What’s the biggest difference in cycling racing now and when Hennie rode in the peloton?
Hennie: So much has changed. Just look at how much we have progressed in terms of the material, how we approach training, the medical aspects. We used to ride with five-speed cassettes in the back. Now they have eleven. We shifted on the downtube, now riders change gears on the handlebars. We had shifting cables, nowadays it’s electric. Today everything’s perfectly balanced. Cyclists know exactly how many calories they’ve burned and adapt their nutrition to that knowledge.
Tom: It’s much more scientific. People see how important it is from a sponsoring point of view. Nowadays we look at the smallest details to see where advantages can be gained. But the goal is still the same: first to cross the finish line wins.
Hennie: We rode on steel frames, and now for every kind of race or discipline there’s a special bike. There’s a special bike for time trials, a special bike for climbing, a special bike for cobblestones.