so you followed them online and Twitter had a really wonderful community of, of women's cycling fans and it still does to a certain extent, but yeah, that's where it used to. Live and I did a lot of, you know, uh, I would watch races and Life tweet and, you know, uh, was pretty active on, on Twitter and um, was writing for Podium Cafe, which is a nation site at the time, and they were looking to start a women's cycling component. Uh, and so they like reached out to various people and, you know, did a job interview and, you know, got going that way. [00:08:54] Randall R. Jacobs: And this was when? Who was there at the time? Kaylee and James and, [00:08:59] Anne-Marije Rook: No, this was before Kaylee. Um, this was, it was just, uh, Matt dif and, and Wade. [00:09:05] Randall R. Jacobs: Oh, okay. [00:09:06] Anne-Marije Rook: Um, Andy was there already, and then it was Jesse Braverman and myself who came on to do the women's cycling. [00:09:12] Randall R. Jacobs: Let's talk about women's cycling for a little bit. what are the areas in women's cycling that you find most interesting, most compelling, and that also you think that are maybe, under discussed underreported. [00:09:23] Anne-Marije Rook: Oh yeah. The nice thing about women's cycling is that it's been growing so much in the last 10 years or so, so that it's uh, people get to see it a bit more and I think what. , uh, intrigue me about women's second from the get-go is just how aggressive the racing is and how, um, while there was a definite period of like modern force dominating, and then we had and then we have anique. The nice thing about women's acting, I think is because it has grown so much is that you never really know who's gonna win. and it makes a racing very exciting. Cause it, it, like I said, it is so aggressive cuz the races are shorter, so you have fewer opportunities to make, you know, a break stick. So there tends to be more attacking and, uh, you, you don't really experience that unless you're watching it. I think the nice thing about. Where we are now, we can actually watch in the Tour de France Femme showed this, like watching women's cycling is actually very entertaining. And you know, in France alone, like millions of people tuned in every single day. So it is, it's different and I think that's, uh, something we should celebrate. rather than point out like, you know, women's cycling is, is men's cycling, but in shorter distances, and that's not at all true. I think women's cycling is a bit of its own sport in, in terms of tactics and the way the races play out. And, uh, in psycho cross especially, that's been very apparent. You know, people have shorter attention spans. So if you can sit down for a, you know, a 45, 50 minute bike race, you'll see basically what women's cycling is like on. On a heightened level, and it's extremely entertaining. You don't know who's gonna win. There's a lot of good candidates and, uh, it's, yeah, it's aggressive from the gun. [00:11:03] Randall R. Jacobs: At least in the us it seems that women's cyclocross racing was most prominent, most early. Mary McConnellogue is one example I remember from my racing days, I don't remember hearing as much reporting about women's road racing at the time. Maybe that was just what I was tuning into, but cyclocross. I remember getting similar billing to men's cyclocross [00:11:24] Anne-Marije Rook: yeah, I think the, the heyday of women's cycling really was the 1980s, early nineties. You know, we had the course classic and we had some, some really great names. Um, and. That has dwindled down. There were a lot of lack of races. Uh, we've had some great road racers in the US you know, with, with uh, Christian Armstrong and, uh, e Evelyn Stevens, and we've had some really Mara Abod and the Jro, like some really great road racers. You just don't hear about 'em as much . I do remember a particular race where I like looked to my right and it was like Kristen Armstrong and I looked to my left and it was Evelyn Stevens and I was like, ah. This is gonna suck today, It's gonna be a fast one. [00:12:04] Randall R. Jacobs: Let's talk about that, let's talk about you're racing background. So you mentioned that you got into cycling in your early twenties. How did that come about and what was that like for you? [00:12:13] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, so I've, uh, coming from the Netherlands, I've been a bike commuter since I was, I don't know, six. Uh, and so I just like grew up on the bike. It's just how I got around. And in college I just rode everywhere. And there were a couple times where people were like, Hey, you should maybe consider. Racing or, or doing like, you know, grand Fonds or something. And I was like, ah, this is just my vehicle. And then, uh, I moved to Seattle and did the Seattle, the Portland, which is uh, like a 220 mile bike ride between the two cities. And there were some teams that were doing it. And, uh, you know, again, people were like, have you considered racing? You're pretty strong. And I'd be like, no. I mean, it's kind of like, Hey, do you like driving? You should do nascar. You know, like it's, it was just such a foreign concept to me. Um, which is funny cuz I grew up in the Netherlands, but like, uh, and my grandpa was super into bike racing, but it wasn't, uh, ever like, exposed to me or con like, wasn't just like, oh, you like riding bikes, you should become a bike race. It just wasn't a thing. It wasn't really a, a sport I was exposed to, uh, in the northern part of the. . And so I was kind of intrigued and, and I had enjoyed training for the 200 mile event, so I, I went to the, the tryout, so to speak, and start racing and. as a Cat four. And I remember my first race weekend was a double header, so Saturday and Sunday and Saturday I, I think