Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

 

Here we go, guys, we’re just a few sleeps away from Opening Weekend! Just thinking about these races gets me absolutely pumped. I can smell the Belgian chaos already; the embrocation, the frites, the beers! What better way to prepare for the return of proper bike racing than sitting down with my old mates Tom Southam and Luke Durbridge for this month’s episode of The Race Communiqué.

 

Before we jump into a quick preview of Omloop and Kuurne, we look back on the early season races that give us a good insight into who’s going well, and who’s got work to do. Of course Remco Evenepoel won’t be racing this weekend, but we discussed what on earth happened to him in the UAE! He had such a strong start to the season, to see him burst like that on the steep desert climbs was pretty surprising!

 

Omloop kicks off the classics season this Saturday, and it is set to be an absolute pearler. The start list is absolutely stacked with talent, but there are two big names still waiting to start their road season; Pogi and Van Der Poel. Without these big five star favourites, the race is actually pretty open. I go through my picks in the preview, so have a listen and send me some praise when one of the twelve or so riders I mentioned probably does OK. 

 

My favourite thing about Omloop is the finish; the Muur - Bosberg double that used to be the finale of the Tour of Flanders, but was dropped years ago in favour of the Kwaremont - Paterberg combo we see today. These climbs have everything; double digit gradients, brutal Belgian cobbles, and - most importantly - atmosphere. I can’t wait to see throngs of Belgies at the roadside soaking it all in (along with Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio p/b SHOKZ’s own Harry & Stu recording their first episode of the season!)

 

In this month’s Talking Tactics, Southam gives us the lowdown on his opening weekend; Faun-Ardèche Classic and Faun Drome Classic. These are new-school French one day races that are a notch below Omloop, but still absolutely stacked with big name riders looking to start their seasons; Jorgenson, Simmons, Skjelmose, Morgado, Bernal, Healy, and - the best rider in the world - Scaroni.

 

Durbo’s Pelochat has some great insight this month. He’s been keeping a close eye on some of the new tech nuggets from inside the Pelo, as well as how the new UCI rules on things like aero helmets are going down. 

 

Guys, this month I wanted to introduce a fun new segment I’ve called “Yeah…Nah.”. You know when you hear something, and you think it sounds like a good idea at first…then you give it a bit of thought and - actually - na. 

“Hey Mitch, you gonna go to Durbo’s party on Saturday?” 

“Yeah…….nah”

 

You get the idea. I give the boys a few ideas to get their take. Breakfast beers? Working the gate in the echelon? Sitting on in the Grupetto? 

 

Of course, we wrap things up with the CommuniQuiz. It’s Southam’s turn to be quiz master this time, and he’s written his quiz on his absolute favourite topic - something he’s totally, unequivocally obsessed with; UAE Team Emirates. It’s a great one and I actually learnt a thing or two about the history of the best team in the bunch right now. 

 

Guys get yourself a few Trappist beers out the fridge to come up to temp, make sure you’ve got plenty of mayo ready for your frites, and get ready for the classics to begin; I know I’ll be watching. 

 

Until next month,

 

Cheers!

Mitch


P.S.  Don't forget you can also watch The Race Communiqué over on our Life In The Peloton YouTube channel. You won't want to miss the reactions to Luke's Pelo Lingo in this one!

 

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros.

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Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper — home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too - https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

 

Guys, get yourselves ready, this is a banger of an ep. I got to sit down with the man himself, the Sweendog. The 16 Wheeler. Sweet 16. Harry Sweeny He’s one of the strongest riders in the pelo right now. They don’t call him ‘The Truck’ for nothing.

 

I spoke to Harry in person over in Adelaide at this year’s Tour Down Under and picked his brains about everything from his journey into the sport, his transition from Lotto to EF Education Easypost, how his neurodiversity makes him a better bike racer, and heaps more. 

 

Harry’s a super interesting guy. He’s a consummate professional and leaves no stone unturned in his hunt for being the best athlete he can be. Hearing Sweendog talk through how he prepares for every single race, and the level of detail with which he plans every gel, every corner, every meter of road covered really opened my eyes as to how hard he works.

 

Up until this point, Harry’s cut his teeth in the bunch riding as a domestique; turning himself inside out for team mates to great success - pulling guys like Ben Healy to monument podiums and the Yellow Jersey at the Tour de France. But, after a conversation with his team boss Jonathan Vaughters, Harry’s finding the confidence to ride for himself and show how strong he can be. As JV put it, ‘being 10% more of an arsehole’.

 

Not long after we recorded, Harry’s efforts were rewarded with an absolutely stellar podium finish at the Tour Down Under - his first World Tour GC Podium. It’s a fantastic result, and - I think - marks a real shift in focus; he knows he’s got the engine to go toe-to-toe with the big guys, and now he’s proved it out there on the road. 

 

I loved chatting to Harry, and I hope you guys enjoy listening to one of the most hard working, enthusiastic pros out there. 

 

Prefer to watch along? This episode’s up on our YouTube channel too.
📺 https://www.youtube.com/@lifeinthepeloton

 

Cheers!

 

Mitch

 

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This Episode is sponsored by Saily and JOIN Cycling. 

 

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

 

For 30 Days JOIN Cycling FREE, head across to join.cc/litp

 

Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper — home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too - https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The Digger and The Doughboy are back, live from the Tour Down Under.

