The World Cup is underway. And if you’re looking for someone who saw all of this coming — the sovereign wealth funds buying clubs, the exorbitant costs of fandom, the collision of soccer and authoritarian soft power — Franklin Foer did. Twenty-two years ago.

Foer is a national correspondent at The Atlantic, a former editor of The New Republic, and the author of How Soccer Explains the World — a book that used the game as a lens to dissect the forces of globalization long before most American sports writers thought soccer was worth covering. He also is the author of World Without Mind, about Big Tech’s takeover of culture, and The Last Politician, about Joe Biden.

Today we talk about what the book got right, what it missed, what Trump and FIFA have in common, and why the World Cup — more than any other sporting event — is a Rorschach test for the world we actually live in.

Of course, there’s a cycling angle.

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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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Orla Chennaoui didn’t just rise through the ranks of sports media — she cut her own path. From reading traffic reports and covering sports for Sky News to anchoring coverage of cycling’s biggest races, she’s now the voice of cycling on TNT Sports and a defining presence in the sport.

While TNT Sports airs in the UK and Ireland, cycling fans in the United States who subscribe to MAX (formerly HBO) can watch her pre- and post-race coverage of some of cycling’s biggest races.

Today, Chennaoui is more than a journalist — she’s a global brand.

She frequently engages with her audience on social media — she has more than 125,000 followers alone on Instagram — where she chronicles her life as mother, journalist, and health, fitness, and wellness advocate. She’s an advocate for people, especially women, battling depression, anxiety, and addiction.

Our conversation focuses on her career in journalism, why she loves covering cycling, and her predictions for who will win the 2025 Tour de France.

You can follow Chennaoui on Instagram | YouTube | Ten Times Braver.

The New York Times shuttered its sports section in 2023 and it had stopped covering professional cycling and the Tour de France years earlier.

That did not mean the Times would stop covering sports. In 2022, it had purchased The Athletic for $550 million. Now, if you subscribe to the Times, you can read The Athletic.

Cycling fans are lucky to have an enterprising young journalist, Jacob Whitehead, who normally covers football—or what Americans call soccer.

Fortunately, he’s expanded his beat to include cycling.

Whitehead’s first story examined how Remco Evenopeol would be starting for Belgium's national soccer team if he had not started racing a bike.

Last summer, Whitehead gave voice to Muriel Furrer, who was killed following a crash at the Women’s Junior Road Race World Championships in Zurich. The tragedy was compounded by the fact that nobody—neither her team nor race officials—knew where she was for 90 minutes. Hopefully, in time, his story will lead to improvements in rider safety.

Whitehead and I talk about his path to The Athletic, his love of sports, and predictions about who will win the Tour de France.

You can connect with Jacob on BlueSky and X.

“Go F— Yourself.”

That’s the last thing Lance Armstrong ever said to investigative journalist and author Reed Albergotti.

Albergotti, a longtime investigative reporter, spent several years uncovering the vast doping conspiracy in professional cycling. Wheelmen is one of the best books about cycling – and sport – ever written. It’s not just about cycling, but about business, the law, and ethics.

Albergotti and I talk about the process of reporting out stories, writing the book, and what the doping scandals have meant for cycling, especially in the United States.

Follow Reed on X or go to his website and Semafor to learn more about his work.

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RIDING WITH is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

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How would we experience the tour without the perfect shot? Jerome Delay, the chief photographer in Africa for the Associated Press, joins Jonathan Kaplan to discuss the art and logistics of photographing the Tour de France. From the gear he relies on to the meticulous process of filing photos, Jerome shares a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his world.

Hear about Jerome’s journey into cycling and how it intertwines with his photography career, the bikes he rides, and the role cycling plays in maintaining his health and creativity.

This is an insider's perspective you don't want to miss. Be sure to view his stunning Tour de France photos on the Associated Press website.

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RIDING WITH is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.