142. Magnus Cort: the Uno-X pro on Grand Tours, Classics and dyeing his moustache blue

0:00Robyn: I've been riding with the Hammerhead Karoo for a fair bit now and beyond the slick screen and the 35 hour battery life I'm really getting into the Karoo's climber function. Now what climber does is show you any upcoming climb on a ride whether it's a pre-planned route or not and then when that climb comes up this data page pops up on screen and you get this little climb profile with gradients and colour coded sections for steepness and the distance to the top in length and elevation. so it's amazing for places I've never ridden like on a sportive where you've never ridden the course before but the crew guide you up a climb in this predictive way so you can pace out your effort it's like having a little team ds on your handlebars you can also look ahead at a route and see all the climbs on it so a bit like having a profile sticker on your stem like you see the pros have in races only this way it's way more detailed as you can pick out a climb and look at its specific details as you go.

0:59Robyn: So check out our full review of the Hammerhead crew at cyclist.co.uk and see why we gave it our cyclist recommended award. Then head to hammerhead.io and use the code cyclist to get a free heart rate strap with every purchase. Just be sure to add the strap to your cart then apply the code at checkout.

1:23Robyn: Hello and welcome back to another episode of the cyclist magazine podcast i'm joined today by robin davidson robin it's your show today it's big big robin week how are you doing how are you feeling honestly like the fame has just gone straight to my head it's like you can't even fit it in the shot it's huge um no it's all good but it's nice having having someone else to to talk to in the intros and extras i don't want to do that alone well i've not been on on here for for a few weeks what have i missed you've been all over the place you've done you've done a cast your new doma now you're here with our guests who will introduce momentarily you know how how are you dealing with with all the fame honestly you know i don't really think it's affected me at all i think i still have time for the little people yeah it's great but no today you have done this interview solo with with a famous reviewer of hotel rooms cult hero big mustache guy danish man magnus court before we get into it how did that go how was magnus your impressions before the listener gets stuck in i always thought you was probably like a funny guy with like a dry sense of humor and i feel like yeah he is i feel like with magnus court what you see is what you get just someone that's a strong solid worker um and pretty funny maybe once you get to to talk about him but funnily enough that is how i introduced him i said that he was an expert hotel reviewer so nice ahead of the curve exactly should we uh not dilly dally and get into what i've not listened to it yet brilliant that's what you think of me it's not out um but i'm sure um the listeners are about to get stuck into a great interview.

3:14Robyn: So here you are, Robin and Magnus Court.

3:22Ladies and gentlemen, I have with me today a man that needs little introduction. He's won stages in all three grand tours, the GC at the Arctic Race of Norway. He's an expert reviewer of hotels, and he once dyed his moustache blue. So it's Magnus Kort. Hello, Magnus. How are you today? Hello. Yeah, I'm all right. I've enjoyed some good weather here in Andorra where I live. And I was going to say you're in the middle of a training block right now, are you? Yes, exactly. How's that going? Not as good as I hope for. I came out of the tour, not in the best way possible. and I've really struggled to find the shape here recently, unfortunately.

4:12Is that something, could you find, God, I imagine the tour is just so demanding, could you find that ability to bounce back easier in other years? Is this just something you're working through? Yeah, I think at this point we don't know exactly what's the problem, but it's definitely worse this year. we knew in the tour maybe I already came in a little bit sideways perhaps but then I was sick and I continued in the tour and we knew that would probably cost me on the other side but not like this so yeah I hope to be a better place than I am right now but that's how it is sometimes. Yeah and I guess let's go back right to the beginning.

4:56How did you get into cycling? What What was your journey into the sport like? Yeah, I got a road bike when I was 12 years old. Together with my dad, he also got one. So in the first couple of years, I just pretty much rode with him a couple of times in the weekend and summer months. But I was always from an active family, especially with a lot of running. So as a kid, I've been used to being active and I watched the Tour de France on television. but I didn't really know much about road cycling and how it really worked now that there was anything else than the tour. But slowly that interest ramped up and yeah, I started to cycle more and more.

5:42Would you try and emulate anyone on the bike? Did you have an idol or did you just kind of just jump in headfirst? I think we jumped in but I remember being a kid also before I had my proper bike. I always had a bike to go to school on since I've been a little kid. That's the way we got around in the family on bikes. And we could be sprinting down the road and screaming like now Ulrike attacks or Armstrong or whoever that could have been there at that time. I love that. Was that ride to school pretty hilly? I feel like it's hilly in Denmark. No, no. The actual ride to school was really short, but I mean, more going around maybe from place to place or coming home.

