Matthew Busche
CTS Senior Coach – Specializes In Cycling Coaching
“Coaching to me is about the journey. I like to provide the guidance and tools for my athletes to achieve their goals. There will be bumps along the way and I am there to help them through it. I also encourage my athletes to keep the “feeling” in their training. In this day and age of technology, the true feeling of your sport can be lost, but I often find listening to your body to be equally or more important than what a number is saying. More than anything, I want my athletes to have fun and enjoy what they’re doing.”
Coach Bio:
I discovered a love of running during the 5th-grade mile and ever since have grown up immersed in endurance sports. I ran competitively through college, achieving All-American honors twice in cross-country and qualifying for Nationals in track & field in the 3000m steeplechase. Although I grew up around bikes, it wasn’t until a running injury forced me to direct a lot of my training time to the bike that I found my passion for cycling. Upon completion of my degrees in Exercise Science and Management from Luther College in 2007, I committed myself to cycling full time. I signed my first pro contract in 2010 and spent 7 years riding professionally. I completed 3 grand tours, including the 2014 Tour de France, and was selected to represent Team USA at the Worlds on a few occasions.
Throughout my career, I enjoyed personal success, but I really savored the opportunity to play domestique, helping teammates to victories in some of the world’s biggest races such as the Tour of the Basque Country, Tour of California, and the Vuelta Espana. My greatest individual achievement was winning the US National Road Championship twice (2011, 2015). Although my professional focus was on the road, I enjoy all the disciplines of cycling.
My passion for coaching came naturally as I was ending my career. I knew I had the educational background along with the real world experience, and I wanted to share that with others and be their “domestique” to help them achieve their goals. Seeing others believe in the process, commit to it, and break down barriers is tremendously gratifying to me. I enjoy all the parts of the journey- I find supporting athletes through times of struggle to be quite rewarding, because it is those moments where we are most tested, and then I get so excited when I get that elated email, text, or call from an athlete saying how they knocked it out of the park.
Since retiring from professional road racing, I’ve continued to race recreationally on the bike. I’ve been working to improve my mountain bike skills and always enjoy riding on the gravel. I’ve also laced up my running shoes for a few events and plan to tackle more running races in the future. Whatever it is, I just like being out in the fresh air and pushing my limits. Outside of cycling and running, I enjoy fishing, backpacking, cooking, and woodworking. Any free time I get is spent chasing around my sons, or planning the next adventure with my wife.
Races/Events That I’ve Coached Athletes For Or Participated In:
- Leadville 100 Mountain Bike
- Dirty Kanza
- Haute Route Events
- Gran Fondo New York
- Professional and Elite Nationals (road, mtb, cyclocross)
- Master’s Worlds Road Race
- Marmotte Gran Fondo Alpes
- Race Across America
- Race Across the West