Michael Barry (T-Mobile)

BONN, Aug 30 (CP) - In the latest installment of Cyclingpost.com's interview series with Michael Barry, the T-Mobile pro shares the experience of riding the Tour de l'Ain, describes race preparations and talks about the profound changes in the ProTour team structure.

Slowed down by continuing health problems, Michael Barry's racing has recently been hampered considerably.

You could not take part in the Eneco Tour because of illness. How are you now?

I am feeling better but I needed a good rest to recover from tonsilitis. Basically, my immune system is still run down from the pneumonia I came down with early in the year so it will take some time and good rest to get back to normal again.

What have the last races been like for you that you were able to participate in? Any highlights or low points?

Honestly, there haven't been any great moments in the last month as I haven't been feeling all that healthy. In July, I was feeling quite good at the Tour of Austria - and my form was coming - Tbut it has been downhill since. We had a great race there as a team and it was nice to animate the race and to help Ciolek win a few stages.

The Tour de l’Ain was a short stage race. Could you please describe what a day is like for a rider during stage races, from morning to night?

I wake up around 8, or sometimes a little earlier, and then go to the hotel dining room for some breakfast at about 8:30 or 9. I like to have a leisurely breakfast so I usually sit around and chat with my teammates while drinking a cup of coffee. Depending on where the start is and what time the race starts we usually leave for the race an hour or so later - at about 10 or 10:30. The stages at the Tour de L'Ain were quite hilly and short so the racing was always intense and the attacks relentless. There were few moments where we could actually sit around and chat in the group as the field was constantly strung out due to the high speed which made it a good race to get some condition and also a fun race to ride. After the race, we clean up in the camper and then eat some food while we drive back to the hotel. Then, we have a massage, relax a little, eat dinner, and I then read or mess about on my computer before bed. The days pass quickly as it seems we are always moving, eating or getting ready for something.

What is your race schedule like for the rest of the season?

I am currently scheduled to race in Poland and then the end of season one day races and Classics.

To what races are you looking forward the most and why?

Well, I haven't done any of the races on my schedule before - other than Lombardia - so it will all be new and different.

Do you prepare races specifically, insofar as checking stage/race profiles etc.?

It depends on the race and the importance of it. In the past I have trained for one day races, such as the World Championships, on routes similar to what the race will be like and then to get ready for a three week Tour I will ride long mountains with equal meters ascended as to what I would race in the Tour. If there is time in the schedule, and the race is very important I will ride the actual race routes.

You have not yet been selected for the world championships. Would you like to race there or would you be happy to skip this edition?

I am always proud and honoured to represent Canada at any event. I am not yet sure if I will race - it depends on the selection and how my health and fitness is as I don't want to race unless I feel I can be competitive.

Your former team Discovery Channel will fold at the end of the season. Were you surprised by the news?

I was sad when I heard the news as I know many good people that work there and they are now faced with the need to find work for the coming season. It is a bad sign for cycling that Discovery gave up their search for new sponsors as it truly shows the sport is suffering from all the recent doping problems and fractured political environment. Conversely, it is great that T-Mobile is staying in the sport and will try to push it forward into a new era - the sport could certainly do with more sponsors like T-Mobile who are keen on seeing and supporting a positive change.

Do you think it is good or bad to have such dynamics in pro cycling?

Well, it is never good when teams fold and the market is flooded with staff and riders. Discovery was one of cycling's biggest teams that had been around for a decade so it is a shock to suddenly have them disappear. When sponsors leave it doesn't send a good sign to other sponsors that are involved in the sport or that are considering involvement. T-Mobile is a good example - only when they voiced their commitment to the team and the sport after the doping issues during the Tour did other sponsors decide to remain as well.

Two ProTour teams have lost their sponsors, other sponsors have been considering their engagements in pro cycling. Do you notice in the peleton that riders fear for their future?

For sure. The market is very bad right now and many riders are facing retirement or a reduction in their salary. Like in everything we are going through a period of transition and the sport will come out on top. This is a just a bad period we will have to ride out while looking towards better days.

Team Slipstream, on the other hand, is an up-and-coming team, which tries to develop a new philosophy in cycling with having a team base in Girona, Spain, where all riders live and train together. What is your opinion on that?

It is great they have helped develop young American riders in the last couple of years and have given them the opportunity to race overseas. They seem to be moving away from a team of young riders to a team that can be competitive at the highest level which will change the dynamic greatly. The owner of the team truly believes in cycling and the future of the sport which is fantastic.

You also live in Girona during the season. Please describe what life is like in this cycling enclave.

Over the years the town has changed a lot as the population of cyclists has increased: apart from the professional cyclists in town it has also become a destination for a lot of bike tours so often you see cyclists in the countryside and about town. We have a nice little community which has grown and matured over the years: from young bachelors to husbands and now fathers. It is nice to have friends to train with and also families to socialize with. More than anything it is a great town that has made us very welcome and we now also have many friends within the community of locals.

© Kathrin Bomans