Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The Digger and The Doughboy are back, live from the Tour Down Under.

We’re back. Ian Boswell (The Doughboy) and I (The Digger) got back together for a one-night-only live show at the Tour Down Under, sitting down with some big names from the peloton for an open, no-filter chat about all things cycling. From the cobbled Classics to the Grand Tours and of course the Tour Down Under, we wanted to make sure we covered it all.

We kicked things off with Laurence Pithie and Luke Lamperti, diving deep into their experiences in the brutal but beautiful world of the cobbled Classics. Laurence reflected on his breakout years with Groupama-FDJ and how things have evolved since moving to Red Bull Bora hansgrohe, while Luke shared his take after racing with Classics royalty at Soudal Quick-Step. We also put them on the spot with some big Grand Tour predictions.

While we had the boys up, we went full tech nerd mode with the tool-wrenching oracle himself, Dave Rome. Fresh from wandering the team zones, Dave unpacked the latest tech trends and gave us a sneak peek at what teams are rolling out, including early looks at bikes heading toward 2026.

To wrap it all up, we brought on veteran Michal Kwiatkowski from INEOS, Aussie superstar Luke Plapp from Jayco AlUla, and Picnic PostNL Director Sportif Matt Winston. Together, we broke down the Tour Down Under stages and dug into how Jayco were planning to bounce back and move forward after a tough Nationals campaign.

This was a live recording, one of those nights you really had to be there for. But if you couldn’t make it, this episode is the next best thing. Jump in and soak up the vibes.

Cheers!

Mitch

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Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper — home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too - https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/

This is a cheeky bonus excerpt from the full episode. To listen to the whole thing — and get access to future Chronicles — become a PODIUM Member (our foundling tier) via our Substack.

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Guys, welcome back to another year of The Life In The Peloton Chronicles.


It’s been a hectic start to 2026; I hit the podcasting ground running over in Adelaide at the Tour Down Under to start the year with a bang, so it was great to get back to Melbourne, slow down, and recharge with a catch up with my old mate Sveino.

 

I wanted to chat to Sveino about a topic that always comes up at this time of year; goal setting. Whether or not you write it down, we all come into a new year with goals we want to achieve throughout the season - we did it when we were racing, and we still do it now.

 

One thing I want to get back into the habit of this year is meditation, and that’s something Svein and I have a bit of a yarn about in this episode.

 

If you know anything about Svein, you know that he is one cool cat - super mellow, always chilled out. It really surprised me that actually he doesn’t meditate! He’s a big believer in channeling his negative energy and stress out through movement and activity, rather than dedicating time to sitting down with his thoughts.

 

Meditation isn’t something that came naturally to me. In my early days as a pro, I used to laugh at the idea of sitting there with my eyes shut just…thinking. That was until I was roommates with a guy called Taylor Phinney. 

 

The Phin Dog is probably the only guy I know who’s more chilled out than Sveino. From the mountains of the hippie haven of Colorado, Taylor grew up surrounded by spirituality and, after a life changing crash at the US national championships in 2014, he found meditation through his recovery. Years later, when we became team mates, he showed me the way when we were in a Belgian hotel room racing the spring classics. I tried to be open minded and, with Taylor guiding me, I started to get it - finding the calm in the chaos.

 

I gave Taylor a call to catch up and chat to him about meditation and how he practices it now he’s retired from a life as a pro rider - which is pretty stressful at times. 

 

Guys, this is a chilled one, but it was super interesting chatting to Svein and Taylor about tuning out the noise and finding peace through meditation, setting goals for the new year, and heaps of other pieces to kick off this season of Chronicles. 

 

Sit back, shut your eyes, take a deep breath, relax, and get your ears around this enlightening episode of Life In The Peloton: Chronicles.

 

Cheers,


Mitch!

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

The Tour Down Under is done and dusted for another year, and it was an absolute banger. I was lucky enough to get in amongst it right there at the roadside all week and, to make it better, I was joined by my old mate - the Doughboy himself - Ian Boswell. 

For this episode, I wanted to take you guys inside the Tour Down Under; not just the racing, but the atmosphere around the race and the vibe that gets cooked up in Adelaide every year. The racers lining up for the first time, getting use to their new teams and equipment, the fans at the side of the road, and all the sweet little events that go off each morning out of Adelaide. 

Ian and I kicked off our week with a big bang, getting stuck into the cut and thrust of the short, sharp prologue from inside the team car! I hopped in the NSN passenger seat to follow Ethan Vernon - who actually went and finished 2nd on the stage, missing the win by less than a second…maybe his DS was a bit distracted?

In the paddocks, we got a chance to catch up with some of the riders who’ve come Down Under to start their 2026 racing season. Guys like the new Natty champ Pat Eddy, British up and comer Matty Brennan, the 16 wheeler himself Harry Sweeny, and heaps more. We spoke about the race, as well as some general questions about their seasons and - of course - a cheeky little mini CommuniQuiz to keep them on their toes!

Of course, this race is defined by the fans. People have travelled from far and wide to be here - one girl I spoke to even made the journey all the way from Texas in the USA! It was great chatting with people up and down the roadside about their TDU experience - and meet loads of LITP listeners in person. 

