We Uncover Russian Cheats & Decathlon's Pro Team Deal - The Wild Ones Podcast Ep. 25

Check out the audio versions of the podcast here: podfollow.com/the-wild-ones/view
Decathlon has a new World Tour partnership, which means fancy new bike and accessories have arrived, plus we’ve helped uncover a cheating scandal at a UCI World Championship qualifier race. They lads also construct their ‘nightmare bikes’, play another round of overrated or underrated, and talk gravel bikes for cyclocross.
Here’s the full rundown:
00:01 Decathlon’s New Pro Contract
07:03 We Helped Uncover Russian Cheats At UCI World Qualifiers
21:22 Secret Santa
24:24 This Bike Is Jimmi’s NIGHTMARE…
29:24 Francis’s Nightmare Build
32:23 Overrated/Underrated: Inner Tubes
32:49 Overrated/Underrated: Direct Drive Turbo Trainers
35:08 Overrated/Underrated: Daytime Running Bike Lights
36:35 Overrated/Underrated: Rim Brake Carbon Wheels
38:44 Overrated/Underrated: American Biscuits
39:42 Overrated/Underrated: Fahrenheit
39:52 Overrated/Underrated: Mile Century
41:14 Overrated/Underrated: Pumpkin Pie
43:24 Fluff Up Of The Week
46:11 Can You Do Cyclocross On A Gravel Bike?
49:16 Send Us Your Questions About Training!
If you’d like us to send in a question, story, some good news, things you’d like us to discuss or anything else, email us at [e-mail]
Thanks and see you next time.
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[@MyLouTube]

THANK YOU for the support! 💖💖💖

[@izi941]

It’s really not fair…It happens very often in Slovenian GF qualifying race (Maraton Franja). It also happens that I (unintentionally) pace some women to victory in the group I lead. I wouldn’t consider it cheating, it’s what happens in amass start event.

[@ff2e]

@@izi941 It's 100% cheating if they're not registered racers and they're acting as domestiques in a race. Especially if they're swapping in and out when they get tired to keep a racer fresh. That's a massive advantage no one can do anything about.

[@joules2936]

@@izi941it might happen a lot, but that’s not a reason to shrug and accept, and is instead the reason to educate organisers and get things revised. If it’s a ‘fun’ event, then maybe a certain amount of shrugging and acceptance is inevitable. The moment there are prizes of any form involved, this kind of cheating is exactly that, cheating, and should dealt with.

[@ndennan67]

@@izi941if they’re a teammate and they’re officially in the race it wouldn’t be cheating. But if they’re not an official entrant and jumping mid race to help a friend then 100% it’s cheating.

[@markjthomson]

Congrats Lou! Well done, and thank you for calling the cheats out.

[@Avioto]

Emily doing more journalistic content on cycling for the channel would be pretty cool!

[@austinurias]

Amen

[@koreystephens]

“Where is Lille?”

[@NunoJoel]

Decathlon deserves all the luck on it , one of the few brands in world that makes cycling acessible to everyone with the best bang for the buck 👏 Great Video once again 💪

[@yomervokhets]

Van Rysel means "From Lille" in Flemish/Dutch. The company Decathlon was founded in Lille, which is in French Flanders. Historically, the locals used to speak Flemish and call their town Rysel. Yes, Flanders is not only in Belgium, but also in France! Only today they speak French and call the place Lille. This is also why Decathlon bike frames bear the badge "Designed in Flanders." Decathlon may be marketing off the tendency folks have of assuming a connection with Belgian Flanders through a name that sounds like a famous (Belgian) Flemish rider who doesn't exist (yet?).

[@swe223]

I've always seen it as Rijsel in flemish, but never as Rysel. Seems weird to have it written like this. Is it a local dialect?

[@yomervokhets]

Flemish/Dutch spelling used to use a special character -- a "y" with an umlaut -- as part of the spelling. In modern Dutch, this is written "ij" (I think this was done in the 1950s or 1960s) and is still considered one character, though non-Dutch keyboards can be used to write it with the "i" and "j" separately. So while "Rijsel" is the correct place name in Dutch today, the more traditional spelling will be done with the older "y" version, which in Flemish did not have the umlaut on it.@@swe223

[@swe223]

@@yomervokhets Thanks for the clarification!

