The American Peloton

It's the off-season and we're podcasting at z2 winter pace, but there's still somehow a ton to talk about in the world of American road bike racing. We go over the loss of GCN+ and what that means for watching European races in America, but also how our American races go out to the world. The USCX, NCL, Maryland Cycling Classic, they were all going out to cycling fans world wide on GCN+. Then we go over several transfers including what I would call the first top tier rider to defect from the Legion of LA men's squad. The meat of this episode is a look back at the '23 season in the form of a team tier list. We're wrangling the vibes. Who's stonks are up, who's are down?

We've referenced Will Hardin's youtube POV videos a lot this season on the show, so it was awesome to have him on fresh from his race at Legion's inaugural edition of CRIT Championship Tour in St Pete Florida. We talk about his experience there, his jump to the NCL Miami Nights for next year and branch into all corners of bike racing from there.

Check Will's youtube here (including a great video from CRIT Championship St Pete): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbDalH56GNgoMd0qTHNf9Gw

You can subscribe to The American Peloton on podcast platforms. Check it out here https://anchor.fm/jonathan-crain

Order coffee from Domestique here: https://www.domestiquecoffee.com/collections/order-coffee-online

We're SO psyched to have former world tour pro Chloe Hosking on The American Peloton! She's won some of the biggest races in women's road cycling like La Course by Tour De France on the Champs Elysees, the Commonwealth Games, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and many many more. After her team B&B Hotels folded at the beginning of the year, she decided to put together her own racing calendar including a stint in America! She's got a really unique perspective on the state of racing in America and we get her thoughts on the decline of road racing, crit tactics, racing against Legion, the NCL and more. So much great insight from her in this episode! We also chat about her new bike brand Hosking Bikes as they prepare to launch alloy and carbon aero road and all road models.

Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/27/cyclist-chloe-hosking-my-career-is-facing-its-end-when-i-dont-feel-im-done

Hosking Bikes: https://www.instagram.com/hoskingbikes/?hl=en

Chloe's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloe_hosking_/?hl=en

*I know my mic had a couple clicks, I'm producing the show live, and my own audio quality is the one thing I don't have perspective on at the moment. Streamyard's noise suppression was confusing some of my plosives as background noise. I've doctored it up as best I can, but I feel like it's all understandable, and there SO MUCH good stuff in here.*

We've got to address the Justin Williams suspension fallout up top, because the responses have been UNHINGED. I feel like any discussion of Legion get flattened to "Legion good" vs "Legion bad", but there's way more nuance there. We all contain multitudes, and one crash doesn't negate all the good that's been done. I do want us to all look at this video and this controversy and think about what we can do in our own racing to make the sport safer, whether that's rule changes, mentorship... I dunno, lets hash it out! Then we've got the NCL. Riders aren't going to get paid their full year's salary, but they're adding another team next season? Again, there's good and bad for sure. Finally, we've got the last chance saloon races, with some wacky tactics (Cough JUMBO attacking Sep Kuss, cough, Lidl chasing Toms) and big results from teams that had a slower start this season like CS Velo and Work Hard Be Humble.

We're introducing a new award...or segment... or something. The American Peloton Combativity Award! Handing out the inaugural virtual jerseys this week. Two big crits at high altitudes in Colorado produced some interesting racing. We're talking about a potential hookless fail, sidewalk surfing, and some super aggressive solo moves. We'll break down Justin and Corey William's fairly anonymous ride in the Littleton ACC race, as well as a Legion win on the women's side. After that we're breaking down NCL Denver. Some improvements to the points structure, and EVERYONE is using the rider substitutions now.

The TdF is over and ACC season is in full swing! We just had Salt Lake Crit, with some great live coverage there were a couple standout riders to highlight. A few miscellaneous items from NCL to Fitchburg and transfer rumors. We then tough on the ongoing onslaught from New Zeland based MitoQ squad (aka NZ Cycling Project) at Intellegensia cup. We also go over where some teams stand with most of the season behind us. Is Legion of LA hitting the mark? Is Austin Aviators having trouble finding a rhythm? What teams are punching up?

Find Ben's coaching company here: https://www.instagram.com/skywaycycling/

You can subscribe to The American Peloton on podcast platforms. Check it out here https://anchor.fm/jonathan-crain

Order coffee from Domestique here: https://www.domestiquecoffee.com/collections/order-coffee-online

Michael Lambert yt channel: https://www.youtube.com/@michaellambert4493

Saly Lake Stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0IomVW1WHg

We did a 24 hour mtb race over the weekend, so forgive us if we're wiped out, but there was a lot of fun stuff to talk about. We go back to Am nats. Talk through some of the riders we've highlighted on the show that pulled results there. Then we get into pro nats and talk through the "controversial" women's race finish and Quinn Simmons blowing the doors off most everyone in the men's road race. From there we talk NCL updates and a quick TOAD rundown and ACC standings.

Snake Alley and Tour of Somerville both went off last weekend and each attracted big, national fields. Both are historic and prestigious races with no live stream so we've watched go pro footage, checked results sheets, and talked to riders to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We'll also talk about some new info on Justin Williams and Legion of LA's C.R.I.T. series and touch on Joe Martin Stage Race. We might even make some predictions for the big showdown coming up in Tulsa.

Find Ben's coaching company here: https://www.instagram.com/skywaycycling/

You can subscribe to The American Peloton on podcast platforms. Check it out here https://anchor.fm/jonathan-crain

Order coffee from Domestique here: https://www.domestiquecoffee.com/collections/order-coffee-online

Lambert's Snake Alley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N49VgJ1ijM

Schroeder's Joe Martin Crit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HPzDM-Thqo

Ride 4 Life's Tour of Somerville https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X18YEwrXSmk