# Svein Tuft: Wow.



## DM.Aelis (Jun 19, 2007)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/sports/othersports/08cycling.html?8dpc

Excellent NYT article on a pro's very atypical journey to pro racing!


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## Travis (Oct 14, 2005)

gotta pull for this guy! The new Maggie


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## Kenacycle (May 28, 2006)

His life story is so similar to that movie "Into the Wild".

He's our local hero in Vancouver and I am honored I bought one of his Canadian National skin suits recently. He even signed it, or at least initialed it


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## Wborgers (Oct 6, 2008)

great story- cleary a diffeent breed of cat- best of luck to him this season!
Bill


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## farm (Jul 10, 2008)

*thanks for posting this*

Let's see: excellent TTer, all-around hard man.... how cool would it be to see him on the podium at P-R? 

I'm hoping for bad weather this year. I'm sure Svein won't mind.


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## j.knight (Dec 14, 2005)

I love riders like this. Andrei Tchmil is one. Guys that do well in the worst conditions. You know these guys would be just fine in a bike race or a bar fight. I'll watch him more closely now.


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## ProRoad (Oct 13, 2008)

WOW, great story, straight out of Cormack McCarthy's, "Suttree".

He's a tough guy alright.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

OK, add one more to my list of heroes.


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## bikesarethenewblack (Dec 30, 2008)

Anyone who saw that "US open cycling championships" knows this guy. It was in Richmond and some freak sleet and hail storm blew through and it was way cold and most every team didn't have enough clothing. It was pretty crazy. This guy ride everyone off his wheel. He just spanked him and if I recall correctly he didn't even have knee warmers. Pat McCartney was in second and on Slipstream and had no chance - this guy just buried him.

This dude is the real deal and has far more panache than maggie, that's for certain.


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## VoodooCadillac (Jun 15, 2008)

Very nice article from the NY Times - especially on the same weekend the NY Papers are grilling A-Roid! I'll certainly be adding Tuft to the list of riders I'll be watching this year. Garmin has the makings of a nasty TTT group - and if I recall correctly - this year's TdF is NOT limiting TTT losses like in recent TTT stages.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

bikesarethenewblack said:


> Anyone who saw that "US open cycling championships" knows this guy. It was in Richmond and some freak sleet and hail storm blew through and it was way cold and most every team didn't have enough clothing. It was pretty crazy. This guy ride everyone off his wheel. He just spanked him and if I recall correctly he didn't even have knee warmers. Pat McCartney was in second and on Slipstream and had no chance - this guy just buried him.
> 
> This dude is the real deal and has far more panache than maggie, that's for certain.


Hey, easy on Maggie.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

It would be the coolest thing ever to see him on the podium at paris-roubaix.


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

Great read. I am the only one wondered if he's just as capable of finishing a hard job as he is reverting to wing nut status and going AWOL at any given moment..


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

bikesarethenewblack said:


> This dude is the real deal and has far more panache than maggie, that's for certain.



Tuft is a great guy and rider and that win was classic but better then Maggie needs to be proved Maggie won P-R you don't just sorta win that that's a huge win and makes Richmond look like a Sunday ride.


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## bikesarethenewblack (Dec 30, 2008)

32and3cross said:


> Tuft is a great guy and rider and that win was classic but better then Maggie needs to be proved Maggie won P-R you don't just sorta win that that's a huge win and makes Richmond look like a Sunday ride.



OK, come on, I am not bashing on Maggie, I am saying he has more panache than Maggie. He's an exciting guy and its exciting to watch him race. I'm in the over 6' club so maggie is my guy, with that said, he's a bore to watch and his PR win was a bore as it was a sprint and Johan would have cleaned everyone had he not had a flat.


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## hooj (Apr 8, 2006)

Tuft is a strong guy allright...It's just different deal to race in Europe against guys who are tough guys as well but with more experience. I hope he'll do well though.



bikesarethenewblack said:


> OK, come on, I am not bashing on Maggie, I am saying he has more panache than Maggie. He's an exciting guy and its exciting to watch him race.


It remains to be seen if he is still an exciting guy to watch when he races against fast guys. He can TT fast but he hasn't been super good in road races. Maybe it will change because the races are harder and wheel suckers get eliminated sooner.


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## lookrider (Dec 3, 2006)

teoteoteo said:


> Great read.


Yes.




teoteoteo said:


> I am the only one wondered if he's just as capable of finishing a hard job as he is reverting to wing nut status and going AWOL at any given moment..


Yes, 'you am the only one wondered!'

Nice cheap shot though!:thumbsup:

Life can be like that. If you take on a hard task and try to stick to the strait and narrow you can have setbacks, and there's no shame in that. Some people try to fix the game. Others play by the rules and are crushed.

