Event: Hibernia Spring Bash 2001

Name: Jeremiah Bishop

City: Harrisonburg AKA. Bike Town

State/Province: VA

Country: USA

Age: 25

CLASS +/or Age group: Senior I 19-26

Category: Pro / Expert

Team: K2 / New Sun

XC Race Bike: K2 Razor Back RX

Tires: Front: Hutchinson Alligator 2.0

Rear: Richey Mudmax 1.8

Conditions: VERY Muddy

Did you do anything special (apart from the whole training lifestyle) to prepare for this race?

Absolutely. I changed to some specialty tires to handle the conditions and I excessively lubricated everything before the race because I knew that if it was not muddy it would at least be very wet. I also warmed up on the trainer.... so..... there were I couple of things I did differently.

Did you achieve your goals for this race?

Yes. I was quite pleased with the outcome of the race. I would say ........ you can't do too much better than winning.... and I think I had a pretty good margin after the end of the last lap. I pretty much got all of my lead in the last lap. (Editor's note: Jeremiah finished up with a lead of about 2 1/2 minutes)

Were you strong from start to finish?

I was not by any means strong from start to finish. I was struggling early in the race and just going as hard as I could and was only managing to stay somewhere in the late part of the top ten. I really had a hard time getting going despite a very long warm-up. Even after I had worked my way up towards the leaders of the race Jason Moore and Jay Duffy were about 20 seconds ahead of me...... just hovering right there and I couldn't close the gap to them for quite a while. It really took a tremendous amount of effort to close the gap to them towards the end of the first lap. Then..... pretty suddenly ...... my legs came around and I started feeling good.

Don Morrison and Wissahickon Cyclery did a great job putting together this race and we thank them for their efforts. Was there anything that you observed that could be done better as the series progresses?

I would say...... specifically the results and their ability to post the results quickly ..... but I would compliment them in their efforts that went into the race and the obvious work that they put into making everything run smoothly for the large amount of racers at the event.

When did you put the hammer down?

Oh yeah........ there was definitely a decisive attack for me in the race. I just sort of eased my way off the front. About half way through the 3rd lap (4 lap race) - I had caught them and sat on their wheel for just a little while. As I mentioned I was starting to gather some energy so....... I thought I would test them out give it a go...... so around about where the pond was and the paved small bridge crossing going back towards the finish I punched it up that climb....... didn't really make a lot of progress there but on the longer gradual climbing in the very last part of the lap.......... that's when I really went.......... and I managed to hold a small margin. I looked back and Jason (Moore) was falling off of Jay's (Duffy) wheel - Jay was hovering behind me for a while. Towards the end of the lap I actually saw him coming back to me. He was probably within 5 seconds ........ so I punched it again thinking that...... if at any point he was over redline it would have been when he was that close. So I thought that was the time to give it everything I had....... again........ to try to make it stick. I rode the whole last lap by myself. I kept getting chain suck the whole last lap....... I kept thinking that it was going to be the $400 mechanical..... I was so worried...... I think everybody was riding with two or three gears in that last lap.

If you ran into these exact trail conditions again, would you do anything differently?

Yes. I would get a front fender for sure.

Did you have any unusual problems?

Not being able to see because you had mud in your eyes.

How would you rate the course?

It was difficult to tell. I think the conditions overwhelmed the course and everyone's impression of it is going to be affected by how muddy it was....... but I think if it were dry it would have been a very good course...... a very fast course....... one that lent itself to close racing.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

Yes, definitely.

If you could do the race again - would you do anything differently?

I would have put zip-ties on my grip shift. It's a little trick for when there is so much mud and you can't grip the bar to shift very well....... they give you something to hold onto. You attach them in different positions and wear full fingered gloves.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I would like to thank my sponsors...... K2 / Newsun and Oakley.