Stanley St. Social | Cycling News and Interviews

Former Ineos Grenadiers CEO John Allert on running a Tour de France team, the collapse of One Cycling, and why he thinks cycling could be worth ten times what it is today.John went from McLaren CMO, where he built Bahrain McLaren as a side project, to running Ineos Grenadiers in the post-Froome, post-Bernal era. He takes us inside the team: what Sir Jim Ratcliffe expects, how you try to win the Tour when Pogačar is locked in for a decade, and why Ineos moved late on young talent.We get into One Cycling, why it was seen as a breakaway, and why John still believes the current commercial model won’t last. He covers the F1 lessons cycling hasn’t learned yet, from the Concord Agreement to Drive to Survive, which he helped get McLaren signed up to. He also talks rider safety, the UCI’s new report, and why hospitality on a Belgian climb beats anything else in sport.

Max Gawn picks his All-Australian team of the 2026 cycling season: Tadej Pogačar captains, with Isaac del Toro, Sepp Kuss, Felix Großschartner, Tim Merlier, Jasper Stuyven, Wout van Aert and Andreas Leknessund in the eight.Plus the Titan Patagonia wrap from South America, with Max's top five and bottom five from the trip, from Jacket Gate to his final-stage chase in the GC battle.Also this week:Primož Roglič is still unsigned. Where does he land, and at what price?The 2027 Giro d'Italia route against the Tour de France, and why the uphill time trial suits Luke PlappPogačar Down Under rumours, Australia dropping out of the top 10 nations, and the Pogačar docoCyclocross: Thibau Nys wins the European title, and Lucinda Brand takes the win after Marie Schreiber's relegationPaul Magnier or Matthew Brennan in 2027, and how Lidl-Trek splits its leaders between the Giro and the TourComing Wednesday: former Ineos Grenadiers CEO John Allert.Social Club is brought to you by Giant.Max's top five is presented by Pillar Performance. New customers get 15% off with code STANLEY15.

Jake Lever and Sean from Beagle & Hound join Alex Clements and Max Gawn after the final stage of Titan Forest Patagonia, presented by Zwift. The first take got lost when nobody pressed record, so this is take two.Jake trained for the trip on Zwift in his runners with flat pedals. He calls it the hardest thing he’s done. He takes us through stage two in full: six crashes in 42km, most of them still clipped in, including the slatted bridge. Sean gets his right of reply on the hip tap, and explains why he dropped Jake two kilometres from the finish when Jake didn’t know the way. Max catches Alex on the last single track, takes the stage in the Stanley Street Social Cup, and says Alex drank all the Coke at the aid station. Also in this one: Jake’s gels turning out to be 50 grams of carbs, not 30, the roadworks Jake called great gravel, and 45 minutes of Jake talking to himself on a camera Sean forgot to turn off.Presented by Zwift, and thanks to our Patagonia partner UFinancial: financial advice, mortgage broking and financial planning under one roof on St Kilda Road. Content by Beagle & Hound.

Nick from St Cloud, the Fitzroy bike shop owner who built all our Giant Revolts, joins Alex Clements and Max Gawn after stage three of Titan Forest Patagonia, presented by Zwift.Nick came to Patagonia planning to win, then found out he was racing former Flèche Wallonne winner Dani Moreno. Max rode four hours in a rain jacket and it never rained. Nick explains the Revolt SL range and why he went for 50mm tyres. You’ll also hear how Jake Lever rides Zwift in his runners, whether Tour riders get saddle sores, and how Max made Spanish news with a photo of the Peter Sagan who ignored him for five days.Presented by Zwift, and thanks to our Patagonia partner UFinancial: financial advice, mortgage broking and financial planning under one roof on St Kilda Road.

Max Gawn punctures in the final single track at Titan Forest Patagonia and tries to run his bike to the line. Ed Langdon joins Alex Clements after stage two, presented by Zwift, as the new leader of the Stanley St. Social Cup.The Chileans don’t do steady climbs. They go 1%, 8%, 3%, 25%. This stage had a concrete wall at 25%, an aid station halfway up a 15% gravel climb, and a farm-track single track that was no place for a gravel bike. Jake Lever came off six times, once after his front wheel dropped into a gap in a slatted bridge. Then there was the 15km headwind across the valley at 11km/h, where Sean’s hip gave out right as his turn came up. Max ran down part of the single track before taking the car for the last kilometre. That makes him officially a DNF, but he’s third on bunch time in the Stanley Street Social Cup. Max also tells the Titan doco crew why Patagonia is a poor man’s Queenstown, and better for it.Presented by Zwift. Ed’s training before the Everest was a few Zwift rides at home, and he rates the setup.Thanks to our Patagonia partner UFinancial: financial advice, mortgage broking and financial planning under one roof on St Kilda Road.

