Velo Podcast

The Vuelta a España has heated up in its second week, with a zany mountain stage in Andorra and a decisive individual time trial. On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast, Andy Hood and Fred Dreier analyze the action from the decisive stages, and look ahead at the storylines to follow through the race's second half.

Can Primoz Roglic survive the brutal third week of the race? Will Nairo Quintana and Miguel Angel Lopez bombard Jumbo-Visma with searing attacks? What does Roglic's effort at the Giro d'Italia tell us about his strengths and his weaknesses?

Plus, we hear from two Americans in the race: Kiel Reijnen and Ben King. Kiel takes us through the rain-soaked stage 9, and Ben replays his thrilling victories from the 2018 Vuelta.

This week's episode is brought to you by MetPro, a concierge nutrition, fitness and lifestyle coaching company. Using Metabolic Profiling, MetPro’s team of experts analyze your metabolism and provides an individualized approach to obtaining your goals. Right now, listeners receive a complimentary Metabolic Profiling assessment and a 30-minute consultation with a MetPro expert by heading to metpro.co/velo.

Bobby Julich and Gus Morton re-cap the first week of La Vuelta 2019 and the latest happenings across the world of pro cycling.

Episode Highlights

* The highs and lows of the first week at La Vuelta 2019

* La Vuelta predictions for stages 10-14

* Tour of Germany news

* Happenings from the 2019 Mountain Bike World Championships, including the inaugural E-mountain Bike event

* Contract news on Vincenzo Nibali, Elia Viviani, Philippe Gilbert, Tom Domoulin, Victor Campaenerts, Mikel Landa, US rider Brandon McNaulty, and Dan Martin

Got questions for Bobby and Gus? Send them over to [email protected]. If they answer your question on the Podcast you'll get hooked up with a sweet pair of PYSO socks.

This weeks episode of PYSO is supported by Saris, makers of car racks, bike infrastructure and CycleOps bike trainers. Saris is committed to making their products in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Learn more at: bit.ly/SarisPYSO

La Vuelta Rest Day 1 News: http://bit.ly/VueltaRestDay1

Recovery, recovery, recovery... you’ve heard us talk about it before. You’ve heard a lot of our guests preach about its importance. Well, now let’s confuse you a bit. The ultimate goal of training is, of course, to adapt. And there’s a critical distinction between adaptation and recovery. They are not the same thing. In fact, sometimes what helps one, hurts the other.

Recovery is about doing what you can so the legs are ready for your next workout. Adaptation is about the body repairing the damage caused by training—if the training provides enough stress, it will repair the system to come back stronger. But what’s good for that repair process may have you feeling less than perfect on the bike the next day.

Today, we’re going to dive into this important difference and focus on adaptations—what causes them and how to aid them. We’ll talk about:

- First, the difference between recovery and adaptation.

- Second, how the immune system is intimately involved in both, and why we’ve come to the realization in recent years that reducing inflammation can be counterproductive.

- Next, we’ll talk about the three stages of repair. Remember that training does damage. We are weaker after hard rides. It’s during the repair process that we get stronger, and the immune system is the repair man. Much like the local cable guy, the immune system is going to work at its own pace regardless of what you do or say.

- Next, we discuss how there’s a delicate balance between damage and repair, and when you get out of balance by doing too much training, it starts a vicious cycle that prevents further adaptations and leads to burnout

- We’ll talk with George Bennett, who put in a fantastic Tour de France performance, helping his GC leader, Steven Kruijswijk, land on the podium. George discusses what he does to aid adaptations.

- Finally, we’ll finish with a conversation about the things that do help adaptations and the things that hurt it, despite the fact that a lot of endurance athletes do them.

Our primary guest today is George Bennett, member of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team. George joins us for part of the episode—we spared a rider of his caliber from having to sit through Trevor’s initial lecture on immunology.

We also hear from Joe Friel, author of “The Cyclists Training Bible.” In the most recent edition of his book, Joe makes the important distinction between recovery and adaptations.

Next we talk with Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. In order to adapt, we have to first do damage. Brent talks with us about the important balance between damage and repair.

Then we catch up with Boulder-based coach extraordinaire Colby Pearce. And finally, we talk with Paulo Saldanha, the owner of PowerWatts. Paulo talks about ways to find the right amount of damage, and why we should rethink taking antioxidants.

