Daniel Friebe, Lionel Birnie and Rob Hatch return to recap all the latest stories and racing as the stars of the international peloton commence their 2025 campaigns. In Oman, there’s a battle royale between two Frenchmen and an Englishman – and, ultimately, the same final result as in another recent sporting contest. We also discuss an excellent week for Colombian riders, with Egan Bernal and Santiago Buitrago both flying high. Finally, in the last part of the episode, we sink our teeth into the most controversial issue of the week - the exodus of top teams from the Étoile des Bessèges amid fears for riders’ safety but also for the future of small races in the sport’s heartlands. To bring a little perspective on that issue, we hear from Lidl-Trek’s directeur sportif in Bessèges, Steven de Jongh. EPISODE SPONSORS NordVPN Get NordVPN two-year plan + four months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/tcp It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee. Follow us on social media: Twitter @cycling_podcast Instagram @thecyclingpodcast Friends of the Podcast Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes. The Cannibal & Badger Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our new virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in. The 11.01 Cappuccino Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am). The Cycling Podcast is on Strava The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.