Three unexpected things we now know about HTC-Columbia director sportif Brian Holm.
In chronological order:
#1 Holm, along with co-conspirator Rolf Aldag, is part of the great undiscovered comedy duo of the ProTour. This we discovered by watching the two work their ad-lib routines in Jason Berry’s excellent Chasing Legends film, his three month long up close and personal with the team during the 2009 Tour de France.
You look at the usually austere and severe looking Holm and assume the worst: zero sense of humor, over-reliance on strict rules, no ice cream after the killer hill intervals. All untrue. The man has got his comedic timing down and not even funny man Jonathan Vaughters of Garmin Transitions could keep up with this two man show. That was our first surprise.
#2 Again, going against all expectation and snap judgement assumptions on my part, Holm has a smokin’ hot wife who is tall, toned and tanned. I saw this Danish bombshell and their young son at the HTC-Columbia team bus right after the final stage of the Tour de France. I’d never have put them together in a million years — she and Bernard Eisel, maybe, but not Holm. I had him figured for the quiet, mousy type but capital W wrong again and twice fooled.
#3 Now, we read that not only is Holm funny and married to tanned, tall bombshell but he hangs out with famous English fashion designer Paul Smith. The two of them have announced a charity bike auction to benefit the Danish Cancer Society. Not only that, SMith has designed clothing for Holm’s company, La Flamme Rouge. They’re cycling buddies and Smith constantly emails Holm for the insider trading on bike races. Which makes Holm funny, married to bombshell and well-dressed when off duty.
We will not be fooled a fourth time. We will cease all superficial guesswork on Brian Holm’s account. We admit a complete failure of insight and imagination. But only in Holm’s case. The rest of the peloton will still get our breezy and misguided assessments if for no other reason than humor.
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