The Roadman Cycling Podcast

Most amateur cyclists are told to follow the 80/20 rule—but does that advice still work when you only have six to eight hours a week to train? In this episode, we dig into the research behind polarized training, Zone 2, intensity, and durability to find out what time-crunched cyclists should actually be doing. We explore why the training habits of elite endurance athletes may not translate to recreational riders, where harder sessions can deliver greater returns, and why long easy rides still matter. Plus, five practical changes you can make to structure your training around your goals, available time, and re...

How did Lance Armstrong lose seven Tour de France titles without ever failing the drug test that brought him down? In this episode, Anthony Walsh puts on his barrister’s hat and breaks down the legal ruling that ended Armstrong’s career. From sworn testimony and blood evidence to backdated prescriptions, hidden payments and questions of due process, we examine the case against Armstrong — and ask whether the process that convicted him was actually fair.

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - http...

When does racing hard become racing dirty? In this episode of the Roadman Cycling Podcast, we unpack the controversy surrounding Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma, and explore cycling’s long history of unsporting behaviour — from barrier battles and headbutts to Eddy Merckx being punched on the Puy de Dôme. It’s a look at intent, unwritten rules, controversial decisions, and the grey zone where competitive racing crosses the line.

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman...

Why are amateur cyclists taking testosterone, EPO and other performance-enhancing drugs — and where does preparation end and cheating begin?

In part two with journalist and author James Witts, Anthony dives deeper into the hidden world of doping, from masters athletes and testosterone to GLP-1 drugs, EPO, the biological passport and the lasting legacy of Lance Armstrong. They also explore the human cost of getting caught, whether lifetime bans could deter dopers, and the constant cat-and-mouse battle between athletes and testers.

Plus, could controversial middle-of-the-night testing finally close one of anti-doping’s biggest loopholes?

<...

At 2:00 a.m., anti-doping testers knocked on Jonas Vingegaard’s hotel door during the Tour de France. Three hours later, Tadej Pogačar was woken for the same test. But what exactly were they looking for? Journalist and author James Witts joins the podcast to explain how modern drug testing works, why athletes can be tested at any hour, and what the history of doping tells us about the constant battle to keep sport clean.

You can buy James's fantastic book DOPE here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dope-How-Drugs-Changed-Sport/dp/1785129740

Tadej Pogačar has joined cycling’s most exclusive club with a fifth Tour de France victory. But is five really the record he is chasing? Lance Armstrong believes the number that matters is seven, even if those victories have been erased from the history books. This episode explores why seven Tours were left without a winner, what those blank spaces reveal about cycling’s darkest era, and the shadow Pogačar is now racing against.

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclis...

Most cyclists think better fuelling simply means eating more, but timing may matter just as much as quantity. Sophie Conroy, nutritionist for Tudor Pro Cycling, explains the common mistake amateurs make with when they eat around training. She shares how professional riders approach nutrition on the bike, off the bike and immediately after a session, with practical insights that could change how you fuel, recover and perform.

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

The Tour de France reached Paris yesterday with a final stage that once again delivered far more than the traditional procession and sprint. ASO deserves enormous credit for reimagining the finale, using the Montmartre circuit to create genuine tension, spectacular crowds and an unpredictable race. However, the decision to freeze the general classification with roughly 41 kilometres remaining effectively created an artificial “finish line” long before the Champs-Élysées. In this episode, Anthony unpacks the drama, the spectacle and whether cycling’s biggest race can truly claim to be racing all the way to the finish.

Go...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Tadej Pogačar delivered another astonishing performance at the Tour de France, powering up the legendary Alpe d’Huez faster than anyone before him. In this episode, we look at what unfolded on one of cycling’s most iconic climbs, how Pogačar managed to rewrite a record that had stood for decades, and what the ride tells us about his current level. Was this simply another great stage...

