The Rouleur Podcast

From a series published in Rouleur magazine and in his excellent book  Vélo , Paul Fournel’s definitions: Baroudeur, sprinter, climber and, of course, Rouleur. Read by Ben Cutler, illustration by Jo Burt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Top mountain-biker Isla Short takes a break from training and racing to lead Rouleur on the trail of legendary Scottish outlaw Rob Roy. And author Paul Jones tells the stories of the extraordinary men and women who chase the End to End record. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Worst Retirement Ever. Svein Tuft takes on the 2000 kilometre GBDuro ultra race. From Rouleur issue 102. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Its sponsor was a potato snack maker and it was run by a former Special Forces soldier who knew little about cycling. How the 17-day Ore Ida race in the USA became a beacon of hope during a downturn for women’s cycling in the 1990s. Author Isabel Best joins us to discuss her feature in issue 102, out now. Michelin-starred chef and Canyon-SRAM dietician Alan Murchison has a new book out,  The...

Are you sitting uncomfortably? The hidden condition of labial issues affecting many top women racers. From Rouleur issue 101, by Orla Chennaoui. Read by Emma Wright. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Spring Classics are here, and not a moment too soon, to lift away the winter gloom and welcome in some unusually mild weather for February in Belgium.   Our editor Andy McGrath spent the weekend glued to the TV for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, as did host Ian Parkinson.   Excellent racing all round, Tom Pidcock and Jake Stewart on the podium and Anna van der Breg...

"Yes, I still get the odd looks if I cycle in shorts, or if I'm red faced and sweating, but instead of lowering my eyes, I smile. I've reached my own version of happiness." Being a plus-sized woman should be no barrier to enjoying the ride. Emmie Harrison-West gets back in the saddle to discover big is beautiful on a bike too. Read by Emma Wright. From issue 101 of  Rouleur . Hosted on Acast....

Our issue 101 cover star Shanaze Reade looks back on her rise to the top of the BMX world and her battle with the bottle following retirement. As Shanaze tells us in her frank interview in the magazine: "I was a binge drinker, so I’d go for three days on, then take a couple of days off, and think I was all right. But inside I was dying, peeing blood, in a bad way... I was screaming for h...

Four doyennes of the cycling world share their experiences. Orla Chennaoui, Lizzie Deignan, Fran Millar and Monica Santini on what it's like to be a woman in the sport, changing traditional attitudes and ideas for a brighter future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With issue 101, our special entirely female content edition, about to leave the printers to subscribers, guest editor Orla Chennaoui joins us to chat through the revolutionary cover and content. Very proud she is too, and rightly so.  Also joining Ian Parkinson in the virtual studio is Rebecca Charlton, a lockdown Zwift convert making her Rouleur debut with a feature on eRacing. As inaugural...

From Florence to Rome on the Via Francigena - an ancient pilgrimage route which begins in Canterbury. From Rouleur Issue 100. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Staying in Europe this winter means Amanda Spratt will be unable to defend her green and gold Australian national champion's stripes, but she's got plenty of other targets in her sights.  As former world champion Annemiek van Vleuten moves on to pastures new at Movistar, Spratt steps up to more of a leader's role at the newly-named Team Bike Exchange. What next for the born winner? And will i...

Riding in the rain is grim. Racing in the rain is treacherous. Matt Seaton’s essay on pedalling through precipitation from issue 6 of Rouleur magazine.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With two new foreign language editions added to the Rouleur stable, meet our Spanish and Italian editors, Olga and Emilio.   Olga Àbalos is our Barcelona-based colleague with six years’ experience as co-founder of Volata magazine in Spain. A former racer herself, she tells us why she started the magazine and what the future holds with our multi-language collaborations.    Emilio Pre...

In 1973, Zoltan Elekes arrived in Plymouth from Romania to ride the Milk Race. It would be 22 years before he saw home again. Emma Wright reads No Direction Home by Steven Green from Rouleur 18.6. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daredevil speed merchant, track racer and German superstar from the early 20th century, Thaddeus Robl met a predictably tragic end, but not on a bicycle. The story of Germany’s first sporting hero. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rouleur editor Andy McGrath joins Ian Parkinson as issue 100 starts landing with subscribers this week. It features a major re-design, new matt paper stock and the usual mix of fascinating features and top-notch photography, including a unique, truly 'inside the peloton' take on the 2020 Tour de France by the riders and staff of four WorldTour teams. Controversial young American star Chloé&nb...

The 2020 Road Book, edited by Ned Boulting, is now in stock at the Rouleur store. Ned joins us to run through this most peculiar season of Covid-19 affected bike racing, starting with the UAE Tour back in February, all the way through to the Vuelta in November. This mighty tome reflects on what Ned describes as a “scintillating season, from start to finish, providing us with a fabulous diversion f...

Concussion protocol has improved within pro bike racing in recent years, but is still not mandatory.  The debilitating and potentially lifetime consequences of head injuries are still not widely understood within the sport. With testimony from three racers with very different experiences: Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo), Brent Bookwalter (Mitchelton-Scott) and Matt Brammeier (now a British Cycl...

The future of NTT, formerly MTN-Qhubeka, looked to be in doubt until team principal Doug Ryder announced Assos have stepped up their involvement to keep the team at the races in 2021.   Ryder tells Ian Parkinson how Africa’s Team will keep working on getting homegrown riders from the continent into the top tier of the sport, and the big change in personnel for next season. Qhubeka means “move...

Tucked away in a warren of testing cub­icles and curious contraptions, we find Franco Rigolon hard at work. His job involves making just one thing, and it’s not something he can make very quickly. Franco is a wheel-builder, the sole person in charge — the only one with the know-how — of one of the company’s most enduring products: the Ghibli wheel. After Valentino Campagnolo took over following th...

Racing drivers are partial to a bit of bike riding to keep them fit, but 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button has taken it a step further following years of high speed success behind the wheel, launching his own clothing range, Léger. Jenson talks to Ian Parkinson from his home in LA on being fit at 40 and designing kit that won't make Mrs B laugh...  Rheumatoid a...

It is late summer 2015 and nobody knows that Tom Dumoulin is on the verge of a breakthrough. Not the 24 year-old Dutchman himself, nor his team-mates at Giant-Alpecin. It doesn’t figure in his employers’ plans. The top tens of Grand Tour contenders put out by magazines and websites ahead of such races do not feature him. The best three-week riders in the world might know his name but have no idea...

We have three fascinating, erudite guests on the latest podcast, and Desire editor Stuart Clapp too. Only joshing, Stu… Olympic team pursuiters Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald were interviewed by Hannah Dines for the latest Rouleur issue, and an excellent feature it is too. Waiting for a postponed Olympics, getting back to racing, mental health and explaining the Madison via the works of Shakesp...

“The ’cross background puts riders like Wout and Mathieu in an ideal position to fight for the win in the final of a Classic. They’re used to pushing top end power for an hour in a way most riders can’t,” says Merijn. “Explosive power is harder to develop than endurance. It’s also a mental thing: if you’ve learned to push yourself at a young age, it’s something that sticks with you. It’s very hard...