TRIPLE Exclusive: An Interview with Kristin Armstrong, Part II

Lessons Learned
The latest Velonews covergirl and guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show began her cycling career as most American women have, later in life. Kristin Armstrong’s cycling career arc, however, was anything but typical of most American women. Rather than compete exclusively in the United States, Kristin made the jump to Europe early on.

In retrospect, it was a decision that would warrant little argument. Numerous stage wins, general classification victories, a World Championship, and now an Olympic gold medal highlight her palmares, and by racing in Europe Kristin was afforded a perspective few American women cyclists rarely achieve. But, maintaining a full or partial European schedule each of her 7 years in the women’s peloton has not always been easy for the 35-year old.

In Part II of my interview with Kristin Armstrong, who has raced for the likes of T-Mobile Women’s Professional team, TEAm Lipton and Cervelo-Lifeforce, we discuss the state of Women’s Cycling, the differences of racing in Europe, and we even tackle the frequently asked Armstrong question.

Granny's 30 (G): Riders like yourself, Christine Thorburn, and Amber Neben have been at the top of the sport for a while, but have largely gone unnoticed by the general American public, except during Olympic years. What is appealing about women's cycling, objectively? What is appealing about women's cycling relative to men's cycling?

Kristin Armstrong (KA): What I have learned about the sport of cycling is that you have to love it to do it because you’re not going to retire off of it.

What’s really appealing about women’s cycling in America? If you took a poll in the women’s peloton, I would bet you that 90% of the women have college degrees, and a lot of them have Masters. Christine is a doctor. The women’s peloton is very well educated.

So here are these girls racing these bikes for nothing, so the question is, why? I think it goes back to having the passion. I think once an athlete always an athlete and once you have a competitive nature about you, in general, it’s hard to let go. Whether you’re going to take it into medicine or take it into sport, the competitive drive never really leaves.

I think the other thing that’s interesting about the women’s peloton is that if you ask what their background is most have played college sports, and a lot of times have come off of injury and have gotten on a bike. A lot of us start post college in our mid 20’s unlike in Europe where they start 10 years before that. And when they start riding a lot of them have full time jobs and are taking vacation days to get by. All of a sudden it becomes so addictive because you’re out there with a bunch of women just like yourself, well educated, taking your vacation days, not making any real money, but we’re having a blast. And that’s US cycling.

Now to take it to the next level you’re going to have to do what I’ve done, and what Amber’s done. You’re going to have to go to Europe and race against the best. It’s a big compromise especially for family. If you think about it, we’re probably in our mid 20's and we don’t really become successful until we’re close to 30, and by that time a lot of women are married. It’s hard. All of a sudden you want to take it to the next level, and you’re asked to live in Europe for the next 6 months without your husband or your boyfriend. It’s not the easiest life that’s for sure. And I think to take it to that next level, which is taking it and living in Europe, taking that big step obviously you’re saying, 'OK you know what, its not about work anymore and taking those vacation days its about I want to do well at Worlds or want to go to the Olympic games.' It’s also very cost-prohibitive for most Americans to make that jump...because in Europe...if you don’t think you get paid in America you certainly don’t get paid in Europe. The way the Europeans work, most girls get paid by their federation; their country pays them. Essentially the federations say go represent our country, race on whatever trade team you want, and here’s your money. So you don’t really make you’re money on trade teams. Europeans make money through their country’s federation. There’s not a lot of money for women in cycling in Europe either.

I didn’t realize that until I was on a European team. Granted there are some teams where you can make good money, but there are only about three or four of those teams. And for those three or four teams you have to be pretty good to race for them. If you’re looking to test the waters or want to get some experience, and you’re American, you are probably going to be doing it for free. Most of the teams will put you up in a team house. But other than your cost of living, you’re going to be pay some money out of your own pocket, and probably more so with the conversion of the dollar to Euro these days.

Before the Olympics, there’s always been a part of me that’s wanted to write a book about Women’s cycling because there isn’t one out there and I think there’s a lot to be said.

G: What do you think should change in women's cycling to get people more interested and excited about it?

KA: I think it doesn’t happen overnight, that's for sure. As the first gold medalist since 1984, I think cycling needs to ride that wave right now, because people are excited. If people are looking at me in my hometown, then every woman that races against me in the peloton is as well. I can tell you, every one of them now believes that they can do it. When I go to a Cascade or Nature Valley and they race against me, the girls that are say 30 seconds from me at the races are all of a sudden saying 'I’m 30 seconds from gold I mean why can’t I do this.' Whenever a peer of yours is racing in the same field as you and wins something at that level you can’t help but think maybe I can do that I’ve been with Kristin before at the finish line.

So I think USA Cycling really needs to ride this wave and start looking at growing the sport. It’s a tough one because cycling is such an endurance sport. I don’t think it’s the worst thing ever to start when you’re in your twenties. You’re not burnt out, you’re going to stick around and most of the best cyclists are in their 30s. If you look at the UCI rankings most of the girls who are riding very well are in their 30s. But you kind of have to get that bug out and start. US Cycling is doing a lot now with camps in different towns or different regions, but I think a great place, and I’m not sure how much it’s been hit, is camps for people that are involved in other sports. Why not put on camps for high school kids that are cross-country runners, because those are the some of the best cyclists.

