An Interview with Team ELBOWZ Manager, Stefan Rothe
An Interview with Team ELBOWZ Manager, Stefan Rothe
What got you into riding and what was your first bike?
How do you fuel for a long ride? What about in a crit?
I try to stay on top of my hydration (H20) during training and will sometimes eat a bar, banana, piece of pecan pie or taco towards the end of a ride. For a 60-75min Crit usually just liquids and a gel before and 3/4 into the race.
What type of training do you do outside of cycling?
Well, to be honest, I think I'm too much of a cyclist to do too many other sports. But, I do run regularly during the month of October through January and also do some core/strength training. Back when I used to race track a lot I'd do some specific strength/conditioning training with a local coach here. I learned over the years when other sports/non-cycling training starts to impact my cycling performance in a negative way to stop and just focus on cycling.
Recovery tips you’ve found to be helpful?
Don't stop "cold turkey" after a race. If you got ~20min to spin out the legs your body will be thankful and you'll feel better the next day. Proper recovery is often overlooked when it comes to performance, training, etc.
Advice for people looking to get fast?
Cycling is a hard sport. It's normal that a long ride or hard workout feels tough. It's never easy but if you stick with it you'll get better/faster. We do a lot of races each year and 9 out of 10 times you don't win or podium so you gotta stay hungry, focus on improvement and eventually you'll get that win.
Rim brakes or disc? Why?
Disc brake for crits, gravel, and road for sure! Once you go from rim to hydro disc brakes you don't want to go back (unless you're going for that long uphill KOM where weight actually matters.) On the TT bike I stick with rim brakes, though. Disc brakes won't make you go faster!