Škoda We Love Cycling Podcast

Join Matt Stephens for a  chat with MTB legend Thomas Frischknecht – rider, coach, and Team Director of SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing. From his early World Cup wins and Olympic medal to mentoring Nino Schurter, Thomas shares insights on the evolution of mountain biking, coaching the next generation, and keeping the sport fun.

‘Tis the season for muddy trails and rocky descents! In this episode of the Škoda We Love Cycling podcast, Matt chats with Kathrin Stirnemann – former pro cyclist, two-time world champion, and now coach of the Swiss women’s MTB teams. They talk about the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, the unique spirit of MTB fans, the joy of muddy rides, and Kathrin’s passion for guiding the next generation of riders.

It’s undeniable that the fandom of any sporting event massively contributes to its atmosphere and popularity – and the Tour de France sits among the few perfect examples of that. That’s why Matt Stephens invited another special guest to the Škoda We Love Cycling virtual podcast studio, counted amongst the “boots on the ground” taking care of the fan experience of the Tour. Meet Simon Donnellan.

With the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift swiftly approaching, our host Matt Stephens wanted to explore more of our current theme for both events – Tour fandom and its specific flavours. The commitment and creativity of fans on site and the enthusiasm of those watching at home are essential to the myth of the Tour and worth looking into further.

In this episode of the Škoda We Love Cycling podcast, Matt Stephens sits down with Mateusz to explore life behind the scenes as a pro team mechanic. From race-day chaos to career milestones, hear what it really takes to keep a WorldTour team rolling. Tune in for insider stories and a fresh perspective on pro cycling.

Matt Stephens had the enormous pleasure of welcoming the ever-insightful and candid Connie Carpenter-Phinney into our digital interview room. Connie is a former Olympic gold medallist in cycling and speed skating, and she also won one gold, two silver, and one bronze at the World Cycling Championships — both on the road and track — in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Today’s episode of the Škoda We Love Cycling podcast is all about nutrition at the pro cycling level. Staying on top of every rider’s ideal fuelling needs during Grand Tours, Classics, World Championships, or training camps requires extensive knowledge, organizational skills, a love for food science, and a pinch of alchemy. Matt Stephens invites Matti Stiens and Kristof De Kegel to walk us through the inner workings of crafting the perfect diet strategy for some of the world’s best cyclists.

Another guest to accept Matt Stephen’s invitation to the Škoda We Love Cycling virtual podcast studio is Saoirse Pottie. Saoirse is one of our new content creators and a prolific, unstoppable Northern Irish bikepacker. Her “chaotic cycling adventures” take place across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, and many other African countries, with the newest additions being South America’s Argentina and Chile. Some of her most stunning feats include reaching the Equator Crossing and the world’s southernmost city, Ushuaia, by bike.

Just in time for the upcoming UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium, Matt Stephens invited into his virtual studio his fellow Brit and our regular collaborator and in-house expert Juliet Elliott, a versatile cyclist with a knack for joining cycling disciplines in their fun and amateurish beginnings and then watching them get “professionalised”. One such discipline is, obviously, gravel – the current talk of the cycling town. With Matt, Juliet discussed her growing infatuation with gravel, the prep, the gear, and important racing events.

The final Grand Tour of the season, La Vuelta a España, is upon us so it’s naturally the talk of the town of the wider cycling community – including our podcast host Matt Stephens. Matt welcomed none other than Alberto Contador in his virtual studio to discuss not only the race itself but also its scenic and climbing-rich backdrop, the Spanish landscape and nature, and the cultural significance of La Vuelta.

In another episode of the We Love Cycling Podcast focused on the personal stories and cherished memories made at the Tour de France, Matt Stephens welcomed in his virtual studio Kasia Niewiadoma, a talented and insightful young pro. Welcome to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift special edition.

It’s impossible to love road cycling and its history without stumbling upon thedecorated name of Stephen Roche. Matt Stephens comes face to face with the Irishlegend. Catching up with Stephen in his home in Antibes, France, they relived theintense emotional relationship the former pro still has with the Tour.

With the 2024 Tour de France drawing ever so near, the road-cycling fandom isalready in the grips of the race’s allure. Since we are focused on deeply personalexperiences, memories, and connections with the Tour this year, Matt Stephens alsomade this podcast instalment into a Tour de France special. The guest today isBiniam Girmay and the topic is the Tour made personal.

