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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

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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

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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

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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

Harry and Stu might come from opposite ends of the UK and sport very different hairstyles, but there’s one thing they share a passion for: The Old Lady. Not just any old lady – I’m talking about the fourth monument of the season, Liège–Bastogne–Liège. It’s the oldest of all the monuments, and marks the end of the Classics season – and that’s what this month’s episode of Race Radio is all about: the Ardennes classics.

The boys are back with another banger of an episode to get you all hyped up for the Ardennes. These races are usually a bit forgotten about, lost in the shadow of Flanders and Roubaix. But, as always, Harry and Stu’s fan’s-eye perspective is oozing with enthusiasm that’ll get you pumped for these races. Harry’s back from the roadside of Flanders and Roubaix, and Stu’s gearing up to get himself out to Belgium for Liège. That’s what I love about these boys – they’re diehard fans that get out on the roadside and soak in the atmosphere at the races, and their passion is absolutely infectious.

Here’s what Harry had to say about this month’s episode of Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio:

‘This episode of LITP’s Race Radio is all about the Ardennes and it’s somewhat of an EF Education-Easypost special, with not one but two guests from the team on the show!

First up is punchy young Irish climber Archie Ryan, swiftly followed by the team’s not-so-young and punchy DS (and LITP Communiqué regular) Tom Southam.

The two tell us what makes these hilly races great, Tom remembers witnessing a live mugging during a recon ride in Liège while Archie dreams of a Ben & Jerry’s helmet sponsorship. Enjoy!’

My experience with the Ardennes as a rider is limited; in fact, of all the races, I only started Amstel Gold Race once – I was always more of a cobbles man. But, after listening to the boys yarn about these races, I am gee’d up for the Ardennes!

I hope you all enjoy this one as much as I do.

Cheers,

Mitch

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

You can also watch this episode over on my YouTube channel here!

The chaos of the Cobbled Classics is over for another season. From Omloop, through E3 and Wevelgem, Flanders, and then the big one - Paris Roubaix; these are the biggest and best races on the calendar for me, so I was super excited to sit down with Tom Southam and Luke Durbridge to break down this year’s edition of Paris Roubaix in this month’s Race Communique.

This year’s Roubaix was an absolute cracker; totally flat out from the gun. Even before Arenberg - where the race used to really kick off back in my day - the bunch was strung out and the real favourites were taking huge chunks out of each other. Tom, Luke, and I run through the riders that really made this race such an epic edition. Of course, it was dominated by Mathieu Van Der Poel on his way to his third victory in a row, but what about Pogačar?! His first go at Roubaix and he’s up there rubbing shoulders with the big boys, and I literally mean the big boys; he’s ten kilos lighter than most of these guys! Southam made a good point actually; is he going to be carrying some extra timber into the Ardennes that kick off next week?

Of course, we also had the women’s race the day before. That’s something I love about Roubaix; the men’s and women’s races being on different days means we get a whole weekend of Paris-Roubaix action! What a cool race, with absolute legend Pauline Ferrand-Prévot putting her immense off-road skills to use to become the first French rider to list that big cobblestone since Frédéric Guesdon in 1997. I absolutely loved to see the GOAT herself; Marianne Vos, riding in support of her Visma LAB team mate; for me, that’s what makes her a true champion.

Obviously, there’s been other races going on aside from the cobbled classics. We wanted to talk briefly about the Tour of the Basque country, and for good reason; after a few years in the wilderness, Caleb Ewan is winning at the highest level again. What a move that transfer to Ineos turned out to be! It’s so cool to see Caleb getting his hands in the air again, and I think it represents a real shift in mentality at Ineos - who have been looking a bit lost for a few seasons now.

Southam was actually down in the Basque country in the car for EF Pro cycling - who knocked out a stage win with young Ben Healy - so he gives us a quick breakdown of the race in this week’s Talking Tactics. Healy’s win came after a ridiculous 57km solo move, so this month Tom’s talking about the art of the solo breakaway. We see these long range attacks sticking more and more these days; with everyone aero optimised and more and more data and information being fed to riders. Southam compared his view from the car to being behind a rider in a TT, and being able to feed him really accurate cues about the course ahead played a huge part in Healy’s win.

Poor old Durbo got a bit cut off in this month’s Pelo Chat, so we rolled it in ahead of the Communi-Quiz! Durbo wanted to talk about race programmes, and how the teams decide who’s racing where. Of course, the Spring Classics is a savage block of racing; and plenty of riders don’t make it all the way to the end owing to sickness or injury, which creates plenty of headaches for team directors trying to pull together squads at short notice.

As always, we wrapped up with the Communi-Quiz. Hosted by Durbo, it’s a Roubaix themed ‘Who Am I?’. I’ve won a stage and the overall at the Tour of Beijing and Paris Roubaix - who am I?.....you’ll have to listen to this month’s Race Communique to find out.

Well, guys, that’s the Cobbled Classics done and dusted. The Ardennes are about to kick off to round out a monster Spring of racing which can mean only one thing; the next time I sit down to talk to Southam and Durbo will be in May just before the first Grandy of the year; The Giro d’Italia.

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 www.trainingpeaks.com/partners/life-in-the-peloton/.

Chapters

• 00:00:00 - Intro
• 00:07:34 - Race Recap
• 00:42:05 - Talking Tactics
• 00:51:10 - Pelo Chat
• 00:58:56 - Communi-Quiz: Who am I?

Until then,

Cheers,

Mitch