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If there’s one factor you could find out about Grant Koontz it’s that he actually loves biking. That singular truth, or relationship should you take into account it in a barely completely different context, explains so much.
It’s a love story that has introduced him from the street, to gravel, to the observe, as a journeyman on the lookout for a profession to make the love story final just a bit bit longer. It’s taken him from nightly dinners of eggs and candy potatoes in a pop-up RV parked illegally on the streets of Boulder, to a bikepacking journey to the Midsouth gravel race on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, after which, pivotally, to the Eurovision-esque glitz and pageantry of the made-for-TV Monitor Champions League.
In the end that keenness has delivered the 30-year-old to the Paris Olympics as Staff USA’s sole male observe consultant, even when it has been a wildly roundabout technique to get there.
“In a way, I used to be a misplaced pet,“ Koontz stated a few days earlier than the Video games started of his journey from gravel vagabond to the Olympic prep camp in Belgium. “Three years in the past I used to be watching the Olympics from the sideline because the observe world right now shut down throughout the pandemic. I used to be nonetheless very a lot a novice. I knew I had the barebones instruments to be observe racer however I hadn’t had an opportunity to excel.
“Clearly, I needed to make it to Paris however I wanted to start out out taking child steps ahead. I assume that’s at all times been the paralyzing factor for me, simply the distractions elsewhere. Issues like gravel grew to become a distraction as a result of it was actually about having enjoyable and staying motivated by way of the pandemic, however I knew, and my spouse actually satisfied me, that if I may get to give attention to one factor I’d be tremendous good at it.
“After I was lastly ready to try this and be ok to show my again on different attention-grabbing alternatives was what introduced me success. The main target needed to be falling in love with the method and never solely counting on the love of biking that has been happening for 12 years.”
Whereas these sentiments and the journey Koontz has been on do match the beats of different athletes’ dragged-out battles in opposition to luck, competitors, and motivation to make it to the Olympic stage, Koontz had the added problem that comes from the US’ sophisticated relationship with observe biking.
Within the early 1900s, observe biking in the US was big. Figures like Main Taylor had been worldwide stars, whereas followers packed well-known venues like Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis to look at not basketball or hockey, however observe occasions. In truth, all through the primary half of the twentieth century European professionals got here to the US to race observe occasions for additional money and publicity.
Now, observe biking is however a shadow of its previous. Velodromes are sparse, with solely three indoor tracks among the many 22 complete tracks presently in use within the U.S., which places the U.S. on the again foot in worldwide competitors and growth.
There have been exceptions to the rule — most notably Jennifer Valente’s gold medal on the omnium within the Tokyo Olympics and the ladies’s crew pursuit silver medals in London and Rio, bronze in Tokyo, and now gold in Paris — however on the lads’s aspect, success in main championships has been under par as evidenced by their incapacity to qualify a crew pursuit for the previous two Olympic cycles regardless of vital funding into that trigger.
“I’ve shifted my focus a number of occasions,” Koontz stated of his time within the Olympic pipeline with USA Biking’s observe program. “The preliminary plan was for us to qualify within the crew pursuit, however as soon as it was clear that the writing was on the wall that we weren’t going to qualify for the crew pursuit I switched my focus to the Madison which is what I assumed we’d have a greater likelihood of getting a spot.
“I truthfully hadn’t targeted so much on the omnium till this 12 months as a result of I assumed my greatest shot on the Olympics was in actually every other occasion. However finally my give attention to all the opposite occasions has helped me be a well-rounded rider for the omnium.”
Nonetheless, qualifying questions, funding issues, and the uncertainty of choice at the moment are behind Koontz. As a substitute, he’s now going through the purity of the racing and faces the last word take a look at of endurance observe racers: the omnium.
The omnium is a one-day occasion consisting of 4 races: a scratch race, a tempo race, an eliminator, and the all-important factors race. Whereas every of those races has its personal intricacies, when it comes all the way down to brass-tax the calls for of the races are much like the technical challenges the remainder of biking faces. Increasingly, the massive variable past uncooked watts is the aerodynamics of the rider.
For Koontz, a self-described biking romantic, the technical challenges may not appear to be they might be of a lot curiosity. However ever since he was chosen to the crew earlier this summer season Koontz has delved into the tech challenges that include racing on the tippy-top of biking efficiency.
“Two weeks in the past I did a bunch of on-bike on-track testing,” Koontz stated. “Clearly, meaning every little thing needs to be taken with a grain of salt as a result of outdoors forces can have an effect on it, however nonetheless it’s pivotal to see what helmet to make use of, what gloves to make use of, what shoe covers to make use of — every little thing.”
With eyes in the direction of optimizing every little thing, arduous decisions needed to be made, together with skipping over a motorcycle constructed for the American observe program with the categorical goal of getting a bonus at these Paris Olympics.
“Look simply launched a brand new P24 observe bike and it simply didn’t work for me,” Koontz stated. “It’s not adjustable sufficient for me and my place so we went again to the (Look) T20 bike as a result of, on the finish of the day, the bike is barely nearly as good as your place. It can save you far more on helmets and shoe covers and people issues fairly than simply using all of the cool new shit.”
But on August 8, the deck will get reset once more. All of the riders from around the globe who will compete for medals over the frantic 4 occasions should neglect concerning the aero benefits they could or might not have and easily race. On the finish of the day, no matter manner one splices it, racing is at all times extra of an artwork than it’s a science. The omnium isn’t any completely different, particularly since its largest level haul comes within the race the place surprises can flip up the established order.
“Consistency is essential,” Koontz stated. “You don’t must be one of the best on the earth at all the occasions, it’s nearly consistency over the primary three races and simply inserting within the cash, as a result of the factors race is the very best weighted occasion for these total factors, and that’s actually what the coaching has been geared in the direction of. In case you can’t factors race, you may’t be the omnium winner.”
To study extra about Koontz and his journey, you’ll want to try his Instagram (@rakoooontz) the place he has been sharing particulars and journal entries from the pivotal factors over the previous couple of years. It’s properly definitely worth the learn!
