The Beginner's Guide to Pro Cycling

Newbie newbie new: Or, how do you know if you're a cycling fandom beginner?

Escape Collective — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 05:54:00 -0600

How can cycling be more welcoming to newcomers? How do you know if you are one? Does it matter? Holly takes the reins as she and Iain assess the landscape for fresh fans of the sport, figure out the best way to open the tent for everyone, and come up with a handy tool to Find Your Own Pro Cyclist Name.

What WorldTour races are actually worth your time?

Escape Collective — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 18:27:56 -0600

So you've watched the Tour de France – what next? With a continent-hopping WorldTour calendar, running from January to October, there's a whole lot to wrap your head around. Holly and Iain run through the races that are worth getting up early (or staying up late) for, the ones that help shape the season's narrative, and the ones that are worth skipping.

The Tour de France edition

Escape Collective — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 20:07:42 -0600

Ever have a question about the Tour de France? We've got you covered.

The beginner's guide to pro cycling

Escape Collective — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 20:06:43 -0600

Cycling's a beautiful sport. It's also a nightmare for new fans to get into – a mess of jargon, history, and tactics. Journalism professor (and new cycling fan) Holly Johnson has questions, and together with Iain Treloar, is on a mission to decipher pro cycling. In the first episode of this Rabbit Holes podcast offshoot: a chat with EF Education-Easypost CEO Jonathan Vaughters about how teams work.

S3E8: Take a Bow

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:48:10 -0600

Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson discuss the final episode of Unchained, focusing on the finale of the 2024 Tour de France.

S3E7: King of the Mountain

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:45:56 -0600

Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, Dane Cash, and Intern Nick tackle the penultimate episode of Tour de France: Unchained, centering on the hopes of Richard Carapaz and other stagehunters trying to break free of the firm grip that UAE has on the race.

S3E6: History Makers

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:43:45 -0600

Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, Dane Cash, and Intern Nick talk Unchained S3E6, which focuses on the history-making achievements of Biniam Girmay and Mark Cavendish.

S3E5: The Comeback

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:38:43 -0600

Caley Fretz, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash dive into the fifth episode of season three, which takes a closer look at Jonas Vingegaard's journey back to racing after the crash that derailed the first half of his season.

S3E4: Road to Hell

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:36:47 -0600

Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson talk Unchained S3E4, which centers on the gravel stage of the 2024 Tour and the twin battles for stage honors and for GC position.

S3E3 Adapt or Die

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:34:45 -0600

Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Chris Marshall-Bell break down the third episode of the third season of Unchained, covering Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale's evolution and the challenges the team faces trying to get a return on sponsor investment

S3E2: Disruptors

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:32:31 -0600

Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson talk season three, episode two of Unchained, honing in on the four-rider GC battle at the 2024 Tour de France.

S3E1: David v Goliath

Escape Collective — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:30:09 -0600

Caley Fretz, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson discuss the opening episode of Tour de France: Unchained season three, which focuses on the build-up to the race and the dynamic of smaller teams taking on big-budget powerhouses.

S2E8: The Last Dance

Escape Collective — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 08:56:10 -0600

The Unchained Binge podcast discusses the final episode of season two, the last Tour days of Thibaut Pinot.

S2E7: Kamikazi Mission

Escape Collective — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 08:53:21 -0600

The Unchained Binge podcast discusses season two, episode seven of the show, which focuses on Soudal-Quick Steps quest to win a Tour stage.

S2E6: Domination

Escape Collective — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 22:35:09 -0600

The Unchained Binge podcast discusses season two, episode six of the show, which offers an inside look in the Jonas Vingegaard's ascent to the top of the Tour standings.

S2E5: The enemy within

Escape Collective — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 19:53:50 -0600

The crew discusses season two, episode five of Unchained, which focuses on the Ineos Grenadiers and Tom Pidcock.

S2E4: For Gino

Escape Collective — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 23:16:57 -0600

The podcast discusses the fourth episode of Unchained season two, which focuses on the Bahrain team in the aftermath of Gino Mäder's tragic death.

S2E3: No Mercy

Escape Collective — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:20:19 -0600

Dane Cash, Kit Nicholson, and Caley Fretz discuss the third episode of Unchained, where Jasper Philipsen and Alpecin-Deceuninck take center stage.

S2E2: The Third Man

Escape Collective — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:08:03 -0600

Kit Nicholson, Dane Cash, and Caley Fretz discuss the second episode of the second season of Unchained, which focuses on Australian GC hopefuls Ben O'Connor and Jai Hindley.

S2E1: No Risk, No Reward

Escape Collective — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 12:25:49 -0600

With the release of season 2 of Netflix's Tour de France: Unchained, the Unchained Binge podcast is back. In this first episode of the year, Kit Nicholson, Jonny Long, and Caley Fretz dive into the first episode, which sets the scene for another season of drama behind the scenes at the Tour.

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8. Road to Paris

Escape Collective — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 22:57:21 -0600

On the final episode of this season of the Unchained Binge Podcast, we get a bit of the back of the race – the fast finishers trying to make the time cut in the mountains – plus the final fight for the yellow jersey and a sprinters' "world championships" on the Champs-Élysées.

7. Everything for the Podium

Escape Collective — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 09:43:14 -0600

In episode 7, we see a lot of Marc Madiot. So much Marc Madiot. We also get a really close look at how old Geraint Thomas really is, as both Gaudu and Thomas battle for one spot on the Tour de France podium.

6. Plan B

Escape Collective — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 20:43:08 -0600

On this episode of The Unchained Binge Podcast, we watch one of the world's best bike racers be inexplicably bad at bike racing, we learn that one of the world's best sprinters can't remember his shoes or, unfortunately, when there is still a breakaway up the road, and we debate whether there was any real drama inside Jumbo-Visma.

5. Breakneck speed

Escape Collective — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 19:33:36 -0600

On episode 5, we return the focus to EF and to the Ineos Grenadiers. We get a lesson in descending from Tom Pidcock, we warm up to a rider in the twilight of his career, and we learn that Neilson Powless had a good breakfast.

4. Attack, Counter Attack

Escape Collective — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 22:41:52 -0600

Episode 4 offers an inside look at one of the most thrilling Tour stages in recent memory. We see Jumbo-Visma crafting a plan to take on Tadej Pogačar on some of the toughest terrain in the race, and then watch as the action unfolds on the journey from Albertville to the Col du Granon. Also, we discuss the different personalities in the Tour and the ways the show narrows those personalities down, for better or worse. Let's get into it.

3. The Weight of a Nation

Escape Collective — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 13:30:40 -0600

In today’s episode, we go to … France. Deep, deep into France. This is the Frenchest of episodes, focused on national hero Thibaut Pinot, eccentric manager Marc Madiot, and a lonely Australian badly in need of some real-life subtitles, Ben O’Connor. Let’s get into it.

2. Welcome to Hell

Escape Collective — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 16:28:05 -0600

Episode 2 is focused on the team of the Tour, Jumbo-Visma. We get an at-home visit with Wout van Aert, plus a training day with Primoz Roglic, and then a glimpse into the tension between van Aert’s desire and ability to win stages and his role working for Jonas Vingegaard for the overall. Plus Kit's Grand Lord of the Rings Theory of Unchained. Let’s get into it.

1. The Grand Départ

Escape Collective — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 16:16:53 -0600

Welcome to the Unchained Binge Podcast, where we'll go deep on all eight episodes of Netflix's new Tour de France docuseries.

This first episode comes in fast and crashy, focusing on EF's time trial, a farmer's son, and the incredible return of Fabio Jakobsen.

Unchained Binge Pod: The Trailer

Escape Collective — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 08:01:29 -0600

This is a podcast dedicated to going deep — really, really deep — into Netflix's Tour de France docuseries Unchained. We’ll break down all eight episodes, each with a podcast episode of its own. We bring a 360-degree view of the Tour de France, with hosts who were at the actual race as reporters, and provide backstory and context beyond the show.

The Binge Pod and Escape Collective are not associated with Netflix in any way. But we feel like we might be friends if we met IRL.