Napa Valley Dirt Classic 2010 - Battle on the Steeps!

[Jim Hewett]

This is my 5th year racing the Napa Valley Dirt Classic. I put in some good base and build training in the winter and come into the spring with decent fitness for the first grouping of priority races. This year I am trying to come to a fitness peak for Napa, Sea Otter, and Shasta Lemurian. Though full-time work and spending time with my son Simon have made training conditions less than ideal, I felt pretty good for this race and excited to mix it up at the front. Last year I came in second to Aren Timmel by 20 seconds. I have beaten Aren a couple of times so far this season, so my chances looked pretty good for my first NVDC win.

The race pretty much hinges on the steep and rutted fireroad climbs in the last third of the race. The sustained climbing coming after so much racing really sets the stage for some slow-motion warfare. Here you can crack and lose 5 places or reel in just as many broken competitors. Last year, I was the hammer instead of the nail and I was surprised to see Timmel just ahead near the finish for the first time in an hour. This year the plan was to be much closer to him at the start of the steep climbing and then do some pounding!

There was the minor detail of some rain. It had been beautiful all week, but started raining the night before and didn't let up at all. Cold and wet, with some mud. Oh, well. This IS mountain bike racing.

The weather may have scared some people away, but there was Timmel at the start. The other racers to mark were WTB riders Mark Weir and Jason Moeschler. These guys are the real deal, and they were racing this race before I ever donned a spandex costume. It seems like this is a little early in the season for them, though, as they often peak later in the summer (Downieville?). They have not had podium finishes here for a few years, but you can never count them out, especially on a course with this much muddy descending.

After a 50th place starting position at the Fontana race, it was refreshing to be on the front row. The start is slightly uphill for a ways. I moved into the front position and Timmel soon joined me. With relatively small effort, we were able to pull away from the group pretty quickly. Efforts to draft were futile, as mud from Timmel's rear wheel and the fogging of my glasses soon reduced my vision to legal blindness. I followed the blurry figure in front of me, hoping he was picking the best lines. We did some hammering on the flats and some climbing. Timmel began to pull away and I let him get a little gap. I wanted to push it, but knew I needed a reserve for the deep digging that would happen on the climbs out of the valley.

It was kind of weird to ride the next half hour or so by myself. I did the up and down singletrack through the trees, trying to push the speed but not overdo it. I made my tire choices expecting dryer conditions, but chose to keep the Aspen/Racing Ralph combo for a little more speed (though a little less traction). There were a couple of close calls at speed, but the bike worked great. I would have preferred more stealth than my squealing brake rotors provided, as I heard some noise on descents behind me when the course doubled back and I knew my pursuer must be equally aware of my progress.

The muddy climbs and descents that comprise the middle of the course were fun, but a little squirrelly at speed. I knew the steep stuff would start soon and began to anticipate seeing Timmel. Just as I started the descent to the mud puddle that lay at the base of the steepest section, I saw him half way up the climb. To my surprise, I suddenly had some company on the hike up this steep section. Weir had been pushing hard and had closed our gap! Mark provided some of his usual banter, the negative type he needs to get himself pumped up. Not my style, but it seemed to get him up the hill.

Now came the hurting. The three of us were within 50-300 feet if each other for awhile. It was violent, but slow. I lost focus and traction a couple of times, despite using the easiest low gear I have ever raced (26x34). Pushing on foot didn't seem to change the speed much, as Weir was spinning up in an uncharacteristically low granny gear (3 ring circus!). As we came out of the steepest stuff, my heart calmed down a little and I started to reel Timmel in, while moving a little ahead of Weir. I felt pretty good about my position as we made the sharp left to do the last of the long fire road climb, 40 feet behind Timmel and 100 feet ahead of Weir. I came even closer to Timmel before the top, but he was not giving up. We both stood up and hammered the climb up to the airport, which brought us within minutes of the finish. I could tell Timmel was going to fight hard, so I put my head down and did the same. I aced the ride down the rocky and slick "run up" section and turned it on for the slightly downhill fireroad, only to find the surface conditions had changed significantly since we came through this area at the start. The clay surface had gotten seriously slippery! I lost it on a corner and slid about 50 feet down the road on my side, still attached to my bike. I got up quickly and continued a little more cautiously, seeing that Timmel had done the same thing just seconds before. As I made the sharp right around the tree, I could see Weir coming in right behind me with his foot out. Damn, this is going to be close!

I pedalled for all I was worth, trying to stay upright. We came through the singletrack and across the grass and onto the pavement of the track finish. I started my sprint a little early and Weir slingshotted around just before the last corner. Then it was over.

Wow. I haven't had many races end this close. About 4 seconds seperated first from third. Timmel won his third NVDC in a row, and Weir had his best showing at this race in years. I was painfully close to my first win here, but satisfied with an awesome wet and muddy Sunday mountain bike ride!

I screwed up the Garmin, so no details for this race.

I raced my Superfly with the XX 26/39 front crank, 11-34 9spd rear. 19.57 lbs.