The exciting life on the road
Matt Sharpe is on the Canadian development team and is currently in a training camp in Vitoria Gasteiz in Northern Spain with fellow Canadians and the Wollongong Wizards under coach Jamie Turner.
From there Sharpe travels to the various races he does this summer, before returning to Canada later in August.
ST: How are you doing?
Matt Sharpe Yeah, good. Today was the first day back for the next training block and the coach (Jay Turner) was hitting us pretty hard. It is nice to start off with a solid day. Just doing this interview now and then I got a massage at 10 [pm], so just getting ready for that.
ST: Is it unusual to have a massage that late?
Matt: If I was a little better organized I would likely get a better time, but I seem to kind of fall into that 9:30 to 10pm range. The service providers here have to deal with a pretty large group of athletes, with our team being here plus another large group from Australia. So it is a question of organizing well, and I am sometimes off with that.
ST: Where exactly are you?
Matt: Right now we are in Vitoria Gasteiz in the Basque region of Northern Spain.
ST: You mentioned this being your first day back in camp. What were you doing until now?
Matt: Our team Versailles drove from Paris and 8 hours later we arrived in Valence for leg 2 of the French Grand Prix. The race was unique as a 2-1-2 relay format with two athletes tagging off to a solo athlete who then tagged off to the other two athletes. With the format of a super sprint as 400/10/2.5 it was about 26 minutes of racing and pain.
ST: So how did you guys do?
Matt: For our team Versailles, I started off with my training partner and fellow Canadian Tyler Mislawchuck and we were hoping to shed a few teams on the first swim and then a bit on the bike. But it is just not enough time [in the water] and we had everyone together, and we kind of came in together at the back of the bunch. And with my training I am not really prepared for the 2.5k and so it was go until you blow. About 1000 meters or so in I tried to connect with the main bunch and I just exploded, and it was kind of ugly. I had Tyler with me and he tried to keep me going and keep me motivated, and we tagged off I think in 13th out 16 teams. Our guys reeled in a few other teams, but we were kind of gone from the front of the action. Which was too bad, but yeah, I just wasn’t prepared for that kind of racing.
ST: So when you are racing in Europe do you compete for Versailles or is that just a temporary thing?
Matt: This is my first season doing the French Grand Prix and it is great. It is an opportunity to race at really low stakes. I however haven’t done that much racing because I was injured from earlier this year, so for me it is a chance to go through the motions and get your bearings with racing. It is great for me to have that opportunity with the Versailles team – it was a great weekend and a good mental reset.
ST: How did you get connected with that French GP team?
Matt: There is a guy in Canada named Alexandre Saint Jalm, and he is from France. He lives in Quebec, and he started trimes.org, a triathlon related website. He reached out to a number of us Canadians and he knows people back in France. So he basically has those connections and he was able to help us with that. And we all really appreciate it as it is a great opportunity to race.
ST: You mentioned your coach earlier. Who is your coach?
Matt: Since July last year, and that is almost a year now, I have been working with Jamie Turner. He is now the head coach of Triathlon Canada and it is sort of an international squad we are part of now. There are 4 Canadians, myself, Tyler Mislawchuck, Ellen Pennock and Sarah-Anne Brault, and we have the opportunity to train with some World Class athletes like Gwen Jorgensen, Ryan Bailie, Aaron Royle – and it is just a good environment. It has helped raise our level, and we have definitely improved over the last year.
ST: Is that the crew from Wollongong?
Matt: Yup, the Wollongong Wizards, that is the group.
ST: What is next for you in terms of racing?
Matt: I will be training for the next 2 weeks and then I am heading to Holten. It is a European Cup [race] in the Netherlands. It is going to be quite competitive with Chicago around and a lack of European World Cups during that time. It is a cool opportunity to race some high level athletes and I am excited for that.
ST: How long are you going to stay in Europe before returning to Canada.
