Spin Cycle

From its incarnation as Team Sky in 2010, the team swiftly rose in the sport's ranks, winning seven Tours de France in eight years. But after billionaire Jim Ratcliffe purchased the team and rebranded it as the Ineos Grenadiers, its position atop the sport has eroded – slowly at first but with increasing speed. In just a few years, cycling's once-dominant stage racing team has transformed from an...

In this week's episode, Caley, Jonny, Kit, and Dane dissect Mark Cavendish's recent "retirement" from professional cycling and the unbroken kayfabe (the practice of pretending staged events are real) of his final "race." Then the crew explore the uncertain future of Astana, which faces potential relegation. The hosts discuss Astana's recent hiring of Alex Dowsett as their aero expert, noting a gro...

Is the cycling off-season ever really off? Even though road racing has been done for a while (except for Saitama, of course!), there's plenty to talk about. Tadej Pogačar's new contract with UAE is massive - €8 million a year until 2030, making him the highest-paid rider in the peloton. It's sparked a larger discussion about the economics of pro cycling and how teams are built around these superst...

Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz to break down the route of the 2025 Tours de France (men's and women's), and they also talk squirrels, rally car racing, and crypto in cycling.

This week on the Spin Cycle podcast, Caley, Jonny, and Kit kick off with an update on Tom Pidcock's dramatic transfer saga. It turns out he's going nowhere. Or is he? This whole situation adds to the growing narrative that INEOS is a difficult team to be on, as evidenced by Ethan Hayter's recent comments about the "weird environment." Despite the failed transfer, it sounds like there are a few oth...

This episode of the Spin Cycle Podcast focuses on the latest developments in the Tom Pidcock saga. Caley, Jonny, and Kit discuss rumors of his potential move to Q36.5, a second-tier team. What are the implications of the move for Pidcock's career? Is there potential for Q36.5 to rise in the ranks of professional cycling with a billionaire backer and Doug Ryder at the helm? We dissect the media fre...

This week on the Spin Cycle podcast, Caley, Kit, and Jonny discuss the UCI's proposed change to the 3K rule and the peloton's protest of the dangerous racing conditions at Tre Valli Varesine. Plus, discussion of Tadej Pogačar's first post-Worlds victory and subsequent hefting aloft of a giant mortadella.  We then pivot to a discussion of Strava's beta "Athlete Intelligence" feature, sharing humoro...

In this episode of the Spin Cycle podcast, Caley, Kit, Jonny, and Ronan focus on the recent UCI Road World Championships, discussing both the thrilling victories and the controversial incidents that unfolded in Zurich. We recap the men’s and women’s races, highlighting Tadej Pogačar’s extraordinary solo attack in the men’s race and exploring the Dutch women’s team’s unexpected loss, which stemmed...

Jonny Long and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz to talk about Remco Evenepoel's breakfast and the up-and-comers at Worlds, with Abby Mickey making an appearance to discuss the Tashkent City women's team and Dane Cash joining to preview the road races in Zurich.

Welcome to the first episode of the Spin Cycle podcast, formerly Placeholders. This week on the show:  - The Ineos pain train continues as extremely Ineos man Luke Rowe is apparently headed to... Decathlon.  - Simon Yates is taking a pay cut - SRAM loves cables again - The UCI president is running for IOC president - And more...

Kit Nicholson, Dane Cash, and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders for a Vuelta debrief, some kit discussion, Britain corner, and more.

Johnny Long and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to discuss the Vuelta, Remco Evenpoel, transfers, and more from around the cycling world.

Kit Nicholson and Jonny Long join Caley Fretz to discuss the heat and a big transfer at the Vuelta and a supermarket sweep in Germany. Plus, Joe Lindsey joins to chat Di2 hacking.

This week's Placeholders recaps one of the greatest Grand Tour stages in history, goes into the history of the race radio debate, and discusses nationality swaps of Olympic athletes. 

On this week's Placeholders, Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson talk transfers, Dane Cash pops by to preview the Vuelta a España, and Ryan Simonovich provides the lowdown on Leadville.

Abby, Loren, and Tilda had a long day, but not as long as the team staff. Two stages in one day, two winners and a whole lot of drama. With audio diaries from Quinty Ton (Liv AlUla Jayco), Noemi Rüegg (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) and Lea Curinier (FDJ-Suez).

Abby, Tilda, and Loren are on the ground in Rotterdam for the Grand Depart of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. All the fastest Dutch women wanted the first stage victory, but only one rider could pull on the first yellow jersey. The stage was not without some controversy, some ice cream needed, and some of that first stage hype.

Two absolutely incredible Olympic road races lead this week's show, and we bring in somebody with a truly unique view of all the action. Zac Williams shot photographs from a motorcycle all weekend and takes us through what he saw and what goes into getting the shot. For more on the photo in question, check this story on the site. 

We're back from the Tour de France but the racing hasn't stopped. The Olympics are on and Caley, Jonny, and Dane discuss two thrilling mountain bike races, some very wet time trials, and look ahead to this weekend's road races. Plus, Iain Treloar jumps in to update us on some of his Capital J Journalism and its impact. 

One last Tour de France Daily podcast, delayed by some lost luggage but finally here for your ears. An annual tradition, the Awards Episode looks back over a highly enjoyable Tour de France and hands out the most prestigious awards that we hand out. 

The end of the Tour de France. Tadej Pogačar is now a three-time champion and the first to do the Giro/Tour double since Pantani. Caley, Jonny, Iain, and Ronan talk through the biggest storylines of the month, plus a bit of tech from the paddocks in Monaco.  Thank you to everyone who listened along this month, we hope you enjoyed this Tour as much as we did. 

The final road stage of the 2024 Tour de France is behind us. Caley, Iain, Jonny, and Joshua Robinson of the Wall Street Journal talk through Romain Bardet's last road stage, Tadej Pogačar's win record, and much more. 

The fight for the yellow jersey is over. Tadej Pogačar now has over five minutes, Jonas Vingegaard conceded it won't happen for him this year. Richard Carapaz has come close to locking the polka dots, and Biniam Girmay is close to making history. Caley, Jonny, Iain, and Joshua Robinson of the Wall Street Journal digest and discuss the Tour's high water mark atop Isola 2000, and then catch up in Ni...

The crew discuss the cleansing power of Dad Watts, the fireworks that await, and dig into the listener mailbag.

The Tour Daily crew breaks down a stage 17 that finally saw a breakaway stage winner in the mountains – but that still featured attacks from Tadej Pogačar. Plus, the crew ponders whether someone on the Internet actually has special insight into what goes on behind the scenes at UAE.