GANNETT NEWS SERVICE MULTIMEDIA                                                                    Olympics home | E-mail feedback

August 25, 2004 1:41 pm

Wells ready for mountain bike race

By SAL RUIBAL

USA TODAY

PARNITHA, Greece - Todd Wells took a dusty, sweaty bike ride Wednesday morning in the hills above the sprawling city of Athens. After a few spins on the loose, sun-baked Olympic mountain bike course, his face was red and trickles of sweat dripped down his temples. A hitchhiking grasshopper popped out of his stars-and-stripes jersey pocket.

It was just another day in the office for the 28-year-old from Ulster Park, N.Y., who now calls Durango, Colo., home.

Not so long ago, Wells put aside his bicycle racing dreams on hold to get a degree in management information systems from the University of Arizona and a desk job with IBM.

That was in 1998, when the mountain bike boom went bust and Wells found himself without a spot on a professional team after several seasons as one of the USA's most promising riders.

``I figured it was time to get a real job since I'd had my best season ever and still couldn't get a pro ride,'' he said after his first preview ride of the Olympic course where he'll compete on Saturday. ``So I went back to school in Tucson.''

After graduation, he accepted a position with IBM and traded his Lycra shorts and bike jersey for a suit and tie.

But in the month between getting his diploma and starting work, he began riding again. First it was just a few fun rides, then commuting to his new job. Weekend races seemed a harmless hobby and soon his elite fitness began to re-emerge.

He jettisoned the desk and was back in the thick of the racing scene by the 2001 season. He now rides for the GT/Hyundai Professional Team.

``I'm making about the same amount of money,'' he says with an aw-shucks manner that belies his aggressive style on the bike. ``And it is much more fulfilling.''

He and wife Meghan have had to give up some of the stability of an IBM job to pursue his professional and Olympic dreams, but as he looks out across the wide swath of Athens that leads to the sea, he is certain they made the right choice.

``Meghan comes with me on the (European) World Cup circuit,'' he says. ``She's like a team manager. She's a professional figure skater and was with the Disney on Ice tours, so she knows how hard it is to be on the road.''

The couple have no children yet, and Wells would like to have a dog, but with his long road schedule, he knows that their cats Yoshiba and Madeleine are much more adaptable than a canine companion.

His best friends are also bikers. Wells credits former world champion Ned Overend for providing the inspiration and guidance that has led him to this race for the Olympic championship.

``We train a lot together in Durango,'' Wells says. ``My career really took off when I moved there. He's been a great mentor.''

Overend was captain of the Specialized Mountain Bike Team in 1996 when Wells was the junior member of the squad. Overend has a fistful of world and national titles, but didn't make the first-ever U.S. Olympic Mountain Bike team that year when a flat tire in a qualifying race ended his chances.

``I know how tenuous things can be in a race,'' he says. ``I'm an underdog here. But in 1996 everyone thought (American) Juli Furtado was a lock to win the women's gold medal in Atlanta. She didn't win, but (teammate) Susan DiMattei won the bronze, something nobody expected.

``So I believe that anything is possible. That's why I'm here.''

ADVERTISEMENT