Lance Sulzen
"Every one of them have influenced me and taught me something about bike racing. Without their help, I would definitely not be going to the Olympic selection race. " - Lance Sulzen
Lance Sulzen Team X Cycling mainstay.
Lance receives his winnings at the 2003 Bunny-Chase Crit.
Lance in a break at the 2003 VeloTek Crit.
Local rider Lance Sulzen invited to USCF Elite Nationals and US Olympic Road Race cycling trials in California this June 19th.
Lance sprinting to 4th place at the 2004 VeloTek Grand Prix crit stage.
Lance winding the sprint up at the 2004 VeloTek GP.
Lance leads the Pro/1/2/3 field around a corner at the VeloTek Grand Prix road stage.
Lance digs deep to place 6th on the VeloTek GP road stage behind Frank Jakofcich.
Lance placed a respectable 5th place at the 1st annual VeloTek Grand Prix Stage Race.
Alta-Sport: Let me start by saying that with a name like Lance don’t you already have an advantage in cycling!
That’s what a lot of people say. I’d like to think it’s an advantage, but it really is a motivator … to live up to his name!
Who’s your favorite professional cyclist and why?
Well … with my first name biasing my answer, I’d have to say Mr. Armstrong. His storied success is remarkable, but more personally to me, he and I had similar beginnings through triathlons, as well as sharing the same motivation and hard work ethic to be the best athlete we can be.
The Alta-Sport staff remembers you from the 2002 twilight and the Chili’s summer sizzler race series. You’ve had a steady progression the last two and a half years of road cycling. What’s your athletic background and has it contributed to your speedy development in cycling?
Well, I grew up playing soccer and also swam and ran competitively through high school. I think being raised in the competitive environment of both team sports, like soccer, and long distance sports, like running, definitely shaped me into adapting to cycling very well.
What advice can you give to aspiring racers?
Do your homework! Not only on the bike by training hard, but also by studying team tactics and your competition.
What strikes you as the biggest difference in cycling as compared to other endurance sports?
The amount that tactics and outsmarting your competition wins bike races, whereas other endurance sports usually rely on just being faster. You have to be “smart” to win bike races.
How important is the ability to focus in cycling?
It’s really important! The best races I’ve ever had has been when I have felt like I had blinders on, only thinking about things that would allow me to win the race, such as, cornering efficiently, holding my position, staying out of the wind and good sprinting form.
Did you specifically target USCF Elite Nationals and the Team USA selection race?
Actually, No…I went into this month with the goal to peak for the NRC races just to see how I would stack up against the top pro’s, if I were in top form, too. The Selection race was just a bonus for all the hard work I put in over the winter and spring. Sometimes better things come if you only focus on the baby steps, instead of the one gigantic step.
You placed 7th at the Rock Island Crit over Memorial Day, part of the National Calendar racing series. When did you realize you had a chance at that race? Tell us a bit about the last part of the race.
I was about mid-pack of a 120 or so strong field with about 10 laps to go. The field seemed to shut down from chasing the 4 guys off in the break, so it stared to get bunched up in the corners. I thought to myself that I needed to be safe and get out of the congestion of the middle of the pack before a crash happened, so I waited for someone to attack up the long straight away, and hitched a ride to the front of the field and out of trouble. Then I just focused on holding my position, not letting people bump me off my line. With 2 laps to go I was still sitting in the top 10 spots in the field and was able to follow the lead outs of a few other teams. With 2 corners to go I was still sitting top 5 in the field and started my sprint, remembering that I wanted to take the inside line through the last corner to avoid any crashes on the outside where a fence was set up. That last decision proved to be very important because as I came out of the corner, I saw a guy beside me crash into the snow fence and cause a big pile up. I ended up 3rd in the field sprint.
Even with your recent success cycling development can take years, what are you goals for the next couple of years.
Well, I’ve actually been taking my development one category at a time, trying not to get too excited or anxious about top level racing before finding success in my current level. I’m just now looking forward enough to start thinking about long term goals such as next year’s USCF Elite Nationals or even possibly the Olympic Trials again in four years. But, currently, my obvious short term goals are to keep progressing to a category 1 and placing well at more national caliber races.
It seems remarkable that a new cyclist in 2002 is going to the Olympic selection race in 2004. What factors do you attribute to your success?
There are a lot of factors. Hard work and the motivation to improve may be the most important, but just as important is all the support I have gotten over the last 2 years from teammates and friends. Every one of them have influenced me and taught me something about bike racing. Without their help, I would definitely not be going to the Olympic selection race.
Is North East Kansas and the KC racing scene getting the respect it deserves in the Midwest?
I think so. I’ve haven’t been around too long, so I’m not sure what kind of reputation we really have. But, we have teams in the area that are traveling around the Midwest making a name for ourselves and gaining the respect of even national cycling teams.
At the end of your cycling career how do you want your competitors to remember you by?
I’d like to learn enough and become successful enough in my cycling career to be able to mentor others and give back to the younger and newer cyclists in the area who are just starting out the same way I did two years ago.
Anything you’d like to add?
I just want to thank everyone in our cycling community that has supported me, and riders like me: everything from friends teaching me racing tactics to those who wished me luck and motivated me to go where I’m going today, and to my sponsors: Sunflower Bike shop, Trek, Maxxis, Verge and La Bodega Reverse; without the friends and support that we have in our cycling community, it would be very hard for anyone to find success.