Jesse Carlsson: 2013 Tour Divide

Orbea rider Jesse Carlsson is well known throughout the Australian Mountain Biking scene as one of the most respected, talented and aggressive solo Enduro riders.

Jesse has raced practically everything Enduro including multiple 24Solo Aussies & Worlds, the high profile Cape Epic and subbing 5h30min consistently at Australia’s most challenging 100km marathon event the Otway Odyssey.

After a few “get to know you” questions, the following interview with Jesse will lead up to his plans to challenge the 2013 Grand Tour of Mountain Biking….The TOUR DIVIDE.

Forget the road grand tours, this is the by far the most difficult cycling race on earth. Here are a few stats. The race is 4,418km long starting from Banff in Canada and follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike route through numerous USA States to the Mexican border town of Antelope Wells in New Mexico.

It is a self supported (carry all your own gear, food & water) individual time trial. And if you have plans to finish it in the average three week time frame you will need to spend 12-16 hours in the saddle per day. Plus….the route is unmarked requiring immaculate navigational skills and travels directly through Grizzly & Mountain Lion country. 

Sound like fun??? Well let’s see how Jesse plans to tackle it and become only the second recorded Australian to ever finish the event. Alex Field is the only known Australian finisher. We don’t know much about Alex other than he completed the race way back in 2007. 

Interview By: Ross Burrage

A few quick get to know you questions…

RB: Age?

JC: 34

RB: Current bike of choice?

JC: Orbea Alma 29er

RB: Last solo event raced?

JC: Probably a dirt crit?

RB: Most respected male and female competitors and why?

JC: I’ve got a lot of respect for the guys who have done well in the Tour Divide in recent years – Matt Lee, Kurt Refsnider, Ollie Whalley and Eszter Horanyi. They seem to simply enjoy riding their bikes. They don’t pretend to be on a holy quest towards enlightenment; they don’t make much of a fuss about what they do and simply enjoy exploring the world by bike.

RB: Hours spent training a week and typical weekend routine?

JC: I guess I don’t really train in the traditional sense – sure, I try to ride a lot but I don’t follow a plan. Every now and then I’ll pull together a training plan and try to follow it. This only ever lasts for a day or two before life gets in the way. Often it’ll be work, and I’ll need to be out of town for a few days, or I’ll be tired from long work days. A while ago I decided to let just myself off the hook, stop stressing about sticking to training plans, and just enjoy riding when I can. Now when I get the urge to write a training plan, I wait a few hours until the urge passes.

The amount I ride is entirely dependent on my workload. Sometimes there are periods when my only chance to ride is while commuting between home and work. The shortest way to work isn’t all that far; a touch over 10km. This isn’t a hell of a long way, so I like to mix it up a bit to get more of a work out. For a bit of fun, I try to do the occasional “Gordo week” (at least 146km per day for the week – I have a memory of Gordo saying his ride to work was 73km. I hope that’s right? It’s a bit of a challenge if you get stuck late at work! If you want to try it, the trick is to get up ridiculously early and get 100km in before work). Another trick to liven up the commute is to try to climb 1,000m each day – this requires a bit of creativity when you live in the flat inner Melbourne suburbs!

I try to get out for long rides on the weekend. If I haven’t been riding for a while the weekend rides seem to get longer.

RB: Favourite trail network?

JC: Definitely the Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua. If you ever get a chance, head over there in October for the Whaka100 marathon. I couldn’t imagine a better course for a 100km race – it covers most of the trails in the forest. There are some incredible descents on fast, flowing, well-groomed trails that seem to go forever. I’m looking forward to heading over there again soon.

RB: Favourite piece of gear?

JC: My Camelbak. With it I can head out for hours without worrying about finding water. It makes the ride a bit harder too. You can pack it full of food, tools, tubes, fluids and clothing and create a significant payload. When you eventually ride without it in a race you barely notice the climbs! It’s like weight training without having to go to a gym!

RB: Key piece of race advice for other budding Enduro riders?

JC: Enduro racing is really an eating contest with a bit of riding thrown in for fun. The longer the race, the more accurate this advice becomes.

RB: Favourite Mountain Bike mag?

JC: Probably Enduro, although I spend more time surfing the web than reading magazines. Bikepacking.net is one of my favourites at the moment. There’s a wealth of valuable information from some very experienced riders in the forums.

RB: Favourite YouTube clip?

JC: Bike related…this one.

Others…its a toss up between this….

and this….

Usain Bolt is probably the most impressive athlete I’ll get to see in my lifetime

RB: Current sponsors?

JC: Orbea, Bikebox / Schwalbe, Jetblack and Monza Imports.

RB: Favourite all time race?

