{"id":2054369,"date":"2026-07-21T16:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2054369"},"modified":"2026-07-21T16:22:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:22:00","slug":"three-time-mountain-bike-olympian-geoff-kabush-on-racing-his-repack-fkt-and-experimenting-with-32-inch-wheels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2054369","title":{"rendered":"Three-time mountain bike Olympian Geoff Kabush on racing, his Repack FKT, and experimenting with 32-inch wheels"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div id=\"wp_content_article\" class=\"st_article_class\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush is a three-time Olympian and professional cross-country mountain bike and cyclocross racer with multiple Canadian National titles to his name. He\u2019s also a two-time winner of BC Bike Race and recently finished seventh this year against a stacked field that included Nino Schurter.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tell us about your very first bike race. Why did you decide to sign up?\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Did you think you\u2019d still be racing mountain bikes at age 49?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In 2021, after multiple attempts, you set the FKT on the Repack DH course. What surprised you about the project? Would you ever consider giving it a try on a Klunker?<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019ve been experimenting with 32-inch wheels, and recently picked up a Naked Bicycles 32er gravel bike. What do you think about the emerging wheel size? How substantial are the performance benefits?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have a favorite race format? Has that changed for you over the years?<\/li>\n<li>What was it like racing the BC Bike Race this year? Do you plan to race the new format next year?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s your secret to staying fast into your 40s and 50s? How much of a race like the Downieville Classic is mental vs. physical?<\/li>\n<li>Racing and sponsorships look very different today than they did when you first started out. Do you think it\u2019s harder for athletes today who are expected to be influencers and competitors at the same time?<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019ve ridden your bike and raced all over the world. What\u2019s your favorite place to ride? As a Squamish local, do you have any trail recommendations for visitors?<\/li>\n<li>What other challenges do you have planned for this year?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep up with Geoff\u2019s latest adventures on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/geoffkabush\/\">Instagram @geoffkabush<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/feedbacksports.com\/?utm_source=singletracks&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=summer26\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg&apos;%20viewBox=&apos;0%200%20600%20300&apos;%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images.singletracks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-600x300-newsletter-1.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-722198 lazy\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Feedback Sports. <\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-0a48df829dc4b03d4c4d8cb983f91c4e singl-content\" id=\"singl-0a48df829dc4b03d4c4d8cb983f91c4e\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you love your bike, you know that regular maintenance is the key to a smoother, faster, and safer ride. But a good wrenching session starts with the right setup. Enter the Feedback Sports Pro Mechanic and Sprint repair stands. Trusted by World Tour mechanics and home hobbyists alike, these lightweight, anodized aluminum stands are ultra-stable, highly portable, and fold down in seconds. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you\u2019re chasing down a tricky drivetrain click in your garage or dialing in your shifting at the trailhead, Feedback Sports gives you shop-quality precision wherever you are. Pair their award-winning stands with their professional-grade tool kits\u2014like the Reflex Fixed Torque Ratchet Kit\u2014and you have everything you need to keep your rig running flawlessly. Stop wrestling with your bike upside down on the grass. Elevate your maintenance game and give your bike the care it deserves. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Head over to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feedbacksports.com\/?utm_source=singletracks&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=summer26\">feedbacksports.com<\/a><\/strong> today to check out their full lineup of repair stands and precision tools.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-16cddfd451ee9046aff8e66d4600ee1e singl-content\" id=\"singl-16cddfd451ee9046aff8e66d4600ee1e\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Never Miss an Episode<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0VxNMzrUoUs7wz3FsyI83p\">Spotify<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/singletracks-mountain-bike-news\/id1046094700?uo=4\">Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2luZ2xldHJhY2tzLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qv\">Google Podcasts<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/show\/singletracks-mtb-news\">Stitcher<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/overcast.fm\/itunes1046094700\">Overcast<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Get the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.singletracks.com\/feed\/podcast\/\">RSS Feed<\/a><\/li>\n<li>View all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.singletracks.com\/podcast\/\">Podcast Episodes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"h-automated-transcript\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Automated transcript<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 0:00<br \/>Hey everybody, welcome to the Singletracks podcast. My name is Jeff, and today my guest is Geoff Kabush. Geoff is a three-time Olympian and professional cross-country mountain biker and cyclocross racer with multiple Canadian National titles to his name. He\u2019s also a two-time winner of the BC Bike Race and recently finished seventh this year against a stacked field that included Nino Schurter. Thanks for joining me, Geoff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 1:32<br \/>Yeah, happy to chat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 1:34<br \/>So, tell us about your very first bike race. Why did you decide to sign up?