February 18, 2013 (Gatineau, Quebec) – Last year was a rough one to have heroes in cycling. It was a reminder that all too often the attributes that make successful athletes need not be those that make holistically praiseworthy people.
So it was refreshing to sit down with Tara Whitten at this year’s 35th Gatineau Loppet for a wide ranging interview. Not just an Olympic bronze medallist, multiple world champion and PhD candidate in neuroscience, Whitten is also a genuinely nice person, discussed topics from; ski racing, to track development, to her own athletic plans for the future.
She went as far as to apologize for being “wishy-washy” about her future in the sport, but then again, after a decade of international competition, first as a skier, and then as a cyclist, Whitten has earned herself a break.
Whitten was this year’s Honorary Gatineau Loppet President, and while the Edmontonian had won this 50km skate event here in 2004, she hadn’t done a proper ski race since Nationals in Quebec in 2007, by which point her heart was no longer in the sport. It was at that point that she began to shift her attention to track cycling – a sport in which she had first dabbled back in 2005.
Whitten did admit to having done the Edmonton Birkie last week, and said she felt much less beat up than after this weekend – joking that maybe she was already making a training adaptation. For an athlete that Cycling Canada’s HP Director, Jaques Landry, once called “a freak of nature” such an adaptation isn’t entirely unlikely.
So right upfront what are you plans right now for your own sporting future?
Tara Whitten: To be honest I’m a little uncertain. On one hand I’m excited about the prospect of the 4 person four-kilometer women’s team pursuit. It’s an interesting change, and would be neat to be a part of as our whole team just keeps on getting stronger. It’s tempting to think about being part of. I’m also excited about maybe focusing more on time trialing.
So the Omnium has no part in your plans?
TW: For the Omnium we’d have to wait and see, I think its future as an Olympic event is a bit more uncertain. I also think its future might be more with the sprinter – not pure sprinters, but riders with real speed. I actually think Gillian [Carleton] has a chance to combine that pure speed I don’t have with the endurance needed for the event. But we’ll have to see how it all develops in the next few years.
Team pursuit with four women. Good or bad for Canada?
TW: There are two ways to look at that, it can be good or bad. There are some countries with more depth and a deeper pool than us for sure. But at the same time after what we accomplished in London, I think that will help attract younger athlete into being interested in the track. I think we will find some strong new team pursuiters in the next four years to compliment the ones we already have.
How is the situation in Canada now compared to when you first started five years ago?
TW: There is so much more depth now. I really believe that team events have a huge impact on development. They give so many more opportunities for women to get involved, and from there they can branch out into the individual events as well. In 2007 when I started I was the only women in Canada pursuiting under 3:45. Now every girl in the pool can do that – that is four women if you don’t count me.
Have you spent much time in the Ottawa area before?
TW: A couple times for the Keski, and for my first ski nationals in this region in 1995. As well I’ve come out twice in the summer for the Women’s GP – so I’ve spent a bit of time here.
There is a group in Ottawa working to build a velodrome in the National capital region- how important it to have development opportunities like this in Canada?
TW: The importance of facilities like that is hard to overestimate. You need kids to have the chance to do a sport to get excited about it – especially a sport like track that you don’t even see on TV except for the Olympics. There is no chance for a development system without these facilities. The more opportunities there are for kids to try different sports the better. And some of those sports will cross over – like cycling and skiing did for me. We can’t just be building hockey arenas.
How long were you a ski racer before you became a cyclist?
TW: I spent 13 years as a ski racer before cycling. Cross country skiing has a GREAT development system. When you go to a ski race you see the whole family, with two year age categories for boys and girls aged 7 and up. The kids are just out there having fun and racing Jackrabbit. It’s very different from most bike races you go to which is made up mainly of masters and men. They are guys that love the sport, but it’s not development.
Cross-country skiing also seems to be far more co-ed.
TW: Fore sure, hugely so. I’m not sure if cycling has an intimidation factor that keeps girls out or what, but the numbers of girls competing is so much smaller. There was definitely a tendency for the girls to drop out of the skiing more than the guys as they got a little older, but they are there in the younger ages.
How important was Richard Wooles’ decision to move the Canadian track program to L.A.?
TW: I don’t think there is any way we could have done what we did without a world class facility as a training base. Los Angeles isn’t necessarily ideal- the road riding around there isn’t great for example. But having access to that facility and training as a team were so important to Team Canada’s success.
It would have been nicer to have been able to be in Canada. A lot of people felt really disconnected from home and the people in their lives. It was definitely a bit of a sacrifice to be based there. It wasn’t even like significant others could get visas and relocate there.
Do you think the new velodrome in Milton will be a big change?
TW: For sure! Just being able to be in Canada, I can’t explain how exciting that is. I imagine the endurance riders will have to do some road camps in the winter. And it’s not just great for the elites, but for young athletes to be able to see high level track cycling in their own backyard will be a huge step forwards for the next generation.
Just for the record, what exactly is your PhD in?
TW: Neuroscience, my thesis in high frequency rhythms in the hippocampus in sleep-like states. It is an area of the brain that is involved with memory, which we’ve known about since the 1950’s because of the case of Henry Molaison.
At this point Whitten was whisked off to hand out medals to the podiums in the skate races. In a funny twist the first winner Whitten presented a medal to was former national cycling team teammate Veronique Fortin, who had won the 27km freestyle event.
