May 2, 2004 - INTERVIEW
Name: Marc Vettori
City: Elkton
State/Province: Maryland
Country: USA
Age: 33
Place: 3rd
Class or Age Group: Single Speed
Team: Spot Brand
Race Bike: Spot Brand 29er
Tires: Bontrager ACX
Conditions: Sticky, yet slick in all the right places
Email: marc@brevoort.com
How was your fitness level going into this race?
Actually I was really tired this week. Coming off of Michaux my legs and
energy level were really down in the early part of the week, by the late
part of the week, I didn’t want to do anything that would totally
kill me. This will sound really stupid, but I hurt my back cutting the
grass on Friday, and I couldn’t sit down or bend over very well.
I drank a number of frothy beverages in an attempt to numb the pain. After
sleeping that off, I drank a lot of Gatorade, and had Keith Jackson’s
voice in my head saying “ whoa Nelly, after that effort he’s
gonna need some super re-hydration…”
Were you happy
with your position going into the singletrack?
I came into Sunday believing I could win. That was my plan, I circled Granogue
on my calendar, I planned to win. The level of competition was really tough,
but that didn’t change my plan. Eric and Les attacked hard off the
gun, I tried to stay with them, and went into the single track in 3rd.
I paid the price for going out too hard once we hit Weymouth’s and
the back climbs on the course. I really struggled over the top on the first
lap. Worst of all, I got a good song, but a bad song to have in my head
during a race. It was an old Echo and the Bunnymen classic, you know the
one that goes “ccccumber…, ccccauliflower… memories
April showers…” good
song but far too moody for racing…
Were you strong from
start to finish?
I had a big energy lapse on the first lap, second lap was better, and on
the third lap I was making deals with myself to finish up strong. I saw
my main man Keith Goulet (bobby’s boy) maybe 20 seconds in front
of me. I get to ride with Keith a lot, and he rules, so I told myself if
I can stay near him, I’ll be okay. It was hard to stay on the offensive
on the last lap. It’s funny the things you will tell yourself in
a race to keep on suffering, to keep digging deep. I was totally freaking
out that Pos, Eric or Elk was gonna come from behind in the last bit of
the course and catch me. I told myself I don’t have to catch Keith,
hell I don’t
want to catch Keith just stay aggressive , just stay close, at the end,
I took a rather leisurely ride through Deputy’s woods and Keith buried
me a bit. That was cool, I was pleased with my ride.
When did you
put the hammer down?
Went out too hard on the first lap, like in Mike Tyson’s punch out,
but was able to settle in. That was really a tough race. Really tough a
week after Michaux.
Did you have any unusual problems?
Aside from the whole Echo and the Bunnymen thing, the ride went well. I
stacked hard on this root ball at the bottom of Weymouth’s. Never
even knew what I hit, I was getting ready to climb, and next thing I
know I was on the ground. Pos was just a little behind me, and after
the obligatory waiting period to make sure I wasn’t hurt, let out
a hardy laugh,… then
he rolled across the same root ball and
Stacked it too. He thanked me for pointing out that little section. That
was pretty funny. I thought it was totally rad coming through the start
finish and having all the folks lining the course up to the little hill.
That was cool and always got me pumped up. Dougie Fresh did a nice job
on the mic pumping up the crowd too.
Were you happy with the way the race was run?
Wooden Wheels Racing team has had a number of organizational changes in
the past couple of years. We’ve been through 2 directors, and 2
race directors. I think John Thompson the race director, did a wonderful
job. The course was in the best shape I have seen it, and there was a
lot work that we had to do to clean up from the Hurricane last fall.
Buddy , John , Craig and Matt did an outstanding job leading the way,
Lauri also did a great job handling the registration. So yeah, I was
really pleased with how things turned out.
Did you have any interesting experiences during your race (exchanges
with competitors/spectators)?
James Ambagis and I got to run the kid’s race. We had 22 riders, in
3 classes. The kids had a ton of fun and the fields were really competitive.
I think I made the last race a lap too long, as all the kids were pushing
their bikes up the little climb on the last lap. That was funny. It was cool
having all of them on the podium and giving them water bottles and what not.
That was really fun. We had sprint finishes, kids leaning on each other in
the corners. I’m telling you we could market this stuff, off track
betting, If NBC will show Arena football, Fox would air this for sure….
Anything
you would like to add?
I want to thank Diane who was at home sick all day, and in fact I wasn’t
sure I was gonna get to race, but when I called her she said, “go
ride your bike, do what you do…” She rules. Spot Bikes for
supporting me, for being punk rock and for being so damn cool. Thanks
to all my Wooden Wheels Brothers and Sisters for smacking me around,
and making riding so much fun. Matt Doyle who kept yelling my name all
around the first lap. Rick at Henry’s Bikes for re-building my
Hub at the last minute and supporting me in general, Howard at Bike Line
for being cool, and the guys at Wooden Wheels Bike Shop.