The Ant White Interview

We caught up with Ant White, multiple winner of Mountain Mayhem 24 hour solo, international two-wheeled traveler and world-class wirey whippet on wheels. We asked him how he got so fast, stays so fast and what his plans are for the future. Oh, and what the bells on his helmet are all about.

Fi: How long have you been riding? When did you start? How did you get into racing?

Ant: I've been riding bike as transport from an early age. I then got into cycling touring as a teenager as a cheap way of having an adventure and the best way of exploring and experiencing foreign lands. When mountain bikes came on the scene I was living in Scotland and felt it was a far better way of exploring the hills than by foot. I thought I was good at it as I cycled up hills that people struggled to walk up, however when I started racing I got my legs ripped off!. I wasn't too happy about that and just set about training to meet my goals. It became quite addictive.

Ant White

Fi: Why 24hr racing? Why not xc or road racing?

Ant: The longer races suited me as I also love long rough cycle touring so my endurance was quite good. The longer races also just seemed like the ones that held the biggest challenges to overcome, so I was drawn more to them when they started to appear. I didn't really come to racing at an early age or through cyclocross, so struggled a bit with the intensity of cross country racing. I also don't have the VO2 Max of a horse! I do like cross country though and now I'm a ‘vet’ I will be doing more of it. I recently won the Midlands XC at Hanchurch and was 5th this year at the National Champs which isn't bad a few weeks after the 24 hours of Mountain Mayhem!

I struggle with the intensity of xc. I don't have the VO2 Max of a horse!

But my advice is that if you want to be fast at ultra endurance racing then do cross country races. If you want to be fast at cross country do road races. Although I find road racing a bit unpleasantly dangerous, whenever I do it though it really brings the fitness on, I feel like I've popped out a new artery afterwards. Cyclocross is excellent too and most landings are soft!

Whenever I race on the road it really brings the fitness on, I feel like I've popped out a new artery afterwards...

Fi: What keeps you going? How many 24hr races have you done now?

Ant: It's becoming difficult to keep track of the number of 24s I've done. I'm running out of fingers and toes. I've started 16, finished 13 and been on the podium in all of those. I'm quite proud of my finishing rate these days as its big achievement to cycle for 24 hours pretty much non-stop. That’s what keeps me going really. It’s not just about getting on the podium.

I've done three 24 hour races this season and last season. This is a bit much as it's such an effort to prepare, race and recover and it does dampen your enthusiasm a bit. Also you need a good dedicated pit person/crew which is a bit of an imposition. Personally I prefer racing for the 8 - 12 hour length, or 100 miles. I think two 24s a year is probably the right number. I'm always looking for interesting races in the UK and races to keep the fire alive! The challenges keep me going and I just like to be ultra fit.

Fi: Which were your favourites?

Ant: I like the Old Pueblo event in Arizona. The vibe is great, and the course is really fun when you're riding fast and at night, weaving through cactti. Mountain Mayhem is super for the sheer size of it. I always get a lump in my throat when I line up to do it.

Fi: You have won Mayhem more times than anyone else. Tell us about that.

Ant: This year was my 10th Mountain Mayhem and I've won it 4 times now. I like the vibe, as it's the biggest UK race there's lots of support. All the climbing suits me as well. There's a decent prize fund for the soloists (we deserve it).

This year was my 10th Mountain Mayhem and I've won it 4 times now. I like the vibe, as it's the biggest UK race there's lots of support...

Fi: You spend a lot of time abroad. Tell us about that. How come you get to travel so much and race all over the world?

Ant: I love planet earth and travelling it. I like to combine it with cycling and racing. I've been to over 50 countries now. Life's short so I just kind of make it happen. I used the spend all my holiday's travelling, then I worked hard intense contracts so could travel at the end of them (trying to avoid the British winter). Now I run a small online sales business selling high end bike bits so I'm reasonably flexible. Wherever I have wifi I can work. I spent 2 weeks working from a beach on an island off the coast of Sumatra in March after going to the big cycle show in Taiwan. I will be in the UK more now though as my Dad isn't that well.

Ant White

Fi: What bikes do you ride? You're famously fussy about your bikes and they're known to be super light weight. What is your secret?

Ant: As I'm quite small I need a light bike to shift up them there hills. My main bike is a Cannondale Scalpel. With an insanely light 3.5lb frame (including shock) it can be built into the lightest full suspension bike. Mine is currently 19.2lb (with sensible tyres) and I'm not even running the top of the range frame and fork. It's super stiff and accelerates brilliantly so is very fast and I just put on a fatter rear tyre to “up the comfort” in 24 hour racing.

