 
Q & A Interview with Tové Jensen
Keeping It Wheel
Anything and everything...how's that for a job description?
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That today's off-road athletes are possessive of tremendous natural ability is not questioned by anyone. We've all marveled at the feats produced with regularity by our Gioves and our Larsens. But, it must be said, that to be truly competitive on a national or even international scale these days requires something more: a dedicated support staff.
People like Team Giant's US Team Manager Tové Jensen are a part of the unseen network which exists behind the scenes, making off-road racing happen for us, day after week, after month, after season. And few fans are ever really aware of what it takes to pull this together. Which is a shame, because the industry holds so many cool personalities who will never know the glory of the podium.
MountainZone.com:
Tell us a little about your background.
Jensen:
My name is Tové Jensen, and I'm from all over actually. My mother is Norwegian and my father's American. I grew up in southern California, and I actually spent nine years here in Mammoth, where we're at right now, up until about '95. I've lived in San Francisco, I've lived in New York City, I've lived in L.A., and now I live in Santa Barbara, and I've been travelling with professional teams for about eight years.
MountainZone.com:
What other teams have you worked with?
Jensen:
I started out in '93 with Kaluha, it's a womens' road team, and then I worked with Schwinn for two years. And I worked with Marin, with Marla Streb, and I've also worked with the Trek/VW and the Gary Fisher/Saab teams. I've been with Giant now for two years.
MountainZone.com:
So, mountain bike racing has gotten huge, and teams are requiring more and more support personnel, people like managers, mechanics, etc. What does a team manager do?
Jensen:
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"A lot of times I feel like a therapist, almost like a psychiatrist...." |
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Well, as a team manager, and I'm also what is called a soigneur. I also do massage and take care of the athletes and that's kind of how I started in this industry. As a team manager I do all the flights, I do all the lodgings, I do all the race registration, I do all the rider registration. I make sure everybody knows where they are going and when they are going, and that they have their schedules; that they know who's picking them up at the airport. I deal with some of our co-sponsors here in the US. With our team specifically, it's an international team, I have a director in Holland, and I handle all the US races and their logistics here, and I also take care of all the athletes who live in the US, as far as all their flights all over the world. I also deal with the media. The media are looking to work with our athletes, they come through me. I send out press releases, and write race reports…oh my God, I do everything! I go grocery shopping, I go to the meetings that we have here and make sure that I have the schedules, that the mechanics know what the schedules are, that the riders know what the schedules are, and just keep things running all of the time, always keep my eyes open to see what needs to be done, and just keep it going.
MountainZone.com:
How involved are you in team selection, selecting the individual athletes?
Jensen:
With this team, the person who's primarily responsible for that is Johan Lammerts, who's our director in Holland, and how involved I am? I don't know. I don't know how much of my input he listens to (laughing), but he'll ask me about athletes that I've worked with. He'll ask me, you know, 'what do you think about these people?' or 'how would they work with our team?' He hired one of our mechanics based upon my recommendation. I brought Frank on from having worked with him on Marin. Me personally? A lot of team managers will be the only ones responsible for selecting the athletes; they'll bring the athletes on. With my position, because we're an international team and we have a director in Holland, I have less to do with that directly. But he just asks me for my recommendations and I just let him know what I think.
MountainZone.com:
So, on the same note then, how involved are you with coaching the individual athletes?
I suppose it varies with each individual athlete, but how does that work?
Jensen:
I wouldn't say that I'm a traditional coach, per se, with any of the athletes, at least not on an athletic level. With mountain biking, as opposed to road racing, the mountain bikers are more individual and they have their own training schedules, and they spend less time with the team. So, they have to usually have their own coaches where they live. I deal with them a lot more on a psychological level, especially with my background as a soigneur, doing massage. So they come to me a lot just to talk. I help them with their focus, their breathing. I've got a background with yoga, with meditation practice, so I help them on that level. A lot of times I feel like a therapist, almost like a psychiatrist.
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| "All of that free time in the winter is what makes this working so hard in the summer, so worthwhile....." |
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MountainZone.com: Obviously, during the season, you're going 24-7...what's the off-season like? What's your year like?
Jensen:
Your season usually starts with the Sea Otter in March. You also can have a training camp before that. We had a training camp a week before Sea Otter, so it's usually right about the first of March that you get going, and you're going, going, going, going, until the end of September. During the off-season, those five months during the off-season, you spend a lot of time on the phone and on the computer, and compiling info. With me, you know, I've got databases on all the athletes. I know all their sizes; I know what their clothing preferences are; I know how long their arms are; I know their inseams, I know their waist sizes, you know, and so you spend a lot of time just putting together all of your information and ordering all your clothes, and working with your co-sponsors on that.
MountainZone.com:
Do you ever get to have any fun?
Jensen:
This morning I got up and went on a two-hour ride. It was awesome, it was really fun, but that is rare. That is really rare. I have a lot of fun because I enjoy my job. I travel all over the world, it's just amazing. So I have fun within the work. And then it's really nice to have an off-season, where you don't have to be in an office, your schedule is your own, you can work whenever you want, you know, as long as you get your job done. All of that free time in the winter is what makes this working so hard in the summer so worthwhile.
— Mike Wolfson, MountainZone.com Staff
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