A pre-Tour de France ramble, part one

June 28 | With the start of the Tour de France now just nine days away, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss how the start list is taking shape for the Grand Départ in the Vendée.

The big selection story of the week was Mitchelton-Scott's surprise decision to leave out sprinter Caleb Ewan. Back in December the team had confirmed Ewan would make his Tour debut this summer but when it came to naming the final eight – and with rumours Ewan is leaving the team at the end of the season – they decided to back Adam Yates's bid for the general classification.

We discuss who else is in and out and we also hear from Ireland's Sam Bennett about why he desperately wants to win the national championships this weekend.

Next week's episode will be the final one before the start of the Tour de France.

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