Communitysarah & anthony

LACHLAN'S PERFECT UNBOUND: TYRES, BIKE & HELMET | RIDER SUPPORT

with Rider Support

31:10·7 June 2024

LISTEN NOW

Listen on

Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube

RIDER SUPPORT

PROFILE →

TOPICS

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Lachlan Morton's Unbound victory sparks a wider conversation about what it takes to succeed in gravel racing—and whether you need to obsess over every detail to get results. We dig into the gear, mindset, and preparation that separate the winners from the rest, plus tackle questions about staying motivated through a cycling season, fashion trends, pedal choices, and how to navigate big sportive events with mixed-ability groups.

Key Takeaways

Elite gravel racers are optimizing every detail (helmets, socks, bike setup) because the rewards are greater, but you don't need to chase that rabbit hole unless you're racing at the pointy end—focus on inputs you control (training, nutrition, sleep) and results will follow.
The decline in visibility-focused bright cycling kit is a trend worth questioning; studies support fluorescent clothing for safety, though it shouldn't be used to blame riders for driver inattention.
For 200km sportive events, communicate honestly with your group about abilities upfront rather than forcing everyone to stay together; read the room when joining other groups and prioritize safety over ego.
Quick early progression in any new sport inevitably plateaus—gains become imperceptible for long periods, so anchor your motivation to community, shorter-term process goals, and the joy of riding itself, not just race results.
Nutrition on long endurance events is critical: aim for 60-100g carbs per hour, don't try anything new on race day, and hydrate consistently—one rider's secret weapon was eating Turkish delight every 30 minutes.
Clip-in pedals are worth adopting earlier rather than later, even for mountain biking, despite the learning curve; flat pedals offer little advantage for progression.

Expert Quotes

"The spirit of gravel is dead—he wore an arrow helmet, not exactly spirit of gravel; he wore a skin suit, not exactly spirit of gravel."

"If it's about winning you're in the wrong sport. Even the very best riders in the world they're losing over 90% of the time, so it can't be about winning, it has to be about something else."

"Control the controllables—you can control how much you train, your nutrition, your sleep, your recovery. Calibrate the effort and improvement in these areas and then the results will look after themselves."

KEY QUOTES

“I think his normalized power was like 320 Watts someone correct me in the comments for a nine hour race which is legit I mean he won Cape epic this year so I mean three times that's like that's insane.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“Dylan Johnson told one of the public this week when they were taking pictures of his bike he was going to go home that evening and shave the knobble you know those kind of like knobbles that are left on the tires after the manufacturer when it's pulled off the line he was going to go and shave them off.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“You need to just focus on what you can control and what you can control is your inputs you can control how much you train you can control your nutrition you can control your sleep your recovery control that stuff and Dave Bradford's you know the team Sky bra Charles he famously said control the controllables and that's what it is calibrate the effort and the Improvement in these areas and then the results will look after themselves.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT8 SECTIONS

