Julian Alaphilippe on French expectation, fatherhood, and the 2019 Tour de France

G's prep for the Giro is very nearly complete. Tour of the Alps was his last racing hit out before he heads for Italy and he breaks it all down for Luke in this week's Watts. Luke himself is finally on the mend, following his concussion back in mid-March. Fingers crossed he'll be back on the bike with a vengeance soon. He's keeping himself busy though, with two commentary stints on Eurosport over the past week. First up he called compatriot Stevie Williams winning Fleche Wallonne, and then was on air as Pogi decimated the field in typically stunning fashion at Liege. G reckons he's now on Merckx level. What do you think? Let us know on Twitter: @Watts_Occurring. We'll be back in a week's time for a bumper Giro preview... and then Grand Tour number one of the season will begin. Bring it on! Watts Occurring is powered by Eurosport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well, day one at the Tour of the Alps was a cracker wasn't it - and after a tasty, attacking finale, G came home sixth, three seconds back on teammate and stage winner Tobias Foss. He jumped straight on the massage table, called up Luke, and gave him the rundown. Meanwhile the boys are fresh from their first alternative commentary with Eurosport - head to @eurosportcycling on Instagram to relive the boys' commentating efforts on the Amstel Gold Race! And after they came off air, INEOS Grenadiers put on a show, setting up Tom Pidcock for his first (well... maybe second) Amstel title. Luke and G analyse that win and look ahead to Fleche and this Sunday's final spring Monument, Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Before that, G's got a few Alpine mountains to summit. Send him your best. We'll be back next week - if not before... Watts Occurring is powered by Eurosport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The boys are back to discuss the fastest ever edition of Roubaix, won in serious style by world champ Mathieu van der Poel. Yes, that's the bloke who won Flanders too. He is untouchable right now - although, of course, if Luke wasn't suffering from concussion, he'd have taken it to the Dutchman... Speaking of Luke's concussion, he's got a bit of bad news on that front. He's still suffering after his crash in E3 and is back off the bike. He's hoping to be back to normal soon, but there's no rushing an issue like this. G is trucking along happily in Sierra and should be back in action at the Tour of the Alps this time next week. See you then for a racing update from our elder statesman, who is now less than a month out from the Giro. Watts Occurring is powered by Eurosport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The boys are back - and we've got some news: Watts Occurring is now powered by Eurosport! We're delighted to welcome Eurosport as our new title sponsor for 2024. We've got lots of exciting things planned, including Luke, G and Tom doing a spot of alternative commentary... More details on that soon. Before then the boys are back with the first Watts Occurring of 2024 - and there's lots to catch up on. Luke's overcoming his concussion, G's been training with Pog in Sierra Nevada and the boys do a deep dive looking back on an incredible Flanders. It's good to be back. See you next week for a Roubaix recap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When we ask our GTCC members for guest suggestions, one man often comes up: Mr Luke Rowe. Of course Luke is a part of the GTCC family and a familiar voice to you all as half of Watts Occurring, but for the final GTCC episode of season four we thought we'd shine the spotlight on our other Welshman and dig into his career over the past few seasons, his plans for this year, and what life might look like when he's hung up his competitive wheels. 2023 wasn't kind to Luke. He lost his Mum, Alyson, in April and - as anybody can imagine - cycling took a back seat for a while. But, having penned a fresh two-year contract at the end of the season, he's hoping for a big 2024. And so after another incredible series, we call time on the GTCC! We'll be back next week with the first Watts Occurring of 2024 - and back in October for GTCC S5. We've welcomed a new partner to the GTCC! Visit https://hvmn.com/GTCC for 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ (discount automatically applied at checkout). Music courtesy of BMG Music Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get this in your ears the next time you go for a ride. It’s like Blue Planet, in podcast form. Wildlife filmmaker and TV personality Hannah Stitfall wants to take you the world below the waves. She’ll be chatting to freedivers, marine biologists, submarine pilots and more, hearing mind-boggling stories about the oceans-deep and its inhabitants. We explore The Lost City. We hang out with your favourite animals. The hypnotic sound design and storytelling will drop you right