How do World Tour riders recover from brutal five-hour stages and do it all again the next morning? In this episode, Anthony breaks down the recovery habits used throughout the Tour de France, from rapid refuelling and evening meals to massage, tart cherry juice and cold-water immersion. More importantly, he explains which strategies amateur cyclists should copy, which are only useful during stage races, and why blindly following the pros could actually interfere with your long-term training progress.

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving...

Why can a rider with a lower FTP still drop you when the road kicks up? The answer may lie in a second, often overlooked energy system. In this episode, Sarah breaks down Functional Reserve Capacity and dynamic FRC—the “battery” that powers attacks, surges and hard accelerations. We explore how this metric can explain race blow-ups, failed interval sessions and poor pacing, while helping everyday cyclists use their limited energy more effectively when it matters most.

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyc...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

The Tour de France reaches its first rest day, making it the perfect time to take stock of everything we've seen so far. In this episode, Anthony reflects on the biggest talking points, standout performances, tactical battles, surprises, disappointments, and what they could mean for the race ahead. With plenty still to come, it's a chance to separate the headlines from the reality and look at which riders...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Peptides are everywhere—from collagen supplements and GLP-1 medications to experimental compounds promising faster recovery, fat loss and injury repair. But what does the science actually say, and where does legitimate medicine end and clever marketing begin?

In this episode, we explore why peptides are so appealing to ageing cyclists, the evidence behind collagen, the risks surrounding BPC-157 and TB-500, and what competitors need to know ab...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Running is often overlooked by cyclists, but when used intentionally it can be a valuable tool to build fitness, resilience, and movement quality. It’s not about replacing time on the bike, it’s about understanding where it can fit into the bigger picture. In this episode Anthony shares some thoughts on when running can be useful, who it might suit, and a few things to consider before addi...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

The idea that more training always leads to a leaner body isn't always true. Many cyclists are surprised to see the scales creeping up despite spending hours in the saddle. From hidden calorie intake and poor recovery habits to metabolic adaptations and lifestyle factors, there are several reasons why hard training can sometimes lead to weight gain instead of weight loss. In this article, we'll explore the most...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Why does Zone 2 training work brilliantly for some riders, but leave others stuck, tired, and going nowhere? In this episode, we unpack the missing context behind endurance training advice with insights from Mattias Reck, coach to Mads Pedersen. The key idea is simple: the zone is relative, but the cost is absolute. For pros riding huge hours at huge watts, avoiding the middle makes sense. For time-crunched amateurs...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

In this episode, we get a rare look inside the training philosophy behind one of cycling’s most explosive riders: Mads Pedersen. A former road world champion, Grand Tour stage winner, and Classics powerhouse, Mads has built a reputation for turning brutal racing into controlled chaos. His coach, Mattias Reck, head coach at Lidl-Trek and a former professional rider turned performance expert, shares insight into the structure, mindset, an...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

In this episode, we’re talking about cycling etiquette: the unwritten rules that have shaped the sport for years and still matter today. From checking in on riders at the roadside, to avoiding half-wheeling, acknowledging other cyclists, being self-sufficient, and asking before sitting on someone’s wheel, these small behaviours make a big difference. Cycling is not just about your own ride; it’s about how you move throug...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Today Anthony is joined by Dr. Sam Impey, an expert in performance nutrition who works at the sharp end of endurance sport. We talk about a new study that finally confirms that most cyclists ARE getting fuelling wrong. And the surprising part is, it’s probably not the mistake you think it is. This isn’t just about gels, drink mix, or what you eat on the bike. It’s...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Today, Anthony sits down with rock ’n’ roll musician Ostella.

She’s played sold-out shows across Ireland and Canada, but what really sets her apart is how she gets there: Ostella has bikepacked to her gigs, carrying her guitar and equipment on the road with a zero-carbon footprint.

