Sigma Sports presents Matt Stephens Unplugged

Tour De France Femmes Unplugged 2023 - All Thriller, No Filler - A Race to Remember

Matt Stephens reflects on the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift 2023, where he brought his portable recorder behind the scenes to document the race from the inside. While the racing unfolds around Matt, he has arguments about Haribo with Manon Lloyd, enjoys podcast inception with Rebecca Charlton, soaks up the atmosphere with Iris Slappendel, and gets selfies with former teammate David McKenzie - all set against the sonic landscape of the race caravan and the associated media circus. Oh, and the racing was absolutely unforgettable!!

Tour De France Unplugged 2023 Stages 16 to 21 - Poor Predictions, Good High Altitude Curry, and a Massive Attack

Matt Stephens is at the 2023 Tour de France, digesting the racing and sharing his thoughts from behind the scenes. With VIP access to all of the riders, and his Eurosport GCN colleagues, you might think this podcast is full of gripping interviews and hot takes on the Jonas Vingegaard / Tadej Pogačar rivalry.... But, Matt’s more interested in chatting about high altitude curry with Adam Blythe, discussing Haribo strategy with Alberto Contador, and figuring out how to interview riders without knowing if they’ve won the sprint or not with Laura Meseguer!

Tour De France Unplugged 2023 Stages 10 to 15 - Heat, Mountains, Pancakes and Gondolas.

Matt Stephens is back behind the scenes at the 2023 Tour de France, where he’s been recording clips in between performing his duties for Eurosport GCN. In this episode, Matt discusses his experiences through stages 10 to 15, including fine dining on ‘long nuggets’, chatting to Jens Voigt who loves being in the peloton on a motorbike (but definitely doesn’t miss racing),  and suffering from acute vertigo while riding a Gondola to the foot of Europe’s highest mountain.

Tour De France Unplugged 2023 Stages 1 to 9 - Firsts, Lasts, and Everything In Between

Matt Stephens is at the 2023 Tour de France reporting for Eurosport GCN, but luckily for us, he’s brought his trusty portable recorder along for the journey. Over a collection of spontaneously recorded clips, Matt reflects on his experience from the biggest bike race in the world in his own inimitable way; extolling the virtues of a CBL (Car Bonnet Lunch), commending Philippe Gilbert on his Berlin Nightclub attire, and telling the story of how losing a bet to Mads Pedersen can result in a tattoo forfeit. Matt also reflects on Mark Cavendish’s devastation at crashing out of the race, but will it prove to be his final TdF farewell?

Ben Healy 2 on tearing up the breakaway rulebook

Matt Stephens welcomes Ben Healy back to the podcast to discuss everything that has changed in the past 18 months. Since his last appearance, Ben has continued his meteoric rise within the World Tour, including a stage win at the 2023 Giro d’Italia for EF Education-Easypost. Find out how the Irish National Road Race Champion performs in a race against himself to see if he can remember the answers to the same questions Matt asked in his previous hometown quiz. And the RQG asks which superpower he would choose, if he could only have it every Tuesday for one hour.

Derek Gee on how he just can’t resist the breakaway

Matt Stephens and Derek Gee chat about the attritional weather at the 2023 Giro d’Italia, and how a series of unfortunate events actually gave Derek the chance to make a big impact on the race. The Israel-Premier Tech rider is a comparatively late bloomer, and explained how the World Tour team gave him his lucky break at the age of 25. No stranger to the track, a national Time Trial champion, and possessing the ability to podium on almost any parcours, is there anything Gee can’t do?! Matt tries his best to stump him in the Ottawa quiz by asking Derek the price of donuts in his hometown.

Andy McGrath on ditching his alias and becoming an award-winning author

Matt Stephens speaks to Andy McGrath about his impressive career as a sports writer which all began at the tender age of 14 under an embarrassing alias. He has since gone on to become Chief Reporter for Cycling Weekly and Editor of Rouleur Magazine. In 2017 he won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year for Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire. Matt spoke to Andy on the eve of the 2022 awards, where his second book, a Frank Vandenbroucke biography entitled God is Dead was shortlisted for the same prize. There are many tangents as always, including a brush with the law, some worrying sirens, cars powered by chip fat, and a story about trying to get Greg Lemond to do karaoke.

Mads Pedersen on Rainbow Stripes, Hot Tubs and not being from Aarhus

Matt Stephens and Mads Pedersen chat all about the great Dane’s wonderful UCI World Road Championship win, when he romped home in appalling conditions to win the road race in Yorkshire, 2019. The Trek-Segafredo rider had a wonderful 2022 season, adding 9 victories to his Palmares, and now looks forward to 2023 with just a tedious training camp to complete first. With a fascinating insight into how his mentality as a child was better suited to cycling than soccer, how he was inspired by seeing his dad on a turbo trainer, and his surprising use for a hot tub - this chat has it all. The refreshingly honest pro pulls no punches and tells it like it is, even calling out Matt’s error in researching the hometown quiz - it turns out he’s not from Aarhus after all.

Niamh Fisher-Black on Winning the U23 World Road Championships and Percy Pigs

Matt Stephens and Niamh Fisher-Black discuss her route to glory at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. The New Zealand native treated the race as a stop on her way home to Nelson, and enjoyed the rare treat of celebrating a massive win with her nearest and dearest around her. Now, the Under 23 world road champion is looking forward to the 2023 season and perhaps the prospect of racing the Tour de France Femme if selected by Team SD Worx. In the hometown quiz, Matt asks the same questions he asked of fellow Nelsonian George Bennett, to determine who’s the best at being from Nelson.

Ned Boulting - 100th Episode Special

Matt Stephens welcomes Ned Boulting to a tiny cupboard in Soho (masquerading as a hotel room) to record the 100th episode of this very podcast. The pair waste no time going off-script and enjoy flicking through the 2022 edition of The Roadbook; the pro cycling almanack for which Ned is the editor. With an impromptu quiz about the 2022 Giro d’Italia, some fantastic prize-winning questions from our listeners and backstage stories from Ned’s sold-out live show - this is a celebration not to be missed.
 
For more information on Ned's Cycling Almanack, visit www.theroadbook.co.uk