In this week's episode Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss the strange case of Mitchelton-Scott and its on-off takeover, and we hear from the team's lead sports director, Matt White, about the challenges of planning for the season when it resumes later this month.

There has  been a lot of speculation about Chris Froome, the four-time Tour de France winner, and his relationship with his team, Ineos, and last year's Tour winner, Egan Bernal. We speak to Bernal's coach, Xabier Artetxe, about how the young Colombian is preparing to defend his title.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by iwoca and Science In Sport.

In the first episode of a four-part series for friends of the podcast, François Thomazeau remembers the first Tour he watched, in 1967, and the first one he worked at, in 1986, in conversation with Richard, Lionel and Daniel. Both were dramatic Tours: 1967 for the tragic death of Tom Simpson on the upper slopes of Mont Ventoux, 1986 for the intra-team rivalry between Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond. To sign up as a Friend of the Podcast go to our website.

Last month we were named as a finalist in the British Podcast Awards for the fourth consecutive year. This week we heard that our latest book The Grand Tour Diaries is a finalist in the cycling category at the British Sports Book Awards. The winners of both awards will be announced next month. Go to our online shop to buy a copy of our book.

We have teamed up with Katusha to produce The Cycling Podcast Collection. The launch range is a cycling jersey and a t-shirt in both men's and women's cuts. To check out the range go to our website.

iwoca became The Cycling Podcast’s title sponsors in March 2020. Iwoca specialises in supporting small businesses and can lend between £1,000 and £250,000. Applications can take only a few minutes to complete and they promise a fast and fair decision. To find out more, go to iwoca.co.uk

Science In Sport is The Cycling Podcast’s longest-standing supporter. It’s a relationship that stretches back to the 2016 Giro d’Italia. Listeners can get 25% off Science In Sport’s range of energy drinks, bars, gels and cakes at scienceinsport.com with the code SISCP25