Sir Bradley Wiggins’ Café Aficionado

Ep10: The New Look Of The Tour de France: Considering The Future After 2025

In the final Café Aficionado of season 1, Brad and Graham debrief after the 2025 Tour de France. Is it one for the history books? Both covered the tour in different ways - Brad in Aspen and Graham on the ground in France, giving an episode that provides insight from all angles. In true Café Aficionado style the pair give their opinions and hot takes on what they saw, and delve into some of the climbs used and the historic moments behind them. The race saw Tadej Pogačar redeem himself against Jonas Vingegaard on all of Hautacam, Mont Ventoux and Col de la Loze, whilst Thymen Arensman triumphed - against the odds - on Superbagnères and La Plagne. But after a tour which many believe marks the beginning of a new era for the sport this one is really about the future, and Brad and Graham make their predictions for the shape of the Tour in years to come. The 'Ultimate Cyclist also comes to its conclusion with the final attribute decided: sprinting. It is perhaps not the fiercest battle to determine our pick. This one’s pretty easy! Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode and join the Café Aficionado community on social: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/sirbradscafe]⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@sirbradscafe]⁠⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@SirBradsCafe] | Strava [https://www.strava.com/clubs/sirbradscafe] Add your favourite cycle café stop to the ⁠Café Aficionado map [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=51.47238112112426%2C-0.25165014921265216&z=16&mid=1NutaFW6kj3L5Px6VK02pbHOJVUzqhcA] Contact us: ⁠sirbradscafe@atomizedstudios.tv⁠  CAMS: Café Aficionado is sponsored by CAMS - helping thousands of cyclists get back on the roads. For more information visit the CAMS website [https://c-ams.co.uk/sirbradscafe/] APPLIED NUTRITION: Use code SIRBRAD30 for 30% off your next order at Applied Nutrition [https://appliednutrition.uk/] - fuelled by science, trusted by Champions Credits Presented by⁠ Sir Bradley Wiggins [https://www.instagram.com/bradwiggins/?hl=en]⁠ and Graham Willgoss Researcher and Guest ‘Ultimate Cyclist’ Referee: Luca Unwin Production Manager: Ross Aitken Social Video Producer: Rosie Mansfield Audio Editor: David Levene YouTube Editor: Théo Stöcklin Producer: Toby Gilles Executive Producers: Faye Stewart, Ashley Unwin & Dominic de Terville Recorded at: Podcast Room, London Bridge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

EP9: Steve Cummings: The Master Of The Breakaway And The Col D’Aspin

Old pals Steve Cummings and Bradley Wiggins were once so close that Team Sky bosses had to stop them rooming together. Such was the laughter that there were concerns their performance would be impacted negatively, so it’s no surprise that this raucous episode, where the two-time Tour de France stage winner visits Brad and Graham at Café Aficionado, is packed with hilarious stories from their respective careers. But Steve was far more than just a prankster and remains one of the all-time great breakaway riders, including a hugely memorable 2016 Tour stage victory up the Pyrenean climb that centres this episode, the Col D’Aspin. During the episode Steve recalls the huge, 29-rider breakaway that led to his win, how he broke solo with 25km to go, and the emotional moment he realised he’d dropped the legendary Vincenzo Nibali towards the end of the climb, and would likely cross the line 1st. There are regrets too, like in 2015 when Steve won his first Tour stage. Riding for Africa-based team MTN-Qhuebeka on Mandela Day, the enormity of the achievement impacted him to such a degree that his Tour aspirations fell apart and he was still in dreamland about it two months later. Brad and Steve also reminisce about the greatest day either had with the British team, when they helped Sir Mark Cavendish with the World Championship - and reveal they once had a mystery pact, which not even the Café Aficionado team can know the details of! Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode and join the Café Aficionado community on social: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/sirbradscafe]⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@sirbradscafe]⁠⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@SirBradsCafe] | Strava [https://www.strava.com/clubs/sirbradscafe] Add your favourite cycle café stop to the ⁠Café Aficionado map [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=51.47238112112426%2C-0.25165014921265216&z=16&mid=1NutaFW6kj3L5Px6VK02pbHOJVUzqhcA] Contact us: ⁠sirbradscafe@atomizedstudios.tv⁠  CAMS: Café Aficionado is sponsored by CAMS - helping thousands of cyclists get back on the roads. For more information visit the CAMS website [https://c-ams.co.uk/sirbradscafe/] APPLIED NUTRITION: Use code SIRBRAD30 for 30% off your next order at Applied Nutrition [https://appliednutrition.uk/] - fuelled by science, trusted by Champions Credits Presented by⁠ Sir Bradley Wiggins [https://www.instagram.com/bradwiggins/?hl=en]⁠ and Graham Willgoss Guest: Steve Cummings [https://www.instagram.com/stevocummings/?hl=en] Researcher: Luca Unwin Production Manager: Ross Aitken Social Video Producer: Rosie Mansfield YouTube Editor: Théo Stöcklin Produced and Edited by: Toby Gilles Executive Producers: Faye Stewart, Ashley Unwin & Dominic de Terville Recorded at: Outset Studio, London Bridge Sir Bradley Wiggins' Café Aficionado is an Atomized Studios production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

