Interview with Chris Eatough and Team Trek/Volkswagen

Question: What can you tell us about the Trek Factory MTB team this year? Who’s on the team?

Jon Posner: The Trek Factory team is back in it’s tenth year of partnership with Volkswagen, making the Trek/VW program one of the longest running MTB teams out there, and certainly the winningest. Our program includes 6 regional teams around the country, each featuring several of that region’s brightest riders in all different classes, and a pro factory team, this year made up of 4 of the U.S.’s top riders.
This year’s roster is:
Chris Eatough 6x world 24 hour solo champion 2x national 24 hour solo champion
Jeremiah Bishop 1st place On and Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell, Pan Am Games gold medalist
Sue Haywood 2x US National STXC Champion
Lea Davison 2005 U23 Women’s National Champion

Q: What 24 Hour races does the team plan on racing in during the 2006 season?
Jon: Our season has already started with the 12 Hours of Razorback in Ocala, Florida on Feb. 18th. Sue Haywood headed down to complete a team from our Southeast Regional crew and their 4 person team started 2006 off right with a victory in the open class. Other races where you can see Trek racers using Light & Motion systems this year include 12 hours of Tsali, NC, 24 hours of Moab, UT, the 18 hrs of Fruita, CO, the 24 hours of 9 mile, Wisconsin, and of course the 24 hours of Adrenaline world solo championships in Whistler, BC.

Q: Tell us why you prefer riding with Light & Motion Arc systems.
Chris Eatough: My choice of light system is based on 3 factors: brightness, lightweight, and reliability. Light & Motion lights outshine the competition in all these areas.
Jon: The reliability factor is very high. When you are racing in pitch blackness over nasty terrain, on little sleep, with a whole team counting on you, the last thing you want to wonder about is your light system. Light & Motion systems have a perfect record with our program.
Another feature about the Light & Motion systems is ease of mounting. The versatile mounting system makes it a cinch to have the light on or off a bike in a hurry, or switch from bar to helmet mount.

Q: Do you like to run bar mount? Helmet? Or both?
Chris: Most of the time I run both. This gives me the best possible visibility and the ability to "aim" the helmet light where I need it at any moment.
Jon: The more light the better. It’s that simple. There are advantages to both helmet and handlebar mounting locations. The helmet mount let’s you look ahead up the trail even in twisty sections, and if you have to dismount, having a light on the helmet is far more effective. But a handlebar light provides a better contrast for shadows and reading the terrain, and it is always pointed where you are going, which is where you should really be looking most of the time anyway right?
If you can only do one, think about which suits you better. For example, if you will have to change bikes, a helmet light stays with you and you don’t have to switch things over from bike to bike.

Q: Do you recommend weight training in the off season? What time of the year? How long?
Chris: I think a varied training program is beneficial for mountain biking, and weight training is a good option. I prefer body weight exercises that can be done anywhere with minimal equipment and require balance to train the core and the stabilizing muscles. Push up and crunch variations are a good place to start, and an exercise ball creates many options for fun and effective core training. Many traditional exercises can be improved by performing when standing on one leg or with eyes closed. I do these kinds of exercises year round, but more in the off season when I'm not riding or traveling quite as much.

Q: Do you recommend cross training?
Chris: Yes, especially after cycling for a couple of years. It's important to vary training to correct muscle imbalances and weaknesses that are inevitable if cycling is the only activity. It's also a welcome mental break after a long hard season of racing and travel.

Q: How much base mileage (LSD Long, slow distance) do you recommend and for how long?
Chris: It depends on the type of racing the athlete is training for. 3 weeks of purely aerobic training (conversational pace) should be enough for most athletes to have a base to build on to.

Q: When should you start doing intervals (hard efforts)?
Chris: Interval training is hard, but it is very effective, and the benefits come quite quickly. Just a few sessions in the 3 weeks leading up to competition can make a big difference.

Q: Should you change your nutrition in the off season? Does it look different than in-season nutrition?
Chris: I focus on a healthy, natural foods and balanced nutrition year round. I eat a little less when I'm not training as many hours.

Q: When do you begin to transition out of winter training? What do you change?
Chris: November and December I'm usually just enjoying fun bike rides of 2 hours or so, about 5 days a week, and cross training about 3 days a week with hiking or core exercises.
January is mostly base training with 4 to 5 hour rides 4 or 5 days a week, with 2 cross training sessions a week as well.
In February I'm still riding 20 to 25 hours a week, but include some specific work, like long tempo efforts and some hills seated in a big gear for muscular endurance.
In March, I am preparing for racing with race intensity efforts mixed into my rides.
Rest and recovery are just as important as the training itself, and I make sure to give myself an easy week every third week.

Q: Jon, in your opinion, is Chris Eatough ready to win his 7th World Championship this year?
Jon: Yes. Chris has been the driving pioneer in 24 hour solo racing for the last 6 years, and he continues even now to innovate and explore ways to become even faster still over a day. He fully intends to defend his titles for 2006.

Q: What makes Chris such a consistent success?
Jon: His meticulous attention to detail and his ability to be very very stubborn. He is a very good planner and strategist, and he’s good at evaluating information under stress. He also knows his body extremely well and he knows just where his thresholds are.

Q: As a team manager, how do you feel about the 2006 Race season for your team?
Jon: The 2006 season will be another year for the Trek/VW program to pursue mountain bike racing with a passion. We are very excited about the mix of Norba races, World Cup events, and large regional races and festivals that make up our 2006 schedule. The addition of Lea Davison to our pro team will help add to their impressive list of results, and our 28 rider strong regional teams have already begun dominating the race scenes in their respective areas. 2006 will be a good year to wear red!