Humongous Bunting
Out now: Ten years after Yorkshire ruled the cycling world
by Lionel Birnie
It’s ten years since Yorkshire ruled the cycling world, hosting a spectacular grand départ and wowing Christian Prudhomme and the Tour de France hierarchy with the huge crowds, friendly welcome, and, yes, humongous bunting.
I remember Richard Moore, Daniel and I speaking to Prudy after the opening stage and he was basking in the glow of a glorious day. He marvelled at the number of people on the route – and there was still the Côte de Holme Moss to come the next day. His phrase ‘humongous bunting’ ended up on one of our best-selling T-shirts and in a way it came to represent one of the Tour’s great gambles having paid off so handsomely.
The Tour surfed the wave of cycling’s popularity in Britain. It was the second time The Cycling Podcast had covered the race with daily episodes and, after a steady start in 2013, our audience grew to Holme Moss proportions overnight.
And yet there were signs that weekend that we were cresting cycling’s bell curve of popularity. Britain was on top of the cycling world but the London Olympics and Bradley Wiggins’s Tour victory were in the rear-view mirror. At the Dauphiné a few weeks before the Tour, Chris Froome had taken a very visible puff on his inhaler just before the final climb of the stage which, though not against the rules, sparked controversy and questions over where the line lies between medication and doping that cycling has never adequately managed to answer.
The script for the opening weekend was written in advance. Mark Cavendish was going to win the sprint and take the yellow jersey for the first time in his career in Harrogate, his mother’s home town.
Of course, it didn’t turn out like that and, with the benefit of a decade’s hindsight, we can see that the opening weekend in Yorkshire was when Britain collided with cycling’s reality. Five years later, when the World Championships were based in Harrogate it already felt like the glow had dimmed. Yes, it rained most of the week, but there was also the lingering question of Bradley Wiggins’s TUEs and the jiffy bag.
We asked Richard Abraham to look back ten years to when he was Even Younger Richard, and the resulting three-part series called, appropriately enough, Humongous Bunting, is everything I’d hoped it would be. It tells the story of the boom and not-quite-bust of the British cycling bubble. I won’t spoil it because whether you were there or not it captures the weekend and the aftermath brilliantly, putting into context the lasting legacy of Yorkshire 2014 and how cycling in this country, despite its obvious challenges, has not entirely disappeared from whence it came.
Daniel and I make a cameo appearance too, and if you want to listen to the full version of that conversation, you can do so below, together with the astonishing Prudy Humongous Bunting Ibiza megamix, created by DJ Friebos.
Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast to listen to the three-part series.
Daniel and Lionel reflect on the Tour in Yorkshire
How to sign up as a Friend of The Cycling Podcast
There’s an archive of more than 300 episodes on our Friends of the Podcast feed stretching back to 2015, including the back catalogue of KM0 episodes made at the grand tours and the latest series, Humongous Bunting. New episodes are released each month and there will be KM0 episodes from the Tour de France on each of the rest day Mondays.
1. Go here
2. Sign up for a year’s subscription
3. Check your inbox. You will receive an email with instructions for how to add the Friends of the Podcast feed to your preferred podcast app in a few easy steps
4. Press play and start listening. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a subscription to The 11.01 Cappuccino on Substack give access to the Friends of the Podcast episodes?
No. They are two different platforms that can’t be combined. Our KM0 episodes are on the Friends of the Podcast feed, The 11.01 Cappuccino is an email delivered directly to your inbox.
How does signing up support The Cycling Podcast?
The financial support has always been important but it is especially so since a couple of long-term sponsorship deals expired and have not been replaced. Around 10 per cent of our regular audience is an active Friends of the Podcast subscriber. As advertising revenue only goes so far, the support of those listeners plays a huge part in ensuring we can continue to provide our weekly and daily grand tour episodes for everyone to listen to for free. So, as The Cycling Podcast prepares for its 12th Tour de France, a big thank you to everyone who has chosen to subscribe.
Do I have to become a paid subscriber to The 11.01 Cappuccino?
No. It’s totally optional (as is signing up as a Friend of the Podcast) but it might suit listeners who want to support us and keep our regular coverage going but don’t have time to listen to more podcasts or are content with our free episodes. Substack offers the option of smaller, monthly payments which can be paused too.
Our Tour de France schedule
For the first summer since 2005, I am not covering the Tour de France having announced in January my plan to step away from hosting the podcast indefinitely. I’m looking forward to watching the race, listening to the podcast, and travelling vicariously with Graham, Richard and Mitch over the next three weeks.
