Luke Rowe Tour de France 2015 Week 2

It’s the end of the second week of the 2015 Tour de France, which has taken Luke 69 hours, 57 minutes and 14 seconds to complete 2654.5km. That leaves ‘only’ 705.5km to the finish line in Paris.

 

Luke has averaged 37.9kmh for the first two weeks of the Tour. To put the speed of the race in to context;

– The first two weeks have been run at roughly 164 x 25:30 minute 10 mile time trial pace.

– The final 10 miles of Stage 15 (which was flat), was completed in 19 minutes and 12 seconds.

 

So it’s no wonder when Luke was asked ‘How are the legs’, his response was ‘tired’. Tired, Luke’s legs may be, but he is loving every second of his first Tour de France experience. Well almost every second…

There were an unfortunate few stages where Luke, Froome and Porte were targeted and had urine thrown over them, were punched and spat at, along with a barrage of verbal abuse. These unfortunate incidents aside, it’s all good in the Team Sky camp.

Here are a few Q&A’s with Luke, on his way to the hotel which hosts the second rest day for the Tour.

Q – ‘Luke Rowe Tour de France’ – Give us three words to describe the second week of your first Tour?

A – I have already used ‘Fast, Exciting, Successful’ for the first week, which all still apply. However ill give you three new ones for week 2; ‘Eventful, Relentless, Rewarding’.

Q – What has been the hardest moment of the second week?

A – The mountain stages are all solid. Personally I have a job to do, which generally involves riding on the front a lot. Stage 12 was probably the toughest stage though, where me and Yogi (Ian Stannard) had to cover all the early attacks to ensure we only let the right one go, and then control the time gap. We rode on the front for most of the first 140km – basically done a 2-up time trial together.

Q – Are you thinking about Paris yet?

A – I try to take each day one at a time, and sort of view each stage as a one-day race, where I do my job 100% and don’t think about the next until my job is done. As soon as my job is done for the day, I sling the anchor out and just get to the finish, and then start to think about recovering that evening, and what the next day might potentially have in store.

That said – I can’t help but think about what it may be like to reach Paris with Froomey still in Yellow. It’s a dream for now, but one that I can’t deny becomes a step closer every day.

Q – Any crazy or scary moments during week 2?

A – There are loads, which the cameras don’t show. Every day there are close calls. G had a bad bump today coming down the final descent where he hit his head on a post.

Q – What’s the plan for the second rest day?

A – Bike ride, Media, Eat, Sleep, Massage and more eating.

Q – What is morale in Team Sky like at the moment?

A – Sky-high baby! I just look around and think ‘this is epic. I’m living the dream’.

Q – Do you notice the British / Welsh fans out on the course?

A – I dont think I have missed spotting many Welsh flags. My eyes kind of home in on them, even on the flatter, faster stages. There has been so many Welsh flags out on the course, its surreal. For a relatively small country, we represent well at the Tour. Its hugely appreciated to, especially in the mountains where your suffering.

 

Photos: Bryn Lennon/Getty