Q&A: Adam Kenway (Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK)

The longest serving rider racing for Cherie Pridham at Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK is Adam Kenway who will be in the team’s colours again in 2020

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Q&A: Adam Kenway (Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK)

What does it mean to you to ride yet another year for Cherie?
Adam: I’m really happy to re-sign for the team. This will be my fourth year with Cherie and I’m already excited about what we can accomplish next year

Your based in Derbyshire where the team is based; how does that help you in preparing for another tough season on the road – ie, are the roads of Derbyshire ideal for training on?
Adam: I love training in Derbyshire as there are some cracking roads and which ever direction you go, there are some good climbs and excellent scenery. There’s also always somebody who is willing to come out to join me on the ride…

Do you have a favourite training ride in Derbyshire?
Adam: To be fair, pretty much anywhere but there is a café called fuel which is always the end destination that has amazing coffee and food and the wood burner is always lit.

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What was your highlight of the 2019 season?
Adam: I have really enjoyed the season. I managed to get in the break in the majority of the premier calendars, won the king of the mountains In the Tour of the Reservoir. Getting on the start line with stars like Chris Froome in the Tour of Yorkshire always stands out.

What was the best race for you (the most fun/enjoyable one) in 2019?
Adam: I really enjoyed the first day of the Tour of the Reservoir, had to really good legs and I had friend and teammate Chris Latham in the break with me where I managed to pick up the KOM jersey and seventh on the stage.

What was your toughest race in 2019
Adam: The last day of the tour of Yorkshire. I had a mechanical halfway through and spent an hour chasing back on. As I did, the race kicked off and I didn’t have any legs left to get in the mix.

Overall, how would you rate your Hill Climb season?
Adam: I was really happy with my hill climb season. I came away with five wins and three seconds. Considering there are so many amazing hill climb specialists nowadays.

What type of hills do you prefer for a Hill Climb
Adam: I prefer climbs between 2-1/2 and 4 – 1/2 minutes. I seem to suit that distance but I really enjoy the short climbs as well as the atmosphere is always good.

Does being able to go up hill quickly help during the road season?
Adam: I think it really helps me as these efforts are similar to the efforts you need to get into the big moves in Premier calendars. There are plenty of climbs in the British scene which you could use as hill climb like the hills in the Tour of the Reservoir.
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Time for a break now for you and if so – does the bike go with you or stay at home!
Adam: I don’t really have much time off the bike but I will back off the structured training and just ride around for fun which I think very is the important.

Is there a chain gang in Derbyshire or do you train solo a lot of the time?
Adam: There are lots of good rides around Derby and Matlock. There are two mid week chain gangs and a really fast ride on Saturday morning which is always fun

You are known for getting in breakaways a lot – how hard is that in British race where they are largely uncontrolled unlike high ranking conti races?
Adam: It’s always essential as one of the biggest teams to get a rider in the break and try to put everybody else on the back foot but everybody has got the same idea so most of the time the breaks take a long time to go and normally with some of strongest riders in the race so you then need to be able to ride all day and not get dropped 😂😂😂

Adam in the break on day 1 of the Tour of Reservoir

If you miss the break, is sitting in the peloton frustrating and difficult to relax in?
Adam: I don’t mind it really because we’ve all got a job to do and you just have to focus on that. British Premier calendars can be a bit choppy compared with the bigger UCI races where everyone is more relaxed.

What’s your favourite British race and why?
Adam: I love the Klondike GP because it’s a really grippy race and it’s been the first race on the calendar for the last couple years.

Thanks Adam and good luck for 2020! 

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