Alex Howes Talks Tour de France vs. Tour Divide, Discovering Kind, and Tires

Editor’s Notice: BikeTiresDirect has partnered with Alex Howes — a famend world-tour-rider-gone-off-road-privateer — since 2022. Right here’s an excerpt from a dialog between BTD & Howes that happened on April 2nd, 2024, the place they went down the rabbit gap on all issues bicycle.

Bertrand Mejia-Morin (from BTD): Alex, thanks for taking the time to talk… what driving forces have been behind you leaving the WorldTour workforce that you just have been on (EF) and concentrating on a extra freeform off-road-centric privateer life?

Alex Howes: The primary driver behind all of it was simply eager to be residence extra with household. COVID was lengthy, and the skilled biking world spent a number of time simply within the bubble. [It required] a number of time away from residence — actually months — so it simply wasn’t a number of enjoyable.

BTD: How do you deal with balancing being an expert racer with [having a family]?

Howes: It’s humorous as a result of individuals use the phrase stability quite a bit… and the fact is it doesn’t really feel balanced on any degree or in both route… the highs are tremendous excessive and the lows are low — get issues executed when you’ll be able to, and simply neglect about them when you’ll be able to’t. Settle for the chaos… [know it] doesn’t final without end, and in case you simply hold tapping away on the pedals and having enjoyable with it… the snow melts and the shape reveals up and there you go.

The way to Break Into Bike Privateering

BTD: Any recommendation for people who find themselves making an attempt to equally privateer their manner via the US off-road racing scene?

Howes: It’s surprisingly aggressive lately. Individuals do their analysis, each in racing and in placing collectively sponsorship proposals and decks and the whole lot else.

First bit of recommendation: don’t assume it gained’t be a job. If you wish to do it, it’s a number of work. If you wish to make it occur you gotta decide up the telephone. You gotta get the keyboard out. You gotta hustle onerous.

10-15 years in the past, in case you needed to be a professional bike owner, you gotta go UCI, and that’s that. [Now], there’s nobody proper strategy to do something within the privateer world.

BTD: What’s the most underrated or ignored factor that you just carry with you throughout races?

Howes: I at all times deliver tremendous glue with me… I’ve used it extra usually than I really feel like I ought to have. I glued bar tape again collectively mid-race one time after I minimize it and it was flapping. It was simply driving me loopy. I’ve tremendous glued cuts. I’ve glued tire plugs in. I imply, there are 58,000 makes use of for it and you may get the tremendous tiny ones.

Tour Divide vs Tour de France

BTD: How would you evaluate a few of the extra structured [WorldTour] races to a race out of your Privateer profession just like the Tour Divide… simply you on the market by yourself?

Howes: I imply it’s sort of humorous as a result of on the finish of all of it there have been a number of metrics that sort of lined up. Should you take a look at fatigue scores… they have been virtually similar between the 2 of them — between the Tour Divide and the Tour de France. Which is comical as a result of they’re not even in [the same] universe on so many different ranges.

[For] the Tour Divide I imply, I might be shocked if I averaged 105 watts, total. Versus the Tour de France — I don’t assume there’s a day the place you common beneath 220… which doesn’t sound like quite a bit however for somebody that’s 63 kilos, [at] 220 [you’re] pushing for lots. So anyhow, it was stunning how effectively they in contrast on some ranges, [but then are] completely totally different.

BTD: And if I recall accurately, You have been on the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Ms for the Tour Divide?

Howes: They’re nonetheless going. Yeah, I rode them two days in the past — the very same tires.

Alex’s Favourite Highway Tire

BTD: On that notice, what’s your favourite tire you’ve ridden?

Howes: Yeah, the bummer with tires is you keep in mind an entire bunch that you just actually didn’t like.

In case you have tire you neglect about it, and also you’re simply having fun with your bike experience. Should you don’t have tire you’re both fixing it otherwise you’re terrified as a result of it’s coming aside on you otherwise you’re crashing.

Those that I in all probability spent essentially the most time on that I actually loved have been the Vittoria Corsa [N.EXTs] … I rode these issues in coaching a ton.

If I used to be gonna go purchase a pair of tires to experience and race, these are the tires… between [the compound] and operating them tubeless. I simply take into consideration what number of tubes I used to make use of a 12 months.

Biking Business — Ideas and Emotions

BTD: What’s your least favourite factor in regards to the bike trade?

Howes: I really feel like we’re at all times chasing… there’s a cycle to it yearly. And I really feel like all people is a month behind always? Me included — I’m two months behind and I’ve simply accepted that. Like, I’m placing my bikes collectively now, which is sort of ridiculous… why don’t all of us simply hit pause for a month and let all of it catch up?

BTD: How about your favourite factor?

Howes: I believe there’s a number of simply genuinely comfortable those that do stuff with bikes. And that’s why they get into the trade. For all its shortcomings… all people needs to be there. They’re simply making an attempt to determine how you can keep there.

Howes: Did we contact on how we linked up? I known as you guys up out of the blue. I mentioned “hey, you wanna do one thing?” You guys are like, “we don’t try this however I suppose we may. What would you like?”

“Tires, duh!” And I [explained] the entire rationale [behind] the [Lifetime] Grand Prix, with gravel racing, and with what I do; no single tire model makes the proper tire for each race. And tires are 50% of the sport in off-road endurance racing. Perhaps 50% is beneficiant, however you’re not gonna win something in case you’re not attending to the end line with air in your tires, so yeah…

I needed the power to combine and match, and also you guys mentioned “Alright, yeah. We do delivery.”

So yeah, it’s been enjoyable. I’ve examined a number of stuff and located some stuff I like, and a few I don’t. I discovered a pair of tires that may apparently final for 7,000 miles.

BTD: And also you have been an actual take a look at topic for this 12 months — 2024 now consists of 5 athlete partnerships for BikeTiresDirect. And it’s been nice to have the ability to share our base of information and sources with other people… be part of their seasons and part of their careers, even in a small manner. So in that respect, thanks.

It’s been an important partnership up to now and we’re actually wanting ahead to what the following 12 months and past has to carry working with you.

Howes: And I respect it. Yeah, and the rationale I known as you guys is as a result of I simply saved shopping for stuff from you guys.

[both laugh]

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Thanks for studying. You’ll discover the unabridged transcript with extra about Alex’s WorldTour experiences, his technique for tire selection, his confusion about professional cyclists apparently at all times pooping in hats, and an entire lot extra at BikeTiresDirect.