Ride Leader Profile - Gab Santoro
Gab is our resident Italian Stallion, leading rides mostly out of South East London. If you're signing up for a Kent ride from Crystal Palace or Purley, you'll likely be led by Gab! Find out all about this Pantani fan below...
Vital Stats.
Name: Gab Santoro
Where are you from: Catania, Sicily
Give us a fact about your hometown: Only city in the world built on an active Volcano
Height: 171 cm
Weight: 68kg (High season), 73kg in winter, probably about 76kg during Christmas... ;)
Watts/Kilo: 3.0 w/kg... roughly!
Max Power Output: 225
Max Speed (and where?): 76kmh - down the last descent of the May Flyer 2016. Ziiiiiiing!
Current Bike(s): Cannondale Super Six Evo 2014
Name of your bike(s)? Why: Skippy (because on super steep climbs I have a tendency of sitting back too much and my front wheel "skips"), Slowy (because it's my slow commuter with panniers and it goes about a mile an hour at max power) and Fixie for obvious reasons :)
Dream bike: Colnago C64 Art Decor
Favourite Rides: Day 2 of the 2016 London to Paris, Amiens to Paris leg.
Notable Wins/Performances: 4h 44m at the Prudential 2017!
Nickname: Lele (you'll have to ask why on a ride!)
Cafe Stop - what are you having: Green tea for the win
Notable Rides:
Notable Rides To Date: Prudential RideLondon every year since 2013, London 2 Paris (3 day) 2015 and 2017
Favourite London Climb: Gotta be Leith Hill. Messes with you a lot by making you think it's finished and then comes back. A range of gradients which seem to have been engineered for road cycle training. You do Leith and you can go out and tell people you're a cyclist now!
Favourite Ever Climb: The D86 at Ully-Saint-Georges in France. not steep but just gorgeous and goes on forever. Tests your lungs and legs, but its so gorgeous it makes you feel like you're lucky to just be there.
How and when did you get into cycling: A colleague kept saying I should buy a bike when I was at my least fit ever in 2012 and I ended up giving in.... haven't stopped since!
Why Do You Ride:
What's your favourite thing about cycling: Absolutely no other activity will give you the same feeling you get when riding a bike down (or up!) a mountain in the blazing sunshine, with sweat dripping down your forehead, but feeling super happy with yourself. You get to really experience the world around you in a way that is impossible unless you're on a bike.
What's the best piece of cycling advice you’ve been given:
1. Make sure you eat before you're hungry and drink before you're thirsty.
2. Don't give in to all the buzz, kit and food and bikes are very personal - what works for someone doesn't necessarily work for someone else!
3. n+1
Your cycling bucket list:
If you could ride anywhere in the world tomorrow where would it be:
Gold Coast in Aus!
You have to pick 3 club riders to take on an event. Who do you pick:
Fabio Aru - because come on - the banter
Peter Sagan - because also, come on - the banter
Alberto Contador - because that face!
*We didn't realise Aru, Sagan and El Pistolero had been joining club runs... have you been hiding them Gab???! ;)
Cycling plans for the rest of 2018 and 2019:
2018: Velo South + Don't put on any more weight and get off your lazy arse ;)
2019: Etape, Prudential, RAB, hopefully a Spain break.
Pro/Fantasy Cycling:
Current Favourite Rider: Mark Cavendish
Favourite All Time Rider: Marco Pantani
What position would you take in a pro cycling team: Sprinter
Who would be your perfect pro team (with you as team leader): at least Pantani, Contador, Cavendish, Aru, Sagan!
Thanks Gab. You can meet Gab in person, and be led around some lovely Kent lanes by him, on one of our upcoming group rides. Click Here for all the details. You can also follow Gab on Strava, Instagram and Twitter.
