Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

• The Race Communiqué: 2025 Grand Finale

  Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP It’s been a long season, but we’re here, we’ve made it, it’s the final pod of 2025! I’m joined by EF sports director, Tom Southam, and Jayco Alula pro cyclist - and Aussie national road champion - Luke Durbridge, for one last Race Communique to wrap up the podcasting year.  I wanted to kick off by running through the season we’ve just witnessed. There’s so much racing going on from January at the Tour Down Under right the way through to Lombardia just last week, it’s easy to forget just how great the racing has been. Durbo, Southam, and I discuss our favourite wins of the year - some quite obvious ones and some that you might have forgotten about. Then, we go through some quick-fire awards: best kit, worst kit, most overhyped rider, biggest loss to the peloton, and more!  Of course, we’ve got our regular PeloChat - where Durbo rounds up all the retiring riders this year - and Talking Tactics - where old mate Southam gives us the final scores on the doors for this year’s relegation battle, which was thrilling right down to the final day of racing. What does WorldTour promotion mean for UnoX? We’ll have to wait and see… But, for the season finale, I wanted to give the CommuniQuiz WorldTour status for this episode and let my guests…I mean co-hosts…take a segment each. This is a bumper quiz that’s peppered throughout the episode, so listen closely and play along at home.  Guys, the monthly Communiques have been a real highlight of the year for me. Catching up with Southam and Durbo, having a yarn about the racing, and - of course - some great banter has been great fun, and I hope you can hear how much we love recording these episodes.  Thanks to Tom Southam and Luke Durbridge for joining me every month for these episodes. Their insight and expertise makes the Communique, and I can’t wait to have them back after the off-season to kick off 2026.  Guys, it’s been a hell of a year. Thanks for listening to the Race Communique and all the other podcasts we put out here at Life In The Peloton. Put your feet up tans crack a few frothier this winter, and I’ll speak to you next season.  The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros. Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp I’ll be heading to Adelaide this January for the Santos Tour Down Under - chasing the racing, riding the bunches in the morning, and soaking up all the summer vibes the city has to offer. Hope to see you there. 🎧 Timecodes 0:00 Intro 08:57 Race Recap & Quickfire Awards - Best kit, worst kit, most overhyped rider & more 38:19 Communi-quiz Part 1 45:14 World's Quickest Pelo Chat 49:47 Communi-quiz Part 2 54:47 Talking Tactics - Southam breaks down the relegation battle 1:07:29 Communi-quiz Part 3 Cheers, Mitch  

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• Race Radio: The ULTIMATE 2025 Season Recap

  The 2025 season is almost at an end. The Tour of Guanxi is nearing its exhilarating climax, riders have started to upload their “2025: Completed it, mate” Instagram posts, and Harry and Stu have recorded their final episode of Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio.  These guys have had a great season; they’ve been on form from January right the way through to October, and they’re really finishing on a high.  Here’s what old mate Harry had to say about this final episode of LITP’s Race Radio: "The 2025 season is over, so it’s time to remind ourselves of the amazing racing we enjoyed throughout the year. Stu and I decided to keep it fun in this last ep – not that being serious has ever been our forte – with a few games that you can play along to while listening, including cryptic headlines and picking our teams of the year. Thanks to Mitch for the incredible opportunity this year, and we hope you’ve all enjoyed our podcasts. See you on the road." As always, I really hope you’ve enjoyed having Harry and Stu in your ears these past 10 months as much as I have. I’ve been out of the peloton for a few years now, but having these two boys with their finger on the pulse of the racing scene, some amazing connections and great interviews, and heaps of enthusiasm for the sport we all love has really been one of the highlights of my year.  Harry, Stu - thanks for a great season. Put your feet up and enjoy a few cold ones this winter; you’ve earned it.  Cheers Mitch

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• A Yarn with The Legends: Daniel & Lionel from The Cycling Podcast

  Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP Guys, it’s here - the final episode of Life In The Peloton for 2025! This season has absolutely flown by; it feels like yesterday I was cracking open a Coopers at the Tour Down Under back in January getting warmed up for the year ahead, but here we are, the Il Lombardia of the podcasting calendar. I wanted to round the season out with a bang, so I’ve got a couple of very special guests this month. My old mates Daniel Friebe and Lionel Bernie - perhaps better known as the masterminds behind The Cycling Podcast - are on the pod, and we’re going through everything cycling & podcasting from Armstrong to Zubeldia.  These guys are true legends of cycling journalism. They’ve been there on the ground at the Grand Tours for a decade now, and even before that have been covering races like the Tour de France since the 1990s! They have the sort of depth of knowledge that you only get when you’ve been inside the sport for generations, and their podcasts really show that. Long time listeners of either pod will remember when LITP was actually hosted by The Cycling Podcast way back in 2020 & 2021, from 2021 to 2024 the guys had me out in France making daily The Cycling Podcast episodes on the ground with other guest presenters like Ian Boswell, Richard Abraham, and Graham Willgoss. I learnt absolutely heaps from lifting the curtain seeing how these guys operate, and I feel like my own podcast stepped up a level thanks to their influence. In this ep, we go through the whole timeline of The Cycling Podcast, from the early days before the boys knew each other, right through to today and what’s next! I feel like we really dig into how the sausage is made… Of course, The Cycling Podcast itself was founded by Lionel, Daniel, and the late - and very great - Richard Moore, who sadly passed away in 2022. Richard was a hero of mine, an innovator in podcasting, and an absolute pillar of cycling media. His influence can still be felt on the pod, and I loved hearing Daniel and Lionel’s old stories of the total legend. There’s a few Talking Luft style questions thrown in there for the boys too - worst ever meal on a bike race, best ever podcast guest (me, obviously…), cycling heroes, and more!  Guys, this year’s been another absolutely massive one for the pod - and I’ve had a mega time producing these episodes for you to enjoy. Thanks so much for lending me your ears every month and listening to me yarn away with a whole host of guests. Don’t despair - we’ve still got an episode of Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio and The Race Communique to come before the end of October, then it’s time to hang the mic up for a few months and enjoy an off season filled with bike riding, a few frothies, and making plans to make the pod even better in 2026.  Cheers! Mitch ----more---- I’ll be heading to Adelaide this January for the Santos Tour Down Under - chasing the racing, riding the bunches in the morning, and soaking up all the summer vibes the city has to offer. Hope to see you there.