I got eighth and I got, I was like, oh, okay, this is cool. Top 10. And I was like, I wonder if I can get better. And the next day I got fifth. And, you know, that's, that's all it took for me to get super into it and trying to see where, where I could take it. And, uh, I think I was racing UCI like the next season. [00:13:54] Randall R. Jacobs: Oh wow. [00:13:55] Anne-Marije Rook: mostly, uh, or at first in cross and then, uh, road and track as well. But um, yeah, it's, it's an interesting place to be in, in, in the US in that you can be racing as a pro. And I use pro here very loosely because it's called pro level, but no one's actually getting paid to race their bikes. Like I would never consider myself a pro. Uh, I just raced in the UCI one, two levels and it's kind of weird that we throw it all. Um, when really, yeah, very few people are actually getting paid to, to race their bikes. [00:14:29] Randall R. Jacobs: I definitely fall on that boat as well. I think my best season, I didn't quite break even as a, as a Pac fodder Cross Country Pro. Mid pack was pretty good at the national level. And then you have a good regional results here and there. [00:14:42] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, a good season for me, like, I loved crits, so that's where the money was at for me. You know, if I walked away with three grand at the end of the summer, I, I was pretty stoked. [00:14:51] Randall R. Jacobs: Oh, I never saw that. That sort of money and crits, crits always terrified me. There's a certain attitude that you have to have going into a crit, like a fearlessness that I, I dunno. Mountain biking always felt safer for me. [00:15:03] Anne-Marije Rook: It is, it is. And I, I quit racing after getting injured too many times. Like you can only hit your head so many times and, you know, if, if I list my, my laundry list of injuries, it's, it's definitely evident that, uh, yeah, quit racing is, is rather dangerous and asphalt is hard. And, you know, trees don't jump out on you. Where's Razor Smith? [00:15:23] Randall R. Jacobs: Yep. And pavement is like sandpaper when you're skidding across it in spandex. [00:15:27] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. There's not a lot of protection there. Um, but it was all, it was all good fun. And you know, I, I wish I'd gotten into it earlier in my life, but I had a, a lot of fun during my twenties and early thirties. [00:15:38] Randall R. Jacobs: what'd you love about it? [00:15:40] Anne-Marije Rook: Uh, I liked the, the challenge of like the, the personal level, like how fit can I be? How strong can I get? Um, and then there's the direct correlation between what you put in that, that you get out, um, and then. Especially with crit racing. I liked, uh, the team tactics. I liked the aggressiveness. Like I was definitely that area that went like super hard on the front, on the first lap, just trying to get as many people off the back and then like would go for pre after, pre, pre and then in the last two laps found that I had no legs left and someone else had to finish it up. But, um, Yeah, I, I like the aggressiveness. I liked, I, I'm really a team sports person, and I think road racing, uh, doesn't get enough credit for the team sport that it is. And I think, like, personally, not to get on like a, a whole nother side spiel, but in, in [00:16:27] Randall R. Jacobs: No, let's do it. Let's do it. Go there. [00:16:29] Anne-Marije Rook: In Olympic racing, like why does only one person get a gold medal? Like in soccer? The whole team gets a gold medal. And I think, uh, you know, road racing especially is such a steam sport that everyone should be getting a medal. It's only, you know, six or seven medals versus 11. So, [00:16:47] Randall R. Jacobs: I mean, that's one of the, that's one of the things that's nice about the grand tours. There's lots of ways to win. There's the points, there's the stages, there's the gc, there's the most aggressive rider, so something more subjective. there's all these different ways in which to be acknowledged, but I'm definitely with you. It would quite a feat to show up at an Olympic level road race. Solo and [00:17:09] Anne-Marije Rook: went away. Yeah. [00:17:11] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. Yeah. No one to defend you, no one to pull you up. You'd have to be very, very lucky. And also be doing a lot of riding on people's wheels the entire time [00:17:20] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. And I think as a racer I enjoyed that. You know, I enjoyed the team aspect. I enjoyed the, the collective effort it took to, to win the race. Sure, one person was the first across the line, but it took all of us to, to get that person there. And like, there's, to me as a, as a racer, there's a few things as as beautiful as, as a well executed, uh, lead out at the end of the race. You know, like where everyone has a role every. You know, executes it perfectly, like a little team train. Like the, those things don't happen very often on the, on the non, you know, world tour level. And it, it's really, it, it feels amazing as a, as a racer to be part of that. [00:17:56] Randall R. Jacobs: I've had limited crit racing experience and you note about the intensity of it. There are a few things more intense because not only do you have the, the digging really deep, not just at the end, but every single time a gap opens up or every ti single time there's a break and it's such a short, tight circuit, and a short duration of an event that you really can't let anything open up. And people can sustain a lot more over 30 minutes to an hour than they can over the course of a four hour road race or a long gravel race . And there are curbs and there are other people and there are bottles and there are people taking shady