This is a chokka block episode with loads of great little soundbites you only get from being right there at the races live and in person. I hope Boz and I managed to capture the vibe so you can sit back, crack a frothy, and pretend you’re right there under the baking Adelaide sun with us.

Cheers!

Mitch

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This Episode is sponsored by Saily! Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans!

Use code PELOSURF at checkout. Download the Saily app or go to https://saily.com/pelosurf

Check out our new Substack! It’s a new place for us to go a bit deeper — home to Tom Southam’s Director’s Cuts, my Pelo Journal, and stories from inside the peloton… and a bit beyond it too - https://lifeinthepeloton.substack.com/

It’s been a long winter, but here we are, guys, the first podcast from Life In The Peloton of the season and oh man, is it a good one. I got in the booth LIVE with Tom Southam and Luke Durbridge at the Tour Down Under to unpack the Aussie national champs, talk a little bit about the TDU, and have a look ahead to what we can expect this racing season. 

We kick off with the man himself, Turbo Durbo, giving us the inside line on the Aussie National Champs. If you watched the race, then you’ll know Luke came pretty close to bagging himself the top step, but it didn’t quite work out that way. He gives us a bit of insight into how the race unfolded and how Jayco AlUla reacted to the final result. 

In this month’s PeloChat, Luke goes through every single Aussie in the men’s World Tour bunch. From neo pros to old hands, Luke shares a bit of info and his thoughts on all the riders to see who’s representing the land Down Under overseas in 2026. 

Southam’s Talking Tactics takes a deep dive into the rest of UAE. Away from Pogačar and his Tour de France A-Team, what are the rest of the team going to do? That squad is stacked with absolute hitters, so how are they going to manage themselves and make sure everyone’s happy? Tom gives us his thoughts. 

You know what’s coming next, we round it out with a classic CommuniQuiz. We’re honouring the soon-to-retire Aussie legend, Simon Clarke, with a quiz all about his awesome 17-year career. How many Grandys did he race? Which monument did he only do once? What teams has he ridden for in his pro career? You’ll have to listen to find out! 

Guys, I’m so excited to kick off the 2026 season. I’m on the ground at the TDU picking up heads of eps with some really special riders so keep your eyes peeled for those dropping soon. 

Cheers,

Mitch

P.s. If you want to see our ugly mugs in the studio, head over to Life In The Peloton’s YouTube channel to watch!

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros.

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Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP

It’s been a long season, but we’re here, we’ve made it, it’s the final pod of 2025! I’m joined by EF sports director, Tom Southam, and Jayco Alula pro cyclist - and Aussie national road champion - Luke Durbridge, for one last Race Communique to wrap up the podcasting year. 

I wanted to kick off by running through the season we’ve just witnessed. There’s so much racing going on from January at the Tour Down Under right the way through to Lombardia just last week, it’s easy to forget just how great the racing has been. Durbo, Southam, and I discuss our favourite wins of the year - some quite obvious ones and some that you might have forgotten about. Then, we go through some quick-fire awards: best kit, worst kit, most overhyped rider, biggest loss to the peloton, and more! 

Of course, we’ve got our regular PeloChat - where Durbo rounds up all the retiring riders this year - and Talking Tactics - where old mate Southam gives us the final scores on the doors for this year’s relegation battle, which was thrilling right down to the final day of racing. What does WorldTour promotion mean for UnoX? We’ll have to wait and see…

But, for the season finale, I wanted to give the CommuniQuiz WorldTour status for this episode and let my guests…I mean co-hosts…take a segment each. This is a bumper quiz that’s peppered throughout the episode, so listen closely and play along at home. 

Guys, the monthly Communiques have been a real highlight of the year for me. Catching up with Southam and Durbo, having a yarn about the racing, and - of course - some great banter has been great fun, and I hope you can hear how much we love recording these episodes. 

Thanks to Tom Southam and Luke Durbridge for joining me every month for these episodes. Their insight and expertise makes the Communique, and I can’t wait to have them back after the off-season to kick off 2026. 

Guys, it’s been a hell of a year. Thanks for listening to the Race Communique and all the other podcasts we put out here at Life In The Peloton. Put your feet up tans crack a few frothier this winter, and I’ll speak to you next season. 

The Race Communiqué is brought to you by TrainingPeaks! Track, plan, and train smarter - just like the pros.

Get 20% off TrainingPeaks Premium now at trainingpeaks.com/litp

I’ll be heading to Adelaide this January for the Santos Tour Down Under - chasing the racing, riding the bunches in the morning, and soaking up all the summer vibes the city has to offer. Hope to see you there.

🎧 Timecodes

0:00 Intro

08:57 Race Recap & Quickfire Awards - Best kit, worst kit, most overhyped rider & more

38:19 Communi-quiz Part 1

45:14 World's Quickest Pelo Chat

49:47 Communi-quiz Part 2

54:47 Talking Tactics - Southam breaks down the relegation battle

1:07:29 Communi-quiz Part 3

Cheers,

Mitch