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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 finals - Durango, Colorado, August 26-29, 2004
Day 4: The future is bright
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Well, the final day at Durango proved to have some interesting highlights. In the pro racing, Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) killed them again today, easily winning the STXC. Geoff has had an amazing season. His year started a little unsure; with contract talks falling through with his former team Kona. He has responded by have a career-best year and establishing himself as the best male racer in North America.
On the women's side, few superlatives are left to describe the work of the Luna Chix this year. The killed everyone with strong team depth on the XC events, and slayed all on the gravity side as well. Today was no different.
A tap of the hat to two other riders that had great weekends. First, Cesar 'Bean' Grajales (Maxxis) had a career-best fourth place in the XC in Saturday, then came out early Sunday morning to win the Marathon, and finished off with a ride in the STXC. That's a lot of hammering in one weekend. Second goes to Dara Marks-Marino of Ford, she was on the podium again in the XC here at Durango, once again beating a number of women from bigger pro teams. Her consistency and determination will take her to the top step of the podium very soon.
The highlight of the day for me was the Shimano Kids race. These events happen at every NORBA National, and because we were a man down in the Shimano tent, I ended up helping with registration and then headed over to the venue. It was inspiring to see the competitive nature of riders as young as six years old. The part that makes this event special is that lots of pro riders come out to participate with the kids. I saw lots of wide eyes as some of these kids lined up with the likes of Travis Brown (Trek) and Katerina Hanusova (Luna Chix) to compete in their races. Pro's and future pro's all completed the rocky course to the delight of parents and other racers. Lots of happy faces at the end of these races. And hopefully a bright future for our sport.
The NORBA regular season is done, but the single day USA-only championships at Mammoth brings another twist on the racing this year. It should be interesting without the usual contingent of foreign riders. I am looking forward to it. In the meantime, I think that I am headed to the T-Mobile race in San Francisco next. More soon from the road; until then, thanks for reading.
CD
Photography
Images by Chris Davidson
- Travis Brown (Trek) adjusts the chain tension on his single speed before the STXC.
- All the competitors in the kids races walked away with medals.
- Pro's and future pro's in the Shimano kid's race.
- Kids getting a helping hand from the pros.
- Jeff 'Frosty' Frost of Blue Wolf helps add some order to the kid's race.
- The young competitors charge through the rocky start/finish area.
- There was no lack of competition in the kids' races.
- Some youngsters succumb to the deep rocks at the start/finish.
- JJ, Jed and Jackson - these triplets meant business when they showed up for the Shimano Kids race.