If their was a category for pro cycling longevity, Svein Tuft would be a likely candidate. With a professional cycling career spanning some two decades, the softly-spoken Canadian has certainly "been there, done that." A fixture on the top flight GreenEdge cycling since its inception, Svein saw out his final year of racing in 2019 with the second division Rally Procycling.
'It was an interesting year,' said Svein of his swansong. 'At that level, everybody is fighting for a World Tour contract. It's a real case of kill or be killed. So their is a lot of unnecessary risk taking. And it is quite a step down from the top level. For me, it was a good transition. But I'm not sure if someone a big ego would cope.'
Not that a big ego would necessarily cope with the sheer essence of Svein's primary function during his World Tour career. Picture the image of a strong team rider spending hours upon hours sitting on the front of the peloton in service of his designated leader. Or that of a tireless worker dropping back to the team car, stocking up on bidons, and delivering them to the protected crop. Two snapshots, for sure, but both accurately describing a large part of Svein's job for the bulk his career; a true domesitique deluxe. But beneath the seemingly superhuman exterior lies a deeply intuitive and thoughtful soul, an individual with a personality and connection to the outside world that is almost at odds with the stereotypical pro cyclist.
'I had a whole other life before I turned professional,' explains Svein. 'And I felt extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to make a living from the sport from the beginning. But I've always been my own person. I saw other riders trying to impress and fit in from early and that just wasn't sustainable to me. So I focussed on finding out who I was and allowed myself to free.'
A large part of this journey of self-discovery was understanding his body, both physically and mentally. And in a sport that spits out the also-rans at a rate of knots, Svein's acknowledgement of his strengths and limits both as a rider and as a person saw him outlast many of his contemporaries over the years.
'I decided long ago that I wasn't going to sacrifice my health for performance,' he says. 'When I started, I just followed the example of the older and more established riders, plugging into their template. But that felt like hell. Being on the edge all the time certainly wasn't going to benefit me in the long term. So I started applying myself differently, cultivating new habits.'
Rewind a few years and the professional cycling circus found itself in Sardinia. As part of the 2017 edition on the Giro d'Italia, the Mediterranean's second largest island played host to Italy's Grand Tour for some three days. With its plethora of mountains, forests and beaches, Sardinia certainly validated its selection in hosting some top class racing. But for Svein, simply being on the island enhanced his holistic life view substantially.
'I have special memories of that year's Giro. Sure, our team did really well but being so close to ocean took my morning routine to a new level. I'd get up early, like I usually do, and walk barefoot to the local beach for a swim and some yoga poses. Then I'd walk back and be grounded, totally ready for day ahead. I'd been doing my morning walks for quite a while, but Sardinia in early summer was just fantastic.'
With the cycling season seemingly getting longer with each passing year, one has to distribute their resources in order to last. For Svein, understanding his body and respecting seasonal change was – and still is – paramount to his own wellbeing.
'The summer heat just drains you,' he explains. 'By the time the Vuelta a Espana would come around, I could just feel my body starting to cry out for a rest. Even my morning walks showed that. I'd be walking around at 7am and it would already be 25°C. And I'd still be cooked from racing in the heat the day before. I always use the ground analogy when describing how the body reacts to the different seasons. So while summer sees you just crushing it and maintaining a massive workload, it's equally important to let the body go fallow in the autumn. You need to build up again.'
And building he is. Now well into his first quarter of being newly-retired, Svein is putting his energy into his new bike touring business, as well as developing a consulting role with Mitchelton-SCOTT. And while bike touring takes him back to his roots, his consulting with his former team is perhaps a natural extension of his pro cycling journey.
'I don't think I could be a sports director,' he says. 'But I feel I have a lot to offer as far as mentorship goes. I'm working with the sports science crew at Mitchelton-SCOTT with a view to adjusting the age-old template, particularly for the younger guys. I mean, you're bulletproof at 25 but things change rapidly as you get older. The resilience of youth is great in the now but what about the long term? So I'm working on addressing those issues as well as helping to organise the 2021 training camp, which will focus on real bonding and adventure. It sure will be a little different.'
And what about Svein's own health and fitness? Is he still saluting the sun?
'I'm just so happy to not worrying about staying at race weight and riding five hours a day,' he enthuses. 'That said, health and fitness are central to my daily existence. So I'm out there riding the bike, ski-touring or hiking every day. Here in Andorra, we're fortunate to get at least some sun on a south-facing mountain slope pretty much year round. So I'm up there above the treeline every morning when I'm at home, breathing in the mountain air and doing yoga poses. Yeah man, I guess I am a true sun worshipper.'
Photo credit: Svein Tuft
