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The Chris Davidson diary
Chris Davidson is a former mechanic for Bontrager Racing Service, now in the service of Shimano Multi-Service.
His diary entries give us a look inside the pits and an insight into the mind of a mechanic.
NORBA Series #4, Mt. Schweizer, ID, USA, July 26-27, 2003
Day 3 - Saturday, July 28: Dust-fest royale
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Today was XC and 4X on the mountain. The morning XC races started at 7:00am with the Expert class, with just as many people getting up to see the races as to learn of results of the Tour de France time trial. Just after the 25-29 expert males started, the PA announcer told all in attendance that Lance and Jan were even at the first split. This seemed to unite the small crowd. By the time we opened the trailer at 8:00am, some of the Fisher team staff had come by to update the final TT standings. Lance rightfully joined the immortals of cycling.
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The big guns of XC lined up at 10:30 for a 'fest in the dust'. Lots of riders sported masks to deal with the particulate matter in the air. Our friend, in-form KONA rider Geoff Kabush, had a serious problems in the first 15 minutes with a front wheel, which put him on the deck. After the race he was in the tent showing us the scrapes from the crash, but on the positive side he said he was looking forward to the STXC [Short-track cross-country] tomorrow. He pointed out that both his legs and lungs [dust free] will be ready for full gas tomorrow. Roland Green and Crissy Redden won their respective races, with notable strong rides by Bishop in the men's race and Vanlandingham in the women's race. Green chose a Trek Fuel 100 for the winning ride, and Redden also opted for the dual suspension with her Sugar.
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The traffic in the tent was rather light today, especially with DH and 4X practice going on. At 4:00pm we shut down the trailer and headed over to the 4X competition. It seemed like everyone in Sandpoint was there. The course was rather short and had enough berms to keep the speeds slow. Just like watching NASCAR, the fans want to see close racing action and crashes. Luckily today everyone got up and walked away from the mishaps.
Time flys by, except when racing STXC. Tomorrow holds the most painful minutes in mountain bike racing: the short track. After the STXC the gravity crowd heads to the top of the mountain for the DH. Both events are huge spectator draws. The word on the DH course is a quick burst from the gate, followed by lots of time on the brakes, as the course is very fast.
More tomorrow, then the short drive to Spokane and a flight home.
Thanks for reading,
CD