Interview with Alison Dunlap on mtbike.mountainzone.com

Alison has had a busy week, and her race is still days away. Preparing and training at the opening round of the Tissot-UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Napa, Ca. Dunlap seems eerily relaxed — yet characteristically cheerful — kicking back in the palatial Zoner suite in casual GT clothing. You'd never guess that the officials from USA Cycling, NORBA and indeed the United States Olympic Committee — where she often trains — are watching her every move, hoping she looks as sharp this September as she does here in Northern California.

Dunlap, you see, is the best cross-country mountain biker in the country, male or female. An accomplished road racer (she recently won the Redlands road stage race and competed in the '96 Olympics), this fresh-faced American woman has developed into the most powerful and fast competitive pro on a mountain bike. Whether the pressure is a product of media such as us, self-imposed, or a figment of our collective imagination, is irrelevant. She's got a long season ahead of her.

As the only website on the planet to cover all of her World Cup and NORBA mountain bike races, MountainZone.com was particularly interested in a sit-down chat with Mrs. Dunlap. So we caught up with her one Friday afternoon for an in-person telephone conversation. She sat at one phone extension, while our reporter sat across from her on another extension. A phone call to Seattle, some high-tech recording software and the magic of RealAudio then tied it all together.

Have a read and get to know this fierce-yet-friendly competitor. Come September, you may be seeing her atop a certain podium in Sydney.

MountainZone.com:
You've recently won a formidable road race in Redlands and then you also won the cross-country race at the Sea Otter Classic. Generally speaking, how are you feeling here in the beginning of your season?

Dunlap:

I'm feeling good. I'm feeling strong. I had a great winter of training — feeling fit and I'm excited! We have great weather here in Napa, for the first time in a couple years, and Laurence (Leboucher), my teammate, is feeling really strong this year so it's going to be fun to have the two of us out there, up at the front.

MountainZone.com:
It doesn't seem like you or Laurence could be any more ready for the season — the way you're going.

Dunlap:

Yeah. She really did well at Sea Otter and it's good to see her back with good form.

MountainZone.com:

"There's a lot more recognition for women mountain bikers than on the road...."

Speaking of Laurence, she and Michael Rasmussen, who we also spoke to, who's the current world champion, said they're both surprised at their form — at just how fast they're going this early in the season. Especially because the big race, the Olympics is in September, they were both kind of trying to ramp up a little slowly. Does that hold true for you or are you surprised at your strength right now?

Dunlap:

I was a little surprised as well. But I think I'm more surprised by how a lot of the other top women are not nearly as fit as they have been at this time of the year and I think some of them are taking it a little bit differently because of the Olympics. But my feeling is the Olympics — it's actually the same weekend as our World Championships have been and I've always ridden very well at Worlds so I don't really want to change very much, you know, just because it's the Olympics. It's still the biggest race of the year and it's still at the end of the season. So for me it's probably going very similar to last year, as far as my preparation.

MountainZone.com:
With the Olympics in September, will your racing schedule vary from past seasons or are you sticking with what has worked for you so far?

Dunlap:

Yeah, the only thing different I might do if I make the Olympic team for the road race — which I hope to do — then I'm going to do a little bit more road racing throughout the middle of the summer. But everything else is going to be real similar to what I've always been doing.

MountainZone.com:
Now, we know that you're on the mountain bike team — you're the only, I believe, American to actually be a definite member of the mountain bike racing team. What is your situation with the road racing team?

Dunlap:

Road racing probably won't be decided until July and the Olympic trials are in May. It's one road race and the winner is an automatic. I can't see myself winning that race. It's a flat course and it's probably going to end in a field sprint. So, I'm anticipating that if I make that team, it would be as a coach's choice.

MountainZone.com:
A win at the Olympics — is that what it would take to really make your 2000 season or do you know in your mind the importance of a World Championship title vs. an Olympic medal?

Dunlap:

My big goal of my cycling career was always to win the Olympics. That's something that I'm focusing on and aiming towards. Worlds, being in June, it's kind of an unknown, because none of us have really raced a World Championship in June. So that'll be interesting. But if I don't win the Olympics, it's not going to mean that my 2000 season was a disaster. Because there's a lot of other races that are important and that's what happens if you base your entire career on one race. If you don't do well, is your whole career then a disaster?

