In March 1993, four men met in secret on a beach in Cuba. The topic of discussion was mountain biking. Could they take the still-young cycling discipline to the Olympic Games in Atlanta within three years? One of the men, the one who’d been helping to build the sport for years, figured it could be done, but they’d have to continue to operate withou…

This past spring, Ashlin Barry won two junior national championship titles: one in the time trial and one in road race. The Toronto rider snagged the victories south of the 49th parallel, so he pulled on the stars and stripes each time he stood on the podium. Since the beginning of the year, Barry—son of Michael and Dede Barry—has been racing with …

A nice tidy episode, including several interesting things about the upcoming Olympic mtb races, expensive brake pads, old bmx bikes, GCN paid subscriptions, mobile data centers for bike racing?By John V

Man, lots and lots have happened since the last episode. Sram updates, a "future of xc" type bike from Viral, Stan's wheels have fallen, mud tires, and 3D printed stuff for your body...and some tidbits and a short racing update. Worth a listen!By John V

Recently, Environment and Climate Change Canada delivered its summer seasonal forecast. It looks like things will be hot, or at least most of the country will experience above average temperatures. These temperatures will mostly be seen in the North, across most of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces. While we don’t know things like how many…

At the recent cross country World Cup in Nové Město, Isabella Holmgren had her one shot to qualify for the Olympics. Her brother Gunnar also had to do well if he wanted to get the single spot Canada has for the men’s XC race in Paris. Isabella won the under-23 women’s XCO event, finishing 2:05 ahead of the second-place rider. Almost 24 hours later,…

Bike component maker Shimano has launched its new GRX Di2 groupset, which features 12-speed cassettes and semi-wireless shifting. On this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, Dave Lawrence and Nick Legan of Shimano talk about how the latest version of their gravel group came to be, its features and what still might lie ahead for GRX. L…

Tons of little gear news I find interesting, including EEWings finishes, chain guides, Stans with new tweaks, some old school news from Dean and Brodie, Shimano patents go crazy, and tons more...By John V

This episode was just getting polished up as both Michael Woods and Riley Pickrell were involved in crashes in Stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia. Before the start of Stage 6, Woods presented symptoms of a mild concussion. The team made the decision that he should leave the race, head home and recover fully. Even though Pickrell was feeling well, he, too…

Stephen Roche has accomplished what only one other rider has done: won the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and the road world championships in one year. (The other is Eddy Merckx.) This season, it seems Tadej Pogačar could match the Irish rider’s feat from 1987. In this episode, Roche looks back at the challenges he faced during that historic season:…

What can be said, the U.S. riders absolutely killed it in Brazil. 4 women in the top 10? Winning the mens elite? dominating U23? Really? Amazing work, and it happens again tomorrow in Brazil. And there are so many new tires announced for XC racing, and Time pedals, and Fox's crazy arch, and insanely high tech chainrings, what can I say. This is a b…

With the final Nations Cup of the season nearing, Sarah Van Dam was in Milton, Ont., with the Canadian squad getting ready for the event. Since the Olympics are only a few months away, the Nations Cup is a key part of the qualification process for Paris. Van Dam and the other riders on the team pursuit squad are after a top-eight place at minimum. …

Got a long one for you here, first we talk Thomus bikes in the USA, then lots of geat stuff including how all XC race bikes look the same, Trek chopping skus, serious battery charging from Trek and Sram, the new Epic 8 might be my perfect XC bike, Flight Attendant rules, bigger rotors, the extremely confusing US Pro series, and USAC Mountain Bike S…

Mel Webb, who has taken on such challenges as the Atlas Mountain Race and the Alberta Rockies 700, can weave the zany and the serious tougher almost effortlessly. Take her snooze in an outhouse this past summer. It’s kind of gross and funny, but in this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, it also leads her to discuss ideas of safety a…

Kevin Field is back on the pod. Longtime listeners will remember Field as Mr. Moneyball of Canadian Cycling. For years he’s been analyzing data to help riders perform at their best at the top levels of the sport. Today, he’s the chair of the board of directors at Bridge the Gap, an organization that works with riders as they progress toward their p…

Exciting racing pre-World Cup, Spain, Puerto Rico, and the US riders are doing fantastic. We go over some industry news, not all doom and gloom. Cape Epic talk is starting to ramp up. Enough to keep you occupied I think...and another update on the YouTube channel progress.By John V

Lots more actually, XCM schedule released, the new NORBA XC races in the USA, Zipp and Hayes wheels on the move, TRP drivetrain the new hot ticket? Imagine never having to bed your new disc brakes in, or bleed your brakes? Let a robot do it! Zwift on Vision Pro makes me SICK, literally...By John V