[@VincentForDesign]

Thanks for the explanation! This made me love the brand even more!

[@super8hell]

My nightmare bike? Super wide flat bar fixie. 0 points in style, 0 points in practicality (not even talking about fixed gear). Frameset: 1950s radonneur frame, 58 cm seat and top tube, half rusted, with french threaded bottom bracket. Crankset: Something really heavy. Cranks 175 mm Casette: fixed gear with 34:34 ratio Handlebars: 70 cm MOTOCROSS jobbie + TT CLIP ONS Saddle: gym bike chair thing. Solid tyres and.... CANTILEVER BIKE IN THE FRONT.

[@moldysnek]

im dying 😂

[@wheelwizard8219]

Emily is the Brains in Cade Media Well Done

[@malcontent_1]

... and also at the BBC 😉

[@samuelgawiser8688]

Rysel is the Flemish translation of the town Lille in the north of France, wich is an historic part of Flanders. That's why they have the Flemish Lion on the bikes.

[@bengarside79]

Amazing work Emily.. but perhaps don’t drink any ‘tea’ sent in the post with a Russian stamp!! 😮😂

[@rok1373]

Really enjoyed this episode of the 3 of you! Keep it up ☕

[@virtualmartijn]

Was checking this morning and their RCR bike with full Force AXS, including the power meter, Zipp 404's and Deda handlebars is 4799 EUR. That's pretty ridiculous value in today’s market.

[@Unktiontofunktion726]

Love the show/podcast y’all! Nothing’s better than seeing someone laugh uncontrollably when trying to keep a straight face. Looks like fun. Great advice on the gravel bike for cyclocross race. I actually ride a cyclocross bike (‘22 Trek Boone)because I couldn’t find a gravel bike in my size quick enough. I absolutely love it! I say ride what you want and have fun. Super cool story about Louise V! I’m in TX and was hoping to catch y’all on your ride through, but Louise and her husband redirected y’all down South. 😢

[@DRT-Raienryu]

@Cade_Media it is not surprising decathlon is going into road racing now as a sponsor. They alread sponsor a XC mountainbike team with their inhouse brand of RockRider. So not surprising at all

[@deangough4167]

Jimmi, I think it was peach pie he was trying to eat in Reacher, not pumpkin pie.

[@robertchandler587]

Jimmy: “yey ah the motive I see!” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@logojones96]

Brown bibs were the best kit in the pro peloton by far! They were ahead of the fashion curve with neutral toned kits so good

[@alienaudaxer9827]

Totally. I've got some muddy red coloured bib shorts which I love.

[@billmontgomerie9526]

Started watching you guys recently channel is great back watched a lot of your stuff 👍👍Love the channelAnd the advice and thanks guys.

[@nickpatten5263]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Star review. Thanks Jimmy and Francis and Emily. Really interesting as usual especially the bit about cross country racing as I too have a Checkpoint SL5. Always look forward to your content, thank you 🙏

[@bigrex3896]

I ride flashing front and rear lights on all my bikes and even on the brightest day. Some stats quote 41% reduction in accidents when lights are used.

[@andyw7325]

Good show, looking forward to next weeks guest. The pod cast a little while ago with Bike Shop Nick was a good listen /watch.

[@jamesworley2674]

First time I went out with my local cycle club I upset the committee members by saying 'I've no idea how far a Mile is, we've had the metric system since 1965'!

[@ShortsNL]

Rysel the Dutch name for Lille. Lille is just next to Roubaix on the border with Flanders. Naming their bike line to sound like a Flandrien is basically the equivalent of an English Whiskey brewing company naming their product after something Scottish. Granted, they used to speak Flemish around Lille as well, but this was like 200 years ago...

[@super8hell]

probably just to have a unique name that means nothing to the rest of the world, but still harkens back to some heritage, and bypassing any copyright issues.

