Guys, the Vuelta is over and, well, what a race. My favourite grandy felt a little bit different this year with a huge amount of disruption, tension and uncertainty that meant the racing took a back seat for a lot of people. We saw some unreal rides from Jonas Vingegaard, Tom Pidcock, and utter dominance from UAE Emirates. Holy shit, they were good, chaotic at times, but banked a whole heap of stage wins.

The anti-Israel protests that impacted the race so much really shone a light on how fragile and vulnerable bike racing is. There were some hairy moments out there on the road, and – although the bunch made it to Madrid – the riders were robbed of the traditional podium ceremony. But, in this disruption, we saw one of the coolest, old school, grassroots style podiums I’ve ever seen in Pro Cycling.

Our British Boys, Harry & Stu, have put together a banger of an episode for this month’s ep of Life In The Peloton’s Race Radio. Here’s what old mate Stu Downie has to say about this month’s Race Radio:

With La Vuelta ending in what could be both the best and worst podium we’ve ever seen, we invited our mate Sean Hardy along to chat – why? Because he was in that very car park to witness the madness of the day unfold. Sean has been Lidl-Trek’s photographer for a few years now, earning the trust of the riders – including fan favourite and points jersey winner Mads Pedersen – and making some of the best pictures in racing. We hear about the day, get a severe case of FOMO, and get the lowdown on life in the Lidl-Trek bus. We also consider the history of protest in cycling, talk about racing’s place within wider culture, and wonder aloud when the UCI will do something about the more severe cases of sports washing. A nice light chat to start the weekend, no?

Guys, I hope you like this episode as much as I do. I can’t believe we’re coming to the end of the race season, with just the World Champs in Rwanda and Lombardia left to go!

Catch up soon,

Cheers,

Mitch

Race Radio: Vuelta Pandemonium, Protests, and Podiums