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Chat Reel: Marty Nothstein
Cyclist on track for Sydney gold
Posted: Thursday June 08, 2000 07:10 PM
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Marty Nothstein counts himself as one of the favorites to win the gold in Sydney.
Rick Stewart/Allsport |
CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's Olympic chat with cyclist Marty Nothstein. Hi Marty. Thanks for joining us.
Marty Nothstein: Thanks - Thanks for having me.
From Guest: How much of your training is done in the weight room vs. on the bike?
Marty Nothstein: Three days a week, I'll train in the weight room. The rest of the time, I'm on the bike. Definitely the majority of my training is done on the bike. I'm on the bike everyday.
From Marc Brunelle in New York: At what age did you begin cycling competitively? What or who directed you to participate in a sport that is not "mainstream" as say, football?
Marty Nothstein: I started competitively at the age of 12. But I was racing BMX at the time. But a neighbor of mine introduced me to track cycling. Mainly because I grew up a mile away from a velodrome. That was when I was 15. It just turned out that I showed some talent in racing on the velodrome and several riders and coaches in the Trexlertown area encouraged me to continue racing.
From Jeff in Seattle, Wash.: Do you use the same gearing in the keirin as you do in the match sprints? How many gear inches do you use in the match sprints? The keirin? Do you prefer keirin racing or match sprints?
Marty Nothstein: There's no preference in either race - they're both sprint style. I like both. As far as the gears go, I'll normally ride a bigger gear in the keiran. For example, I'll normally ride 50 x 14 or 51 x 14. Which translates to a 96 inch gear. For the sprints, I ride either a 48 x 14 or 49 x 14. Which is between a 92 and 94 inch gear.
From Aaron Shepard in Rochester, N.Y.: I've noticed a big difference between the size of your lower body compared to that of Lance Armstrong. What does your training regimen consist of and how does it differ form Tour de France participants?
Marty Nothstein: It consists of a lot more weights than Lance does and a lot less hills. My event's a power event and Lance's is more endurance. So we're built more like a track and field sprinter and Lance is built more like a marathon runner.
From Guest: What has Lance Armstrong done for YOUR sport? Helped it? Hurt it? Do you know/like him?
Marty Nothstein: Yes, I know him well. I do like him. We've been friends for several years. And Lance's success only helps cycling as a whole.
From Rich Cline in Pearl City, Hawaii: Aloha Marty. Prior to the 1996 Olympics, the biggest news going around the U.S. cycling community was the United States' track bike, but it seems that Australia had an even better bike. Is this the case and does the U.S. have something up its sleeve this year that it's keeping quiet about?
Marty Nothstein: No - there are no stealth bikes in the future. I know for a fact that the Australian sprint team is in Pennsylvania training with me and their bikes aren't too special either. In reality, the bikes don't make that much of a difference.
From Guest: Who do you think are the favorites to win gold?
Marty Nothstein: Myself, included. There are probably five different riders: myself, Jens Feidler from Germany - he's the defending Olympic champion, the French are going to be tough and of course, I wouldn't count out the Australians either. So there's a total of six, myself included.
From Guest: Have you been to Sydney? What are the conditions like?
Marty Nothstein: I've been there. I've yet to ride the Olympic velodrome. It's an indoor, climatized track so the conditions should be perfect.
From Joel: Have you ever been approached by any team directors about possibly racing the road circuit either domestically or in Europe?
Marty Nothstein: Yes, I've been approached on numerous occasions. But right now my total focus is on winning the goal on the track. For next year, I've already considered racing the road domestically.
From Guest: This is an individual sport, but do you work as a team at all during the competition?
Marty Nothstein: No - it's purely an individual sport. We go as a team, but all racing is done individually.
From PerfPhish: What will the Olympic jerseys look like?
Marty Nothstein: Tough to explain - a combination or red, white, blue and silver. Blue shorts with a majority silver and white top. They're pretty neat. They look good.
From Rob Fogarty in Omaha, Neb.: What kind of road bike do you use and how many miles do you train on the road as compared to the velodrome? Thanks and good luck to you in Sydney.
Marty Nothstein: I ride a GT Sprint version of their superbike. During the early season, I ride an abundance of road miles to build endurance. As we get closer to big competitions, we focus more on track training.
CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks again for joining us, Marty. And good look in the Olympics!
Marty Nothstein: Thanks very much.
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