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Wrenchin' in the USA: The Chris Davidson diary 2007
Chris joins us again in 2007 to report on life on the road turning the wrench for a variety of teams both in dirt and on the road. Formerly with Ford Cycling in 2006, Chris has also worked for such teams as T-Mobile, Equipe Nurnberger, Quark and Mercury in the past, as well as neutral support programs with Shimano, Pedros and Trek.
As 2007 holds some new challenges for Chris, some things will stay the same. One of those will be his informative diary contributions on Cyclingnews, where you'll often receive the inside scoop on all things tech and a look at life behind the wrench.
July 18, 2007
US Road Nationals with TEAm Lipton
Greetings Cyclingnews readers.
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Chris Davidson here in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania at the US road national championships. Even with the rather large men's race happening over in France right now as a distraction, I have to say that I feel really privileged and invigorated to be working here in the US with arguably the best women's team on the planet: TEAm Lipton. I know this to be true, for this evening one of my first tasks was to wash the current TT world champion's road bike after a wet training ride. I am truly fortunate. However, getting here has not been easy; the last 24 hours went like this:
Tuesday night - pack tools (repack toolcase, unload MTB tools, add road specific tools), and personal luggage (airline baggage limit =50lbs, my bag = 65lbs, result = $25 overweight fee) and head to the airport in SLC. My flight to New Jersey is one hour late, meaning that I will arrive after midnight on the east coast. Once at the Newark airport I am picked up by former Navigators rider and current Navigators DS Vassili Davidenko(Navigators and TEAm Lipton are run by the same management company) and given a ride to my housing. In bed by 2:00am, alarm goes off at 6:00am, head to the team service course (warehouse) to pack a van and trailer, pickup a team rider and head towards the race venue.
The national championship TT and road races for the women are being held in southwestern Pennsylvania, at a wintertime ski resort called Seven Springs. The 4.5 hour drive turned out to be a 6 hour drive due to road construction and bad weather en route. All the girls are out riding when I finally arrive except one, Kristen LaSasso, who rode out with me in the team van. It is raining pretty hard when we arrive, so I get Kristen setup on a trainer and start to get the wash stuff out of the trailer. Kristen spins under a carport while the other girls return wet and dirty from training, I get to work on the wash. First I wash bikes and wheels, and then due to the extended drying time needed in this humid environment, I start washing the team car and van, while waiting on the bikes to dry completely. The dinner hour comes and goes, and I eat a plate of pasta out in the parking lot such that I can keep an eye on the equipment. Tune bikes and repack the trailer as the sun goes down. Junior riders see me working and come by to have a peak inside the team trailer at the bikes and keep asking me questions. It is really cool to see the pure enthusiasm that these younger riders have for the sport. The look of amazement on the eyes of a 15 year old rider when I tell him that he can take a look at Kristen Armstrong's TT frame leads me to chat awhile and get a few minutes behind. All is well as I coil the last hose up in the dark, day one is done.
Highlights:
1. I got to wash and tune Kristen Armstrong's road bike tonight. Rainbow stripes under her name on the top tube. Very cool. I get to start on her TT bike tomorrow. Very, very cool.
2. 'The muffin' - Kori Seehafer brought a muffin for me all the way from Colorado (or at least she made me think that she did it just for me). I do know that the muffin in question did come from Nederland, Colorado and it does weigh ~2.5lbs, and it was remarkably delicious. The perfect way to top off dining in the parking lot on my workbench.
3. Sogginess - It has been wet so far on this trip. We have the elite women's TT on Friday and the road race on Monday. I hope that the weather is clearer going forward.
4. The network - The unique part of working for this team, TEAm Lipton, is that I have worked in the past with each rider that we have here for the races this weekend. It may have been for different teams, at different places, or at different events, but now I get these outstanding female athletes united on one team. Now we are all together with one goal: national championship jerseys. I couldn't be more motivated to do my part to the fullest. It makes typing this at 1:00am easy I am so excited.
Alarm goes off at 6:00am again tomorrow, I really can't wait. Come by and say 'hi' if you see me outside next to the Lipton trailer. More tomorrow.
Chris Davidson
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Chris Davidson
- Kristen LaSasso hits the trainer due to the rain in Seven Springs
- The current TT world champ’s road bike
- Kristen Armstong’s team issue Fuji
- A small dry spot for me to work in the parking lot
- ‘The Muffin’ directly from Colorado to my workbench. I ate the first pound and a half; I could not finish the last pound.