6:29Fair enough. Fair enough. And at the beginning of your professional career, I watched a lot of the backstage pass videos put together by Dan Jones, who I spoke to, I think, a couple of years ago. And I remember you making your debut at the Vuelta a España. and I just went back and watched a little bit of those videos. You come along and in the final week, you don't only win one stage, but you then win the sprint stage in Madrid. You've got two Grand Tour wins on debut. What is that feeling like? No, that was, yeah, insane. Also, I mean, I didn't expect it. I hadn't won on World Tour level. It was only my second year as a World Tour rider.

7:18I have other professional wins. And I think especially that late in the waltz, maybe when we started the first week, week and a half, I had some ambitions in the sprints for me. And I think I was also third probably in the first sprint day. And yeah, then I didn't really maybe miss a couple of chances. And we did really well in GEC as well. So yeah, the focus from the whole team turned more to that. and I was also in a role where I should be more of a helper and suddenly that stage 18 I was actually just supposed to get the guys in under the 3k mark to be safe and suddenly I was there and hadn't used much energy and was still sitting in a good position so I just boxed my way into the sprint trains and did a sprint.

8:08You were like actually I feel great, I'll go for this. yeah yeah that was uh yeah really i don't know if it was easy but they came as a surprise no i hadn't i didn't have it in my mind i think the day or two days before we had a kind of a similar day where i had a at this time like skin suits were quite new so like normally like especially if you are maybe more of a domestic rider you ride dips and jersey because then you could have more bottles under your shirt so i think that day i uh i still had the skin suit on but but the day stage 18 I won I changed to a bipson jersey because okay I'm not gonna make it in the sprints I better like and I was down also getting bottles in the last hour and sitting in in the wind with the team because it was not like big crosswinds but I remember like just a little bit so you kind of just step it a little bit out and then yeah sitting there deciding I'll just give it a cracky in the sprint I'm here anyway it's really good was was that the moment where you were like oh I've really made it as a cyclist or is that like when you signed your contract like what was that moment for you i don't know it's there's many steps i think on on that ladder you know like signing a a pro contract is is obviously also a big deal and winning your first professional uh bike race and even before that no you're i was also winning a couple of races as a junior so there's been like many steps on the way it's not like you come from from nothing and then suddenly win in the world and you moved to Estania for 2018 and then you made your Tour de France debut and in true Magnus Court fashion you go on and then win a stage there on your debut it's different this time though that one was a breakaway of three of you which one would you have preferred to have win more in like what style that wasn't a question let me start that sentence again i'm saying which one was potentially easier for you was it winning from the breakaway against two really strong riders i think one was malema versus contesting in a sprint finish yeah i think that day in the tour like in the end it was maybe the easiest to win when when i was there at the final like but the two was never easy you know i think that breakaway started out with maybe 30 guys like a big big break and a big fight before we made it to the break and then yeah we had a a big hill before a downhill and a little bit of flats before carcassonne where the break was really yeah cut down and then we came down in yeah in in this reduced group where i also had my teammate Michael Velgrane and I think at this point it looked really bright for us because we were probably the two best guys in the terrain that was left.

11:03Like we had made it over the climb and now we sat with let's say more climbing type of guys and he is strong on the flat and I'm strong and I have a really good sprint and then making the selection to being just three guys it was obviously it was looking really good that scenario coming into the finish line. And who do you when you win a grand tour stage what's like the first thing you do after you know congratulating like your teammates like what's the next step after that uh yeah i don't know if there's a next step no it takes a lot of time now being there at the finish area with a podium control press open control yeah and you have to get to the to the hotel so yeah before you arrive at the hotel it's been many many hours since you're you're one and maybe the the team was so kind that they got your backpack with your phone or perhaps not now two three hours later sometimes i can start checking the messages and maybe contact the family or yeah they're like blowing up the family chat and then five hours later you're like oh thanks thank you and you actually then went on to complete the grand tour set which isn't a thing that a lot of people can claim that they do and this was in 2023 at the Giro d 'Italia in probably horrendous weather just absolutely disgusting like so much rain which Grand Tour would you say was the hardest to get a winner yeah so it must have been the Giro since that took me two uh two tries the first uh time I was in the Giro the year before I had one really close attempt where I again made it home and in the breakaway of four but only finished third in in the sprint so then obviously i had to to come back yeah the year after but it was something i've been yeah thinking about for many years at that time now in already in in 18 i uh obviously had both the the two and and and the welter and yeah been wanting to to go to the to the giro but the two is so big now so i kept that as a focus for for a little bit and then it took a few years before I got the chance in this hero.

