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The spring Classics are over and the Grand Tours are looming, starting with the Vuelta Femenina, which kicks off this weekend. But before we get into the Vuelta Femenina and ask if Demi Vollering can win for the first time this season, there’s another huge women’s story in town: that of world champion Lotte Kopecky deciding to bypass the Tour de France Femmes in August — something which would have been unthinkable even a year ago — in favour of the Paris Olympic Games.

We examine the reasons behind the world number one's decision to miss the biggest race of the season in order to target gold in three events at the Paris Olympic. We hear from her French rival Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who explains why she isn't surprised to hear the news about Kopecky's change of focus.

This leads us on to a wider issue... With reigning Tour de France Femmes champion Demi Vollering reportedly set to move from SD Worx to FDJ Suez next season on a salary rumoured to be around one million euros, we ask whether this growth rate of women’s cycling is sustainable? Is it going to create an even bigger divide between the rich and poor in the women’s peloton?

Next up is a preview of the week-long Vuelta Femenina, where Vollering will be chasing an elusive first win of the season. Movistar team director Tim Harris tells us what he's expecting from the season's first Grand Tour and also reveals his hopes for his own team, which will feature Movistar leader Liane Lippert for the first time this season after her recovery from a December leg break.

Staying with the women's elite, we speak to Britain's Lizzie Deignan, another rider who's on the way back after breaking a bone, in her case an arm in a crash at the Tour of Flanders. The Lidl-Trek rider also has her focus on the Olympics, where she hopes to better the silver medal she won at London 2012. She outlines her programme leading into Paris, talks about her confidence in her ability to get into the form she needs, and about Britain's emerging strength as a road race power, which could benefit her this summer.

In our 'How to Make Cycling Better' feature, we hand the microphone to French veteran stage racer and recent Liège-Bastogne-Liège runner-up Romain Bardet, who offers an intriguing proposal that he believes would help to reduce the control of the major teams on racing, making the sport more unpredictable and exciting.

And, finally, was there ever a time when French financial services company Cofidis was not sponsoring a bike team? Once again, the team’s contract has just been renewed, ensuring that there will be a Cofidis jersey in the peloton until at least 2028.

So what’s the secret of their staying power? We ask French journalist Pierre Carrey, the cycling correspondent Swiss paper Le Temps, about the French team and whether there's anything to those widespread rumours linking them with French star Julian Alaphilippe, whose contract is up at the end of this season.

This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle.

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After being at the forefront of British success for two decades, masterminding the development of superstars such as Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and Tom Pidcock, Rod Ellingworth has left WorldTour to oversee the reboot of the women’s and men’s Tour of Britain. 

In an exclusive interview trackside at Manchester velodrome, Ellingworth reveals why he left Ineos Grenadiers, how he has a bold vision to grow British Cycling’s national tours — and whether he’ll be giving Dave Brailsford advice on who to bring off the bench at Old Trafford…

Sandwiched between the pavé and the Giro d’Italia are the Ardennes Classics, hilly one-day races in the elevated lands of the Netherlands and Belgium, the setting this coming weekend for a heavyweight clash between Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel.

In our preview of the weekend's major racing action, Ardennes Classics veteran Dan Martin, winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2013, tells us what makes these races so special and about the qualities required to win them. We also hear from Bahrain-Victorious's Pello Bilbao on how you go about beating Tadej Pogačar.

While Van der Poel and Pogačar have been hogging the victories and the headlines at the very top of the sport, it's also become increasingly difficult to ignore the feats of 21-year-old Briton Joe Blackmore. Winner of the Tours of Rwanda and Taiwan, 4th against the big guns at Flèche Brabonçonne, and victorious again at the under-23 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Blackmore has just signed a 2-year contract with Israel-PremierTech.

In our profile of this hugely exciting talent, we hear from Joe Blackmore himself, who tells us what kind of rider he sees himself as and about his motivations as a racer.

In our regular feature on "Ways to Make Cycling Better", former pro and now EF Education-EasyPost team director Tejay van Garderen tells us why he'd like to see names and numbers on riders' jerseys.

This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle.

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The frenzy of the cobbles are just about behind us, the Ardennes Classics now lie in wait and soon the high mountains of races like the Tour of the Alps and, of course, the Giro d’Italia will fill our screens... 

Meanwhile, off the road, the UCI has just announced that it is bringing in a new face to lead the fight against technological fraud….but who is this guy…? We profile and hear from Nicholas Raudenski – a former criminal investigator who has also worked for the US Department of Homeland Security – who's about to head up the UCI's beefed-up battle against motor doping. We also reveal the main focus for Raudenski and this new initiative, which is being driven by UCI president David Lappartient.

Continuing our series of interviews with the managers of the peloton's leading teams, we speak exclusively to Bora-hansgrohe boss Ralph Denk. In a wide-ranging discussion, Denk reveals the latest on team leader Primož Roglič’s recovery from his Itzulia Basque Country-ending crash, Red Bull's increased investment in the team and potential links to Red Bull-sponsored Wout van Aert, why he'd like to see budget caps on top teams, his disappointment with Cian Uijtdebroeks' departure to Visma-Lease a Bike and his suggestion for improving the sport.

