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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.
USA National Road Championships - June 21-25, 2005
Road Nationals - Three days at Home
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Greetings Cyclingnews.com readers, Chris Davidson here, and I'm finally back up to speed after three days of elite road nationals in Park City. In my NORBA report from the same venue last week I spoke of the benefits of being at home for these races. Well as NORBA transitioned into Road Nationals things just got busier for me. It seems that a good deal of road riders remembered that I live in Salt Lake, so the cell phone kept ringing with requests. I am fortunate that I have met and worked for a number of elite women's teams/riders in the last couple of years. I have found that the confidence inspired by competent technical support goes a long way on the women's racing side. So I am happy to help when asked.
The week started Sunday night when I ran into Katheryn Curi and Stephanie Graeter of WEBCOR in my local supermarket. I met Katheryn at the Women's Development Camp we had at the Olympic Training Centre last summer. Besides groceries they were looking for a couple of easy rides to do in town before the road race on Wednesday. No worries, 'call my cell', etc., and they were off to the hotel with their groceries. Next call I get is from the Quark team, just in from the airport. Their team director had recently resigned and they need some local information and directions. Their head mechanic, Doug Brener, was getting pressed into 'overtime' duty with the extra responsibilities of director, so I headed over to their hotel to help with some details. Finally got to bed on Sunday night after a day at the NORBA race, followed by a dose of the road stuff to come.
Monday brought a call from the Subway team and the request to check over some bikes. I squeezed this in between getting an extra case of waterbottles for the Quark team and locating a cassette and pedals for an old friend from Idaho. Monday night I headed up to Park City to meet Amber Neben [Buitenpoort-Flexpoint] and look over her bikes. She had flown here from her home in LA and the airline had misplaced both of her bikes. When I got hold of them, both the road and TT bikes had been damaged in transit. Her TT bike was first up and it was missing some paint and had a bent dropout. Fixed those items and got her new TT wheels dialed in and then started on her road bike. This is the bike she won Tour de L'Aude on just a month or so ago. Big chainring was bent beyond repair, so after a wash and tune we decided it was best to steal the ring off her TT bike after the time trial. Amber sounded confident and focused; she was looking forward to the TT in the morning.
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Tuesday was the TT in the morning. I didn't head out to Antelope Island, but instead got some much needed things done at school. Mike Engleman called me at about 10:30am and filled me in on the results. Sounded like Amber went well, so I was happy for her. Grace Fluery [Quark] continues to impress the world with her form; she rocked, and got fourth. By early afternoon, I was back looking at another Subway team bikes and swapping a cassette. Then I headed up to Park City with the Quark team to preview the road course. After a quick drive around the course we had to head to the awards ceremony for Grace Fluery's podium appearance. The team stopped for dinner in Park City after the ceremony and that put me back in Salt Lake at about 9:30pm. I was staying back up in Park City that night as I was doing road support for Shimano for both the men's and women's races the next day. When I got to Park City it was after 11:00pm and both Shimano comrades were already asleep in the condo. I set the alarm for 5:15am. Ouch.
Up and smiling early, we got to the start/finish at 5:45am and loaded the vehicles for the race. No team support in this race, so Shimano was running three vehicles and one moto. I got car #3 for the men's race, but later I would be in car #1 for the women's race. The men's race saw a big group get off on the first lap and not everyone in the group was working. The gap got to 4:30 at one point, but there was still a lot of horsepower in the field. The break was caught at the base of the big climb out from the laps with 10 miles to go. Here is where Carl Decker [Broadmark Capital] got the flat. A quick change from Shimano Multi-Service and four teammates dropped back to pace him back on. I remember remarking to my driver that it looked like Broadmark had placed all the eggs in Carl's basket. It would prove to be the correct call.
