Date: April 22, 2001
Event: Michaux Lives 2001
Name: Sue Haywood
City: Davis
State/Province: West Virginia
Country: USA
Age: 29
CLASS +/or Age group: Senior Women 19-29
Category: Pro / Expert
Team: TREK/VW East Coast Factory Team / WV Div. of Tourism
XC Race Bike: FUEL
Tires: Bontrager
Conditions: Hot and heavy
Moab 24 Hour SOLO Champion
2000
Sue Haywood in front of the top
women in the world at
Mt. Snow 2000 NCS Short Track Event
Did you do anything special (apart from the whole training lifestyle)
to prepare for this race?
I pre-rode the start and the finish.
Due to the difficulty of the course this year..... did you have any problems with cramping, not drinking enough or anything?
It would have been nice to have a little bit more sports drink......... I almost cramped..... but didn't, so I was lucky. There was plenty of water out there and stuff so...... there weren't any problems.
Did anything on the course surprise you today? (Katie Compton (teammate) walks by)
Wait..... I wanna do a Katie Compton interview...... let's see..... what surprised me..... well..... there were no donuts at the feed zone (Katie has been claiming that donuts make her go faster..... and she's not kidding) (they both laugh.........)
Seriously, I would have been very surprised if I had not pre-rode the start and finish because they changed it significantly from last year..... but in general....... not surprised..... it's just classic Michaux!
Did you achieve your goals for this race?
Yes. Because I didn't crash....... and I won the race.
Were you strong from start to finish?
I was pretty tentative at the start because I felt that the first section was the toughest. I just kept a steady pace..... I wouldn't say I was super fast or anything.....
When did you put the hammer down?
When Mike Buchness - Bike Doctor after passing him says, "I'm totally bonking..... I'm totally bonking.....I'm dehydrated and I don't think I can go on" ......... then he comes back and passes me...... so I had to chase him down to try to keep up with him....... that's what friends are for...... to help you get through the race, right?
Did you have any unusual problems?
No.
What was your favorite part of the course?
(no hesitation) - Three Mile Trail (one of THEE toughest, fastest and most furious trials of Michaux - the infamous "Three Mile Trial") and Grave Ridge (one of the most challenging, fast, and extremely rocky trails with drop-offs on each side and a few short, scary steep descents).
How would you rate this course on a scale of one to ten?
Nine.
What is your next big race that you would like to peak for?
The next big race is Big Bear in California....... and I'm going for the peak at Snowshoe, West Virginia. Hopefully this was a good warm-up for that.
Were you happy with the way the race was run?
I think the promoters did a great job. The course was well marked and everything seemed well run
Is there anything you would like to add?
I think this race is awesome...... all the people who come out for such a tough course....... good to see everyone. It's kind of like the season opener this year in a way........ on the East Coast..... for me anyway....... but you had a good number of racers show up for the mountainbikeRACER.com Mid-Atlantic Super Series first race at Hibernia didn't you?
(yeah..... we had close to 500 racers who showed up in the rain and cold!)
That's great...... I think it's looking good for East Coast racing this year........
