Interview: Garrott Kuzzy

by Jay Richards
October 16, 2007

As we wind down the mountain bike season and anxiously wait for the first flakes of snow to fly, this weeks final mountain bike report is a special interview with all around endurance athlete Garrott Kuzzy. Kuzzy is a former Minnesota State HS Cross Country Champion and State Nordic Ski Champion. Kuzzy also spent many years racing mountain bikes before focusing on Nordic skiing at Middlebury College VT., racing as one of the top North Americans in the NCAA's. Kuzzy used the mountain bike as part of the overall training program and avoiding injury by doing so. After a breakout year on the Super Tour last year, Kuzzy is fired up for another year of skinnyski racing for the hot CXC Nordic team, with plans to hit the Super Tour and some big goals throughout the season. I dropped a note to Kuzzy last week while he was at Lake Placid, NY, training with fellow CXC members and the US Ski team.

1. How old were you when you first starting biking/skiing? Any other endurance sports you tried growing up?
   I started running, biking, and skiing all around the same time, between 7th and 8th grade, with two of my best friends, Dan Skold and Josh Lewandowski. Biking was my main mode of transportation in the summer and I ran cross country and skied on the Hopkins High School team. Before that, I always played soccer and tennis, but biking gave me the freedom to go anywhere and got me hooked on endurance sports.
2. How much mountain bike racing did you do when you were running cc and skiing in high school and then on to college? How was it to balancing each discipline?
   During high school, I ran track every spring, raced bikes all summer, ran cross country in the fall, and skied in the winter. The seasons rarely crossed over, with the exception of track, when I would skip practice to ride my bike as much as possible. During the summer, I raced every weekend in Salsa, NORBA, MNSCS, Blast, etc. events and every Thursday night in the Penn Cycle Buck Hill races. At the time, bike racing was my top priority. Between running, biking, and skiing, I probably competed in over 60 races per season. I always raced because that’s what my friends were doing too and I had a lot of fun traveling and competing.
   In college, my priorities changed and I began to focus more on ski racing. I didn’t run track, so I spent all spring riding my road bike in the collegiate cycling races. During the summers, I focused on mountain biking and earned my semi-pro license racing in Vermont. By the end of July, most of the bike races were done and I focused on running and skiing. I was lucky in college to have a coach, Terry Aldrich, who was coach of the running and ski team, so he understood what I was trying to do. I would do most intensity workouts with the running team and many of the long distance workouts on rollerskis with the ski team. This method of training allowed me to avoid running related injuries all though college. (I also snuck in a few short track bike races during running season, but don’t tell my coaches that!). In the winter, I skied everyday, except for the days when we didn’t have snow. Those days I would usually mountain bike because I can’t stand rollerskiing in the winter.

3. 

   How much is mountain biking part of your training?
   Currently, I rarely get out to mountain bike—maybe once or twice per week, either to commute to work or to spin out my legs after a particularly tough rollerski workout. Sometimes I’ll just ride to rip through the woods as fast as possible.
4. This spring you raced at the Maplelag MTB Spring Opener? Tell us about the race. Did you do any other mtb races this summer?
   The Maplelag Spring Opener was my first and last big bike race of the season. I really wanted to watch the UCI race in a year when everyone was chasing points for the upcoming Olympics. It was exciting to see the top midwestern pros in the UCI race and to test myself in the Semi-Pro race against some of my old competitors like Tom Miller and Justin Rinehart as well as young speedsters like Jesrin Gaier and Eric Thompson. Unfortunately, I caught a stick, broke my der hanger, and had to finish by running the last lap. I jumped into a few Thursday night time-trials in Seeley, WI as well, but that was the extent of my summer racing this year.
5. After a fantastic xc ski season at Middlebury, you followed it up with another great year skiing with CXC last year? How has it been to focus on skiing now that the studies are out of the way and you are not running competively like you used to?
   There is much less stress and fewer distractions as part of the CXC Team, which has made training more productive. The CXC Team is a great group of athletes and coaches. We have a two-week training block each month where everyone on the team trains together in one location. During the other two weeks, we all have jobs, train on our own, and conduct ski clinics around the Midwest. The structured training schedule has me rollerskiing much more than I ever have before, which has certainly paid dividends during the race season.
6. What else are you doing besides training/racing?
   I work for New Moon Bike and Ski in Hayward, primarily in the bike shop. I was a geography major in college and am putting those skills to use working on several small mapping projects. I’m looking forward to getting back to Wisconsin to do some grouse hunting this fall as well.
7. Tell us about the adopt an athlete program with CXC? Are you folks still seeking?
   Yes, the program is a great way to support the athletes on the CXC Team. It is possible for sponsors, either corporate or individual, to help us reach our aspirations in skiing by funding individuals on our team. More information can be found at cxcskiing.org.
8. What type of partnership does Kent Eriksen cycles have with CXC?
   Kent Eriksen Cycles donated two fully custom titanium bikes to CXC. These bikes were auctioned at the Firehouse 50 and the Fat Tire Festival. The proceeds went to funding CXC, the regional governing body for cross country skiing in the Midwest.
9. Do you feel the influx of Euro skiers at the collegiate level brings US skiers to a higher level or are they taking scholarship and podium spots away?
   It’s great to see European skiers come to race in the US. It definitely raises the bar for Americans, allowing us to race against tough competition without having to travel overseas. What’s even more exciting is seeing teams comprised of only Americans win NCAA championships, as Dartmouth did last winter. Not to mention, the Euros are a lot of fun to have on the circuit.

