Claim OwnershipSigma Sports presents Matt Stephens Unplugged
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Sigma Sports is proud to present Matt Stephens Unplugged, a regular catch-up with cycling’s favourite character, Matt Stephens, as he chats with special guests and explores the bowels of his own fruity mind. With lots of surprises along the way, the route-map has been torn up; so who knows what direction we’re going in, or where we’ll end up!
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125 Episodes
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1Matt Stephens chats to Rory Townsend about his versatility as a rider, both in terms of his ability to win one-day classics and stage race sprints, but also in terms of his flexibility within UCI ProTeam Q36.5. Being on a team with limited resources requires a range of skills that can be called upon at short notice - and at the time of recording, Rory was waiting to hear if he or teammate Szymon Sajnok would be required for Ronde Van Vlaanderen, just three days later! Matt was also keen to learn if the former Irish national road race champion would be targeting that title again this season, and what other goals he set himself.
Matt Stephens previews Paris Roubaix with the 2024 Milan San Remo champion, Jasper Philipsen. Arguably in the form of his life, the Belgian Alpecin - Deceuninck sprinter looks forward to racing with his ever-humble teammates, reflecting on how it feels to have Mathieu van der Poel leading him out, and how timing is 95% of the job. Touching on tactics and how training for the Classics differs from training for Grand Tours, this is an insightful chat right in time for what promises to be the best race of the classics season.
Matt Stephens has a fascinating chat with Rod Ellingworth about his impact on British Cycling and how that helped lead to the period of dominant success at Team Sky in the mid 2010’s. The newly appointed race director for Tour of Britain explains how he had a holistic approach that valued the personality of the riders as much as their numbers, and shares some interesting stories about the likes of Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins. But how can such an intelligent man be so awful at quizzes?
In this International Women’s Day special, Matt Stephens chats to Kate Veronneau about her pioneering role in helping to deliver the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. From a basketballing background to riding fixies for 50 miles, Kate rose to the ranks of elite cycling but quickly learnt it was not a viable career option. Now, as head of partnerships at Zwift, she’s doing all she can to help break down the barriers and deliver parity for the next generation of female riders.
Matt Stephens chats to Stevie Williams about how his career is no longer defined by a plague of knee injuries since adding the General Classification of the 2024 Tour Down Under to his palmares. The Aberystwyth native is a shining example of determination and credits consistency for getting him beyond his form prior to several setbacks over the years. The Welshman claims he couldn’t have done it without the support of his friends and family, and has a refreshingly simplistic attitude when it comes to training.
Matt Stephens is impressed by David O’Doherty’s cycling knowledge, and in particular, his obsession with the racing bikes of the late 1980’s that’s led him to own a collection so big he now operates on a ‘one in one out’ basis. David is famous for being one of the most successful Irish stand up comedians of all time, with a host of awards and appearances on QI, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Would I Lie To You, and the upcoming series of Celebrity Bake Off. But given his chosen subject on Celebrity Mastermind was The First 100 Years of The Tour De France, surely he’ll ace the hometown quiz?
Matt Stephens and Wout Poels chat all about his thus-far illustrious career. With recent stage wins at the Tour de France and La Vuelta Espana for team Bahrain Victorious, the 36 year old is enjoying a long career which he credits to keeping his routine fresh. The pair have differing memories when they raced together at the 2010 Tour of Britain, with Wout taking a stage win and Matt doing his best to keep up. Having grown up in a small town in the Netherlands, you’d expect Wout’s knowledge of Blitterswijck to come in handy in the hometown quiz - and when the questions feature his fan club’s favourite pizzeria hotspot, surely he can’t go wrong…right?
Matt Stephens and Alison Jackson discuss her incredible Paris-Roubaix victory and what it meant to the nation of Canada. Having proven her wisdom at the Spring Classics, Alison’s EF Education TIBCO-SVB teammates now listen closely to her tactical calls, but how would she go about winning Roubaix for a second time in 2024? Born competitive, Alison grew up on a Bison farm in rural Canada dreaming of one day becoming an Olympian - the only question was which sport to choose. Luckily for us fans, she chose cycling! The Canuck’s next goal is to have a street named after her in her native Vermilion, and Matt gets the idea of starting a petition to help make that happen…
Matt Stephens chats to two-times British Road champion Ben Swift about his impressively long career, which has just been extended for another two years with INEOS Grenadiers. Having ridden with the team since the inception of Sky Procycling, Ben has seen the sport change exponentially in recent years, and claims he enjoys the thrill of racing now more than ever and continues to develop as a rider in his mid thirties. In a podcast packed with stories about teammates Adam Blythe and Geraint Thomas, Ben reflects on how his true idols are the heroes that taught him to ride on his local chain gang in Yorkshire.
Matt Stephens chats with a humble and reflective Matej Mohoric, who was recently crowned UCI World Gravel Champion. The Slovenian explains how he grew up riding off-road and started racing in order to dodge working on his parents’ farm. But will he get to wear the famous rainbow stripes racing on gravel next season? And having won stages at all three grand tours, what’s next for the all-rounder? With a touching tribute to Gino Mäder, Matej explains how his whole Bahrain-Victorious team re-evaluated their lives after the tragic passing of their much loved teammate.
