NMBS #2
4.4.2008

After a successful weekend in Fontana, CA, the Inland Construction Pro Mountain Bike Team traveled to the next stop on their calendar: the NOVA National, held on the desert trails of McDowell Mountain State Park near Fountain Hills, AZ, served as the second race in the National Mountain Bike Series. The format for the race consisted of a time trial style Super-D race on Friday, a short track race on Saturday, and the traditional cross country race on Sunday.

The Super-D course was a wide open double-track affair that was generally downhill, but it included a few steep uphill pitches. The course took the riders just under 20 minutes to complete, and it offered very few opportunities for a rider to recover if they pushed too far into the red. For a team that tends to be oriented towards courses with considerable climbing, the team knew that they would have to push the limits in order to do well. Livermon and Rotroff both recorded respectable times early since the riders were seeded by NMBS standings. Pendry, who started later, miscalculated on an early fast turn and ended up taking the long way through the desert. He regained his composure, chased down Manuel Prado who started in front of him, and finished with a respectable time that placed him 25th.

4.5.2008

The short track took place late on Saturday afternoon as the sun began to set and the desert began to cool. The conditions were perfect, and Inland Construction fared quite well on a tight course consisting largely of singletrack that made moving forward through the field difficult. Pendry, who had the benefit of a better starting position, finished 16th. The course included a very steep pitch that forced most riders to dismount, and a very short run into the singletrack from the start which created chaos on the first laps as riders scrambled for the hole-shot. Rotroff made it through the carnage unscathed and bettered his Fontana result with a 49th place finish. Livermon also built on his form, bringing it home in a solid 61st after dealing with the first lap incident.

4.6.2008

The cross country race is a brutal march across the sandy Arizona desert consisting of flat and rolling terrain and twisty singletrack that varies from rocky to smooth—riders face all of this while dodging the indigenous cacti. Pendry and Livermon both had a difficult day in the heat, with both joining the long list of riders who retired from the race. Rotroff toughed it out through two flats caused by an excursion into the cacti to finish 62nd.