At last year's Paris-Nice I asked Cervelo (now Raleigh) man Dan Fleeman who was impressing. The answer was surprising, none of the 'heads' were mentioned, rather a man of whom Dan said, 'I've never seen anyone chase like that, he just sat there on the front and rode and rode!' Who was Dan talking about? None other than Team Sky's Michael Barry.
Michael Barry has been a pro since 1998, he spent four years with Saturn then joined US Postal in 2002 where he stayed - through the change to Discovery Channel - for five seasons. In 2007 he was with T-Mobile and again stayed through a change of sponsor, this time to Team Columbia where he rode seasons '08 and '09.
And this year, when Team Sky were building their team to back Bradley Wiggins' Tour bid, it was on the Canadian's door they came knocking.
We caught up with the softly spoken man from Toronto on the Tour's second rest day, at Pau.
PEZ: You've ridden the Giro and Vuelta but this is your first Tour - what are your impressions, Michael?
It's a fantastic experience, it's interesting because I don't think that the racing is that much different from other pro races but the number of spectators, the huge logistical factors and the emotion that surrounds the race make it so inspiring. When you're riding it you are in the middle of it all and don't realise the attention that's being paid to the race. But as I kid it was the race that I dreamed of and which was responsible for the direction my life took - I guess that those kids like me are still out there, dreaming. But as for the racing, I was chatting to Jez Hunt on one stage, when were in the Jura and we agreed that as far as the racing goes we could be in the Tour de L'Ain - just another race; but the stakes are much higher and the riders more nervous.
PEZ: You've ridden the Giro and Vuelta, how do they compare to the Tour?
The Giro is very hard, the Italian teams are all at a peak for it - but the fact is that there are no easy pro bike races!
PEZ: Are you happy with your form?
Yeah, I came here with one goal - to help Bradley to win; my objective was to do my best and I think the whole team has done that - even if in the end, Bradley didn't have the legs.
PEZ: Your race highlight?
Seeing the emotions of the spectators, you don't see that at any other race. It's like the emotions that were generated among the fans when the Beatles were at the height of their fame. I go to rock concerts but you just don't see emotions like that.
PEZ: What's been the hardest stage, so far?
There have been a few very uncomfortable ones - in the Alps I was recovering from crashing on the Spa stage; I slid on my backside for 10 metres. It wasn't so bad on the flat but on the climbs it wasn't pleasant. The Pyrenees have been hard, yesterday (from Pau) was strange, a crazy start then an easy finish.
PEZ: How do you think the Tourmalet stage will go?
I think it will go on the Soulor, Schleck has to put significant time into Contador. Astana has better climbers than Saxo and they might go early to put Schleck under pressure.
PEZ: Do you think Sky put itself under too much pressure before the race, with all the hype?
Before the Giro and the Tour David Brailsford sat down with the selected guys and said; 'all I expect of you is that you give your best every day' - he had the same sort of conversation with me and Flecha before Paris-Roubaix - and every rider has given their best. Brad hasn't had the legs but he's killed himself, there are days I've seen him sitting on the bus after a stage and he's white as a ghost. You can't expect too much in your first Tour, the team has never raced at this level, before. Morale in the team is good.
PEZ: Boasson Hagen has perhaps fallen short of expectation.
It's only his second Grand Tour - he rode the Giro in 2009 - and he's been sick. The team have not put him under any pressure. He's here to get his feet wet but people expect a lot from him - he carries the weight of expectation of a nation. The team wants to let him grow, the public expected so much from him in the Spring Classics but he was injured. He's had some good sprint results in the race and that's without a strong lead out train.
PEZ: What lessons will Sky take away from the Tour?
The race is still in progress, we'll wait until the finish before we sit down and look at things. But de-briefing is a very important part of how the team functions - David is always asking for rider input.
PEZ: 'Chaingate?'
It's an interesting one, as a pro you have certain basic things that have to be in place - a bike that works, make sure you eat enough. But there are always unpredictable circumstances, on the Spa stage there was oil on the road so that perhaps merits the neutralisation. But there are things which just happen in races; before the chain incident, Nico Roche punctured and no one waited - the race was 'on.'
PEZ: You're riding here at the highest level in the world; do the Commonwealth Games still have a place in your mind?
Yes, it's something I've been talking to the national team about. It's like the Olympic Games, whilst to cycling fans it's the Grand Tours and Monuments which are important, to the man in the street in Canada it's the Olympics and Commonwealth Games which are a big deal. Back when I was a kid I'd always look at the Games results.
PEZ: How do you recover from the Tour?
I'll have a couple of weeks easy then I have the Eneco Tour then the two UCI races in Canada - I want to do well in them. After that I'll take stock for the Commonwealth Games and Worlds.
PEZ: And are you sick of eating pasta, yet?
I'm sick of eating, generally! Thankfully we have our own chef and he does a lot of cooking with rice and grains. Thomas Lövkvist said to me the other day that he can't wait to be home, sitting quietly in the garden with his girlfriend, a hamburger grilling on the barbecue. I thought; 'yeah, that sounds good!'
***
We wish Michael all the best with that hamburger and a safe ride to Paris.
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