Podcasts about professional cycling

This final installment of the Orogenesis Dispatches series, which features host Josh Weinberg interviewing ultra endurance cyclist Kurt Refsnider, who has just completed the first full ride of the Orogenesis route – a massive backcountry mountain bike trail traversing the western U.S. from Canada to Mexico. The episode reflects on the full journey, covering logistics, experiences, highs and lows, and what's next.After riding for 72 of the past 82 days, Refsnider had just completed his ride and was enjoying some downtime before heading out again, this time to tackle Mexico's Baja Divide Trail. He detailed how, during his time following the Orogenesis route, he rode 3,130 miles (~5,000 km) and climbed nearly 413,000 ft (~126,000 m) of elevation across three states and a mix of singletrack (40%), pavement (10%), and a remainder or dirt tracks and Jeep roads.Looking back on the past three months, Refsnider talks of how the adventure was both a personal and collective effort. He experienced Orogenesis firsthand and tested what a purpose-built, bike-specific, transcontinental singletrack route feels like, while also demonstrating that the route “goes,” hopefully inspiring others to attempt it and validate the years of planning by the Orogenesis team. He also offers key highlights from the experience, lessons learned, and a deep dive into the gear he selected for the journey.

This week, Abby handed the mic over to Matt de Neef, who got the chance to catch up with one of Australia's up-and-coming talents, Talia Appleton. Appleton has been upping her game every season, but broke through in earnest this year with a podium finish at Tour de l'Avenir and a stellar ride at the World Championships. Matt sat down with her to talk about how she felt this season and what she's eyeing in the coming years.Make sure to read Matt's written piece here.

Today on the show: ASO rejects Ralph Denk's sausage mountain feifdom, Israel-Premier Tech goes dark, and we were very e-xcited by the e-cycling e-world e-championships!

Today on the show: A budget cap? But not for us! Mads Pedersen speaks out against the horrors of the Saitama Criterium, and the Olympic velodrome was farting. 

This week on the Wheel Talk Podcast, Abby chats with road cycling legend Tiffany Cromwell about her split focus on road and gravel with Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto, the future of gravel and how the discipline can improve, and what it's like to be a race promoter in gravel right now.

Today on the show: Premier Tech departs IPT, sport director musical chairs, the very real bicycle race in Japan last weekend, and somebody stole a giant inflatable beer. Maybe. 

Today on the show: Victory Lafay is a Rocket, Pogacar's knee really hurt at the Tour, and EF signed some youths. 

In their final group show of the season (maybe), Loren, Gracie, and Abby talk about their top moments of the year, their favourite riders, and their favourite teams. They also answer some questions sent in by listeners about the best staff members of teams, best domestiques, and more.You can send in your own question for the team to answer, just head on over to this link to record an audio message.

Today on the show: Oier Lazkano says he's innocent, Tadej Pogačar's golden statue, and Tom Pidcock's gravel awakening.

Today on the show: What's going on at Jayco? Matt White is the new trident master at Movistar. And the Isaac Del Toro Giro mystery has been partially solved.

This week, we take a detour from chatting about the 2025 season to talk next summer. The ASO unveiled the route for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last Thursday, and it has everything. Iconic climbs, a legit time trial, plenty of opportunities for the opportunists, and a leg-breaking circuit race to end the nine-stage week. One thing missing? Sprint stages. Abby sits down with Kate Veronneau to talk about next year's Tour, what they are excited about (everything), and Zwift's decision to continue sponsorship of the race for four more years.

Today on the show: The Vuelta is headed to Pogačar's door, Evenepoel may not be headed to the Tour, and Del Toro is the Mexican champ. 

Today on the show: Jonny and Dane join Caley (who is still feeling the effects of getting absolutely pasted by The Intern during their mountain bike race last weekend) to discuss double Alpe d'Huez at the Tour, the Rockets signing Poels, and how Vingegaard might race the Giro.

This week on the podcast Abby, Loren, Gracie, and Georgie talk about the races in China – the Tour of Chongming Island and the Tour of Guangxi – and how they might better fit in the calendar. They discuss Liv AlUla Jayco's Continental team and what they're doing right, Mavi García's departure from the team, the importance of a social media presence for riders, and the death of the long time trial in women's cycling.Next week we are going to talk about the season as a whole, so if you've got any topics you want us to touch on or questions for us, you can submit those and tag us on the Wheel Talk Discord or leave a voice memo HERE. If you leave us a vocie message, make sure to select "Wheel Talk" from the dropdown menu.

It was a big week for Pauls, as Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash discuss on this week's podcast. Also covered on the show: Uno-X Mobility's impressive late-season run, the Andorra Cycling Masters, and the next Bernard Hinault.

Today on the show: The UCI is throwing its weight around once again in Holland, teams are folding and merging all over the place, Cian Uijtdebroeks' Movistar dream team is falling into place.Click here to become a member and find out how Dane put a phone thief in jail from the back seat of a cop car. 

