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The following is a transcript of the June 25th, 2009 teleconference with Tom Zirbel. Brook Watts: Hi everyone this is Brook Watts with the Tour of Missouri
Brook: Good well I’m not, I’m not sure who else we got on the line, but we’ll uh..we’ll give it a couple minutes and we’ll get started.
Tom Zirbel: Ok
Brook: When’s your next race?
Tom: Im going to Fitchburg umm out in Massachusetts, I leave the first of July through the Fifth.
Brook: Gotcha
Tom: Yeah.
Brook: That race has been around a long, long time.
Tom: Yeah I was pretty amazed, I mean they post the picture up on their home site, or their homepage of Lance back in the day at Motorola you know some other great, great cyclist back in the day and this is gonna be my first time ever doing it, So
Brook: Is it really?
Tom: Yeah, yeah
Brook: How do you react to humidity, I’m sure Minneapolis was awfully humid
Tom: Yeah
Brook: Does it bother you going from here in Colorado where it’s so dry to the humidity?
Tom: Hehe, yeah we got quite humidity here though. Haha
Brook: That’s true, this year’s been an anomaly for sure.
Tom: No I know what you’re sayin, um I’m from the Midwest, so I think I can adapt to it a little bit better than someone who has been in an arid climate.
Brook: Right, right.
Tom: but um definitely
Brook: It sure does, and I knew you were from the Midwest, but where are you from originally?
Tom: Uhh Northern Iowa.
Brook: What uh, where exactly?
Tom: Clear Lake is where I grew up.
Brook: Oh sure, sure. Clear Lake of course everyone thinks of Clear Lake as where Buddy Holly died in the plane crash.
Tom: Yeah, yeah I actually wasn’t cycling when I lived in Clear Lake
Brook: Sure
Tom: I didn’t pick up cycling until I moved to Boulder, So I haven’t been able to explore the roads too much. Once in a while when I get back, I’ll go on rides, but uh
Brook: Little difference feel isn’t it? I’m sure other people have joined us. This is Brook Watts from the Tour of Missouri, and I’m sitting here just sharing a few pre-press conference observations about his being raised in northern Iowa and uh starting cycling once he relocated out here to the Boulder Colorado area,. Brook: I’m sure we’ll have other people join us as we move along, but today our guest is Tom Zirbel, Tom is 31 years old, as I mentioned his home is in Boulder Colorado no, he races for the Bissell pro cycling team. Which he is having a really good year in which we will talk about some of his accomplishments In the next short time. You know Tom is known foremost to cycling fans as a Time Trialer, and he’s a master of that race against the clock, and at 6’ 4” and 190 pounds, it’s easy to understand where Tom gets the muscle to the big gears at high speeds that’s necessary to do that so well in Time Trialing. Tom was a silver medalist at the national championship TT last year, finishing at close second to Dave Zabriski. And Tom is coming off of a very interesting experience at the Nature Valley Grand Pre last week I don’t want to focus on it too much except to say that going into the final stage Tom had a lead of I believe 7 seconds, is that right Tom?
Tom: Yeah that sounds right.
Brook: That evaporated in the last couple of Kilometers, so you almost had the victory in what has become one of the big stage races in America in American racing calendar. Almost had victory in sight and then Roy Sutherland snatched it away, but you must still be pretty proud of that ride you had up there.
Tom: Yeah, its taken a week or two to focus on the positives you know, it was a great race but I think as a team came together really well and supported me to the fullest extent and put me in the position to win. And it was good experience for me. Like I said I’m from northern Iowa we don’t have a lot of races in the Midwest or have a big stage race. I mean this is the biggest NRC race that we do all year, and so to have friends and family there to support me and see me in the yellow for four days, or five days was a great experience for me you know it was a…I have a bitter taste in my mouth but I think I learned a lot of things more so than if I would of came away with a victory. Some positive things came out of it for sure.
