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This week Talking Luft’s Top Six Most Influential is from one of my personal favourite races with one of my best mates from the peloton: it’s the Vuelta España with Sam Bewley.

Sam had a great career on the road, riding all three Grand Tours in his thirteen-year pro career and is now a successful DS at Israel Premier Tech. We were teammates at Green Edge and rode a couple of our Vuelta’s together back in the day, which made making this pod even better!

Each Grand Tour has its own characteristics, and the Vuelta would have to be the wildest of the three. We both raced there in the 2010s when the race was settling into its current format with the super tough finishes and more open racing than we were used to at the time.

As always, our selection of the most influential parts of the race includes some of the action from the stages, but also the stories, the climbs, crosswinds, routes, and riders that have made this race so special. There are even a few first-hand accounts of some of those key stages and some nice bits of detail that you would certainly never have seen on TV!

I loved having Sam back on the pod and being able to chat about some of those stages and moments, as well as one superb post-race beer session (post our race - if not the race…) which I have to say is my absolute favourite moment from any of my Grand Tour experiences; a special memory and a great story to tell.

This one is a blast, and on the eve of the race itself, I hope it leaves you thirsty for a bit more Vuelta action!

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This week on Life in the Peloton we get away from skinny tyres and dive back onto gravel with Haley Smith and Rosa Klöser, two stars of the privateer gravel scene

Many of you will have seen the epic finish at this year’s Unbound Gravel, which ended in a gripping nine-rider sprint in Emporia.

Both Haley - who is a former winner of the Lifetime GP overall, and Rosa - the eventual winner that day, were in that group fighting for the win in the most prestigious gravel event on the calendar.

While Haley made the switch to gravel racing after representing Canada in mountain biking at the 2021 Olympics, Rosa is relatively new to competitive cycling - having taken up racing just a couple of years ago.

We kicked off our chat going into some great detail about that final in Unbound, but I also wanted to understand the importance of the race as an event and what it means to win it. We also got to discuss how the women felt that the race had benefitted from differing start times for male and female athletes in 2024.

Like ourselves here at Life in the Peloton, both Haley and Rosa are supported by MAAP, and even though Haley and Rosa are rivals, I wanted to take this opportunity to have a chat about but how the world of privateering works for these athletes, and what being a privateer really means.

It felt like the hour flew by for me, I love learning more details about the world of gravel, the races and these athletes through different perspectives.

As ever - sit back, relax and enjoy.

Cheers,

Mitch

The Dirty Docker is almost here! Dirty Docker is my multi-day event for all things cycling and running in the Macedon Ranges. For the last few weeks of winter, you can get an exclusive discount code by signing up to the Life in the Peloton Newsletter here.

The Life in the Peloton book is OUT NOW! Get your copy now exclusively at maap.cc! Can’t wait for you to read it.

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This week on the pod I managed to catch up with one of the revelations of the season and one of the big players of last month’s racing at the Dauphiné and Tour de France, Matteo Jorgensen.

2024 has been a huge season for Matteo. After four years knocking at the door at Movistar, last winter he made the switch to Team Visma Lease-A-Bike and he hit the ground running winning both Paris-Nice and Dwars Door Vlaanderen back in March, before coming back into top form for the summer months.

I first met Matteo back in 2020 when I was still racing and I was so happy to get this chance to get to chat with him at this stage of his career, because in many ways his development is the perfect example of how the sport has changed in a short time.

It was fascinating for me to hear some of the inner workings of Visma Lease-A-Bike compared to a more traditional outfit like Movistar, and to learn how the riders and teams need to work in order to perform in 2024. The changes and improvements in diet, training and race preparation are really eye-opening and I loved hearing the detail of all of this.

When I spoke to Matteo he was between the Tour and Olympic Games where is representing the USA. Not only was it pretty cool to manage to get some time between the two races, but it also gave us the chance to chat about how you go about balancing two huge goals like the Tour and the Olympics.

We covered a lot of ground in our chat, Matteo is a really great and open guest who happens to be literally at the top of the game!

There is so much here to unpack that I’ll leave you to sit back, relax and enjoy!

Cheers!