"Enter in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: But strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13-14


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

lookrider said:


> Others play by the rules and are crushed.


Or they quit and mow yards.


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## lookrider (Dec 3, 2006)

teoteoteo said:


> Or they quit and mow yards.


None of that is applicable here with this guy. Reverting to a wing nut status is a cheapshot at this guy.


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## Ninja #2 (Aug 26, 2006)

teoteoteo said:


> Great read. I am the only one wondered if he's just as capable of finishing a hard job as he is reverting to wing nut status and going AWOL at any given moment..


Quitting and running away, are not in his character. He's is a fighter, and a good teamate/team player.

He will be missed in the Vancouver cycling scene, but not missed too much. He put the hurt on soo many racers up here, and we are all the stronger for it. 

Go Svein! and more importantly good on JV for seeing a great CLEAN racer


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## Ninja #2 (Aug 26, 2006)

kbiker3111 said:


> Hey, easy on Maggie.


I didn't know Maggie retired.

Here

hmmm


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## llvllatt (Jul 23, 2005)

Svein is tough as nails. I can't wait to watch and see how he rips it up this year! Great rider and a great guy


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## Henry Porter (Jul 25, 2006)

I really admire people who live life like that.


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## framed (Oct 25, 2005)

*Michael Barry on Svein Tuft:*

"As I talked about the stage and all the suffering, all he could say was how much he loved it."

http://www.velonews.com/article/83593


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## OneGear (Aug 19, 2005)

he was riding a Norco for a long while and I think the most blinged out ride he had was a borrowed(?) bike for the olympics. he was leading the day in TT until the big guns came out and finished 7th I believe. Anyways, he is a Canadian hero and pretty underrated.


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## mulletman (Feb 10, 2009)

Awesome. I hope to see him and Jens in a breakaway. The peloton would raise the white flag knowing that chasing would be useless.


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

He was on a Canadian team issue Orbea in the Worlds ITT. Flatted with 5km to go, and finished the race on his Norco road bike, no areo bars. He likely would be World Champ if he did not flat.
He and Barry are both underrated.


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## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

Just read a bunch of articles on Svein. What a story. Reminds me a bit of this book I read about Colin Angus, also a Canadian. Colin circumnavigated the earth in record time on his own power using a bicycle, a rowboat, and his feet. The book is called "Beyond the Horizon: The First Human-Powered Expedition to Circle the Globe " Check it.


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

Ninja #2 said:


> Quitting and running away, are not in his character. He's is a fighter, and a good teamate/team player.
> 
> He will be missed in the Vancouver cycling scene, but not missed too much. He put the hurt on soo many racers up here, and we are all the stronger for it.
> 
> Go Svein! and more importantly good on JV for seeing a great CLEAN racer


"From there, he blossomed. But Tuft also felt trapped between a life in the outdoors and one in the structured world of professional competition.

Kevin and Mark Cunningham, owners of the Symmetrics Cycling team in Canada, found Tuft in 2004. He was mowing lawns. After racing in virtual anonymity for three professional teams, he had quit the sport because he said he did not want to be associated with its doping problems." 

Understandable that he left to take a stand, but he left. I would never say he isn't tough physically, or a strong rider. The list of personalities in the sport is long and there are some really great names on that list. I did use the term capable before wing nut.


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## farm (Jul 10, 2008)

So leaving a career because you refuse to engage in immoral practices makes you a wing nut? Wow.


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## Kenacycle (May 28, 2006)

farm said:


> So leaving a career because you refuse to engage in immoral practices makes you a wing nut? Wow.



ya, so what does staying in the sport, dope yourself out and get caught make you?
a numb nut?


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

farm said:


> So leaving a career because you refuse to engage in immoral practices makes you a wing nut? Wow.


Hauling off into the wild under prepared makes him a wing nut maybe. Leaving pro cycling just meant he quit.


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## tomk96 (Sep 24, 2007)

sounds like quite an athlete. his ADD probably isn't going to help him in cycling where people are training 20-30hrs/week.


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## Rot Weiss Essen (Nov 10, 2008)

I saw Tuft at the Yaletown crit in Vancouver last summer, he went out and lapped the entire field by the time the race was halfway done. The guy can motor no doubt about it! I will be curious to see how he does this season?


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## Rot Weiss Essen (Nov 10, 2008)

You won't have to wait long to watch him as he should be doing his thing in the Tour of California next week for Garmin. It will be on Versus all next week.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

*"Expert" analysis from the peanut gallery*



tomk96 said:


> sounds like quite an athlete. his ADD probably isn't going to help him in cycling where people are training 20-30hrs/week.


Don't worry, Svein is probably training 35 hours/week. I'm not kidding.

