Fontana National - Pro XCT #1

[Jim Hewett]

If you are an American pro mountain bike racer without the support or ability to race in Europe, the Pro XCT is the series on which you will focus in 2010. Though I will probably not do every race in the series, I am compelled to do Fontana and Sea Otter because they are relatively close. This is a completely different level than the local stuff. Sure, there are some fast guys in NorCal, but these races bring the fastest guys in America and Canada. The question changes from "will I win this one?" to "will I be in the top 50%?". It's a bit intimidating but also very exciting. This is a race where you are battling someone for position almost constantly - a slip and you lose two spots!

I raced at this venue in 2008, where I podiumed in semi-pro. Little has changed since then. It has the same post-apocalyptic, landfill/dump, broken glass-covered sand-over-hardpack appeal. Lots of stutter bumps and dust-covered ruts, all in the middle of an industrial park/nieghborhood.

This time we were racing the "pro only" loop for 5 laps around 4.5 miles each, with one defining dirt climb and one painful pavement climb. The rest was twisty singletrack with short punchy climbs and fun descending. For 2010 they added a new technical descent section that made this course more serious and "world cup like".

The weather didn't seem so hot in the shade. The breeze under the trees in the park almost gave me a chill, but the complete lack of shade on the course made the 80 degree day quite warm at race pace. That same breeze grew into a "Santa Anna" wind for race day, with substantial gusts blowing riders off line and slowing the pace drastically in some sections.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a call up around 50th of the 98 starters. In an attempt to thin things out before the singletrack, they had us race some zig-zags through the start/finish area. I guess the yo-yo effect of 98 guys all trying to make 5 180 degree turns thinned things out, but it sure didn't help anyone in the back move up. When we reached the loose technical climb about 5 minutes into the lap, it was still bumper to bumper traffic.

The technical descent after this long, steep climb was rocky with some fun and fast rough stuff and a sustained section right at the bottom that had a few line options. Nothing too gnarly, but kind of spicy when you throw in XC race tires, a redlining heartrate, and other riders!

Things broke up a little on the paved climb into a strong headwind, then began to string out on the singletrack stuff. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though that first 10 minutes definitely gave the front quarter of the group a significant head start.

I found a bit of a rythm and settled in. I had just switched to a 1x10 setup a few days before, which gave me a slightly easier gear than usual (34x36). The only place this mattered at all was on the long loose climb, which they claim approached a 30% grade in sections. Though this climb was rideable the day before in my preride, I walked at least a little each lap in the race. It is a little different when you are above your anaerobic threshold when you start the climb!

I tried to stay on the gas for laps two and three. I was passing the occasional rider and mixing it up with a few guys. I seemed to lose a little of my oomph! on the last two laps. I would be overtaken a few times each lap, without putting up too much of a fight. It was a relief to start lap 5, which meant I was in no danger of being pulled for the "80%" rule. If you are not within 80% of the leader's time, you are pulled to ensure no lapped traffic. I think about 45% of the field did not get to do 5 laps.

I finished in 48th place, with MacNaughty coming in right behind me.

Not a great race for me, but good enough and I enjoyed the experience. The national pro format is another level and takes some getting used to. If I can get more experience and a better callup, I could see maybe moving into the 30's. Something to shoot for, though I think I'll continue to focus more on the local stuff.

I have to thank Colby Pastore for the bottle hand-ups. The dry heat concealed the fact that we were losing a lot of fluid. After the race I noticed salt crusted on my hair, skin, and clothing.

I raced my Superfly, sub 19lbs, with a 34 x 11-36 drivetrain. Racing Ralph EVO 2.25 front, Racing Ralph Snakeskin 2.25 rear.

48th place, 2 hours 8 minutes (First place was 1 hour 46 minutes), 22.8 miles, Max Heartrate 184bpm(!), Average heartrate 164, 4500 feet of ascent (Garmin site reads 6400 feet?), Average speed 10.7mph, Max speed 28mph.