Ryder Hesjedal clinched the 2012 Giro d'Italia today (click here for the story from our sister publication, Road Bike Action). We sat down with Ryder, then a professional cross-country mountain bike racer, in 2004 to talk about his future as a cycling professional. We knew it was a farewell interview because he was already attracting the attention of top professional road teams. The complete interview is posted below, but here is the Q&A that had us smiling when we heard the news of Ryder's accomplishment at the Giro:


Mountain Bike Action: Do us a favor? When you become a giant road celebrity in Europe, be sure to tell people where you came from.
Ryder: Oh yeah. Mountain biking was my first real sport. I’ll never forget mountain biking. It is unfortunate that the sport hasn’t grown to support the professional racer. I know a lot of professional racers who would still like to be racing mountain bikes, but they have to race the road because it pays so much better.

The other Q&A that we know is going to change after his big win is:
Mountain Bike Action: Do you get recognized in the Vancouver Airport?
Ryder: No. Other cyclists may recognize me. Canadians aren’t into celebrity the way Americans are. They are not looking for famous people when they’re in the airport.


Here is our full interview from the July 2004 issue of Mountain Bike Action magazine.

    Ryder Hesjedal won more mountain bike races by the tender age of 23 than most professional riders accomplish in an entire career. A member of the Canadian mountain biking mafia, Ryder stays motivated by challenging himself. That’s why, instead of taking the safe route of concentrating on mountain biking, he will race the 2004 season for two professional teams; the Subaru Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team (on the dirt) and the United States Postal Service Road Racing Team. It is a risky move for an athlete on the short list for a Olympic Gold Medal in mountain biking, but it is that type of risk that keeps Ryder going.
    Mountain Bike Action took Ryder to breakfast (he ordered the Belgium waffles with poached eggs, potatoes, a side of fruit and a large orange juice) on a morning before a four hour road ride that would be followed by racing the last stage of the Nova Desert Classic (that he’d end up winning). The soft spoken rider was barely audible over the screams of a child seated behind us, but listening closely paid off.  
  
THE BASICS
Mountain Bike Action: Give us a brief Hesjedal family description.
Ryder Hesjedal: My great grandparents immigrated to Canada from Norway. My dad was born in Canada. He played sports when he was younger, but he wasn’t a professional athlete. My mom and dad have two kids. I’m the oldest and I have a younger sister. We grew up on Victoria on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. My dad worked hard to support the family by chopping wood. I would help him on weekends and that definitely shaped my work ethic. Today, dad works for the Canadian government. Victoria has one of the most advanced landfills in the world. My dad is involved with the science of monitoring the soil around the area. My mom works for the water board.

Mountain Bike Action: Have you finished school?
Ryder: I graduated high school early in 1998. I got credits for my cycling experience and I took courses in the evening to allow for my training.    

Mountain Bike Action: You’re building a house. What’s it like?
Ryder: It is hard to describe. It will be more like a loft than a traditional house. There is a lot of space, but the floor plan is totally flexible. I’ll be able to change and modify the rooms and space. I have used design influences from the favorite places I’ve traveled to. You’ll see Santa Fe, Southwest and European influences. It is on the outskirts of Victoria. It is not like Victoria is a big city, but I don’t like living right in town. My house is more in the woods.

Mountain Bike Action: Why Vancouver Island?
Ryder: It has everything you want. There are only two big cities. The rest of the island is mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, oceans and forests. In all my travels, I’ve found my home to be the best place. The people live here because they want to.

THE BEGINNINGS
Mountain Bike Action: How did you get interested in mountain biking?
Ryder: I was growing up during the mountain bike boom. It was all over Victoria. I was exposed to mountain biking because so many teams and professional riders trained around Victoria and Vancouver. There was a real scene. All the events were taking place right where I lived. It was easy to become part of it.

Mountain Bike Action: What’s so different about riding on Vancouver Island?
Ryder: I grew up riding harsh trails. I’d go out for hours and try to learn to ride the trails. The trails are all rocks and roots and ruts. It is not like there was a real path. You were just riding on objects! I’d come back bloodied and all beat up. It forced me to be a good bike handler. That may be why so many great riders come out of our area. You learn to ride Vancouver trails, you can ride anywhere.

Mountain Bike Action: Did you ever get into North-Shore style stunts?
Ryder: No. I think of a fun ride as getting out the maps and scouting out a new trail. I want to go somewhere that I’ve never been before. I want to push so far into the woods that you have to wonder when and if you are going to get back. My rides are adventures. Getting into a truck, driving to the top of a mountain, riding stunts or riding dirt roads may be fun, but it is not anything I’m interested in. I did some crazy stunts when I was younger, but I’d ride a couple of hours before I did them.

