Cycling, and sport in general, has come a long way from cigarettes and steaks as the go-to nutrition. But while the fancy packaging, bling marketing and immense dollar figures going into R&D, we still come back to the basics.

Sam Shepherd is Head of Sports Science at Precision Fuel & Hydration and a really good guy as well. Sam breaks down why sports nutrition has evolved so much and where the demands are coming from - athletes, stakeholders, and the general public. We also get some insight into where the next possible nutritional trends may be and why carbohydrate intake will never be possible to reach much farther than where we are at now.

Did you know baby food is actually a really good nutritional item to have for sports?! We also get to learn how much oral and gut health needs to play a role in consuming large amounts of sports nutrition.

I should also mention, this is not an advertisement, nor is it commissioned work. Nothing has traded hands except knowledge and a really fun conversation. Precision Fuel & Hydration are one of the leaders in sports nutrition and Sam is just a genuinely good person.

Follow Precision Fuel & Hydration on Instagram: @precisionfandh

Join their Strava Club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/104959

Follow Clipless in Canada on Instagram: @cliplessincanada

Join the show's Strava Club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/1404973

Lewis Askey is one of cycling's top young talents with a plethora of results to his name. For many athletes a podium can symbolize the work, effort and resources that went into that event and is something to be seriously happy with. A podium is not a win, especially when trying to be the best around. Lewis Askey thinks along those lines!

With a serious, yet carefree manner, Lewis brings a wealth of talent and personality to NSN Cycling Team and compliments a very strong Classics squad, while still being able to ride with the best in stage racing.

From racing the club scene in the UK to the FDJ ecosystem and now NSN, Lewis grew up in the peak Wiggins cycling era and is one of Great Britain's coolest riders. We chat about building his career and finding his footing as a rider and person. Lewis also shares his thoughts on the importance of balancing cycling with other interests in life, the necessity of keeping cycling fun and enjoying what it has to offer, as well as how much the Wiggins boom truly impacted UK cycling and if the region needs a new landing spot for young British talent, as was seen in the Team Sky days.

Follow Lewis on Instagram: @lewis_askey

Follow Lewis on Strava: https://www.strava.com/pros/11514904

Follow Clipless in Canada on Instagram: @cliplessincanada

Very few have been able to carve a length career such as the one Toms Skuijņš has had. As cycling gets younger, more intense and more dynamic, needs, demands and approaches to racing, training, nutrition and lifestyle are all needing to adapt.

Toms joins the show to chat about his career and how such a global sport has changed in his more than a decade long career. Toms gives insight into how living, racing and training in the USA helped shape him as a ride and person, how North American cycling has a long way to go to bring bike racing to the mainstream, and why the loss of a strong North American racing calendar affects the entire season.

We also talk about the Latvia cycling scene and its current state of affairs. Will global racing ever see a strong Latvia presence or is the climate, geography and demographic never going to be suited to cycling?

Toms also shares his take on why athletes and teams need to place greater focus on academics. Cycling is dangerous, and placing no Plan B in the cards, can be terribly costly for a productive, fulfilling life post-career. We also learn of Toms dislike for e-racing and how he's really just a typical Canadian hockey fan at heart!

Toms Instagram: @omashuuns

Toms Strava: https://www.strava.com/pros/2413208?hl=fr-FR

As the world changes, needs and desires also change. As athletes grow, develop and adjust to the necessary circumstances, coaching also needs to adjust.

Holly Henry is one of Canada's coolest coaches and top personalities. Her focus on athlete-coach relationships, trust, and confidence in the process set her apart from the current "social media coach" problem as well as so many others in the profession. From triathlon to cycling, road racing to gravel, Holly has done it all, and can advise, coach and mentor riders to their absolute peak.

We chat about how coaching demands have changed over time, how athletes access to infinite information can be a real problem, where North American riders need different coaching strengths to help them adapt to European racing, and why it's so important to place genuine connections into creating trust in the athlete-coach mentality.

Follow Holly on Instagram @hollyn.henry

Follow Holly Henry Coaching on Instagram @hollyhenrycoaching

Holly Henry Coaching: https://hollyhenrycoaching.ca/

Follow Holly on Strava:https://www.strava.com/athletes/31381723?oq=hol

Follow Carter on Strava:https://www.strava.com/athletes/75006188

Join the Clipless in Canada Strava Club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/1404973

Cycling is a hard sport. Being an elite rider, or even professional takes tremendous amounts of time, resources, and sacrifices. Not all of us want to go down that route, but rather prefer to ride within ourselves, be the best we can be in the circumstances we have now, and live a life beyond that bike as well.

Sophie Sutton is not only a talented racer, but a very smart engineering student, and forward-thinking individual. Sophie brings a fun personality and diverse mindset to the Australian cycling scene and, but carries the seriousness of someone on a mission!

We chat about what the national and local levels are like in Australia, how the World University Championships don't but should get a bigger following, why Australians face many of the same challenges North American riders take on, and how building a strong lifestyle, social life, and outlook for the future makes us not only better riders, but better people.

Follow Sophie on Instagram: @sophieesutton

Follow Sophie on Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/27603571

Follow Carter on Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/75006188

Join the Clipless in Canada Strava Club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/1404973

It's hard enough to be successful in one discipline in cycling, let alone two, and yet some athletes are able to do just that!

Andy Lydic is one of America's top up-and-coming riders with success in road, gravel and mountain biking. While we races much more prominently in the former two these days, that doesn't lighten the load at all. From balancing privateer gravel roles to looked-after road racing dynamics, the logistics, management, and time allotment details are not simple.

Andy joins the show to chat about balancing a multi-discipline schedule, if it's a viable structure for more athletes or if a select few can truly balance it and remain competitive, how the USAC is doing some things really well and other things not-so-well with athlete development, and why a $49.99 subscription fee is not helping bring new people into cycling!

Andy's instagram: @Andy.lydic

Bas Tietema and the Unibet Rose Rockets are two name synonymous with limit-pushing, fun-having, and big goals. The Rockets have captured fan attention are the world for their authenticity, relation to the public, and impact on cycling as a whole. Bas Tietema is the man behind the squad and one of the founders.

Cycling has long been viewed as a conservative and tradition-based but yet we have progressed so far in the sport in terms of technology, tactics, training, and nutrition. It's time for the sports business model to see a shake-up!

From concept to reality, what has the journey been like from those within? Is it actually beneficial to have more teams follow a "future-proof" branding style? What are the surprises

for first-time team managers in building a squad? How much does budget, logistics, and staff management play into day-to-day operations? And is a stage win at the Giro truly a bigger marketing boost than multiple days in breakaways and in front of the peloton?

Follow Bas Tietema on Instagram @bastietema

Follow the Rockets on Instagram: @rocketscycling

Join the Clipless in Canada Strava Club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/cliplessincanadapodcast

Noemi Rüegg has quickly becoming one of cycling’s fan favourites for her personality, charm, authenticity and genuine kindness, good-nature, and impact on the sport. Pair that with EF Education - Oatly’s growth to being the “fan’s team” and there is real room for impact, growth, and development for the sport.

We chat about Noemi’s development in the sport and her move from running to cyclocross to road, and where her career has come from and what the future holds. Noemi gives some insight into the differences felt and seen in developing in a Dutch team versus one more international like EF Education - Oatly. We also look into why authenticity is so important for career and brand building, why relationships and maturity are invaluable because we never know which young athlete is watching and admiring, as well as the ability for teams, brands, and athletes, to do so much more through being truly good.

All this and more on the episode!!