My Cannondale Scalpel is super stiff and accelerates brilliantly, so is very fast and I just put on a fatter rear tyre to “up the comfort” in 24 hour racing...

I've just built a lightweight 29er to compliment the Scalpel. I've also got lightweight Cannondale carbon Lefty with carbon steerer (the lightet 29er fork set up) and this bike will be 19lb dead.

I'm always looking for the lightest gear and see if it will hold up. I use a blend of KCNC and MT ZOOM (Mount Zoom) finishing kit. MT ZOOM (www.MTZOOM.com) is a brand I am in the process of launching. I've sourced the product from various manufacturers and tested them and now sell it mainly through the www.xcracer.com shop. It's brilliant stuff and we're struggling to keep up with demand so I’ve not banged the drum too hard so far.

Fi: Any other bike-build tips?

Ant: I use Sram gripshift on an X9 rear mech (sometimes my hands are too cold to move trigger shifters in winter races). I’ve converted to Rotor rings as I think they save the legs at end of very long rides. I use No Tubes podium wheels or Strada wheels. I have been experimenting with tubulars recently from Strada and they seem to take things on to another level. They've got some great wheelsets coming down the pipeline which I'm lucky to be trying out.

Fi: What training do you do? What is Ant White's average week?

Ant: There's no such thing as an average week for me and I never seem to get as much training as I like or plan. Currently I'm very busy and surviving on very little training. It's mainly racing that's keeping me going. A typical summer week is panning out to be a 4 hour hard ride, a 2 hour ride with intervals (or turbo session), a 30 min swim and a hot (Bikram) yoga session. And always a race. I'll chuck in a bit of running in the winter. In the lead up to a big 24 hour race I try to get some longer rides in, maybe laced with intervals.

I try to get away in the spring in the lead up to the race season to lose some weight. I find a cycle tour in a 3rd world country with some lightly cooked street food does the trick! I'm very weight conscious, if I get down to 9 1/2 stone I'm fast on the hills. If I'm at 10 stone I'm very average. Weight is pretty critical.

I try to get away in the spring in the lead up to the race season to lose some weight. I find a cycle tour in a 3rd world country with some lightly cooked street food does the trick!

Fi: Who sponsors you?

Ant: Cannondale, MT ZOOM, Exposure Lights, KCNC, Strada Wheels and Skins

Fi: Pretty much the only person to have beaten you is Matt Page. would you like the national title? Are you going for it next year? What about Josh Ibbett? You three seem to have a bit of competitive rivalry going on!

Ant: I'd like the National title, but Matt is really difficult to beat. He's very focused and has got everything optimised; training, weight, gear and general organisation. For a young guy he really knows his stuff. He could make a good coach I think. Josh is determined and getting stronger. I'm sure he'll have his day.

I'm not sure I'll do the National 24 next year, it takes a lot of training and commitment. I'll do at least one 24 hour but I'm looking forward to more xc and European marathon racing.

Ant White

Fi: Do you think you'll ever retire from racing?

Ant: Not for a while. I'm pretty addicted and there's lots of age category races. I do find myself thinking about fishing and gardening a bit, which I must stop.

Fi: Do you have plans to take on some other endurance challenges, like the Great Divide, South Downs Double or Iditarod?

Ant: In moments of delusionary weakness I occasionally think about the longer weirder races, but I've been known to get lost in cross country races so I'd be useless when a degree of navigation is needed. Keep me between the tape and not too cold and I'm fine.

In moments of delusionary weakness I occasionally think about the longer weirder races like the Great Divide, but I've been known to get lost in cross country races so I'd be useless when a degree of navigation is needed...

Fi: What's coming up for you?

Ant: There some big UK races coming up. I'm looking forward to the Big Dog this year and the Kielder 100. I'm probably going to do the Mountain Bike Tour of Langkawi stage race at the end of October. I’m looking forward to some more European marathons next year and one day would like to do the Crocodile Trophy in Australia.

Fi: Finally, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't ask what that bell is all about...

Ant: The bells on my helmet... they have multitude of uses. They let other riders know I'm around, they serve as an early warning system (of theft) when I leave my helmet on my bike upon entering a shop etc. and of course they are lucky. They're a bit worn out right now. I'm currently looking around for a lighter upgrade.

End.