In the wake of the horrific Itzulia crash, we also speak to Safe Cycling CEO Markus Laerum, whose company acts as a safety consultancy to many major races including the Tour France. He opens up on pre-Itzulia concerns about safety on that race, his conversation about dodgy Basque descents with Jonas Vingegaard, and about how receptive race organisers are to Safe Cycling suggestions and initiatives.

Plus, after making his journalistic debut at Paris-Roubaix last weekend, our intrepid presenter Chris Marshall-Bell talks Hell of the North with Cycling Weekly's Tom Thewlis.

This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle.

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It’s time for Paris-Roubaix: the race that every kid dreams of winning, but that half the pro peloton hate. After last weekend’s chaos on the Koppenberg in the Tour of Flanders, what lies in wait in the ‘Hell of the North’?One thing that's already clear is that race organisers ASO and the riders' union the CPA are determined to put a strong emphasis on safety, most specifically with the introduction of a chicane right before the entrance to the most notorious section of cobbles in the Arenberg Forest.We hear from CPA president Adam Hansen, who reveals what drove this initiative and why he believes it's "wonderful". But, we ask, does it also alter the essence of this legendary race?The hot topic over the off-season, the One Cycling project is now on the back burner. Has it hit the buffers and come to nothing as some are claiming? Or is there still some life in it? We've been gauging the current attitude within the sport to the scheme and reveal how close it was to happening and what, ultimately, stymied it.  Since the start of the 2024 season, another issue concerning the sport has been Israel-PremierTech’s presence in races and the risk that poses to the peloton given the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. We report on growing anxiety within some teams and how IPT have responded to being the potential target for protests.Plus, we hear from Cofidis's Harrison Wood on his way to make cycling better, while our new quiz reveals the answer to the question: what's the lowest kilometric amount of cobbles to feature on the route of Paris-Roubaix?This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle.Music provided by HearWeGo Marion - High Hopes
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Another bike race, another Tadej Pogačar exhibition. The Slovenian didn’t just win the Volta a Catalunya, one of cycling’s toughest week-long stage races, he completely annihilated the opposition.Pogačar’s only 25, but already he counts 69 victories on his palmarès, including two Tours de France and five Monuments. Is there anything he can’t do? Is he now knocking on the door of eternal greatness?We put that question to the man himself in Catalonia, where Pogačar tells us that he's stepped up a level this year and is now going into every race determined to win, and always with a smile on his face.We also also hear from George Bennett and Guillaume Martin, who admit that the rest of the peloton are now racing for second place almost every time Pogačar takes to the start line.We also look ahead to this Sunday's Tour of Flanders, where there's also one name on everyone's lips, that of two-time champion Mathieu van der Poel. With Pogačar not defending his title and Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven now sidelined by broken collarbones sustained in this week's Dwars door Vlaanderen, the world champion is the outstanding favourite for a third Ronde success.We hear from Mads Pedersen, Michael Matthews, Jordi Meeus and Matteo Trentin on if and how Van der Poel can be beaten.And, finally, as Tour de France Femmes goes from strength to strength, what is happening with the British women’s scene? Cycling Weekly's Tom Thewlis reveals the latest on the Women's Tour of Britain, which now, of course, has former Ineos team manager Rod Ellingworth as its race director.After a period when it appeared that the Women's Tour might not take place in 2024, there are growing reasons for optimism, with a route taking shape that includes two opening stages in Wales.We also speak to Ford Ride London Classique technical director Kevin Nash on the strides being made by that three-day May race, and hear from Britain's emblematic road racer Lizzie Deignan, who highlights the continued growth and wider popularity of women’s racing in Britain and how the scene has changed since she won silver in the road event at the 2012 London Olympics.This podcast is brought to you with the support of our sponsor, Saddle Skedaddle.
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The WorldTour’s Big Four stage racers – Vingegaard, Pogačar, Evenepoel and Roglic — are all on the road at last, as the European season really gets going.  We start, though, with the news that the much-rumoured British Grand Départ, set to take place in 2026, has been shelved. UK Sport deputy CEO Simon Morton tells us, "We are not actively pursuing hosting in 2026," as the funding crisis in local government takes hold and cuts are made to government-backed sporting events in what's an election year. Yet after this latest gloomy development for British cycling, Morton suggests there is still some hope that the Tour and/or Tour de France Femmes could return to the UK, perhaps in 2027.After his demolition derby on his rivals at Strade Bianche, Tadej Pogačar is now turning his attention to Milan-Sanremo, one of two Monuments he's still to win. His 81km solo ride to success on Tuscany's white roads underlined once again that the UAE Team Emirates rider can create his own script for one-day races, but can he do that for Sanremo, the most predictable of the lot? We speak to Jayco-AlUla DS Matt White, who believes that the Slovenian is likely to make another early attack, but won't find is as straightforward to hold on when he does.In our final story, we look ahead to the finale of Paris-Nice, which is once again threatened by a big freeze as it heads towards high finishes in the southern Alps just inland from the Côte d'Azur.   
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