MountainZone.com:
Right! I wanted to ask you about that because in the case of Julie Furtados, there was so much pressure for her going into the '96 games and I'm sure there was added pressure because of the fact that it was on American soil. I'm sure you're feeling some pressure, whether it's intended or not, but how do you deal with that for yourself? And just knowing that even if people don't say it, that you're the shining hope of the American Cycling Program?

Dunlap:

Gosh, I kind of deal with it in two ways. First, I use it mostly to motivate myself and it's real incredible to think that I'm one of the best hopes for the US to get a medal, and that's really, really exciting and I want to live up to that. On the other hand, I try not to think about it because it can make you nervous and put added pressure on yourself, which is not good for performance. I just look at it as it really is — just another race. Anything can go wrong at the Olympics. Just because it's the Olympics doesn't mean that you're immune to having problems. You have to take it as it comes and have a good attitude. Treat it as just another World Cup race that you go to throughout the whole summer.

"My big goal of my cycling career was always to win the Olympics. That's something that I'm focusing on and aiming towards...."

MountainZone.com:
Is this your fourth season racing mountain bikes?

Dunlap:

Yes.

MountainZone.com:
What initially attracted you to racing on mountain bikes?

Dunlap:

Mostly that it was different from road racing — different coaches, different riders, different staff. I like the fact that it's in pretty nice locations. You're in the mountains and you're always racing on the trails and in the forest. That's something that appeals to me. It's a different kind of a crowd; it's a little bit more laid back. As far as women and cycling go, there's a lot more recognition for women mountain bikers than on the road. After racing nine years on the road and people still didn't know what I had done — it was frustrating and here's an opportunity to maybe make a name for myself and go bigger.

MountainZone.com:
Today you're headed down to the airport to pick up your husband. I wanted to ask you what it's like managing your relationship with this type of career which does involve a lot of travel. Is that something that takes a lot of work — is it working out pretty well so far?

Dunlap:

It's always hard. Being married has been a great thing for me. It's made things less stressful because I know that he's always going to be there for me. On the other hand though, it also is harder because now that I'm married, I want to be home and it's harder to travel. But, you look at the big picture and cycling is a really small part of my life span. The time I spend away from home for cycling isn't so bad.

MountainZone.com:
How did you first get into cycling? What was your first connection with a bike?

Dunlap:

Just riding a bike — I got into it through the Girl Scouts. I did a lot of bike touring with them. As far as racing goes, I started that while I was in college.

MountainZone.com:
Do you remember the very first bike you had?

Dunlap:

Sure! It was a Schwinn Tempo.

MountainZone.com:
Did you have one with the banana seat and the tassels?

Dunlap:

Well, my very first bike, yeah. I had the banana seat, big monkey handlebars and we still have that bike. Actually my dad brought it to my wedding reception and rode it out onto the dance floor.

MountainZone.com:
That's great. In your opinion, what do you hope for the long-term future of mountain bike racing at the professional level? Maybe not for the next season or two, but do you see it as something that's, "got legs" as they would say?

Dunlap:

It does. I think mountain biking will always be there. It's going to have to change because I think it's kind of stagnating right now. The novelty of cross-country mountain bike racing, I think, has kind of worn off and people want to see something different. If the sport is to survive, it's going to have to attract more TV. The bottom line is TV wants something that's exciting and fast and entertaining. Cross-country racing as it stands today is not. I think what NORBA did with the short-track course is a step in the right direction. I think the World Cup series is going to have to do something similar for the sport to survive on the world-class elite level.

MountainZone.com:
Do you know how many days you were on the road last season?

Dunlap:

I was gone over 200 days.

MountainZone.com:
We all know that's a lot of time sitting on flights with really bad B-run movies. What do you do to fill your time when you're on flights or in cars or airports?

Dunlap:

I read a lot of books. I love reading and I spend a lot of time doing that. Then I also have my computer. I do emails in the evening and play around on the internet.

MountainZone.com:
What are you reading right now? Anything good?

Dunlap:

I'm reading a book called Voyage of the Narwhal; it's kind of an 1850's historical fiction book about an exploration to the Arctic.