Experienced climber Burke Swindlehurst joined the Bissell Pro Cycling for the 2008 season and is racing in the Amgen Tour of California for the first time in his career.

I sat down with the ten-year pro and stage specialist Swindlehurst prior to the start of the Tour of California to get his thoughts on the season and his future.

Lyne Lamoureux: What are your goals for this year?
Burke Swindlehurst: Geez, my goal I guess it’s just to….

DS Glen Mitchell: to please me (laughs)

Burke: to please Glen yeah, actually Glen and I go way back, we raced together on the Navigators together, so it’s kind of fun to have a former team mate and friend, it eases the transition a little bit, but my goals for this season are the same that they’ve always been for any team which is just to help the team get results first and foremost, those come ahead of any personal goals I have. From a personal perspective, I always have a few races that I really like which are you know obviously for me, races with big hills in them, so Tour of the Gila has always been a favorite, Hood, I love Hood that’s a great race , Cascades, Tour of Utah is back which I’m really excited about. And apparently there’s a stage in Colorado which is just after the race in Utah.

Lyne: You live in Utah right?
Burke: Yes I do. So those are, for me, those are the races that I have in my mind that I would like to do well at. Outside of that I want to help the team, and as much I hate to admit it, I am getting older, I’ll be 35 in a month, you know for me it’s not an issue but the guys on the team are already harassing me a little bit. So from that perspective, I’d really like, what knowledge I’ve gained over the years to pass it on and hopefully that’s something I can do. Hopefully, they’re open to listening to the old curmudgeon on the team given them a hard time.

Lyne: So does that cross your mind now, getting older and how many more years?
Burke: It doesn’t really enter my thought process until other people bring it up, but then you look in the mirror and see some grays and stuff and  I guess I’m getting on but physically I’m not really feeling it. The last few years have actually been some of my best I’ve had on the bike and obviously you get smarter as you get older and you learn to use your energy, but  I would say in the back of my mind I’d like to see myself go through the end of 2010, another 3 years racing. You have certain people you look at and you see them do well, and it’s usually, it seems like the end of 37 seems to be kind of where you see a little bit of decline. In my mind, that’s kind of my benchmark, make it to the end of 37 and then assess it from there.

Lyne: Are you going to follow the Glen route and become a DS? Do you think about it?
Burke: You know, I think about it every single day to be honest and I have for a long time and I’m still drawing a blank, (chuckles) it’s like what are you going to do when you grow up. But yeah I’d love to stay involved with the sport, it’s been really good to me and I enjoy it so if I can continue to make a living doing something I love and enjoy then why not. If anybody out there has any ideas, I’m open.

Lyne: As a new member to the Bissell team, what is this team like?
Burke: Everybody seems real excited and I feed off the energy. There’s a feeling within the program that it is taking another step up which is exciting. I’ve been on programs that have been around a lot time that have plateaued a little bit so this is fun for me to see a bunch of guys that are really excited to see growth and also know that we are going to take it to another level because we have the riders and the experience on the team and also the energy and the youth to do that so I think there’s a really overriding sense of optimism and excitement.

Lyne: Have you taken anybody under your wing?
Burke: Not yet

Lyne: Any young climbers on the team to maybe mentor?
Burke: Morgan…. I’m not going to go out of my way to take on that role, hopefully it will kind of happen. You know if guys think that I have something to give to them then I will, I’ll gladly do it but I’m not going to be one of those guys that order people around. I’ve definitely been around but I’m not going to be one to say ‘like this is how it is’ but if they come to me and say ‘how is it?’, then I’ll them my perspective.

Lyne: Are you ready for the Tour of California?
Burke: I don’t know but I have been training pretty hard for it even though I’ve been cooped up indoors in Utah. I’ve been working a little bit with Max Testa and having him, he’s in Salt Lake, that’s a huge resource so I’ve definitely seen some results, I feel pretty good about one of the guys that’s going to be on the California team.

Lyne: What are your goals for Tour of California?
Burke: This will be my first year at the Tour of California. Historically, I’m not a strong early season guy, I’m sure that had to do with where I’m at geographically, I’m in Salt Lake and so I don’t really start to really spread my wings until mid April, seems like the Tour of Georgia is where I start to feel some really good sensations on the bike so for me, California would be more for looking after guys like Ben Jacques-Maynes who have a history of doing well there and hopefully getting some momentum and maybe when I do get to Georgia I would have maybe that extra gear that I haven’t had the last couple of years.

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