CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Ineos Grenadiers’ road captain Luke Rowe has been involved in f ive Tour de France victories. Here the Welshman reveals how he navigates the passion and pain of the world’s biggest bike race, and offers his eight proven ways to play it cool under pressure
“The tactics still come from the team car, but decisions are constantly being made on the road among riders too, and that’s when I’m called upon”
ONE K NOW Y OUR ROL E
“The common misconception is that ‘road captain’ is some kind of glorified role or privilege, like in sports such as football where it’s an honour. But in cycling it’s just a title given to the person who tries to gather the troops on the road, and get the most out of each and every rider every day. I’m the middleman between the DSs ( directeurssportif), who call the shots, and the riders. You are the guy who can read the race and work out what’s going to happen, so if a decision needs to be made in an instant on the road, that’s my responsibility. The tactics still come from the team car, but decisions are constantly being made on the road among riders too, and that’s when I’m called upon.”
TWO ADAPT TO DIFFERENT LEADERS
“Adaptation is something you do every day and every hour of the race. You’re constantly adjusting to how the race is going, and how the riders are feeling. And it does alter slightly depending on who the leader is. For some, it will be about trying to calm the leader down and saying: ‘Relax, we’re in control.’ Other guys will want me to gee them up and say: ‘Come on! This is your day. You look fantastic!’ Some will get overconfident and try to light the race up too early; others will be too hesitant.
“So if you look at, say, Adam Yates, who has just joined the team, we will aim to come to a middle ground, as he is super-relaxed and rarely – but sometimes – gets caught out, but I want to be at the pointy end. But I don’t say: ‘Trust me,’ or, ‘Follow me.’ They will say: ‘Okay, Luke, look after Tom, Dick or Harry today. And after a few races they believe in you - and then your job is easy. But they have to decide if they will buy in and follow you or not.”
THREE Q U I C K LY D E F U S E A N Y P R O BL E MS
“On a Grand Tour, over 21 days and with eight individuals, there will be some confrontation or disagreement.
It’s inevitable. But the way I like to deal with it is if something goes wrong on the road, or if there’s an issue with two riders or with me and someone else within the team, we never, ever let that happen during a race. We say, okay, stop, leave it there, we will talk after. Then as soon as we get back on the bus, we sit down, eye to eye, man to man, and say: ‘Listen, I didn’t agree with that. That was wrong.’ And that’s also the same for others talking to me. Everyone makes mistakes.
“So you get back, have a discussion, and move on the next day. Never let anything boil or fester. And never go via someone else – don’t speak to senior management or a director. Have the conversation, deal with it and move on. That’s a good rule for life, not just sport.”
FOUR P L AY I T C O O L U NDER P R E S S U R E
“Being patient and calm under pretty intense circumstances is very important for a road captain. When things are good, it’s easy to be calm, but when things are going bad it’s even more important to stay calm. I was fortunate when I turned pro that I got to ride with Mat Hayman, Bernie Eisel and Jez [Jeremy] Hunt - all seasoned, veteran pros and some of the best road captains the peloton has seen. I was like a sponge - I tried to learn everything from them.
“In general, all the rival teams get on well. Everyone’s got a common goal – everyone wants to do well. And nobody wants to crash. There can be high levels of stress and it can boil over, like what happened a few years ago with Tony Martin and myself at the Tour [in 2019 Rowe and Martin were disqualified for an altercation]. I look back and it was disappointing. I was in the wrong and he was in the wrong. Tempers do flare – it’s part of life and it is human – but there’s a level of respect in the peloton. It does get stressful at times, and of course people
will piss each other off, but when you cross the finish line it’s all forgotten.”
FIVE K E E P F U E L L I NG T HE T R A I N
“It’s amazing that some guys have to watch their food consumption, even in a Grand Tour, which is hard to get your head around when you think how much time you spend racing on the bike. I’m not in that category, though. I just eat as much as possible, as often as possible – it will often be pasta for breakfast. During the race it’s a case of eating every 20 minutes, just a continuous flow of whatever you can get in you. People often ask what you look forward to eating after a Grand Tour and they expect you to say a burger or a pizza. But honestly you’re just fed up of eating. You don’t want to eat anything at all.”
SIX E NJOY A F E W HOME COMFORTS
“For a couple of years now, even pre-Covid, we have had single rooms at Grand Tours. That eliminates disrupting each other with different bedtimes and wake-up times and you get your own space. But in races where you do room with each other, I was always rooming with Ian Stannard. At the Tour I always pack a book that my wife made me for Father’s day: it’s pictures of me, her and our two children. I flick through that from time to time, because it has some nice pictures and stories. And I always take 21 Snickers to the Tour de France, and put them in the second car. Once I’m dropped in the mountains and my day is over, the director doesn’t need to ask what I want. Hand me a can of Fanta and a Snickers out the window, and that’s me settled into the grupetto.”
SEVEN NO I F S , B U T S OME BU T T S …
“It’s really strange racing with no crowds since Covid. You realise how much they add to the atmosphere. Normally it’s just a wall of noise, but now you hear riders changing gears and breathing. At the Tour there’s usually a strong British following. There’s the Beefeater crew - a bunch of British lads who travel every year. But you see it all. Penises. Boobs. A lot of ass cheeks. You get a lot of moonies.”
EIGHT A LWAYS C E L E B R AT E IN ST YLE
“If we win anything we always have a beer or a glass of champagne. That’s one tradition we try and keep, however big or small the win. Even if it’s just a small toast, all riders and all staff get together after dinner and raise a glass. We always go pretty big in Paris for the Sunday night at the end of the Tour. We rent out a club for the riders, staff, families and friends. When G [Geraint Thomas] won was the standout for me. Usually Sunday night you see your family then go home, but G and I grew up as kids together and we’re pretty close off the bike, so the celebrations carried on.
“We went back to Monaco and carried on partying for a week, two weeks... We went to the Tour of Germany and were both useless. But G needed a drinking partner and I stepped up to that role. Who knows if he wins the Tour again? Hopefully he does - and realistically he could. But we won the world’s biggest bike race and we celebrated hard. Good times.”
“If we win anything we always have a beer or a glass of champagne. That’s one tradition we try and keep...”