Domestique Cycling Podcast

Matevž Govekar joins Aidan Burgess on the Domestique Hotseat after a long 2026 season with Bahrain Victorious. The Slovenian sprinter talks openly about a year that did not go his way, the Tour of Guangxi, home European Championships in Slovenia, and why riders feel they have to stop races to be heard on safety.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.comGovekar admits this was not one of his best seasons. He explains the self-doubt, the criticism after races, and the one friend he texts when a sprint goes wrong. He also explains how he became a sprinter, and what it is like to line up against Jonathan Milan and Paul Magnier when everyone wants the same wheel.He tells the story of Luka Mezgec’s surprise retirement party after the home Europeans, and what a Giro d’Italia start near Slovenia could mean for him and for Tadej Pogačar.On safety, Govekar says rider feedback often changes little, and that stopping races, like at Il Lombardia, is what gets attention. He compares airbags to helmets: uncomfortable at first, normal later.He finishes with life away from the bike, from rooming with Matej Mohorič to finally riding the big roller coasters at Gardaland.

Tadej Pogačar won 22 races in 2026, including three Monuments and a fifth Tour de France. Then he crashed out of the Vuelta in August and did not race again. So was he still the rider of the year, or did Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas do enough to take it from him?💡 Exposure Lights: use code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.com for 15% off your first purchase.⚡ MNSTRY: use code DOMESTIQUE20 for 20% off your first Tasting Box at https://mnstry.com🛡️ Surfshark: get the Black Friday deal at https://domestiquecycling.com/surfsharkThe road season is over, and Bram and Ethan hand out the Domestique Awards. We pick a domestique of the year, a team of the year, a Grand Tour of the year, a moment of the year, a breakthrough of the year and a rider of the year.Brandon McNulty won the domestique award for his work for Pogačar at Milan-Sanremo, ahead of Matteo Jorgenson and Florian Vermeersch. A few months later he was world champion. UAE Team Emirates-XRG win team of the year with 78 victories. Visma | Lease a Bike come close, with the Giro, Paris-Roubaix and 14 Grand Tour stages. Enric Mas’ Vuelta beats the Giro and the Tour as our Grand Tour of the year.Our moment of the year is Wout van Aert beating Pogačar on the Roubaix velodrome. It is the second year in a row that this award goes to Van Aert. Seixas won eight races, finished fourth at the Tour at 19 and won Il Lombardia at 20, which makes him an easy pick for breakthrough of the year. To finish, we each choose our favourite race of the season and our biggest disappointment. Jayco AlUla and Mathieu van der Poel both come up.

Is the 2027 Tour de France built to stop Tadej Pogačar? The route has 71 km of individual time trials, the most since Bradley Wiggins won in 2012, and only three summit finishes. Bram and Ethan go through every stage.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.com👉  Get 20% off your first Tasting Box with the code DOMESTIQUE20 at https://mnstry.com👉 Get 87% off your first 27 months for a VPN at https://www.domestiquecycling.com/surfsharkThe race starts in Edinburgh on 2 July and ends in Paris on 25 July, after 3,479 km. The British stages could suit Matthew Brennan and the sprinters. Cherbourg and Plumelec look like days for Mathieu van der Poel. Then the 38 km time trial from Blois to Chambord gives Remco Evenepoel a real chance to take yellow before the Grand Colombier.In the second week, the race previews the Sallanches Worlds course and climbs to Les Saisies on Bastille Day. Ethan picks Mende as his favourite stage. The 33 km Toulouse time trial opens the final week, with a short, steep climb to break the rhythm.The big day is stage 18 to the Col du Portet, with 5,400 metres of climbing over the Soulor, Tourmalet and Hourquette d’Ancizan. Pogačar has already won on two of the three summit finishes in this Tour. Bram and Ethan ask if he will go on the Tourmalet, why they do not like the descent to Laruns on stage 19, and what this route means for the Giro.

