Rockhopper Classic 2014

[Jim Hewett]

I have never done this race, which is relatively close to home in Vacaville.  I'm usually in a low fitness point this time of year and the weather is also a deterrent.  This year I am just beginning intensity training, so I figured I would check it out, despite the forecast for high temps.  Seemingly as an afterthought, this was also the USAC California State Championship race.

Shiloh, Phil and I rode up together.  I had tried to hydrate well the days before, drinking lots of water and then Osmo Preload Hydration the night before and morning of.  I would be starting the race with 70 oz of frozen Osmo Active Hydration in a Camelback Racebak under my jersey.  This gives a nice cooling effect on your spine and thaws fast enough that I have refreshing cold Osmo for most of the race.

Descriptions of the course involved lots of steep climbing and hillside singletrack.  Shiloh and I rode the first third of the course as a warmup, and it reminded me of a tamer version of SoNoMas.  The trails would not draw me away from Marin for a mountain bike ride, but they were actually pretty good for an XC race.

Things were getting warmer fast as we gathered for the start.  I was surprised that the turnout was not better for Pro men, given the State Championship was on the line.  Justin Herrell was called up as the winner of last year's race.  Clint Claasen raced the Battle Born Enduro the day before, but he was back for more.  Danny Macnaughton, Phil Mooney, Davis Bentley, Colby Pastore, and an Audi cycling racer named Justin Thomas were pretty much it for the Pro field.

We started the race casually, as most of us were smart enough not to start too hard in the heat.  Phil moved to the front on the first climbs, but later Clint and Justin and I came around and distanced ourselves from everyone else.  Things stretched out on the climbs, and we three were well away once we started descending.  The order was Clint, me and Justin, separated by about 8 seconds each.  I lost focus for a second and my rear tire slipped off of the trail to the downhill side, causing me to lose my second place spot to Justin.

We finished the first lap in this order, and I pushed on the climbs for the first half of lap 2.  I moved to within 10 seconds of Justin, but eventually slipped back.  I was hydrating well and definitely not feeling crushed by the heat, but my lack of high-end fitness showed on the extended climbs.  By lap 3, Justin and Clint were out of sight and I found myself riding alone, with only the occasional lapped rider for company.

I finished a few minutes behind Clint and over a minute behind Justin.  Not a very eventful race for me,  but good training for Skyline later this month, where I hope to be fitter and faster.