Q & A Interview - Frankie Andreu

Frankie -  There is a gap in the top pros. Once Armstrong, Hincapie, Leipheimer, Rodriguez, Hamilton stop there is no one for about five years. These guys all come from the same federation years. Floyd Landis came from mtn. biking so he is an exception. There are some talented riders but I wouldn't be surprised that in three to four years we might have a tour with no or only one American riding.
 

NC.com - We continue to read about mistreatment of riders during the season by investigative authorities and/or their employers.  If the cyclists united and formed a strong union would it improve conditions much in Europe? 

Frankie -  There actually is a professional rider union. So good question, what the hell are they doing? Generally, everyone is treated very fairly. The race organizers do a good job putting on races and most of the problems come from teams with shaky management. The biggest problem is non-payment of riders. The UCI has the bank guarantees but that doesn't seem to be enough protection.

NC.com - You were able to make a career out of racing your bike, and continue to take part through coaching, commentating, speaking, training camps, etc.  When you began what were your expectations, and did you think it possible to be where you are today because of the bike?

Frankie -  I never imagined that I would be able to make my living from racing bikes. I just raced because it was fun. Once I started to succeed it became more fun and sure there were times when training was work. Racing was always fun, hard but fun. The competition always fuels you. What was the difficult part was the training and that came in phases. Sometimes it was easy to get out on the bike and other times it was difficult. It's the same for everyone.

NC.com - The Pro Tour is taking affect in 2005.  What will be the impact as the sport implements this strategy?  Do you see this as the framework for a more organized sport, such as what you see in the NFL, MLB, NHL?

Frankie -  The new Pro Tour is in the mind of the framework of other sporting organizations. The idea is to sell the Pro Tour events to a sponsor. The way you have Nextel for Nascar races. Ideally the Pro Tour would like to get a sponsor for the events as a group. For the teams, it's more challenging to get the sponsors because of the increase in cash needed. The team now have to go all three grand tours and that means you not only need more riders but more leaders. The staff increases, the payments increase, the insurance increases, there are a lot of expenses that go up because of the added schedule.

NC.com - You've made the transition from racer to journalist and commentator.  Now that you're looking in more from the outside since retiring, what do you see as strengths and weaknesses of the sport that maybe you didn't notice before?

Frankie -  Like everything it's political. The biggest problem, which has gotten better, is the perception of the consumer and outsiders that cycling is full of doping. As a rider you realize the problem, as an outsider you realize the problem, and the UCI knows the problem. The UCI has taken many steps to fix the problem but as riders continue to test positive the stigma sticks. The riders have to realize they are destroying their own livelihood by destroying the sport of cycling. Hopefully, the improvements that already have been made by the UCI will continue to improve the situation. The perception of the sport is not how the sport actually is - everyone is not doping.

NC.com - How is a professional viewed in the peloton after being caught cheating taking drugs?  Do the riders truly look down on this behavior, or is it simply a nuisance everyone is willing to put up with?

Frankie -  Almost all teams have in their contracts a no tolerance policy. Meaning that if you get caught you will be fired. The problem is that most teams, mainly in Europe, don't care about the past they care about the future. I'm sure some teams would fire a rider and then after the suspension hire the same guy back. It's crazy, but if you are good teams will want you no matter what your problems are,  look at Frank Vandenbrook.

NC.com - Baseball is finally having to address problems of steroids because of the BALCO investigation.  The Olympics had several athletes test positive for performance enhancing drugs, and of course cycling continues to battle this issue.  If you were the head drug enforcement tsar of sports, how would you address this problem differently and make a difference?

Frankie -  I wouldn't address it differently. USADA, and WADA have out of competition testing and of course competition testing. They are always trying to keep up with the new doping procedures invented by doctors. The doctors are to blame and the athletes are to blame. It's not just the athletes, they don't have the knowledge to create some of this stuff. The most you can do is test, educate, and punish. I believe the organizations do this pretty well right now.

NC.com - You spoke privately with the juniors at the recent TBRA banquet.  What was your message to them and any other young kid wanting to pursue cycling?

Frankie -  The main point of the talk was to tell them to have fun and to do other sports during the winter or at some time of the year. When you are young you have to do other sports besides cycling to help with muscle development, and strength of their tendons and ligaments. I also spoke to them about training, resting, setting goals, and how to move up the ladder of success in cycling. It's important to belong to a good cycling club where you learn from others but also ride with others. Cycling can get mighty boring quickly by yourself, it almost never gets boring when you are riding with friends.

NC.com - Nashville is a city with a growing cycling community.  We now have several professionals based here and TBRA is envied in the South as a strong organization.  How can Nashville and the state better capitalize upon this and put the city on the US map as a center for cycling?

Frankie -  If you want to get noticed put on a cycling event. It can be as simple as a criterium or as large as a mulit-day stage race. If you can get the community involved with their support you will have a successful event. It's important to try and bring in the community to participate and not just financially.

NC.com - People enjoy reading your diaries, articles, and enjoy watching you on OLN.  Have you ever considered writing a book about your adventures?

Frankie -  I've considered a book idea and I have written some stuff. I always run out of time or stop following through with other chapters. Sometimes it's interesting to me and other times I think that no one would care. A lot of it is just about having the motivation to do it, I many times get lazy. In a way I take out my story telling desires by doing my speaking presentations. I very much enjoy telling the funny stories and explaining a side of the sport that no knows about. There is so much that goes on and you can't learn about it just from watching TV, so I get a kick out of entertaining people.

NC.com - You're conducting a cycling camp and tour in March in North Georgia.  Discuss that experience about what a rider can expect from Frankie Andreu during those 5 days.

Frankie -  It's going to be a great camp. The idea of the camp is to help cycling enthusiasts become better cyclists. I'm going to be there helping with bike fitting, coaching, teaching training techniques, and speaking with everyone about their goals and how to accomplish those goals. We will have some guest lectures on nutrition, or exercise science and bike mechanics. The riding will be moderate and it will be cool to ride on some of the Tour de Georgia routes.  It's an opportunity to learn in one week what many people never figure out after many years or cycling. Plus, we'll have a ton of fun. Like I said before cycling with friends is never boring.

NC.com Editor - Frankie's camp takes place March 13 through March 18, 2005.  Information about itinerary, pricing and contact information can be found at Discover Adventures.