The Domestiques

Can the 2027 Tour routes deliver the racing we want? Tils, Marko and Lee debate the men's time-trial-heavy course and the women's British opening, London team time trial and Puy de Dôme finale.

Closer to home, Marko takes us inside his Gravelista race, Lee celebrates surviving the Hell Ride, and the crew compare their very different preparations for Tour of Bright.

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Matilda takes a well-earned breather, leaving Mark O'Brien and Lee with the keys to the zoo. Lee recounts Around the Bay and a puncture saga, while Mark tells the story of Harry Leask putting the bunch under pressure at Glenvale.

The pair look ahead to the Tour of Bright and Gravelista, debate why big participation rides don't always translate into race entries, and weigh up Mark's next World Championships adventure. There's also a wrap of the international season and a little speculation about who might turn up for the Australian summer.

Fresh from the Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Marko O'Brien joins Tils to unpack the race from inside the front group: relentless climbs, huge efforts, a crash into the bush and the long fight to the finish.

Tils brings the view from the commentary box as they discuss Marianne Vos's victory, Tiffany Cromwell's attacking ride and Magnus Bak Klaris's surprise men's title. Hollywood Lee Turner arrives late with his own version of events, before the conversation turns to Paul Seixas at Il Lombardia, a big weekend of endurance sport and the latest Australian cycling news.

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Gravel Worlds is coming to Nannup, and Tasman Nankervis joins Matilda Reynolds and Mark O'Brien to break down the course from a racer's perspective. From the fight onto the first gravel sector to Brockman's climb, slippery descents and the punishing final loop, the crew explain where the race could be won, and where it could unravel.

Tasman shares the lost-bike adventure behind his SEVEN victory and his return from a kangaroo crash. Marko talks taper nerves, tyre choices and taking on the world's best, while Tils reports from Western Australia. Plus, the contenders, trade teams versus national teams, practical race-week advice and a quick European road championships debrief.

Brandon McNulty lands the rainbow jersey, Demi Vollering wins a thriller and Michael “Bling” Matthews makes Hollywood eat his words. Matilda Reynolds, Mark O’Brien and Lee “Hollywood” Turner unpack a gripping Road Worlds in Montréal: the USA’s teamwork, the chase that stalled, the women’s tactical battle and the questions that remain over Australia’s team selection.

Plus, the next generation makes its mark, race radios divide opinion, and Marko reveals how his Gravel Worlds preparation is tracking ahead of Nannup. Tils shares a moving roadside encounter with a listener, and the team looks ahead to Black Sheep’s tenth-anniversary Man Ride.

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Australia’s Worlds team has given The Domestiques plenty to debate. Matilda Reynolds, Mark O’Brien and Lee Turner unpack the selections, question the omissions of Luke Plapp and Ruby Roseman-Gannon, and look at the opportunities for Australia’s younger riders.

Then it’s time to pick the rainbow jerseys. The crew weigh up the women’s favourites, debate the tactics that could decide the men’s race in Montréal and make their podium predictions. Plus, a Vuelta debrief, Marko’s Gravel Worlds training, Lee’s Around the Bay preparation and a salute to everyone who rode Amy’s Gran Fondo.

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What does it take to get ready for Gravel Worlds? Mark O’Brien takes Matilda Reynolds inside his preparation: long climbing days, repeated efforts, technical descents and the challenge of fuelling when the course barely gives you a break. They compare indoor training with riding outdoors, discuss the value of changing your training stimulus, and debate what AI can offer a training plan—and where a human coach still matters.

Plus, their take on the Vuelta, racing in the heat, professional cycling’s reliance on sponsors and why cycling’s coaches receive so little public scrutiny.

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Lee “Hollywood” Turner is back from five weeks in Europe, and instantly back in the thick of it with Matilda Reynolds and Mark O’Brien.

The crew unpack Connor Wright’s junior XCO rainbow jersey, the elite mountain-bike showdown, Australian success at the Gran Fondo World Championships in Niseko, and a Vuelta already turned upside down. Plus: the transfer market, Jayco’s next move, Tour Bright challenges, Chamonix crop tops, Hollywood’s ten-kilo shred and a dating app for cyclists built around Strava.

From Tadej Pogačar taking red in Monaco to Matthew Brennan winning his first Grand Tour sprint, La Vuelta has started at full speed.

Matilda Reynolds and Mark O’Brien unpack the opening stages, the next generation of Australian talent, what Team Jayco AlUla needs to do next, and the best fit for Sarah Gigante if a move eventuates. They also reflect on Julian Alaphilippe’s retirement, Gravel Worlds preparation, indoor training and the local events worth supporting this spring.

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The episode opens with a difficult but important conversation about rider safety and the loss of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal.

EF Education-EasyPost sports director Tom Southam then joins Matilda Reynolds and Mark O’Brien for a look inside the Tour de France team car: how breakaways are planned, tactics change on the road, riders manage extreme heat and fueling, and the enormous staff effort behind a Grand Tour.

Tom also reflects on his journey from racing in Australia to directing at WorldTour level, before looking ahead to EF’s Vuelta ambitions.

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