Shaums, you came onto the circuit just a few years ago and now look where you are. Can you tell the people a little of the history.

Oh man, the history just goes back so far. I'm just rollin' right now, I'm having such a good time. But, last year i paid for myself to go to europe, you know, with the other team I was with, the Ellsworth/ZZYZX. The year was really hectic for me, I had to pay for a lot of things out of my own pocket. The team basically gave up on me middle of the year. Then I won Breckenridge, they started to come back. it was a little too late by then then. everyhting was worn out, parts were worn out and they didn't bring me any new stuff. The national, finals I went to last year didn't even have an extra frame, so I couldn't even race the finals. So, kind of a disappointing end of the year, even though I had a great win in the middle of the year. Definitely the turnaround of just fighting through it all, making it worthwhile. Getting on the national team was definitely a big bonus for me, making it into that last spot.

Schwinnn really helped me out there. I wasn't even finished with my contract and Schwinn came in and they helped me out. I wasn't even riding their bike; they just let me know they were there for me early so I was excited. This year's going to be great though. i'm excited.

You sound like you didn't see it coming. From my perspective, you had the good run at Snoqualmie, the win at Breckenridge and you came out of nowhere basically. Everyone was like 'who's this new guy flying up and qualifying first, and for the first time?' And Americans haven't done that.

Well I mean I'm not sure what to say. I guess I'm pretty humble about it. I mean I just... I'm thinking I always wanted it and I always pushed for it and now to get it, great, you know I'm stoked. That's what I wanted and now I have to shoot for more. I can't expect to win 'em all, I can just try. I'm just a regular person. I can just try to win 'em all. You know, definitely my confidence level is boosted from winning that, and from qualifying first at World Cup. So this year with Schwinn is going to be great. I got a new bike and all new gear so it's going to be a little bit of a change and you know I've got to work into the pace of having a team. Usually I'm my own. So now to have a mechanic and a team and everyone's there so I'm going to have to work together with everybody so it's definitely going to be a change; it's going to bee good though. So I wasn't expecting it, but it's something I've always pushed for. You know, people say they saw it coming, but I was just always pushing; i was never hoping, just pushing and never stopped.

And it's such great inspiration for all those riders out there who are paying their own bill, and who are out there just for the love of it, that with hard work you can make it

Yeah, you know and that's how it goes. all I did was give it hard work; you've got to give it 100 percent. You can't give up and sometimes you're pulling up and you're giving 200 percent down there and that's everything you've got and you go home with nothing. But you go back to work; you go back the next weekend and you push even harder.

I've got to admit I was totally inspired by your love of it, showing it up at Seven Springs, there, busting your crank over the double. That was pretty impressive.

Yeah, that was a good weekend at the end there. The whole weekend did not go well. A Lot of people may have looked on the internet and thought I had a great weekend, but my results were not good at all. But that last jump really got my momentum going toward the next couple races. It got me going and pumped so, you know, you don't have to give up even though you're not doing well. Have something else to get your motivation going. yeah, that came out of the blue for me. I wasn't expecting that jump, it just popped up and they said 'go for it' and I went for it.

That was huge. So what do you recommend for people out there trying to push it? Trying to keep going out there, day to day, on the circuit?

Well, you see a lot of people getting into the same rut. Not even rut a rut, but getting into the same style — trying to be the in-crowd. And I think that's something nobody should be trying for. They should be trying to find out what works for them. And if you've noticed, if people have been watching, they've noticed I've never been somebody to wear something because somebody else is wearing it; to change something because somebody else has it. I ride what I ride because it works for me and it may not work for the second person or somebody else, but it works for me and that's why I ride it.

Congratulations, we hope to see you on the podium all season

— Hans Prosl, MountainZone.com Staff