Cannondale Pro Cycling
to do so. Does this ever frustrate you and in what ways do they thank you for your contribution to their success?
I struggled with this question for about four minutes once many years ago. But then I realised that I’m racing bikes in the ProTour. Over my European career, I’ve raced for some of the best cyclists on the planet. The best on the planet! Having gotten into the sport late already, I consider myself lucky and consider it a great honour to be doing what I’m doing. To then try to loft myself up a step further would be a selfish endeavour in a sport that already demands that you be selfish to find success in the first place. There’s only one Tom Brady. There’s only one Sidney Crosby. There’s only one Peter Sagan. To be part of the team surrounding those players and making them great is an honour unto itself. In reality 75% of the peloton fits this role. Is that stopping us from doing our jobs? Not a chance.
friendly competition week in and week out, and having to defend shaving your legs to a bunch of college co-eds. If you can pull that off, you’re going to have a successful life.
Will you be in the team to ride the Tour de France this year and how does the selection process for deciding who rides in the tour actually work within the team? I don’t know. Maybe by the time you read this, it will be decided. However, it’s a long process to ultimately create the best nine-man roster for the job. We have 28 on the team in total. At the beginning of the year, you see what race schedule you have and then after dividing the total team’s roster among the different races and grand tours, the Tour de France’s roster is probably down to about sixteen. Over the spring months, it scales down to twelve or so, and then ultimately within the final few weeks with the races leading up to the Tour the team sees who is in the best shape. Tour of California, the Dauphine, and Tour of Suisse are big tipping points for those final spots. It’s a social and two-wheeled Darwinism; obviously we’re going to send the best riders and we won’t know who’s in the best condition until the final days.
What have been some of the highlights in your career so far? I have a bucket list of races that I want to do and those have almost entirely been checked off. Paris- Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne- Liege and Amstel were all big ones. Racing a pair of Giros (Giri, rather) d’Italia was definitely a highlight, especially in the successful way we raced. I’ve done the World Championships and some big races back on home soil. The Tour de France is the last one that I really want to do.
In your role as a domestique you are one of the unsung heroes when a team member takes a stage victory after you’ve worked hard for them
social and two- wheeled Darwinism; obviously we’re going to send the best riders and we won’t know who’s in the best condition until the final days
It’s a
What kind of results would constitute a successful year for you as a domestique in your team? I already consider this a successful start to the year. Beginning in San Luis way back
in January with podiums there, then holding the yellow jersey at Paris-Nice, then podiums or wins in virtually every spring classic. Next at California taking two wins and the sprinter’s jersey is a nice trip to American soil. But honestly, it’s Tour baby, Tour. We’ve had great success already in 2013, so now it’s time to take that into June, July, and onward.
What benefits does your Sugoi kit give you on long days in the saddle and which is your favourite item from them? The super light summer jersey is rather excellent. After a frigid spring all across Europe, we had just ferocious heat at the Tour of California. That was the first time we broke into the super light jerseys and they were outstanding. Riding through heat that was causing riders to pass out is a solid testament to how gnarly it was so to feel as cool as we did was definitely a leg up on the competition.
Your online personality IAmTedKing with your blog and twitter feed makes for some interesting reading for those interested in the sport. Do you have plans to develop this further or perhaps even write a book one day about your experiences in the peloton? I already have written a book. That project was fun, so tackling a more thorough book that covers all aspects of bike racing, sure that’s something that’s crossed my mind. All of this trans-global adventure is fodder for the book, so as I continue collecting adventures for that in that, in the meantime it’s a blast to keep folks around the world apprised just through my blog, writing for Bicycling magazine, and of course Twitter.
Do you have any advice for riders who have aspirations of one day making it into the pro peloton? Yes. You’re going to pay your dues out in those UV rays so wear sunscreen.
www.activinstinct.com 35
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