Trek Co-Op rider Jeff Schalk (Photo by Steven Hoover)
MTBracenews.com- You worked your way through the ranks as an Olympic distance XC racer. Now that you are a Pro you seem to have shifted your focus to Ultra-Endurance events. Why?
Jeff Schalk- I first pursued the races that were the most obvious for trying to “make it” as a Pro, namely the National XC races. But, I began to gravitate towards the Ultra Endurance world as I saw that I was better suited towards longer races. My first year as a Pro, my manager (Steven Hoover) had me compete in the Shenandoah 100 because it is a local favorite that serves as good exposure. I first thought that 100 miles sounded terribly painful, but went along with it and did really well, getting 3rd place. That seemed to catch the attention of my teammate Chris Eatough because he asked me to be his partner at the BC Bike Race the next year. His taking me on and acting as a mentor more or less made my career. I learned a ton from training/racing with him and saw that the exposure we got from winning BC that year was much more helpful for Trek and my career than anything else I could do. Later that year, I focused on the Shenandoah 100 again, knowing that I might be able to win. Floyd Landis had signed up, and there was a bunch of hype about his participation (he entered a few MTB races during his legal battles against alleged doping). I really went for it that day and won by a big margin, setting a new course record. I received so much attention for that win that I realized again, for both Trek’s exposure and my own career, I should focus on the NUE. The following year, I won four of the NUE races, locked up the series, and had found my niche. Trek has been behind me all along, but has dramatically stepped up the support as I have gained bigger and better exposure with my Ultra-Endurance successes.
MTBracenews.com- How does your training differ now as compared to your days as a Olympic distance XC racer?
Jeff Schalk- More hours and more time spent doing Tempo is important, and the need to do really short intervals is no longer very necessary. But, I honestly don’t train too much differently. Maybe this is an indication of always training my strengths and why I never quite broke out as an XC racer? I’ve always loved doing exhaustive all-day training sessions with tons of climbing.
MTBracenews.com- When you are competing at a 100 miler what are your nutritional goals during the race? How much and how often are you eating?
Jeff Schalk- Fluid and calorie intake is a crucial part of Ultra Endurance racing. You can’t really wait to listen to your body since it might be too late once you are thirsty or hungry, so you have to systematically ingest as much as you can absorb. I take one Powerbar Powergel every 30-40 minutes. I love those things – they taste like candy and I never get sick of them; I end up going through 10-15 for any given 100 mile race. But, I seem to have a more tolerant stomach than most since other racers seem to need to balance a between solid food, bars, and gels.
MTBracenews.com- What qualities do you look for in a race before committing to competing?
Jeff Schalk- I’ve always loved the sport aspect of racing, meaning that the competition is more thrilling to me than the course itself. You could set up a series of cones in a dirt parking lot and I’d be satisfied. I won’t deny that I love good trails and pretty scenery, but that is more important to keep motivated for training as compared to racing. As for wanting a race that plays to my favor, I’d prefer a race with a lot of climbing.
Jeff parting the waters at Kenda Cup East #1
MTBracenews.com- Name one race you have not done but would like to someday.
Jeff Schalk- I really can’t think of any because I feel so incredibly privileged to have received all the support I’ve already gotten and to have been able to do so many different great races. I’ll gladly take on any race in the future that might help gain exposure.
MTBracenews.com- Explain what happened to the Trek/VW team after last season. I think most people are still wondering how a team could fold following such an incredible year of racing.
Jeff Schalk- I feel a little bit under-qualified to answer since I wasn’t part of the negotiation process. However, my understanding is that the team was caught off guard by the timing of the economy’s downfall and the pullout of VW. A large amount of the team’s budget came from VW, and after yet another very successful year for the team, all were very confident that the Trek relationship with VW would continue. When that didn’t happen, it was very late in the game for the team to try and replace such a huge sponsor, especially since the economy had everyone playing conservative with their budgets. The formation of Trek World Racing took a lot of blame from some who thought that Trek was abandoning domestic racing. However, TWR had been in the works long before the end of last year and it was a coincidence that the two entities’ destiny appeared to correlate.
Jeff's Trek Top Fuel race bike (photo by Steven Hoover)
MTBracenews.com- Explain the Trek Racing Co-Op?
Jeff Schalk- Trek maintained its commitment to domestic racing by putting together a collaboration of riders from the previous team. Because the Trek/VW infrastructure (team cars, team trailer, etc) has disappeared, and this is somewhat of a rebuilding year, the team is more of a co-operative association since each athlete is in charge of their own schedule and agenda, yet draws from the same pool of resources. This is all coordinated by our leader at Trek, Michael Browne.
MTBracenews.com- How did you start riding mountain bikes and when did you decide to focus on succeeding as a professional racer?
Jeff Schalk- I had always wanted to be a professional athlete, but had written that dream off after college because I got married and went down the path of having a house and an office job (as a structural engineer). But, we divorced after only a few years and I decided to get into racing as an amateur, mostly as a way to “rediscover” myself while going through the break-up. I had success and was moving up the ranks, but it was still mostly for fun until I had a near death experience that pushed me over the edge towards wanting to try and compete full time. I was hit by a trolley car in San Francisco while on my bike and was incredibly lucky to not be run over and killed by the thing; on the way to the hospital I decided that life was too short to sit around and wonder if I could turn Pro. So, I had a year of transition where I raced more and worked less, then quit my job a year later. A position on the Trek/VW East team opened up at the same time that I turned Pro; manager Steven Hoover took me on and gave me the necessary backing that I needed so that I could focus on developing as a full time racer.
MTBracenews.com- Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.
Jeff Schalk- My love for sport and my dream of being an athlete came from watching football. I was too scrawny (and scared) to ever play the game, but grew up watching the NFL and the 49ers. I was largely influenced by players like Roger Craig and Jerry Rice because the media constantly talked about how hard they worked, staying after practice and putting in more hours than anyone. The NFL today is filled with overpaid, disloyal idiots, but I still like the game itself and try to model my athletic career after my childhood heroes, the ones who achieved big things based upon an enormous amount of desire and work ethic.
MTBracenews.com- How do you train to maintain such a high intensity over 100 miles of racing?
Jeff Schalk- The 100 mile MTB format isn’t like a long road race where you can sit in and soft pedal, waiting for the decisive move to happen late in the day, so conventional training that involves going hard for shorter intervals isn’t adequate. You have to be willing to ride Tempo all day long; preparation for that is to do long training rides where you never let off.
MTBracenews.com- What are your goals for this season and in the future?
Jeff Schalk- My focus for this year is the NUE series and the BC Bike Race. As for the future, I like to take one season at a time.
MTBracenews.com- What racing accomplishment are you most proud of?
Jeff Schalk- I’m most proud of winning the Shenandoah 100 in 2007. Floyd Landis wasn’t in peak form, so beating him was a nice perk but not the highlight. The biggest accomplishment that day was that I finally came into my own as a racer. I believed that I could win and confidently set about doing so regardless of external factors.
