February 20, 2007 (Santa Rosa, CA) — We caught up with Canada’s Michael Barry after Stage 1 at the Amgen Tour of California, his first race of the season with his new team, T-Mobile. In January T-Mobile held their first training camp in Mallorca and then, during the two weeks leading up to the ToC, the team was training just outside of Santa Barbara, in Buellton, CA.

Let’s plunge right in: What are your goals for the Tour of California?

Michael Barry: Team victories, we have two great sprinters, and a few guys could go for GC”¦today was a big day for us, missing by a foto-finish.

When do you think T-Mobile will pull off a victory here?

MB: Tomorrow! The next day”¦ we have amazing sprinters and today we thought we had the victory, but regardless, it created a huge emotional bonding and confidence within our team.

And you?

MB: I haven’t raced at all this year so it will take a few days to get my rthymn, but I expect to feel better during the race and do better in other races.

Has your training been very different with your new team?

MB: Yes, our training camps are different than with Discovery and Postal. Here I’m doing a lot of work off the bike”¦we core train with group Athletes’ Performance who train the German national soccer team as well as an American football team, working on muscle imbalances, pelvic imbalances from just doing that one motion all the time; you know, muscle compensation issues. I’ve only been training with them for six weeks and it’s been very beneficial.

What about at home, how do you train?

MB: Living in Colorado the weather has been bad lately so I’ve been skiing and riding cross bike in mountains. I enjoy it but it’s not the best thing for hi-intensity workouts, for the speed for racing”¦.

I followed Levi Leipheimer on one Tour in 2005 (with Gerolsteiner), and I noticed that split: the riders tuning in and out of bi-lingual speeches and huddles. Does that happen with T-Mobile?

MB: Not really, there is a lot of respect between the staff and riders, and they are very professional, it’s also a German team but their working language is English since it’s a multi-national team, with a lot of Commonwealth riders “” culturally it’s not a big shock like walking onto an all-Italian team.

After this race, will you be training here or in Girona, Spain?

MB: Right after this, my wife and I will be off to Spain to set up camp for the rest of the race year.

After your book on Team Postal, have you penned anything else?
MB: My wife and I co-wrote a book called “Fitness and cycling” with Shannon Sovndal (click here for more info) for entry level to intermediate cycling training — it was published last year.

That’s two more published works than most cyclists; anything coming down the pipe we should expect?

MB: Yes, I’m thinking about a book based on the Classics from Flanders to Roubaix, to describe that culture of cycling”¦like the Tour de France. They have their heroes and history as well”¦ it’s unique, and insane.

Reflecting on your crash last year, what are your “˜unique’ moments?

MB: I’ve had some real emotional ones – I grew up watching and reading about these races with Merckx; some moments like last year at Roubaix with George on my wheel over the cobblestones”¦ and Lance and George the year before”¦

What would you like to accomplish before your “˜bus stops’ in this career?

MB: Honestly, I’d like to continue to enjoy riding my bike, the victories and goals come that way. As I look back on it, its never been about the achievements, but the moments I remember, where I learned a lot in that period of my life, and the nice people I met. In cycling, it’s unique”¦there’s one guy crossing the line but 90% of the time there are eight others who killed themselves for that rider. They might not get the recognition like athletes in other sports, but I love working for the others, I take pride in it. Even as a kid, watching Eddy Merckx or Laurent Fignon win those races was great, but to see their teammates give themselves up completely for that rider -just like all my teammates on Postal and Discovery – what they did was amazing.

You shared that glory…

MB: There’s nothing better than that – like today when we shared the victory – or what we thought was a victory, it built us up.

This spring, which set of Classics are you riding?

I’m back to the week of Belgian riding, Liege, Amstel, etc., like a few years back, but not Paris-Roubaix or the others.

More material for chapters in your future Euro-Spring Classics book! What about after you retire any plans to write your memoirs after getting “off the bus” of cycling?

I’m not thinking about that yet, but we’ll see”¦there’ll be plenty of time then – I just want to enjoy riding the bike and see what happens right now.