The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is back with two feature interviews. At the start of 2025, both Derek Gee-West and Michael Woods were teammates on Israel-Premier Tech. But by the end of August, Gee-West wasn’t riding because of a contract dispute with the team. Woods, who was suffering from illness and a serious hernia, announced his retirement.

Now, at the start of the 2026, both riders have big ambitions for the season ahead. Gee-West spoke from the recent Lidl-Trek team camp. He chatted about coming on the new team and the plans for the first part of the season, which will culminate in his return to the Giro d’Italia, where he finished in fourth-place overall this past year.

Woods is back on the bike, and skis, and is in the pool, all in pursuit of a year filled with a variety of endurance challenges. It’s part research project, part midlife crisis. Find out more about Woods’s plans that could even include the Winter Olympics (in 2030).

In this in-depth interview, world champion Magdeleine Vallières Mill not only looks back at the 2025 season and the lead-up to her historic win in Kigali, Rwanda, but also ahead to next year, and the events she’s targeting and how she plans to race them. The rider from Sherbrooke, Que., has seen a lot of change since September, and there’s more to come. Vallières Mill talks about the mad dash to get her rainbow bike, kit and helmet soon after Kigali. She also touches on a strange nickname created by one of her EF Education-Oatly teammates. Although Vallières Mill still seems to have trouble believing she’s won the world championships, she’s moving forward with the opportunities that such a success can offer.

Sprinting against Jasper Philipsen, navigating a slippery go-kart track, powering up a climb in Spain trying to put out more watts than three other finalists—those were some of the challenges Noah Ramsay faced this past December as he competed in Zwift Academy for its prize of a spot on the Alpecin-Deceuninck development team. In the end, Ramsay won.

The pro road contract marks a big switch in Ramsay’s cycling career. For the past few years, cross country has been the focus of the 22-year-old rider. This past fall, he was 11th at the Lake Placid World Cup XCO race and fifth in the short track event at the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup. Despite Ramsay’s promise on the singletrack, he didn’t have a team that could help him further his racing career. In August, a friend of Ramsay’s recommended he try out for the Zwift Academy, a talent-identification competition supported by the virtual training platform. Ramsay made it to the finals, which were held in Spain this past December.

In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Ramsay tells the behind-the-scenes story of his Zwift Academy win. Also, Ramsay’s coach Peter Glassford of The Consummate Athlete gives an account of the rider’s talents that have gotten him to the Alpecin-Deceuninck development team. Ramsay looks ahead to his upcoming road season, discusses his hopes for the next few years and muses about where mountain biking might fit in with his new road career.

Also in this episode, editors Matthew Pioro and Matt Hansen, as well as feature writer Jake Williams, discuss the men’s and women’s Strade Bianche, and look to Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Milan-San Remo. For the Classicissima, the focus is more on the women’s race, which is back after a 20-year hiatus. What’s the right length for a race called “Milan-San Remo?”

Recently, on the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, another rider making a cycling-discipline switch was featured. This season, Mathias Guillemette is making the switch from track to the road. Give that episode a listen, too.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by MS Bike. Its first rides are in June. There are two in Alberta, Airdrie to Olds and another from Leduc to Camrose. The latest ride of the season is in Waskesiu, Sask., in September. And there are eight more—in B.C., another Alberta one, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Whichever one you choose, you have plenty of time to check out our training and preparation advice for MS Bike events.

Every MS Bike ride is a professional event. It's fully supported with fuel, roadside assistance and first aid. These events are very welcoming. You only really need a bike, a helmet and the desire to keep pedalling.

Of course, this is all for an important cause, that is raising money to help those with MS. Did you know that on average, 12 Canadians are diagnosed with MS each day. You can help. Register now and start your fundraising journey at msbike.ca.

In March, Buck Miller, Eric Batty and Ryan Atkins covered all 721 km of the Wapusk trail by fat bike. The trail is the world’s longest winter road, which runs between Peawanuck, Ont., and Gillam, Man. Sections of the trail are close to Hudson Bay.

Last year, they rode along James Bay, a trip they called the James Bay Descent. The Wapusk trail trip was longer and more remote.

RELATED Lessons from the James Bay Descent

This year’s trip is not only a fascinating adventure but it speaks to the challenges we are facing today. It’s also about challenges—both environmental and societal—that we'll face in the near future. When Miller, Batty and Atkins went into the woods, the world was one way. When they got out, it was completely different.

To learn more about the expedition’s charitable component at True North Aid.

RELATED Waiting for it to get cold enough for a fat-bike expedition in Ontario and Manitoba’s Far North

RELATED Listen: Stories from a 600-km winter fat bike ride in Northern Ontario, Svein Tuft: from bike bum to the WorldTour

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks Ontario Creates for its support.

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Do remember what race was supposed to run this Sunday? It was supposed to be Paris-Roubaix. But more important, do you remember who won Paris-Roubaix on April 8, 1990? Well, when Belgian Eddy Planckaert and Canadian Steve Bauer crossed the line on the Roubaix velodrome 30 years ago, neither of them was sure. After a lot of deliberation by race officials, the win went to Plankaert. After 265.5 km of hard racing, Planckaert beat Bauer by millimetres.

In March, Canadian Cycling Magazine editor Matthew Pioro spoke with Bauer. The CCC Pro Team sports director had recently returned home to St. Catharines, Ont., from Europe and was in self-isolation. We discussed the Monument that almost, almost went to a Canadian.

This Sunday, as you face absence of Spring Classics in 2020, do re-watch A Sunday in Hell, Jorgen Leth’s documentary of the 1976 Paris-Roubaix. Also, highly recommended is William Fotheringham’s book about the making of the documentary called Sunday in Hell. Wouldn’t that be just hellacious? In the good way. Enjoy both Hells!

Thanks to Ontario Creates for its support.

Two weeks after Michael Woods crashed out of Paris-Nice, he was in Girona, Spain, his broken right femur on the mend. “I’ve been crutching outside to get my blood checked,” he said. The EF Pro Cycling rider was taking blood thinners following his surgery. “I go about 1.5 km from my place. It’s a good workout.” Because of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain, the country had been on lockdown since March 14. Woods found the empty streets of Girona eerie.

After the crash, Woods was taken to a hospital in Lyon, France. He didn’t remember much from his time there as he was on strong painkillers. He figured he came in just ahead of any coronavirus-related surge in that area of France as the building seemed quiet. Woods didn’t stay in the hospital for long. His parents came to hurry him to Spain – where he trains in the colder months – before the border was to close.

After the stress of the crash and the hasty departure from France, Woods could relax. In late March, he was avoiding the Internet, reading and enjoying time with his daughter who wasn’t yet two months old. His snuggle buddy Max, short for Maxine, was a perfect lockdown partner as she was too young to walk and was just starting to smile.

