Chris Baldwin... Overnight success? The Toyota-United professional & former USPRO Time Trial champion tells us more...

By Brian C. Grenier

Not enough can be said about Chris Baldwin, the now 31 year-old rider on the Toyota United squad who has also had a run of success lately. Chris started his cycling career when he was just thirteen years old - while working at a local bicycle shop he was encouraged by those working in the shop as well as his parents to get involved in competitive cycling. Over the span of what seems like some very short years Chris has become a force to be reckoned with in the cycling community. Chris is threat in the team environment, road races, criterium's and his specialty, the individual time trial. While it may sometimes seem like it all came overnight Chris is the first to point out that nothing happens overnight in cycling and there has been over 8 seasons of hard dedicated work that has brought him to this point!

In what seems like a flash he first emerged last year in 2006 to the forefront of the domestic cycling scene in the United States and was running head to head for the individual time trial championship against CSC's David Zabriskie [who went on take take silver at the world championships in the individual time trial - ed] a race he would surely have won if not for crash only 400 meters before the finish line. His performance at the National time trial championships earned him the right to represent the United States in the world road cycling championships in Salzburg. Chris Baldwin was also one of only two riders to be selected to represent the United States in the world time trial championships, a fitting conclusion to a fantastic season which was not only successful for Chris Baldwin the individual cyclist, but also for the Toyota-United team in which Chris was a key member.

During the teams training camp this past week I had a chance to talk to Chris over the phone about his last year. I tried to take a different approach to see exactly where Chris Baldwin thought Chris Baldwin was.

Chris you had a fantastic year last year and a lot of great things have been written about you for sure! I don't really wish to rehash the stuff that has already been put out but would like to ask, if you could take the whole ball that has been your published career and present for our readers anyway you want to, what would you tell them about the Chris Baldwin you see?

Ha ha, man that's a good start! Well I guess I'm looking at to answer that question in a smart way but really things have been a slow progression. Winning and success have been anything but easy and anything but quick. Yeah, last year was a great year but I have to say it was anything but an overnight success - In cycling nothing comes quick - it's all been a slow progression...baby steps all the way from the beginning. What I would like to see happen is that success curve to continue rising.

  Last year was just a fantastic year. I couldn't really call it a break-through year, however it was great to be on such a great 'TEAM' like Toyota-United, be healthy and be racing in the United States. I was also lucky to stay healthy through most of the year, not having to make all the time changes necessary with overseas racing. Right now for me this is the best place to be. Toyota-United provides a fantastically positive atmosphere and at this time it is what I need. I feel that in this environment right now it is very productive for success and if I don't have to travel too much and I am left to my own devices, that can reach my peak and do better than I did last year. I'm a very disciplined rider and I don'’t need a great amount of oversight to get my training done - I know what needs to be done and I set out to get it done. I am lucky to be able to function that way here on Toyota-United.

  The team looks great and cycling seems to be exploding here, what do you see?

  Well just look at it, things are exploding here with our domestic cycling - We have the Pro Tour with what, 6 events this year plus the National Race Calendar, it is just awesome. We have our own depth of field developing here and we are attracting some awesome European riders like Vogels and Scanlon - so yeah, it's a great time. This team in particular, we have that team environment where we just don't have any pre-Madonna's riding, but what we do have is a group of guys that are ready to 'sellout' for each other!

  A little earlier on you had mentioned training and I think our readers would be interested to hear just how you train on a daily basis.

I do all kinds of things really. I have to say I am very structured in my riding and I very rarely rely on junk miles to fill my day. Regardless of whether I am riding for 2-5 hours I have a set goal in mind for that ride and specific work that I want to get accomplished, so I am very structured. I have also been training with a power-meter for a long while and the data I get from that is indispensable in determining where I need to make improvements as well as where I am making gains - the rest I think people would find, well boring! You have to work hard though and a focused effort is the way and it doesn’t matter where you are in your season, you have to focus to get the job done right, quality training beats quantity training every day of the week.

What do you see as a difference between American cycling and European cycling

  Without a doubt it is the depth of the field - the sheer amount of talent! Here there are a lot of good riders for sure, but in Europe there are 100 times the depth of the field and they are all good. Lets say you race in Italy for instance and you give your all to make all the climbs and stay with the field and at the last killer climb you look back you would notice that you had dropped say 20 riders out of the 120 man field here there would only be 20 guys at the top, make sense? There is a lot of specificity in Europe too where there are riders that are riding in specific races that showcase their talent, whereas in the States you have the riders riding in all the disciplines and not so specific.

Chris the team looks unbeatable on paper, what do you see as the future for Toyota-United and your place in it.

  I think this team is in its infancy and I am honored to have the opportunity to have gotten in at the ground level. We are just continuing to grow, learn and getting better! The support staff is just unbelievable - it just keeps getting better and better. Sean Tucker is just a great leader and he runs it like a business. He hires the best and expects the best holding everyone accountable for what they are supposed to do! 

Plus not enough can be said for our main sponsor Toyota, they are just awesome to have and to work with - they are without a doubt a class act! When I was selected for the world championships I got a personal gift from the top of the Toyota organization - that was humbling to know that that high up was honoring my accomplishment - but also that they were involved, something that isn't always the case - yeah a class act all around!