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Chris Eatough Wins
Second World Solo
24 Hours of Adrenalin™ Championship |
The sun shined warming the air to 99º as the crowds gathered and cheered on the lead riders. After the World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin™ Championship participants were called out to the starting line there was one minute of silence in memory those lost in the September 11th tragedy. In the next minute the likes of Tinker Juarez, Rishi Grewal, Chris Eatough, Mary Grigson and Katie Lindquist were running the 0.3-mile LeMans start and 1-mile prologue lap and began the 10.3 mile non-shaded course.
In the men's field Chris Eatough-GB (TREK/Volkswagen) was the first to complete the LeMans followed by Rishi Grewal-USA (Klein) and then Tinker Juarez-USA (Volvo/Cannondale). On the prologue lap, Tinker moved ahead and passed Rishi and Chris. Tinker was 3 minutes up by the second checkpoint but a flat tire pushed him back to third. In the Women's field Cristina Begy-USA (Independent Fabrication) was the first solo women to complete the LeMans and Prologue lap followed by Mary Grigson-Australia (Subaru/Gary Fisher) and then Katie Lindquist-USA (Moots). Mary was first off lap one.
The pace was fast and furious among the top three men! Know one wanted to give up the lead. The temperature hit 105º and all watching were wondering how they could handle this pace in such heat. "They still have 20+ hours to go," was whispered by many.
By the fourth lap things started to look like they were about to change. Tinker was out front. Rishi was starting to bonk and a slow lap put him in third by almost 20 minutes. Chris Eatough had left the pit areas approximately 3 minutes behind Tinker however he was the first to come in and following 2 minutes behind was Tinker. Chris Eatough's display of toughness left Tinker Juarez disheartened. He came in from his lap, got off his bike and sat in his chair and was talking with his pit crew. He did not get up for the next 45 minutes. Then Chris finished another lap. What was happening? Tinker just fell one lap behind, but he did not seem concerned. Shortly after he dropped out of the race to everyone's surprise!
By 6:00pm the temperatures fell to a comfortable 79º, Chris appeared to be falling into his own groove and now had a slight lead taking some of the pressure off. Rishi Grewal appeared to be getting his game plan back together and pressed on. But it was 8:00pm when Rishi came in exhausted and realized that it was time to stop. Chris continued to press on while other competitors emerged such as local James Dover who had now eaten away Chris's lead to 20 minutes and Marcel Knaus of Switzerland was 30 minutes behind James just 9 hours into this 24-hour race. The race was not over yet!
Mary Grigson continued to lead the women's field while the second through fifth jockeyed for position. By 9:00pm Mary had 1hr 15-minute lead. She was going to be tough to catch. Katie Lindquist held third behind Cristina Begy for the first 5 hours before Monica Nelson pulled into third and pushed ahead. Katie never let more than 20 minutes separate them which would prove to be key as Katie moved back into third place at approximately 4:00am Sunday morning ahead of Monica. By 8:00am the pace that Cristina was holding while trying to catch Mary had worn her out and a long break gave Katie the opportunity. Katie attacked and moved into second place.
As the sun began to shine it was apparent that Chris was having trouble and second place 43 year old James Dover was eating away at Chris's lead. Do not forget Chris was the only one left in the race after Tinker Juarez, Rishi Grewal and Chris raced for the early lead in 105-degree temperatures. It was later discovered that Chris had begun to bonk at 10:00pm despite eating and drinking as planned however he pressed on. James Dover responded by attacking and closing the gap to 10 minutes on the last lap. Chris in return responded like a true Champion and held onto his lead, winning by 10 minutes, the smallest margin to date defending his Title to make him the first athlete to hold the World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin™ Championships Title 2 years consecutively. Chris earned himself $1800 and a set of Mavic CrossRoc UST Tubeless wheels. James Dover earned $1100; something I speculate this dark horse did not expect to achieve. Third place was Marcel Knaus of Switzerland. Fourth place was Mark Hendershot-USA. Fifth place and top Canadian Male was Tom Zidek of Canmore, Alberta. Steve Fassbinder-USA came eighth riding an Independent Fabrication single-speed. The top eight men were financially awarded.
