Zac Marriage is 22 years old, from Adelaide, and he is quietly building one of the more interesting careers in the peloton right now. He started on the track, won Australia's biggest one-day race, raced across Asia and Africa, landed a stagiaire contract with Israel Premier Tech — and watched the Vuelta a España descend into chaos from his house in Girona. Now he's riding for the NSN development team with one clear goal: make it to the WorldTour by the end of the year.

In this Hotseat, Zac talks about what it's like to uproot your life at 22 and move to Spain, what he learned riding alongside Chris Froome at a training camp in Italy, the Pro Velo Superleague and whether Australia's domestic scene has finally found its feet, and why Africa might be cycling's most exciting frontier right now.

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The new generation is here. Isaac del Toro set a record on Jebel Hafeet to win the UAE Tour, Jonathan Milan put out nearly 2,000 watts in a bunch sprint after crashing earlier in the week, and a 20-year-old Belgian named Tom Crabbe is already fielding calls from half the peloton. 

In Portugal, Paul Seixas announced himself with a stunning victory at the Volta ao Algarve, while Juan Ayuso showed a different side of himself, winning the Volta ao Algarve and proving he can lead a new team without drama. And somewhere in the middle of all this, Remco Evenepoel was blaming his air conditioning. The opening weeks of 2026 have been anything but quiet.

With the Belgian Classics now on the horizon, Bram and Ethan look ahead to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Will Mathieu van der Poel show up for his first-ever Omloop? Can the revised parcours - with 10km of flat before the Muur removed - finally end the race before the sprinters get a say? And with Paul Magnier in the form of his life and Matthew Brennan turning heads, who actually wins? All that, plus podium picks and at least one prediction that will almost certainly be wrong.

Monument winner Matej Mohorič joins Aidan on The Hotseat from an airport lounge to discuss his career trajectory, the pressures facing talents like Tadej Pogačar, and why Slovenia continues to produce world-class riders.

In this revealing conversation, Mohorič contrasts his early career experience with today's expectations on junior talents, explains why he believes the "process over results" mindset saved his career, and opens up about the mental challenges that come with life in the pro peloton.

Key topics:
- The fundamental difference between expectations in 2014 vs today
- Why turning pro at 19 taught him invaluable life lessons
- Slovenia's unique cycling development system explained
- The pressure on young riders like Pogačar and Evenepoel
- Mental health, burnout, and finding balance in professional cycling
- His targets for 2025: Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix

Mohorič provides insight into how elite riders manage the constant travel, expectations, and lifestyle demands of WorldTour racing.

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Bram and Ethan break down the UAE Tour after Isaac Del Toro's late surge secured stage 1 and the leader's jersey with the same move Tadej Pogačar attempted unsuccessfully last year. With Pogačar absent, Del Toro leads UAE Team Emirates-XRG into a fascinating GC battle against the dominant Remco Evenepoel, who has been unstoppable since joining Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

The duo discuss Jonathan Milan's crash and its impact on the sprint stages, and debate whether Del Toro's explosive climbing can overcome Evenepoel's power on the new stage 3 summit finish. They also analyze UAE's incredible start to 2026 with 13 victories already, the strength of both teams' support riders, and whether the weakened sprint field can produce exciting finishes.

Plus: A full preview of the Volta ao Algarve featuring João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, Florian Lipowitz, and the potential breakout performance of Paul Seixas. The pair also recap Biniam Girmay's return to form at Almería, the controversial Lewis Askey sprint incident, and Matthew Riccitello's victory at Tour de la Provence.

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Remco Evenepoel kicked off his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe career with a dominant performance at the Vuelta Comunitat Valenciana, taking two stage wins and the overall classification. But the race will be remembered for one of cycling's strangest decisions: a time trial that was "too dangerous to race" for GC but still safe enough to actually race.

We break down the controversial stage 3 TT that was neutralized for general classification due to high winds, yet still went ahead on road bikes. Should the entire stage have been cancelled? We debate the decision and what it means for rider safety.

