BONUS - Punched by the Divide: Sveino vs. the World’s Toughest Race

This is a cheeky bonus excerpt from the longer episode. To listen to the whole thing and future episodes become a member of The Pelo. You won't want to miss these exclusive chats dropping throughout the 2025 season! We’re into July, and the Tour is about to kick off. The Tour De France is the biggest bike race in the world in terms of exposure and the sheer number of eyeballs watching the action but, at just over 3000k, it’s dwarfed by the monster that is the Tour Divide.  A much smaller spectacle, with supporters watching dots on a screen rather than glossy TV coverage, but at 4000k in length and the added challenge of racing entirely self supported across the entire USA, The Divide is arguably the toughest race going.  If you caught last month’s Chronicles, you’ll know that Sveino was gearing up to head to the start in Banff, Canada, with 200 or so other crazy riders and tackle this absolute monster of a race. Well, Sveino’s back home after having a stab at the Tour Divide and in this month’s chronicles ep we’re unpacking just what went down along the Continental Divide.  Sveino gave it his all, and prepped for this race like he was a full time pro again! But, in the world of bike racing, you can be totally prepared and still get thrown a curveball. In the words of Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”  What happened to Svein out there? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out. Sveino, mate, fair play for giving it a crack - what an epic journey.  The race was eventually won by Swiss ultra racing legend Robin Gemperle who absolutely smoked the record and finished in 11 days, 19 hours, and 14 minutes. That is ridiculously fast - and self supported, too?! Rather you than me, buddy. Chapeau.  Guys, thanks as always for being a Pelo Member. I really hope you enjoy these yarns between me and old Sveino as much as I do.  Cheers! Mitch P.S. 🚨 Tickets for The Pub to Pub and The Dirty Docker are LIVE so don’t miss out! 🏃🚴

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP It’s July, which means we’re just days away from the Tour de France. I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely frothing for this year’s race to kick off. My heart is racing just thinking about it…and that’s exactly what this month’s episode is all about; my heart. Guys, this month’s episode of Life In The Peloton is one for all you training geeks out there. It’s time for me to take another look ‘under the hood’ and get my ticker checked out, so I headed back to the lab for a catch up with my old mate Dr. Andre Le Gerche. If you don’t recognise that name, Andre is one of the world’s leading experts in Sports Cardiology, whose research and clinical work focuses on the effect of exercise on the human heart.  Since the start of my professional cycling career all those years ago, I’ve been seeing Andre every few years to take part in a study he’s conducting on elite athletes' hearts, heart function, and heart health. I last recorded with Andre back in 2022, so if you haven’t heard that ep get across and bring yourself up to speed on the study, and what my last round of testing showed just after I retired from Pro Cycling. If you don’t know, the UCI makes sure that every pro rider undergoes a series of heart tests on their heart every off season ‘with an aim to reduce - as far as possible - the risk of sudden cardiac death during sporting activity’ - scary stuff, right? Andre’s study goes one further, looking to understand the longer term effects of a life of endurance sport.  I won’t lie, guys, this is a big topic - and I won’t pretend I’m an expert on Sports Cardiology! But, what I really love about working with Andre and his team is the way they explain the results of their findings to nuffies like me. I hope you like this episode, guys - hopefully, you get a better idea of what goes on under the hood of these elite athletes you’re about to watch rip around France for the next month. My next round of testing with Andre isn’t until 2030, now, so I’ll see you in 5 years, Andre! Cheers! Mitch ----more---- If you didn’t catch it, Andre and I first sat down about a couple of years ago to chat all things athlete’s heart — what years of racing does to it, how it recovers (or doesn’t) after retirement, and why some ex-pros might need to “de-train” their hearts. That ep lays the groundwork for this follow-up, so if you’re keen to hear how it all started, you can check it out here. This episode is brought to you by our mates at Saily – the simple mobile app that makes managing your subscriptions dead easy. Whether it’s race passes, streaming services, or random apps you forgot you signed up for, Saily tracks it all in one place and even helps you cancel the ones you’re not using. Clean, easy, and actually kind of fun to use. 🎧 Give it a go and get your subscriptions under control at https://saily.com/peloton Big thanks also to Shokz for supporting this episode. I’ve been using their bone conduction headphones on the bike, and I’ve gotta say — they’re a game changer. You still get great sound, but your ears stay open so you can hear traffic, bunch chatter, or just soak up the ride. Super light, super comfy — I’ve been loving them. 🎧 Check out the range and grab a pair at shokz.com