[@enekkers]

Lille (Ryssel) is actually where Decathlon is from

[@virtualmartijn]

And Decathlon started in Lille with a sporting goods store and currently their HQ is in Villeneuve d'Ascq which is in the Lille metropolitan area

[@knalliebar]

I was typing this haha, thanks for doing it for me.

[@bengarside79]

Jimmy hasn’t had a hi-tensile steel frame then.. not wishing to sound like the Yorkshiremen off Monty python.. but “I’d have loved a chromoly frame.. bloomin luxury!” 😂

[@Rich_Mitch_Creative]

Decathlon are making similar moves into running with their Kiprun brand. I've been trying bits from them recently, including their COROS powered watch, apparel etc. But I've yet to try their running shoes but they look like they're coming highly recommended so I might try them soon. Well made stuff at a brilliant price. I'm all for it.

[@Ultegra10SPD]

Why i still resist discs and trust HED Jets. The Jet Black are even better. -U10

[@stuartmclean3843]

Nans Peters is the Cofidis rider who helped develop Van Rysel top if the range carbon shoes, he won a stage at the 2020 tdf wearing them, I have a pair of those carbon shoes, and also Decathlon's head office is based in Lille hence the name Van

[@invisiblescout6335]

Screw you Jimmi, the brown bibs were ICONIC!

[@kalilebron007]

Omg! I ride a Van Rysel RCR 900AF now and it's so cool you guys are giving it the coverage now! Super. Also, I rode a Biopace chainring on Koga Miyata Prologue 1991.

[@marks3620]

My 1990 Reynolds 531C race bike has Shimano 105 SIS (indexed down tube shifters) groupset with Biopace crankset. It was an awesome machine still have it although it’s looking a bit worse for wear now. 52/42 Biopace chain rings with a six speed free wheel max teeth 21! Biopace was more of a gimmick at the time although I never complained. Froome loved his oval chain rings as well.

[@swe223]

Biopace is the exact opposite of what is commonly known as "oval chainring" as of today. Literally at the other end of the spectrum, with round in the middle. I can't believe that in 2023, people are still comparing these absolute Biopace nonsense to recent Q-rings/Osymetrics/any other ovals.

[@23Pixels]

Great episode, would love to see a review of a Van Rysel bike if you can get your hands on one.

[@nicolas2838]

I think they re pretty hard to get in the UK. Decathlon is struggling with the taxes. They need to go to Germany or even better Slovenia, Croatia to get their hands on one of the premium bikes.

[@falklevien]

Lou’s such a legend. I’m over the moon for her 🎉

[@workshopninjathe1st]

Chrome Molybdenum is actually nice steel for welding bike frames. High tensile or “carbon steel” are the worst kind of bike frames (supermarket bikes).

[@johnnydoe66]

As an American, we either ride a Century: 100 miles or a Metric Century: 100 km (62 miles) Jimmy got the pie wrong in the show "Reacher", it was Peach Pie.

[@ChrisRufus76]

You should have 3 oval chain rings, with each ring at a different angle of rotation.

[@leandermeulebroeck]

Van Rysel is Dutch for: From Lille the city where decathlon started. In the middle ages Rysel was part of flanders.

[@dcv9460]

Enjoying the episode 👍💯😎

[@billinhouston3291]

Nice to see that Lou has the mandatory lone star on her wall. :)

[@MyLouTube]

Yesssss Bill, well spotted. You know I love Texas (and Texans!) 💗

[@LOZUPONEJ]

How does someone feel like a winner if they cheat? Its a huge character flaw

[@borano2031]

Ask Lance Armstrong?? Rgr

[@andrewc662]

Every pro cyclist for a 25 year span.

[@user-cx1lr7bg8i]

Regarding Impulse team from Russia: I’m also a Russian amateur rider. In our amateur races we have different private teams, no ‘country team’, because amateur cycling have started to develop really fast only in the past 2-3 years. And I want to thank you for the investigation, because we, the other riders, are also tired from the actions of women’s Impulse team during our home races 😂 drafting, aggressive riding, etc.

[@CoachTeufel13]

How did Francis have an American Thanksgiving and never had Pumpkin Pie?! It's amazing!!!!

[@TwoTroutCreations]

My question is who was he with that DIDNT serve pumpkin pie and what did they serve for dessert?