13:18And is it when you've already won in the Tour and the Veltit, is it sort of like more on your mind, so to speak, or are you just going in like, yeah, I'll do what I need to do for the team? Or are you like, I could complete the Grand Tour stage win set here? No, I think at that point I was with the EF then, I was settled in pretty well. So they had also a big trust in me. So I had a lot of freedom to go for the stages and also getting support to getting into these breakaways. So it's not like I had to have my own secret plans that I wanted to win. I think every team also wants to win. And if you have a rider that has a chance, you would like to support them in that as best as possible.

14:04And you're pretty relentless as a rider. you have three stages on the convertivity award at the Vuelta in 2021 and then the convertivity on two stages at the tour the next year obviously I imagine a lot of that motivation at the tour came from riding on home roads in Denmark do you kind of thrive in these situations where you go off at the front and it's sort of like a a kind of throw everything at the wall see if it sticks kind of attitude? I don't know if it's exactly like that. I think the Tour de France start in Denmark was very different and a different mindset I had. But normally when I go at the breakaway or try to get in the break, it's not to go out and be the most competitive rider or also not to get the mountains jersey.

15:01No, then it's to try and win the stage or the race. But in the tour being in Denmark, I went out there with a mindset of getting the polka dots in Denmark. I really wanted to do something. Obviously, in the tour while we were in Denmark, we had three stations. One was a time trial, so there was not a lot I could, I don't know. I could try to be in this thing. There was a lot of guys in the Tour de France that were quicker than me. So I don't know if it would be completely impossible that I could win a sprint, but that would be very unlikely that I somehow would be the first guy across the finish line.

15:41So I came up with that other plan that I want to go in the break and get the mountain points. And yeah, the team had to think a little bit about it, but then they gave me finally the green light to go for it. And I'm sure they didn't regret it because I think also for them, it was actually a bigger story than they had expected. So it turned out to be like a really big story, also bigger than I expected, I think. Now we are talking about it also. It feels like a small thing. I didn't win the Polkadot 2. No, I just wore it and I ended up having it, I think, for almost a week. But still, I was never going to win it.

16:27There were some big mountains later on. Hey, never say never. What was it like sort of getting the experience? I mean, you do, you know, with the Arctic race of Norway and there are like races in Scandinavia, but it's sort of potentially kind of rare for the Tour de France to go through certain countries. What was it like when you heard that it was going to start in Denmark? No, it was big. Yeah, I knew it quite a few years earlier now. Now we just got the Copenhagen Sprint, which is a one-day classic on the world's level. But yeah, other than that, you don't have that big races. There was World Championships in 2011 in Copenhagen, where I competed as a junior.

17:18So I've been there, but it's not every day you get the chance to ride on home soil in such a big race. We have a Tour of Denmark every year, but it's not the same. A Tour of Denmark is still big and fun, but the Tour of France in Denmark is completely different. Did you have family and friends at the roadside cheering you on? Yeah, I had. And actually, really funny story is my parents, they stood just behind the tour. third mountain top that day when I got the jersey and I didn't know where they would be on the course but for some reason they stood like 100 meters or 50 meters after the the top of the climb where I there's these iconic pictures where I'm celebrating and as I was like reaching back for the handlebar I see my parents on the roadside I think when you know it you can see in tv that I'm turning around and like screaming back and And so that was, yeah, really funny to be able to share that moment because it was not planned in any way.

18:22I think they were just, yeah, looking for a spot. And they, yeah, I think they chose a place after the mountain point just because, yeah, then you don't have the big crowd. Now they can see the race better. And, yeah, that way I also saw them without knowing that I had to look for them. Oh, so did you know that they were going to be like there on the stage and you were looking for them? or was it like a complete surprise? I knew they would be on the stage, but I didn't know where and there was so many people now. So it's not like I didn't try to... You can't scan the crowd. I was not scanning the crowd, no.

