Chris Boardman talks e-bikes, road safety, and why Reform UK has made cyclists “nervous” + Is Tadej Pogačar vs Jonas Vingegaard the greatest Tour de France rivalry in history? Bumper TDF preview

The road.cc Podcast

The road.cc Podcast
Chris Boardman talks e-bikes, road safety, and why Reform UK has made cyclists “nervous” + Is Tadej Pogačar vs Jonas Vingegaard the greatest Tour de France rivalry in history? Bumper TDF preview
Jul 03, 2025 Episode 108
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Coppi versus Bartali. Anquetil versus Poulidor. LeMond versus Hinault. Armstrong versus Ullrich. Contador versus Schleck. Does Tadej Pogačar’s epic rivalry with Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France beat them all?

That’s the question we try our best to answer during this week’s Tour de France-focused episode of the road.cc Podcast, as we rub our hands in glee at the prospect of Pogi v Jonas entering its fifth consecutive instalment, with the scores currently even at two-all.

As the Grand Départ in Lille approaches, Emily, Ryan, and Dan discuss the duo’s sustained rivalry and its place in cycling history and why, despite this year’s Tour appearing more delicately poised than ever, Pogačar is, in most people’s eyes, the hot favourite for yellow in Paris.

In part 2, legendary Olympic champion-turned-Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, is taking some time out from the Tour to offer us some much-needed respite from incessant bike racing chat.

In the full version of our interview featured earlier this month on road.cc, Ryan and Chris talk e-bikes, safety concerns, “sloppy journalism”, and the need to tackle anti-cycling narratives in the press and some political circles by highlighting the positive outcomes of riding a bike.

00:00 - 00:54: Introduction 
00:55 - 37:52: Is Tadej Pogačar vs Jonas Vingegaard the greatest Tour de France rivalry in history?
37:53 - 39:38: Hammerhead advert plus exclusive offer
39:39 - 51:27: Chris Boardman interview
51:28 - 53:17: outro

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At the time of broadcast, our listeners can also get a free
Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Hammerhead Karoo 2. Visit hammerhead.io right now and use promo code ROADCC at checkout to get yours.

Episode Artwork Chris Boardman talks e-bikes, road safety, and why Reform UK has made cyclists “nervous” + Is Tadej Pogačar vs Jonas Vingegaard the greatest Tour de France rivalry in history? Bumper TDF preview 53:17 Episode Artwork “Get that bike back in the van!” Tour de France tech tales from the Dauphiné, Factor’s radical bike, and the backlash to new UCI rules + Does Cycle to Work still… work? 1:14:18 Episode Artwork Should brands stop claiming gravel bikes “can go anywhere”? Lawyer discusses £4.5m Planet X fork failure case, its implications for the cycling industry, and the need for transparent marketing + Is Simon Yates one of Britain’s greats after Giro win? 1:14:38 Episode Artwork Why do we keep trying to turn cycling into other sports? Formula Fixed founder on reinventing bike racing for the TikTok generation, “trampling on tradition”, and why “big swings” are better than marginal gains 1:06:30 Episode Artwork “TNT price hike is two fingers to cycling fans”: Ex-WorldTour pros Harry Tanfield and Sophie Wright on going gravel, the future of British bike racing, and why Manchester’s cycle lanes are rubbish + John Stevenson tribute 1:11:58 Episode Artwork “Driving a car is just too easy”: Bikehangar inventor on theft, the need for safe cycle storage, and why “there are too many cars on our streets” 37:52 Episode Artwork What do Donald Trump’s tariffs mean for cycling? We chat to an industry insider about price rises, staying positive, and why the tariffs present an opportunity for UK brands 43:09 Episode Artwork “We’ve made huge strides, but there’s still a long way to go”: Double Olympic champ Kristen Faulkner on Paris, being an outsider, and the growth of women’s cycling + Rainbows, frites, and sunburn at the Tour of Flanders 55:21 Episode Artwork “I’m impartial on everything – except my own safety”: Jeremy Vine on his cycling “radicalisation”, Twitter trolls, the “gaslighting of cyclists”, and why bad streets and bad drivers cause road danger 1:12:47 Episode Artwork Is this the UK’s worst city for cycling? Riding around Belfast’s abysmal bike network (and why drivers should be cycling campaigners’ best friends) + Do cycling culture war stories harm the bike industry? 1:02:15 Episode Artwork “I was more stressed about Tom’s contract than my own!”: Tom Pidcock’s new teammate Rory Townsend on how “maverick” Olympic champ has lifted Q36.5 (and why you shouldn’t drink too much pickle juice) 1:02:37 Episode Artwork “A bike race is complete madness”: David Millar on why cycling is “inherently dangerous”, the demise of CHPT3, and his new Factor role + Is TNT set to destroy cycling in the UK? 54:09 Episode Artwork “Lance Armstrong didn’t invent doping. We all did the best we could”: Levi Leipheimer on coming to terms with cycling’s “grey” past, “making amends”, and why road racing in the US has to “adapt or die” 1:03:38 Episode Artwork Is the cycling industry storm finally over? Why there may be fewer “disaster stories” in 2025 + Where did Adrian Chiles’ e-bike doc go wrong? 1:10:11 Episode Artwork “If you don’t want cycling on footpaths, support bike lanes and 20mph zones”: Town centre cycling bans and the fight against “cowboy” wardens + the year in cycling reviewed 1:20:46 Episode Artwork “You need a billionaire to say ‘I’ll save the sport’. But that won’t happen”: Matt Holmes on why British cycling needs a reset and his journey from WorldTour pro to the “world’s most reluctant YouTuber” + Does cycling have a litter problem? 1:11:04 Episode Artwork “A lot of it was caused by greed”: Factor’s CEO on navigating bike industry chaos, Chris Froome’s set-up complaints, trickle-down track tech, and why rim brakes are never coming back + Scott unveil new superlight Addict RC 1:07:17 Episode Artwork “The idea is to create a positive out of a negative”: Cancer My Arse’s Kev Griffiths on living with stage four cancer, Sir Chris Hoy, and why he’s encouraging everyone to ride out of the saddle for charity + Mark Cavendish’s greatest moments 1:11:37 Episode Artwork “The Tour is the only race that matters. And that’s gone now”: Ned Boulting on the end of free-to-air Tour de France coverage in the UK and why his new show is a piece of theatre 46:14 Episode Artwork Are the cycling culture wars back? And did they ever go away? Plus: What’s next for Tom Pidcock after dramatic Ineos Grenadiers fallout? 1:02:51 Episode Artwork Is Tadej Pogačar the greatest cyclist who’s ever lived? Plus we ask: What the hell’s going on with cycling media in 2024? 1:21:42 Episode Artwork 20 years of Rapha: Co-founder Simon Mottram on tiffs with Team Sky, MAMILs and cycling's skin-suited future 1:18:05 Episode Artwork Ultimate Strava KOM hunting: The painstaking prep that went into bagging THAT Box Hill KOM (plus bonus climbing tips!) 1:15:00 Episode Artwork “I’ve rediscovered my love of cycling”: David Millar and James Carnes of CHPT3 on appealing to every cyclist and designing a commuter shoe you can wear with a suit… and down a Swiss mountain 1:01:05 Episode Artwork “The Tour de France needs to do a proper security review”: Academic behind Shimano electronic gears hacking study on why “it’s hard to tell” if wireless doping has taken place in pro cycling – and why us amateurs shouldn’t be worried 39:46