July 19, 2004

Race Winner Jamie Whitmore's Report from Keystone XTerra

We have been on the road for six weeks now, racing every weekend. It looked good on paper, but boy was it tough. I am happy to report that I won the last five races including the most recent in Keystone, Colorado.

I was a bit nervous about this race because of the long road trip and jet lag. It is hard to perform at your best when your body is tired. The only thing on my side was the altitude and the fact that my biggest competitors had been racing as much as myself.

The big question was whether to run my hardtail or full suspension. I had been riding my hardtail (the "JME") for the past 5 weeks, but we had my full suspension shipped to Colorado. Everyone says that Keystone is the course for a dually because of the downhill. With a nine-mile climb, I wasn't so sure of that. The difference in weight between the two bikes is almost four pounds. For most people that isn't a big deal, but for little 'ole me, it is a huge deal. To help make the decision, Courtney and I were timing runs down the hill for the few days leading up to the race. To our surprise I was 30 seconds faster on the hardtail. So the decision was made to ride the "JME."

Race morning I wasn't sure of how the race was going to unfold. I found out that Melanie raced the day before and then flew in that night. As tired as she may be, I knew she would not go down without a fight. I had a plan and was going to stick to it. Climb hard and fast then fly down the mountain with a huge lead.

The swim in Keystone is a tricky one because of the altitude of 9,000ft. Swimmers try to go hard and then blow up on the bike. The secret is to swim comfortably and then tear it up on the bike. I exited the water in fourth place, roughly 20 seconds behind Candy Angle. I was excited but nervous. "Did I swim to hard?" I took my time in T1 making sure I got everything right, and then off I went on my bike.

I decided to ride a little conservatively up the hill in the beginning. I felt fine so I began to pick it up. I moved into first place within mile 4. I didn't know where Melanie or Anke were, so I pedaled away. Half way up the mountain no one was near me. I maintained my lead at the top. My closest competitor was a minute away. Then the downhill came and I made my move. I had an advantage over most of the competition because I had been riding the downhill. Off I went, putting another four minutes into second place. I entered T2 with a five-minute lead over Melanie McQuaid. I was exactly where I wanted to be.

The only thing I had to do was bring it home safely. Fuel and turnover were the only two things I was thinking about. In the back of my mind I wanted the run prime to help pay for my dogs medicine but winning was much more important. I needed to win so that I would be tied with Melanie for the overall series.

Bring it home safely is exactly what I did with an eight minute lead over second. I also brought home the bike and run prime for being the fastest in both. Now I can afford the next two months of medication for my dog, Rikki.

Courtney suffered again. He had what he describes as an ok swim, a bad climb, an awesome descent and a slow run. The "altitude got him again." He came in sixth in his age group. Now we head home so that he can race again next weekend. He is leading his age group and wants to keep it that way. His goal is to win the regional and National Championships. I think he can do it.

I, on the other hand, am looking forward to a little R and R! I am thankful to all of my sponsors and their products. When you have the best athletes in the world it comes down to the equipment we use to put us over the edge. I have the best products money can buy.

See you at the races. . . . .
Jamie