April 2/00 10:14 am - Mazatlan Report, Tchmil Takes Flanders

Posted by Editor on 04/2/00
 

Mazatlan Pre-Race Report

Chris Redden has passed on a report from mountain bike pro Chrissy Redden (Gary Fisher-Saab), who is down in Mazatlan, Mexico for the second round of the World Cup. The race will take place later today, with women off at 10:30 am Pacific (1:30 pm Eastern), and the men at 1:30 pm Pacific (4:30 pm Eastern).


I got off the phone with Chrissy a little while ago and here is a little pre-race info.

The area where all of the teams are staying is a typical holiday destination with nice hotel and beach. The area around or outside the hotel is another story. You want to train with a partner or two if you know what I mean. The course aroused more controversy than any other in recent memory. All of the riders are complaining about the conditions, the lack of climbing, and the amount of single track with no passing. Basically the course is very flat with little climbing. Ontario races have more hills than this course. There are literally 100 corners that the riders have to navigate and the trails are very tight and twisty. The ground itself is very sandy and dry and will be dusty during the race. The sand seems to be grabbing people's wheels as there is alot of crashing during training. It will probably get worse for the race. The lap was 7.5 km but they removed one of the hills which brings it to 6.6 km.

The start is very BMXish with bumps and berms and there is a corner 15 ft from the start. The loop also has a 2 min climb ( the longest one it sounds like) , a steep hike a bike section, and a very technical downhill that is rocky, sandy, and with drop offs. Look for some riders to really shine or crash on this section. The last 1/3 of the course offers very little in the way of passing. This will make a sprint to the finish very difficult. All in all it sounds like the race will be very challenging as it offers a different terrain from what the racers are used to seeing. The managers meeting still had to take place so some of these sections of the course may be changed before the race.

That's all for now.
Chris


Tour of Flanders

Andrei Tchmil (Lotto) has won the second round of the World Cup, followed by Dario Pieri (Saeco), Romans Vainsteins (Vini Caldirola) and World Cup leader Erik Zabel (Deutsche Telekom). More to follow.


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