Lachlan Morton's Unbound win

Welcome to this week's Rider support today we're going to talk about how you can maintain motivation during the season cycling fashion the best pedals if you're a newbie but first we couldn't really start any other place could we it's Unbound and Lackland Morton Anthony let's get straight into the questions we've so much to cover this week hi Anthony and Sarah watching Unbound over the weekend has really inspired me I'm a roadie but I'm going to try Branch out into gravel riding this summer looking at laan Morton's win what do you think he did different this year to finally get that top spot on the podium and what are the things he does that I can bring across to my new gravel era and that's from JP is lucky coming on the show who knows maybe maybe not I confirm can't deny oh that would be so amazing well you and luy are basically best friends anyway you and I boozing together so uh some some of those uh stories from the pub maybe H the question I just got so excited about talking about L like the question again he's such a dude isn't he okay so this guy basically JP wants to know what do you think lacky did this time around in Unbound to get him on the podium and then secondly walking JP he's now going to try gravel writing what can he take from ly's you know his Fitness his preparation that he that this ESS has llin killed the spirit of gravel I think that's what we're talking about here reading between the lines I think so I mean has he has he killed the spirit of gravel I got to text off one of my friends literally as soon as the race finished saying it's official the spirit of gravel is dead and look we none of us really know what the spirit of gravel is this weird nebulous concept Pete de in the same to Coen and chat to him on the podcast about it lackan w the aroh helm is that I don't know maybe Wes can find a clip from a few week SC me saying I wouldn't be CAU dead wearing that Arrow helmet but and he rocked it it looked cool on him but L is a poster boy I mean his position on the bike his bike his bike setup his helmet he could literally wear a monkey suit and he just still an EF monkey suit he'd still looks so cool yeah okay it sounds like you have a crush so settle down L he wore an arrow helmet not exactly Spirit of gravel he wore a skin suit not exactly Spirit of grael he wore a set of Aros socks not exactly Spirit of grav I don't know if he was in the wind tunnel and so I'm sure he was all of this just kind of means that he's doing what everybody else is doing he's doing what all the contenders in gravel are doing now they're going further and further down this rabbit hole because the rewards are greater and greater they're leaving nothing on you know they're leaving nothing to chance anymore be that their training their nutrition or their bike setup and llan I still feel like he's t a nice line between not being super World Tour serious but still been serious enough to be competitive at the point the end of it and I think it was actually a little bit of a win for the spirit of gravel because yeah he doesn't have that Orthodox preparation I know he's back working with a coach this season and he's structur training again for the first time in years but he's also if you follow him on Instagram he was like running on the beach and stuff in the week before the race yeah that has not doing that before that was his prep I mean there was he did have a very open and honest I think interview enroller a few weeks ago where he said that you know at this stage of his career in his life he didn't kind of want to go down that like crazy Rabbit Hole of high performance you know the diet restrictions the concentrating the obsess obsessing about equipment bike training food and he was kind of take going to take start taking a different approach to the bike and maybe he was going kind of coming into a new era himself um so it is interesting that he took a week in the lead up to ownb he's jogging on the beach and then he's gone and one I mean it certainly helped that Keegan Swenson who has won it before and and has won the lifetime Grand Prix last year he was came down in a crash and I don't know

Dylan Johnson's marginal gains

If that affected the race too much you don't think so ah look lucky was out with Chad haga already they already had over two minutes from what I can see the coverage must be said from Lifetime was brilliant and it's getting better and better it was an ER of highlights between the men's and the women's race which was phenomenal but it's still not Euros sport 6 hours of live coverage I don't know if it's desirable or if ever get there so we're not entirely sure what happened Keegan I know that he crashed because he shared pictures afterwards pretty CAU up I'm assuming he was in that chase group he was in it at one point and then a flashback to him and he wasn't in it and they didn't cover his crash we just know from social media he did crash I think there was so many good writers in that race that they almost constantly each other out like if you think about that chase group Greg van aart is in the chase Group H Matt beers who we had on the podcast was doing over 500 watts for 20 minutes his normalized power was insane from the race I think his normalized power was like 320 Watts someone correct me in the comments for a n9h hour race which is is legit I mean he won Cape epic this year so I mean three times three times that's like that's insane what do you think JP can glean from the Unbound that just happened I mean if does he have to go down this rabbit hole that the likes of Dylan Johnson go down where absolutely every every single minute detail I mean Dylan Johnson told one of the public s this week when they were taking pictures of his bike he was going to go home that evening and shave the knobble you know those kind of like knobbles that are left on the tires after the manufacturer when it's pulled off the line he was going to go and shave them off that worked you got a top 10 yeah no and we love Jan we love his show he his um you know his commentary he's very open about products he likes he tests everything to the nth degree but does JP have to take that kind of ethos into to his new gravel era as he's calling look I think it's like anything the more you put in the more you're going to get out I don't think you need to be super serious if you're not at a super serious level these are the very best gravel riders in the world if you look at what are the very best 4K pursuers in the world down they're in the Wind Tunnel they're optimizing helmets they're optimizing sock Choice they're optimizing lines pacing strategies fueling it's the tip of the spear it's the pointy end of anything is going to be like that if you talk about different careers fin there's no balance at the pointy end of Finance people are addicts you know it's not really a desirable pursuit to replicate I don't think I think there's a lot more enjoyment out of being in something a little bit I don't say halfast but not putting everything into it and turning your whole life upside down especially when you're not paid to turn your whole life upside down like lacklin Keegan these guys are we have to give a shout out obviously to the female winner who was Rosa claer she's the German athlete she's not even involved she's not one of the 30 lifetime Grand Prix athletes so sorry she won Unbound but she doesn't race officially all of the lifetime pre races so it was kind of cool to see somebody come from left to field now I know everyone does know Rosa from the scene but it was really cool to see those girls who are part of the lifetime Sprints for girls yeah it was absolutely amazing amazing to watch and of course before before we move on from that we can't but shout out to matate mahich who is the gravel world uh champ this year he dnfed and I think his comment afterwards was I think I am going to stick to road racing love I know you want to move on from Unbound because we've loads to cover but a brilliant you know I've had so many the Unbound athletes on the podcast Sophia Gomez who was last year's winner Hannah Auto and all them last year had B basically the same request from Lifetime can we have our own separate race and lifetime listened to them they answered and the women had their own separate race this year which was brilliant to see yeah a lot of people were saying that it wasn't going to

