Kiwi Glen Chadwick (Navigators) shares his background of racing in Europe, Asia and America. A determined and tough climber who has won on the hills and mountains of Canada, America, Hungary, Korea, Belgium, Switzerland, Taiwan, China and Australia.

by Lyne Lamoureux

Kiwi Glen Alan Chadwick, of the Navigators Insurance Cycling team, is a determined and tough climber who has won on the hills and mountains of Hungary, Korea, Belgium, Switzerland, Taiwan, China and Australia. He joined an amateur team in 2001 and moved to Belgium to experience and learn from European racing. After two years, he tried his luck with the Giant Asia team where he rode all the stage races in Asia and won the Tour of Beijing and Tour de Korea races. After a year back in Europe, Glen joined the Navigators team in 2006 and proceeded to win the overall mountains classification in the Tour de Toona and finished second overall in the Tour of Utah.

Glen came back strong at the beginning of 2007 after his torn calf muscle injury the past September, and won the third stage at the Mt Hood Cycling Classic and two stages, including the finish at the top of Mont Megantic at the Tour de Beauce, and was voted the overall Most Aggressive jersey at the Tour de Georgia by the media.

Glen lives in Belgium with his wife and daughter and is based out of New Jersey while racing in the U.S.A.

Lyne: Tell me a bit about your season after your injury last September?

Glen: Yeah, it's pretty good. I had a ticket out to Australia anyway from Belgium where I live with my wife and daughter. I had a ticket to the Sun Tour (ed: October 2006) and I couldn't do it anymore because I injured, I was on crutches but I went out there to see the family. And I had 6 weeks off and sort of worked back into it, and I won National Time Trial championships in January in New Zealand so the season started pretty good. Then I did Tour down Under, Tour of California and I was happy how it went there, except I got sick. Then went to Europe, and that was a reality check, as it's good to race over there so when you come here it's a bit easier. I did Georgia and I was voted the most aggressive rider for the Tour, but don't know what I got for that.....

Lyne: Hold on, didn't you get a jersey for that Most Aggressive rider in Georgia?

Glen: laughing No. They forgot...they called me to come to the tent behind the podium on the last stage, so I went behind the tent and I sat there for half an hour and they forgot to call me up.

After Georgia, I went back to Europe and now we're back here again for the big American campaign which started good in Mt Hood, Tour de Beauce, then Cascades and then I get to go home for three weeks.

Glen Chadwick climbing Clock Tower during Tour de Georgia
Photo c. Lyne Lamoureux

Lyne: Please clarify something for me, I've seen you listed as both Australian and New Zealander, so which one are you?

Glen: I've always been a Kiwi. To be able to race in Australia, I had to change my nationality as I represented the state I lived in, and I was like 15 when that happened. I have dual citizenship, my dad is a Kiwi, my mom is an Aussie and we jumped country to country for a few years and both parents finally decided to go to Australia. In a sporting Australia New Zealand thing, I always go with New Zealand, the All Blacks and such.

Lyne: Did you start on track like a lot of the Australians?

Glen: Yeah, I started on track. Well it's seasonal in Australia, the track on the summer and road after, but now road sort of goes into the summer. I started on the track, and then just got rid of that, and only did road. I actually did some track racing this summer, it was pretty good, it was just local stuff. That what I did to get my fitness back up from scratch. I think it worked.

Lyne: You raced two years with Team Down Under based in Europe. What was that experience like?

Glen: I left Australia in 2001, just not enough racing. You just have to get to Europe, live off the skin of your bones for a couple of years and hope you can make something of it. I rode with the amateur team Team Down Under, run by Belgians, it's now called DFL-cyclingnews.

Lyne: How hard was it when you first got to Europe?

Glen: I was like phew big fields, the quality, fast, rain, the weather.... The team management was all Belgians, and they didn't expect a lot of us straight out. They were just sort of sick of working with Europeans, young Europeans. I guess they were pampered a lot so they got a bunch of Aussies and Kiwis and sorted us out.

It was good, I had a pretty good couple of years there. You are racing for your food so you sort of save as much money as you could through the summer to get to Europe. It worked out all right.

Lyne: How did the move to Giant Asia team happen?

Glen: I had done two years in Europe and I came close to joining professional road squads twice. I was a stagiaire, I rode with a Belgian team at the end of each season and they all made promises and nothing happened. So I got a call from a mate who had joined the Giant team to come over and do the Tour of Taiwan and I went over. They offered to pay me, I said all right I've got to start making something. I went for a couple of years but it became a dead end road. I'd won a few races and I'd done every tour there was over there and I had my Belgian girlfriend at the time, so it was time to go back to Europe.

Lyne: How different is the style of racing in Asia? Is it more dangerous?

Glen: Different style. The field never went more that 100 guys, most of the time maybe 80, and probably 25% of the field could actually race properly. The rest of the blokes were really green so doing a tour was a bit strange, a breakaway would always get 20 to 30 minutes so you had to make sure you were in that break.

It's dangerous anywhere I guess, you always have to be careful. Over there, you just make sure you stay near the front, it would have been a lot easier to say in the back. But even if it is easy you shouldn't stay at the back.

Glen Chadwick trying to escape the field at Mt Hood
Photo c. Lyne Lamoureux

Lyne: How did you connect with the Navigators Insurance Cycling team?

Glen: I went back to Team Down Under for one year and I got married in 2005. I went back but...no money, and my wife worked and she supported me all year. I did Tour de Beauce and Tour of China and the Navigators team was there, Ed (Beamon – Navigators DS) just sort of contacted me and it took off from there. I hadn't been in America before and I heard there was lots of money. America is amazing.

I like Navigators, it's a really good atmosphere. When I come to the States, I stay at Ed's house and I couldn't imagine staying at a European's director's house for a month or so, it would just be weird. Ed is really good, really easy to get along with and his wife is really nice so that's pretty good. Our team is pretty international too like the others have been.

When I first joined the team and saw all the Russian guys and I thought oh s... chuckles...but they are really good guys. Once they understand our sort of humor and sarcasm, we understand theirs, it all worked out in the end.

Lyne: But did you have any trouble adjusting to Jersey?

Glen: laughs I like it there, I am a Sopranos fan. Ed lives in an area with lakes and forest. I'm never in one spot for long, I'm always on the road ... the suitcase is my best friend.

Lyne: Why do you like about stage races?

Glen: I like stage races. You have more of a chance to make amends for a day that you weren't feeling good or you missed something. A one day can be a bit of a lottery sometimes. As a tour gets longer, I don't get any weaker, I always stay the same or maybe I get a bit stronger. That's what makes me a good tour rider.

Lyne: Which race are you the most proud of?

Glen: I'm pretty proud of the National TT title, that is pretty special. My family, my mom & dad traveled from Australian to New Zealand to see it, and a few of my relatives came down and they were all very proud too, it's good.

New Zealand National TT Champion Glen Chadwick
Photo c. Lyne Lamoureux

Lyne: Last thing, I enjoy reading your diaries. Do you like writing them?

Glen: Yeah thanks. I'm really behind, the last one was from training camp (note February). I had one written about the first time in a wind tunnel, it was pretty cool, it was funny, but I never sent it in. All of us had never been in a wind tunnel, and the minute they turned the fan on, you'd see all the faces sort of smile - Glen then put his hands on his cheek and pulls back to form a grin - I was the first one to go in. From then on, every time the fans kick in, Ben Day, or the Russians got a bit of grin, even Victor (Rapinski) and Sergey (Lagutin) smiled chuckling

Thank you Glen for sharing a bit of your history with us.