Pros at play
The off-season is a chance for the stars of the peloton to hang up their bibshorts and indulge in some different pastimes. Felix Lowe finds out what they get up to
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An enforced two-week quarantine on entering Australia gave Cyrus Monk the chance to showcase his talent: the 24-year-old Aussie saxophonist once won the U23 nationals while studying for a major in physiology. But if the fruits from his hotel isolation were anything to go by, there’s much more to his armoury than cycling, sax and science.
Monk revealed himself to be a veritable renaissance man by combining hotel utensils (plastic cutlery, sachets of sugar, doors, drawers, a steaming iron) and his own falsetto, harmonica and a mini recorder to perform stonking cover versions of anything from Fatboy Slim to A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’. The Continental rider for Evopro Racing sure lived up to his Twitter bio as a ‘cyclist with a few side hustles on the go’, and he’s not the only one. If Monk ever makes the Worldtour he could join a super-band that would put Bradley Wiggins’ strumming with Paul Weller firmly in the shade.
Nicola Conci and Joris Nieuwenhuis could duel on guitar with George Bennett covering solos and the high stuff. They’d march to the beat of Julian Alaphilippe’s drums while Daniel Oss taps out tempo on the bass. Take your pick of two piano virtuosos – Chad Haga or Domenico
Pozzovivo – on keys, while Laurens De Vreisse proved his front-man credentials on that Astana rap. Mikel Landa could even make the odd foray on the accordion, provided his bandmates can handle the concertina effect…
Of course, why imagine when you can already have the real thing: Chris Juul-jensen plays drums in a band called The Broom Wagon with EF Pro Cycling director Matti Breschel and the Danish national coach, Anders Lund. The Broom Wagon, incidentally, is the name of Robert Gesink’s Bianchi celeste coffee cart, which he runs out of Girona.
Food, fun and fantasy role play
Coffee, if you hadn’t noticed, is a big thing in cycling. Ex-pro Christian Meier has a coffee empire in Girona and Koen de Kort a cafe in Andorra, while Michael Albasini imports beans on the side.
Food, too, is popular among the calorie-counting cyclists. Gianni Moscon helps out on his family’s apple farm, Ivan Basso is big in the blueberry business, and Dario Cioni makes olive oil. Like Greg Lemond, the Schleck brothers are keen fishermen – although neither Andy nor Frank has followed the American and opened up a restaurant.
On the artistic side, Dario Cataldo is an avid painter who takes his watercolours to races. Once nicknamed Picasso by his directeur sportif, the Italian admits he has more admiration for Banksy. Like Fausto Coppi before him, Edvald Boasson Hagen is a keen photographer, while Rohan Dennis is addicted to Lego.
While his 7,500-piece Millennium Falcon is still in its box, Dennis has models of London Bridge, Big Ben and the Sydney Opera House at home, as well as a range of combi vans, planes and race cars. Some riders prefer the real thing: Paolo Bettini emulated Louison Bobet by gaining a pilot’s licence, Laurens ten Dam goes on camping adventures in his VW van, while Tom Boonen and Óscar Freire have raced cars in retirement.
Tom Simpson was a petrolhead in his day. When he first moved to France, Mister Tom lived with fellow Brit Brian Robinson where there was a table, two chairs, a fridge, a bed to share – and a brand-new Aston Martin parked outside. It’s no wonder he ended up riding for Peugeot.
Some riders are happy to take things in the slow lane – most notably Belgians Tim Declercq and Yves Lampaert, who are tractor obsessives. But did you know that the Deceuninck-quickstep duo are dedicated World of Warcraft gamers? It may explain why Declercq is so ruthless in killing off breakaways.
It would be remiss not to mention Thibaut Pinot and his goats, Marzio Bruseghin and his donkeys or Alberto Contador’s canaries. And Belgian potshot Nathan Van Hooydonck must be the only cyclist who wouldn’t complain if the snooker overran on Eurosport.
Having hobbies is hardly a new thing. On top of being a womaniser and gastronome, Jacques Anquetil was intrigued by astronomy and once met cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Raymond Poulidor may have always been eternally second to his star-gazing nemesis, but the Frenchman was a card player par excellence. Louis Trousselier was less successful when it came to gambling: the winner of the third Tour de France infamously lost his entire race winnings one evening playing dice.
But Trousselier had other tricks up his sleeve. A keen practical joker, he would often interrupt training for lavish lunches with a teammate. When it came to paying they would pretend to argue over who was the best rider, then ask the restaurateur to settle things by naming a local landmark for them to race to and from. Whoever came last would pay the bill – and you can guess the rest. I’d bet my bottom dollar that Lemond wouldn’t fall for that trick.
It would be remiss not to mention Thibaut Pinot and his goats, Marzio Bruseghin and his donkeys or Alberto Contador’s canaries