- 7 hours ago
Andrew Feather is one of the fastest climbers in the world, he's also a full-time solicitor and multiple national hill climb champion. He recently made national news when he 'beat' pro cyclist Tadej Pogačar, the world's best cyclist, in the Slovenian Pogi Challenge!
We sat down with Andrew Feather to discuss how he's found World Tour level performance whilst holding down a full time job.
We sat down with Andrew Feather to discuss how he's found World Tour level performance whilst holding down a full time job.
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00:00Have we finally hit the wall?
00:02No, we haven't.
00:04We're good, we're good.
00:08This is Andrew Feather,
00:11one of the best climbers in the world.
00:14He has mastered the art of beating gravity
00:17and Pogaccia as well?
00:20With a pinch of salt.
00:22Whilst holding down a day job as a lawyer.
00:25But can he hold down an interview
00:29whilst riding intervals on Ruby?
00:31For no good reason.
00:32Today we're going to find out.
00:36Don't worry Andrew,
00:37I do realise that this is a bit of an odd idea.
00:41Yeah, this is quite funny.
00:43So you're basically going to ask me questions.
00:45Yeah, so we're just going to do a ramp test basically.
00:47And I was watching Jennifer Lawrence the other day.
00:50She was on the Hot Ones.
00:52Right.
00:53And I thought what is the cycling equivalent of this?
00:55So basically they do an interview.
00:57Eating spicer and spicier wings.
01:00And I thought,
01:01how can we recreate this?
01:03And I thought,
01:04who's the most like Jennifer Lawrence in the cycling world?
01:08And your link came up.
01:10So you're Jennifer Lawrence.
01:11The Ruby intervals are the Hot Wings.
01:14Yeah.
01:15Sounds good.
01:16Yeah.
01:17Right.
01:17Well, if you're ready.
01:18Okay.
01:19Click start workout.
01:21Yep.
01:21And we'll see how this goes.
01:29Now, for those of you that don't know Andrew,
01:31he's a multi-time British national hill climb champion.
01:35I know you've been doing a lot with GCN as well.
01:37Every time they need someone to go up a hill really fast.
01:40Yeah.
01:40And then the other day,
01:41you made national news when he beat Tadej Pogacar in Slovenia at his own event.
01:48Yeah.
01:48So tell us a bit about that.
01:50So yeah, I think the story is,
01:52you know,
01:52there's a pinch of salt to it.
01:54It was a handicap race.
01:55So he started seven minutes behind everyone.
01:59The rules of the ride were that he was supposed to catch everyone before the line.
02:02Yeah.
02:03And obviously I managed to escape.
02:05And I think I was around three and a half minutes waiting on the line for him.
02:09Very fair.
02:10Good margin.
02:11And he was about three and a half minutes quicker than me overall.
02:14Very nice guy.
02:16Very humble.
02:17Nice to speak to.
02:17So yeah, it was good.
02:18I guess it wasn't the best prep though for national hill climb challenge.
02:22Cause that was a really short climb this year, wasn't it?
02:25Yes.
02:25It's completely opposite to national championships this year,
02:28which was a two minute climb.
02:29Now me being a bit older,
02:30I feel much more comfortable on the longer climbs.
02:32And I still can create a margin on those longer climbs,
02:35but on the short climb,
02:37there's so many people in the mix kind of thing.
02:39And it often comes down to absolute pure power.
02:42Yeah.
02:43So it's a two minute climb.
02:45I still did, you know,
02:47probably a power PV over the last, you know,
02:49since I started riding hill climbs,
02:51but at the end of the day,
02:52there's better riders coming through who are able to push that bigger power over that really short explosive period.
02:57Yeah.
02:58So hats off to them.
02:59So what's next year looking like?
03:01Next year is looking better in terms of length.
03:03It's a long climb, which I prefer.
03:04The only thing is it's a very fast climb.
03:06So aerodynamics are going to be a really important factor.
03:09I'm not a very aerodynamic rider.
03:11I know you love out the saddle.
03:13I can generate...
03:14This is the longest I've seen you in the saddle.
03:16I seem to generate good power standing out the saddle,
03:19but being seated, I really struggle.
03:21So I have a year to think how I can adapt the strategy.
03:26Yeah.
03:26To be more aerodynamic and still get the power down.
03:28So I don't know, maybe Pantini start riding the drops.
03:32Yeah.
03:33Riding out the saddle.
03:34So yeah, we'll have to find out.
03:35He managed it.
03:36He did. Yeah.
03:36Yeah.
03:37Well, they probably don't copy everything he did.
03:46This bike, I've got to ask about it because it's looking very pretty.
03:50It's not a brand that I don't think many of our audience will be familiar with.
03:54So do you mind running us through like what it is?
03:57Yes.
03:57Well, and obviously how much it weighs?
04:00This is a SWE bike.
04:01So made in Italy and it's a unique monocoque build,
04:05which means that there are no lugs in the frame.
04:07Essentially the whole frame is kind of one piece.
04:11So there's nothing glued together.
04:12Yeah.
04:13Which makes the bike feel really stiff.
04:15And at the same time, it's very light.
04:18I've got two versions.
04:19This is the aqueous, which is the painted version of the frame,
04:21which is slightly heavier than the hill climb bike.
04:23Okay.
04:24And the levee, which I rode in hill climbs.
04:26Yeah.
04:27Is even lighter.
04:28So I think the frame weight for the levee is around 630 grams.
04:33So very, very light.
04:35Complete build for the hill climbs was 5.4 kilos.
04:38You know, for a disc brake bike, Dura Ace Di2, you know, incredible weight really.
04:42That's the same weight as what I had my previous rim brake bikes when I first started the hill climb
04:48scene.
04:48Yeah.
04:48So it just shows how much technology has come on.
04:52Do you still have a soft spot for rim brake bikes?
04:55I do, yeah.
04:56And I think, you know, there's still, most of the riders in the hill climb scene are still using rim
05:00brake bikes.
05:01So Harry, who won a couple of weekends ago, he was on a 4.8 kilo rim brake bike.
05:08So it shows, you know, the top riders are still using them.
05:12Yeah.
05:12So they serve a purpose.
05:13They live on.
05:14They live on.
05:15Yeah.
05:15Yeah.
05:16I guess next year when aero comes into it, we might see less of the older rim brake bikes and
05:21more integrated everything.
05:23Possibly.
05:23Yeah.
05:24I mean, you know, the average speed on next year's climb, if it is going to be down in Poorlock
05:29is, it's around 29, 30 kilometers an hour.
05:32So.
05:32Yeah.
05:33It's really fast.
05:34I mean, it's verging on TT territory.
05:36Mm.
05:36So you might get a lot of guys who are good at TTs coming down and, you know, you never
05:42know.
05:43That's what I like about the hill climbs every year.
05:45It changes.
05:45So next year it's likely to be a completely different top 10.
05:50Yeah.
05:50To what it was this year, where the riders are really strong, explosive.
05:55Whereas next year there'll be more pure climbers or, you know, maybe it'll be more of a time trialist kind
06:00of thing.
06:01So, it just makes it really interesting.
06:08Right.
06:09We've gone up a notch.
06:11Well, mine has anyway.
06:12Yep.
06:12Are you sure your resistance is working?
06:14Because you're looking remarkably fresh still.
06:17What is your FTP at Vintrax?
06:19I did this physiological testing with ex-university this year and it was just over 400, they said.
06:27Oh.
06:28Deary me.
06:29Which I suppose is quite consistent with what I did on the Poggy Challenge.
06:34I think I did pretty much bang on 400 for the duration of about 45 minutes.
06:40That is bonkers.
06:41There's a few downhills in there, so I lost a bit of average power.
06:43Yeah.
06:45And then I think what the really impressive thing about that is that cycling is not your full-time job.
06:51How can you possibly fit in enough training?
06:55How much training do you do?
06:56I try to be sort of disciplined during around two hours a day.
06:59Yeah.
06:59So, just whenever I've got a window nipping out, but sometimes it doesn't work.
07:07It just depends, really.
07:08I mean, like everyone, everyone's got lots of different commitments.
07:12Conflict of cycling, really.
07:14So, you've just got to try and seize the opportunity when you can and be disciplined to do it, really.
07:21So, yeah.
