Hot temps, fast action

One more quick post about the Santa Ynez NMBS event the other weekend.... yes, we have been over the fact that it was HOT but I can't stress enough how taxing that can be.  I found myself exhausted fully 5 days later, STILL feeling like I hadn't recovered.

But it gave me an excuse to keep thinking about the weekend and uncover some repressed memories.  Like the women's XC feed zone, lap one ...

Each lap was about 11 miles long, so there were 2 feed zones.  I chose to put myself in the remote feed zone, which involved driving a cooler full of bottles around to the back side of the course, then hiking up a small hill and standing by until riders passed through to take fresh water.

In the women's race, I was feeding for Sue, Lea, Mical, Jenny, and also Subaru-Fisher athlete Heather Irmiger.  5 riders to feed is not too big a deal, it's kind of a lot, but managable in most situations.  However because I was alone I was also taking care of the tech zone, and any bike problems that might arise for those 5 riders.  I had a pair of wheels and some tools spread out on the other side of the course, ready for action (but not really expecting it, given the non-rocky course).

So what happens on the first lap?  ALL FIVE RIDERS SHOW UP WITHIN ARMS REACH OF EACH OTHER!  I have 5 bottles, each marked for separate riders, and they roll through so close together that I can hardly pass up the bottles fast enough, let alone give correct bottles to correct riders.  And the best part?  Heather is calling out, "I need a wheel, I have a flat!  Do you have a rear wheel?" 

I wave Heather over to where the wheels are, I finish with giving out the bottles to the Trek-VW riders, then dash across the course to do a wheel change for Heather.  It takes about 10 seconds, I give her her fresh water bottle, and she's off.  The whole episode was probably 30 seconds start to finish, but it sure felt slow.  And, remarkably, in all my years working with teams, it's the first on-course wheel change I have ever done. 

Anyways, here's a cool picture that might convey the heat, and the riders croaking weakly for water ...

It's California Trek-VW regional rider Tim Olson, photographed by Michael Viertel.  By the way, the CA region had a great race with all their riders in the top 20!  I guess it pays to be local...

Brian Smith 3rd at Temecula XTERRA !!

MORE good news on the Trek-VW racing team!!   Our resident hard guy, Mr Brian Smith, picked up the 2008 Xterra season right where he left off last year:  3rd place!!  it's another great podium result for the man who is not afraid to tackle any challenge.  Check out a story here:  http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/press_article.cfm?id=2181

Ladies night at NMBS #3!

Saturday and Sunday marked the third round of the NMBS series, and we made the trip to Santa Ynez, Calif. for the event.  It's kind of a ways out of our way to get back there after Sea Otter and other stuff, but it turned out to be worth the trip.  Our women's team absolutely lit it up to get 3 out of the 5 spots on the XC podium.  Then in the Super-D, our team torch bearer Susan Haywood took a classy WIN in the style of days past, when she was Super-D National Champion.  Love it!!!

Boys had a tougher go of it, with Ross still recovering from health issues after Sea Otter.  He was 9th in the XC, but our regional teams powerhouse Jeff Schalk had a career best 7th. 

HEAT was the order of the day(s) for the whole weekend.  I have not worked inside an oven or iron smelter, but I imagine that is what it's like.  Each day, we used more than 150lbs of ice and 20 gallons of water to keep coolers stocked, riders cool, and staff on their feet. 

In fact, the leader of the women's race Georgia Gould collapsed less than 2 miles from the finish with heat stroke.  She came out OK but it was scary.  Our mechanic Dusty Labarr is her husband, so he went to the hospital with her.  That left me to do all the post-race bike work.  It was a lot of work, but Mike Lee and his Calif. Trek-VW regional team guys helped a ton!  Thanks guys!!  In some ways it was kind of fun to do the bike work, I miss that sometimes after wrenching for 3 years.

More pics on the way, but here are some from Sue!  Also check out her blog, she says it best:  http://susanhaywood.blogspot.com/

Micheaux State Forest, PA ...a contrast to Madrid!

Trek-VW East Coast Regional team spent the Madrid weekend (May 3-4) on a completely different type of course... Manager Steven Hoover took care of our boys Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk as they dominated a course that is famous for rocks, roots, and legendary technical challenges !!  His report is from last week:

Trek VW scores again!

  The Michaux Endurance series kicked off May 4th with the Maximus. With over 110 riders signed up for the fifty miler and dryer than expected weather we knew it was going to be a fast race.  Michaux is and has always been a single lap format, one big lap.  Some say this is Mountain Bike racing in the raw.  The course is legendary for its mud, rocks, water crossings, logs and a fair amount of climbing and did I mention rocks.  Tight twisty single-track with fast rock strewn descents that people love to hate.

