She Rides

Olivia-Saar (1).txt txt write me a spotify style summary Synthesized episode transcript and crafted engaging Spotify description Synthesized episode transcript and crafted engaging Spotify description Here's a Spotify-style episode summary for the Olivia episode: Episode 80: From field hockey to the front of the bunch with Olivia Verkruysse She only started cycling a few years ago — first field ho...

Two weeks of women's cycling news in one episode. Saar and Kristof work through the Giro Women finale, Tour de Suisse, Volta a Catalunya, and a packed nationals week — Kristof's boring but winning picks included and Saar bringing the hot takes!

In this episode, Saar talks with Michelle Knappmann, a Danish paracyclist and handbiker who started the sport at 27 after a serious injury left her unable to ride a regular bike. Michelle opens up about the frustrating reality of being judged as 'too able' to compete at elite level, the lack of media coverage in paracycling, and what it actually takes to train as a disabled athlete with chronic pa...

Saar and Kristof catch up on a chaotic first week at the Giro — Wiebes gets kicked out over a 20-gram bike drama, Balsamo takes over and suddenly can't stop winning sprints, Van der Breggen comes out of nowhere to crush the TT, and everyone's hyped for the Finestre showdown. Plus the usual hot takes and a GC prediction they don't agree on.

Saar and Kristof preview the Giro Women start list team by team, make their stage and GC predictions, and wrap up the Spanish racing block including Burgos + the Dutch/Belgian one-day races. GC picks: Saar goes Gigante, Kristof is backing Niamh Fisher-Black — make or die for his hottest take of the season. Everyone expects Wiebes to win the sprints, but we're up for a surprise.

This week Anna Dubier joins Saar and Kristof — an 18 year old Australian who flew thousands of dollars across the world to race bikes in Belgium, won a rainbow jersey along the way, and is already thinking about the kind of athlete she wants to be remembered as. They talk racing in Europe on a tight budget, hiding your pain behind a poker face, and why the results are only half the story.

To celebrate Mother's Day, Saar & Kristof were joined by Emma Wolff, mum of three, former triathlete, and proud mum of pro cyclist Imogen Wolff (a She Rides guest aswell!). Emma takes us back to the early signs that Imogen was wired differently — like screaming at Tour de France riders at age 10, and walks us through what it really takes to raise an elite athlete. We talk about the sacrifices...

The Vuelta Femenina just gave us one of the most wild weeks in women's cycling — and Saar is joined by commentator Tim de Vries to go through it all. From crashes on stage one to Lotte Kopecky getting that win she needed, Shari Bossuyt getting that final confirmation she's absolutely back, all the way to the Angliru where absolutely nobody saw Petra Stiasny coming. And then there's Paula Blasi, wh...

Saar is joined by stand-in co-host Connie Hayes to recap the spring classics and look ahead to the Vuelta a España Femenina. Connie had a rough few weeks — a crash at Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry left her hoping to make the start line at Morbihan. She and Saar talk through what Brabantse Pijl and Chambéry showed about the gap between World Tour and Conti riders, and whether the race calendar is...

Saar's voice has barely recovered from Paula Blasi's Amstel Gold Race win when episode 71 kicks off. Joining her and Kristof is Laura Lizette Sander, a 21-year-old Estonian rider for Hitec Products - Fluid Contro. Laura shares how McDonald's trips got her on a bike, what it's like to be one of the first Estonians to make it to the pro peloton, and a brutally funny story from her rough 2024 season...

This week, Saar chats with Nadia Gontova — a Canadian climber who made her World Tour debut with Liv-AlUla-Jayco this season after a year at Winspace. Nadia talks about how a friendship with Sarah Gigante was born at the back of the peloton at the Tour de France Femmes, her iliac artery surgery and road back to racing, and what it's like stepping up to the World Tour. They also review a disappoint...

Saar and Kristof chat with 19-year-old Auke de Buysser (EF Education) in her first World Tour season. She talks about the jump from juniors to the pro peloton, racing alongside world champions, and drops the scoop that she'll be lining up at Paris–Roubaix this weekend. Then they recap Tour of Flanders - Demi Vollering wins in dominant fashion, but a nasty crash near the Koppenberg takes out severa...

In this episode, Saar chats with Caroline Andersson from Liv Alula Jayco for a proper classics chat. Caroline talks about growing up in a cycling family in Sweden, making her way through the junior ranks and eventually landing that first World Tour contract — the moment she truly started believing. They look back at Dwars door Vlaanderen and why the chase just never came together, before turning t...

In episode 67 of She Rides, Saar chats with Mischa Bredewold — three-time Plouay winner, Amstel Gold Race champion, and one of the most exciting all-rounders in the women's peloton right now. After a tough start to the 2026 season with three crashes in a row, Mischa talks about what that does to you mentally and why people sometimes forget that athletes are just humans too. We also discuss Lotte K...

Saar catches up with Sigrid about her season so far — the near-miss solo win, a strong return to racing in 2026, and why she's already dreading the Vuelta climbs (but secretly loves them). Then Saar and Kristof recap Nokere Koerse, talk about why the reaction to Lotte Kopecky's win was kind of ridiculous, and share their predictions for Milano-San Remo Women this weekend.

In this episode Kristof and Saar preview the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, the oldest race on the calendar. The also quickly recap GP Oetingen and look ahead to Nokere Koerse.

In this episode, Saar and Kristof catch up with Lotte Claes, now at Fenix Premier Tech after struggling to find a team for this season. They spend most of the episode breaking down a brilliant Strade Bianche — Elise Chabbey won a chaotic six-rider sprint, while bad luck, bad days and a race moto taking a wrong turn ruined the race for Kopecky, Vollering, Férrand-Prévot, Borghesi and others. Lotte...

Everyone’s favourite emergency backup, She Rides guest and part-time co-host Connie Hayes is back on the pod — just in time to unpack the chaos of Opening Weekend. We talk through everything that happened at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad , from Kasia Niewiadma's strength on the Muur to Lotte Kopecky’s bad luck at the worst possible moment, and the tough, cobbled battle at Le Samyn des Dames , where Connie...

In the final week before Omloop, Saar and Kristof are joined by Charlotte Vandenberghe, team doctor at Human Powered Health , for a look behind the scenes of the women’s peloton. They talk race-day reality, concussion decisions, RED-S screening, menstrual cycles, mental health, and how teams balance performance with long-term rider wellbeing. Plus, there’s a quick cyclocross wrap-up, recent team n...

Less than 10 days before the spring classics, Saar & Kristof chat with Maja Leye, Head of Women at Flanders Classics, to talk about the growth of women’s cycling from the inside. From equal prize money and increased TV coverage to Youth Days and building sustainable pathways for the next generation, Maja shares how Flanders Classics helped close the gap in the sport - and what challenges still...

In this episode of She Rides, we chat with Maggie Coles-Lyster to talk about her powerful comeback from iliac artery surgery, returning to winning , and racing in the era of sprint star Lorena Wiebes.  We dive into tactics, thriving in chaotic sprints, rider safety, and the culture of women’s cycling, plus Maggie’s passion for yoga and life beyond the bike.  We also recap the latest action from th...

In this episode, we chat with Lieselot Decroix to talk about performance, passion, and sustainability in women’s cycling. From evidence-informed coaching and athlete ownership to fueling, data, and long-term health, Lieselot explains why putting healthy humans first is the foundation of lasting performance. Plus, we recap all the latest racing action — with a generous dose of Lotte Kopecky bias ad...

In this episode of She Rides, Saar and Kristof chat with Jolien D’Hoore — Olympic medallist, former world champion, and now sports director at AG Insurance–Soudal. Jolien takes us through her journey from the peloton to the team car, reflecting on pressure, leadership, classics racing, and the mental side of winning. We talk about being in the zone, cobbles, sharing victories, and how a beautiful...

After a long break due to flu, Saar is back and chats with Francesca Selva, who returns to the podcast after more than a year. Francesca reflects on her heart issues, the long road back to racing, her summer in the US, and the tough decision to leave endurance behind. She shares why switching to sprint feels like the right move, how it’s reignited her motivation, and what she hopes this new chapte...

Saar and Kristof enter the new year with a bang as Elisa Longo Borghini, one of the best riders of the last decade, joins them on the podcast. From her first races inspired by her brother to winning monuments, Grand Tours and Olympic medals, Elisa looks back on a remarkable career and speaks openly about setbacks, pressure and motivation. She reflects on her lingering frustration with the World Ch...