Tales from the pit | Cyclingnews

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Richard Feldman's mechanic(Image credit: Ella Lawrence)

The US Cyclocross Nationals at the International Speedway in Portland, OR, were three days of some of the year's stickiest and muckiest racing. Ever wonder how racers manage to keep their bikes clean when they themselves are so dirty? What exactly goes on in the pit, the area where wrenchers in Wellingtons line up to assist their riders by switching their bikes out during the race? Ella Lawrence braved the pit during the masters' 30-34 race last Saturday to get some insider's knowledge on the scene behind the pressure-washer.

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As the gun went off and the racers lunged forward, I squeezed myself between muddy, tense mechanics next to Cameron Falconer, an elite racer for Team Hunter, a scruffy grassroots team out of Santa Cruz, CA. Falconer's race isn't until tomorrow, but today he's in the pit for two of his teammates, including Rick Hunter, the man who makes the bikes. I ask him what the main responsibilities of someone in the pit are, and he rattles off an answer as he's gathering together buckets, brushes, lube, and rags.

"To give the rider you're responsible for a bike change as necessary, and when you give them the change, to do it in a fashion that doesn't cost them any time. Also, to give them a bike that's functional and not as f****d-up as when they gave it to you. And you have to stay out of the way of all of the other over-caffeinated freaks that are trying to pit for their riders. And not make any enemies and be friends with everyone."

Cameron Falconer:: Most everybody's just got their buddy or their girlfriend or something helping them out. The dynamic in the pro races will be different. There will be proper team support; guys there solely as somebody's mechanic. This race (the previous master's race) there were a couple of guys here who were pretty well-supported, the guy who won (Richard Feldman, from Colorado) had three identical Colnago bikes, and two or three guys in his pit. He won this last year, too.

Falconer continues, "A lot of people show up with a fair amount of equipment and support in the upper category races. But you know the masters do take this stuff pretty seriously, so we see a fair amount of nice Gucci shit and a lot of duplication, people with multiples and a mechanic. People are pretty proficient out here. But at a race like this, the level isn't high enough... you see videos of Europe, or you go to world's and every nation has its own little box where you have to stand and it's very strict. Comparatively, this is pretty haphazard, really, even though it's national championships. The level will come up a whole bunch between now and tomorrow when the elite men and the elite women race. It will be a far more professional scenario in here. But there will also be quite a few people, like me, with whoever they can scrounge up: their sponsor, their buddy, to help them in the pit."

Sabel disappears and reappears later with a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate and traces of mud still on his face. We stand back and watch as mechanics hustle - because it's Nationals, the pit runs two ways, and so many racers can (and are) changing bikes every half-lap. The frequent changes are certainly beneficial to the riders, whose bikes can clump with upwards of 35 pounds of mud in the sticky course, but certainly puts stress on the mechanics, who have to move their feet quicker than high school girls at volleyball practice to get the dirty bikes in line at the pressure-washer, hosed off, lubed up, run through the gears, and back to the rider in under five minutes.