there. Oceans: Life Under Water is brought to you by Crowd Network and Greenpeace UK, which is how these stories can be told so beautifully but also responsibly. To hear more, search for Oceans: Life Under Water in your favourite podcast app. Or click here: https://linktr.ee/oceanspod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're delighted to welcome a BIG guest to the GTCC today - G's boss and the head of INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe! A huge cycling and sports fan, Jim is one of the most talked about men in the sporting world right now, following his investment into Manchester United. The INEOS Sport portfolio continues to grow and, over an hour and a cup of coffee in his Monaco office, Jim was more than happy to chat to Geraint and Tom about how he's ended up owning one of the world's largest cycling teams, an America's Cup sailing team, two other football clubs, a stake in the Mercedes F1 team, become a major sponsor of the All Blacks, and so much more. There's also an excellent anecdote about being crashed by Chris Froome - yes, really - plus a lot of chat about Jim's plans for returning United to the top of English and world football. We hope this gives you a great insight into Sir Jim and a better understanding of his sporting investments. Meanwhile G's straight back to work - this time in Catalunya, as he continues his prep for the Giro. We'll see you next week for the last GTCC of season four! We've welcomed a new partner to the GTCC! Visit https://hvmn.com/GTCC for 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ (discount automatically applied at checkout). Music courtesy of BMG Music Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

G had to be on best behaviour for this week’s guest - because it’s the man who sets him his training day in, day out! Conor Taylor has been working with G for more than two years now and has played a major role in G’s longevity at the top of the sport, helping him to that incredible second place at the Giro last year, and Tour podium finish in 2022. The thinking behind cycling training and the nutrition to support it has changed beyond all recognition in recent years, with G himself happy to admit that he’s had to adapt with the times to stay relevant. Conor came to the GTCC with plenty of fascinating insights for our GTCC members - there should be something for every cyclist in this episode. In other news, G, Tom and Producer George have been working on something very exciting to end the series - so get ready for that one, if it comes off. We shall see. We’ll see you soon. We've welcomed a new partner to the GTCC! Visit https://hvmn.com/GTCC for 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ (discount automatically applied at checkout). Music courtesy of BMG Music Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucy Charles-Barclay needs no introduction - although the first time G met her, he could have done with one! You'll hear that story here, as well as how Lucy went from being a star swimmer and just missing out on Olympic selection to the absolute top of the Ironman world. Her journey has been remarkable and we loved getting to know one of Britain's world endurance stars for this week's GTCC. And, of course, G managed to get plenty of advice out of Lucy as he plans his Ironman attempt in retirement. Tom might even join in too! There's also a Strade recap, an ode to Pog, and a deep dive into Jumbo's beautiful new aero TT helmet. See you next week for a fascinating chat with G's coach. We've welcomed a new partner to the GTCC! Visit https://hvmn.com/GTCC for 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ (discount automatically applied at checkout). Music courtesy of BMG Music Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We know what you're thinking: HOW did it take this long to get Julian Alaphilippe on the GTCC?! We don't know. But he's here now, and everyone's favourite Frenchman certainly didn't disappoint. Julian has been unfortunate with injury over the past two seasons and cycling waits for no man. Yet he's started this season with a spring in his step and nobody would doubt him adding to his frankly ridiculous palmares. Two-time world champion. Multiple Tour de France stage winner. Strade Bianche. Milan San Remo. Polka dot jersey. And, of course, the winner of a lot of hearts. Here at the GTCC we're also super excited to see Julian line up alongside G at the Giro this year, for the first time in his career. They'll also both be at Strade Bianche this weekend - although G's prep for that hasn't been the smoothest... he reveals all in the intro. We hope you enjoy Julian. We'll be back next week with a star of the triathlon world... We've welcomed a new partner to the GTCC! Visit https://hvmn.com/GTCC for 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ (discount automatically applied at checkout). Music courtesy of BMG Music Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices