Mexican stage racing
Cast of Characters:
Terry - Put the whole trip together. He has been racing longer than me (hard to imagine). We been to a few ‘cross nationals together, always fun to travel with.
Gardie – If there is a more energetic positive person on the planet I have yet to meet them.
Alex (Zulle) – Skinnier than me (again hard to believe). Super strong, needs to eat every 2 hours.
Jesse – Huge motor, probably be pro soon. Along with Zulle is the other half of “The Kids”.
Brent – Firefighter and all around aerobic machine. Great guy to be in a break with, as long as you can hold his wheel.
Todd – Todd and I were Cat 4’s together back when rims were made of wood and Lance was still a tri geek.
Johnny Sundt – (El Gato) World famous ‘cross guy and amateur street fighter. Never met him before yesterday only heard the stories. So far he has lived up to the rep and will no doubt keep us entertained all week.
The story so far. I was recruited by some of my friends to drive support for the La Veulta Sonora, a 6 day stage race in Mexico. It sounded like it could be really fun and I jumped at the chance. The drive was pretty uneventful. Lots of bike talk. It has been a while since I have done a trip like this so it was fun to engage in some random banter about the stuff that racers talk about, bikes, women, bathroom humor, women, etc. The border crossing way “no problemo”. No id check, no vehicle search, nada.
We arrive at the hotel and check into our rooms which are really nice and clean. Al the teams stay at the same hotel and all meals and lodging is comped by the race. We met Christian a guy from the media who tells us how much of a big deal this race is in this area. The race is sponsored by the State of Sonora, Mexico’s version of the Tour of Georgia if you will. Christian tells us that schools are closed along the route each town on the route has a fiesta planned to celebrate the race. The Mexican teams wear their team gear at all times, this is a huge deal for them. So at this point we are pretty excited to be a part of it all. Then again this is Mexico.
At the manager meeting last night it is announced that they are not sure where today’s stage will be, but “no problemo” we will have the stage. The first stage was supposed to start in Nogales USA and ride across the border into Mexico. The problem is most of the Mexican riders do not have Visa’s so they can not cross the border.
1st Stage
The question of the day is, will there be a stage and where. Besides the Visa problem one of the big money sponsors contracts states that the race must enter the USA. The solution? The race will cross the border, remain neutral, and turn around after 3 miles. The Mexican riders will wait at the border and then the race will start when everyone regroups. If nothing else the promoters are resourceful and don’t let little things like international emigration law stop their race.
The Caravan
My job for this race is to drive the team van, switch wheels and feed the riders. I the states the caravan is usually very organized with police escort, assigned places in the queue, and an official vehicle. Well this is not the states. If you have ever seen Death Race 2000 that would be a good indication of what this was like. No order at all. Not only was there no center line rule for the riders being enforced, but there was no center line for the caravan either. We were literally 4 across taking up both lanes. Drivers are passing on all sides. For wheel changes nobody bothers to pull to the side they just stop where there are and go to it. Herding cats is the best analogy I can think of. I am sure my max heart rate equaled that of my riders.
The Race
As I mentioned the race started in Mexico crossed the border where the riders posed for some photo’s for the sponsors then turned around and hooked up with the illegals and the racing started. Within 1K there were guys getting dropped. Now this is a UCI 2.2 race which is supposed to mean that it is pro’s and Cat 1 riders only. I am not sure what it takes to reach this level in Mexico but I would have to say the bar is pretty low. Not that there are not some super strong Mexican teams and riders.
Today was short only about 25 miles or so. It finished with a pretty good climb that had some guys suffering for sure. The course went of this canyon on a 2 lane road where they turned around went back a few miles then went to the top. Watching 170 guys make a U-turn was pretty funny, watching the race caravan was even better. With the trailer I could not turn around so I just went to the top and waited. One of the Teco (Mexico’s top team) won and a Symetrics guy (Canadian team) was 2nd. The group was pretty much intact since the race was so short. All my guys were near the front which was good. Some guy was sprawled on the ground at the finish being all dramatic like a figure skater when El Gato rides by and says “Stand up be a man.” Now all of a sudden dude who is presumably so cooked from his heroic 15th place finish that he can’t stand jumps up and is ready to throw down. What a clod. I step in and tell the guy “just walk away” which he was smart enough to do. It was classic. Not only do we get to hear first hand from El Gato about the time Roberto Gaggioli comes at him with a 2×4 we get to see him in action. No wonder the guy is a legend.
