Velonews Podcasts

For this episode, Chris and Coach Connor go to the fit guru Colby Pearce with a simple request: Tell us what you know about the pedal stroke. We anticipated an intelligent, albeit relatively short answer. What Colby gave us was a monologue of gold. We also caught up with reigning U.S. national road race champion Ruth Winder of Trek-Segafredo for more advice on how to train the pedal stroke, on and off the bike. Thanks again for everyone who has sent us questions both via email (fasttalk@fastlabs.com) as well as by calling our google voicemail at 719-800-2112.

It's a new year, and Angus Morton and Bobby Julich are back at it with Put Your Socks On, a deep dive into the sport of professional cycling by two men whose experience spans the globe. This year, Bobby and Gus are expanding the range of the show, looking at both the micro level of happenings in the sport (who won which race and why) as well as the macro level, such as what are the environmental impacts - positive and negative - of cycling. Oh, and Gus goes camping on a frozen lake... It's time to Put Your Socks On. Here comes a new season.

The 2020 WorldTour season has roared to life with the Tour Down Under finishing up on Sunday. Richie Porte took the overall after again dropping his foes on Old Willunga Hill. The formulaic finish of this year's race begs the question: Should the Tour Down Under change its format? Every year the race seems to boil down to a battle for time bonuses on the flat stages, and then a three-minute slugfest up Old Willunga. Andrew Hood and Fred Dreier debate why (or why not) the race should try and shake things up. Hood was in Australia to interview UCI President David Lappartient, and Lappartient addressed two big storylines in pro cycling in 2020. The first is the return to pro cycling for Bjarne Riis. The second is the growth of gravel, and how the UCI hopes to get involved with the growing off-road racing format. Finally, we catch up with two North Americans who are starting their respective 2020 seasons off at the Tour Down Under. Canadian James Piccoli is making his WorldTour debut with Israel Start-Up Nat

In episode 95 we talk in-depth about the humble tire. Often neglected, frequently misunderstood, the lowly tire is a much more complicated piece of equipment than many people know. With the help of two very talented technical gurus, Lennard Zinn and Nick Legan, we explain the complexities of the tire, tire pressure, and how those things lead to changes in comfort, grip, rolling resistance and much more. As always, we love your feedback. Email us at fasttalk@fastlabs.com or call 719-800-2112 and leave us a voicemail; if it is recorded clearly you may be featured on the show.

Evil Bikes created the Chamois Hagar to upend the gravel bike segment, and it may have done just that. Evil's COO Jason Moeschler joins VeloNews tech editor Dan Cavallari in Scottsdale, Arizona to chat about this unique beast of a bike, and what it means for the gravel category. Notably, the Chamois Hagar offers a completely unique gravel bike geometry that looks an awful lot like a mountain bike, and for good reason: Evil is, after all, a mountain bike company. But Moeschler makes the case that a super-slack (66.67 degree) head tube angle and unheard-of 93mm trail figure makes a ton of sense on a gravel bike, especially when you pair it with a sloping top tube and a dropper post. Cavallari spent three days riding the Chamois Hagar in the desert outside of Scottsdale and has some insights to offer on the bike's handling, especially with his background as a mountain bike rider.

On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we sit down with Dirty Kanza winner Colin Strickland at his local coffee shop in Austin, Texas. Strickland takes us into a deep dive into his background in cycling, and explains why he declined a spot with EF Pro Cycling for the 2020 season. Strickland also discusses his hopes for the gravel racing scene, and why it should steer clear of the various models and attitudes that have shaped competitive road cycling. First, however, we catch up with VeloNews reporter Andrew Hood who is on the ground at the Tour Down Under. Hood is chasing the big stories at the race. Ruth Winder won the women's race in thrilling fashion, and the top sprinters are already collecting big wins. Hood also discusses Rohan Dennis's debut in the colors of Team Ineos. Hood was at the Ineos team bus when Dennis spoke to reporters about his controversial decision to exit the 2019 Tour de France early. All that and more on this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast.

Take a guess, which one of our all-knowing hosts is an expert on Baby Yoda, and who hadn’t even heard of him until this recording? Or, more importantly, what is a palindrome? Welcome to our second bonus episode of Fast Talk where Chris and Coach Connor are once again tackling your important questions. First is a question about training while fasting, then some goal-setting analysis, and finally some more discussion on the polarized training approach. We’ve included both email and voicemail questions in this podcast. To submit your own question to the guys you can call 719-800-2112 or email fasttalk@fastlabs.com.