“In the leadup to Paris-Nice, I’d been putting in big training hours and I was not as present at home as I would have liked to have been,” Woods said. “So, this has been a nice opportunity to hit the reset button. From a health perspective, that means gaining a bit of weight, just kind of fattening up a bit. I want to get a big recovery block in, and then be mentally fresh for whatever is left in the season and for 2021.”

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From drunk fans to a course that's muddy even when it’s dry, listen to tales of the Hoogerheide cyclocross course and its atmosphere during the World Cup. This Sunday, Canadian champions Maghalie Rochette and Michael van den Ham will compete in the final event of the CX World Cup series. Ruby West, the under-23 Pan Am champ, will also be there. Hear what they have to say about the Dutch race. Also, CX veteran Aaron Schooler has a story about how hard it can be simply getting from the team tent to the course.

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Top riders from the Canadian cyclocross championships speak about what some of their wins and disappointments mean, and about the event itself and some things we can look forward to next year. If you missed our coverage of CX nats, check out our reports and galleries.

Jake Williams, from frenemy podcast The Lantern Rouge, checks in from the Pan Am championships. You can see all the muddy action in our galleries from the event.

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Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn

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Canadian star ’crossers Maghalie Rochette, Michael van den Ham, Jenn Jackson and Ruby West look ahead to two of the most important cyclocross races in Canada: the national championships and the Pan Am championships.

Coach Peter Glassford has advice for transitioning to trainer season. He shares great tips for riding on the spot throughout the winter.

Hamilton rider Ed Veal recently spent 24 hours riding on a trainer. He was chasing a distance record within the Zwfit platform. Listen to the ups and downs of riding for a day, set up on a stage in a Las Vegas hotel.

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Photo by Bruce Buckley

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During the cross country mountain bike season, Sandra Walter can rip up the course. For late October cyclocross races, she dresses up. Her costumes have included a cave woman, a monster, Pippi Longstocking, Minnie Mouse, a cow and some sort of sea creature. Walter offers tips on how you can get in costume and race this Halloween.

This past Thanksgiving weekend, editor Matthew Pioro and producer Adam Killick raced an Eastern Ontario Cyclocross Series event in Ottawa. Pioro spoke with organizer Vince Caceres about the significance of the race held within the national capital’s city limits.

Coach Peter Glassford discusses the post-ride beer. Is it really the thing you should be drinking after a big effort on the bike?

Send in your ideas for Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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Photo: Peter Whalen

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Two top Canadian mountain bike riders teamed up recently to race Epic Israel. Catharine Pendrel of Cliff Pro Team and Haley Smith of Norco Factory Team took on the four-day stage race in the north of Israel. Pendrel, who has won the cross country World Cup series three times and the world championships twice, kept an audio throughout the event.

Coach Peter Glassford has tips that will help you run better when you have to get off your bike in a cyclocross race.

Cyclocross racers Maghalie Rochette, Jenn Jackson, Michael van den Ham and Ruby West took time out of their busy schedules at the Waterloo World Cup to talk about their early successes and challenges as well as the rest of the season ahead.

Send in your ideas for Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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Photo courtesy Epic Israel.

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Behind the scenes throughout the past 15 years, Kevin Field has been using data to improve Canada’s cyclists. He helped orchestrate this country’s success at the 2018 road world championships. In this episode, he discusses numbers and previews the 2019 road cycling world championships in Yorkshire, England.

Full Send/No Send on the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, Team Canada’s efforts at those one-day races, Nick Zukowsky’s KOM and Maghalie Rochette’s cyclocross World Cup win. Also, a Full Send/No Send question. Why is it full send on dropping out of a road race, but full send on toughing out a gravel race?

“You just need to taste blood.” Coach Peter Glassford explains openers and how they can help you with your cyclocross races, time trials and mountain bike events.

Send in your questions for Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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Photo by Brian Hodes.

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Michael Matthews looks back on five appearances at both the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal, especially his wins at the two events in 2018. He gets into the tactics of the races he says are real thinking games. For Matthews and other pros, the GPs are exciting because there’s always something going on.

Many pro and amateur cyclocross racers target CX weekends with competitions on both Saturdays and Sundays. Such events are athletic and logistical challenges. Coach Peter Glassford has advice that will help you prepare, perform and recover from a ’cross double-header.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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Photo by Oran Kelly.

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As a kid, Mathias Guillemette would get stuffed into the back seat of his parents car, wedged between a cooler and luggage, bikes all around, his older brother crammed in there too on their way to a Quebec race anywhere from three to seven hours away from their home in Trois-Rivières. There was also time on the velodromes in Bromont and Milton, Ont. During the past few years, Guillemette’s competed in some of the world’s top track cycling events, including the Track Champions League, where he’s won an elimination race, and the Paris Olympics.  

This year, Guillemette’s cycling career is taking a new direction. He’s landed a spot on the Tudor Pro Cycling continental-level development team. At 23, he’s a senior rider with some teammates four years younger than him. In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, you’ll find out how Guillemette, with a little tip from another track cyclist turned roadie, got on to the Swiss team and how his skills on the track might translate to success on the road with the devo team and the ProTeam.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by MS Bike. Its first rides are in June. There are two in Alberta, Airdrie to Olds and another from Leduc to Camrose. The latest ride of the season is in Waskesiu, Sask., in September. And there are eight more—in B.C., another Alberta one, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Whichever one you choose, you have plenty of time to check out our training and preparation advice for MS Bike events.

Every MS Bike ride is a professional event. It's fully supported with fuel, roadside assistance and first aid. These events are very welcoming. You only really need a bike, a helmet and the desire to keep pedalling.

Of course, this is all for an important cause, that is raising money to help those with MS. Did you know that on average, 12 Canadians are diagnosed with MS each day. You can help. Register now and start your fundraising journey at msbike.ca.

Catharine Pendrel talks about her springer spaniel Mingus, the Lenzerheide World Cup – where she was on the podium with her fifth-place finish – and the upcoming mountain bike world championships at Mont-Sainte-Anne. In 2018, Pendrel and Haley Smith rode together and won the Swiss Epic. In this interview, Pendrel reveals what race she and Smith will be tackling together after worlds.

“It really reminded me that being a racer is not just what I do; it’s who I am,” Pendrel says. “I love that. Just to experience that joy of racing, no matter what kind of racing I’m doing, kind of fired me up to find my best in World Cups again.”

On Full Send/No Send, editors Matthew Pioro and Dan Walker discuss the new name of Maghalie Rochette’s cyclocross team. Also, should a 40-to-60 per cent chance of rain derail a ride? What’s the call if the time it will take to clean your bike might equal the time it takes to do the ride itself?

Peter Glassford is back with his Ask A Coach segment. What do you in fall if you’re just not that into racing cyclocross?