18:59How is it for you as a cyclist? Do you get to go back to Denmark much or are you pretty much based in Andorra? No, I'm pretty much based in Andorra. I mean, that's my own choice now. if I wanted, I could be more in Denmark. But yeah, I really like it here. I moved to Girona as soon as I turned professional. And back then, there was a culture in Danish cycling. Like, it was kind of not even a question. Like, when you turn pro, you move somewhere south. Nowhere's warmer, the training is better. But now it has changed on a lot of Danish guys and even more, actually, of the Norwegians. They live in Norway.

19:44So yeah, and you can do that fine. But back then I didn't even question it. I just did it. It was like something you had to do. But I'm happy I did. I really enjoy my time. And I think I've gotten a good career out of it. But I know also for some writers, it's for sure also the right thing is to maybe stay home in the environment that you grew up in. And that's where you're comfortable and can be the best version of yourself.

20:14Robyn: I've been riding with the Hammerhead Karoo for a fair bit now, and beyond the slick screen and the 35-hour battery life, I'm really getting into the Karoo's Climber function. Now what Climber does is show you any upcoming climb on a ride, whether it's a pre-planned route or not, and then when that climb comes up, this data page pops up on screen and you get this little climb profile with gradients and color-coded sections for steepness and the distance to the top in length and elevation. So it's amazing for places I've never ridden, like on a sportive, where you've never ridden the course before, but the crew guides you up a climb in this predictive way so you can pace out your effort.

20:54Robyn: It's like having a little team DS on your handlebars. You can also look ahead at a route and see all the climbs on it. So a bit like having a profile sticker on your stem, like you see the pros have in races, only this way it's way more detailed as you can pick out a climb and look at its specific details as you go. So check out our full review of the Hammerhead crew at cyclist.co.uk and see why we gave it our cyclist recommended award. Then head to hammerhead.io and use the code cyclist to get a free heart rate strap with every purchase. Just be sure to add the strap to your cart then apply the code at checkout.

21:32Robyn: out.

21:36Robyn: Hello, lovely listeners. I just wanted to tell you that Cyclist isn't just a podcast. No, Cyclist is also a beautiful print magazine. It's packed full of all the best rides from around the world, the newest bikes and kit, and loads of in-depth articles featuring guests just like on today's show. So head on over to cyclist.co.uk slash subscriptions and check out our latest cyclist magazine subscription offers.

22:10In terms of the classics, I mean, we've spoken a lot about Grand Tours, who are also very strong in the classics. And especially in the last two years, I don't know if that particularly coincides with your move to UNOX, but do you sort of notice that you're performing in the classics now or is it just something that you're working on throughout the season and it comes to you? Yeah. No, it is quite, I don't know if funny is the right word, but it is correct that I've done some better one-day races here, especially the last two years. The first, I think, five years of my career, I always did the Copper Classics, and I saw them as the biggest races on the Canada.

22:56I think I still see them as the biggest one-day races. For me, it's the Copper Classics, but I never got the success I hoped for, where I still, in those five years, won some big stages in the Grand Tours and other stages. So then I turned my focus a little bit away from that and focused a bit more just on what I knew I could do. was winning stages. I still did some one-day races, especially Mercer and Remo. I've done many years. But with UNOX, being approaching where the points are very important and there's more points in the one-day races compared to stages. Obviously, that has a focus and it's also a bigger thing now if you win a big classic.

23:46Now I've won in all three grand tours now, so that's all good and fine. And it would be really big to win a stage in the tour again. I have two stage wins, but I dream of another one. But I think for me, the biggest I could achieve would be to win a monument. And if I had to win one, it would have to be San Remo as well. But winning a World Tour one-day race would be kind of like the next big thing for me. that is maybe possible, but I haven't done it yet. And yeah, I have been close now. The last two years, this spring, second in Frankfurt and the year before, third in employer. So I've been up there.

24:30So it's a dream. It's still out there and a dream that I can reach it one day. I mean, you took away one of my next questions for you there because I was going to say, which of the monuments would you like to win the most? You were six at Milan-San Remo. this season very much knocking on that door what do you what do you like about that race so much is it the fact that it's typically maybe if tadej pigatra isn't there like a sprint finish is it the chepressa poggio like what what is it that attracts you to that race no i think the boring answer is that it's the one that suits me the most i think for me the the one i would like to win the most is is robert but then you also have to be uh be honest and say okay i've been there five times not not necessarily with my own chance uh every year but but i've also had my own chance and uh i think that the best there is 44th and perhaps without a puncture i could have been knocking on top 20 but uh that's about about it well listen if if i see you with a rubé cobblestone next season you heard it here first yeah i don't feel like i have been there i have tried it and now i need to to find some some other ways now um yeah and i don't know even though that i've been kind of close and in the top 10 or around the top 10 a few times in sarima i think there's still quite a long way because maybe because that i'm as quick as i am i can come in in this fairly big group and get a good results but from being one of the best riders in And maybe in the second group, that's where most years I've ended up.

