Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2019 Tour de France | 2019 Giro d'Italia

I do benefits for all religions - I'd hate to blow the hereafter on a technicality. - Bob Hope

Current Racing:

• April 6-11: Vuelta al Pais Vasco
• April 7-10: Circuit Cycliste Sarthe-Pays de la Loire

Upcoming racing:

• April 8: Scheldeprijs

Latest completed racing:

• April 5: Ronde van Vlaanderen
• April 5: La Roue Tourangelle
• April 4: GP Miguel Indurain
• April 4: Volta Limburg Classic
• April 3: Route Adélie de Vitré
• April 1 - 4: Giro di Sicilia
• April 1: Dwars door Vlaanderen
• March 23-29: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
• March 29: Gent-Wevelgem
• March 29: Cholet-Pays de Loire
• March 28: Classic Loire Atlantique
• March 27: E3 BinckBank Classic

---

A new book: "The Curse of the Rainbow"

BikeRaceInfo contributor René Preuthun, who worked so hard to find a lot of the vintage Tour de France route maps on our site, has just released at book (in Danish) about the troubles cycling's World Championship Rainbow Jersey brings its owners.

Here's the striking cover:

Below are short summaries about the book in both English and Danish:

First Danish:

Regnbuens Forbandelse – den sandfærdige historie om en forhekset cykeltrøje, er fortællingen om 20 verdensmestre, som alle fik at mærke, at VM-trøjen ikke bragte dem noget held.

Tværtimod!

Mød, blandt andre, mestre som Coppi, Ockers, Baldini, Beheyt, Simpson, Ottenbros, Monseré, Maertens, Roche, Leblanc, Brochard, Astarloa og Ballan, som alle fik Forbandelsen at mærke.

And now English:

The Curse Of The Rainbow – the true story of a bewitched cycling jersey, is the story of 20 world champions, who all learned, that the rainbow jersey didn’t bring them any luck.

On the contrary!

Meet, among others, Coppi, Ockers, Baldini, Beheyt, Simpson, Ottenbros, Monseré, Maertens, Roche, Leblanc, Brochard, Astarloa and Ballan whom all came to know The Curse the hard way.

Jumbo-Visma rider Amund Grøndahl Jansen talks about life with racing shut down

The team posted this interview:

How are you?
I am doing well, thank you, and so is my family. I am currently in Andorra. It is unfortunate, of course, to be inside all the time and not being able to do what we love doing most: racing bikes. Everyone’s health is beyond paramount. Hopefully the situation will be under control soon and we can get out again in the near future.

Amund Jensen winning stage three of the 2019 ZLM Tour.

What do your workouts and training look like at the moment?
Due to the government restrictions I am currently unable to train outside here in Andorra. We are in a lockdown. Therefore I do all my training rides on the Tacx, with Zwift as a simulation program. I ride twice a day, one or two hours, with different intensity. Sometimes I participate in a Zwift race and at other times I take it easy. I also participate in the Norwegian Cup on Zwift of which the next race is ‪next Tuesday at 8 pm (‪20:00 CET). It also depends on how I feel and how deep I want to go every day. In principle, anything is possible on the Tacx. In order to train properly at home, I turned the guest room into my training room. There I can leave the door to the balcony open, so that I get enough fresh air to breathe.

How do you get on with your days?
Next to my daily training, I follow the news a bit for the latest developments. Both here in Andorra and in my home country Norway. In addition, I watch some movies and TV series. Furthermore, we do very little. I also try to practice yoga with my girlfriend, who is a physiotherapist, every other day.

Such a long period without racing also has an effect on you mentally. How do you motivate yourself?
For me it is a good motivation to know that we will be allowed to start racing again someday. That alone really motivates me. I really want to ride outside, but unfortunately we can’t because of the circumstances. Furthermore, being at home is not that different from normal. I am not the person who can sit still all day, so jumping on the Tacx and do my training is no problem for me.

Which series or movies do you watch at the moment?
I am going to start the third season of the Norwegian series Vikingane soon. The first two seasons were broadcast on Netflix in English, under the name of Norsemen. It is about a group of Vikings who live in the town of Norheim around the year 790. The third season is not yet available on Netflix. Only in Norwegian on the Norwegian channel NRK. The best series I’ve watched is the first season of Westworld. That was really exciting.

Which songs do you play on your playlist by default?
When I train outside, I never really listen to music. I do not like that. That’s for safety reasons. Otherwise you won’t hear the upcoming traffic properly. During my training on the Tacx or while Zwifting, I regularly listen to music. Scooter in particular is nice to listen to, although you get a bit tired of it after an hour. When I am doing easier rides, I usually listen to Pink Floyd or something in that genre.

Do you have any tips for people to stay fit?
Keep training and stay busy. That is my best tip, but that is obvious. If you have something to do, the days will pass more quickly. In order to find motivation at all if you do not like training in principle and/or hardly any sport, I would try to set a goal to lift you over that threshold. If necessary with a reward system for yourself.

What is your favourite dish?
I don’t often make a specific dish. It is more freestyling with what is in the fridge. Especially in these times that is actually more of an art and also a bit special because you try to go to the supermarket as little as possible. I really love pizza. Especially pizza Napolitana. However, I have not yet been able to find the proper yeast in the supermarket to make it at home.

What other sports do you like?
Here in Andorra I love to do randonee skiing in the winter. I also like running in the mountains. I am quite afraid of heights, so therefore I get out of my comfort zone very easily. So doing things like this is quite exciting for me. In Norway I like to go cross-country skiing and mountain biking is also a lot of fun. I rarely watch sports from the couch.

What is your favourite game?
I never really play games at home. Only when we are on training camp with the team I sometimes play FIFA with the boys on the PlayStation. But I have to tell you that I am very bad at it and that I never can last long.

Which apps on your phone are running in overtime?
The apps that run the most overtime for me are mainly Instagram, yr.no (weather forecast) and the news. Zwift companion has also been working overtime for the last two to three weeks.

What is your guilty pleasure?
I actually have two: chocolate with sea salt and ensaimada with hot chocolate. Ensaimada is a coffee pastry. In November and December, during my long endurance rides, I often stop for an ensaimada with hot chocolate when it’s cold.

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary