First things first, introduce yourself

My name is Todd Hofert

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan and spent the majority of my life in West Michigan, the area around Grand Rapids Michigan. “In the mitten” we say.

Where is your current home?

I currently live in Boulder, Colorado. My family and I relocated to Boulder in 2010 and we continue to ask ourselves why didn’t we move here sooner?

How did you get into riding a bike?

In 1986 I spent the summer with my girlfriend(and still my wife) in the Netherlands. We stayed with her Dutch family, who of course, were and are avid cyclists. It was that summer where I was introduced to riding bikes, “speed cycling” as they called it. It was also where I was introduced to the Tour de France. As they said at the time, “you don’t understand cycling, an American can never win the Tour de France.” I was the dumb American that didn’t know any different. But as we all know now, an American DID win the Tour that year, so I feel better about myself...as you were saying? I have been riding ever since, with 2020 being the 35th year of a deeply rooted passion for the sport, the utility, the recreation and the freedom that the bicycle brings.

What is your local climb? The climb you do the most out of any other.

Living in Boulder presents a cyclist with innumerable options when it comes to climbing hills and mountains. Situated at the base of the foothills on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, there is no shortage of popular and spectacular climbs within minutes of your back door. Picking a favorite isn’t easy, but I believe I do have one in Flagstaff Mountain.

What is it like?

Flagstaff Mountain lays at the west end of Baseline Ave adjacent to the Flatirons, perhaps Boulder’s most recognizable feature.

Characteristics that make Flagstaff memorable have to start with the scenery. Beginning with the Flatirons, followed by the rock outcroppings that line the road almost the entire way and the views overlooking the city, the University of Colorado campus and the surrounding canyons, it is majestic. If your eyes are uncrossed enough to enjoy taking in the views while struggling up the climb, you will most certainly appreciate the views.

Flagstaff is also an ideal place to go when the infamous foothill winds kick up. If you find yourself staring out the window as the trees whip in the wind and the tumbleweeds roll past, thinking to yourself, “no way am I going riding in this”. Think of Flagstaff instead. Most of the time you can count on Flagstaff to hide you from what is otherwise an unrideable day. Somehow protected from the wind regardless of wind direction, it has become my go to windy day workout.

And it is close to town. As a work from home-er, I can leave the house, ride over to and up Flagstaff and return home with an excellent workout in 90 minutes. I call it “lunch”.

The climb itself begins at the sharp right hand turn as the road crosses the bridge over Gregory Canyon and it begins in earnest. The first .5km averages around 10% before relenting somewhat for the next 3km where you are able to settle in to more steady 7% gradients. On lower Flagstaff, the first 2.8 miles(4.5km), there are five magnificent switchbacks to measure your progress against. Keep in mind however that Super Flag, as the upper “half” of the climb is referred to, is where the real climbing begins. The top 1/3rd of the climb has as much elevation gain as the lower 2/3rds of the climb. There are an additional four switchbacks on the upper section and you will be tested finding your way up the final few kilometers as sustained grades exceed 15%. There is a Strava segment here that is actually called “The Wall of Pain”.

What kind of effort is the climb suited to?

Flagstaff is suitable for anyone who has a reasonable amount of fitness and climbing in their legs. It is best suited for pure climbers I suppose, something I am not, but I enjoy the climb enough to have done Super Flag almost 50 times and Lower Flagstaff over 150 times over the years according to Strava.

Is the Strava KOM for the climb ever in your thoughts, or do you strictly focus on the goals of the current effort?

KOM’s….in Boulder….are largely unattainable by mere mortals. Boulder is a hot bed training destination and where many world class athletes call home. Most individuals are relegated to chasing their own PR’s or the PR’s of their friends. For example, my PR on Super Flag is 35:20. The male KOM is 22:27 and the female KOM is 27:48. Who is among the top twenty for this climb? Tom Danielson, Lachlan Morton, Sepp Kuss, Jani Brankovic, Tejay Vangarderen, Brenden Canty, Peter Stetina to name a few. If I were to measure myself against the women’s QOM leaderboard I wouldn’t even make the top 50. I come in at #1642 out of 7137 athletes who have climbed it and logged it on Strava.

Any other climbs in the area you prefer, or is this climb your favourite?

While Flagstaff holds a special place in my heart, I enjoy climbing the wide variety of options we have in the Boulder area. Always something to suit the mood of the day.

What about favourite climb overall? Any reason?

Mont Ventoux for the romanticism of it.

What is the hardest climb you’ve summited by bike?

Mont Ventoux from Bedoin

Mount Evans in Colorado (14,130 feet/4,306m tall)

What kind of riding do you do in general? Is it more for training or pleasure?

Training IS pleasure!

Touchy subject, but something that has happened to every bike rider at some point, getting dropped. When did you last get dropped in a race or ride? What was going on when you got dropped?
This is not touchy for me at all. If you cycle, you will get dropped. The most memorable drop for me has to be on a team training ride a couple of days prior to the Tour of California in 2017. The night before the ride the Sports Director, Frans Maassen, approached me and said matter of factly, “what are you going to do when you are dropped tomorrow?”. I looked at him and said,just as matter of fact,, “f&^k if I know”.

The moment just prior to getting dropped.

Of course I was dropped and suffered like a pig up a couple of climbs circling Folsom Lake. Frans was kind enough to sit up and wait for me. The rest of the team tacked on an extra 10km and a stop for coffee before cruising past us once again. This time Frans didn’t wait as he was able to tag back on to the group as they passed. I resigned myself to finding my way back alone….despite having the keys to one of the team cars that we took to the start of the ride!

Did you get back to the group you were with?

To my good fortune Frans sent a man back to pull me back to the group. Koen Bouwman proved to be the right guy. Some adrenaline and peer pressure allowed me to summon enough energy to hold this strong man's wheel at 30mph to get back to the group. The guys were kind enough to pass me some drinks when I rejoined and I got back to the start/finish with them. We would go on to win the Tour with George Bennett that year making this all that much more memorable.

Grueling turbo session or climbing the worst climb you can imagine in wind and rain?

Having grown up in Michigan I learned to ride in horrible weather. When I moved to Colorado I found myself missing bad weather rides...you know, the 310 days of sunshine thing in Colorado….So I relish getting out in the cold and snow when those conditions present themselves.

On to more current matters. Which team/club are you riding for this year, and what do you aim to achieve in 2020?

I have been fortunate to be associated with Team Jumbo-Visma, for the past four years so I proudly ride the team kit.

What are your interests away from the bike?

Hmm...

Quick fire questions

Tell me your…

Go to summer road bike?

I ride a team bike. Bianchi OltreXR4 with Shimano DuraAce 9000 Di2

Dream bike?

I am currently riding my dream bike! The above mentioned Bianchi.

One climb to ride said dream bike up?

Alpe d’Huez

Favourite cycling book?

“The Rider” by Tim Krabbe

Favourite cycling movie?

Probably Breaking Away

Favourite rider(if any)?

Jumbo-Visma...top to bottom.

Why?

#samenwinnen

Favourite piece of cycle clothing you’ve owned?

Whatever makes most sense for the days conditions

Thanks Todd!