The Teva Games Mountain Bike race went off yesterday here in Vail, CO.  Our 4 pm start time meant lots of anticipation with plenty of quiet day-time hours spent waiting. At the start there were 50 of us pro Men, a sizeable field for a one-off event. The fans were out in full force, making more noise than I’ve heard at any other race.

And of course Floyd was racing so people offered him some largely undeserved hype. Come on VeloNews, Floyd sucked it up racing while under suspension and somehow he gets the press.  How about Jay Henry and his recent domination of the Colorado racing scene? Scandal continues to sell issues apparently. There’s lots of uncertainty about Floyd’s situation, but I can testify that his Testosterone has surely worn off because he was breathing harder and going slower than all of us up that first climb…  If you read the linked article, I appreciate Travis Brown’s comment the most. Well said.

We were off and underway for 3 laps that closely followed the route of the 2001 World Championship course. Two climbs of five minutes were followed by a sustained climb of fifteen minutes. In and out of the woods the singletracks nicely intermixed with the service roads. The descents were great; switchbacks, bermed corners, drop ins and just enough roots and rocks for some extra flavor.

Lap one I was back a ways on the first climb, but regained a bit later on that lap. Lap two I rode into the top 20 and by the top of the course a small group had formed with Ned Overend and Josh Bezecny. Ned had flatted on lap one so he was quick to drop us climbing on the final lap. Josh and I battled it out, going back and forth all the way up the climb. The only problem was that he was on a 5â€? travel bike and I was on the hardtail with 80mm up front. I chased in earnest on the downhill, but he was able to open the gap before crossing the line. All things considered I was very pleased with my ride and how I felt out there.  I could go hard and better yet, I could recover and do it again when I needed to.

Today is the Hill Climb up Vail Pass on the skinny tires. It should be about a 30 minute effort that is sure to burn.  I’ll have more to report after the race, so this is all for now.

TJ