The Domestiques

This week on The Domestiques, Tils, Marko and Hollywood are joined by Harry Leask, Olympic silver medallist for Great Britain, former America’s Cup cyclor with INEOS Britannia, and current Beach Road weapon making Saturday mornings miserable for anyone brave enough to sit on.
Harry takes us inside one of the strangest and most brutal roles in elite sport: powering a high-speed sailing boat from inside a tiny, boiling carbon box, where four riders are locked together, producing massive watts with no control over when the next effort is coming. From rowing at the Tokyo Olympics, to training alongside the INEOS Grenadiers, to discovering Melbourne cycling culture via the Hellride and the Queensmen, Harry’s story is as ridiculous as it is impressive.
The crew also previews the opening stages of the Tour de France, including the Barcelona team time trial, the first GC flashpoints, the stages to watch, and why the opening weekend could already cause serious damage. There’s also European nationals chat, special edition Tour kits, Fashion Corner, running injuries, and the usual amount of unnecessary abuse between friends.
The Tour is here. Sleep deprivation begins now.

The Tour de France is almost here, and the final exams have been handed in. This week on The Domestiques, Tils returns from a wrong turn at Devil’s Cardigan, Marko is back from Thailand with tendonitis and a double IPA, and Hollywood delivers one of his firmest fashion rulings yet: socks over leg warmers. No debate.

The crew break down Tadej Pogacar’s ominous Tour de Suisse performance, where he didn’t just win, he looked like he was running testing protocols on the rest of the peloton. They also dive into a brilliant women’s Tour de Suisse, Marlen Reusser’s return to form, Elise Chabbey’s aggression, Tali Appleton’s WorldTour stage race result, and the terrifying crash that left Eriska Zigart with a broken jaw.

Closer to home, there’s Devil’s Cardigan, gravel racing, Tils’ elite-category farewell, and the sudden arrival of Harry Leesk as a legitimate wattage monster after going toe-to-toe with Brendan “Trekky” Johnston. Plus, Marko explains whether gravel training is really different to road training, Lorenzo Finn announces himself again at the Baby Giro, and the boys hand out their Best Rider on Ground.

Luke Tuckwell joins us after a life-changing weekend. After an incredible week at the Critérium du Dauphiné, the young Australian stunned the cycling world with a breakthrough GC performance, spending time in yellow and finishing second overall against some of the sport's brightest young stars.

This week, Tils, Hollywood and Marko break down Tuckwell's ride, what it means for Australian cycling, and whether he's done enough to force his way into a Tour de France selection.
We also preview the Tour de Suisse, discuss Isaac Del Toro's frightening form, debate Remco Evenepoel's reported 425-watt FTP, and look at the latest action from the women's peloton and Copenhagen Sprint. And yes, we spend far too much time talking about yellow bibs.

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This week on The Domestiques, we’re joined by Australian WorldTour rider Josie Talbot for a chaotic, insightful and occasionally internet-challenged conversation from Girona.
We break down a wild Giro d’Italia Women, from Lorena Wiebes’ bike-weight disqualification to Demi Vollering’s final-stage heist, Anna van der Breggen’s heartbreak, Elisa Longo Borghini’s home victory, and the continued rise of Antonia Niedermaier, Celia Gery and Lauren Dickson.
Josie gives us a rare look inside the women’s peloton, including her shift from sprint-focused rider to climbing domestique, life at Jayco AlUla, the rising level of women’s racing, safety in the bunch, Tour de France selection, Worlds ambitions, time trialling, altitude camps, and why doing a job for someone else is still an art form.
Plus, Hollywood reviews Sydney, Marco wins Bendigo, Luke Tuckwell gets a shoutout, Talia Appleton takes a win, and we ask the big questions: is erg mode good, is Melbourne better than Sydney, and can we crowdfund Josie better internet?

The Giro wraps, the Giro Women kicks off in chaos, and somehow a gel wrapper becomes the biggest villain in cycling. Tils, Hollywood and Marko unpack Jonas Vingegaard’s dominant three weeks, Jai Hindley’s huge podium, Aussie climbing depth, Lorena Wiebes’ brutal 20-gram disqualification, Elisa Balsamo in pink, and the gravel carnage from Australian Nationals and Unbound. Marko pleads his “could’ve, should’ve, would’ve” case after a mechanical nightmare, Trekkie goes massive at Unbound, and the crew launch a new coaching segment on surviving winter training without becoming a full-time Zwift gremlin. Also, Tils learns the hard way that “are you single?” can mean something very different in a bunch ride.