Hello and welcome to Fast Talk! I'm your host Chris Case. Today we have a great episode in store for you, with someone you’ve heard from many times before on Fast Talk. Today, we’re finally joined by Brent Bookwalter of the Mitchelton-Scott WorldTour team, a man of both wisdom and humility, for a full conversation on balancing life and sport. What do pros know about that balance, you ask? “They’re pampered!” you’re probably thinking. Well, not exactly true. The life of a pro cyclist is not as glamorous as you might think. We’ll discuss that misconception, but we’ll spend the majority of our conversation learning the many ways in which Brent has learned to balance training and racing with being a good husband, a soon-to-be-father, a son and friend, and a gran fondo promoter, among many other things. Through the years of racing both at the neo-pro level through to the WorldTour, Brent has dealt with limited time—sometimes well, sometimes not so well—which has forced him to prioritize his life in myriad ways.

The VeloNews Podcast welcomes the newest staff editor to join the publication, Betsy Welch. On this week's episode of the podcast we speak with Betsy about the various topics she will be covering, from women's cycling to gravel and mountain bike racing. We recently held a focus group for female cyclists in Boulder, Colorado, and Betsy discusses what we learned from the 40 women who attended. What are the storylines driving interest amongst female riders? Then, Andrew Hood calls in to discuss what he learned from Deceuninck-Quick Step's training camp, where he interviewed Remco Evenepoel, Julian Alaphilippe, and Zdenek Stybar. Evenepoel is making his grand tour start at just 19; Alaphilippe is targeting the Olympics. Hood is off to the Tour Down Under, which kicks off the WorldTour schedule in just a few days. All that and more on this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast.

Helmets have come a long way since leather hairnets, or even more minimalist than that, the perfectly coiffed head of hair. While EPS foam has dominated helmet construction for decades now, a new crop of technologies have emerged in recent years to address the types of forces your brain is likely to encounter during a crash. Tech editor Dan Cavallari traveled to New York City in early 2019 to find out more about Bontrager's Wavecel technology. He sat down with Wavecel's inventor to find out what makes this green, wavy plastic different than other green, wavy plastics we've seen before. And Jens Voigt chimes in with some of his experiences with head injuries and the evolution of helmets in the pro peloton.

Hello and welcome to this bonus episode of Fast Talk. These new episodes, which we’ll publish every other week to supplement our flagship shows, will typically run a little shorter than our regular episodes, and they’ll also be more geared toward answering your questions, but all in all, they’ll contain the same great content you’ve come to expect from Fast Labs, and from Coach Connor and Chris Case. Our regular, full-length episodes with multiple guests addressing the current science in training and your requested topics will still continue on, of course. For this first bonus episode, we’re doing a bit of everything. For starters, during our episode a few weeks back with the Cycling Gym, we recorded an analysis of some recent physiological research. Trevor hadn’t done a nerd bomb in a while and was feeling the need. But it didn’t really fit with the episode. So, we’ll start with Trevor’s summary of a few studies and what they say about how to structure your training. We’ll also answer listener questions

Welcome back from the holidays! The VeloNews Podcast returns with the first episode of 2020, and there is plenty to discuss. Andrew Hood and Fred Dreier jump into three major storylines from these early days of the decade. The dangerous wildfires in Australia have not yet threatened the Santos Tour Down Under, but major endurance events are often cancelled in the wake of tragedy and natural disasters. Fred and Andy discuss the upcoming race, and whether or not the fires will force organizers to cancel it. The U.S. gravel cycling scene is already generating headlines, as more pro road riders jump into off-road cycling. As it turns out, these riders are changing the business model of pro cycling in America by attracting personal sponsors that may have otherwise gone to a pro team or race. How could this shift change the American cycling landscape? Chris Froome is back in the news, as stories circulated that he left a Team Ineos training camp in early December. Were these stories accurate or overblown? Th