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After the Decker wheel change we headed up the climb and we were passing a number of dropped riders. One of then was a local guy that I know. OK, he is a little more than that. His name is Eric Pardyjak [PCCA] and he is a professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Utah. He works 60+ hours a week and he and his wife just had their first child this year. Oh yeah, he also serves on my dissertation committee. Busy guy. On top of this overwhelming schedule he puts in the miles training and today he was one of the 14 breakaway riders pulling through all day [80+ miles in the break] in the hope of staying away. Well, at this stage were we slowing, leaving him behind, and I did not have the right words to say as we rolled by him in the car. In order to win the race, you have to try and win the race, not race for 12th place. Eric tried today, and that added another level of respect to the mountain which I already have for him.
Back up front Broadmark played all the cards right and got two on the podium, including Decker on the top step. After the race Decker commented that he had to chase back on a number of times today, both from the flat and a number of pee stops. You know that you have the goods when you can win solo on a day where you have to chase back on more than once. Full props there 'Decorator'.
We had about 45 minutes between the end of the men's race and the start of the women's. Andy Stone, the head guy with Shimano on the road, graciously put me in the number one car for the women's race, so I had the best seat up front all day. Early on lap one the break of six goes away, one rider from each of the big teams, so the field lets them have some rope. The break never gets more than two minutes up the road and the field waits until the final climb out of the laps to bring it back together. Soon after, Katheryn Curi makes her solo move - from chasing back on to off the front. She gets a small gap and all the other teams take a minute to reassess. Katheryn keeps her eyes in the SRM unit on her handlebars and keeps the pedals churning. The Comm1 car pulls up next to us and has us drop in behind her even though the gap is less that one minute. In the Comm1 is Gerard Bisceglia [CEO of USA Cycling] driving, head Commissaire in the passenger seat, and Jim Miller [head of Women's programmes for USAC] and Tom Danielson in the back. Danielson's wife was in the race riding for Basis-Ford.
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I thought that Katheryn's break was tenuous at best, but by 8km to go she was up to almost a minute and the chase seemed disorganised. With Park City in sight and about 6 km to go Katheryn never looked back again, she kept her head down and pedaled with strength that comes only in the most rooted desire for victory. By 5km to go she was on roads that twisted enough that the field could not see her; she was free. The best victories are the hardest ones to earn. Katheryn earned her first stars and stripes jersey the hard way - attack the race at the hardest point and believe in your chances. I am sure the there will be some more jerseys in her closet before she hangs up the bike. A number of other riders remarked after the race that they were happy with Katheryn's win, I could not agree more. The jersey could not be worn by a nicer woman. As an added bonus, the victory affords an automatic ticket to Madrid for World's. Congrats Katheryn, a marvelous victory, there will be more to come.
The evening wound down with the podium ceremony, dinner with the Quark team and some late night bike packing for early morning flights. I took a minute in the mosquito-infested parking lot of the hotel to show Tina Pic [Quark] how to remove and install her crankset, as she was trying to stuff both a road and TT frame into a single bike bag. I hope that everything arrived intact for Fitchburg.
For me the three days of road Nationals were more work than the four previous days of NORBA. But as I sit here, I realise how enjoyable it was. Nationals present real opportunity, and dedicated, focused people seize those opportunities and realise their dreams. I was lucky to be in the front row.
Next up for me is a trip to the Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs for the 2005 Women's Development Camp under the direction of Mike Engleman. Last year Mike created a great environment for showing women what is possible. I really enjoy working with Mike; he brings immense experience and compassion to his work. Oh yeah, Katheryn Curi was a participant in that first camp last year.
Go Big,
Chris Davidson
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Chris Davidson
- Last year’s winner Chris Walker waits at the start as the sun rises
- The men’s field prepares for 200km of racing
- Eventual men’s winner Carl Decker (Broadmark) chases back on after a nature break
- Katheryn Curi (Webcor) jazzed before the start
- Former World TT Champ Mari Holden (T-Mobile) wraps with Meredith Miller (SATS) before the start
- Candice Blickem (Quark) knows (nose?) something is up before the start.
- Chrissy Ruiter (Basis-Ford) ready to go
- The last steep pitch for race winner Katheryn Curi (Webcor)
- Yes, I won!!! Katheryn Curi (Webcor)
