Ever wondered what life is like as a professional cyclist? Australian ex-professional cyclist Mitch Docker takes you inside the world of Professional Cycling. Bringing you the stories behind the individuals in the sport - from the pros in the peloton to staff behind the teams - to commentators & legends, plus training insights & debriefs on major races throughout the year. It’s all here! Newly retired from the professional peloton, Mitch is exploring his new pelotons - all the pelotons that exist outside of the world tour - bringing you new stories from within the cycling community. His spin off series, Talking Luft - a bit like the DVD Extras - is where cycling style & culture takes centre stage. Talking cycling caps, bikes, kit, coffee stops, training loops and all the best things about riding a bike. Listen to all episodes here weekly! Find all our episodes, merch and more at lifeinthepeloton.com
Episodes
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by Rapha
It is her first appearance on the pod, you might know her from her larger-than-life social media presence, or you might have watched her progress through the women´s peloton, but you´ll definitely know her as the Queen of Roubaix, after her triumphant victory there this year, and I´m super excited to be chatting to Alison Jackson this week.
I couldn´t wait to hear about her epic 2023 Paris – Roubaix win, where she won so impressively, and etched her name in the cycling history books by becoming only the third-ever female winner of the race. Her post-win finish line dance catapulted her from exalted winner to something of cycling legend, and she´s known as this big-energy person that comes across online (if you´re not currently a follower, do yourself a favour and go check out her Instagram and TikTok), where she just keeps it real and has such a fun vibe. But Roubaix really cemented her position in the pro peloton, and announced to the world that she´s an excellent tactical rider and a natural racer – you just don´t find yourself in that position at a race like that for any other reason.
I wanted to hear all about how Alison made the leap from Canada to Europe – a challenge all pro cyclists go through but with varied success. It was refreshing to hear Alison´s take on what it takes to be a pro, and how you get through those challenging early years where you´re missing home, you´re just not happy in Europe and to top it all off, you´re getting your head kicked in at races. It can set off a real downward spiral for many riders, but for Alison it was the racing that kept her Euro dreams alive - she just absolutely loves to race.
And finally, we had a bit of a chat about where female cycling is headed, and the immense changes it has gone through in recent years – the increase in tactics, professionalism, and support and the flow-on effect this is having on the dynamics of women’s racing.
As you can probably tell, this episode was a lot of fun to put together, and I hope you love listening to Alison´s story as much as I did.
Cheers,
Mitch
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