All-black kit and visibility

Make a big difference that the guys were you know they were all eventually going to get mangled up with the girls and the guys it was going to affect the uh the final of the race anyway but it didn't those nine girls came in on their own and it was really really exciting to watch we noticed actually was the two lanes for the Sprint because we rewatched 2023 Keegan win yeah Keegan is finishing the 200 at the same time that some of the age group athletes are finishing the 100 and he's sprinting like tight against the barriers literally six times the speed of the finishers of the Unbound 100 with centimeters to spare was very dangerous it felt like that age you know that age Rider the the 100 mile was kind of almost closing Kegan off by accident going into the barriers yeah that was kind of scary so this year we saw a separate SHO shoot for the 200 mile uh finisher so that looked a lot a lot safer but yeah what an epic race they're heading to Crusher and the tusher for the next race that's a pretty cool race to watch as well so hopefully we'll get over for the end of the season for big sugar is plan so we'll see yeah absolutely got to go training for that one okay next question hi Anthony and Sarah I've been cycling forever and I'm amazed at the insane culture or fashion of all black clothing that appeared in the last few years and that's from Oliver no real question there Oliver I think it's just kind of a an observation we all see it I have to say I'm a little bit guilty of this I love a bit of Navy kit and I'm I'm always getting an earful from you going out and dark kit we actually uh designed some bright colored Orange Road man kit for over the winter which I did wear to try and become a little bit more visible on the road but it definitely is a trend isn't it at the moment these mued colors even is that a problem with it I think so that's what I'm visibility I think so you know all these like mid colors the greens the Grays they just blend in panoral yeah the panoral H they just blend in beautifully with the Fage and the gray skies and the tarmac yeah the Paranormal have like a they've stolen their color palette from like the US military it's so very camo H yeah I don't know maybe this lad's just listened to Too Much Johnny Cash always see you dressed in black never see a suit of color on your back I don't know I think it's just I it it looks kind of cool I think the the culture of all the really Gody bright colored kit is kind of gone at the moment I hope that changes because I do think it's much much safer to wear a fluorescent and when I talk about fluorescent clothing and bride clothing online um on Twitter usually there's always people who kind of say that oh well people are now kind of blind to fluorescent that everyone's used to seeing fluorescent at the moment out there on the roads so drivers become almost blind to it and it makes absolutely no difference at all but there has been a lot of studies done basically that do back up that fluorescent clothing does work and makes you more visible and these are all independent review papers that have been done B in the last 10 years pause one second um think about the evolution of cycling kit so for a long time you had Pro kit or had high viz kit yeah and like I'm talking about when I got started in cycl like 2008 2009 even like earlier than that when I was cycling in University kit was terrible kit was you were like a walking billboard for these pro teams plastered all over you your only choice was that and the replicas that you were getting were quite low quality kit as the whole industry was quite low quality at the time or your stupidly High Vis stuff that people were commuting into work they were only two choices and then we seen cycling culture evolve where if I had have walked into a coffee shop back in 2008 where my cycling kit the whole restaurant would have been looking at you going what what is this insane person wearing body paint coming into a cycling coffee shop but that got so normalized with the expansion of Team sky and all of us starting to cycle these Mass participation events Sky rides all over the UK and with that cycling kit evolved to the point where you were actually quite fashionable quite proud

