XTERRA Alabama preview

epic-29er

Yup, I brought the big dog. This is the perfect 29er course- fast, rocky, rooty and technical.

Specialized Epic 29er.

For more on 29ers, visit my my 29er page on Facebook

-Command Post telescopic seat post. (notice dropped seat height for the technical terrain) I wrote about the Command Post exhaustively on this previous post

-Specialized Fast Trak LK S Works 2.00 tires.  24psi front and 29 psi rear. This course has a super rocky high speed section with some water bar jumps, so I run more psi than I normally would.

I’m very tempted to run The Captain 2.00 in the front- it has taller knobs and corners better in the loose (or if it gets wet), but they roll quite a bit slower, (about 30W vs Fast Trak) so I’m going to go with the Fast Trak, use the Command Post and finesse the loose corners.

-Roval carbon wheels- super stiff and light.

-LOOK Quartz Ti pedals

blood-rock

Blood Rock is famous here on the Oak Mountain, Alabama bike course. Thanks to BUMP for building, maintaining and advocating this epic course. On race day, its lined with spectators, who take incriminating pictures of failure and cowardice…

jamie-whitmore

A huge poster of Jamie Whitmore nailing Blood Rock. We miss you Jamie…

logpiles

Lots of log piles. Need to be on top of your bunny hopping to clear these at speed. Otherwise, brake early and just roll over them.

After running the last 3.3km (2mi) of the infamous run course (the hairy part- it took me 18min!)  I was wet as a sponge and thought I would take a refreshing dip in the lake. But alas, the water temp is 84F (29C), and it feels like you can boil an egg in the top 2 inches. This weekend, the heat and humidity will be the fiercest competitor.

Here is a little riding tip for the weekend. If you’re an XTERRA male pro, dont waste your time here, its not important.

Cornering:

Like XTERRA Waco, this course has hundreds of turns. With the BUMP and Grind MTB race here last week, the trails are quite ridden out, which leaves the corners slippery at best.

If you look at the picture below, you’ll notice that the gravel gets ridden out and accumulates in the outside of the turn- where you would normally take the corner.

I would do anything not to touch that gravel with my front wheel. In fact, I wouldnt even touch it with Nico LeBrun’s front wheel!

The inside line seems inviting- nice and smooth, but you would have to slow down quite a bit to get around the corner, and there is a tree on the inside- which limits leaning. When I ribbed Greg Minnaar for a cornering tip, (I rode Sani2C with him in 07 and could not believe his cornering ability) he said: “Its all about the exit speed”

The 5 green leaves indicate the line I would take at speed. Great traction, a nice, banked surface and you get to stay off the brakes and rail the outside of the corner- where the old, wise men go… (the young ones dive for the inside)

cornering1

Speaking of old, wise men, here is my home stay Casey and Andrea Fannin and their new kitten. Casey is many time XTERRA age group World Champion and Iron Man. (Not sure if racing 14 IMs disqualifies you as a wise man?)

casey-andrea

Tags:  

Comments

jameson 12-06-2010, 04:53

i love that course… I am coming for you guys in 2011! Kill it on Sunday!

Reply

Leave a Reply


Sponsors

Sponsors_2015_2nd

Archives

Story Time

Cavegirl on the way!!!

Cavegirl on the way!!!
Liezel and I are happy to announce our baby girl on the way! We are 23 weeks in, #PrincessHotstuff is fit and trim, and for me, time is not moving fast enough!  Due date 15-5-15. Suuuuper excited prix viagra en pharmacie! With these genes, she’ll be shooting hoops while wheelie-ing at the age of 3. […]
Read it...

Being the Caveman is hard work- have been busy…

Being the Caveman is hard work- have been busy…
As you all know, its easy to overindulge and pack on the pounds during the festive season, so Cross Training is a key ingredient to keeping the Caveman fit and flexable. Gotta keep on top of skills training too. Breakfast sure wasnt pretty. But its all part of the food chain… Like I said, being […]
Read it...

Caveman wins in mountain region of Scanno at XTERRA Italy

Caveman wins in mountain region of Scanno at XTERRA Italy
XTERRA Italy has the most amazing course! Parts through the old mountain town of Scanno. To the tune of "eye of the tiger" (thanks DJ Jack!) Caveman wins XTERRA Italy by 4 minutes. XTERRA Italy made is debut in the idyllic mountain town of Scanno, in the province of Abruzzo. In terms of the culture […]
Read it...

Caveman’s specialized equipment choices in quest for 7th World title

Caveman’s specialized equipment choices in quest for 7th World title
#aeroiseverything #soisfattyres #dittohorsepower ITU Cross Triathlon Worlds 2013 Long version Cross Tri Worlds Highlights. (Short version- 2.40) Racing through the dunes, stairs and sidewalks of Holland proved a fertile ground for innovative equipment choices.  From the video you can get a feel for the course- but the real test was the long sections of deep, […]
Read it...

a Caveman car for a Caveman situation…

a Caveman car for a Caveman situation…
Caveman’s Stellenbosch Kelfords Ford Fietsta Ambiente 1.4 [Open letter to friend and owner of Kelfords Ford and Mazda in Somerset West, South Africa] Dear Tristan, Thank you very much for the use of your wonderful little Ford Fiesta. We love the fuel economy, (5.9L per 100km) the nippy handling, the voice activated, hands free phone […]
Read it...

Cheers to a remarkable 2012

Cheers to a remarkable 2012
18 races, 1 World Title (ITU Cross Tri), my 10th XTERRA USA Series title, 10 victories, 16 podiums and many many special memories. My sporting highlight was winning my 2nd ITU Cross Triathlon World Title in Pelham Alabama, USA. a Personal highlight was sharing the entire year and all the remarkable experiences with my gorgeous […]
Read it...
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5