EP8: Luke Rowe, The Folly Of Tour De France Cobbles, And The Art Of Road Captaincy

Luke Rowe is, for many, the greatest road captain of the 21st century, playing a key role in 5 consecutive Tour de France wins for Teams Sky and Ineos between 2015 and 2019. Focusing on one of the most dangerous elements in cycling - the cobbles - the Welshman tells Brad and Graham of his huge reservations about their continued use in the Tour de France. He explores whether the damage they do both to riders’ bodies and ambitions - and the fan experience - is worth it, despite his admiration for the few he’s watched who seemed, somehow, to thrive over them. Luke also explores the mindset required to carry out one of the most selfless jobs in sport: putting in more work than even the most dedicated domestique to guide others to glory at the expense of your own, with very little recognition outside of the peloton. Brad then explains how Luke's path to road captain always looked clear - even as an under-23 - while the 2012 Tour de France champion reveals, with a clear hint of regret, how he remains unsure of the exact reason why he was not selected to ride in the service of Chris Froome in 2014. Meanwhile, a surprising twist emerges during this week’s Ultimate Cyclist, as Brad and Luke debate the rider who had the greatest bunch skills ever seen in cycling. Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode and join the Café Aficionado community on social: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/sirbradscafe]⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@sirbradscafe]⁠⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@SirBradsCafe] | Strava [https://www.strava.com/clubs/sirbradscafe] Add your favourite cycle café stop to the ⁠Café Aficionado map [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=51.47238112112426%2C-0.25165014921265216&z=16&mid=1NutaFW6kj3L5Px6VK02pbHOJVUzqhcA] Contact us: ⁠sirbradscafe@atomizedstudios.tv⁠  CAMS: Café Aficionado is sponsored by CAMS - helping thousands of cyclists get back on the roads. For more information visit the CAMS website [https://c-ams.co.uk/sirbradscafe/] APPLIED NUTRITION: Use code SIRBRAD30 for 30% off your next order at Applied Nutrition [https://appliednutrition.uk/] - fuelled by science, trusted by Champions BUY LUKE ROWE’S NEW BOOK: “Road Captain: My Life At The Heart Of The Peloton” HERE [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Road-Captain-Life-Heart-Peloton/dp/0857507826] Credits Presented by⁠ Sir Bradley Wiggins [https://www.instagram.com/bradwiggins/?hl=en]⁠ and Graham Willgoss Guest: Luke Rowe [https://www.instagram.com/lukerowe1990/?hl=en] Researcher: Luca Unwin Production Manager: Ross Aitken Social Video Producer: Rosie Mansfield YouTube Editor: Théo Stöcklin Produced and Edited by: Toby Gilles Executive Producers: Faye Stewart, Ashley Unwin & Dominic de Terville Recorded at: Podcast Room, London Bridge Sir Bradley Wiggins' Café Aficionado is an Atomized Studios production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

EP7: Andy Schleck, The Col Du Galibier And Making Peace With A Belated Tour Victory

