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Chrissy Redden-Plan
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Chevy Trucks National Championship Series #4 Short Track- Crystal Mountain, Washington by Chrissy Redden/Andy Bishop |
Chevy Trucks National Off-Road Bicycling Association (NORBA) series race
#4,
Short Course Sat Aug. 5, 2000
This week's short course was an intense loop around the ski chalet. The 1km loop was all double track with a pavement section to speed things up as we passed by the Shimano rig. The start/finish banner was near the top of the bumpy, gradual climb. There was only one tricky corner on the course and it was at the bottom of the all-out descent, making a 90 deg turn through loose sand onto pavement. I heard there were a few critical crashes there...
The Women:
Before the race, Mary and I took advantage of our long time road/mountain bike pro teammate, Andy for some short course strategy. All psyched up, we lined up at 3:50 for our usual 4pm start. All the usual faces were there, but there were a few newer faces in the field. One notable one was Suzy Pryde (Saturn) from New Zealand who races extensively (and quite well!!) on the road. This was a crit, and she was definitely going to be a factor, even though her start position was close to the back of the 50 starters. The Gary Fisher/SAAB plan today was to hold in the main group for the first 10 minutes, or so, then attack the field and go together. Well, this went according to plan for only 2 laps then Leslie Tomlinson (RLX Polo Sport) launched an aggressive attack, followed by Alla Epifanova (Volvo Cannondale). Knowing how strong Alla is, I (Chrissy Redden, GF/SAAB) quickly deducted that our "plan" was out and I was to get on All's wheel. We became the "Alla - Chrissy Train" because after just two laps we had a good 20 sec over the chase group of Suzy, Jimena Florit (RLX Polo Sport) and Mary (GF/SAAB). In the following laps, Mary got a huge cramp and pulled out, Jimena dropped Suzy and "the train" gained another 10 sec. Leading into the final 3 laps I was trying to work out my plan of attack in order to win the race. I knew when I sprinted would be critical because was still quite strong and powerful. With 1 1/2 laps to go, Alla pulled through and this gave me the perfect opportunity to sit on her wheel and gain enough rest to sprint by her at the 50 meter to go mark. And this is exactly what I did, Alla was caught a little off guard and shifted to late to respond. It was a good feeling to be met by Jen and Kevin at the finish line, both with bigger smiles than mine!
Women's Results:
1st Chrissy Redden Gary Fisher/SAAB
2nd Alla Epifanova Volvo Cannondale
3rd Jimena Florit RLX Polo Sport
4th Suzy Pryde Team Saturn 5th Shonny Vanlandingham Sobe/Headshok
Men's Race
Great morale abounded in our camp. We thoroughly enjoyed the last few days in the beautiful venue of Crystal Mountain and looked forward to another exciting race in the NORBA Short Track Cross Country. The race started out with a bang with Gary Fisher/SAAB racer Ryder Hesjesdal setting the blistering pace for the first lap. Not to be left out of the fun, I (Andy Bishop, team Gary Fisher/SAAB) attacked on the next lap with the hope of taking off some pressure from my two teammates-plus this gave home viewers the chance to experience heart-pumping race leadership via the Outdoor Life Network helmet camera and recorder mounted to my back, along with seeing the wildly enthusiastic fans packed around the course!
Due to the straightforward and non-technical nature of the course, the racing became more tactical as team strategies became vitally important. A group of ten separated from the field, which included Gary Fisher/SAAB riders Hesjedal and Pavel Tcherkassov. I was in the next group of six. Kona rider Geoff Kabush, who yesterday suffered an untimely flat tire while in the race lead, looked possessed in an attempt to avenge that misfortune. He attacked a number of times but was always matched by the strength of the Fisher/SAAB riders and two Haro riders Seamus McGrath and Chris Sheppard. Race lead changed a number of times and it became clear that the race would come down to a sprint between these lead riders.
Mcgrath led with a half-lap to go (on a pavement section before heading uphill through an S-turn finish) with Ryder smartly tucked in the second position, Kabush in third, and Pavel in fourth. Ryder blasted by on the outside (at a place that we talked about before the race started) and he continued on to proudly win his first NORBA STXC! McGrath solidly took second and Pavel took the third spot after narrowly missing the crash of Kabush, who moved back to fifth when Sheppard passed him too.
It was extremely exciting to see Ryder take his first victory before I retire at the end of this season. Over the last few months, he has been frustratingly close to achieving this milestone and I fully expect that there will be many more of these victories in the future!! Congratulations.
Pavel's third place once again vaulted him into the lead of the Chevy Trucks STXC before the season-ending finale at Mammoth, CA in just one month's time!! Basically, it will be an epic battle between the two Fisher/SAAB riders Hesjedal and Tcherkassov and the two Haro riders McGrath and Sheppard, as only a few points separate the four of them. Make sure you tune in to the upcoming excitement of the last event at Mammoth Lakes, CA!
Results:
1st Ryder Hesjedal Gary Fisher/SAAB
2nd Seamus McGrath Haro
3rd Pavel Tcherkassov Gary Fisher/SAAB
4th Chris Sheppard Haro
5th Geoff Kabush Kona