INTERVIEW
picture courtesy teamorthopedicstore.com

NCS 2004 #1 Cross Country - Waco, TX - March 14, 2004

Name: Jeremiah Bishop

City: Harrisonburg AKA. Bike Town

State/Province: VA

Country: USA

Age: 28

Place: 1st

Category: Pro

Class or Age Group: Pro Men

Team: TREK East Coast Factory Team

Race Bike: FUEL 100 - Stock frame

Tires: (front) - Bontrager ACX 2.1 (rear) - Super X Tubeless

Do you think you may be in good form too early in the season beating the world's best racers with a flat tire?
 
No. Any fitness that I have right now is far as top end fitness is more from the amount of racing I've had to do this early rather than from specific high end training. I guess the good side of it is I can rest and minimize the top end training and be in good form for the World Cups and hopefully for the Olympics if I make the nomination.

It was important on this course to get into the singletrack early - Were you happy with your position going into the singletrack?
 
I actually didn't get into the singletrack until the second group.......... I was probably 12th to 15th. I thought my race was done the way those guys were backing up in the singletrack......... it was like a traffic jam with the group that I was in and I thought for sure that the lead group was GONE............. but we kept the pace high and I could see through the woods that we were only about twenty seconds behind the lead group going into the first lap. It took some real effort to try to pass. Chris Sheppard (Haro) crashed in front of me....... so I got around him and then I passed Todd Wells (Mongoose/Hyundai) on the crest of a hill........... then I passed John Devine (U23 US National Team) and another rider on a small uphill in the middle of the course and was finally clear to chase the lead group. Luckily there was a lot of singletrack........... a lot of singletrack and it was wide open for me to catch the back of the lead group. That was the key............ getting on the back of the lead group by the end of the first lap. In the middle of the lap I passed the feed against my better judgment and attacked for the singletrack, got in the woods and was working with Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher)........... it was amazing! It was amazing just to ride with those guys.......... let alone turn out so successful.

Were you strong from start to finish?
 
(Laughs), That's a good question......... I never thought about that........... I was just hanging on for dear life in the start and I found my legs in the middle of the race. I knew that it was going to be less traffic and a lot less work to ride the front of the race rather than the back of the race........... so I took a risk and rode at the front of the race and it was just an amazing view from the front of the race............ having Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher) hot on my heels. I wanted to put a little pressure on the group and it worked and we got a separation. I just knew that it was the kind of course where it's "out of sight out of mind" and if I put some pressure in the singletrack......... that's my strong point........ that I might be able to get a gap and really................ ride my race instead of riding everyone else's race.

When did you put the hammer down?
 
I put the hammer down at the feed zone going into lap two in order to get into the singletrack - it was basically one section of road - that's where I went to get the initiative. On the final lap I tried to put the hammer down on my new break away companion Geoff Kabush (Maxxis)............. he had caught me at the beginning of the last lap or the end of the second lap of three. We worked together pretty well the entire lap. Then I felt that the chance to go was now so in the tight singletrack I tried to sneak away. I got away from him but then he caught me toward the end of the lap. It came down to a "last showdown mile" of racing. We got to the top of the last hill (he caught me at the last hill from my brief escape). At the bottom of the hill it was about three quarters of a mile or perhaps about one kilometer from the bottom of the hill to the finish. I took that hill as fast as I could and got a few seconds............ maybe eight seconds on him and just put in a time trail effort of my life for the last kilometer.....................just barely held him off............... my front tire was going flat from a rock I hit on the downhill................ I was thinking the worst might happen................ that I might lose the race because of my front tire going flat............ I thought for a second that if that's my fate.............. that's my fate............ I'm just going to give it 100 percent........ stay calm................ and that's what I did and it worked out. It was amazing. It made it that much more of an accomplishment.

Guess that takes care of the "Did you have any unusual problems?" question. Were you happy with the way the race was run?
 
Yes. Waco hosted a fantastic race. The organization was great and energy there for a new Norba National was positive and we had a great reception from the people and the community there.

Did you have any interesting experiences during your race (exchanges with competitors/spectators)?
 
Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny that during the middle of the race on lap two Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and I were riding together for a while and we were getting a gap on the rest of the group and he said, "You need this........... keep it smooth.......... keep it smooth so we can get away" and it was definitely just what I did as I kept it smooth for what my pace was but.................... I think he was sort of uncomfortable with the pace in the corners.............. he had picked the wrong tires for the day and was sliding a bit but.............. that's what I did I actually listened to his advice and just kept it as smooth and fluid as possible. It was a great opportunity and a great day that worked out. It was really cool. I worked with Kabush quite a bit on the last lap as well. Strangely enough he let me pass him in the singletrack about three quarters of the way into the last lap. It really surprised me because he gave up some initiative there.......... and it gave me initiative............ it was ultimately a big factor in the outcome of the race. I was really excited that it happened that way.

Anything you would like to add?
 
I would like to thank my girlfriend Erin North for putting up with all the travel and all the sacrifices and being understanding in light of the hectic schedule that it's going to take to make things happen and I hope that I can do her proud.

I would like to thank Jonathan Posner (TREK team manager), Steve Borkoski (head mechanic) and TREK/VW/TRAFFIC PRO/JBL, Fox, PowerBar, Nike Cycling, CEC Wheels, OETTINGER, Sounddomain.com, SRAM, Hayes, Zeal, Swany, TIME, Bontrager Components, Chris King, Wrench Force, & Sock Guy