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 1:41<br \/>That\u2019s funny. I mean, I grew up in BC. Definitely feel lucky to grow up here. But actually, I mean, I played almost every sport growing up. But it was kind of actually my parents were teachers and did a teacher exchange to the southwest of England when I was 12.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-071913195db8bd2bb74dc99c0978c9d6 singl-content\" id=\"singl-071913195db8bd2bb74dc99c0978c9d6\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 1:57<br \/>Oh wow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 1:58<br \/>And actually had a friend who bought his first mountain bike over there, That was you know early \u201990s, and I had a 10-speed. We used to go out in the hills and get some flats, and so when I came back in ninth grade, I decided to get my first mountain bike and had some friends that were into local races in the Comox Valley where I grew up, and did yeah my first Comox Cup there at the end of ninth grade and kind of caught the bug. Still played, you know, every sport through high school. Basketball was kind of my main sport, but interesting. Kind of got hooked on racing in the valley and then kind of yeah went from there. Kind of escalated through high school.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 2:37<br \/>Yeah. Well, it sounds like, were you competitive at that age? <\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-796266c0a688be1e1d0b16660c485aec singl-content\" id=\"singl-796266c0a688be1e1d0b16660c485aec\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 2:44<br \/>Yeah, I mean, I was really into athletics. You know, did a lot of soccer and track and field and running and competitive in a lot of sports athletic background. But yeah, really kind of started to do well in the local race series, and it was really my summer after high school, my last year as junior. Just when the Canada Cup Series started out West, and started doing really well at some of those, and decided to chase the Canada Cup Series across Canada, and ended up qualifying for World Championships in \u201995 as a junior, and really kind of caught the bug there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 3:22<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, having that background and doing all these different sports, did you think you\u2019d still be racing mountain bikes at age 49?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 3:35<br \/>No. Yeah, things really escalated, but you know, just it\u2019s such a it\u2019s a sport that\u2019s such a nice lifestyle, and that\u2019s like kind of what hooked hooked me on it. You know, being out in the woods, exploring new trails, and yeah, you know, I\u2019ve been lucky in my career that the sport\u2019s evolved, and I\u2019ve been able to find new avenues to compete and stay involved in the industry. And a big part of what fascinated me about mountain biking early on was the equipment, and it\u2019s almost you know really come full circle. I\u2019m really more involved in a bit more in the equipment and R and D, and still still love racing. Yeah, I\u2019m getting close to 50, so all my my tricks are running out. Experience and tactics, but still you know enjoy having some events to focus on and kind of keep motivated for.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-961946c4d13de69c6981b056852dd608 singl-content\" id=\"singl-961946c4d13de69c6981b056852dd608\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 4:25<br \/>Yeah. Well, yeah. It\u2019s been interesting to follow your career, and you know, you\u2019ve raced so many different disciplines, but it seems like you keep finding more things and new things to do that like still fit kind of where you\u2019re at in your career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 4:40<br \/>Yeah. You know, I think doing the same thing over and over gets boring. And I think I would have retired a long time ago. We\u2019re lucky sport of mountain biking seems like there\u2019s always something new to learn. But early on in my World Cup career, where I had the most success, even during that period, I you know raced on the road a bit, some pro. Continental teams and cyclocross, and always tried to find something new and interesting to do. Even during my World Cup career, getting involved in some blind enduros, and yeah, keeping it interesting and fun. And as you know, at first looked at the career as kind of a you know four-year cycles with the Olympics, and early on, I didn\u2019t think be able to continue on, but the sport evolved and into some, you know, really during the teen 20 teens, whatever you want to call it, there was a lot of great domestic events with the epic rides and BCBR, which were still you know really high profile and provide some value for my sponsors. So it\u2019s really fun for me to be there at that time and transitioned in a lot of these really cool mountain bike races, and that\u2019s kind of what I\u2019m focused on now. Is just yeah the really fun, challenging mountain bike races, especially up here in BC, where traveled so much my entire career, just really enjoying being closer to home and taking advantage of all the opportunities in BC<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-c9e3ef730b666b6355a58f6812e53e69 singl-content\" id=\"singl-c9e3ef730b666b6355a58f6812e53e69\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 6:02<br \/>Yeah, that\u2019s awesome. Well, speaking of keeping things interesting, in 2021, after multiple attempts, I believe you set the FKT on the Repack downhill course. And for folks who don\u2019t know, Repack was like the original mountain bike race, like back in the 70s, and people were doing this race on what they called Klunkers, which had no suspension. They were basically just like converted kind of cruiser bikes that they were racing on this course. And so, I\u2019m super curious about that project. Like, what what surprised you about about trying to set that FKT and and understanding that course.