Beyond the controversy, Valencia delivered compelling racing. Biniam Girmay returned to winning ways with his first victory since the 2024 Tour de France, while young talents like Andrew August (Ineos Grenadiers), Jasper Schoeps (Soudal-QuickStep development), and Florian Vermeersch showed their class in breakaways.

We also cover the unfortunate crashes that marked the early season, with Mads Pedersen going down in his season opener and Cian Uijtdebroecks heading to hospital with a hurt wrist.

Jens Voigt joins us on The Hotseat for a wide ranging and honest conversation about talent, trust and what it really means to leave a legacy in cycling. From his now famous “blessed by the gods” explanation of once in a generation greatness to his belief that the sport is living through a genuine golden age, Voigt reflects on Pogacar, Van der Poel, Sagan and the pressures facing modern riders. Along the way, he opens up about growing up in East Germany, surviving cycling’s darkest eras, and why scepticism and belief can coexist.

Also in this episode:

- The origin and legacy of “Shut up legs”
- Life inside the anti doping whereabouts system
- Why modern cycling is cleaner, but scrutiny will never disappear
- What cycling still owes the current generation of riders
- Voigt on legacy, fatherhood and life after the peloton
- Why kindness matters as much as toughness in elite sport

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Remco Evenepoel makes a stunning start to his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe career with three dominant victories in Mallorca, including a monster 55km solo at the Trofeo Serra Tramuntana. We break down what his aggressive racing style tells us about his season ahead and preview his next challenge at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana.

Plus: Tobias Lund Andresen sprints to victory at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Jan Christen snatches overall victory at the AlUla Tour for UAE Team Emirates, and we give you a full stage-by-stage preview of the Volta Comunitat Valenciana starting this Wednesday.

🚀 Fuelled by MNSTRY. Get 20% off your first Tasting Box order with code DOMESTIQUE20 to see why your sports nutrition shouldn't be a choice between on-bike performance and off-bike health 

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This week we're diving deep into Remco Evenepoel's early season plans, exploring whether he could be cycling's answer to Max Verstappen, breaking down the return of team time trials, and catching up on all the action from the Tour Down Under and look ahead to the Cyclocross Worlds.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE:
The Remco Show
Evenepoel is loading up his Mallorca Challenge schedule and Red Bull-Bora boss Ralph Denk thinks he could transform cycling like Verstappen transformed F1. We break down what makes Remco special and whether one rider can really change the sport.

From Mallorca to Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, teams are using TTTs as Tour de France test runs. We discuss why this early-season preparation matters and which teams to watch.

A UAE Team Emirates DS gets suspended after two yellow cards, but the team keeps winning anyway. What does this say about the UCI's enforcement and UAE's team depth?

Dylan Groenewegen gets an important early win for Unibet Rose Rockets. We look at what this means for the new team's first season.

Former Grand Tour ironman Adam Hansen joins us on The Hotseat for a wide ranging and deeply honest conversation about life after the peloton, his role as president of the CPA, and why modern professional cycling is pushing young riders to the brink. From anti doping pressure to mental health, Hansen offers a rare inside view of the sport’s growing pains.

Also in this episode:

• Why the whereabouts system has become a mental load for riders
• What a “missed control” actually is and why it scares riders so much
• Hansen’s take on the new power data passport and how it adds pressure
• The “super licence” idea to slow down the jump into the WorldTour
• What riders really face after retirement once the team bubble disappears
• How the CPA transition fund helps riders retrain and start again
• Where the CPA still has to push harder on safety and rider protection

Fresh off her Tour Down Under triumph, Noemi Rüegg joins Domestique Hotseat to break down a week that tested her limits. From brutal heat adaptation, tactical gambles on Corkscrew Road to how to beat 3 UAE riders, the Swiss rider reflects on pressure, teamwork and taking the next step as a leader.

Also in this episode:

• Defending a GC title and dealing with expectation from day one
• Training through winter in Switzerland and preparing for 37 degree heat
• The decisive role of the reigning world champion as a teammate
• Turning consistency into victories and targeting the next step forward

The Swiss rider also opens up about life inside the team, the importance of trust over hierarchy, and why sometimes winning comes down to leaving doubt behind and committing fully to the gamble.