The Rouleur Podcast

“I did not cheat, I didn’t dope. I’m proud of that, and I think I beat two of the really great cyclists of my era, Hinault and Fignon.”Cycling was only half the battle for comeback king Greg LeMond. USA’s sole Tour de France champion on Lance, lawsuits, trauma, triumphs and his dream of a return to the sport at 58 years of age.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The latest in this series is ‘Greg LeMond’ by Andy McGrath, from Rouleur 19.7. Download the Rouleur app and use the code GREG to read the whole issue free of charge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sports commentator, journalist and Rouleur columnist Orla Chennaoui opens a big can of worms on the podcast this week – helmets. It was the subject of her issue 20.3 column and caused some – generally – good-natured debate. Riding round Amsterdam, Orla goes without a head covering, something she’d never have considered when living in London. What is the difference? And what can other less cycling-friendly cities learn from the Netherlands’ approach? She’s also presented us with a poem for the latest issue. Despite the editor’s trepidation, it’s a beauty on July without the Tour de France. Bravo! Phil White was one of the Cervélo founders and a fascinating podcast guest on his last visit to London. Now he has joined turbo trainer and power meter gurus 4iiii to add his expertise to the company. Integrated power is coming, he tells Ian Parkinson. And power meters are now de rigueur. Listen up, Phil knows his stuff. And what exactly has Desire editor Stuart Clapp been up to? Messing around in haunted woods and scaring himself silly, apparently. But he does have details of a Rouleur competition to win a spectacular 3T Exploro gravel bike. Very classy indeed, a bit like our Stu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Teniel Campbell hails from Trinidad, not exactly a hotbed of world class cycling stars. But this determined talent is on the edge of breaking big and inspiring the next generation of Trinidadians to follow her path.“I’m gonna come back to Europe and whoop ass. Just stamp my name. I’m not here to try to survive in the peloton. I’m gonna be great.”This Soca Warrior knows where she's headed.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The latest in this series is ‘Teniel Campbell: Trailblazer’ by Andy McGrath, from Rouleur 20.4. Read by George Oliver. Subscribe to Rouleur before June 8th to ensure you receive it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owain Doull had 2020 all planned out - Tour Down Under, the Classics, the Giro, then ease off towards the end of the year. That didn't work out, so he's now doing five hour training rides around his home and looking forward to a busy Autumn of racing. It gives him time to concentrate on his new project, though - a boutique coffee brand launched with fellow Olympians Philip Hindes and Callum Skinner. What is it with cyclists and coffee? Rouleur's Miles Baker-Clarke loves to sniff a freshly opened bag of beans, but don't judge him for that. He talks through the latest brands in the Desire section and on the Rouleur shop, and tries to convince presenter Ian Parkinson that he needs a set of £1400 jockey wheels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We often refer to a bad or disastrous day as a dark one. The kind of dark that surrounded my family, team and friends that­­ day, all the while ignoring the fact that I was swimming in white. A dazzling, shiny and pure white, but at the same time cold and enigmatic. A sort of deaf white, if you like, that’s if a colour can have sound.”On May 16th 2009, during the 8th stage of the Giro d’Italia, Rabobank rider Pedro Horrillo slipped off the road on the descent of the Colle San Pietro. His career ended there. From memories of the morning before the stage, to the sensations experienced while in a coma, this is his story.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The latest in this series is ‘The Crash’ by Pedro Horrillo, from Rouleur 19.3. Translated into English by Rob Hatch; Read by George Oliver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Giro would have been hitting the hills any time now but there's no need to let the lockdown stop you getting your fix of mountain views. Regular Rouleur photographer Michael Blann has updated and re-released his classic book Mountains: Epic Cycling Climbs and he talks about his love of mountain landscapes, with a couple of tips for the amateur snapper as well. Australian racer Jess Pratt won the Zwift Academy and this should have been her first year in the pro peloton. Back home in Brisbane, she's still dreaming of riding the newly announced women's Paris-Roubaix. MJ Cole was one of the pioneers of UK Garage and he's still a prolific music producer, including a new album of classical compositions. He tells presenter Ian Parkinson about his other great love - cycling. And on the subject of great love, Stuart