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 6:43<br \/>Back in COVID, we were all looking for for fun things to do. I kind of split my time between here and NorCal, and it\u2019s it\u2019s actually really cool. You know, the birthplace of Mount Bike and Marin. A lot of those guys are are still around, and I\u2019ve gone to some talks with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.singletracks.com\/community\/listen-charlie-kelly-talks-birth-mountain-biking-mtb-culture\/\">Charlie Kelly<\/a>, who organized Repack, and it\u2019s really fun that those those guys from that era are still around. You can chat and talk about them. It\u2019s yeah hard hard to believe how fast some of those guys went down on their their coaster bikes. But I mean yeah, it was it was a fun project. I thought like you know a fire road downhill. I\u2019m gonna jump on you know my small trail bike and give it a rip, but yeah, and the speeds that you get going and the grip that you need to kind of fire down there. I had to go back with my big bike and yeah, just a really fun project being hanging out down there with with the history of the sport and those guys around, and it was yeah just a fun challenge in in COVID to kind of you know throw back to the old days. That\u2019s I raced downhill back in the day too on on fire roads, and definitely it always feels like a bit of a burn of elevation. But it\u2019s definitely fun to do some high-speed drifting down a fire road, and that\u2019s definitely what Repack is.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 7:58<br \/>Yeah, yeah, it was surprising, you know, reading about your attempt that you were actually faster on a longer travel bike. because it seems like your biggest challenge would be grip, right? Like tires seem to seem to have like a huge impact on that.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-43c18121242b8f1b7b456597eca42f9c singl-content\" id=\"singl-43c18121242b8f1b7b456597eca42f9c\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 8:15<br \/>Yeah, it\u2019s just it\u2019s really high speed. There\u2019s a lot of rain ruts and some water bars, so it\u2019s man just really feeling comfortable at speed and and being planted. And I mean, yeah, it\u2019s a lot of events I do. It\u2019s a fun debate about which bike\u2019s faster, and it definitely be debatable which which bike you could go fastest down there. But yeah, it\u2019s a it\u2019s an open area and bit nerve wracking. A lot of blind corners, so you have to be careful careful and go for a rip there. A lot of sensitivities in in Marin County with mountain biking. So yeah, it was a it was a fun challenge. Had to be careful looking for traffic, which made it extra nerve wracking. And yeah, just so many S bends and switchbacks that look the same with a little bit of poison oak. Yeah, keep it spicy. But yeah, definitely, it\u2019s yeah, it\u2019s fun to have little things like that, especially during COVID, to to motivate and challenge myself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 9:18<br \/>Yeah, did you ever consider doing it on a Klunker? Can you even imagine what it would have been like to try to go that fast on a bike with no suspension?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 9:27<br \/>I know the Transition guys did a fun project. They kind of built a Klunker there several years ago and had to go. And yeah, unfortunately, had some pretty bad crashes, so that\u2019s odd. But yeah, it would be incredibly yeah spicy and hard to imagine trying to do that on a coaster brake.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-5b4469c532004ab2b702197401d01de4 singl-content\" id=\"singl-5b4469c532004ab2b702197401d01de4\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 9:51<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, you\u2019ve been experimenting with 32-inch wheels on bikes, and it looks like you recently picked up a Naked Bicycles 32er gravel bike, so I\u2019m curious to know what do you think about the emerging wheel size, especially for for gravel biking?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 10:11<br \/>Yeah, that was a super fun project with Sam, who I\u2019ve known for a long time at Naked Bikes about a year and a half ago or so. I did some testing on a mountain bike with Fox, working on some some geometry, and I definitely knew there\u2019s a lot of potential in the wheel size where the wheels really shine. But the first thing I came out of that test was thinking, man, a lot of these benefits would be really suited to gravel, and you see a lot of discussion on around the mountain bike, and we\u2019re going to see a lot of new mountain bikes. But man, for me, the a lot of the yeah advantages of big wheel really suited gravel. So it was definitely a challenging project to get all the pieces together for gravel bike, but really cool to work with Sam and just a really fun bike for the kind of riding I like to do. Kind of under biking has been a kind of a fun inside joke kind of riding. I really love to do more technical off road and rough gravel and yeah, those big wheels really dampen the bumps, and I could care less if it\u2019s fast or not. But it\u2019s definitely a lot funner bike to ride, and more comfortable. And really allows me to, yeah, open up a lot of routes and rides that I like to do in Squamish, and really enjoyed it down in in riding in the Bay Area as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 11:42<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, you say you don\u2019t care if it\u2019s faster or not, but but you\u2019re a racer. You\u2019re still racing, so I\u2019m curious. Like, do you see real benefits to having a bigger wheel size when it comes to racing?<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-31442ec28eafb4305408fb64d3c5c622 singl-content\" id=\"singl-31442ec28eafb4305408fb64d3c5c622\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 11:57<br \/>Yeah, I mean, it\u2019s you cannot get over the rotational effect, so there\u2019s some small downsides to the bigger wheels, and that\u2019s one thing I definitely would like to get. The availability when I build my wheels was a bit limited, so I have more of a kind of a trail weight rim, and there\u2019s already in the next couple months, there\u2019ll be a lot more, you know, apples to apples comparisons as far as wheel sets and a lot of new equipment coming out. And there\u2019s, I\u2019d say, like the jump from 26 to 29 was was really dramatic and not quite that dramatic the improvements, but two thirds to three quarters, but man, there are some really tangible benefits. One of those, I mean, there\u2019s a lot of talk about maybe we\u2019ll see mixed wheels, but one of the huge benefits for me was the the climbing traction. I mean, Aspen tires in some pretty greasy conditions, and the the traction in the rear is a huge benefit, and then just yeah, the rollover when you get rolling through kind of undulating terrain, it\u2019s pretty. I mean, the bike just makes makes you want to go faster. That\u2019s when I was testing on kind of a bobsled like road. That\u2019s where it was man eye opening the the speed you could carry, and just the the angle of attack on the big wheels on small bumps is a lot lower, and just kind of seems to minimize some of those those rough stuff. You could see on the weekend of the World Cup, the Thomas guys, Keller and Lukagur. Lukagur, yeah, they raced it without much success, but those are still, I think, prototypes with you know slap together fork, and it\u2019s going to be interesting. I think towards the end of this year, probably see a few more people testing it out. I think the transition to 29. There\u2019s definitely a few more hiccups with design and wheels, and I think it\u2019ll be a lot smoother this this time. And I think it will maybe be a bit size dependent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You know, you can see I\u2019m a taller rider, six foot two, and and the it just feels like the right fit for me. And I mean, yeah, even some of the guys I raced with, like Barry Wicks and Ryan Trebon, they looked like they\u2019re on clown bikes with the little wheels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 14:35<br \/>Right.