Del Toro, Seixas, Van Aert, & More! Who Will Win the 2026 World Championships? | The Race Communiqué

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP I can’t believe the 2026 UCI World Championships kick off in just a few days! With Pogačar sidelined, the elite men’s race is set to be an epic showdown, and one of the most open worlds we’ve seen in years! Of course, that means it’s time for me, Tom Southam, and Luke Durbridge to catch up, preview the race, and have a good old yarn on this month’s Race Communiqué.  Over the weekend we had the GP Quebec and Montreal, which gave us a great look at who’s in shape ahead of Worlds and how the circuit in Montreal is going to be raced. Durbo was on the ground racing, getting chopped left, right, and centre and gives us some amazing insight into the chaos and tension in the bunch.  We’ve shuffled the order around this month, so Durbo jumps straight into PeloChat! Durbs goes through the nuance of how to ride on the front of the bunch and protect your leaders, how to know when to get off the front and let someone else pull, and how a team can dictate a hard race by just riding smart. This is the kind of insight that 15 years in the peloton gets you - Luke really showing us why he’s had such a long and successful career as one of the most trusted teammates in the bunch.  Southam’s Talking Tactics is all about the fantastic Vuelta we’ve just seen. Movistar turning their race around after a difficult first week to capitalise on Pogačar’s misfortune and roll out some real old-school Grand Tour tactics to take the red jersey all the way to the finish in Grenada was an epic spectacle, and Southam gives us all the inside gossip from the road.  Before we get into the World Champs preview, I wanted to give the Vuelta a proper send-off and discuss the five most interesting points of the race. When will Pogi go back and try to win? Where will Roglič go from here? What does such a strong grandy mean for Wout van Aert’s world champs chances?  The 2026 elite men’s world championships road race is just less than two weeks away. The Montreal circuit we saw raced on the weekend will be tackled 12 times, but who’s going to come away with the rainbow jersey? Evenepoel, Del Toro, Seixas, Pidcock, Van Der Poel, Van Aert, and more - with Pogačar sidelined, this is going to be one of the most open worlds we’ve seen in years. I can’t wait.  Guys, if you know me, you know I love a cold one. I also love pro cycling, so I thought I’d combine my two passions for a bit of a laugh with the boys this month - the ‘Beer Bus’; combining our favourite beverages and pro cyclists. Fabian Cans-Of-Larger, anyone? Durbo brings us home with a CommuniQuiz he’s cooked up all about win records in the races we’ve discussed in this episode! It’s a banger with some crazy surprising statistics, so play along at home and see how you do. Guys, that’s all for this month’s Communiqué! I can’t believe the season’s coming to its conclusion! It feels like only yesterday the peloton was defrosting after their winter hibernation at Omloop, yet here we are barreling towards the end of another amazing season of bike racing. 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 Listen to the Life In The Peloton Podcast 🔈 lifeinthepeloton.com/listen Join Mitch's Mailing List ✉️ lifeinthepeloton.com/subscribe Send Mitch a message 🗣️ lifeinthepeloton.com/contact  

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP Every few years, a special rider comes along who does things a little bit differently. My guest on this month’s episode of Life In The Peloton is one of those riders: Dutch legend Taco Van Der Hoorn.  Taco’s been a pro for almost a decade, and in that time he’s had some massive wins and more than his fair share of bad luck. From getting his hands in the air with a stage win at the Giro in 2021 to spending over 500 days out of racing with a nasty concussion, Taco’s lived through the beauty and brutality of the sport. Earlier this year, I got to sit down with Taco and discuss not only racing, but what it means to be a pro cyclist, how he got to where he is today, and how his slightly different approach has given him such a long and fruitful career when, on paper at least, he doesn’t think he’d have a chance in the World Tour if he started riding today.  From training in Colombia with his neighbour Annemiek van Vleuten to studying for a degree in human movement before he even became a professional, Taco’s career has seen him ride for some of the biggest teams in the peloton and carve out a niche as a guy who can punch well above his weight.  