Svein Tuft reflects on the beautiful life pro cycling has given him

It’s only been one week since Svein Tuft hung up his racing wheels for good at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. The 42-year-old is now enjoying some time off with family and his mountain bike in B.C.’s Kootenays. It was a long and illustrious run for the Langley, B.C. native who can point to career highlights on the bike that include wearing the pink jersey at the 2014 Giro d’Italia on his birthday after winning the Stage 1 team time trial, 13 Canadian national titles (two on the road and 11 in the individual time trial) and a silver medal from the 2012 UCI Road World Championships in the ITT.

Pro cycling wasn’t a path Tuft had been destined to when he first started riding his bike. In fact, in the earlier years, he was ready to move on from the sport all together before going on to have such a lengthy career that saw him in 2018 be the oldest rider on a WorldTour team.

RELATED: Q & A with Svein Tuft on the end of his career and his future in gravel bike guiding

“You know there were so many years, especially in the very beginning, when I was ready to stop at any moment. Even in the Symmetrics years and prior to that I had actually quit for a year,” Tuft said about his nearly two-decade cycling career. “The fact that I am here almost 20 years later is pretty shocking to me. It’s something you realize, that is what life is. In life, there are some crazy things attached to it but it’s about what you get out of it, what you love about it and if those things trump everything else you keep on doing it.”

Tuft began his career on small teams before moving to Symmetrics Pro Cycling for four seasons where he rode alongside prominent Canadian cyclists like Christian Meier, Eric Wohlberg, Geoff Kabush, François Parisien, Andrew Pinfold and Andrew Randell. He then moved to the WorldTour with Mitchelton-Scott and closed his career out with Rally UHC. The relationships in cycling are for Tuft, the greatest gift he’s gotten from his time in the sport.

“It’s the people I have met. The people I have worked with. The groups of people I have done some incredible things with,” Tuft said about the biggest takeaway from his career. “Maybe we weren’t the best on paper but the camaraderie, the energy that we had together was the thing that changed it all. That’s why we do sport. That’s the beauty of sport in my opinion.”

Before cycling, Tuft was an adventure, embarking on trips through the mountains seeking out time in mother nature with his bike, dog Bear and only the essential equipment he needed for survival. What he would have done without a career in cycling? Even he doesn’t know.

“Prior to cycling, I was completely happy living like a bum,” Tuft explained. “I was travelling by bike, hopping trains and climbing. I did a lot of different jobs. The circumstances of life will pin you into having to work at some point. I honestly don’t know what that would have looked like. I am just fortunate.”

Tuft moves on from a professional landscape that’s changed from when he started in the sport. Social media, data with barely any continuity in the stability of teams or even races from when he first started. One thing that’s stayed steady and given him the most satisfaction of sticking with cycling for so long are the bonds he’s created with people in cycling.

“It’s giving me some fantastic gifts in life. The travelling. The people. I was pretty introverted, I still am but speaking publically didn’t interest me at all so I think of all the little skills you pick up along the way,” Tuft said. “It changes you a lot and for that, I am really thankful. The people I have met over the years have had a big impact on my life and also allowed me, in my opinion, a beautiful life. For me, it’s been a fantastic experience.”