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-42dd6971a55dfa14d8dbf1c0b49a1aa7 singl-content\" id=\"singl-42dd6971a55dfa14d8dbf1c0b49a1aa7\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 14:37<br \/>It\u2019d be a really nice fit for those people at the top of the bell curve, bigger might be more of a challenge for small riders. I think less of a challenge on the gravel bike. There\u2019s lots of lots more room with the reach and drop bars. I mean, with a proper gravel fork on my bike, could easily drop the front end probably seven. Eight centimeters, and my fit on my gravel bike from Naked is exactly the same as my 700 seat bike minus about a centimeter taller stack, and that\u2019s not even with doing any kind of funny stem. So it\u2019s a really easy fit for me, and lots of room to adjust. And I think we\u2019ll get there for a lot of body sizes, but it\u2019s going to be really great for the taller riders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 15:24<br \/>Yeah, interesting. Yeah, I mean that\u2019s a topic I\u2019ve kind of explored in the past. Is like, is there an advantage to being tall in mountain bike racing? And it sounds like, particularly with this new wheel size, maybe taller riders are going to be able to take advantage of that maybe better than shorter riders? Have you seen that though over your career? Like, does being tall give you any sort of advantage?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 15:52<br \/>Man, it felt like a disadvantage a lot of my career. Yeah, yeah. Just it seemed like courses as they shrunk. I mean, started my career. The XC races were much longer, but as the courses became more compact, the designers really seemed to try to make steep courses much steeper and sharper. And I felt like I was one of the bigger guys, being 165 pounds.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-f86bf599602930b5d19166b52e7f99cf singl-content\" id=\"singl-f86bf599602930b5d19166b52e7f99cf\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 16:24<br \/>Right. You got the weight, and then it\u2019s also harder to\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 16:27<br \/>Yeah, and I could definitely have the the power and capacity. I think racing\u2019s gotten more dynamic in in recent years, but it at times there were definitely it was definitely focused more towards lightweight climbers, and there was very few big guys like myself and Jaroslav Kohavi, and a few other taller, bigger guys. But it seemed much more suited to smaller, more explosive climbers. And I think for my size, the the courses have become more dynamic and faster. Could talk about how technical courses are or not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 17:08<br \/>Yeah.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 17:09<br \/>But yeah, I think there\u2019ll be some advantages for tall guys on bigger bikes in certain courses. And yeah, that\u2019s the fun thing about mountain biking is there\u2019s a lot of different interpretations of what mountain biking is around the world that suits different styles and types of riders, and I think that\u2019s really great to see you at the mountain bike World Cups, where different body types and styles of riders can and win. And I think that\u2019s a that\u2019s a real positive thing to see.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-fb630d52a9246548c010814dced36f13 singl-content\" id=\"singl-fb630d52a9246548c010814dced36f13\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 17:35<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah. You mentioned that courses maybe are getting more technical, or <em>did<\/em> get more technical for cross-country racing. But then recently, you know, Canyon came out with that sort of prototype concept bike that focused a lot on aerodynamics. And part of that launch, they pointed out how, like you\u2019re saying, speeds on World Cup cross country races have have grown a ton. They\u2019re up like 33% over the last 10 years. So, what as a racer, like, what do you attribute that to? Is this are they getting faster despite courses getting more technical?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 18:16<br \/>Yeah, I mean, I would argue there\u2019s more features, but I wouldn\u2019t necessarily say they\u2019re more technical. They hold up a lot more in the in the weather. But I think they realize. I think course designers and the World Cup Warner Brothers have realized that tighter racing is more exciting. So there isn\u2019t the extended, really steep climbs on most courses that create bigger separations. The courses that courses are designed a bit to keep the racing closer, and that in turn has led to you know shorter climbs and more rolling terrain, which I think has increased the speed.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-3fa60d37d95414b1b01123c9bc65248b singl-content\" id=\"singl-3fa60d37d95414b1b01123c9bc65248b\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 18:57<br \/>I see.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 18:58<br \/>And part of that is I think a bit more manufactured to like Lenzerheide, which last weekend was a bit of an outlier. That\u2019s got some really natural terrain routes and stuff, but you will see a lot of technical features linked by a lot of flowing fast racing that tends to lead to higher speeds without the major climbs. I mean, back in the day, I can say, yeah, we used to have some really long, you know, 810 minute climbs on courses, and oh wow, now laps aren\u2019t even that long. So yeah, when I started racing, the target time was two hours and 15 to two and a half hours, and yeah, that shrunk to much more compact course and more dynamic racing, which is kind of, I think, desirable to keep the racing closer and more interesting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 19:47<br \/>Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I mean, bikes have changed a ton in the last 10 years too. Do you think that had any effect on race speeds?