In a world where professional cyclists now come from well-trodden paths, Svein Tuft came from the road less traveled. From hopping freight trains and living in the wilderness with his dog to becoming a revered professional cyclist, Tuft's journey defies convention at every turn.
I just finished reading his new book, We Will Never Be Here Again, which shares its title with the tattoo on the Canadian's forearm. This compelling narrative captures the voice of a man who rejected societal norms in his youth, only to later embrace the highly regimented life of professional cycling. With refreshing honesty and raw authenticity, Tuft recounts his transition from free-spirited wanderer to disciplined athlete, revealing both the contradictions and consistencies in his character throughout this page-turner of a book.
The book doesn't shy away from difficult truths about the cycling world, including team dynamics, management styles, and the harsh realities of aging in a young person's sport. Yet it also celebrates the beauty of the journey – the camaraderie, the physical challenges, and the self-discovery that came with pushing his limits.
What emerges is not just a cycling memoir, but a philosophical reflection on freedom, purpose, and finding one's own path through life's wilderness – whether that's in the backcountry of British Columbia or on the cobbled streets of European cycling's grandest stages.
This interview was lightly edited for fluency.
Wade Wallace: Let's talk about your book. You know when you finish a really good book that's such a page-turner, and then it's done, you're left wanting more? Well I want more, so it's great to speak with you!
What did it take to convince you to write a book? How did it come about, and what was the path to putting pen to paper?
Svein Tuft: I never would have been able to take on a task like that myself. I dropped out in grade 10, so while I love reading and learning, putting something like that together would be challenging. I can tell stories and I think I'm OK at that, but all the other pieces, like how things flow and go together properly – that book is my voice, yet Richard's [Abraham] real skill and talent was that ability to make it flow and make sense. If it was up to me, it would just be a bunch of random stories tried to piece together.
I first met Richard Abraham when he was working for a cycling magazine. He asked if he could come out to where we were living and do an interview piece. He came out with Michael Bland, a cycling photographer, and we went up in the Pyrenees, just hanging out in the mountains all day shooting the breeze. We really hit it off and connected.
One of the biggest things that struck me was how I felt he understood me. Many times, dealing with the media, people saw me as a bit of an outcast or just different, and would ask me wacky questions without quite getting me. With Richard, I had this connection that really made sense.
We kept in touch, and he planted the seed about writing a book. Through our time together, I was telling him different stories, and he started realizing there were so many stories coming out. When he asked if I'd ever thought about writing a book, I had considered it because people around me were always saying I should write one after hearing my stories.
At that time, I was still racing, and it's hard to fully shift into something else while your mind has blinders on going forward. As I got closer to retiring, we kept in touch. The first little while was kind of weird because we were trying to figure out how to approach it. I started recording voice notes, and what I thought would be 5-10 minute stories would turn into an hour and a half. That's when Richard realized we had something, and I started getting really excited about the project.
Svein Tuft
WW: How long did it take from when you decided to do this with Richard to when it was published?
ST: We started recording in 2019 when I retired in my last year with Rally UHC. The book came out in 2025, so that's a long time. Of course, there were hiccups along the way, like trying to find a publisher. There were periods where both of us were busy – Richard was traveling in New Zealand and I was moving back from Europe to Canada. We had big windows where it was almost stalled.
Sometimes we would get news about publishing that no one was interested. The whole publishing game kind of changed, and it seemed really difficult to find someone who wanted to get behind the project. It probably didn't help that I wasn't a super well-known cyclist with a million followers. That template has shifted to social media now – if you can guarantee a certain number of followers, publishers are more willing to take the risk.
So we'd have these big lulls, and then we'd say, "OK, we got to get back to this." Richard was really the driver behind all the behind-the-scenes work. I was just there telling stories and he was capturing my voice.
WW: You guys took it to Kickstarter eventually. Was that how you got started saying to a publisher, "Here's what we can start with"? Was that a gamechanger in terms of putting it to print?
ST: 100%. Up to that point, we had talked to a few people, but it seemed like we were giving up so much just for them to help a bit. We didn't do this to make money – it's not a money-making endeavor. So far, it's just been a project that we're really proud of.
We'd been turned down by a few publishers, and the deals didn't seem good anyway. Richard met a guy named Max [Leonard] who had done some Kickstarter projects, and we thought that could be a possibility. It turned out really well – a bunch of people got behind it, and we got well above the level we needed to reach.
It was an awesome process, and I'm really happy it went that way. The finished product turned out really well in terms of aesthetics – it's not just a homemade book, it's properly done.
WW: We're talking five to six years of a project. Was there any time when you were sick of looking at it, or did you not get that way by the end?
ST: That was the good thing about sometimes stepping away. The breaks were long enough that when you came back, it felt fresh again. Richard would come with some ideas or send pieces for me to proofread.
One thing that blew my mind is we basically have another whole book of stories that couldn't make it in. When I read the book, it's awesome, but it's so hard when you have to pull some things out because to me, they mean a lot. But Richard was looking at it from different eyes – what would be interesting to people. I'm tied emotionally to those things, so it's that funny push-pull where I'd think, "I guess we're not going to have that in there."
That's why if it was just up to me, it'd be a rambling mish-mash of stories. It might be interesting to some, but might not be interesting to many.
WW: It must be strange when your life story becomes about what commercially makes the most sense.
ST: I understand how it works, but it is weird when you have to pull things out. My goal was to share these stories and expose myself, just have at it and say how it was at that time. But I didn't want to cause harm or stress to anyone else.
WW: When I read the book, I found myself many times wondering, "Is this Svein's voice?" Because even as I speak to you now, you're very polite and mild-mannered, but there's a fair bit of swearing in the book. Is that your voice that you hear when you read it back, or did Richard insert anything?
Did we do a good job with this story?