26:12There's still a long way to then being with the first guys to the finish line. So maybe the results are perhaps lying a little bit about how close I am to winning compared to how many top 15s I've had.

26:28And when you're racing a race like Milan San Remo, Obviously, from the outside looking in, it looks like a monster because it's so long. But then, is a lot of the day spent anticipating the action that will come right at the end in the peloton? Yeah, it is. It's one of the few reasons where you kind of know what's going to happen. And then this year, it didn't go exactly as what you had expected. I think it was not completely unexpected that something would happen early on. But still, it's pretty clear how that race is raised, and it's difficult to do it in a different style. Yeah, so it is a long day where you are pretty much just sitting waiting for the final, and you need to be smart, don't waste energy, and eat and drink now.

27:25So it's just the basics now, get those rides and then you might have a chance in the last hour. And obviously winning isn't everything. So how do you look at success for yourself? Like what does success mean to you, Magnus Gort? Yeah, it's not everything now, but within the team it's almost everything now. You can have, okay, in the big races it's also good to have good results and being up there. But it is about being as good as you can get. And then most times, actually, even though it feels like a bit of luck, the better you are, the more luck goes your way. And if you're not there, it feels like the bad luck is also falling up on you.

28:15Now about success, I think it comes down almost to the results, not only for me, but then also for my teammates. which I also are supporting in many race days of the year. And what is it like riding with UNOX? Obviously a very Scandinavian team. You're probably very at home there. What's it been like for you? I really like it. It does bring me back to kind of my continental days being just on Danish teams, even though they were smaller, like half the number of riders and even less staff. You feel like a family. when you're on trip and you're out with your friends, when on other teams, okay, you're also at friends, but maybe it was also like good colleagues, you could have a nice, but now it's like really that you're looking forward to going to a race again.

29:08Like now I've not been racing for a while, and yeah, not only the racing, but just getting out there with a group of guys I'm looking very much forward to. And who do you, is there like a teammate that you see yourself in? you're like oh you remind me of me when i was younger i don't know if there's anybody that really reminds me of me i think one guy that i see some similarities and that we have also talked a bit as jonas abramsen but we are also different though i'm quicker than him but but many stages that that he can win is also stages that i can win and then perhaps the final has to be done in a different way because i'm quicker than than he is so i have some chances he doesn't have but But again, he's insanely strong.

29:53So he maybe also has a few cards that he can play that I can't. And yeah, I think he's a guy that I've been able to learn some things and that he can learn how to see those finals play out in his favor and make decisions of small things going his way. And what would you say has been... I feel like I'm starting every sentence with that. And what would you say? But what do you think is the biggest change that has happened with cycling since sort of the beginning of your professional career to now? Yeah, it has been more data-driven. Not that it was not serious when I was on Orica, but I can see now like you have way more staff around and especially kind of performance.

30:46I have no optimizing everything. Those kind of marginal gains that maybe the Sky introduced. Now it's everywhere and you have to almost do everything correct now to be competitive. Like you can't really leave anything behind anymore. And you were more, I was going to say, race on feelings, but like smartly racing on feelings as opposed to racing on just data in front of you. Yeah, I think I race a lot on feeling and instinct. I think that's important. But at the same time, I also have a power meter that I enjoy also and I use actively in some scenarios. Not every day, but in the training every day, yes.

31:34But in the races, it's not like I'm sitting there taking decisions every day on the power meter. But sometimes I have used it and also to good success, I think. while at home I think I'm still more old school than many of the new guys like I don't know if I'm too conservative or like yeah yeah it's it can also be too much maybe like I maybe like to listen to to my body instead of just weighing all my foods and looking at all the dates and having a sleep score and doing I don't know being a robot and then I feel like uh also my feeling with it is that I know my body better than these gadgets. So I kind of prefer to leave it to a minimum and then, yeah, take the talk instead and do it more based on feelings rather than having pure exact numbers that are the HIV was this and the heart rate that and the lactate, whatever, and what should I do now?