<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-7608117d4aa0caf511abf1becd58b2e6 singl-content\" id=\"singl-7608117d4aa0caf511abf1becd58b2e6\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 19:57<br \/>Yeah, for sure. I mean. There used to be riders that would lose 45 seconds on descent in on a World Cup cross-country course. There was a German guy, Wolfram. We used to say, \u201cDon\u2019t want to get Wolfram. He was like a crazy strong climber, but a crazy slow descender. And and if you got stuck behind him, it was major impact on your race, I think.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 20:23<br \/>And was that in the day of hardtails too. I mean, you rarely even see hardtails anymore in a World Cup cross country race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 20:30<br \/>No, he had a full suspension, but I think it was a generation where I think we\u2019re seeing now most World Cup riders grew up mountain biking and have the skill set. Or my generation, there was a lot of transfer over from road and cyclocross, different disciplines that didn\u2019t were up on the bike and weren\u2019t as natural. But for sure, the mountain bikes have developed incredibly. Like the the XC bikes these days are really incredible. I reference like how technical courses are now. Yes, they definitely have some bigger features and jumps, but the bikes are incredible. Reference. Have another conversation earlier this week about racing Mont Saint Anne on you know hardtail with a high post and high pressure little tires. Yeah, I mean that was you had to do some dancing on coming down La Beatrice at Mont Saint Anne on some slick slick rocks. Definitely challenging and more it tended to be more natural terrain in my era where courses could really deteriorate. Now they\u2019re a bit more man-made and tend to hold up really well in in bad weather, which is minus South Korea this year. But that\u2019s another conversation.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-514c3b01aa59bc7a4f18f485776d1091 singl-content\" id=\"singl-514c3b01aa59bc7a4f18f485776d1091\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 21:50<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, right. I mean, I guess you make a good point that these speed increases is also paralleled. I I would guess speed increases just in trail biking. You know, you go out to your local trail system. It\u2019s more likely today to be machine-built flow trail versus you know what we used to have more natural technical trails where the speeds were just they were just lower.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 22:14<br \/>Yeah, and I think I think the biggest thing back to the racing is it\u2019s really kind of leveled the playing field or narrowed the gap between riders and technical sections because, yeah, the bikes these days give you much much more confidence. So there are much smaller differences between the good riders and bad riders. And I think the biggest thing is more these days is the speed difference isn\u2019t as big, but you really see the efficient riders kind of save energy over the course of a race. I mean, yeah, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.singletracks.com\/community\/pro-mountain-biker-christopher-blevins-on-racing-vs-playing-on-the-bike\/\">Chris Blevins<\/a> is a great example. You can he is definitely fast, but you can also see he\u2019s very relaxed, and you see that with I mean, Jenn Jackson is a good example Canadian rider that you can see. She\u2019s very competent technically, and saves a lot of energy on the descents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 23:05<br \/>Yeah.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-faaa29229590e7adea8cdfad65423a05 singl-content\" id=\"singl-faaa29229590e7adea8cdfad65423a05\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 23:06<br \/>She\u2019s fast. Not a big difference, but saving a lot of energy. And that\u2019s one thing in my career. Never necessarily went a ton faster, but I was just saving so much more energy that I was able to even have success on courses like Montsen, which are really hard, steep climbing. But I was just recovering so much more on the descents, not necessarily going faster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 23:28<br \/>Yeah, yeah. I mean, I\u2019ve heard that idea of saving energy from like skills coaches. I mean, what does that look like for you? How do you save energy in a race?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 23:39<br \/>I think it\u2019s just being relaxed. Yeah, like when you have that skill set. I was lucky to grow up in BC, so in general, World Cup courses were never challenging for me. So over course of the race, as well as the course the weekend, I saved a lot of energy and stress and pre-riding and analyzing the course. course, and yeah, it\u2019s just staying relaxed and being comfortable on your bike and those technical sections where you\u2019re not, yeah, tensing up and losing a lot of energy through stress and reacting to the terrain.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-81dd45828c72a39723383b49b500c345 singl-content\" id=\"singl-81dd45828c72a39723383b49b500c345\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 24:16<br \/>Yeah, and I guess braking less too. I mean, if you can brake less, you\u2019re gonna you\u2019re gonna carry that energy a lot more than if you\u2019re constantly like braking and then trying to accelerate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 24:26<br \/>Yeah, for sure. It\u2019s just cornering speed and arm pump, and yeah, just overall being more relaxed and focused on recovery than really being on edge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 24:37<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, we mentioned that you\u2019ve done the BC Bike Race many years in a row, and it\u2019s it\u2019s kind of your backyard race. So I\u2019m curious, what was it like racing BC Bike Race this year? It being sort of the last year of this format that the race has had for many years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 25:00<br \/>Yeah, I mean it\u2019s nothing I like more than being on the race in my own province, and my mom\u2019s over in the Comox Valley where Cumberland is. The first couple stages, so it\u2019s it\u2019s kind of the island is where I grew up riding. So it\u2019s really fun to to go back to some of those networks. We went back to the trail network in Parksville called Hammerfest, which I raced last time in 1998. So really, really fun to go back to some of these places and towns where I started mountain biking. Really great community, and yeah, the being the last year, I think there\u2019s a lot of people that had it on their bucket list, including Nino who showed up, they had near record numbers again in the 800, so it really felt like an event. And I think they moved it up to try to avoid the the summer heat. But man, yeah, it keeps on changing. Where it was really great. We had a wet day, day three in Cumberland, which made it really challenging for some riders, but really help the trails for the the rest of the weekend. Get moisture and yeah, it\u2019s really been a fun part of my career the last decade to kind of race BCBR and really really fun event. And yeah, these days I\u2019m focused on fun single track events, and that\u2019s definitely a highlight.