Hank has ridden over a million miles in his long career. When he started out bikes had gear shifters on the downtube. Now it’s all electric. Hank doesn’t understand it but It doesn’t matter- he just rides what they give him without complaint. His folded face hasn’t softened as he’s aged, it’s even more wrinkled. Skinny legs like rippled oak, veins exposed and stiff beneath the skin, Muscles crunchy in the morning, but give him half an hour and gradually they start to loosen. Knees finally relenting. Hank feels all the old sensations again. 

An American who is still head over heels in love with Europe. He loves the history, and the sport more than anyone. It’s what keeps him coming back, stretching and battering his tired body over and over. Hank has more TUEs than anyone. He is on: bladder medication, joint relief, vertigo inhibitors. He is diabetic due to sheer volume of sugar consumed during his career. There’s blood thinners due to some….er…. thickening drugs taken in the 90s…Steroids for a recurring bottom sore and pills to help his liver and kidneys, then calcium for his weak bones.

 He;’s a keen user of Ketones to keep  him at racing weight  and there’s probably a few more things that come in Jiffy bags silently pushed through his front door without comment. but Hank did not want to disclose or he had forgotten. Both are equally plausible. 

Hank has publicly stated that he will ride until they take the bike from his cold dead hand and if Hundini let him ride Flanders, Roubaix then all 3 Grand Tours just one more time then that’s a very likely possibility. Hank is also considering the Race Across America if he can squeeze this in between Grand Tours. If he’s not riding he sits staring at a white wall  in his kitchen until it is time to ride. He lives in a 1 bed flat above a hairdressers shop in Nice. He never unpacks his case, owns no clothes that don’t feature sponsorship logos. The walls are bare save for a picture of Hank winning Haut Var sometime in the 90’s. No-one rings Hank’s Doorbell. But that is fine. Because Hank will be on the road. On the road until the end.