Is Tadej Pogačar being unfairly criticised for simply trying to win the Tour de France? + Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Battling the heat at the Tour

The road.cc Podcast

The road.cc Podcast
Is Tadej Pogačar being unfairly criticised for simply trying to win the Tour de France? + Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Battling the heat at the Tour
Jul 09, 2026
road.cc

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Tapas, tension, thrillers, tempestuous temperatures, and team time trials… There have been a lot of talking points during the first week of this year’s Tour. And we’ve got them all covered as the road.cc Podcast hits the roads of France (and a bit of Spain)

Episode Artwork Is Tadej Pogačar being unfairly criticised for simply trying to win the Tour de France? + Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Battling the heat at the Tour 1:54:29 Episode Artwork “My husband said I made it look too easy. But I was having a great time”: North Coast 500 record breaker Caroline Livesey on Scottish downpours, rescue rice puddings, and the joy of cycling + What Andy Burnham as PM could mean for cyclists 1:45:51 Episode Artwork “We did 10 miles on our first ride and couldn’t walk”: The father and son who cycled around the world as “complete novices”… and who still don’t identify as cyclists + Does a boring Giro make for a great Tour de France? 1:28:48 Episode Artwork Victoria Pendleton: “I wish I could be part of Team GB now. But someone had to go out there and do it first. I’ll take the hit” 43:38 Episode Artwork “People will come up to me and say: ‘Yeah, f*** cycling!’ No, that’s not the message!” Comedian Kathy Maniura on creating ‘The Cycling Man’, your local bike lane’s worst nightmare + The new Rapha Roadmap discussed 1:29:40 Episode Artwork Big Mac recons, tattoo bets, and never giving up: Inside Picnic-PostNL’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes bid 1:31:27 Episode Artwork How to prepare for Paris-Roubaix: Alex Dowsett’s tech guide to the cobbled classics + Reflections on cycling’s Holy Week 1:32:03 Episode Artwork “The day after a classic, I was dead. He’s playing golf!” Adrie van der Poel on Mathieu’s chances of making Tour of Flanders history, Tadej Pogačar, and remembering his own Ronde win 40 years on 52:46 Episode Artwork Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig: “I’m a bit silly, I’m a bit weird but, you know, it’s what you get” + Was Milan-Sanremo epic Tadej Pogačar’s finest hour? 1:15:13 Episode Artwork Chasing Brennan: Chapels, wonderkids, and Status Quo + The pros discuss race safety (and the UCI’s tech interventions) as the road.cc Podcast hits the Spring Classics 54:44 Episode Artwork Shimano launches a NEW 11-speed Tiagra groupset! What's going on?? 27:58 Episode Artwork ‘No, I’m not the new Cycling Mikey’: Britain’s most infamous camera cyclist councillor on holding bad drivers to account, dealing with trolls, and not caring what the Daily Mail thinks + Riding the Tour de France (as an amateur) 59:24 Episode Artwork “Cheating will be part of cycling forever”: MPCC president Emily Brammeier on anti-doping, tackling the ‘grey area’, and making clean sport the norm + How to design a time trial bike from scratch 1:06:38 Episode Artwork 'Oscar Onley shouldn’t have gone to Ineos’: Brian Smith on Britain’s Tour de France TV paywall (and why it’s a shame), calendar congestion, and how pro teams “use and abuse” riders 1:55:49 Episode Artwork “The cycling industry needed a good shake-up”: Can bike brands finally breathe again in 2026? Why the industry is back on track and “wiser” after years of turmoil + Tour de France UK Grands Départs reaction 1:22:47 Episode Artwork Is Keir Starmer ignoring cycling? Labour’s Road Safety Strategy discussed + Simon Yates’ shock retirement, British Cycling’s cyclocross paywall, and we rank the 2026 peloton’s new kits 58:59 Episode Artwork How Cycle to Work was saved: The battle to stop Labour’s Budget spending cap and “dispelling the myth” that Cycle to Work is for rich Surrey MAMILs + The year in cycling reviewed 1:30:12 Episode Artwork “Gear restrictions are a no-brainer”: Cadel Evans and Stuart O’Grady on cycling’s safety debate, how the sport has changed, protests, and why fans should “just enjoy watching Pogačar’s greatness” 1:00:37 Episode Artwork “I’m proud that Dave Brailsford doesn’t like me”: Emma Pooley on the Tour de France’s weight debate, growing women’s sport, and battling cycling’s old-school “f***wits” 1:26:15 Episode Artwork “I’ve done some stupid things in my life, but this was beyond stupid!” Ultra-endurance cyclist Sofiane Sehili on breaking into Russia, 51 days in jail, and cycling’s most dramatic failed record attempt ever 1:31:38 Episode Artwork “I lost sponsors after riding with Lance Armstrong – but it did us more good than bad”: Ex-footballer Geoff Thomas on 20 years of tackling the Tour de France route for charity, tears on the Galibier, and enjoying cycling more than ever 1:05:12 Episode Artwork Top tips for recovering from the cycling yips: How to regain your confidence on the bike after a bad crash + Double Alpe d’Huez! Ventoux! 2026 Tour de France routes analysed… Are they boring? 32:55 Episode Artwork “Is sport a force for good? Or for battering people into submission?” Former UCI president Brian Cookson on Israel, sportswashing, banning nation state sponsors, and why protests highlight bike race security failures 1:35:27 Episode Artwork “I told myself, just let Robert Millar go!” Pippa York and David Walsh on gender, following the Tour de France, and why pro cycling isn’t Disneyland 1:38:31 Episode Artwork “Timothée Chalamet can’t replace me in this one!” Actor behind Cadel Evans one-man show on taking the Edinburgh Fringe by storm, cycling “full gas” on stage, and why creating a play is like riding the Tour de France 1:19:46