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have very different outlooks on
it. I will think nothing of cutting a
ride short if the weather is bad, or
saying, do you want to change the
route or have a coffee. Whereas
Dani has got her plan, got her
efforts for the day and she sticks
to that like glue.”
“Sometimes,” interrupts Dani,
“when I am doing an effort for
example, and then Matt starts
riding really hard straight after,
I get frustrated because I’m in
pain, physically in pain and you
just can’t think normally!”
With their Rowe and King
coaching company another cycling
aspect of their life, it is clear the
sport binds them together.
“If Matt wasn’t into cycling and
as passionate about the business,
we would be so separate because
so much of my time is taken up
by cycling,” Dani explains, before
Matt takes over.
“It would be easy for cycling
to be all-encompassing and
consume us, but I’m very aware of
that and in the evenings outside of
work hours we actively try not to
talk about it to try and have a life
outside it.”
Lizzie and Phil
Deignan
Riding for Boels-
Dolmans and Team
Sky respectively,
Lizzie and Phil
Deignan both ride at
the very pinnacle of the sport
and find this status accentuates
the performance gap between
them, limiting rides together to
pre-season only.
“We only do general endurance-
type rides, they are easier to ride
together, otherwise we might start
a ride together but we won’t end
that way,” explains Phil.
“We’re not compatible during
the season,” explains Lizzie.
“Our training speeds are too
different. We are not competitive
at all; I would lose, although I
reckon I could have him in a sprint
if I got the jump on him.
“I sit on Philip’s wheel most of
the time and enjoy the scenery.
While we’re both at home we
leave the house at the same time,
to make sure we have the routine
of having breakfast together,
otherwise it’s all about cycling.”
While our amateur couples
could think of few
disadvantages to
being a cycling
couple, the Deignans
have a different view.
“We don’t see each
other very often in
the season,” says
Lizzie. “There was
a period last year when I was in
Holland for the Spring Classics and
Philip went to the Giro straight
away, so we didn’t see each other
for seven weeks.”
However, while they try to get
away from cycling when at home,
with little sign of their careers in
their Monaco apartment, their jobs
mean they are perfectly equipped
to support each other.
“We both have a really good
understanding of how the other
might be feeling,” says Phil. “If
we feel totally shattered, I can
understand or she can understand
how I feel. When we get back from
a race we can really relate to each
other well.”The expert’s view:
Ammanda MajorHead of service quality
and clinical practice at
Relate, the relationship
counselling service,
Ammanda Major believes there
are definite advantages for
couples who cycle together.
“It is about having a bond,”
Major told us. “Whether that’s
cycling or birdwatching, it is about
that fun element of being together
even when it is hard work — like
cycling uphill — you’ve got that
shared endeavour.
“You’re doing something
healthy which maintains good
mental health and contributes
to that sense of the two of you
getting away from it all and
spending time in each other’s
company, which is important
for a couple.
“Being competitive might also
enhance the relationship, but
the downside is if that becomes
blaming. The person who is better
needs to make allowances and
that should be part of helping
them improve in ways that make
sense and feel nurturing and
supporting. You need to adjust
your own priorities.”
Even if we find time to
occasionally ride with our partner,
cycling is a time-consuming
pursuit, with the potential to take
you away from your loved one,
something which Major says
should be addressed to retain
harmony within a relationship.
“Strong, healthy relationships
are able to tolerate separation
when a partner might be
pursuing a hobby. However,
that needs to work for both
partners and the couple need to
be able to negotiate that. What
can sometimes happen is that
people get more and more into it
without the couple discussing the
implications for their relationship.
The key thing is to keep checking
in with a partner about how
they’re finding it.”“When we get back
from a race we can
really relate to each
other well”
Cycling unites the Deignans
even when they’re apart24 | February 8, 2018 | Cycling Weekly