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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.
October 12, 2007
Interbike 2007: The search for 2008
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Greetings cyclingnews.com readers, CD here after a short stint in Vegas at the Interbike trade show. It was an interesting year at Interbike for a number of reasons, and probably the biggest and best show to date. Here goes:
The Quest: For me Interbike was a chance to thanks those I worked with in 2007, but more importantly a chance to cultivate interest [and potential employers for 2008]. Unfortunately for me two of the teams I worked for in 2007 [Navigators and TEAm Lipton] are not going to continue in 2008, and another team I worked for, Kenda/X-Fusion/Titus, is going to be reconfigured next year. So Vegas gave me an opportunity to work on potential opportunities for next year. I made sure to check in with friends of mine with BMC, Rock Racing, Team Sports [Colavita, Advil-Chapstick] and Team TIBCO. Right now I still don't know where I will be working in 2008, but I am confident I will be able to procure some gainful employment.
The Show: The trade show was big this year, bigger than I can ever remember. So big, that on day one my entry badge was actually inside at one of the vendors booths, but I was standing in the mass of people awaiting the opening of the doors to the floor at 9am on Wednesday and when they opened I was pushed inside the show by the wave of people. Even with no badge, security was unable to stop me with the flood of people. Day one on the floor was packed; I can't remember an indoor show day that busy.
The Racing: So there is a large trade show in Vegas, lots of vendors fly in their sponsored athletes to sign autographs in their booths, I can't believe that no one thought of having a race here before this year. The races this year were awesome, both the cross race and the criterium. The cross race was held in this great venue where it was possible to see 85% of the course from the key run-up area, so the spectating was awesome. Lots of beer and food on had as well and pleasant temps. It was the best cross viewing experience I have had in a while. Big fields for the men's and women's races with lots of quality. The men's race especially had an hour long of competitive racing at the front. Oh yeah, and then the Sinclair party at Jet nightclub after the cross race, off the chain way to start day one.
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Day two brought the crit at the Mandalay Bay with a huge crowd and exciting racing under the lights. I was pressured into dialing in a few bikes for the Team TIBCO riders, including the recently returned from Europe, Brooke Miller. I should have a pro bike feature on her Look 595 soon. Deep crowds all the way around the course and big primes, combined with laps that were just over a minute in length, kept it interesting. The field was so large in the men's race that it was 25 seconds long and the lap was just over a minute, so the action from any viewing point was almost non-stop.
The Conclusion: Given the 9am-6pm on the trade show floor combined with the racing events at night, it seemed like the show was in session for 48 straight hours. I probably walked close to 10 miles a day inside the show, then added to that total during the after hours. I hopefully planted the seeds for some job opportunities in 2008, and those will mature in the next two months.
I hope that the pictures here can do a good job filling in the details of the 48 hours in Vegas that were a blur. 2008 starts now, I hope that 2007 was a good racing season for you.
Thanks
Chris Davidson
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Chris Davidson
- Ryan Trebon(Kona) charges the only run-up.
- Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Katie Compton (Spike) ride away from the women’s field.
- The run-up was preceded by a short downhill, then a 180 degree turn.
- Non-stop attacks at the front of the men’s field.
- In the finest Belgium tradition, some beer was consumed while watching the race.
- Todd Wells (GT) did not make the front selection tonight.
- Inside the Kenda booth at the show.
- The women race in the twilight at the Mandalay Bay on Thursday night.
- I explain some of the choices in my ‘race bag’ of tools to the new TIBCO mechanic.
- Fresh from Europe, Brooke Miller (TIBCO) sports a Chris Davidson-tuned Look 595 for the crit..jpg
- The men’s race was a blur under the lights.
- Tony Cruz (Discovery Channel) hits the front of the men’s crit.
- The backside of the crit course at the Mandalay Bay.