Gracie, Georgie and Abby try to figure out what on earth happened at the Gravel World Championships over the weekend and discuss the Lorena Wiebes win rate from 2025 and more in this week's Wheel Talk Podcast episode.With a cameo from Heidi Franz, who finished thirteenth at the Gravel Worlds on Saturday.

Today on the show: carbon monoxide is back in the news, the Dutch love to chase each other, and Pogacar got beaten by a guy!

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down the final Monument of the season, Il Lombardia.

Today on the show: Geraint Thomas is entering his bland PR era, Intermarché and Lotto's merger may be on the rocks, and you'd never have guessed it but we're heading down Ayuso alleyway once again.

In the latest installment of our special edition podcast, Orogenesis Dispatches, Josh Weinberg talks with adventure cyclist Kurt Refsnyder, who is riding the entire trail from the US border with Canada all the way to Mexico.Kurt checks in from Bridgeport, California, about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) into the 5,000-mile (8,000 km) route. From there, with it being nearly halfway through the route, he reflects on challenges that have included substantial sections of deadfall in Oregon, smoke and fires in Idaho, and unexpectedly hard sections like a soft rail bed in Northern California. He also reveals a feeling of relief being in California, where the trails are more established for bikes, and deadfall will hopefully be less of a concern.The bulk of the conversation addresses reader/listener-submitted questions that span a multitude of topics, including using an electronic drive train over a mechanical one, riding without a chamois pad, how he chooses camping spots, the daily joys of waking up on the trail, and what lies ahead.

This week the whole team of Georgie, Loren, Gracie, and Abby talk European Championships, the UCI's decision to cut the U23 Nations Cup series, and more.How Magdeleine Vallieres prepared for the Worlds here.

Today on the show: Movistar is the new destination team, Kristoff crashed out, and we're headed back to Ayuso Alleyway.

Today on the show: Alexander Kristoff may miss his milestone, UCI points really matter for the next couple of weeks and there are more people leaving Ineos this off-season.

This week on Watts Occurring Femmes, Megan Jastrab talks all about her journey to bronze at the Tokyo Olympics for the United States. She dives into why she moved to the Netherlands and the differences between cycling professionally in Europe to the US.    Megan tells Manon and Emma about her injuries and how she overcame the mental barriers to get back to peak performance, and how she juggled two degrees alongside her career as a professional athlete! She also chats all about her fundraising to help junior cyclists in the US. Watts Occurring Femmes is brought to you by Rouvy, and hosted by Pinarello. Want a free month on ROUVY, on us? Use code FEMMES when you sign up and explore everything ROUVY has to offer. SIGN UP HERE: https://rouvy.com/?utm_source=gtcc&utm_medium=direct-buy&utm_campaign=rouvy-brand&utm_term=femmes-podcast ROUVY connects indoor and outdoor by bringing the real routes from around the world to your home and ROUVY's new Route Creator tool allows users to film, upload and ride their favourite loops on ROUVY. Fancy a trip to your local Pinarello retailer? Visit https://pinarello.com/global/en/store-locator to find your local store today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To honour the epic World Championship road race we saw on Saturday, we've assembled an equally epic podcast team this week: Grace Brown and Iris Slappendel join Abby and Gracie to talk about what went wrong for the French, Dutch and Italian teams in Kilgali and what went right for the podium.With audio diaries from Alison Jackson (Canada), Amanda Spratt (Australia) and Niamh Fisher-Black (New Zealand).

Today on the show: We have new world champions, but there are many more fun things to talk about from the road races in Rwanda. Meanwhile, breaking news, Juan Ayuso is already causing a ruckus at Lidl-Trek.

Juan Ayuso has a new home, Chloe Dygert has a sticker printing machine, and there are also some World Championships happening in Rwanda. 

Josh Weinberg recently checked in with Kurt Refsnider, a bikepacker attempting the first full ride of the Orogenesis Trail. At roughly 5,000 miles, the route begins at the Canada–US border and travels through Washington, Oregon, and California to the Mexico border, then onto the Baja Divide.At the time of recording, Kurt was in Paisley, Oregon, about 1,100 miles in, nearing California and the halfway point through the U.S. section.Kurt details how challenging the ride through Washington was, with nearly 120,000 feet of climbing and descending over rugged moto trails and non-motorized singletrack near Mount St. Helens. He faced detours due to land closures, and construction added to the difficulty.Once in Oregon, Kurt has primarily followed the Oregon Timber Trail. Using elevation gain as a metric for daily effort, he explains how climbing has taken priority over daily mileage, aiming for 7,000 to 8,000 feet of climbing per day.He also dives into gear maintenance and resupply strategies, which have been tough, with dust wearing down his suspension and brake pads, and unpredictable provision availability. He's already swapped out some wear items and explains how opting for battery packs over a dynamo hub for power has worked out.Along the way, Kurt has been fueled by strong community support.Folks following along are tracking his progress, offering lodging, bringing food, and sharing real-time trail conditions. Looking ahead, he faces a tough, deadfall-heavy section in southern Oregon. Once he crosses into California, he'll encounter faster ATV trails before taking a rest near Quincy and heading into long singletrack sections through Truckee and Tahoe, where we plan to catch up with him again.

