In this week’s regular episode of The Cycling Podcast, Daniel Friebe is joined by two of cycling’s most recognisable and beloved commentators - Renaat Schotte and Rob Hatch - to discuss to the start of the European road season and look ahead to the cyclocross Worlds in Tábor, Czechia.  The reigning ‘cross world champions, Mathieu van der Poel and Fem Van Empel, are both favourites to retain their titles at the weekend. Renaat tells us why a Van der Poel victory, in particular, looks a safe bet…but possibly not a foregone conclusion.  In the last part of the podcast, we switch our attention to the tarmac and examine some of the themes of the road season so far. After last week’s laurels for the 20-year-old Mexican wunderkind Isaac Del Toro, we’re treated to an even closer look at his journey to the top by some of the men and women who first brought him to Europe with the A.R. Monex team.  Follow us on social media: Twitter @cycling_podcast Instagram @thecyclingpodcast The 11.01 Cappuccino Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am). MAAP The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. Tour De Lunsar 2024 If you would like to help the Tour De Lunsar take place in 2024 you can donate on their gofundme page  https://gofund.me/2cdb3cdd Friends of the Podcast Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to more than 60 exclusive episodes. The Cycling Podcast is on Strava The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.