She Rides

EP 84 - Petra Stiasny on winning, crashing & the TdFF

This week Saar chatted with Petra Stiasny - finally back on the podcast after a bad training crash.. We talk about her surprise Vuelta stage win, the recovery, and why climbing is where she feels most at home. Plus loads of Tour de France talk - the crazy final stage, the "Bra gate" , the UAE team, plus her thoughts on TV coverage and how long grand tours should be. Ooh and she's not only back in the podcast, but soon will also be back racing!

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Saar on Tour #3

Saar & Connie discuss stage 6-8 of the TdFF

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Saar on Tour #2

Stage 3-5 recap

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Saar On Tour #1

TdFF Stage 1&2 debrief with Connie Hayes

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EP 83 - TdFF around the corner: Océane Mahé interview + extended TdFF preview

In the lead-up to our favourite race of the year, Saar and Kristof sit down with Océane Mahé — a French rider on a French team, Ma Petite Entreprise, about to make her Tour de France Femmes debut. On top of racing, she's also a full-time student and interning at one of her own team's sponsors. She talks us through how she fits it all in one week, what makes a small team feel different from the big-budget squads, and how she's feeling going into her first ever Tour. After that, Saar and Kristof go stage by stage through the whole race — jerseys, dark horses, and predictions they don't even agree on themselves

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EP 82 - From her first ever 1.1 win to cyclocross in winter to avoid boredom: meet Lien Schampaert

This week Saar talks with Lien Schampaert. She just turned 19, races cyclocross in winter "to not be bored," and somehow pulled off that chaotic sprint finish at GP Schellebelle. Lien tells us what it's like lining up next to Lotte Kopecky and Zoe Backstedt, and a rough moment during the Baloise Ladies Tour that had her in tears mid-race. She also talks balancing racing with school, working in a coffee bar where nobody knows what cycling even is, and dreaming about turning pro and getting the chance to ever try and beat Lorena Wiebe

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EP 81 - Excelling in hail storms, beating Wiebes: Meet Movistar sprinter Carys Lloyd

This week Saar and Kristof chat with Carys Lloyd, the 19-year-old Movistar sprinter who's earned herself an unofficial title: Lorena Wiebes beater. She talks through that wild, hail-soaked breakthrough win, why terrible weather might actually be her secret weapon, and what it means to make her Commonwealth Games debut for Wales this summer. We also get into her Lego obsession (it's cost her more than cycling ever has), the mindset she's chasing from teammate Marlen Reusser, and a rapid-fire round of This or That. Plus, a preview of the Baloise Ladies Tour with our predictions for who comes out on top. A great listen with one of the brightest young sprinters in the peloton.

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EP 80 - Late Start, Fast Rise: Meet Fenix development rider Olivia Vercruysse

Olivia-Saar (1).txt txt write me a spotify style summary Synthesized episode transcript and crafted engaging Spotify description Synthesized episode transcript and crafted engaging Spotify description Here's a Spotify-style episode summary for the Olivia episode: Episode 80: From field hockey to the front of the bunch with Olivia Verkruysse She only started cycling a few years ago — first field hockey, then triathlon, then falling in love with the bike. Now Olivia Verkruysse is riding her first season with the Fenix devo team and already turning heads: 2nd in the U23 race and top 10 overall at Belgian Nationals, all while working for the team, not for herself. In this episode, Olivia opens up about the scary-exciting jump into WorldTour bunches, learning the ropes from teammates like Charlotte Kool, and why development teams matter for riders whose bodies (and race brains) are still catching up to the racing. She talks lead-out duty, unexpected top-10s, and the confidence that comes from doing your job well. Off the bike, she's studying law (dentistry was the original plan, one point away), and explains how the books actually help her switch off from training. We also run through the Belgian Nationals recap, break down the Ronde van Vlaanderen-style startlist for her next race, and close out with a rapid-fire this-or-that and her Tour de France hot take: Charlotte Kool over Lorena Wiebes in a sprint. 🎧 New episode of She Rides, out now. Want me to also do a shorter Instagram caption version, or pull out standalone quotes for a carousel like we've done before? shorter and the name is Olivia Vercruysse. start with= Thought for 0s Thought for 0s start with: thios week saar is joined by olivia vercruysse This week Saar is joined by Olivia Vercruysse, a first-year Fenix devo rider who only picked up cycling a few years ago (via field hockey and triathlon) and is already turning heads — 2nd in the U23 race and top 10 overall at Belgian Nationals. They talk about the jump into WorldTour bunches, learning from teammates like Charlotte Kool, working for the team over chasing her own results, and studying law on the side (dentistry was the original plan, missed by one point). They close with a Belgian Nationals recap, a look at her next start list, and a rapid-fire this-or-that ending in her Tour de France hot take: Charlotte Kool over Lorena Wiebes in a sprint. 🎧 New episode of She Rides, out now. more coomon vocab pls This week Saar is joined by Olivia Vercruysse, a first-year Fenix devo rider who only started cycling a few years ago (via field hockey and triathlon) and is already making a name for herself — 2nd in the U23 race and top 10 overall at Belgian Nationals. They talk about her jump into the WorldTour peloton, learning from teammates like Charlotte Kool, working for the team instead of going for her own results, and studying law on the side (dentistry was the original plan, missed by one point). They wrap up with a Belgian Nationals recap, a preview of her next race, and a quick this-or-that ending in her Tour de France hot take: Charlotte Kool beats Lorena Wiebes in a sprint.

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EP 79: Latest News Recap: From the Giro Women to Nationals Week

Two weeks of women's cycling news in one episode. Saar and Kristof work through the Giro Women finale, Tour de Suisse, Volta a Catalunya, and a packed nationals week — Kristof's boring but winning picks included and Saar bringing the hot takes!

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EP 78 - Too disabled to ride a normal bike, 'too able' to be a classified elite paracyclist

In this episode, Saar talks with Michelle Knappmann, a Danish paracyclist and handbiker who started the sport at 27 after a serious injury left her unable to ride a regular bike. Michelle opens up about the frustrating reality of being judged as 'too able' to compete at elite level, the lack of media coverage in paracycling, and what it actually takes to train as a disabled athlete with chronic pain. She also shares her next big goal: attacking the world hour record — and dares World Tour teams like Lidl-Trek and Uno-X to sponsor her while she does it.

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EP 77 - Giro Stages 1-6 recap

Saar and Kristof catch up on a chaotic first week at the Giro — Wiebes gets kicked out over a 20-gram bike drama, Balsamo takes over and suddenly can't stop winning sprints, Van der Breggen comes out of nowhere to crush the TT, and everyone's hyped for the Finestre showdown. Plus the usual hot takes and a GC prediction they don't agree on.

EP 76 - Giro Women Preview

Saar and Kristof preview the Giro Women start list team by team, make their stage and GC predictions, and wrap up the Spanish racing block including Burgos + the Dutch/Belgian one-day races. GC picks: Saar goes Gigante, Kristof is backing Niamh Fisher-Black — make or die for his hottest take of the season. Everyone expects Wiebes to win the sprints, but we're up for a surprise.

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EP 75 - Meet Anna Dubier: 18 years old, Junior Points Race World Champion, and 16,000 km from home

This week Anna Dubier joins Saar and Kristof — an 18 year old Australian who flew thousands of dollars across the world to race bikes in Belgium, won a rainbow jersey along the way, and is already thinking about the kind of athlete she wants to be remembered as. They talk racing in Europe on a tight budget, hiding your pain behind a poker face, and why the results are only half the story.

EP 74 - Mother's Day Special ft. Emma Wolff (Imogen Wolff's mom)

To celebrate Mother's Day, Saar & Kristof were joined by Emma Wolff, mum of three, former triathlete, and proud mum of pro cyclist Imogen Wolff (a She Rides guest aswell!). Emma takes us back to the early signs that Imogen was wired differently — like screaming at Tour de France riders at age 10, and walks us through what it really takes to raise an elite athlete. We talk about the sacrifices behind the scenes, what people get wrong about pro sport, and Emma's hopes for Imogen's future ). We also preview Itzulia, cold and hot take included!

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EP 73 - The Big Vuelta Review ft. Tim de Vries

The Vuelta Femenina just gave us one of the most wild weeks in women's cycling — and Saar is joined by commentator Tim de Vries to go through it all. From crashes on stage one to Lotte Kopecky getting that win she needed, Shari Bossuyt getting that final confirmation she's absolutely back, all the way to the Angliru where absolutely nobody saw Petra Stiasny coming. And then there's Paula Blasi, who two years and two months ago had never even raced a bike, somehow winning the whole thing. Tim and Saar go stage by stage, talk about some inconsistent UCI calls, with the needed She Rides bias added. Warning: tears were shed from the sofa. ;)

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EP 72 - From LBL to the Vuelta ft. Connie Hayes

Saar is joined by stand-in co-host Connie Hayes to recap the spring classics and look ahead to the Vuelta a España Femenina. Connie had a rough few weeks — a crash at Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry left her hoping to make the start line at Morbihan. She and Saar talk through what Brabantse Pijl and Chambéry showed about the gap between World Tour and Conti riders, and whether the race calendar is really set up fairly. On the classics: Vollering was in a league of her own at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Paula Blasi keeps delivering. Saar also shares her roadside LBL experience — spray paint included. Then it's onto the Vuelta, starting this Sunday. It's a tough parcours with the Angliru waiting on the final weekend. Saar and Connie talk through who to watch, whether Sarah will start, and how the race might play out without Vollering. Note: only three team rosters were confirmed when we recorded this, so bear with us on the start list chat!

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EP 71 - From McDonald's motivation to competing at the highest level: Meet Laura Lizette Sander

Saar's voice has barely recovered from Paula Blasi's Amstel Gold Race win when episode 71 kicks off. Joining her and Kristof is Laura Lizette Sander, a 21-year-old Estonian rider for Hitec Products - Fluid Contro. Laura shares how McDonald's trips got her on a bike, what it's like to be one of the first Estonians to make it to the pro peloton, and a brutally funny story from her rough 2024 season involving an abandoned race, a stranger's candy, and a rival team's van. They also broke down the Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold Race — before closing out with Liège–Bastogne–Liège predictions.

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EP 70 - Between the Classics & the Ardennes with Nadia Gontova

This week, Saar chats with Nadia Gontova — a Canadian climber who made her World Tour debut with Liv-AlUla-Jayco this season after a year at Winspace. Nadia talks about how a friendship with Sarah Gigante was born at the back of the peloton at the Tour de France Femmes, her iliac artery surgery and road back to racing, and what it's like stepping up to the World Tour. They also review a disappointing Paris Roubaix crowds wise — and look ahead to the Ardennes classics with Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold Race on the horizon.

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EP 69 - From NXTG to the World Tour: Meet Auke De Buysser

Saar and Kristof chat with 19-year-old Auke de Buysser (EF Education) in her first World Tour season. She talks about the jump from juniors to the pro peloton, racing alongside world champions, and drops the scoop that she'll be lining up at Paris–Roubaix this weekend. Then they recap Tour of Flanders - Demi Vollering wins in dominant fashion, but a nasty crash near the Koppenberg takes out several big names including Le Court, Reusser, and She Rides guest Caroline Anderson. Plus a quick Ronde de Mouscron recap (Copponi wins), a Scheldeprijs preview, and a full Paris–Roubaix Femmes preview with predictions — and Saar's rant about why putting all four races on the same day is a terrible idea.

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EP 68 - Tour of Flanders preview & more ft. Caroline Andersson

In this episode, Saar chats with Caroline Andersson from Liv Alula Jayco for a proper classics chat. Caroline talks about growing up in a cycling family in Sweden, making her way through the junior ranks and eventually landing that first World Tour contract — the moment she truly started believing. They look back at Dwars door Vlaanderen and why the chase just never came together, before turning their eyes to Sunday's Tour of Flanders with team breakdowns, star picks and some bold predictions. Caroline rates her spring a 7 out of 10 for now — but a podium in Flanders would change everything.

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