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1st Place OVERALL
David DuVall TREK/VW East Coast Factory Team |
Date: May 20, 2001 Event: Race for Chocolate Name: David DuVall City: Baltimore State/Province: Maryland Country: USA Age: 33 CLASS +/or Age group: Pro/Expert Men Senior 19-26 Category: Pro Team: TREK/VW East Coast Factory Team XC Race Bike: FUEL (Wouldn't ride anything else!) Tires: Bontrager Jones - (narrow ones for speed) Conditions: Overcast chilly (warm in single track) |
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Did you do anything special (apart from the whole training lifestyle) to prepare for this race?
Yes. I made sure I wasn't overtrained for this event. The past few races..... I've been doing a little bit of road and a little bit of mountain without a rest week. I really took it easy this week. I rode every day but I just didn't ride hard. I knew my fitness would come around if I did that. I didn't want to wait until next week because next week is an important race for us (TREK/VW East Coast Factory Team). I didn't want to find out that I still wasn't rested. I was actually trying to prepare for this race not because of it's importance but I need to know a week ahead of time for next weeks race.......it turns out that this was a good race. Much bigger than I had expected. When I turned around at the start......it looked like a National! I couldn't believe it..... I thought..... all of these people are going to be on the course at the same time......what a nightmare.
Were you strong from start to finish?
Yeah..... I had a lot at the end actually. I was getting tired on the climbs because they were deceptively slow...... soft loamy ground with little logs, roots, etc.... but I still felt really strong on all the flat stuff. Anything that was high speed. I pushed it though the last field section like I had someone chasing me. I had to ride hard. That was today's mission. (laughs)
Did you have any problems trying to get to the single-track first?
No. It was all big ring to the single track.
Were the riders courteous while passing in the single-track?
Pretty much, yeah...... I had the benefit of yelling "Pro leader back"...... that carries a little more clout I think. They were pretty considerate. Sometimes I think people really didn't understand what to do. In a single track situation when there's not much passing you have to pull aside for the racers that are trying to get by and they were generally very courteous. For as many racers as there were out there I have no complaints. Sometimes three or four at a time would pull over......that made me feel so good. I was actually getting winded 'cause I had to say....."pro rider back.... pro rider back" Sometimes I'd just yell it and hope people ten places up would hear me. It was crowded at times.
When did you put the hammer down?
From start to finish...... actually the whole first lap. Then I settled into a pace in the single track but every time through the open field start/finish area...... I would push that whole loop...... the downhill and the up. (The field was pretty choppy in sections wasn't it?) Not with my bike (FUEL). That wasn't even an issue.
Did you have any unusual problems?
Yes. I fell a mile into the single track first lap. Knocked the wind out of me. I hit my chest hard on the stem. My rear end washed out on a turn when I was going a little too fast. It was off-chamber of course....... when it started washing out (I was experimenting with the FUEL and had it locked out at times but found that it did much better on the rough, rooty off camber and for that matter on all of the course with the full suspension active! I even kept it active on the climbs after that) my pedal slipped...... as I started washing out..... it turned the bike sideways...... the bike stopped...... my hand came off the bars and I hit the stem with my chest. I'm going to have to go see a doctor. I got my wind back in ten or fifteen seconds. Sometimes it can be really bad.... but..... I felt like my breathing was OK..... I made sure I wasn't spitting up blood..... so I just kept going with it...... but I knew when the race! stopped it would tighten up. I fractured a few ribs several years ago in an accident and I didn't even notice it for two or three days. I won't be surprised if there is some kind of injury like that. Not good with the 24hrs of Snowshoe coming up......but.....I'll be OK. No cause for alarm. I finished the race and I finished strong..... so......it can't be that bad.
How would you rate the course?
A very good course. It reminded me a lot of Fair Hill (David won 1st Overall Fair Hill Classic 2000) which I like a lot. It didn't have a lot of climbing..... which is good for me..... it wasn't a ski resort. It was a power course and I like that I did the entire first lap in the big ring and the only time I didn't use the big ring in the rest of the race was because I trouble getting on the big ring sometimes (chuckles).... I made a derailluer adjustment right before the race and that was a mistake. I probably would have used the big ring the whole time except for that one climb coming up from the river. Other than that the big ring was fine. Anytime I can stay in the big ring that much I'm going to give a course a high rating.
Were you happy with the way the race was run?
Yeah.... they should have had a water station. I'm really, really, really surprised. They had beautiful places for a water station...... that cross section right up there (pointing) would have been ideal...... and I'd like to say something to the promoter about it. I had someone to feed me but I really feel for the people who didn't. Every race should have a water station. It's a courtesy to the racers and it's a safety issue too. When people start to get dehydrated they don't think clearly and that's how accidents happen.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Other than the fact that we love your website..... I felt good, I felt strong
and my bike rode beautifully. Conditions were decent..... I really have no complaints....
just the water station issue.....
(When I asked David about what type of bike he was riding he added: "Wouldn't
ride anything else. I rode with the suspension active for the entire race......
except for maybe two or three miles.... I just wanted to try it out in the "locked
out" mode to see if would be more efficient AND IT WASN'T. It was more comfortable
and more efficient with the suspension active in the rear. The reason I kept
it active after trying it locked out was...... I went over a bunch of off-chamber
roots and bucked the wheel into the air (just a little bit)..... just a couple
of inches..... so the wheel slid out..... a wheel's not going to get traction
in the air. I immediately switched it over and kept the suspension fully active
after that even on the climbs. (That says ! a lot for the FUEL)..... It does.
It's amazing. It's actually the reason I did so well. It had nothing to do with
the rider (laughs)........
Roland Green is now the current World Cup leader (May 22, 2001)....... his bike? The FUEL.
David is not putting on the hard sell....... check this quote out from the TREK website:
" This victory also marks the first ever male XC win on
a "real" full suspension bike as Roland rode his stock Fuel 100 to
his greatest win to date. Roland felt the Fuel helped him and gave him an advantage
especially as the race went on. "On the descents, I let the bike go. I
had a lot more energy in my legs compared to if I was riding a hard tail. My
legs felt great and I had no pain at all, so I kept punching it up the climbs,"
said Green.