Brook: Now, you mentioned the Bissell pro cycling team, they been riding in support of you most of this season, is that right?
Tom: I wouldn’t say most of the season, no, we have a very well rounded team; we have a lot of strong guys with different strengths. You know Ben Jacque-Maynes has been the go to guy for a several races, Burke swindlehurst has been a go to guy, and we’ll count on him again for Utah, and possibly Cascade. Kirk O’Bee is one of the best sprinters in the country, you know he showed that at Philly finishing at the podium behind two high road sprinters, yea I mean I have been the go-to guy a couple of times this season mainly due to my time trialing ability, Yeah you never know who is going to lead the team that’s what I like about Bissell. Everyone gets their opportunities and we are willing to sacrifice for the guy who is doing well in that particular week.
Brook: Lets Spend a couple of Minutes talking about your Tour of Missouri experience, we are going into the third edition of Tour of Missouri in 2009. Tell Me your impressions of the last two Tours of Missouri, how does the timing of the schedule fit for you, and then I want to hear a little bit about the misconception that most people have of Missouri as a flat state.
Tom: Well last year was my first edition so I cant say too much of previous years, but as far as timing, it does get difficult for us you know we’re in the US and our two biggest races are Tour of California and Tour of Missouri. Having them at opposite sides of the season plays funny games with your legs at times but you know we have the national championship to look forward to so we need to be going well to that race. Anyway but it just takes some planning in the middle of the season. No one can be at top form from February through September. We’ve managed to overcome that hurdle as far as the race it’s definitely not a flat state. It’s a great venue for a race there’s no ten minute climbs in the race but relentless going up and down winds and humidity like you were saying before and the heat all play a factor, it makes it a aggressive race we saw that last year In that field. It makes for a great venue.
Brook: Now I mentioned earlier that your 6’4” 190 lbs it’s a little more difficult that some of the flyweight guys getting over the hill, but yea you got that muscle base to do it. You know you’ve done extremely well in some of the races and how do you see that in Missouri?
Tom: Yea as far as the hill and my weight I try not to use it as an excuse for my mental aspect, everyone has to push power to weight and you know I’m pushing power to aerodynamic profile in a TT so it’s not that much different. I’m used to the steep, steep stuff but the longer the effort the better off I am. You know cause I have that aerobic engine, so I try not to use it as a crutch because I’m already at a disadvantage.
Brook: Lets talk, Lets look forward to stage 5 for the 2009 Tour of Missouri which is a TT taking place in Sedalia on Friday September 11, you’re looking at 19 miles of mostly flat at the conclusion it will lead 2 stages to go before the finale stage a circuit race in Kansas City. SO a little bit different from the TT we’ve seen in previous editions of the Tour of Missouri which was the TT in Branson. Tell everyone a little bit about what you will anticipate in a 19 mile mostly flat TT in Sedalia versus the hilly one we’ve seen in Branson in the previous years.
Tom: to be honest I just saw the profile a couple of day ago, I looked at and I was definitely licking my chops on that one I was pretty excited to do that TT, the TT the previous years have been very difficult, very challenging like I said I have struggled with it and to have a flat TT I’m pretty excited about it Ill have a good a chance as anyone and I hope do to good. That being said its stage 5 so much can happen in a race like Missouri, you know split here and there, teams lining out in the front and you know for a long time in the second to last stage, Last year just out of position. So I just have to make sure I don’t lose unnecessary time in those first four stages if I want a chance at a high ITC placing.
Brook: So the Scenario is, put yourself in the right spot leading up to stage 5, hope you come out of Sedalia with a jersey and then rely on that strong Bissell pro cycling team to get you through until the end of that final stage,
Tom: uh yea, yea
Brook: It sounds easy doesn’t it?