Clapp's obsession with Heinrich Haussler reaches new - slightly worrying - heights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Here I was, standing on a sand dune in Belgium, drinking a powerful Praline Chocolate Porter. Everything started to make perfect sense.”'Cross may not be coming - for a while yet, at least - but that doesn't mean we can't daydream about days spent mucking around in the mud. For our latest Longreads Podcast we've turned back the clock to November to tell the story of when, for the Belgian special of Rouleur magazine, we sent our hedonism correspondents, The Deserter, to Koksijde. There they were not only witness, for the first time in their lives, to the thrills and spills of cycling on sand, but were flung face-first into the full-on Flandrian fan experience.Fortunately for us - or perhaps thanks to chaperone Ian Cleverly - Dirty South and The Dulwich Raider lived to tell the tale.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don't stop what you're doing - do it while listening to the world's best cycling writing.The sixth in this series is ‘Deserter's Dirty Weekend’ by Andrew Grumbridge for Deserter, from Rouleur 20.2. Read by Andrew Grumbridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luke Rowe checks in from home in Cardiff, training away as usual and enjoying some unexpected extra time with the family while adjusting his sights for a hoped-for return to racing later in the year.  The Ineos rider’s been getting battered by team-mate Rohan Dennis on Zwift, misses racing the Spring Classics but is keeping a calm perspective on the current situation. The Bigla-Katusha team, meanwhile, were rocked by the news that their sponsors would be withdrawing funding for the remainder of the season – surely a situation that will be repeated in both men’s and women’s cycling as the crisis continues. Lizzy Banks joins us to explain what the riders are doing now, and what comes next.  World Bicycle Relief CEO Dave Neiswander and country director for Zambia, Brian Moonga, tell us how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the charity’s income and their campaign to supply 25,000 of their sturdy Buffalo bikes going to aid health care in Africa.  And our very own Miles Baker-Clarke is king of the Rouleur Emporium. Host Ian Parkinson asks him what’s hot and what’s not right now, while the Desirable Stuart Clapp chips in with his pick of the goodies. A turbo trainer? You’ve changed, Stu…  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“He walks along with a lurch, unbalanced and awkward. If you are not prepared for how utterly changed his posture is off the bike, it comes as a shock.When we are inside his suite, I tell him what I think. ‘Honestly? You walk like a drunk, Chris.’‘I do, he says, ‘yeah.'”Following his horrendous crash prior to last year’s Dauphiné, many doubted we’d see Froome back on a bike, let alone planning his eighth Grand Tour victory.Ned Boulting finds Froome in characteristic fighting form, training hard in Gran Canaria prior to lockdown, preparing for the Tour de France – if and when it happens.He’ll be ready, no doubt about it.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The fifth in this series is ‘Chris Froome and the Seventh Seal’ by Ned Boulting, from Rouleur 20.3. Subscribe today from just £7 to receive it.Read by George Oliver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geraint Thomas is used to spending hours in the saddle but even he admits his latest challenge is a tough one. He's riding the turbo in his garage for three 12-hour shifts to raise money for the NHS. No team cars, no domestiques and no post-ride massages - but plenty of supporters joining him on Zwift. Ian Parkinson asks how he's coping and whether he's up for a delayed Tour De France in late August. We also hear from Danish journalist Emil Foget - who wrote Rouleur 20.2's story on cardiac arrhythmia in cyclists; Managing Editor Ian Cleverly appeals for subscribers to help the magazine survive the coming months and Stuart Clapp takes his top off and shares his Heinrich Haussler obsession. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the world going into lockdown, indoor riding is, unsurprisingly, on the rise.Turbo trainers are selling out faster than toilet rolls and training app subscriber numbers have gone though the roof.We spend the day in a London studio with Mathieu van der Poel and the copious film crew to find out why Zwift is leading the way in the market.