Hello Team Radioshack fans:

It’s been quite a while since my last post.  Technically this is the first one in the new season for Team RadioShack.

What can I say? It’s been a long cold and wet winter. Now, laying on the bed in Calpe Spain, it’s all forgotten. I’m ready. Honestly I cant wait to spend a week with all the guys, staff, supporters and sponsors of this new, best team/family I could only dream to be a part of. But first let’s talk about what I’ve been up to until now.

So after a nice little camp in Tucson, Arizona in December, I did some training at home, trying to get fit for real training in Tenerife Island, part of Canary Islands. You see, if you want to train there, you cannot arrive with no fitness at all. There are no flat roads at all, so you must have at least some miles in your legs to be able to cope with the big mountains there.

I left home right after New Years for a full three weeks. Of course my family was with me as it’s the only time my girlfriend gets 3 weeks off the job.

 

I must say training was just amazing.  I loved every single part of the Island I rode. Not only on the bike, but also off the bike: I got to spend time with my family, which was great. We had time just for ourselves, doing whatever we wanted to do. And our little fella Miha was enjoying it too.

 

After I came home, I was welcomed by sub-zero temperatures, snow, rain, and flu-like symptoms. I was forced to take 4 days off the road, only riding on a trainer for an hour or two each day. Actually that really worked well for me, as I felt fresh and ready for new adventures.

 

So after 5 days I decided enough is enough, and departed for Calpe, a week before our official training camp would start.  It was one of the best moves I’ve made, I gotta say. Weather is perfect here, roads are great, and riding five hours seems like clipping a shoe on the pedal on the trainer at home. 

- Jani Brajkovic

 

I don’t want to write too much as it can become pretty boring to read, so I’ll just answer some of your Twitter questions:

 

Q: You make so many friends on your teams. How do you ever get used to friends' transfers from yours to other teams or do you?

 

A: Well, actually the majority of riders came alongside with me from Astana, so not so many left for other teams. For those who changed to another team, yeah it’s always hard to part ways, but still we keep in touch, we race together etc...

 

Q: I want to know about the excitement/anticipation you feel at the beginning of each season?

 

A: Yeah at the start of the season I’m very motivated, hungry for racing with clear goals, high but realistic, so it is the same this year. Actually I’m more motivated than ever with this new team.  Quite simply it gives me more motivation, especially this feeling that we're a true family.

 

Q: How does a professional rider travel by plane with his bike?

 

A: We only travel with bikes to the training camps, maybe one or two times a year. Normally we would have a training bike at home, and a race bike which would always be brought to the race by the mechanics.  So in general we don’t travel with our bikes to the races.

 

Q: Could you give us some details about your training routine?

 

A: Wake up at 7-8 o'clock, breakfast, training starts between 10.30-11. I would normally ride alone as I like to do it the way I want, stop whenever I want, buy something to eat and drink, with no rush.  I do what I have to do training-wise and then go home. Then eat, do some stretching, and spend the rest of the day with family doing as little as I can get away with  :-)

 

Q: Any cold weather training tips?

 

A: Good clothing, mud guards, coffee, ride alone as fast as you need to not to be cold.

 

Q: Who impressed you most as a cyclist, both on personal level and with performance?

 

A: Well, do I really need to answer that?!  It’s pretty clear that would be Lance, not only what he did/is doing/will do on the bike, but also off the bike. There's no one even close to him.

 

 

Q:  How do you seem to always get away without paying for a bikebox when flying?!

 

A: Not always. You just need to be nice and polite, always have something you can give them as a thank you gift (a chocolate maybe!).