Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP   It’s Paris–Roubaix week, and it felt like the perfect time to bring back one of the interviews I’d wanted to do from the very start of Life in the Peloton. Sitting down with Tom Boonen at his place in Mol is still one of my favourite conversations we’ve had on the pod, so I thought this was the right moment to share it again.   When it comes to the Cobbled Classics, Tom’s palmarès are mind blowing. He’s the joint record holder for wins at both Flanders (3) and Roubaix (4), as well as the outright record holder for the most wins at E3 (5). Just one of those victories would define most careers, but Tom can also count three Gent–Wevelgems, a couple of Scheldeprijs titles and a world championship for good measure.   This was an extra special pod for me personally. Tom’s career wrapped up in 2017, which meant I spent a big part of my own racing career lining up against him at the Classics and getting my legs blown off by his attacks. He was the wheel everyone wanted to be on when the racing got serious. I managed it once… have a listen to hear how that went.   I was lucky enough to sit down with Tom at his home in Mol and really get stuck into chatting about the races that we both love so much. He’s a fantastic interviewee, and I got a real buzz from the excitement he still clearly feels when talking through the ups and downs of his biggest wins and defeats.   As well as revisiting some of the most legendary Classics moments of the last decade, I also got to ask a few questions I’d always wanted to know the answers to. What was it really like being a superstar in such a cycling-mad country? How did he handle the pressure of becoming world champion at just 24? And we also talked about a comeback story that often gets overlooked alongside Matt Hayman’s incredible ride at the 2016 Paris–Roubaix.   Honestly, I could have stayed chatting about the microscopic details of the Arenberg sector for hours if I could. There’s so much in this one, and with Roubaix coming up this weekend it felt like the right time to bring it back.   Cheers! Mitch   Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper — home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too - https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP   Guys, as if you need me to tell you, we are deep in the heart of the Spring Classics. My favourite races…hell, EVERYONE’S favourite races. I’ve got myself across to the motherland, in amongst it in Belgium, to soak it all in.   I want to take you with me on the road and show you why these races are so special. This week is bigger than any one race - it’s a part of the culture here in Belgium, and it’s woven into their very DNA. Even people who don’t ride get out there at the roadside and watch the classics race by. I want to peel back the layers and bring you along for the ride in a way that makes you think “Holy shit I have to get out there next year”.   I’ve been putting this episode together since I arrived last weekend, just in time for Gent Wevelgem or, as it’s now called, In Flanders Fields - From Middlekerke to Wevelgem, and hitting record to capture all sorts of rider interviews, roadside atmosphere, across the whole week through Waregem until the big one; De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.   I spoke to some really important characters in the Spring Classic story -both old and new - across my week at the races. Young, up and coming talent like Laurence Pithie and Bob Donaldson, Belgian hero Dries de Bondt, and legends from generations gone by like Sep Vanmarcke and Luke Rowe. Not just the riders, there’s an amazing cross section of fans from Belgian and beyond who have travelled out to the hallowed ground of Flanders to embrace it all.   From Wevelgem to Waregem, the Kemmelberg to the Kwaremont; this episode covers a lot of ground. Just like the Tour of Flanders itself, we twist and turn all over Belgium - covering bergs shoulder to shoulder with the classics riders who make these races so special.   Make no mistake, these races are hard. They’re aggressive, chaotic, fast - they chew you up and spit you out. But, as a professional rider, I loved being a part of it. The noise of the crowd, the smell of the beer, and the passion of the Belgian fans right there on the roadside are something I’ll never forget. I had to get in amongst it and see if it lived up to the hype. I’ll tell you right now, it far exceeded it.   Crack yourself a Belgian beer - be it a light pilsner, a sturdy blonde, a dark dubbel, or the full tripel - make sure you pour it into the correct glass, and enjoy this Classics episode.     This episode is sponsored by JOIN Cycling and SHOKZ.   Train smarter with adaptive plans and efficient workouts. Maximize progress, avoid overtraining, and seamlessly connect with favorite apps and devices. Perfect for cyclists of all levels.   For 30 Days JOIN Cycling FREE, head across to https://join.cc/litp   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

This is a cheeky bonus excerpt from the full episode. To listen to the whole thing — and get access to future Chronicles — become a PODIUM Member (our foundling tier) via our Substack. 👉 https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/about   Sitting down and having a yarn with my mate Sveino is one of my favourite marts of the month. Sharing a huge chunk of my pro career with Svein and travelling the world racing our bikes together feels like a lifetime ago now, and sometimes we land on a topic that really brings home just how far the sport has come in the time since we both hung up our racing wheels.   This month is no different. Guys, welcome back to the Life In The Peloton Chronicles, exclusively for you Pelo members.   After knocking out an epic 240km ride as part of MAAP’s Equinox Experience and Curve’s Border Run on the weekend that saw me absolutely creeping up to the Victorian border with New South Wales, I wanted to talk about nutrition in bike racing.   Fuelling in cycling - more specifically, how much carbohydrate riders can consume every hour - has transformed in the last few years. Back in my day, we’d have a gel here, a bar there, and sip on a couple of bottles throughout a stage - don’t want to eat too much, right? Might get fat…   Nowadays, pro cyclists are getting through 120g of carbohydrates an hour - or even more. It’s totally changed the game. Riders have more energy, so they can push harder day after day after day. Who would have thought having more energy would make you go better on the bike?   I caught up with an old mate of mine - Kevin Poulton. Kevin is my old coach, and now plies his trade at UAE Emirates XRG with some of the best riders in the world. Kev’s been in the sport for over a decade, and has a really good head on how fuelling has evolved at the top level, and some of the misunderstandings about the golden 120g/h number that we hear so much about these days.   At the end of the day, it’s all about training. Just like how you train your legs, you need to train your gut as well. There’s some gems in this ep, and hopefully you learn a thing or two - as well as enjoy hearing Sveino and I spin a yarn and swap stories from our time in the bunch.   Guys, as you know, these episodes are exclusive to you Pelo members. As always, I want to give you all a massive ‘Chapeau’ for pulling this bunch along and supporting me and the Life In The Peloton team. If you like what we do tell your mates and get them across to join this paceline.   Until next month!   Cheers Mitch

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP   This year’s Milan San Remo might be the craziest race I’ve ever seen. All the tension and build-up, the favourites crashing with just 30km to go, the epic chase back from Pogi, and the fantastic duel for the win on the Via Roma. What. A. Race. Where do we even start to unpack all that?!   Fortunately, as always, I’m joined by World Tour Pro, Luke Durbridge, and EF Education EasyPost Sports Director, Tom Southam, to dig into what we’ve just seen at San Remo, look ahead to the rest of the Spring races, and, of course, share a few good laughs along the way.    Obviously, this episode kicks off with Southam, Durbo, and me digesting the men’s Milan San Remo that saw a battle-scarred Tadej Pogačar clinch victory in the sprint against Tom Pidcock, with a resurgent Wout Van Aert hanging on for 3rd behind, ahead of a raging Mads Pedersen leading home the bunch. There were so many absolutely crazy moments and amazing rides from heaps of different guys in the bunch - I can’t even begin to wrap it up here; you’ll just have to hear us yarn all about it.   This month’s PeloChat is all about bunch positioning. Durbo gives us his insight into how important a rider’s positioning in the peloton is, and the best ways to avoid the chaos and carnage. It was surprising to hear him say that the back of the bunch isn’t actually as bad as we all thought…   Southam’s Talking Tactics focus this month is…well…talking tactics! How do sports directors and team leaders communicate their plans amongst the riders, and how do they ensure other teams don’t find out before crunch time? Southam tells all.   Our new segment returns: “Yeah…nah…”. This month is all about Cafe culture. Pre-ride coffee stop? Helmet on at the cafe? Lunch in your knicks? Yeah….nah.   Finally, of course, it’s the CommuniQuiz. This month it’s Durbo’s turn to be quiz master, and it’s a full-on ‘Ashes’ edition; Australia VS The UK. I take on the role of Shane Warne, and Southam has a go at being…I don’t know, some Pommy.    Guys, monument season is well and truly here, and what a way to start it on the weekend with a truly historic Milan San Remo. Not long to wait until Holy Week and everyone’s favourite races; Flanders & Roubaix. I. Cannot. Wait.   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 Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper - home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too!

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP   Oh boy, we are just days away from Milan Sanremo. La Primavera, the first monument of the season, La Classicissima - whatever you want to call it - this race is guaranteed action every single year.    This month’s episode of Life In The Peloton is an absolute bumper sized deep dive into this perfect bike race from the people who know it better than anyone. We’ve got previous winners, podium finishers, and passionate riders that dedicate their season to this race - plus experts who know the history of this monumental affair better than anyone.   We kick off with some context from master stat man - Dr Cillian Kelly. He teaches me a thing or two about the history of this race, where it sits compared to the other monuments, and why it is - statistically - the perfect bike race.    Next, a guy who is possibly the most passionate person on earth about Sanremo; Max Sciandri. Max raced MSR 13 times as a professional, and has driven the race as a sports director at least the same number of times. His best finish as a rider was an agonising 4th place behind Colombo in 1996, but he dedicated his career to trying to win this beautiful race. Is there anyone who knows the 300 odd kilometers between Milan and Sanremo better than Max? I don’t think so.   OK That’s the cruisy first 150km of the ep - now we’re over the Turchino and onto the coast for the build up to the finale; it’s time to hear from some riders. John Degenkolb, Matt Goss, Heinrich Haussler, and Michael Matthews. If you know Sanremo, you know that these guys are total legends of the race. Between the 4 of them they’ve got 2 wins, 4 podiums, and 5 other top 10 placings. What’s the key to getting up there on the Via Roma? These guys will tell you.   Guys, this is an episode I’m so excited about because it really feels like it takes you inside the Peloton. I only raced San Remo 2 times in my pro career, so talking to these guys who are so experienced in and passionate about this beautiful, iconic race was really eye opening.    This ep will take you from your first espresso of the day right through to your evening aperitivo and tell  you everything you need to know about the first monument of the season to get you hyped up for the weekend. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.    Cheers, Mitch   This episode is sponsored by JOIN Cycling. Train smarter with adaptive plans and efficient workouts. Maximise progress, avoid overtraining, and seamlessly connect with favourite apps and devices. Perfect for cyclists of all levels.   For 30 Days JOIN Cycling FREE, head across to join.cc/litp   A reminder too that we’ve started a new chapter for Life in the Peloton on Substack.   It’s a home for deeper stories, longer thoughts, and conversations that don’t have to fit into an hour-long pod — from Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts to my own Pelo Journal. Some of it’s always free, and if you want a bit more, the paid membership is really just like shouting Tom or me a pint once a month to help keep Life in the Peloton rolling: https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/