lines. And that person who just passed you is on a trajectory where there's no way they're gonna be able to come around the corner without hitting the outside curb on the other side. Especially at the early levels like cat four or cat three, where you have strong riders coming over from other disciplines. and just don't have the chops. [00:18:50] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, I did a, I did a, a number of, of races in, in the men's field just to get more, uh, racing my legs. And, you know, the, the groups tend to be bigger but also very varied. You know, I'd be running around the course with like 80 dudes and maybe two women in there and be like, terrified of, of the experience. And at the same time, like that, getting that chariot effect, like having that many people around you, you're kind of just like, Kind of going with the flow and, and being dragged around the course, which was kind of fun too. But I think it's a pure adrenaline rush and I feel like I'm too old for that now. trying to hold those kind of efforts. My heart rate doesn't go up that high anymore. I mean, it used to go up pretty easily over 200 and I think now I'd be on the sidelines vomiting if I had 200, [00:19:33] Randall R. Jacobs: that's almost hummingbird level [00:19:36] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, yeah. You know, young and fit. . Yeah, I miss that. I think I miss being that fit. I do not miss having to put in the kind of effort to be that fit. [00:19:45] Randall R. Jacobs: Well, and more recently you've been doing a lot with gravel. is most of your riding gravel at this point? [00:19:49] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. And I've always done gravel, like back when we just called it road bikes off road, you know, there wasn't any special gear just riding 20 threes over gravel and, uh, I've always liked gravel and adventuring. I've always liked being underbid. Um, so I've been doing gravel for a long time and I think, uh, I've definitely, since quitting, uh, racing, I've done mostly off-road. I think nowadays if I have like two hours to kill, I'll most definitely ride through the forest rather than go on a road ride. [00:20:19] Randall R. Jacobs: You're based currently in Portland [00:20:21] Anne-Marije Rook: portland, [00:20:22] Randall R. Jacobs: yeah. So you have fantastic outdoors right out your door in the Portland area and decent bike infrastructure as well, at least by, by our US standards. [00:20:31] Anne-Marije Rook: yeah. I mean, I chose, so I live in a, in a neighborhood called St. John's and I, I chose that specifically cause I go over across the bridge and I'm in the, in Forest Park, which is a, uh, a really big, and I think the long shill, there's 30 miles or so. So it's like, it's a, a really big forested area with gravel roads. Yeah, I'm, I'm there all the time. Uh, I also really got into mountain biking after I quit racing. So, you know, like all, all Mountain, uh, I used to do mostly XE and definitely been working on my skills and, uh, since quitting. Uh, just it's nice to be away from cars. I think the gist of that. [00:21:07] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, I think that, in addition to the exploratory element of it, is one of the things that led me to transition to primarily gravel riding . And I do think it's a major reason why gravel cycling has taken off in general. Not only are the bikes really versatile, so if you're only gonna have one bike while you can do all these different things, but then also I remember reading a. Some years ago a university study that was looking at the reasons, that people cite for not riding more. And safety is always number one by. I think that study was maybe eight or nine years ago, so in a few places the infrastructure has gotten a little bit better, but still not enough. And the attitudes of drivers. Have gotten better, but , still you get out of a certain zone of safety and you still have people angry at you for being on the road. [00:21:58] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, I mean, like as a lifelong commuter, I, I've been hit quite a few times. I got hit twice during the pandemic alone, uh, while riding around town. And so, uh, It is the sa Yeah, I understand. The safety team. The thing a hundred percent, like you don't, uh, wanna take your life in your own hands when you're out riding. And, uh, it, it's, it's a big problem in the US that the infrastructure is still so lacking. And on one hand you're telling people to, you know, go get on your bike and be more sustainable and healthy. And at the same time, they're not offering a lot of, uh, insurances in terms of, you know, uh, infrastructure and whatnot to, to make that. [00:22:34] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. Now I'm, I'm curious as a journalist, what have been some of the areas that you've found most interesting to report on or that, you know, you've been able to dive into as a consequence of having that credential? [00:22:46] Anne-Marije Rook: Hmm. Uh, I'm, I always love people. I, I, I like to know what makes them tick. You know, especially those people on, on like the, the very top end of the sport. Like what makes 'em tick? How, how are they able to do this? And at the same time, uh, this year, one of the things I've been really interested in is, um, ebi. in terms of like the, the regulations around, um, lit I and, uh, batteries and, and the, the fact that there's so many fires and then the legislation around it and wish there is none yet, but that's coming. And so, uh, looking into a bit more of where these bags are coming from and, and what it takes. To control these, these devices a bit more has been very interesting. And it's not something that gets a lot of rates or gets clicks and whatnot, but it's something I find very interesting cuz it'll have a lot of, uh, repercussions I think in, in the next couple years as to which eBags are on the market, which products you can and cannot buy. And, uh, hopefully the safety of it all. [00:23:50] Randall R. Jacobs: What are some of the things that you've uncovered in that exploration? [00:23:54] Anne-Marije Rook: Well, the fact that there is absolutely, at the moment no legislation whatsoever, uh, for the consumer. So you can buy whatever you can find on the internet, and there's, there's no guarantee that it's not gonna set your house on fire. There's no safety around it, and that's, that's changing right now. New York City is currently, uh, considering banning the sale of secondhand or, uh, like. Uh, tested products, which would have massive repercussions cuz there's like 65,000 delivery workers in, uh, New York City alone. And these people are mostly relying on e-bikes to do their jobs, right? It's their livelihood. And so the moment you, you control these products, uh, it'll have a financial impact on these people as well. Well, third party testing and safety device. It costs more on the, on the manufacturers and therefore it'll have a higher price tag, price tag for the consumer as well. Um, but at the same time, you know, they ha are also dealing with 200 fires already this year. Um, specifically [00:24:56] Randall R. Jacobs: just the city of New York. [00:24:58] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, just the city of New York relating to um, e mobility devices like E-Bikes, ESCOs, hoverboards, e Unicycles, that kind of stuff, which is a lot, you know, that's a lot for one city, specifically around these mobility devices. [00:25:12] Randall R. Jacobs: Sure, especially when you have such immense density. So a fire in New York City is not a standalone house that's oftentimes a building with dozens of families and a lot of people get displaced. [00:25:24] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. Luckily they've, they've only, I should say that in, in quotation marks, they've had six fatalities and, and over 130, uh, injuries related to those fires. So, relatively speaking, that's not a high number, but it's, it's something that could be prevented with proper legislation. So I think for me, what's interesting is just like, The, the, the concept was that you can just import products that don't get tested and, you know, people will buy 'em because it's popular and it's, it's, uh, affordable and, and there's a reason, you know, items cost as much as, as they do and, you know, as, as someone who, uh, creates consumer goods. So, yeah. Anyway, that's, that's a long wind winded way of saying that's been a very interesting, uh, passion project of mine. [00:26:07] Randall R. Jacobs: well, on that particular topic, I know that there's, there's also kind of a cultural backlash against, say, in New York City, these e-bike, service providers out doing deliveries and if you look at who it is that is taking on those jobs, generally immigrant, , generally it's the first opportunity that they have in order to survive and make a living, getting a foundation here. So it's not as easy as simply, we're gonna band all these things , it's some, it's somebody's livelihood. [00:26:35] Anne-Marije Rook: And like as you said, it's a, it's a culture issue. It's a class issue. It's, it's not, not as simple as like, well, these items are unsafe, so we'll just ban them. [00:26:45] Randall R. Jacobs: And that, kind of speaks to, broader issues , that we could talk about in the bike space. Like we have this concept of a sidewalk bicycle, a more pejorative way of saying it would be a, bicycle shaped object. So these are, bikes that are generally built to a very low standard, generally sold through non, specialty retail , poorly assembled, and even if they were well assembled generally of parts that are of questionable quality. So poor breaking things like this, and they aren't required to. Hold up to the same standards as a bicycle that you buy at a bike shop that is designated for commuter use or other sorts of use. And, in the more premium end of the spectrum, which for a lot of people who aren't cyclists, would be any bike that's more than three, $400. There's detailed, is. International standards organization criteria for testing that. But that's another example of the same thing where, well, you could require that all bikes be built to a certain standard, but then new bikes would be inaccessible to lower income demographics. Though frankly, I think another outcome of that would probably be that you see more refurbishing of better quality. older used bikes and so that could be a net positive, especially given that they're likely to hold up a lot better. [00:28:01] Anne-Marije Rook: Mm-hmm. [00:28:01] Randall R. Jacobs: So, so that's another area [00:28:03] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, I mean to that, like, I could ask that a lot and, and we've, we're about to enter another recession. Um, it's, it's apparent in another country already and, and we're headed that way as well. And, and so a big topic becomes budget bikes, like how much do you spend on a bike and new bikes that are. of a certain budget , I always tell people, go, go shop for a, a used bike and, and refurbish it. You're, you're better off than a cheap brand new bike. And there, I think for a long time there was this, this rather like attitude towards buying secondhand. , uh, products, especially, you know, around carbon bikes, like people were worried that they were broken or cracked, and I think there's a huge misconception around carbon, specifically in, in terms of the strength and like a carbon bike, if it doesn't, if it's not cracked, will last you an entire lifetime. Like, they don't