Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

What a week of racing at the Tour de France! It’s safe to say that with Jonas Vingegaard’s unfortunate abandonment, the race for the podium has been blown wide open! I gave EF Education EasyPost DS, Tom Southam, a call to go over everything we’ve seen in the second week of the Tour and preview what’s coming up. 

Kicking off with a recap of everything that’s gone down both in and around the race last week, and it started with a dominant victory from Pogačar in Le Lioran. Some amazing instincts from Søren Wærenskjold saw him win the bunch sprint on stage 11 to continue Uno-X Mobility’s success, before Tim Merlier reminded everyone that he’s the fastest sprinter in the race with his third stage win of the Tour the next day. 

Stage 13 saw Mauro Schmid power his way into the mega break and grab a stage win for Jayco, so who better to chat to than his team mate, and regular “guest” on the Pod, Durbo. It was great to hear from Luke as he enjoys a well-earned rest day, and he gave us a great scoop on the team’s tactics and how their game plan played out pretty much perfectly. 

The two mountain stages on the weekend weren’t the only drama - a 2 am dope test for Jonas and Pogi had the media buzzing, so I had to ask Southam what he knows and what he’s heard from the ground. Is it a bit of a flex from WADA, or is there something going on?! 

With Jonas’ abandonment, and a mountain TT coming up, can Remco Evenepoel bag another stage win and close the gap to Pogi? Will Del Toro finish on the final podium? What about the green jersey battle between Pedersen and Philipsen? There’s still so much to come, and I can’t bloody wait to see how it plays out.

Guys, it’s a rest day, so pull another shot of espresso, sit back, and join me and Southam - dialling in live from EF’s rest day Chateau - for some Tour de France chat. 

Cheers,

Mitch

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros.

Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The first nine stages of the Tour de France have been absolutely brutal! As Southam predicted, it has just been non-stop racing every day. In fact, it’s been so hard that Durbo’s decided to bank some extra hours in bed rather than join Tom and me for this special episode of The Race Communiqué!

That’s right, it's the first rest day of the Tour, and I wanted to take advantage of our man on the ground - EF Education EasyPost DS Tom Southam - to discuss what we’ve seen out in France so far. 

There have been some epic days of racing! The TTT kicking things off in Barcelona was just as exciting and dramatic as we’d have hoped, the following stages through the Pyrenees into France in the sweltering heat, the first mountain stages and the expected Pogi domination, right through to yesterday’s epic classics style stage - it’s been a full-on start…and there’s still nearly two weeks of racing to go! Watching from home, seeing the boys suffering in the heat, it definitely makes me glad I retired when I did.

Of course, Southam - as tired as he is - hasn’t actually been riding the race, so we did manage to get a quick voice note from Greenedge’s own Luke Durbridge to hear straight from the horse's mouth how it’s been in the Pelo. As Durbo puts it, it’s been hell. 

Only nine stages in, but still so much to talk about. Tom and I go through our top five moments of the race so far, as well as predictions for what’s to come.

Guys, this is a rest day special to keep your Tour de France fix coming even when the race is having a day off. I can’t wait to see how the next phase of the race unfolds.

Cheers,

Mitch

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros.

Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

 

I don’t know about you, but when I think about the Tour de France I hear one man’s voice. A legend of commentary who’s currently covering the Grande Boucle for the 53rd time, I am absolutely gee’d up to bring you my interview with the one and only Phil Liggett.

 

Phil really has seen it all from his early days as a wannabe racer through to finding the microphone, and a lifetime of calling the Tour de France and some of the biggest cycling moments in the last half century. He has spanned the careers of so many riders from Hinault and Lemond through the Armstrong years up to Pogačar and Vingegaard, and has got endless stories to tell.

 

This episode, which I recorded with Phil in person back at the Tour Down Under in January, was a real privilege. I’ve tried my hand and commentary, and it was amazing to hear Phil explain the art of calling a bike race. I learnt so much from him - it’s like asking Picasso how to paint, Shane Warne how to spin bowl, or Pogi how to win a bike race; he is the absolute master of the craft. We even had a go at re-voicing the iconic finish to the 2016 Paris-Roubaix - you have GOT to hear that. An absolute once in a lifetime moment for me!

 

Guys, this episode is a really special one. We speak about so much - from Phil’s perfect partnership with the late great Paul Sherwen, how commentary has changed throughout his career, and how his job is to - as he puts it - “stop the old lady from going to make a cup of tea”.

 

What better man to have on the pod during the Tour de France than this absolute icon. Get yourself comfortable and enjoy this chat with the master of the mic - Mr Phil Liggett.

 

Cheers,

Mitch

 

 

This episode is bought to you by Saily and SHOKZ

Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code PELOSURF at checkout. Download the Saily app or go to https://saily.com/pelosurf

If you’re after the best sports headphones - be it for cycling, running, or even swimming - get across to SHOKZ’s website, and use the code LITP enjoy a cheeky discount for being a LITP listener - https://bit.ly/4skq7lK

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

 

Here we go, guys: It’s Tour de France time. The big one starts on Saturday, so I sat down with Durbo and Southam for a special EMERGENCY PODCAST to preview the 2026 edition of the race. Who better to preview the biggest race of the season with than two guys who are going to be there; Southam in the team car as a sports director for EF Education Easypost, and Durbo riding his 12th and final Tour de France for Greenedge. 

