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In love with training in the woods
Posted: Wednesday May 24, 2000 04:50 PM
Ruthie Matthes is No. 4 in the world in the latest International Cycling Union cross country rankings. The 35-year-old American was the UCI World Cup champion in 1992 and the national cross country champion from 1996-98. Matthes currently is training for the Olympic Games in Sydney. Check out Matthes' diary every other week on CNNSI.com
Durango, Colorado
Greetings from Durango, Colo. -- my "hometown." Allow me introduce myself: Ruthie Matthes, professional mountain bike racer (cross-country) for the Trek/Volkswagen race team. Where to begin? It is approaching mid-race season and it is not even June!
A quick update to what I have been doing for the last 17 summers! I began bike racing on the road circuit when I was 17. The first three years were limited in scope. Being young and on a major budget, I did not get too far from home in Idaho. I did manage to catch the eye of the national team coach when I was 20. That launched me into a career of road racing until I met up with a mountain bike for the first World Mountain Bike Championships here in Durango in 1990. I had just won a silver medal at the World Road Cycling Championships in Japan two weeks previous and went on to earn a bronze medal in Durango. The transition to full-time mountain biker took two years, but then in 1992, after winning the world cross-country title in the fall of 1991, I was committed. I fell in love with training in the woods away from traffic and the challenge of improving my bike-handling skills. Fast forward to 2000, after 13 appearances in World Championship races -- two on the road, one in cyclo-cross (the first for women in 2000) and 10 for mountain bike, including six medals -- it is the Olympic year. The Olympics are the only MAJOR race I have not competed in, therefore, making the team and following up with a peak performance at the Games is a priority goal for this season. Along the way to achieving a childhood dream of competing in the Olympics are a lot of races. I have just returned from a four-week trip that began April 24. I departed to Belgium for round three of the 2000 World Cup (round one was in Napa, Calif., March 26th, followed by round two in Mazatlan, Mexico, April 2), then we went to Germany for round four, and finished the Euro trip in Italy for round 5. But not home yet... back to the States for the first race of our national championship series in Big Bear Lake, Calif. Racing Friday, May 19 still in a state of jetlag. I've got two weeks at home, then back over the big pond to the World Championships in Spain, an important race for Olympic selection. A top-four placing means automatic selection for the team. (More on the rest of the season's schedule next update.) So, in this short training time at home it is so important to train smart and well. I work with Stephane Girard, the national mountain bike coach. It is so helpful for me to work with Stephane. He makes a suggested training program specific to the upcoming races, taking into consideration all the past training I have done and the outside factors (travel, illness, whatever could effect the energy available for the workouts) and we go from there. I am using these next two weeks to build up my fitness for the big day in Spain, June 11. With that said, I had better get out the door and on with the steps to reaching my goals for the season. It is a beautiful day in the southwest, and I hope the same for you wherever you are. Remember to support your local organizations for trails and bike paths. We are so fortunate to have Trails 2000 here in Durango. They build and maintain an extensive group of trails here in the Durango area. Even if you don't have the time to spend all day for maintenance, take a moment on each ride to move debris from the trail or pick up a piece of trash. Have a great healthy day, and we'll catch up again in two weeks. Ciao -- Ruthie
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