The Only Way is Essex is a tv show with a certain charm, at least to some, but to Alex Dowsett, the title is a motto to live by. Most other professional cyclists leave where they grew up to live and train in more predictable climates, but not Alex. Growing up with haemophilia (his blood doesn’t clot on its own) means his family is very close-knit, and despite living and racing all over the place, the county to the east of London remains home. Just before Alex switched professional teams, from Movistar to Katusha, we rode out of Chelmsford towards the Blue Egg cafe that he’s helped to make famous amongst cyclists.
Find the route on Strava and see more on Instagram. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Dowsett in Essex

Join me, Matt Barbet, as I ride with some of the most interesting people in cycling, and others who like to get out on the bike, on the roads they know best. It's not about the most majestic mountains, or the routes of famous races, but the rides we all enjoy: the ones that begin at home - and it's when we're in the saddle, that the stories start to come out.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sports

For all the wrong reasons, Shanaze Reade was once labelled a rockstar. In this episode of Home Roads, you'll hear she really is a star for all the right reasons. Born in Crewe to a white teenage mum and a black dad she hardly saw, Shanaze didn't let being a mixed race girl in a world dominated by white middle class boys stop her. She went on to compete at the very highest level, not just in her first discipline of BMX but also on the velodrome track too, and to great success. It took it's toll though, and in this interview recorded while coronavirus restrictions prevented us from riding together, she reveals how she overcame several challenges to come out of the other side as a winner, but also a happier, healthier woman.
For more about the podcast, find seek out @HomeRoads on Instagram and Twitter. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shanaze Reade in Lancashire on lockdown

Starting in San Francisco in the mid-2000s as a loose group of fixie racers, MASH gained global attention by pushing their track bikes to the limits and filming their exploits in the way skaters had previously. With pro-cycling at the time obsessed with performance and tarnished by cheating, they were the antidote that reminded people just how fun riding and racing could be, pure and simple. It led to highly-desirable frame collaborations with Cinelli, a physical store on Sanchez Street and hundreds of thousands of followers around the World. For this episode, recorded remotely during the global pandemic lockdown, I caught up with founder Mike Martin and rider Chas Christiensen at their homes in California to hear the story of MASH. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MASH in San Francisco on lockdown

Aussie Lachlan Morton and US National Champion Alex Howes have been friends since they raced each other as teenagers. Despite coming from different parts of the planet, they're now on the same pro team and based a few miles apart in Colorado, USA. Compared to life in lockdown for many of their teammates at EF Pro Cycling, they have it slightly easier as they're still able to head out into the Rockies and train at altitude - provided they don't encounter lightning or some of the big wildlife that shares their home roads, as you'll hear. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lachlan Morton and Alex Howes in Colorado on lockdown

Rohan Dennis is the best men's time trialist in the World, having taken the famous rainbow jersey (or skinsuit) for the last two years. His ability against the clock is simply incredible, and as he showed in Yorkshire in 2019, that's even when the road ahead is far from flat. The same is true of his experience as a pro over the last couple of years too - it's been a bit of a bumpy ride. Sitting indoors on my Kickr turbo, Rohan chatted candidly to me from lockdown in his apartment in Girona in Catalonia about the highs and lows of his impressive career so far, and why his teenaged views on men in lycra meant it almost never happened. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rohan Dennis in Girona on lockdown

Ian Boswell (aka Boz) should probably still be racing his bike on the road at the age of 29, but a bad crash at Tirreno-Adriatico in 2019 forced him to rethink his future plans. Having criss-crossed the planet wearing the jerseys of famous teams like Sky and Katusha during his career, he jumped on his Kickr bike in the basement of his Vermont, USA home to chat to me about his hopes for getting back on the gravel, and why living as a top-level pro was very good preparation for life in lockdown Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Dowsett in Essex

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