VN Podcast: Kate Courtney interview, plus Vuelta action and pro cycling's generation next

Kate Courtney just became the first American in 17 years to win the XC mountain bike World Cup. On this week’s episode of The VeloNews Podcast, we catch up with Courtney to talk about her dream season.

Before talking to Courtney, Fred Dreier and Andrew Hood team up to discuss the action at the Vuelta a España, including the thrilling stage victory by American Sepp Kuss, a regular on the pod. What were the tactical decision that led Kuss to win? What does his victory tell us about Jumbo-Visma’s attitude toward its younger racers?

Then, Andy discusses the generational shift currently happening in the UCI WorldTour, with young riders like Tadej Pogacar, Egan Bernal, and Remco Evenepoel all surging to the forefront of pro cycling. This dynamic bucks tradition in pro cycling, where young riders often needed to pay their dues before being given the opportunity to win.

Finally, we hear from American Lawson Craddock, who has become one of the most aggressive riders in this year’s Vuelta a España. Craddock has spent the entire race attacking into breakaways.

This week’s episode is sponsored by Whoop, the performance tool that is changing the way people track their fitness and optimize their training. Whoop tracks your heart rate and gives you a strain scores that lets you know how strenuous your training was on your body, with additional information around your sleep and recovery to tell you how well your body rebounds from training. Right now, listeners can get 15 percent off a Whoop device by going to www.whoop.com and using the code ‘velo’ at checkout.