She even brought her guitar into the studio and treated us to a few of her incred...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

The Tour de France wasn’t born from pure sporting ambition. It began with a political scandal, a newspaper war, and a desperate attempt to sell more papers. In 1890s France, the Dreyfus Affair split the country in two, dragging even the cycling press into the fight. When powerful industrialists turned against pro-Dreyfus editor Pierre Giffard and his paper Le Vélo, they funded a rival: L’Auto. Strug...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Is aerodynamics only for pros, time triallists, and triathletes — or should everyday cyclists care too? In this episode, we cut through the hype and ask whether aero is genuinely “free speed” or just expensive cycling nonsense. We explain why the rider creates most of the drag, why body position and clothing often matter more than pricey upgrades, and when aero does — and does not — make a real difference. From £0 ch...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Cycling was never meant to be about looking expensive. The real entry ticket was willingness: to learn, to listen, to hold a wheel without panic, to respect the rhythm of the group. Somewhere along the way, the gate shifted. Skill started getting confused with image. Kit became a costume. Beginners began feeling like they had to buy belonging before they’d earned confidence on the road. But the ma...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

During Nazi-occupied Italy, cycling legend Gino Bartali used the one thing that made him untouchable—his fame—to help save Jewish lives. Disguised as training rides, his journeys carried forged identity papers hidden inside his bicycle frame, past checkpoints where soldiers asked for autographs instead of searches. This episode uncovers how Bartali, already a Tour de France champion, risked prison, torture, and execution as part of a secret resc...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Mads Würtz Schmidt joins us after winning one of the hardest editions of Unbound Gravel in years. In a race defined by mud, storms, brutal headwinds, and a dramatic late mechanical, Mads breaks down exactly how he survived the chaos and rode solo to victory. We also get the full story behind Keegan Swenson’s incredible decision to give Mads his wheel, the pressure that created, and wha...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Tapering for the Tour de France is not about reacting to tiredness; it is about knowing when extra training is adding more fatigue than fitness. This video explains how coaches can use the TrainingPeaks Performance Management Chart to balance fitness, fatigue, and form, while still reading the rider behind the numbers. The goal is to reduce volume, maintain enough intensity to stay sharp, and let fatigue fall without losing hard-earned adaptation...

LANCE ARMSTRONG

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Today Anthony is joined by Cycling Ireland CEO James Quilligan for a no-holds-barred conversation about the state and future of Irish cycling. James came into the role at a difficult time, with questions around falling membership, financial pressure, staff morale and trust between Cycling Ireland, clubs, provinces and riders. In this interview, Anthony asks him directly about the decline in members, the reduced number of road races, the...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Conn McDunphy has just won the 2026 Rás Tailteann, Ireland’s toughest and most iconic bike race. In this episode, we sit down with Conn to unpack what it really takes to win the Tour of Ireland: the preparation, the pressure, the team tactics, the chaos of five-man squads, and the emotional weight of bringing home yellow on Irish roads. Conn opens up about past crashes, near-misses, maturity, rac...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

In this episode, Anthony sits down with Joe Laverick to unpack the modern cycling world — Joe opens up about life as a privateer, the economics of gravel racing, race safety, sponsorship, and why storytelling may now matter more than podiums.

One of the tools you will have heard Anthony chat about in this podcast is Training Peaks. Without this platform we can't get in...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

Anthony is back from a huge week racing at the Tour of Ireland / Rás Tailteann, he shares the highs, lows, and lessons from one of the toughest events on the Irish cycling calendar. From brutal stages and changing weather to team tactics, recovery, and life inside the bunch, this episode gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to compete in a demanding stage race. Whether y...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

In July 1998, a routine customs stop on a quiet road between Belgium and France cracked open the biggest scandal cycling had ever seen. Inside a team car heading to the Tour de France was enough EPO, testosterone, and syringes to expose a secret the sport had spent years hiding. But the drugs were only the beginning. What followed was chaos: police raids, rider strikes, shattered heroes, and a...

