Race report by John Dillow Here's my up close and personal look at the Napa World Cup. Skyline Park is agreat place to ride -- but not when it's been raining! The sport and beginner classes raced on Friday. My Sport start was at 8:10. The course started with a rocky fireroad climb. If you can imagine Rockville covered by a mudslide, you've got the right image.Slippery, slippery, slippery. The first downhill section was reminiscent of the Sea Otter Crit course. There was a lot of deep mud that covered rocks and holes. I came into it a little too fast and realized a little too late that I had no traction. Since I couldn't steer or brake, I managed to find the deepest bog into which to endo. Much to the delight of the early morning spectators, I completely submerged my helmet. The next climb was hike-a-bike - no traction. The next downhill was slip-and-slide. After the disco flyover, the traction got better for a singletrack climb and downhill to -- more mud. The next half mile was running (slipping) through a horse pasture bog. Sitting on the bike just submerged it. Cyclo-cross action! The final mile to the finsh was a mixture of road, gravel path, and boggy lawn. Except, I wasn't going for the finish yet - two more laps to complete. The energy and excitment was enhanced by a rider that I kept playing tag with. We kept trading places thoughout all three laps. He'd be in front, then slip off a rock and go down. I'd be in front and endo. He'd climb faster and pass. I'd slip (literally) downhill faster and pass. Great sport. The final tally: 3 endo's, one sidewiped tree (ouch!), 30 lbs of mud, and a fourth place finsh (out of ?), which netted a podium presentation. (Podium swag included a set of Racing Raptors and Napa Vally Wine). All in all a fun race! John