Show Notes
Matt Stephens chats to Toms Skujiņš about his hugely impressive results in recent seasons, with the Lidl-Trek rider coming second at last year’s Strade Bianche, and finishing 4th in the road race at the UCI World Championships in Zurich. The former Latvian national champ is suited to long and hard days in the saddle, and has high hopes for the 2025 season where he’ll certainly be one to watch. Once the official potato ambassador of Latvia, there’s no wonder he takes every opportunity to extol the virtues of the humble spud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from Sigma Sports Unplugged with Matt Stephens
Matt Stephens is joined by Elis James for a conversation about comfort zones, mental toughness and the buzz of riding really long distances on very smooth tarmac. Elis is perhaps best known as a stand-up comedian and for his weekly radio show and podcast with John Robins for BBC Radio 5 Live, but his love for professional cycling and the magic of being on two wheels helps him to connect with Matt on a base level. This podcast blurs the lines between host and guest, as Elis’ natural curiosity and broadcasting skills draw some great stories about Matt’s early racing career in France.
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!
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.
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.
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.