Happy New Year’s, Fast Talk friends! We are excited to be speeding into 2020 with our new company, Fast Labs, and continuing our partnership with VeloNews. For starters, and due to popular demand, Fast Talk will now be a weekly show. These new bi-monthly bonus episodes will be a bit shorter than the traditional Fast Talk episode, but in them you’ll find similar, detailed scientific physiology explanations, special interviews with your favorite pros, coaches, and experts, and we’ll also regularly answer your questions. To that end, thank you to the listeners who called and left us a voicemail over the holidays. We’ll be recording a special listener questions episode in the next week, so make sure to get your questions in as soon as you can. The number to call is 719-800-2112. If we can hear you loud and clear in the message, we may include the recording in the show. Now, episode 91. The focus of this episode can be summarized in a single, powerful sentiment: There is great value in keeping track of your num

It's the final episode of The VeloNews Podcast of 2019, and we here at VeloNews want to wish all of you a Happy Holidays! For our final show we have an interview with USPro road champion (and friend of the show) Alex Howes. Alex takes us inside his big win, and discusses the joy and pain of racing the Dirty Kanza 200, as well as his big racing plans for 2020. We hope you have a great break and will see you all in 2020.

The decade is coming to a close, so VeloNews tech editor Dan Cavallari and editorial director Ben Delaney count down the most significant bicycle gear and tech developments to occur since 2010. Some of these advancements changed the way we ride (Indoors? On dirt? It all happened!) and some never gained a foothold. What do you think of our list of the top 20 most important tech stories of the decade? Have questions or feedback? Think we missed a few? Be sure to tweet @browntiedan to let us know!

Base training has traditionally been all about long, slow rides. But that's tough if you live in the northern hemisphere and you hate the cold, or lack the necessary equipment to ride safely outdoors when road conditions might be perilous and light is limited. Today, we’re discussing how best to deal with those challenges that plague the northern hemisphere this time of year. (Apologies to all of our friends in the southern hemisphere!) Does it kill your motivation to ride? Do you feel the fitness literally draining from your body? Don't let it! The darkness, cold temperatures, and perilous road conditions of the winter months don’t have to be any sort of barrier. In fact, as you’ll learn in this episode, this time of year is the perfect time to find a host of new ways to stay motivated, add variety to your training methods, try something new, reinvigorate your work ethic, and, ultimately, set yourself up to improve performance when the racing begins later in the year. Our primary guests today are Andrew R

Gage Hecht rode away with the 2019 U.S. Cyclocross National Championships this past weekend in Lakewood, Washington. On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast, we go inside Hecht's dominating win at 'cross nats, including Hecht's thoughts on the crash that knocked rival Kerry Werner out of second place. Also, Hecht has balanced his commitments on the road with his cyclocross ambitions. Which does he prefer the most? We find out, and discover why Hecht may have to choose cyclocross or road in the coming years. All that and more on this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast.

Katie Compton heads to Tacoma, Washington this week for the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships, where she is the 15-time defending national champion. This week on The VeloNews Podcast we catch up with Compton to talk about her legendary streak at U.S. nationals. Who are the women to challenge her at U.S. nationals? What role does confidence play in her many victories? Compton then discusses some of the wider dynamics at play in international cyclocross, from the rise of young female racers from The Netherlands, to the proposed 16-race World Cup calendar for 2021. All that and more on this week's interview with Katie Compton.

Riding on the gold-standard Velotron in a laboratory, and breathing into an uncomfortable face mask while a physiologist like our guest Jared Berg pokes your ear for blood might not sound like a good time at all. Which is probably why Coach Connor can't get enough. But this week’s show is about exactly that—physiological testing. The end result of a good test is a robust set of data specific to you, which can help you understand things like your true physiological training zones, how much carbohydrate you burn for a given effort, and just how well you can get up infamous climbs like Magnolia Road here in Boulder. Learning about your body’s unique capacity for work is crucial as you prepare for races and work on pushing yourself to your full potential. Our guest, Jared Berg, the lead exercise physiologist at the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Boulder, is going to walk us through some of the most common performance tests, including the VO2Max test and the lactate test, desc

What were the races, riders, and moments from the 2019 pro cycling season that were simply the best? On today's episode of The VeloNews Podcast, Andrew Hood and Fred Dreier discuss the annual VeloNews Awards issue, and dig into the moments that defined the 2019 season. The VeloNews Awards gives praise to the Best Male and Female riders, plus the top moments of the year. This year, the issue also dug into the top storylines from the decade. Fred and Andy discuss two of these storylines, and examine why each one helped define the past 10 years of pro cycling. The holidays are right around the corner, and right now VeloPress has a great deal: Subscribe to VeloNews and receive a free VeloPress book of your choice. Go to www.velopress.com for more information.