Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast

In this special cross-over episode with our sibling podcast, The Shakeout over at Canadian Running, host John Gay speaks with sport science writer Alex Hutchinson about the high-carb fuelling revolution that endurance sports are experiencing. Hutchinson remarks that cycling has a notable role in the latest craze. Check out the discussion that applies to marathon runners, Tour de France riders, and even cyclists like you.

Also, editors Matthew Pioro, Matt Hansen and James Bunga, who is finishing up his time in northern Europe, look back on the Classics.

Nicole Bradbury’s World Cup short track race came down to the wire. Following terrible opening laps—where she dropped to the back of the field and then was taken down by a crash—the Hamilton rider got up to the front of the race. Not only had that event in Val di Sole this past June been a struggle, but the years leading up to that race were marked by setback after setback. A few times, she thought she would quit racing cross country.

As the race in Italy went on, Bradbury realized a top-15 place would be possible. Then, a top-10 came into view. “Then, it was like the last lap of the World Cup, and I was in fourth. This is so sick. The whole time I was just panicking. I was like, I got to hold this top-five,” she said.

Bradbury was in second position into the final corner. “I was behind Katharina Sadnik and I was, like, this is insane,” Bradbury said. “I thought I have to sprint because otherwise it's position one or two, and I don't want to be second. I started sprinting really, really hard. I still didn't think I was going to pass her. When I was passing her, I was, like, this is stupid. I can’t believe it.”

Not only was Bradbury surprised by the win, she was totally unprepared. She had no change of kit for the podium, so another racer hosed Bradbury down in the bike-wash area. The winner also needed some coaching on how to open a champagne bottle.

The rest of Bradbury’s 2025 season went pretty well. The World Cup in Lake Placid helped her to build more confidence. In the fall, she returned to Brevard College in North Carolina for her final year of school and collegiate racing. She won the U.S. Omnium Championship. Then, with the new year, it seemed the momentum of the previous one was faltering. Logistical and health issues hindered her preparation for the 2026 season, her first as an elite rider. While she has the support of Victoria-based Blue Bridge Racing, Bradbury is still operating like a privateer racer. Funds are tight.

In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Bradbury goes into detail about her career to date, and the perspective she has on her uncertain future. Also, she discusses her art. Her recent exhibition of oil and gouache paintings has a strong connection with her cross country career.

Canadian cycling great Gord Fraser has many road race wins to his name. But how many exactly? A quick search online leads to the number 200. Two hundred race wins. Really? In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Fraser discusses just where that figure might have come from and how many victories he may actually have. (Hint: it’s still a lot.)

Today, the former pro from Ottawa directs up-and-coming talent at Tag Cycling. With a seemingly clairvoyant ability to read races, Fraser has been helping emerging road riders improve and move up the ranks of the sport. He’s also a vintage bike collector. In this in-depth interview, he reveals how a story he wrote for Canadian Cycling Magazine led to a reunion with a special bike from his past.

Also in this episode, CCM photographer and writer James Bunga reports from Belgium, where he’s covering the Spring Classics. He and editors Matthew Pioro and Matt Hansen preview the Tour of Flanders.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine podcast is supported by MS Bike. In 2026, MS Bike is running 10 great rides in six provinces. Each event is fully supported with fuel, roadside assistance and first aid. These rides are welcoming. You only really need a bike, a helmet and the desire to keep pedalling. It is all for an important cause: raising money to help those with MS. Did you know that on average, 12 Canadians are diagnosed with MS each day? You can help. Register now and start your fundraising journey at msbike.ca.

In 2025, Squamish’s Elly Hoskin racked up a slew of successes: two Enduro World Cup wins, a victory at Crankworx Whistler, the world championship gold, as well as the national enduro title. Not bad for a rider in her first year as an elite rider who manages her own program, calling herself a pro privateer.

In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Elly Hoskin looks back at her breakout 2025 season and ahead to new goals in 2026. She also discusses racing here at home compared with abroad, wrenching on her own bike, race prep and strategies, the ever-evolving health of enduro (of which she sees hope and optimism) and why she sometimes doesn’t know whether to say “beanie” or “tuque.” That feature interview starts at 20:00.

Also in this episode, a preview of Milan-San Remo and San Remo Donne, the first Monuments of the road cycling season.

MS Bike has lent its support to this episode. The organization is running 11 rides across the country this year. These are top-notch, fully supported events. The first ones are in June in Alberta. The last one is Waskesiu, Sask. There are also rides in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. No matter which one you choose, there’s still plenty of time to prepare. If you need some training tips, there are two-month and three-month plans for you on the Canadian Cycling Magazine website.

Remember, through an MS Bike event, you raise funds, which go to help MS research and services. Head to msbike.ca. Register, and then start training and fundraising.

