Garden Route Giro, the race that's been years in the making, finally happened — and we rode every stage.

Mossel Bay to Wilderness. Six days. Nearly 700 kilometres through mountain passes, Klein Karoo desert, and some of the most staggering gravel road on earth. We raced it, we filmed it, and we got humbled by it. This episode is the full debrief — what the racing felt like from inside the peloton, what we got right on the media side, what we'd do differently, and why Dryland have built something this country has genuinely needed.

But this weekend wasn't just about South Africa. Paul Seixas is 19 years old and he nearly broke Tadej Pogačar. Sabastian Sawe ran a sub-two-hour marathon in a sanctioned race for the first time in human history. And someone ran the entire London Marathon with a 25kg fridge on their back — for his mum.

Big week. Here's all of it.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — Back to the roots with Dave and Alec

1:38 — Garden Route Giro from inside the race

8:00 — What Dryland got right with race media

13:10 — Favourite moments, hard stages and riders going too deep

17:00 — The elite racing, women’s field and why the event felt serious

23:45 — Gravel bike chaos and setup debates

26:20 — Pogačar, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Paul Seixas moment

32:45 — London Marathon, super shoes and impossible speeds

44:00 — Wheelchair racing, robot marathons and strange endurance stories

50:00 — Alan Hatherly, the Giro d’Italia and what comes next

53:30 — Gattas, gravel bikes and upcoming races

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW THE BREAKAWAY =======================

Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1

Website: https://activehobo.com/

Instagram: @theactivehobo

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# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

Alec @alec.gates

# === MORE FROM THE ACTIVE HOBO ====================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for show: noah@activehobo.com

# Like, subscribe, and share with someone who

# needs to hear that endurance sport is never just about the strongest legs.

#TheBreakaway #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling #GardenRouteGiro #Pogacar #LondonMarathon

René Haselbacher — Tour de France sprinter turned Cape Town kit maker and Double Century winner.

At 21, René Haselbacher lined up at Paris-Roubaix on 23mm tyres, with no idea what cobblestones could do to a body. Four years later he was chasing Mario Cipollini's wheel at the Giro d'Italia, finishing third on two stages. Then came the Tour de France — the prologue ramp under the Eiffel Tower, a breakaway that nearly went all the way, two big crashes, and a snapped handlebar nobody in the press wanted to believe. By the time he signed with Astana and rode alongside Alberto Contador, René had done 14 years as a professional cyclist and seen the whole arc of an era. Then he stopped, at 31, almost overnight.

This conversation covers a lot of ground. The physical brutality of sprint positioning, what it was actually like riding in the Lance Armstrong era, watching Mark Cavendish through the ups and downs and then seeing him win his final stage, and what RH77 would need to kit out a Tour de France team. René speaks like a man who has made peace with every crash and every near-miss — warm, honest, and still very much racing. His son is on the start line this Sunday. So is he.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — René Haselbacher Joins Active Hobo: DC Winner, RH77 Founder, Tour de France Sprinter

2:27 — Vienna, a Cycling Father, and Making Austria's Under-23 National Team

4:28 — First Pro Race: Standing at Paris-Roubaix at 21 Years Old

5:04 — Giro d'Italia: Racing Three Weeks and Sprinting Against Mario Cipollini

13:03 — The Mental Game: Discipline, Self-Belief, and What Ronaldo Gets Right

21:02 — Tour de France Debut: The Prologue Ramp Under the Eiffel Tower

25:36 — Two Big Crashes, a Broken Handlebar, and the Media Story That Got Away

36:47 — Greatest Sprinters of All Time: Cipollini, Cavendish, and Being There for Both

47:03 — The Lance Armstrong Era: An Honest Conversation About Doping and Its Legacy

53:19 — Worlds in Salzburg, Riding for Astana With Contador, and Retiring at 31

59:52 — Why RH77 Exists: A Rain Bag, an Austrian Championship, and a Factory in Italy

1:10:36 — The Big Dream: RH77 Kit at the Tour de France

1:19:15 — The Double Century: René's Favorite Race in the World

1:24:25 — Pink Bibs, the RH77 DC Team, and Racing for It Again This Year

1:30:37 — Custom Kit Orders: How to Work With RH77

1:35:15 — Cape Town Cycle Tour, Cape Epic, and What the Year Ahead Holds

1:44:15 — Family, the Future, and Living Fully in the Present

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1

Website: https://activehobo.com/

Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling #RH77 #DoubleCentury #CapeTownCycling

Join us as we take an in-depth view into the life that was is and will be with the South African icon in cycling - Ryan Gibbons. He has led out greats like Tadej Pogacar, competed in all the world tours and swept up local honours at home in South Africa.

We start with a statement as Ryan shows Dave what real out the saddle sprint form looks like and settles into a beautiful trip around the Peninsula of Cape Town.

We hope you enjoy this format and subject matter.

Massive thank you to Ryan Gibbons and Scicon Sports for making it happen.

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

👍 Like, Subscribe, and share this video to support what we love doing.

- Instagram: @theactivebobo

- Website: www.activehobo.com

- Cafe: 6 Stibitz, Westlake, Cape Town, 7945

0:00 The Opening Sprint

2:25 Intro: Ryan "Gibbo" Gibbons

3:17 Riding Style

3:47 Vuelta Stage 20: 60km Solo in the Mountains

5:31 Career Highlights & First Pro Win

8:42 What It Was Like Racing Alongside Pogacar

10:45 Why Cycling Is Actually a Team Sport

13:37 Best Teammates: Cavendish, Pogacar & Mads Pedersen

17:54 Classics vs Grand Tours

19:20 Paris-Roubaix

22:09 Coffee in Scarborough

25:35 Looking After South Africans in the European Peloton

30:42 Injuries, Concussions & When the Body Speaks

33:31 Why Do Pros Make the Sacrifice? The Real Answer

35:01 The Unsung Heroes: Partners of Professional Athletes

39:50 The Retirement Decision: Making the Call

43:38 Falling Back in Love With Cycling

47:46 Ryans next Chapter

51:02 Cape Town Stacks Up Against the World's Best Roads

58:17 The Cyclist vs Driver Problem: Road Safety in SA

1:01:40 Why Belgium Respects Cyclists & We Don't

1:06:32 His Sons First Ride

1:09:56 The Cannondale Lab 71: Full Breakdown

1:25:29 Pro’s Social Life

1:41:42 Closing