deteriorate. Like, you know, metals will cor. And the restin in carbon doesn't necessarily break apart. Like if maintained well, a carbon bike will last you a lifetime, the end, right? You sure it breaks and you have to maybe get it checked over by, uh, an expert. But I think, uh, now that we have been in this carbon age for a bit longer, there's, there's nothing wrong with a used carbon bike [00:29:23] Randall R. Jacobs: I think that that is often true. There's a couple of challenges there though, with a metal bike, if there's something wrong with it, you generally see it unless it's cracking. Uh, and, and even a crack, you'd be able to see, but you'd be able to see that with a carbon bike too. But what you wouldn't be able to see is an impact that causes delamination in a tube but doesn't result in visual cracking or damage. The construction has gotten much, much better, so they are vastly more reliable, but there's been this push for, as light as possible, which means there's not a lot of buffer and there's a lot of higher modus carbons that are not as impact resistant. So I agree with you that the concerns are overblown. but at the same time, actually this is something that, was talking to, Kaylee Fretz about when he was on not too long ago. The merits of metal bikes, and I think that. Especially on the more economical end of the spectrum, it would be great to see more, steel bikes. [00:30:19] Anne-Marije Rook: Oh, for sure. I love, I I myself, steel roadie. I, I think I would love to have a titanium bike for sure. Um, I just think that from a sustainability point of view, for the last, I don't know, 10, 15 years, we've been cranking out one carbon bike after another and they're not being recycled, uh, because. Well, you can, but it's very, very cost prohibit, pro prohibitive to, um, try to get around the re resin and recycle that carbon. And so I think I would rather see some of these older frames be picked up and, and reuse in one way or another. Um, you know, slap a new group set on and it's a good bike. I'm also. , um, privilege in that. In Portland, we have a great company called Ruckus Composites, and they for, for fee, but it's not a significant fee. They will scan your carbon frame to make sure there aren't any, uh, cracks or whatever that, that you can't see, um, simply with your eyeballs. [00:31:17] Randall R. Jacobs: That's a great service and one that if anyone has access to, especially if they're buying secondhand or if they've crashed, absolutely worth it., the cost of not doing it is, potentially nothing or potentially catastrophic [00:31:29] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. Yeah. And I think I'm, I'm more worried about people buying these really cheaply made. Carbon bikes cuz they're like, it's carbon and it'll be good. And I'm like, there is such a thing as bad carbon and uh, budget bikes that just, um, yeah, they, they don't stand the test of time. Whereas good carbon bikes will, like I said, last your lifetime, uh, obviously. You know, metal is, is, this is the safer bet. But, um, yeah, we, we just have so many carbon frames out there right now, and I just don't, don't see them being used, uh, ending up in landfill. I don't know. I think that's one of the things that if I could ask the industry to do anything, it's to be a bit more, uh, sustainable in, in what they crank out and, and looking for the opportunities to recycle some of the products that they create. [00:32:14] Randall R. Jacobs: There is talk about this within the industry. Craig was at the people for Bike Summit and there was a lot of talk around sustainability. It may have been more around packaging and the like, being discussed there. some of this is, the facilities haven't existed. So carbon recycling, for example, you need specialized facilities. fortunately there's new, ways in which recycled carbon can be utilized cuz it is a degraded material, right? So you're not going to get the long pure fibers that you're getting purely homogenous, resin with and so on. So you need to be able to create forged carbon components and the like, and you're starting to see that, um, That whole recycling infrastructure, like all recycling infrastructure, for the most part in this country, is not keeping up with the sheer amount of stuff that we're creating and discarding. [00:33:04] Anne-Marije Rook: No, absolutely not. And uh, I think especially after. You know, uh, right before, um, gravel got real big, I think the industry was just sitting on, on thousands of, of car, like mid-level carbon bikes with, with 10 speed group sets. And luckily in some ways, luckily the, um, pandemic created, um, this, this delay in, in, in the. Um, in, in getting new components. And I think that that forced people to go back and be like, can we use this nine or 10 speed group set? And there's an interesting amount of, of nine and seven speed groups that's on the market right now that just like got picked up cuz they were laying around. And uh, you see those especially in, in, uh, super adventure bikes or e-bikes where they use older group sets. And I think it's great cuz we, we need to use the, the things that we've produced. [00:33:55] Randall R. Jacobs: you've been following some of the supply chain changes. [00:33:59] Anne-Marije Rook: of course. Yeah. I mean, that's been the story for the last few years for the industry and, uh, it, it is a struggle. I, I can't imagine being one of those businesses that, that relies on. Uh, you know, uh, pretty much anything at the moment. But, uh, seeing, see, I think it's, it's really fun to see some innovations happening around, um, using the stuff that we already have. And, uh, there's a lot of, you know, maybe I'm just a super bike nerd, but a lot of different ways you can get more gears out of a you a seven speed