Episode 63
“Racing riders quicker than you is always [good], you’re going to learn something”
If you joined us for racing over the summer, chances are you saw some dark green kit go by in a blur. One of those belongs to this week’s guest, British Sprinter Joe Truman. Joe and his teammates joined us for a two week block this summer. **As a disclaimer, this episode was recorded in June 2022– Joe went on to compete at the Commonwealth Games where he went down in a crash in the Keirin Semis. He is on the mend, and we wish him continued recovery.** Andrew and Joe discuss how Joe came into cycling, what it’s like being coached by a former teammate, racing Japanese Keirin compared to Keirin, and much more.
Instagram:
@joetruman1
Thanks to B Braun Medical Inc. for sponsoring the Talk of the T-Town Podcast. BBraun is a global leader in infusion therapy and pain management, B Braun develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical products to the healthcare community. They are also strong believers in supporting the quality of life in the communities where their employees work and live.
Transcript
Maura Beuttel:
Broadcasting to you from the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. This is the Talk of the T-Town Podcast, where we discuss all things track cycling.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of Talk of the T-Town here at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. I’m today’s host, Andrew Paradowski and sitting with me today in our studios is Joe Truman from Great Britain. Joe’s one of the racers who’s here today, or this month, for our UCI racing block here at T-Town. He’s come with a bunch of his teammates and his coach to show the rest of the world how sprinting is done in Britain.
Joe Truman:
Try to.
Andrew Paradowski:
There you go. So thanks for being on the show with us today, Joe. How are you doing?
Joe Truman:
Sure. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it’s great to be in T-Town for my second time. Always a lot more sunnier than back home, so it’s good to be here in the summer.
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, that’s true. And the weather has been really good for us so far. Let’s hope that we can keep that going and that you haven’t brought any of that famous British weather with you.
Joe Truman:
We bring it everywhere we go, but not here yet.
Andrew Paradowski:
So you said this is your second time here in T-Town. When was the first?
Joe Truman:
Came in 2019, same time of year, I think, just for another two weeks. And yeah, it was a really good experience. We came there, different coach and different team last time. And this time, we got a couple new riders, new coach, but still a really good experience. So yeah, I’ve really enjoyed it so far.
Andrew Paradowski:
That’s right. So your new coach is Jason Kenny.
Joe Truman:
Yes. Sir Jason Kenny.
Andrew Paradowski:
Sir Jason Kenny, so someone that you used to ride with.
Joe Truman:
Yes.
Andrew Paradowski:
And now is a coach. How is that working out the dynamic with a former rider now being in charge of the program?
Joe Truman:
Yeah, really good. He’s just like, I couldn’t really imagine him not being part of the team and he still is part of the team, so it’s really good. He knows the system, so it was a pretty seamless transition for us and he’s just a really good guy to have on the squad, obviously. A lot of history in the squad. Well, Britain’s most successful Olympian, so he’s a good guy to have on your side at races and he’s been and done everything in the sport, so I think he knows what it takes to win really.
Andrew Paradowski:
Very cool. Well, we’re here today to talk about you. So how did you get into the sport? What gave you the cycling bug and brought you into it and brought you here today?
Joe Truman:
So I was a footballer as a kid. Well, soccer player as a kid up until I was like 15 or 16. I just started cycling the summer really for fitness. I just got into it from there really. There was a local outdoor track 550 meters down in Portsmouth, South Coast of England where I’m from and yeah, hired a bike there for a bit, enjoyed it and it went from there really. I was lucky to get on the under 16 British team after a few years of riding. And I think when you’re in the squad, you’re then looked after quite well and you progress through the levels. So for me, it’s been quite a natural progression through the British squad and I went full time in 2015 and have been riding for the squad since then.
Andrew Paradowski:
So how did that happen? I mean, how do you go from picking up a bike and just riding around the local country roads to getting on the team? Were you scouted or did you have to prove yourself on the races? How did that come to be?
Joe Truman:
Well, I was always pretty shocking at the road races. I think I did a few national series races, didn’t finish any of them. But if I was there in the bunch, I’d always be decent in the sprint so it’s pretty natural for me to then try the track, because a lot of people just stick with the road because they’re naturally good at it, but I was naturally awful. Yeah, as I said, I’d never really finished any of the circuit races as a kid, but I enjoyed the sprinting so I focused on that at quite an early age and it went from there really.
But I think we’re quite lucky in Britain. It’s quite obviously a small country. There’s quite a few different cycling hubs around. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t really have any indoor tracks anywhere near me, really, so all my training as a junior and as a youth was on the rollers or the turbo and I probably got on track once every six weeks or something crazy. And I think that’s why I was able to make really big jumps in progress when I did go full time, because I was on the track four times a week.
Andrew Paradowski:
That was in Manchester?
Joe Truman:
So I moved to, so as I said, I’m from Portsmouth, South Coast of England. I’m actually the other end of the, I mean, for us, it’s a long way, like a five hour drive for you guys is probably not too much, but yeah, that was a big transition. 17, 18 moved there straight after school and yeah, I went full time. And then since then, I’ve been up there with the team going for the Olympics.
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, you certainly had some success ever since then taking a look at some of your palmares here and you’ve certainly done well at the World Cup. You’ve gotten a couple of gold in the team sprint, once in Glasgow, once in Apeldoorn and you’ve done well at the European Track Championships and got a few more here as well. But why don’t you tell me about some of the more exciting moments where you’ve done really well?
Joe Truman:
Yeah. So I think for us our first big win was in 2016 when we got double World Cup champs. Yeah, Glasgow and Apeldoorn, that was crazy. 12 months really went from me, Jack Carlin and Ryan Owens, we went from kids really, and then straight into full time training for 12 months and end up with a couple of World Cup wins, which was pretty crazy. And then from there, it’s World Champs and things like that. And I think a couple of years later, we got silver at the World Champs. Just another one win with the Commonwealth Games for us as Commonwealth Games is pretty big for the Aussies, the Kiwis, the Canadians. That’s quite a big competition for us. I’ve got one in a month actually.
And we picked up a silver there a few years ago, but for us, it’s been trying to beat the Dutch really in the team sprint. That’s been our biggest challenge in the last five years and it’s still one we’re going for. Hopefully over the next two years, we’ll get even closer. But yeah, it’s always been we’ve been there or thereabouts in the team sprint, especially, but hoping to get a couple better in Paris.
Andrew Paradowski:
So you mentioned the battle between the Netherlands and British cycling here in T-Town. You guys have been going head to head at the Keirin and the sprint tournaments here. You’ve done really well I’ve seen. So I think last week you finished fifth in the Keirin and you went home with a podium finish in the sprint tournament last weekend.
Joe Truman:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
What’s it like competing against the Dutch powerhouse team?
Joe Truman:
Yeah, as I say, they’ve been setting the gold standard for the last few years and it’s just a good experience. Racing riders quicker than you is always, you’re going to learn something. You might got less chance of winning, but you’re going to come away with a learning point and I think that’s where it is at the minute. Harry took me 2 and 0 in the semi-final last week, so hopefully, I’ll get one closer this week. But I think, yeah, as I say, that’s setting the benchmark in terms of team sprint times. And obviously, they’re super strong and Harry’s a nine time world champion so if you’re running close to him, you’re in good form. So that’s given me some confidence, I think, going into the rest of the season.
Andrew Paradowski:
You also mentioned the Commonwealth Games. What are your goals for the upcoming event that’s coming down in next month and where is that again?
Joe Truman:
Yeah, so it’s Birmingham is holding the event, but we’re using the track cycles in London, because it’s a bigger facility.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Joe Truman:
I’m just buzzing for it. It’s going to be great. London, it’s got to be the best velodrome in the world. You’ve got 9,000 seats. It’s pretty much going to be packed out. It’s two tiers of seating. It feels like you’re at a football match, so that’s going to be great. I think, yeah, I hope to come away with a few medals. I’d like to get the final in the Keirin, get a ride off in the team sprint would be really nice. I think if we came away with that, it’d be a pretty positive experience.
Andrew Paradowski:
For sure. And with the hometown crowd there cheering you on-
Joe Truman:
Yeah, exactly.
Andrew Paradowski:
… It’ll be exciting.