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• The Race Communiqué: What's with the worlds?

  The Vuelta is over and the world champs is well underway, which means we’re nearly at the end of the 2025 racing season! It’s really crept up on me, I can’t believe it! On one hand, it feels like it’s flown by, but on the other - the Spring Classics feel like forever ago.    This month’s communique focuses on the World Champs over in Rwanda. It is an absolutely brutal course this year; almost 270kms with over 5000m of climbing. Whoever wins this is going to be a thoroughly deserving winner. Remco’s already got himself a rainbow jersey in the TT; can he double up with another road race title?    What about Pog? He looked pretty knackered in the TT at the world champs, didn’t he? Still cooked from the Tour or just reaching the end of his rope? I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but there’s a big question mark over him ahead of the road race! But just watch him make me look like a cock knob and win by 9 minutes solo now.    There’s some strong looking underdogs in the mix too; Del Toro, Healy, Carapaz, McNulty, Pidcock, and loads of other in form hitters that could spring a surprise and overcome the two main favourites. We discuss all the favourites as well as make our predictions.    In this month’s PeloChat, Turbo Durbo gives us some insight into the end of a pros season - limping or striving through the last few races. Usually, a rider gets their provisional calendar at the start of the year, and it runs through to the Vuelta. After that, it’s a case of “we’ll see”. There’s still races to go, but so many riders are sick, injured, or just cooked - so pulling together a decent squad to knock out the last few races of the year becomes a tricky task. Riders have to be adaptable throughout the whole season.    Southam’s talking tactics dives into UAE’s record breaking season - the most wins in 1 season by any team ever. How have they managed this? How does the team manage so many world class riders? How have they won so much but still lost the Giro on the last day, and seemingly piss the Vuelta away by hunting stages? Tom shares his take on UAE’s questionable tactics at points throughout the year that still haven’t stopped them winning almost everything.    The quiz this month is all about the world’s TT. I’m quiz master, and the boys go head to head. Brace yourselves, I’m thinking next month’s season finale is going to be a bumper CommuniQuiz edition.    Guys, I hope you like listening to this month’s communique as much as I love recording it. Sitting down and spinning a yarn about bike racing with some mates - does it get any better?   Cheers Mitch   The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros. Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp I’ll be heading to Adelaide this January for the Santos Tour Down Under - chasing the racing, riding the bunches in the morning, and soaking up all the summer vibes the city has to offer. Hope to see you there.   🎧 Timecodes 00:00:00 – Intro 00:08:38 – Race Recap (World Championships preview) 00:33:44 – Pelo Chat (What's it like at the end of a pro season?) 00:49:09 – Talking Tactics (UAE’s record-breaking year) 01:02:24 – CommuniQuiz (World Champs TT Special)

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• Race Radio: Vuelta Pandemonium, Protests, and Podiums

  Guys, the Vuelta is over and, well, what a race. My favourite grandy felt a little bit different this year with a huge amount of disruption, tension and uncertainty that meant the racing took a back seat for a lot of people. We saw some unreal rides from Jonas Vingegaard, Tom Pidcock, and utter dominance from UAE Emirates. Holy shit, they were good, chaotic at times, but banked a whole heap of stage wins. The anti-Israel protests that impacted the race so much really shone a light on how fragile and vulnerable bike racing is. There were some hairy moments out there on the road, and – although the bunch made it to Madrid – the riders were robbed of the traditional podium ceremony. But, in this disruption, we saw one of the coolest, old school, grassroots style podiums I’ve ever seen in Pro Cycling. Our British Boys, Harry & Stu, have put together a banger of an episode for this month’s ep of Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio. Here’s what old mate Stu Downie has to say about this month’s Race Radio: With La Vuelta ending in what could be both the best and worst podium we’ve ever seen, we invited our mate Sean Hardy along to chat – why? Because he was in that very car park to witness the madness of the day unfold. Sean has been Lidl-Trek’s photographer for a few years now, earning the trust of the riders – including fan favourite and points jersey winner Mads Pedersen – and making some of the best pictures in racing. We hear about the day, get a severe case of FOMO, and get the lowdown on life in the Lidl-Trek bus. We also consider the history of protest in cycling, talk about racing’s place within wider culture, and wonder aloud when the UCI will do something about the more severe cases of sports washing. A nice light chat to start the weekend, no? Guys, I hope you like this episode as much as I do. I can’t believe we’re coming to the end of the race season, with just the World Champs in Rwanda and Lombardia left to go! Catch up soon, Cheers, Mitch

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