trailer or like, you know, using micro shift and, and using all the different. uh, like innovative, uh, little handy tools out there to, to make what's old, new. [00:34:44] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, a hundred percent with you there. And some of the organizations that we've sought to support, as a company have been around taking old bikes and making them new again. [00:34:53] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. And down to sh shifters, I've been seeing a lot of those and, and just like old friction shifters being used again, which I thought was very fun because, uh, it's a cheap way to build an adventure bike. You know, you just go with, with, uh, , straight up brake levers, no shifting in the, in, in your handlebars, which leaves more room for bags and whatever else. And then, um, little bar end shifters or shifters, which never thought I'd see those come back again. [00:35:18] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, also provides a lot more options in terms of what you can spec, because there's really only three major players in that space currently. STR and Shao being the dominant two. [00:35:28] Anne-Marije Rook: What, uh, what's the coolest thing you've seen done with a, with a thesis? [00:35:32] Randall R. Jacobs: We did have a rider do this really stunning, metallic flake paint job With a painter out of the Boulder, Denver area. So those sorts of customizations have been neat otherwise. we have a lot of people who've done extended bike packing trips. We have a channel in an online community that we help to set up which is dedicated to bike packing. So there've been whole reports on people's setups, and that's been really cool to see. One. Has become normal at this point. But I think that we were relatively early with was dropper posts. So had a dropper post in second wheel sets. So had a hypothesis early on, that people would have a single bike for a lot of things and about 50% of people got two wheel sets and pushing 90% of our riders have gotten dropper posts. [00:36:22] Anne-Marije Rook: Really? That's, that's a, surprises me. That's a, a large percentage of people. Um, do they actually use 'em? Like, do they get shredding enough to where you need a, a drop or post? [00:36:33] Randall R. Jacobs: I've seen several examples of folks that have either discarded the dropper or who were really concerned about weight, and so you're trying to figure out how to swap it easily. But in general, like the typical response was, yeah, game changer. And, from, me personally, especially living in the Bay Area where there's so much fast and steep road descending, I'd used it all the time. The argument that I make is it adds say three quarters of a. [00:37:00] Anne-Marije Rook: Mm-hmm. [00:37:02] Randall R. Jacobs: one, you're, you're faster and more confident, less likely to crash in all of those technical or high speed sorts of situations. But then also, to be able to scoot your butt off the back of the saddle, you need to often compromise your satellite a little bit. . And so that means that you're no longer setting up your bike for pure comfort, pure efficiency, pure performance. And so that three quarters of a pound, I'm 165, so I'm probably pushing, let's say, round up to 200 pounds with gear and so on. Three quarters of a pound is as a percentage, less than half a percent. So am I getting half a percent more efficient, on a climb because I'm in the right position? I think that that's pretty plausible. Never. The rest of the time. So that, that's my pitch for droppers. I know that not everyone is sold on them, but I, I think that it's, uh, it is the thing that makes a bike that is otherwise really good on flat and smooth train, something that you can get really rowdy with. [00:38:00] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, I mean, I like to get rowdy on, on gravel bikes very much. It's, it's kind of like my, my favorite thing to do is see how far I can take it, uh, to the end I will say, uh, you know, I've, I've come around, I mentioned this to you in email, but I've come around on six 50 bees finally. That took me a long time, uh, to get, but having that actual rubber does, does allow me to get, uh, a little bit more rowdy than, than on 700. [00:38:27] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. And I, I had shared some thinking about why that might have been, but I'm curious, what did you find different and hard to adjust to switching from 700 to six 50? [00:38:36] Anne-Marije Rook: Uh, I think initially it was like, oh, this feels slow, and, um, You know, given my background, I, I, I liked really quick and, and fast responses and lively rides, and it felt like it did the opposite. Like it became a bit more, more twitchy, which makes for a bit more engaging. Right? But it just felt a little slower. Um, and it just, the handling was different than what I was used to on 700 seats, which also had to do with the, the tire width that was running, you know, going from, uh, 700 by. F maybe 40 to, you know, six 50 to 47. That's a huge difference in terms of like your, your rolling surface that you have and, and how that feels around the corners. Um, but then it got real rainy and muddy and I was riding the, this, this rather, uh, you know, Rudy Mound, bikey terrain. And that's when I noticed the difference of like, oh yeah, this really allows me to stay planted a bit better and, and, uh, maneuver these roots. . Um, I also like it, it started off like, oh, I understand this form, like a technical point of view. And then for comfort, it is really darn comfortable to just like crank out the miles on on more rubber. And it just, yeah, it's cushy and uh, I can see now why, you know, randomers and such opt for that, that tire size. But it took me a while. I, I