This week's episode is sponsored by Whoop. This year, Whoop is providing rider data from the race, including heart rate data during the stages and sleep data after them. Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EastPost), for instance, only got 5.5 hours of sleep on the big transfer day from Hungary to Sicily, according to Whoop. The Giro d'Italia is reaching its mountainous conclusion, and team Ineos looks primed to win the Maglia Rosa with Richard Carapaz. A victory would bring Ineos its fourth Giro win in five years. Why does the team and its "Froome train" strategy still work in Italy, while it falters in France and Spain? On today's episode we dive into this big question, and explore what a top Giro finish would mean for the three men in the hunt for the final podium: Carapaz, Jai Hindley, and Mikel Landa. Then, the U.S. cycling scene is still reeling from the murder of gravel star Moriah Wilson. We discuss the gravity of this story, and why it now occupies its own tragic realm in the history of pro bike racing.

U.S. track cycling phenom Ashton Lambie has traded in the velodrome for dirt. Lambie, 31, is embarking on his first full campaign in gravel and mountain-bike racing in 2022, and he's racing the Life Time Grand Prix events and other off-road races. Lambie shares his opinions with Ben Delaney on what it's like to return to 100-mile gravel events after spending years spinning circles around a velodrome. How does the four-minute effort of the individual pursuit compare to a daylong race? What are the biggest tech differences between an aero bike and a gravel rig? Lambie takes us inside his experiences in this wide-ranging interview. This week's episode is sponsored by Whoop. This year, Whoop is providing rider data from the race, including heart rate data during the stages and sleep data after them. Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EastPost), for instance, only got 5.5 hours of sleep on the big transfer day from Hungary to Sicily, according to Whoop.

The Giro d'Italia kicked off this year with three stages in Hungary, followed by a big travel day down to Sicily for a stout mountain stage up Mount Etna. How does all this travel affect the racing? Riders often say different things, depending on who they are speaking to — or whether it's on the record. This year, fitness wearable company Whoop is providing rider data from the race, including heart rate data during the stages and sleep data after them. Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EastPost), for instance, only got 5.5 hours of sleep on the big transfer day from Hungary to Sicily, according to Whoop. U.S. national time trial champion Lawson Craddock is racing the Giro in support of Simon Yates, who won the time trial in Budapest. Andrew Hood spoke with Craddock about racing in Hungary for an Italian stage race, as well as his thoughts on the long road ahead at the Giro. Host Ben Delaney chats with Hood from the press room on Mount Etna.

The racing was high-intensity and high-drama around the world last week, from Belgian Waffle Ride to the Tour de Romandie. What did we learn from covering these races? Ben Delaney, Betsy Welch, and Daniel Benson talk through the hot spots. Watching Lauren De Crescenzo win a stage by five minutes and the overall at the Tour of Gila while Mo Wilson won BWR by 25 minutes has us looking forward to a showdown between these two powerhouses at Unbound Gravel early next month. Speaking of Unbound, can anybody beat Keegan Swenson? Daniel was in Switzerland for Romandie, where Aleksandr Vlasov executed a TT-to-road bike swap in the final time trial, and blew past jersey-wearer Rohan Dennis to capture the overall. Are these type of stages gimmicks or legitimate racing? Dan and Ben discuss. And why was Ben hanging out of a car window at BWR? Tune in to this week's episode of the VeloNews Podcast.

Amy Charity is the driving force behind SBT GRVL, one of VeloNews' five Monuments of Gravel that exploded onto the scene in 2019 and now sells out its 3,000 spots within minutes. SBT GRVL was invited to join the UCI's new Gravel World Series, but Charity declined. On this episode of the VeloNews Podcast, Charity and host Ben Delaney discuss a variety of things, including the intersection of pro racing and recreational gravel riding, why she is happy to have SBT GRVL as an independent entity, the community of gravel race promoters, and that time she and Life Time vice president Kimo Seymour worked together racing at Unbound Gravel 200.

It was a hell of a weekend in France with Paris-Roubaix Femmes and Paris-Roubaix, and Ben Delaney and Jim Cotton discuss the highlights and lowlights of both the men's and women's races and the gear that was used to varying degrees of success. What is your favorite type of Roubaix? A wet and muddy edition, or a dry and dusty version? Ben and Jim argue about that, too.

Race series are nothing new, but a series that combines cross-country mountain bike and gravel events absolutely is. How will this play out? Will mountain bikers or gravel racers have the advantage overall? The Life Time Grand Prix kicked off Saturday at the Sea Otter Classic with the 80K Fuego XC race, and the day before, Betsy Welch sat down with a number of the racers to talk about the six-race series format, their hopes for the events, and what they were nervous about. Betsy spoke with Kaysee Armstrong and Crystal Anthony of Liv Racing, fresh back from Cape Epic in Africa, then spoke to Amity Rockwell and Lizzie King, and then finally was joined by Colin Strickland, John Keller and Laurens ten Dam. Moriah Wilson and Keegan Swenson won the Fuego, slotting them into the overall lead for the points-based series that is calculated on each rider's top five finishes.

When was the last time you saw a Tour de France champion defining a race at a cobbled classic? Go on and think a while; we’ll wait. Tadej Pogačar raced the Tour de Flanders for the first time Sunday, and he wasn’t just perusing the event as a tourist - the two-time Tour champ rode to win. And while he didn’t pull off the victory, he absolutely did force every rider in the field to play on his terms until the final meters. In the women’s race, defending champ Annemiek van Vleuten rode similarly in many ways to Pogačar — defining the race, chasing down the break, and forcing the critical selection. And, like Pogačar, she came up just a bit short as SD Worx had the numbers. On this podcast, Ben Delaney and Andy Hood break down both races, taking a look at the tactics, the contentious points, the power numbers of Mathieu van Der Pole, and the gear used at the classics this year.

In winning Gent-Wevelgem, Biniam Girmay made history by becoming the first Black African to win a classic. While he and his team were delighted with the win, Girmay isn't necessarily comfortable with the limelight. "I don't like to be the famous guy," Girmay said after the race. Recording in Belgium between Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders, Sadhbh O'Shea and Ben Delaney discuss what Girmay's win means for cycling, and what it means for the young rider from Eritrea. Sadhbh and Ben also talk top prospects for the women's and men's Tour of Flanders this coming Sunday, where the eagerly awaited battle between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel has only been enhanced by the presence of Tadej Pogačar on the startline. And finally, Ben chats with WorldTour mechanic Raf Wittenberg of Human Powered Health about the differences and similarities in gear for pros and everyday riders — not just what they should use but how they should maintain it. But first, Sadhbh has a musical interlude...

Matej Mohorič was not the strongest climber or the fastest sprinter at Milan-San Remo. But he was strong enough to bridge the the front group over the decision final Poggio climb. And then, as his race will forever be remember, he dropped his dropper post and the best cyclists in the world on the technical descent and then held off his chasers on the flat 2.2km run-in to the finish. In this episode, Jim Cotton and Ben Delaney analyze Mohorič's power numbers at each critical section in comparison to those of Mathieu van der Poel. This power analysis comes courtesy VeloNews training columnist Zach Nehr. Jim and Ben also discuss Mohorič's tactics at the decisive points of the race, and talk about the specifics of the dropper post he used, how he used it, and whether we will see others using the technology in future races.