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By Fred Dreier
Photo: Casey B. Gibson
Michael Blatchford might not own the bulky track sprinter’s physique, but the lean, mean American proved this season he can be competitive on the international circuit. Blatchford came up a hair short in Sunday night’s 1/16 round of the men’s match sprint. The 22-year-old saw his chances at qualifying for the finals dashed by France’s thick sprinter Kevin Sireau, one of the fastest men in the sport. Midway through the bell lap Sireau appeared to commit too early to his sprint, opening the door for Blatchford. The young American clawed his way up to the Frenchman, but a bike throw at the line wasn’t good enough to advance.
Blatchford hails from Cypress, California, and holds the United States’ best chances for future medals in the strongman’s race. This season he proved to have the strongest sprinting legs of any man in America, and beat out compatriots Giddeon Massie and Adam Duvendeck at the Olympic track trials to win a spot in the sprint.
VeloNews caught up with Blatchford to find how why this year has been so special.
VeloNews: How intimidating is it going up against a guy like Sireau, whose legs are as big around as your waist?
Michael Blatchford: the only intimidation that is still there is the fact that [Sireau] is my age and that I beat him years ago. It comes full circle from junior worlds when I did well then, to now when he’s doing so well. He’s kicking my butt. What train did I fall off of? Guys like Sireau or [Great Britain’s] Jason Kenny. Yeah, intimidation — not so much. These guys are big, but I’m just a skinny sprinter. I’ll live with it.
Photo: Casey B. Gibson
VN: How have you been dealing with the extra media attention from being in the Olympics?
MB: It’s not been bad. As far as it being a media blitz — well in track cycling we never really have to deal with that. And we have Sarah [Hammer] and Jennie [Reed] on the team. I’m not going to say I’m overshadowed, but with the success they’ve had I don’t need to really worry about being in the limelight.
I’ve had fun here. I have some issues to work out with my racing and my psychology. Yeah, I was hoping for better than 15th seed. But once I got on the line — that reminded why I love to do this. I love racing. That’s where it’s at. The competition is just racing another opponent, and that’s the forefront memory I’ll take away from this race.
VN: You really took a step up this year, and many people believe it’s because you were given the chance to race the Grand Prix series in Europe over the summer. How did that experience affect you?
MB: It was a huge benefit to me. In the U.S. there’s really no way to gain the experience I got from racing those events. You just gotta go over and do them. Part of [the challenge] was the physical and mental stress of traveling so much. I did 11 flights in 15 days — it was [USAC coach] Des [Dickey] and myself. It felt like we were road tripping. In Barcelona there was this really good velodrome, and I came in with just enough time to build my bike and get on the track.
I guess I came away from it with an attitude that you work with what you have. That’s what it means to be an elite athlete — you have whatever tools are in your bag and you know how to use them. I like having a long, proper warm up before races. I didn’t always get it there. Sometimes I’d get just 10 minutes on the rollers before having to do a flying 200 [meter time trial]. But I learned to just deal with it.
I would qualify third all the time, and try to race up and win an event or place second. It forced me to be tactical and smart. It was a great stair step to the World Cups, because guys who were more equal to my abilities were there, so I could gain experience. And because of that I had a UCI No. 1 ranking for two or three events.
VN: What are some misconceptions people have about track sprinting?
MB: Well, I get needled all the time — I’m at the track for three hours but my time on the bike is only a fraction of that. I won’t do anything past 30 or 40 seconds and then I go and chill. I’ll rest three or more times as long as the efforts are. I get the usual questions — do you race the Tour [de France]? No, there aren’t brakes on my bike. People aren’t as impressed at watching track sprinting on TV as when they see it in person.
VN: So are you going to race the Tour de France?
MB: Heck no! I haven’t raced [road] since I was a junior. I’m a Cat IV on the road and I’m proud of it!
