144. Emma Pooley: Tour de France winner, Oat to Joy author and pro-athlete sage

This week, Robyn and Will are joined by Emma Pooley, Tour de France women's winner in 2009 (or the Grande Boucle Féminine as it was then), Olympic medallist, UCI world time-trial winner, multiple national road and time-trial champion and triathlon and duathlon champ, plus a first class honours student at Cambridge and University Challenge contestant to boot. Oh, and Emma also won the Brompton bike racing world championships and held the Everesting record in 2020 - 8,848m climbed in 8h 53m 36s, or ten loops of a 6.8km, 13% climb back-to-back plus descents. Incredible.

In this episode, Emma talks about the psychological difficulties inherent in being a pro; the pressure of conforming to ideals like weight for riders; her highs and lows throughout her career; plus her new book, Oat to Joy, in which she explains the role of the humble grain in a cyclist's diet, along with recipes and stories about her life on a bike.

Interview begins at 5.16

Emma Pooley's Oat to Joy, a recipe book plus stories of her cycling life, is available now at emmapooley.net

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This episode is brought to you by the Hammerhead Karoo GPS bike computer. Visit hammerhead.io and use the code CYCLIST to get a free HR strap with every purchase (just be sure to add the strap to your cart then apply the code at checkout).

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