This is a classic situation where everyone is trying to interpret the man from one single article and since I know the man in question I find it somewhat disappointing and annoying. Yes, Svein is probably the most unconventional professional cyclist out there. He is also the most down-to-earth, honest guy in professional cycling. He did have an 8-month timeout from cycling, but to understand why you have know the whole story. His rise from newbie to domestic pro was mercurical and it was a case of too much too soon and he had some lingering health problems. He left the sport on his own accord, and returned on his own terms. But do not for a moment think that he is not 110% committed to the job. You don't go top-10 at Beijing and runner-up at worlds ITT without a lot of focus and discipline. 

As a local boy done good, I am so happy to see Svein finally getting a shot to race at the highest level on a team that embraces his values. He is truly a unique guy and one of the nicest guys I have met in the sport, and his presence at the occasional local race will be greatly missed, since he is likely to base himself in Europe for 2009. Go Svein!!


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

Rot Weiss Essen said:


> You won't have to wait long to watch him as he should be doing his thing in the Tour of California next week for Garmin. It will be on Versus all next week.


Not in Canada it won't.
We get the Tour, and only the Tour. It's the only cycling OLN Canada shows in a year. They suck. But we take what we can get.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

last year the Amgen website had pretty good live streaming coverage... if you can get away with it during the day.


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

Eric_H said:


> Don't worry, Svein is probably training 35 hours/week. I'm not kidding.
> 
> This is a classic situation where everyone is trying to interpret the man from one single article and since I know the man in question I find it somewhat disappointing and annoying. Yes, Svein is probably the most unconventional professional cyclist out there. He is also the most down-to-earth, honest guy in professional cycling. He did have an 8-month timeout from cycling, but to understand why you have know the whole story. His rise from newbie to domestic pro was mercurical and it was a case of too much too soon and he had some lingering health problems. He left the sport on his own accord, and returned on his own terms. But do not for a moment think that he is not 110% committed to the job. You don't go top-10 at Beijing and runner-up at worlds ITT without a lot of focus and discipline.
> 
> As a local boy done good, I am so happy to see Svein finally getting a shot to race at the highest level on a team that embraces his values. He is truly a unique guy and one of the nicest guys I have met in the sport, and his presence at the occasional local race will be greatly missed, since he is likely to base himself in Europe for 2009. Go Svein!!


Thanks for the added detail, the piece was great but IMO was thin on area's that mattered more, and thicker on details I felt were less relevant/that could have been cut. It could have been a much deeper piece which would have helped, I don't think anyone reading would have stopped at page 3 or 4.


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## roadie92 (Jan 21, 2008)

What a great rider!! He is onw I will keep a look out for.


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## bigmig19 (Jun 27, 2008)

Guy sounds interesting as heck. But in fairness, he is *exactly* the type of person who would just go wing nut one day. How can you read that article and not see he is _that_ guy. Doesnt make him bad dude, just capricious. And I dont believe _everyone _was doping, so Im not sure how exactly he was "taking a stance" by quitting. He was just quitting.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

*Newspaper profiling*



bigmig19 said:


> Guy sounds interesting as heck. But in fairness, he is *exactly* the type of person who would just go wing nut one day. How can you read that article and not see he is _that_ guy. Doesnt make him bad dude, just capricious. And I dont believe _everyone _was doping, so Im not sure how exactly he was "taking a stance" by quitting. He was just quitting.


This is the last I will comment on this, but honestly some of you are judging the guy based soley on one article in the NY Times. The article is definitely putting a spin on certain things to capture maximum effect. He rides for Garmin, everyone's clean team and there is this tendency for journalists to try to include some "clash with the doping establishment" in most mainstream media articles on Garmin riders. The story also uses some journalistic glitz in describing his pre-cycling life, it is accurate but somewhat embellished in the article.

Svein's short-lived retirement from cycling was a direct result of him going from newbie racer in 2000, to racing Tour of Langkawi and Avenir in 2001, to Horner's strongest domestique at Prime Alliance in 2002. In other words, he had an extremely rapid progression and he will admit he did not know how to train and recover well, he just went at it full-tilt. He was constantly sick and nursing chronic health issues. When Prime Alliance folded at the end of 2003 he decided to stop racing and it was more related to being burned out than because of the doping problems in the sport.

As for the "wing nut" comments....I don't have much to say. Just because his upbringing, lifestyle and values do not meet up with yours or societal norms does NOT make him a wing nut, in the past, present or future.


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## ti-triodes (Aug 14, 2006)

Amazing story. I wonder if his dog got out and towed him from time to time.


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## toronto-rider (Aug 16, 2002)

a much better article

http://www.bcsportsbeat.ca/More/olympian_svein_tuft_story_719.htm 

I copied it from this thread:
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48664


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## OneGear (Aug 19, 2005)

well he placed top 10 in the tt today... 5s back from the winner


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

Interview with Svein

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