Canadian MTB editor Terry McKall speaks with Vaea Verbeeck right after she was crowned the Queen of Crankworx in Whistler, B.C.

Related: How you should treat your bike mechanic

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks Ontario Creates for its support.

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This past July, some of gravel cycling’s top minds and practitioners gathered in Peterborough, Ont., to ride and discuss gear. Matthew Pioro spoke with members of the Shimano Gravel Alliance, a group that the Canadian Cycling Magazine editor believes is the “Gravel Avengers.” He wants to know who their Thanos is.

Related: The Canadian influence on Shimano’s new gravel groupset

Leah Kirchmann of Team Sunweb took second place at La Course by Le Tour de France. It was a thrilling race that featured the Winnipeg rider’s best finish in her sixth appearance at the event. Kirchmann analyses her race, the role La Course has in the women’s road calendar and what seems to be the next necessary step in its evolution.

Two days after Michael Woods finished riding the world’s biggest bike race, he looked back on his Tour de France. His broken ribs were still sore, maybe even more troublesome with the racing over. He reflected on his team and some of the Canadian fans that cheered him along the roads of France.

Related: Full transcript of the Michael Woods interview

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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Canadian Cycling Magazine heads to Blue Mountain, Ont., for the Sea Otter Canada cycling festival. Editors Matthew Pioro and Dan Walker, and photo editor Matt Stetson, bring you the vibes from the event. They are impressed that on the first day, the first Friday of July, that there are a good amount of people at the expo. Walker figures they had read ‘12 excuses you can use to sneak out of work early.’ Pioro and Walker take on the 120-km gran fondo. Stetson, a longtime mountain biker, rides his first enduro.

“I have been riding quite a long time on dirt and mountain bikes. It certainly was my first gravity event, which, to me, sounds weird, as I’ve ridden lots of times in pads and downhill, but never on the clock,” Stetson says. “But cross country, I’ve done dozens of times. The enduro was a different feel. I couldn’t believe how tired I was at the end of such a short amount of riding.

In Full Send/No Send, Pioro admits Walker was right about something. Is “Alien” a good nickname or an accusation? Should you take a swim in your bib shorts?

Canadian MTB editor Terry McKall interviews the CEO and founder of Structure Cycleworks. Loni Hull discusses the WTF (Without Telescoping Fork) linkage system that his company has designed. He also gets into the significance of keeping his company in Alberta.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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When you think of this country’s pioneering riders in the Tour de France, you probably think of Steve Bauer and Alex Stieda. But 35 years ago, six Canadians—Marilyn Trout (née Wells), Kelly-Ann Way, Suzanne Lemieux, Hilary Brown (née Matte), Senta Bauermeister and Jacqueline Shaw—not only rode the Tour de France Féminin but distinguished themselves in that event. Trout, the group’s historian, looks back at the group’s accomplishments.

Read the Canadian Cycling Magazine feature on the six Canadian women who completed in the 1984 Tour de France Feminin.

In Full Send/No Send, editor Matthew Pioro and social media editor Dan Walker preview the 2019 Tour de France and the Giro Rosa (full name: Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile). Walker has a beef with the Giro Rosa.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Image courtesy of Marilyn Trout

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Contributor Molly Hurford has tips that will help you go up hills a little quicker. She talks about training, body positioning and the muscles you want to engage when climbing. She also has some inside information on the climbing competitions at Sea Otter Canada: the Grind Uphill Challenge and the Hill Climbing Championships.

"When you see a corner coming up and it looks like it's the end of the climb, it absolutely is not," she says.

In Full Send/No Send, Matthew Pioro and Dan Walker discuss 650b versus 700c wheels. Also, if Michael Woods goes to the Tour de France, should he go for stage wins or general classification?

Finally, an interview with Jeff Webb, the CEO of Fara Cycling . He’s originally from Huntsville, Ont. About four years ago, he and his partners (who now include Thor Hushovd) started the cycling company based in Oslo, Norway. At Blacksmith Cycle in Toronto, Webb talks about Fara, as well as the long rides he does. He’ll ride from Oslo to Stockholm, about 530 km, on a whim.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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At the Nové Město World Cup, Haley Smith crossed the line in third place. It marks her best result at mountain bike World Cup. She reflects on race at one of her favourite courses. “When you feel good on a course, you find that flow zone a lot easier,” she says. “At Nové Město, it feels like mountain biking in Victoria. It’s physical and technical, but it’s also fun.” She also talks about her struggles with mental health. Smith looks ahead to the rest of the season, and the wedding she and fiancé Andrew L’Esperance, also of the Norco Factory Team, are planning.

In Full Send/No Send, Dan Walker and Matthew Pioro discuss Geoff Kabush's social media shots at the men’s podium finishers at Dirty Kanza. They wrap up the Giro d’Italia and look at tire choice. Can you have too much of a good thing?

Coach Peter Glassford has tips for getting the most out of your local roads and paths for your training rides.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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If you’ve been watching the Giro d’Italia, you’ve seen the Emilia-Romagna region. Stage 9 passed through it. Editor Matthew Pioro rode in the area a week before the pros got there. After you hear about Pioro’s experience, you’ll want to head there, too.

Social media editor Dan Walker and Matthew Pioro debate Giro smack talk, bad bike-maintenance karma and the no-look right turn in Full Send/No Send.

Canadian MTB web editor Terry McKall starts a new series that focuses on Canadians who are influencing the discipline of mountain biking. In this episode, McKall speaks with Noel Buckley, the founder of Knolly Bikes in Burnaby, B.C.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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Sea Otter Canada co-founder Simon Williams chats with editor Matthew Pioro and social media editor Dan Walker about the new cycling festival coming to Canada. Sea Otter Canada can bring the whole cycling community together, whether you wear spandex, baggies or a tweed suit while riding your folding bike. Williams discusses the Hub and Spoke rides that allow you to venture into the region and explore the local breweries, cideries and wineries. If you want to watch some of the enduro, downhill or cross country action, you can. There’s an XC short track relay right through the expo area.

Those with curly bars can ride the gran fondo. There are also other races for competitive types. Into gear? Williams says 200 brands will be at the festival with tons of demo bikes, including the new-to-North-America-brand Canyon. Bring the kids to the Joyride 150 area. You have to mark July 4–7 on your calendars.

Also, if you need some advice for taking on the hill-climbing challenge at Sea Otter, check out "How to crush a KOM challenge with these 5 climbing tips."

Coach Peter Glassford makes the case for keeping the trainer accessible, and ready to go, even throughout the spring and summer. Think of it as a batting cage for your legs.

Dan Walker has created a new game with a long, ever-changing name: What Does That Sponsor of the Italian Pro Conti Team in the Giro d’Italia Do? Find out how well editor Matthew Pioro does.