This week on the Wheel Talk Podcast we are obsessed with time trialling...the World Championships time trials to be exact. Gracie, Loren, and Abby look back at the elite women's race on Sunday, what it means for the upcoming road race, who opted to skip the race against the clock in favour of their chances on Saturday, and the U23 ITT and riders to watch in the future. Plus, an update on the latest transfers and more news (hint: babies!).

Today on the show: Remco made it three in a row as he passed Pogačar by, SRAM is suing the UCI and we have an update on the Israel-Premier Tech situation.

Today on the show: Worlds starts this weekend, we love Tom Pidcock's mum, and Philly is back, baby. 

World Championships week starts on Sunday with the elite time trials, and we're here to break it down for you. Abby, Georgie, and Gracie also discuss the latest transfers, Fem van Empel's decision to step away from road, and the Tour Féminin de l'Ardeche where Lotte Kopecky ended her road season after taking one final win.

Today on the show: Alabelievers rejoice, the greatest Vuelta podium on a shortened final stage, and what does this all mean for pro cycling? 

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down the final mountain stage and discuss the bigger storylines of the third week of the Vuelta a España.

Today on the show: Tadej Pogacar has is mojo back, Juan Ayuso won a bet, and we've got new tech to talk about.

This week Abby, Gracie, Loren, and Georgie chat the latest transfers, the Simac Ladies Tour, the upcoming Tour de Feminin l'Ardeche (and its time trial), and more.

Or is there any difference anymore? Today on the show: Is the Vuelta is a real bike race? Is UAE a good bicycle team? Is Chris Hoy the best? And is Geraint Thomas happy he's done? 

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down stage 13 of the Vuelta a España and the rest of the second week so far.

In this first dispatch from the field, Josh Weinberg talks to Kurt Refsnider, who is attempting to ride the entire Orogenesis Trail from the Canadian border through Washington, Oregon, and California to Mexico via the Baja Divide.On day 12 of his journey, Kurt shares his progress, which entails riding over 500 miles into Washington with nearly 85,000 feet of climbing, much of it on challenging single-track and moto trails.Kurt also discusses the physical and mental demands of this particular trail thus far. He compares the experience to other long-distance trails, such as the Colorado Trail and the Tour Divide, with an emphasis on how rugged and demanding Orogenesis is. Reflecting on the balance between effort and reward, Kurt also touches on the performance of his equipment, camping conditions, and the encouragement he receives from local riders and towns.

Remember when Juan Ayuso was the biggest story of the week? Today on the show: Protests in the Basque Country bring the Vuelta to a halt, GC Pidcock has arrived, maybe? And we still haven't talked about Juan Ayuso officially leaving UAE, so we'll definitely talk about that.

This week we talk about the end of Ceratizit, some of the top transfers so far, the Classic Lorient Agglomération (GP de Plouay), and the upcoming Simac Ladies Tour.

Today on the show: Juan Solo looks to free himself from the new Death Star, rebel fighter Jonas Vingegaard quietly plots his route to destroying the UAE empire, High Prince Kulset is out of a job thanks to his father, and on the distant republic of Edinburgh, the Grand Départ isn't looking as certain as it once was …

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down stage 9 of the Vuelta a España and take a broader look at all the action from the first week of the race.

Today on the show: Vuelta drama fizzles before it starts and there's been another bike theft.

Today on the show: The Vuelta is underway, Vingegaard is back, and Danny van Poppel can't stop collecting yellow cards.

Today on the show: Mads' middle finger, Pogačar doesn't want you to take his picture, and the Secret Pro is back. And no, we will not be answering the question in the episode title. But you're welcome to guess! 

Today on the show: A Vuelta preview from Dane, disqualifications at Romandie with Abby, and Mike Woods is retiring, which makes us sad. Plus, the big green egg Pogačar bought his teammates. 

And cycling isn't even the most interesting bit. John is a professional skier with aspirations to make his debut in the Olympics the same time as his sport makes its debut. That's right, skimo is on the verge of becoming an Olympic sport in 2026 and John is one of America's very best. But he didn't grow up on skis, nor on bike (at least on bicycles). Nor was it in his plans to start and run an outdoor apparel company. Nor was it his plan to be a perennial presence on the Leadville podium. And yet, there John is! Keep Bicycle Accident Law in your rolodex just in case you need it! Try out the newest flavors of AG1 and get a $76 free welcome pack by visiting drinkAG1.com/tedking    

Head to Escapecollective.com/member to sign up today.Today on the show: Arkea and maybe Jayco are in a little bit of trouble? Tom Pidcock is going for GC again, and Patrick Levefere is angrily posting photos of his sandwiches.