Vallejo Race Report: Rainier Schaefer

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I started in the third row for the very wide and very steep uphill road start. I found a line on the very outside of forty-five racers, and got a good jump. Unfortunately, in the center of the first or second row, something happened and it looked like a wheel was exploding mid-sprint. The racer was flailing around as his bike jumped around under him like a crazed bull. This threw me off—but not as bad as I’m sure it did those behind him.

I came around quite a few dudes before we hit the dirt. After a couple of turns we rode a loose and sketchy dirt chute that was six inches wide. I think I was just inside the top ten at this point. The new Scott Chapin, Justin Abbott, was leading the way with Derek Yarra a few spots behind. Over the next couple laps I, maybe a little too furiously, tried to pass (my first cross race of the year, afterall). I was making moves on a couple leg-sapping grassy hills and definitely hit it hard on the pavement climb. These features helped me move up a few spots. However, a few technical spots on the course made me lose just as many.

First, I came around one sketchy ninety degree sidewalk corner and sprinted hard. In doing so I completely lost control of my rear wheel and my rear end flew in the air sideways toward a cliff. I lunged the other way at a chain link fence and bounced one-handed back on two wheels. It was a miracle! Second, I lost my front wheel in a u-turn off soft dirt, falling and losing a spot. This type of crash is very typical for me. The third crash, occurred in one of the many dark corners of the course. Digging deep into my pedals over rutted dirt and roots I skipped my rear wheel and again completely lost control of my rear end, sending me spinning off my bike into the dirt and losing a couple spots.

The good thing was that I learned from each of these. Thereafter, I played it safe exiting the sidewalk turn, ran the dirt u-turn, and soft pedaled rutted roots. The bad thing was in one of those incidences I landed on my rear derailleur. I discovered this when shifting into my largest sprocket and put my derailleur into my spokes.

Strong-man Swanson came around me after my last spill and I was grateful—his steady riding was a relief to the furious elbow bumping, wheel skidding, sprint/brake riding of the first few laps. Swanson and I picked off a few riders for a couple laps as he motored along, but Keith Hillier popped by both of us on a grassy rise and got a good gap. After a lap chasing with Swanson, I gave it all I had into one grass climb and came around Swanson just before the top. Now it was up to me to catch Hillier, who had a little less than twenty seconds on me, and I had a solid nine laps to do it.

Eight to go and it was still up to me to catch Hillier.
Seven to go and it was still up to me to catch Hillier.
Six to go and it was still up to me to catch Hillier.
Five to go and…you get the picture.

That is, until one to go. I closed ten seconds in the first half of the lap — at this point he was very close. I just needed one more solid effort — I had to get around him on the road climb. After the road climb, the latter half of the course was single track, single track sidewalk, single track run-up and a bunch of turns (for all intents and purposes also single track). I sprinted as hard as I could up that road and just as I was nearly coming around him near the crest he looks back and says “shit!”. He accelerates ten meters over the top and maintains his lead going into the single track to finish second.

Rainier Schaefer

Photos courtesy of Tim Westmore.