Send in your ideas for Ask a Coach and Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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“Women are so badass as well,” says Sarah Holmes, part of the Toronto Hustle and one of the members behind the outfit’s new women’s project. The team recently hosted its launch party for the 2019 season. Listen in to scenes from that event and hear about some of the innovative things the Hustle is up to.

Social media editor Dan Walker and editor Matthew Pioro get Full Send/No Send on the Full Gazz versus the Astana Rap, Mathieu van der Poel and Boels-Dolmans kit.

Coach Peter Glassford talks about early-season burnout. It’s definitely something to watch out for, especially if you’ve been smashing it on virtual rides throughout the winter. Peter has great tips to keep your motivation high and your fitness levels improving.

Send in your ideas for Ask a Coach and Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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From lake jump bikes to the riff-heavy rock of Blue Cheese to emergency bus repairs, Partymaster Tour organizer Michel Plonka talks about the rolling party, with dirt, street and park riding, that hit parts of Ontario and Quebec this past summer. If you are not familiar with the Partymaster Tour, get started with videos from the event.

Social media editor Dan Walker and editor Matthew Pioro get Full Send/No Send on the Tour of Flanders, champagne-induced bronchitis, hitting the trails early and who should claim ebikes.

Coach Peter Glassford has great equipment tips and training strategies that will help you get on the roads as they clear and let you take advantage of the trainer you still have set up in your pain cave. Sorry, it’s not time to put the trainer way, just yet.

Send in your ideas for Ask a Coach and Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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Recently, the country’s top cyclocross riders took on a slick, muddy course in Lévis, Que., site of the 2024 national cyclocross championships. Just past the finish line, Canadian Cycling Magazine was there to capture the reactions of six new champions.

Regular contributor Jake Williams was at the event, not only racing in the relay and the championships themselves, but taking in the action. In this episode, he shares his interviews and stories from Lévis with editors Matthew Pioro and Matt Hansen.

Emilien Belzile grabbed his first championship win in the junior men’s category. He faced a tough race and even went down on the course. In the end, he had to sprint hard against Evan Moore for the finish line. In early November, Belzile was third in the junior race at the Pan Am championships. This past June, the Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes named him mountain bike athlete of the month for his podium placings in Canada and Quebec Cup events.

Nineteen-year-old Mika Comaniuk is no stranger to CX nationals or racing in Lévis. In 2023, he won the C2-level Cyclocross de Lévis. Back in 2022, he was second in the junior race at CX nationals in Victoria. This past weekend, he got a gap on his fellow racers in the under-23 men’s group that he was able to maintain until the end.

Marin Lowe took a break from her studies at the University of Victoria to jet across the country, borrow a bike and win the under-23 women’s race. Lowe already has a maple-leaf jersey in her collection: she is the 2023 junior cross country champ. Also that year, at the cross country world championships, she crossed the line in second place, behind her then-teammate Isabella Holmgren. In this episode, Lowe reveals the unique indicator she has that tells her when she’s really ready to race.

Like Comaniuk, Rafaelle Carrier won in Lévis in 2023. Actually, Carrier has won in a whole bunch of places the past two years, including Gullegem in Belgium and in Missoula, Mont., at the 2023 Pan Am championships. This year, Carrier was second in the junior category at the cross country world championships. In a way, it’s no surprise she defended her 2023 national junior CX title. Still, her competition was top-notch. In second was USCX overall winner Nico Knoll. Third was Aislin Hallahan, a regular on recent USCX podiums.

While Isabella Holmgren’s elite win wasn’t much of a surprise either, she also faced some serious competition, too, like multiple CX champ Maghalie Rochette and current Pan Am champ Sidney McGill. Ian Ackert continued his relatively compact but successful 'cross season by snagging his first elite title. You’ll learn how he celebrated that win and how those festivities didn’t really seem to hinder him on his next race day at the C2 event.

Throughout this episode, Jake, Matthew and Matt bring their analysis to the event, mixed with their signature humour.

Contributor Molly Hurford has been to three training camps so far in 2019 for a total of seven weeks of endurance training. So, she knows a thing or two about getting the most out of an early-season endurance camp. Guess what? It’s not about crushing it on the climbs. Molly shares her great advice with you.

Social media editor Dan Walker is back and so is Full Send/No Send. He and editor Matthew Pioro take on petrochemical companies in the peloton and the use of bar bags on road rides—all weighty topics!

Finally, Canadian MTB web editor Terry McKall gets a preview of the Bear Mountain Bike Festival from race director Jon Watkin. The event, running March 30 to 31, features Canada Cup cross country races, the Rocky Mountain Enduro, a kids bike day and more.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

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The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

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The Butter Tart 700 is a bikepacking route in Southern Ontario. Route designer Matt Kadey speaks about what went into the creation of this loop. He wanted to ensure an interesting mix of surfaces and to keep it remote without being remote. One look at the route on the Ride with GPS page shows the level of detail Kadey has put into the creation of the BT 700. He’s marked places to stay, eat, drink and even borrow books.

https://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/ridesevents/bt-700-charts-path-for-a-new-southwestern-ontario-bikepacking-event/

Jaden Chipman, the national BMX freestyle champion, speaks about the significance of his podium spot at the recent Toronto X-Jam. X-Jam is not only an important event for Chipman, but BMX freestyle as a whole in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Finally, coach Peter Glassford discusses junk miles. What are junk miles, exactly? How can you avoid them?

You can send in your Ask a Coach questions for Glassford to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Podcast artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

Please rate and review the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast wherever you get your episodes.

The James Bay Descent crew, Buck Miller, Ryan Atkins, Ted King and Eric Batty, recorded their adventure in Northern Ontario. Listen to scenes from their journey from Attawapiskat First Nation to Moosonee, before they went on to Smooth Rock Falls, a trip of about 600 km on fully loaded fat bikes in winter.

To hear more about the trip, listen back to the James Bay Descent preview in Episode 9.

https://cyclingmagazine.ca/cycling-magazine-podcast/podcast-ted-king-james-bay-rally-uhc/

For Full Send/No Send, Dan Walker and Matthew Pioro talk about virtual championships jerseys, if it’s OK to like Astana and the track cycling world championships.

Coburn and Doug Brown speak about the lessons they learned doing a cross-Canada tandem bike trip. The tandem can challenge any relationship, but the pair persevered. Their stories combine with tips and advice for anyone planning a big two-wheeled adventure.

Svein Tuft, the Canadian champion who is riding for Rally UHC Cycling this season, looks back on his long road cycling career and how the sport has changed. As interviewer Molly Hurford says, “You’re just an OG bike bum.”

Please rate and review the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast wherever you get your episodes.

Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Podcast image by Eric Batty
https://www.ericbatty.com/

Podcast artwork by Maxine Gravina
https://www.instagram.com/maxgravina/

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

Near the end of January, B’yauling Toni, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon rolled into his hometown. He had ridden for 206 days, through 16 countries and a total of 30,804 km. Upon completing his ride, he has become the youngest person to bike around the world unsupported. Canadian Cycling Magazine web editor Philippe Tremblay spoke with Toni a little more than a week after he had finished his trip. The rider speaks about equipment choices and tells stories of falling ill, herding sheep from a motor bike and eating fresh goat tongue.

For Full Send/No Send, Dan Walker and Matthew Pioro try to decide what level of disrepair is OK for a winter bike. They also talk about Peter Sagan’s book and Oleg Tinkov.

Peter Glassford is back with Ask a Coach. He discusses strength training for cyclists. Check out his Anywhere Core routine.

This past September, the Development Team Sunweb announced some new signings, which included Ben Katerberg from Courtenay, B.C. He’s the current junior road and time trial champion. At the start of this year, the 18-year-old rider moved to the Netherlands. One thing he learned early on is that he’s been saying his surname wrong.

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Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Podcast artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

On Feb. 4, Ted King, Buck Miller, Ryan Atkins and Eric Batty plan to head out from Attawapiskat First Nation in Northern Ontario for Nunavut. They’ll aim their fat bikes into James Bay and ride to Akamiski Island, about 20 km from the mainland and part of the northern territory. From Akamiski, the four will go toward Moosonee and Moose Factory. The ultimate destination is Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., roughly 600 km south of their starting point. The trip is called the James Bay Descent.

King discusses his preparation for the trip and his concerns, which include polar bears. Then expedition organizer Buck Miller talks about more of the trip’s details. (He’ll be riding with a 12-gauge shotgun, in case of bear trouble.) Miller is a former member of the Canadian national team. He also lived on James Bay for five years. He tells about the ride’s charitable component: fundraising for the Moosonee office of the Timmins Native Friendship Centre.

For Full Send/No Send, Dan Walker brings up what is possibly his most outrageous topic for debate to date. Can he and Matthew Pioro get through this segment within the allotted five minutes? They haven’t done so for the past two episodes.

Peter Glassford is back with Ask a Coach. He talks about the types of training he recommends for these cold, snowy days.

Contributor Molly Hurford spent some time at the Rally UHC camp in early January. She’s sent back a few interviews from the team that is just chock full of Canadians. In this episode, Sara Bergen from Vancouver and Sara Poidevin from Calgary speak about how they got into the sport and their seasons ahead. They also have tips for new cyclists.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send and/or for Ask a Coach to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Podcast artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

Rider Ed Veal plans to ride for 24 hours starting Feb. 2 at 11:11 a.m. on the track at the Forest City Velodrome. Constructed in 1955, the building that houses the track is in need of some upgrades. Veal’s ride is part of a fundraiser to help keep the facility going. The track itself is in an old hockey rink, and at 138 m, is considered by many to be the smallest permanent track in the world. Veal will face banks as steep as 51 degrees and serious G forces every six to 10 seconds. To help out with the fundraising efforts, head to the Forest City Velodrome’s Real Deal 24-Hour Track Attack page.

Full Send/No Send is back. Matthew Pioro and Dan Walker discuss the new kit that EF Education First Pro Cycling will be sporting in 2019. Is January too early get excited about road racing? And, how cold is too cold for a ride?

From Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, a group of athletes participated in Cycling Canada’s Christmas ’Cross Camp. It’s a project that brings Canadians to the mud of Belgium to ride in some of the discipline’s biggest races against some of its biggest stars. Throughout the Kerstperiode, national champions Michael van den Ham and Ruby West, as well as Jenn Jackson, kept audio diaries. Their words will draw you into the highs and lows of racing abroad when most are at home with family.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Podcast artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Christmas ’cross dispatches feature “Like Music (cdk Mix)” by Analog By Nature featuring Phasenwandler. Copyright 2015. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (3.0) licence.

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

In this episode, we look back at some big rides of the past year. In September, to prepare for the road world championships, Rob Britton went on a nine-day bikepacking trip with two friends. He had this idea earlier in the year and got advice from a rider whose big rides are legendary: Svein Tuft. Both Britton and Tuft discuss the joys and training benefits of going for fully loaded, long rides.

Social media editor Dan Walker and editor Matthew Pioro try to cover their top-five moments in cycling for 2018 in five minutes.

Coach Peter Glassford of the Consummate Athlete podcast offers advice for making it through the holidays without totally zapping your fitness and without forgoing a nice glass of scotch.

Finally, regular contributor to Canadian Cycling Magazine Melanie Chambers got a last-minute invitation to the Taiwan KOM Challenge this past October. In a short documentary, follow Chambers up 3,275 m in 105 km after only three-weeks of preparation. Chambers was against the clock. She wanted to finish in less than the six-and-a-half hours to earn a finisher’s medal.

Artwork by Maxine Gravina

This episode features music by Chris Zabriskie, licensed through CC 4.0.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send or your questions for coach Peter Glassford to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

Raphaële Lemieux, who retired from speed skating and road riding roughly 11 years ago, picked up racing fixed-gear bikes a few years ago. She’s been doing pretty well at that discipline. This year, she won the Red Hook Crit in Brooklyn and the Red Hook series overall. She discusses the fun of racing fixed, the speed-skating skills that transfer over to her cycling endeavours and what it’s like balancing a 40-hour workweek and racing at a high level.

In this episode’s Full Send/No Send segment, Dan Walker and Matthew Pioro wrestle with UCI regulations about sock height, holiday cycling challenges and clothing made specifically for indoor cycling. (Find out who tries to get away with a shrug on a podcast.) They give a final big full send to Paul Sherwen, who recently passed.

Finally, writer Tom Babin talks Spikes on Bikes. In the most recent issue of Canadian Cycling Magazine, Babin has a feature about the harm-reduction program based in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The program comprises “peers” who head out into the neighbourhood on bikes. They do everything from saving people from overdosing to offering advice on getting off the streets. Often, the peers themselves have experience with addiction and homelessness. It’s a story of hope and community building amid the opioid crisis.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

The chainsaw is often called into action to motivate mountain bikers. But the machine made a recent appearance at the cyclocross national championships in Peterborough, Ont. Jasmin Duehring also came out to that snow-covered CX course. Right after competing in the elite women’s race, the rider, who’s known for winning medals in velodromes, spoke about 'cross and the importance of trying different cycling disciplines.

In 2013, Jack Burke failed a doping test. He was later cleared, but his story doesn’t end there. In the years following, his adverse analytical finding continues to plague him, while his case has set precedence in other sporting disciplines. Dan Dakin, senior editor, wrote a feature on Jack Burke. Dakin discusses the fascinating story.

