Miles Venzara Interview

Q: What brought you to Durango? Did you race in college?
A: Fort Lewis College, Skiing and mt. bike brought me to Durango-Yes, I raced in college, in fact, Fort Lewis College mt. bike team try outs was my first mt. bike race ever in 1996! I raced the C team Freshman year, B team sophomore year and the A team my junior and senior years! Collegiate racing is the reason I became a bike race!

Q: What year did you earn your Pro mtb license and how did that come to be?
A: I earned my Pro mtb license in 2002 and I attribute that to collegiate racing! I just worked hard and every year I moved up through the sport class, expert, semi-pro until I had the results to upgrade to pro.

Q: You helped develop the Health FX team, what led to that and how has it developed into what it is today?
A: The Health FX team started with a group of local Durango fellas that just loved/wanted to race bikes. We were sponsored by Trek Bicycles from the beginning and with their support, along with local businesses as sponsors we morphed into “Team 505 Trek”. The team was strong and results were plentiful; because of that we were able to raise more money and get more people on the team. We now have 3 main sponsors and half dozen smaller sponsor’s that make up the “Directory Plus/Zia/Trek team today. We still have a core group of 4-5 riders that were on the Health FX team and make up a majority of today’s team.

Q: You have been a pretty solid ski racer the past 2 seasons, what is it you enjoy most about the sport?
A: I enjoy ski racing in many disciplines so much that it is hard to pin down the one thing I enjoy most about it. Besides nordic (classic and skate) racing I recently have been competing in a local Colorado Randonee Race series that takes me to all the sick Colorado ski towns. Randonee racing comprises of skinning up (usually a ski area), skiing down, boot packing with your skis on your back and even some fixed rope ascents (every time I get done with one it reminds me so much of a mt. bike race). I love the balance that skiing/ski racing gives me; it’s a great opportunity to build muscles that become atrophied during cycling season. I also thoroughly enjoy the solitude that comes with training for ski races, rather it be backcountry skiing or just getting up to the golf course for a skate/classic shesh.

Q: The Moab Super D was won by you in convincing fashion last October, how do you train for this sport and what kind of bike does it take?
A: Trek was able to hook me up with a “Remedy” 9.9, that was definitely an advantage over the competition as that bike has over 5.5″ of travel, weighs under 26lbs. and pedals just as fast as it descends. I feel that I did so well in the Moab Super D as I was riding dirt bikes (recently got a yz125) and racing cross. It was the perfect balance of downhill (moto) training with uber fast high end cycle cross practices/races I was competing in at the local level prior to the Moab win. Dirt bikes and cycle cross racing seems to me to be the best of both worlds for super D training.

Q: What advise do you have for the junior cyclists in town? What path would you take, in hindsight, to becoming a pro cyclist?
A: The advise I have for junior cyclists is hard work, persistence and patience. The path to racing pro takes years of training/racing and understanding what works for each individual athlete. In hindsight I wouldn’t do anything different as I like balance in my life; I love racing but I love to do many other things in my life. I don’t stress/worry about base in the winter months, I ski-backcountry, skate, classic, Rando Racing etc. I have never been the “fastest guy in town” but I know that everything I do (including bicycle racing) makes me a very well rounded and balanced person/athlete.

Q: Who are your favorite cyclists of all time, roadie, mtber? How about heros outside the sport?
A: I have so many favorite cyclists, but some of my favorite include: Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx, Julie Furtado, Tinker Juarez, John Tomac, Cadel Evans,Chad Cheeney, Ned Overend, Travis Brown, Lance Armstrong, Todd Wells, Anthony Colby, Alison Dunlap and last but not least Marco Pantani. Some of my heroes outside the sport include my parents, John Elway, Scott Shmidt, Glen Plake and many more!