Mary Grigson of Australia was crowned the New World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin™ Champion and awarded $1800 and a set of Mavic CrossRoc UST Tubeless wheels. Cristina Begy made another push and by the last lap Katie and Cristina were a mere 6 minutes apart. Katie continued to give all she had, finishing second 14 minutes ahead of Cristina. Monica Nelson, the top Canadian Women came in fourth.
It is usually said that a 24-hour solo race is won and lost in the dark hours of midnight to the morning when competitors are mentally and physically fatigued. For this event it was the fast pace at the start during extreme temperatures turned out to be the major factor that led to many unforeseen performances from some of the strongest competitors.
At the close of 2001 World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin™ Championships in the words of Champion Chris Eatough "this was the toughest race I have ever done!"
For more information on the World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin™ Championships visit the "Current News" and "Results" section at www.24hoursofadrenalin.com.
24HR SOLO WORLD CHAMPION
CHRIS EATOUGH'S TAKE ON THINGS
They say it is always harder to successfully defend a championship than to win
it in the first place, and I can see why.
The 24 Hours of Adrenalin World Solo Championships went down in Idyllwild, CA
this past weekend, contested by the strongest endurance field ever. The presence
of Tinker Juarez and Rishi Grewal, both legends of mountain bike racing with
substantial endurance racing experience, as well as Gary Fisher Pro and World
Cup winner Mary Grigson, created lots of attention, and caused returning champions,
Kate Linquist and myself to start out as underdogs.
This was only my second attempt at a 24 Hour Solo race, and I still consider
myself new to the game. Realizing this, my plan was to keep the early leaders
within reach, and hope to grind away as the race went on, keeping pit stops
as short as possible, just enough to pick up fluid/food, change light batteries
and clothes, and switch bikes periodically.
Rishi, and especially Tinker, started out fast on the first lap, and kept up
the pace for the first few hours. I was sometimes with them, and sometimes hovering
between 1 and 2 minutes behind, staying steady and appreciating the icy Platypus
Pack that was keeping me hydrated and preventing overheating in the 100 degree
dessert heat. The racecourse was on fire from both the sun and the speed, and
it became obvious that this pressure could not be maintained. Something or somebody
had to give, but who or what would it be?
When I passed Rishi out on the 4th lap, he had certainly slowed down, but he
seemed like he had settled into a pace. On the next lap I caught Tinker to take
the lead. This was only about 4 hours into the race, but fatigue was obviously
setting in for him, and he wasn't looking his best. As I started the next lap,
my father and pit crew, Mike, let me know over the Uniden Radios we used during
the race that Tinker had sat down in his pit area and taken his helmet off!
50 minutes later I went through the pits after another steady lap and Tinker
was still there!
The split times were also showing that Rishi was falling back into 3rd, then
4th place. The ferocious speed and fierce heat had obviously taken some victims.
Tinker dropped out after 5 laps (3 hours, 22 mins), and Rishi after 7 laps (6
hours, 24 mins). Jim Dover from California was now in second place, about 30
minutes behind me, and Marcel Knaus from Switzerland was in 3rd, just behind
Jim. Encouragaed by milder evening temperatures, I continued to stretch the
lead to about 45 minutes.
I was able to play it safe through the rest of the night, and meter out my time
in hand as the race wore on. Jim and Marcel were in a close battle of their
own, which kept them racing till the end, and forced me into a 22nd lap to ensure
the win (gee-thanks guys!). The finish was certainly a relief, as I had spent
the night riding through a bonk, leaving much of myself out on the racecourse
(literally, I threw up everything I ate after midnight, and thus rode on fumes
for more than half the race!)
I have deep admiration for my fellow finishers - surviving the brutal conditions
is an awesome accomlishment - and was proud to share victory with world class
athlete, Mary Grigson, who won the women's race by completing 18 laps.
Thanks to Trilife for orgainizing a great event, and for supporting the growth
of endurance mountain bike racing.
Big thanks to my father, Mike. World Champion pit crew and dad. All the planning
and preparation was worth it.
And, of course, thanks to my awesome sponsors;
Trek/VW, JBL, Uniden Radios, Zeal Optics, Platypus, Nightrider, Hayes Brakes,
SRAM, Rock Shox, Chris King, Bontrager, Northwave, Powerbar