From the Musette: An Interview with Sam Bewley of Team RadioShack
By Jeff Ludlum 6 February 2010
It all started on Christmas Eve and Sam Bewley’s post via Twitter: “Who knows where Puriri, New Zealand is? If you guess correctly, you’ll win a prize.” Or something like that.
Regardless, through the power of the Blackberry and mobile internet, I was able to quickly tweet in reply, “Puriri is a small town on the Hauraki Plains, near Thames." Apparently I had the closest description of this town where Sam was headed for the Christmas holiday. I got a nifty Trek LiveSTRONG rider’s cap and bonus Kiwi rider’s cap with Bewley’s autograph, via the postal service a couple weeks later.
Now as Bewley and the rest of Team RadioShack gather in Calpe, Spain for their second training camp, I hoped Sam would be willing to field a few questions, based on our e-rapport established during the holidays, for this first edition of From the Musette. Thankfully, he agreed!
After near 50 hours of travel through something like four or five airports, Sam made it safely to Calpe, and gave some great insights in reply to my various questions. Here’s what Bewley had to say.
JL: Obviously you're from Rotorua, New Zealand, and attending camp in Calpe. I know another member of the team, Daryl Impey, just moved recently to Gerona for the season. Where will you be living during the season? Will you be re-locating, or traveling to race locales as the season unfolds?
SB: I have had a couple of different thoughts of where to live throughout the season. At first I was thinking Nice, or just out of Nice. But now it’s looking more like it’s going to be Gerona. I’ll head there after the camp and check it out for a couple of weeks.
I may still go to Nice and check it out. I am going to be away most of March so will look at settling into a place of my own by the end of March. Where I choose to live is going to be largely influenced by where the other Kiwi pro's are.
Tim Gudsell (Francaise des Jeux) is in Nice. so that's where the initial thought came from. But in Gerona there is Greg Henderson (Team Sky), and Hayden Roulston (HTC Columbia) is going to be there too. And one more guy, Kris Withington who is a mechanic for Garmin and he’s also from Rotorua.
JL: I read in the Sunday Star Times that you're racing in the track cycling world championships, as well as the Commonwealth Games. Both with the NZ Team, right? So, what's your race program/schedule for TRS for the season?
SB: It’s going to be a good season. I still have ambitions on the track with the Olympics in 2012 and the Team Pursuit. But of course I have large ambitions to make a career as a road cyclist.
Team RadioShack directors have been very understanding with both these ambitions so far, they understand I am young and do want to achieve in both disciplines, which I believe I can continue to do for a few years. So I’ll still compete with the NZ Track team this year in some events.
And my programme with Team RadioShack is looking really good too. Starting with Het Volk, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Tour of Murcia, before I ride the Track Worlds [in March, in Copenhagen]. Then back into some smaller tours with the team straight after that. I'm excited.
JL: You and Bjorn Selander are the two first riders from the Trek LiveSTRONG U23 team to move up to the Pro Tour level, and into The Shack's first season at that. Great stuff, and you must be stoked. What would you say best prepared you to make the move from the U23 team for this step you've now taken?
SB: Being part of Trek-LiveSTRONG and especially under the guidance of Axel Merckx really developed me as a cyclist, as a professional athlete. What I learnt from him both on and off the bike really opened my eyes to what this game is about and through this I matured much more as a cyclist and a professional sportsman. Without a doubt, spending a year with Axel is what has prepared me for this season more than anything before.
JL: You met the team in Tucson in December for the first time, and I read that you got on well with lots of the fellas.... Sounds like you had a good approach to getting around to meeting the various guys during lunches and dinners, in addition to the training rides...?
SB: For sure, I really enjoyed the camp in Tucson, it wasn't a full on camp in regards to training but lots of opportunities to interact and meet everyone on the team. I knew nobody except Bjorn and Craig Geater who is one of the mechanics (also from Rotorua) so I did make an effort to get to know everyone as much as I could.
I think it’s important to do that, even if some of the guys I may not see again until the next training camp. But when you’re away from home, away from friends and family, you have to make that effort. Otherwise it’s going to be a lonely season.
JL: Ok. Now for a little touch of technology. Are you an iPod guy, iphone, or both? (or neither?) If either, thinking about your mobile tunes for travels (especially the 50-ish hours from NZ to SP), etc. What music will you be listening to? Favorite musicians at present?
SB: I think everyone is an IPod guy in this new era; I definitely don't walk around with my Discman anymore. Every cyclist has to have an iPod for the longer rides. I don't have an iphone though. I have been tempted a few times but at the moment I'm running with the BlackBerry Bold.
As for my taste in music, it’s pretty diverse. I was brought up on good old rock music, through my Dad, so I’ll always enjoy that. But I have stuck with the times of course. I'm pretty keen on my hip hop and things like that, especially when I'm getting G'd up. When I spend so much time away from home I have to be connected to NZ somehow, so I listen to a lot of Kiwi music. Reggae type stuff, like Fat Freddy's Drop (for example, “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCJg63SziL4”), Black Seeds (i.e. “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZytEicHf6p4), Salmonella Dub (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHYIHqSq4JQ). Also Crowded House, every true Kiwi likes Crowded House. And more recently a new Kiwi sensation Gin Wigmore (http://www.youtube.com/user/ginwigmoremusic)....check her out.
JL: Last question for this go 'round: So you and I first "met" as it were via Twitter. A lot of the guys on the team, and Johan too, are very active on the social media side of things...especially Twitter. As a fan, I gotta tell you, it's super fun to have that sort of
random, spontaneous insights and glimpses into athletes' day-to-day. What's the deal with so many Shackers being Tweeters too?
SB: Twitter just seems to be the way of the future at the moment, doesn't it? It will be interesting to see if it is the future, but at the moment it is certainly a great way for fans and the like to get an insight into the lives of pro riders. I don't think its just Team RadioShack; there are a lot of pro cyclists on Twitter these days. The craze has certainly come about from Lance's twittering, well I think so anyway. That's how I got onto it. It becomes like a little addiction. Once you start its hard to stop. But in saying that, sometimes when I have a 'wee break', I don't go through withdrawal symptoms! :)
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All told, sounds like Bewley is handling things pretty well as he continues this early stage of his pro career. With both feet firmly on the ground (or pedals!), and surrounded by world-class teammates and racing organization to learn from, he’s got a great foundation to build on for the 2010 season and well beyond. Thanks for the tweets, the music tips, and best of luck in 2010, Sam!
[Note: Writer inserted URLs in the article as reference.]
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