Triumph and defeat—the two are so closely related, so similar in the emotional impact they leave yet so different in how they make us feel. The above photo, taken at this year's mountain bike nationals in Winter Park, couldn't speak better for itself and the seven-day-long competition at 9,000+ feet elevation. Some celebrated, others were tripped up by mechanical issues, but most had an amazingly good time in the Colorado Rockies.
When earlier this year I had received an email from USA Cycling informing me that I had been assigned as Chief Referee of the 2022 edition of this weeklong gathering of the best endurance and gravity riders in the United States, I had been incredulous. Last year, after a one-year hiatus during the pandemic, I had been Vice Chief (also in Winter Park), and back then it had been my assumption that I had been assigned to be the wingman of the 2021 CR and that after that my career heading up the crew of national championships would slowly fade away as there are younger, well-deserving officials waiting for their chance at the Big Time. Just for the record: I had been Chief Referee for our Collegiate National Championships in 2009, '10, '11, '12, and '15, for the 24-Hour Championships in 2011, for the Gravity-only championships in 2012, for the Marathon Championships in 2019, and the biggest and most-complex of all US cycling championships (mountain or road), the unified Elite Mountain Bike Championships in 2015, '16, '17, and '19. That's a total of twelve Nationals as Chief, not counting a few more stints as Vice Chief or other Assistant. Without wanting to boast, I am fairly confident that record has been equaled by very few other USAC officials.
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| With DH-ops mountain man Trip |
So, receiving the invitation to once again be at the helm of this year's event came as a total surprise but also filled me with deep professional pride and the determination to make sure that I had not overstayed my welcome. As I have written in years past covering national championships, the Chief Referee takes on the role of conductor of an orchestra: Think of the eight other assigned commissaires as expert musicians, all of them gifted virtuosi who simply need to be gently directed to reach and excel on the next level. With two exceptions I had worked with all of the others before, knowing their strengths (and also some of their few weaknesses), and it was up to me to utilize their individual talents and expertise to elevate the common level of excellence. In other words, I was the CEO for a group of over-achievers.
The CR's job starts when the assignment arrives via e-mail. In the month before the race I had been thinking about how I would be able to make our group gel into a team that would not fall apart on day 5 or 6, under the pressure of having worked insanely long days, having been confronted with unhappy racers or parents who sometimes become belligerent, and having been battered by the sun, or the wind, or the thunderstorms that the Rockies will throw at you. Eight individuals with different personalities, with different abilities of holding up under physical pressure, with different psyches and different emotional needs and expectations. Ugur is different from Amy is different from Michael is different from Emily is different from.... So, it is a good thing to know your crew well.
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| Amy |
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| Joe |
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| Jared |
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| Amy, Emily, Ugur, (Joe and Katsu), and Justin |
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| Cath |
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| Michael |
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| Ugur |
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| Katsu |
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| Emily and Jared |
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| I never could catch a photo of Leslie because of her workload! Sorry Leslie! |
Once I had received from the race director(s) the actual competition schedule it was time to assign each crew member her or his task, not only on a daily basis but in a detailed hour-by-hour schedule that was often subdivided into smaller sections. I had to think about the location on the mountain where the commissaires were to perform their duties, and surprisingly I managed to keep the number of overlaps (double-bookings!) to fewer than five altogether. Once I shared the schedules with my crew a week or so before the event, asking for feedback, their eagle eyes spotted a few mistakes—not too bad when you consider that the master competition schedule for the seven days had right at about 350 line items.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that almost each one of these daily schedules had to be adjusted once we had started the competition and were getting sucked deeper and deeper into the complexities of staffing up to three finals that were happening concurrently! I do have to thank my old friend Justin who was not an official crew member but who was my joker card in that I could rely on him to take over tasks that I simply could not have staffed without him. Similarly, on the Saturday from Hell (when we ran five Enduro stages (each requiring a separate start and finish judge), short-track qualifiers, downhill seeding and finals runs, plus the Pro cross-country finals for the Stars and Stripes that our athletes will wear in UCI competition) I had to rely on an additional four more referees we had brought in for just one day plus two USAC staffers (among them the Technical Director herself!) to make it possible to run everything on schedule, with accurate and timely results, and zero protests. I know, it starts with good planning, but still, that day was
totally destined to go down in history to be the worst day of mountain biking at a US national championship, ever! And yet, my crew did it, somehow, and I am deeply indebted to all of them.
As much as I would like to claim that I worked the longest hours of our crew this week, my measly 96.75 hours on the clock do not compare to race secretary Leslie's 105.5 hours. Yes, that's for a period of seven days! With work schedules like this (plus COVID protocols continuing to be in place) there was not much opportunity to socialize during the event. Most mornings I was in our officials' headquarters at 6:45 a.m. or 7:00 a.m., and several times I didn't leave until after 9:00 p.m. Leslie seemed to always be there when I arrived or left; and the other commissaires were not far behind, although I was able to give some of them an extra hour or two of sleep on a few occasions. The two co-race directors, Brian and Tara, worked equally heavy hours. At the end of such an event, everybody is worn out and tired. At least for some of us officials, the end of racing also meant we would go home, but several of them were scheduled to work the World Cup in Snowshoe, WV, the next weekend, so not much R&R for them. (The sad thing is that most of them still have normal day-to-day jobs and they have to take vacation time for such assignments. Hallelujah for being retired!) And Brian and Tara, after tearing down the USAC-owned infrastructure such as fencing, finish-line truss, etc. would get into the big USAC truck and drive down to Albuquerque to set up for the following weekend's Masters Road Championships. They living the life of true carnies....