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP You can also watch this episode over on my YouTube channel here! We’re coming to the end of June, and in the world of cycling, that can only mean one thing…it’s almost time for the Tour! It’s all been leading up to this - the biggest bike race of the year. I’ve got my old mates Tom Southam and Luke Durbridge back on The Race Communique to help me preview this massive race and, oh boy, it’s set to be an absolute banger.  Durbo kicks off this month with PeloChat, where he takes us through his TrainingPeaks data from the Tour de Suisse so we can see just how hard the racing is these days. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - I am so glad I retired when I did; oh my god, the racing is just so brutal in 2025! Some of these numbers are crazy! And hey, Durbs, we all saw you splitting the bunch up with 70k to go on stage 1, so don’t you start complaining about how tough it is out there these days… Before the Tour de Suisse, of course, we had the mini Tour de France - the Critérium du Dauphiné. This is where we saw ‘The Big Three’ go toe to toe (to toe) with each other. Remco, Jonas, and - of course - Pogi. It was an amazing race, and Tadej came out looking absolutely dominant, but there was a pretty big question mark over his form after a quite frankly pathetic 4th place after the time trial. We know Jonas is still on the comeback trail from his crash back in Paris Nice, so with another few weeks of solid recovery, I think we’re in for an absolutely massive battle this July. After we discussed the warm-up races, we got stuck into our massive Tour de France preview. We discuss everything - the stages, the riders, the moments that are going to define this year’s race. An absolutely chaotic looking first 10 days around Northern France with tonnes of opportunity for an aggressive rider to take shed loads of time, an absolutely brutal end to the race in the mountains (stage 18 - holy sh*t!), a new finish circuit around Paris to make sure there’s excitement all the way to the line, and heaps more! You’re not going to want to miss a single second of this race. We all pick a rider or two to discuss, so make sure you tune in if you want to hear what Southam thinks of Carapaz and what really went down on that infamous Colle Delle Finestere stage at the Giro! Durbo lifts the lid on how Aussie favourite and recent guest on Life In The Peloton is going to take on the GC in a bid for a top 5 finish. Next, we get into talking some tactics with Tom. This month’s theme is simple: wind. Southam breaks down how teams can use echelons to break up the race and try and catch the big favourites off guard. As always, we wrap up with the Communiquiz. Durbo’s leading the way this time with 7 quickfire questions about the Tour de France.  Guys, I hope this ep gets you as excited for the Tour as I am. Crack open a weak French beer, have a nibble on a baguette, sit back, relax, and enjoy! 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 http://www.trainingpeaks.com/litp   🎧 Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:04:26 – Pelo Chat (Training Peaks Stats Breakdown) 00:21:03 – Race Recap (Tour de France Stage-by-Stage) 01:03:30 – Talking Tactics (Wind) 01:18:45 – CommuniQuiz (Quickfire Tour Special)

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP The Tour is right around the corner! La Grande Boucle. The creme de la creme. The biggest race of the year. After a stellar Dauphine watching Pog, Jonas, and Remco show their cards I am so gee’d up to watch this year’s race; A grippy first week in the North of France, some epic mountains, and a brand new finish up Monmartre in Paris - what’s not to love?! I never raced the Tour as a pro, but I’ve worked it a few times chasing the race and making podcasts. One thing I’ve never done, though, is follow the race as a FAN. Luckily for me, I’ve got the boys over at Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio to give their ultimate guide to watching the Tour de France on the roadside as a fan.  Here’s what old mate Harry had to say about this month’s episode of Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio:   This ep is all about going to the Tour de France.  Between us, Stu and I have been to the Tour more than a dozen times, both as fans and for work. There's nothing quite like cheering on your favourite riders from the roadsides, and we encourage you all to get out and hit the route, so we've put together our top tips and tricks for making the most out of a trip to the Tour.  Learn how to chase the race, pick your spot, learn from our  mistakes, and much more. Vive le Tour!   I won’t be making the trip across to Europe this year - but I’m looking forward to catching up with the racing from the comfort of my couch back here in Aus. However, I can’t let the race go off without at least a little bit of LITP flair - so I’m sending the Race Radio boys over to record a few eps for me and capture that amazing Tour de France atmosphere!  If you’re heading over to France to see some or all of this year’s race, give this ep a listen to make sure you’re armed with the best tips, tricks, and advice so you can have the best roadside experience possible!  Cheers! Mitch ----more---- This episode is brought to you by our friends at Saily. If you're heading overseas for your next ride or trip? Avoid nasty roaming fees and get set up with Saily, the eSIM app from the legends behind NordVPN. Download the app and use the code PELOSURF for 15% off your next data plan — or hit https://saily.com/pelosurf to score yourself a special listener-only discount.