Tom: yeah, even a putting at race like the Tour of Missouri would be a huge result for Bissell pro cycling weather it be me or Ben or whoever so to look to a victory I’m not quite that confident yet, but you know I really count on my TT that not what I worried about it’s the 4 stages before the TT you know if I would be fortune enough to be wearing a jersey its still hard last few stages and I can just imagine what other teams will throw out to take that jersey off our shoulders. You know like symmetric last year they had a pretty great result with 3rd place I mean that would make our year if we could do something like that. Tour of Missouri is a big race with the competition we will be up against.
Brook: Lets talk about your preparation for Tour of Missouri, you mentioned that the team will be attending and I’m thinking the month of August you’ll be attending the Tour of Utah, then you’ve got the US Professional championships which are one week prior to the Tour of Missouri, so you’ll be there trying to get that TT championship. You see that as good preparation for tour of Missouri?
Tom: I do it will be a little different from last year, you know I put all my eggs into the TT in the championships last year as a result I didn’t have the fitness to finish like I did in a big stage race. I was more focusing in the one forty minute effort, so my preparation will be a little different. You know if I do come up short again this year at TT nationals I’m not going to dwell on it like I did last year, there’s always a period of depression after a result that your disappointed with and with Missouri being a week after I was totally focused on that race. So my preparation will be a lot different mentally and physically because I’ll be doing more long rides in preparation for Missouri.
Brook: Well let me do this, let me open it to the floor I’m sure we have some folks that attended who’ve got some questions. Lets just take the first question.
M: Mike from Genevieve.
Brook: Yeah Mike?
M: I just have a question. Mr. Zirbel you had a second place finish at the Nature Valley? What do you hope to achieve or learn from that deal there and bring here to Missouri?
Tom: Well again, I have a lot to work on as far as positioning and just being more aggressive than the pack. TT has never been a problem for me, that race showed me that the strongest person doesn’t always win. It’s a constant running process in this sport. I look to people like George Hincapie and veterans like that and look at how they race and how much energy they conserve standing up front and that’s who I strive to be and its not gonna happen next month you know it’s a slow process where you keep improving. I definitely have a lot of room in that department so that’s what I’ll be focusing on.
M: also I just wanted to ask also it looks like there are some different stages in this years race and you said you raced in last years race, what do you think the difference is going to be and do you think its going to help or hurt you?
Tom: Well I think the difference is going to be the total unpredictability of the Tour of Missouri you know it could be 30 mph winds one day and that will totally change the makeup of the race it will blow hard and things will get out in front and u gotta gutter it out and you know it will just change dynamics of the race, In a race like Tour of Missouri you really have to be ahead of it because in a second you can make a right turn and things can change in a heart beat. So um that’s what makes it fun as a racer and a spectator. I’m looking forward to that and just somehow making it through those climbs and all those rolling hills that Missouri has so it should be a fun race.
Brook: Mike mentioned some of the new stages that we have, and as you know we’ll start out in St. Louis this year, it’s a circuit race and then head down to the boothill region which is from ST. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau. Then a quick transport to Farmington for a road stage that finishes in Rolla. And that is a stage which isn’t like you saw last year in Rolla where its just talk about those relentless rollers and hills after hill after hill. So that’s a new stage as well and then of course we’ve got the new TT in Sedalia and then the next to last stage which is new as well. Chillicothe to St. Joseph, so all in all several new stages in which you can challenge the field and I hesitate to say its more of the same in which it certainly isn’t but it is reflective of that tough terrain in which you talk about in Missouri Tom in every time you turn there’s another hill and by the end of the day you’ve climbed thousands and thousands of feet.
Tom: Yeah, that’s exactly right we get these little parts before every race that shows the profile of every stage where it shows you where the intermediate sprints are the KOM’s and things like that and in a place like tour of Missouri you may not see any big hills in this state, but that’s not reflective of the stage at all. You get up there and your constantly going up and down and it just really wears on you but yeah its definitely a lot of fun. That’s the thing about hard racing, from the gun so I’m excited about it.
Brook: would you rather do a 20 mile climb like you would do lets say in Utah or here in Colorado or you know a hundred short climbs like you see in Missouri?