 

Kicking off this weekend with a team time trial in Barcelona, the race then heads up through the Catalan roads that Luke and I trained on together when I was across in Europe. This may be the Tour de France, but this is basically a home stage for Girona resident Durbs. From there, the Tour crosses the Pyrenees into France and - although there are a few big mountains in the first two weeks of the race - the route this year is very back heavy, climaxing with not just one, but TWO ascents of the infamous Alpe d’Huez. After 20 brutal days of racing, the pelo jet across to Paris for the awesome new final stage with the cobbled climb of Montmarte to draw the curtain down on another Tour de France. 

 

Of course, as well as the big preview we have our regular segments. In PeloChat Durbo’s asking the question; is it worth going to the traditional Tour de France warm up races any more? More and more riders are favouring training camps over racing to get a better quality build without the risk of crashing, picking up an injury, or just totally rooting yourself before the big show in July, but what’s the best way to prepare for the Tour?

 

Over in Talking Tactics, Southam’s diving into where that tipping point in GC is for riders just underneath the top tier favourites. Where do they have to be sitting in the top 10 or 20 before they decide to sit up, let the overall go, and head up the road in breakaways in search of a stage win. The likes of Pidcock, Ayuso, Lipowitz, and more who could stretch for a podium if everything goes there way, but could really turn the race on it’s head if they decide to go for stages.

 

The Communiquiz is a super simple quickfire from quizmaster Durbo; which teams ride which bikes. I won’t spoil the results for you on this one, but let’s just say Southam spends a lot of his time in amongst the bunch looking at their bikes, and I…don’t.

 

Who’s riding? Who are the favourites? What are the stages like? How will the race unfold? What are our predictions? Tom, Luke and I discuss all of these questions, and more in this special emergency ep. 

 

Listen to this episode and get yourself ready for three weeks of baguettes, berets, wine, beautiful countryside, sunshine…oh, and a bloody big bike race too!

 

Cheers,

Mitch

 

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros.

Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp

This is a cheeky special extended excerpt from this month’s full Chronicles episode. To hear the whole thing, and get access to future Chronicles with Svein, become a PODIUM Member via our Substack.

👉 https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/about

 

July is almost here and, in the world of cycling, that can mean only one thing; it’s time for the Tour de France to begin.  Le Tour, the big show, the Grande Boucle - whatever you call it, the Tour de France is the biggest cycling event in the world. 

 

If you’re a pro cyclist, you’re going to spend your whole career being asked the same question: “Have you raced the Tour de France?”. Me? I never quite got there. I made it on to a few long lists, but I never managed to make the final selection. My old mate Svein Tuft, however, raced the Tour three times between 2013 and 2015, and so can proudly answer that question - have you done the Tour? - with a big fat “yes!” 

 

One thing we both have in common is the knowledge and understanding of what it takes to get in the condition to make the cut. The psychological torture and mind games some team managers put you through whilst they keep you waiting to find out whether or not you’re getting on the plane. Last minute changes of plans that leave you scrambling around packing your suitcase at the eleventh hour…or unpacking it and telling your parents to cancel their flights to Paris when the team decides to take the squad in a different direction. 

 

The point is, it’s a wild ride that kicks off months before the race even begins, and that’s what Svein and I are chatting all about in this month’s Life In The Peloton: Chronicles. Whilst Svein’s been off coming face to face with grizzly bears in the Canadian wilderness (seriously…that is a crazy story) and I’ve been dashing about Australia screening our new film ‘Holy Week’ (available to watch now on YouTube, we’ve both been thinking through our experiences in making…or in my case missing out on…the Tour de France startlist.

 

As you’ll know by now, Sveino is a real smart guy. He has a really pragmatic, grounded approach to anything that comes his way, and the Tour de France is no different. Yes it might be the biggest bike race in the world that makes or breaks riders careers, but Sveino has the wherewithal to look at his three participations and wish he’d only done the race once.

 

This month, though, it’s not just Svein and me. We’ve spoken to heaps of riders - past and present - to hear their stories about Le Tour selection and what it means to them. Matt ‘Whitey’ White, now a sports director at Movistar team, is right in the middle of being that guy on the other end of the phone telling the riders whether or not they’re lining up for a month long all-expenses-paid trip around France. He raced the tour just once as a pro in 2005 for team Cofidis, so has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of Tour selection from both sides.

 

Christian Meier, a former teammate of both Sveino and me on Greenedge in the glory years, has got a wild story about his one and only Tour call up. Of all the places to be when you get the call telling you you’re in, holidaying in Vegas having not touched your bike in a week or so has to be one of the worst! 

 

After Christian, we hear from another Canadian; Alex Stieda - the first ever North American rider to pull on the yellow jersey riding for team 7-Eleven in 1986. His story is a crazy one; almost no notice, a backdrop of political unrest leading to the team abandoning the Vuelta in the months before, prior to it even starting, and only finding out there’s a TT in the race when they opened the road book at the team sign-on! Absolutely crazy. 

 

Finally, of course, we hear from the legend himself Durbo. The last man standing from that original Greenedge line up and a veteran of the Tour de France, getting ready to start his 12th and final lap of France in his final year as a pro cyclist. Luke’s had to earn his spot on the squad each and every time he’s done the race - it’s never a given. Just because you did it last year and went OK, doesn’t mean you’re nailed on for the next one! 

 

Guys, this is a really special episode. I love being able to chat to Svein and relive our golden years, whilst also bringing in fresh voices and perspectives that add a whole other layer to the conversation. Sit back, relax, open a bottle of Bordeaux or a warm six pack of those 3% French lagers you only find on the bottom shelf at the back of weird French supermarkets, and have a listen to this pod to get yourself in the mood for the Grand Depart in just a few days time.

 

Cheers,

Mitch