will say maybe I'm just old school, but um, I finally got around to it. [00:40:01] Randall R. Jacobs: I can definitely relate to , at least the sensation of it, potentially feeling a little bit slower rolling. And there's definitely circumstances and this is, , Casing dependent as well, where, you know it very well may be, but at the same time, remember the first time you gave up 20 threes and put on 20 fives or 20 eights or thirties and how different that felt. And it's like, I'm not getting all of that, that road. It just feels slow all of a sudden. But, , data said otherwise, but I mean, six 50 s have their place. There's a reason why a lot of racers in certain types of events run 700 by, I mean, in the case of Belgian waffle Ride in San Diego, I think people are running like 32 slicks, [00:40:44] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, that makes sense, right? Like it's if when you have that much, uh, ground to cover and, uh, a fair bit of road in that as well, I believe, um, you would opt for that. But yeah, I've, I've come around. I'm a hundred percent a six 50 B believer. Now I do think you need two wheel sets. Um, for different, different occasions. But yeah, it was, it was a fun experiment for me. This, uh, this fall. [00:41:10] Randall R. Jacobs: When you say two wheel sets, you mean 2 6 50 wheel sets or, or one seven hundred and one six fifty. [00:41:15] Anne-Marije Rook: The latter. Yeah. 1 700, 1 6 50. Yeah. There's definitely days that, you know, if I know I'm gonna go long, I, I just feel like I'm. covering more ground then, then I'll do that on a, a 700. But yeah, for my, my most, like my lunch rides, that's up in, in, in the trails, that's definitely six 50 now. [00:41:34] Randall R. Jacobs: So what else have you found surprising or delightful in terms of products or insight into the sport or, experiences you've had of late. [00:41:43] Anne-Marije Rook: Uh, well, sticking with gravel, I think we're starting to see a, a really broad spectrum. of bikes that are either super capable, have suspension, you know, there's an increasing amount of bikes and suspension. And then on the other side, the ones that are, are really going for speed. , um, where you basically have a road bike, um, that's, that's slightly more capable, you know, so like if you wanna go with specialized, you've got the, the new s C r with the sus, the rear end suspension and front end suspension versus the crux, which is, uh, you know, a very capable cyros bike basically, and feathery light. And I think we're seeing more of that divide happening, which is pretty quick given that gravel as a category hasn't been around for all that long. Um, and it's, it. I think it's a very interesting development just to see what people are gonna go for and how much we're we're differentiating between gravel racing and gravel adventuring and bike packing. And like the difference now, like you can't just say gravel anymore. You have to specify whether you're talking about gravel racing or, or adventuring. Cuz those are two very different. Sides of the industry now, which is, it's interesting and it's really fun to watch. Um, and I, I think personally, I like the adventure side from a tech nerdiness a bit more because we know what a fast road bike look like and what it can do, but like, how capable can you make, um, a drop bar bike and how, like watching people bring back rigid mountain bikes and, and just like drawing on, on, uh, old technology and, and, and seeing things. Redshift and connect with their suspension posts that, you know, remind me of Soft Ride and like it is just from a tech point of view, it's, it's, it's an interesting development and really fun to watch. [00:43:27] Randall R. Jacobs: It's kind of like, um fashion in, in a way, like what's old is new. I mean, it's definitely radically better with, composites and wide and tubeless and disc brakes, in particular. But in a lot of ways we're riding the original mountain bikes again. [00:43:42] Anne-Marije Rook: We totally are, we're just writing, you know, those, those spring loaded , what were they? Canadas the ones with the, the head tube springs. [00:43:51] Randall R. Jacobs: Oh, the head shock. [00:43:52] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. Yeah. , which I mean future shock is that, you know, connect and Redshift is basically a soft ride. It's just everything is, is new again. And it's really fun to watch. And I think what I geek out a lot more is just seeing what people are coming up with in their own shops and how people perhaps are learning for the first time to be a bit more hands-on and, and, uh, mechanical and. Exploring with their own setups. I mean, how many people don't know how to fix their own tire? Uh, and I think nowadays watching them experiment and building super machines, it's, it's just really fun. [00:44:27] Randall R. Jacobs: So given that we're kind of coming to the end of the., favorite products of 2022 and then in a general sense, products, racing. Otherwise. What are you most excited about in the new year? [00:44:39] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, so my favorite products, uh, some of 'em are things that I bought myself or own, like, uh, my Brompton was one I found on Craigslist, which is super random, but I. I wanted something to travel with, um, that's compact and wouldn't require me having an extra bag or anything like that. And, uh, my Bronson and I have been to the Tour de France fem together. We've been to the Netherlands, to London, to the Sac Cross World Championships. So that bike goes with me everywhere, which was a really fun, uh, crux purchase that I didn't need, but has given me a lot of joy. [00:45:13] Randall R. Jacobs: Are you doing a lot of long rides on that, or is it more getting around and being able to get that 20 miler in? [00:45:18] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah. Yeah. Getting around the, it's not , it's not very comfortable. Talk about like slow rolling, tiny. Like try, try 16 inch wheels, like no. Uh, but [00:45:28] Randall R. Jacobs: seen dispatches from people doing extended tours on a Bronson, which I've always found super impressive. [00:45:34] Anne-Marije Rook: I mean, good on them. I like, I, I, I applaud them. I, I don't, I don't enjoy that very much. Um, but it's been a great bike to travel with and, and it's just a really silly, really fun purchase. Um, I also got a ultra cleaner for the first. Which is great for, uh, you know, the position northwest is really wet, really muddy. Um, our, our gear gets just absolutely destroyed and so keeping it clean, uh, extends the, the lifetime of, of your components. And uh, that's really been a fun way to, um, get like that super shiny clean drive train. [00:46:14] Randall R. Jacobs: mm-hmm. [00:46:15] Anne-Marije Rook: Uh, and that was just a birthday present, so it's not something that was sent to me to review. Um, and then the best shoes I had were to live, uh, much shoes. Um, they are bright purple. Uh, they look great. Everyone is always asking me about 'em, and I keep asking them to make 'em into a gravel shoe because I don't spend enough time on my road back anymore to wear them. Um, go ahead. [00:46:42] Randall R. Jacobs: Do you love them for their styling or some other [00:46:44] Anne-Marije Rook: No, they're, they're, they're a pure race shoe, like you're locked in. They're some of the stiffest shoes I've ever worn, but they also are an absolute head turner. [00:46:52] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. [00:46:53] Anne-Marije Rook: so it's a two for one package. Um, and, and the gravel side of things, uh, the SW RS tires were super impressive. Um, they're so fast and, uh, I've yet to flat them, which is pretty incredible given a, my, my history and B uh, just how much I've written. [00:47:11] Randall R. Jacobs: What size are you running them in? [00:47:13] Anne-Marije Rook: I have, uh, 40 twos, I think is when I was running last, and I, I mean, I took 'em with me traveling. Like I, I did the, uh, Finland gravel and I did not know what I was getting myself into. And, and so getting a file, like bringing a file thread, Racy Tire is a bit of a risk. Um, but they did really well and, uh, they're probably the best tires I've had in no while. And I'd say in general, the market, it has gotten so much better. Like the, it's so easy to set up two plus tires now, whereas like even two years ago I, it was quite struggle sometimes getting those seated in your, in your garage. Yeah. [00:47:52] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah, absolutely. Though I, I will say, um, and this is a hobby horse I often jump on, um, you know, road, road, tubeless hook, less road tubeless scares me, [00:48:04] Anne-Marije Rook: I tried to, I, I got a few to review this year and I, I tried to see if I could make them explode, but I think I reached my, like, comfort level far before, or the end of my comfort level far before the tires did. So there's that. [00:48:18] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and then going into 2023 and this doesn't have to be gear, it can be events, it can be, personal adventures. What are you excited about coming into the new year? [00:48:29] Anne-Marije Rook: Uh, yeah, I'm gonna go even more into gravel and attending some more gravel events. So I'm very excited to return to Unbound and to do s p d Gravel. There's talk about, uh, me and a colleague of mine setting an F K T. So there's some really fun challenges and, um, since stepping away from racing and, uh, you know, getting married, buying a house, I've definitely spent less time on. On the bike as I would like. So getting something to train for, for me personally, is, is uh, it's kind of exciting to get back to it. [00:49:01] Randall R. Jacobs: By the way, congratulations on those milestones. [00:49:04] Anne-Marije Rook: thanks. It was an exciting two years of the pandemic. Yeah. [00:49:07] Randall R. Jacobs: Yeah. Um, well, alright, um, so where can people find you on Twitter? Uh, you're at cycling weekly. How do, how do people get ahold of you or see what you're, what you're writing about? [00:49:18] Anne-Marije Rook: Yeah, definitely on second weekly.com and then on social media Am Rook is my handle across every platform, including the ones that are popping up now that Twitter is taking a t. [00:49:29] Randall R. Jacobs: All right. Well, Anne-Marie, it's a pleasure to finally sit down and properly chat and very much looking forward to seeing you at Sea Otter and other industry events now that that's a thing again, and we can be out in the wild seeing each other. [00:49:41] Anne-Marije Rook: That's right. [00:49:42] Randall R. Jacobs: All right. [00:49:43] Anne-Marije Rook: for having me. [00:49:44] Craig Dalton: That's going to do it for this week's edition of the gravel ride podcast. Big, thanks to Anne Mariah. For having that conversation with Randall, I hope you guys learned a lot and I hope you do follow her on Twitter and follow her work as north American editor at cycling weekly. Huge. Thanks to our friends at athletic greens. Remember head on over to athletic greens.com/the gravel ride to check out ag one. One today. If you're interested in connecting with me or Randall, I encourage you to join the ridership. That's www.theridership.com. If you're able to support the podcast, you can visit buy me a coffee.com/the gravel ride. Or ratings and reviews are hugely important. In us connecting with other gravel athletes from around the world. Until next time. I hope you're well. And here's to finding some dirt under your wheels.