Victim blaming and kit colors

To be wearing this kit out and about it wasn't covered in sponsors it was kind of mimic and high Stree fashion trends and that's where it's been but now we're seeing this push for visibility again but I don't want the the push for visibility because obviously Road Safety is important but I don't want that to come at the expense of cycling kit being horrible to wear again but I do think it's a little bit of a cyclical Trend it's like fashion It's Fashion it all goes around comes around you know and yeah I totally agree with you and another point on the fluorescent and really Bri gear is that you it's like a helmet you can't use that as an excuse not to you know take responsibility for your actions and your ability to have a well-maintained bike and being able to handle it properly so yeah it is an observation I I kind of agree with Oliver the clothing has become a lot more meich victim blaming though like with the like you have to wear fluorescent well like just get off your phone you don't need as much reaction time to see me if you're not on your phone if you're not on your Tesla with your bloody iPad on the dashboard and so distracted like you should be able to spot somebody in a black jersey in the middle of the day yeah no I agree and when I a couple of months ago every and any of the regular listeners will know that I got hit by a car and I was in probably Navy kit not very bright kit but it was the middle of the day I do not know how that woman did not see me she just mowed directly into me so what are you smiling at so yeah I don't some mold directly down I got it I did not topple over excuse me people have a visual you getting hit with 140 km an hour mow down to over 2K an hour absolutely no fun some of those slow speed crashes can be as painful as the high speeded ones the only people that's say have cr a high speed okay thanks for your question there Oliver okay next question this is from Lance hello Sarah non clip in pedals can you please provide Rec recommendations Anthony you're going to have to help me out with this one because I don't I've never used H non- clipping pedals or flat pedals in my life even on the mountain bike I clip in there's two sets Shimano the EF 205 are flap pedals also Crank Brothers have a set that I've used before the stamp one pedals I've used both those mountain bik and when I was getting started look not much to be said on they're flat pedals they're both good choice I would say don't use flat pedals get used and just bite the bullet and use your clip in pedals earlier even if you're mountain biking hey Ro man excuse the short Interruption I love riding the bike but on account of being so busy with the podcast at the moment I'm now what's called a time crunch Rider I never thought I'd see to day but I have a tool I'm using W bike to keep myself sharp and on point with specific sessions to maximize that available training time I have a what bike atam right here in the recording studio beside me and when I have an hour in between interviews I jump on it's removing all the friction points from me just no more 10minute setup unfolding legs banging my knees off stuff getting my hands dirty usual connection issues it just works every single time the atom's perfect for virtual racing as well because it has crisp gear changes it has 1% accuracy and it has Max gradient capability of up to 25% if you're looking for an indoor trainer I honestly couldn't recommend this any higher I've been using a w bike since 2013 h Le it's the last indoor trainer that you're ever going to need if you head on over to W bike.com now and use code roadman 10 that's r o a d m n t n and that's going to get you 10% off your W bike yeah yeah I got a couple of strange looks when I'm mountain biking and I've got my clip in gravel shoes on I very rarely see people clipping in when I'm up there but maybe that's maybe that's just circles you're moving in circles I'm moving in exactly okay next question hi Anthony what is this I hear about you starting a new podcast when's it kicking off and that's from Andrew Harrison Andrew yes so if you follow me on Twitter we have a new podcast kicking off and that