The VeloNews Podcast returns this week with a report from the Vuelta a España, which has already delivered plenty of thrilling action after just a few hot stages. Andrew Hood reports from a monastery in El Puig on the dynamics shaping this year's Vuelta, including Primoz Roglic's decision to skip the Tour de France, and Nairo Quintana's quest for one more grand tour win.

Who will win the Vuelta? It's anyone's guess.

Then, Fred Dreier takes us inside the Colorado Classic, which switched to a women's-only event for 2019. The race boasted some nifty innovations this year, including a broadcast model that helped the event save big cash and get closer to sustainability. Then, there was the total domination by Chloé Dygert Owen at the race. Dygert Owen now looks like a major contender for the UCI road world championships in Yorkshire.

We catch up with American Neilson Powless, who is making his grand tour debut at the Vuelta, and hear about his very challenging job at the race.

And finally, we hear from former UCI world mountain-bike champion Christoph Sauser, who is competing in the inaugural E-mountain bike world championships. Sauser says that racing an e-bike is actually harder than racing a traditional bicycle, and he explains why.

This week's episode is brought to you by MetPro, a concierge nutrition, fitness and lifestyle coaching company. Using Metabolic Profiling, MetPro’s team of experts analyze your metabolism and provides an individualized approach to obtaining your goals. Right now, listeners receive a complimentary Metabolic Profiling assessment and a 30-minute consultation with a MetPro expert by heading to metpro.co/velo.

Bobby and Gus are back at it as they recap the first three stages of the 2019 Vuelta a Espana and chat with Alison Tetrick about Chloe Dygert's domination of the Colorado Classic.

They also catch you up on the latest in pro cycling news since the Tour de France. And they will be back every Monday during La Vuelta with a recap of the week's racing and any other breaking news.

Got questions for Bobby and Gus? Send them over to [email protected]. And if they answer your question on the Podcast they will hook you up with a sweet pair of PYSO socks.

Vuelta a Espana Stage 3 News: http://bit.ly/LaVueltaStage3

Chloe Dominates Colorado: http://bit.ly/ChloeColorado

On this week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast we sit down with Christopher Blevins, the Renaissance Man of U.S. pro cycling. Blevins is an all-around cycling talent, who has won major races in mountain biking, road cycling, and even BMX. These days, Blevins is the rising star of the U.S. mountain biking scene, and we talk to him about his ambitions to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Blevins has talents and interests beyond cycling as well. He writes poetry and records his on hip-hop music, and he teaches creative writing to at-risk kids in California. We speak with Blevins about how he balances his passions outside of cycling with the demanding life of a pro cyclist.

This week's episode is sponsored by Giro and the new Imperial Road Shoe. At just 215 grams it is one of the lightest and stiffest cycling shoes, and it's designed specifically for performance-oriented racers. Check out the new shoes at www.giro.com/Imperial.

This week's episode is also sponsored by Chamois Butt'r and the new Coconut Anti-Chafe. The Coconut Anti-Chafe line of cremes contains coconut oil, shea butter, and vitamins A and E, Aloe vera, and tea tree oil. The new cream protects any skin from friction, and soothes skin that is already irritated. www.chamoisbuttr.com

It’s been a long time coming, but Fast Talk is finally taking on cyclocross, from training to racing, honing technical skills to riding on nearly flat tires. Warning: there are few, if any, nerd bombs in this episode.

Is there anything more fun than ripping around in the mud on an autumn day with all your friends? Jumping off your bike, jumping on your bike, diving into corners, bunny-hopping barriers, drifting through corners, powering through sand. The cyclists who have the most fun? Cyclocross racers.

Today we'll dive into many facets of ‘cross, including:

- First, why cyclocross is so unique to the cycling world, and why comparing it to crits or time trials doesn’t do it justice.

- Second, what assets you need to be a good 'cross rider. Some of it is purely physiological like a good two to five-minute power, but there’s also more intangible things like resilience.

- Few people race just ‘cross, so we’ll talk about how to balance multiple race seasons, and how to deal with what can end up being a long season as a result.

- Fourth, we’ll explore the season a little deeper and talk about how both our experts like to periodize their training, and also how they address the short race season in cyclocross

- We’ll explain the all-too-critical start position, and why that raises an important question when planning your season. Should you come into the 'cross season hot?