As his next guest on the We Love Cycling Podcast, Matt Stephens welcomed James Knox, a professional road racing cyclist from Great Britain, currently riding for UCI WorldTeam Soudal Quick-Step.The 28-year-old rider hails from Levens, a small town in the county of Cumbria, UK. The first move Knox made towards the pro cycling world can be traced to 2017 when he came second in the under-23 version of Liège–Bastogne–Liège. In September of that year, Soudal Quick-Step (then Quick-Step Floors) announced that Knox would turn professional with the team for the 2018 season, and he still remains with them today. Knox has built a reputation as a solid climber ever since his junior days when he won the National Hill Climb Championships. Over the years, he proved he’s cut for both hilly one-day and stage races, based on his U23 results. In 2019, he was named in the startlist for both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. In the latter, he was in the general classification Top 10 with two stages to go, however, he lost 11 minutes on the penultimate stage after crashing the day before, eventually finishing in 11th place. In 2023, he concluded eighth at a very tough edition of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, and rode to silver in some gnarly conditions at the National Championships of last year – before contributing to the team’s excellent and unforgettable Vuelta a España,In a lively chat between two British compatriots, Matt and James discussed future ambition, his first-ever Grand Tour – the fateful 2019 La Vuelta, the significance of altitude training in current cycling trends, finding one’s place in the team’s hierarchy, the importance of realistically and honestly assessing one’s skills, being in a team with some of the world’s best riders (think Remco Evenepoel), and more.Make yourself a nice brew and tune in for another episode.

In this episode of the We Love Cycling podcast, Matt Stephens is revisiting one legendary pro career that just recently reached its conclusion. In his virtual studio, he welcomed Zdeněk Štybar, a Czech native and a road cycling and cyclo-cross household name.

Tom Southam is a British former competitive cyclist from Penzance, Cornwall, who competed professionally between 2003 and 2011, finishing his career with the team Rapha Condor. His racing highlights include representing Great Britain in five World Championships and getting silver in two, and riding in several UCI ProTour events. Since the end of his pro-cycling career, he served as a DS for several teams, namely Drapac Professional Cycling or Cannondale-Drapac before sticking with multiple iterations of what later became his current team, EF Education-EasyPost.Outside of his hands-on involvement with the sport, Southam also co-wrote the book Domestique: The True Life Ups and Downs of a Tour Pro with former team-mate Charly Wegelius and has written for magazines such as Rouleur and Procycling, putting his master’s degree in Professional Writing from University College Falmouth to use.With Matt, they took a deep dive into his decorated pro-cycling past and directeur sportif present, discussed a DS’s best and second-best quality, staying on top of things in the sport’s rapidly changing landscape, how building a robust relationship with the riders also means them being comfortable hearing they did something wrong, favourite 2023 season racing moments and more.

James Shaw, full name James Callum Shaw, is a 27-year-old British road racing cyclist, currently riding for UCI WorldTeam EF Education–EasyPost. His previous teams included Belgian UCI WorldTeam Lotto–Soudal, SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling and Riwal Securitas. James has consistently showcased impressive performances as a General Classification (GC) rider, notably in the 2021 Tour of Slovenia and Tour of Norway. However, he holds a special affection for the Ardennes Classics races. Deeply passionate about the history of cycling, he often draws inspiration and pride from reflecting on past riders. In 2022, James completed his inaugural grand tour at the Vuelta and is eagerly looking forward to participating in more.Throughout the year, his residence is in the Peak District in England. When not racing or training, James unwinds by taking his dogs on extended walks across the moors and enjoys cycling outings with former club friends. Even with his packed racing and training regimen, James relishes any opportunity he gets to attach a trailer to his bicycle for bikepacking adventures.In this podcast episode, Matt and James went over his unusual and rollercoaster-like career trajectory, how the legendary John Barclay played a role in James’ introduction to pro cycling, recent top 10 placements in Grand Tours, the struggle of securing a steady team placement during difficult times and more.

This time, Matt Stephens chatted up his compatriot and fellow ex-pro rider Steve Cummings who kept close to the sport – and especially to the Tour de France – after his retirement.

At the beginning of June, the streaming platform Netflix released its new docuseries Tour de France: Unchained. With a stellar rating of 8.3 on IMDb, the series obviously gained droves of dedicated fans who were enthralled by the oftentimes chaotic and drama-filled side of pro cycling. The eight-episode programme chronicles the journey of eight pro teams through the 2022 Tour de France with all their ups and downs.In Yann’s words, the series mainly aimed to illuminate to a broader audience how the person on the Tour de France winner’s podium is just a pinnacle of immense collective effort. To offer raw, real and unguarded moments the viewers rarely get to see and to offer a more humane and personal look at the riders and their backgrounds and motivations. In total, the first season took over three years to prepare and shoot and the final result truly shows the amount of care and diligence that went into it.In this episode of the We Love Cycling podcast, Matt and Yann spoke at length about the total genesis of the project, gaining the trust of the teams and organisers, discovering the storytelling side of cycling and identifying its unique characters, finding points of view nobody thought of before, and much more.Sit back, hit play, and enjoy!