Staying motivated without quick wins

Is June 10th the idea was supp if you Journey back to when we started this podcast the idea with the podcast was I was in a place where I was quite stuck and the podcast was a tool for me to recapture my health and happiness through cycling but then we get a thousand episodes of this podcast and I realized that it's not just cyclists that are stuck trying to recapture their health and happiness so the other podcast it's only once a week it's a little bit of a side hustle that's a bit of an indulgent project for me on the side where I can have non- cycling conversations and indulge those other interests I have outside cycling but it's going to have the same kind of central team is this podcast how do we recapture health and happiness just not as cycling focused it's going to be everything else from you know stoic philosophy to finance to diet to strength conditioning anything that's not cycling so do intent yeah it's so exciting Anthony saw that he had you know an 45 minutes free in his calendar every week and was like I have to fill that somehow so excited you were do another podcast um okay next question hi Anthony I'm training and racing a few years now my question is what techniques do you use to stay positive and keep a winning mindset I really struggle with this if I'm not seeing a really quick progression or not getting results that I wanted I drop my head and get into a bit of a negative Tail Spin I've jumped from sport to sport when I don't get these results or fall short but have really fallen in love with cycling so don't want to fall back into that trap again and that's from Stuart that's an amazing question yeah it's it's an amazing question I can see how people are attracted to that question or that kind of thinking when you haven't been in sport that long but if you think about anything you do in your life is whether it's the start of a relationship whether it's the start of a new hobby learning a new language you're going to get pretty quick progress at the very start but you never maintain that rate of progress like it's impossible you never maintain that steep gross curve it's going to plateau and you're going to have almost imperceptible gains for long periods and that's just the way it is and you can look back and you can snapshot now like think about the podcast the Thousand episodes maybe the first 10 episodes when you're like okay I figured out how to connect the microphone I figured out how to you know edit a massive win yeah well you don't get big gains then from episode 200 to episode 800 but if you look at episode 220 versus episode 820 you're like oh my God that's a totally different product it's the same what you're training if you go to the gym or if you're on the bike three days a week whatever it is those gains aren't going to be visible so I would say you need to just focus on what you can control and what you can control is your inputs you can control how much you train you can control your nutrition you can control your sleep your recovery control that stuff and Dave brafords you know the team Sky bra uh Charles he famously said control the controllables and that's what it is calibrate the effort and the Improvement in these areas and then the results will look after themselves I also think you can set shorter term goals so they could be with cycling it's easy if you want to put a power goal in place I don't love those goals because it leads us to believe that a good bike rider is someone who can generate a lot of power when it's a lot more nuanced that how do you move around the bunch economy cornering can you take your rain cat off on a crosswind cycling's very nuanced but you can definitely set short-term goals like I love the goal of well did I ride more than 12 hours a week every week this month like that's a lovely goal for me so that's one I would uh encourage you the biggest one though it's like you talked about there with your mountain bike and people saying like oh people you're surround yourself what aren't clipped in I would say that Community is the biggest thing in and that's what's going to have you staying in cycling the longest I honestly can't see a time where I will not cycle my bike I maybe won't race or maybe won't do gravel events I'm always going to ride my bike I'm always going

Finding joy beyond winning

To ride my bike on a sunny day and I think yeah I think that's just Community isn't it's having friends like I'm going to go bike packing again this summer like we're GNA we going to do bike packing day so we went last year what did we do three days or we do no two days last year and we're going to do three days this year So the plan is we're going to add in one extra day each year every year yeah got a kick in last year I got a kick I got an absolute hiding at one stage I just managed to roll up beside Anthony and I was like why why are you turning the screws on here I know we got to canil and you end having a little bit of a Bo I have my traditional cry after every hard day in the bike that I have but yeah I think for me with this guy like okay so he he wants to he's he he's fallen in love with cycling so he and he wants to kind of get some longevity out of this sport not just like okay I'm racing I'm going to win I and if I don't win if I don't hit this goal then I'm a loser well it sounds to me that you need to also like do what Anthony says but maybe have a little look at your attitude and your relationship with exercising and performance and why they are so kind of caught up and you have to be a winner what why why does that matter so much when you find something that you absolutely love and as I said you want to have some longevity in it so try and maybe as you said stay with a group stay with clubs try and pass down some of your knowledge to other people and get some like Joy from other parts of cycling rather than just performance and winning because if it's about winning you're in the wrong sport like if it's football you know it's a binary outcome for me whenn you lose you're going to win 33% % of the time in cycling you're going to Lo the very best riders in the world they're losing over 90% of the time so it can't be about winning it has to be about something else Ro man I know how serious you take your goal setting whether they're Fitness or life related goals if you're looking for a powerful Ally to support you on this journey look now further than hu hu has become my secret weapon for when I don't have time to prepare a balanced meal ensures I get the nutrition I need without sacrificing time or taste plus it stops me from reaching for that takeaway menu I always throw a bottle into my backpack when I'm heading into the city to work and it stops me eating junk convenience food snacking on crossons and bars of chocolate because I know they don't support my training goals it's a handy nutritious meal on the go and it's got over 22 grams of protein hu is perfect for athletes that don't have time to cook or prepare food before a training session it's convenient nutritious fuel at your fingertips ensuring you hit your daily fueling needs for that session H ready to drink has 20 26 essential vitamins and minerals in every single bottle you're getting a whopping 175 health benefits plus it's made from natural ingredients like Topeka sunfar seed coconut and more the best part it's the flavors there's eight crazy beautiful flavors iced coffee is what's in my backpack right at the moment you can get youu directly to your home all you got to do is head on over to the hu website hu.com Roan that would be my advice just try and maybe move your Northstar a little bit okay last question hi Anthony I'm signed up for the wilo 200 this weekend I'm starting out with a group of writers that I train with occasionally some writers are stronger than me and some are weaker I have three questions for you how do I broach the subject of splitting up judging by the chat on our WhatsApp group some people think we're all going to wait around all day for each other and finish as a group number number two what's the etiquette of tagging along with other groups as you come across them on the road if they're going the same speed as you how long do I ride in the front Etc and lastly do you have any other tips for getting through the 200 kilm day and that's from call okay we'll take those one by one will we yeah so the first one it's about bro the subjects of splitting up I don't think

