Episode notes
In 1999, Joe Friel was drowning in faxes. The legendary cycling coach, later author of The Cyclist’s Training Bible , had 72 clients sending training data every Monday. His desk was buried under paper. His son Dirk, then racing in Belgium, figured there had to be a better way. Over beers at The George in Vail, Dirk convinced his best man—and the only web developer he knew—Gear Fisher, to build a solution. Dirk paid him $3,000. That handshake deal became TrainingPeaks, now the go-to platform for endurance athletes, from amateurs to Tour de France winners. If you’ve worked with a coach or…
Podcast
Overnight Success
Escape Collective · Business · English
A podcast about the founders, the innovators, and the remarkable people in the cycling industry and the stories about the icons they've created. Escape Collective is member-funded. If you like this podcast please consider supporting us by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/overnights
More from Overnight Success All episodes →
-
S2 · E20 · 4 Mar 2026 · 45 min
Uplift - The Woman Lifting Women in the Bike Industry
This episode's guest is Rachel Burnside, who is the creator and force behind Uplift, a mentoring and networking program she built from scratch to support women working in the cycling industry. Uplift started simply: connect women early in their careers with senior women who'd already navigated the road ahead. But it's grown into something much bigger - a global community with over a thousand women in the bike industry, and live events at Sea Otter, Eurobike, the Tour de France Femmes and many other smaller ones. All of it built in Rachel's spare time, powered by goodwill, and kept free for…
-
S2 · E19 · 28 Jan 2026 · 57 min
The remarkable life of Phil Liggett (replay)
In this episode replay, I speak to Phil Liggett about how he got his start in commentating, how he met Paul Sherwen, how he’s been doing since Paul’s untimely passing, about his relationship with Lance Armstrong, and the cut-throat nature of his position at the top of his profession. Liggett is undeniably the most recognisable voice in cycling and his dulcet tones have brought the sport we all love into the mainstream through his ‘Liggetisms’, through his descriptions of châteaux, and through his partnership with co-commentator Paul Sherwen. Many enthusiasts say that Phil is long past his…
-
S2 · E18 · 10 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 35 min
Building Team AMANI
Mikel Delagrange is the reluctant face of Team AMANI. While he prefers the title of 'Head Cheerleader,' he was left to carry the torch after the project's founder, Sule Kangangi, tragically died in a high-speed crash in Vermont. Now leading the mission to dismantle the barriers facing African cyclists, Mikel oversees a unique ecosystem: From building a high-altitude training center in Kenya to the Migration Gravel Race. With a moonshot goal of fielding an all-African team at the Tour de France, Team AMANI is fighting to ensure the next generation can bridge the gap to the sport's highest…
-
S2 · E17 · 30 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
Building Gravel Burn
Last month, I traveled to the Great Karoo in South Africa for the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn. It is the latest brainchild of Kevin Vermaak, the man who built the legendary Cape Epic. I cannot overstate how spectacular the experience was for me. While the riding was incredibly challenging, the event's culture was the true standout. It was a rare leveling of the playing field: World Tour pros like Tom Pidcock. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, and Alison Jackson, Ivan Glasenberg’s cohort of Glencore billionaires, all telling the same war stories from the road around the campfire and and dinner tables…
-
S2 · E16 · 18 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 46 min
The life and story of cycling photographer, Graham Watson (replay)
In this episode we speak to Graham Watson, perhaps the world's most prolific cycling photographer. Over five decades, Graham didn't just witness cycling history - he documented it. Some might say the pioneers had it easy, but as you'll hear, Graham's path was anything but. He made his own luck, opening doors through persistence and talent. And whoever said "nice guys finish last" never met Graham. Today's episode runs longer than usual because there's no way to do justice to Graham's remarkable 40-year career in an hour. Buckle up for a ride with the man who captured cycling's most historic…
-
S2 · E14 · 27 Jun 2025 · 1 hr 16 min
Building Albion
Charlie Stewart, Rupert Hartley, and Jack Howker started the British apparel brand Albion nearly a decade ago. It began not in a boardroom, but in the wild weather of Wales. I first met founders Charlie and Rupert by chance on the roads of Mallorca, before they’d launched a single product. Years later, Albion has grown into a respected name in the ultra-distance and adventure cycling scene. This episode traces their journey from pre-dawn London rides to post-work email threads, through the hurdles of product development and the pivotal hires, like legendary designer Graeme Raeburn, that…
-
S2 · E13 · 10 Mar 2025 · 1 hr 20 min
Building The Service Course (replay)
Over the weekend The Service Course announced its closure. This is a re-play of the episode we previously did that talks about its origin story. We will aim to do a follow-up when the time is right. --- If you follow professional cycling and are attracted to specialty coffee, beautiful custom bikes, and boutique travel, then you’ve surely come across Christian and Amber Meier’s businesses. The couple from Canada, of all places, embarked on a professional cycling career for Christian and settled in the once sleepy Catalan town of Girona. The two of them are the founders of La Fabrica,…
-
S2 · E12 · 3 Mar 2025 · 1 hr 33 min
How Matt Keenan Found His Voice in Cycling (replay)
In this episode of Overnight Success we hear the story of cycling commentator Matthew Keenan.
-
S2 · E11 · 11 Feb 2025 · 1 hr 41 min
What happened at The Pro's Closet?
The Pro's Closet represents a quintessential modern startup journey, evolving from a professional mountain biker's eBay side hustle into America's largest certified pre-owned bicycle marketplace. The company's trajectory mirrors both the opportunities and challenges of the pandemic era, riding high on $90 million in funding before facing the harsh realities of market volatility. The Pro's Closet experienced a meteoric rise during the pandemic cycling boom. However, the company soon encountered the perfect storm of challenges that defined the era: cheap capital driving unsustainable growth,…
-
S2 · E10 · 24 Jan 2025 · 52 min
Fran Millar’s vision for Rapha’s future
Rapha recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary and for the majority of that time it was the darling brand of cycling. Everything Rapha touched turned to gold. Founder Simon Mottram saw cycling apparel differently than anyone else and created an entirely new market for people who connected with his vision. In 2017, RZC , the Walton brothers’ investment arm, bought a majority stake in Rapha. Things began to change, and not in a way their customers and community hoped. In 2021, Mottram stepped down as CEO and the business has gone through two (or three, depending on how you count) CEOs…
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