One new mtb trend I absolutely hate with a passion, revealed. And, XC racers killing it at the CX champs, Mechanical drivetrain on the comeback? And much, much more. Plus a special announcement at the end on Short Travel's future plans.By John V

Well, 2024 is off and running. We start with a ramble about ditching Zwift for some othe platforms, MyWoosh being free, was considered, but is it worth a switch? Luca Swarzpower reups with Canyon, a killer carbon chainring worth considering, the Canyon Lux is finally in stock, and some CX talk.By John V

GCN+ Goodbye...Pidcock rules, free bikes, did I mention GCN+ dying sucks?By John V

Dirty Reiver, Migration Gravel Race, bikepacking in the mountains of Turkey and Across Andes—these are some of the big rides that Sami Sauri took on this past year. In this episode, Sauri goes in-depth into how she managed these events. She talks about her gear choices for gravel races, and how she’s adapted to the way gravel racing is evolving. Sa…

That's right, Nino Shurter seems to be the topic of many videos as of late, and can these multi-discipline racers really do it all? Seems maybe not. Ditching AXS for mechanical shifting, Canyon increasing sales when everyone else seems to be shrinking, crazy wheel sizes at the Olympics, and a bunch more.…

World championship wins in two disciplines, a repeat rainbow jersey on the track, World Cup wins in downhill and cross country, a Tour de France stage win and more—there were a lot of big performances by Canadian riders this past year. In this episode, Canadian Cycling Magazine‘s editors—Matthew Pioro, Matt Hansen and Terry McKall—present their top…

Cyclocross nationals is just a few days away. The competition is returning to Victoria as are many of the athletes who competed at last year’s event. In this episode of the Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast, six riders not only reflect on the significance of nationals, but also look back at their races so far this year, as well as what lies ahead. …

PFP is back racing it seems, and a race report of a fat bike competition gone all wrong. Mountain Bike Action magazine has abandonded XC entirely, 1991 memories, and stop with the gift lists!By John V

XC Eliminator racing? Is that still a thing? Are the Black Friday deals worth it? Elite racer Elisabeth Brandau from Germany, what happened to her? Dangerholm has jumped the shark, Silca is cool, all kinds of random stuff...and a quick summary of a great race weekend up in Michigan.By John V

In March 2023, Nick Khattar and five others embarked on a 1,340-km bikepacking trip from Terrace, B.C., to Haines, Alaska. The riders pedalled hardtails and pulled trailers with splitboards strapped to them. They planned to ride, snowboard and record their adventures for a film. Not far into the trek, the team faced harrowing close-passes by trucks…

Another round of doom and gloom for the bike industry is upon us it seems. Who else is going down the toilet? And what can be done to a bike if a race is going to be muddy? Sram Transmission wheel changes, the World Cup Schedule is weird, old racing stuff is odd, and all kinds of good XC info in this one.…

Random XC goodness this week. Ingrid components out of Italy, Supercaliber nonsense? Iceman disaster story, Puck still killing it, Little Sugar 100K, Jose Ulloa gone for 18 mos...and more.By John V

Lots of racing talk this time. Mont St. Anne is a wrap, great racing. Luca Schwarzpower's test bike is probably the real thing, even some mention of, gulp, Tyler Hamilton...most definitely NOT a XC racer.By John V

Did Rebecca Henderson really graduate from Harvard? Is GCN lying? Cannondale has cool new paint, but I had that same paint 30 years ago, Puck rules, Joland is gonna rule, and more Snowshoe chats.By John V

Are XC racers getting older and older? Apple sponsoring a bike team, using flat bar gravel bikes for xc racing...Olympic test event come and gone, Snowshoe is here, can the U.S. riders hit the top steps? and all kinds of other XC related news.By John V

Derek Gee reveals a heartwarming story about how he came under the spell of the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal. Isabella and Ava Holmgren, two stars of cyclocross and cross country, find themselves with race duties in Montreal. Canadian Cycling Magazine’s photographer takes a hit. Plus, heartbreak for some Canadians at their home ra…

The final fate of the world champ's course revealed, and yes even Baywatch got into the mtb scene in 1993, 3 hour World Cup races, Keegan Swenson doesn't win every race after all, the Olympic test event is upon us and some killer mechanical shifters that might make me ditch my AXS...By John V

Great weekend of racing in France, even without full participation from PFP, Neff, Nino and a few others. The US ladies kicked butt, Koretzky absolutely killed it, and some talk about a killer new video posted about Tomac and Zapata Espinoza, and the history of the Yeti C-26.By John V