It can be argued that Chris Eatough is the best endurance mountain bike racer in history, he is a six time 24 hr solo world champion (in consecutive years). He is also a 5 time 24 hr solo national champion as well as the winner of the 2007 NUE series (100 mile races). He has 10 victories in 100 mile races and several top 5 finishes as well. Chris was suppose to race at the 2009 national 24 hr solo race earlier this month at the 24 hr of Moab but I could not find his name on the start sheet. He had announced that this would be his last race as a professional and he would be focusing on his coaching career as well as testing new product lines for Trek.
I feel very fortunate to have raced against Chris on 2 occasions, both of which were at the Lumberjack 100. I'm sure he was shaking in his cycling shoes when we toed the line, at our first meeting he was a pro and I was still racing beginner. He lapped me at approx mile 40 on a 25 mile course which meant he was at mile 65. This past year I was at mile 50 before I let him around me, he had 75 miles under his belt and still looked fresh, when I got to the 75 mile mark I laid on the ground to stretch my back out before heading out for the last 25 miles.
I purchased a Trek Volkswagon team jersey on our first trip to Lumberjack and after the race at the post race party I had the opportunity to approach him and ask for his autograph. He was sitting at a table with other pro racers and I felt totally out of my league but asked anyway. He is a super nice guy and was happy to sign it, I now have it framed and it is one of my favorite possessions.
My favorite Chris Eatough quote: "There's a cutoff for this race?"
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