Inspired by other free thinkers like Graham Obree and Jan Willem Van Schip, he recognised early on that there’s more to racing than just power numbers, and he’s used equipment, tactical nous, and determination to win some bloody big bike races and have a good time while he’s doing it. As he puts it, it’s about speed, not power. Guys, get this episode on, make yourself comfortable, and listen to Taco’s tales from the Pelo. I loved chatting to him, and actually saw a lot of similarities in my own career and his, so this is well worth a listen. Cheers, Mitch   This episode is sponsored by SHOKZ. 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 When you think of steep, cobbled bergs you probably think of Belgium - so when Harry and Stu told me the UK had its own Flandrien berg, I knew I had to find out more. As luck would have it, this iconic Michaelgate climb played host to the first stage of this year’s Tour of Britain, so I dispatched my men-on-the-ground - better known as Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio presented by SHOKZ - to Lincoln to check it out. Here’s what the best bald boy in the bike business Harry, had to say: Harry: It only felt right that with stage one of this year’s Tour of Britain finishing up Lincoln’s iconic Michaelgate climb, Stu and I should head there to record our next episode of LITPRR. Camped out on the 16% cobbles, we were right at the heart of the UK domestic racing scene, and day one delivered a full-blown GC battle. What a place to watch a bike race! Cathedrals. Castles. A British winner. Quintessential stuff. I only raced in the UK a few times in my career. I did the Tour of Britain and Tour de Yorkshire once each, the RideLondon classic four times, and that miserably wet World Champs in Harrogate in 2019. If there’s one thing I remember about racing in Britain - it is grippy as it gets. Hard roads, plenty of narrow lanes twisting and turning through the countryside, and downright shit weather most of the time. There are no easy Ks in the UK. Hearing the boys soaking in the atmosphere in Lincoln really does take me back to proper Belgian racing; the cheering, the cowbells, and the faint sound of riders wincing as the cobbles and gradient start to bite. Oh man, I wish I was there with a cold one taking it all in.  Guys, this is a real racing fan’s episode. Harry & Stu have netted some amazing interviews with some proper legends, and really captured what this race is all about. Of course, none of this would be possible without support from our presenting partner SHOKZ. If you’re after the best sports headphones - be it for cycling, running, or even swimming - get across to SHOKZ’s website, and enjoy a cheeky discount for being a LITP listener.  The Race Radio boys have just one race trip left on their 2026 calendar; the Italian one day races that form the build up Lombardia in October and bring the curtain down on plenty of rider’s seasons. I can’t wait to hear what they cook up.  Cheers, Mitch 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

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP Well, I don’t think anybody expected that to happen… Guys, welcome along to this rest day special episode of the Race Communiqué. I’m joined by Luke Durbridge - getting his last few days of relaxation in before heading across to Canada - to wrap up everything we’ve seen in an absolutely crazy first week at La Vuelta.  Of course, how could we not discuss the biggest news of the race…and maybe even the season: Tadej Pogačar has crashed out of La Vuelta! After absolutely dominating the first week of the race, the Slovenian superstar hit the deck at high speed on stage eight and suffered a concussion, a fractured collarbone, and a fractured vertebrae.  That is a pretty serious list of injuries for Pogi, and casts a lot of doubt over the rest of his 2026 season. Here’s hoping that he can get fit and healthy again and get back to racing when he’s ready.  With Pog out, the race really has been turned on its head. Mas has moved into the race lead, and all of a sudden there are opportunities for all sorts of riders to potentially win a grand tour.  Once Durbo and I recap the race so far, we get a special voice note from the big man - Tom Southam - on his way back from driving the EF Team car for the first part of La Vuelta. He gives us his take on Pog’s crash and what that means for the race.  As sad as Pog’s departure is, the race continues without him. It’s a cruel sport, hey? How is the rest of this year’s Vuelta going to play out? Will we see any more big surprises? Who’s going to win? We discuss all this and more on this special rest day Race Communiqué. 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 Join the next TrainingPeaks virtual ride with Durbo and me on 7th September - sign up here! A local loop around Girona, just like the good old days