MyWhoosh is free, it pays out real prize money every week, and it runs the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships. So who pays for it? Matt Smithson, Director of Esports and Game Operations at MyWhoosh, joins Aidan Burgess on the Domestique Hotseat to answer that question.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.comMatt explains why the UAE built its own indoor cycling platform. He talks about the summer heat, national pride, and wanting to show what the country can build. He is open about the wealthy stakeholders behind the esports side. He also says the game itself has to start paying its own way, through season passes, in-game worlds for tourist boards and advertising.One surprise: Matt says less than five percent of MyWhoosh users race, even though Sunday Race Club is what most people know the platform for. Workouts are much bigger. He also explains how the Ride with Tadej Pogačar on 31 October will work, and how riders can put their questions to Tadej live.Aidan pushes on the hard topics too. Will power gems become pay to win? Will there be loot boxes? How does MyWhoosh handle doping controls and weigh-ins when there is money on the line? And can esports racing ever be more than a watts per kilo test? Matt walks through the new format for the 2026 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships in Copenhagen on 5 December, and says where he thinks the sport is going: towards gamers.

Michael Matthews joins Aidan Burgess on the Domestique Hotseat after taking silver at the World Championships in Montréal, 13 seconds behind Brandon McNulty. It is the end of a year that started with a horror training crash in March, when Matthews broke bones in both arms and his face.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.comMatthews explains how he raced Worlds phase by phase, what it was like in a chase group where the USA had three riders, and why he replied to a critic who said he did not attack enough. He also talks about the moment in the helicopter after his crash when he thought his career was over, and the role his wife played in getting him back on the bike.There is plenty more. Matthews talks about the rider safety protest before Il Lombardia and how Remco Evenepoel ended up giving the speech. He tells the story of how a school sports test sent him from motocross to cycling, and how his under-23 world title in Geelong was celebrated. He also explains why every Lego set in his garage is linked to a training camp.Finally, he looks ahead: another try at Milan-San Remo, his special link to the Amstel Gold Race, and how his friend Tadej Pogačar is doing after his crash.

Paul Seixas won Il Lombardia at 20 years and 16 days old, the youngest winner in the race’s history. He set his own pace on the Civiglio with 19 kilometres to go, and only Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone could hold his wheel, for less than a kilometre. He won in Como by 48 seconds over Enric Mas, with Ciccone third in his last race for Lidl-Trek. Remco Evenepoel won the sprint for fourth. Isaac del Toro lost almost five minutes with a bad knee.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.com👉  Get 20% off your first Tasting Box with the code DOMESTIQUE20 at https://mnstry.com👉 Get 87% off your first 27 months for a VPN at https://www.domestiquecycling.com/surfsharkWe start with our own failed pick, and why Seixas skipping the European Championships looks so smart now. We give Mas the credit the previews did not, and talk about why riding your own pace is the only way to survive these riders. Then we ask whether UAE should have raced Del Toro at Gran Piemonte with a knee problem, and how Evenepoel still finished fourth after being dropped early on the Civiglio.Before the start, the whole peloton stood still in Bergamo for five minutes to protest about safety, and Evenepoel spoke to the crowd for the riders. We talk about why the riders organised it themselves, the van at the Coppa Bernocchi, the police motorbike at Tre Valli Varesine, and why the UCI’s new safety document is not enough.Then the bigger picture: should Seixas ride the spring Classics, did you see him at the Roc d’Azur the day after Lombardia, and can he beat Pogačar next year? We also cover Per Strand Hagenes winning Paris-Tours, Ciccone joining Pidcock at Pinarello-Q36.5, and what is left of the season.

CPA president Adam Hansen joins Aidan Burgess on the Domestique Hotseat after a brutal end to the season for rider safety. Finlay Tarling died at the Volta a Portugal, a police motorbike rode into riders at Tre Valli Varesine, and the riders fought the Vuelta over its final stage in Granada.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.comHansen explains how the riders’ union works in practice. He covers how complaints in the peloton reach race organisers, what SafeR can and cannot force organisers to do, and why the Vuelta’s GC times were frozen only for the last lap. He also covers why new barrier standards arrive for WorldTour races in 2027, and what is still holding up GPS tracking for every rider.He also reveals something many fans will not know. When a rider is hurt at a race, the team carries the responsibility, not the race organiser. Hansen talks about what that means for accountability, and why he wants stronger helmet standards and airbags in the peloton.In the second half, Hansen defends the CPA’s support for the UCI in its court fight with SRAM over gear ratios. He argues that the case is now about whether the UCI can regulate equipment at all, and what could happen if it can’t. He also gives the CPA’s position on hookless rims and bigger wheels.There is also time for the lighter side: why the CPA president now flies his own plane to races, and the new shoe design he wants a pro to race next year.