32:39No, it's more like just vibes. Yeah, I get you. so stepping away from I guess cycling for a second you're obviously a very funny man we've all seen you look so confused then when I said that you're like what do you mean we're not going to talk about cycling we've seen all of your hotel ratings I think since 2019 it's a very it's very hot topic whenever you post about hotel rooms I think it came from Astania wanting you to show sort of more of yourself on social media. Was that an easy thing for you to do? Because some people are just more naturally very private. They don't want to kind of express themselves that way.

33:23But yeah, was it easy? Yeah, I think once I came up with that idea of rooms and ratings, it was easy. It's not like I have a problem with having pictures taken of me and doing funny stuff. But yeah, it is correct that it was a starter. they were like pushing that you needed this social media account and being active there as well. And yeah, so I worked on that, I think, in the fall of 2018 and came up with the idea and said, okay, I'm going to start next season with these hotel reviews. And yeah, it's funny because it's not meant to be funny and stand out. I think it's just something that's happened.

34:13It's not been like an active choice of my own. Of course, I knew with the hotel reviews that there was maybe a different niche of cycling that I could show. And therefore, it also made sense. But I didn't realize at that time that it would kind of be a stepping stone to really maybe separate me out. And over the years, I've done several things suddenly with the mustache coloring that blue. which has made me more famous but it has never been like a business plan behind it. It's just something that has happened and I think it's not that I need to stand out it's maybe more that maybe I don't need to stay in the box.

34:59So sometimes I do something that stands out without me realizing it before it has happened. and what would you say has been the weirdest thing that you've sit in a hotel room oh i don't know it's really weird like uh yeah sometimes you can have like awkward mirrors that's just a bit of mirrors no i mean if they're in the bed now then you're thinking what are they for now to looking at if you're sitting at the same at the toilet looking yourself in the mirror that's also like uh well for me that's a bit weird and funny now it's like okay there's nothing is seeing you there no but it's like i don't know at home i'm not you're not used to seeing yourself i think when you're having a shit now some people probably have mirrors in in the bedroom that they can see from the from the bed but yeah yeah i would hate that i would hate that and um what what makes a good hotel room for you obviously not not the mirror thing yeah no i'm very basic if that makes sense so i'm not it doesn't have to be very fancy for me to to like it the way i'm doing my rating so it has to be obviously be be clean and then we need to have space for the for our suitcases yeah wi-fi having curtains that keeps the light out also and in the morning and yeah a separate bathroom with a door so we always sleep two together on the team and it's nice that one guy can get up and get out with not like disturbing the other guy so you kind of need a proper door and not the lights going on automatically or something so it's kind of just getting the basics right and sometimes the really fancy hotels they have glass doors to the toilet or even like an automatic light that turns on when you get up at night to pee and i think i understand the idea a little bit that you don't stumble on the way to the bathroom but then you also just wake up the other guy now yeah yeah it's just stupid extra things in my opinion ridiculous honestly and um where has been kind of i guess the nicest hotel rooms i think maybe a maybe in the middle east often there perhaps you stay on a little bit higher level hotels than in Europe.

37:27I think France, I'm maybe known for the worst. Like often they have pretty small rooms. Oh, okay. So like when you're in Spain, the rooms seem to always be a little bit bigger. Yeah. Didn't know that. In Spain, they're maybe also having air conditioning because it's that little bit warmer. But then if it's not working, then it can also be worse now being in Spain with a broken air conditioning. no i can imagine that's such a nightmare i would hate that um so you mentioned as well obviously dyeing your mustache blue that was i think that was a bet about like social social media followers would you are you now if you're making a bet with people are you going bigger in your mind or are you still kind of playing it safe and you're like oh it's it's mustache related I'll dye it like red or something.

