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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 4 - Sunday, July 28: Hmmm... interesting, very interesting...
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The last day here at Schweitzer Mountain, and the STXC and the downhill are the featured events. The STXC is being held on a tiny circuit the base of the mountain, it is a narrow and super fast figure-eight loop. There are some treacherous corners combined with a brick and dirt surface that will lead to some incredible feats of bike handling.
We saw some interesting bike and equipment choices in the tent on Sunday morning. First up was Peter Wedge's Kona hardtail. Looking in the top of the fork steerer, I found no star-nut or top cap. Team Kona mechanic Robin explains that the star-nut and cap weighed 28 grams and was deemed 'extra weight'. I hope that those stem bolts remain tight. On the wheel and tire side, Ryder was the only Fisher rider sporting 29" wheels for the STXC, along with some skinny tire with minimal tread in the middle.
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Travis Brown of Trek sported the most interesting wheel setup for the STXC. He had Bontrager carbon road rims built up on disc compatible hubs, and was running some fat cyclocross tubulars, mounted to his 26" OCLV hardtail. It seems that the disc brake setup that now is the standard on the top level XC machines, as it lets riders/team mechanics run road wheels sets on disc hubs for warm-up on the road or trainer setup. There are some good options available for a narrow 26" slick tire, but with the influx of tubeless systems, it seems like a number of team are opting for running 700c rims and tires on a disc hubset for MTB road/road riding. Across from our trailer, the Luna team riders warmed on trainers or headed back to the condo on Mavic Speedcity wheelsets [700c disc] for ease of use.
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The STXC action was ridiculously fast from the gun. The women's field included gravity specialist Tara Llanes from Giant, crossing over to build some fitness after her foot injury. The battle came down to Trek versus LUNA for the goods, with Shonny Vanlandingham producing another top finish along with teammate Katerina Hanusova. In the end, however, the Trek duo got the better with Alison Sydor taking the win over the XC winner Redden.
The men's STXC was insanely fast and risky as well. The front was well represented with Canadians [Kona boys, Haro boys, Ryder and Roland] early on. The pace was so fast that XC winner Roland Green pulled out after four laps, despite being in the top 8. The Americans charged up from deeper in the field as the race wore on, JHK and Todd Wells moved into the top ten by halfway. Aussie strongman Paul Rowney [Sobe-Cannondale] stayed in the top three the entire race, despite a shoulder injury that required duct tape to stabilize. He would eventually crash but keep his third spot in the end. JHK would end up solo at the finish for the win when Seamus McGrath crashed with 1.5 laps to go.
As the DH finals started we were already packing up the trailer. Kathy Pruitt of LUNA can back to the trailer with the goods and a big smile after winning the downhill final. There was talk of celebrating with champagne in the tent, but as she is still underage, she had to pass. However, here youthful accomplishments were congratulated by her senior teammate, Marla Streb, who was disappointed in her final run, saying, "I was everywhere but on the trail." We were done packing before the men finished, so I did not field any reaction from them.
Next stop is the finals in Durango. The will be plenty of crazy activities there, as well as a XC course that is close to 9000ft in elevation. Should be fun.
Thanks for reading,
CD