Beyond the Peloton Podcast

Spencer Martin and co-host Andrew Vontz kick off the New Year by discussing Wout van Aert’s extremely unfortunate broken ankle and how it will affect his upcoming season, as well as what his Visma–Lease a Bike team can do to plug the hole left by Simon Yates’ shocking and sudden retirement, before discussing whether there is WorldTour talent hiding in plain sight on Strava leaderboards.2026 Rider Tiers Part 1: Ranking the Top 20 Grand Tour Contenders Heading into the New Season⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Spencer & Andrew on Strava (and comment on a recent ride) to join the challenge This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe

Spencer Martin and co-host Andrew Vontz are joined by Riding With’s Jonathan Kaplan to break down their annual end-of-year challenge, the Abandon Your Family 500, where they ride 500 kilometers before Christmas Day. BTP Newsletter: UAE’s Performance Duo Jeroen Swart & Javier Sola on the Training Philosophy Behind Their Team’s Success⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Spencer & Andrew on Strava (and comment on a recent ride) to join the challenge This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe

In this bonus minisode, Tadej Pogačar speaks in front of the gathered press at UAE Team Emirates' media day in Benidorm, Spain, during his UAE team’s training camp. The featured audio includes Pogačar’s press conference, where he outlines his early-season plans and reveals key details of his upcoming schedule, his priorities for the year ahead, what’s motivating him right now, and how he’s approaching the next phase of his career.*This audio was captured in live press conference, so please excuse the lower quality relative to other episodes This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe

Spencer Martin and co-host Andrew Vontz check in from the epicenter of pre-season training camps, Spain’s Costa Blanca, where the stars are preparing for their 2026 campaigns, releasing their race schedules, and the transfer rumors are flying. They discuss Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s decision to have Remco Evenepoel target the GC at the 2026 Tour de France, Lidl-Trek leaving Jonathan Milan off their Tour roster, and where in the world Oscar Onley will race next season.This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. ⁠⁠⁠Get your first month free through this link⁠⁠⁠Season in Review Part 5: Just How Far is Tadej Pogačar From Matching Eddy Merckx?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Spencer & Andrew on Strava to join the challengeImportant note: To access all posts, including the members-only off-season chat rooms, you must be a paying BTP subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe

After announcing and outlining their Abandon Your Family 500 challenge, Spencer Martin and co-host Andrew Vontz discuss how the recently revealed Giro d’Italia route could lure top stars to the race, debate who will win in a potential matchup between Isaac del Toro, Remco Evenepoel, and Jonas Vingegaard, and go through the recently-released 2026 Lifetime Grand Prix schedule. This episode is brought to you by Join Cycling. ⁠⁠⁠Get your first month free through this link⁠⁠⁠Season in Review Part 5: Just How Far is Tadej Pogačar From Matching Eddy Merckx?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Spencer & Andrew on Strava to join the challengeImportant note: To access all posts, including the members-only off-season chat rooms, you must be a paying BTP subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe