Criterium Nation

At a time when many American racers are taking to Europe to race, Cecile has done the opposite. Trading in Mt Ventoux and baguettes for Mt Lemmon and burritos, Cecile is making the bike racing dream work in North America from crits, to UCI podiums to gravel wins. Whether it is for the adventure, the laughs or the complimentary French lesson-you don't want to miss this one. 

New host, who dis?  Can our Criterium Nation survive a new host? And a Canadian one at that? We are about to find out as retired pro Jordan Cheyne takes the front. But what better guest than the lead out woman herself, Kimberly Lucie of DNA Pro Cycling. Kim is one of the few bike racers in the peloton who can actually say they are really, genuinely, 100% a Tucson, Arizona native. 

We are now at the end of the beginning and poised for a new phase of the domestic racing scene. That means it is a perfect time for us to check in on what has happened, identify some solid trends and talk about all the takeaways that we can from the first part of 2024.

On April 15 the National Cycling League shuttered its doors for 2024, and announced that it will focus on 2025. That has left riders and teams in limbo, and a lot of confusion as to what is happening. We are joined by journalist Logan Jones-Wilkins to help provide context and build a historical picture for what has led up to this point. 

Job, wife, child, pro bike racer. That's a full day and for Matt Zimmer that's his reality. He's come a long way since being the high schooler in Iowa who just raced bikes, and he is here to share that journey with us along with tidbits about racing in Europe and how we can make racing here more inviting.

Your reputation is who you are before you actually arrive. It's the version of yourself that stays behind long after you have left. It opens doors and definitely gets some doors closed very hard. In bike racing your reputation is just as important as the results that you put on your race resume. This episode we talk with retired pro and current stand up comedy star Jordan Cheyne about reputation.

There are a lot of firsts that are set to happen this year, one thing that we are very proud of is our effort to be the first to bring data into American bike racing. It's all in an effort to do what has not been done before which is to set basic standards within our community. By building a medal count and collecting data on who is winning the biggest events in the country we are poised to help t...

It's amazing to watch people grow and excel. This podcast has been fortunate enough to have had a myriad of incredible guests who have achieved tremendous levels of success. Now, for the first time, we have a World Tour Pro on the show in Maggie Coles-Lyster of Isreal Premier Tech Roland. One of our favorite alums is back to tell us about her adventures in Europe and the somewhat rocky road she ha...

We are fortunate to occupy this stage for only a brief period of time. What happens after we leave? How do we maintain the progress we've made and ensure that others can stand on our shoulders? It's a question that we must grapple with in criterium racing. We've made a ton of progress over the past couple years but when our current leaders have moved on who comes next is unclear because it is our...

"To thine ownself be true"-- Billy Shakespeare, Hamlet.  Will Gleason of CS Velo and I went for a long bike ride among the crisp leaves of autumn in western Connecticut. We didn't do much leaf peeping but we did a whole lot of talking, reminiscing, theorizing, a touch of gossiping. Then we had a lobster roll, ice cream, and a beer before sitting down and pressing record on the microphone. This epi...

A lot has happened since our last recap episode following Intelli. Good thing we've got fellow Wide Angle Podium contributor Bill Schieken to help us delve through the details of Littleton, the NCL, Momentum Indy, Gateway Cup and Bucks County. Yep, it's a lot.

Things may sound just a bit different because we are 100% live from Gateway Cup with Will Hardin from Project Echelon and Melanie Wong from ButcherBox. Our good friends from Urban Chestnut brewery in the heart of the Grove were gratious hosts and the environment was perfectly cozy. So join the audience, grab your favorite Zwickel, Schnickelfritz, or Dorfbier and get ready for some good times. 

Race promotion is a learned trade. There is a guide, but the real lessons are learned through trial and error, and with a lot of help and experience. Without good events our community is nothing but solo training and group rides. A great event can make someone's year and can become a focal point of a summer. In today's episode we talk with Graham Costa on how he and his team have brought together...

We go north of the border for this week's episode to meet with the captain of the new squad UNC Lotto Max-- Logan O'Krafka. Despite their youth and newness to the scene, they really stamped their authority on Intelligentsia Cup. Logan gives us the scoop on the team and its mission, and also how one of the premier criterium series played out over 10 days of intense racing. We are brought to you thi...

Nationals, ACC, Boise, NCL, Salt Lake City, UCI Transgender Ban, and so much more. We cover a lot of ground in this episode. We are brought to you this week by -- say goodbye to the generic face wash on your counter because is here to save the day when it comes to your skin. We are rough on our skin as bike racers and Caldera Lab and its line up of products is here to help repair the damage we do...

At its core the popular image of cycling in the United States is stage racing. Fortunate for us, every major American stage race comes complete with its own demanding and technical criterium. Meaning, when we talk stage racing we remain very much on brand. That being said, stage racing, as a whole, is still a fundamentally critical part of road racing. Now that we are beyond the pandemic, stage ra...

We are going back to the original format-- bringing you a story about a rider you may not know much about, yet. For this story we go all the way down to the mountains of northern Mexico and the city of Monterey. It's there we meet the 22-year old Katia Martinez who races for Goldman Sachs ETFs. Now in her second year of criterium racing in the US, she's had a growing impact but still is trying to...

It's the longest day of the year and time for the biggest party of the American cycling season, that's right it's time for Tulsa Tough. We are joined by Adam Mills of Source Endurance once again to break down all the action, startegy, and meaning.

Do what you need to, to stay in the sport as long as it brings you happiness. That may not mean the same thing for you as it does everyone else. What motivates different people is not a single universal truth. Rick Arnopol joins us to talk about the importance of letting people be themselves and to take joy from this sport in the ways that each individual sees fit.  We are brought to you this week...

This episode was first aired on March 3, 2020, but when it comes to the central place that photography plays in criterium racing we believed that it was time to share it again. Photography remains the primary means by which the story of criterium racing is told. The photographers we have worked with over the past 3 years have helped us grow this show and tell these stories. Without them this sport...

Every year we put together groups of men and women from all over the country, and with potentially little connection to each other, on teams and expect them to go out and race together with a unified purpose and vision. How that is actually accomplished can be a mystery but when done right it is a thing of beauty. After years of being on a team with a consistent roster and a singular goal, Brandon...

There are a lot of things Project Echelon does very well that they are not supposed to be good at doing. They weren't supposed to be an elite team. They weren't supposed to win big races. They weren't supposed to win stage races. And, lately they weren't supposed to win a field sprint. Sorry to disappoint but these are all things they are doing...frequently. It seems Project Echelon is really just...

Kim Stoveld of Automatic Racing is new to road racing but she's already made an impact with her power and results. As her experience and skill continues to improve so will her spot on the podium. She's received a ton of advice from some very well meaning individuals; but sometimes that advice could be better timed and directed. In our effort to figure out how to encourage people into the sport and...

We've been gone for a little while, sorry. While we've been out a lot has happened and we need to talk about it with you. The NCL had its first race. The ACC is starting going. And CRIT was announced with zero details. On top of that race tactics, good and bad, were on full display at Spartanburg. Bill Schieken from Cyclocross Radio joins me to talk about what's been going on and what it means for...

How do we talk about ourselves to others? How do we brand the sport? And what is the messaging that we choose to use? These are all critical questions and ones that we should look at as criterium racing angles to grow and attract fans and participants. So let's get some help and to do that we can turn to our friends in gravel racing to see how they have encouraged people to do insanely challenging...