Friday, December 14, 2007

Will the real Dave Zabriskie Please stand up

Dave Zabrsikie. Fast, fast. Can TT like the wind. Three time TT national champion. Job security? Or is he not certain with his cycling career?
To preface the aforementioned statements, I must begin with the following story:

On Monday, I got a training ride in and happened to catch the Iowa v. Iowa State wresting meet (I had recorded on tevo the day previous). The meet was great, and it came down to the HWT bout. My mind was wandering during this portion of the ride(I was cooling down from a Tempo ride) when I noticed something... That Dave Zabriskie, the professional cyclist had given up his bike, his climbers physique, and his mind, and decided to use his 4 year of NCAA eligibility and wrestle for Iowa State.

this issue required immediate investigation. Within hours, I got ahold of Iowa State wresting coach Cale Sanderson. the phone conversation went as follows.

Pav: Cale, how did ever manage to get Dave to give up cycling...things looked great for him with his new team Slipstream

Cale: Yeah, that is what I thought as well. I knew Dave growing up in Utah. He was from SLC, and I am from Ogden. We ran into each other again in the summer of 2005 in Moab, Utah. Following my Olympic buildup, I needed some vacation time, and some single track. I decided to pack up the family and head to Slickrock.

Pav: So, that still doesn't explain how you got him on your wrestling team.

Cale: Right, right. I sometime talk to much about nestalgia. Anyway, we both ended up biking the same trail, he passed my group, doubled back to say high, and we got to talking, remnising, and beer drinking(not me of course, just Dave). He said that he used to be a great freestyle wrestling, he even qualified for cadet nationals at HWT. Then he got into biking. It seams that once he got on the bike all the muscle mass just melted off like butter in a hot day. I told him that if he was ever interested, he should come to Iowa(where I was coaching) ride Ragbrai, and stop in to do some wrestling. He came this fall following the world championships. He came and wrestled, unfortunately, we only had a HWT spot available. Dave said that he would try to "bulk up" for the position. He did. He got a partial scholarship, and is currently majoring in fluid dynamics.

Pav: Won't this sports move effect his cycling career, in the long run?

Cale: That was my initial concern. However, he is still riding daily, he just rides his rig before and after each of the days session. He is actually getting in like 4 hour a day, plus mat time. He said following NCAA's he would cut down and ride the giro at 148 lbs, again. Actually, 250lbs is his natural body weight.

Pav: Sound like some crazy shit.

1 comment:

the mostly reverend said...

that's interesting. he's really an excellent athlete. i guess that he made the match close and exciting is a real plus for him.

i hope he gets better before nationals.