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-f71d1b0ca1a8cc648613aee5f4783f4a singl-content\" id=\"singl-f71d1b0ca1a8cc648613aee5f4783f4a\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 26:20<br \/>Yeah, do you plan to race the new format next year?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 26:24<br \/>I keep saying, oh, maybe that\u2019ll be the last one. But now they\u2019re coming back to the Sea to Sky, Squamish Whistler, and nothing better than racing your own province, let alone sleeping in your own bed and getting to do a race. So I just yeah enjoy supporting those guys at BCBR, and they do a great job with the event. And so it\u2019s always always fun to be a part of.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 26:49<br \/>Yeah, awesome. Well, so I saw recently. I think you posted on Instagram that you\u2019re planning to race the Downieville Classic this year, and it looks like last year you took fourth place in the XC race. And if I\u2019m looking at this correctly, the only people who finished faster than you were in their 20s and 30s. And so you\u2019re-I mean-you\u2019re closing in on 50 years old. So I\u2019m-I\u2019m curious, what\u2019s your secret to staying fast into your 40s and and ultimately into your 50s?<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-e1cdfb87368ddabf4966fbd10e79a868 singl-content\" id=\"singl-e1cdfb87368ddabf4966fbd10e79a868\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 27:24<br \/>Yeah, actually, gonna miss Downieville for the first time in a long time. But it\u2019s been a really fun event. I\u2019m doing a trip over to Europe this summer during Downieville. But yeah, that\u2019s a. I really love events that\u2019s a bit that are a bit of a puzzle, and Downieville is definitely a real puzzle. You have to use the same bike for the XC and then the same bike for a really high-speed kind of rough 45 minute downhill for the fastest rider. So it\u2019s a really fun challenge trying to balance it, and you know I\u2019ve been able to keep on having success in my 40s, just using all the experience, tactics, and skills, and those come in really handy at Downieville. It\u2019s because it\u2019s such a long, high-speed downhill. It really helps to have experience on that track, just carrying speed, it was really impressive seeing Carter win it in his first year last time. It\u2019s really hard to show up to Downieville. Oh yeah, logistics are challenging and tiring. It\u2019s a big course, a big pre-ride, and a long, obviously 40-five minute downhill to piece together with a lot of blind rises and really fast rocky sections, so it\u2019s been a really fun challenge. Again, you know, transitioning from the World Cup, it\u2019s been a really fun event to do, along with BCBR and some of the other mountain bikes. And yeah, I\u2019m lucky to have some of these really cool events to participate in and showcase some of the stuff for my sponsors I\u2019ve been riding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 29:00<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah. It\u2019s it\u2019s interesting because clearly experience does pay off, and it sounds like you know the mental side of a race like Downieville is just as important as the physical.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-9b5d6f3e2b2f77355d7a06a5c32746ec singl-content\" id=\"singl-9b5d6f3e2b2f77355d7a06a5c32746ec\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 29:16<br \/>Yeah, it\u2019s. I mean, it\u2019s the downhill, especially. It\u2019s just well the XC downhill too. It\u2019s it\u2019s just really controlled aggression. I mean you can go flat out, but there\u2019s just tons of mechanicals and flats and broken wheels. So it\u2019s yeah the downhill you kind of have to run tires that are too light for the downhill to have success in the XC. So it\u2019s just that balance of controlled aggression and knowing where to go fast and where to control your efforts and that\u2019s a really fun challenge for sure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 29:49<br \/>Yeah, yeah, that\u2019s interesting. And I guess I didn\u2019t realize that it\u2019s not just you don\u2019t have to just have the same bike, the same frame. I mean, you have to run the same tires and brakes and all of that stuff. Is that right?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 30:01<br \/>Yeah, exactly the same. So you have to weigh your bike before the XC, and then do another weigh in the morning of the downhill.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-e9df6e1313d4a7e4737a18af5ed8b0e2 singl-content\" id=\"singl-e9df6e1313d4a7e4737a18af5ed8b0e2\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 30:08<br \/>So yeah, it\u2019s really a compromise and a frustrating, frustrating compromise sometimes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 30:15<br \/>Yeah, interesting. Well, so you know, these days racing and sponsorships look very different than they did when you first started out in your career. So I\u2019m curious: Do you think it\u2019s harder for athletes today who are expected to be influencers and competitors at the same time? Like, how is is balancing that difficult?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 30:40<br \/>Yeah, for sure. I\u2019m very appreciative of the time I grew up racing. I think I was definitely a quieter performance-focused athlete, and I think I might have might have been okay. But I think I\u2019ve definitely had the conversation. Athletes struggle with the balance these days, it was just not that we didn\u2019t have any obligations, but it seemed a lot simpler in my day before the internet. We could, you know, race and train, and then we go home in the winter and put in our time.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-258013045346e79fef16574cab285a66 singl-content\" id=\"singl-258013045346e79fef16574cab285a66\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 31:12<br \/>Yeah.