10. 

    What are your goals for this upcoming xc ski season?
    There is a set of World Cup races in Canmore, Canada in January. One of my goals is to race well enough in the early SuperTour races and US Nationals to qualify for and compete well in the Canadian World Cup. I’ll also be focusing on the Birkebeiner, which is one of the most exciting and festive races of the year. I hope the Europeans come over for the Birkie this year too!
11. Are there certain things you have been working on to improve your skiing?
    Of course. This time of year, I’ve been doing a lot of technique work and video review. I’m currently in Lake Placid, New York for a two-week training camp with the US Ski Team. We’re doing a lot of work on climbing. There are roads here where you can ski uphill for over an hour—that’s something the Midwest doesn’t have.
12. What is your favorite thing about the West Yellowstone Fall Camp? How important is it to you to have early season form for the first Super Tour races or is your focus later in the year? How much will you be on snow before West?
    My favorite thing about the West Yellowstone Fall Camp is reuniting with friends. It’s great to have so many skiers all in one place together. The West Yellowstone camp will be our first time on snow for the season and we won’t focus too much on those races. I wouldn’t be disappointed to race well there though!
13. What has been your most memorable ski and bike race?
    There are a lot of races that come to mind as memorable. My most memorable week of skiing was in 2002 when I foreran the Salt Lake City Olympics. The Hopkins ski team had just won the Minnesota State meet and the next morning, I was skiing at Soldier Hollow in Utah preparing the track for the men’s 4 x 10km relay in front of thousands of spectators. My most memorable bike race was my first 24 Hours of Afton when I was a junior. I raced on a relay with a couple other top juniors at the time and I remember duking it out with some of the top seniors. I’ll never forget the complete exhaustion and satisfaction I had after that race.
14. Who has more stress? A mountain biker getting through a race with the risk of a flat, or a skier missing the wax?
    Ouch, I’ve definitely done both. I would rather flat than miss the wax, ‘cause if you miss the wax you have to muscle your way around the course, just using your upper body. If you flat, at least you can still run!
15. Its 50 degrees and sunny in March, good base of snow, non-race day: crowns, klister or bike?
    Great question. Last March, two weeks before US Distance Nationals, I had a 3-hour classic ski on my schedule. Instead, I decided to go for a long road ride. I ended up flatting after an hour without a flat kit and had to run three hours back home. Karma really got me on that one and now I usually ski, with klister, if there’s still snow on the ground.

This concludes the mountain bike reports for this season. Thanks to all the riders, promoters, sponsors and everyone who help made it another great season. Also a special thanks to Bruce and skinnsyki.com for the coverage of all cycling events in the Midwest. Please consider a membership with skinnyski if you haven't done so already.....

......to keep the wheels moving!!! Think Snow!!!