Splitting up on group rides

You need to split up I think if you don't want to split up you don't have to split up like I WR he does he does want to split up he wants to split up I yeah he's stronger than some people he's weaker than other people and he wants to broach the subject of splitting up I think if you're going out as a group right as a group oh I totally disagree well then why go as a group well I think if you're meeting up with people or you might bump into them but if you've trained for your 200 kilometer wow 200 and this is like your targeted event okay and you've been on your W bike you've been religiously training and sticking to your sessions why would I go and there's somebody way weaker than me someone who wants to stop every 10 minutes to take pictures someone who wants to stop at every this is based on the question though but I'm just saying I will say to the group that I am going to do my own thing that's exactly what I did last year when I did the W 200 okay but if we just take the question so if we just take his specific situation like he doesn't say this his Target event and he doesn't say the others are going to be stopping for our pitches but he does say he wants to Broach a subject of spreading up yeah so my question will be on that why I don't think it's a good idea I think if you're going to go out as a group you stay together as a group so I think like I'm going to ride it with one of my old teammates and his dad who's nearly 70 years old at the weekend I'm not going to just meet them and then hit on the force climb and his 70y old dad is Left Behind last year you wrode it with a group of guys and loads of them were left way behind cuz you and a couple of the guys were way stronger so it's like it naturally split yeah so I think you can Define your goals going into the day if you're going as a group and you're saying we're going to stay as a group I think stay as a group if you're going for a hard workout like we were last year to have a hard day in preparation for something else I think that's different I think that's people know what they're buying in for but generally I think if you're going out with a group of friends and someone is stronger you can ride the climb which is typically where someone's going to get dropped double back for them and then ride the climb at their Pace over the top now it's different if there's a Chasm inability and somebody has to stop for like you were saying if somebody's stopping for pitchers or somebody stopping for 10 minutes at the top of a climb like you go up and you double back and then you're right sitting down having a the the food stops there's no urgency yeah I I don't think that's maybe it's me reading into the question as much as you are on the other end but that doesn't sound like the dynamic of the group to me it just seems like there may be different abilities with the group no I agree with you but I do think there will be a lot of people going to these massive sportifs and as I said I did this race last year and I not a race not race that's the key point where it turns on it's not race but I did this last year and I was going out with a guy Chris Shout out to Chris who you actually coach and I basically said to Chris at the very beginning we are not sticking together all day long if our abilities aren't the same like there's just no point I've trained too hard for this I want to give it my best shot I want to do it in a time that I'm really really proud of and if you're stronger than me happy to sit in your wheel but if I'm stronger than you I'm going to shoot on and I was just really really honest about that the next part of this question though he says which makes me think that he wants to break up this group even further is what's the etiquette of in along with other groups as you come across them on the road so that did happen last year I was riding on my own for a little bit portions of it and then you come across or you catch up with groups that are going roughly around the