Matt: I have been here since the beginning of May and will be headed back at the end of August to prepare for the World Championships in Edmonton. I believe we’ll be flying back August 24th, 25th into Edmonton and preparing for that there. That will be my first time back in Canada in about 7 or 8 months.
ST: How old are you?
Matt: I am 22 and will turn 23 in July.
ST: Does that mean you will still race U23 in Edmonton?
Matt: I still need to meet the criteria for qualifying for Worlds, which seems to be quite discretionary. If you can prove at an Elite race that you are competitive, they will send me. So I still got a bit of work to do. I am planning on being there and being ready to perform on the day. I would race U23 and this is my final year in U23.
ST: What happens after Edmonton?
Matt: I was injured in early January until the end of February, and I had a bit of a late start to my season. So [after Edmonton] I will continue training and races and there are a few opportunities to race in Tongyeong, South Korea and Cozumel, Mexico. It is hard to say what I will do, but I will continue racing.
ST: Where are you now with fitness?
Matt: My training is a bit different at this point than the rest of my teammates, because of how my progression is going and so I am nowhere near my peak fitness or racing ability. But I continue to improve, and it is just a question of just getting in some more consistent work.
ST: How would you describe coach Jamie Turner.
Matt: When I think about that, I sort of contrast him with coaches I had in Canada. Maybe it is an Aussie – Canadian thing, or a Kiwi – Canadian thing, where he is just much more direct and to the point. I respect that and he definitely brought out the best out of me. It is exciting to work with him and a great opportunity for me.
ST: In the apartments where you stay, is it all the Canadians together or is it mixed?
Matt: If you are training in Vitoria you are likely in these apartments. It is us Canadians, the Aussie group, Gwen, plus there is another group from Victoria, Australia and I believe a few other athletes, such as Erin Densham. So we have taken over here, but we are not too loud.
ST: What is the setup like of these apartments.
Matt: Most of them are just set up with 2 rooms and a kitchen plus a bathroom. It is pretty standard. It is Europe, so it is a bit smaller than what we would have back home in Canada, but it is something you get used to as well.
ST: Who is your roommate?
Matt: I am currently rooming with James Chronis, he is an Australian athlete, but he is competing for Greece now. I have been with him just the last day or so, but it has been good. He is pretty relaxed guy and easy to get along with for the summer.
ST: How often does that change? Do folks come and go?
Matt: No, he is pretty settled now for the summer, and I don’t anticipate any problems there. It will be him for sure.
ST: Will your parents come visit you in Spain?
Matt: I have not had them come yet, but I am sure they will get here one day. It is a nice city and a great place to train. Yeah, I think eventually one day, but they got their own stuff as well. They will get out here though I am sure.
ST: But it is not like you are on vacation here and have time to show them around.
Matt: Yeah, I don’t think I would be a very good host. I would say go there, and I will be swimming.
ST: Talk about the facilities in Vitoria Gasteiz.
Matt: The pool is a nice facility, an indoor 10 lane 50-meter pool. The roads – you can ride anywhere here and there are hills and flat sections and it is great. For running, there are lots of trails, especially dirt roads through farm fields and that is kind of different. We don’t really have that at home. There is also a nice big lake where we do some open water stuff.
ST: How cold is the water there right now?
Matt: Right now it is probably hovering at 15 or 16 degrees Celsius and when we first got here it was around 14. It is cold, but it will warm up once the weather starts to improve, which should be soon.
ST: Are the car drivers reasonably friendly and considerate?
Matt: Yeah definitely. It is sort of different here. Maybe they have the same amount of drivers, but they are distributed over more roads. I find that I haven’t had any issues with cars and drivers, but generally they just have more experience with cyclists.
ST: Well, we wish you a good time in Spain and great racing in Europe.
Matt: Yeah thank you, appreciate the chat. And I will talk to you another time I am sure.
ST: That sounds great and we will catch you later.
Matt: Cheers, and bye.