It marks a significant change – the first Tour de France without one of our founders on the mic – and the first since François Thomazeau, our consummate guide to all things French, retired. As has been the case since 2016, Daniel is out on loan to ITV for the duration of the Tour but will be back for the Vuelta.
We know from our email inbox and social media that some listeners have adapted to the way we’ve evolved since losing our dear friend Richard Moore in 2022 more readily than others. We also know from the first decade of The Cycling Podcast how audio journalism has the capacity to create such strong bonds between podcaster and listener and that losing familiar voices can jar. It takes time for new friendships to form.
We are delighted with the make-up of our Tour de France trio. Mitch Docker has been an effervescent presence since the 2021 Tour. Richard Abraham made his debut last year and, as his KM0 series shows, brings the rigour and eye for detail of the best feature writers to the mic. And for Graham Willgoss it’s not his first rodeo. He hosted The Bradley Wiggins Podcast for Eurosport at the Tour a few years ago and as I joked a few weeks ago, if he can cope with that, he can cope with anything. He’s been at the helm for the past few weeks, has grown into the role, and his calm, reassuring hand will hold everything together brilliantly.
Give them a warm welcome and show what The Cycling Podcast’s community of listeners is all about. If you do have feedback, the place for it is by email to contact@thecyclingpodcast.com. We haven’t the time or resources to respond to social media comments or DMs.
Yes, our coverage has evolved, and will continue to do so, but it will still be unmistakably The Cycling Podcast. We’ve been doing this since 2013 and when I look at the start list for that Tour I see instantly that everything is in a constant state of change. Visma-Lease a Bike were called Belkin, EF Education were Garmin-Sharp and Cofidis were, well, they were Cofidis, although there are no survivors from that line-up in their 2024 team so my point still stands!
As ever, The Cycling Podcast will be in your favourite podcast player every day within a few hours of the riders crossing the finish line. On the two rest day Mondays there’ll be an episode of KM0 too.
It’s going to be a fascinating Tour and I can’t wait to hear what Graham, Richard and Mitch make of it. They got off to a great start with The XL Tour de France Preview episode, our bumper (Speculation Lite) look at the riders, the route and the other notable things to keep an eye out for over the coming three weeks.
Toast the Tour with DVine Cellars
Greg Andrews and the team at DVine Cellars have put together a case of six wines that match the route of the Tour. I’ll be getting my order in today and will look forward to accompanying the race with some of the finest, but most affordable, wines around.
The DVine Cellars 2024 Tour case
• Domaine Dupraz En Route Pour l'Apero Jacquère, Savoie, France
or Domaine Bruno Lupin Roussette Frangy, Savoie, France
• Domaine Corsin, Macon-Villages, Burgundy, France
• Domaine du Salvard, Cheverny Rouge, Gamay & Pinot, Loire Valley, France
• Chateau Paillas 2016 Cahors, France
• Bergerie de L'Hortus Blanc Pic St Loup,  Languedoc, France
• Chateau de L'Escarelle, Les Deux Anges, Provence, France
Stacy Snyder’s Tour de France cups on sale on Sunday
Stacy Snyder’s Tour de France mugs and cappuccino cups will go on sale on from her Etsy store during stage two on Sunday, June 30. The predominantly-yellow design tells the story of the 2024 Tour, featuring the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and La Baie des Anges (or Bay of Angels) shoreline in Nice, which hosts the finish of the race for the first time.
Sunday’s on sale times:
3pm UK
4pm CET
10am US east coast
Join us for a ride in Richard’s memory
Richard Moore’s dad Brian, and Richard’s two brothers Robin and Peter, would like our listeners – and especially Friends of The Cycling Podcast – to join them at West Lothian cycle circuit in Linlithgow, Scotland, on Saturday, July 20, when Mark Beaumont will unveil a plaque, created by Stacy Snyder, in Richard’s memory.
Bring a bike and join us on a few laps of the circuit, wear your Cycling Podcast jersey or casquette, if you have one. If you can’t bring a bike but just want to say hello and have a cup of tea, refreshments will be available. Brian has even promised the sun will be shining!
Saturday, July 20
West Lothian Cycle Circuit
McGinley Way, Linlithgow EH49 6SQ
Circuit open: 10.00 to 13.00
The plaque will be unveiled at 11.00.
The Cycling Podcast is supported by MAAP
A big thank you to MAAP for supporting The Cycling Podcast. Check out the full range of clothing to make you look the part on, and off, the bike at maap.cc