For The Love Of Cycling

Stage 1 of the 2026 Tour de France delivered chaos from the very start in Barcelona, with a fast and technical 19.6km team time trial that opened the race right up.

It was complete carnage for INEOS. A puncture for Kévin Vauquelin, Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman both dropped, and Filippo Ganna left to finish the stage completely alone after riding away from his own teammates. Despite setting a time 30 seconds faster than Mathieu van der Poel, it still wasn’t enough for the win.

The shock came from Visma. After questions over their team time trial strength coming in without Wout Van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard and his team delivered a huge statement ride to take Stage 1 - with Vingegaard beating Ganna by 7 seconds to claim the first yellow jersey. Was anyone expecting that?

Plus: our Muc-Off Moment of the Day, a look ahead to Stage 2 and an inside scoop on EF Education Easy Post’s new aero helmet designed by POC.

🎶 Music courtesy of BMG Production Music

🏅For The Love Of Cycling is presented by ⁠Science in Sport.⁠

🚴‍♂️Head to muc-off.com/ and use code FTLOC20 for 20% off

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tour de France is here and For The Love Of Cycling is on the ground.

In this special episode, Ned Boulting, Lizzie Deignan and Pete Kennaugh record from inside the XDS-Astana team bus on the eve of Stage 1, bringing you right into the heart of the biggest race in cycling.

With Pete now working as a DS for Astana, the team gets a rare behind-the-scenes look at the atmosphere inside a Tour de France setup before racing begins, as they catch up, talk through the opening team time trial in Barcelona, and discuss what Stage 1 could mean for the general classification battle.

How much can teams gain (or lose) in the opening TTT? Who does the route favour? And what is the mood like inside a team bus just hours before the Tour gets underway?

It’s part race preview, part reunion, and part all-access look at life inside the Tour de France.

And this is just the start - For The Love Of Cycling will be bringing you daily episodes from the road throughout the Tour, with Ned and the team following the race across France.

Subscribe now and come with us for every stage.

🎶 Music courtesy of BMG Production Music

🏅Presented by Science in Sport: https://www.scienceinsport.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The biggest race in cycling is here.

With just days to go until the 2026 Tour de France rolls out from Barcelona, Ned Boulting, David Millar, Lizzie Deignan and Pete Kennaugh break down everything you need to know ahead of this year’s race.

Can Tadej Pogačar make history with a fifth Tour de France title and join the legendary ranks of Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain? And if he does, is there anyone in the current peloton capable of stopping him?

The team dives into this year’s route - from the opening team time trial in Barcelona to brutal mountain stages featuring Alpe d’Huez, the Galibier and the Tourmalet - and debates how the parcours could shape the battle for yellow.

They also analyse the stacked start list: UAE’s powerhouse squad, Visma’s bold Giro-to-Tour strategy, Remco Evenepoel and Red Bull’s options, and Lidl-Trek’s hunt for stage wins.

Plus, David, Lizzie and Pete share their own Tour de France experiences from wearing yellow and riding as a domestique to what it really takes to survive the biggest race in the world.

And this year, For The Love Of Cycling is on the road. Ned and David will be bringing you daily post-stage episodes from across France, recording from the race itself and bringing you closer to the Tour than ever before.

Subscribe now and follow For The Love Of Cycling for daily Tour de France coverage throughout July.

🚙 Get 20% off your first carVertical report - or 50% off a full bundle - using the code FORTHELOVEOFCYCLING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQFMf_2pe8U

For The Love Of Cycling is presented by ⁠Science in Sport.⁠

This episode of For The Love Of Cycling is sponsored by Bikmo cycle insurance. Protect your ride before it’s too late.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tadej Pogačar once again proved why he's the man to beat, dominating the Tour de Suisse with three stage victories and the general classification.

Ned Boulting, David Millar, Lizzie Deignan and Pete Kennaugh break down every key moment from the men's race, from Pogačar's astonishing long-range attacks and time trial victory to the performances of Richard Carapaz, Mathias Vacek, Mathieu van der Poel and the breakaway winners who briefly stole the spotlight.

The team also turns its attention to a thrilling and far less predictable women's Tour de Suisse. Marlen Reusser secured the race for the third time in her career after a dominant time trial and final-stage performance, while Elisa Longo Borghini, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Cédrine Kerbaol and rising star Lauren Dickson all played major roles in an action-packed week of racing.

Plus, the panel discusses dramatic crashes, wrong turns, breakthrough rides, and the biggest stories from Switzerland as the road cycling season builds towards its biggest races.

For The Love Of Cycling is presented by ⁠Science in Sport.⁠

This episode of For The Love Of Cycling is sponsored by Bikmo cycle insurance. Protect your ride before it’s too late.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All eyes were on one rider going into the Dauphine 2026 (or Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes 2026). By the time it was over, the actual winner has us wondering why on earth we hadn't always known he'd win.

Ned Boulting, David Millar and Pete Kennaugh break down every stage of what turned out to be one of the most revealing weeks of racing before the Tour de France.

Pete was on the ground as a DS, and gives us the inside scoop on what it was like from the best seat in the house.

The race might've left us with more questions than answers when it comes to the Tour de France in July: Is Paul Seixas ready for the pressure of being France's next Tour winner? Is Isaac Del Toro's a GC contender for the Tour himself, or is he purely there in services of Tadej Pogacar? And why is Pete in a river?

Oh, and it's Pete's birthday!

For The Love Of Cycling is presented by ⁠Science in Sport.⁠

This episode of For The Love Of Cycling is sponsored by Bikmo cycle insurance. Protect your ride before it’s too late.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices