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Dave Brailsford on the Coronavirus Shutdown, the Tour de France, and Pro Cycling’s Return

The Outer Line, in conjunction with the Put Your Socks On podcast, recently conducted an in-depth and exclusive interview with Team Ineos Principal Sir Dave Brailsford. Brailsford talked about his team – how they are coordinating with each other, maintaining training programs, staying engaged with fans and continuing to build value for their sponsors. He weighed in on the UCI’s current plans for the rest of the 2020 calendar, and how that is affecting the team’s race strategy. We talked about what pro cycling may look like on the other side of the COVID-19 era, and his ideas for how to reinvent cycling’s business model. We also asked him to reflect on his management philosophy, and how he has been able to successfully manage a team that has been stacked with superstars for many years. The highlights of our discussion are summarized below – and to hear the entire interview, watch for...

Q&A With Israel Start-Up Nation GM Kjell Carlstrom

Shortly after the pro racing calendar came to a halt in early March, The Outer Line started a detailed discussion with the WorldTour’s newest team – Israel Start-Up Nation. The team was originally launched as the Israel Cycling Academy in 2014, by Israeli businessman Ron Baron, and pro cyclist Ran Margaliot. Sylvan Adams, an Israeli-Canadian entrepreneur and billionaire philanthropist, joined as a co-owner of the project in 2015 – soon becoming the major driver behind the team, and helping to bring the Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza to Israel in 2018. This was one of the largest sporting events in the history of Israel, and provided a platform for the team to enjoy greater international recognition. In 2019, the team took over the WorldTour license of Team Katusha-Alpecin, brought in a number of top WorldTour riders, changed its name to Israel Start-Up Nation, and jumped to the top...

Q&A With Michael Ask, Chairman of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations

Michael Ask, the CEO of Anti-Doping Denmark (ADD) has emerged as one of the world leaders in the anti-doping movement over the past several years. Besides running the Danish entity, Ask is also the current chairman of the International Association of National Anti-Doping Organizations (iNADO). Ask comes to the job with a somewhat unconventional background compared to his peers; he worked for 30 years for the Danish National Police force, where he eventually became chief of the National Crime Agency. Ask is also a former elite-level tennis player and sports aficionado, and after retiring from the police force in 2015, switched gears to join ADD. His pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to anti-doping quickly raised his international profile as an outspoken voice in the field, and was recently elected by the Board of iNADO to serve as its Chair. In that capacity, he plays a much wider role to...

Davis Phinney Discusses His Racing Career and Today’s Pro Cycling Scene

Any discussion of great American cyclists has to include Davis Phinney. Phinney won over 70 races during his time as a pro, and he is generally considered the greatest sprinter in U.S. history. Some ten years after he wrapped up his racing career he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, which he has now been living with for 20 years. But Phinney has not let the disease slow him down too much. He is active in his Davis Phinney Foundation, which works to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living with Parkinson’s. The Outer Line recently sat down with Phinney for a wide-ranging discussion. True to form, he rolled in on a high-end e-bike, which he credits with allowing him to get back to riding regularly. Phinney spoke with us for two hours, and his continuing enthusiasm and devotion to the sport clearly shows through. Below, he reminisces about his career in the sport,...

Q&A With Davis Phinney Foundation Director Polly Dawkins

The name Phinney is synonymous with American cycling. Davis Phinney’s professional career spanned 1984 to 1993, and he amassed 328 wins, including 73 professional victories and two stages of the Tour de France. He also transformed into an all-round threat during the second half of his career, winning the final edition of the Coors Classic (1988), as well as short mountainous U.S. stage races like Killington and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. Davis’s wife, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, was also a world-class bike racer as well as a speed skater. She was the first women’s Olympic road race champion in 1984 and a twelve-time U.S. national champion. In 1972, she became (and still is) the country’s youngest winter Olympian, competing in the 1500 meter speed skating events in Sapporo at age 14. Their son Taylor enjoyed a meteoric rise to cycling fame at any early age, winning Paris-Roubaix...