Biking Bauer back in the fast lane
Golden Bay’s Jack Bauer is riding in the world’s biggest cycling race, the famed Tour de France.
The 29-year-old professional road cyclist is based in Europe and rides for professional team Garmin-Sharp. Days after the gruelling Le Tour finishes in Paris Jack will be lining up with his fellow Kiwi team-mates in the road race at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Jack kindly took two minutes from his preparation for the brutal tour to talk to The Leader. What was the first bike you owned? A bright green/purple Milazo ‘‘crazy horse’’ mountainbike. This was my pride and joy for the first seven years of my cycling career! Did you grow up in Takaka? I grew up in Parapara. My parents still live on the family property down Parapara Valley Rd. Takaka was the ‘‘big smoke’’ I guess you could say, and as kids we were always amped for a trip into ‘‘town’’. How did you get into road cycling? Dad bought me the Milazo back when I was 8 years old. I was instantly hooked, riding the local trails and hills with Dad and my older bro Josh most evenings after school What’s one of the highlights been of your career so far? Representing the Kiwis in the London Olympic Games Do your Kiwi mates understand road cycling and just how big it is in Europe? No, but I wouldn’t expect people back home to. It’s a different sporting world compared to the footy and cricket in NZ. What will be your main role in this year’s Tour de France? What stages are you most looking forward to? The least? My role is supporting my leader Andrew Talansky, and doing everything possible to support his campaign in the Tour. I’m most looking forward to Stage Five from Ypres to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut. Ypres hold a lot of significance to Aussies and Kiwis, and the stage features nine cobbled sectors from the famous one-day classic ParisRoubaix. This style of race and the stones it features are something I specialise in as a cyclist. I’m least looking forward to any stage that goes uphill! What’s your typical day’s diet/ fuel intake when riding the tour? I try to keep my diet as standard as possible, eating foods that are healthy and high in energy, I try to avoid race bars/gels as much as possible. That being said, recovery nutrition and post-race hydration are super important. High protein shakes/electrolyte replacement mixes are key. What do you most miss from home, while living in Europe? Family and friends, esp Toby and Alex, my little nephews who live in Halswell, Christchurch. And good peanut butter and Marmite of course. What advice would you give to young aspiring cyclists? Make sure you are riding for one reason – enjoyment, it’s a tough sport and you won’t last long if it’s not something you are passionate about! As a professional it’s a super challenging job, so doing it because you love it makes it that much easier. What events are you riding in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games? Has the road team got a good chance? I have skipped the time trial, as it takes place only four days after the Tour finishes in Paris. Instead I’ve put all my eggs in one basket and I will only start the road race which takes place a week after Paris on Sunday August 3. Our team has been weakened slightly in recent weeks as some of my teammates have been pulled with injury/fatigue or other commitments from their professional teams. However, I think we have a great chance. We have a renowned sprinter in Hendy [Greg Henderson] should the race come down to a bunch kick, and if another scenario plays out I will be riding for the result myself. If you could invite any six people to dinner, who would you invite and what would you serve them? I’m a bit of a muso, or I was, playing a bit of bass back in the day! I’d probably invite my favourite bass players, Flea from the Chillies, Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne, Justin Chancellor from Tool, P-nut from 311 and a couple comedians to lighten the mood! Maybe Will Ferrell as I think he’s the funniest guy in the world and Ricky Gervais!