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Wrenchin' in the USA: The Chris Davidson diary 2005
Chris Davidson is a mechanic for Shimano Multi-Service doing neutral tech support at road and mountain bike races..
Chris' diary entries show us what life is like inside the pits and give an insight into the mind of a mechanic.
NORBA NCS Series #1 ,Tapatio Springs, TX, USA, March 3-6, 2004
Day four - Sunday, March 6: "Dipped in sh*#" - an unnamed pro rider
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Day four in Tapatio Springs started as the previous ended: with the steady fall of rain. The course had taken on the character of a death march rather than that of a competitive venue. Pros started preparing early with a plethora of homemade fenders and other mud blocking devices. The most popular seemed to be formed from the body of a gallon water container and fastened to the frame with zipties. While these attempts were valiant and displayed some true ingenuity, they were all destined to fail in the face of the trail conditions.
All riders fought with determination, and some found distinction in their efforts. Keiichi Tsujiura (Bridgestone Anchor) used his 'cross experience to record a personal best with a top 20 finish. Barry Wicks(Kona) capped an excellent weekend with another top ten. Sara Bresnick finished strongly with a powerful second lap. At the top of the pile, Adam Craig (Giant) started slowly and just kept coming, reeling in the early leaders and winning his first NCS race.
My brother used to describe epic bicycle racing as a battle between men and conditions. I have never been to the NCS race in West Virginia, but today's XC was the worst conditions I have seen for a mountain bike race. Take a look at the photos and decide for yourself. A number of pro team mechanics were discussing throwing away certain components after this race.
Well the 2005 season is underway, but NOVA in two weeks seems to be the event everyone is calling the real 'opener'. There is going to be a great deal more new tech at this race, as most all the pros I talked to will have their 2005 race gear by NOVA.
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Tapatio Springs proved to be an interesting new venue; however it was tough to give it a fair assessment in the face of the insane weather conditions. This would be a totally different race in dry conditions.
It felt good to get back in the swing of the race environment after a short winter break. Although I talked about cleaning out my case last fall, I never quite got around to it. The rain this weekend just served to stir the dust in the bottom of my toolcase. I will have to get around to finally cleaning it out in the early season NORBA break between March and June. But until that comes, it is on to NOVA in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the weather will be more conducive to bike racing.
Until then, thanks for reading,
Chris Davidson
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Chris Davidson
- The start line sported its own lake by Sunday morning.
- Some rather odd participants actually seemed to enjoy the conditions
- Over three hours hours pedaling in the mud can be exhausting
- A Shimano front derailler cover
- Some pro bikes were sporting fenders
- inner tubes were used to prevent the mud from accumulating in the fork
- Robin Sansom of Kona applies a modified piece of milk container to the race bikes
- The front row for the XC was well dressed on Sunday morning
- Geoff Kabush looked decked out for the weather
- This is the only chance the crowd had to see the sponsors logos on the clothing of the women’s field
- This is Seamus McGrath’s Haro. It is blue if you can't tell.
- Seamus McGrath had a hard time getting full braking power on the back wheel
- I think that these are Chris Sheppard’s (Haro) legs. I am not really sure.