Road cycling as we know it today was born from a need to create heroic stories of man versus nature that would help to shift extra copies of L’Auto Vélo. It was up to the writers to get inside the heads of the superhuman riders and tell the world of the epic racing.
Cycling podcasts hark back to those glory days. Instead of the written word, the best cycling podcasts open a door to peloton and shine a light on the sometimes indecipherable and murky world of cycling.
A small pair of wireless headphones has now become as much a part of my cycling kit as a mini pump, especially for those epic solo rides when you just need some distraction from the endless turning of pedals until the next coffee shop.
If you could do with some company on long rides or even on the indoor training, then look no further. In this article, we round up the best cycling podcasts for 2024.
The Cycling Podcast (and The Cycling Podcast Féminin)
By sheer coincidence, The Cycling Podcast started just as I was getting back into road cycling after a hiatus and it was the perfect companion to my burgeoning interest in the lesser-seen aspects of the sport.
The show was started way back in 2013 when Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe suddenly found themselves out of jobs on the eve of the Tour de France. Instead of sulking, they put their journalist brains and experience together to create The Cycling Podcast.
Sponsors quickly followed and so did a third presenter, Lionel Birnie.
The show rode the surge in the popularity of road cycling in the UK thanks to the exploits of Bradley Wiggins and the unstoppable rise of Team Sky. It was an instant hit with casual and dedicated fans alike.
The success of the podcast was built on the contrasting styles and experiences of the three leads.
Lionel Burnie was the everyman trying to grapple with the intricacies of the professional peloton, Daniel Friebe was the experienced cycling journalist, author, and veteran of the Tour de France circuit and Richard Moore was the ex-racer turned journalist who held the show together and kept it moving along.
They were also early advocates of the women’s peloton that led to a monthly spin-off podcast, The Cycling Podcast Féminin, currently hosted by Orla Chennaoui and Rose Manley.
The Cycling Podcast Féminin became essential listening for me since TV coverage of the women’s tour is not nearly as extensive as the men’s calendar.
The untimely death of Richard Moore in 2022 inevitably left a shadow over the podcast. The outpouring of tributes from listeners showed how much the podcast had become part of their own cycling story.
Having listened to the show from the very start, greedily seeking out every new episode as soon as it dropped I also felt a sense of loss. By this point the three presenters had become my cycling buddies, accompanying me on many a tough climb or sweaty indoor training session.
Moore was a fellow Scot who had carved a career in the world of cycling and someone I had always admired.
The podcast continues to flesh out the esoteric world of cycling with welcome flights of fancy into history, food, wine, and culture as the Grand Tours maraud across Italy, France, and Spain.
The Move
Your position on The Move will likely be dictated by your position on its founder and presenter Lance Armstrong, the infant terrible of road cycling.
The Move perhaps represents something of a redemption arc for the most famous doper in cycling history. For all of his flaws, Armstrong’s sheer force of personality comes across even from behind the microphone.
The record books have erased Armstrong as a cyclist but he has been there and done that and has a lot to offer the cycling fan wanting an insight into the secretive world of the pro peloton, warts and all.
As you would expect, the Texan has strong opinions and doesn’t pull any punches. In this endeavor he is more often than not joined by a revolving door of his ex-US Postal teammates.
The Move is not to everyone’s taste, especially if you can’t separate the man from the scandal but it has something worthwhile to say. You will want to have your finger on the skip button for the endless commercials though!
Life in the Peloton
The cycling podcast landscape is bursting with current and ex-professionals giving their opinions on the sport but, for me, Life in the Peloton, presented by Australian former pro Mitch Docker, is the yellow jersey podcast.
Now in its eighth season having tentatively launched back in 2016, the podcast has spawned various spin-offs that allow Docker to focus on specific aspects of the sport.
The bite-sized Talking Luft series offers a more sideways glance at the weird and wonderful world of professional cycling.
The monthly segment, The Race Communique, puts the listener at the heart of the racing action.
The original Life in the Peloton podcast continues to get behind the curtain. My favorite episodes are the ones that shine a light on the unsung heroes of the sport from the coaches to the commentators.
The ex-EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale rider is remarkably candid about his experiences in professional cycling and the sacrifices that were made along the way.
The show is held together by the authenticity of its host and Docker’s commitment to telling it how it is how it is in the way the only Aussies with legendary mullets can get away with.
The Bradley Wiggins Show by Eurosport
Not so much a regular podcast as an opportunity for the former Tour de France winner to offer his unique take on the comings and goings of races, stages, teams, riders, or anything that he fancies talking about at that particular moment.
He knows that the sport of cycling is ridiculous. He also knows what it is like to be at the very top of the sport and then to spit out the other side.
His very dry, very British sense of humor hides the fact that he is also a student of the sport.
Perhaps more than even riding a bike, his first love is the history, the traditions, and the stories that make the sport what it is. You only have to flick through his recent coffee table book “Icons” to feel that passion. He has the same passion from behind the microphone.
Wiggins always cast himself as the great outsider, the boy from a council estate in Kilburn done good. His new role as a podcaster casts him as the chief protector of the sport and its idiosyncrasies.
If you have seen his Eurosport segments from the back of a moto in the middle of the peloton then you will have a pretty good idea of the style.
Output is fairly sporadic at best but they tend to become more regular during the Tour de France.
The Lanterne Rouge Podcast
I discovered The Lanterne Rouge podcast after countless hours of watching their in-depth race analysis on YouTube.
Lantern Rouge founder Patrick Broe and his creative partner, Benji Maesen, managed to do what all of us cyclists can only dream of…turning their passion for cycling into a successful business that straddles a YouTube channel, a podcast and even working as race consultants for Jumbo-Visma.
I’m not jealous, honest.
The podcast is a hit amongst racing fans who want to do a deep dive into race tactics and the small details that can be the difference between winning a stage and losing time on GC.
Alongside Naesen the pair have analyzed thousands of hours of cycling races and it shows.
I haven’t found a podcast that comes close to the level of detail heard on The Lanterne Rouge podcast. It never feels bogged down in the analysis thanks to the enthusiasm of the presenters who keep things moving along at a steady cadence.
As you would expect, the podcast offers stage-by-stage analysis during the three Grand Tours but also discusses the wider world of professional cycling in detail.
Conclusion
The cycling podcast landscape is unrecognizable compared to a decade ago. You can’t move for podcasts from current professional cyclists, no doubt glad to have something to do to help pass the time in hotel rooms between stages.
This list of the best cycling podcasts tries to remove some of the clutter and bring you the podcasts that get under the skin of professional cycling. Some offer in-depth analysis whilst some champion the lesser seen aspects of the sport. All of them enlighten and entertain.
The sport was birthed to tell great stories and the podcasts on this list honor that centuries-old tradition by putting the listener at the heart of the action.
Let us know what ones we have missed so we can add to the list!