07:22Well, I'm not that disciplined and it's showing because I'm going to blow up way before you.
07:31Oh, dear.
07:37I guess, is there any tips you can give me, please, of what training I should be doing if I
07:45want to be fast on the bike?
07:47Fast on the bike or fast going uphill?
07:50I mean, I think if you want to be fast on the bike, you have to be fast on the
07:55hill.
07:55Yeah, yeah.
07:56Because, like, the group rides that I go on, it kicks off on the hills.
08:00Yeah, yeah.
08:01That's where I get dropped from races.
08:03So, yeah, any advice to help me go up hills quicker?
08:08I think, you know, it's kind of doing lots of intervals on the hill.
08:12So, you know, hill climbing is all about pacing and understanding what you're capable of and kind of just riding
08:18below that until the end.
08:21So, it's not going out too hard, too early, because inevitably, if you do blow, you're just going to hemorrhage
08:28time.
08:28I think I'm going to.
08:30You've just got to control your effort, really.
08:31So, easier said than done.
08:33He's not even breathing.
08:36Oh, God's sake.
08:42And obviously, we're in the Northern Hemisphere.
08:46Yep.
08:46It's getting pretty miserable outside.
08:49It is.
08:49Do you train outside all year round?
08:53No, so I try and train outside most of the time.
08:57But, yeah, obviously, this time of year, it is nice to do a bit of indoor training.
09:01And now I'm in complete off season.
09:03So, essentially, I'm eating as much as I like and just enjoying it.
09:07So, indoor training is good in that you're able to do quite a hard session quite quickly.
09:13So, if you haven't got a lot of time and you want to concentrate on other things, it's really perfect,
09:19really.
09:19So, whereas outside this time of year, you've got to put all the gear on, you know, you've got all
09:24the gloves and the winter kit in itself.
09:27You know, that takes probably 20 minutes, really.
09:29Yeah, 100%.
09:30Washing the bike when you get back.
09:31Washing the bike.
09:31Are you a bike washer?
09:34I definitely am.
09:37A bit OCD about the bikes, keeping them clean, making sure they all look really nice.
09:41To the extent that, you know, often I've just got loads of clean bikes in the garage.
09:46Not used because I don't want to get them dirty.
09:49Well, speaking of getting dirty, Lil Birdie told me that you've been out mountain biking.
09:55So, are all of our off-road KOMs not going to be safe now as well?
09:59I've never done any mountain biking before this weekend.
10:02And it was a project with Schwalbe and Torque that we go and take this prestigious Snowden KOM.
10:10Yeah.
10:10Which goes up from Lamberis, you know, runs parallel with the railway.
10:14So it's a big leaderboard, 8,000 people.
10:17And we did a recce on Saturday.
10:19I did it with a friend who's a really good mountain biker.
10:23And he was, you know, all in fits of laughter watching me trying to get out of these rocks.
10:29I've noticed he's disgusting.
10:30Falling over, scratching my legs.
10:31Yeah, yeah.
10:31But yeah, in the end we did really well and we managed to get the KOM by two and a
10:35half minutes.
10:36It is generally my experience that once you get a KOM, it's out of reach.
10:41When I was younger, like we live in a fairly similar area.
10:43Yeah, yeah.
10:44And I think you have stolen most of the KOMs around here.
10:47I only had one or two, but once, if I see that notification that said Andrew Feather stole it, then
10:55it's not really worth going back out and trying to be honest.
10:58I don't know.
10:59I think you've got to back yourself because so many, so many KOMs are kind of weather and wind orientated
11:05now kind of thing.
11:05So, you know, if you, if you look at the forecast and you get a, you know, for me, including
11:11myself, you know, if you get a decent tailwind and you go and have a crack at a sort of,
11:15you know, a long standing KOM.
11:17I think it's within anyone's reach, really.
11:18So yeah.
11:19Yeah.
11:20Which makes it, yeah, makes it part of the fun, really.
11:22I mean, I'm, I think I'm overcoming some sort of physiological disadvantage as well.
11:28Like we're doing the same session and I am cooked and we were meant to be doing this until your
11:34answers, until you didn't answer anymore.
11:37And well, I think we'd be here for hours.