Joe Truman:
It is odd for us though, because obviously, we’re Great Britain and for Commonwealth Games, we get split into England, Scotland, Wales. So we spend all this time training for the team sprint in a real dialed trio and then Jack Carlin, who’s our man too, he then goes to Scotland and we all split up. So we end up coming together in a new team and it’s a new challenge to learn how each person rides again. But it’s great fun, because I think I feel a lot more patriotic I think when we get split into teams. We get a lot more competitive with our teammates, because obviously we’re racing against them this time. So yeah, no, I was buzzing for the experience. I think always games format like that is always good fun, because you’ve got all the branding, you got all the media and attention on that, TV attention, so I know I’m excited.
Andrew Paradowski:
For sure. It does sound really exciting. All right, let’s break it up a little bit. Let me throw some rapid fire questions at you. What’s your favorite track event?
Joe Truman:
Track event, I have to say probably Keirin for the adrenaline, but we focus mostly on team sprint for obvious reasons.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay. What’s your favorite professional race out there to watch or ride or anything?
Joe Truman:
Track cycling?
Andrew Paradowski:
Anything really? Anything?
Joe Truman:
I like Paris-Roubaix if it’s on the road, but for track it’s just yeah, World Champs.
Andrew Paradowski:
Is there a pro racer or a former racer that you look up to, a hero?
Joe Truman:
Well, we got two in the British team. We’ve got Jason Kenny, Chris Hoy, and I think they’re both on similar level of how I look up to them, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
What is your favorite bike that you’ve ever ridden? And if you have to say your current sponsor one, that’s okay.
Joe Truman:
No, it’s not. My favorite bike’s a, I raced out in Japan and I got a custom steel bike and it’s a Bridgestone British Racing Green. It’s pretty cool. So I got it made to custom colors, custom sizing and everything so it’s got to be that. It’s still in Japan unfortunately. I haven’t bought it home yet, so I have to get that at some point.
Andrew Paradowski:
So that’s actually a good turning point there. You brought up Japan. I understand that you spent a little time racing in the Japan Keirin Association.
Joe Truman:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
I’ve got a ton of questions about that, but I think it would just be best to leave it to you to tell us about what that was like racing in Japan in a place where it’s completely different from the UCI and there’s betting involved and you’re wearing outfits-
Joe Truman:
Yeah, it’s great.
Andrew Paradowski:
… Stuff that would help you if you got into a crash. Yeah, so tell me about that time of your life. And I think our listeners would love to hear about it.
Joe Truman:
Yeah, it’s too much to go into really, but it’s like, I was there for two seasons. I got a two year contract, 2018 and 2019. It’s just the most opposite you can imagine to any UCI Racing. You’re on steel bikes. You’re racing outdoors. You’re in colorful kit, like horse racing sort of kit, big mushroom helmets. You’re allowed to throw hit. You’re allowed to hook up to other riders and head butt and shoulder barging and that’s the reason people wear American football armor almost on their shoulders. A lot of crashing. You’re racing in all weathers. I remember one of our first races I was in the start gate looking up to turn one and you’ve got a waterfall coming down turn one and you race in all weathers because obviously, the people are betting on it and they can’t cancel those bets. It’s just crazy. Probably the biggest thing for me was that when you’re at races, you’re in complete isolation.
So you come in on the first day, which is called Zenken Day, which translates to that inspection day. And on that day, you’ve got a eight point inspection, all your frames, all your kit, your shoes. You declare your tactics to the media on TV. You form lines with your opponents like small allegiances in your races, a form based on how you declare your tactics. And then you’ve got three days of racing. You’ve got one race a day for the next three days and your results in that determine what final you’re in on the last day so if you’re going to be in the big money one, or you’re going to be in one of the lower ones. And as I say, you’re in isolation so you got no contact with the outside world. All I had was a little iPod Nano with about three movies on it on a one inch screen that I was watching and a book.
And that’s pretty much all I had for four days. It’s a pretty crazy experience, especially that we spend three weeks at the Keirin school to start with, to get qualified, which is nothing compared to the Japanese students because they’re there for 11 months. So we get a short tracked course, learn all the rules and what you can do, what you can’t do, things like that. And it’s just a bit of a little culture shock to start with, but you get used to it and then it ends up just racing your bike. It’s great fun.
Andrew Paradowski:
What would you say would’ve been the biggest culture shock for you spending time in Japan? Not necessarily in cycling, but just in general in the culture?
Joe Truman:
Not sure really. I think the polite, I really like the politeness, so yeah, queuing for the train and things like that was quite… I’d always walk straight to the door then I’d realized there’s a queue of 20 people waiting to go. Things like that took take a bit getting used to.
Andrew Paradowski:
You mean they were better at queuing than the British?
Joe Truman:
Is that what we’re like? I don’t know. I don’t think we’re that great, but yeah, even better than that I guess. But yeah, really polite. Everyone’s really, when someone has a job, they do it amazingly. So at the races, you’ve got someone that sweeps the track and it’s like, they’re so detailed and they really take pride in all their work. It rubbed off on me quite a lot I think. I got some really good training efforts out there and I think really nice lifestyle for training, living at the Keirin School for six months each of the years or just down the hill from the Keirin school, but training there every day. Yeah, I got some really nice routines and probably some of the best training blocks I’ve had was out there.
Andrew Paradowski:
So how would you say that experience in training informed your Keirin racing under the UCI style of racing?
Joe Truman:
I think for me it simplified it a lot. I always went into UCI races with a million ideas. And obviously, you can’t really do that, because anything can happen when the bike pulls off. And out in Japan, it really is simplified. There’s three main tactics. You’ve got senko, makuri and oikomi. Senko is basically, you’re going to do a long sprint. You’re going to go off at least 400 meters to go. You’re going to be on the front and hit it pretty hard. Makuri is when you’re going to leave it to about 200 meters to go and you’re going to do a bit of swinging and try to protect any riders in front of you, hold off riders behind.
And oikomi is basically going to have a last ditch fight for the line. And they are the guys that usually wear all the body armor because they’re the ones going through gaps and doing little dangerous moves. I think for me, it’s simplified a bit, because I can look at it as am I going to sit unaware or am I going to go early and now that’s pretty much how I look at it. Yeah, I think, yeah, it was definitely a positive experience in terms of tactics.
Andrew Paradowski:
Very cool. So this is a question that we’ve been asking a lot of our guests recently and it’s pretty pertinent to recent history. Obviously, the world has gone through a massive shift with the pandemic having occurred over the last couple of years and it’s certainly affected a lot of people’s racing careers, some positive, some negative. I understand that you actually had to go through some surgery during the pandemic and for good or bad, that might have been a good time for that to happen because with less racing around, then you get more recovery time. So do you mind talking a bit about that with us?
Joe Truman:
Yeah, I think for me, it probably made it worse because there was less physio time and because we were in complete isolation I had no access to a physio or a doctor for quite a few months. So when England first went into lockdown, I think it was it April, 2020, that’s when my back was really bad. So yeah, we had a gym at home and I pretty much, I didn’t touch the bike for four months pretty much. I barely trained and then yeah, it got worse and worse and worse, progressively worse. I went to a rehab center for my back down south of England for a month. That did nothing. Helped a little bit, but then as soon as I started training, it went back again. And the Olympics got delayed and it got to the point where even if I fought through the pain any longer, I wasn’t going to make the games anyway because I missed that much training and Jason was doing amazingly in P3.
So yeah, we just took the decision to have surgery after about 18 months of struggling with it. So in hindsight, yeah, I wish I did it straight away when the injury happened, but I was looking at it and I was seeing I’ve got a year until the games, I can probably get through it and if I get to the games and then I can sort my back out after. But in the end, it got delayed and then it was too long to struggle on with a back problem. So yeah, I was at a point where I literally couldn’t put my socks on, so I was still training or I was still trying to train, but I couldn’t bend down to put my socks on and I took a step back and I was like, this is ridiculous, long term health is more important.
So yeah, I had lumbar surgery I think in November of 2020 and then it was like a six or seven month rehab from there really. So it was almost like getting on for two years without proper fully training. But weirdly, six months after my surgery, I started banging out personal bests again, so it was almost like, yeah, hindsight’s a great thing, isn’t it? I should have done it earlier, but yeah, now I’m pretty much pain free from it. I still get a little bit here and there like long plane journeys aren’t the best because I sat for a while and static nerve gets a bit sticky. But yeah, I’m in a position I can fully train and I can fully race and I don’t really have to, there’s no lifestyle changes I have to make, so that’s good.
Andrew Paradowski:
That is really good. And you can get your socks on now.
Joe Truman:
Yeah. It’d be nice if someone else did it.
