Single Speed? Elite Nationals Podiums? They're All Part of Sunny Gilbert's Best Cyclocross Life.
After a memorable finish to the 2021 domestic season, Sunny Gilbert returns with lofty goals in both the Single Speed and Elite categories
Last summer, y’all were asking for an interview with Sunny Gilbert. This year we were able to nail down the 2021 Single Speed National Champion and Elite Nationals podium finisher somewhere between ‘cross practice and her day job as a scientist.
When we last saw Gilbert, she had just barely missed out on making the U.S. team for Cyclocross Worlds in Fayetteville. After a slow start to the season, she really started to hit her stride in October. She finished second in the Saturday race at Jingle Cross and then won both days at the Major Taylor Cross Cup the following month. She then capped the season with a Single Speed National Championship and 3rd in the Elite race the following day.
I caught up with Gilbert last week to chat about last season, single speed cyclocross, becoming a cult hero in the scene, and probably some more single speed cyclocross.
Interview: Sunny Gilbert, Single Speed Superstar (and More)
Zach Schuster: The last time I saw you was at Nationals, but I heard that cyclocross is here again. You're back practicing already?
Sunny Gilbert: I think it started around 10 am today.
Zach Schuster: It sounds like you have a cool thing going on. You have the Blue crew, I guess we'll call it, a lot of y'all are in the Boulder area. It seems pretty cool you get to be on a team and you know, be on a team.
Sunny Gilbert: I think it's just lucky happenstance that there are really good cyclocross racers in the area, and we're taking full advantage of it. We're missing Ben Frederick and Leslie [Ethridge] this year; they relocated to San Francisco. We've still got Eric, we've got Scott, we added a couple of young women to the team this year. Then we have a couple of people from other teams who Grant Holicky coaches. We kind of realized the value of being able to practice a holeshot with other people.
I was joking today, I always win when I practice alone. And get your mind out of the gutter.
Zach Schuster: I guess that is one way of looking at it. You don't lose the holeshot when you are the only person there. It's all about the mentality you have, your frame of reference, right?
Sunny Gilbert: Absolutely. Sometimes I will pick other cyclists on the road, and they don't know I'm basically trying to catch them before the next corner. "You didn't know we were racing?"
Zach Schuster: It's a really interesting set of riders you have on your team. Eric [Brunner] is starting to come into his own, Scott [Funston] is starting to break through. You had an amazing year last year, maybe a little unexpectedly at times. I talked to Eric and he's going to Europe to race kermesses.
Sunny Gilbert: That bastard.
Zach Schuster: I feel like you are living the best life in cyclocross. What has the Sunny Gilbert best life summer been like so far?
Sunny Gilbert: So far it has been choosing adventures. I pretty much called the gravel season early. I got crashed out about 1.2 miles into an 85-mile race in Oregon. After traveling all the way there, I got taken out by a rider in front of me who hit a stick and went down pretty hard. I went down pretty hard. I picked myself up and rode 17 miles to the next aid station while bleeding. They spent 14 minutes scrubbing my wounds, and then I started racing. I rode myself into 3rd that race behind some really talented athletes, but I got done and my hand was swollen and I could barely grab a bar, and I was like, "You know what, gravel ends now. Cyclocross season starts as soon as I can grip my handlebar."
That's what summer looked like. Doug and I had a lot of adventures. We took full advantage of being in Colorado. We rode our mountain bikes over to Winter Park from Nederland to get hot dogs. So we rode 35 miles with 3,500 feet of elevation gain to get hot dogs, and then we rode back. If people are familiar with Rollins Pass, we've done a couple of other excellent mountain bikey / adventure rides with some of the folks who live here. I have a really nice gravel setup. I actually raced at the Wild Horse race on the western slope in Colorado.
But the fire was there for cyclocross. I always knew whatever I was doing on gravel was just base training to have another go. As you said, last season was really unexpected. But it actually started out really shit. I can't really quantify how shitty it started off. And then it really took a turn around the Trek World Cup and the Jingle Cross races. I just said, "You know what, I love racing and I'm going to do it as much as I can." I even did a Masters race at Trek. I did all three races at Jingle Cross.
