Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The Tour de France kicked off last weekend and oh boy what a race we’ve had already! There've been some amazing stage winners, some crazy crashes, and some signs that we are in for one hell of a July. I’m enjoying this year’s race purely as a fan from the comfort of my sofa. But, when it comes to fans, there’s none bigger than old mates Harry and Stu over at Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio.

These guys love it and, as always, I get to share their enthusiasm with you guys for this month’s ep. Here’s what the brilliant baldie, Harry Dowdney, had to say about this month’s episode:

Le Tour is Here!

The greatest on earth has kicked off with a series of great stages in the north of France. Stu and I discuss the mayhem of the crashes, marvel at the Alpecin-Deceuninck machine, and give some insights into two big name riders we've made films with recently - Jasper Philipsen and Ben O'Connor.

Then, we dial in pro cycling photographer Zac Williams for a chinwag about how his race is going so far. Allez!

The Tour is The Tour - it’s as big as it gets, and there’s so much to talk about it can sometimes be hard knowing where to start when you’re trying to catch up; but the Race Radio boys do a stellar job of cutting through the noise and bringing you the insights that only they can. I love it, and I hope you do, too.

The Race Radio boys will return LIVE from The Tour - recording direct from the Alps in the third week, and sticking around to bring you coverage from the roadside of the Tour de France Femmes! I can’t say I’m not a little bit jealous of them getting boots on the ground over in Europe, but I can’t wait to hear what they come up with.

Cheers!

Mitch

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This episode is brought to you by our mates at Saily – the simple mobile app that makes managing your subscriptions dead easy. Whether it’s race passes, streaming services, or random apps you forgot you signed up for, Saily tracks it all in one place and even helps you cancel the ones you’re not using. Clean, easy, and actually kind of fun to use.

Download the app and use the code PELOSURF for 15% off your next data plan — or hit https://saily.com/pelosurf to score yourself a special listener-only discount.

This is a cheeky bonus excerpt from the longer episode. To listen to the whole thing and future episodes become a member of The Pelo. You won't want to miss these exclusive chats dropping throughout the 2025 season!

We’re into July, and the Tour is about to kick off. The Tour De France is the biggest bike race in the world in terms of exposure and the sheer number of eyeballs watching the action but, at just over 3000k, it’s dwarfed by the monster that is the Tour Divide.

A much smaller spectacle, with supporters watching dots on a screen rather than glossy TV coverage, but at 4000k in length and the added challenge of racing entirely self supported across the entire USA, The Divide is arguably the toughest race going.

If you caught last month’s Chronicles, you’ll know that Sveino was gearing up to head to the start in Banff, Canada, with 200 or so other crazy riders and tackle this absolute monster of a race. Well, Sveino’s back home after having a stab at the Tour Divide and in this month’s chronicles ep we’re unpacking just what went down along the Continental Divide.

Sveino gave it his all, and prepped for this race like he was a full time pro again! But, in the world of bike racing, you can be totally prepared and still get thrown a curveball. In the words of Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

What happened to Svein out there? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out. Sveino, mate, fair play for giving it a crack - what an epic journey.

The race was eventually won by Swiss ultra racing legend Robin Gemperle who absolutely smoked the record and finished in 11 days, 19 hours, and 14 minutes. That is ridiculously fast - and self supported, too?! Rather you than me, buddy. Chapeau.

Guys, thanks as always for being a Pelo Member. I really hope you enjoy these yarns between me and old Sveino as much as I do.

Cheers!

Mitch

P.S. 🚨 Tickets for The Pub to Pub and The Dirty Docker are LIVE so don’t miss out! 🏃🚴

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

It’s July, which means we’re just days away from the Tour de France. I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely frothing for this year’s race to kick off. My heart is racing just thinking about it…and that’s exactly what this month’s episode is all about; my heart.

Guys, this month’s episode of Life In The Peloton is one for all you training geeks out there. It’s time for me to take another look ‘under the hood’ and get my ticker checked out, so I headed back to the lab for a catch up with my old mate Dr. Andre Le Gerche. If you don’t recognise that name, Andre is one of the world’s leading experts in Sports Cardiology, whose research and clinical work focuses on the effect of exercise on the human heart.

Since the start of my professional cycling career all those years ago, I’ve been seeing Andre every few years to take part in a study he’s conducting on elite athletes' hearts, heart function, and heart health. I last recorded with Andre back in 2022, so if you haven’t heard that ep get across and bring yourself up to speed on the study, and what my last round of testing showed just after I retired from Pro Cycling.

If you don’t know, the UCI makes sure that every pro rider undergoes a series of heart tests on their heart every off season ‘with an aim to reduce - as far as possible - the risk of sudden cardiac death during sporting activity’ - scary stuff, right? Andre’s study goes one further, looking to understand the longer term effects of a life of endurance sport.

I won’t lie, guys, this is a big topic - and I won’t pretend I’m an expert on Sports Cardiology! But, what I really love about working with Andre and his team is the way they explain the results of their findings to nuffies like me.

I hope you like this episode, guys - hopefully, you get a better idea of what goes on under the hood of these elite athletes you’re about to watch rip around France for the next month. My next round of testing with Andre isn’t until 2030, now, so I’ll see you in 5 years, Andre!

Cheers!

Mitch

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If you didn’t catch it, Andre and I first sat down about a couple of years ago to chat all things athlete’s heart — what years of racing does to it, how it recovers (or doesn’t) after retirement, and why some ex-pros might need to “de-train” their hearts. That ep lays the groundwork for this follow-up, so if you’re keen to hear how it all started, you can check it out here.

This episode is brought to you by our mates at Saily – the simple mobile app that makes managing your subscriptions dead easy. Whether it’s race passes, streaming services, or random apps you forgot you signed up for, Saily tracks it all in one place and even helps you cancel the ones you’re not using. Clean, easy, and actually kind of fun to use.

Download the app and use the code PELOSURF for 15% off your next data plan — or hit https://saily.com/pelosurf to score yourself a special listener-only discount.

Big thanks also to Shokz for supporting this episode. I’ve been using their bone conduction headphones on the bike, and I’ve gotta say — they’re a game changer. You still get great sound, but your ears stay open so you can hear traffic, bunch chatter, or just soak up the ride. Super light, super comfy — I’ve been loving them.

🎧 Check out the range and grab a pair at shokz.com