THE CANADIAN MAFIA
Mountain Bike Action: Why do so many fast guys come out of your area?
Ryder: There have been so my theories about that. It is just a bunch of good racers, riding together and pushing each other. There is a different mentality in Canada than in the United States for sure, but I’m not going to say that’s why we are so fast. I feel we do encourage each other more than riders from other countries do.

Mountain Bike Action: You’ve trained a lot with fellow Canadian Roland Green. Is there tension there because you started riding better than him?
Ryder: Not so much. It is a natural transition. I’m at the beginning of my career and Roland is closer to the end of his. The time and route that I’m taking is a lot different. It is natural for me to take my own path now. I’ve been spending more time with Seamus McGrath and doing things outside of racing with him. Just normal life type stuff. I came up as a junior when all these guys were already doing real well. They all gave me encouragement, help and the opportunity to learn.

SWITCHING TO ROAD RACING
Mountain Bike Action: Is mountain biking going to lose you to road racing?
Ryder: I have a contract with the Subaru Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team through the 2004 season and I’m not thinking past that right now. I’m more focused on making the Athens Olympic Games and working on my development so I make the progress I need to. I can think about next year later.

Mountain Bike Action: Are you nervous about joining the Tour de France winning road team?
Ryder: No. It’s going to be hard, but I’m up for the challenge. The team is so good and it is a huge opportunity to ride for them. I don’t think they would have offered me the ride if they didn’t think I had the ability to get in there and get the job done.

Mountain Bike Action: How much better is the potential income for a roadie?
Ryder: There are five to ten mountain bike racers who make about double what a talented first-year professional on a top road team is going to make. The difference is, those ten guys are at the top of their sport. It is crazy how much higher the road salaries can go. A guy who can win a major road event in Europe can easily demand a contract worth millions. The top mountain bikers in Europe may make an average of around $150,000 to $200,000.

Mountain Bike Action: The downside is so many factors are out of your control on the road.
Ryder: That’s what it is. Road cycling is a far more complex sport than mountain biking. There are more spectators, more coverage and more politics. The team plays a very important role as do the race promoters. That is why a road racer makes more money.

HOW TO IMPROVE
Mountain Bike Action: What can you pass on to other riders about getting better?
Ryder: I’ve learned over the last five years what my body needs and what my body responds to. That is the ultimate knowledge for training and getting faster. That’s the whole trick. You have to know when to ride hard and when to back off. Just because a coach hands you a piece of paper that says ride for five hours, that doesn’t mean that is what you are suppose to do. Things change everyday. It’s constant. Everything is a factor: How you feel when you wake up, how travel effects you. how the food you eat matters, how much sleep you get, everything. Of course, I have a coach who helps me with the big schemes and a structured training program, but day by day, you have to go by how you feel.

Mountain Bike Action: What do you do when you have a bad day on the bike?
Ryder: Look and reflect on what made it a bad day. It is not always easy to figure it out. I used to keep a diary when I was younger and that helped a lot. Now, I can go through it in my head. The more time you have in, the easier it is to keep track on what works and what doesn’t.

Mountain Bike Action: How would you encourage people to try mountain biking?
Ryder: In different sports, there are very small windows of opportunity. There are so many sports where you have to be a triple A junior, you sign a contract and if you don’t get injured, you have what, five years? Mountain biking allows you to start at any age, learn the sport and sustain it for a long time. It would be possible to start mountain biking when you’re twenty years old and be a champion by the time you’re 27. There are not many sports like that. Almost all the women in Canada started really late and we have lots of top talents. I started when I was 13 and I still have seven or eight years in front of me.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE
Mountain Bike Action: We’ve never seen you without your neckless.
Ryder: I got it the year I turned pro. I signed a contract, wanted a nice gold chain and I’ve raced with it ever since. It is not a good luck charm, but I guess you could call it that because it’s been in a lot of races. It gives me rhythm on the climbs.

Mountain Bike Action: Do you get recognized in the Vancouver Airport?
Ryder: No. Other cyclists may recognize me. Canadians aren’t into celebrity the way Americans are. They are not looking for famous people when they’re in the airport.

Mountain Bike Action: What do you like about the United States?
Ryder: I don’t think of the United States as one place. It is too different. California is a lot different than from Vermont. America is so much bigger and there is so much going on. I like traveling here, but nothing I’ve found tops Victoria.

Mountain Bike Action: Do you have buddies back in Victoria who you grew up with?
Ryder: Most of my friends are a little older. I have a good bunch of friends back home and I’m the one who keeps the group together. When I’m home, I call everyone I know and have barbecues at the house. That is as important to me as the racing. There would be no point in doing all this stuff if there is nobody around.