11:40Yeah.
11:40What are your favourite climbs in the world that you've ever ridden or any that you'd really like to ride?
11:48Favourite climbs in the world.
11:50I think, you know, when I went on to Scotland a few years ago, I did Beelac Nabar, which was
11:57an incredible climb in itself, but we just had absolutely perfect weather conditions.
12:01Yeah.
12:02It's 25 degrees.
12:03It's sunny.
12:04You had amazing pristine views all across the sky and the outer Hebrides.
12:09It was absolutely amazing.
12:10I don't think, you know, if we went back, certainly wouldn't have those conditions again.
12:13Yeah.
12:14I went, you know, I did a really good ride and took the KOM and did a good power and
12:19stuff.
12:19So, yeah, it was pleasing.
12:28So what's next focusing on next year's National Hill Climb?
12:32It's just like enjoying a bit of downtime, really, like the hill climb season is so short.
12:39Yeah.
12:40It's quite pressurised, dragging the family all over the country.
12:44They need a rest as well.
12:45Yeah.
12:46So it's nice just to spend some time with them or more time with them and not have to think
12:53about riding uphill as fast as I can.
12:57Take my hat off to the professionals who do such a rigid diet and training for such a long period
13:05of time.
13:06Yeah.
13:07Yeah, the race season is getting longer and longer these days as well.
13:10It is.
13:10You know, in comparison to what they do, it's nothing.
13:13But I already find those six weeks of what I do intense.
13:16Yeah.
13:17Put that for the whole year.
13:19Yeah.
13:19You can see why some people burn out.
13:21Yeah, we've seen quite a lot of people like sort of retiring at 28 or 30 on numbers like that,
13:29which I think riders used to go longer.
13:32But now because the level is so high, I guess.
13:34It's just so high and it's so, so professional.
13:37And I suppose, you know, you've got to keep the enjoyment of riding a bike.
13:43And I think as soon as someone loses that, whether it be a professional or an amateur.
13:48Yeah.
13:49It gets much harder.
13:50You lose your motivation.
13:51You lose your motivation and everything goes downhill.
13:53So I think as long as you keep that enjoyment and have the brakes that you need, I think, you
14:01know, you can have a long and sustainable career.
14:04You know, like, I'm now 41 in a couple of weeks and I've still done well this year and sort
14:11of, you know, got peak power numbers on certain durations.
14:14That shows that, you know, you can go for a long time if you keep fit.
14:18Although having said that, this is, it's time.
14:21Have we finally hit the wall?
14:24No, we haven't.
14:25We're good.
14:25We're good.
14:26I think that was more distraction.
14:29The one thing I haven't done actually, which is interesting.
14:32I've never done these interval workouts on Ruby.
14:34I've only ever ridden sort of, you know, courses and climbs.
14:38Yeah.
14:39At my own pace.
14:40So maybe it's something I can use this year and doing a bit of structure.
14:45I know that there's all the little track workouts.
14:49Yeah.
14:49Visma Lisa bike also put some of their favorite sessions up.
14:53Exactly.
14:53So maybe it will help shift those 10 kilos that I put on over the next four weeks.
14:59No, I know that for a rider like you that does so much analysis, like I, I think by this
15:06point, you, you know what training you need to do to be fast.
15:08Yeah.
15:09But there's a lot of us that don't necessarily have that idea.
15:13Yeah.
15:13Of what we should be doing.
15:15Yeah.
15:16And therefore like the structure of workouts are a bit of a lifesaver.
15:20It's funny, actually, I've used Ruby this year to do a lot of heat training.
15:24Oh yeah.
15:25So pretty much all my Ruby rides have been with this huge heat suit.
15:30Yeah.
15:31To try and sweat as much as possible.
15:35And it's incredible how much fluid you lose just to sweat really like, yeah, it's quite interesting.
15:42So I certainly did that for the longer climbs this year.
15:44I think that was, you know, power PB on that boggy challenge.
15:48Maybe it was because of the heat training.
15:50Yeah.
15:51I don't know, but it was certainly helpful.
15:52I think so.
15:53Hmm.
15:54Hmm.
16:19That's knee done.
16:21finally yeah if you like this kind of content then please give it a like
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