The Full Send/No Send segment returns! Dan Walker and Matthew Pioro wrestle with important subjects, such as Strava purity, pro roadies swinging at T-balls and Mathieu van der Poel ruining cyclocross (and somehow Walker thinks that’s connected to Pioro). But Walker has a made-in-Manitoba solution in mind.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Send in your ideas for Full Send/No Send to podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

Recently, the Pan Am cyclocross championships came to Midland, Ont. Many of Canada’s top CXers were there vying for the intercontinental honours. Hours before Michael van den Ham lined up in the elite men’s race, he met with producer Adam Killick for a crash course on riding in the sand.

For more on the Pan Am CX champs, check out video from within the elite men’s race. Web editor Terry McKall hangs on for as long as he can, trying to avoid the 80 per cent rule, which clears off riders before the race leaders might lap the slower CXers.

This fall, Ted Glenn released his book, Riding into Battle, which focuses on the combat cyclists of the Canadian Corps and what they faced in during the First World War. The fighting was fierce and the bikes were heavy.

Finally, David Jack, coach and derny driver at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre, speaks about the art of managing a keirin race and how a wrong turn led him deeper into the Japanese keirin scene.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us at podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

A mother tells her son that he sucks. A pro, on his way to a race win, lobs a retort revealing local knowledge. A masters rider can’t stop thinking about a burn yelled at him across a field years ago. A course designer screams platitudes with the frightening intensity of a death metal singer. These are all part of the world of cyclocross heckles, which sting, amuse, elate and perplex. They’re supposed to be fun. But sometimes they go terribly wrong.

At a recent CX race in Toronto, editor Matthew Pioro looked into the cyclocross heckle. He spoke with Isabella Holmgren, the current elite Pan Am champion participating in one of her first 'cross races of the season. She revealed how family can unleash some pretty harsh words. Ian Ackert, the under-23 Pan Am champ racing in bleached blond hair, seemed to have corralled any disses around his locks. Sidney McGill, two-time under-23 national champion, has been followed by a squirrel-related heckle. The three pro riders not only spoke about course-side razzing, but their goals for the ’cross season ahead as well.

Pioro also went looking for a heckler who landed what the editor considers some of the harshest burns he’d ever received. The meeting and the conversation goes in a direction that Pioro didn’t expect. Could it be time to retire the heckle and replace it with something more positive?

In this episode, Pioro has help with CX heckle analysis from Canadian Cycling Magazine web editor Matt Hansen and feature writer Jake Williams, two guys who know all about unleashing trash talk.

Rachel McKinnon, the transgender athlete who won the women's masters track cycling world title in the sprint competition for ages 35-44, speaks about the turbulent days following her victory. McKinnon is from Victoria. She did her PhD in Kitchener, Ont., and post doc in Calgary. Currently, she's an assistant professor in the department of philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

From Nov. 3 to 4, the Pan Am cyclocross championships will run in Midland, Ont., a town roughly 150 km north of Toronto. Since 2014, that community has been the site of the Silver Goose. It's grown in stature throughout the past four years hosing the provincial championships in 2016 and UCI C2-level competitions in 2017. Last year, Ruby West, the under-23 national champ, won the C2 races at the Goose. Also that year, national champ Michael van den Ham came third at the Pan Am champs. Maghalie "#CXFever" Rochette, the 2014 under-23 Pan Am champ, recently finished sixth at the World Cup CX event in Bern, Switzerland. All three Canadians preview the Pan Am champs/Silver Goose.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us at podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Artwork by Maxine Gravina

The Cycling Magazine Podcast thanks the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

Cycling Magazine Podcast is back for its second episode and, as with the first, we speak with Michael Woods. This time, he reflects on his bronze medal at the road world championships in Innsbruck, Austria. We also chat with another Canadian bronze medallist, Simone Boilard, the national junior time trial and criterium champion from Quebec City .

Editors Dan Walker and Matthew Pioro go full send/no send on burning hot topics, such as the recent announcement of Floyd Landis' sponsorship of a Canadian team, riding to a nice round number so the distance looks good on Strava, the correct pronunciation of "Deceuninck" and, the most contentious, socks over or under tights or leg warmers.

Phil Gaimon speaks about his Worst Retirement Ever and Best Retirement Ever series, which took him to Vancouver in September. Not everyone was pleased with his performances on the climbs of the Triple Crown.

Rate us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us at podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Artwork by Maxine Gravina

Thank you to the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

In this first episode of the Cycling Magazine Podcast, we have an extended conversation with Michael Woods. The EF Education First Drapac rider goes in-depth on his emotional Stage 17 Vuelta a España win and discusses its effects.

Editors Matthew Pioro and Dan Walker look back at the recent cyclocross World Cup in Waterloo, Wis., sick tailwhips and all. You can also read more on Canadian riders’ thoughts from the race on our site.

We ride with James Piccoli, member of team Elevate-KHS and Montreal native, up his hometown climb, Camillien Houde into Mount Royal Park. The stretch of road means a lot to the young climber.

Throughout, international WorldTour riders share their thoughts on Canada. (A certain sweet substance from our national tree seems to come up a lot.)

Get in touch with us at podcast@cyclingmagazine.ca

Artwork by Maxine Gravina

Thank you to the Ontario Media Development Corp. for its support.

How long will Michael Woods continue to race? What was it like for Michael Leonard in the breakaway in Montreal? Is Derek Gee giving up birding?

Each year, the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal bring the world’s best riders to Canada. In 2024, mixing it up with Tadej Pogačar, Biniam Girmay and Julian Alaphilippe, were most of the top Canadian athletes, as well as some of the nation’s notable up-and-comers.

Derek Gee discusses his development as a rider. He had his breakout in 2023 at the Giro d’Italia. This year, he won a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné and finished third overall. At his Tour de France debut, he was ninth in the GC. The rider from Osgoode, Ont., seems to be able to approach his races with a relaxed, “let’s see how this goes” attitude. But as he’s progressing in the sport, is pressure starting to mount?

Michael Woods, 37,  is in the latter stages of his cycling career. Earlier this year, as a yet-to-be-diagnosed bacterial infection troubled him, he was considering retiring sooner than later. But things seem to have turned around for the rider who came to the Montreal GP in his national champion’s jersey. For Woods, Montreal is one of the most important races on the calendar. Also, there’s an event coming to that city that might keep Woods in the pro ranks just a little bit longer. That same event is a big motivation for Woods’s teammates Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin, too.

A bunch of riders made their debuts at the GPCQM. Michael Leonard, from Oakville, Ont., was signed to Ineos Grenadiers in 2022 at the age of 18. The past two years have had some ups and downs, but Leonard feels he’s been making some significant progress since this past summer. In August, he won the prologue at the Tour de l’Avenir. In Montreal, he got into the breakaway. His 156-km ride was another breakthrough. In Quebec City, two other young Canadians did some serious time ahead of the bunch. In a special GPCQM episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, find out what it was like for Jonas Walton and Félix Hamel in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec breakaway.

