Interview – Rob Partridge

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One of the longest serving riders in the British peloton, 29 year old Rob Partridge who is filled with confidence because of the support from his team NFTO

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Interview – Rob Partridge

There is a picture of Rob at the first Tour of Britain way back in 2004 when he was still a teenager and the Welsh rider is still one of the leading pros in the peloton. Winner last year of the Jock Wadley, which he’s riding in 2015, Rob is one of the new riders in NFTO.

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“I spoke with John (Wood) as long ago as the road nationals as it was probably my ride there that kind of got my name out there and a chance of moving to a better team. We have always spoken at races and did so a month or so after and we agreed pretty early on which was nice”.

“The year before was so last minute, I didn’t want to be in that situation again. It was nice to have something sorted with one of the most successful teams and also with the best support”.

Rob has ridden for many a UCI team, something that has allowed him to do well in the Tour of Britain, being the leading British rider overall not so long ago, and he admits he would not want to be in a smaller team. “I am 29 and have been around on the UK scene for quite a while so am I fairly realistic with my targets. With this team, there are no excuses and no reasons we can’t meet our targets”.

“I know most of the riders on the team and have ridden for Pov before (UK Youth). Everyone is nice here and approachable and I like to think I am too. We have got some young guys here as well and I’m looking to pass on my knowledge to them”.

Rob was still a teenager when he first rode the Tour of Britain so knows the pressures on the young shoulders of riders like Eddie Dunbar and Joe Wiltshire who have just emerged from the junior ranks to ride for a high profile team such as NFTO. Rob has got to train a lot with Eddie as they both live in the team house and is impressed by the Irish youngster.

“It’s nice training with Eddie and we go toe to toe on the flat and small hills but put him on something steep and he’s really impressive. I know the difference now between seeing something nice and then being lost for words. The way he can get over some climbs round here is unreal”.

Rob is also impressed with the team house which has a gym, Jacuzzi and sauna and room for plenty of riders. “My favourite kit is the Jacuzzi but the house is great. It is setup for cyclists with little things like a big kitchen and a set up for washing your bikes that makes it so easy. That can only help the recovery better and I can focus on the cycling and my job”.

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2014
Rob says the RAS in Ireland was a good race for him in 2014. “I could tell my condition was pretty good. I love racing my bike and I went there and was getting in breaks. A couple of days we got caught and others we stayed away but I had a podium and top 10”.

“The road nationals was also a race I targeted as well and I knew the roads were really hilly. I was at race weight just before and dropped a bit more for it by just knocking out gluten and really benefited from that. I finished 7th and was in a world of pain in the race so much I didn’t know where I’d finished when I crossed the line. It was Lamps (Steve Lampier) who came over and told me and I was chuffed. When you look at the guys who were in front and behind as well”.

“The Tour of Britain was good for me too. I can go really well off the back of training because I can get up in the morning and whatever the weather, push myself quite hard. So whilst we didn’t have the racing coming into it, I did go out to G’s (Geraint Thomas) place in Monaco and trained with him”.

“He was just ticking over and I wanted to push it so we compromised!”

“Day 2 in the Tour of Britain was the target as the race was in Wales going past my home village. I just woke up with the tactic of going with everything. It wasn’t a case of timing stuff; I just put my balls on the line and went with everything. Unfortunately it took a while for it to go and I put myself in a box getting in the break but it was good”.

“That was a nice moment, going past my dad on the side of the road in the break!”

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2015 with NFTO
The season kicks off for Rob in the Severn Bridge Road Race and he and the team have been busy. A few weeks back, Matt from the team brought the Retul bike fitting kit to the house and helped a few of the riders tweak their positions on their bikes.

“It was the first time I have done that and we made some nice tweaks to the bike. We have time here and the resources to do it so after a season on a different bike, it was good to make sure everything was right on the new one”.

“I have set some goals loosely for 2015 but we’ve yet to discuss the race programme in depth. One of the season targets would be to first find out whether we are in the Tour of Yorkshire and if we do, that would be a major target; to make the team for that race”.

That’s no surprise as Rob spent many years in Leeds and so knows the area well but he adds “I want to hit the season rolling. I have done a lot this winter, probably more than in previous years because I have had time to do the long miles and so have got a lot in the bank. It’s a nice foundation to build on”.

“Courtney (Rowe, the coach) and me are discussing ideas and have started doing some specific work like my sprint and other things like that. So hopefully I can go to the training camp in better shape than normal for an overload phase and polish the form up”.

“I find it easier to hold race condition instead of trying to chase it during it the season”.

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Winning the Wadley in 2014.

Rob is not only confident having such support behind him but also in the knowledge the team have a such a star such as Steele Von Hoff coming into the squad. “It fills us with confidence knowing we can go to race with some one like Steele especially if there is the opportunity of it being a sprint.”

“We have a winner there and we have a strong team to back him up. For me, it’s similar to 2010 when we had Jack Bauer come into the squad I was with. We knew he was a strong rider based on what he had done in the past and he proved he was strong. I think Steele will enjoy it and it’s ideal for him.”

“The speed of the races is getting faster and the profile of them getting bigger. When I first started, a hard man would win the race. Like one of my first races was the Mersey two day and the strong riders were winning but now there is more control and more teams with a lot of depth in them. So if the break doesn’t have a rider from each team in the race, then you have even the non UCI teams bringing it back”.

“There was one race last year where Pedal Heaven missed it and brought it back and that was impressive”.

“The margin between winning a losing is minuscule, so here there is nothing left to chance. We have the support in massage, equipment, nutrition, training with the motorbike and car etc. This is what it’s about and what so many others are doing so if you don’t, you’re on the back foot. We’re looking at everything and it helps the confidence knowing you are doing everything you can”.

Good luck to Rob at Seven Bridge and beyond during 2015.

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