Episodes
On this week's Placeholders, Jonny Long and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz to do a form check of the big contenders ahead of the Tour de France and field a few questions from members. Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network. Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.
Published 06/12/24
Published 06/12/24
Dane Cash and Jonny Long join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to discuss Unbound, Unchained, and the unmistakeable approach of the Tour de France as the Critérium du Dauphiné gets underway. Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network. Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.
Published 06/05/24
Jonny Long and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Caley Fretz to discuss Pogačar's Giro effort, time trialing as a specialty, and the recovery of Vingegaard and Van Aert, and Joe Lindsey pops in to discuss Olympic selection for the United States. Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.
Published 05/29/24
Kit Nicholson and Jonny Long join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to discuss Pogačar's benevolent dominance, Vingegaard's tattoo, and more. Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.
Published 05/22/24
Kit Nicholson, Jonny Long, and Abby Mickey join Caley Fretz to discuss Decathlon's recent success, the Intergiro, transfers in the women's peloton, and more ... Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.
Published 05/15/24
On this week's Placeholders, Kit Nicholson and Jonny Long join Caley Fretz to talk Tadej Pogačar's Giro approach, Demi Vollering's Nike deal, and more. Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.
Published 05/08/24
On this week's podcast, the crew looks ahead to the Giro d'Italia, where Tadej Pogačar looks like the favorite on a course that should provide wire-to-wire excitement. Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.
Published 05/01/24
With Classics season in the rearview mirror, Kit Nicholson, Dane Cash, and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to ponder whether anything can or should be done to make it harder for riders to attack from so far out.
Published 04/24/24
Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz to ponder whether the Ardennes Classics might merit some reevaluation, to discuss World Cup mountain bike racing and the NCL going on hiauts, and to look ahead to a clash between Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar.
Published 04/17/24
Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson talk through some of the side stories that came out of the last weekend of cobbled classics and wonder aloud what can be done to make the sport safer and less full of dumb people who want to throw things at bike racers. Plus, Iain Treloar interviews two confused deer mascots.
Published 04/10/24
From a bar in Belgium straight to your ears: The Placeholders crew preview both of this weekend's Paris-Roubaix races, discuss the Arenberg chicane and the crashes in the Basque Country, and we hear from Emma Norsgaard on what Roubaix means and how to ride it. 
Published 04/05/24
The Placeholders crew comes to you live from Kortrijk, Belgium, this week, where they tackle life's greatest questions (who's better, Boonen or Van der Poel?), debate the merits of goat-based cobble upkeep, and have some Weekly Pain with a real live member.
Published 04/03/24
We're back with a special on-the-ground episode from Oudenaarde, the finish town of the Tour of Flanders. It's wet, it's cold, but we've found a bar and a fire and are ready to talk about a spectacular bike race (even if the last 50 km were slightly less spectacular). As always, for a deep run-through of the women's Flanders, don't miss Abby and the Wheel Talk crew early this week. 
Published 03/31/24
This week's episode of Placeholders, recorded after a busy weekend of racing – but before Dwars door Vlaanderen ... – ponders which men's Classics team is best right now, riders skipping races to go to altitude, and whether the "Big Six" is really a thing.
Published 03/27/24
Kit Nicholson and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz to discuss Mathieu van der Poel's longterm deal with Canyon and extension with Alpecin-Deceuninck, whether the pros should be friends, and what's coming up in the Spring Classics.
Published 03/20/24
Dane Cash, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz on the Placeholders this week to discuss this generation of Americans after Matteo Jorgensen's Paris-Nice win, where things stand for the WorldTour sprinters, and what's on tap this coming weekend at Milan-San Remo.
Published 03/13/24
Ronan Mc Laughlin, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to discuss new helmets and new helmet regulations, Tadej Pogačar's talent, and hookless rims. The crew also gives the BikeGrid game a go.
Published 03/06/24
This week on the Placeholders, Dane Cash, Abby Mickey, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz to ponder whether anyone will remember Visma's Opening Weekend results if they can't win a Monument, who is the best sprinter right now, and whether team mechanics can disguise themselves as riders to get into races.
Published 02/28/24
Jonny Long and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz on the Placeholders this week for a form check as early-season racing ramps up. The crew also circles the Plugge hole (Erzen's version) and makes some knee-jerk predictions ahead of Opening Weekend.
Published 02/21/24
Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz on this week Placeholders to cover all of the big news as racing is heating up around the world from Oman to Colombia.
Published 02/14/24
Ronan Mc Laughlin, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz to discuss the rumors of a potential (and large) investment in bike racing from a Saudi Arabian firm as well as the news of the UCI banning a pedal and Zdeněk Štybar's retirement.
Published 02/07/24
Abby Mickey, Dane Cash, and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Caley Fretz to talk Red Bull, MyWhoosh, Ekoi, and more ...
Published 01/31/24
Dane Cash, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to talk about where the Ineos Grenadiers find themselves in 2024, the latest from the 'cross scene, and whether pro cycling should have a draft.
Published 01/24/24
Jonny Long, Abby Mickey, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz on this week's episode of the Placeholders to discuss the latest in the apparently unending stream of transfer chatter involving Bora and Visma, salads, what we can expect from Sarah Gigante, and so much more. Plus, members will get to hear another installment of the Placeholders After Dark ...
Published 01/17/24