Episodes
A look back to the conclusion of the 2019 Tour de France with Simon Brotherton, Gareth Rhys Owen, Rob Hayles and Jeremy Whittle.
Published 07/29/19
The riders sipped champagne whilst the crowds waited for them to make their way into Paris bringing the 2019 Tour de France to an end. Champion Egan Bernal crossing the line with Ineos teammate Geraint Thomas who was second. Rob, Simon, Jeremy and Gareth reflect the final day for the sprinters and look back at a tour that had it all.
Published 07/28/19
Gareth Rhys Owen, Simon Brotherton, Rob Hayles and Jeremy Whittle reflect upon Colombian Egan Bernal’s victory at the Tour on a day when Geraint Thomas clinched second and Vincenzo Nibali won a shortened stage in the Alps. Plus an unexpected guest drops into the podcast.
Published 07/27/19
It was supposed to be a short but brutal stage, but it wasn’t meant to be called off due to an avalanche. But it was and Team Ineos’ Egan Bernal now wears the leaders yellow jersey with Julian Alaphilippe finally relenting. Listen in as the BeSpoke team nearly get struck by lightning and then washed away as they descend from the mountain.
Published 07/26/19
Nairo Quintana takes the stage victory but the main talking point is whether or not Geraint Thomas attacked his own team mate and co-leader Egan Bernal. Rob Hayles, Jeremy Whittle, Simon Brotherton and Gareth Rhys Owen ask if the reigning champion was right to do it, what it means, plus Rob gives us an insight in the art of descending after Julian Alaphilippe puts on a masterclass.
Published 07/25/19
The contenders for the yellow jersey get through stage 17 unscathed as the Alps draw sharply into focus. Australian broadcaster Sophie Smith joins the team to give her lowdown on the final three days of intense climbing, and British Time Trial specialist Alex Dowsett explains how tough this tour really is. And there is some breaking news regarding Thomas’ teammate Luke Rowe who is sent packing.
Published 07/24/19
Caleb Ewan wins the sprint but Geraint Thomas takes a tumble. He is more lucky than one rider who is out with a broken wrist. But with temperatures into the high thirties things get heated as the BeSpoke team try to pick their 1-2-3 in Paris with four competitive days left. Plus we get the lowdown on the new favourite for the Tour, home favourite Thaibaut Pinot.
Published 07/23/19
The BeSpoke team drive through the night to join up with reigning Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas and Ineos Team Principle Sir Dave Brailsford on the final rest day. With Julian Alaphilippe cracking for the first time yesterday, the BeSpoke team run through who has a genuine shot of glory in Paris.
Published 07/22/19
Published 07/22/19
Britain's Simon Yates wins his second stage of the Tour on a day when the race for the yellow jersey was blown wide open in what is fast becoming the race of a generation, as Geraint Thomas claws back some time.
Published 07/21/19
Gareth Rhys Owen, Rob Hayles and Simon Brotherton and Jeremy Whittle reflect on a dramatic mountain stage that saw Geraint Thomas lose time on a brilliant day for French duo Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphilippe. How can Thomas claw back the time, does he have it in his legs, and is Alaphilippe now favourite?
Published 07/20/19
A shock victory for Julian Alaphilippe in the Time Trial leads the BeSpoke team to wonder if he could actually win the whole thing. Plus we hear from Lizzie Deignan following La Course, and the team get concerned with warnings of 40 degrees temperatures on the horizon.
Published 07/19/19
Simon Yates becomes the first British winner of the 2019 Tour de France taking stage 12, whilst Australian Rohan Dennis quits following a tantrum. Also, UCI President David Lappartient speaks to BeSpoke on the eve of La Course - a one day race for the elite women riders - and admits more needs to be done.
Published 07/18/19
It was a day for the sprinters as Australian Caleb Ewan won in Toulouse, but does the Tour miss the giants of the sprinting world like Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel? Or are we witnessing the start of a new golden era of the powerhouses? Plus, we ask if race leader Julian Alaphilippe is a household name in France and find out why he is unlikely to still be wearing the yellow jersey in Paris.
Published 07/17/19
Geraint Thomas is in a great position on the first rest day of this year's Tour. His team principal Sir Dave Brailsford joins BeSpoke to talk us through how they planned to take advantage of the crosswinds on stage 10, and road captain Luke Rowe explains what his role is.
Published 07/16/19
It was supposed to be a day for the sprinters, but it actually turned out to be the most decisive day yet for the General Classification. Crosswinds tore apart the peloton as it rolled towards Albi with Geraint Thomas and Ineos the main beneficiaries. Former pro rider Rob Hayles gives us his personal insight into just how destructive they can be, Jeremy questions Pinot's mental fragility, and the team ask if Adam Yates is perfectly poised flying somewhat under the radar.
Published 07/15/19
Mitchelton-Scott’s Daryl Impey wins stage 9 of the Tour whilst Julian Alaphilippe continues in yellow. But with the sporting world fixated on Lords the BeSpoke team do their best to keep various riders up to speed with developments at the cricket World Cup final. Jeremy continues his penchant for bad jokes and confesses to a terrible hotel blunder.
Published 07/14/19
Geraint Thomas and his Ineos teammates crashed with 10km to go but fought back to limit the damage to Gianni Moscon's snapped frame. This was all going on whilst Thomas de Gendt rode a remarkable breakaway victory. Julian Alaphilippe stakes his claim to be considered a real GC contender, and Jeremy pulls out two of the worst jokes you'll hear all summer within a minute.
Published 07/13/19
Reaching speeds of 73km/h Dylan Groenewegen swept to victory to take his first stage of the 2019 Tour de France. Michael Woods, who is sitting pretty in the top 10, tells us what life is like as a debutant on tour, and Gareth receives some rather frank feedback.
Published 07/12/19
The tour had its first mountain stage up the Planche des belles filles, and it was reigning champion Geraint Thomas not teammate Egan Bernal who showed he has the early form. But did the BeSpoke team make it off the mountain in one piece?
Published 07/11/19
The BeSpoke team have a run-in with a group of male models in Colmar as Peter Sagan wins a bunch sprint. The team then look ahead to Stage 6 - the Planche des Belles Filles. It's the first big climb of the Tour and so the first serious test for the yellow jersey contenders, with gravel tracks and a cruel 24-degree gradient. Plus, we hear from Chris Froome on how to approach the Tour’s monster climbs.
Published 07/10/19
From the Champagne region to the home of quiche; stage four of the tour takes us to Nancy. Julian Alaphilippe still maintains the yellow jersey but it was Italian Viviani who won the bunch sprint. The BeSpoke team sit down and quietly review the day, this time not by the bins, but in a skatepark.
Published 07/09/19
Le Tour rolls into France, so who better to win stage three than Julian Alaphilippe. He took the race by the scruff of its neck and rode to a solo victory in Epernay, deep in Champagne country. Gareth and the BeSpoke team ask if he's the best rider in the world and if he can one day win the tour outright, but are slightly less impressed with the venue for today's episode.
Published 07/08/19
Ineos co-leaders Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal have done no damage to their chances with Ineos taking second in the Team Time Trial in Brussels. But what’s the latest with the Mark Cavendish fallout at Dimension Data- we hear from inside the camp.
Published 07/07/19
Mike Teunissen was the surprise winner of the opening stage of the 2019 Tour De France where a crash towards the end saw one of the race favourites go down. The BeSpoke team discuss why Mark Cavendish is still having an impact at the tour despite not being picked by Dimension Data and Gareth extols liege meatballs.
Published 07/06/19