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 31:13<br \/>But it\u2019s much busier, much more challenging as an athlete with the demands to always be online and present, and especially during COVID, that really ramped up the importance of social media, and it was definitely really challenging for a lot of athletes that were focused on more on being an athlete. Yeah, part of part of the job now, which is there\u2019s always some parts of any job that are challenging, but yeah, it\u2019s tough for some personalities that are more introverted or quiet. I\u2019m glad to see. I think in recent years it\u2019s swung back a bit more to the performance side in some some parts of the sport, but I think it\u2019s also positive. It\u2019s opened up some avenues for other people to have success in a place in the industry. But for the athletes focused on performance, it\u2019s definitely more challenging to balance that side of the job. I think.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 32:14<br \/>Yeah, I mean, in the past, as an athlete, would it be like I assume part of a contract would say you know you\u2019re going to make so many appearances for your sponsors or things like that, but now is it more even more specific about like in terms of posting regularly and and that sort of thing? Like, has the time required to do all of those extra things increased from what you\u2019ve seen?<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-380dfe9ca7b71694bac721ea7e1fd248 singl-content\" id=\"singl-380dfe9ca7b71694bac721ea7e1fd248\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 32:41<br \/>Yeah, I mean, I think in my era it was really fixed obligations. I mean, we\u2019d often have media camps, or we\u2019d get a lot of the media done, or specific interviews or video projects. But it seems more now really all-encompassing. I think if you have a team and media around you, you have people to help you with that. But a lot of us don\u2019t just want athletes to do everything. You know, take pictures and film and produce videos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yeah, it\u2019s really a big skill set that athletes have to develop, and it\u2019s just more and more just ongoing, 24\/7 being engaged. Where we really had our times of peace and quiet, where we could go and just train. And I think athletes are having to learn the discipline to kind of you know schedule their time and their commitments. And some athletes really thrive and enjoy that part of the job online. I don\u2019t think I was would have been one of them. And I think yeah, it just depends on the personality. Some athletes are really thriving in that environment, and some are fun and more challenging. And that\u2019s where yeah, having the support of a team with some of that media really helps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 34:01<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, it is. You know, as as a consumer, as a person who follows, you know, mountain bike athletes and racing, it is cool to see the stuff. You know, like your Downieville, sorry, your Repack project. You know, to see those kinds of things going on that are like, oh yeah like these athletes are doing really cool stuff and I appreciate too that it takes time to like produce that and share it and everything but it\u2019s also really cool for us to see.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-24e4906e8541db131e185b182689ff66 singl-content\" id=\"singl-24e4906e8541db131e185b182689ff66\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 34:33<br \/>Yeah you really get to know athletes a lot better these days some athletes are better self promoters sharing a lot more information. I guess, yeah. Like I said, this goes back goes back to personality and whether some athletes enjoy it or not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But yeah, you really get a good insight into what goes on in an athlete\u2019s day to day life, and I think the hardest part is as. Comes back to is just balancing that commercialization with authenticity. You\u2019ve definitely seen that with platforms like like Instagram. But first, it was just a fun way to share photos and personality. And you see these days, it\u2019s really become commercialized. And yeah, yeah. Sometimes that just turns me off. It\u2019s overwhelming, but yeah, it\u2019s a really fine balance for athletes to kind of balance that. Yeah, it\u2019s your job to promote stuff, but keeping it authentic is sometimes a really a real challenge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 35:36<br \/>Yeah, yeah. Well, you\u2019ve ridden your bike and raced all over the world, so I\u2019m curious. Outside of Squamish, what is your favorite place to ride?<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-023d24781f4204fa2c3451bb49447e32 singl-content\" id=\"singl-023d24781f4204fa2c3451bb49447e32\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 35:49<br \/>Well, BC for sure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 35:51<br \/>Okay. But outside of BC?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 35:55<br \/>Yeah, I mean the Pacific Northwest. Like one of my later on in my career, I started doing some some blind enduros. One of those being over in France, Trans Provence and Stone King Rally were really cool events. One of my favorite kind of formats, where it\u2019s kind of everyone\u2019s out in the back country camping together and traveling together. But one of those was Trans Cascadia on the Pacific Northwest, and just on the wet side of the Cascades, I\u2019ve had some yeah really memorable days. It started down in Oregon and kind of moved its way up up the Cascades over six different events, and yeah, some some of those times we had some bad weather, but that makes the dirt just incredible. And getting to access some of these kind of backcountry descents with the assistants of the Transcascadia crew with some shuttles around to some pretty remote spaces, places pretty special memories.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-ac6b5aba2a6215fa9dc8815f9c85a797 singl-content\" id=\"singl-ac6b5aba2a6215fa9dc8815f9c85a797\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 36:58<br \/>Yeah, that\u2019s awesome. Well, yeah, and then obviously Squamish and BC have amazing riding opportunities. So, if someone were coming to visit and they asked you for a recommendation, where would you send them?