Procycling and Cyclingnews Tour de France evening enthralls audience
Phil Liggett, Daniel Lloyd, Jeremy Whittle and Richard Moore star at London café
June 21st saw Cyclingnews and Procycling premiere a new medium - the live podcast cum panel discussion cum altogether brilliant evening we and 120 readers enjoyed at the Look Mum No Hands! café bar in Old Street, London.
The idea was simple: take four experts - in this case acclaimed cycling authors Richard Moore and Jeremy Whittle, Cervélo TestTeam stalwart Daniel Lloyd and Phil "Voice of Cycling" Liggett - give them a stage and a couple of glasses of Merlot and let them dissect the forthcoming Tour de France for the enjoyment of a live audience.
In an hour and a half of riveting and often unprintable discussion, the topics covered included Lance Armstrong's creaking limbs, Mark Cavendish's struggles so far this year, plus the question "exactly how bizarre is Cadel Evans?". The wine flowed, the banter too, and after a prize draw in which one Procycling reader, Stuart Moss, walked away with a LeMond gforce Fitness trainer worth over $2000, all were in agreement that the event should be the first of many.
If all four panelists were suave and superb, our venue was also a major hit. Opened just this spring, Look Mum No Hands! is London's first, permanent cycling-themed bar and café, and has already established itself as something of a two-wheeled institution. The Cassoulet de Toulouse whipped up specially for our soirée was, alas, considerably tastier than anything we were likely to eat on Tour.
To all those who attended, and the panelists, please accept our sincere thanks. We think you'll agree that it was a triumphant event - and one we hope to repeat soon.
Check out the gallery of photos from the evening's events.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.