Monday, October 12, 2009

The pits

Working the pits at a muddy elite UCI cyclocross race is pretty exhilarating.

Scott, John P., and I pitted for Matt and Steevo on Friday. We had a sad little bucket with a few rags and limited access to a communal hose. The big boys had crews with high power pressure hoses, brushes, and several bikes.

Paid support crews, significant others, and friends of racers lined the pits with focused concentration and attention to detail. As you wait for your rider to pass through for a bike change, you best watch out and not accidentally cause Trebon to crash or Powers to lose a step while blazing through the pits, never missing a beat.

The intensity is crazy, yet the racers remain calm and appreciative of their crew.

Except that one guy who was a complete ass to (what appeared to be) his girlfriend/wife. Maybe someone should remind him that he's playing in mud on a bicycle with other grown men in Lycra. Is it really necessary to be a jerk?

1 comment:

Chris Mayhew said...

What kit was the jerk wearing?

Thanks for helping Steevo out. Having a clean bike was like having wings on the pavement from the pit to the downhill.