Tom: Well as long as their not 20% like really, really steep I would think I’d do better in a setting like Missouri. But you know the 20 mile climb there’s a climbing specialist that loves that kind of things and rides to the top and for me it’s a matter of maintaining when we’re talking about that. I definitely like the rolling its just hard and you never know what your going to get.
Brook: Lets see do we have anyone else?
Kevin: Yes, its Kevin Smith, Can you talk a little bit about your changing of your preparation for long distance riding, what kind of other changes are you going to be doing for your preparation for the Tour of Missouri?
Tom: You know along with long riding in the heat I’ll be working on acceleration and short effort things that if your doing strictly TT you would necessarily be in your training, so preparing for 7 seven day race with a TT on the 5th day A I have to be able to you know accelerate with those guys and B be fresh enough on the 5th day to where I can give my best effort for the TT and my riding capability. It takes block training, you know 5 days in a row um instead of just one day on the TT bike to where I’m just training on one 45 minute ride effort.
Kevin: Talk about the Peloton this year at the Tour of Missouri, what are your thoughts on the riders you will be racing against.
Tom: That’s exciting, we look forward to race against the big boys over in Europe, now we don’t get a lot of opportunities so when they come over we have to show them that we’re pro racers too and to see the guys racing the grand tours coming back and then racing the same tour we are it’s fun you know. I not star struck as I was the first few years like Oh my gosh there’s Christian Vande Velde. I feel like I belong in that Peloton to where before he was my idle. Its exciting I love racing against the best in the work and I think that most people in the Peloton share those feeling.
Brook: You mentioned some of the teams. We got Team Astana, Garmin-Slipstream, Columbia-Highroad, Liquigas, Quickstep, SaxoBank, CerveloTest Team, OUCH-Maxxis, Bissell Pro Cycling team plus Jelly Belly, BMC Racing; we got some other teams that will be announced very shortly. Any Other questions form our listeners?
J: Yeah, this is John from Cape Girardeau, we are one of the legs and a lot of people here are excited about this race what are some of the things that fans should look forward to in a race like this and whats something that should get them excited to get them to come out and watch, Um the quality of the field for one if you follow cycling at all you’ll see a lot of these same guys at the Tour of Missouri. I mean this is one of the best places to see your hero’s in the middle of America. Certainly for anyone interested in cycling that’s a big deal. And then also I would encourage people to learn the basics of this sport because there are a lot of tactics in a race like this and if you understand it you develop a greater appreciation for this sports and all that is happening and you know you get cause breaking away from the line. It’s a very unique and dynamic sports, Its like you know like a NASCAR fan would appreciate NASCAR more than me you know because he knows more about the tactics, where as I may turn on the TV and see cars going around in circles. There is a lot going on and its really fun and dynamic way to watch great athletes perform.
Brook: Let me get your input on this Tom-- I think one of the key things that makes cycling as a spectator looking for as to the accessibility of the athletes. And whether it’s the end of the race after the guys are behind their team vehicles or at the start of the race when the athletes are getting prepared, these are opportunities for fans and even new fans to the sports of cycling to interact with riders and get autographs, guys like to interact wit ht public. Tom you can probably second this but what’s your impression of the interaction with the athlete compared to another sport.
Tom: That’s a good point, Ive never seen a sports with the star being that accessible to the public and its all free you get in line early enough you get to see these stars and maybe get an autograph. Some of the bigger teams have their buses and try and get as much privacy as they can. But you know its amazing you know before and after the race we’re right there signing autographs and giving away rider cards and hats and bottle. People get front row action just by getting in the right spot and it makes it fun for us you know we like to see excited fans and knowledgeable fans and I think that’s growing in the US, the knowledge of our sport is growing, you see more races on TV and you get to see those tactics like I was saying and you know coming out and showing that support it’s a lot of fun but UI definitely feel close to the fans and giving them that time before and after the race while maintaining composure is a lot of fun.
