Date: December 19, 1999
Event: MAC Championship Finals
Class: Senior
Category: Expert/Pro
Length: 60 minutes +
Time: 1:02:01
Conditions: chilly, a little windy, mostly sunny low 40s
Bike: Cannondale XR800 2000
Tires: Richey Crossmax (didn't have a chance to play with tire options)

Did you do anything special to prepare for this race?

Not specifically for this event. Cross has been an off-season training device and also a lot of fun. It keeps you in shape and involved in racing.

In the last two months how many hours a week have you trained?

On average probably 15 hours.

Were you strong from start to finish?

Absolutely not. That's probably the biggest thing I remember noting in my mind about the race - that I had a terrible start. For some reason I started on the second row, at a cross race particularly because it is short and very intense and fast - starting on the front row is very important and I got to the line a little late. I had to really fight to get my bearings straight and get back to the front of the race.

When did you put the hammer down?

About 3 laps to go. I punched it a few times in a row and Mike Yozell was with us at the time and we got a gap on him. Chris Eatough was saying, "come on Mike, let's go" and tried to encourage him to get back up with us and I knew that there was no more conservative racing to be had. It was time to make it selective because in racing tactically it's good to make a move when someone else is having a hard time cause it makes it twice as hard for them. Sometimes that happens to you but if you do it right it can weed out the people who are "on the rivet" so to speak. So at about the end of that "three to go" lap I think we started losing Justin Thompson and Chris Eatough made an error going around one of the really tight bends. I didn't know it actually, I could just hear that his bike was not right on my wheel. So I just gave it everything I had and I thought I was taking some of those infield corners a little bit faster so...I gave it everything I had. It was SO hard to catch up really it was very, very difficult to work my way up through the pack.

Yes, they were a little slow with getting the results up, and had sort of an informal ceremony of announcing all the classes and who did what in each respective class. Otherwise, registration went smoothly and the actual race itself went smoothly. They were however unable to award the overall prizes for the MAC Series. They said they were lacking information from one of the promoters but I couldn't see that being too much of a problem. They had a week to get in contact with him before the race. Other than that, it was pretty well run.

What was your prize for first place?

100 dollars.

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

I'd start on the front line. I worked so hard then this guy shut me down as soon as I got back on - I was just redlined. It just took a long time to get settled. It was the hardest cross victory I've had. I really didn't think I was going to beat Chris Eatough.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I had a lot of fun. It was a very cool race. I wish cross season wasn't so short.

They were playing team tactics on me. Every time I got back on to the group or close to the back of the group Justin, and the three Trek riders - Chris Eatough, Mike Yozell, and Greg Ferguson - one of the Trek guys would start slowing down through the tight corners. As soon as I got on the the back of it I wasn't paying attention I was just following the wheel in front of me. Then I'd look up and the rest of the leaders were 10 to 20 seconds ahead of me. Then I'd go around him, close the gap and they would do it again. They were playing with me a little bit but it worked out. I had the legs and regardless of imperfect racing, it worked out. I think anything that you can do that doesn't knock the other person over (hands on the handlebars of course) is fair. If you are trying to get a hole shot sometimes it's in your interest to go for it. You've got to be aggressive sometimes or you'll get walked on.

Did you have any unusual problems with the race?

I tried to ride a section of barriers that was slightly uphill after a gravelly turn. That's when I was off balance from trying to get over the second barrier. I should have tried it in practice before going for it in the race. I did it once, and I tried it again and I think my pedal got caught and I was leaned over a little to the side when I got slammed by someone's bike. The bike gets caught on me. I got back up as quickly as I could and I didn't lose contact with them too much.

How do you rate the course?

I would say the course was pretty dynamic. I liked it a lot. It had some really good features like the part that passed through the barn. One of the things I like about a cross race is that the promoter has to be real creative. In this one he used a lot of what he had there, some paved sections... One thing I didn't like was the amount of gravel and really large rocks on the course. I didn't see anybody getting flats but little tires are prone to it. That made things a little dicey. They had some sweeping corners, great spectating because it looped back in on itself. It also lacked a good run up, but overall it was really a good course.