Then from there, I was like, the season starts now. Things are ramping up. It ended up ending really well, so this year you'll probably see the same sort of thing. I'm going to start off pretty slow and just ramp from there.
Zach Schuster: I remember you racing that Masters race at Trek. To back up, you had off-handedly told Bill you weren't going to race, so we were like, "Oh man, Sunny's done. This is a super-big bummer." Then you were like, "Heyyyy, I'm on Blue and I'm going to do this." At that point at Trek, it had the vibes that we were on borrowed time, like where are things going? Then, I don't know, it seems like things started to really click for you.
Sunny Gilbert: The pandemic changed a lot of things for a lot of people. Plus we moved to Colorado, and that forced a lot of changes. I lost all my training routes, my training buddies. Yeah, I'm really proximal to my coach now, but we had been making it work remotely. It was unclear how I was going to maintain that level of racing while working and everything else that came with moving on with life.
But I got hooked up with Blue. I ended up winning a frame at a race, and that introduced me to them. I ended up winning the gravel frame I'm still riding on. That introduced me to the local racing scene and the Blue team. They asked me to join the team, and from there we just found a really good vibe. The travel and racing during a pandemic last year was interesting because you had to be really careful around hotels and restaurants, so we tried to be a squad as much as possible.
Zach Schuster: The last time I did a story about you was about you driving out of St. Louis. It was like you and Doug E Fresh loading up the car and doing the OVCX races and the stuff in the Midwest was more local. Now there are more logistics involved.
Sunny Gilbert: Thanks for that. How much flying am I going to be doing this year? Am I going to have to relocate to the East Coast? TBD on that.
Zach Schuster: I know. I was considering the East Coast and Chicago and ended up in Chicago. Everyone was like, "That's great! You'll be near the races." But it seems like cyclocross is moving east now.
Sunny Gilbert: UCI cyclocross is for sure.
Zach Schuster: There was that long period where it was moving to the Midwest, and being in the Midwest was the place to be, and now it's kind of shifted again?
Sunny Gilbert: What's up with that? There's no Colorado race anymore. That was one of the first UCI races I did. No Sacramento race. I never got to do that one. I'd say the Nationals in Tacoma was probably one of the most fun events I did that season.
Zach Schuster: How did you end up doing there? I meant to look and did not.
Sunny Gilbert: Oh come on, you don't have that memorized? I finished 6th. So the reason I was questioning if I would still race 'cross is I was still suffering from the tailbone injury I suffered on the first weekend of that season.
Zach Schuster: It was interesting to hear you say that last year was shit, because I was gonna say, we remember, we have the video of you yardsaling in 2019. The freeze frame of you crashing at GO Cross. Like the first race of the season?
Sunny Gilbert: I'm two for three at GO Cross now.
Zach Schuster: You talked about Nationals. I think one of my favorite photos ever in 'cross is you after you finished 2nd at Louisville. You were just like ecstatic. And I have one of you from last year with a look of "What just happened?"
Sunny Gilbert: Two totally different experiences. When I got 2nd, it was almost in slo-mo, so at the finish line, everyone knew, yah you got 2nd, let's have a party. Last year I was in a battle for 4th or 5th when I passed the pit on the last lap. My husband in the pit didn't even know I got 3rd. I was just sitting there like, "What just happened?" It probably took about 10 minutes until he came over to the finish line and was like, "Did you get 3rd?"
Zach Schuster: Did this just happen?
Sunny Gilbert: I was like, "Yeah babe, we got 3rd."
Zach Schuster: So my question was going to be, which one was more surprising to you? Contextually with those seasons? Which was more like, holy crap, I can't believe this just happened?
Sunny Gilbert: I would say they were equally surprising. I think last year I knew I had the fitness and the speed, and I had spent enough time with that course after racing the Single Speed race that I knew how to make it fast. The other time was surprising just because no one expected that course to be like that. And yeah a lot was made of me being a good runner and being able to really hammer the running sections, but when it came time to ride your bike, you had to be able to ride that slick mud. I think for me, I knew how to ride that sort of mud and maybe hadn't really gotten to display those skills in quite that way.
