Re-Cycle: The cycling history podcast

In 1985 and 1986, mercurial climber Philippa York twice came one step away from becoming Britain’s first Grand Tour winner – only for a combination of bad luck, mismanagement, Machiavellian machinations and team alliances to thwart her. We remember how the Scot fell short of glory in controversial circumstances.Re-Cycle is written by Felix Lowe, narrated by Graham Willgoss, and produced by Pete Burton. Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!

In this episode of Re-Cycle, we re-count when Federico Bahamontes blew a 16-minute lead to hand his big rival Jesús Loroño the yellow jersey on a plateIt was one of cycling's bitterest rivalries and that fateful Vuelta 1957 took things to a new level. But there’s much more than there seems to a story that blends social, political, economic, sporting and personal conflict.Re-Cycle is written by Felix Lowe, narrated by Graham Willgoss, and produced by Pete Burton.Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!

In this episode of Re-Cycle, we re-count the time Rudi Altig defied teammate Jacques Anquetil to win the 1962 Vuelta.  Frenchman Jacques Anquetil entered the 1962 Vuelta a España aiming to become the first rider in history to win all three of cycling’s Grand Tours.  But the time trial specialist was beaten at his own game by his young teammate, who became Germany’s first ever Grand Tour winner. Re-Cycle is written by Felix Lowe, narrated by Graham Willgoss, and produced by Pete Burton. Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!

In this episode of Re-Cycle, we’re riding with Eros Poli, a man famous for being the tallest rider in the peloton as well as finishing last in the Giro d’Italia, while also piloting Mario Cipollini to multiple stage wins. Then, on a sweltering day in the Tour de France, Poli went on the attack en route to Mont Ventoux. Here’s the story of how some quick thinking, a little James Brown and a hot can of Fanta fired a giant to victory up and over the Beast of Provence.Re-Cycle is written by Felix Lowe, narrated by Graham Willgoss, and produced by Pete Burton. Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!

Sunstroke and a bottle of wine made Abdel-Kader Zaaf a household name at the 1950 Tour after he passed out on his bike then, in a daze, rode back towards the peloton. A year later, the Algerian trailblazer finished last after launching the move that ended the grieving Fausto Coppi’s bid for yellow. Felix Lowe remembers a man who blurred the lines between myth and reality, between patronising praise and casual racism.Re-Cycle is narrated by Graham Willgoss, and produced by Pete Burton. Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!

In the first of our 4-stage Tour run of Re-Cycle, Felix Lowe tells the story of the accidental yellow jersey. Eddy Merckx’s bid to wear the Yellow Jersey from start to finish at the 1971 Tour de France was scuppered when his Molteni teammate Rini Wagtmans took the race lead by mistake on a crazy triple-split stage. Felix Lowe remembers a chaotic race at the height of Merckx Mania, when the Cannibal was pushed to his very limit by his great rival Luis Ocaña.Re-Cycle is narrated by Graham Willgoss and produced by Pete Burton.Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!

In this episode of Re-Cycle, Felix Lowe turns back the clock to June 1946, just a few months after the end of World War II. A reduced field took to the start of the Giro d’Italia in Milan, with Italy divided and in turmoil.His career derailed by the War, Gino Bartali’s third victory in the Giro came 10 years after his first. But he had to battle hard to deny his former apprentice Fausto Coppi the Maglia Rosa by a margin of just 47 seconds, as their great rivalry came to a head.An epic duel between the legendary pair was just what Italy needed – but as these two men resumed their rivalry, another less renowned rider would emerge to become the unexpected hero Italy was searching for in its time of need.Re-Cycle is narrated by Graham Willgoss and produced by Pete Burton.Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!

It’s rightly gone down as one of the most legendary stages in the Giro d’Italia: when the race hit Tuscany’s Strade Bianche amid a deluge of rain turning the usually dusty affair into a mud slick.Stage 7 of the 2010 Corsa Rosa, saw world champion, Cadel Evans prove too powerful for Alexandre Vinokourov, as the Australian called on all his strengths to come away with the win.“That win really stands out as one of my favourite victories because it really encapsulated everything about me as a rider – my career, my mountain bike background, the preparation of equipment down to the Paris-Roubaix wheels I used. It really encapsulated my team, how I was as a rider, and everything”.Felix Lowe recalls a chaotic day’s racing and conditions so grim, you could barely tell one rider from the next. Re-Cycle is narrated by Graham Willgoss and produced by Pete Burton.Sponsored by Zwift, where Fun is Fast!