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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.
Chris' diary entries will show you what life is like inside the pits and an insight into the mind of a mechanic.
NORBA NCS Series #1, Waco, TX, USA, March 11-14, 2004
Day 3 - Saturday, March 13: Kudos to Kabush
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Day three here in Waco and the forecast called for rain but only a trace fell all day. The course was tacky at the start of the day, but it is getting progressively more slick as the day wore on. Rain is forecast again for tomorrow, but the dew overnight is going to make it difficult for the experts that start at 7:30 am. They shortened the pro races for the tomorrow, and moved the men's to after the women's; now it is a 3:00pm start. They did the calculations and realized that the men would be catching the women late in the race if they ran both races at the same time. And on this course it is going to be almost impossible to pass anyway, let alone pass other classes. The pro 'fat boy' crit was cancelled tonight - the idea of doing two STXC type of efforts in one day did not appeal to too many pros. Most pro don't like the STXC too much anyhow, as starting hard enough to puke in the first three minutes and then holding that pace for 25 minutes is less than pleasant, yet somehow a huge spectator favorite.
Ryder likes starting hard and he was up out of the saddle today early pushing the pace. Seamus was up front with him, and the darkhorse was the third Canadian, Geoff Kabush. Kabush is not longer on Kona due to a contract dispute that has been detailed elsewhere - watch for him to have a screaming year this year; he is super motivated and talented, and now he has nothing to lose. And he is dangerously fast. Today he showed it by bridging up to Ryder and Seamus, then taking a fourth rider off the back of the break, and bridging back to the front again. Full props Geoff.
The women's race got stopped and then restarted this morning as there was a serious wreck in the first 200m that sent a rider the hospital. The subsequent race was very tactical. Kiara Bisaro (Gears Racing) dragged the women around for the last six laps, only to be jumped by the whole train. She finished seventh, but is still in second on GC. She is another Canadian to watch. After the race, she commented about how hard STXC is for her, and even though she lost six spots in the last lap, today's finish was a big confidence booster for her.
Alison Sydor continues to punch her own ticket for the Athens Olympics with her second victory today. I got a couple of pics of her Rocky Mountain hardtail. The RM camp is having a great weekend on both the men's and women's side. All this is the wake of losing their team trailer on the way here. The have really stepped up and results are justified. They are a super cool group of people.
I got a shot of T-Mobile rider Kim Anderson's Giant hardtail. Nice custom pink flame paint.
The craziest crash of the day was in the amateur XC races late in the day. Right after the start - similar to the pro women's crash - we watched a guy surf the curb for about thirty feet, trying to keep his face from scraping off. His brand new Seven with XTR did not fare as well. Unfortunately there was not much I could for him. Take a look.
They give away the E1 points tomorrow; the course and the weather should make it very interesting.
More then, thanks for reading,
CD