Welcome to Rabbit Holes, a podcast presented by Escape Collective. Each episode, we'll be diving into a fascinating story from the world of cycling, telling it in a way you may never have heard it before. Hosted by Iain Treloar and Jonny Long, this is a monthly (for now) exploration of stories that are big, weird, wonderful, and emotional – sometimes all at once. Curious? Dive into the Rabbit Holes with us.
Escape Collective is member-funded. If you like this podcast, please consider supporting us by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/member/
Investigative journalist Iain connects the dots on a massive fake news operation infiltrating pro cycling, revealing a disturbing global content farm.
8 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT
A stolen bike's journey home
Iain buys a stolen bike on Facebook Marketplace, with a plan to return it to its owner. But his good act takes an ominous turn when he meets the seller, an erratic man with a troubled past and a head full of conspiracies and violence.
To read the written piece and see pictures, visit EscapeCollective.com.
This podcast is an Escape Collective production, and is only possible through the support of our members. To become one of those, sign up at EscapeCollective.com/RabbitHoles. And sign up to the Rabbit Holes feed for future episodes - we've got a great one in the works.
1 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT
What's it like buying a bike on AliExpress?
Welcome back to the Rabbit Holes podcast! This episode is an audio version of one of Iain's investigations – a journey into the vast bike industry ecosystem that is AliExpress.
What's it like buying a bike from the platform? How do you know if you'll end up with something good? And, is it possible to end up with something you'll actually want to ride at the end of it all? We get our credit card out and go shopping ... and it's fair to say, it's a pretty bumpy ride.
This podcast is an Escape Collective production, and is only possible through the support of our members. To become one of those, sign up at EscapeCollective.com/join. Sign up to the Rabbit Holes feed for future episodes - we've got a great one in the works.
21 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT
Beginner's Guide to the Pro Cycling, Tour de France edition
Ever have a question about the Tour de France? We've got you covered.
3 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT
The beginner's guide to pro cycling
Journalism professor Holly Johnson interviews EF Education-Easypost CEO Jonathan Vaughters to decipher the complexities of professional cycling teams and operations for new fans.
2 May 2025
Who shot Greg LeMond?
Welcome to the first episode of Rabbit Holes, presented by Escape Collective (https://escapecollective.com/member).
In the arc of a life – especially one as rich and eventful as Greg LeMond's - certain stories get lost to the grander narrative. But in 1987, the bigger story was still unwritten. That year – soon after he'd won his first Tour de France, in the prime of his career – Greg LeMond was shot, and almost died.
A Grand Tour champion, violence, drugs, intrigue, rehabilitation, and redemption: this is that story.
Production and sound design by Will and Stuart at Redbricks Media. Music from EpidemicSound. Thanks to Chris Marshall-Bell.
Escape Collective is an entirely independent and member-funded publication, and this content is only possible through the support of our members. To subscribe, go to www.escapecollective.com/join (http://www.escapecollective.com/join).
2 May 2025
Trailer: Who shot Greg LeMond?
Welcome to Rabbit Holes, a new podcast presented by Escape Collective.
Each episode, we'll be diving into a fascinating story from the world of cycling, telling it in a way you may never have heard it before. Hosted by Iain Treloar and Jonny Long, this is a monthly (for now) exploration of stories that are big, weird, wonderful, and emotional – sometimes all at once. Curious? Dive into the Rabbit Holes with us.
Escape Collective is entirely member-funded. If you like this podcast, please consider supporting us by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/member/ (https://escapecollective.com/member/)
Inside a recent episode
What's up with all that fake cycling news?
Published 8 Jun 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] They're not even really hugely financially incentivized to do so because they're also making money off that engagement. And the advertisers using the automated placements, well, They're just selling impressions. Broadly, they don't really care where those impressions sit. Even if it's alongside culture war bullshit. […]
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