38:19Yeah, that same account. Yeah, the bet was if they could help me to reach, I think it was 200 ,000 followers, then I would have to dye my moustache. And it happened really quickly before the start and the boss. I just agreed on the chat. And I think almost before I was back home after the stage, it was there. So he had a big reach. We had to discuss the details of which color. And they wanted to do something similar. again this year and the tour and and i thought it was it was fun the first time but i i didn't really see it being as funny uh yeah if i did it again i and i think we we couldn't really come up with a good thing to do so yeah nothing nothing crazy happened and i i think that's also okay like i i don't need to do something big just for the sake of of doing it now if it makes sense it makes sense but if not I'm happy to do what I'm actually supposed to do race my bike in the best possible way I'll tell you what if you win a monument next season I'll dye my mustache blue

39:29if you could and I love hearing what people say about this but if you could tell your younger self anything what would it be? yeah I think sure more maybe eat more in the race yeah Yeah, get more gels inside. No, I think that's the biggest change. I've always eaten a lot, but eating as much as we do now in the races, I think that's the biggest change. And there would be some optimizations around the equipment and bikes that you know now that could have been obviously nice to do 10 years ago, but it would also be hard to do with whatever you had available at the time and also that you're still locked in with the team sponsors and stuff.

40:18But I think the Eatmore in the race, that will be the easiest thing, even though I think I have been doing well compared to other guys. Maybe that's probably why I've been able to do so well in stage races and especially second and third rig in Grand Tours. that had seemed to be like my strongest card in cycling is those Grand Tours and coming a little bit deeper into them. So I think my fueling has not been completely, completely off. Yeah, that's always a good thing. And what is one thing that no one knows about you that you want them to know? I've had so many different things to this. I think one time Larry Warbass told me he makes balloon animals.

41:06So feel free to take your time, have a little search through your mind. Yeah, I don't know what that will be, because if that was something you really wanted people to know, I mean, it's easy to put it out nowadays at least. Especially with all your followers. Well, my followers wanted to show somebody something that was important to me that they didn't know. I would probably have posted it somewhere at some point and then it would not be a secret anymore.

41:42So in terms of the season, obviously you are recovering from the tour. Do you have any sort of, do you know maybe what the rest of your season will look like yet or are you kind of just trying to recover? No, the plan is that I'm going to Tulangkawi next. So that's in what we are leaving in two weeks, I think. just under two weeks and then I'll come back to Italy and finish the season there with the last races so that's the plan for me and also speaking of this season I can't believe we haven't touched on it yet but you went absolutely crazy at Gran Camino as well you won three stages and finished third overall what was it about that race that clicked for you?

42:31yeah I also don't know exactly It was a little bit of a surprise that I was going that well. No, obviously always try to prepare and be good. And I came directly down from an altitude camp with the team. And yeah, I knew the last few years I haven't positioned much in the big bunch sprints. But I knew that the quality of the start line was on the sprint. There was probably also only one bunch sprint day. But I was ready for that because I thought that bunch I can be ready. And there was the two other stages where they were perfect for me, kind of hard days. But still, they ended up finishing in a sprint.

43:19I got really good help from my team as well. It has to be said to keep things together. But the big surprise was probably that I could do GC. and I think that not like the best numbers in 20 minutes, but probably accumulative over the whole day. Yeah, one of the days where I've done the most amount of time above maybe five and a half watts per kilo. So yeah, the shape was really good there. And I guess my last question, I don't want you to go. I want to talk to you forever. You've got to get back to training, to the world. what would you want and this is very deep i know but what do you want your legacy in cycling to be uh yeah i hope i'll be remember so like an attacking style of racing and it's i have won many of my my my stages that way but also quite a few in in sprints and from a more defensive kind of of style but i always prefer the attacking i don't know it i i like it more going out there racing the peloton behind you or some days if the break lets go, then it's just you against these 10, 20 or five other guys who's there and they break with you.

44:36That's at least the days that I feel are the biggest days for me that I enjoy the most. Well, I think I can speak for a lot of people when we say we enjoy your attacking very much. It is lovely to watch. but I will of course let you get back what have you got planned for the rest of the day any more training? No I'm back home for training so I think I will head over to Armand Gondeljansson another rider from UNOX and we have dinner together later tonight Well that sounds lovely my invite will be in the post I assume but thank you so much Magnus Kort it was lovely to talk to you and I hope you have a brilliant rest of the season and we might just see you at the top of a monument in the seasons to come.

45:27Yeah, that would be amazing.

45:32Robyn: Wow, Robin, that was an incredible interview. How are you feeling now that you've had time to digest? Honestly, I feel like I'm ready to go rate some hotel rooms. I'm actually, I'm staying in London on Friday night because I'm going to go see Ethel Cain. So I might give the Travelodge a quick review. Not that anyone could beat the OG, the original. No, I'm just kidding. But actually, something is to break because when this was recorded, he didn't end the season, but I think he's now ended his season. He's going to take a lot of time off the bike to recover, obviously, get Will soon, and we'll see him next season, I imagine, winning a monument.

