Cannondale Chairside Chats: Michel Koch (part three)

Here’s the final part of our chat with Cannondale Pro Cycling Pro Michel Koch. In part one we discussed his cycling heritage, while in part two we discussed his favourite races. Today we talk about t-shirts, the team and much, much more……………..

G4: Riders spend a lot of time in their team casual wear, so what are important considerations for you?

MK: For me the most important thing is that if you wear it you feel good. It must feel relaxed, not too tight, that’s not relaxing. It must make you feel good and, for sure, you want it to look good because everyone sees you in these clothes. So, yes, you want to feel good and look good! Of course, it’s the staff who spend all their time in the team casual wear and they want to look nice too.

G4: Absolutely! How do you typically spend your downtime?

MK: When I have free time I try to learn Italian because I’m part of a team where a lot of the riders and staff speak Italian. If you to be part of this team you must make an effort to speak Italian but you can’t do it all the time. Most evenings, I lie on the bed, watch TV and speak with my family.

G4: Typically who do you share a room with?

MK: A different rider every race and this is really important to get to know all the riders on the team and help with team building. If you’re always sharing with a different rider, it feels like you’re part of one big family.

G4: So are all your team mates also neat and tidy roommates?

MK: Yes, it’s important. All the time there’s two people in a small hotel room so it’s good that you don’t make a lot of mess otherwise you can’t walk around the room or do your work. So you have to be tidy.

G4: You’re a tall slim guy, how do you maintain your racing weight?

MK: Of course, you must be careful what you eat. You can’t eat sugar or fat things, like pizza, all the time. But sometimes you must eat what you want because you can’t always say I can’t eat or drink this. It’s too hard so it’s good to enjoy yourself and eat what you want sometime, but not all the time when you mostly have to watch what you eat. After hard training it’s important to eat good things. It’s dangerous if you don’t watch what you eat.

G4: You speak English really well.

MK: I leant English for ten years at school but when we’re in other countries we mostly have to speak English and so I have to give thanks to my English teacher.

G4: Any other languages?

MK: No, just Italian but maybe if I can learn Italian then it will be easier to learn another one.

We wish you all the best for the forthcoming races, particularly the Ardennes Classics.

Links: Part one, Part two