Going Dutch suits Ivan in his races
CAIRNS CYCLIST IVAN COOK TELLS ALL ABOUT EUROPE’S CYCLING FANATICS. JACOB GRAMS REPORTS
IN Australia, we get together at the nearest establishment to watch the footy but in Europe they do the same for cycling.
Cairns’ Ivan Cook is right in the middle of it as a semi-professional rider in Belgium and the Netherlands as part of Team Wasp.
The conglomerate of four cycling clubs comes together in a bid to race in pricey UCI events, and while it’s not quite the pro tour, the talent is rich.
The Dutch have been going crazy over Giro d’Italia winner Tom Domoulin and Cook said the buzz around cycling in Grand Tour season was palpable.
“Its always a nice vibe, especially for a cyclist here in Belgium and Holland, as cycling is the national sport. So the people really do embrace it,” he said. “Instead of bars showing rugby or cricket matches like in Australia, they will have the cycling on. It’s something I have really grown to love over the last couple years of living in Europe.”
Cook is one of 120 to 200 riders competing semi-professionally and is a regular in the top 15. Feeling stronger than ever and backed with experience, he expects things to get even better.
“So far this season I haven’t had the big result I’m looking for but it’s still early season. A couple of top 15 results have been a good sign of my fitness so far,” he said.
“I’m just waiting for that right race where all my cards will align for that elusive win.”
The biggest thing about Cook’s experience is having learnt what works for him in training and what to avoid.
“Comparing to my fulltime riding in Belgium two years ago, I trained 20 to 25 hours a week and just buried myself,” he said. “I now train much less and the results speak for themselves. Currently I only train between 10-15 hours a week.
“Time on the bike will go up when more races come.
“This weekly time is split also into time in the gym and stair running or plyometrics, which helps my explosiveness and high end V02 max.”
Cook said an off-season in Cairns had also prepared him well for this season and said it was a shame the location was so underrated.
“It truly has all you need: perfect weather, climbs of 10km-plus perfect for interval training, simple and endless roads where you don’t have to worry about looking at a map and not to mention a great community,” he said.
“It’s still small but you can feel they really come together.
“There are plenty of group rides throughout the week, which are a perfect motivator when you don’t feel like facing up to five-plus hours alone on the bike.
“The local racing scene, which is yet still small, has promise and everyone is super eager and excited and most of all happy.”
Cook has been lucky enough to bump into Cairns pro tour rider Adam Hansen on occasion and said his feat of 17 consecutive completed Grand Tour races was incredible.
“All hats off to Adam. He is really an incredible athlete,” he said.
“I don’t know how does them back to back every year.
“People may think it looks easy but just a single UCI race can be completely exhausting, then do it the next day, tough, let alone for three weeks.
“For myself, I never dreamt of riding the Tour de France.
I prefer classic racing or short course crits, track races. Where it’s just all out.
“It’s just such a thrill.”