So I'd say equally surprising, but up to that point, I had kind of been chipping away at the top 10 at Nationals. I won a couple of UCI events, so I always felt like a podium was in me that year, and then also last year.
Zach Schuster: We talk a lot about people who are gamers. People who deliver on the big stage. To me, you getting these podium finishes, especially how this last season went. The one at Louisville, that year it was like Compton and Noble, Noble and Compton, and then here comes Sunny Gilbert just crushing it. I would say those are excellent performances. You had a tough Single Speed race against Sarah Sturm that you won. Do you think you have that mental edge to deliver on the biggest stage? Or is it more that you've been really dialing your training? You peaked at the perfect time last year.
Sunny Gilbert: I made no secret that Nationals was my goal last year. It's hard to maintain a peak. You have to be fast for the World Cups, and the way the points system played out did not play to my advantage at all. I was joking lining up for Charm City last year, that was the first time I didn't have UCI points in like 7 or 8 years. It was really from the bottom to the top.
I don't know. I've done this sport for 12, 13 years now, but I've been doing sports on a national stage since I was 12. You just get to a point where the psychology of it is you just love to race, and you're going to line up and race the same if it's a local event or a national event or a World Cup event.
I told you, I'll keep doing it as long as I am competitive and having fun. Two things.
Zach Schuster: How do you feel about becoming a Single Speed superstar. You're a National Champion. You're a World Champion.
Sunny Gilbert: I'm state champion too.
Zach Schuster: You've unified the Single Speed jerseys. When you started back in the day, did you think you were going to be one of those people. I mean, you've got Sarah Sturm who's kind of goofball with costumes, Kristen Legan has gotten into it. And here you are, a single speed maven.
Sunny Gilbert: I'm going to send you a picture from 2012. In it, I am actually racing the first Single Speed World Championships held in Portland. I am wearing a pink mini dress, a pink boa. I have dollar bills safety-pinned to my kit. I think that might have been the first Single Speed race I ever did. I borrowed a bike that was a little bit taller than me, so it sort of fit. His name was Chapell Miller. Shout out to the Oregonians.
It was the silliest race I've ever done, and yet one of the most fun. They had a shortcut through a school bus. There was a thunderdome that was kind of a jungle gym with people hanging and hitting you with that inflatable bats.
Zach Schuster: So you go way back.
Sunny Gilbert: And you know, afterword, I thought, you know what, I like this sport. I'm going to try to do another one of these single speed events. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the other one. I remember when they announced it was in St. George, I put in on the schedule and told my husband, "Hey, we're going to go do this." And he said, "What is this?" He thought it was actually a super important race. He was ready to pit for me at the Single Speed World Championships.
I was like, "Sweetheart, there's no pit. There's a viper pit, there's a jello pit, but there's no pit pit."
Zach Schuster: It's in Colorado this year?
Sunny Gilbert: It's in Durango. I'm actually thinking of doing two costumes, one if it snows, one if it doesn't.
Zach Schuster: So it's not a question if you're defending your title?
Sunny Gilbert: It's the only race I've actually signed up for at this point. I haven't even put my name in for the World Cups yet. I'll do that this week, maybe.
Zach Schuster: Maxx Chance has been involved with the Blue team on and off, so it seems like it fits the team's vibe. And it's probably good for Blue to be like, "Hey, you can set up our bikes single speed and go win World Championships." There's some flexibility maybe with the program that lets you do that.
Sunny Gilbert: Yeah, I have a single speed Blue. I crossed the finish line with it at Nationals last year. We're actually talking about building it up on an equal footing with my two race bikes. It's serious. Single speed is seriously unserious.
Zach Schuster: I guess I would be a little remiss if I didn't ask this. It seems like Worlds was a big bummer for you that you didn't get selected, but it ultimately came down to points. Were there any moments where you were like, "If I had only done one more race weekend?" How did you process that after coming so close to getting to go to Worlds?
