Stay Home Story with Timo Roosen

How are you?
It is going well, also with my girlfriend and our families. We are healthy and that is the most important thing. As a top athlete you are normally always looking after yourself and you also travel a lot. Then it is nice to be at home with your family. We relax. Furthermore, I keep doing my training, we follow the guidelines and we don’t do any crazy things.

What do your workouts and training look like at the moment?
The focus in my training is mainly on maintaining my fitness level. It is now a matter of keeping fit and losing as little as possible with regard to my shape. I try to do my training outside as much as possible according to our government’s guidelines. I am trying to stick to my regular training schedule. I like to have structure, so that I know where I stand. However, I do check on a daily basis whether what is on the programme is feasible. It gives me a lot more satisfaction when I have variation in my training. Next to that I also participate on my Tacx in the team’s social rides and e-races. That is really entertaining. It is also a nice way to keep in touch with your teammates. It makes your daily workouts on the Tacx a lot more fun. I also participate on a regular base in the social rides or e-races of Het is Koers en de Rode Lantaarn.

How do you get on with your days?
We actually do different kind of things. In addition to my workouts, I walk a lot with my girlfriend or do jobs in and around the house. We are now renovating the staircase for example. You mainly do things for which you normally don’t have time as a top athlete. Normally we are in the middle of the classic period in this time of the year. It is also relaxing to take a break with my girlfriend on the days that I don’t train. That is really something I enjoy. Furthermore, it is mainly a matter of keeping myself busy to kill time.

How do you motivate yourself?
I have no problem in motivating myself. I just love to ride my bike. It has been nice weather lately and we are able to ride outside. Of course, the intensity in my training is not the same as it is supposed to be right now and we don’t go deep every day. But that does not alter the fact that in my training I take into account the fact that we can hopefully still race this season. For now it is mainly a matter of keeping myself fit and prevent losing my shape as much as possible, so that I am ready as soon as the season can restart. But thinking too far ahead isn’t always good either. It is better to focus on the present and on the things that you can control. For example, I alternate my workouts. I am not only training on the asphalt, but also on cobblestones, on gravel, indoor and sometimes even on the cross bike. I am also constantly looking for new routes. That is a lot of fun to do and it’s pretty challenging. It really gives me a lot of satisfaction.

Which series or movies are you watching at the moment?
I don’t watch many movies. Every now and then a series. I have to admit that at some point I get tired and I don’t have the patience for it. However, I regularly do watch Netflix. Especially the docu series Tiger King. It’s quite funny. I watch many docu-series. Mainly reality series. I recently watched the documentary about our colleagues at Movistar. On the regular television channels I mainly watch the news and Boer Zoekt Vrouw.

Which songs do you play on your playlist by default?
I listen to a wide variety of music. It really depends on what flow I am in and what kind of training I have on my program that day. But in general I listen a lot to hip hop, pop, EDM, dance and also rap music. I have separate playlists for different kinds of training. A separate playlist for the warming up, a separate list for the Tacx, a separate list for interval training et cetera. I actually listen to a mix of different artists. It all depends on the mood I’m looking for. But Major Lazer is one of my favourites and always gets me in the right mood.

Do you have any tips for people to stay fit?
The most important thing is to stay busy. Make sure that you do something that you enjoy and that you feel most comfortable with. I would recommend to structure your daily program and work with fixed times. Just like you do with working at home. Get up around the same time every day and plan your activities carefully. Don’t postpone it. Procrastination is the thief of time. Because if you do, then it is usually difficult to get started and you are mostly already tired before you have even started. That is not something I would recommend. So focus is very important. Even if you don’t look forward to doing it, I recommend to do it anyway. Also to get out of the rut. Once you are outside and you are doing your workout, the rest follows automatically. So stay busy. You can try anything. From riding outside, the Tacx, Zwift, core stability, power training to walking. On the team’s website or through our Youtube channel, you can find videos that can certainly help you with this. The Fit at Home challenges, for example. If you don’t have the essentials for these kind of workouts, you have to be a little creative. For example, you can use a bucket or bottles of water for certain exercises if you do not have the necessary weights at home.

What is your favourite dish?
Basically everything with salmon. A pasta with salmon or Gentse waterzooi are really delicious. The latter may not be very well known in the Netherlands, as it is a typical Ghent dish, made from chicken or fish and served with vegetables, cream and potatoes. It is served as a kind of soup with bread. A pizza is also very delicious from time to time. I made one myself recently. I now have more time for that. A healthy pizza, of course.

What other sports do you like?
Especially speed skating. I have played a lot of football and have done a lot of speed skating as a little boy. I even started playing football and started speed skating before cycling. I still try to do it every now and then. As a cyclist I have little time for it, but if possible I will still put on my speed skates. It’s also a bit unfortunate that we have such a good weather at the moment. It was the ideal time for it now. I also still follow football, but not really extensively. I mainly follow cycling, mountain biking and cyclocross. I love to do cyclocross myself. I now also regularly go out on my cross bike to keep it fun and to explore some new paths.

What is your favourite game?
When we are at training camp I mainly play FIFA on the PlayStation with the boys and also with the staff. That is fun to do and also good for the atmosphere within the team. I am very fanatic about this, together with Pascal, Mike and Dylan. In the end, I cannot get to beat the real specialists like Mike and Dylan. Although it is always nice to fool them every now and then. Consider it a healthy rivalry. At home I don’t have a PlayStation. I also don’t play computer games. Back in the days, when I was younger and still living at my parents’ home, I was playing a lot of videogames. Especially Grand Theft Auto and FIFA. I recently did a puzzle with my girlfriend Lobke. We also played Jackaroo against Mike and his girlfriend Corine. We played that through a video connection. Jackaroo is a kind of ‘Mens erger je niet’, but with cards instead of dices. It is a fun and tactical game. Lobke and I won of course. There was no other option. It was a very nice evening.

Which apps on your phone are running in overtime?
Like many others, I also use the social media apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram a lot. Instagram is the most popular with me, although I must admit that there is not much going on there at the moment. I also use Spotify a lot to listen to music. When I get home, I connect my phone to the speakers. Sound on maximum volume and a nice beat to get along with it. I am also a frequent user of TrainingPeaks, Strava and not to forget the Jumbo Foodcoach app. In the beginning, when the restrictions were set, I didn’t use the Foodcoach app that much, but in recent weeks I am using it more frequently. Eating properly and healthy is very important.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Stroopwafels! They are very delicious, especially with coffee. I often put the stroopwafel on top of the coffee. The steam makes it nice and soft. Typically Dutch. I am also a fan of sweets and ice cream.