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP The Giro has finished for another year, which means all eyes are now shifting to the big one; Le Tour. We’re just under a month away from the Grand Depart, so who better to speak to than an Aussie legend that’s won stages in all three Grand Tours, nearly won the Vuelta last year, bagged himself the Silver medal at the World Champs, and narrowly missed the podium at the Tour back in 2021 - that’s right, it’s Perth’s own Ben O’Connor!  Now in his 9th pro season, Ben’s just joined the Aussie team over at Greenedge. I wanted to know what it’s like for him finally signing for the only Australian World Tour team as an Aussie rider representing over in Europe. He’s a proud Western Australian, hailing from Subiaco over in Perth, and I wanted to know how he felt about the riding and racing scene over there; especially after they hosted the Aussie nationals over this year! Ben’s career so far has seen him consistently improving year on year, and without doubt 2024 was the best season he’s had so far. He won himself a stage early on in the Vuelta - completing the Grand Tour set to go along with his stages in the 2020 Giro and 2021 Tour - led the race for 2 weeks and almost won the overall before being Roglified by a storming Slovenian on his way to his 4th victory at the Spanish race. On top of this, Ben finished 2nd at the World Champs - establishing himself as a real one-day contender after getting the better of the likes of Van Der Poel and Remco!  Of course, a lot of you might know Ben best for his role in the ‘Tour de France: Unchained’ series over on Netflix. I wanted to find out more about what it was like racing the biggest race of the season with cameras in your face all day, and how he felt about the way the series portrayed him.  As always, we end up talking about all sorts: Ben’s career so far, the highs, the lows, fatherhood, what Ben likes doing away from cycling, and more. I also wanted to chuck in some listener questions! That’s right, those of you that heard the call and sent in your questions for Ben’O get some airtime on this month’s pod. I love hearing your questions and pitching them to Ben, so make sure you listen to hear what he had to say! I’ve loved watching Ben’s career and seeing him grow into a real Grand Tour contender. How could I not, he’s an Aussie - especially now he’s over on Greenedge rocking that fresh MAAP kit! It’s no secret that Ben’s number one goal this year is the Tour de France, so I had to ask him if he thinks Pogi can be beaten. What does Ben think? You’ll have to listen to find out… Enjoy this ep, guys. Ben’s a great guest and I had a blast having a yarn with him about bikes, wine, Netflix, and heaps more. Good luck in France this July, Ben! Can’t wait to see you giving it to old mate Tadej!  Cheers, Mitch! ----more---- This episode is brought to you by our friends at Saily. If you're heading overseas for your next ride or trip? Avoid nasty roaming fees and get set up with Saily, the eSIM app from the legends behind NordVPN. Download the app and use the code PELOSURF for 15% off your next data plan — or hit https://saily.com/pelosurf to score yourself a special listener-only discount.   Their new OpenRun Pro 2s are perfect for staying safe and aware out on the road — you can listen to tunes and still hear traffic, your coach, or that kooky magpie swooping you from behind. They’re super comfy, sound unreal, and come with upgraded mic and EQ modes. Head to shokz.com and use the code LITP to score yourself a special listener-only discount.