Andrew Paradowski:
There’s a lot of buzz about the British team green socks. Everyone loves them.
Joe Truman:
Oh really?
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Joe Truman:
Well at least someone does. I’m not sure on them.
Andrew Paradowski:
The kids in cycling today, they’re all about the socks.
Joe Truman:
Really?
Andrew Paradowski:
So we had our local Tuesday night grassroots racing last night here.
Joe Truman:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was watching.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay, that’s right. You had the team there and cheering on Sophie Capewell while she was there and we have our kids on team T-Town, but a bunch of young kids mid teenage range and the coach went out and they had a little contest on best socks and they were crazy the different types of prints and animation and stuff like that. So when the kids say they like your socks, they truly mean it.
Joe Truman:
The green kits are all right. It’s obviously, that’s our trade team so we still race in the red, white, and blue for international races, world cups and stuff. But yeah, the greens are still a little bit British because it’s British racing green. Yeah, it divides opinion. I think it’s okay. Some people really don’t like it, but I’m glad some other people do.
Andrew Paradowski:
Let me do a few more rapid fire questions for you.
Joe Truman:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Do you have a favorite movie?
Joe Truman:
Saving Private Ryan.
Andrew Paradowski:
What is the best music to train to?
Joe Truman:
Train to, I mean, I got into it last time I was out here, but I got into country when I was out here last time and now I’m fond of country rocks on Spotify, which I really like. But Oasis is a big band in the UK. I don’t know if you know them over here, but-
Andrew Paradowski:
Oh yeah.
Joe Truman:
… Yeah, they’re always really good for getting motivated.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right. Post race snack?
Joe Truman:
Protein shake straight away and maybe a banana if it’s been a big session.
Andrew Paradowski:
You mean you actually like the protein shakes?
Joe Truman:
Oh, they’re great. Yeah, we’re sponsored by Healthspan Elite and they’re really, really nice actually. Yeah, no, I love them.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right. So Joe, it’s been great having you here. I got a couple more questions just to finish off, just some personal stuff. When you’re not racing or training, what do you do in your spare time? Tell our folks about Joe in his off hours.
Joe Truman:
So I play guitar, play a lot of guitar. So I do that. I probably play every day, varying length of times. That’s good to take your mind off it. I had to play a bit less when I had my back problem. I couldn’t sit down for very long so I had to play it lying on my back, which wasn’t so good. And then also, bought a drum kit when I was injured as something else to do. But again, I sat down, bad posture, so that wasn’t the best. Yeah in the summer, I go surfing a bit. I’m from the south coast so I like to go surfing in the UK and I’m learning Japanese as well. So they’re the three things I do. I’m also part-time at university.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay. What are you studying?
Joe Truman:
Sport science in Loughborough in the UK.
Andrew Paradowski:
Anything in particular in sport science?
Joe Truman:
I’m still pretty early in the… But I’m interested in, yeah, I’ve got a few interests, but I quite like biomechanics and human movement and things like that.
Andrew Paradowski:
So you’re looking for a career in sports after the racing portion of it’s done?
Joe Truman:
I’m just looking for options really. That’s why I’m keeping options open. Not sure how long. Hopefully, I got a few more years yet before I need to make a valid transition, but I think it’s always, have some options. Do a degree, do a few other things up my sleeve and see what happens.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right. Well that’s great, Joe. Thank you so much for coming out and sitting here with us today. It’s been great getting to know you. We’re looking forward to seeing you tear it up this weekend at our final race at the T-Town Summer Games at Discover Lehigh Valley UCI Race, and then watching your career as it unfolds in the future. So thank you very much for coming out.
Joe Truman:
Thanks for having me guys. Cheers.
Andrew Paradowski:
Cheers.
Joe Truman:
Thank you.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right everyone, so that’s it for Talk of the T-Town. We’re looking forward to having you join us next time as we continue interviewing different riders and personalities that come here and visit us in T-Town. Talk to you all soon.
Maura Beuttel:
Thank you for listening to this week’s episode of the Talk of the T-Town Podcast. If you like what you heard, please rate us and leave a comment on wherever you consume your podcasts. To find out more on this week’s guest, head on over to our website, thevelodrome.com to check out the show notes and subscribe so you never miss an episode.