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| Co-race director Brian during the (non-championship) Team Relay |
Despite all of the hard work I think everybody enjoyed 2022 Winter Park. Sure, I had to deal with a few issues that were unpleasant, but that comes with the job. The buck pretty much stops at the tip of my boots. But for each one of these fewer than a dozen problem cases there were several handfuls of positive comments and remarks that some random racer or spectator would express to me, to share with the crew. By and large, the vast majority of folks who were on the mountain were happy with the event and the job we did, and I always made sure to pass on these accolades, because it was my crew that did all the work.
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| Our officials' headquarters |
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| Everybody's overtime is accurately recorded on a timesheet |
When one works such long hours, with a lot of pressure that only keeps building, it is easy to get into an unhealthy mental funk. I tried my hardest to keep things lighthearted because a bit of humor (aside of the daily breakfast burritos—NOT!!!) goes a long way in de-stressing people. I didn't hear any grumbling, didn't see anybody rolling eyes, didn't sense any rebellion. This was the best team I've ever been privileged to lead at such an event.
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| Justin and Swissy, his son Landon's beloved toy that likes to travel to races worldwide |
Even though the money is good (well, if one looks at the hours spent before, during, and after the event, the pay very quickly falls below the minimum wage line) none of us officiate just for the money. Of course, I don't think very many would do it
without the money either! There is this balance that needs to exist between financial remuneration and the "fun" aspects. I'm fairly certain that everyone in this
metier enjoys the company of the other officials, and friendships that have been built on one mountain will be carried over to the next one. I knew but had never worked with Katsu, the race's Vice Chief for the gravity events, nor had I even met our Finish Judge, Jared; however, at the end of the week we definitely had formed new friendships, and I will see Jared in a few weeks out in Maryland. Amy and Joe—one based in Missouri, the other in Connecticut—have hinted that I should stop by sometime, and our two Minnesota-based coms, VC of endurance events Emily and last year's CR, Ugur, have become trusted friends over the years. And both Tobin as well as Cath, whom I have known for literally decades and who helped out on Enduro day, have told me to spend some time with them in Telluride.
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| One of several mass pile-ups in the endurance events |
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| Dinner at 10:30 p.m. with fresh basil thanks to Cath |
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| Katsu posts the brackets during Dual Slalom competition |
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| With Devin, from the trail and DS crew |
For this event I had negotiated with USAC to not fly but rather drive the BMW to Winter Park. I just didn't feel like being crammed into a United flight to Denver and be dependent on a shuttle when I could enjoy a beautiful drive, have some independence in WP (important when one needs to buy a few groceries off the mountain), and get a chance to visit a friend on the way. I did so on Friday night before the race after driving from Lubbock to Lakewood on the west side of Denver and spent the night with Eric. Last time we had seen each other had been two years ago while on the way to NM from my time-share stay in Eagle, and so we did some serious catching-up in one of his favorite breweries and then over pizza and more beers in his apartment. Driving also made it possible for me to stop by the REI flagship store the next morning and cashing in some gift cards that had been burning holes in my pockets for a quite a while.
Similarly, on the way back I took my time and segmented the long drive. Leaving on Monday, I stopped by the Pearl Izumi and Le Creuset outlet stores in Silverthorne to support the economy—fun to do when you get the 60% Pro deal at Pearl Izumi and Le Creuset is running a 40% sale on already-reduced outlet prices. I took the scenic route through the mountains (via Leadville and through the beautiful Arkansas River valley toward Westcliffe) and spent the night in Raton. The 6,800 Wyndham points that I spent on the local Super Ocho beat the heck out of shelling out $125 for the very same room, and I have to say that this particular hotel was actually not the dump I had expected.
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| With Ugur and Emily on departure day |
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If there was a bit of a damper during the trip it was the check-engine light in the Z4 that twice came on and gave me some tense moments and some worries. But after telephoning the Denver BMW dealership and getting some advice from my car-savvy FB friends I relaxed. The car ran well, ending up with a stellar gas mileage of 41.2 mpg for the almost 1,400-mile trip. I have a service appointment on the Tuesday after I return from my next trip to Quebec, and I am hopeful that whatever ails that fine car will be simple to fix. After almost 80,000 miles a new set of spark plugs may be all that's needed.
So, that was the 2022 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships week that stretched into a 12-day stint away from home. I really didn't feel deprived as Lubbock kept getting hammered by 96° to 102° F temperatures while the mountains were cool, green, and refreshing with just a few sprinkles (and a spectacular rainbow on the drive home). Nothing wrong with a paid vacation, the ability to add a few new breweries to my list, a chance to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, and—foremost for me—the opportunity to apply what I have learned over the years to making this the best mountain bike nats we've had to this point. Mission accomplished.
Jürgen