Mitch

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A little later than usual, but we are back this week with a hot-off-the-press Race Communiqué.

The Tour de France is the only race on the calendar where, myself and my two regular podcast guests, Luke Durbridge and Tom Southam are all on the ground at the same time.

After a month on the road doing our respective jobs at the race, we sat down and caught up on all of the action and shared our perspectives on the race.

While I was hitting the road every day with the press and sometimes doubling up doing the odd bidon hand up, Luke was guiding his team sprinter Dylan Groenewegen to his 6th TDF stage win for Jayco Alula, and Tom was behind the wheel of the team car helping Richard Carapaz and EF Education Easypost light up the race in the mountains in the final week.

It was an eventful race for all of us, and we wanted to catch up about the things that had stuck in our minds, from the great tactics, to the mood and the dynamics in the grupetto plus of course, plenty of insight on the things that you wouldn’t have seen on TV or read about in the press.

This pod is always a fun one to make, but this one is packed with great stories, not to mention revealing our strategies for the Escape Collective Fantasy Tour, and of course, no Race Communiqué would be complete without a quiz.

Time to grab a cold one, and finally relax after an action packed month.

Cheers!

Mitch

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Sign up here to get your free ticket to one of the events listed below.

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The Life in the Peloton book is OUT NOW! Get your copy now exclusively at maap.cc! Can’t wait for you to read it.

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This year’s Tour de France will tell many great stories; Biniam Girmay becoming the first black African stage winner, Mark Cavendish’s 35th record breaking stage win, and it’s looking likely that Tadej Pogacar will complete an epic back to back Giro-Tour double. But, behind all those headlines is another milestone; it will be Simon Geschke’s last Tour de France as he decides to call time on his 16 year career.

Back in 2009 I arrived in a small town called Deurningen in Holland. I lived in a massive house organised by my first pro-team, Skil-Shimano and, from time to time, my new team mate Simon Geschke would stop in for a night or two on his way from his home in Berlin to races in Belgium.

We had some great memories living in that big team house together, but couldn’t help but feel like the team were keeping too close an eye on us and breathing down our necks. So, the following season, me and Simon moved in together into an apartment in Kelmis, Belgium.

Kelmis was a great base for me and Simon. We were close to most of the team’s races, had some great training roads right on the doorstep, and felt a lot more relaxed away from the watchful eye of our team managers. We were like two students living together at university as we started our journey as professional cyclists in that tiny apartment in the south of Belgium.

I left Skil Shimano in 2011, but Simon and I have remained great mates ever since. Those bonds you make earlier in your career really stick with you, and I always found time to chew Geshcke’s ear off when I found him in the bunch over the rest of my career. Simon’s always made time for me, and since retiring and giving this journo lark a go, he’s been really helpful giving me some great interviews here and there - so I was chuffed to catch up with him at the start of the year and share a cheeky beer in his hotel room at the Tour Down Under.

Simon’s career is reflective of the type of professional he is. He’s always been one of the hardest working guys in the pelo, and has ridden 19 Grand Tours - including 12 Tours de France! In 2015 he cemented his place in history by winning stage 17 of the Tour with an epic 50km solo ride on a mountainous stage to Pra-Loup, and in 2022 he was cruelly denied winning the polka dot KOM jersey on the final mountain stage by Jonas Vingegaard. What a legend.

His career started in 2009 with me at Skil Shimano and he rode for that team - as it changed to Argos Shimano, Giant Shimano, and eventually Sunweb - for 10 years! He moved over to CCC for 2 years before signing for Cofidis in 2021, and he’ll wrap up his career riding for the French squad at the end of the 2024 season.

I loved catching up with my old mate at the start of the year, and I’ve loved following him as he rides his final Tour de France this July. He’s known for his amazing work ethic, calm demeanour and, of course, that luscious beard. So give this pod a listen, guys, and find out more about one of the nicest guys in the bunch. Simon; congrats on a great career mate - I can’t wait to share a couple of cold ones with you on the other side of the barriers next season!

Cheers!

Mitch

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Zwift Ride. Throughout the Tour de France and beyond Zwift are running rides across Europe.

