The Rouleur Podcast

With the world going into lockdown, indoor riding is, unsurprisingly, on the rise.Turbo trainers are selling out faster than toilet rolls and training app subscriber numbers have gone though the roof.We spend the day in a London studio with Mathieu van der Poel and the copious film crew to find out why Zwift is leading the way in the market.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The fourth in this series is ‘Watopian Ideals’ by Ian Cleverly, from Rouleur 20.2. Read by George Oliver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Rouleur podcast special, brought to you by Cycling in Flanders and the Ronde van Vlaanderen.We're proud be to be able to support our friends at Cycling in Flanders by syndicating this podcast, which will transport cycling fans to an era of unwritten, thrilling cycling history - just as if you were listening to the commentary to a genuine, live cycling race.Get ready for a story with some incredible plot twists, featuring cameo appearances by heroes from one hundred years of cycling history. It is a race into which a full century of anecdotes having to do with the Tour of Flanders have been incorporated.Rob Hatch and Matt Stephens will take you along on this fantasy Tour of Flanders with exceptional live commentary. Ruben Van Gucht and Renaat Schotte will be your reporters in the Dutch version of this Unbelievable Tour.All the top favourites from 100 years of the Tour of Flanders have a role to play in this auditive story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cycling commentator and editor of the Road Book Ned Boulting is, like many of us, figuring out how to continue working in unprecedented times. How is he filling his time? Will the mighty Road Book be a narrow tome next year? And why has he deleted his Twitter account, just when everyone else is using it more than ever? Nathan Haas, meanwhile, is in lockdown in Girona. The Cofidis rider, who was caught up in the UAE Tour quarantine, is working out indoors despite not knowing when racing might resume. Keeping the drive alive is the big test for all professional cyclists right now, he tells Ian Parkinson. But thankfully, he’s making silly videos to keep us entertained in the meantime. Zumba on bikes, anyone? Leopard print bibshorts and rock’n’roll form the theme for the latest Desire shoot. Stuart Clapp explains why we set fire to a helmet. POC, if you’re listening, sorry. It won’t happen again. And Stu’s mate Dan does turbo training in his pants. Use your imagination. Actually, don’t.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“My world collapsed. I wasn’t a cyclist anymore. From one moment to another, I lost not only my job, but also what I like to do. They took away a part of my personality. There was a lot of crying in the time after.”A professional cyclist’s heart is trained to be as big and strong as possible, allowing it to pump massive amounts of blood and oxygen around the body. Most cyclists have a ticker 50 per cent bigger than that of a regular person. Miguel Indurain possessed a superhuman resting heart rate of around 30 beats per minute; a normal, well-trained adult heart has one of 72.But, in pushing themselves to the extreme, they are in danger of developing arrhythmia.Two months prior to the 2016 Tour of Oman, doctors had found a life-threatening arrhythmia in Johan Vansummeren’s heart. He had been through dozens of checks and was equipped with a heart monitor during the Middle Eastern race.Vansummeren’s legs felt worse than ever, and momentarily cramped while going up a steep climb.His cardiologists back in Belgium had seen the exact moment his legs cramped, and it correlated with a spike in his heartbeat. They called him.Aware of the initial tests, the AG2R doctors banned Vansummeren from finishing the race. Hours later, Vansummeren was on his way back to Lommel, where he was born and still lives, transformed from a healthy elite athlete to a man with a life-threatening heart arrhythmia. The Tour of Oman would be his last race as a professional cyclist.The Rouleur Longreads Podcast brings you selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.The second in this series is ‘Heartbroken’ by Emil Helweg Foget and Ole Obitsø, from Rouleur 20.2. Read by George Oliver.More from the Rouleur Longreads Podcast:The Rise of Gravel by Hugo GladstoneNotes on Belgium by Morten OkboSPONSORED BY LAKAWe are delighted to have Laka as a brand partner of the Rouleur Podcast.Laka is an innovative bicycle insurance company powered by the community. Cyclists join Laka to protect their bikes and gear without paying upfront premiums.Instead, Laka settles claims in their community first and shares the cost fairly with everyone at the end of the month. No claims mean you don’t pay.If you are new to Laka, you can get a £10 credit by signing up today with the discount code rouleur Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Anything from crazy, weird videos which are not like cycling’s really had before, to an interesting way to launch a kit and buy some merch, listen to some music, and get all my favourite loves of music, cycling, cars, motorbikes and fashion, lumping it all in one night and going: ‘I hope you lot like it.’ And if you don’t, I’m screwed!”Tekkerz founder Alec Briggs joins Ian Parkinson at the Levi’s HQ in London before the team launch to discuss how he is making waves and bringing a fresh perspective to bike racing in these confusing times. Plus he beat Fabian Cancellara the other week. How many of us can say that?Desire editor Stuart Clapp, meanwhile, is considering how to stay reasonably fit whilst self-isolating. Turns out, his mate (who shall remain nameless) is eminently capable of breaking bones even on a turbo trainer. Let’s be careful out there, folks, even in our own sheds… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belgium often gets a bad rap. Not without some justification. Geographically, its scenery isn't much to look at: mile upon mile of fields and farmland. Culturally, "name ten famous Belgians" used to be a popular parlour game (for those of us with parlours). Politically, Belgium is a basket case: it mostly doesn't have a government and one of its biggest parties has advocated for the abolition of the country itself.But Belgium also does chocolate and beer (see Rouleur 20.2), mussels and fries, and some of the most visually welcoming city centres in the world.More importantly than any of those pros and cons, however, is that Belgium is where the sport of cycling comes alive. Every spring, even as our attention is briefly stolen by exotic, southern locations, our affections are reserved for the racing that dominates March and April. The Monuments may provide the loudest fireworks but even the minor races go off with a bang. Morten Okbo waits by the side of the road. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Classics season got underway at the weekend with two opening races in Flanders - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne Brussel Kuurne. Ian Parkinson was there to talk one-day tactics with first-year pro Fred Wright of Bahrain McLaren and EF Pro Cycling’s Jens Keukeleire. And the men behind The Deserter blog leave their natural home in the pubs of South London for the beer tent in the dunes of Koksjide.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It won’t surprise you that the man who coached Rohan Dennis to his stunning Worlds time trial win last year has some interesting things to say about training. Neal Henderson is ‘Head of Science’ at The Sufferfest app and he’s joined by ‘Chief Cycling Physiologist’ Mac Cassin. They explain which numbers really matter and why most of us are probably looking at the wrong ones. Desire Editor Stuart Clapp is surprisingly old-school in his training habits, but does like the latest technology in helmets. We talk to the team from POC about their self-charging helmets that not only protect your head - but record details of accidents to help with future research.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking for a more portable way to enjoy your favourite cycling magazine? You’re in luck, as this week sees the launch of the Rouleur Longreads Podcast: selected long form articles from the magazine, especially recorded for Rouleur. Don’t stop what you’re doing – do it while listening to the world’s best cycling writing.We begin with ‘The Rise of Gravel’ by Hugo Gladstone, from Rouleur 20.1. Read by George Oliver.Once the scourge of cyclists, today we glorify in gravel sectors. Strade Bianche, one of the most looked-forward-to races of the spring, owes its success in no small part to the penchant of audiences for the untarmaced white roads and clouds of dust kicked up in the riders’ wake, all framed by “the lyrical Tuscan landscape.”Perhaps it speaks to a certain yearning for authenticity, and back-to-basics bike riding that the Tour de France cannot cater to. It can’t be a coincidence that bike-packing’s popularity has risen at the same time. Whether or not the road scene’s dominance is actually under threat remains to be seen, but we’ve already seen a few roadies abandon the WorldTour for the off-road circuit.How we learned to take the rough with the smooth.For more of the world's finest cycling writing, subscribe to the magazine or purchase individual issues, head over to Rouleur.cc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

British Cycling has dominated the sport - especially on the track - for more than a decade - but at what cost? That’s the central question in a new book 'The Medal Factory', by one of the country’s most experienced cycling journalists - Kenny Pryde. On this podcast, Kenny talks through the extraordinary transformation of British Cycling from its underfunded, amateur past to its world beating, gold medal and Grand Tour winning present. The success has come with controversy - the Jiffy bag, allegations of bullying and the complex relationship between the lottery-funded national national squads and the commercial Team Sky. And how much longer can this golden streak last?Plus, Rouleur’s Desire Editor Stuart Clapp goes starry-eyed over Colnago’s new gravel bike and explains why Adam Blythe has been helping him recover from pneumonia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.