Sam Schultz Talks Big Ring

Back in my day there was this dude Caleb Stolte from Montana.  He was a big blond Viking looking dude that could ride the holy hell out of a MTB.  You never knew what races he would come down for but damn, when he did show it was a day in the pain cave.  For a long time I thought he and Geoff Proctor were the only guys in Montana that raced bikes. ( have now been enlightened) Anyway, if you have been following the Pro Mt. Bike scene you have probably noticed the Sam Schultz appears near the top a lot.  Our Big Sky correspondent Brother Genco was able sit Sam down long enough to get his thoughts on Big Rings, 29ers and Big Air.  With riders like the Schultz Brothers and Brother Genco there is a strong argument for putting “Big Ring Country” on the Montana plates instead of “Big Sky Country”(what does that even mean?)

Have you accepted The Big Ring as your personal savior?

Hmmm, I like to ride the big ring when I can but until I can conquer every climb in the big ring I don’t think it can be considered my personal savior.  Plus, it’s probably sacrilege that I run small big chainrings on most of my bikes (usually between 38 and 42 tooth).

What does your Euro campaign look like this year?

I’ve already been logging some serious flight miles.  So far I’ve raced the WC’s in South Africa, Germany, and Belgium.  I’m heading to Spain for another one next weekend.  I’ll also be hitting up the Canadian WC’s later in the summer and it’s still TBD whether or not we’ll race the last two European WC’s.  The races have gone well so far and I’m pretty psyched to be a little more in the mix this season.  I had a bit of a melt down in Belgium but I’m fired up for a little redemption in Spain.  I still have a pretty good world cup ranking so my callup shouldn’t be too bad.  I’m going to have to make the Big Ring my personal savior if I want a chance of being in the mix there.

Does it get old having people ask you about racing against your brother?

Ha, everyone seems to love that topic.  It doesn’t get old, but I do tend to give a similar answer every time.

Describe what it is like to race against your brother?

Racing against my brother is good.  We don’t have the dog-eat-dog mentality that everyone seems to expect from brothers.  We tend to be a little more supportive of each other, and like I’ve said many times, if it comes down to getting beat by someone I would prefer it to be my brother.

Have you enjoyed the conversion to the big wheels, are you there for life?

Big wheels are the only way to go.  The last couple years I have been slowly getting on the 29 program and now I’m completely on-board.  With the Gary Fisher Superfly 29 my bike is lighter than any 26 HT I’ve had and it’s way faster because of the way it rolls over the rough stuff and hooks up in the corners.  The geometry is completly dialed in now and the frame is stiff and light.  Going back to a small wheeled bike would be silly right now considering I have a 20.5 pound reliable 29er at my disposal.

What kind of advice would you give to the kiddies?

Make sure you’re having fun at what you’re doing.  If you aspire to be a racer don’t give up, even if it seems like you’re progressing slower than you like.  It just takes time to figure everything out and I think anyone can make it if they want it bad enough and are willing to stick with it even though the going will be rough sometimes.  But most of all you have to make sure you’re having fun so that it makes sense to stick with it.

Do you have any sort of pre-race superstitions or rituals?

Not really.  I generally eat a very similar breakfast before each race and I make sure to brew up a good cup of nice stout drip.

What US events do you enjoy the most?

I tend to be a big fan of races that are held at ski resorts.  The alpine trails are generally the most fun and plus there is usually a lot of climbing at those races and I like that.

What kind of work do you do for The Cycling House during the winter?

Living at TCH during the winter has been perfect.  I usually assist my brother while he works his magic on dinners.  I also help clean up around the house and just do whatever odd-jobs need to get done.  It’s works out really well because I can put most of my focus into training and still have something to do the rest of the time, and not to mention a really good crew to hang out with.

Do you have any plans to do some cross races?

I’ll be around Montana for the fall this year and it seems like the MT ‘cross scene is pretty rad these days.  So yeah, I think I’m going to try to get my hands on a cross bike and hit up a few of them.

What sort of changes would you like to see at both the US Nationals and World Cups?

Ooh, that’s a hard one.  It seems like they have done a good job revamping the National series this year.  Crowds are bigger and everything seems to be going smooth.  I would like to see more world cups with trails that are a bit cooler.  Rarely is there a world cup course that I would consider to be really fun to ride on a day to day basis.  They work out fine for the races but they just don’t usually flow that well.

What was your best racing/riding day for 2008?

Best day of racing ‘08, hmmm…I have to say that the most fun race I did was probably the Rolling Thunder cross race in Missoula last fall.  Under the lights, with sweet jumps, a big crowd, beer feeds, and a post race party that’ll be hard to beat.  It wasn’t my best performance, but man it was a good time.