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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 #2, Sonoma, CA, USA, May 14-16, 2004
Day 3 - Saturday, May 15: A freak occurence
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Saturday in Sonoma and the day was once again windy and full of racing action. Lots of drama today in the men's pro race.
The day started off under cloudy skies and with little wind, but that changed quickly. The road racing was off and running on the car race course and in the Shimano tent, I helped a 19 year-old Category 2 rider adjust his seat. As we were working on his seatpost, his teammate came up and brought the bad news for the elite men's race: "Horner is here." Unfortunately this meant that the most dominate road racer in the US was here to do battle in the Men's Pro 1-2 race. Tough prospect to face when you are a recently upgraded category 2 rider. Or any other domestic pro for that matter.
The women's pro XC race was first up on the slate and the pleasant surprise on lap one was the appearance of two women from the Ford Racing team in the front group. Dara Marks had an awesome day and finished in second place. The Ford women were pumped, as they are a small team that did not have team support here at this race, yet rode big. They regularly seek refuge in the Shimano trailer and seek help with their bikes. Not a nicer group of individuals in the women's field. Congrats on your ride girls. Alison Dunlap rode strong and won the race, adding more validity to her quest to be the sole US woman in Athens, she still faces a tough road.
The short track XC course for tomorrow is 95 percent pavement, so I was talking to Robin (head mechanic) at Kona about wheel choice for the race tomorrow. His guys are all experienced CX racers and a number of them are going to try 700c disc brake wheels on their 26" hardtails tomorrow. Travis Brown over at Trek also has a set of Bontrager Carbon 700c wheels with Tufo CX tires ready for the STXC. TBrown rode big today in the XC and got on the podium; he should be super pumped about tomorrow and the STXC. Confidence can do wonders.
So last but not least: the drama today. The men's XC started a little after 4pm and the wind was howling. The two big hitters looking for UCI points here are JHK and Todd Wells. Sure enough these two were off the front and going away on the first lap. The lap here at Sonoma includes a hike-a-bike section that had every rider running up. On the first long lap after the start lap, JHK and Wells were away and then something freaky happened. Wells was out - there was a problem with his bike. Quickly everything got real serious over in Shimano-land. As soon as Wells was back at his trailer, Stikman (his mechanic) was over at the Shimano trailer with Todd's rear derailleur and chain. After the most experienced brain-power in the industry looked over the parts for the cause, the conclusion was not clear. Something freaky happened to the cage on Todd's rear derailleur and caused the chain to come off. This is a big blow to Todd's points chase, but after he took a cool-down spin, he was reflective about the incident. He showed true professionalism in taking the setback in stride, Todd is a champion and it showed today, even in defeat. He should be ripping tomorrow in the STXC; there are UCI points up for grabs there. JHK took the solo victory and the breakout ride of the day was turned in by Ryan "Porkchop" Trebon of Kona, as he got on the podium for the first time at a NORBA national event. Watch for more from this guy.
More fireworks tomorrow: STXC. It should be fun.
Thanks for reading,
CD