Sunday, February 8, 2009
UNSTOPPABLE
By MAG.COM
Bad cell phone reception is just a way of life for snowboarders. Spending tons of time in the mountains will do that. Despite some shaky coverage we caught up with boardercrosser Nate Holland, the Michael Phelps of the snow (because of the gold medals, not anything else), who last month became the first Winter X athlete ever to win four straight gold medals. So how long does a guy bask in the glow of a career high? If you're Holland not long. The very next week he took first overall at the opener of the 2009 U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix series in Truckee, CA. After some fits and stops—pesky cell phones—we got boardercross' most decorated athlete on the phone to talk about going down a mountain really fast. —C.P.
MAG.COM: So what's it like to be Mr. Fourpeat?
HOLLAND: Going into the race I was feeling so much pressure from everyone, the media, the fans. Everybody wanted to see if I could do it. In my hometown of Sands Point, Idaho, 300 people gathered at a bar for the race so I was definitely feeling it. But I felt strong and pulled it off. It kind of baffles me how I'm able to win year after year.
How do you train? How does one get better at boardercross?
There aren't a lot of tracks at ski resorts so I end up doing a ton of freeriding. It definitely improves your air awareness skills, which are key. After you get done doing big mountain and you get on a boardercross course everything looks easy. There's also cardio involved. I pretty much ride a mountain bike in the off-season and do a little bit of weights for strength. Riding motocross is great for helping you spot lines and quickly adapt to what's in front of you so you can improve your reaction time. The skills transfer really well.
Where do you keep your four golds?
They're in my office at my house. I dust them off every now and then. The great thing is that during any kind of negotiations they definitely help you up the price.
Boardercross is a growing sport but isn't on par with freestyle in terms of popularity. What gives?
I'm not really sure. The snowboard industry really doesn't treat the racing side that well. It's the race mentality and the look, racers where tighter pants as opposed to baggy and it's just not as marketable. The general public loves it though. They can relate more to a race where the fastest guy wins. When they watch a freestyle run they have no idea what the announcer is talking about. A Danny Kass run looks the same as a Shaun White run to them so they don't know why one guy won and the other didn't.
Was becoming a snowboarder always part of the plan?
I've been doing it since I was 11 so it's always been something I loved. But I played football in high school because it was fun getting out there and hitting guys.
Were you any good?
I wasn't bad. I played strong safety and we had a pretty good team. During my senior year the week before the Idaho state playoffs my friends and me built a jump and I was hitting the kicker and ended up straining the MCL in my knee. I came in limping Monday morning and my coach was pissed. He thought I put the team in jeopardy and that I had let everyone down. My coach pretty much thought that I should give up snowboarding for good since it wasn't ever going to get me anywhere. We ended up winning the game but my coach never forgot it.
Sounds like a coach all right.
A couple years ago I went to my 10-year high school reunion and my coach was there and brought up the incident. He said he was proud of me for sticking with snowboarding and making the Olympics. He follows my career now, which I think is pretty cool.
Labels: Boarder Cross, Nate Holland
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