28. Aru claims the Vuelta as Dumoulin falters

September 15 | In the latest Telegraph Cycling Podcast there are interviews with American riders Taylor Phinney, who rode the Tour of Britain as he continues his comeback from a career-threatening injury, and Ian Boswell, the Team Sky rider who made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a Espana.

Richard Moore and Lionel Birnie are joined by Rob Hatch as they pick over the bones of the two races, with the Tour of Britain won by a resurgent Edvald Boasson Hagen of MTN-Qhubeka and the Vuelta claimed by Astana’s Fabio Aru, who became the first Sardinian ever to win a Grand Tour.

The story of the Vuelta, however, was the breakthrough performance by Tom Dumoulin who looked, with only two stages remaining, as though he would win. But the 24-year-old Dutchman lacked support from his team, Giant-Alpecin, and cracked on the final day in the mountains, allowing a strong Astana team to seal the win for Aru.

Boswell tells us what it was like to ride the race and what he learned in a first Grand Tour that included a third place finish in a stage dubbed the toughest ever: stage 11 in Andorra, where Boswell finished just behind Aru and his Astana teammate, Mikel Landa.

Lionel and Richard also become film critics as they discuss The Program, Stephen Frears’ soon-to-be-released movie about the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong, starring Ben Foster as Armstrong. The physical resemblance is striking, but what about the performance? Having attended a screening last week, Lionel and Richard give their verdict.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Trainer Road.