Coach KURT PHIFER

Looking back, my life experiences before the bike uniquely prepared me for cycling and coaching athletes full time. Starting at a young age in motorsports, I raced sprint karts (expensive go-karts) competitively, winning a state and national championship, then went on to building engines and setting up karts for others. I graduated from Tennessee Tech University with a degree in Manufacturing and Engineering Technology. After college and retiring from motorsports due to demands and changes in life, I earned a "minor" in psychology from the school of life. With battles of mental health, I dove into psychology and self-help to heal. I've studied human performance and development in cycling ever since I took my first pedal stroke over fifteen years ago. Coaching cyclists is such a beautiful blend of art and science!

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The human body is an engine, but with a mind and a spirit. The body takes in fuel initially in two forms and uses that fuel within its current state to create work, but it thinks and reacts emotionally at the same time. Training, getting stronger, and achievement on a bike are physical, mental, and mechanical sports. I'm captivated by the multiple dimensions of cycling and training from the progressive development during training, including event-day prep, strategy, and execution. My favorite part of coaching is the relationship and communication with my athlete to unlock potential they haven’t realized yet.

 

I am a competitive person and found cycling in my late thirties at a time where I was searching for something competitive while also needing to lose weight and develop some physical fitness. I have been a student of Coach Tim Cusick since he first coached me as an athlete in 2009. I was fortunate to work with Tim early and got firsthand experience of top-level coaching and the athlete-coach relationship. I started coaching others in 2017 and went full-time in 2021. I still like to train and push myself, I compete in Masters 50+ crits and road races, and I have current athletes in all disciplines of mountain, gravel, cyclocross, and road. I am incredibly excited to be with BaseCamp as a coach. BaseCamp is an incredible, unique, collective process and a 360-degree approach developed and carried out by an amazing team of professionals. 

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When I am not doing something involved with cycling or coaching, my wife and I love to travel when we can – anywhere, but our favorite is to take our travel trailer to the Smoky Mountains or go cruising on the Caribbean. I am a motorsports fan (all, but NASCAR is my favorite), and I might sneak away and play a little bit of golf, too. Now that our two kids are grown, I like to hike and play some fetch with my German Shepherd husky mix dog, Moss.