The Boz- The interview

CNO Cycling caught up with Ian Boswell on his Tenerife training camp with Team Sky. Currently in training for his first Giro d'Italia where he will ride in support of Mikel Landa. "The Boz" took some time to talk to us about Training camps, Safety in the peloton and his buddies in Nice.

'My Dad used to do professional triathlon and cycling back in the 80's, so cycling was really part of my life from the start' Ian says of his introduction to the sport. 'I used to do loads of sports: Soccer, American Football, Skiing and snowboarding and the like. But cycling was really big in my hometown from the start.' Ian grew up in the town of Bend, Oregon on the west coast of the United States where the outdoors really became his life. 'I got into BMX and Mountain Biking and at the age of 12 got onto the road bike.'

I then asked Ian about who he enjoys to spend his time with when in his hometown of Nice. 'there's actually a really good group of guys who I ride with in Nice, there's actually quite a few Americans who live there; Joe Dombrowski, Larry Warbasse and Tejay Van Garderen. In terms of Sky it's probably Pete Kennuagh and a bunch of them live in Monaco so we just meet up with them there.' Ian also spends a lot more of his time now on Team Sky training camps, like the one he spent with Chris Froome in South Africa earlier this year. When asked about how that camp was, Ian replies with 'Yeah, it definitely showed me how much I've come on as a rider. A few years ago there's no way I would have been able to do that, but it showed i have a higher level of fitness.' Ian speaks very highly of Chris's ambition and mental drive with his training, saying ' To see the continual work of a great champion like Chris is definitely inspirational.' Ian is currently in Tenerife with Nicolas Roche, Wout Poels, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. 'The atmosphere is definitely different from South Africa, I'd say it's more specific and there are more staff here so it's more focused.' When asked about his relationships with his teammates, he speaks highly of them all. 'There all great guys, I mean look at the success they've all had.' 'Geraint was massive in Paris-Nice and he worked super hard for that and Chris has won two tours, so its pretty elite company.'

Many cyclists struggle with the off-season but Ian has his past times which he has loved since he was a kid. 'I've loved the outdoors since i was a kid. Fishing, Hunting and Hiking are really my favorite things to do in the off season and that's probably what i miss most when i'm off racing in Europe.' Ian also is a prolific user of Strava which you can find here https://www.strava.com/pros/262535 and says that when he's training by himself, he uses this as motivation to better himself on segments and gradually tracking his progress on the popular platform. 

With recent events in the peloton like the death of Antoine Demoitie, I asked Ian about how he feels about the safety of the peloton. 'I think lots of riders can make life easier for themselves. Lots of people make big efforts to get into gaps that aren't there and cause crashes. Also many riders don't have any respect for the motorbikes. They could make life easier for themselves by moving over for the camera bikes.' Ian has a similar view to Chris Opie in that this isn't all the fault of the Motorbike riders. ' I think there could be a better system in which the riders are told on race radio that there are motorbikes coming through at this time and you have to move out if the way.' 

Lastly we'd like to say thank you to Ian for the opportunity to interview him and good luck for the season!

                                                                                              

Scott Mitchell @modcyclingphoto

Chris Opie Interview

Chris Opie is one of the top British pro's in the peloton at the moment, and the ONE Pro Cycling rider took some time to talk to us about how its going.
Chris Opie has a palmares ranging from stages in the Tour of Libya to the Stockton Grand Prix. Opie was a young bloomer, starting racing at the age of 10 years old 'It was always there' he says 'it was always something i wanted to do.' Chris went on racing from there and started to realise he could make it as a teenager. Despite this, Chris had to endure a few years of hurt after having multiple different crashes and injuries. 'My biggest setback was in the years when I was 19,20. I couldn't really get back to the level i was at when i was 18 (before the crashes and setbacks).' This eventually paid off for Chris, as he got his first pro contract with Team UK Youth in 2012 and then moving to the Rapha Condor-JLT squad in 2014.

When asked about his long term goals, Chris remains very humble claiming that he just wants to 'get the best out of himself' and 'be a good father.' He is however a lot more than a 'good father', with 24th in the Handzame Classic and a crash ruling him out of the Three Days Of De Panne. Chris goes next to the Volta Limburg Classic where he will be riding with the likes of Marcin Bialoblocki and Matt Goss for the ONE Pro cycling squad. When asked about what ONE has done for him, Chris comments on the positive environment of the squad. 'I feel as though they have helped me hugely, its a really positive environment with a race program that suits me.' The race program has improved greatly since the team became Pro Continental.'also the facilities that the team offers are wonderful and i feel that gives me the opportunity to get the results.'

After recent events we felt it appropriate to ask Chris to comment on the safety of the riders in the peloton. 'Lots of it has to do with the riders common sense, lots of riders fight for positions that they dont need too.' Chris comments on this after having a nasty crash in the three days of De Panne. 'Also the race organizers can help with the route. For example in the tour of De Panne there were tram tracks in the middle of the road which you couldn't really avoid.' Many riders feel the same way, as so called 'road furniture' has caused many crashes in the peloton and are probably more dangerous than the motorbikes and the neutral service cars.

This year Chris plans to take assault on the National Championships in Stockton and after his win on the circuit last year in the Stockton GP and his powerful sprint, he is definitely amongst the favorites.

Lastly we'd just like to say thank you to Chris for doing this interview with us and good luck for the season!