A Canadian Rider’s Unorthodox Climb
The New York Times does a feature of Svein leading up to the Amgen Tour of California. From the article:
“Those who have heard the tale of Svein Tuft have wondered, could it possibly be true?
How he dropped out of school in the 10th grade, lured by the freedom of the outdoors. How he evolved into a barrel-chested woodsman with Paul Bunyan biceps. How he ventured, at 18, from his home in Canada into the wilderness on a $40 thrift-shop bike hooked to a homemade trailer.
They have learned of the way he traveled sparingly, towing only his camping gear, a sack of potatoes and his 80-pound dog, Bear. The way he drank from streams and ate beside an open fire. Or hopped trains across Canada, resting as the land flickered by.
Now 31, Tuft is out to prove that all the raw travel and personal drive can translate into something beyond his survival. Recruited by one of the world’s top cycling teams, he is about to begin a more disciplined journey. It starts next weekend with the Tour of California, where he will race with the Garmin-Slipstream squad, and is likely to continue this summer at the Tour de France.
“He’s a late, late bloomer who lived a lifestyle that has been completely incongruent with any professional cyclist out there,” Jonathan Vaughters, the team’s director, said. “In Europe, you are pressured to succeed by the time you are 18, and if you don’t do it by the time you are 21, then you’re done. But Svein? He’s somebody who has lived life according to how he wanted to live it.”
Tuft at the November Garmin team training camp near Boulder Colorado
Tuft figured out he was a natural racer at 23. He was home from a cycling trip to Alaska when his father suggested he try racing. In his first event, a local road race, he was in the lead when he dropped out with a flat tire. Two races later, he won for the first time.
From there, he blossomed. But Tuft also felt trapped between a life in the outdoors and one in the structured world of professional competition.”
sick article, youre my hero
Great article, Svein! I can’t wait for you to show them what a Canadian hard man can do in the northern Classics.
Right after that article published I saw a massive spike in page views for my flickr account. It was all from referrals from google image searches for “Svein Tuft” – I have a bunch of Tuft photos from the local Vancouver races in the first few pages of results. Kind of cool to see the result, and great seeing him getting the press!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/realaworld/3270316423/
Ryan that is cool. I haven’t checked my own flickr stats for that time period–I need to go do that!