The

Oh, Well, the mud is settled, ruby is done, Lombardier, all the big races.

This is the final podcast of the year.

The season's wrapping up.

I've had one too many beers, and it's a nice time of year.

Lionel, how are you doing? Very well, thanks, Mitch. I haven't had a beer yet. I feel like I've

missed the spirit of the occasion. I should have opened a beer this evening. I do find it funny

that all the people around me sort of roll, who aren't pros,

roll into this off-season feel and, you know, end up cracking one too many just because they're like, wow, everyone else is doing it? And I'm like, hang on, is it your off-season too? Oh, screw it. Just get in on it, you know, like, this is great. I love this vibe. And at the end of the day, it's not really my off-season, but I'm still treating it like it is.

You know, it's my forever off season at this vibe. And at the end of the day, it's not really my off-season, but I'm still treating it like it is. You know, it's my forever off-season at this point. Well, as you're about to find out, Mitch, retirement puts you back into the real world, and there's no such thing as an off-season in the real world. Let me tell you. I know. I know. What a dreadful thing. I know. It's just like, this is my last off-season ever. I can't believe it. Or potentially, I can sneak in many off-seasons during my career. I don't know. That's what this podcast is all about. You know, if anyone out there doesn't know, I'm going to be retiring this year. Well, I have done my last race, Paribay being my last race. And I'll see, I'll finish at the end of this year with EF as a contracted

rider. And that'll be it. You know, I'm out into the wilderness. But I thought before I did do that,

why don't I speak to people who have been out in the wilderness, ex-professionals, and have a chat to them

about what it's like to be set free and what it's like on the other side of the fence?

What a great idea. I mean, it's almost your transition from being a pro athlete into retirement.

So who are we going to hear from in this episode, Mitch? Well, I haven't

picked, maybe you guys might be sitting back there thinking, you know, is he going to talk to this

guy, talk to that guy. I've actually sat back and thought about, one, people who are very

important to me in my career, but also people that I respected about how they transitioned,

or so what I thought transitioned into

that next phase. You know, I've spoken to people who have retired very, like very close to

their end of their career and the first one being T.J. Van Garderin. He's an ex-teamate of mine.

He retired just in the middle of this year and I thought out in a ride

...