This past August, the day after Micayla Gatto’s 36th birthday, the freerider, filmmaker and artist was at a boatyard in Squamish. She was there to fix up the family’s sailboat. Her goal is not only to get the craft seaworthy, but to use it to travel to new riding destinations—another chapter in the varied career of the rider-Renaissance woman.

In the 2000s, Gatto competed in downhill, earning national championship titles. After a bad crash in 2014, she stepped away from racing. In 2017, her video with IFHT, “Ferda Girls”—a parody of Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” that critiqued the sexism and the challenges women face in mountain biking—won Crankworx’s Dirt Diaries. The video remains a landmark in Gatto’s career. Today, Gatto, a  YT Mob member, continues to ride big lines and is an alternate for this fall’s edition of Red Bull Rampage, which will include women riders for the first time.

Another first in 2024 is the FMBA Slopestyle World Championships for women. Can Gatto connect her riding and activism to progress in the sport such as that? She is maybe a bit humble, and mixes her analysis with humour. “I mean, I've had a couple of people name their babies after me,” she says in this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast. “So, I've got to be doing something right. (Or I just have a cool name.)”

Find out more in this wide ranging interview with Gatto that also looks at another one of her pursuits, the art of tattooing, and how it is connected with mountain biking.

Also in this episode is Derek Gee. The rider from Osgoode, Ont., won a stage at this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné, held the leader’s jersey for a stage and finished third overall. Later in the summer, he rode to an impressive ninth at the Tour France. He looks ahead to the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal. Editors Matthew Pioro and Matt Hansen look further at the WorldTour races set to run in a little more than a week. Big names are on their way to Canada.

Years ago, Armando Mastracci got a recumbent bike that could provide him with heart rate, cadence and power data. As Mastracci trained on the bike indoors throughout one winter, the graduate of engineering science at the University of Toronto recorded his training data on spreadsheets. He also started performing his own experiments. What happened if he maintained a certain cadence? Or power? He started noticing patterns in the data, patterns that led him to algorithms, which in turn led to the launch of a training platform called Xert that Mastracci continues to build and expand today.

From the beginning, Xert had AI-like features. It could look at a rider’s power data and make predictions. But, until this past December, the company didn’t really lean into the term artificial intelligence. Then, eight months ago, Xert began rolling about a beta version of a feature called Forecast AI. What was it about this feature that made it AI? Why wasn’t the previous predictive number crunching of the software AI? Mastracci not only discusses these questions, but explores larger ideas that affect cyclists looking to improve their performance, as well as the AI field as a whole. Can an AI model handle all the data that cyclists can now collect, such as heart-rate variability to blood-sugar levels? Some AI models have shown certain biases. Are there biases in training platforms? With AI training systems getting better and better, should traditional coaches be worried? Take a listen to this fascinating interview with Mastracci and get a glimpse of the future of training.

Also in this episode, an update from Paris. Canadian Cycling Magazine writer Tara Nolan is at the Summer Games. She checks in with behind-the-scenes news from the time trial and mountain bike races. Make sure to read Nolan’s stories about the races against the clock and the Holmgren siblings, who competed in their first Olympics in cross country mountain biking. How did the Holmgrens get to Paris? Well, that’s a good story, too. You can listen to it in a previous episode.

In March 1993, four men met in secret on a beach in Cuba. The topic of discussion was mountain biking. Could they take the still-young cycling discipline to the Olympic Games in Atlanta within three years? One of the men, the one who’d been helping to build the sport for years, figured it could be done, but they’d have to continue to operate without most of the UCI knowing what they were all up to.

The man behind this initiative was Marc Lemay. He’d got his start in cycling as a  road rider, but soon realized he was better as an organizer. He worked at the club level in his hometown of Amos, Que. Later, he became the technical director of the Tour de l’Abitibi as that race got off the ground. From there, Lemay eventually progressed to the head of the Canadian Cycling Association. In 1991, he was elected to the International Amateur Cycling Federation. Today, he’s the president of the UCI’s arbitral board and member of the UCI’s disciplinary commission. Outside of cycling, Lemay is a lawyer. From 2004 to 2011, he served as a Bloc Québécois member of Parliament for the riding of Abitibi—Témiscamingue.  

Throughout the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Lemay helped to develop mountain biking. He had the support of UCI president Hein Verbruggen. The Canadian figured mountain biking might make it to the Olympics by the 2000 Games. But in March 1993, there was the opportunity to get XC into Atlanta, if everything went right and as long as the wrong people didn’t find out what Lemay and his allies were up to.

In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Marc Lemay tells the riveting story of how mountain biking became an Olympic sport. It is a great tale from the man who was at the centre of it all.

This past spring, Ashlin Barry won two junior national championship titles: one in the time trial and one in road race. The Toronto rider snagged the victories south of the 49th parallel, so he pulled on the stars and stripes each time he stood on the podium. Since the beginning of the year, Barry—son of Michael and Dede Barry—has been racing with a U.S. licence instead of a Canadian one. He has dual citizenship as his father is from Toronto and mom is from Milwaukee, Wisc. In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Ashlin delves into this decision.

The 16-year-old rider also discusses some of his results abroad. In March, he won Tour du Bocage et de l'Ernée 53. It was his first UCI race, a 2.1, in Europe. Later, he came in seventh at Paris-Roubaix Juniors. It was an experience he enjoyed, even with the tough cobbles of the Hell of the North. In fact, he found it easier to race on the pavé than to ride over them in his race reconnaissance. Since the event is held on the same day as the elite and under-23 men’s events, the roads were lined with fans. In the final cobbled sectors, he was hit with sounds of the cheering crowds, which gave him a boost. He’s keen to return to that race next year.

Looking ahead, Barry has his sights on the world championships, both the TT and the road race. His U.S. titles qualified him for those races around Zurich, Switzerland. It’s the one-day races that have captured his imagination, such as worlds, Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Milan-San Remo, and even the Olympics. With his talent, it seems he’ll be in the mix in those events in the years to come.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by MS Bike. Register and start fundraising at msbike.ca.  Also, check out MS Bike-specific training advice and tips from Canadian Cycling Magazine experts: there are eight-week and four-week training plans to get you ready. Also, for your fundraising efforts, you can get some pretty cool kit. Register and start fundraising.

Recently, Environment and Climate Change Canada delivered its summer seasonal forecast. It looks like things will be hot, or at least most of the country will experience above average temperatures. These temperatures will mostly be seen in the North, across most of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces. While we don’t know things like how many heat waves we’ll face or how high those temperatures will be, it’s certain that it will all be more than normal. Even now, as summer begins officially, parts of the country are sweltering.

