Video: Tommy Zula Is On A Mission To Win Back the Pump Track World Champs Stripes
It’s no secret that former UCI Red Bull Pump Track World Champion Tommy Zula is a force to be reckoned with on a Velosolutions pump track. Left on a high from winning in 2019, through a gap year due to the pandemic, he was ready to defend his stripes in 2021.
 | Winning my first rainbow jersey was a dream come true. I was on top of the world. Years of hard work and dedication paying off more than I ever could have dreamed. But something I soon came to realize was the target that was put on my back. |
2021 UCI Red Bull Pump Track World Champs took place in Lisbon, Portugal. The stoke was high and the times were tight. After some intense competition, Tommy was unfortunately not able to return home with the winners jersey…
| I learned a lot from winning, but I learned more about myself after losing the stripes in Lisbon. It was like I had my edge back, something to prove again to myself, my family that sacrificed everything to be where I’m at, and my hometown sponsor who has believed in me since day 1. The real TZ will be back and ready to show the world what is possible on a pump track in 2022! |
With some help from Velosolutions, Tommy finally has a pump track of his own in his hometown of Dayton, OH as well as another not too far away in Portsmouth, OH (pictured below).
With new places to train and more motivation than ever, Tommy spends his days on his bike gearing up to reclaim his stripes in 2022!
Video & photos by: Blake Cherubini
Written by: Blake Cherubini
IG: https://www.instagram.com/blake_cherubini/
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Member since Jun 13, 2018
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His big hurdle moving forward is that the level of competition is rising to meet him. At that first US qualifier, there was roughly a half-dozen competitors who all ended up making it to the world championships in Lisbon. TZ, Colin Hudson, Alec Bob, Brady Kincheloe (sp?), Amakai (sp and also not sure of his last name), and I’m sure I’m leaving someone out. That’s not counting Barry Nobles, who has finished 2nd at that qualifier 2 years in a row but has elected to not take the trip to the world championships. It’s going to be really interesting watching the qualifying races going forward, as the level of competition continues to rise.
Best of luck to Tommy Z, and I look forward to watching him race next season. The pump track race scene is HOT.
Also, good luck to Payton Ridenour, the women’s defending champ who also came home without the rainbow jersey. Payton is a fantastic young lady, Olympian, and speed demon worth watching in both BMX and pump track races.
This years track favored 20" pretty heavily (only four 26" made the finals), hoping future courses are a more even playing field. Pumptrack is rad. Great exercise, great for kids or adults. Tracks have a small footprint & are heavily used, hope to see more cities making them. Really excited to watch the sport grow.
In addition, 20" riders are BMX riders who practice pumping more than MTB. It's not just the wheelsize.
Smaller wheels get up to speed faster but bigger wheels can roll faster once they get going. The smaller bikes seemed to be working a lot more to get their speed vs the bigger wheeled bikes. Hope they find a happy medium that works for both riders.
@ObviousAlias : Yeah, it is both competitive yet also inviting. If you've got a bike, even if it doesn't have a working drivetrain, you can give it a shot. Obviously the finals only has the super skilled racers but the qualifiers are open for everyone. I love that format. A true participation sport.
On the flip side, bigger wheels will be faster (or at least have less drawbacks) on tracks with longer straightaways, smoother rollers, bigger and less number of turns etc.
What others am I missing that I could be riding?
There's a semi-secret spot in Delaware Co that is verbotten to mention online. I think there's one next to core creek: www.mtbproject.com/trail/7026270/maple-high-school-pump-track
And another I haven't been to is the High Bridge pump track and flow trails, but I hear good things:
jorba.org/parks/commons-on-the-wye
Anyhoo, hope that's enough to get you going
Was just hoping you knew of something I didn't, oh well.
Go get it Tommy!
-NBAG