CHRIS JUUL JENSEN
Mitchelton’s Irish- born Dane on hoovering, parenting and winning at the Tour de Suisse
What is your favourite climb?
Growing up in the Wicklow Mountains I would say that the climb that I want to go back and ride the most is the one that led up to where we lived. It was in the middle of nowhere and didn’t have a name, so we called it Twisty Road. It’s one of the climbs that I’ve ridden the most and I’d love to go back there and ride it again. I haven’t been in Ireland enough since I moved.
Who do you think is the best domestique in the peloton?
Other than myself? No, I think I’m certainly riding with one of them - Mat Hayman. He’s definitely one of the best there is in terms of his experience and his presence within the bunch. Then I’d say it has to be Geraint Thomas considering he’s just won the Tour.
Who is your funniest team-mate?
Riding with Anders Lund, who’s a good friend of mine – I’ve had many laughs with him – and Matti Breschel. When the three of us were together [at Tinkoff] we were constantly laughing and enjoying ourselves. We still hang out and talk a lot at home.
What is your secret talent?
I’m surprisingly good at cleaning up. But it’s impossible to convince the soigneurs that when I’m at home I do the hoovering and do the cleaning. When they see the state of my room and especially my suitcase they find it impossible to believe. My wife is pleased about it!
What was the last app that you downloaded?
I downloaded a soon-to-be-dad app, because we’re expecting our first child. I needed to download something – or read something – about becoming a father. My missus has been informing me on it a lot and we’ve been doing all that pre-parenthood together. I’m not an app person to be honest, they stress
"There was a lot of prestige in winning the Stamullen GP and bringing home a trophy almost the size of the boot of the car"
me out. She’s due on 30 October, so the app tells me what week she’s at. I find it confusing; some say she’s week 27 plus zero, or week 26 plus seven. It makes very little sense to me.
What’s the best prize you’ve won at a race?
In Ireland it was mainly trophies – massive, gigantic, plastic trophies. When I was an undereight rider there was a lot of prestige in winning Stamullen Grand Prix and bringing home a trophy that was almost the size of the boot of the car. Otherwise, it’s the Tour de Suisse, where I won a bowl, some salad dressing, and a box of apples.
What’s been the toughest day you’ve had on the bike?
I had some horrible days the first time I did a grand tour. That was the Giro in 2014. It wasn’t illness, but serious fatigue and bicycle man flu. I think my body was in shock from doing its first grand tour.
What’s the story behind one of your scars?
I have one on my wrist from a crash in the 2015 Milan-San Remo, which happened towards the final. That resulted in a broken scaphoid, but I only realised nine months later.
I just thought it was a sprained wrist. When I found out, I had it operated on and I have a small scar, but that’s one of my only few war stories. I try to talk it up a bit – I did Flanders and Roubaix and the Giro with a broken scaphoid. If you put that in the answer, then it’s better.