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The fourth in this series is ‘Watopian Ideals’ by Ian Cleverly, from Rouleur 20.2. Read by George Oliver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Rouleur podcast special, brought to you by Cycling in Flanders and the Ronde van Vlaanderen.We're proud be to be able to support our friends at Cycling in Flanders by syndicating this podcast, which will transport cycling fans to an era of unwritten, thrilling cycling history - just as if you were listening to the commentary to a genuine, live cycling race.Get ready for a story with some incredible plot twists, featuring cameo appearances by heroes from one hundred years of cycling history. It is a race into which a full century of anecdotes having to do with the Tour of Flanders have been incorporated.Rob Hatch and Matt Stephens will take you along on this fantasy Tour of Flanders with exceptional live commentary. Ruben Van Gucht and Renaat Schotte will be your reporters in the Dutch version of this Unbelievable Tour.All the top favourites from 100 years of the Tour of Flanders have a role to play in this auditive story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cycling commentator and editor of the Road Book Ned Boulting is, like many of us, figuring out how to continue working in unprecedented times. How is he filling his time? Will the mighty Road Book be a narrow tome next year? And why has he deleted his Twitter account, just when everyone else is using it more than ever? Nathan Haas, meanwhile, is in lockdown in Girona. The Cofidis rider, who was caught up in the UAE Tour quarantine, is working out indoors despite not knowing when racing might resume. Keeping the drive alive is the big test for all professional cyclists right now, he tells Ian Parkinson. But thankfully, he’s making silly videos to keep us entertained in the meantime. Zumba on bikes, anyone? Leopard print bibshorts and rock’n’roll form the theme for the latest Desire shoot. Stuart Clapp explains why we set fire to a helmet. POC, if you’re listening, sorry. It won’t happen again. And Stu’s mate Dan does turbo training in his pants. Use your imagination. Actually, don’t.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“My world collapsed. I wasn’t a cyclist anymore. From one moment to another, I lost not only my job, but also what I like to do. They took away a part of my personality. There was a lot of crying in the time after.”A professional cyclist’s heart is trained to be as big and strong as possible, allowing it to pump massive amounts of blood and oxygen around the body. Most cyclists have a ticker 50 per cent bigger than that of a regular person. Miguel Indurain possessed a superhuman resting heart rate of around 30 beats per minute; a normal, well-trained adult heart has one of 72.But, in pushing themselves to the extreme, they are in danger of developing arrhythmia.Two months prior to the 2016 Tour of Oman, doctors had found a life-threatening arrhythmia in Johan Vansummeren’s heart. He had been through dozens of checks and was equipped with a heart monitor during the Middle Eastern race.Vansummeren’s legs felt worse than ever, and momentarily cramped while going up a steep climb.His cardiologists back in Belgium had seen the exact moment his legs cramped, and it correlated with a spike in his heartbeat. They called him.Aware of the initial tests, the AG2R doctors banned Vansummeren from finishing the race. Hours later, Vansummeren was on his way back to Lommel, where he was born and still lives, transformed from a healthy elite athlete to a man with a life-threatening heart arrhythmia. The Tour of Oman would be his last race as a professional cyclist.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The second in this series is ‘Heartbroken’ by Emil Helweg Foget and Ole Obitsø, from Rouleur 20.2. Read by George Oliver.More from the Rouleur Longreads Podcast:The Rise of Gravel by Hugo GladstoneNotes on Belgium by Morten OkboSPONSORED BY LAKAWe are delighted to have Laka as a brand partner of the Rouleur Podcast.Laka is an innovative bicycle insurance company powered by the community. Cyclists join Laka to protect their bikes and gear without paying upfront premiums.Instead, Laka settles claims in their community first and shares the cost fairly with everyone at the end of the month. No claims mean you don’t pay.If you are new to Laka, you can get a £10 credit by signing up today with the discount code rouleur Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Anything from crazy, weird videos which are not like cycling’s really had before, to an interesting way to launch a kit and buy some merch, listen to some music, and get all my favourite loves of music, cycling, cars, motorbikes and fashion, lumping it all in one night and going: ‘I hope you lot like it.’ And if you don’t, I’m screwed!”Tekkerz founder Alec Briggs joins Ian Parkinson at the Levi’s HQ in London before the team launch to discuss how he is making waves and bringing a fresh perspective to bike racing in these confusing times. Plus he beat Fabian Cancellara the other week. How many of us can say that?Desire editor Stuart Clapp, meanwhile, is considering how to stay reasonably fit whilst self-isolating. Turns out, his mate (who shall remain nameless) is eminently capable of breaking bones even on a turbo trainer. Let’s be careful out there, folks, even in our own sheds… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.