Go check out our FREE Skool community, it's got amazing tools in there and a thriving community of cyclists - https://www.skool.com/roadman/about

2 riders do the same 5 hour ride, the exact same power. But theres a difference, one rider gets home, has dinner with his family lays out his kit that night and rides again the next morning. The other rider can barely make it up the starirs, he's doom scrolling in instagram all evening and he's absent minded.

There's a single number in their training files that explains why, and almost...

Today on the Roadman Cycling Podcast, Anthony sits down with Chris Harper of Team Q36.5, speaking directly from the Giro d’Italia rest day for a rare behind-the-scenes look at life inside a Grand Tour. Chris opens up about the staggering nutritional demands of racing three weeks at the highest level, the emotional and psychological toll the Giro takes on riders, and the constant battle to manage fatigue while staying sharp in the bunch. From recovery routines to peloton politics, this is an honest and fascinating insight into what it really takes to survive and compete in one of cy...

Bradley Wiggins’ son. That’s the easy headline. But after an hour with Ben Wiggins, it’s obvious he’s building something far more interesting than just inheriting a famous surname.

In this conversation, Ben opens up about the pressure of carrying one of cycling’s most iconic names into the peloton, the discipline he absorbed growing up around elite sport, and the lessons he’s learned watching both the highs and lows of his father’s career. From seven-hour fasted birthday rides to the realities of burnout, nutrition obsession, Girona culture, and finding balance as a young pro, thi...

In November 1927, a young Italian racer named Tullio Campagnolo stood freezing on a mountain pass in the Dolomites, unable to change gear because his hands were too cold to loosen his wheel nuts. That moment changed cycling forever. Campagnolo would go on to invent the quick-release skewer, pioneer the modern derailleur, and build the components that carried legends like Coppi, Merckx, Hinault, Pantani, and Pogačar to victory. For decades, Campagnolo was cycling. So how did the company that defined the sport end up with zero teams in the 2026 WorldTour? This is the story of Campagnolo — and how greatness slo...

Most cyclists think they’re doing threshold training — but most are actually riding too easy to drive real FTP gains. In this episode, we break down what true threshold work actually is, why your FTP may have plateaued for years, and how elite coaches structure intensity for maximum adaptation. Drawing on insights from Stephen Seiler, Dan Lorang, and WorldTour training models, we explain the difference between sweet spot and threshold, how much threshold work amateurs actually need, and the biggest mistakes riders make with interval pacing. Plus, we give you three proven threshold sessions you can start using this week...

Marco Pantani was untouchable. On June 5th, 1999, the Pirate stood on the brink of cycling immortality — leading the Giro d’Italia by over five minutes, dominating the mountains, and leaving the sport’s biggest names behind. Then, in a hotel room in the Italian Alps, three doctors took his blood. Five hours later, his race was over. His career would never recover. Five years later, Pantani was found dead alone in a hotel room in Rimini.

This is the story of cycling’s most tragic icon: the rise, the scandal, the conspiracy, and the devastating fall of the man...

If you’re over 35 and your FTP keeps sliding backwards every season, this video is for you. The truth is, it’s probably not just age. There are five specific things quietly destroying your threshold power right now — and most riders never address them properly. In this video, I break down the biggest mistakes I see experienced cyclists making over and over again, from training structure to recovery and one uncomfortable factor almost nobody wants to talk about. No gimmicks, no “just ride more,” no expensive aero upgrades. Just practical, actionable insights to help you hold onto — and even rebuild — th...

Most cyclists hit a point after 40 where something changes. You’re still fit, still riding long hours, still able to suffer—but the snap starts to fade. The kick out of corners, the jump on climbs, that explosive edge… it slips away. And most of us just accept it as ageing.In this episode, Anthony sits down with Dr. Andy Galpin to challenge that idea. Is the window really closed, or have we just been training the wrong way? We dive into the science of power, fast-twitch muscle, and why getting faster after 40 might have less to do with riding...