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Guest: Joe Lindsey
I wanted to get this episode up before Omloop– the first European One-Day Classic this coming Saturday.
Indeed, it’s Spring Classics time and as always, I turn to my bike racing expert, Joe Lindsey, the managing director of Escape Collective, for his knowledge and insights.
Interestingly enough, as many times as we’ve spoken over the years, it never occurred to me to define certain terms until now!
And so, we begin this early spring conversation with a few definitions such as – what is a classic? Which races are termed Monuments and what does that mean? And, why are the cobbled races so difficult?
And, why hasn’t Tadej Pogacar won all 5 of the Monuments? Which women should we watch? And how about the exciting 4th place TdF finisher Oscar Onley? What’s he up to for 2026?
We chat about team rider changes, bad-fan behavior, and whether state-sponsored teams are a good idea.
We delve into some of the questions that arose for me out of the protests at last year’s Tour of Spain and how racing might be changing in this time of short-attention spans and instant news.
Log on to escapecollective.com for great stories, interviews, racing updates, 
and more. And, you can find Joe’s “brief guide to how to watch racing this year” Better yet – join!
My thanks to you for listening. Even though there is still a LOT of snow on the ground and cold weather in the forecast, March 1st is literally around the corner, and the time change is following close behind.
If your bike is still hanging from the rafters or stuffed into a nook in the garage or basement, you might want to check it out for flat tires, loose headset, worn out handlebar tape, frayed wires, and any other thing you said – “I’ll fix next spring.” It’s next spring!
And, give your local bike shop a heads up because I can tell you from years of experience, that first 60 degree day brings chaos and long service time waits!
Lastly, I want to say thank you to those who offered up a donation to WJCU’s annual Radiothon.
Years ago, when I first started my show at WJCU, the hopes were to top $50K in donations.
Well baby, look at us now. This year, we topped $108K – just a phenomenal record. Here’s a BIG shout-out to all the DJ’s who work so hard to produce their shows and to Jasen S. for his outstanding management of the station. I’m honored to be part of it.