Sigma Sports Unplugged with Matt Stephens

Episoder

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  Vuelta a España Rest Day Reflections 2026 - Stages 16 to 21 - Mas, Brennan and Bug Hotels 14.09.2026 45min

  As the dust settles on another blistering season of Grand Tour racing, Matt Stephens takes a look back at the final week of the 2026 Vuelta a España. Matt’s vignettes reflect on the impressive arrival of Matt Brennan, the GC heroics of Enric Mas, a head-turning time trial by Callum Thornley and some returns to glory for Eddie Dunbar and Mikel Landa. Off the bike, Matt’s been busy enjoying the Bug Hotel at Stockley Park, and the whole TNT Sport cycling department tackle the local pub quiz!  www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Vuelta a España Rest Day Reflections 2026 - Stages 10 to 15 - Mucho Mas, and a Work of Aert! 07.09.2026 31min

  With the temperature rising at the 2026 Vuelta a España, Matt Stephens takes a look back at a blistering week of racing. The dynamic duo of Wout Van Aert and Matty Brennan are a formidable partnership, while Enric Mas continues to look very strong in the red jersey and Oscar Onley clings on to white. In this podcast, Matt takes us into the TNT Sport studio with Orla and Adam for some live race finishes, looks back at the last week and forward to the next, and briefly takes us to Geese (the band) before contemplating what a bag of Vismas might be. www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Vuelta a España Rest Day Reflections 2026 - Stages 1 to 9 - Predictably unpredictable! 31.08.2026 54min

  A rising star, a stage with no winner, and a massive upset for the favourite - the first nine stages of the 2026 Vuelta Ciclista a España had it all. Join Matt Stephens as he looks back at the action from each stage, offering his thoughts on proceedings while also meandering into the territory of waterfowl information boards, a chance encounter with Beck, and a frightening moment for a duck as it escaped from a pike. There really is no other podcast like this.  www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Mads Würtz Schmidt on his successful switch from road racer to gravel champion 21.08.2026 1t 9min

  Danish gravel star Mads Würtz Schmidt joins Matt Stephens fresh off a remarkable run of wins to explain how leaving the WorldTour behind has transformed him as an athlete. The Specialized rider opens up candidly about the mental health struggles that derailed parts of his road career, how a new coach and a more structured routine have made him faster and, crucially, more durable, and why he believes gravel racing suits his old-school time-trialling instincts better than anything he found on the road. They also get into life in Girona, the brutal, rock-strewn gravel that makes the region such a proving ground, the bond with teammate Matt Beers that helped power a huge win at Traka, and Mads's hopes of one day adding a gravel World Championship jersey to his collection. www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift Rest Day Reflections 2026 - A GC battle to remember 10.08.2026 1t 6min

  Matt Stephens takes us behind the scenes at the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift 2026 to share his reactions and opinions to a race that will go down in history as one of the best GC battles of all time. Packed with cameos and guest appearances, Matt reviews Beef Cheeks with Dani Rowe (MBE), gets introduced to Ice lolly gels by Zoe Backstedt, and remembers a time he poured many litres of a questionable substance down a drain with Ned Boulting. www.sigmasports.com Watch the Sigma Sports Cafe Ride with Demi Vollering here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R30utXEe7mE Watch the Sigma Sports Cafe Ride with Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0RYGUTyMU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Tour de France Rest Day Reflections 2026 - Stages 16 - 21 A Finalé for the Ages 27.07.2026 52min

  Matt Stephens takes us behind the scenes at the Tour de France 2026, where he has been meeting the fans on Alpe d’Huez and witnessing some of the best final week’s racing of all time. There were Individual Time Trials, breakaways, records smashed, and a blistering finish in Paris. Off the bike, Matt has made friends with the Paul Seixas Fan Club, soaked up the atmosphere at Beefeater Bend, and survived a party at “Temu Dutch Corner”! www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Tour de France Rest Day Reflections 2026 - Stages 10 - 15 Dominance and devastation 20.07.2026 42min

