Tour de France, Concussion and ‘Life and Death: A Cycling Memoir’ with Dr Bridie O'Donnell episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 30, 2026 · 47 MIN

Tour de France, Concussion and ‘Life and Death: A Cycling Memoir’ with Dr Bridie O'Donnell

from Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast · host Reece Granger

Send us Fan MailDr Bridie O'Donnell is a valedictorian graduate of the University of Queensland Medical School who paused her medical career to become one of Australia's most accomplished cyclists. A multiple-time Australian National Time Trial Champion, she represented Australia on the international stage for more than a decade, racing for the national team in Europe and competing at three UCI Road World Championships as well as the Commonwealth Games. In 2016, at the age of 41, she made cycling history by setting the UCI Women's Hour World Record, covering 46.882 kilometres at the Adelaide Super-Drome. Beyond competition, Dr O'Donnell has become one of Australia's most influential voices in sport—as a leading advocate for women in cycling and high-performance sport, a broadcasting pioneer who became the first woman to commentate the Tour de France for SBS, and the author of Life and Death: A Cycling Memoir. She has also served in senior leadership roles in sport, including as Head of Sport at the Victorian Institute of Sport and Chair of the independent review into Australian cycling. 01:30 – Journey into Medicine and Professional Cycling 04:30 – Mentality of Entering as Older Athlete07:00 – Approaching Professionalism 10:10 – Reconciling Injury form Athlete vs Doctor Point of Views16:30 – Functioning on Low Caloric Intake18:40 – Tour de France, Current Cycling HIA Protocol’s, Addressing Cycling Injuries 27:40 – Course Surfaces and Selection, 32:30 – Power Imbalances and Women in Sports39:45 – Dr O’Donnell UCI Record 42:30 - Favourite Moments From her Career   Dr Bridie O'Donnell@bridie_odBook: Life and Death: Bridie O'Donnell: a Cycling MemoirTwitter: @first concussionFacebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcastInstagram: Headfirst_ Concussion  Email: [email protected]

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 30, 2026

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Send us Fan Mail Dr Bridie O'Donnell is a valedictorian graduate of the University of Queensland Medical School who paused her medical career to become one of Australia's most accomplished cyclists. A multiple-time Australian National Time Trial Champion, she represented Australia on the international stage for more than a decade, racing for the national team in Europe and competing at three UCI Road World Championships as well as the Commonwealth Games. In 2016, at the age of 41, she made cy...

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Tour de France, Concussion and ‘Life and Death: A Cycling Memoir’ with Dr Bridie O'Donnell

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