The Domestiques

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.

The crew is back together and, somehow, still talking about gravel. This week on The Domestiques, Tils, Marko and Hollywood unpack the latest Giro drama, from breakaway chaos and motorbike controversy to Jai Hindley’s podium chances, Jonas Vingegaard’s control, and whether the final week can save the race.
They also dive into the huge Tour Down Under announcement, with the men’s and women’s races set to share the same course, same distance and same day in 2027, asking whether it is genuine progress, logistical madness, or a bit of both.
Plus, Marko previews his Gravel Nationals title defence, the Women’s Giro gets a proper look-in, Connor Wright keeps cooking in Europe, the Enhanced Games gets exactly the respect it deserves, and Hollywood continues his crusade against gravel, subtlety, and basic podcast structure.

Two pods. One gravel circus. A whole lot of pea gravel carnage. This week, The Domestiques joins forces with Roadside Podcast and host Jethro Gammie-Nagle to unpack everything from Seven Gravel Race in Nannup, Western Australia. With the event acting as a full-blown dress rehearsal for the UCI Gravel World Championships in October, Matilda Reynolds and Mark O’Brien take us inside their elite races, from Tils chopping off with Tiffany Cromwell and Maria Laurie, to Marko trying to crush souls one climb at a time. There’s race breakdowns, tyre chat, collarbone counts, Netflix-level course coverage, kangaroo dodging, questionable podium-kit rules, and a look ahead to what the Europeans are really in for when Worlds hits proper Australian gravel. Plus, the crew dives into the Giro, Jai Hindley, Ben O’Connor, Luke Plapp causing absolute chaos in Hungary, and the upcoming women’s racing calendar.

A collaboration pod. A gravel therapy session. A warning shot for October.

Give the boys a follow at Roadside Cycling Podcast on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/roadside-cycling-podcast/id1592269751), Spotify, (https://open.spotify.com/show/4Tx2Rm4TrY09wNVzGdxem3), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@Roadsidecycling), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/roadsidecyclingpodcast/)

A special thank you to Patrick Boere Photography (https://www.instagram.com/patrickboerephoto/) and Daniela Tommasi Photography (https://www.instagram.com/daniela_tommasi_photography/) for supplying the amazing imagery from Seven for this week's Podcast and YouTube artwork

This week on The Domestiques, Matilda Reynolds and Hollywood are joined by one of Australia’s most exciting young cycling prospects, Luke Tuckwell. From growing up in Orange, New South Wales, to wearing pink at the Baby Giro, signing with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, and finishing sixth at the Tour de Romandie just one second behind Luke Plapp, Luke’s rise has been ridiculous in the best possible way. The crew dives into his rapid progression, life inside one of the biggest teams in world cycling, racing alongside the likes of Roglič, Hindley and Evenepoel, and what it feels like when Pogačar attacks and you realise you are, in fact, very human.
There’s also Giro chaos, Vuelta Femenina brilliance, Tour Down Under rumours, Andorra versus Girona, cycling caps, white bibs, The Wiggles, and the Simon Clarke DM that changed Luke’s life.

This week on The Domestiques, we take it off Beach Road and into the dirt with Brendan “Trekky” Johnston, one of Australia’s leading gravel riders and a regular at the pointy end of the Lifetime Grand Prix in the US.

Trekky talks through the brutal mix of racing that defines modern gravel, from Sea Otter and Levi’s GranFondo to the madness of Unbound, where equipment, fuelling, tactics and luck all seem to matter at the same time. He also shares the story behind his ride across Australia for Tour de Cure, his own experience with cancer, and why that challenge became bigger than the record attempt itself.

With Seven Gravel and the UCI Gravel World Championships coming to Nannup, the team dive into tyre choice, race prep, nutrition, aid stations, and why WA gravel might finally give Worlds a proper gravel test.