Wheel Talk

You could make a Bingo game out of how many times Gracie, Loren, Georgia, or Abby bring up the development problem in women's cycling – the lack of lower-level races and teams, WorldTour teams signing riders too young, etc. But we aren't the only ones constantly harping on about these issues. This week, Loren and Abby sat down with someone who has been pinpointing these problems for years and is actively working to combat the lack of development on a daily basis: Natascha Knaven-den Ouden.If you follow her on social media, you'll know she has come head-to-head with a lot of the challenges currently facing the lower levels of women's road cycling, and as the General Manager for NXTG Racing, she's guiding the next generation through the growing landscape.

This week, Abby handed the mic over to Matt de Neef, who got the chance to catch up with one of Australia's up-and-coming talents, Talia Appleton. Appleton has been upping her game every season, but broke through in earnest this year with a podium finish at Tour de l'Avenir and a stellar ride at the World Championships. Matt sat down with her to talk about how she felt this season and what she's eyeing in the coming years.Make sure to read Matt's written piece here.

This week on the Wheel Talk Podcast, Abby chats with road cycling legend Tiffany Cromwell about her split focus on road and gravel with Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto, the future of gravel and how the discipline can improve, and what it's like to be a race promoter in gravel right now.

In their final group show of the season (maybe), Loren, Gracie, and Abby talk about their top moments of the year, their favourite riders, and their favourite teams. They also answer some questions sent in by listeners about the best staff members of teams, best domestiques, and more.You can send in your own question for the team to answer, just head on over to this link to record an audio message.

This week, we take a detour from chatting about the 2025 season to talk next summer. The ASO unveiled the route for the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last Thursday, and it has everything. Iconic climbs, a legit time trial, plenty of opportunities for the opportunists, and a leg-breaking circuit race to end the nine-stage week. One thing missing? Sprint stages. Abby sits down with Kate Veronneau to talk about next year's Tour, what they are excited about (everything), and Zwift's decision to continue sponsorship of the race for four more years.

This week on the podcast Abby, Loren, Gracie, and Georgie talk about the races in China – the Tour of Chongming Island and the Tour of Guangxi – and how they might better fit in the calendar. They discuss Liv AlUla Jayco's Continental team and what they're doing right, Mavi García's departure from the team, the importance of a social media presence for riders, and the death of the long time trial in women's cycling.Next week we are going to talk about the season as a whole, so if you've got any topics you want us to touch on or questions for us, you can submit those and tag us on the Wheel Talk Discord or leave a voice memo HERE. If you leave us a vocie message, make sure to select "Wheel Talk" from the dropdown menu.

Gracie, Georgie and Abby try to figure out what on earth happened at the Gravel World Championships over the weekend and discuss the Lorena Wiebes win rate from 2025 and more in this week's Wheel Talk Podcast episode.With a cameo from Heidi Franz, who finished thirteenth at the Gravel Worlds on Saturday.

This week the whole team of Georgie, Loren, Gracie, and Abby talk European Championships, the UCI's decision to cut the U23 Nations Cup series, and more.How Magdeleine Vallieres prepared for the Worlds here.

To honour the epic World Championship road race we saw on Saturday, we've assembled an equally epic podcast team this week: Grace Brown and Iris Slappendel join Abby and Gracie to talk about what went wrong for the French, Dutch and Italian teams in Kilgali and what went right for the podium.With audio diaries from Alison Jackson (Canada), Amanda Spratt (Australia) and Niamh Fisher-Black (New Zealand).

This week on the Wheel Talk Podcast we are obsessed with time trialling...the World Championships time trials to be exact. Gracie, Loren, and Abby look back at the elite women's race on Sunday, what it means for the upcoming road race, who opted to skip the race against the clock in favour of their chances on Saturday, and the U23 ITT and riders to watch in the future. Plus, an update on the latest transfers and more news (hint: babies!).

World Championships week starts on Sunday with the elite time trials, and we're here to break it down for you. Abby, Georgie, and Gracie also discuss the latest transfers, Fem van Empel's decision to step away from road, and the Tour Féminin de l'Ardeche where Lotte Kopecky ended her road season after taking one final win.

This week Abby, Gracie, Loren, and Georgie chat the latest transfers, the Simac Ladies Tour, the upcoming Tour de Feminin l'Ardeche (and its time trial), and more.

This week we talk about the end of Ceratizit, some of the top transfers so far, the Classic Lorient Agglomération (GP de Plouay), and the upcoming Simac Ladies Tour.

It's mailbag week! With limited racing to discuss this week, Abby, Gracie, Georgie, and Loren answer some of your burning questions. From what we want to see in women's cycling going forward to that Serena Williams ad. Plus: who was our messiest teammate? It's a fun one this week.

This week on the Wheel Talk Podcast, Abby, Loren, Gracie, and Georgie dive into the Tour de Romandie Féminin and the UCI's decision to disqualify five teams before the start of the first stage. They also talk about Charlotte Kool's move to Fenix-Decuninck and what that means for the sprinter and the Dutch team.

This week on the podcast, Matt de Neef, Georgie Howe, and Iris Slappendel join Abby Mickey to talk about some of the biggest stories from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. From the massive increase in viewership to where the top riders of this year's Tour go from here. There is far too much to talk about from this year's edition.

Today, Georgie sits down with Dr Stacy Sims to discuss how women – from the professional to amateur ranks – should optimize their hormones for performance. This was a recording before the TDFF, but we thought it was an apt time to publish given the conversations sparked. It is all in an endeavor to answer the question: how sustainable is the current state of professional women’s cycling?

The fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is now complete and today’s final stage delivered plenty of entertaining storylines. Join Georgie Howe and Matt de Neef as they break down another action-packed day of racing at the biggest event on the women's calendar. This final episode features audio diaries from Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Mags Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly), and Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez).

For the last time this Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift Shawn Clarke calls in from the Liv AlUla Jayco team car. Shawn comments on stages 7 and 8, two of the most exciting days of the race, including the decisive Queen stage.

The queen stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift proved every bit as decisive as we'd expected. Join Georgie Howe and Matt de Neef on the Col de la Madeleine as stage 8 unfolds before your ears. This episode features audio diaries from Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez), Jelena Erić (Movistar), and Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education-Oatly).