Sign up here to get your free ticket to one of the events listed below.

Europe - Tour Fever Events

Nice - Saturday 20th, Sunday 21st July - BrewDog Nice

Rotterdam - Sunday 20th, Monday 12th, Tuesday 13th August - BrewDog Rotterdam (Witte de Withstraat)

This episode is also supported by our friends at Pillar Performance head over to pillarperformance.shop and use the code LITP for 15% off your first order. Or for USA listeners head over to thefeed.com/pillar.

The Life in the Peloton book is OUT NOW! Get your copy now exclusively at maap.cc! Can’t wait for you to read it.

This is a short excerpt from the longer episode. To listen to the whole thing and future episodes become a member of The Pelo.

It’s finally here! The Big Show! The Tour de France. The biggest bike race in the world is about to kick off, and to celebrate the spectacle Svein and I are talking all about Grand Tours on this week’s Chronicles.

21 stages of racing over 3 weeks with millions of eyes watching; Grand Tours are the toughest races in cycling. Between myself and Svein, we’ve been on the start of 21 Grand Tours! Although I never made it to Le Tour, I did a handful of Vueltas and a couple of Giros, too - so I’ve got a pretty good idea of what it takes to suffer around a country for the best part of a month.

Sveino and I wanted to share our own experiences of racing Grand Tours throughout our own careers, but I also wanted to draw on some riders from earlier generations to see how much they’ve changed over the years.

I wanted to speak to someone who has seen what it’s like at the front of a Grand Tour first hand, so first up I chatted to an Aussie legend; Phil Anderson. Phil turned pro in 1980 with team Peugeot and spent a day in the Yellow Jersey in his first Tour de France! The next year he finished 5th overall, bagged himself a stage win, spent 9 stages wearing the leader’s jersey, and went home with the White Jersey for the best young rider! He went on to finish in the top 10 for 5 years in a row, and completed 13 Tours de France over a 15 year career.

It’s safe to say there aren’t many people out there with more experience than Phil. We chatted about racing Grand Tours in the 1980s and 90s, and I was surprised to hear how much more relaxed it was back then.

Next, I spoke to Stuart O’Grady. Stuey’s a rider I really look up to, and his career was just winding down as mine was kicking off. I was even lucky enough to call him a team mate for a year on Greenedge in 2013. O’Grady won 2 road stages of the Tour, and 2 more in the Team Time Trial but, as a Sprinter, he had to spend the rest of the time muscling over mountains to make time cut.

Svein and I also chat about our own experiences. From the stress and excitement of our Grand Tour debuts, to the moment it all ‘clicked’ and we figured out how to get the most out of a ‘grandie’. The sanctuary of the team bus, the chaos of traveling around for a month as a small part of a big rolling circus, finding the best cannoli and parmesan in Italy or the best jamón in Spain, and heaps more.

This ep is packed full of stories, and I loved reliving some great memories with my old mate. Get yourself in the mood for Le Tour and give this a listen!

Cheers!

Mitch

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It’s time for another Top Six! This week, I’m joined by my old mate - the creator of Greenedge’s infamous ‘Backstage Pass’ series - Dan Jones, and we’re talking about the biggest race of them all; the Tour de France.

It doesn’t get bigger than the Tour. I’ve been watching it since the 1990s, but its history dates back to 1903! There are countless memorable moments from the race's history, and Dan and I do our best to whittle our favourites down to just six each.

Our Top Sixes don’t need to be the most famous riders or most controversial stories, they just have to be moments of the Tour’s rich history that matter to us. It could be the first year we remember watching, a friend of ours from the pelo’ getting a result, or a small detail of a specific edition that makes the race stick in our memory. I bet everyone listening would have a different Top Six, and that’s part of what makes the Tour so amazing!

I never raced the Tour as a pro, but I’m out in France as we speak getting involved with the race from the other side of the barriers with the journos for the 3rd year in a row. Although he was never a rider, Jonesy made his debut at the race in 2005 and has covered 13 editions with Fox Sports, SBS, and Greenedge. We’re both massive bike racing fans as well so, between the two of us, we’ve got plenty of Tour de France memories to sift through as we each sum up our top six moments.