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP La Vuelta a España is almost upon us! That’s right, it’s almost time for the last Grandy of the season - and my favourite! In this month’s Race Communiqué Luke Durbridge, Tom Southam, and I are picking apart the route, looking down the startlist, and previewing what promises to be an absolute scorcher of a race.  Of course, the headlines around this year’s edition of La Vuelta are dominated by the presence of some Slovenian kid called Terry Pogačar…or something, and it’s fair to say he’s going to be the out-and-out favourite. But that doesn’t mean we’re in for a three-week snooze fest, oh no. Guys like Richard Carapaz, Felix Gall, Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert, Matt Brennan, and heaps more absolute hitters are showing up to make this a Grand Tour that you do NOT want to miss. Kicking off in Monaco, the 2026 Vuelta Route takes the pelo down through Andorra and into Spain, with a huge emphasis on the southern part of the country. That means two things: ripping hot temperatures and disgustingly tough climbs. In fact, this year’s route has almost 59,000 meters elevation total - almost 10,000 more than the Giro!  We go through the course stage by stage and pick out some of our favourites that you’re gonna want to sit down and watch. As you know, I have a real soft spot for the Vuelta, and I think the organisers must have been listening to us yarn away on the pod about what stages we want to see in the grand tours, because there’s some absolute bangers in there.  After the Vuelta preview, we turn to Luke for this month’s PeloChat. Durbs has done some serious digging for this ep, and is looking into what it takes to scout out new and upcoming talent. With a bit of an explainer from our old mate Michael ‘Heppy’ Hepburn, now working for Red Bull - BORA - Hansgrohe, this is a really great insight into how the biggest teams are finding the superstars of tomorrow.  Southam’s talking tactics takes a look at La Vuelta and asks: does it really need to be three weeks long, or could it be shorter? What would a two week grandy look like? Would it be better racing? It’s something that comes up for discussion every time the Vuelta rolls around, and Southam’s got one hell of a take on it.  You know the drill by now; as always, we wrap things up with a Vuelta-themed CommuniQuiz. Southam’s on the mic as Quiz Master this month, trying to catch me and Durbo out with some pretty sneaky Spanish stats. Guys, crack open a crisp Cerveza, order some tapas, wake up from your siesta, and get ready for this year’s Vuelta! I can’t wait, and I hope this episode gets you fired up and ready for a real fiesta of a race.  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 Aero socks, waxed chains, ceramic bearings, and more are all classic marginal gains that cyclists love to froth over. But they might just be overlooking one of the most important pieces of the puzzle: feet.  I know, footbeds aren’t exactly the sexiest upgrade to make to your set-up, but getting them right could actually unlock even more power, reduce injury, and just boost your overall enjoyment on the bike. That’s where this week’s guest comes in.  Mick Habgood, perhaps better known as Mik.Fit, has been producing cycling orthotics and shoes for pro cyclists since 2013, working closely with EF Pro Cycling, British Cycling, and heaps more. In fact, he reckons close to 150 pros are using his insoles - from Olympic gold medalists to grand tour stage winners.  Chatting to Mick and hearing just how important your feet are in the quest for comfort and power was fascinating, and I even got to have a go myself. I got on a video consultation with Mick so he could analyse my feet and sort out some insoles for me to see if he could find my old, retired body a few watts. I tested them and, well, you’ll have to listen to hear just how much power I gained.  After chatting to Mick, I wanted to speak to a rider who is one of the most meticulous guys in the bunch when it comes to marginal gains: Jay Vine. Jay truly leaves no stone unturned - and it all starts with his feet. It was great hearing directly from inside the pelo how important the small details are at the top level, how team sponsors deal with athletes looking for gains elsewhere, and how the feet really are the foundation of a pro rider’s performance.  Guys, I won’t lie, this is one for the tech nerds out there. If you care about saving watts, there’s some amazing insight in this episode from some of the best in the business. If you want to check out the new Varus insoles I tested, you can find more information here: vip.mik.fit Stretch out your arches, limber up your metatarsals, and jump feet first into this marginal gains special episode.  Cheers, Mitch   This episode is brought to you by Saily.  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  

