We caught up with Peter Kennaugh and put your twitter questions to him on the Giro d’Italia rest day.
Team Sky star answers your questions
After three hard days of racing at the Giro d’Italia we caught up with Peter Kennaugh and put your twitter questions to him on the rest day.
The Manxman has been heavily involved in the race at his second Giro appearance and third Grand Tour start, making up part of a superb lead-out train which launched Mark Cavendish to victory on stage two.
Coming off the track after being part of the record-breaking four-man GB team pursuit squad which took World Championship gold in Melbourne, Kennaugh is now looking to get some hard kilometres in his legs as he builds towards London 2012.
From the team’s rest day base in Verona the 22-year-old fearlessly answered your questions. Here’s what he had to say...
Question time
Diego Moreno (@morediego1980) - Who is the biggest joker on Team Sky?
Pete Kennaugh: There’s a lot on this race! It’s a tough one. You’ve got Cav who is a bit of a joker to be honest. Jez [Hunt] is probably the biggest. He’s funny because he doesn’t try to be, but Cav is always ripping people and joking around at the dinner table.
April Taylor (@AprilET) - Noticed that you guys cycle with the MotoGP & Superbike riders, could any of them have made it as a cyclist?
PK: It’s always difficult to say. But I’ve been out with Cal Crutchlow quite a bit and he can give you a hard time definitely. He’s got a good sprint on him. He’s funny about it because he goes on about how his motor biking is ruining his cycling career. He does go pretty well to be fair.
takethepics (@takethepics) - What's the calorific burn on a day in the mountains and how do you eat enough?
PK: That’s a personal thing for each rider but I’d say for me it’s probably about 4-5000kcal. In terms of eating enough I don’t really do anything special. You just do what you do at any other stage - have a good carbohydrate meal on an evening, have a good breakfast then just snack throughout the race. If you blow or your legs go then unlucky really!
Mark Fogg (@lefogg38) - Is there a pecking order at dinner time or is it just a free for all?
PK: Well we have Søren [Kristiansen] here our chef. He always looks after us. There’s always a set starter which is set out when you come in for dinner. Everyone just sits down and has that and then there’s a buffet. But because it’s only for the nine riders there’s never a stress and it’s really laid back at dinner. It’s the main time when we all get to have a good chat, a joke around and sort of try and forget you are at a bike race.
Joshua Haycock (@JoshwaHaycock) - After winning World Championship team pursuit gold in 2012 do you have anything else u want to win like a stage in the TdF etc?
PK: I think looking on to next year it would be nice to try and get a result in the Ardennes Classics. They are special races and suited to my style. It would also be good to go to a Grand Tour and look at trying to get some sort of result on a stage.
Round Wheels (@RoundWheels87) - After all that track training, are you afraid of the upcoming mountain stages?
PK: Not really because I can sort of naturally climb anyway. I’ll always be alright getting over the climbs in the back group. Because they come quite a bit later on in the race I’m feeling better each day so hopefully by then I’ll have a bit more rhythm and some decent form.
That’s usually the way it goes. This time around it’s been a lot more stressful in the sprint stages helping Cav out. Last year I was cruising round in the bunch on the sprint stages which obviously leaves you a lot fresher for the hillier days. But this year we have to be at the front and around Cav to protect him. We’ll have to see about the hillier stages later on but hopefully I shouldn’t have a problem.
soley (@soleyy) - What's your favourite thing to do on a Grand Tour rest day?
PK: Rest!
There’s not a lot to do really. Just trying to switch off from the race. Speak to family and friends, eat and put your feet up really. It’s just nice to be out of the peloton for a day.
Rob Griffin (@robgriffin247) - Most enjoyable road/route you've ever ridden on? Most stunning view you've seen on a bike ride?
PK: That’s a tough one. I think when I went up Alpe-d’Huez in the Dauphine in 2010. That was pretty spectacular up there. I went over a lot of mountains in the Giro last year but I can’t really remember any of them to be honest. I had my eyes in the back of my head climbing! That Alpe-d’Huez stage stands out.
Andrew Sargeant (@ajvjsarge) - Is it distracting/noisy having a TV helicopter follow you round for the major races?
PK: No not at all. You sort of notice it when it first comes and then you totally forget about it. You are just so busy concentrating and have so much on your mind that the last thing you notice is the noise from the helicopter. You’re so in the zone.
Jason Billett (@basonjillett) - What is your favourite cheese?
PK: I’ve got two. Parmesan and Mozzarella. And I love them!
Eileen Clarke (@eilo99) - What do you miss most about the IOM when you are away?
PK: My girlfriend and my family.
In terms of the roads for training - I had two weeks on the road after the worlds and it’s just how hard it is there. It’s so rolling and there are no real flat routes. You can’t get away with training easy over there basically. So whatever you are doing you are going to be getting the most out of yourself and you do get really good form training there. I also notice in the winter as well that I don’t seem to lose my form too badly and it must be because the rides that I do are actually quite hard without realising – which is a good thing.
Phoebe Dickinson (@pbabirye) - So many cyclists seem to be addicted to coffee at the moment. Are you that kind of man and if so what floats your caffeine boat?
PK: Yeah I’m fully addicted to coffee at the moment. I usually just have an espresso. Or I have a cappuccino if I know it’s going to be a good one. There’s nothing worse than a bad cappuccino but there’s nothing better than a good one. If I know a place where there’s going to be a good cappuccino I’ll have that but if not I’ll stick to an espresso. There’s nothing better than stopping off for a coffee stop out training.
But I tell you what this team goes through some coffee! At this Giro I’ve never seen anything like it. I think Jez must have had about six before two o’clock today!
Ashley Blood (@blondy232323) - Is Ian Stannard a real person or is Team Sky’s tech that good they produced the cycling version of the Terminator?
PK: No he’s not. I thought he was a real person until the first road stage here. That was incredible! He just brought the three guys back on his own. BMC rode at first and then Stannard went up. At one point everyone stopped riding apart from us. I mean he literally single-handedly brought a three-man break back.
Allie Ewan (@AllieEwan) - What do you think of when the pain barrier arrives in the mountains to keep the wheels turning?
PK: Just getting back to the bus at the end of the stage. That’s all I think about! The warmth and the comfort of the Team Sky bus. There’s nothing better than after a stage, stepping through the door and knowing it’s over so you can relax.
Hollie Fudge (@FudgeHollie) - What's your favourite meal after training? (Because I can cook it for you)! Good luck for the rest of year :)
PK: Another tough one. I’m just a lover of all foods. Sometimes when I get home I whip up avocado, mozzarella and pesto just quickly. That’s nice and refreshing.
Thomas Guns (@GunsThomas) - Is it a big advantage to have some track skills in the peloton and will you ever return to Ghent for a six day race?
PK: In terms of the track stuff I’ve been doing in the team pursuit it’s not all that helpful for riding in a peloton. Team pursuiting is so straight-lined. If you do too much of that and don’t touch the road you do lose some skills and the feeling of how the bunch moves and rolls around. But being in this team you have to get that back quickly. Maybe doing something like a six day or a madison does give you good awareness skills. The team pursuit definitely helps with your top end speed. So if you need to move up the outside of the bunch to move up a few positions, or sprinting into and out of a corner - you definitely notice that from riding the track.
And will I ever do Ghent six day? I’d say possibly. I’d definitely like to do a pro six day in the near future. Whether it be Ghent or somewhere else.
Keep an eye out for more Q+A sessions in the future on Team Sky’s Facebook and twitter pages. You can also follow Pete on twitter at @Petekennaugh