- We’ll spend some time talking about the technical side of cyclocross. A good engine is important, but if you’re losing 10 seconds in the corners every lap, even the biggest engine isn’t enough.

- Next, we’ll discuss the training side of cyclocross and why the unique nature of the sport also requires a unique approach to training.

- Finally, we’ll talk about ‘cross races themselves— race strategy, the importance of course inspection, and selecting your gear.

Our primary guests today are Grant Holicky, one of the top cyclocross coaches in the country, of Forever Endurance coaching, and one of his athletes Maxx Chance, a former collegiate cyclocross national champion.

Along with Grant and Maxx, we spoke with Ellen Noble, a Red Bull sponsored athlete with Trek Factory Racing, and a multiple-time medalist at elite ‘cross nationals.

Finally, I sat down with a true cyclocross legend, Katie Compton, the winner of 15 consecutive national titles, and a four-time silver medalist at ‘cross worlds.

This bonus episode of The VeloNews Podcast is sponsored by MetPro, a concierge nutrition, fitness and lifestyle coaching company. MetPro uses Metabolic Profiling to analyze your metabolism and provide an individualized approach to obtaining your goals.

We speak with MetPro's founder, Angelo Poli, to talk about the challenges posed by of weight loss and performance, and how understanding one's metabolism can help with both. It's not as simple as calories in, calories out—losing weight while maintaining a high level of performance requires a measured strategy that MetPro's experts can provide.

VeloNews listeners receive a complimentary Metabolic Profiling assessment and a 30-minute consultation with a MetPro expert. To claim this offer head to metpro.co/velo

This week on the VeloNews Podcast we have interviews with two riders from opposite ends of North American pro racing.

First up is Erin Huck, one of the best cross-country mountain bike racers in North America. Huck is hoping to qualify for the 2020 Olympic in Tokyo, and to do so she faces a daunting comeback. Earlier this year Huck crashed at the World Cup opener in Germany and badly broke her ankle. We talk to Huck about the injury, her comeback, and how the ordeal helped refocus her on the Olympics.

Then, we talk to Taylor "TJ" Eisenhart, the free spirit of the North American professional road scene. This year Eisenhart has been racing gravel events, like the Dirty Kanza 200 and Crusher in the Tushar, and we talk to him about his experiences in the new scene. Our interview with Eisenhart is sponsored by Monster Hydro, the new sports drink that is non-carbonated, caffeinated, and loaded with electrolytes.

This week's episode is sponsored by Giro and the new Imperial Road Shoe. At just 215 grams it is one of the lightest and stiffest cycling shoes, and it's designed specifically for performance-oriented racers. Check out the new shoes at www.giro.com/Imperial.

This week's episode is also sponsored by Chamois Butt'r and the new Coconut Anti-Chafe. The Coconut Anti-Chafe line of cremes contains coconut oil, shea butter, and vitamins A and E, Aloe vera, and tea tree oil. The new cream protects any skin from friction, and soothes skin that is already irritated. www.chamoisbuttr.com

Andrew Hood and Fred Dreier present their final analysis of the 2019 Tour de France. Did the race's truncated finish ruin the excitement? Will we remember Egan Bernal's victory for his stunning attack, or because of the shortened stages?

Then, the guys discuss the future of Team Ineos, which now has three Tour de France champions, all of whom will want to win the race next year. How should the British squad navigate the strange leadership story that is bound to pop up?

Then, we have a long and frank discussion with Team EF Education First manager Jonathan Vaughters, who has written a new book, "One-Way Ticket: Nine Lives on Two Wheels" about his experience in pro cycling. Vaughters has some great insight on cycling's so-called 'EPO era,' and the social pressures that he and his peers felt to dope.

Vaughters sheds light on some of the anecdotes and opinions in his book, and talks about why he's confident in the current generation of pro cyclists.

This week's episode is sponsored by Whoop, the performance tool that is changing the way people track their fitness and optimize their training. Whoop tracks your heart rate and gives you a strain scores that lets you know how strenuous your training was on your body, with additional information around your sleep and recovery to tell you how well your body rebounds from training. Right now, listeners can get 15 percent off a Whoop device by going to www.whoop.com and using the code 'velo' at checkout. www.whoop.com.