The Cycling Podcast

We continue our trilogy of podcasts weighing up how every major team fared in the 2026 season in the last of two parts focusing on the World Tour.  
Tadej Pogačar’s latest annus mirabilis was curtailed midway through the Vuelta a España – but did that alter our final analysis of his UAE team’s 2026 campaign? Visma-Lease a bike of course endured similar misfortune when Jonas Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour de France. Was it enough to overshadow and maybe even spoil their season or did results thereafter, on the contrary, underline their roster’s depth and resilience?  
Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie address these questions and also review and grade the performances of Movistar, NSN, Picnic-PostNL, Redbull–BORA–hansgrohe, Soudal-Quickstep, Uno-X and XDS Astana. 
Episode sponsors
IC Trainer
Do you train indoors in winter? Then you really must listen up…
The icTrainer app is the budget option among indoor cycling apps, costing just £24.99 a year – that’s £2 a month. Download the software from icTrainer.com now and use the code CPP26 to try it out free of charge for two months. Offer valid until the end of 2026.
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Learn a language the fun, easy way with intuitive 15-minute lessons you can do when you want. Choose from 14 languages including Spanish, French, Italian and German. Listeners can get up to 60% off for a limited time only at www.babbel.com/cycle
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The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

We continue our trilogy of podcasts weighing up how every major team fared in the 2026 season in the first of two parts focusing on the World Tour.  
Did Mathieu van der Poel’s failure to win a Monument turn Alpecin-Premier Tech’s campaign into one they’ll want to forget? Do we all agree that Netcompany-INEOS’s 36 wins automatically make their 2026 an unqualified success? And who out of Décathlon CMA-CGM, Lidl-Trek, Groupama-FDJ, EF Education First-Easypost, Jayco-AlUla and Lotto Intermarché will be celebrating – and who will be looking back, if not in anger, then at least with some regrets.  
Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie answer these questions, as well as giving their verdict on the 2027 Giro d’Italia route unveiled earlier this week. 
Episode sponsors

NordVPN and PriceMice
Shop around for the best prices when booking hotel rooms with PriceMice from NordVPN. Get NordVPN two-year plan + four months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/tcp It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.
Follow us on social media:
Twitter @cycling_podcast
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Friends of the Podcast
Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.
The 11.01 Cappuccino
Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).
The Cannibal & Badger
Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.
The Cycling Podcast is on Strava
The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

We begin a trilogy of podcasts assessing how every major team fared in the 2026 season by focusing on the social climbers of the pro cycling hierarchy, those in the ProTeam or ‘Pro Conti’ division.
Daniel Friebe is joined by Larry Warbasse, who raced for one of the best-performing outfits in that category in 2026, Tudor Pro Cycling. With Larry, we discuss the unseen costs of the current divisional system before looking more closely at the relevant teams’ performances.
There’s also time for Larry’s comprehensive self-appraisal and our thoughts about Primož Roglič’s likely destination in 2027. 
Episode sponsor
IC Trainer
Do you train indoors in winter? Then you really must listen up…
The icTrainer app is the budget option among indoor cycling apps, costing just £24.99 a year – that’s £2 a month. Download the software from icTrainer.com now and use the code CPP26 to try it out free of charge for two months. Offer valid until the end of 2026.
Follow us on social media:
Twitter @cycling_podcast
Instagram @thecyclingpodcast
Friends of the Podcast
Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.
The 11.01 Cappuccino
Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).
The Cannibal & Badger
Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.
The Cycling Podcast is on Strava
The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.
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The 2027 Tour de France routes were presented on Thursday in Paris – and we, like everyone else in cycling, were impatient to see what Christian Prudhomme had in store for Tadej Pogačar and the men who’ll try to take his crown next July. 
Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie first turn their attention to the other big news stories of the week. Picnic-PostNL have had a bruising year, and their troubles continue with Dutch national broadcaster NOS making damning claims about the culture in the team. We give our view in the episode. It’s also been a busy few days in both the scrap for UCI rankings points and the transfer market. You’ll get updates on both here. 
The majority of this week’s dispatch is of course dedicated to the men’s Tour route unveiled on Thursday. Daniel and Lionel can’t quite make up their mind whether it’s a stinker or a belter. But they certainly have plenty to say on the matter…  
Episode sponsors
IC Trainer
Do you train indoors in winter? Then you really must listen up…
The icTrainer app is the budget option among indoor cycling apps, costing just £24.99 a year – that’s £2 a month. Download the software from icTrainer.com now and use the code CPP26 to try it out free of charge for two months. Offer valid until the end of 2026.
NordVPN and PriceMice
Shop around for the best prices when booking hotel rooms with PriceMice from NordVPN. Get NordVPN two-year plan + four months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/tcp It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.
Follow us on social media:
Twitter @cycling_podcast
Instagram @thecyclingpodcast
Friends of the Podcast
Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.
The 11.01 Cappuccino
Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).
The Cannibal & Badger
Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.
The Cycling Podcast is on Strava
The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

Join us on the transfer merry-go-round as Rose Manley, Rebecca Charlton and Lizzy Banks take a closer look at all the big deals at play in the women’s peloton.
Kasia Niewiadoma’s transfer after nine years at Canyon SRAM may have felt like a long time coming but will Lidl-Trek really offer the former Tour de France champion the fresh start she is looking for? And how will Movistar balance their potential leadership duo of Marlen Reusser and Paula Blasi if the Spaniard’s rumoured move comes off? Plus other notable changes for Pfeiffer Georgi, Cedrine Kerbaol and Lily Williams.
Also on the agenda: losing our balls, teamwomanananship and exploding ovens.
Follow us on social media:
Twitter @cycling_podcast
Instagram @thecyclingpodcast
Friends of the Podcast
Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.
The 11.01 Cappuccino
Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).
The Cannibal & Badger
Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.
The Cycling Podcast is on Strava
The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.