Fontana Race Report

I already wrote some lessons I learned from the Fontana race this Sunday, but I also wanted to attempt a brief ride report with some race details. Thought it might be fun. Fun for me to write, maybe not for anyone else to read. Ha.

Got to Fontana at about 5:50AM to meet Doug and Jason for a pre-ride. I've never been to Fontana and had no idea what the course would be like. We ended up taking our time on the course and I finished with maybe 10 minutes before race time.

The course was loose, sandy and rutted. It also had a lot of singletrack which meant a lot of traffic jams. Pros, semipros and expert class riders rode the course the day before and it showed.

I tried to pick out spots to attack and recover, but it was tough. I just couldn't get into a groove on the pre-lap at all.

I was in the first group to start Sunday morning at 8AM. They started all XC Sport Men 20-29 at the same time. Basically two separate groups at the same time. I was marked as being in group 219. So I wanted to stay with anyone with a giant "219" on their calf.

Probably had 15-18 riders start with me and I was literally the only one with baggy shorts and without a jersey. Yikes. I stood out because I wasn't wearing spandex.

Race started and it was the typical psycho-hammer-fest right out of the gate. I fell towards the back immediately but tried to push.

Did ok for a while at a hard pace and got stuck behind a few guys on the first singletrack. One guy was going so incredibly slow it was unreal. He was super scared of the technical spots even though they were nothing compared to the rest of the course.

I passed a few guys in the first mile or two and kept pushing and pushing, trying hard to maintain my spot in the pack. After the first couple of miles it was really obvious I was left behind by the leaders. It got to the point where I couldn't see them ahead on the course.

The first major singletrack descent of the first lap was kind of nasty. I saw literally not one rider go down at Bonelli, but at Fontana downed riders were common. Quite a few people ate it on the first singletrack due to the loose sand and ruts.

The second major climb of the first lap buried me. I had been pushing very hard and the second climb was the straw that broke my back so to speak. I got into a furious breathing rhythm that I was unable to break out of. Every breath was short and shallow - a sign of panic. I tried to relax and take deep breaths, but it wasn't working.

I finally crested the top of the second climbing section and I have to admit I felt like quitting. I was in bad shape physically and mentally. In the past part of my strategy has been to out suffer my opponents. Sunday showed me that maybe this isn't always a good idea.

The only interesting part of the second half of the first lap was being passed by Chris Messina. I met Chris a long time ago and I knew he was coming up from behind on a singletrack section. He wanted to pass, which is totally cool except he picked a bad place to do it. It was a technical section at the top of a narrow singletrack climb and I took the bad line on purpose to let him pass. He passed and it worked ok, but it ended up breaking my rhythm on the bike. I was forced into an awkward track stand instead of just flowing over the area.

Next time I'll wait for a better section even if the guy behind me is a little frustrated. When I get over for someone to pass it's their responsibility to pass and not take their time.

I did end up having a small crash on a banked turn, but it wasn't bad and I was up and back on the bike in maybe 10 seconds. My hip has been hurting a bit since Sunday, but it's nothing serious.

Jason caught me at about 75% of the way through the first lap and ended up staying ahead of me by maybe 30 seconds for the rest of the race.

Lap two I decided to go a bit easier. I rode in my small ring more and spun in a lot of the climbing sections. I'm kind of embarrassed in retrospect, but trust me ... at the time I didn't care.

I finished the second lap in about the same time as the first and felt just "ok" about my performance. I think I could have pushed harder, but my body was screaming for me to pardon it from more pain and I gave in.

BEGIN Opinionated Rant

During the race I found myself thinking, "I could move up in the standings if someone from my group would just crash or have a mechanical. Maybe I'll get lucky?" I quickly realized how stupid that thinking is. If I am going to beat another rider in a race I want the other rider to be racing at his peak. If he crashes, if he has a flat or something and I beat him, it means nothing. It just means on that particular day I was luckier than he was. So what. Also I can't bring myself to hope someone crashes so I can advance. This is just mountain bike racing after all right? I don't want to see people get hurt.

I mention this because some racers have the opposite mentality. They want people to go down so they can ride harder and faster. They treat the other racers like obstacles and not fellow enthusiasts. Screw that mentality.

I've done several races over the past two years and I have to say that overall my experience has been positive. If a faster guy is behind me I don't mind getting over. I'm not going to stop him.

If I need to pass someone I let them know and then do it. If they won't get over I'll wait until I can force my way by them. If I ever find myself yelling at someone during a race I think it's time to retire. Racers that feel the need to yell at other people out of frustration ought to do us all a favor and stop racing.

END Opinionated Rant

So that was Fontana. I had a TON of fun after the race watching other people ride.



I'm actually in that photo under the American Flag. You can barely see my hat. Haha.

It was just so awesome to watch the pro downhill riders and some short track racing (which I didn't even know existed). The whole vibe was cool and I'm anxious to keep racing and going to events and more importantly to keep the whole experience fun.