Team Turbine caught up with the man of the month, Chris Froome to chat about secret miles in Tasmania, his popular cat and how he pushes through.
Turbine: Understand you are a busy man, appreciate you taking the time to catch up with us out of your no doubt manic pre- tour media and training commitments – did your preparation for this Tour differ to your last Tour, and if so, how?
CF: I haven’t spent as much time on my TT bike because of the lower number of TT km’s this year, we’ve focused more on training in the mountains. I am going into this race fresher than in previous years, as I’ve found that I am reaching my limit in the final week. With a challenging final week this year I’m hoping I will get to it feeling slightly better.
Turbine: we’ve heard of all sorts of interesting race prep rituals, including eating the same amount of bran with a specific amount of blueberries, wearing a certain pair of socks etc, do you have any race prep rituals yourself?
CF: I’m not really superstitious, but I always have porridge, quinoa and an omelette the morning of a stage race. I know what works for me and I like to stick with that.
froomecat#TBT 2013 @letourdefrance Mont Ventoux. Dreaming of more victories like this one #TDF
Turbine: we had a chance to catch you down under in Tasmania late last year with Richie and Gossy, why Tasmania?
CF: I’d heard about how great it was for training over the European winter from Richie and I wanted to see for myself. I definitely wasn’t disappointed!
Turbine: how do you unwind both pre & post racing?
CF: I like to listen to some good music before the stage. In the evenings after dinner I like to switch off by watching whichever TV series I’m following at the time.
Turbine: where do you see the future of cycling?
CF: It’s quite a traditional sport so change doesn’t come easy. I’d like to see more information being broadcast live, whether it be team radios or rider data.
Unfortunately we weren’t able to use motorhomes at this years Tour de France, but I do hope that the UCI and race organisers think of more innovative ways to make travelling and sleeping conditions at stage races better for the riders.
Getting a good nights sleep can make a huge difference to performance.
Turbine: you’re in the hurtbox – what pushes you through?
CF: Knowing how hard I’ve worked to get there and not wanting it to be for nothing.
Turbine: Froomecat has more followers than most instagrammers. Are you the mastermind behind her social media?
CF: I do post the occasional photo but my wife posts most of the photos. I love seeing the posts when I’m away from home so that I know what Coco’s been up to (which usually involves sleeping and chasing balls).
Quick word association:
Australia is: down under
My wife would say I am: stubborn
Froomecat: lives the perfect life
Love: Michelle baking something for me in the kitchen
Not so much love for: negativity
Food: energy
Mountains: pleasure & pain
Essential: happiness
Scenery: looking out over the ocean
Sleep is: gooooood
Tour De France: yellow
Turbine is: easy breathing
We wish Chris all the best with the Tour and the season ahead!
Click here for what to feed a Tour champion, and other behind the scenes stories about Chris