This time, Matt Stephens caught up with young American professional road cyclist Matteo Jorgenson from California, USA, riding for the UCI WorldTeam Movistar Team.Jorgenson perfectly depicts how often it becomes really hard for US riders to gain a place in the European peloton. After many efforts and several journeys to the continent, Matteo ended up at the AG2R Chambéry team, the development squad of the French WorldTour team where he finally had the chance to shine – and so he did.Building on two previous years when he caught the cycling world’s attention, in the 2023 season so far, he added to his results by being in a top 10 in both Paris-Nice and Tour of Flanders, finished second overall in the Tour of Romandie, and placed first overall in the Tour of Oman.

Fred Wright is a British professional cyclist, originally from southeast London, currently riding for Team Bahrain Victorious, which recruited him in 2019. He began his career as a track cyclist, winning a gold medal in the team pursuit at the 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. During his road cycling career, for example, Wright won stage four of the 2020 Giro d'Italia Virtual, came first in the 2021 National Under-23 Championships, and 2022 marked his breakthrough year as he took top-10s in both the Tour de France and the Tour of Flanders. So far in his career, he has shown his talent in both one-day races and stage races, and is considered a rising star in the sport with sprint as his speciality.

Rebecca Charlton is a TV presenter, NCTJ-accredited journalist, author, public speaker, magazine contributor, and voice artist. She has written two books on cycling and can be found presenting and commentating on channels including Eurosport, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. Rebecca is also the lead presenter on ITV's coverage of the OVO Energy Women's Tour of Britain and lead reporter on the Tour of Britain. In addition, Rebecca can be found regularly hosting rounds of the HSBC UK National Road and women's series on Eurosport as well as using her knowledge to commentate on the action. Being long-time colleagues and friends, Matt and Rebecca got candid about both life and career on the podcast. Among other themes, they discussed how things changed for her as a woman journalist since she started in the sport in 2006 and for women pro cyclists in general, the chaotic reality and technical challenges of an on-site sports commentator on live TV or how she unlearned to strive for her notion of perfectionism as she got more experienced and became a better interviewer and reporter because of it. Touching on the nitty-gritty of the commentating job itself, Rebecca shared her biggest advice for up-and-coming sports journalists and commentators just wanting to get their foot in the industry’s door, the changing landscape of the field, and the contemporary digital ways new talents come through. Also – just as importantly – all the levels your and your partner’s life changes with the arrival of a newborn working in such a dynamic and fast-paced field. Tune into the new episode with some brilliant insider insight.

This time, Matt Stephens had Australia on the line. He reached out to Rohan Dennis who, for the time being, is an Australian professional road racing cyclist. He is known for his time-trial abilities resulting in numerous victories and podium finishes throughout his career. However, he has announced his retirement from the sport at the end of 2023.

With Matt, Richie went over the switch to a somewhat recreational cyclist and the sport’s observer, the (personal) growth the word of pro cycling enabled him, what kind of a roommate he was at cycling camps, what is the essence of a perfectly harmonized team – and together, they reminisce about the time they spent pool diving. They also touch upon the darker side of almost every pro sport, which is body shaming, the pressure to look a certain way on social media and hurtful commentary tied to that.Tune in and enjoy.

To get closer acquainted with the topic within the world of pro cycling, Matt invited over his long-time friend, Hannah Grant, to shed some light on how things go down in the “kitchen” of a pro cycling team. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Hannah is an accomplished chef with experience ranging from modern Danish-French restaurants to prepping meals aboarda kiteboarding expedition boat sailing the South Pacific. She is also an entrepreneur and author of such bestsellers as Eat, Race, Win or The Grand Tour Cookbook. Her newest exciting addition, The Cake Cookbook, focuses solely on cakes designed for cyclists and other athletes. She has been with the World Tour pro cycling team Tinkoff Saxo since 2011 and is working in parallel with Danish morning television as a TV chef as well as developing recipes for a number of sports publications.

After a decade spent in professional road cycling and enjoying success across the world, Nathan Haas retired in 2021 to embark on a gravel rider career. With Matt Stephens, he dissects the big career change decision and how it has been treating him, how the road and gravel scenes differ, the takeaways from the new discipline, why the logistics of a pro gravel rider can be tricky, why pro cycling needs its Ted Lasso and more. Tune in for a detailed plunge into the idiosyncratic world of gravel racing.

