Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

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The biggest bike race of the year has just wrapped up; the Jumbo Wild 600…

 

What did you think I was talking about?

 

If you haven’t heard of it, the Jumbo Wild 600 is an Ultra Cycling race in the wild heart of British Columbia’s Kootenays. The race was created by none other than my old mate - and the co-host of the Life In The Peloton Chronicles - Svein Tuft.

 

Sveino has just finished racing the inaugural edition, and I do mean just…literally 12 hours before we sat down to record! I had to hear how it went, and open up a conversation about the mythical world of ultra distance cycling. That’s what this month’s episode of The Life in The Peloton Chronicles is all about.

 

Ultra cycling as a discipline has actually been around since the very first days of people deciding to race their bikes. What was the inaugural edition of the Tour de France way back in 1903 - with riders racing pretty much completely self-sufficiently over 2,500kms split into just six stages - if not an ultra race? Original races like Paris-Brest-Paris and Bordeaux-Paris kept that ultra cycling movement alive among the pros, who used them as warm up races for the longest monuments like Paris-Roubaix or Liege-Bastogne-Liege back in the day.

 

Since things like GPS computers and lightweight bikepacking bags came about, Ultra cycling has become more accessible and more and more people are giving it a go.

 

The world of ultra distance is one that Sveino’s become very experienced in since retiring from the pro pelo, and I’ve even had a little dabble myself. It’s a totally different type of bike racing that demands a very specific set of skills. Hearing how Sveino’s 730km epic went whilst it’s still so fresh in his mind was super cool, and you can really get a good idea of how much these races can take out of even the strongest riders.

 

Of course, he didn’t just race it, he organised it as well. You might think that organising an ultra race is pretty straightforward; just set out a GPX file, set a date, and send a bunch of riders off into the wilderness with a “see you in a few days!”. Well, I can tell you there is heaps more that goes into it. With a route alternation because of some pretty scary forest fires in the run up to the event, it sounds like Svein had a harder time organising this one than riding it!

 

Guys it was so great to chat to a (pretty tired) Sveino and hear how his race went, as well as dive into this world of Ultra cycling and the things that make it so special, so I hope you enjoy listening to us spin a yarn.

 

Get yourself in the ultra racing spirit; crack open a red bull and your favourite processed servo snack, deprive yourself of a good nights sleep, and have a listen to this month’s Life In The Peloton Chronicles.

 

Cheers, Mitch

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The men’s Tour de France is over for another year, and what an epic week of racing we’ve just seen. Pogačar might have wrapped up the overall victory early on, but some amazing battles for the green, white, and polka dot jerseys, some big shifts in the rest of the top 10 in the final week, and an unbelievable finish in Paris made this a truly memorable edition of the race. 

Guys, Durbo’s just finished his final Tour de France and is dialling in from a well-earned holiday to join me and Southam for this month’s episode of The Race Communiqué where we’re wrapping up the 2026 Tour de France. 

Of course, we’ve been dropping weekly wrap-up podcasts on the rest days, so we start this episode by spinning through the last week of racing. Having Southam on board to give us some insight into Richard Carapaz’s audacious moves on those brutal final three stages to take two stages and the polka dot jersey is another reminder of how lucky we are to have Tom and Luke take us inside the pelo each month. 

A big topic of discussion over the last week of racing was the fans on Alpe d’Huez. Record-breaking numbers of spectators made the pilgrimage to the mountain, and it might have been a step too far. A brutal exit for Einer Rubio after a team car had to brake for a stumbling spectator really highlighted just how sketchy it can be up there, and hearing some of Durbo’s war stories from the other end of the bunch is really eye-opening. 

Of course, Durbs wrapped up his 12th and final lap of France, and he takes us through the emotions of reaching Paris for the final time. 

Durbo’s PeloChat takes us inside the seldom-discussed world of the grupetto. We spend a lot of the time focusing on the riders winning the bike races, but the guys at the back are probably suffering even more just to get to the finish within the time cut!

Southam’s call before the Tour de France about the Mega-Break was spot on, and we saw a few stages defined by absolutely massive moves with tens of riders in. In this month’s Talking Tactics, Southam shares the secrets to getting into a breakaway, and just how bloody hard it can be! 

Guys, there is a lot to go through in this episode. As is often the case with the Tour, there are so many different stories to follow. Get yourself comfortable

Cheers,

Mitch

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros. Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

What a week of racing at the Tour de France! It’s safe to say that with Jonas Vingegaard’s unfortunate abandonment, the race for the podium has been blown wide open! I gave EF Education EasyPost DS, Tom Southam, a call to go over everything we’ve seen in the second week of the Tour and preview what’s coming up. 

Kicking off with a recap of everything that’s gone down both in and around the race last week, and it started with a dominant victory from Pogačar in Le Lioran. Some amazing instincts from Søren Wærenskjold saw him win the bunch sprint on stage 11 to continue Uno-X Mobility’s success, before Tim Merlier reminded everyone that he’s the fastest sprinter in the race with his third stage win of the Tour the next day. 

Stage 13 saw Mauro Schmid power his way into the mega break and grab a stage win for Jayco, so who better to chat to than his team mate, and regular “guest” on the Pod, Durbo. It was great to hear from Luke as he enjoys a well-earned rest day, and he gave us a great scoop on the team’s tactics and how their game plan played out pretty much perfectly. 

The two mountain stages on the weekend weren’t the only drama - a 2 am dope test for Jonas and Pogi had the media buzzing, so I had to ask Southam what he knows and what he’s heard from the ground. Is it a bit of a flex from WADA, or is there something going on?! 

With Jonas’ abandonment, and a mountain TT coming up, can Remco Evenepoel bag another stage win and close the gap to Pogi? Will Del Toro finish on the final podium? What about the green jersey battle between Pedersen and Philipsen? There’s still so much to come, and I can’t bloody wait to see how it plays out.

Guys, it’s a rest day, so pull another shot of espresso, sit back, and join me and Southam - dialling in live from EF’s rest day Chateau - for some Tour de France chat. 

Cheers,

Mitch

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros.

Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The first nine stages of the Tour de France have been absolutely brutal! As Southam predicted, it has just been non-stop racing every day. In fact, it’s been so hard that Durbo’s decided to bank some extra hours in bed rather than join Tom and me for this special episode of The Race Communiqué!

That’s right, it's the first rest day of the Tour, and I wanted to take advantage of our man on the ground - EF Education EasyPost DS Tom Southam - to discuss what we’ve seen out in France so far. 

There have been some epic days of racing! The TTT kicking things off in Barcelona was just as exciting and dramatic as we’d have hoped, the following stages through the Pyrenees into France in the sweltering heat, the first mountain stages and the expected Pogi domination, right through to yesterday’s epic classics style stage - it’s been a full-on start…and there’s still nearly two weeks of racing to go! Watching from home, seeing the boys suffering in the heat, it definitely makes me glad I retired when I did.

Of course, Southam - as tired as he is - hasn’t actually been riding the race, so we did manage to get a quick voice note from Greenedge’s own Luke Durbridge to hear straight from the horse's mouth how it’s been in the Pelo. As Durbo puts it, it’s been hell. 

Only nine stages in, but still so much to talk about. Tom and I go through our top five moments of the race so far, as well as predictions for what’s to come.

Guys, this is a rest day special to keep your Tour de France fix coming even when the race is having a day off. I can’t wait to see how the next phase of the race unfolds.

Cheers,

Mitch

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Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

 

I don’t know about you, but when I think about the Tour de France I hear one man’s voice. A legend of commentary who’s currently covering the Grande Boucle for the 53rd time, I am absolutely gee’d up to bring you my interview with the one and only Phil Liggett.

 

Phil really has seen it all from his early days as a wannabe racer through to finding the microphone, and a lifetime of calling the Tour de France and some of the biggest cycling moments in the last half century. He has spanned the careers of so many riders from Hinault and Lemond through the Armstrong years up to Pogačar and Vingegaard, and has got endless stories to tell.

 

This episode, which I recorded with Phil in person back at the Tour Down Under in January, was a real privilege. I’ve tried my hand and commentary, and it was amazing to hear Phil explain the art of calling a bike race. I learnt so much from him - it’s like asking Picasso how to paint, Shane Warne how to spin bowl, or Pogi how to win a bike race; he is the absolute master of the craft. We even had a go at re-voicing the iconic finish to the 2016 Paris-Roubaix - you have GOT to hear that. An absolute once in a lifetime moment for me!

 

Guys, this episode is a really special one. We speak about so much - from Phil’s perfect partnership with the late great Paul Sherwen, how commentary has changed throughout his career, and how his job is to - as he puts it - “stop the old lady from going to make a cup of tea”.

 

What better man to have on the pod during the Tour de France than this absolute icon. Get yourself comfortable and enjoy this chat with the master of the mic - Mr Phil Liggett.

 

Cheers,

Mitch

 

 

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