  Matt Stephens is back with another week’s worth of reflections on rest day two of the 2026 Tour de France. This is the mini series where Matt takes you behind the scenes at the WBD Sport studios, with thrilling in-race finish line action as well as post race analysis and insights. Matt also reflects on a heron reflecting on its own statue, chats tea vessels with his colleague Chappers, and pays homage to the Belgian accent with Adam Blythe… Which, to be honest, is probably why you’re here! www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Tour de France Rest Day Reflections 2026 - Stages 1 - 9 TTTs, Træen, and Tadej being Tadej 13.07.2026 50min

  From the TV studio in Chiswick, Matt Stephens takes us behind the scenes at the greatest show on earth (Tour de France), to bring you the second greatest show on earth (this podcast). You’ll hear live finish line reactions from Matt and his Eurosport TNT WB Discovery colleagues, meandering vignettes about crows stealing his lunch, melancholic pizza sadness, and a reminder to those who are finding the Pogacar era a little predictable, that we’re witnessing history with perhaps the greatest rider of all time. www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Rebecca Charlton on her Cancer Diagnosis, Cycling and Recovery 26.06.2026 1t 4min

  Matt Stephens chats to one of his best friends and colleagues, Rebecca Charlton, about the cancer diagnosis that led to the toughest year of her life. By approaching her treatments the same way she approaches cycling, Rebecca went all in with full commitment - the only way she knows how. She credits her cyclist mindset and ability to tolerate suffering for her ongoing recovery, and commends the cycling community for their ability to pop up just about anywhere, to chat about Matt Stephens’ balls.  Support Mummy’s Star here - https://www.mummysstar.org/  Support Tour de Four here - https://www.tourde4.com/ www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  LeBlanq Joyride Festival Special 18.06.2026 33min

  Matt Stephens takes us to the LeBlanq Joyride Festival on the Isle of Wight. You can expect conversations with Olympian Denise Lewis, Tour de France stage winner Sean Yates, and DJs Lisa Medwell and Taylor Phinney! www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Giro Rest Day Reflections 2026 Stages 16 - 21: Vingegaard makes it look easy! 01.06.2026 45min

  Technically yet again it’s not a rest day; the Giro d’Italia 2026 has just been won. As the dust settles on Rome, Matt Stephens reflects on the final week of racing from behind the scenes at the Breakaway studio for TNT Sports / HBO Max Studio. Expect opinions, views and points of view throughout the final six stages, before Matt shares his thoughts on this year’s Giro on the whole, and looks forward to the prospect of a mouthwatering Tour de France showdown between a rampant Jonas Vingegaard and perhaps the only man who can beat him; Tadej Pogacar. www.sigmasports.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Giro Rest Day Reflections 2026 Stages 10 - 15: Time Trials, High Mountains and Soggy Chips 25.05.2026 49min

  It's a rest day at the Giro d’Italia, so Matt Stephens is back with another podcast reflecting on the previous week of racing, as well as all the peculiar goings-on in his life in the Breakaway studio for TNT Sports / HBO Max Studio. The past week has seen every type of race stage with an individual time trial, some rolling stages, a proper GC mountain stage, and a much-debated Milanese city circuit to finish the week. You can expect expert opinions, live finish line reactions, along with equally pertinent reviews of vitamin volcanoes and soggy chips! www.sigmasports.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Giro Rest Day Reflections 2026 Stages 4 - 9: Metatarsal Madness 18.05.2026 56min

  Matt Stephens is back on Breakaway duty for another week of racing from the TNT Sports / HBO Max Studio, and for the first time ever at an external broadcast featuring a live studio audience at the Sigma Sports store in Hampton Wick. It wouldn’t be Matt Stephens without some unpredictable tangents, and this week’s spanner in the works comes in the shape of a fractured Metatarsal. Brave Matt soldiers on to tell us about Thai curries, Toblerones, the merits of automatic vehicles while sporting an injured left foot, and of course a full week of action packed Grand Tour racing!  www.sigmasports.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Giro Rest Day Reflections 2026 Stages 1-3: Drama, Ducks and Smooth Sprinting 11.05.2026 41min

  This year, Matt Stephens is more nomadic than ever, as he presents his Rest Day Reflections podcast mini series from the TNT Sports / HBO Max Studio, in-store at Sigma Sports, and from the Giro d’Italia itself. In this episode, Matt looks back at stages 1-3 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia as it kicked off in Bulgaria. Exciting finishes, an almost untimely end for a Stockley Park duck, and of course those two horror crashes in stages 1 and 2 all feature. With cameos from Adam Blythe and Orla Chennoui, there are plenty of laughs along the way too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Niels Vandeputte on winning the Belgian Gravel Champsionships and Chasing a Cross Jersey 17.04.2026 1t 1min

