Felipe Nystrom Brings His Costa Rican Pura Vida Watts to Pan-Ams
The Costa Rican native has had quite the journey to winning the Men's 35-39 Pan-American Championship and racing Elite World Cups
While the Confederacion Panamericano de Ciclismo (COPACI) includes both North and South America in its territory, the Pan-American Cyclocross Championships have been dominated by American and Canadian riders since it started in 2014.
This year at Pan-Ams, the red Costa Rican kit of Felipe Nystrom stood out in both the Elite Men’s race on Saturday and the Masters 35-39 Championship race on Sunday among the U.S. and Canadian national kits and those representing teams we are used to seeing on the scene.
Nystrom was born and raised in Costa Rica, and about eight years ago he moved to Portland, Oregon. The move was not necessarily on the best of terms for him, and as he tried to get his feet under him, cycling became a way to make friends and keep his life moving in the right direction.
Nystrom won the 2019 Costa Rican Road National Championship in 2019, almost on a whim, and he decided to start racing cyclocross as a way to represent his home country on the international stage. He won the Masters 35-39 Championship in Garland on Sunday, and he is planning on racing in Europe and then at Fayetteville Worlds in the coming months.
I briefly chatted with Nystrom after his Championship ride on Sunday. It was definitely an interview request I am glad I made.
Interview: Costa Rica’s Felipe Nystrom
Zach Schuster: Do you live in Costa Rica or are you from here in America?
Felipe Nystrom: I was born and raised in Costa Rica. I moved to Portland, Oregon about eight years ago and then started riding the bicycle there about five years ago.
Zach Schuster: So you didn't ride a bike until you got to Portland?
Felipe Nystrom: When I was a kid I rode around and played around like that. I'm actually a recovering addict and alcoholic, so I lived on the street. It's really amazing to have this sort of an opportunity. Just a few years ago I was eating out of a garbage can, and now I'm here winning a jersey.
Zach Schuster: It kind of makes sense that you'd start riding and racing cyclocross. Do you do the Cyclocross Crusade?
Felipe Nystrom: I do!
About two years ago, in 2019, I was the pro road national champion for Costa Rica.
Zach Schuster: So you had to fly back and all for that?
Felipe Nystrom: Yeah, I just showed up to say I raced a National Championship. I was by myself, didn't have support, going up against the best teams, and I happened to win it. Thanks to COVID, I've was the national champion for two years up to about a month ago.
I got into it in Portland as a way to meet people. I mostly do road. A little mountain biking. Cyclocross I didn't really do, but I wanted to find a way to see if I could represent my country, so cyclocross was an opportunity to do that. And I just went for that.
Zach Schuster: Is there a National Championship in Costa Rica yet?
Felipe Nystrom: Not yet. I'm hoping to promote it and get it going and give it some more attention. I think there's a lot of potential down there, but they just don't know about it. It's a predominantly northern European and North American discipline. In yesterday's Elite Pan-American Championship, I was the first Costa Rican to race one of those, and I was the only Latin American in the field.
Zach Schuster: Yeah, Sofia Gomez Villafane used to race for Argentina, but she is kind of an American.
Felipe Nystrom: When you look the race results, it's all people from Canada and the United States. Hopefully we'll get some more people over the next few years.
Zach Schuster: I saw you out there yesterday in the Elite race, how did that go?
Felipe Nystrom: It went as good as it could have gone. I'm a sprinter, so in a straight line I can go fast for about 30 seconds. When you have to turn your bicycle and get off, it gets a little more complicated. But it's been a tremendous opportunity, and I am very grateful to be able to do it. I was also the first Costa Rican to do a World Cup. I raced the three in the United States here. I even got in the money in Fayetteville; I was so excited. I have never been happier to finish last.
Now I'll go do Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships down in Costa Rica next weekend. Then I head over to Europe for three more World Cup races. Then I'll do Worlds.
Zach Schuster: Whaaaa? That sounds like quite the experience, and you're just getting in the hardest way possible.
Felipe Nystrom: I figure last in one of those races is better than first in any other race. And what better way to learn from it than to learn from the best of the best.
Zach Schuster: So can you share more about your history? You mentioned living on the streets...
Felipe Nystrom: I moved to Portland for recovery. It was a clean slate where I didn't know anybody. The night I was going to leave and be out on my own again, like graduating, I was so scared. There was no way I was going to make it. I knew all the people, and I knew all the places. But Portland, I didn't know anybody.
I found out afterward that it's like the drinking capital of the world, so maybe if you're looking to recover, don't go to Portland.
Zach Schuster: But it's got a great bike community, at least.
Felipe Nystrom: The first couple of years I was in such a huge hole financially and emotionally. When I got there I had like seven different jobs, working crazy hours and whatever I could. But then after a couple of years, I was like, I'm not really meeting anybody.
It's the weirdest thing, for the decade prior to that, talking to people was super easy because I was always either drunk or on drugs. So when I wanted to try to meet people, I was like, how do you meet people? Do you just like go to the library and talk to somebody?
So I actually started out with triathlons. I did a couple of those. After nearly drowning in waist-deep water and feeling something gooey on my foot, I was like, Nope! This water is way too cold. This is not going to happen. So my triathlon career was like two races.
But one of the guys who did the indoor cycling classes for this triathlon club that I kind hooked up with said, "Why don't you just ride your bike?" I was like, "I don't know, how do you do that?" And then he explained it to me, and that's when I did my first road race. I beat a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old at the line. But that's because they moved the line back by 10 yards after the race started, so they stopped pedaling, and I came around. But that's kind of how I got into being a road cyclist.
Zach Schuster: So where do you get support from?
Felipe Nystrom: No one. I do it myself.
Zach Schuster: But that means you're doing well enough to support yourself?
Felipe Nystrom: Right now I have a GoFundMe going to help me get to all these races. The local Trek bike shop helps me out with some discounts and priority service. The HiFi guy, Josh, he gave me a mega discount on my wheels. It's mostly bits and pieces here and there.
Zach Schuster: Well awesome. So cool to meet you. I look forward to following you the rest of the season.
Felipe Nystrom: Thanks! I appreciate it.
One of the top ten rider stories of the year. Keep track of Felipe for us, please!