Simon Mottram – Creating an Icon: The Story of Rapha

The Cycling Podcast presents Life in the Peloton

Simon Mottram is one of the co-founders and Chief Executive of cycling brand, Rapha. Who, if you haven’t heard of them, are one of the foremost brands of cycling apparel in the industry.

In 2004, Simon launched Rapha, focusing on sleek, paired-back cycling kit; filling a gap in the market full of loud, logo-soaked apparel. Their aim: to get more people involved in the beautiful sport of cycling.

I first heard of Rapha when they entered the peloton with UK team Rapha-Condor back in 2008. As you’ll hear, it wasn’t something that Simon had planned. But it was ultimately what took Rapha to the next level, with them then taking the next big leap to the pinnacle of the sport to sponsor Team Sky in 2013.

Having worn Rapha over the years at EF Education First and with our upcoming LITP x Rapha collaboration I was keen to sit down and hear the story behind how it began.

It was a great chat, and inspiring to hear about the motivations of Rapha from the man himself.

I hope you enjoy this one.

Stay tuned for the general release of our LITP x Rapha kit next month.

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen to this series on The Cycling Podcast Channel at Spotify, iTunesGooglePlay or your favourite pod app.

Keep in Touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Find our hour long episodes on The Cycling Podcast channel.

Find our Talking Luft episodes right here on the Life in the Peloton.


Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

Merch

LITP x Rapha Kit – Stay tuned for the general release of kit coming in July that will be available to everyone. Keep updated via email and the podcast.

Life in the Peloton Cycling Caps are now restocked on our LITP shop.

See our range of casual merch. From caps to logo tees, jumpers and much more.

You’ll also find our new Limited Edition Doom Line Tee online now. Check it out!

Theme Music

The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4’s coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show. Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete’s widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton.

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Released: June 16, 2021