Chris Horner chats with theroaddiaries.com after his return from the 2010 Tour de France – see the interview at bottom of page

Team RadioShack’s Chris Horner delivered another incredible effort at this year’s Tour de France in support of team leader Lance Armstrong. Bad luck ultimately limited Lance’s chances for the overall and Horner’s task quickly became maintaining the team’s standings in the Team Classification and helping his team leader search for stage wins. Despite only riding for himself on two stages, he ended up 10th overall in the general classification, surprising to some, including himself.

Chris was a big part of RadioShack winning the Team Classification at the 2010 Tour

Horner, for my money, is the most affable guy in the ProTour peloton. He always says hello, is always in good spirits, he’s the consumate professional, and rarely turns down the chance to talk to fans or media. If you ask him he will tell you its part of his job, but he also truly enjoys the interaction. He has a fierce sense of loyalty, you can feel it in how he speaks about his team and teammates. And despite the fact that he is one of the most respected riders in any field, having been a pro for 16 years, he shows great respect for his fellow riders. He takes a humble and no-nonsense approach to cycling and to everyday.

The relaxation process post-Tour included some terrible daytime TV, here Chris enjoys a rerun of “Charmed”

I sat down with Chris at my house this week, he and girlfriend Megan have visited for the the past three years . They arrived Monday afternoon, fresh from Paris, even I was surprised they arrived so quickly post Tour. His reason for being here is that there is great racing in Chicagoland in July and August, this weekend he would be taking the start at the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove. I had some basic questions for him in a ten minute interview, he always provides great detail in his answers.

To preface the day, it started early when my doorbell rang at 6am. As I bumbled out of my bedroom Chris was already in the hallway walking to the door, wide awake and still on Euro time, telling me, “I think that’s for me.” It was the UCI’s drug control. I am normally up well before 6am, but I was going to be at home (to telecommute and interview Chris), and decided waking a little later would not be the worst idea. The doorbell rang two more times before 6:30. Between getting various body fluid samples from Chris, and forgetting stuff in their cars, the UCI folks kept locking themselves out of my house and freely ringing my rather loud doorbell. They took some of his blood as well as my extra hour of sleep.

Horner a few weeks ago just prior to the start of the Tour de France

Heading into the final part of the season Horner, nicknamed “Zeppelin” early in his career and “the Redneck” more recently by Lance, will race Tour of Elk Grove, the two Canadian ProTour races in Quebec and Montreal, followed by Liege and Lombardia. The latter are two of his favorite races and he noted them as goals to the season, so look for aggressive rides form the . Thanks to Chris and his girlfriend Megan (who assisted with some of the answers) for taking a few minutes to sit down with me.

Horner brags about how comfy his shoes are and his custom inserts in Rotterdam

The face of Horner