212 episodes

Ever wondered what life is like as a professional cyclist?

Australian ex-professional cyclist Mitch Docker takes you inside the world of Professional Cycling.
Bringing you the stories behind the individuals in the sport - from the pros in the peloton to staff behind the teams, to commentators & legends, plus training insights & debriefs on major races throughout the year. It’s all here!
Newly retired from the professional peloton, Mitch is exploring his new pelotons - all the pelotons that exist outside of the world tour - bringing you fresh new stories from within the cycling community.

His spin off series, Talking Luft - a bit like the DVD Extras - is where cycling style & culture takes centre stage. Talking cycling caps, bikes, kit, coffee stops, training loops and all the best things about riding a bike.

Listen to all episodes here weekly!
Find all our episodes, merch and more at lifeinthepeloton.com

Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP Mitch Docker

    • Sport
    • 5.0 • 2 Ratings

Ever wondered what life is like as a professional cyclist?

Australian ex-professional cyclist Mitch Docker takes you inside the world of Professional Cycling.
Bringing you the stories behind the individuals in the sport - from the pros in the peloton to staff behind the teams, to commentators & legends, plus training insights & debriefs on major races throughout the year. It’s all here!
Newly retired from the professional peloton, Mitch is exploring his new pelotons - all the pelotons that exist outside of the world tour - bringing you fresh new stories from within the cycling community.

His spin off series, Talking Luft - a bit like the DVD Extras - is where cycling style & culture takes centre stage. Talking cycling caps, bikes, kit, coffee stops, training loops and all the best things about riding a bike.

Listen to all episodes here weekly!
Find all our episodes, merch and more at lifeinthepeloton.com

    The Race Communiqué - Episode 3

    The Race Communiqué - Episode 3

    It’s full gas racing season in Europe, so I’ve been really looking forward to catching up with Luke & Tom for what I knew would be a pretty action-packed Race Communiqué!
    The boys have been on very different schedules; Luke has been with Jayco-Alula at Paris-Nice and then on to the cobbled classics, which he dialled in from this week. Meanwhile, Tom is on the Ardennes program with EF Education - Easypost (obviously avoiding having to drive his car over cobbles) in stage races in Spain and Italy.   
    For my part, I’ve been loving spectating and seeing the races that used to make up such a big part of my season from the comfort of my armchair at home. It’s a different view from the outside, so it was great to catch up with these two and get the inside line on what is happening in the pelo at the moment.
    As usual, I take us through the races from the past month and get some insight on how things went down on the road, and what we all think that means for the big races that are coming up.
    Luke has some fascinating insight into race nutrition plans, and how riders are currently working to fuel in races whilst also keeping track of their race weight. I found this section fascinating, as it is eye-opening how much the sport has moved on in the short space of time since I retired.
    In Tom’s segment, we go behind some of the more impressive tactical moves that he’s noted down this spring, and there is even time for a gripe about UCI fines!
    It wouldn’t be the Race Communiqué without our famous quiz and this month it was Tom’s turn to be quiz master, pitting Luke and I against each other in a Classics death match quiz – with a cricketing twist!
    This was a real blast to make and I’m sure you guys are gonna enjoy it too!
    Cheers,
    Mitch

    • 59 min
    Tom Boonen - King of the Classics

    Tom Boonen - King of the Classics

    Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP
    It’s Classics season! It’s my favourite time of the cycling year and I am so stoked to be able to bring you an absolute legend of the Classics, a Flandrien legend, and a true king of the cobbles, Tom Boonen. 
    When it comes to the Cobbled Classics, Tom’s palmarès are mind blowing: he is the joint record holder for wins at both Flanders (3) and Roubaix (4) as well as being the out and out record holder for the most wins in E3 (5). Just one of those wins would be enough for most riders, but he can also count three Ghent Wevelgem’s, a couple of Schelderprijs… and we may as well mention his world championship for good measure. 
    This is an extra special pod for my personally, as Tom’s career wound up in 2017, meaning that I spent a good portion of my racing career at the classics getting my legs blown off by his attacks, and knowing that his was the wheel that everyone wanted to be on when the races got serious (I managed it once - have a listen to see how that went…).
    I was lucky enough to sit down with Tom at his home in Mol and really get in to chatting about the races that we both love so much. Tom is a fantastic interviewee, and I got a real buzz from the excitement that he obviously felt recalling the ups and downs of his career and the details of some of his most incredible wins and defeats. 
    As well as getting some great takes on the races that have become legendary in the last decade, I got to ask some of the other questions that I’d always wanted to know about; what was it really like being a superstar in such a cycling mad country? How did he handle the pressure of being a 24 year old world champion? I also got to ask about a comeback story that is remarkable in that it has always been overshadowed by Matt Hayman’s own incredible tale around the 2016 Paris Roubaix. 
    Amazingly after such a successful career, Tom hasn’t sat back and just smoked cigars since 2017. He’s now a racing car driver and he talks as passionately about his new career as he does his old one.
    Honestly, I would have stayed chatting about the microscopic details of the Arenberg forest sector  of Roubaix for hours if I could. There is so much in this pod, I really hope you guys enjoy listening to this as much as I did making it. 
    Cheers!
    Mitch

