With cycling’s World Championships underway in Kigali, Rwanda, this week, I spoke with my old friend, Mvemba Dizolele, a highly-regarded foreign policy analyst, about the role of sports in diplomacy and politics. (Take the time to read Mvemba’s full bio here.)

For background on the issues facing Rwanda, Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch, who is a friend of the RIDING WITH podcast, has a terrific dispatch about Rwanda’s human rights violations and the role it plays in the conflicts in Congo and Sudan.

John Prendergast, a leading human rights advocate who has worked for decades to cast light on genocide and conflict, has this piece in Foreign Policy about how Rwanda has used sports partnerships to enhance its reputation in global politics.

Dizolele offers listeners a quick history of Rwanda, how the country fits into today’s geopolitics, and how consumers and companies can alter the behavior and policies of countries seeking the benefits of hosting prestigious sporting events like cycling’s World Championships.

Today’s episode of the RIDING WITH podcast is a bit different. I’m trying a narrative with sound mixed in from the biggest, most prestigious cycling race in the United States, which took place in Baltimore on Sept. 6, 2025. You’ll get to hear from the winners, runners-up, and those finishing just off the pace. It’s an inside look at what it takes to produce a massive event in a major American city from race organizers to the mayor’s office, and how the riders themselves view Baltimore and the United States.

At the Tour de France, the teams’ buses are equipped with laundry machines. Hotels can range from high end to a box and a cardboard mattress. After crossing the finish line on the Champs-Élysées, the riders celebrate with family and friends, attend a fancy team dinner, and then go clubbing.

On today’s podcast, I speak with Kevin Vermaerke, a 24-year-old American professional cyclist, riding for the Dutch team, Picnic PostNL.

Vermaerke raced the Tour de France in 2022, but he crashed on Stage 8 and was forced to abandon the race with a broken collarbone. One moment you’re racing in front of thousands of screaming fans, the next you’re sitting in the quiet of a hospital in rural France.

But Vermaerke came back the next year and finished the race; he finished the Giro d’Italia in 2024.

We talk about going to the Tour, being at the Tour, and leaving the Tour.

We also discuss Visma Lease a Bike’s strategy on Stage 10 at this year’s Tour de France, the end of Netflix’s series, Unchained, and book recommendations.

I’m also going to have to buy a new pair or two of cycling shoes.

Thanks for reading and listening.

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SHOW NOTES:

Fear and Loathing at the Tour de France with Kevin Vermaerke

The Finish Line (Vermaerke’s interview is at the 37th minute)

LOVE, ACTUALLY. AND TRAVEL LOGISTICS, VISA APPLICATIONS, AND CONCUSSION PROTOCOLS with Rindi Kessler

Book recommendations:

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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