April 25, 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: Rocky with a chance of rain
Email: marc@brevoort.com
How was your fitness level going into this race?
You know that song "white lines" by duran duran? yeah the song that was
like the all time roller skating rink hit? Yeah, that was in my head the
entire race. I kinda like that song so it wasn't too bad at all. Legs felt
pretty good so I really can't complain at all. Did you know that song was
about drugs? When I was a kid I sure as hell didn't. It's just been recently
that I put that together. Guess you can tell I wasn't the brightest bulb.
Were
you happy with your position going into the singletrack?
I can best describe my post ion going into the single track as up right,
so I can't really complain. The singles started with the expert vets,
as we took off a number of singles were at the front, then that crazy canadian
Blair realized singles were leading and like a clap of thunder he took
to the front. It was as if zeus himself decided to lead the field. Zeus
with a piercing loud laugh...The first section of single track had a
lot of traffic but everyone was cool.
Were you strong from start to
finish?
Strong is probably too strong of a term. I felt good, it been a few years
since I raced at Michaux, so I tried to be cautious to not make too many
huge energy expenditures. I couldn't resist the chance to race with the
State College Mafia again (Frank, Travis, Harry and the don himself ERoman)
those guys are hella cool, and really fast. They keep their pimp hands
strong for sure. I got the bruises to prove it...
When did you
put the hammer down?
I had the extreme pleasure of riding with Frank and my buddy John Cleary
for quite some time. It was John's first Michaux experience, and I was
really proud of how he persevered through the rocks. I guess the final
2 sections of single track I had really good Flow, the bass from "white
lines" was
steady pumping in my head that was good. I was passing a lot of riders
too, so I was feeling the love. Got a lot of single speeder, rigid, you
rule kinda stuff, good for the self esteem. I did feel really good there.
Must have been some kind of chemical imbalance or something.
Did
you have any unusual problems?
Kill Bill volume 2. I haven't been able to see it yet. Just got the Kill
Bill DVD last weekend and it rocked. A little gratuitous on the blood
spillage, but otherwise outstanding Kung Fu action. Tarrantino at his best.
Riding wise everything was smooth. One little stack on a steep section, but
it was more funny than not.
Were you happy with the way the race was
run?
Yeah, the Gettysburg folks did a really nice job. I appreciate their hard
work to put on a quality event. I was bummed they didn't get all the
single speeders together. Usually that's a pretty fun time staging, good to
see old friends, make new ones, talk some smack. But otherwise no complaints
at all.
Did you have any interesting experiences during your
race (exchanges with competitors/spectators)?
There was that giant penguin on the long fire road climb. But aside from
him, everything was cool.
Anything you would like to add?
I want to thank Diane (my wife) because, well she makes me want to be a
better me, and is totally supportive of me. I want to thank Jessica and
Michael at Spot Brand for being so freaking cool and taking me into their
world. I want to thank Slick Rick the ruler at Henry's Bikes for his
support, Howard from Bike Line, and all of my Brothers and Sisters in the Wooden
Wheels Family and the shop. I love riding, racing and traveling with
them.