[@MyLouTube]

He was with me and yes pumpkin pie was there! He may well have filled himself up on the sweet potatoes with marshmallows 😂

[@TwoTroutCreations]

@@MyLouTube Haha!!! Fair enough.

[@billinhouston3291]

Duuuude, american biscuits with sausage gravy are bomber. If you ever come through again, I will make it for you. A biscuit is nothing like a scone, other than containing flour. A biscuit is light and fluffy. Oh man, now i need biscuits for supper...

[@jEsperesence]

38:55 - Biscuits (yes similar to scones)and “gravy” (kind of a stew). Meat gravy mix with sausage or bacon bits! Yummmmm! Great carb meal and fuel for pre-ride! A good pumpkin 🎃 pie 🥧 is just a bit sweet, smooth and with cinnamon!

[@stephensmith2820]

Staggering, 3 cycling people don't know where Lille is. How much else don't they know?

[@ericsontan]

24:12 we call this Monito Monita 😊 We normally start 1st week of December and we do this weekly with a theme and a budget for the weekly. Budget for weekly usually starts at 50pesos to 100 with theme change weekly (long and hard, wet and slimy etc) and for the Christmas Party we reveal who pick who and there is a wish list to follow 😁

[@martinwarne]

Van Rysel is also the headline sponsor of a Continental team - Van Rysel Roubaix Lille Metropole. I don't think they are an official feeder team for AG2R, though that might change now.

[@evanAmazing]

Send it Nick!!! I just started racing cross this year, and I did 4 races on my steel gravel bike. It was a ton of fun! I did make some minor modifications (bars, stem, tires), but it was totally fine as is. Tires are probably the most important thing to swap out depending on what you're currently running. That said I am now shopping for a dedicated cross bike for next year, n+1 am I right? 😄

[@YorwerthHiraeth]

Made a pumpkin cheesecake with all the spices + bourbon. Absolutely delicious

[@Carftymk]

you guys don't realize how crappy decathlon was just a couple years ago. they are improving REALLY fast recently, and not just the bike division

[@macwolfphi]

Yaaas! 10min ago ah wis like 'did I watch this week podcast?' and here it is. Belter!

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

Excellent

[@capt_darling9454]

Surprise surprise... the riders from the team banned for systematic cheating..... still cheat whilst riding for another team! Well done Emily for helping to sort this

[@LeeParsons]

I ride the BTwin 920 ultra CF which the year after I got it they rebranded to Van Rysel. Fantastic bike, great bike and you get a lot for the budget.

[@Fixin-To]

Gran Fondo Florida, based out of San Antonio village a few years back. Timed sections and the winners were a mens team (even thought there were no teams, its was meant to be individual) who were local and used TT bikes and treated it as a TTT.

[@CoffeeAddictLee]

The section about American foods and British foods was very eye opening!

[@scotth3354]

Jack Reacher wasn't trying to get a piece of pumpkin pie, he was after peach pie. The significance is that Georgia is The Peach State, and the joke is that everyone thinks they make the best peach pie in the state.

[@marks3620]

Van Rysel EDR owner since 2020 from Decathlon. Been great done 1000’s miles on it and averaged 18mph in Peak District. Ultegra R8000, Fulcrum Racing 3 rim brake, GP4000Sii. Rim still stops enough to lock and skid back tyre. About 8.2kg same as a 5-6 grand disc one now from top brands.

[@manueldias1301]

I have one as well, fantastic bike

[@marks3620]

EDR is short for Endurance but is more like a race geometry in my medium which I like for a summer bike. The head tube is only 138mm compared to 175 on my 56cm Domane. That’s how sporty it is.

[@manueldias1301]

@@marks3620 I just feel comfortable in it and ride it as much as I can. Since June 2023 I rode 4300 kms (2670 mi aprox). The avg. speed increased a lot compared to my old bike about 6km/h (3.70 mi aprox) but the best I could do was 39 km/h (24 mi aprox). On a 364 km ride (226 mi aprox) reached a 32.2 km/h avg. (20 mi aprox). There were carbon bikes and I lead 1/3 of the way and I was the old one (52).

