🎙 **The Virtual Velo Podcast p/b The Zommunique** 🎙
Step into the pulse-pounding world of cycling esports with your hosts, Chris Schwenker and Professor Emma Martin. Chris, a respected freelance cycling journalist with features in Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, and road.cc, joins forces with Emma, the charismatic commentator and co-founder of Full Speed Events, to bring you the most comprehensive and unbiased coverage of virtual cycling esports across multiple platforms.
**Why Listen to Us?**
– 🚴 **Immersed in Virtual Cycling Culture**: We’re not just observers; we’re active members of the cycling esports community.
– 📊 **Central Source**: Your go-to hub for news, reviews, and in-depth reporting on all things cycling esports.
– 🎤 **Well-Connected**: Leverage our relationships with key sources across the sport for insider insights and breaking news.
– 📝 **Tell It Like It Is**: We bring unbiased, fact-based viewpoints with no allegiance to any particular platform.
**Key Features**
– 🔍 **In-Depth Reporting**: We dig deep to give you the nuanced details and strategies that matter.
– 🗣 **Expert Interviews**: Hear from elite athletes, coaches, and industry professionals.
– 🎥 **Cross-Media Coverage**: Extended insights through our blog, The Zommunique, and Emma’s commentary.
Tune in and elevate your understanding of this rapidly growing sport. The Virtual Velo Podcast is your ride-along guide to cycling esports.
Co-Host Emma Martin
Professor Emma Martin, a professor of Hospitality and Tourism, brings a wealth of skills to the VVP with a cycling palmarès that includes local leagues, world championships, and various disciplines such as cyclocross, track, and marathon MTB. She competes on and off-road and has engaged in multiple indoor cycling platforms, starting with Sufferfest.
Emma’s passion for cycling and advocacy for fair and equal competition led her to roles as a coach and manager in cyclocross and MTB, guiding riders to their first continental championships and serving as the first female chair of the NDCXL and as a member of the British Cycling MTB Commission.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought new riders to Emma’s WOW Chaingang on Zwift and marked a significant personal shift for her following cardiac complications post-COVID. This shift led her to focus on working in cycling and eventually racing again with the Aeonian team as a category D rider.
Now, Emma is a respected professional cycling commentator, drawing on her extensive knowledge and passion for the sport.
She provides commentary at events sponsored by Full Speed Events, from local cyclocross races to National Road Series Events, and offers insights during broadcasts at World Cup and Championship levels across multiple disciplines.
In esports cycling, Emma has hosted hundreds of shows across various platforms like WOW, the Donny Chaingang, The Tour of Boudicca, The Iceni Race series, and the MyWhoosh $1M Championships. She also co-hosts the MyWhoosh Sunday Race Club Coverage each week.
Together with Chris, Emma continues to delve deeper into esports cycling, joined by notable figures in the field.
Co-Host Chris Schwenker
After over 20 years at the helm of his Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris has semi-retired to dive deeper into his genuine love for cycling esports. He is a well-respected freelance cycling journalist whose work has humbly made the pages of major publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, and road.cc.
Leveraging his deep connections in the cycling esports arena, Chris has become a trusted source for insightful, in-depth stories that get to the heart of the sport.
Passionate about digging deep into every story and armed with trusted sources, he brings a unique blend of healthcare expertise and comprehensive cycling knowledge to The Virtual Velo Podcast.
Based in his ‘gain cave’ on Long Island’s North Fork, where he resides with his wonderful wife and two adult children, Chris is committed to promoting cycling esports and helping the sport evolve. He aims to give back to the community and sport that have brought him joy and meaningful relationships. Tune in to hear Chris’s well-informed perspectives and to elevate your understanding of this rapidly growing sport.
Lets Meet Our Other Contributors!
Fueled by good coffee and a meticulous Training Peaks regimen, Si Bradeley boasts diverse achievements in the cycling world.
Earning a Guinness World Record for a 58-hour indoor cycling stint in the early 2000s, Si has a rich history in road racing, recently competing in the UCI World Gran Fondo Championships.
Over the last half-decade, he’s become a staple in virtual cycling esports across various platforms.
Beyond the bike, Si commands a thriving YouTube channel offering deep dives and course recons for the Zwift cycling esports platform.
His dynamic energy and expertise shine as he co-hosts various podcasts focused on traditional cycling and esports.
As the Founder and Director of LEVEL Velo Ltd, Si is also a business maven. The company specializes in creating performance attire for cyclists, catering to both outdoor and indoor environments, and it also sponsors prominent elite esports cycling teams such as ABUS Synergy and BL13.
Ken "The Badger" Nowell
I’m an avid amateur indoor cyclist and rad mountain biker that loves to compete but not at the expense of quality of life and having fun. I’ve had the good fortune of being the co-founder of DIRT: Dads Inside Riding Trainers, the world’s largest Zwift team, and through this, I have made friends worldwide that I train with and compete against. While I am no longer actively coaching, I spent many years as a CF-L1 CrossFit Instructor and National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) Level 3 Coach. I’m currently the host of several cycling podcasts and an occasional contributing writer to The Zommunique. I also have a loving wife and daughter, a job, and went to college.
I’ll see you in Watopia! Ride On!
Nathan Guerra
Known as the Voice of Zwift and a live-stream pioneer, Nathan founded Zwift Community Live and broadcasts top-level esports and community events.
He is a father of five children and a top professional cyclist living in Oconomowoc, WI.
You can hear his passionate and authoritative voice on several media outlets, including Twitch and the other podcast he hosts, The Wrap.
Joy Murphy
Joy, a native Floridian, USA Tri-Level 1 Certified Coach, and founder of EnJoy Fitness, began virtual cycling four years ago as a way to complete longer rides safe from the busy streets of Jacksonville.
Joy coaches endurance athletes all over the world and is a certified personal fitness trainer. www.EnJoyFitnessJax.com
Take a conversational ride with us as we bridge the gap between athlete and avatar.
Follow the Virtual Velo Podcast on Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Castbox, RadioPublic, or Podbean, and take us with you!
