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Relay makes for a very exciting race
Posted: Tuesday June 13, 2000 10:52 AM
Ruthie Matthes is No. 4 in the world in the latest International Cycling Union cross country rankings. The 35-year-old American was the UCI World Cup champion in 1992 and the national cross country champion from 1996-98. Matthes currently is training for the Olympic Games in Sydney. Check out Matthes' diary every other week on CNNSI.com.
June 12, 2000
Hola from Spain! The world championships for mountain biking have begun! The official opening ceremonies were last night, including a special presentation of the "Rainbow Club". The club is made of up the 26 athletes who have won a World Championship title since the official inception of mountain biking to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport's international governing body. All of us were all honored last night in a celebration of 100 years of the UCI. It was an honor to be one of the 26. I really wish my family could have attended the event. It will be commemorated in a video, so that will have to do.
Earlier in the day I was also a member of the four-person cross-country relay event. It is only the second year for this format. Each country submits a team including an elite man, elite women, under-23 man and a junior man. It was my first time on the team. Last year the U.S. team narrowly missed the podium by 30 seconds for fourth place. We had a great line up with Greg Randolph, myself, Jess Swiggers and Walker Ferguson. A beautiful sunny day greeted us up here on the mountain -- not a cloud in sight and everybody was ready to race one lap on a demanding course. Not only are we at considerable altitude -- 2000-plus meters -- but also the course designers have created a very technical track, lots of single track, rock drop-offs and switchback climbs. Greg got a fast and safe start, rallying in the group when an unexpected flat tire sidelined him a few minutes. Walker followed with a fast lap making up several spots. I was next, and it seemed I shared Greg's luck only worse. I caught the Colombian woman just before the first major rock drop and had to slow down too much. I didn't have the momentum to help me over, and I went over the bars in an elegant head-over teakettle. Unhurt, except pride, I went on to catch her again and do battle on the course. In my haste to go fast, I seemed to be bouncing off of every rock on the trail. Not my finest performance on my mountain bike. I made it through the lap with no major injuries and lots of mistakes. I did have a clean wristband transfer to Jess, who put in a great lap and brought the team up to seventh place. There are so many variable in the relay, that it makes for a very exciting race. I am proud to have been chosen to participate. Let's hope I got all the jitters out before Sunday. Today, Thursday, I am feeling the jet lag! After yesterday's race and the opening ceremonies down the mountain in Granada, a 45-minute drive on the edge of the mountain. I am SO tired. Took it easy today and will ramp up for the individual cross-country on Sunday.
-- Ruthie
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