WorldTour racing is back with the Tour Down Under underway in Australia. The Cycling Podcast returns to recap the action from the first three stages and the latest news from the pro peloton.

Daniel Friebe, Lionel Birnie, and our very own in-house professional cyclist Larry Warbasse discuss UAE Team Emirates’ rip-roaring start to the year, as well as the predictions we didn't get from Larry last week. There is a detailed meditation on Larry’s 14-year search for the perfect training formula—and the peloton’s broader search for equilibrium in a sport that is increasingly data-obsessed, sometimes at the expense of mental and physical wellbeing.

Derek Gee-West certainly experienced his share of emotional turmoil while attempting to change teams last autumn. We hear from Lidl-Trek’s newest recruit on that saga and how close he thinks he can get to the likes of Pogačar and Vingegaard.

Artwork photograph: UAE Team Emirates XRG / ph. SPRINT

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The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.