When have we lived up to our potential? A lot of us never really get to answer that question; but rather must deal with the pitfalls life throws in our way. Some of us are lucky, or stubborn enough, to push on beyond those pitfalls and create opportunities for themselves when none present. That is the story of Joe Laverick of Ribble Rebellion. When opportunities did not present themselves at the close of his U23 career Joe set out to make his own, and found a willing partner in Ribble. Together they've built an impressive bike racing team that has come to the US and taken the fight to all the best that we have here, and returned victorious.

At a time when many American racers are taking to Europe to race, Cecile has done the opposite. Trading in Mt Ventoux and baguettes for Mt Lemmon and burritos, Cecile is making the bike racing dream work in North America from crits, to UCI podiums to gravel wins. Whether it is for the adventure, the laughs or the complimentary French lesson-you don't want to miss this one.

New host, who dis?

Can our Criterium Nation survive a new host? And a Canadian one at that? We are about to find out as retired pro Jordan Cheyne takes the front. But what better guest than the lead out woman herself, Kimberly Lucie of DNA Pro Cycling. Kim is one of the few bike racers in the peloton who can actually say they are really, genuinely, 100% a Tucson, Arizona native.

We are now at the end of the beginning and poised for a new phase of the domestic racing scene. That means it is a perfect time for us to check in on what has happened, identify some solid trends and talk about all the takeaways that we can from the first part of 2024.

On April 15 the National Cycling League shuttered its doors for 2024, and announced that it will focus on 2025. That has left riders and teams in limbo, and a lot of confusion as to what is happening. We are joined by journalist Logan Jones-Wilkins to help provide context and build a historical picture for what has led up to this point.

Job, wife, child, pro bike racer. That's a full day and for Matt Zimmer that's his reality. He's come a long way since being the high schooler in Iowa who just raced bikes, and he is here to share that journey with us along with tidbits about racing in Europe and how we can make racing here more inviting.

Your reputation is who you are before you actually arrive. It's the version of yourself that stays behind long after you have left. It opens doors and definitely gets some doors closed very hard. In bike racing your reputation is just as important as the results that you put on your race resume. This episode we talk with retired pro and current stand up comedy star Jordan Cheyne about reputation.

There are a lot of firsts that are set to happen this year, one thing that we are very proud of is our effort to be the first to bring data into American bike racing. It's all in an effort to do what has not been done before which is to set basic standards within our community. By building a medal count and collecting data on who is winning the biggest events in the country we are poised to help the fans follow the sport closer and at a higher level of education than previous. So let's get this party started with Allan and me, sitting on a couch.

It's amazing to watch people grow and excel. This podcast has been fortunate enough to have had a myriad of incredible guests who have achieved tremendous levels of success. Now, for the first time, we have a World Tour Pro on the show in Maggie Coles-Lyster of Isreal Premier Tech Roland. One of our favorite alums is back to tell us about her adventures in Europe and the somewhat rocky road she had to take this year. However, it's not all rough because it ended with her solidly and comfortably going pedal-for-pedal with the best sprinters in the world.

We are fortunate to occupy this stage for only a brief period of time. What happens after we leave? How do we maintain the progress we've made and ensure that others can stand on our shoulders? It's a question that we must grapple with in criterium racing. We've made a ton of progress over the past couple years but when our current leaders have moved on who comes next is unclear because it is our obligation to train our replacements. Gabe Lloyd and Daniel Holloway from The Call Up just us for a discussion on this very topic.