Here's an interview I did in the winter with Pinner that got lost down the pipeline. Check to see if his predictions for 2007 are holding true.

Interview with Andrew "Pinner" Pinfold. Just another Pinhead?

By Jacob Erker

Jacob: So Pinner, that's an interesting nickname. I’ve been racking my brain on how it came about. Give us a hint.

Pinner: Probably 'cause I am so skinny…just kidding. In high school some friends of mine started to call me Pinner and it stuck. What is sort of funny is that my father, my uncle, and my two male cousins all have been called Pinner at some point. Some people even call my dad Mr. Pinner, and my wife Keltie, Mrs. Pinner (she hates it). Some people on the team think my nickname should be changed to the broomstick, but I think Pinner sounds better.

Jacob: I like Pannier too, but it’s easier to say Pinner. So, you had quite a season in 2006. Many great victories. Are there any that slipped away that keep you up at night? And if so, will you keep racing until you get those victories?

Pinner: Thanks, yours wasn't too shabby either. It's funny, because even though I had my best season to date, there are still a lot of races that I would love to have back, and yeah I do have trouble sleeping after them. One that sticks out is the last stage of Chihuahua where I crashed with 400m to go. I was in perfect position, I was sprinting better than anyone in the race (the day before I was second after my sprint was messed up by a motorcycle in a corner) and before I went down I was thinking I had this one nailed (big mistake). Anyway, I crashed costing me the win, but I also caused the guy in 4^th overall on GC to fall, which unfortunately, with help from some Mexican commissaires, bumped Christian to fourth in the GC. Of course you profited from my misfortune, managed to dodge all the carnage, and got 2^nd. Call it a Pinner lead out.

Jacob: Yeah I could go for some more of those next year. Problem is, I can't sprint around anyone so I would need to be in 1^st position and have everyone behind me fall down. One of your wins last year was the last stage of Beauce. It was quite an interesting and circuitous route that lead to the win. As I recall, I had been in the break for a while and eventually you came across with a few other guys. Then you and I debated who should work for whom. But it wasn’t “You should work for me!” “No, you should work for me!” Instead it was, “I’m cracked. I’ll work for you.” “No, it’s too damn hot out here. I’ll work for you.” Eventually we settled on me working for you. And in the end, I was right. Next time, will you listen to me sooner?

Pinner: If I listened to you all the time, life would be too easy.

Jacob: After your great victory, I found you to celebrate. You picked me up and swung me around in circles like I was your soon-to-be wife. You know there’s no way that could’ve looked cool. Are you aware that I was uncomfortable with your spontaneous gesture and just wanted to be put down? What ever happened to High-Five? Your ‘Frank the Tank’ impression on the podium was, however, pretty awesome.

Pinner: Sorry I embarrassed you, but when you win a big race this year, I’ll expect no shows of emotion from you. Perhaps a friendly handshake, but no smiling. As far as Frank the Tank on the podium, it is kind of ironic because Parisien slagged me pretty badly in the French media after my win. Oh well.

Jacob: Yes, for those that don’t know, Frank was mad because he thought that with Symmetrics having two guys in the break, we should have both ridden ourselves into the ground so that his teammate could win. That’s like having your sprinter help out with the leadout train. Anyhoo, I owe you and Svein a bit of thanks for getting me on board with Symmetrics. I didn’t think I stood a chance when I made fun of Mark Cunningham’s tan in Arizona the previous April, and then later found out he would be my future boss. Did you have to do a lot of smoothing over to clear the way for me?

Pinner: We pretty much had to put everything on the line for you. The vote was close but we got you in and you are forever in our debt.

Jacob: There are two Andrews on the team, two Jeff’s and two Kevins. This has lead to a lot of confusion. Do you see this potential for conflict continuing to spiral out of control until we have total chaos? And if so, is it possible to return from the depths of hell by simply firing you to stop the bleeding?

Pinner: As we all know on the team, Randell in known as Andrew the Lesser and I am Andrew the Greater. I would say you’d fire the ‘Lesser’ first.

Jacob: First I’ve heard of that. My questions deal with reality so your answers should do the same. When we drove down for Tour of Utah last August, you wanted to stop halfway and sleep. But Cam, Brandon and I forced you to continue all the way to Provo. When we finally arrived, there were no hotel rooms available and we had to sleep in the van in a parking lot. Did that event contribute to your loss to Lagutin on stage one? Keep in mind, I was only trying to get us there so we could have a nice morning instead of driving again all day.

Pinner: The lack of quality of sleep is the reason for getting second that day, and fourth the next. That’s my story and I am sticking with it.

Jacob: You missed the Tour of Hokkaido in Japan because of your wedding. I thought all cyclists were supposed to get married in the off-season.

Pinner: It’s kind of hard to find an off season when you race road, track, and ‘cross. That date was open when I got engaged. Kevin just pulled some strings to get that project so he could guilt trip me for not being committed to the team.

Jacob: So the boys are doing some track these days to try and qualify for the Olympics. You are also listed on the roster. I’m wondering why I was left out. Does Kevin not know that I was Canadian Junior National Flying 200m Champion in 1993? Okay, so some guy actually beat me but was DQ’d for not going through some painted line. Big deal. I was still pretty fast. Do you have any plans on the track this season?

Pinner: I plan on contributing to the team pursuit squad and hopefully getting the call to race at the PanAm champs in May. I am sure you were fast…everyone after this winter of track is fast. Fast, fast, speed, speed, we now have a team of sprinters. Doesn’t anyone like to climb anymore?

Jacob: Not me. The Columbians keep making me look like a worthless sack on the climbs. I’m going to switch to full-time leadout man this year. So if you weren’t a bike racer, what would you be doing right now?

Pinner: So much of who I am and what I have done comes as a result of cycling that I can’t really imagine what I would be doing otherwise. Right now I am finishing a master’s in medical geography (similar to epidemiology) and my interests outside of cycling are in the health field, so maybe I would be doing things along those lines but who knows.

Jacob: What has been your all-time favourite race? And don’t just pick something you’ve won like, “Oh my favourite race of all time was the Provincial 100km Headwind Challenge”.

Pinner: Call me crazy but Beauce is probably my favourite race. So much about it is challenging, the weather usually sucks, the roads are horrible, and the competition is fierce but year after year I love to go back. It is just plain hard which seems to suit me physically and mentally. Plus, you stay in a great hotel for the whole tour (no packing and unpacking), and the food is great.

Jacob: Okay, so we differ on that one but it is true that the hotel is really good. Alright buddy, thanks for your time. It’s up to +3 now so I better head out the door.

Pinner: What were you waiting for? I did four and half hours two days ago in -1. Sounds like you’re getting soft. Thanks for the interview. Cheers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 9:38 am and is filed under Jacob Erker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.