Reading the room in bunches

Same speed as you are you come out at the feed stations you kind of get in with a group what's your advice for Jo I don't think there's a problem there with jumping into another group I don't think over don't overthink the how long to ride on the front for ETC it's not a race this is like an event where everyone's out together like there's going to be very mixed abilities from people who are just starting all the way up to Pros or xpros a lot of people are just going to be out enjoying themselves in this type of sport e so you don't need to worry about how much time I'm writing at the front like if I'm in a group I'll happily sit on the front for five hours not expect someone to come around me or offer a turn it's not like in a race where you're trying to conserve energy and play this little this is quite funny this is really showing up the differences and experiences that we've had me as like a Leisure cyclist and you as a high performance athlete because I've been in these fours in the middle of them and there is so many groups and so many people who are like really really trying their best and really pushing and for this for call if you're jumping into other groups that are going faster or as faster you're comfortable in that group you will notice that some of them are kind of like a mly crew of people who've just kind of like banded together and there's no organization and then you will also have other groups where there is like rolling through it's very organized there's shouts to do a little bit of work so so what I would say if you're coming into a group is just read the room and kind see that's the best advice I think just read like you'll know if people are starting to roll true if it's like kind of on you'll get a sense also you'll get a sense of people are safe or dangerous because his last part is any other tips and I think that's the main thing it's like you want to have fun you don't want to be in a group that are taking unnecessary risks beyond their ability on descents around corners at speed because given that Mark commercials at these things are going to be fatigued cuz they're standing there for seven eight hours stopping stopping traffic so you want to be safe and have a good day and that' be kind of my main tip for outside of e e e e that's my number one tip is e I set my alarm for every half an hour on my garment and I ate a Turkish delight every half an hour which is insane kind of makes me want to vomit thinking about it now I stocked up at all the food stations I didn't dilly d got loads into my pockets and just kept on eating that was was literally the only thing that got me through that day so that's my absolute number one tip yeah eat and drink I think if you can eat 60 to 100 grams of carbs per hour read the back of rappers and see how many grams of carbohydrates during an hour don't do anything new hydrate loads don't wear any new kits and yeah have fun have fun don't forget that's it folks thank you for tuning in to another episode of ruter support if you enjoyed this conversation myself and Sarah there's another conversation up here I had earlier in the week with Dan Martin which I know you're absolutely going to love looking back on some of the highs and lows of his amazing career and also click up here to subscribe to the channel so you don't miss out on our upcoming content

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What tyres did Lachlan Morton use at Unbound 2024?+

Morton ran optimised gravel tyres chosen specifically for the Kansas conditions at Unbound 2024. Anthony and Sarah discuss how his tyre selection was part of a broader World Tour-level preparation that also included a skinsuit and aero helmet, a significant shift from his previously more casual approach to equipment.

How did Lachlan Morton train for Unbound 2024?+

Morton returned to structured, periodised coaching ahead of his 2024 Unbound victory, which Anthony and Sarah identify as a key factor in his win. Despite the disciplined preparation, he still kept unconventional habits like beach runs during race week, preserving the unorthodox edge he is known for.

Should amateur gravel riders obsess over marginal gains like pros do?+

No. Anthony and Sarah argue clearly that the rewards of marginal gains only justify the obsession at the very pointy end of the sport. They use Dylan Johnson shaving tyre nubs before races as an example of pro-level behaviour that amateur riders should not feel pressure to replicate.

Has gravel racing become too professional and lost its spirit?+

Anthony and Sarah address this directly, noting that the gravel scene has changed enormously in recent years as World Tour-level preparation has become common at the front of major races. The episode questions whether the original spirit of gravel is still intact, though Morton's beach runs suggest some riders manage to straddle both worlds.

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

Weekly insights from the podcast. The stuff that actually makes you faster.

READ THE GUIDE

The written companion to this episode.

How Pogacar Became the Greatest Rider Ever: The Untold Training Story

Pogacar didn't just win races. He rewrote what was possible in cycling. Here's the training story behind the greatest rider of this generati…

Greg LeMond on the Roadman Podcast: Doping, Clean Sport, and the Real Story

The most downloaded episode in Roadman history. Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond sat down with Anthony Walsh for a conversatio…

Best Cycling Podcasts 2026 — 15 Shows Worth Your Ears

Over 200 English-language cycling podcasts are active in 2026. Most aren't worth your time. Here are the 15 that are, ranked across training…

FREE TRAINING PLANS

UNBOUND →CAPE EPIC →

RELATED EPISODES

More episodes you might enjoy

Episode#2409

Community31:53

IS POGACAR TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? | RIDER SUPPORT

On todays episode of rider support a listener questions whether Tadej Pogacar is doping given his performances are so superior to all the other riders in the peleton. More listeners write in with questions around Time Trial Helmets, heart rate training and how to become more in-tune with riding...

with Rider Support

Episode#2

Coaching34:18

I TRIED ZONE 2 TRAINING FOR 3 MONTHS, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED | RIDER SUPPORT

What happens when you completely change your training and fitness ethos. Well Anthony did just that a few months ago and a listener wants to know if there has been many benefits. Other listeners write in to pick Sarah and Anthony's brains about what supplements you need to be taking, strava...

with Rider Support

Episode#2407

Coaching20:57

ARE CYCLISTS RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT? | RIDER SUPPORT

Anthony & Sarah are back for another episode of Rider Support.

with Rider Support

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

Join the Clubhouse to discuss this episode, ask Anthony your questions, and connect with serious cyclists.

