Q&A: Jack Barrett (Team Bikehaus)

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The Q & A features continue with a chat to Scotland’s Jack Barrett (Team Bikehaus) who blames Mark Cavendish for getting him into racing

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Q&A: Jack Barrett (Team Bikehaus)

1. When will you start your road season and what will be the first race?
Jack: I’ll be racing the Clayton Spring Classic.

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2. What races will be your targets for 2016 and why?
Jack: My main focus is on the Elite series this year. They are very high level races but are also accessible to most racers so act as a brilliant stepping stone in my progression towards competing at a UCI level internationally.

I got a brief taste of the Elite series last year, so know how brutal they can be, but this year I am confident of getting consistent top 10’s by the end of the season.

3. How will you spend the time on the bike between now and your first race in training?
Jack: I’ve just finished my last big block of training for the winter, culminating in our team training camp out in Barcelona, where we got a good mix of long days and hard race pace efforts. So I’ll have an easier week this week, I’ll throw in some sprints to keep the legs sharp, but mostly steady spins and plenty of stretching.

Then heading into March, I will be trying to keep the volume down and really focus on quality high end workouts. I’m a big diesel engine naturally so I find I don’t need the miles others do, but quality efforts and plenty of rest really brings on my form.

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4. What was your favourite Xmas present?
Jack: My family doesn’t really go in for the big Christmas with piles of presents to be honest. We do a secret Santa with a max of a tenner. I got a cracking book of Cyclings craziest short story’s from my gran, that’s been pretty entertaining.

5. When it rains, which its doing a lot right now, is it turbo time or wrap up and get wet?
Jack: I spend as little time on the turbo as I can get away with. I tend not to go out in the dark or if it’s really really windy but rain never stops me getting out.

Best tip to stay dry is to accept your gonna get wet. Wear more clothes than you think your going to need. I tend to start with a couple layers unzipped already so when I start getting cold a couple of hours in, I’ve got the option to zip up and keep warm. Velotoze have helped me out with some of their over shoes as well, they are game changers!

6. If you could do any race in the world including the best ones in the world etc, what would it be and why?
Jack: I’m not picky so I’d take a place in any of the world tour races. If I had to pick one tho it would be Milan San Remo, I love long races and when I was just getting into cycling I got given the DVD of Cavendish winning in 2009. I would sit on the turbo every night and watch the same race over and over again. It was so inspirational seeing a fairly normal looking British bloke winning such an iconic race. I definitely have that DVD to blame for getting into racing!

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7. What piece of food can you not do without where ever you are on the road during the season!
Jack: Anything with cookies in the name and I’m sold!

8. What is your favourite music track when warming up for a race or on the turbo?
Jack: I used to do turbo sessions solely to Arctic Monkeys, Favorite Worst Nightmare, so that usually gets me in the zone!

9. If given the option, would you prefer normal brakes or disc brakes on your road bike?
Jack:Never tried discs on the road, but can’t think of a time in a race when I would’ve needed them. Maybe a set on the winter bike would be useful tho, I’m going through brake pads rapidly with this weather!

10. What’s the spec of your race bike for 2016 and your favourite bits on it?
Jack:On Shimano Ultegra this year, which is as good as it gets in my opinion. I’ve been really impressed with the power tap pedals I have been using this winter, they would take some beating!

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