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP You can also watch this episode over on my YouTube channel here!   Guys, the Giro is rolling along, and what a race it’s shaping up to be. Ahead of the final week of racing, it’s still all to play for. We’ve got the mega-talented young Isaac Del Toro holding onto the Maglia Rosa, bookies' favourite Primoz Roglič dropping out of contention, and a handful of riders poised to go all out to try and unseat UAE’s dominance before the finish in Rome. Tom Southam’s been called up to bat for EF Education Easypost, so he’s cruising around Italy in the team car, and he’s already netted a pair of stage wins with Richard Carapaz and Kasper Asgreen! With Southam away, we’ve had a bit of a roster change for this month’s Race Communique; we’re joined by my old mate and fellow ex-professional, Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe sports director, the Flying Mullet himself - that’s right, it’s Shane Archbold. Shane’o joins me and Luke Durbridge - fresh off the back of the Tour of Hungary - to dissect the racing so far at the Giro and speculate what we might see in this last week of racing.  The Giro is known for being a pretty chaotic race, and the 2025 edition is no different. So far, we’ve seen some amazing stages, and the GC storyline has been incredible, too. From guys like Luke Plapp - the Plappinator - finally getting his hands in the air in Europe, Wout van Aert completing a monster comeback on the Strade Bianche gravel stage in dominant fashion, and unsung hero Daan Hoole taking some massive scalps in the stage 10 time trial. UAE are gripping the pink jersey pretty tightly, but guys like Simon Yates, Richard Carapaz, and our old mate Derek Gee are creeping up behind him, not to mention his own teammate Juan Ayuso waiting in the wings. Sadly for Shane, his Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe team are having some pretty rotten luck. First, they lost Jai Hindley - a former Giro winner - in the first week to a crash on the wet, slippery roads of Naples. Then, Dani Martinez, last year’s runner-up, slipped out of the GC and hasn’t looked like his former self so far. Of course, they went into the race with the defending champion Primoz Roglič, whose GC bid looks to be over after a brutal day of racing over the Monte Grappa. It’s not all doom and gloom for Bora, though; young Italian super domestique Giulio Pellizzari has shown a hell of a lot of promise so far, and no doubt has a bright career ahead of him. In this week’s PeloChat, Durbo shines the spotlight on XDS Astana and their ongoing hunt for UCI points to avoid being relegated at the end of the season. A change in tactics from the Kazakh team means they’re no longer racing for the win, which sounds absolutely crazy for a pro cycling team. Instead, they’re trying to stack the top 10 with riders to scrape together as many UCI points as they can. They’ve managed to claw themselves back up the team rankings and away from the relegation zone, putting other teams at risk and giving us fans a whole other narrative to follow this season. Finally, we have a Giro-themed CommuniQuiz. I’m Quiz Master this week, and I’ll be testing Shane and Durbo’s knowledge on all things Giro d’Italia. Which former ‘Junior World Champion’ used to sell cleaning products, didn’t turn pro until 26, and then went and won the Giro?! You’ll have to listen to find out!  Enjoy this month’s Communique, everybody. We’ll be back at the same time next month, just a week or so out from the start of the biggest bike race of the year: the Sibiu Cycling Tour over in Romania…only kidding; of course it’s the Tour de France!    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 http://www.trainingpeaks.com/litp   🎧 Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:05:54 – Race Recap 00:32:11 – Pelo Chat 00:42:29 – Talking Tactics 00:47:03 – CommuniQuiz

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP If there’s one thing the Race Radio boys love more than a pun, a pint, or podcasting, it’s the Giro d’Italia. The passion, the culture, and - of course - the racing; does it get any better?! It’s a Giro special episode this month, and boy do these guys deliver. The Giro is generally regarded as the fan-favourite of all the grandys, and that’s exactly what Harry & Stu are; super fans.  In true Giro fashion, the race has started with a bang over in Albania. We’ve already seen some amazing wins, some unfortunate early departures, and more excitement than you can shake an arancini at. The boys wrap up all the action so far, talk about some of the main characters of this year’s race, and - as always - tell the stories  you won’t hear anywhere else. The Giro is a race that Harry & Stu have spent a fair bit of time at over the years, so they’ve got some cracking stories to tell.  Here’s what the boys had to say about this month’s episode of Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio: “We love ‘grand tour season’ here at LITP’s Race Radio, and in this week’s ep we celebrate the grande partenza of the Giro d’Italia. We discuss the Lidl-Trek love-in, Josh Tarling’s amorous post-stage antics, before lamenting the heartbreaking loss of Mikel Landa. There’s a ‘tourism’ section starring man of culture Tom Pidcock, and we reminisce about our own grand tourism at the Giro a few years back before pro cycling photographer Zac Williams sends us a voice note from the race. Finishing off with a review of two great races also on, Tro Bro Leon and the Vuelta Femenina, this show is amore infinito from start to finish!” I only started the Giro twice, and only reached the finish once, but I absolutely love it. It marks the start of Grand Tour season, and I love being able to follow the story of the race over nearly a whole month. The Giro is a race defined by the Tifosi - the fans - whether that’s on the roadside, watching on the TV at home, or being pumped directly into your ears in this month’s Race Radio.  Pull yourself a shot of espresso, pour yourself a crisp Italian lager, order a pizza; whatever you need to do to get into the Italian spirit - and enjoy this month’s Race Radio.  Ciao, Mitch

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP Guys, the Giro is underway and that can only mean one thing; it’s time for me to wheel out that classic old LITP story of the time I rode the Team Time Trial at the 2014 Giro with the Greenedge boys and we only went and bloody won it!...What do you mean I bring it up every year? Seriously, though, this is one of my favourite episodes we’ve ever made. I know some of you will have heard it before when it was first released during lockdown, but there’s a lot of new listeners in the Pelo now who may not have heard me catching up with Orica Greenedge’s ‘Class Of ‘14’ Giro squad who took the win in the opening TTT in Belfast at the 2014 Giro d’Italia. This is a monster ep, with amazing stories from Svein ‘Sveino’ Tuft, ‘Cam-a-carzi’ Meyer, Michael ‘Bling’ Matthews, Michael ‘Heppy’ Hepburn, Pieter ‘Weendog’ Weening, Brett ‘Burt’ Lancaster, Matt ‘Whitey’ White, and - of course - my old mate Luke ‘Durbo’ Durbridge. What a line up?!  I absolutely loved relistening to this, and reliving the memories from over 10 years ago. This was one of my best days on the bike, surrounded by an amazing group of guys who I’m still good mates with today.  It’s the first rest day of the 2025 Giro today, so this should keep you excited before the racing kicks off again in Italy tomorrow. Sit back, relax, and enjoy; I hope you love it. Cheers, Mitch

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP Guys, the Giro is almost upon us! This weekend, the 3 week beast that I raced twice in my career kicks off over in Albania of all places. The start list is absolutely stacked, with the likes of Roglič, Ayuso, Bernal, and heaps more huge riders going toe to toe to try to take home one of the most iconic jerseys in cycling; the Maglia Rosa.  One rider who’s going to throw his hat into the ring and have a crack at this year’s GC is the young Canadian talent Derek Gee - and I’m stoked to have him on this month’s pod to talk all things Giro, preview the race, and answer a few questions sent in by you guys!  Derek’s been a pro on the road for just 3 years, After spending his early years racing on the track, he burst onto the scene at the 2023 Giro d’Italia where he finished 2nd on 4 stages and spent more time in the breakaway than he did in the peloton! I think I managed to make it into the breakaway at a grandy once in my whole career - it’s bloody hard - but Derek made it look easy, and absolutely ripped that race to pieces. Although he didn’t come home with a stage win, he sure made a name for himself and put himself up there as one of the most exciting racers to keep an eye on. The year after, he made his debut at the big one; the Tour de France! Going into that race, Derek was looking to repeat his exploits from the ‘23 Giro and poach a few stages, and it was great to hear how this focus shifted to GC over the course of the race, leading to him finishing in the top 10 overall; an absolutely huge ride, that really proved he can do it all!  Derek’s a cool guy. Born in Ottawa, I loved hearing about how inspired he was by the Canadian World Tour races the GP’s Quebec and Montreal, and how that led him down the path of professional racing, eventually coming over to Europe and joining Israel Premier Tech - the team he’ll be riding for until at least 2028!  After chatting a bit about his career, and how he’s feeling ahead of the 2025 Giro that kicks off this weekend, we preview this year’s race and take a bit of a look at how Derek’s going to approach it. He’s been at the front of races for long enough now to be heading to the start as one of the favourites; so he’s definitely feeling the pressure!  It’s been a while, but I wanted to bring you - the listeners - in on this interview, so we wrapped up by answering some of the questions you all sent in over the last week. Does Derek see other ex track stars like G and Wiggo as inspiration? What interval session does he use to get race ready? What’s his favourite Celine Dion Song? I ask Derek all these questions, and more, and he’s got some cracking answers.  I loved chatting to Derek. As well as being a mega talent, he’s a really chilled out, humble guy and no doubt one of the most exciting racers in the pelo. I can’t wait to see him race the Giro - the most beautiful of all the Grand Tours - and reckon he’s a real Maglia Rosa contender. The Giro? More like the Gee-ro……..right? Enjoy this ep, guys. Sit back, relax, grab yourself a limoncello and some gelato, and get excited for the Giro with me and Derek.  Cheers! Mitch   ----more---- This episode is supported by Shokz Shokz are the leaders in open-ear headphones — perfect for cycling, running, or just staying aware while you listen. I’ve been using the new OpenRun Pro 2s, and the sound and fit are unreal. Head to shokz.cc/LITP-2505 and use the code LITP for a special listener discount! This episode is also brought to you by our good friends at Epic Ride Weather Epic Ride Weather gives you super accurate, personalised forecasts based on your route, speed, and timing. Know when to ride, what to wear, and where the wind’s coming from. Get 25% off at epicrideweather.com/LITP or by scanning the QR code below.

This is a cheeky bonus excerpt from the longer episode. To listen to the whole thing and future episodes become a member of The Pelo. You won't want to miss these exclusive chats dropping throughout the 2025 season! This episode from the Chronicles is a sneak peek into how my Life in the Peloton  and Svein’s incredible 'We Will Never Be Here Again' books came to life. In this special snippet, I’m joined by my mate (and co-author) Tom Southam as we dig into the early days of writing the book together—back when we were just two mates sitting down in Girona, recording hours of stories. It’s raw, honest, and a real behind-the-scenes look at how it all began. Cheers! Mitch