Tony Falk stalks pro riders with a zeal most wackos reserve for the likes of J Lo or David Letterman. After watching Mark McCormack effortlessly ride away from the field at the Whtimore’s Super Cross race, he decided to contact him for an email interview. We put our heads together and made up some questions for him. Fortunately Mark agreed before realizing that we’re ‘tarded. That’ll teach them to put active email addresses in their team contact page.

NYVC: Do you try to build to another peak for cx, or do you just keep going?

MM: I took a small break after my final road race in San Francisco, CA. I am basically trying to keep at a good level of fitness for most of the year and then will attempt a peak for Nationals in December.

NYVC: First, how did you like the course?

MM: The course was great. I enjoyed to “old school” sections in the woods that had some loose sand and twisty trails. The course covered all the major aspects of cross: barrier dismounts, off cambers at high and low speeds, many re-accelerations, pavement, grass, dirt sand.

NYVC: You looked very comfortable riding up the run up as did many other riders. Would you have recommended putting barriers in that section?

MM: No. There is no need to put barriers in a section like that. That hill was very hard to ride up and with a slight lapse in focus it is un-rideable.

NYVC: Your mount/remount technique was noticeably smoother than the competition’s at Whitmore’s. That wasn’t a close race, but has there been instances where that little bit of technical proficiency won you a race?

MM: In the recent past the barrier technique has had a very small value in cross racing. This year there is only 1 set allowed per lap. 5 or more years ago races could have 3 or 4 sets per lap and barrier dismounting technique could be used as an attacking opportunity.

Not a sliver of daylight between thigh and saddle, all forward motion.

NYVC: Does your strategy change depending on the course? In Southhampton you seemed to push hard in the open sections and take the technical sections much slower whereas guys like Haseby were able to fly through switchbacks. Is this a standard approach or specific to this course?

MM: I tend to be more conservative in the sections that can lead to big crashes and major time losses. I would rather give up 2 seconds on a section like the steep switchback descent because I know I can close that gap before the barriers. I also prefer to go much faster on the non technical sections to take advantage of my road racing fitness.

NYVC: You were running two chain rings in the front that were very close in size. What size were they and why not run a single ring?

MM: 39×46 There is still a good use of two chainrings on most course. This allows me to run a tighter cogset (12-25) so that I don’t have big gaps in my gearing.

NYVC: I noticed that on the dismounts during the approach you were unclipped on both pedals and supported your weight on your left side by standing on the pedal near your arch. This seems like a risky technique on bumpy terrain. What’s the advantage? Why not just unclip at the last moment?

MM: This is something I believe is of the most importance in a high speed dismount. Knowing that my left foot is already disengaged allows me to dismount faster. If the dismount was on an incline that required me to still be pedaling until the last possible moment then I would unclip the left foot last. I have seen too many riders plow into the barriers because they mistimed the left foot release or their cleat gets stuck. Barriers are not forgiving when your body lands on them.

NYVC: What’s the deal with the half-Clif bar half-Colavita kit? It reminds me of one Halloween where I couldn’t decide what to be so I was a vampire hockey player wearing football helmet and toting a revolver. I’m just kidding of course…about the resemblance that is. I really did wear that costume though.

MM: My new kits arrived today. Clif Bar/Colavita Olive Oil is my team name. The Colavita logo along with MAVIC, Felt, Giro, and few others have been added to the Clif design that I was racing in at Whitmore’s.

NYVC: Do fish sleep?

MM: I have no idea what you mean.

‘Alan, your questions aren’t nearly as idiotic as these.’

NYVC: What’s your favorite race/course?

MM: Favorite course: Plymouth North High School in Massachusetts

Favorite Race: Nationals Championships every year

NYVC: Do you train specifically for ‘cross or is it just off season play time?

MM: This year I am training specifically for cross as I had in the late 90’s. The past few seasons I had still been preparing for road racing into October and November.

NYVC: Do you add running to your training for ‘cross? ‘Cause your feet hit the grass all of twelve times at Whitmore’s.

MM: I am running this year with some long hill repeats to prep for those races that have more running. Last year at Nationals the course was mostly flat but we were still running so much due to thick mud. I was not prepared for that last year. I try to avoid making the same mistake twice.

NYVC: How long have you been riding ‘cross?

MM: This is my 20th season racing cross.

NYVC: Have you noticed an increase in competition?

MM: There are fewer riders but definitely more guys capable of winning.

NYVC: If you were the czar of ‘cross, what would you do to really make the sport take off?

MM: There needs to be more riders from the professional road and mountain bike teams competing in cross. It would be ideal if teams considered cross as part of their season and budgeted to keep the athletes going to the races. With more money in the sport from the trade teams the racing would be even more competitive and hopefully more spectators would show for the events which should lead to more sponsors wanting to contribute to the sport.

NYVC: Do you really think that groundhogs see their shadows or is that just a myth? Tooth fairy?

MM: It depends if the groundhog opens its eyes.

Photos courtesy Jaime Garcia

Related story: Whitmore’s race report and photo coverage.