There's a big weekend of racing ahead at the Vuelta a España and the Tour of Britain. With our special guest host OJ Borg standing in for Jeremy Whittle, these are RadioCycling's latest headlines...
We start at the Vuelta, where all the talk is about GC Kuss. Could it happen? Will it happen? The American mountain domestique who's leading the race didn't buckle in the TT, is climbing as well as anyone and appears to be enjoying his spot in the limelight. We examine the beautiful dilemma of having three leaders that's facing Jumbo-Visma and, bizarrely, is also facing their rivals at UAE Team Emirates, who have their mountain domestique Marc Soler in a similarly elevated position, just behind Kuss. Will this Vuelta of champions go the way of a first-time Grand Tour winner?
It may be 10 months away from starting, but the presentation of the 2024 Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes will take place in Paris at the end of next month. As well as highlighting the bits of both races that have already been announced, including a first-ever finish away from Paris for the men's race, we delve into the known knowns and unknown knowns of the routes, including the Tour having two TTs and passing over Europe's highest road pass.
This week's Tour of Britain has been all about one rider, Jumbo-Visma sprinter Olav Kooij. The young Dutchman won the first four stages and then played a very significant part in Wout van Aert's success in the next. We hear from Van Aert about his budding partnership with his young teammate and profile former speed skater Kooij, who is shaping up like the next king of the sprints.
This episode finishes with Britain's national tour, which has copped a good deal of flak for putting on a string of flat stages. We reveal the reasons behind the route selection, why Covid, recession and police costs have meant that getting the race on at all has been a success in itself, and look at where the race could and should go next.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Saddle Skedaddle.