NEWS
24hrs of Survival.
11th Sept 2007
Monterey, California
For me, Johnny Waddell, the 2007 Solo World Championships in Monterey CA was a superb success. Finishing in 6th place overall and as the 1st Australian went beyond my expectations. I completed 17 22km (13.5ml) laps on a course that had 2600 feet of climbing per lap. The field started off with the traditional Le Mans (running) start to our bikes. And the field of riders put the hammer down from the get go.
I knew what pace would be reasonably comfortable to maintain for aproximately15 hours; all I had to do was to make sure I kept the rubber side down, that I ate the correct food each lap, drank as much as possible and stayed motivated and smart. However, with the temp soaring up to 100F (38C), it definitely wasn't comfortable trying to set a good pace without over heating. In addition, I kept thinking that I could not believe how much climbing there was. By the end of the 15th lap the pain was starting to work its way in.
On pit lane, which we entered once each lap, my support crew, Erik, Garen, and Josh, three loyal workers from Santa Cruz Bicycles, took care of anything I needed to keep on keeping on. These guys were so fast and efficient, it was unbelievable, they ruled.
My motivation began to drop around 9pm, once the sun had set. I could not ride the course as fast as I wanted to in the dark. The guys read me well and fed me a dose of Red Bull, motivation in a can. So after downing a can of Red Bull I took off into the darkness and started to think, all I have to do is complete 5 or 6 laps during night and the sun will rise; then its race pace all over again.
At 6am, I was content; I was sitting in 11th position and feeling fantastic as the light was coming up. I didn't feel like I had been racing for 20hrs. I put the power down, stepped up my pace and now, having seen the lap times, those morning laps were as fast as my first 4 or 5 laps.
By 9am, I was oblivious to the fact that I was first Australian and was not aware of this until 10 minutes after I finished. I thank my pit crew for helping me make this real. Santa Cruz is good as gold to me and I felt it in Monterey on Sunday under the blazing sun.