Race Report

Race Report by Loren Thomas

5/16/04 – Infineon Raceway

Lots of bad publicity for this race had me wondering why in the world I was getting up at 5am…..

But what kind of pansy would I be if I let sleep or a few whining pre-riders spoil my fun? So off I went to what I still know as Sear’s Point Raceway. It was a great morning with no traffic (unusual for 6am on a Sunday? I guess not). Parking and registration was a breeze, probably because of the pathetic turnout but none-the-less great for me. Not a TWW’er in sight as I geared up for a short pre-ride warm-up. I chatted up a few other riders to try to get the scoop on the course, but in retrospect, I didn’t ask the right questions…. Sport 30-34 was the second wave of starts. All 24 of us were lined up in the first row (well almost). Not realizing how much drafting opportunity this course offered, I pedaled like a solo 24 hour racer letting everyone else max out their heart rates. I actually had a chance to jump up to the lead pack, but figured they would tire and I would get them at the end.

I had heard that the course sucked, but I still managed to have lots of fun…. Coming hot into a choppy 4ft wide off-camber turn that runs off into a 3ft deep boulder lined drainage ditch is kind-of cool right? I really liked the wide gravel downhill that went into a huge sweeping right-hander – mostly because I realized I could top out in the big ring and cut to the inside grassy section of the corner to maintain my speed. There was also the short downhill section with the paved trail crossing perpendicular and level offering some airtime before railing into a nice grippy S-turn. And my favorite spot near the end of the loop where I come full speed off a paved downhill into a right-hander followed by a small jump where I could style it up for the course marshals!!

Don’t get me wrong, there were some not so great spots too. The first that comes to mind is a choppy downhill with a super loose deep berm that sucked up the front tire of the guy right in front of me. He went over his bars and made me go wide into the loose stuff. I abandoned the bike by jumping over the bars and letting it do its own little flip without me. The worst part of it was that my pretty number plate got tornL. So sad. Then on the second lap I have to admit that I didn’t really feel like walking up the steep hill along the barbed wire fence. That section should be taken out of the course so us mountain bikers don’t have as much to complain about. So back to those un-asked questions……if I would have known how darn fast and wide the course was, I would have been up there with the lead pack conserving my energy in their draft instead of pushing all the wind by myself about 1000ft behind them. Oh well, I did have fun during the last ½ mile paved section pushing to catch some guy who probably wasn’t even in my class. I caught him and drafted for about two minutes until the second to the last turn, then right as I was ready to make my move, he shifts and stands up thinking he will drop me or something….silly boy. I past him so fast, he instantly gave up. What a bummer I had to sprint through the finish alone in 8th place.

Props to all the 24-hour racers. You kicked some serious butt this weekend. I should have been with you guys…..See you all at the 8-hour…. Right? Am I the only one trying to hype this race up? Come on you couch potatoes!! Put some teams together already!

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