The 108th Tour de France ended this weekend with Slovenian Tadej POGAČAR taking three Jerseys again! We talk about our Highlights, lowlights, and our predictions for the Olympic road race and TT. Intro: https://soundcloud.com/yemi_ukg/yemi-innocence-blue-lights-remix-1

Off The Back Podcast

Le Tour Recap Off the Back Style

The 2021 Tour de France has kicked off with controversy and excitement. Alaphillip seemed destined to dominate after stage 1, but MVDP took over, dedicating his win and his yellow Jersey to his Grandfather, the eternal second, Raymond Poulidor. Last year was Wouts, this year is Mathieu's. Finally, in one of the first jump-up-and-down wins in many years, Cavendish takes his 31st stage of the Tour and cements his return to the top step in cycling!

It's MVDP's Tour

US Nationals are this weekend and we're rooting for Alex Howes to defend, but said that Tejay has announced his retirement. The 2021 Tour de France starts in just over a week and we ask whether its going to be the Pogačar and Roglič show, or can Ineos or Uran impress. With Sam Bennett potentially out with a knee injury, will Cavendish be on the startlist and can he even win a stage?

Is the Tour Going to be the Pog/Rog Show?

With the end of the Giro in sight and Bernal showing some signs of weakness, is it still up for play? We discuss some of the highlights of the Giro d'Italia so far and go into our usual How Was Your Week? banter. New Intro: https://soundcloud.com/yemi_ukg/yemi-innocence-blue-lights-remix-1

Surely Bernal Wins The Giro

We're 4 stages in to Matt's favorite grand tour and Danny's third favorite grand tour: Il Giro d'Italia. We talk about why that is, the favorites for the race, some firsts, and the best name in pro cycling.

Giro d'Italia 2021

A loose discussion of the topics of the fortnight including, but no limited to: The Chauvin verdict, Cervical Radiculopathy, Whoop, Banned Positions, Band Positions, Mark Cavendish and GOAT Sprinters, Brabantse Pijls and spelling Belgian race names, and Amstel Gold.

The Hodge Podge: Whoop, Banned Positions, Cavendish is GOAT, and the Ardennes

Two whole weeks of cobbled classics are ranked in this week's episode with the group dynamics and Wout's winning sprint propelled Gent Wevelgem to the esteemed position of most interesting spring classic so far. We talk through the 4 other races that took place: Scheldeprijs, E3 Saxo Bank Classic, Dwars door Vlaanderen, and of course, Flanders.

Gent Wevelgem Was the Best Cobbled Classic of 2021

Matt got his hands on the new Speedplay Zeros by new owners Wahoo. They're great because they're Speedplays, but a bit better. We talk about our history of pedals, why we landed on the ones we use everyday. The first monument of the season, Milan Sanremo, took place over the weekend with the usual boiling pot of a finale. This race is a favorite of the Pod and bring our usual Off The Back in-depth analysis.

Pedals and Milan Sanremo

We celebrate International Women's History Month by talking about some female cyclists who have inspired us over the years. The spring classics continue with the men and women's edition of the wannabe monument Strade Bianche. The women's race was tactically better and technically more interesting. Race news includes the return of Cavendish and Merlier winning for Alpecin-Fenix

Strade Bianche Women's Race Was Better!

We have some super news to announce: Danny's made it back to the Pacific Northwest and he's home! What's been happening for the past two months and why we took a break. We also look back on what made cycling great and sucky during the COVID pandemic. Open roads were a big highlight. Opening classics weekend brought us Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kurne with races that came back together for sprint finishes.

Opening Classics Weekend of the 2021 Season - Fingers Crossed

2020 was a bonkers year, but there was some seriously funny cycling moments. After recapping our weeks and this past few weeks of Cross racing, we talk some of the highs and lows of the 2020 year, both personally and in the pro peloton.

2020: The Moments of the Year

Specialized announced a 2.1kg balance bike for 2-4 year olds that's manufactured with FACT Carbon and retails for $99. Are they losing it or are they just cutting loose and having fun. Chloe Dygart of Canyon-SRAM is publicly rebuked by primary sponsor Rapha, Have they gone too far? Cyclocross racing has been going on for a month or so now and the season has been building up momentum. We talk about last weekends two races, how Lucinda Brand is dominating, how we have a new cross acronym, CDCA, and discuss why women's cross is more engaging and interesting than mens.

A Thousand Dollar Balance Bike and Why Metric Should be King in Cycling

On the day of his return from a 4 day/500km bicycling adventure around the Olympic mountain range in Washington, Matt talks about his route, his kit, the memories that stand out, and the things that he'd do differently next time. The shortest Grand Tour of 2020m the Vuelta a Espana wrapped up this past weekend with very consistent results. Roglic wore the Points Jersey from day 1, He and Carapaz traded leaders jersey, Martin carried the Climbing jersey for most of the race, and of course, Movistar won the teams jersey.

Chasing Thomas

We get a bit real in this episode, reflecting on how our current climate is impacting us. Everything around us is stuck, waiting for something to change and its hard to have hope. We talk about how were dealing with it (or not as the case may be). Next we get to bike racing, recapping Flanders, the Giro, and the Vuelta and then finally we talk about our Kit journey and re-iterate our best advice: Don't be afraid to buy the good stuff! It's worth it.

Eddy Merckx is Full of Sh*t!

Specialized released a new bike this week, the featherweight Aethos. Its a premium, disc-brake, electronic shifting only bike that starts at $12k. Specialized claim they prioritized ride quality above aero. We ask: Is it worth it and discuss what we look for in a frame. We celebrate Mads Peterson's Gent-Wevelgem win and Sagan's stunning Stage 10 win in the 2020 Giro.

Is The S-Works Aethos Actually That Special?

Podcast by A cycling podcast with Matt Bonjour and Danny Clark

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Off The Back Podcast

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