Ben Thomas: Racing Mixed with Sally Bigham and the PRO experience

Last month Imogen Smith interviewed Sally Bigham (Topeak-Ergon Racing Team) about the announcement she had made via social media. She would be racing the 2014 Craft Bike Transalp as a mixed pair, but with no assistance from her male team mate. As Bigham pointed out, she wanted to ride over the Alps herself, as her own achievement, and to be a great role model for young female athletes. Sally chose to pair not with a member of her trade team, but with fellow Brit Ben Thomas. We spoke to Ben about stage racing, racing with Sally, racing with Topeak-Ergon, and what he learnt.

MMTB: How many paired stage races have you now completed?

I’ve been lucky enough to race quite a few stage races now. In 2012 with Josh Ibbett I raced Andalucia Bike Race and Cape Epic, then in 2013 with Tim Dunford I raced Andalucia plus Joberg2c. Then this year at Transalp I got my first taste of mixed racing with Sally Bigham. All of these races are special for different reasons, Transalp is all about spectacular mountain passes, but pack your climbing legs if you’re planning on racing Transalp!

Andalucia Bike Race is a great early season stage race, in February its the first test for many of the top teams and also a great way to fine tune your form. The trails there are great fun, super fast and rocky. The hotels are good and logistics relatively easy. We missed Andalucia this year and travelled to Cyprus Sunshine Cup, another fun race and a great island for training but I think next year I’ll return to Spain if I have the opportunity. Everyone knows about the Cape Epic, it has received the biggest media attention of any event I’ve ridden and has such a huge buzz surrounding it. There are other big stage races in South Africa though and in 2013 I was excited to race Joberg2c, this 9 day stage race travels from Johannesburg to the beach in Durban. From any race I’ve ever raced this has the most amazing singletrack. Definitely a race I’d recommend.

MMTB: As your first mixed pair stage race, what were your expectations like coming into the race. Did you expect a major difference to racing with a male team mate?

I only found out on Tuesday that I was going to race Transalp and flew out to Germany on Friday! Sally told me I needed to have a relaxed few days before flying out but it was a busy few days getting everything ready. It was quite nice to get out there on Friday and then I could relax a bit more. Because of the hectic preparation I had little time to think about expectations, I knew though that I was racing with the strongest female. I was very nervous before the start of stage 1 because I didn’t want to let Sally or the team down. Sally is the most experienced racer I’ve ridden with at a pairs event, this and having the support from Team Topeak Ergon definitely made life a lot easier.

MMTB: Sally had decided not to tow or receive a push – this was an individual stand, as it’s within race rules for Transalp and many other paired stage races. Did your riding influence how other mixed pairs rode?

Most of the time we just got on with our own race and didn’t worry about what the other teams were doing. I’d never ridden with Sally before but from stage 1 we clicked immediately and this I think played a big part in our success during the week. I don’t think our riding style influenced the other teams but fortunately for us we were strong enough to ride our race our way.

MMTB: What do you think of pushing or towing between any team members, mixed or otherwise, in stage racing?

I think its a shame so much pushing or towing exists, it means the mixed race just becomes about how strong the male rider is. I think a quick push or pull for a suffering rider in any category is ok but this is very different to a male pushing the female all the way up a mountain pass.

MMTB: With an overall race win and many stage wins, clearly the race was a success. has it changed anything in your approach to stage racing?

I learnt so much racing with Sally, she has so much experience racing marathons and stage races. This was my first time racing for a pro team so I was like a sponge soaking up every bit of information and advice. Sally, Alban Lakata and Krystian Hynek are riders I look up to and aspire to be like so it was a great opportunity just to spend the week with them. Having the support of the team staff also made such a difference, I can’t thank Team Topeak Ergon enough for the opportunity.

For 2015 I want to really commit to marathons / stage races and race a full schedule. Hopefully the Transalp result and the rest of my palmares will help me either find the sponsorship needed or a new international team who can support me to my goals. Sadly in the UK we don’t have a marathon race scene which means a lot of expensive international travel. Also there isn’t any riders in the UK willing to commit to racing pairs stage races. At the moment I rely on the support of friends who travel to select international races with me at their own expense, this can only exist for so long. Many races I travel to alone, racing a hot 5 hour UCI World Marathon with no feed support is a major disadvantage when all the pros your racing against have staff with bottle and bike spares at every possible tech zone. Now I’ve experienced the support of Team Topeak Ergon at Transalp I’m sure if I had the same support at UCI World Marathons my results would go from mid teens to top 10 just because of the support.

6. Did you ever get tempted to ask Sally for a push?

During the race we both had a bit of an off day. I really suffered toward the end of day 4, before this stage I’d never ridden a climb larger than 1000 metres, this day we climbed from 300 to 2000 metres, that was a shock! The top of the mountain pass was spectacular but I was suffering so asked Sally for a gel, we were coming into the descent so in a rush Sally mistakenly passed me a banana skin! What was I supposed to do with that!? Thanks Sally!