Date: May 7, 2000
Event: Fairmount Classic AMBC 2000
Class: OPEN
Category: Pro
Length: 16+ mi
Time: 1:26:15
Conditions: Sunny & Hot - 90+ degrees
Bike: TREK STP 400 Soft-tail
Tires: IRC Notos XC - Front: 1.95 Rear: 1.7

Whatever made you come out to Philadelphia for this race?

Our team manager asked us if we'd do it, because Trek/VW are big sponsors of the race.

Where are you from?

Originally from Vancouver, Canada. I've been living in San Diego for about three years now.

Did you do anything special to prepare for this race?

No, just hopped on the plane. I'm actually using this race as preparation for Big Bear in a couple of weeks, so I've been training pretty hard this week. I was a little flat today.

Do you train at high altitude?

I'll probably go up next week to start preparing.

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

Probably in between 20 and 25. Mostly on the road bike cause I've been injured for most of this year. I was in a road race earlier this year and I strained a bunch of my ligaments in my knee - so I've been just kind taking it easy on the road bike.

Did you feel good during the race?

Not especially. It went out pretty hard. I don't know if I was just a little sluggish from flying yesterday or what, but it seemed pretty hard to me. I wasn't going to go that hard because I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it.

When did you put the hammer down?

Probably about half way through the second lap I caught the leaders and I surged a bit to get a bit of a gap and then I kind of rode my own race at a pace which I knew I could hang on to for the remainder.

Were any of them your teammates from grassroots or local Trek teams?

Yeah. I saw them a bit and I just went past. For the rest of the race I was just trying to avoid every lapped rider out there.

How was your body in the heat?

It's a little bit more humid than where I came from in the desert, but the heat's fine for me.

Did you have any unusual problems with the race?

No. It was a little bit chaotic trying to pass all of those people out there. It was like a battlefield with dying people all over the place with the heat but....
I also fluffed the start a little bit. I clicked out of my pedal and that's why I had a bit of a bad start. But the rest of the time was pretty smooth.

How do you rate the course?

It was pretty fun. I wouldn't want to race it as a national level race but it's definitely a fun regional race for sure. It has a mix of everything. It was definitely challenging.

Absolutely.

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

No. Everything was really smooth and I was happy with the outcome.

Why do you think Americans haven't made much of an impact at the international mountain biking level?

A lot of it's dedication and you know for cycling - there isn't that passion for it here. You race in Europe and you've got 40,000 people watching..... you have a junior field that is huge..... people just appreciate it whereas here it's just team sports - baseball, basketball... that's a lot of it. The greater the pool of riders to chose from the more talent you're going to get - the harder everyone pushes and it creates perpetual improvement.

Are you traveling abroad this year?

Hopefully if I have a good race at Big Bear then I'll go to the Worlds and probably do the World Cup Finals in Switzerland. If all goes well, maybe the Olympics.

Anything you want to add?

I just want to thank Trek/VW for getting me out here. And Ernie.