Mountain Bike Action: Do us a favor. When you become a giant road celebrity in Europe, be sure to tell people where you came from.
Ryder: Oh yeah. Mountain biking was my first real sport. I’ll never forget mountain biking. It is unfortunate that the sport hasn’t grown to support the professional racer. I know a lot of professional racers who would still like to be racing mountain bikes, but they have to race the road because it pays so much better.

RYDER HESJEDAL
DIMENSIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS

Nickname...Hes Jay
Age...23
Born...December 9, 1989
Location...Victoria, B.C., Canada
Height...6’ 2”
Weight...160
Shoe...44
Helmet...Medium
Waist...34
Eyes...Green
Hair...Dirty blonde
Marital Status...Single
Current Home...Victoria, B.C., Canada
House...Being constructed
Started Racing...1994
Turned Pro...2001
Team...Subaru Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team
Team...United States Postal Service Road Racing Team
Racing specialty...Cross-country
Favorite course...Monte Saint Anne
Favorite Food...Any quality food
Jobs held other than bicycle racer...Worked for a metal fabricator
Goals...Perform at all the big events
Heroes...Anyone who has excelled in sports. Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan
Best day: I rode the race I wanted to ride at the 2003 Worlds. You can’t control everything that happens in a 2 hour race, but I made the race happen the way it did. That’s how I want to race.
Most Embarrassing moment...I haven’t had one
If you were not a bike racer...I never thought about exploring anything else. Being a bike racer is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to be.
Cars...Chevy Avalanche
What do you always have with you when you travel...My clothes
Favorite Bands...I like rap and older Metallica
Favorite Hobbies...Customizing cars

RYDER HESJEDAL
RACE HIGHLIGHTS

2003
NORBA Cross-Country National Championship Series Champion
1st, NORBA NCS XC, Big Bear, California
1st, NORBA NCS XC, Snowshoe, West Virginia
1st, NORBA NCS XC, Durango, Colorado
2nd, Elite World Championships, Lugano, Switzerland
2nd, Canadian National Championships, Whistler, British Columbia
2nd, Sea Otter Classic XC, Monterey, California
2nd, NORBA NCS STXC, Durango, Colorado
4th, UCI World Cup, Grouse Mtn, Canada
4th, NORBA NCS XC, Mt. Snow, Vermont
4th, NORBA NCS XC, Schweitzer Mtn, Idaho
4th, NORBA NCS STXC, Schweitzer Mtn, Idaho
XC: Cross-country
STXC: Short track cross-country

2002
NORBA Short Track National Championship Series Champion
1st, UCI World Cup, Les Gets, France
1st Overall, NORBA NCS STXC
1st, Sea Otter Classic STXC, Monterey, California
1st, NORBA NCS STXC, Big Bear, California
1st, NORBA NCS STXC, Snowshoe, West Virginia
1st, NORBA NCS STXC, Durango, Colorado
2nd, NORBA NCS XC, Durango, Colorado
2nd, NORBA NCS XC, Mt. Snow, Vermont
2nd, NORBA NCS STXC, Troy, Wisconsin
3rd, U23 World Championships, Kuprun, Austria
3rd, Sea Otter Classic XC, Monterey, California
3rd, NORBA NCS XC, Big Bear, California
4th, NORBA NCS XC, Snowshoe, West Virginia
4th, NORBA NCS STXC, Mt. Snow, Vermont
XC: Cross-country
STXC: Short track cross-country

2001
1st, NORBA NCS STXC, Big Bear, California
1st, NORBA NCS STXC, Deer Valley, Utah
1st, NORBA NCS XC, Deer Valley, Utah
2nd, U23 World Championships, Vail, Colorado
2nd Overall, NORBA NCS XC
2nd Overall, NORBA NCS STXC
2nd, NORBA NCS XC, Mammoth, California
2nd, NORBA NCS STXC, Mt. Snow, Vermont
2nd, UCI World Cup, Mont Sainte Anne, Canada
3rd, NORBA NCS XC, Snowshoe, West Virginia
4th, Sea Otter Classic, Monterey, California
4th, NORBA NCS XC, Mt. Snow, Vermont
XC: Cross-country
STXC: Short track cross-country

2000
1st, NORBA NCS STXC, Crystal Mountain, Washington
3rd Overall, NORBA NCX STXC
3rd, NORBA NCS STXC, Deer Valley, Utah
4th, Sea Otter Classic, Monterey, California
4th, NORBA NCS XC, Big Bear, California
XC: Cross-country
STXC: Short track cross-country