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 37:12<br \/>It\u2019s pretty mind-blowing up here. I can hardly keep up with Squamish. I mean, that\u2019s one of the things on my list is there\u2019s so many places in BC that I haven\u2019t got a chance to ride, and the amount of work and volunteer work that goes in the trails in Squamish is pretty insane. And it\u2019s actually pretty tough for me to sometimes take visitors on a ride because the level here is kind of insane, and it kind of gets normalized. And trails in my head that I think like, oh, that\u2019s not too bad. Or it\u2019s like the free wild free ride world tour out here in the woods sometimes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there are like some really great like favorites out at Alice Lake. Rupert\u2019s a classic, or the Diamond Head area, Angry midget. I mean, I don\u2019t ride it much, but Half Nelson is an incredible piece of work, and encourage people to start with some of those classics and take a look around, and you\u2019ll be surprised how many trails you might discover that aren\u2019t on the map, and those are definitely some of my favorites. There\u2019s just yeah, mind blowing amount of variety here, and small sticks there. You could spend a like right now this week. I\u2019m just trying to tick off some classic rides that are just incredible trails, but I haven\u2019t hardly ridden in the last four or five years because there\u2019s just the amount here is pretty insane. And respect all the trail builders here. It\u2019s it\u2019s really impressive. One thing I\u2019ve been kind of enjoying more is having a bit more time in town to kind of help out on some small projects.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-9c276817369fe51a25877d3988fa56ef singl-content\" id=\"singl-9c276817369fe51a25877d3988fa56ef\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 38:55<br \/>Oh, cool. Yeah, yeah. And maybe I should have asked, what are some of the easier rides that you would recommend to folks because obviously there\u2019s a lot of challenging trails and and places to ride there and so it sounds like maybe the classic rides is a good place to start like those generally are not going to be like where people are going to get in over their heads, is that right?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 39:18<br \/>Yeah, I mean they\u2019re definitely doing a lot better job. I mean, Half Nelson is an iconic trail, that flow trail that\u2019s been here forever, and yeah, you can start with some of those, like a Half Nelson Pseudotsuga lap is the the flow trail, and the Diamondhead the main network here, and over in Alice Lake, you can go ride, start out on like Leave of Absence \/ Rupert, which have a few rock features, and then yeah, you can graduate to there to maybe some of the things you see on on Instagram, some of the the slabs of of Squamish, like In and Out. But have to warn you, they look a lot bigger in real life than on the internet. Yeah, gotta gotta warm up. Yeah, we have search and rescue sent out to quite a few incidents because yeah, people see things on the internet and yeah, the scale things in real life is pretty dramatic. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 40:12<br \/>Yeah, that\u2019s crazy. And the reason they\u2019re attracted is because on Instagram it looks big and cool, but yeah, if if it\u2019s even bigger in person. That\u2019s really saying something.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-99be9be5787f8022e8b1b7f0e150aabd singl-content\" id=\"singl-99be9be5787f8022e8b1b7f0e150aabd\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 40:23<br \/>Yeah, never quite relates the online YouTube video, but yeah.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 40:31<br \/>Well, Geoff, tell us what other challenges do you have planned for this year? Sounds like you\u2019re not doing Downeyville this year, but you also have some other cool stuff planned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 40:42<br \/>Yeah, had a really busy spring. A lot of really fun events. It\u2019s actually slowing down quite a bit. Looking forward to going to Europe. My partner Katerina, she\u2019s Czech and doing a big trip over there. Really enjoy the gravel riding in her neck of the woods, southern Czech. There\u2019s some really incredible kind of back roads, national parks, gravel routes. We\u2019ll probably do event over there in August. Going to visit some family there in Czech in Norway this summer, and really actually looking forward to. I\u2019m going to be attending Mountain Bike Worlds, gathering works at the UCI, and I\u2019m going to be attending that event and have not been to a World Cup or Championship since 2016. So really looking forward to attending Mountain Bike Worlds and as a spectator this time. It should be really fun to see those guys and yeah, World Cup back here in Whistler in the fall. Got to decide if I want to go to that or Road Worlds, which is in Canada in Montreal. So, doing some less and less events, but really enjoying being a fan of the the sport as well these days.<\/p>\n<div style=\"min-height: 250px;padding: auto;margin-bottom: 20px\" class=\"singl-4d37314fdaa05be29a81396ff01606c4 singl-content\" id=\"singl-4d37314fdaa05be29a81396ff01606c4\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 41:52<br \/>Yeah, that\u2019s awesome. Well, Geoff, what\u2019s what\u2019s the best way for fans and folks to keep up with you online?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 42:01<br \/>Instagram probably the only one right now. I don\u2019t don\u2019t post a ton of stuff, but try to check my messages there every once in a while and update people what\u2019s what\u2019s going on there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 42:13<br \/>Yeah, awesome. Well, yeah, it\u2019s it\u2019s been great following your career and seeing what you\u2019re up to, and yeah, really appreciate you taking the time to join us on the podcast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geoff Kabush 42:23<br \/>Yeah, happy to connect. Good chat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeff Barber 42:26<br \/>Awesome. Well, if you\u2019d like to check out more episodes from the Singletracks podcast, go to Singletracks.com\/podcast. That\u2019s all we\u2019ve got this week. 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Tell us about your very first bike race. Why did [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,274],"class_list":["post-2054369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-singletracks-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2054369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2054369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2054369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2054369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}