Tejay Van Garderen: Inside the Head of a Tour de France Racer

Today’s guest is no stranger to the cycling world.  He has finished 5th  two times at the tour de France, won stages in races like the Giro D’Italia and the Vuelta Espana. His name is Tejay Van Garderen and he currently rides for BMC Racing.  This guy is in on top of the world stage of professional road cyclists. The thing I really enjoyed about Tejay is that he was really down to earth and easy to talk to in our conversation.  My husband Matt co-hosted this episode together and we both thought that Tejay seemed like a truly genuine guy.  He has been racing since the age of 10 and has had his ups and downs over his career.  We talked about how to deal with expectations, especially when you aren’t meeting them.  We talk about his background in racing and what it’s actually like to race at his level. In interviews at some of these grand tours, you don’t get to hear the whole story and Tejay told us a lot of interesting stories. We talk about what it’s like to have little kids and a wife and travel like he does.  Tejay also tells us what inspires him, how he maintains race weight, and how he actually approaches racing a 3 week race like the Tour De France. Topics Discussed in the Podcast  Tejay's background and how he got into cycling What inspires Tejay Tejay's ride with Reggie Miller Why pro riders choose to live in Giron The mental and physical game of riding the Tour de France Balancing family life as a Pro Tour Rider How he maintains race weight Is there still a culture of doping?  Links Tejay Van Garderen Wikipedia Page BMC Racing Team Support the Show If you like my show, I’m aiming to make it an ad-free zone using crowdfunding to support it.  All donations will go directly to the production of the show. I’m raising money using Patreon.   A lot of podcasts sell ads to cover the production costs of the show, which can be quite high. I am not a fan of ads when I listen to podcasts so my goal is make this podcast an ad-free zone. The currently production of this free show is primarily supported out of my own pocket and a small portion is covered through the donations on Patreon. With my Patreon page, you can donate directly to the show which will help me cover the costs each week. If you find value and enjoy this show, you can donate any amount 200 dollars per month to as little as one dollar per episode (which is only 4 dollars a month!) I really appreciate your support! Crowdfunding on Patreon – thank you! Shop my products!  Leave a review or share on social media Don’t forget to subscribe! Apple Podcasts Stitcher Google Play Thanks for listening! --------------The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.