COMMUNITY SPORTS: Simkover makes case for cycling career

By MATT NULL - Staff Writer | Thursday, March 20, 2008 1:50 PM PDT ∞

Solana Beach local cyclist Zach Simkover, 23, rides with the Swamis Elite Developmental cycle team through Carlsbad on his way to Camp Pendelton. He hopes to qualify for professional racing with a strong performance this weekend. Photo by John Koster / For The North County Times

Zach Simkover will compete in the in the Hohen Del Mar Criterium race this weekend. Photo by John Koster / For The North County Times

ENCINITAS ---- With only weeks to go in his final semester at UC San Diego, Zach Simkover had a decision to make.

He had to decide if he wanted to follow his dream of becoming a professional cyclist or go to law school.

To his father's dismay, Simkover chose to pursue the former, and while he is still a few steps away from becoming a professional, Simkover is doing everything he can to continue participating in the sport he loves.

The 23-year-old Solana Beach resident is part of the Swami's Men's Developmental Elite Cycling Team. On Saturday, he and 400 other cyclists will take part in the third annual Hoehn Motors Del Mar Criterium Race Series at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The races, which range from the juniors all the way up to men's pro, start at 8:30 a.m. and run until 3:45 p.m.

Competing as an amateur, Simkover will be in the men's pro race. Though his parents questioned his decision, they know he is happy with his current choice.

"My parents are supportive, of course," Simkover said. "My mom said go for it, do whatever you can to make this happen. My dad is practical and asked what my fallback is. The more I race and the more he sees how dedicated I am, he sees how much I love this sport and he is coming around."

Simkover, who was a political science major at UCSD, knows his dad has a valid point, and he is prepared to face that fact, in a few years.

"He is providing some balance in my life and keeping me looking at the big picture all the time," Simkover said. "Even I know my career in cycling has an expiration date.

"If you are going to turn pro in cycling, you have to do it by the time you are 27. If you don't, then you are kind of old and maybe you should think about some other career. So law school is definitely in the back of my head."

Simkover is hopeful he can turn pro soon and then find a job in the cycling industry.

"If I do make it pro, it opens a lot of doors down the road," Simkover said. "I'd like to get involved in the organization of a pro team or something similar. I've got the bug bad."

In the meantime, Simkover is making the best out of his opportunity with Swamis. He is one of six riders for the Encinitas-based team.

"There aren't that many squads like this around," Simkover said. "They give young guys a chance. We get to go to all the tough races and they just support us through it all. Having a team like this in San Diego is really awesome and the fact that they are giving us young guys a chance to make the big next step is cool."

The idea for the Men's Developmental Elite Cycling Team came from Swamis members Chris Daggs and Marc Yap. Daggs competed on a similar team 10 years ago. He said the idea to restart the team came from the fact that nobody helped him when he was coming up through the ranks, and he wanted to make sure that didn't happen to any other riders.

"I wanted to give back to guys like Zach and I wanted to do something to kind of make life easier for these guys who are coming up through this sport," Daggs said. "There are a lot of talented riders out there and they don't get a lot of support with training and nutrition and advice, so we wanted to change that."

Daggs said Simkover has a good of chance of turning pro soon and hopes Saturday's race, which co-event director Chris Evertson calls "NASCAR on two wheels," will help him take that next step.

"He's got a chance; this year is a pivotal year for him," Daggs said. "Probably his biggest obstacle, which are the same that face all the young cyclists right now, is he is making a lot of sacrifices so he can basically live the life of a pro athlete. But he doesn't get paid like a pro athlete."

For now, the lack of money doesn't bother Simkover, thanks to the numerous sponsors who help pay for his entrance fees and bikes.

"A lot of local companies have really stepped up and took the initiative to help our squad get off the ground and it is really awesome," he said. "We are just a group of young guys trying to do the pro thing and without dedicated partners we wouldn't be able to.

"It is really awesome to see the community step up and rally around our squad."

Contact staff writer Matt Null at mnull@nctimes.com. Comment at sports.nctimes.com.