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On this week’s episode, we’re joined by one of the most recognisable voices in cycling: former two-time British champion and TNT Sports pundit Brian Smith.

Brian chats about the struggles involved in promoting smaller races from outside cycling’s heartlands, while battling for position in a congested calendar.

We also discuss the biggest bike race of them all, the Tour de France, and its visit to the UK (and Scotland) next summer, Oscar Onley’s move to Ineos (and why it might be a mistake), why Brian believes pro cycling teams “use and abuse” their riders, and why it’s a “shame” the Tour has gone behind a televisual paywall… even if Brian’s the one commentating behind it.

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On this week’s episode of the road.cc Podcast, bike industry stalwart Rory Hitchens joins us for our annual cycling market health check-up – and tells us why brands being “honest” with themselves have brought the industry back to where it needs to be.

And in part two, Ryan and Dan pore over the details of next summer’s festival of bike racing. Apologies in advance to the people of Carlisle...

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It’s fair to say the opening nine days of the new year have been fairly frenetic when it comes to news. And I’m only talking about our niche, little world of cycling (if you’re looking for Ruben Amorim or Trump chats, I’m sure there are a few football and politics podcasts knocking around the internet). 

Which means there was lots to discuss when we convened for our first podcast discussion of 2026. In this week’s episode, we discuss everything from the surprise retirement announcement of one of Britain’s greatest ever cyclists, British Cycling’s decision to construct a paywall for the national cyclocross championships, and the very important matter of ranking this year’s fresh batch of cycling kits. 

Oh, and something inconsequential about the government’s attitudes to cycling...

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Christmas is fast approaching (gulp), and that means only one thing… in podcast land, anyway – it’s time for us to don our best paper party hats, break open the archives, and reflect on the biggest cycling stories of 2025.

In part two, the Cycle to Work Alliance’s chair Steve Edgell joins us to discuss Labour’s plans to re-introduce a spending cap on purchases made as part of Cycle to Work – and how the group ‘mobilised’ to stop those plans.

Steve also chats about the continued support for Cycle to Work within the government, how it is key to attracting new cycling converts (especially when it comes to making e-bikes accessible), and why the alliance is working hard to “dispel the myth” that Cycle to Work is catered to rich MAMILs in the Surrey Hills.

Meanwhile, in part one, Ryan, Jack, Dan, and Emily sign off for the year by assessing some of the other big stories from the worlds racing, tech, infrastructure, politics. Happy Christmas!

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On this week’s episode, Ryan is joined by 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans and 2007 Paris-Roubaix victor Stuart O’Grady, two of Australia’s greatest ever cyclists.

The dynamic Aussie duo chat about what they’re up to these days, including O’Grady’s role as Tour Down Under organiser, and reflect on how their perspectives on cycling have shifted since retiring and how much the sport has changed, from increasing professionalisation to greater focus on nutrition and aerodynamics.

They also weigh in on cycling’s ongoing race safety debate (and why gear restrictions and wider handlebars are “common sense”), Tadej Pogacar’s dominance (and why it’s a good thing), the impact of this year’s anti-Israel protests on organisers, teams, and riders, the future of Australian racing… oh, and why we shouldn’t expect a theatre production commemorating O’Grady’s Roubaix victory any time soon.

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Former world time trial champion, Olympic medallist, and endurance sport all-rounder Emma Pooley joins the podcast to discuss her new recipe book/memoir Oat to Joy, her own up-and-down relationship with food, the ‘weight debate’ that erupted in women’s cycling this year (and what she regards as the gender-based hypocrisy surrounding it) and her times spent fighting the sport’s ‘idiots’… especially when it came to a celebratory post-win hot chocolate.

We also chat about Pooley and her generation’s role in growing women’s cycling, the battle for the Tour de France Femmes, getting used to riding slowly on the morning commute, and why sometimes making enemies is a sign you’re doing a good job…

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“This is crazy. It’s Russia, you don’t illegally enter Russian territory. You don’t do that!” says Sofiane Sehili. Except he did… And the ultra-endurance legend tells us all about it on this epic episode of the podcast.

In September, Sehili was a day away from breaking the world record for the fastest Eurasia crossing by bike when he was refused entry to Russia at the country’s border with China. Undeterred, he forged on through a forest, through streams, and over barbed wire across the border. After handing himself in, he was arrested, spending 51 days in a Russian jail before being sent home.

Now back home safe in France, Sehili talks in depth about that dramatic conclusion to his latest record attempt, his 51 days in a jail in Russia’s Far East, and the response he’s got since returning home.

We also chat about the logistical planning that goes into these mammoth, ultra-cycling rides, how his perspective on life has changed since his time in Russia, and – most importantly – what happened to his bike when he was in jail…

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20 years ago, former England footballer, Crystal Palace captain, and cancer survivor Geoff Thomas first made his mark on the cycling world by completing all 21 stages and 3,593km of the 2005 Tour de France, a day before the Lance Armstrong-led peloton.

Since then, Thomas’s Tour 21 has developed into a huge deal, and every year groups of amateurs follow in his wheel tracks and ride the Tour route one week before the pros, raising millions of pounds for Cure Leukaemia. And this summer, Geoff marked two decades since his first French summer by riding his seventh Tour 21. 

In a wide-ranging chat, Geoff discusses his own cancer story, the origins of his Tour rides, the highs and lows of 20 years of riding a bike around France, his experiences with a certain Texan, his relationship with cycling beyond the Tour, and why cycling in a group isn’t that far removed from being part of a football changing room.

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It may have been sorely lacking in recent years, but the 2026 edition of the Tour de France Hommes will be all about suspense. Or, as the race’s press release put it, it’s going to be a ‘crescendo’. Whether it’s one that could build to a great Alpine GC frenzy, or, if Tadej decides to clash the symbols sooner than anticipated, fade into a disappointing diminuendo, remains to be seen.
On this week’s episode, we offer our immediate reactions to the Tour Hommes route revealed this week, which features a Barcelona start, an early Pyrenean excursion, a backloaded double visit to Alpe d’Huez, and the return of the Montmarte finale in Paris.
We also provide some hot takes on what looks set to be a very exciting Tour de France Femmes in 2026, including its long-awaited trip to Mont Ventoux and a potentially explosive final stage in Nice.
Elsewhere, inspired by Remco Evenepoel’s redemptive downhill performance at Il Lombardia this month, Emily puts her sports psychology Masters to good use and offers some handy advice on how you too can overcome a heavy crash and regain your confidence on the bike.

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Following Israel-Premier Tech’s decision to change both its name and nationality for 2026, in the wake of a season dominated by protests and controversy surrounding the team’s participation in races amid the conflict in Gaza, former UCI president Brian Cookson joins us on the podcast to discuss one of cycling’s biggest talking points in recent years: sportswashing.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Cookson, who ran the UCI between 2013 and 2017 after 16 years at the helm of British Cycling, chats about the spectre of sportswashing in cycling, affecting both sponsorship and race locations, why nation states shouldn’t have their name on team jerseys, and how cycling’s stakeholders should deal with protests on the road.

Elsewhere in the podcast, we also discuss the state of professional cycling in 2025, how the sport has moved on from the doping era Cookson saw first-hand as UCI president, and where things are currently going right (and wrong) for cycling in the UK.