In last year’s Tour of California, Nydam had his greatest success and impressed the entire peloton when he and his team mates defended the King of the Mountains jersey. “That whole race was a special experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Nydam declared. “My father had just been diagnosed as being gravely ill, I had just crashed out of the Tour of Qatar and was feeling a little defeated.” Instead of hanging on to the tail of the pack or waiting to get dropped by the peloton, Nydam decided to go on the attack. “The whole experience was very special particularly in the context of what was happening in my family, and is a memory I will savour forever,” Nydam explained.
With the 2009 edition of the Tour of California just weeks away, Nydam has been using the past months to recharge his battery. With BMC ramping up its goals and ambitions for the coming season, everyone is excited to see what will be possible in the New Year. Nydam took the time over the holiday to give some of his impressions.
What are your early season goals?
Like last year, I think that it is important that we hit the ground running. This year we have a bigger and better roster of riders and we should expect to build on everything that happened last year so that means going to many of the same races as we did in 2008, but this time with a lot more confidence and higher expectations.
How has winter training been going for you?
Awesome! The weather in Northern California has been great for the most part, and some of the roads in Santa Rosa are simply the best you could imagine – epic rides start just outside your doorstep. I was telling my boss Gavin Chilcott about a recent ride through Skaags Springs and I think my statement was, “I need to win some races so I can keep training!” It is that awesome!
Do you find it easier to train in the cool wetness of CA or do you miss some of the harsher, snowy CO winters?
I wouldn’t say it is easier to train in Northern California. It would be “easier” if you were snowed in since that can sometimes happen in Colorado. But then you can workout on the trainer in the comfort of your living room. In Northern California, it is possible to ride outside 99% of the time. You just need to be prepared with the right clothing and equipment. This year, Gavin set me up with a “rain bike” that has fenders, so now I have no excuse not to ride outside. And like I said, with an epic ride waiting outside your door, that makes it easier too. Over Christmas, I was able to get back to Colorado to our family cabin in the mountains. I was able to do some Nordic skate skiing…that is how I used to get ready for racing. But now that the season starts so early I definitely think that Northern California is the place for me to be a year-round bike racer.
Can you really celebrate the holidays or are you already in “monk” mode? It’s already monk-isk mode time. But knowing now a little better how training works, there are ways of spending time with friends and family while still being prepared to train the next day.
Have you made a resolution for the coming year?
I think that my resolution for the new year is to eliminate all the personal stuff that holds me back in racing. Many of those things have an effect on confidence. So if I bring all my preparation to the maximum, that means I’ll probably have a few dozen resolutions! I crashed out of the Tour of Utah which kept me out of our final races of the year. With that crash I was squirming like worm in pain on the ground because I broke a collarbone and a rib. That meant I wasn’t able to be around to celebrate some of our biggest accomplishments with the team like Jeff’s win at the Tour of Utah and his 5th at US Pro. So for me the 2008 season ended a little anti-climatically. But things like that are sometimes good because it keeps you hungry.