In this episode Brad and Graham are joined by Andy Schleck, the man Brad most feared as he rode to Tour de France victory in 2012 and the closest rider he’s seen to Tadej Pogačar. The Luxembourger was retrospectively handed the 2010 Tour de France title after Alberto Contador, the man who controversially beat him by 39 seconds that year, was found to have taken performance enhancing drugs. That forms a major part of this fascinating chat, as Schleck admits it took a long time to accept his victory but rues the missed opportunity to celebrate it properly at the time. But it is Schleck’s extraordinary ascent of one of the Tour’s most agonising climbs, the Col du Galibier, that centres the episode. In 2011, he used the Queen stage of the race, concluding up the Alpine pass, to launch one of the most memorable attacks in Tour history. It was an attempt so silly that even his teammates tried to persuade him to switch to a plan B. Here he tells Bradley and Graham of his unwavering faith that his idea would work and how, when it did, the whole peloton lauded his effort as he closed in on the yellow jersey which he took the next day after another climb of the Galibier. Yet ultimately he couldn’t hold on, finishing 2nd overall after losing time on the penultimate stage, an individual Time Trial. Brad also reminisces about his battles with Andy and the pair reveal the one time they both refused to continue riding, climbing together into the warmth of a car instead as snow poured down around them. Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode and join the Café Aficionado community on social: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/sirbradscafe]⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@sirbradscafe]⁠⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@SirBradsCafe] | Strava [https://www.strava.com/clubs/sirbradscafe] Add your favourite cycle café stop to the ⁠Café Aficionado map [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=51.47238112112426%2C-0.25165014921265216&z=16&mid=1NutaFW6kj3L5Px6VK02pbHOJVUzqhcA] Contact us: ⁠sirbradscafe@atomizedstudios.tv⁠  CAMS: Café Aficionado is sponsored by CAMS - helping thousands of cyclists get back on the roads. For more information visit the CAMS website [https://c-ams.co.uk/sirbradscafe/] APPLIED NUTRITION: Use code SIRBRAD30 for 30% off your next order at Applied Nutrition [https://appliednutrition.uk/] - fuelled by science, trusted by Champions Credits Presented by⁠ Sir Bradley Wiggins [https://www.instagram.com/bradwiggins/?hl=en]⁠ and Graham Willgoss Guest: Andy Schleck [https://andyschleckcycles.lu/en/] Researcher: Luca Unwin Production Manager: Ross Aitken Social Video Producer: Rosie Mansfield YouTube Editor: Théo Stöcklin Produced and Edited by: Toby Gilles Executive Producers: Faye Stewart, Ashley Unwin & Dominic de Terville Recorded at: Podcast Room, London Bridge Sir Bradley Wiggins' Café Aficionado is an Atomized Studios production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

EP6: Sir Mark Cavendish, The “Beautiful” Champs Élysées and his brotherhood with Brad

The Champs Élysées, the iconic conclusion to the Tour de France since 1975, helped Sir Mark Cavendish, the race’s most decorated stage winner, make his name. Four of his 35 stage victories came there. But one moment on the Champs Élysées remains the most memorable on a bike for both Cavendish and Bradley. In this extraordinary episode, “Cav” joins his old mate Brad and Graham Wilgoss to delve into the final moments of the 2012 Tour de France when Brad, wearing yellow and on his way to overall victory, led out his teammate, wearing the rainbow World Champion jersey, for the final sprint to victory. They reveal how the plan had been hatched in a hotel room five years earlier, and constantly remind each other of details the other had long forgotten - including the moment another sprint king found his way on to the team bus for a chat with the fastest man on a bike. There are countless other little-known Champs Élysées stories too, as Sir Mark delves into the minutiae of how to win the unofficial “World Championship of Sprinters” and how the whole Tour felt a waste on the occasions he failed to do so. And in probably the most poignant chat of the entire series so far, Brad and Cav open up on the depth of their friendship, how they have helped one another through their darkest moments and why their bond can never be broken. You won’t want to miss this one. Hit FOLLOW to make sure you never miss an episode and join the Café Aficionado community on social: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/sirbradscafe]⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠ [https://www.tiktok.com/@sirbradscafe]⁠⁠YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@SirBradsCafe] | Strava [https://www.strava.com/clubs/sirbradscafe] Add your favourite cycle café stop to the ⁠Café Aficionado map [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=51.47238112112426%2C-0.25165014921265216&z=16&mid=1NutaFW6kj3L5Px6VK02pbHOJVUzqhcA] Contact us: ⁠sirbradscafe@atomizedstudios.tv⁠  CAMS: Café Aficionado is sponsored by CAMS - helping thousands of cyclists get back on the roads. For more information visit the CAMS website [https://c-ams.co.uk/sirbradscafe/] APPLIED NUTRITION: Use code SIRBRAD30 for 30% off your next order at Applied Nutrition [https://appliednutrition.uk/] - fuelled by science, trusted by champions NORD VPN: Café Aficionado listeners can get an exclusive deal with Nord VPN at https://nordvpn.com/sirbrad [https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnordvpn.com%2Fsirbrad&data=05%7C02%7CDominic.Deterville%40atomizedstudios.tv%7Cf002a47b007c4f5a756208ddc48eea2b%7C1705c8a1bbff444ba7ab805028dd5ca2%7C0%7C0%7C638882840353639474%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xn5B7VBYuae2mF8PCp5GHLkMANby5UzPtkbD3OSeW%2Fk%3D&reserved=0] Credits Presented by⁠ Sir Bradley Wiggins [https://www.instagram.com/bradwiggins/?hl=en]⁠ and Graham Willgoss Guest: Sir Mark Cavendish [https://www.instagram.com/markcavendish/] Researcher: Luca Unwin Production Manager: Ross Aitken Social Video Producer: Rosie Mansfield YouTube Editor: Théo Stöcklin Produced and Edited by: Toby Gilles Executive Producers: Faye Stewart, Ashley Unwin & Dominic de Terville Recorded at: Outset Studio London Bridge Sir Bradley Wiggins' Café Aficionado is an Atomized Studios production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]