Stephen Cheung is a professor and senior research fellow in the department of kinesiology at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. He has studied the effects of environmental stress (which includes heat) on human physiology and performance. For the 2016 world championships, he helped U.S. cyclist Amber Neben to adapt to the heat she’d face in Doha, Qatar. She won gold in the time trial that year.

Cheung is a rider, too, and has contributed to Canadian Cycling Magazine with various articles throughout the years. In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, he helps you understand heat and its effects on your rides, and what you can do about it. He discusses how your body can adapt, how much to drink, the role of sweat and what to wear. And don’t forget your sunscreen.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by MS Bike. Register and start fundraising at msbike.ca. Also, check out MS Bike-specific training advice and tips from Canadian Cycling Magazine experts.

https://www.maghalierochette.com/Maghalie Rochette is coming into the cyclocross season hot. She’s released a new book. Currently, her CX Fever Tour—with book signings, clinics and rides—is moving across North America. She’s about to start racing once again, too.

All this activity sits in sharp contrast to Rochette’s state in December 2024. Her European racing campaign came to an abrupt end as burnout and illness took hold. She stopped riding. She even thought she was done with racing. Instead, Rochette began to reset.

In this episode, Maghalie Rochette looks back at that period. After time to rest, really rest, the rider began some light training. With big gaps between her workouts, Rochette started a project she had had in the back of her mind for some time. “I had this idea of creating a book about cyclocross,” she says, “not necessarily about my full story, but about cyclocross and stories I’ve lived through it.” The writing began around the end of February and the whole work came together rather quickly as the regular newsletter writer had a bank of ideas.

Rochette, with her characteristic pep and enthusiasm, also discusses the state of her beloved cycling discipline. Despite declarations of its demise, cyclocross—Rochette argues—isn’t dead. While it may be tough to source a proper cyclocross bike these days, that’s no impediment to getting out and getting into the muddy art. Other topics that the rider/writer covers include the differences between North American and European cyclocross scenes, her misadventures within the latter and the rock ‘n’ roll nature of CX. Visit maghalierochette.com for more information about the tour and to order the book.

Editor Matthew Pioro and feature writer Jake Williams talk about the slew of Canadian successes at the mountain bike world championships. They also chat about the big road cycling events in this country, the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, which are about to get underway. Make sure to tune in to the Canadian Cycling Magazine website and social media channels throughout the events to stay up to date on all the action.

At the recent cross country World Cup in Nové Město, Isabella Holmgren had her one shot to qualify for the Olympics. Her brother Gunnar also had to do well if he wanted to get the single spot Canada has for the men’s XC race in Paris. Isabella won the under-23 women’s XCO event, finishing 2:05 ahead of the second-place rider. Almost 24 hours later, Gunnar finished eighth in his race, one of the best results for an elite Canadian male in the past five years. Those performances make the siblings the most likely riders to represent their country in the races at Élancourt Hill this summer.

In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, hear from the two riders from Orillia, Ont. Learn how everything came together for the sister and brother on one weekend in May. Also find out why their places on the start lines at the Olympics aren’t assured just yet, and what they plan to do until the end of July and beyond.

Bike component maker Shimano has launched its new GRX Di2 groupset, which features 12-speed cassettes and semi-wireless shifting. On this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Dave Lawrence and Nick Legan of Shimano talk about how the latest version of their gravel group came to be, its features and what still might lie ahead for GRX. Lawrence is a road and gravel product manager at Shimano and has been with the company for more than 30 years, overseeing the launch of numerous groupsets. Legan, a former WorldTour mechanic and current Shimano road and gravel brand manager, has been participating in gravel and chronicling its development since its early days. He not only provides context for GRX, but looks at the gravel scene as a whole.

Topics the duo cover are why there’s only a 2-by option of the groupset, the GRX’s compatibility with Di2 road groups and the new feature called Front Shift Next. Also, is there ever tension within Shimano between innovation, possibly pushing technology and keeping things ultra reliable, a feature which the brand is known for?

Canadian Cycling Magazine has something to say about the new gravel group, too. Recently, associate editor Andre Cheuk was at a Shimano media event for GRX in Carson City, Nev. He took the groupset on some serious rides, including Stetina's Paydirt gravel race. Cheuk, ever the gear geek, gets into the nitty-gritty details of how GRX performs on gravel, in sand and even after some stream crossings. You can read Cheuk's detailed look at the Shimano GRX Di2 on the Canadian Cycling Magazine website.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by MS Bike. Register and start fundraising at msbike.ca. Also, check out MS Bike-specific training advice and tips from Canadian Cycling Magazine experts.

This episode was just getting polished up as both Michael Woods and Riley Pickrell were involved in crashes in Stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia. Before the start of Stage 6, Woods presented symptoms of a mild concussion. The team made the decision that he should leave the race, head home and recover fully. Even though Pickrell was feeling well, he, too, didn't start Stage 6 in case of concussion. While the interviews in this episode were recorded at the start of the Giro, they will still give you insights into the riders we all care about, including what might be ahead for Woods this year as his career is winding down. Do have a listen. And, to keep on top of updates on Woods and Pickrell, visit cyclingmagazine.ca.

So, go behind the scenes of the Giro d’Italia with Michael Woods, Riley Pickrell and others at Israel-Premier Tech. Also, take a ride in the Israel-Premier Tech team car. Directeur sportif Oscar Guerrero offers support to Pickrell on his first Giro stage and shares his knowledge about riders and Grand Tour racing.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by Yoeleo Canada. Did you know that the brand, which is based in China, has an office in Montreal? That's where you'll find support for all of Yoeleo's carbon products including bike frames, handlebars and wheels, like the new Pro Next wheelset. If you head to yoeleocanada.com with the code UPGRADE2024 you can get 20 per cent off a pair of Pro Next wheels. 

Stephen Roche has accomplished what only one other rider has done: won the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and the road world championships in one year. (The other is Eddy Merckx.) This season, it seems Tadej Pogačar could match the Irish rider’s feat from 1987.

In this episode, Roche looks back at the challenges he faced during that historic season: the tumultuous Giro with the split within his team and the Italian public seemingly out to get him; the Tour, which was not only a physical contest but a psychological one, too; and the world championships where the rider got himself into “a fine mess” in Villach, Austria. Roche is a great storyteller. He also brings his cycling insights and analysis to the current day. Ahead of this year’s Giro, which starts May 4, Pogačar is the favourite to take that Grand Tour. He’s won two Tours de France in his career and, at 25, is a top contender for the 2024 edition. The hilly worlds course in Zurich looks to be a puncheur’s playground—a place where the winner of Il Lombardia (three times), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (twice), the Tour of Flanders and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal could take the rainbow jersey. Roche breaks down just what has to happen for Pogačar to make history.

This episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast is supported by MS Bike. Register and start fundraising at msbike.ca. Also, check out MS Bike-specific training advice and tips from Canadian Cycling Magazine experts.