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The Chris Davidson diary
Chris Davidson is a former mechanic for Bontrager Racing Service, now in the service of Shimano Multi-Service.
Chris' diary entries will show you what life is like inside the pits and an insight into the mind of a mechanic.
Boise Twilight Crit (NE), Boise Idaho, July 24, 2004
Boise Town
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Greetings everyone, on the eve of Lance's amazing sixth victory in the Tour, I ventured up to Boise, Idaho to do some racing myself at the NRC-ranked Wells Fargo Boise Twilight Criterium. As usual, I could not keep myself from the pit, and ended up changing wheels and pushing riders back in the pro race before the evening was over. I found this event to be rather unique, in the mold of other downtown night-time events, like Athens (Twilight) and Austin (Ride for the Roses Crit). Here is how it went...
I got there the day before and had pre-registered for the Category 3 race, which took place earlier in the evening while there was still available daylight. We had a couple of large crashes in the 3's race, one putting 13 riders in the pit. I had gone by the pit before the start of the race to check out the neutral service situation. I found a lone mechanic there, so I stopped to introduce myself. Covering this race was Jeremy Bader of Northwest Technical support, a small (two-man) outfit out of Seattle that covers races in the Pacific Northwest. These guys have carved out a small fleet of Redline bikes for support, and an ample supply of wheels in 9 and 10 speed, with big tire support from Hutchinson. I had seen them at other races on Oregon, but this was my first chance to get the details. With only one guy in the pit, and the sun setting during my race, I decided to shower up quickly after my race and head down to the pit to help out for the men's and women's pro races.
I got back to the pit during the women's race, in which there we only minor problems. As the pro men started to show up, the sun had set. We had a few pros come by the pit to get some help with their bike set-ups. Most notably was former race winner, Henk Vogels of Navigators. Henk had flown in with team-mate Marty Nothstein and both had brought their training bikes. Henk's rear derailleur cable barrel adjuster was bent and his rear housing was kinked. Jeremy got to work and after a couple of rounds of adjustment the 11 tooth cog was dialed in. I had to replace a front wheel on Jonny Sundt's Klein. 'Il Gatto' (Sundt) is a real favorite around Boise as he is from the Pacific Northwest. Besides the pros from Navigators and Jittery Joes, the Subway Team had brought a full squad to support hometown boy Remi McMannus. Remi won the 2001 national amateur road race riding for a small team from Boise; he got some of the loudest cheers during the rider introductions.
The men's race got underway and we braced for the 'big crash' as the course was mostly in the dark, minus the brightly-lit four corners. Surprisingly, we only did a handful of wheel changes during the race, no crashes all night. The oddest situation of the evening was when a Subway rider had a rear flat and visited the pit. Subway director, Rene Wenzel, had brought over spare bikes and wheels and the rear replacement wheel that I was handed to install went in the frame but did not spin. I opened and closed the rear skewer twice as the tension grew, yet the wheel would not rotate in the frame. We quickly went to another wheel and pushed the rider back in the race. Closer examination of the first replacement wheel showed the cassette lock-ring was level with the hub axle locknut, so when the wheel was quick released in the frame, the chain bound up on the dropout and the wheels would not spin. Kendra Wenzel took one look and chuckled, blaming her husband Rene for the error. No worries as the pit official allowed an additional free lap for the rider and the event with the wheel was a non-issue.
Out on the course, Henk and Marty were the show, racking up close to $500 in prime money. Despite the efforts of the field to break it up, on the bell lap Henk went to the front and dragged the whole last lap. Marty got the perfect lead-out and won easily, Henk held on for third. Impressive.
This crit was a well-run event and grows in prizemoney and field size each year. Now that it is on the NRC, time will tell if it takes its spot as one of America's best. It certainly has all the right things going for it: great course, big crowd, good organization and plenty of cash primes. Boise is also a great little city, and the cycling scene there is very active. This one will definitely be on the trip list next year.
This week I head back to Idaho for the next round of NORBA in Sandpoint. See you at the race, thanks for reading.
CD