Il Lombardia is on Saturday, and for the first time since 2020 Tadej Pogacar will not win it. Remco Evenepoel goes to Como as the new European champion. In Slovenia he crashed on a descent, attacked again and beat Giulio Ciccone in a photo finish.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.com👉  Get 20% off your first Tasting Box with the code DOMESTIQUE20 at https://mnstry.com👉 Get 87% off your first 27 months for a VPN at https://www.domestiquecycling.com/surfsharkWe look back at the Euros. Evenepoel crashed and got back on quickly. Ciccone stopped taking turns while Christian Scaroni chased alone in third. Belgium rode for one leader only, with Ramses Debruyne and Maxim Van Gils doing the work. Demi Vollering won the women's race solo in her first race as world champion. We also cover the Giro dell'Emilia, where Davide Piganzoli won, Tom Pidcock was second again, and Brandon McNulty attacked in the rainbow jersey.Then we turn to Lombardia: 239 kilometres from Bergamo to Como over the Madonna del Ghisallo. The finale is the same as in 2022, over San Fermo della Battaglia and Civiglio, with a fast descent to the line. Does that suit Evenepoel, Pidcock or Paul Seixas best? How does UAE split leadership if Isaac del Toro starts next to McNulty? Can Enric Mas win a classic? We also discuss Bram's stat that Evenepoel and Primož Roglič never shared a race day as Red Bull teammates.We finish with our podium picks and say goodbye to Bauke Mollema and Pello Bilbao, who both retire at the end of the season.

Thor Hushovd, former world champion and now general manager of Uno-X Mobility, joins Aidan Burgess on the Domestique Hotseat. This is the week the UCI confirmed new standards for finish barriers and a push for GPS tracking. Thor says the talking has to stop and the action has to start.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.comHe talks about what it is like to run a team of 50 riders and fear the worst phone call. He says every 10 metres of road holds a danger, and that he has had calls from parents asking if their sons are safe. He says the UCI, race organisers, teams and riders all have to take their share of the responsibility.Thor also looks back at the rainbow jersey he won in Australia in 2010. He talks about how aero suits, narrow handlebars and wind tunnels changed racing, and whether cycling needs shorter formats, like a criterium world championship, to reach a younger audience.Then it's Uno-X Mobility: why the men's team is only Norwegian and Danish, why the women's team is more international for now, and how the team keeps its trust-based culture as it grows. He also confirms that more signings are coming, including what he calls big names.

Brandon McNulty won the 2026 World Championships road race in Montréal. He attacked alone with 33 kilometres to go, held on by 13 seconds, and became the first American to win the elite men's title since 1993. Michael Matthews took silver the day after his 36th birthday. Mathieu van der Poel attacked from a long way out and still took bronze.👉  Get 15% off your first purchase with the code DOMESTIQUE15 at https://exposurelights.com👉  Get 20% off your first Tasting Box with the code DOMESTIQUE20 at https://mnstry.com👉 Get 87% off your first 27 months for a VPN at https://www.domestiquecycling.com/surfsharkWe go through the whole race. There was the 16 rider break, and France setting a brutal pace with Bruno Armirail on the front for four laps. Van der Poel took Oscar Onley, Quinn Simmons and Primož Roglič with him in a move that stayed out for almost 70 kilometres, and Remco Evenepoel kept fighting his way back after being dropped. Then McNulty went clear. Isaac del Toro, his UAE teammate, would not chase, and Matteo Jorgenson followed every counterattack. Tom Pidcock attacked again and again, and we ask whether those attacks helped the chase or killed it.We also talk about Paul Seixas cramping on the last lap at 20 years old, and the pressure on him in France. Should trade teams have this much influence at the Worlds? We also look at Matthews' silver after breaking both arms this spring, and Sallanches 2027 with 5,700 metres of climbing.In the women's race, Demi Vollering finally won the rainbow jersey. She was caught, attacked again on the last lap and beat Kasia Niewiadoma in the sprint, which completes the Triple Crown of Giro, Tour and Worlds. We also cover the UCI's fines for Eritrea's kit and Vollering's yellow card, then preview the European Championships in Slovenia.