Sunny Gilbert: You know, I have long legs, I take things in stride. It was obviously incredibly disappointing, but I went and had an amazing weekend anyway. And was there just in case I got the opportunity to race. I certainly trained. There were people asking me if I would be ready to race. I can share my Training Peaks with you; I was hitting numbers I hadn't hit all season a couple of weeks before the World Championships. I was pretty serious about making sure if the opportunity came, I would be ready to race.
I even snuck onto the course and did a practice lap in the dusk.
Zach Schuster: Oh, nice!
Sunny Gilbert: There wasn't really that support for alternates to practice. I think the designation of "alternate" is kind of administrative. I definitely went and did a lap two days before the event, with a 'cross bike. Just in case. Tested out a few corners. Launched it off that plunge. It was fantastic. I think I got air on the next little bump. I was like, "Oh, that's how that's going to go. Alright."
Zach Schuster: It's good to hear. I really enjoyed it. It's good to hear you were able to still go and have a great experience. There were just such good vibes at that event. To have such a great event in America and to see the positivity was really a great thing.
Sunny Gilbert: I like what they're doing in the region too. When I was in the Midwest, I had the opportunity to go ride mountain bikes several times in that area. I just enjoyed the trails so much. On the down low, now not so much on the down low, I took two 'cross bikes and a mountain bike.
Zach Schuster: As you should. That was originally my plan. I was like, "I'm bringing my mountain bike!" And I didn't. And I kind of regret it.
Sunny Gilbert: You missed out man. But now you're in Chicago, so you're not that far. You're Midwest close to Arkansas. A little bit closer than you were before. It's less than a day's drive.
Zach Schuster: When that happened, I think a lot of people were disappointed for you. The term People's Champ gets thrown around a lot, but you've become kind of a cult hero in the cyclocross scene. Has that been a weird experience for you? Did you ever think you'd become one of the most popular 'cross racers in America?
Sunny Gilbert: No, I didn't. I think a lot of it has to do with my number one focus being to show up and race and enjoy the people that I'm with at the time. I think during the pandemic that's the thing we missed the most, and probably what figured into Doug and I continuing to race. We missed our friends. We missed seeing the mechanics and the other racers and the competitors we were seeing almost every weekend. We missed that camaraderie.
I started the season last year at the Alma Grand Prix in Alma, Michigan just to have that sort of sense of community to kick things off. It's been great. I feel like I've made lifelong friendships through cyclocross. And I hope others feel the same way too.
Zach Schuster: I totally agree. This year I'm pretty torn because I want to race locally, but going to these events is so much fun. There are so many people you know, and just seeing everyone and being a part of it is special. Even though there's a certain amount of excitement being at events, people would ask about how rough the pandemic was, and I would be like, "Well I have friends in D.C., Louisiana, Florida, New York. I've got all my 'cross friends I do podcasts with and stuff." I'm guessing it's pretty similar for you.
Sunny Gilbert: One thing I've always been really good at is keeping in touch. Keeping in touch with people long distance. But you just want to be able to see them and be face-to-face with folks. You're going to make me cry Zach, honestly.
Zach Schuster: Sorry!
Sunny Gilbert: It's ok. It's been a long career, and I know it's going to have to end at some point. Not this year, but sometime.
Zach Schuster: I like that you took care of that at Nationals. You were like, "I know what you're going to ask, the answer is yes, I'm racing next year."
Sunny Gilbert: Part of that was I already had the conversation with Blue, with Doug. The people who, if they said no, would have made it impossible to do. It's not just my decision.
Zach Schuster: I think it's been cool to see how popular you've become. Last year our readers were like, "You have to interview Sunny! What is Sunny up to?"
Sunny Gilbert: I am riding my bike. I will tell you right now I have ridden my bike more in the last two years. I have put more mileage in than I have ever put in on a bike. And it's not just about mileage either. I became a bicycle commuter for the first time.
Zach Schuster: Oh cool.
Sunny Gilbert: I figured it out. I'll get in my Blue kit and be like, pro commuter.
Zach Schuster: Thank you so much for your time. This was great. I am stoked you're going to be around the scene this season.
Sunny Gilbert: For sure. I am looking forward to it.