    • 1 hr 21 min
    Talking Luft Top 6's! Milan San-Remo's Most Influential

    Talking Luft Top 6's! Milan San-Remo's Most Influential

    Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP
    Ok guys, here we go, Classic season is almost here and to get things going we’ve torn up the old Talking Luft script, and come up with something new! 
    So then, let me introduce Talking Luft’s Top Six… 
    In this new format, we are going to focus on a single race with our guests and discuss the six most influential rides or editions that each of us can remember from that particular race. 
    It doesn’t need to be the most famous or prestigious win that makes it, but instead some of those rides that made that race (or winner) stand out - either to the world or even just to our guest. 
    I bet almost everyone has a different top six for every race out there. It could be the first edition that someone remembers, a year where a rider won against the odds or with real style, it could be a win that launched a rider’s career or changed the way race is raced. 
    With the first Monument of the season just around the corner, I thought what better way to kick things off than to start with our Top Six Most Influential at Milan-San Remo. For this first edition, I was lucky enough to be joined by a very familiar voice for our Australian listeners, Dave McKenzie. 
    Macca as we all know him, was a pro for nearly a decade in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s - and he knows a thing or two about racing in Italy, as he has a Giro stage win on the palmarés! These days he is best known as one of the most highly regarded cycling commentators in Australia. 
    Macca was a great guest for this first-ever edition of the top six, he’s just that bit older than me so we cover a couple of generations and - like me, he also loved the challenge of nerding out on such a cool race. 
    Even though I raced San Remo a couple of times myself, there was still a heap that I learned from hearing someone else view on which riders and how they had shaped a different person’s opinion of such an amazing race.
    So if you want to find out what we started with, which editions and riders we agreed and disagreed on (and why it is a top six and not a top five) then give it a listen.
    Cheers!
    Mitch

    • 46 min
    Life in the Peloton Chronicles: Sauna life

    Life in the Peloton Chronicles: Sauna life

    This is a short excerpt from the longer episode. To listen to the whole thing and future episodes become a member of The Pelo. 
    For our second subscriber special, in this episode of Life in the Peloton’s Chronicles, Sveino and I take a deep dive into the hot topic of sauna life. 
    Saunas were something that both of us got into at a young age and also found ourselves getting into during our racing careers, and since then (but not because of us!) more and more people are being drawn to the many benefits of a good sweat followed by a duck into some freezing water. 
    Even though we both knew that saunas were ‘good’, we weren’t ever really aware of why or how. This episode of Chronicles allows us to get stuck in to a really interesting topic that could have a benefit for every single cyclist out there. 
    To kick things off, Sveino has gone native and talks to his good friend, and former racing buddy, Marsh Cooper about the culture of the sauna. Marsh is Canadian by birth but now lives in Finland where the sauna is as much a part of life as the pub is in Australia! He explains the many social functions of the sauna and how its use as part of daily life benefits millions of Finns every year. 
    Going deeper into the potential benefits for athletes, I then spoke to EF Easypost’s Director of Sports Science Dr Kevin Sprouse. I asked him exactly what is happening in the body when you take a sauna and how this can help an athlete. I found this whole conversation fascinating. We discussed the how’s and why’s as well as the best way to implement using a sauna to benefit your own performance. 
    Finally, staying local, I spoke to a neighbour of mine here in Lancefield, John Simpson the owner of Hello Sauna who actually builds saunas! I got to sit down (and have a sweat) while we talked about how they are constructed, the best wood to use to build them, and the actual process of making a sauna. 
    ‘Sauna life’ as Sveino and I have often called it, is a fast developing culture in the UK and Australia, going hand in hand with wild swimming and other healthy and simple pursuits that not just sportsmen but also the general public are getting the benefits from. 
    So, whether you fancy working a bit of sauna action to your training program, if you are already on it and you want to know exactly what benefits it can have, or even if you are already on the verge of getting your own one built, then I think there is something in this pod for everyone. 
    Sit back, chuck a bucket of water (or beer) on the coals, and enjoy! 
    Cheers!
    Mitch

    • 14 min
    Allen Lim the Skratch labs dude

    Allen Lim the Skratch labs dude

    Tune in to Life in the Peloton for an enlightening conversation with Allen Lim, co-founder of Skratch Labs. Discover how his innovative approach transformed cycling into a healthier and professional sport. From pioneering power meters to revolutionising nutrition, Allen’s story is a must-listen for cycling enthusiasts and anyone craving a great story. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

    • 1 hr 9 min
    The Race Communiqué - Episode 2

    The Race Communiqué - Episode 2

    We’re back this week with the Race Communiqué; getting the inside track on what is happening in the pro peloton with myself and my good mates Luke Durbridge and Tom Southam.
    The last month has been a busy one for the pro peloton. We’ve had the first European races, some stage race action in the Middle East, plus of course the most important bit - the classics season finally got going over the weekend in Belgium, at Het Niewsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. 
    Naturally we had a load to catch up on and we managed to pack a heap into this pod. As well as the racing news, I ask what we can really learn from Opening Weekend - what it feels like to ride it, and whether it is worth skipping if you want to win big later on? 
    Durbo – who was fresh (or as fresh as you can be) off racing the Opening Weekend himself, has some great insight as to what happens when a race is impacted by severe weather and what the process looks like to change a race on the go. It’s something that fans rarely get to hear about but something that impacts everyone involved – including those of us watching at home. 
    Talking of harsh weather, Tom has just returned from O Grand Camino in Galicia, where he saw up close the condition of defending Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard and draws a few conclusions from the action there – as well as nominating his favourite tactical ploy of the month.
    There was so much to chat about, and we covered much more in our conversation but most excitingly (for me) we have a new format for (the newly retitled) Communiquiz!
    As well as a new name Durbo also takes over this month as question master – meaning that I get to go head-to-head with Tom in the new format. I’ll leave it to you to have a listen and see who comes out on top!
    We had a lot of fun with this, and we hope that you guys do too.
    Cheers!
    Mitch

    • 57 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
2 Ratings

2 Ratings

doggonewater672 ,

Fresh take on cycling

I love this show and it’s fresh take on stories as a life as a pro cyclist and all the wonderful and interesting stories around racing, cycling culture, travel and the rest in the world of cycling. Great show

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