Kevin: Kevin Smith again, Talk about what kind of sacrifices have you made training for the tour?
Tom: Like life sacrifices?
Kevin: yeah like life or things you put off?
Tom: Umm well I mean its I’m not gonna complain here but it’s a hard lifestyle I’m on the road 9 months our of the year traveling from race to race as a result you know there’s I cant have anything scheduled anything at home because my scheduled changes so frequently I mean in order to be good at this level at this sport you gotta throw all your chips in a basket you know? Its difficult you get singularly focused and sometime you gotta step back and get out of your bubble and get some balance into your life because it is a difficult sports it requires a lot of physical exertion in training constantly you know your tired all the time and the traveling as well um but you know it’s a great lifestyle. I love traveling I love the people I meet in the relationships I’ve built over the year and I love racing my bike you know it’s a small sacrifice for me but it can take it toll sometime I just want to stay at home and stay in bed.
Kevin: What Kind of steps do you take on the road to help you relax and stay comfortable?
Tom: WE came from a small team so we developed small relationships with what we call host families. A family who can take in as many people as they can from the team maybe like 5 and just let them sleep there for the remainder of the race so we can eat cook our own meals eat from our kitchen makes a big difference. And sleeping in a home instead of a hotel bed. I think most people agree that they prefer sleeping in a home and just having that comfort even if its not your own home. Ive been racing for years so I’ve developed relationships with these host families and I love spending time with them. I look forward to that week that I may be at their house again. That helps a lot and if I were spending time in a hotel week after week I’d go a little crazy after time. Having a host family is key.
Lynn: Hi this is Lynn, You stay sharp mentally, you know you’ve had a long season how do you stay sharp til Missouri?
Tom: Hi Lynn, it hasn’t been that long has it? Haha, So I took a break after Martin and that wa scheduled and after Nature Valley, I took that, I wasn’t took happy with my bike for a few days so I took time off then and It just takes planning. You gotta know which races your going good for and like I said at the beginning this was such a well rounded team that I not the go to guy for every race and that makes it good for me mentally. I can be helping someone rather than be the guy that we use to get the win. I have the races that I have circled on my calendar where I’m going to bring my A game. I do the best I can.
Brook: Any other question?
Lynn: Yes this is Lynn I got one more
Brook: Go ahead Lynn.
Lynn: Can you talk about how much TT training do you do at this part of the Season?
Tom: I still only do TT bike once or twice a week. I mean theres a lot of carry over from road bike to TT bike. Im not one of those guys who spend 5 days a week on the TT bike. One reason is that its so uncomfortable. It bothers my neck f Im on if for a few hours. Late in the season I do moto pacing, I like it.
Brook: Do you have aspirations to be on the US team for the World Championship of TT’s?
Tom: Absolutely, seeing the profile of the course I think that the only way I’d think I would be selected is, That’s a huge time trial I mean you have Zabriski and Lance is back again, Vande Velde as well. The only way I thin I can be selected is by winning the national championship.
Brook: But you’ve certainly proven that its well within reach for you.
Tom: Yeah, I don’t like the US national Course it’s a loop course with about 12 turns per lap with a 180 in it. I cant use that as an excuse. If I come into that race with good form I can give it a run for its money again this year. I would love to make the world championship team.
Brook: Any other questions for Tom?
Kevin: Yeah Tom its Kevin Smith. One last question. When is the two handed reverse slam dunk coming?
Tom: I was a 4 sport athlete in high school and because I have long arms and I’m 6’5” I can get a dunk on a good day. Maybe on a 9 foot hoop.
Brook: Other questions for Tom? Alright Well Tom we really appreciate you joining us today and we wish you good luck as the season progresses and we’ll surely be watching you as the tour progresses and looking for you at the start line in St. Louis on September 7th.
Tom: Im looking forward to it and ready to go with the big race I’m excited.
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