I didn’t know that you could race your bike until after college. I didn’t know anything about cycling except that I rode my bike from class to class or to my friend’s house. But here I am an athlete, I ran, I played soccer, I swam and people are riding their bikes and racing them? I had never seen a bike race.

I think if I’m saying that, a lot of other people are saying that as well. I think that with some education there are real possibilities at the high school and college level, but more so at the college level, to bring people into cycling. In high school you just kind of go with it, you belong to a sport and you’re lettering and there is a very social part. With cycling, a lot of people will steer away because you can’t letter, and lettering is still cool and it’s very important for scholarships and other stuff. But there are a lot of people like myself. I was a runner and a soccer player living in Okinawa, Japan and I didn’t have recruiters coming in to recruit me for sports. So how many kids out there and planning to go to college are super stud athletes but don’t have a chance because they come from some podunk town and no one comes to watch them? You know they still have an engine and they know how to compete, so why not get them into cycling. If the sport just waits around for people I don’t think its going to change.

It’s tough though because of the whole part about getting sponsors and people out to watch women’s cycling. I think the only way that women can really work it is that we have to work our way more into these big grand tours that the men have like the Tour de Georgia, Tour of Utah, and Tour of California. How much does it really cost to add a women’s race to those high profile races. If its eight days make ours four, just put us in there. Because the minute we’re in a big tour like that a sponsor like Webcor might want to spend 20 grand more for their women’s team because they’re going to have a bigger presence in these races with the men. But we haven’t been included in any of those.

Cascade we actually raced the same distance as the men this year which was really neat so that was big step. At Nature Valley the great thing was that the entry for women this year were close to equaling the men. The field was close to closed out. I think Nature Valley had about 140 to 150 women out, it was unbelievable.

So there are women out there racing there bikes but unfortunately a team like Aaron’s [Women’s Professional Cycling] is folding this year. It’s the saddest thing ever because that team was by far the best team on the calendar this year. The way the girls worked together reminded me a lot of [TEAm] Lipton. It wasn’t that they had the strongest riders on paper; it was that Carmen [D'Aluisio] put a great group of people together. And now they won’t be able to race their bikes. It was fun to race with them.

And now I hear that Advil-Chapstick is gone. Every year it seems like Cheerwine is up in the air. I haven’t heard and I don’t know what Webcor plans are, because their leader Christine is considering retirement. But it shouldn’t be a big deal because the person that funds them has been behind Christine these past 8 years that he’s really been involved in cycling. It’s the end of that 4-year build out and that’s when sponsors start backing out. [Team] TIBCO is going to continue strong, which is nice. They’re just going to need someone to compete against. Maybe [Team] Columbia will race a little more in the US next year.

[Update: At the time of our conversation, Cheerwine's financial sponsor, Anne Bolyea, had not made a decision as to the status of the team for the 2009 season. She has since decided to take a one-year hiatus. In addition, Team TIBCO recently signed three Aaron's stalwarts, Kat Carroll, Meredith Miller, and Julie Beveridge for 2009.]

G: You were diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) when you were at the height of your triathlon career. Were you experiencing symptoms prior to diagnosis and like most of us just shrug them off as a part of the pain and suffering of training and competing?

KA: Yeah, definitely. When I was a runner and competing in triathlons I was having pains in my hip and just treating it as an injury. I would ice it and take anti-inflammatories, but it just wouldn’t go away. I finally went into my doctor and we did x-rays and had an MRI and diagnosed it as osteoarthritis. At that point I stopped doing anything that was impactful to my hip joints.

You know I had to quit triathlons, I continued to be active and worked in advertising agency here, and just continued my career there.

G: As OA is a degenerative condition, labeled more as a disease for the aged, how did you feel being diagnosed at the age of 27? What are some of the more popular misconceptions about having OA and managing the condition that you have had to deal with?

KA: Unless you have a specific injury or a disease, I think a lot of people don’t quite understand. I think a lot of people put arthritis in the same category. There’s a real difference from someone whose joints swell, that’s probably rheumatoid arthritis, than what I have. There are all these different levels and just like anything else in life unless you’re working in a certain place or in certain sport, or unless you’re diagnosed with something you really don’t start researching it until you have it, unless you’re a doctor. I became a lot more educated on this arthritis thing when I was diagnosed with it, but basically OA is a degenerative disease, which is definitely something that you’re not going to be able to stop because it’s going to be ongoing, but there are certain things you can do to slow down the progression.

The first day I was told that I had OA, I thought it was the worst thing that could possibly happen to me; I was done. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t run so my life was over. But because I’m a competitive person, I wasn’t going to let anything slow me down and I turned it around and made it a positive. Obviously it put me on a different path, which was cycling. Cycling is not impactful. Its just like when you are injured, have a knee surgery or something, there are so many things that you can still do, you just have to find that other passion that’s out there.