Matt Stephens and Sir Chris Hoy are joined by a live audience at the Sigma Sports Electric store to discuss the incredible track cycling career which led him to become Britain’s most successful Olympian in his heyday, and brought him a knighthood for services to sports. Chris shares his approach to increasing his maximum power output, explains how his self doubt was a catalyst for success, and enjoys taking questions from the audience about all sorts. No stranger to the hot seat having appeared on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for charity, can Chris survive the added pressure of Matt’s Murrayfield quiz?!
Matt Stephens and Zoe Bäckstedt chat about bike racing and family. With both parents and a big sister already proving themselves in athletic terms, it's no surprise that Zoe has had such a successful junior career - winning World Championship jerseys for road racing, time trialling, cyclocross, and even some track disciplines. And in the 24 hours since recording this podcast, she’s become European U23 Individual Time Trial champion too! But Matt is keen to learn which discipline is her favourite, and how it feels to switch teams mid-season from EF Education-TIBCO-SVB to Canyon-SRAM, where her father Magnus is Directeur Sportif. Zoe also rates Matt’s Lego collection, and gets shocked by the price of Fish and Chips in her hometown of Pontyclun.
Matt Stephens chats to Freddy Ovett about his development from a middle distance runner to a globetrotting road cyclist to one of the best gravel pioneers in the world. Freddy will be the first to point out the flaws of Pro Cycling Stats, as he proclaims his love for the extra plotlines written into every gravel race that the stats just don’t tell. With spells at AG2R, BMC and L39ION of Los Angeles, Freddy has seen the world and tried all styles of racing before finding his true calling as an independent gravel racer; writing his own story by racing the way he wants on the elite gravel circuit.
Matt Stephens chats to Josh Tarling about his breakthrough season with Ineos Grenadiers. Recorded just days after he became British National Time Trial Champion, and weeks before he earned a podium at the UCI World Championships in Glasgow, Josh is relaxed and candid as he chats about his goals for the season. A fascinating retrospective listen, the young rider fantasises about custom Pinarello paint jobs, describes how he keeps pre-ride stress at bay, and shows his knowledge of local chippies in his hometown of Aberaeron.
From the heart of the action, Matt Stephens has been recording clips at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow. With so many disciplines at the first ever “Super-Worlds”, Matt witnesses Van der Poel’s crash in the company of several Belgians, signs a man’s leg at the Road Race finishing circuit, enjoys an irreplicable atmosphere at the Cycle Ball, and loses his muff at the Cross-Country MTB.
Matt Stephens reflects on the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift 2023, where he brought his portable recorder behind the scenes to document the race from the inside. While the racing unfolds around Matt, he has arguments about Haribo with Manon Lloyd, enjoys podcast inception with Rebecca Charlton, soaks up the atmosphere with Iris Slappendel, and gets selfies with former teammate David McKenzie - all set against the sonic landscape of the race caravan and the associated media circus. Oh, and the racing was absolutely unforgettable!!
Matt Stephens is at the 2023 Tour de France, digesting the racing and sharing his thoughts from behind the scenes. With VIP access to all of the riders, and his Eurosport GCN colleagues, you might think this podcast is full of gripping interviews and hot takes on the Jonas Vingegaard / Tadej Pogačar rivalry.... But, Matt’s more interested in chatting about high altitude curry with Adam Blythe, discussing Haribo strategy with Alberto Contador, and figuring out how to interview riders without knowing if they’ve won the sprint or not with Laura Meseguer!
Matt Stephens is back behind the scenes at the 2023 Tour de France, where he’s been recording clips in between performing his duties for Eurosport GCN. In this episode, Matt discusses his experiences through stages 10 to 15, including fine dining on ‘long nuggets’, chatting to Jens Voigt who loves being in the peloton on a motorbike (but definitely doesn’t miss racing), and suffering from acute vertigo while riding a Gondola to the foot of Europe’s highest mountain.
Matt Stephens is at the 2023 Tour de France reporting for Eurosport GCN, but luckily for us, he’s brought his trusty portable recorder along for the journey. Over a collection of spontaneously recorded clips, Matt reflects on his experience from the biggest bike race in the world in his own inimitable way; extolling the virtues of a CBL (Car Bonnet Lunch), commending Philippe Gilbert on his Berlin Nightclub attire, and telling the story of how losing a bet to Mads Pedersen can result in a tattoo forfeit. Matt also reflects on Mark Cavendish’s devastation at crashing out of the race, but will it prove to be his final TdF farewell?
Matt Stephens welcomes Ben Healy back to the podcast to discuss everything that has changed in the past 18 months. Since his last appearance, Ben has continued his meteoric rise within the World Tour, including a stage win at the 2023 Giro d’Italia for EF Education-Easypost. Find out how the Irish National Road Race Champion performs in a race against himself to see if he can remember the answers to the same questions Matt asked in his previous hometown quiz. And the RQG asks which superpower he would choose, if he could only have it every Tuesday for one hour.
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genius!