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16 of the best cycling podcasts you should be listening to in 2024
Want to lose yourself in a world of bike-based banter, pedal-powered pursuits and stories from the saddle? These podcasts have you covered.
Whether you're looking for something to listen to at home while working or even when out on the bike, podcasts are a great way of getting to know more about your favourite sport and the characters within them.
From inspirational stories to the latest professional cycling news, as well as industry insiders digging deep into some of the sport's difficult questions, there really is a cycling podcast out there for you.
All the podcasts featured on this list can be found on Spotify and most podcast platforms, including Apple, Acast, Google and more.
01
Just Ride
49 min
Geraint Thomas on winning and surviving at the top
In 2024, Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas will be competing in the Giro d'italia and his 12th Tour de France.
Just Ride is a cycling podcast show from Red Bull that aims to share stories of adventure, achievement, determination, adversity and fun on all things two-wheeled. Hosted by mountain biking legends Rob Warner and Eliot Jackson, the podcast is available in video or audio-only formats and embraces all cycling disciplines and the personalities that live within them.
We're now into the second season of Just RIde. Guests slated to appear this season include Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, six-time MTB downhill world champion Rachel Atherton, urban downhill specialist Tomáš Slavík, former women's pro cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten and endurance cyclist Lael Wilcox.
No matter if you’re a mountain biker, roadie, BMXer, graveller, bikepacker or you just love commuting, this podcast is for people who love the thrill and freedom of cycling.
02
Beyond the Ordinary
In the Beyond the Ordinary podcast series from Red Bull, we get to meet the people pushing the boundaries of sport, adventure, gaming and culture to find out what makes them tick.
Beyond the Ordinary premiere episode of its third season featured the story of Khothalang Leuta, a girl from a small village in Africa who went from riding for fun on a pump track near her home in Lesotho to competing in the Red Bull Pump Track World Championships in Lisbon in 2021. We learn more about Leuta's journey in this episode.
Leuta's story is not the only bike-related podcast in the Beyond the Ordinary series. You can listen to mountain bike downhill athletes Valentina Höll and Rachel Atherton sharing their experiences of what's it's like to be at the top of their sport and what they do to be successful, and also hear from Australian BMX race star Saya Sakakibara on how family has helped her forge a career in the bike discipline.
03
Red Bull Basement Sessions
Red Bull Basement is an initiative that aims to empower student innovators to kickstart their ideas using technology to drive positive change. The accompanying podcast series Red Bull Basement Sessions sees global innovators, entrepreneurs and athletes share their mindset, motivations and what it takes to make a difference in a bid to inspire those student innovators.
Two bike athletes of note have featured in the podcast series. Fabio Wibmer reveals more about his career, where his inspiration comes from and how he stands out from the crowd. In the embedded clip above Mariana Pajón shares how she's discovered mindfulness and how she uses a mental coach to help her with tools for life and in her sport.
04
The Adventure Stache
US professional mountain biker Payson McElveen has a reputation of being a bit of a talker, willing to engage with fellow competitors, fans, in fact, anyone in the biking community whenever he races. So it's no surprise that the two-time US national champion in marathon mountain bike has had a well-established podcast on the go since 2019.
In his podcast, The Adventure Stache, McElveen sits down with some of the biggest names in biking, sports and adventure to get an inside look at what sets them apart. Most recently, McElveen documented his backpacking trip to Iceland in September 2021.
Bike pros who have joined McElveen for a chat include Valentina Höll, Kate Courtney, Gary Fisher, Jill Kintner, Gwen Jorgensen, Ellen Noble, Brook Macdonald and Carson Storch. There are also podcast episodes featuring climbers Sasha DiGiulian and Tommy Caldwell.
05
Decoding Athletes
Professional BMX rider and eight-time Flatland world champion Matthias Dandois swaps his bike for a microphone to host a podcast series, Decoding Athletes. Wherever Dandois travels around the world for his sport, he always gets asked: how do you become a professional athlete? The Decoding Athletes podcast seeks to find answers to that question by interviewing a bunch of top action sports athletes from all around the world. Find out more about Decoding Athletes from the Frenchman himself here.
The very first episode of the podcast sees Dandois interview trials legend Danny MacAskill. Dandois and MacAskill discuss the Scottish rider's career in a wide-ranging chat. Further episodes include cyclist Patrick Seabase, fellow BMX flatlander Terry Adams, rally driver Cyril Despres, FMX rider Tom Pagès, snowboarder Scotty James and explorer Mike Horn.
06
Bikes & Big Ideas
Bikes & Big Ideas is a weekly podcast that's dedicated to the most interesting conversations, issues, stories and ideas from the bike world. The podcast is a product of the Blister Podcast Network that also looks at stories and issues in snow sports, climbing and running.
The podcast host Jonathan Ellsworth is sometimes joined by Claudio Caluori to discuss mountain bike matters. Athletes featured include Mick Hannah, Valentina Höll, Greg Minnaar, Hannah Bergemann, Carson Storch and Casey Brown.
07
How to Be Superhuman
Extraordinary tales from cyclists and other extreme athletes from around the world, How to Be Superhuman is a new podcast offering that's certainly one for those endurance junkies. Hosted by the man who broke the record for running across the United States of America, Rob Pope, the interview-style show includes runners, cyclists, swimmers, mountaineers and more, who are all linked by the pursuit of pushing the limit of the human body.
Episodes include guests Mark Beaumont, who broke the round-the-world cycling record by bike, Jenny Graham who broke the female world record for cycling around the globe unsupported, Mollie Hughes on being the youngest woman to scale both sides of Mount Everest at age 26 and ultrarunner Jasmin Paris on taking the overall win at the brutal 430km Spine Race.
08
Downtime: The Mountain Bike Podcast
UK-based mountain biker Chris Hall founded the Downtime podcast in 2018 in an attempt to share the advice and training tips that he was learning from strength and skills coaches as he sought to improve his riding.
Having interviewed a huge range of individuals – from World Cup athletes such as Loïc Bruni and Tahnée Seagrave to videographers, bike park owners, physios, strength and conditioning coaches and mechanics – Hall's podcast is a go-to for any aspiring downhill mountain biker.
From new episodes to the huge back catalogue of fascinating interviews, this is a great place to learn more about what happens behind the scenes at both local and world-class levels of the sport.
09
Moving the Needle: The Andrew Neethling Podcast
Former mountain bike downhill pro Andrew Neethling leads this podcast that aims to pick the minds of mountain bike and BMX personalities. Neethling and his guests discuss their sport and the hot topics and issues that are part of it, with Neethling also delving into the careers of the individuals themselves to see what make them tick. You'll certainly be treated to stories of an athlete's early beginnings on a bike, stories of adversity and candid stories of professional cyclists lives.
10
The Cycling Podcast
Perhaps one of the longest-established podcasts in the cycling genre, The Cycling Podcast is a professional road-racing orientated show hosted by the incredibly knowledgeable Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe.
Although the original show started back in 2013, there are now several different series within its roster, including the women's pro-peloton-focused The Cycling Podcast Féminin, presented by Orla Chennaoui and the Service Course series on cycling technology from Tom Whalley.
11
The Slow Ride Podcast
A cycling podcast that will get you laughing as well importantly discussing the finer qualities of all things bicycles, cycling culture and bike racing. The three hosts's discussions cut across many a bicycling discipline for an enjoyable hour of cycling chit-chat.
12
Make Up The Numbers
Making Up The Numbers is entirely focused on the Mercedes-Benz Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup. Hosted by George Thompson, the podcast reviews the action from every stop of the World Cup season and features post-race interviews with some of the world's fastest downhill mountain bikers.
There are three seasons worth of content from 2019 to 2022 to listen to, and expect more episodes when the downhill World Cup season kicks into gear again in March 2023.
13
Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast
This is another podcast that is purely mountain bike themed. Host Jeff Barber, the Editor-in-Chief at Singletracks, shares stories, discusses issues and interviews personalities from the mountain bike world, including athletes, trail builders, coaches, mechanics and industry leaders.
14
The Ride Companion
The UK-based Ride Companion markets itself as the podcast that forgets to talk about mountain biking, and this at times is very true as hosts Davi Birks and British mountain bike pro Olly Wilkins go off-topic into tangents that aren't always related to riding bikes. It is however mainly mountain bike focused but there is the odd dip into other sports like motocross and freestyle snowboarding.
15
Faster Cycling
In a similar vein to the Zwift PowerUp podcast above, Faster Cycling gets into the nitty gritty of cycling training and very much the geeky details that will tell you how to get faster. It's not all about road cycling here either with the podcast looking to educate on training methods for triathlon, gravel cycling and mountain biking.
16
Why I Run
The Why I Run podcast as you can guess is not about biking or cycling but it does look at how athletes use running as a means to help them in their own sport discipline as well as celebrate the extraordinary and everyday stories of running.
BMX flatland athlete Matthias Dandois uses running for cardio exercise to keep his energy high for competition and demonstration meets and he explains here how he developed the habit in an episode of the podcast that he shares with runner Hellah Sidibe.
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