Some of the things that I have done is to take glucosamine chondroitin and go to yoga, which really opened up my hips. Because cycling is a repetitive front to back motion you never go side to side with your legs, the muscles and joints are really going to protect themselves when you have arthritis. So continually working on opening things up helps to alleviate pain.

I was Vioxx for a few years, until they took it off the market. Once they took it off the market I was determined to change the way I do things and live without prescription medication.


G: Racing against the likes of a Laura Van Gilder, do you envision yourself racing for another decade?

KA: Absolutely not. In fact, the longest you’ll see me is one more year. I’m still making my decision in the next few days on what path I’m going to take. What really makes me excited now is to continue to give back to the sport. At this point, I feel like I’ve reached all my goals. A goal I do want to attain is the World Championships in 2 weeks. I would love to end my European campaign with the World Championship stripes on my back. But everything else that I have in my mind right now is to continue working with and having my little camps for women cyclists. Giving specific time trial camps because I never had that when I was riding. What I’ve learned over the last 6 or 7 years, I would love to teach people. I still have a lot to share with people and especially within the US.

That’s how I get excited now. I feel like I’ve done everything I can, and what I wanted to do. I know that people like Laura and Tina [Pic] are having a great time racing their bikes and that’s important. I think its great for the US girls because now you have people like Brooke Miller and Kat Carroll coming up and winning. Tina and Laura have been role models within the peloton and they’ve brought these girls’ level up. Everyone wants to beat Tina or Laura in a sprint. So they are doing a lot for the sport itself by continuing to ride, but I just want to do it in a different way by putting on camps and maybe helping teams by teaching them how to race and race tactics. You know just being there where the sport needs me.

I also want to start a family too. Joe has always been there for me and he’s supportive of whatever I want to do, but there’s something about getting back to a normal life, which sounds really nice to me.

G: You’ve raced on different teams throughout the years, some which had a full or partial European schedule. What are the differences between racing in the US and abroad?

KA: There are three things that I think about right away. One is the technical aspect of racing on European streets. The streets are about a quarter of the size, so getting 200 girls on a small street becomes a lot about positioning whereas in America you’re on a highway. Sometimes you can move around whenever you want. If you want to move to the front you find a lane and move up to the front. That’s probably the hardest thing.

The second is when you’re going really fast and in crosswinds, like at Nature Valley, and you’re putting everyone in the gutter and you look back and there’s like 15 of you left, in Europe there are still 40 of you left. The depth is just amazing. In comparison, there are maybe 25 girls on one level and then you start having 25 girls on a different level in America. In Europe if there’s a race that starts with 200, definitely 175 of the girls are on the same level.

The other big difference cracks me up [laughs] when I race in America. When you’re racing in Europe you have an inch between handlebars. Racing in America, if you get within an inch of girl's handlebars they’re going to make a drastic move and come over on you. It’s very tight in the European peloton. If you were to stand, kind of like to stretch or something, in a European peloton, you’re going to hit somebody if you move your bike maybe like 2 inches. In America, people yell at you if you get in their little bubble. You always have to remember that if your wheel is in front, you have the right of way because if someone hits your wheel from behind, you’re going down. So number one is that you don’t want to cross any wheel in front of you in Europe because if someone stands up you’re going down, they’re not.

G: What is one thing that most people don’t know about you?

KA: Everyone knows I drink a lot of Diet Coke, so…I drink chocolate milk after races as my recovery drink, and you won't ever find me without a peanut butter sandwich in my bag at races or without a jar of peanut butter when I am heading to Europe.

G: Is it frustrating when people either introduce you or interview you and mention that you have no relation to Lance Armstrong or that you are not his former wife?

KA: Yeah it’s pretty funny because when I went on the Today show I still had those guys asking me. Now it’s become kind of a joke, and it’s not really an interview unless someone ask me the question. I was on a bike ride the other day and one of my buddies suggested that Lance and I go on the Jay Leno show to set the record straight. He thought that both of us could go together and someone from the Jay Leno show could dress up as the other Kristin Armstrong. Make it a funny little skit…its perfect timing.

To be honest, if I had to pick somebody to be related to in sport, who’s better than Lance Armstrong with what he’s done for the sport and with his cancer foundation?

It’s funny because when there’s something written about me in Velonews or Cyclingnews, the headline isn’t "the other" Armstrong; its Armstrong wins another race. With Lance in retirement, everyone I know goes to those sites because they think Lance is racing again. The media use it to their advantage as well, but I think it’s become a formality that you have to ask that question. One day I’ll have the opportunity to sit down with Lance and chat and laugh about it.

Kristin currently makes her home in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Joe Savola. She continues to give back to the sports that have given her such success. She is a dedicated swimming instructor and coach, serves as an ambassador to the YMCA of Boise, and tries to provide support and inspiration to the millions of Americans who suffer from arthritis.

Kristin was recently featured on the cover of Velonews and appeared on a special Oprah Winfrey Show filmed in Chicago’s famed Grant Park with approximately 150 other Olympians. The show aired on Monday, September 8th.

Photos: Courtesy of Kristin Armstrong (first, fifth); Leonard Basobas (second through fourth)