Interview – Russell ‘Big Power’ Hampton

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With a new team and new job with Bioracer, Russell Hampton is looking forward to a season of time trialling and road racing in 2015

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Interview – Russell ‘Big Power’ Hampton

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Wins in world cups on the track, podiums in Prems and one also in the British Road Race championships as well as that great showing in the Tour of Britain in the King of the Mountains all go together to show beyond doubt that Russell Hampton has big power in that engine of his.

This year Russell joins a new team after going solo last year and also has a very focused strategy for the season. He told VeloUK the emphasis will be on time trialling this year like the 10, 25, 50 championships and the nationals of course.

The road racing will also form part of the racing as well. “I know from last year, if I do the TT work and get some good form there, the form for road racing falls into place. So I expect to still be up there in 200k races which I did last year.”

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Like many of us, Russell is waiting for summer and some warmer weather to really get going but will be well protected by his Bioracer team kit in the early season races just as he was at the Jock Wadley and will be at Chorley on Saturday (April 4).

“It’s all about getting the conditioning work done before working on bits and bobs prior to the road nationals in June” Russell explained.

He went on to say that he has a good network behind him confirming that the things he is doing with his training and racing are the right ones. The winter has been busy joining the Polypipe team where the DS at the wheel will be Dean Downing. Having someone so experienced at the wheel of the team car will be great says Russell, adding he’s looking forward to the season as a whole.

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Back to time trialling wearing the Bioracer speedsuit

The winter was not great in terms of training consistency due to lots of things going on in his life such as starting up a coaching business and also working for Bioracer UK.

“The training has been on and off” explained Russell “but then all my goals are June and July so I am not too worried. It’s steady away!”

Talking about the tie up with Bioracer in the UK, Russell explained how last year he was sponsored by Ken and Chris at Onimpex Bioracer and that he is now working for them spreading the word. “It’s good to work with such a great brand and one that is pushing boundaries all the time” says Russell.

“I went over to see the factory in Belgium and that opened my eyes to a lot of things and how much goes into making the clothing. I’ve been on the other side as a rider asking teams ‘where’s my kit’ so it’s nice to see how it’s all made like the ‘chamois’ being put into the shorts which is quite an art to be honest”.

When we spoke, it was quite chilly and Russell explained to combat the low temperatures he had on a Bioracer Tempest short sleeved jersey which is fleece lined underneath and if it does cloud over and there is some drizzle, it’s also water repellent. “You get the best of both worlds with it” added Russell.

“The padding in the shorts is also one of the better ones I’ve used over the years and when I go to clubs, they have been full of praise for them because it’s quite rare to get a really good ‘chamois’ in club clothing so they are over the moon with the kit”.

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Good days – wearing the KoM jersey in the Tour of Britain.

“The good thing about Bioracer” saysRussell, “is they have everything covered and it’s a bit of a challenge when I am trying to talk about it because the list is about four pages long! Everyone is trying to make gains in clothing and Bioracer are at the head of that really”.

Russell explained how there is team/club clothing and then there’s the Collection clothing. “We have the collection off the peg clothing that goes into shops and this crosses over into team ware where the main selling point is you get proper race kit that is fully customised to the team or club”.

I know that when doing grass roots events such as cyclo-cross where you see more club riders than at Prems for example, the Bioracer brand is very popular and becoming more so. They have also sponsored VeloUK.net for four years and helped me serve the sport as well as sponsored events like the National Trophy cyclo-cross, the cross champs and major events like the CiCLE Classic.

Good luck to Russell both on and off the bike and we’ll be looking out for him and his teammates in the first major race of the season.

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