Q & A with Jacob Tipper

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Question and Answer with Jacob Tipper of Brother NRG DriverPlan Pro Cycling about his 2016 season and what lies ahead

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Q & A with Jacob Tipper

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1. What the highlight of 2016 for you and why?
Jacob: The National Criterium Champs in Birmingham. It was great racing such a prestigious event in front of a home crowd, and somewhere I was so familiar with. I was very pleased with my 8th place, especially considering I had a little lie down next to Gatecrasher half way through, not the first time it’s happened on Broad Street though!

2. What was your favourite/most fun race of 2016
Jacob: Racing in China was great fun this September & October, good courses, big prize money, massive crowds, it was an awesome experience. The race which was the most fun was one of the smaller ones we did out there, it was a very tough and technical course, we played our cards right and team trialled in for a 1-2-3-4!

3. What was the toughest race of 2016 for you and why
Jacob: The Cicle Classic. It’s just such an unrelenting tough event, I don’t think anyone has an easy ride in it. This could have also been listed as a favourite race of the year, but I had to seriously dig in so deep to get round. My preparation had been good but with it being my first proper race of 2016, it didn’t half come as a shock to the system!

4. If there is one thing you have learnt to make you go faster/better, what was it?
Jacob: I spent a lot of the year working with Alan Murchinson (Performance Chef) on my diet, and improving the quality of foods I was eating. All round I think this had a huge impact on performance. In hindsight, the quality of food I was eating before was so poor, this has really helped me find a missing piece to the performance jigsaw that I hope to keep building on.

5. What is the best piece of equipment (clothing/bike/gadget) to do with racing you are proud of most
Jacob: It was actually really interesting racing abroad with my Garmin Virb camera on bike. It made for some great footage, and would actually be a fantastic tool for self analysis leading into sprints. Hopefully British Cycling stop being tight and let us race with them!

6. What is your warm up routine for races –rollers or turbo, music or no music
Jacob: I tend to stick to the standard 20 minute warm up (spin, progressive, activation sprints). It has to be done on the turbo to achieve enough resistance, and has to be with music. If I didn’t have music I would probably crack before the race has even started. Nothing exciting about being on the turbo in a public car park!

7. What’s your favourite discipline on the road: road racing, time trialling, Crits and why
Jacob: Stage racing has to be the best thing about bike racing. The added dynamics makes it a much better event. There is also the fact you get some pure sprint days which I like. The additional stage races the team intend to do for 2017 will be of huge motivation for me.
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8. Will you stay in the UK to prepare for next winter or will you go abroad etc
Jacob: I’m real soft, I’m already abroad!! January I would normally go away but due to preparations for the Track Nationals at the end of January I’ll be based in the UK, so I’m getting my miles done during December!

9. When will you start training for 2017 and what comes first 
Jacob: I started as soon as I finished my couple of weeks break after racing. The primary focus is on strength work at the moment, then getting in some miles while I’m in Spain, then onto track work in January. With such a short winter after racing into late October and starting back in January, I haven’t got a lot of time to mess about!

10.  Do you use a special winter bike with mudguards etc
Jacob: I have finally retired my Kinesis RaceLight winter training bike, it was just too racey and light for me… I’ve just upgraded to a smart new carbon aero frame, integrated brakes, it’s probably the least practical winter bike you can imagine, but at least it should be good for some Strava Koms!

11. What are your goals for 2017
Jacob: Win a round of the Wooly Mamil Winter Series.

12, Does winter training consist of only riding a bike or running/swimming/gym
Jacob: Gym is the main training method I use to supplement my riding. Squats 4 Watts and all that. But I do like to mix it up with using some of the other disciplines, so beyond the road I will spend time on the Velodrome, as well as trying to keep the cross and mountain bike upright.

13. Finally, what have you learnt over the years to best deal with the winter months on the bike?
Jacob: Go to Spain and drink café Bon Bons. But on a more serious note, less time doing junk miles, just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you adapt to training stimuli differently. No other sport spends months going slowly to cafes. Balance your rest, and work on your weaknesses, this may well require long steady miles, but have a plan and stick to it. Aimlessly cruising around till X mas is fairly outdated.

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