Tsgabu Grmay - First Ethiopian pro cyclist, Crying on the start line of the Tour de France, adapting nutrition and training to become better 10 years later

The Supersapiens Podcast

Tsgabu Grmay is a professional cyclist who rides for Jayco AlUla. Tsgabu is the first Ethiopian ever to ride the Tour de France. He is a 3x national road champion, 6x national time trial champion and a former African time trial champion. Tsgabu became the first Ethiopian to win an international cycling race when he won a stage of the Tour of Taiwan.

02:15 – Birthday announcement
03:20 – Community shoutouts
Marco’s substack mentioned: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/
Marco’s HRV and glucose article: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/p/insights-from-continuous-glucose
05:50 – Xylon’s Durban IRONMAN 70.3 recap
07:44 – Xylon recommits to gym
09:08 – Episode starts
10:52 – Tsgabu’s racing plans
11:28 – Race and training planning for professional cycling teams
13:55 – Tsgabu’s running
14:45 – How did Tsgabu start running?
16:19 – How did Tsgabu start cycling?
19:37 – What was growing up like in Ethiopia?
20:49 – How did Tsgabu’s father get into cycling?
22:15 – When did Tsgabu’s doors towards a pro career start opening?
24:17 – How did Tsgabu’s career change once he decided he wanted to pursue a pro career more seriously?
31:52 – Tsgabu’s opportunities and people who believed in him.
36:18 – Why are Ethiopian cyclists succeeding when other East African countries are not producing cyclists?
40:13 – Has African cycling grown and improved since Tsgabu first arrived in the European peloton?
42:26 – What has changed for Tsgabu and his family based on his financial opportunity in cycling?
44:45 – When did Tsgabu start to feel like he had matured from a cycling perspective?
48:07 – What is Tsgabu’s next phase in cycling, is it mentorship?
50:13 – Why does Tsgabu want to mentor young African cyclists?
52:30 – What is Tsgabu’s proudest moment in cycling?
54:16 – What was Tsgabu’s first Tour de France like?
55:47 – Does Tsgabu feel the pressure of representing Africa or Ethiopia in the peloton?
57:13 – What were the mistakes Tsgabu made in training at altitude?
58:21 – What has Tsgabu used from Supersapiens?
64:22 – Rush Round
71:09 – Outro