JC: The Blue Dragon, a two-day race in the North Eastern corner of Tasmania. Why? It’s a beautiful part of the world, it’s a tough course (day one starts with a 900m ascent right from the start), and it finishes at a pub with some great local craft beers.

RB: Favourite all time result?

JC: It’d have to be the recent Dirty Gran Fondo. I think I finished dead last, or very close to it. I rode out to the race with a mate of mine on my single speed commuter bike. We then rode the race, stopping for some fondue offered around by a couple of guys on course, and eventually rode home. It was an awesome day out!

RB: Any plans to go back and race the Cape Epic free of food poisoning?

JC: It’d be great to go back and have another go at it but I can’t see it happening for a while. There are too many other amazing rides to do. Maybe when we’re both over 40 I’ll try to talk Mocky into having another crack at it with me, but in the masters’ category. I suspect it would take more than a few beers for him to sign up though!

RB: Other than the Tour Divide, what other races are on the bucket list?

JC: There are plenty of events that look interesting. I’m not sure if any of them would make the bucket list though:

Off-road Finnmark (http://www.offroadfinnmark.com/ – I’d like to pair up with Brad Davies for this one)

Freedom Challenge in South Africa (http://www.freedomchallenge.org.za/)

Trans-Portugal stage race (http://www.trans-portugal.com/ )

Transpyr stage race across the Pyrenees (http://www.transpyr.com/)

It’d be fantastic to do the race around the world (http://road.cc/content/news/59716-interview-round-world-record-holder-mike-hall-talks-round-world-record-kit).

To be honest, at the moment I’m more interested in exploring Victoria and NSW on my MTB a bit more. I’d really like to help organise an Australian bike-packing event in the next few years. I really like the philosophy of these events; no prize money, not much fuss, just a few people showing up at the same time to ride an awesome course that a like-minded nutter has conceived.

The Tour Divide questions……..

RB: Now Jesse…..let’s start with the obvious question first. Are you clinically insane?

JC: Not clinically

RB: Why the Tour Divide?

JC: Four reasons:

1.It looks like a fun adventure through some beautiful country. I like the idea of bike-packing – it’s pretty simple; ride, eat, sleep, repeat

2.After I heard a couple of call-ins from Jeff Kerby, I was hooked (see http://tourdivide.org/blog2009/jeff_calls_butte_more_tales_darkside and also http://tourdivide.org/blog2009/jeff_calls_helena_after_having_his_first_drunk_siting.You’ll see the transcript on the page, if you can’t get the audio to work)

3.As far as the race goes, I think that physical ability becomes less important as the race duration increases. This means I should have a better chance of doing well in this sort of event than a dirt crit!

4.I’ve almost managed to gain “management approval”. Which is viewed by some to be a greater challenge than the race itself

RB: You do realise that approximately half the competitor’s scratch from the race every year? Any fears of going over the and not finishing?

JC: There’s a possibility I won’t finish. I’ll do what I can to minimise the risk of this happening though. I’ll be getting a few longer rides in over the next 9 months to familiarise myself with longer periods of sitting on a bike seat and to fine-tune my equipment. If I don’t manage to get as much riding in as I hope, I’ll probably pull the pin a few months out and stay at home – I don’t think it’s the sort of ride you want to do without a bit of experience!

Eszter

RB: Did you track this years event? New Zealander Ollie Whalley completed the event in a little over 16 days and broke the record by a day. Eszter Horanyi broke the female record by about 5 days. There are some insanely talented riders out there.

JC: Yes – I was a “blue-dot junkie” once again this year. I think we’re seeing some very talented amateurs get hooked! It was great to watch this year. Ollie and the eventual second-place rider Craig Stappler were duelling for the bulk of the race. Their approach was very consistent – they got plenty of rest (about 6hrs per night from what I could tell) and seemed to ride pretty hard. In previous years there have been some all-night “attacks” and other heroics. It turns out that such feats weren’t necessary for a record time.   

Ollie

RB: Any altitude fears? The good Tour Divide riders tend to live and train at altitude but you live and train at sea level?

JC: Yes. I reckon a few weeks in Colorado before the event would be the perfect way to adjust. It means there’s going to be a long time off work though.

RB: Apparently you will need to climb Mt Everest 5 times along the route. That’s some crazy climbing over three weeks. Is climbing a strength?  

JC: I’m not naturally good at climbing – I’m too heavy for my height and my power to weight ratio isn’t great. I do love climbing though – it’s pretty satisfying to plug away for a few hours and then see the views from the top. From what I can tell, most of the Tour Divide climbs are pretty gradual so I’m not too worried.  

I think the greatest challenge with an event like the Tour Divide is gaining approval from your better half. This is process that takes many years of consistent hard work and a lot of patience. I think I’m about 90% of the way there but there’s still some work to do in this area.

