Countdown to the Tour de France | Episode 19

June 21 | In this week's episode of The Cycling Podcast, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss the latest racing and look ahead to the Tour de France. When next they meet it will be in Dusseldorf for the Grand Départ, but there has been no let up in the racing over the past week, with the Tour de Suisse, which saw a stage win for friend of the podcast Larry Warbasse, the most significant of the pre-Tour events.

The Tour of Slovenia saw the return of Mark Cavendish, who has been sidelined with illness for much of the season. He finished second to Sam Bennett on one stage, suggesting that he is, if not at his best, at least on the road back. Daniel has an update on Cavendish's health and fitness and his chances of making the Dimension Data team for the Tour.

Looking ahead to the Tour, Lionel waives his usual 'no speculation' rule to indulge in some idle guesswork about who might thrive on a course with fewer mountain-top finishes than recent editions. Will this encourage exciting, unpredictable racing? "Perhaps," says Lionel, "or perhaps not."

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Rapha and Science in Sport.