Luke Durbridge - Talking Cobbled Classics 2022

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton!

Photo: Zac Williams

Christmas is here. And by that I mean: it’s Cobbled Classics’ season.

If you’ve listened to the podcast you’ll have heard me bang on about the cobbled classics, Belgium, and especially the brutally beautiful Paris-Roubaix. It’s no secret that these races were a passion of mine throughout my career and being on the other side of the fence hasn’t changed that one bit.

Every year I have loved catching up with my good mate Luke (Durbo) Durbridge, from Team Bike-Exchange, on the podcast mid-classics to debrief the races that have been, preview the coming classics & generally chat about Belgium during this racing period. This year was no different, except that I’m back in Australia & more keen than ever to hear about racing from someone inside the peloton.

I caught up with Durbo the day after Tour of Flanders, and he recounts the less than ideal travel schedule that a lot of riders embark upon the night of a brutal 270km.

We take a look back at the Spring classics, from Milan-San Remo through to Tour of Flanders. We chat about the amazing crowds lining the cobbles to the incredible speed of the bunch, and talk some massive power numbers that are being put out in these races.

We then answer your listener questions – from after race parties to cobble-specific equipment, to the ‘Spring Classics Rider’, to recon & recovery between races and what the single thing is that will win or lose you the bike race.

I could chat all day about the classics, especially with Durbo. This was a good laugh & great insight into the new level of racing up there in Flanders.

Enjoy the listen and stay tuned for a special Talking Luft 3.0 with Durbo next week.

I want to dedicate this episode to Richard Moore. A huge loss in the cycling and journalism community. Will miss you mate.

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app.

Show Notes

Episode breakdown:

0:00min to 2:00 – Episode Intro

2:00min to 15:45 – Durbo Flanders & San Remo recap

15:45min to 31:32 – Changes in the speed of racing, power outputs in the peloton & crowd at Tour of Flanders

31:32 min to 55:50 – Listener questions; After parties, equipment, nutrition, recon & recovery & more..

55:50 to end - Outro

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This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

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Theme Music

The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4’s coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show. Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete’s widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton.

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