Every year I shoot thousands of bike racers. Some race mountain bikes. Others are die hard roadies. Some like to mix it up a little and dabble in a mountain bike race here and a road race there. And then, there are the Cross racers. Outside of the Northwest, Boulder seems to have the most died-in-the-wool, true-blue, hard-core cross racers in the nation. And every year I get to shoot a bunch of these loony birds.
Cross racers are an entirely different breed. They love a race that is so muddy and miserable that it becomes a necessity to change bikes every single lap. In fact, it it isn’t raining or snowing or sleeting or hailing… it isn’t even considered a race. It is merely a fast training ride. Cross racers are also built differently than other cyclists. In general (excluding the revered clydesdale category) cyclists are of average hight and below average weight. A classic cyclocross rider is usually WAY taller than the average cyclist and weighs WAY less. Their lanky build comes in mighty handy when then need to dismount, sprint through sand or water and then hurdle those awful barriers that make up a well designed cross course.
Over the past years , I have gotten some of may favorite pictures of people I never meet. One in particular is from Brecktobercross two years ago. Come to find out it was the legendary Brady Kappius. A year after I shot the image I met Brady through a great mechanic buddy of mine named Steve. Steve and Brady work at the same shop in Boulder. Steve and I were joking around one day when Brady sauntered over. Steve started off with “Mark, do you know this guy? He is the fastest man in Colorado.” Being the wise-ass I am, I start cracking on him and suggested that if he trained hard like me, maybe he could get a clif bar sponsorship. Well, come to find out, he already had one.
Needless to say, Brady was a great sport and jabbed me right back. We chatted a bit about cross and mountain bike racing. Eventually we talked about photography and he said that he would be game to shoot some photos and be featured on the blog.
So, just a few days ago, Brady and I met up at the Boulder Res. for an hour of great shooting. The weather was absolutely perfect and the shots are everything I was looking for. Enjoy, and don’t forget to ring a cowbell for a Boulder local next weekend.
- With what team do you ride? Team Clif Bar
- How long have you been racing? Ohh man, lets see. Since I was 4, so 19 years.
- How did you get started racing? As soon as I could ride I bike, I was racing. My dad has been racing forever (and stil is) and I started by doing the kid’s races at the mountain bike races he went to in the early 90’s
- What is your all-time favorite race? Diegem Superprestige – Diegem, Belgium. In addition to the crazy Belgian crowds amounting to 10,000+, the course is run in the middle of town. Cobbled climb, narrow alley passages, and greasy mud. Simply awesome.
- What is your strongest discipline? Tough to say right now. I’m equally at home on a cross or mountain bike. Mostly ride road for training with the occasional training race thrown in. I did more when I was younger but just have more fun on the dirt. I did a dual slalom this year too and had a blast. Can’t count anything out yet.
- What part of bike racing do you absolutely loathe? Pushing myself and seeing what I can achieve. I love the satisfaction after having a great race.
- Tell me a little about your bikes and gear. What are they, what cool little gizmos do you use to train, what is your favorite piece of equipment? I’m a mechanical engineer so I’m a pretty tech oriented guy. This season I’m running Spooky cross bikes. They are out of Massachusetts, sweet, small builder. The frames are fully custom for me (because I’m a giant) but their stock ones sweet too. Running a full SRAM Red gruppo with the pro only steel cage front derailleur. Easton EA90 cockpit, TRP Magnesium brakes. Mavic wheels – either R-SYS Premium SL or Cosmic Carbone Ultimates depending on the conditions/tire choice. One cool little thing is I have a custom rear brake cable routing. Right through the seat tube and seat post. Something I saw on Sven Nys’ bike a few years back. Doubles as a seat post lock too. Favorite piece of equipment? Tough call, I like it all. I guess I would have to say my set of FMB tubular tires. They can make a huge difference in ride quality and traction out there.
- Do you have any superstitions about racing or any pre-race rituals? What are they and how did they start? I’m not a very superstitious person. That just leaves you vulnerable for getting your head messed with when something doesn’t go right. I have a tried and true pre-race routine of course inspection, bike prep and warm-up. I like to do all of my bike building, tuning and tire gluing. Just one less thing to worry about and then I can’t blame anyone but myself.
- If money was absolutely no object, what bike would you ride and how would it be painted? That’s a tough one. People get too sucked into the newest technology these days. I’d like to go back and ride some of the first mountain bikes, say Ned Overend’s from the first UCI World Championships in Durango just so I could appreciate how far technology has come in two decades.
- If you could race with any pro, from any time in history who would it be? John Tomac. That guy could win anything. XC, downhill, cross. I admire his wide range of abilities.
- You are granted a riding session with one current pro team. This session includes as many hours of riding as you would like, lunch at any location you choose and the ability to ride any place in the world. How do you fulfill this dream? Please be specific with details about lunch conversations with riders and any pertinent gossip that is applicable. Any ProTour team during a stage of the tour. Lunch on the bike. I’m not picky about which stage, any would be an experience. Conversation would include talking into my race radio and being told what to do for the team. Now making this happen would be quite a task. I’d have to become a pure roadie and get a lot faster!
- Who would you absolutely love to beat by the end of this year, and why? Jamey Driscoll. He is only a year older than I am and has some very impressive results. He is a super nice guy too.