With Pogačar heading towards a historic Giro - Tour double, Vingegaard proving he’s recovered well from his crash in the Basque country, and young Remco Evenepoel making his Tour de France debut, it’s safe to say there’ll be plenty more memorable moments added to these lists over the next couple of weeks!

If you’ve not heard one of these ‘Top 6’ episodes yet, I get together with an old mate from my time in the pro cycling circus and run through our top 6 editions of one of the biggest races on the calendar. Most influential editions, best riders, historic wins, we cover it all to give you a personal insight into our most memorable editions of the races we all love.

I’ve covered the top 6 editions of Paris-Roubaix with Matt ‘Gossy’ Goss, Milan-San Remo with Dave ‘Macca’ McKenzie, and the Giro d’Italia with director and creator of EF’s original Rapha ‘Gone Racing’ series, Harry Dowdney. If you’re new to the ‘Top 6’ episodes, go back and give those a listen - I’m sure you’re gonna love them!

Get your ears around this one, guys. It doesn’t get bigger than the Tour and there are some amazing moments that Dan and I dive into.

Cheers!

Mitch

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Zwift Ride. Throughout the Tour de France and beyond Zwift are running rides across Australia and Europe.

Sign up here to get your free ticket to one of the events listed below.

Australia Zwift Ride Events:

Thursday 11 July - Melbourne

Europe - Tour Fever Events

Nice - Saturday 20th, Sunday 21st July - BrewDog Nice

Rotterdam - Sunday 20th, Monday 12th, Tuesday 13th August - BrewDog Rotterdam (Witte de Withstraat)

This episode is also supported by our friends at Pillar Performance head over to pillarperformance.shop and use the code LITP for 15% off your first order. Or for USA listeners head over to thefeed.com/pillar.

The Life in the Peloton book is OUT NOW! Get your copy now exclusively at maap.cc! Can’t wait for you to read it.

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In this week’s episode of Life in the Peloton, I’m learning more about one of the most important parts of life; sleep.

When I retired from the professional peloton a few years ago, we were already wearing sleep tracking devices and starting to tap into how we can improve our sleep and, therefore, our performance. Since then, professional cyclists have stepped it up another notch and are hunting out those 1% gains to help improve the quality & quantity of their sleep.

I spoke to Dr. Ian Dunican - an expert on the topic - to find out more about how important sleep is, what we can do to get better quality sleep, and what happens to us if we neglect it.

Dr Ian’s a keen ultra distance swimmer and practices jiu jitsu, so he understands the importance of recovery and sleep better than most. We spoke about the increased societal awareness of sleep, and how humans today are so much busier than they were a few decades ago - stretching themselves even more thinly and putting even more onus on getting good quality shut eye to keep ourselves healthy.

Sleep science is a relatively new discipline, and Dr Ian talked to me about the different phases and cycles of sleep, various sleep disorders that a huge percentage of the population struggle with, and seemingly minor environmental factors that can have a massive bearing on how well we’re sleeping.

I also wanted to know about sleep and pro cycling. Sometimes you’re so tired from a stage race that no matter how long you sleep for you never feel truly wide awake. Dr Ian gave me some great tips about optimizing sleep around competition, and debunked a lot of popular myths around wearable devices and biohacking - which I found super eye opening.

Next, I spoke to my old team mate; Lawson Craddock. Lawdog currently rides for Jayco AlUla and is one of the first riders I remember seeing pick up a wearable sleep tracking device and look more closely at his own sleep and what changes he could make to improve it. We spoke about how much things have changed in the pelo’ in just a few years, and how things Lawson was doing earlier in his career have become the new normal amongst other pro riders.

I was blown away by how much there is to learn about sleep, and what a massive difference it can make. I’ve always been someone who thinks they can get away with 5-6 hours sleep a night and still function pretty well throughout the day, but, after chatting to Dr Ian and Lawdog, I need to rethink my sleep schedule.

Cheers!

Mitch

This episode is supported by our friends at Pillar Performance.

The Life in the Peloton book is OUT NOW! Get your copy now exclusively at maap.cc! Can’t wait for you to read it.