Is Superstar Dominance Making Cycling Great or Killing It?

Is Superstar Dominance Making Cycling Great or Killing It?

From Beyond the Peloton Podcast by Spencer Martin

February 21, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of superstar dominance in cycling and whether it enhances or detracts from the sport's excitement.

Spencer Martin and co-host Andrew Vontz invite Jonathan Kaplan from the Riding With newsletter to discuss the recent racing, from the Isaac del Toro/Remco Evenepoel duel at the UAE Tour, the young stars emerging at Volta Algarve, and debate if the era of a select few historically good superstars winning nearly every major race is making the sport boring. BTP’s State of the 2026 USA Cycling Union ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Podcast Follow Spencer & Andrew on Strava This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Hosts: Spencer Martin, Andrew Vontz

Guest: Jonathan Kaplan

Topics covered

  • cycling
  • superstar dominance
  • racing
  • sports debate
  • emerging stars

Keywords

  • cycling
  • superstars
  • UAE Tour
  • Volta Algarve
  • racing
  • sports debate
  • emerging talent

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Riding With, USA Cycling Union

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