Svein Tuft
Encyclopedia
Svein Tuft is a Canadian
road bicycle racer and the UCI America Tour champion. Tuft currently races for Canadian Professional Continental Cycling Team 'SpiderTech'. He is the current Canadian road and time trial champion.
, British Columbia
, Canada. His grandfather, Arne Tuft
, was an Olympic cross-country skier from Norway
.
Tuft dropped out of school at 15 to travel and camp. He spent the next several years mountain climbing and going on long bike trips, including a 4,000 mile trip to Alaska
as a teenager.
While racing with team Symmetrics, Tuft lived in a trailer behind team owner Kevin Cunningham's house near Langley BC. In the adjacent trailer was Tuft's teammate Christian Meier
. The team referred to the two as the trailer park boys
.
Provincial Championships. Strong results landed him a place on the Broadmark Capital team, followed by short stints on the Mercury and Prime Alliance teams.
Tuft is a six time Canadian National Time Trial Champion, having secured the title three years straight from 2004 to 2006 and again 2008 to 2010. He first captured the title in 2004 from his former teammate and three time Canadian Olympian Eric Wohlberg
. Wohlberg held the title for eight consecutive years prior to Tuft. In 2007 Tuft conceded the Canadian National Time Trial title to Ryder Hesjedal
.
He was selected to compete for Canada at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
China
in the Road Race and Time Trial. Svein Tuft was the leader at the finish for a long time in the time trial, before eventually finishing 7th.
So far his best result is second place in the time trial in Varese Italy during World Championships in 2008 in which he overcame a flat tire in the last 5 km.
He is featured prominently in a Symmetrics Cycling Team Comic book written by Marvel Comics
DB Pro Editor in chief Matthew Hansen
, which is used as a press kit for the team. In the comic book, Tuft is very muscular. Upon seeing himself in the comic, Tuft remarked "We're all a bunch of sissies really."
In 2011 Svein Tuft was supposed to be a part of Team Pegasus Cycling. Unfortunately due to sponsorship issues, the team had to pull out at the last minute. Tuft was recruited as a member of the Canadian Professional Pro-Continental Team, SpiderTech, managed by Steve Bauer. Tuft won both the Canadian National Time Trial and Canadian National Road championships in Burlington, Ontario with SpiderTech in 2011. In August 2011, Tuft announced that he would leave SpiderTech for the Australian team GreenEdge in 2012.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
road bicycle racer and the UCI America Tour champion. Tuft currently races for Canadian Professional Continental Cycling Team 'SpiderTech'. He is the current Canadian road and time trial champion.
Personal life
He was born in LangleyLangley, British Columbia (city)
The City of Langley is a municipality in Metro Vancouver. It lies directly east of the City of Surrey, adjacent to Cloverdale, and surrounded on the north, east and south by Township of Langley.-History:...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada. His grandfather, Arne Tuft
Arne Tuft
Arne Tuft was a Norwegian cross country skier who competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics.He was born in Hønefoss and died in Oslo.In 1936 he finished sixth in the 50 kilometre competition....
, was an Olympic cross-country skier from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Tuft dropped out of school at 15 to travel and camp. He spent the next several years mountain climbing and going on long bike trips, including a 4,000 mile trip to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
as a teenager.
While racing with team Symmetrics, Tuft lived in a trailer behind team owner Kevin Cunningham's house near Langley BC. In the adjacent trailer was Tuft's teammate Christian Meier
Christian Meier (cyclist)
Christian Meier in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada, is a Canadian racing cyclist who rides for UCI Professional Continental team , having previously ridden for team and Garmin-Slipstream....
. The team referred to the two as the trailer park boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
.
Racing career
Tuft first raced in 1999, at the British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Provincial Championships. Strong results landed him a place on the Broadmark Capital team, followed by short stints on the Mercury and Prime Alliance teams.
Tuft is a six time Canadian National Time Trial Champion, having secured the title three years straight from 2004 to 2006 and again 2008 to 2010. He first captured the title in 2004 from his former teammate and three time Canadian Olympian Eric Wohlberg
Eric Wohlberg
Eric Wohlberg is a retired male professional racing cyclist from Canada. He competed for his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996. Wohlberg won two medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also won the Tour of the Gila in...
. Wohlberg held the title for eight consecutive years prior to Tuft. In 2007 Tuft conceded the Canadian National Time Trial title to Ryder Hesjedal
Ryder Hesjedal
Ryder Hesjedal is a Canadian professional racing cyclist for . He is a former mountain biker, winning a silver medal at the 2001 Under-23 world championship...
.
He was selected to compete for Canada at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the Road Race and Time Trial. Svein Tuft was the leader at the finish for a long time in the time trial, before eventually finishing 7th.
So far his best result is second place in the time trial in Varese Italy during World Championships in 2008 in which he overcame a flat tire in the last 5 km.
He is featured prominently in a Symmetrics Cycling Team Comic book written by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
DB Pro Editor in chief Matthew Hansen
Matthew Hansen
Matthew Hansen is an author and artist, and Editor in Chief for Marvel Comics/Dabel Brothers Productions. A former competitive cyclist, Hansen lives in Toronto, Canada...
, which is used as a press kit for the team. In the comic book, Tuft is very muscular. Upon seeing himself in the comic, Tuft remarked "We're all a bunch of sissies really."
In 2011 Svein Tuft was supposed to be a part of Team Pegasus Cycling. Unfortunately due to sponsorship issues, the team had to pull out at the last minute. Tuft was recruited as a member of the Canadian Professional Pro-Continental Team, SpiderTech, managed by Steve Bauer. Tuft won both the Canadian National Time Trial and Canadian National Road championships in Burlington, Ontario with SpiderTech in 2011. In August 2011, Tuft announced that he would leave SpiderTech for the Australian team GreenEdge in 2012.
Major results
2004- 1st
National Time Trial Champion
2005
- 1st National Time Trial Champion
2006
- 1st National Time Trial Champion
2007
- Champion, 2006-2007 UCI America Tour
- 1st Overall, Vuelta a CubaVuelta a CubaThe Vuelta a Cuba is a multi-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually each February in Cuba. Vuelta Ciclista a Cuba is part of the UCI America Tour, which is one of six UCI Continental Circuits sponsored by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's international governing body.-Past...
(UCI America Tour) - 1st Stage 1 Redlands Classic
- 1st U.S. Open Cycling ChampionshipsU.S. Open Cycling ChampionshipsThe inaugural U. S. Open Cycling Championships is a road bicycle racing event that was held April 7, 2007 and ran from Williamsburg to Richmond, Virginia. The race was broadcast nationally in the United States on NBC Sports from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time....
- 2nd Overall, Tour de Beauce
2008
- 1st National Time Trial Champion
- Pan Am Champion, Time Trial
- Pan Am Champion, Individual Pursuit (Track)
- Pan Am Champion, Madison (Track with Zach Bell)
- Pan Am Champion, Points Race (Track)
- 1st Tour de BeauceTour de BeauceTour de Beauce is a men's elite professional road bicycle racing multi-day event held each June in the Beauce region of Quebec, Canada since 1986...
(including 1st in stage 4a) - 3rd Overall Tour of MissouriTour of MissouriThe Tour of Missouri is a professional road bicycle racing stage race in Missouri that started on September 11, 2007 with six days of racing. The organizers, who also run the Tour de Georgia and the Amgen Tour of California, billed it as the third highest profile race in the United States.The 2009...
- 2nd Men's Individual Time Trial 2008 UCI Road World Championships2008 UCI Road World ChampionshipsThe 2008 UCI Road World Championships took place in Varese, Italy, between September 23 and September 28, 2008. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23.-Medals table:-Events summary:-External links:**...
- 7th Men's Individual Time Trial 2008 Beijing Olympics
2009
- 1st National Time Trial Champion
2010
- 1st National Time Trial Champion
- 1st Prologue Eneco Tour2010 Eneco TourThe 2010 Eneco Tour of Benelux was the sixth edition of the Eneco Tour of Benelux cycling stage race. It took place from 17 August to 24 August 2010 in the Benelux. Like the previous years, parts of the Netherlands and Belgium were covered. It was part of the UCI World Ranking...
- 2nd Overall Tour of Denmark
- 1st Stage 5 (ITT)
2011
- 1st National Time Trial Champion
- 1st National Road Race Champion
- 3rd Overall, Tour de BeauceTour de BeauceTour de Beauce is a men's elite professional road bicycle racing multi-day event held each June in the Beauce region of Quebec, Canada since 1986...
- 1st Stage 4 (ITT)
- 1st Stage 6
External links
- 2009 Rider Profile
- Symmetrics Cycling
- BikingBros Blog (with team mate Christian Meier)
- Pezcyclingnews article (Aug 19, 2008)
- New York Times article Article (Feb 7, 2009)
- Palmares at Cycling Base
- Article: Svein Tuft Leaves for Green Edge