   Unlike the previous week there was not much drama, Chris set a fast pace right from the gun, Jeff chased but never closed the gap.  Behind them having a flat or not having a flat dictated the order. Several fast riders were knocked off the podium by the rocks.  In the Women's race Cheryl put her home court advantage to work and never looked back, winning with a twenty-five minute advantage. Tim Mes sersmith, last years winner led for over half the race before Roger eased past him, eventually gapping Tim by five minutes.

Results for the day: Flying thru the 50 miles in just under 4 hours was Chris Eatough followed by Jeff Schalk in 2nd and Jon Gdowik in 4th, giving Trek VW three of the top five spots in the Senior Men’s category.  Cheryl Sornson came 1st in women's, In the Masters category it was Roger Masse 1st and Tim Messersmith 2nd.

 

  Our bikes performed flawlessly.  Trek, Volkswagen, Shimano, RockShox, Bontrager, JBL, and Cyto Sport we couldn't do it without you.  Thanks!

The only incident of the day happened to me.  Since all of our Team riders decided to run the fifty milers it left me with some spare time while they were out on course.  I decided to take my new Remedy out on the twenty-five mile course.  About an hour in I got a huge cut in the rear tire while submerged in a mud pit, thinking it was glass from the looks of the cut.  After fixing my flat I settled in to a nice pace, cruising in with a top ten finish and a big smile on my face.  Some might think it crazy to ride a six-inch travel bike in a cross-country race but that’s just because they haven't been on a Remedy in the mountains of Michaux State Forest.  I will wager that there will be several Remedy's at the Dark Hollow, the next stop in the Michaux Endurance Series

Enjoy the day,

Steven

Photo Gallery: UCI #3, Madrid Race Day

Sven Martin followed the team on race day, while Colin Meagher snapped some shots of Canadian Trek rider Emily Batty.

Photo Gallery: UCI #3, Madrid Training Day

Sven Martin met up with the Trek/VW team again in Madrid, Spain to capture more UCI racing.

Mach 10 in Madrid!

Reports from the 3rd round of the UCI World Cup are filtering in .. and by all accounts it was scorching fast!  The course is situated in a park just near to downtown Madrid, somewhat similar to Central Park in New York.  It's smooth, fast, and non-technical.  A few short sharp climbs punctuate the lap, but most describe the pace as like that of a short track here in the USA -- just constant high-speed pedaling and blazing intensity.

A course like this demands the proper set up for speed.  We on the Trek-VW team are lucky to start off on the right foot with the Elite 9.9 hardtail bike.  The OCLV carbon frame was made for just this kind of race!  Next comes the Bontrager Jones XR Team tires.  This is a new tire for 2008, one that we have been asking for since 2005.  It's basically a Jones XR, in 2.0 size, with the knobs at 1/2 height.  It is blisteringly fast on a smooth, firm surface.  (In fact, Lea took down 1st place at the Sea Otter short track on just this same tire!!).  Of course, you have to have a RockShox SID World Cup to complete the package, light and supple to handle brake bumps, yet with firm lockout for the stand-up-and-sprint out of every corner.

Sue was 4th American across the line, in 41st.  Jeremiah was 4th American, in 80th.  Both are still in recovery mode after the punishment of Cape Epic.  We're still hoping to spring them into the Olympic selection with 2 World Cups plus World Championships still to go.  No matter what the placings, the enthusiastic crowd is always exciting!

We've got some race photos coming, but in the mean time check out Sue and Emily lookin' good at the tent, and these below from Germany:

Jeremiah and Team Dolphin-TREK rider Alban Lakata

Me and ace mechanic Steve Borkoski at the Dolphin-TREK tent

While you were away ... we were in Fruita!

As you know we have so many double booked weekends it is almost silly!  But the bright side is that we get to reach more people than ever.  The other weekend while Sue and Jeremiah were racing the World Cup in Offenburg, Germany, our domestic team stopped in Fruita, Colorado for the Fat Tire Fest.  There is no racing at this event, only a ton of good fun!

Fruita is on the western edge of Colorado, situated perfectly for our team trailer to stop, set up, and talk shop with the riders in attendance.  We had Ross lead a group ride or two, while Dusty and Shep did bike work and chatted with consumers.  No real hardcore mission, just a chance to interact with the guys and gals keeping our sport alive and healthy.  Trek's Ride the Best demo tour had a rep on hand to loan out some bikes, and our mechanics did a little work on some consumer bikes.  All in all, a good time!