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   The biggest bike race of the year has just wrapped up; the Jumbo Wild 600…   What did you think I was talking about?   If you haven’t heard of it, the Jumbo Wild 600 is an Ultra Cycling race in the wild heart of British Columbia’s Kootenays. The race was created by none other than my old mate - and the co-host of the Life In The Peloton Chronicles - Svein Tuft.   Sveino has just finished racing the inaugural edition, and I do mean just…literally 12 hours before we sat down to record! I had to hear how it went, and open up a conversation about the mythical world of ultra distance cycling. That’s what this month’s episode of The Life in The Peloton Chronicles is all about.   Ultra cycling as a discipline has actually been around since the very first days of people deciding to race their bikes. What was the inaugural edition of the Tour de France way back in 1903 - with riders racing pretty much completely self-sufficiently over 2,500kms split into just six stages - if not an ultra race? Original races like Paris-Brest-Paris and Bordeaux-Paris kept that ultra cycling movement alive among the pros, who used them as warm up races for the longest monuments like Paris-Roubaix or Liege-Bastogne-Liege back in the day.   Since things like GPS computers and lightweight bikepacking bags came about, Ultra cycling has become more accessible and more and more people are giving it a go.   The world of ultra distance is one that Sveino’s become very experienced in since retiring from the pro pelo, and I’ve even had a little dabble myself. It’s a totally different type of bike racing that demands a very specific set of skills. Hearing how Sveino’s 730km epic went whilst it’s still so fresh in his mind was super cool, and you can really get a good idea of how much these races can take out of even the strongest riders.   Of course, he didn’t just race it, he organised it as well. You might think that organising an ultra race is pretty straightforward; just set out a GPX file, set a date, and send a bunch of riders off into the wilderness with a “see you in a few days!”. Well, I can tell you there is heaps more that goes into it. With a route alternation because of some pretty scary forest fires in the run up to the event, it sounds like Svein had a harder time organising this one than riding it!   Guys it was so great to chat to a (pretty tired) Sveino and hear how his race went, as well as dive into this world of Ultra cycling and the things that make it so special, so I hope you enjoy listening to us spin a yarn.   Get yourself in the ultra racing spirit; crack open a red bull and your favourite processed servo snack, deprive yourself of a good nights sleep, and have a listen to this month’s Life In The Peloton Chronicles.   Cheers, Mitch

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP The men’s Tour de France is over for another year, and what an epic week of racing we’ve just seen. Pogačar might have wrapped up the overall victory early on, but some amazing battles for the green, white, and polka dot jerseys, some big shifts in the rest of the top 10 in the final week, and an unbelievable finish in Paris made this a truly memorable edition of the race.  Guys, Durbo’s just finished his final Tour de France and is dialling in from a well-earned holiday to join me and Southam for this month’s episode of The Race Communiqué where we’re wrapping up the 2026 Tour de France.  Of course, we’ve been dropping weekly wrap-up podcasts on the rest days, so we start this episode by spinning through the last week of racing. Having Southam on board to give us some insight into Richard Carapaz’s audacious moves on those brutal final three stages to take two stages and the polka dot jersey is another reminder of how lucky we are to have Tom and Luke take us inside the pelo each month.  A big topic of discussion over the last week of racing was the fans on Alpe d’Huez. Record-breaking numbers of spectators made the pilgrimage to the mountain, and it might have been a step too far. A brutal exit for Einer Rubio after a team car had to brake for a stumbling spectator really highlighted just how sketchy it can be up there, and hearing some of Durbo’s war stories from the other end of the bunch is really eye-opening.  Of course, Durbs wrapped up his 12th and final lap of France, and he takes us through the emotions of reaching Paris for the final time.  Durbo’s PeloChat takes us inside the seldom-discussed world of the grupetto. We spend a lot of the time focusing on the riders winning the bike races, but the guys at the back are probably suffering even more just to get to the finish within the time cut! Southam’s call before the Tour de France about the Mega-Break was spot on, and we saw a few stages defined by absolutely massive moves with tens of riders in. In this month’s Talking Tactics, Southam shares the secrets to getting into a breakaway, and just how bloody hard it can be!  Guys, there is a lot to go through in this episode. As is often the case with the Tour, there are so many different stories to follow. Get yourself comfortable 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 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