Escape Collective

Tour Daily stage 14: The inseparable duel

The podcast crew takes a closer look at what was another fierce battle between Vingegaard and Pogačar, this time on the Col de Joux Plane.
Also, José Been tells the story of an air tragedy in the Alps.

Tour Daily stage 13: Grand Colombier

The podcast crew discusses the current status of the battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar and what's to come as the two Tour favorites clash over the coming mountain stages.
Also, José Been tells us about Alpine cheeses and winter sports in France.

Geek Warning: A climbing bike too light for the pros, but carbon inspection for everyone

Factor’s new O2 VAM sounds like quite the climbing bike: light, stiff, comfy, and newly aero. But is it too light for the pros? Maybe. There doesn’t seem to be any debate about wider tires at the Tour, though, as even 28 mm doesn’t seem like enough.
SRAM has also brought its innovative Transmission mountain bike drivetrain technology down to the GX level, an Australian company wants to bring high-tech carbon fiber inspection to the bike shop level, and James gripes about water bottles.
4:15 — A roundtable on the new Factor O2 VAM climbing bike16:25 — Even Tour racers have adopted big tires in a big way27:00 — GX is now the least expensive Transmission version, and it might be the best one35:55 — Is ultrasonic carbon fiber testing coming to bike shops?49:26 — Zach has some thoughts on ever-widening cranks59:15 — Water, water, everywhere, and too many leftover drops to drink1:01:05 — Check your chain wear, folks!

Tour Daily stage 12: Breaking away in Beaujolais

The crew discusses Cofidis's strong showing at the Tour, the frustration of Matteo Jorgensen, and a looming battle on the Grand Colombier.
Also, José Been tells us all about the French Revolution.

Tour Daily stage 11: A fast finish in Moulins

The podcast crew talks about Jasper Philipsen's impressive display en route to his fourth stage win this Tour, a rare team radio highlight, Soudal-QuickStep's food, and more.
Also, José Been has all the info we need on Beaujolais wine, nouveau and otherwise.

Tour Daily stage 10: A stirring stage win on a hot day

The Tour Daily crew discusses Pello Bilbao's emotional victory, breakaway dynamics at this Tour, the heat, and more after stage 10.
Also, José Been tells us about Clermont-Ferrand's famous cathedral as well as the 1904 Tour de France.

Wheel Talk Special: A very extensive Giro Donne recap

Strap in Wheel Talk listeners this one is ... long. Matt and Loren are back with Abby to chat all the biggest stories from the Giro Donne and they are joined by a special guest and friend of the pod Matilda (Tils) Raynolds. They talk about this being Annemiek’s final Giro, what that means for the future, how the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has changed the Giro and more.
Hear from Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx), Sarah Roy (Canyon//SRAM) and Nina Kessler (Jayco-AlUla) plus some really special audio diaries from Iris Slappendel and Gracie Elvin about Annemiek’s Giro Donne journey and being her teammate.
Perhaps listen to this one in two sittings, or on a long ride, but it’s definitely not one to miss!

Pretty Serious Special: The Tour’s first rest day

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano are joined by Ronan Mc Laughlin on the Tour's first rest day to talk about all the racing action so far at the Tour de France, takeaways from the Giro Donne, and what's coming up in the "second week" of the Tour. It's time to get Pretty Serious about Bike Racing!

The Geek Warning crew talks Tour tech

The Tour de France can’t be that big of a deal. After all, they couldn’t even sign up 200 participants! But despite the low turnout, there’s quite the disproportionate amount of new tech to discover there, including a mysterious new Ridley aero all-rounder road racer, new tires and saddles from Specialized, a hint that a new SRAM Red groupset may be pending, new aero helmets, comfy-looking shoes, and upsized wheels from Campagnolo.
We also discuss Pinarello and Tune recently changing hands, how everything new in the MTB world seems to be designed for e-bikes, the return of CNC machining, and why your suspension fork is probably feeling sadly neglected.
3:50 — A sneak peek at Ridley’s new semi-aero all-rounder7:09 — Specialized now has road tires just for wet conditions15:50 — Yet another 3D-printed saddle model from Specialized21:16 — Is a new SRAM Red groupset coming soon?27:15 — Some funky new shoes from Q36.529:13 — Ekoi’s got a new aero road helmet30:31 — Campagnolo is going wide with its new Bora Ultra WTO 45 wheels32:31 — Mmm, built-in satellite shifters36:34 — Pinarello has a new owner42:40 — Lightweight has purchased Tune to create a German weight-weenie powerhouse45:35 — Garbaruk has a new CNC-machined road and gravel crankset49:30 — CNC machining is back in a big way56:21 — UDH isn’t coming for road bikes; it’s already here1:05:35 — MTB R&D seems mostly aimed at e-bikes these days1:13:49 – Your suspension fork probably isn’t working as well as you think it is

Tour Daily stage 9: Action aplenty on the Puy de Dôme

The podcast crew talks about all the action, both out front and in the GC group, on the final stage before the Tour's first rest day.
Also, José Been tells us about a theme park and a great cheese, while Abby Mickey gives us the final update from the Giro Donne, where Annemiek van Vleuten secured the overall title on Sunday.