46:10I did say, you know, you obviously have not listened yet, Will, but I did say in the podcast, I think, that I would dye my moustache blue if he wins one next year. So, my name's Sam Remo. Here we come.

46:24Robyn: Yeah, I'd like to see that. Both the moustache and the Magnus Corp sometimes will win. I think both would be good things for the world of cycling. I mean, he's not really the only one that's ending his season now. I feel like apart from, well, when we record this, apart from one man season, it's probably already over. But by the time this goes out, it'll basically already be done apart from, you know, a couple of days when some Astana riders are going to win some races. Looking back on the 2025 season, which feels quite weird to say, Robin, what were your, let's go with top three memories looking back?

46:57Robyn: I know I've kind of sprung this on you, so you haven't really had time to sort of look through what happened. But if they're stuck in your memory, you know that actually is a good one. Yeah. And if you say World Championships, it's a bit boring because it just happened. I just turn around and say, I actually haven't paid attention to any of the season. What happened? Christopher and winning the Tour de France It is again in the points classification I would say one that springs to mind immediately is obviously the Giro d 'Italia I think that I think mostly because of Isaac del Toro I think we kind of got to see how he could potentially win a Grand Tour at 16 years old

47:46but especially as well that the the whole final day thing between yates and carapaz and del toro and no one wants to lose and yeah that was it was very interesting to watch that i think i would say that that was better that that was maybe the best grand tour in terms of viewing because I feel like you go into the Tour de France and you're like, oh, Tadej Pogacar is going to win and then Jonas Vingegaard lines up for the Vuelta and when that is on and the stages aren't cancelled it's like, yeah, he's going to win but the Giro is kind of one for like maybe a little bit more dark horses

48:25Robyn: The most unpredictable one Yeah, even though most of us got our official predictions wrong Yeah Yeah I would also say the women's Tour de France I think it's very ballsy of Pauline Franpereau to be like how many years was she going to give herself to win the Tour de France like three or five and then she comes and does it in her first year back on the road I think that's pretty impressive and then I'll say Nielsen Paulus at Dours d 'Or after winning Roubaix as well Dours d 'Or, Flandern also I thought you were talking about Nielsen Paulus there not Franpereau and I was like pretty sure Nielsen Paulus didn't win Thierry Roubaix.

49:11Oh my God, what's going on, Will? Did you watch the season? No, but she was incredibly impressive. And Nielsen Paulus against three Vesma Lisa bike riders, I would say. And my three standouts at the moment, but I know for a fact that when I go back and listen to this, I'll be like, no, why didn't I say this one? So it's up in the air. It's up in the air. But I will write an article about it at some point. So I'll just make up for it in that. But those are my three.

49:38Robyn: So please visit cyclist.co.uk for Robin's full list of the 100 favourite moments of the season. Wow. Number one, day one. Number two. I'm actually just reliving the season through start to finish. Let's go back to the Tour Down Under. Yeah. Reminder of every single race of the season. Some people would read it, actually. This is my own roadbook. If you would like Robin to write her own roadbook, then please get in touch. You can find her email online. I actually am in the road book this year for Cyclist with the Falter. So you can all read that and then go and subscribe to Cyclist. Well, hopefully they already are.

50:18Robyn: Do both. Yeah, that's true. Buy the book, buy the magazine. Synergy. Brand Synergy. How very LinkedIn. Yeah, exactly. We're all LinkedIn today. Unfortunately, Demi Volling didn't win the race that we watched just before this. But, you know, LinkedIn's loss is our gain. um robin you you have been linkedin star of the show today with your fantastic interview with magnus court and his uh his reviews and his mustache and maybe your mustache as long as it's blue um i'll get it going i hope everyone enjoyed enjoyed listening to that interview because i know i will have when i listen to it after this um that's good yeah and robin i will see you for the next one which will be very soon everyone will be pleased to know have a great day whatever day of the week listen to this and uh yeah merry october merry october happy halloween or merry christmas bye

51:24Robyn: hello lovely listeners i just wanted to tell you that cyclist isn't just a podcast no cyclist is also a beautiful print magazine it's packed full of all the best rides from around the world the newest bikes and kit and loads of in-depth articles featuring guests just like on today's show so head on over to cyclist.co.uk slash subscriptions and check out our latest cyclist magazine subscription offers