We’re back. Ian Boswell (The Doughboy) and I (The Digger) got back together for a one-night-only live show at the Tour Down Under, sitting down with some big names from the peloton for an open, no-filter chat about all things cycling. From the cobbled Classics to the Grand Tours and of course the Tour Down Under, we wanted to make sure we covered it all.

We kicked things off with Laurence Pithie and Luke Lamperti, diving deep into their experiences in the brutal but beautiful world of the cobbled Classics. Laurence reflected on his breakout years with Groupama-FDJ and how things have evolved since moving to Red Bull Bora hansgrohe, while Luke shared his take after racing with Classics royalty at Soudal Quick-Step. We also put them on the spot with some big Grand Tour predictions.

While we had the boys up, we went full tech nerd mode with the tool-wrenching oracle himself, Dave Rome. Fresh from wandering the team zones, Dave unpacked the latest tech trends and gave us a sneak peek at what teams are rolling out, including early looks at bikes heading toward 2026.

To wrap it all up, we brought on veteran Michal Kwiatkowski from INEOS, Aussie superstar Luke Plapp from Jayco AlUla, and Picnic PostNL Director Sportif Matt Winston. Together, we broke down the Tour Down Under stages and dug into how Jayco were planning to bounce back and move forward after a tough Nationals campaign.

This was a live recording, one of those nights you really had to be there for. But if you couldn’t make it, this episode is the next best thing. Jump in and soak up the vibes.

Cheers!

Mitch

----more----

 

Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper — home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too - https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/

This is a cheeky bonus excerpt from the full episode. To listen to the whole thing — and get access to future Chronicles — become a PODIUM Member (our foundling tier) via our Substack.

👉 https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/about


Guys, welcome back to another year of The Life In The Peloton Chronicles.


It’s been a hectic start to 2026; I hit the podcasting ground running over in Adelaide at the Tour Down Under to start the year with a bang, so it was great to get back to Melbourne, slow down, and recharge with a catch up with my old mate Sveino.

 

I wanted to chat to Sveino about a topic that always comes up at this time of year; goal setting. Whether or not you write it down, we all come into a new year with goals we want to achieve throughout the season - we did it when we were racing, and we still do it now.

 

One thing I want to get back into the habit of this year is meditation, and that’s something Svein and I have a bit of a yarn about in this episode.

 

If you know anything about Svein, you know that he is one cool cat - super mellow, always chilled out. It really surprised me that actually he doesn’t meditate! He’s a big believer in channeling his negative energy and stress out through movement and activity, rather than dedicating time to sitting down with his thoughts.

 

Meditation isn’t something that came naturally to me. In my early days as a pro, I used to laugh at the idea of sitting there with my eyes shut just…thinking. That was until I was roommates with a guy called Taylor Phinney. 

 

The Phin Dog is probably the only guy I know who’s more chilled out than Sveino. From the mountains of the hippie haven of Colorado, Taylor grew up surrounded by spirituality and, after a life changing crash at the US national championships in 2014, he found meditation through his recovery. Years later, when we became team mates, he showed me the way when we were in a Belgian hotel room racing the spring classics. I tried to be open minded and, with Taylor guiding me, I started to get it - finding the calm in the chaos.

 

I gave Taylor a call to catch up and chat to him about meditation and how he practices it now he’s retired from a life as a pro rider - which is pretty stressful at times. 

 

Guys, this is a chilled one, but it was super interesting chatting to Svein and Taylor about tuning out the noise and finding peace through meditation, setting goals for the new year, and heaps of other pieces to kick off this season of Chronicles. 

 

Sit back, shut your eyes, take a deep breath, relax, and get your ears around this enlightening episode of Life In The Peloton: Chronicles.

 

Cheers,


Mitch!

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The Tour Down Under is done and dusted for another year, and it was an absolute banger. I was lucky enough to get in amongst it right there at the roadside all week and, to make it better, I was joined by my old mate - the Doughboy himself - Ian Boswell. 

For this episode, I wanted to take you guys inside the Tour Down Under; not just the racing, but the atmosphere around the race and the vibe that gets cooked up in Adelaide every year. The racers lining up for the first time, getting use to their new teams and equipment, the fans at the side of the road, and all the sweet little events that go off each morning out of Adelaide. 

Ian and I kicked off our week with a big bang, getting stuck into the cut and thrust of the short, sharp prologue from inside the team car! I hopped in the NSN passenger seat to follow Ethan Vernon - who actually went and finished 2nd on the stage, missing the win by less than a second…maybe his DS was a bit distracted?

In the paddocks, we got a chance to catch up with some of the riders who’ve come Down Under to start their 2026 racing season. Guys like the new Natty champ Pat Eddy, British up and comer Matty Brennan, the 16 wheeler himself Harry Sweeny, and heaps more. We spoke about the race, as well as some general questions about their seasons and - of course - a cheeky little mini CommuniQuiz to keep them on their toes!

Of course, this race is defined by the fans. People have travelled from far and wide to be here - one girl I spoke to even made the journey all the way from Texas in the USA! It was great chatting with people up and down the roadside about their TDU experience - and meet loads of LITP listeners in person. 

This is a chokka block episode with loads of great little soundbites you only get from being right there at the races live and in person. I hope Boz and I managed to capture the vibe so you can sit back, crack a frothy, and pretend you’re right there under the baking Adelaide sun with us.

Cheers!

Mitch

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This Episode is sponsored 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

Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper — home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too - https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/