Joe Tierney Race Interview - Fair Hill Classic '01

Finally the last few weeks I have had the time to do several endurance road rides - 75+ miles. Also once a week I have been doing hard 30 mile hilly road rides. The week of the race I just went out & played real easy & did lots of stretching to keep my old muscles loose.

Was the water crossing fun?

I'm 5 foot 4 inches - I needed a snorkel. The pink flamingo tried to bite my leg.

What was your favorite part of the course?

The smooth fast twisty singletrack-I love that stuff.

Were you strong from start to finish?

This was my first race this year - my start was very poor-got caught behind 20 riders. The traffic was like rush hour on the schyulkill. I just kept pushing & passing. I felt strong the whole race.

Did you have any interesting experiences during your race (exchanges with competitors/spectators)?

In the singletrack my team mate & I passed this guy at the same time. I passed on the left & Kevin passed on the right- we sandwiched the poor guy. Then Kevin & I got back on the singletrack at the same time crashing into each other. It was not one of our prouder moments.

When did you put the hammer down?

Ahhh - at the start. Hey its mountain biking - I take it up to the puke stage then back one notch. I threw away the heart rate monitor several yrs. ago-kept slowing me down.

Did you have any unusual problems?

No.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

Nice course, great registration. with 717 riders there has to be a slower finish area in my opinion so that the scorers can get your number. I know I flew through there so fast & nearly ran Bob Duppstadt over.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Thank you Bill Deputy , Don Morrison and all the promoters for this great series.