In February, Luke Valenti won two races in Spain. He took the general classification of the three-stage Memorial Manuel Sanroma Valencia. A week later, he won the one-day Circuito del Guadiana, putting him in the lead of the under-23 Spanish Cup. The season has gotten off to a strong start for the 21 year old chasing a pro contract.

In this episode, Valenti, who’s from Orangeville, Ont., talks about how he came to ride for Club Ciclista Padronés-Cortizo, an outfit based in Spain’s Galicia region. He also discusses why he gets teased about his Fortnite playing, and how the video game relates to his riding and recovery.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by MS Bike. Every MS Bike ride is a professional event: fully supported with fuel, roadside assistance and first aid. The rides are welcoming, too. You only really need a bike, a helmet and the desire to keep pedalling. It’s all for an important cause, raising money to help those with MS. Register now and start your fundraising journey at msbike.ca. Then, head to Canadian Cycling Magazine’s training plans to prepare for your big ride.

Why is it a good idea to sleep in a pit toilet in Alaska?

In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, world-record holder Ashleigh Myles explains the benefits of such grungy accommodation and other facets of pedalling from the top of the Western Hemisphere to the bottom.

This past December, the Halifax rider and cycling-event organizer travelled from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, in 118 days, two hours and 30 minutes. That time marks the fastest trip on the Pan-American Highway by an unsupported female cyclist.

In this in-depth interview, Myles not only discusses northern outhouses, but the gear she took on her ride, dealing with illness and aggressive animals, and handling parts of the route that a cyclist simply can’t cover.

Now that Myles’s has set such an impressive record, what could the next goal be?

In 2012, at the “old” age of 21, Montrealer Jamie Piccoli decided to pursue a career in pro road cycling. In his new book, Tell Me I Can’t, Piccoli chronicles that moment and his struggles to make it. The work is not only a story of a young athlete facing challenges, but a snapshot of time in North American cycling that has passed.

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is back with two feature interviews. At the start of 2025, both Derek Gee-West and Michael Woods were teammates on Israel-Premier Tech. But by the end of August, Gee-West wasn’t riding because of a contract dispute with the team. Woods, who was suffering from illness and a serious hernia, announced his retirement.

Now, at the start of the 2026, both riders have big ambitions for the season ahead. Gee-West spoke from the recent Lidl-Trek team camp. He chatted about coming on the new team and the plans for the first part of the season, which will culminate in his return to the Giro d’Italia, where he finished in fourth-place overall this past year.

Woods is back on the bike, and skis, and is in the pool, all in pursuit of a year filled with a variety of endurance challenges. It’s part research project, part midlife crisis. Find out more about Woods’s plans that could even include the Winter Olympics (in 2030).

In this in-depth interview, world champion Magdeleine Vallières Mill not only looks back at the 2025 season and the lead-up to her historic win in Kigali, Rwanda, but also ahead to next year, and the events she’s targeting and how she plans to race them. The rider from Sherbrooke, Que., has seen a lot of change since September, and there’s more to come. Vallières Mill talks about the mad dash to get her rainbow bike, kit and helmet soon after Kigali. She also touches on a strange nickname created by one of her EF Education-Oatly teammates. Although Vallières Mill still seems to have trouble believing she’s won the world championships, she’s moving forward with the opportunities that such a success can offer.

https://www.maghalierochette.com/Maghalie Rochette is coming into the cyclocross season hot. She’s released a new book. Currently, her CX Fever Tour—with book signings, clinics and rides—is moving across North America. She’s about to start racing once again, too.

All this activity sits in sharp contrast to Rochette’s state in December 2024. Her European racing campaign came to an abrupt end as burnout and illness took hold. She stopped riding. She even thought she was done with racing. Instead, Rochette began to reset.

In this episode, Maghalie Rochette looks back at that period. After time to rest, really rest, the rider began some light training. With big gaps between her workouts, Rochette started a project she had had in the back of her mind for some time. “I had this idea of creating a book about cyclocross,” she says, “not necessarily about my full story, but about cyclocross and stories I’ve lived through it.” The writing began around the end of February and the whole work came together rather quickly as the regular newsletter writer had a bank of ideas.

Rochette, with her characteristic pep and enthusiasm, also discusses the state of her beloved cycling discipline. Despite declarations of its demise, cyclocross—Rochette argues—isn’t dead. While it may be tough to source a proper cyclocross bike these days, that’s no impediment to getting out and getting into the muddy art. Other topics that the rider/writer covers include the differences between North American and European cyclocross scenes, her misadventures within the latter and the rock ‘n’ roll nature of CX. Visit maghalierochette.com for more information about the tour and to order the book.

Editor Matthew Pioro and feature writer Jake Williams talk about the slew of Canadian successes at the mountain bike world championships. They also chat about the big road cycling events in this country, the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, which are about to get underway. Make sure to tune in to the Canadian Cycling Magazine website and social media channels throughout the events to stay up to date on all the action.