Who had a year to forget?

Daniel, Rob and Richard look at the teams and riders who can't wait for 2025 to arrive

After the good, the bad. This week’s episode focuses on the teams and riders for whom 2025 cannot come soon enough. Daniel is again joined by Rob Hatch (more about him later) and Richard Abraham to weigh up who had a year to forget. With Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates dominating to such an extent, Alpecin-Deceuninck sweeping up at the early spring Classics, and Primož Roglič winning the Vuelta for a record-equalling fourth time while his Visma-Lease A Bike teammates grabbed a handful of other stage races and Classics, there were relatively few crumbs available to the remaining 15 World Tour teams. But some teams performed well below expectations and will be eager to turn a leaf and put 2024 behind them. It’s over to Daniel and the team for the second part of our end-of-term report before the eclectic review of 2024 continues next week.

Friends of the Podcast 2024 – a big thank you

by Lionel Birnie

In January we will mark the 10th anniversary of the creation of our Friends of the Podcast programme, which was a breakthrough moment in the development of The Cycling Podcast. Through the second half of 2014, Richard Moore and I had been debating different ways to fund the podcast. The internet had made a lot of content free but we knew that good content would cost money to produce. Heck, even bad content costs money to produce! But we had faith that people would pay to support things they liked and enjoyed.

There was a problem, though, Apple – then by far the dominant podcast platform – did not offer a way to charge money for podcasts. There was no demand – or not enough demand – apparently. There were some alternatives – platforms that were not podcast-specific but did allow creators to charge for their work, or crowdfunding – but neither appealed to us. They didn’t fit the spirit of The Cycling Podcast.

We had a false start setting up a paywalled feed, which still haunts me to this day, when we created a private channel that turned out to be as secure as a string vest, defeating the object entirely.

So, we investigated the possibility of building our own payment platform for the podcast. A friend of Richard’s ran a tech company called Intelligent Mobile and they built us a platform to host the Friends of the Podcast episodes. There were a lot of long meetings where we explained what we wanted to do, and they explained the limitations of the tech, or more to the point the limitations of the tech available to our meagre budget. Achieving simplicity on the internet was complicated – who knew?!

But, eventually, the platform was built. It couldn’t offer the one-click access we’re used to today because, in a way, Intelligent Mobile were breaking new ground, but it worked.

The editorial idea was simple – for a small payment we’d make an additional 11 episodes for subscribers. For the first episode, Five Years of Team Sky, we were given access to a BBC recording studio by one of our producers and Richard, Daniel and I recorded our round-table discussion before going to the pub for a post-match debrief. That first episode is still the first one on our Friends of the Podcast feed today.

I can’t pretend we didn’t have some headaches, sleepless nights and cold sweats about whether the system would work and whether people would even be prepared to pay for podcasts.

Richard suggested we call the series ‘Friends of the Podcast’ because, in the course of all our debates about whether it was wise to charge money for something we also delivered weekly for free, we also recognised that there was a desire from listeners to support our work.

The Intelligent Mobile system served us well for several years but the podcasting landscape evolved rapidly and towards the end of 2019 a company called Supporting Cast came along offering a simpler system that would integrate with all major podcast platforms including Apple, and later Spotify, seamlessly. In a couple of clicks you can subscribe and listen to the Friends of the Podcast episodes in your preferred player.

There was another existential crisis – whether our Friends would follow us, but you did, and the system has gone from strength to strength. Last year, we had a bit of a sort out and merged our KM0 archive with the Friends of the Podcast feed so that all 300+ episodes recorded between 2015 and now are in the same place.

The support we get from our Friends of the Podcast (and those who choose the option to support us by becoming paid subscribers to The 11.01 Cappuccino) is as important today as it was in 2015 – more so, actually.

An annual subscription costs less than buying one artisan afternoon cappuccino a month and it gives access to that archive packed full of episodes, many of which do stand up to a re-listen every now and then. Each year we add at least 11 new episodes – this year we’ve actually released 17 KM0 episodes for subscribers, including our first foray into video with KM0 Live. (Below is a complete list of this year’s episodes).

We know from your feedback that many friends subscribe not just to listen to the additional episodes but to support the rest of our coverage released throughout the year, which we are determined to keep free for all to enjoy. Around 10-12 per cent of our regular audience subscribe as a Friend, which is a terrific percentage and we are thankful to every single one of you because that support has kept the show on the road, in a literal sense. We have a number of founding Friends, people who have supported us from day one, which is an incredible commitment to us and the podcast, but equally we appreciate every single bit of support we get, whether you renew year-after-year or sign up for a month every now and then to listen to something specific. From Daniel and me, thank you.

Coming soon, exclusively for Friends of the Podcast subscribers
The Cannibal & Badger – our virtual pub opens its doors for all Friends of the Podcast to drop in and discuss the sport and the podcast with fellow listeners. No billionaire owners altering the algorithms, no ticks (blue or otherwise), no bots. Just a friendly space to meet and talk cycling. Hot, frothy cappuccinos served round-the-clock (because it’s always before 11am somewhere in the world). Pull up a chair and introduce yourself on opening day. More details next week.