RB: Now…one of the major fears for Tour Divide riders in the first two weeks are the Grizzly’s and Mountain Lions. Any fears of getting eaten while camping in the bush along the route?

JC: Statistically you’d have to be pretty unlucky to get attacked. I’m more worried about riding in the Australian summer – snakes are my biggest fear when riding off-road at that time of year.

RB: What about the rattlers and scorpions down North in the third week. Fancy cuddling up with them?

JC: I hadn’t thought about them. The stray dogs in New Mexico are a bit of a worry though. I’ve heard that Tour Divide riders are more likely to use their bear spray on stray dogs in New Mexico than on bears.

RB: Any thoughts on the rig of choice for the race yet? There were some thoughts of running an CX bike at one stage?

JC: I’ll need to research the course and conditions a bit more. If I had to choose now though, I think I’d ride my Orbea Alma 29er with a few tweaks. I’d put some rigid carbon forks on (suspension seems to be unnecessary on the TD course, and it’s a good way to save 800g), maybe put on a more robust saddle (its rails need to support the weight of my saddle-pack) and perhaps convert to a single chain-ring on the front (the climbing seems pretty gradual, so maybe a 1×10 set-up would be OK)

RB: How many kg’s (bike and gear) are you aiming to stay under given you will need to carry absolutely everything?

JC: I’m hoping to get down to 18kg for my bike and kit. That includes everything except fluids and food. That might be a bit naïve and I’m still learning with each ride, but the advances in ultralight hiking gear in recent years mean that you really don’t have to carry much weight at all. 

RB: Are you any good as a mechanic? Can I recommend that you build your own bike because if it breaks you’re going to need to know how to fix it.

JC: This is an area I’m going to need to work on. I’m hopeless. I’m going to have to get my mates at the local bikeshop to give me some training soon! Liam at Bikeforce seems scared every time I ask him to service my bike.

RB: It may sound a little crazy but they say the boredom is the most challenging part of the race. We wonder about our physical capabilities but surely the mental elements dominate a race like this?

JC: I think this could be an advantage for me. I think I read somewhere once that boredom is nothing more than a lack of attention to detail. There is always something to capture your attention on a long ride, whether it’s a bird, a hot northerly wind, the changing geology as you roll along, etc. The guys who’ve done well in the Tour Divide seem to genuinely enjoy long rides – it’s not forced. They love being out in the elements, fending for themselves, and seeing the world from the saddle of a bike. Unless you naturally have that mindset, I don’t think it makes sense to take on the Tour Divide.   

RB: Any thoughts on how a training program may look in prep? I’m guessing there wouldn’t be too many coaches around you could lean on for advice in terms of race experience?

JC: I think I’ll just focus on riding my bike as much as I can and try to do a few 2 or 3 day rides. I reckon it’s just as important to get familiar with the kit that I plan to take along as it is to get physically fit. I’m not taking it too seriously – I’ll just use the race as an excuse to ride more in the months leading up to it. I think work will continue to help me with sleep deprivation training – this will be important during the Tour Divide.

RB: Now your great mate Brad Davies thinks you could actually win the race and become the first ever Australian to achieve that amazing result. Are you serious about competing at the pointy end?

JC: I think I’ll set a goal to finish within a certain time and see how I go. I doubt I’ll be competing at the pointy end – I don’t think I have the bikepacking experience to do all that well yet. I might have the fitness to hang with the fast guys for a little while, but there is so much more to this event than just fitness. I’m not too fussed with placings, it’ll be more about seeing whether I can ride a bike over 4,000km without having too many meltdowns. Hopefully I’ll meet some new riding buddies along the way too.

RB: Last couple mate…In terms of cycling prestige, this race has got to be ranked very highly. Are you aware that there is only one recorded Australia (Alex Field 2007) that has ever finished this race? Does the fact that you could be the second Australian ever to finish this race provide any source of motivation?

JC: Not really Ross. I’ve heard that a few other Aussies have either cycle-toured the route or completed individual time trials, so I think we’re a bit beyond the pioneering stage. I think we’ll see a lot more Aussies tackling the race over the next few years. Two of my riding mates from Melbourne are thinking of racing next year (I reckon they’ll be very strong), and I’ve heard that a couple of guys from NSW are keen as well. It’ll be great to have a few other Aussies over there to trade stories with.

RB: Thanks for your time mate. Awesome interview and please keep us in the loop with your Aussie backpacking event plans as we will promote the crap out of that for you. Anyone you would like to thank to wrap it up?

JC: Thanks to the sponsors I mentioned earlier and to all those I’ve ridden with over the last few years.