Join the Clubhouse — Free More Episodes

Key Takeaways

Elite gravel racers are optimizing every detail (helmets, socks, bike setup) because the rewards are greater, but you don't need to chase that rabbit hole unless you're racing at the pointy end—focus on inputs you control (training, nutrition, sleep) and results will follow.

The decline in visibility-focused bright cycling kit is a trend worth questioning; studies support fluorescent clothing for safety, though it shouldn't be used to blame riders for driver inattention.

For 200km sportive events, communicate honestly with your group about abilities upfront rather than forcing everyone to stay together; read the room when joining other groups and prioritize safety over ego.

Quick early progression in any new sport inevitably plateaus—gains become imperceptible for long periods, so anchor your motivation to community, shorter-term process goals, and the joy of riding itself, not just race results.

Nutrition on long endurance events is critical: aim for 60-100g carbs per hour, don't try anything new on race day, and hydrate consistently—one rider's secret weapon was eating Turkish delight every 30 minutes.

Clip-in pedals are worth adopting earlier rather than later, even for mountain biking, despite the learning curve; flat pedals offer little advantage for progression.

Expert Quotes

"The spirit of gravel is dead—he wore an arrow helmet, not exactly spirit of gravel; he wore a skin suit, not exactly spirit of gravel."

"If it's about winning you're in the wrong sport. Even the very best riders in the world they're losing over 90% of the time, so it can't be about winning, it has to be about something else."

"Control the controllables—you can control how much you train, your nutrition, your sleep, your recovery. Calibrate the effort and improvement in these areas and then the results will look after themselves."

KEY QUOTES

“I think his normalized power was like 320 Watts someone correct me in the comments for a nine hour race which is legit I mean he won Cape epic this year so I mean three times that's like that's insane.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“Dylan Johnson told one of the public this week when they were taking pictures of his bike he was going to go home that evening and shave the knobble you know those kind of like knobbles that are left on the tires after the manufacturer when it's pulled off the line he was going to go and shave them off.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“You need to just focus on what you can control and what you can control is your inputs you can control how much you train you can control your nutrition you can control your sleep your recovery control that stuff and Dave Bradford's you know the team Sky bra Charles he famously said control the controllables and that's what it is calibrate the effort and the Improvement in these areas and then the results will look after themselves.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What tyres did Lachlan Morton use at Unbound 2024?+

How did Lachlan Morton train for Unbound 2024?+

Should amateur gravel riders obsess over marginal gains like pros do?+

Has gravel racing become too professional and lost its spirit?+

LACHLAN'S PERFECT UNBOUND: TYRES, BIKE & HELMET | RIDER SUPPORT

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

IS POGACAR TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? | RIDER SUPPORT

I TRIED ZONE 2 TRAINING FOR 3 MONTHS, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED | RIDER SUPPORT

ARE CYCLISTS RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT? | RIDER SUPPORT

RELATED CONTENT

IS POGACAR TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? | RIDER SUPPORT

I TRIED ZONE 2 TRAINING FOR 3 MONTHS, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED | RIDER SUPPORT

ARE CYCLISTS RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT? | RIDER SUPPORT

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

LACHLAN'S PERFECT UNBOUND: TYRES, BIKE & HELMET | RIDER SUPPORT

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

IS POGACAR TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? | RIDER SUPPORT

I TRIED ZONE 2 TRAINING FOR 3 MONTHS, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED | RIDER SUPPORT

ARE CYCLISTS RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT? | RIDER SUPPORT

RELATED CONTENT

IS POGACAR TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? | RIDER SUPPORT

I TRIED ZONE 2 TRAINING FOR 3 MONTHS, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED | RIDER SUPPORT

ARE CYCLISTS RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT? | RIDER SUPPORT

LIKED THIS EPISODE?