[@compassionsix]

Peanut butter and jam, AKA PB&J massively underrated. I packed it for lunch for decades (until my peanut allergy) 😢

[@HindsightFPV]

Hearing Jimmi trying to pronounce chromoly had me confused and laughing. I thought he liked steel bikes? Reynolds steel tubing is chromoly. Lifetime mountain biker in the US but still love the podcast! The chemistry and banter is great, keep it up. Maybe one day you'll convince me to get a gravel or road bike. Also our pumpkins don't exactly taste very good, at least not without a bunch of sugar and spices that turn them into a pie.

[@justsomedude7556]

Lol....I had a turbo wheel with the turbo tire, loved it, it was so much quieter

[@hyau23]

41:27 its peach pie not pumpkin as the series is set in Georgia where theyre famous for growing peaches

[@xnoideawhatimdoinx]

since i also just recently watched Jack Reacher, i have to chip in. the pie in the show is a peach pie.

[@Miekzz]

Get an AI to create some sick images for the nightmare bikes. That segment really cracked me up 😂

[@sergeb1207]

I m both a rider and a driver and I think daytime lights on bikes are great. If I m driving it makes me notice a rider from much further away and plan for giving them space and if I m riding it gives me even more of a reason to shout “are you blind?” at the driver who knocked me over (if I m still alive)

[@nluisa]

I also I stopped seeing drivers jumping ahead of me last minute at junctions. I had a couple of near misses when the driver did an emergency braking inches away from hitting me. Now I notice they see much much earlier and I stopped having those near misses I also think they are a must when riding against the sunlight at sunrise/sunset. Those bright lights will definitely make someone stand out against the glare.

[@lincolnlu9869]

Jimmy's wrong opinion about the brown shorts makes me doubt his clothing brand.

[@johnfarr5415]

Wait wait wait...in Reacher in the UK is it pumpkin pie? Because here in the US it's peach pie. He's in Georgia and they are known for their peaches so it makes sense.

[@labodimiklos]

Hello Guys, I would be happy if you could review the Ti road/gravel bike from Decathlon. Cheers!

[@peterthomas8053]

Van Rysel have also sponsored Cofidis in the last year or so, as a cycling kit sponsor.

[@LordTechnopants]

Giggles. Good stuff.

[@ctfaudioamp9775]

No offense but you guys are my favorite clowns. Always in a good mood. 😂😂😂

[@markreams3192]

The pie in Jack Reacher was peach pie. Pumpkin pie is definitely underrated especially with a lot of whip cream.

[@drijackson]

Pure dead magic! Well done Emily!

[@LikeACactus]

Emily’s increasingly the MVP of this podcast. Amazing work.

[@Joe-qr6ft]

The brown bibs were class 😪

[@markreams3192]

I’m happy for Lou. I know she really wanted to qualify for worlds. I guess some people have such inflated egos that they have to win at all costs. It’s not like they’re making a living doing this. Well done Emily!

[@dmoore4520]

In regards to the cyclocross question. I did a 107mile 13k ft road ride and I was the only person there on a heavy ass gravel bike. DO IT!!!!

[@TwoTroutCreations]

Fun fact: American pumpkin pie is actually made from squash. The 'pumpkin' pie filling you can buy in stores here is made from squashes.

[@Jeromin]

A pumpkin is a squash and the pumpkin filling is....pumpkin.

[@TwoTroutCreations]

@Jeromin a pumpkin is a gourd. A squash is a gourd. They are not the same thing though.

[@cneubert28]

Canned pumpkin is pumpkin. I know this because you can use canned pumpkin for dog’s digestion.

[@TheYondaime008]

I'd say Groupama FDJ have been the main french team in WT in recent years at the very least. And they have been with french brand Lapierre for so long, till now when they stopped the partnership.

[@lindsayoakes3182]

Very entertaining watch. But I disagree with Jimmi about cable disc brakes - they are better than rim brakes in the wet when you haven't applied them for a while like riding uphill for ages then braking on the first corner of a descent. Plus they are cheap. TBH I have cable and hydraulic barakes and there isn't really much to chose between them in terms of feel.

[@bendardania]

One of the legends of US cycling is currently helping Decathlon. His name is Tierri. I want to believe he’s in charge and helping decathlon getting the pro tour contract. Best guy one team could have. I hope he makes it. He use to run United Healthcare team…, I think. I could he wrong.

[@TheTrev53]

I accept there’s good riders in these age categories, but rather than being the best it tends to be those that can afford to travel around the world doing Grand Fondo’s

[@jongom9328]

Coach question: How can you get in enough on the bike training with a 40 hour a week job. I can do maybe 12 to 14 hours 5 or 6 days a week with longer rides on the weekends (of course) but, I still come up short in races against guys that do 20 to 30 hours of training. How can I be more competitive with that training time I have.

[@LukeGJPotter]

Did ye coordinate with Chris Miller to upload at the exact same time?

[@Shadowboost]

Other than maybe the SRAM pro chainring or was it cassette, can't remember, the consumer can buy the same exact Cervelo S5 that Jumbo rides

[@aur_gnd]

Amazing story brought by Emily! We had a similar situation a year and a half ago in a fondo in Cannes, France. One of the women got onto the podium after getting the draft mid-race from her unregistered boyfriend. For that race, it is mandatory to wear a dedicated jersey. Realising the situation one of the member of the organising team, who happened to be racing for that race too, asked the guy to stop and leave the race. While giving these warnings, he nastily crashed... Fortunately, the women got disqualified but why on heart would you do that at such amateur level? And the worst thing? That woman is a pro rider! Every time I see her on TV, I feel uncomfortable. Obviously, you do mistakes and take bad decisions in life but this is such an absurd thing to do.

[@jakou31]

3:58 Cofidis is definitly French, its a Credit company :) Lille is where your future migrants come from ;) it's where they wait to cross the sea and come in England ;)

[@nathandart1997]

Decathlon was founded in Lille, hence the name of the bike. Also, the quality overall at Decathlon is exceptional and better than most major sports brands out there. When you go to a decathlon in France you soon realise that you don’t need to go anywhere else for sport gear and apparel!

[@davidparrott2090]

another hit for Russian cycling, who saw that coming? :P

[@frankreyes4]

This just became the number one cycling channel

[@theoswinscow]

Yo! Question for next week! I am the person Jimmy was describing: 2 young kids, busy life. I live in an amazing hilly area for cycling in France, and love to get out when i can. That generally means for about 30mins to an hour in the morning before people are up and about. I dont race, but i do like the idea of building up fitness and speed. What's the best way to get faster on the bike? How can i prepare for the occasional longer ride (70k) i do with my brother when he comes down? I have a heart meter, but not a power meter. I try to do zone 2 rides, but cos of the lack of time, i generally always end up in zone 3 with a few spikes for climbs. Cheers

[@digdeepcycling]

i've been rocking van rysel helmet and clothing for years. Amazing gear for the price .

[@kulchatha4657]

Boardman bikes review pls?

[@simonmorel9895]

French World Tour teams already have used Decathlon bikes in the past. For example in 2007, AG2R cyclists were riding bTwin bikes.

[@Stevenv74]

I have a old giant tcr advanced pro. It has carbon wheels and rim brakes and I can confirm they are rubbish for stopping.

[@bernardo9202]

Van Rysel name is Made in Flanders i belive

[@yurimow]

my last century was a 100 quarter nautical miles. felt great

[@benfurfie1715]

You also don’t get bugs if you have an artificial tree. Got a real tree for the first time two years ago. Never again. Spent a week trying to deal with the bugs.

[@EricBecky]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you can’t do “secret” Santa with three people. If you know who you got, and you know someone doesn’t have themselves, then you know who everyone has 😂. Loved the episode though keep them coming!

[@Star14trek]

Another wild show with the left of field or out of the box 😂

[@alistairmartin13]

I’ve always liked the brown shorts, kind of synonymous with the team

[@Hi.Im.Andrew]

American here: I wish we were on the metric system, it makes so much more sense.

[@htonmusic]

was francis thinking of aurum bikes... contador

[@Desmo500]

Go Cade Media, real journalism.