Race Report: 1987 Rumpstomper

My second race as an expert went a little better than the first, but the result was still a disappointment. After racing so well in May, I really expected to perform better in the Expert class.

Organized by mountain bike legend Bob Shaw, the Rumpstomper was the sister race to the Rockhopper with a slightly different course.

If I remember right, the first and last thirds of the race were basically the same as the Rockhopper, but we rode the middle loop backwards.

The one big difference between Sport and Expert was the company we kept. When we staged for races in the Sport class, the big names were somewhere up in front of us in the distance. As Experts, we were staged with the Pros. For a few races it was weird to be right next to Joe, Ned, Casey, Max and Tomac. But eventually we realized they were just racers, like us, albeit a little faster.

We took off and within a couple minutes Steve and I were sitting somewhere around the top 50. The pace was always very high in the beginning of these Annadel races, and I tried not to get too caught up in it. Sure, there was a definite advantage to being near the front when we turned off the gravel road, but you still needed to pace yourself. There was an 1100 foot climb coming.

When we turned onto the singletrack we entered our element. The trails became more technical and the climbing suited me. We started making our way through the field, picking off riders as the climb progressed.

When we crested the top, I felt like we were doing well. Now the downhilling duo would do their thing. 

We blasted downhill with Steve leading the way. Over the years we developed a level of trust so that either of us could lead on a downhill and the other could ride his wheel knowing he would choose the right lines. I alternated between looking past him to get a basic lay of the land and watching his hips to see the subtle weight shifts alerting me to his changes in direction. If he hunched down, I knew he was about to manual over an obstacle. If his head tilted down, I knew a technical obstacle was coming. There were probably many more clues that I innately understood that elude me now as I write.

We finished the descent and picked up a few more places. In the Sport class we would pass MANY riders on downhills, but most of the Experts and Pros were just as fast. Still, we made a net gain.

On the next climb neither of us was as strong. We lost places and even noticed a few Sport riders passing us, which surprised me. After all, I had just dominated the Sport class here at the Rockhopper three weeks ago.

On the second downhill we gained some places back, but not enough. We time trialed the gravel road to the finish and crossed in 35th and 36th overall.

While getting inside the top 40 out of 250 starters seems good, this only netted us 15th and 16th in the Expert class. Disappointing. Even worse, we would have been 5th and 6th in the Sport class, outside of the podium. It definitely left me wondering if the Expert class was really for me.

Our ABC teammate Greg Edwards finished a couple places ahead of us. No disrespect to Greg, he was a strong rider, but at this point in our racing careers he should not have been ahead of us.

Steve and I both rode well in the early season, but it was clear we had both peaked and were on the fitness downslope. This was all a learning experience. There were so many facets and nuances to training and racing well, and we were still figuring it out. Merely three weeks before on the same trails I felt unstoppable, yet today I didn't have nearly the same power.

Next up was Revenge of the Siskiyous in Oregon. I was already concerned about this one.

Later.