The dailies are back. Alex Clements and Max Gawn report from day one of Titan Forest Patagonia, presented by Zwift, with Ed Langdon, Jake Lever, Nick from St Cloud and Sean riding for Team Stanley Street Social.It was 120km on Giant Revolts, finishing with a 10km climb where the Garmin read 5km/h. Max rode tempo at the back all day and still finished a minute behind Alex, Ed and Nick. Also in this one: 10km of roadworks Max swears was Roubaix, a camp where the showers run cold and one charger blew the village’s power, the Colombian tentmate who moved out overnight, and Max’s two bikes getting searched at Santiago customs.Presented by Zwift. Max does his training on Zwift at home, and it’s what got him race-ready for Patagonia.Welcome UFinancial, our new partner for the Patagonia trip. Financial advice, mortgage broking and financial planning all under one roof on St Kilda Road, and Max has been with them for years.

DescriptionMax Gawn joins from Thailand for a Wednesday Social Club. He reckons if Pogačar comes to the Tour Down Under, he falls in love with it and comes back three years running. And if anyone has the mail, it's Michael Matthews.We unpack the points system and why being a top-three ProTeam is now the money spot in cycling. That brings in Euskaltel's late points dash for Mikel Landa, and the Oceania Champs heading to Adelaide in January with 250 UCI points up for grabs.Also in this episode:Reflections on the Stuart O'Grady interview and the state of Australian cyclingMax's 2015 Player Revue, and what free drink cards will get youWidar beats Pidcock in Guangxi, Simmons v Healy at the Japan Cup, Campenaerts wins the Eneco Tour and McNulty finally wins in the rainbow stripesAnother car on the course, Adam Hansen's battle for rider safety, and the NOS investigation into Picnic PostNLCarapaz to NSN, EF's finances, Ayuso's tough first year at Lidl-Trek, Roglič playing the field and Matt White leaving MovistarMax's Patagonia prep, Zwift top-ups between running sessions, and why he might be a Giant Defy man for lifeThe Social Club is presented by Giant.

Max Gawn sits down with Santos Tour Down Under race director Stuart O’Grady to go through the 2027 route, stage by stage, the morning after Max and Ed Langdon Everested Willunga Hill.They talk leaving Willunga out of his first race as director. O'Grady explains how the men’s and women’s races will run on the same day, on the same course, for the first time in the Australian summer.In this episode:Max’s Everest numbers: 8,911 metres, 13,000 calories and 21 hours in the saddleA short, steep climb three times in the final of stage one from Henley BeachCorkscrew twice on stage three, now turning right like the women did this yearWillunga Hill from a new direction, and a Norwood to Stirling finaleHow points farming has changed the TDU, and Max on Jayco’s Australian identityThe 2028 route Stewie’s already designed, and whether Pogačar is coming

CPA president Adam Hansen joins us fresh from the first UCI cycling reform meeting to talk rider safety, salaries and anti-doping from the inside.Heads up: the audio isn’t our usual standard, but what he shares is well worth pushing through for.Adam takes us through what was discussed at the reform table, and how rolling road closures actually work after a week of vehicles on course in the Italian races.He lays out his top five safety priorities, from GPS trackers and hookless tyres to helmets only rated to around 22 km/h, and why he expects trackers in every race by mid-next year.We also get into the ITA night tests on Tadej and Jonas at the Tour, the flaws in the ADAMS whereabouts system that riders fear more than testing itself, why he believes the peloton is clean, and where airbags fit into the future of racing.

Max Gawn's top five transfers of the trade period so far, from Giulio Ciccone to Q36.5 and Filippo Ganna to Lidl-Trek to Ben Turner at Soudal Quick-Step.Plus Paul Seixas wins Il Lombardia, Per Strand Hagenes takes Paris-Tours, and Plappy is out of Guangxi with a fractured wrist.In this Social Club:Alex hits the wall at the Chicago Marathon, and Jimmy Whelan v Kipchoge in MelbourneMax on being the heaviest Everester, and why no one over 115kg has beaten him yetGravel Worlds in Perth, and whether Paris-Tours should be the sixth monumentRemco's five-minute safety protest at Lombardia, ahead of our Adam Hansen interviewCiccone v Mauro Schmid, and how Australia sells the Tour Down Under to the world's best ridersThe Social Club is presented by Giant. Max's Giant garage now runs to two Propels, two TCRs, an Anthem, a Fathom and a Revolt.Max is back on Zwift since his Everest, right next to the sauna.