  Belgian cyclocross star Niels Vandeputte joins Matt Stephens to unpack a huge season of 40 races, breakthrough podiums, and the challenge of going head-to-head with legends like Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. The Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team rider shares insights into the demands of elite cyclocross racing, how training camps and setbacks shaped his form, and why consistency might be his greatest strength. They also dive into his Belgian gravel championship win, ambitions on the road, and the long-term goal of earning another coveted championship jersey - this time in cyclocross! www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Carlton Kirby on French Biscuit Factories and Emotional Crescendos 03.04.2026 1t 11min

  Carlton Kirby chats to Matt Stephens about their first encounter in the Eurosport commentary booth together over 10 years ago. His love of cycling might have been born in a French biscuit factory, but it was in the years after that summer job that saw him DJ in Tuvalu, become a breakfast broadcaster, and have an unfortunate encounter with the world’s biggest dog. If you think Matt is tangential, just wait till you hear some of Carlton’s stories! Warm, funny, and full of behind-the-scenes detail, this episode offers a unique look at the voices behind the racing and the stories that keep fans coming back for more. www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Anders Mielke on Breaking Into Cycling Media and Chasing Cobbles with Mads Pedersen 20.03.2026 1t 10min

  Sports broadcaster and journalist Anders Mielke joins Matt Stephens to share his journey from junior cyclist in Denmark to one of the most exciting young voices in cycling media. Anders reflects on the moment he realised a pro career wasn’t for him, how he built a podcast from scratch, and the path that led him to the commentary booth. He also lifts the lid on creating Chasing Cobbles, his behind-the-scenes documentary with Mads Pedersen, offering a unique insight into trust, storytelling and life inside the pro peloton. And in the hometown quiz, we witness a standout performance with a uniquely Danish twist. www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Imogen Cotter on Resilience, Reinvention, and Life Beyond the Peloton 06.03.2026 1t 6min

  Former Irish road race national champion Imogen Cotter joins Matt Stephens to discuss a cycling journey defined by grit, ambition and resilience. From funding her racing career while working as a postwoman in Belgium to winning the Irish National Championships in 2021 and signing her first professional contract, Cotter’s rise was hard-earned and rapid. But just weeks into life as a pro, a serious collision while training in Girona changed everything. In this episode, Imogen speaks candidly about recovery, early retirement, rediscovering her love for cycling, and pursuing a new path in sports journalism. A thoughtful and inspiring conversation released ahead of International Women’s Day. Read the accompanying article on the Sigma Sports Hub: https://www.sigmasports.com/hub/news/imogen-cotter-resilience-and-reinvention www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Stefan Küng on Chasing Monuments, Precision, and a New Chapter at Tudor Pro Cycling 20.02.2026 1t 2min

  Swiss powerhouse Stefan Küng joins Matt Stephens from Tudor Pro Cycling’s training camp in Spain to reflect on a career built on consistency, curiosity, and quiet ambition. Küng opens up about leaving Groupama-FDJ for a new challenge, the vision behind Tudor’s project, and why the Classics success still drive him. The conversation dives into racing with instinct in an era of marginal gains, evolving nutrition and technology, and the balance between innovation and safety in modern cycling. Stefan also shares formative stories from his youth, the people who shaped his self belief, and a memorable European Championship win before taking on a somewhat unfinished hometown quiz to round it all off. www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Matthew Riccitello on Removing his Power Meter and Riding on Feel 06.02.2026 1t 6min

  Matthew Riccitello is one of the most exciting young climbers in the WorldTour. Fresh from a breakthrough fifth place at the Vuelta a España, the 23-year-old American joins Matt Stephens from altitude camp in Sierra Nevada to reflect on his journey so far and his move to Decathlon CMA CGM Team. In this episode, Matthew discusses GC ambition, training philosophies, racing without a power meter, and why consistency and confidence are his greatest strengths. Matt learns about life in his hometown Tucson and his adoptive European home of Nice. Wise beyond his years, Riccitello explains how he feels the final week of a Grand Tour is the best stage on which to shine. www.sigmasports.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices