“Watching ice hockey is something I enjoy doing completely away from cycling”

You get a divide among cyclists; some if they’re at home and there’s a race on will be glued to the TV and will watch every kilometre, whereas there are some guys who won’t even look up the results on the internet. I’d say I’m somewhere in the middle. If there’s a race on one afternoon I might put it on but I don’t really watch much cycling. When I’m away from bike racing and training at home I like to minimise the cycling intake I have. I think you can get too cooped up in a cycling bubble.

For me going to watch ice hockey is something I enjoy to do completely away from cycling and any opportunity to see a game I’ll take it. It’s my way to switch off from cycling.

In the UK it’s still quite a minor sport despite growing quite rapidly — maybe where cycling was 10 years ago — but it’s getting a bigger and bigger following. A lot of the guys I go to the games with have nothing to do with cycling, they’re just my mates from back home, which is nice because if you hang out with cyclists you often just talk about cycling! In the off-season, if you can go and have a few beers as well while you watch the match it’s a good atmosphere.

I follow the Cardiff Devils in the EIHL league, which is the top league in Britain and then I support the Boston Bruins in the NHL the American/canadian league, the biggest in the world.

I’ve lived in Cardiff my whole life and the arena was always a stone’s throw away so I always used to go as a kid. I like the intensity of it. I love football and rugby as well but there are spells in those sports where nothing happens and there’s a lull in the game — whereas if you watch ice hockey there’s not a minute where nothing happens. If it’s not the gameplay it’s a big hit, and if it’s not the hit it’s a fight and a confrontation; there’s always something going on.

I’ve had the occasional skate but I’ve never tried ice hockey. When I did try ice skating I was like Bambi on ice so it’s certainly not another career option if cycling hits the skids, that’s for sure.

Welshman Luke Rowe is Sky’s Classics specialist and often the team’s road captain. He is also a Cardiff Devils ice hockey fan