The Jersey Boy

Here are just a few of the things Levi Leipheimer has forsaken to become one of the planet’s finest cyclists: an active social life, skiing, living full-time in the home he loves in Santa Rosa (he trains half the year in Girona, Spain) and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. (“It’s not good fuel for the body,” he admits.) “My wife [Odessa Gunn] takes care of all my basic needs so all I have to focus on is training and racing,” he says. “I’d never have come this far without her.”

Gunn even helps Leipheimer train up to seven hours a day, motor pacing with him. And it’s paid off—after winning 2007’s Tour of California, Leipheimer placed third in the Tour de France, just 31 seconds behind the winner, Alberto Contador. Leipheimer describes the Tour’s famously long climbs this way: “There’s a lot of pain, mostly in your legs, and total body fatigue. You’re breathing at your aerobic limit, and you’re susceptible to doubt.” Conversely, the doubt disappears near the end of the race, “but you have to be able to smell the finish,” he says. And what awaits him at the finish of his cycling career? For starters, paying back his wife. “I’m actually dreading that part,” he laughs. “She’s gonna put me to work.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Q&A

Favorite cycling roads?
A couple of roads that are famous in the cycling community in Sonoma—Coleman Valley Road and King Ridge Road. The scenery is amazing; they’re small roads with no traffic, very remote.

What would you change about the Bay Area?
I would like to see less traffic and more mass-transit solutions, people riding bikes.

Who would you pick to be in the Hot 20 Under 40?
My wife, Odessa Gunn.

Favorite restaurants in Santa Rosa?
Sizzling Tandoor, Shogun and Baan Thai.

What would you do if you weren’t a pro cyclist?
I’ve gotten that question before and I never have an answer. I don’t even have time to think about it! Cycling is what I’ve wanted to do and I’ve stayed focused on that. Something I definitely want to do more of when I retire from cycling is skiing. There’s a lot I want to do when I retire: Live a normal life, not have to worry about taking care of myself so well, let my wife have a normal life as well, and be more social.

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