KM0: Netflix & Hills: Jonathan Vaughters On Where Pro Cycling Goes Next (free for a limited time)

This episode was originally released for Friends of the Podcast subscribers earlier this week. However, on Thursday the UCI confirmed the calendars for the men's and women's World Tours for the next three-year cycle and there was no place on it for the One Cycling project, effectively kicking it into the long grass if not killing it completely.

Much of the second half of the episode was about where the sport goes from here, including Jonathan's hope that the One Cycling project might finally give some coherence to the professional sport's structure.

Jonathan asked if we could make this conversation available more widely and so, for a limited time, it will be on our free feed, with our thanks to our Friends of the Podcast subscribers who help to fund our coverage.

Jonathan Vaughters is the general manager of the EF Education-Easy Post team and in this conversation with Lionel Birnie, he begins by talking about the conclusion to the Giro d'Italia. Richard Carparaz finished third overall after that thrilling stage over the Colle delle Finestre but Jonathan explains the tactics were designed with only victory in mind.

From there, it's a freewheeling discussion about the state of pro cycling in 2025. Is Tadej Pogačar's dominance good for the sport, the One Cycling project, the Netflix effect, even the possibility of AI's influence on racing.