This week on Spill The Watts, I’m joined by Jenson Young — The current British Gravel Champion, UCI Gravel race winner, 3 Peaks Cyclocross winner and course record holder, and one of the UK’s leading gravel racers.

Jenson races professionally for the Ribble Outliers and has quickly established himself at the sharp end of international gravel.

In this podcast, we go right back to Jenson’s beginnings in Yorkshire cyclocross, racing from the age of seven, before getting properly into what has made him the rider he is today.

We talk training volume, threshold, strength training, fuelling 100g+ of carbohydrate per hour, recovery, race craft and the specific training he used to prepare for the 3 Peaks.

We also get into the less serious side of life — including airport lounge tactics, and his inability to deal with blood.

Jenson is incredibly humble and down to earth, and this was a fascinating insight into what it actually takes to turn a talented young cyclist into a British Champion.

If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure you are subscribed and have notifications turned on, and of course you can always buy me a coffee at; Spill The Watts

🎙 Spill The Watts with Jenson Young.

Welcome to The York Build.

Over the next few weeks, I’m documenting the reality of my build towards the York Marathon — the training, the good sessions, the bad ones, what I’m learning and everything that happens in between.

In episode one, I give a bit of context on why I’m doing this, where my running is currently at, before breaking down 6wks to go.

This week I'm joined by British Gravel Champion Sophie Wright.

Sophie turned professional at just 19 and spent six years racing at the highest level on the road before making the decision to step away from the WorldTour and return to her off-road roots.

We talk about the reality of life as a professional cyclist, spending years working as a domestique, knowing when it's time to change direction, and why gravel has allowed Sophie to rediscover the freedom and competitiveness that made her fall in love with racing in the first place.

But this one goes well beyond cycling. We get into Sophie's childhood, motocross, heart surgery, moving around Europe, independence, taking ownership of your life, and plenty of stories supplied by her dad along the way.

A really open conversation about ambition, identity, happiness and backing yourself — with someone who now gets to do it all in a British Champion's jersey.

You can buy me a coffee at Buymeacoffee;Spill The Watts

On the surface, Kate Richardson is one of the UK's top cyclists.

A Commonwealth Games athlete, national champion and one of the most exciting talents in British racing.

But this conversation goes far beyond results.

We talk about her rapid rise from triathlon to the GB programme, the reality of life as an elite cyclist, dealing with injuries, teams folding, a hit-and-run incident, and the setbacks that shaped her career.

More importantly, Kate opens up about a childhood marked by adversity, how those experiences fuelled her drive, and why she's now happier, healthier and performing better than ever.

This is an honest conversation about resilience, identity, perspective and the person behind the race numbers.

I genuinely think you'll take something away from this one.

What does it really take to stay at the top of British cycling for over a decade?

In this episode of Spill The Watts, I sit down with Tom Armstrong for an honest conversation that goes far beyond race results. We explore his upbringing in a cycling family, his early success in cyclocross, chasing the dream abroad, and the realities of life as a professional rider outside of the WorldTour.

We also discuss balancing work with elite-level racing, raising guide dogs, how British racing has changed over the years, and the mindset that's kept him motivated through setbacks, near misses and countless victories.

Whether you're a racer, a coach, or simply someone who loves hearing the stories behind the numbers, there's plenty to take away from this one.

Topics include:

• Growing up in a cycling family

• The transition from cyclocross to road

• Racing and living in Europe

• The reality of being a lower-level pro

• Balancing work, life and performance

• Overcoming iliac fibrosis

• Training philosophy and race-winning tactics

• How British cycling has evolved

• Lessons learned from a lifetime in the sport

As always, if you enjoy the episode, please leave a rating, share it with a friend, and let us know who you'd like to hear on Spill The Watts next.

What does it actually take to win The Traka 560?

In this episode of Spill the Watts, I sit down with Maddy Nutt fresh off one of the biggest results of her career to unpack the full story behind her victory at The Traka 560.

We go deep into:

• how the race actually unfolded from start to finish

• the training block behind the performance

• durability, strength work, and consistency

• fueling, refills, and pacing over ultra-distance racing

• the difficult moments during the race

• planning without overcomplicating things

• and what this result changes going forward

This is a proper insight into what goes into executing at a high level over 560km of racing.

Whether you’re into gravel, ultra racing, endurance performance, or just fascinated by how big results come together — there’s a lot in this one 👊

I am back for another "walk and talk" podcast.

On the 12th April, I raced the Milano Marathon.

This gives the full breakdown, the prep, the logistics, the race itself. The good the bad and the ugly.

I FINALLY got the sub-3 that I was after, but I am still left feeling there is so much more to get out of me.

I thought I was ready for Milan… and in a lot of ways, I was.

But the marathon isn’t about what you’re capable of at your best.It’s about what you can hold onto when things start to fade.

This is a proper, honest debrief:

• ​the build
• ​the execution
• ​the moment it changed
• ​and what I’d do differently

If you’re training for a marathon, this is the stuff that actually matters.

We’ve only gone and bagged ourselves another National Champ!

This was such a great conversation, Xan is such a wonderful unique character and it was really nice to hear her insights into all things cross racing.

https://www.instagram.com/xancrees/

If you'd like to buy me a coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/spillthewatts?l=en

*Warning graphic stories*

Nick Cooper was a very good cyclist, racing at the top level on the road in the UK and across the continent.
This all changed when he was struck by a car (whom the driver was high) sending him flying up in the air and landing on the road with many potentially life changing injuries. (see CCTV footage in link below).

In this podcast, we will talk at length about the incident itself, the recovery process involved, to what extent this played its part on his mental health and the friends and family involved, and where he is at with things currently.

This podcast did get very deep, emotional, and graphic at times, so please be warned.

CCTV footage / story:

https://road.cc/content/news/drug-driver-avoids-jail-horrific-cyclist-crash-310681

Nick's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/_nickcooper_/

Buy me a coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/spillthewatts?l=en

Tim is the team manager / DS of Shibden Apex RT which is the top ranked women’s junior team in the WORLD.

This team has been developing future stars for many years now, with the likes of Cat Ferguson and Imogen Wolff (Previous guests of the pod) both honing in their skills and talents to go on to further pro teams.

The work that goes into being a team manager is hugely underrated, and in this podcast we hope to spread some light onto what is involved.

We also talk about:

How important sponsors are for teams

What each of the girls does on a race weekend?

How the parents are such key roles for the riders.

And what pro teams are actually looking for?