Ever wondered what life is like as a professional cyclist?
Australian ex-professional cyclist Mitch Docker takes you inside the world of Professional Cycling. ...
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Happy New Year! Life In The Peloton is back, and I’m really excited to kick off 2025 with one of the brightest stars in the Ultrarunning world; Lucy Bartholomew.
A Melbourne native, Lucy’s been competitively trail running since she was 16, when she lined up at a 100km race along the South Coast of Victoria with her old man. Since then, she’s gone on to win Ultra Trail Race Australia in 2022, set the FKT on the truly epic 231km Larapinta Trail up in Northern Territory, and competed over in Europe at Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. As if she wasn’t already hardcore enough, in 2024 just a few weeks after finishing UTMB, she jetted off to Nice to tackle IronMan World Champs…just for fun!Â
Ultrarunners are known for their resilience and determination, and Lucy completely epitomises that. I loved chatting to her about how she trains for 100km+ races, what it takes to make it in the ultrarunning world, some of her wild experiences out on the trail, how her parents - her dad, Ash, in particular - have helped drive her ultrarunning journey, and how she finds the mental strength to push through the tough moments. It was a really inspiring conversation that I think you’re going to love.
I was super excited to record with Lucy in person back home around my old area. We actually kicked off the pod by heading for a bike ride up Kinglake, before ripping back down for a quick brew. Then, we laced up the runners and headed out for a little 10ker, and chatted along the way. Needless to say, I kept the questions short to save my breath for running next to one of the most experienced ultrarunners in the world.
I want to continue to explore even more new Pelotons in 2025, and the Trail Running space feels like the perfect place to start. It’s a sport that’s fascinated me for a while, having dabbled in a few ultra runs myself, so I wanted to bring you all inside a discipline that may not be so familiar to the cycling fans amongst you but shares a deep sense of challenge, performance, and adventure. I was fascinated to learn more about the psychology of ultrarunning and find out how similar it is to cycling. Lucy’s been at the top of her game in the running space for the best part of a decade now, and it’s so cool that she’s now crossing over into our world and giving cycling a go.
I hope you love listening to Lucy as much as I loved chatting with her. She’s an all round legend, and might just inspire you to give trail running, or even an ultrarun, a go if you haven’t before. We even recorded a cheeky ep of Talking Luft, so keep your ears peeled for that later this week!
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1:11:53
Grace Brown - From World Champion to Bowing Out in Style
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Well, this is it, guys. It's the end of the road season, and if you're a long-time listener, you'll know it's the end of the season for us here at Life on the Peloton.
For the pro peloton, it's time to take a break from cycling. Just thinking of it takes me back to my racing days, as the 'offy' was always a bit of a special time, especially when you first arrive back in Australia. You’ve got time to rest, have a bit of a party, and reconnect with home before it's time to get back into training for the new season.
Before we shut down for a little break, we've got a really special guest to close out not only our season but her career too. None other than the current Olympic and World T.T. Champion, Grace Brown!
I've been holding off on chatting with Grace online this year because I wanted to have this conversation in person. Little did I know Grace was going to have the epic season she's had, capping it all off with the ultimate mic drop: calling it a day on professional racing while winning at the highest level.
After all that amazing success through a season that saw her become Australia’s first female monument winner, I managed to catch up with her, still a little jet-lagged from the flight—or her career (we weren’t sure which was catching up with her!). Grace was kind enough to meet me for an afternoon coffee in her adopted hometown of Melbourne to have a good old-fashioned yarn for this pod.
We talked about her career, the Olympic Games, her experiences there, retirement, relationships, and of course, how to bow out in style.
For the final time this season, it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Cheers!
Mitch
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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.
It might only be Wednesday, but this week is absolutely massive for us at Life in the Peloton. It’s the week of the Dirty Docker—our inaugural cycling and running festival happening up in my hometown of Lancefield this weekend!
With such an exciting event on the horizon, I thought, why not dedicate this entire podcast to the Dirty Docker? This event has been over a year in the making, and I can’t wait to share all the details with all of our listeners. Even if you can’t make it to Lancefield, whether you’re overseas or just tied up, I want you to feel like you’re part of the action.
We’ll be diving deep into what the Dirty Docker is all about. From cross-country running to cyclocross, and of course, our premier event—the Cobawsome Gravel Ride—there’s something for everyone.
But that’s not all. We’ll also be exploring each of these disciplines with the experts who helped bring them to life. You’ll get to understand the roots of cross-country running, the history of cyclocross, and the unique aspects of our Dirty Docker cyclocross course, including a nod to the iconic Cross Vegas course. Plus, my good mate and the voice of the Dirty Docker, Paul Van Der Ploeg, will join us for a deep dive into the gravel phenomenon—where it’s been, where it’s going, and what makes it so special.
So, whether you’re gearing up to join us this weekend or just tuning in from afar, this episode is packed with insights and excitement to get you pumped. I’m really excited for this one, guys.Â
Give it a listen and get ready for an epic weekend!
Cheers, Mitch
Ever wondered what life is like as a professional cyclist?
Australian ex-professional cyclist Mitch Docker takes you inside the world of Professional Cycling.
Bringing you the stories behind the individuals in the sport - from the pros in the peloton to staff behind the teams - to commentators & legends, plus training insights & debriefs on major races throughout the year. It’s all here!
Newly retired from the professional peloton, Mitch is exploring his new pelotons - all the pelotons that exist outside of the world tour - bringing you new stories from within the cycling community.
His spin off series, Talking Luft - a bit like the DVD Extras - is where cycling style & culture takes centre stage. Talking cycling caps, bikes, kit, coffee stops, training loops and all the best things about riding a bike.
Listen to all episodes here weekly!
Find all our episodes, merch and more at lifeinthepeloton.com
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