Tuesday, April 3, 2007

He’s just a guy that likes to ride his bike


By - Paige Dunn

In my Sport Psychology work I talk to many athletes about their relationship to their sport and you can learn a lot about them and how to work with them based on their response. It was clear that Floyd is truly just a guy that likes to ride his bike.

From the second I sat down next to him for our interview Floyd was gracious, calm and clearly humble. When I asked him about being a role model to other cyclists who have also suffered from hip conditions or chronic pain and who have found hope through him, he seemed a bit surprised.

This was no ordinary bike event. San Francisco’s subculture of uber cyclists and turbo triathletes filled the room that would set them next to Floyd. From Tour de France victory, to major hip surgery, Floyd is back and ready to compete. But what’s unique about this race is that on this night Floyd and all of the other riders were on the new CycleOps Club Pro 300PT, a commercial version of the same stationary bike he used for his rehab.

Floyd’s wattage was projected on a monitor in front of the class and other riders could monitor their own power on their individual bikes. With an average over 600 its pretty unbelievable that just six months ago Floyd was under the knife.

It was a great event and M2 and CycleOps put on a great show. I’ll be putting together an article from my interview so stay tuned.

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