The Vuelta a España concluded this week, and the race also delivered one of the biggest controversies of the 2021 WorldTour season. 
Colombian star Miguel Ángel López quit the Vuelta on the penultimate stage after he was dropped from the front group, and afterwards reports circulated that López was unhappy with the tactics of his Movistar team. 
The story has developed into a war of words between the Spanish team and López's camp, and now, the rider and the team may have an irrevocably damaged relationship. We discuss this latest polemica and add some context and opinion on what transpired. 
Then, U.S. road champion Lauren Stephens joins the podcast to discuss her historic win, her decision to blend road and gravel cycling, and how she's handled disappointment throughout her career. Stephens is one of the best U.S. riders to never be named to an Olympic team, and her process for dealing with disappointment is something that we all can learn from.

VN Podcast, ep. 274: Movistar vs. Miguel Ángel López; Lauren Stephens interview

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This week's episode is sponsored by Whoop. This year, Whoop is providing rider data from the race, including heart rate data during the stages and sleep data after them. Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EastPost), for instance, only got 5.5 hours of sleep on the big transfer day from Hungary to Sicily, according to Whoop.
The Giro d'Italia is reaching its mountainous conclusion, and team Ineos looks primed to win the Maglia Rosa with Richard Carapaz. A victory would bring Ineos its fourth Giro win in five years. Why does the team and its "Froome train" strategy still work in Italy, while it falters in France and Spain? On today's episode we dive into this big question, and explore what a top Giro finish would mean for the three men in the hunt for the final podium: Carapaz, Jai Hindley, and Mikel Landa. 
Then, the U.S. cycling scene is still reeling from the murder of gravel star Moriah Wilson. We discuss the gravity of this story, and why it now occupies its own  tragic realm in the history of pro bike racing.

VN Podcast, ep. 310: Why Ineos Owns the Giro d'Italia, the emotional gravity of the Moriah Wilson tragedy

U.S. track cycling phenom Ashton Lambie has traded in the velodrome for dirt.
Lambie, 31, is embarking on his first full campaign in gravel and mountain-bike racing in 2022, and he's racing the Life Time Grand Prix events and other off-road races. Lambie shares his opinions with Ben Delaney on what it's like to return to 100-mile gravel events after spending years spinning circles around a velodrome. How does the four-minute effort of the individual pursuit compare to a daylong race? What are the biggest tech differences between an aero bike and a gravel rig?
Lambie takes us inside his experiences in this wide-ranging interview.
This week's episode is sponsored by Whoop. This year, Whoop is providing rider data from the race, including heart rate data during the stages and sleep data after them. Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EastPost), for instance, only got 5.5 hours of sleep on the big transfer day from Hungary to Sicily, according to Whoop.

VN Podcast, ep. 309: Ashton Lambie's return to gravel

The Giro d'Italia kicked off this year with three stages in Hungary, followed by a big travel day down to Sicily for a stout mountain stage up Mount Etna.
How does all this travel affect the racing? 
Riders often say different things, depending on who they are speaking to — or whether it's on the record. This year, fitness wearable company Whoop is providing rider data from the race, including heart rate data during the stages and sleep data after them. Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EastPost), for instance, only got 5.5 hours of sleep on the big transfer day from Hungary to Sicily, according to Whoop.
U.S. national time trial champion Lawson Craddock is racing the Giro in support of Simon Yates, who won the time trial in Budapest. Andrew Hood spoke with Craddock about racing in Hungary for an Italian stage race, as well as his thoughts on the long road ahead at the Giro.
Host Ben Delaney chats with Hood from the press room on Mount Etna.

VN Podcast, ep. 308: Lawson Craddock, travels, and travails at the Giro d'Italia

The racing was high-intensity and high-drama around the world last week, from Belgian Waffle Ride to the Tour de Romandie.

What did we learn from covering these races? Ben Delaney, Betsy Welch, and Daniel Benson talk through the hot spots.

Watching Lauren De Crescenzo win a stage by five minutes and the overall at the Tour of Gila while Mo Wilson won BWR by 25 minutes has us looking forward to a showdown between these two powerhouses at Unbound Gravel early next month. Speaking of Unbound, can anybody beat Keegan Swenson?

Daniel was in Switzerland for Romandie, where Aleksandr Vlasov executed a TT-to-road bike swap in the final time trial, and blew past jersey-wearer Rohan Dennis to capture the overall. Are these type of stages gimmicks or legitimate racing? Dan and Ben discuss.

And why was Ben hanging out of a car window at BWR? Tune in to this week's episode of the VeloNews Podcast.

VN Podcast, ep 307: Key takeaways from BWR and Whiskey Off-Road to the Tour de Romandie

Amy Charity is the driving force behind SBT GRVL, one of VeloNews' five Monuments of Gravel that exploded onto the scene in 2019 and now sells out its 3,000 spots within minutes. 
SBT GRVL was invited to join the UCI's new Gravel World Series, but Charity declined.
On this episode of the VeloNews Podcast, Charity and host Ben Delaney discuss a variety of things, including the intersection of pro racing and recreational gravel riding, why she is happy to have SBT GRVL as an independent entity, the community of gravel race promoters, and that time she and Life Time vice president Kimo Seymour worked together racing at Unbound Gravel 200.

VN Podcast, ep. 274: Movistar vs. Miguel Ángel López; Lauren Stephens interview

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