Enjoy another episode of Matt Stephens chatting up one more road pro for exclusive insights and the inner workings of the professional cycling world. Another rider invited into Matt’s virtual studio is 30-year-old Austrian rider Lukas Pöstlberger. People started to take note of Lukas already in 2012 when he became the youngest-ever Austrian road race champion – a feat he has since doubled. However, his most notorious achievement yet happened in 2017 when he was named on the start list for the Giro d’Italia. Not only did he win the opening stage after a surprising jump ahead of the peloton with 1.8 km to go but he also became the first Austrian to win a Giro stage and lead the race. Last year, his palmares saw another addition when he led and won a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. He carved a name for himself in the pro cycling world as an all-round rider, which also led a new team to reach out to him for the 2023 season.With Matt, Lukas dissects a stunning breakaway in this year’s European Cycling Championships, looks back on his career with BORA-Hansgrohe before moving on to the Australian Team BikeExchange-Jayco next year and what is he most excited about the switch, clarifies why has he grown fond of the Classics, and much more.

Matt Stephens has once again sat down with another fellow Brit, this time a good friendand, so to speak, colleague of his, Adam Blythe. As both do and enjoy live commentating oncycling events, they talk transitioning from a professional cyclist to a pro commentator, theirshared love and passion for the profession… and also their hair.

Enjoy another instalment of fresh and insider cycling content to listen to on your morning ride, training session or on a slow Sunday.

Riding on the coattails of the We Love Cycling podcast series, we are once again bringing you fresh and informative content, this time hosted by one of the guest experts in temporary charge of the We Love Cycling Instagram, Mathew Stephen. Matt sat down with his compatriot Cherie Pridham, the world’s first woman in the Directeur Sportif position operating at the World-Tour level with the Lotto–Soudal team since 2022, and a former pro cyclist. Expect unique insight, a dissection of Thomas De Gendt's stunning Giro victory, and the minutes of a DS's packed day-to-day life.

The #Ride2Unite podcast, hosted by Anna Glowinski, just hit the road again with another episode. This time, Anna met with two members of the Lotto Soudal Ladies cycling team – Elise Vander Sande and Annelies Dom. They discussed the launch and progress of their careers, the hardships and expectations, the insights from the women’s cycling scene, and more.

It’s almost impossible not to come across his name in the world of professional road cycling. His improbable (and late, by pro cycling standards) rise to fame over the last six years continues to mesmerize the world. Primož Roglič, the 31-year-old UCI WorldTeam Slovenian rider for Team Jumbo–Visma, was Anna Glowinski’s latest guest in another episode of the #Ride2Unite podcast.

Another #Ride2Unite podcast is here, tune in to find out about artistic cycling and, most importantly, meet the incredibly strong and disciplined Viola Brand.

What obstacles does the pro cycling world pose for women cyclists and how can you support them? Would she encourage a young girl to follow cycling as a career? Iris Slappendel, the guest of our brand new #Ride2Unite podcast answered all these questions and shared much more with host Anna Glowinski.

In the third part of the #Ride2Unite podcast, our host, MTB rider and TV presenter Anna Glowinski, sat down for a virtual get-together with Orla Walsh, an Irish elite track cyclist and self-made woman of cycling. Enjoy!

The new #Ride2Unite podcast features our inquisitive host Anna Glowinski, an adventurous MTB rider caught up with Alex Dowsett, a British professional UCI road racing cyclist (Israel Start-Up Nation), a former holder of the 2015 world hour record in track cycling and all- round pleasant guy to chat with. Enjoy!

Our new host Anna Glowinski, a passionate MTB rider and TV presenter, will guide you through a series of podcasts with entertaining, outspoken, candid and unique guests from the world of cycling. First to accept her invitation was Juliet Elliott. From the start of her hard-earned career to getting where she's now, Juliet will offer us a quick-witted and candid glimpse into her life.Juliet is a British semi-pro cycling enthusiast, influencer, writer, YouTuber and content creator and not one to shy away from cycling's many issues, including elitism, privilege, inequality, bias towards women riders, and other shortcomings. She's also not the type to just rant and sit on her hands – she's always tirelessly working to educate, promote, raise awareness and make the cycling world a more welcoming, inclusive place.

In this episode of the Ride2Unite talks taken right at the Tour de France, we've met with Christian Philipp, an ex pro motorsport racer and the current Head of Global Experience Marketing for ŠKODA. While he was driving the brand-new ŠKODA ENYAQ iV, which functions as the historically first leading car of the Tour, our host Keira McVitty inquired from the passenger seat about the Tour's attractivity to spectators, Christian's craziest experiences of the race, its unique family atmosphere and more.