The 2024 Friends of the Podcast series

1. Classicissima – Springtime in Sanremo
   Lionel’s four-part series telling the story of the opening Classic of the season

2. Diary of a CEO
   Daniel’s conversation with new Ineos Grenadiers CEO John Allert

3. How to Become a Pro Cyclist & How to Become an Ex-Pro Cyclist
   Twin episodes featuring Jack Burke and Joe Dobrowski about the journey into, and out of, the professional ranks

4. Grande Torino
   On the eve of the Giro d’Italia’s grande partenza in Turin, Daniel tells the story of arguably the country’s finest sports team – and its untimely demise

5. KM0 Live: Girovagando 2024
   Our first virtual live event with Daniel, Joe Dombrowski and Larry Warbasse talking all things Italy

6. Love & Other Drugs
   The story of Marco Pantani’s 1998 Giro-Tour double, a feat that Tadej Pogačar was aiming to repeat

7. Sierra Alpha
   Fran Reyes takes us behind-the-scenes at Pogačar’s pre-Giro training camp

8. Sugar Rush
   How the so-called ‘carb revolution’ has transformed fuelling techniques and performance

9. Tappone
   Daniel and Brian on the origins and phenomenon of the Giro’s ‘Queen Stage’

10. Humongous Bunting
    A three-part series from Richard Abraham looking back a decade to the weekend when Yorkshire hosted the Tour de France grand départ and ruled the cycling world

11. Dust Gets In Your Eyes
    Mitch, Graham and Richard’s eyewitness account of the Tour de France’s appointment with the gravel

12. Room Mates
    We go behind the bedroom door to explore one of the quirkier aspects of life on the road as a professional cyclist – sharing a bedroom with a teammate

13. April 1974
    With the Vuelta starting in Lisbon, this is the extraordinary story of the 1974 race, almost won by a Portuguese rider Joaquim Agostinho, which coincided with the ‘Carnation Revolution’ and a military coup that ended half-a-century of dictatorship

14. Svein & Suffering
    Exploring professional cycling’s relationship with suffering through the eyes of former Canadian rider Svein Tuft

15. The Lynx’s Last Dance
    At the end of the Vuelta, Luis Ángel Maté called time on his pro career at the age of 40. This is his story

16. KM0 Live: The Home of Cycling 10-Year Reunion
    Former roommates Daniel Friebe and Rob Hatch host a lighthearted end-of-season virtual live event and viewer Q&A

17. The Class of ’04
    Telling the origin story of the British Cycling Academy which produced a Tour de France champion, the all-time record Tour de France stage winner, and a multiple Olympic champion from its first intake.

Congratulations Rob

Congratulations to Rob Hatch on being named Sports Commentator of the Year at the glitzy Broadcast Sport Awards ceremony at the Park Lane Hilton in London last night. Rob topped a shortlist of some of the finest voices in sport – all authoritative, expert commentators in their own right – for his work in cycling covering the Grand Tours, Olympic Games and track cycling for Eurosport and Discovery.

Rob is also a familiar voice – albeit with his natural Lancastrian accent – on The Cycling Podcast, having made his debut appearance with Richard, Daniel and me almost a decade ago in December 2014.

Sports commentary is hard and those who are good at it make it sound easy – so easy, in fact, that we all think we could do it better. I can say with certainty that it is a lot harder than Rob makes it sound. Several years ago, I had a try-out in the commentary hotseat – an experience that still makes my cheeks flush red at the memory of how bad I was when the mic was in my hand and the action was unfolding too quickly for my eyes, brain and mouth to process.

Rob is one of the very best – he wears his meticulous research lightly, talks to the pictures on the screen, adding to what the viewer can see, and bringing the best out of his co-commentators, all while keeping tabs on the race situation and the stories that are breaking before his eyes. We’re all very proud that Rob has been recognised by his peers in sports broadcasting and reckon his big ‘B’ trophy will look great next to ‘Marco Plantani’ the Yucca plant, at the Home of Cycling.

The Grand Tour Diaries – Last copies available

I’ve been having a sort out at Podcast HQ and counted up the last remaining copies of our book The Grand Tour Diaries, which covers the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The diaries, written by me, Daniel, Orla, François and Richard cover the Giro, Tour, Vuelta and Women’s Tours we covered, documenting the adventures – and misadventures – of life on the road, the hotels, the food, and even some of the cycling.

There are 97 copies left and if you’d like a physical copy of the book in time for Christmas, order now. I’ll sign and send them out with a free gift (while stocks last). Hurry, because we need the cupboard space here in Not Watford!

The 12 Hills of Christmas

Friend of the Podcast Laurent Audibert is inviting listeners to join him riding the 12 Hills of Christmas route on Sunday, December 8 in memory of our friend Richard Moore. Last year Laurent was joined by a dozen riders to tackle the route, starting and finishing in Redbourn, Hertfordshire.

The route was devised by my friend Andrew Brown and, as the name suggests, it takes in 12 hills which are all very close to each other on the Hertfordshire-Bedfordshire border in the Chilterns. It’s around 90 kilometres and there’s the opportunity to take a mid-ride break at the Dunstable Downs visitor centre. The route is all on-road but the British winter conditions also suit a gravel bike with quick tyres.

Laurent will be setting off from The Hub cafe in Redbourn High Street at 9am on Sunday, December 8. Everyone is welcome to join the ride and donations to the British Heart Foundation are appreciated. Santa hats, tinsel and other Christmas decorations optional.

If you want to listen to the original 12 Hills of Christmas episode of Explore I made, you can do so here. There’s also a link to a GPX file of the route in the show notes.

Below is a video Friend of the Podcast Matt Lister made when he rode the course in 2022.