Chaz Curry is mechanic to the MS Mondraker World Cup team – working with Danny Hart and Laurie Greenland. We’re following Chaz’s progress this year as he makes the big leap to his first season in the big leagues.
In part 2 Chaz tries really hard “not to fuck up” (his words, not ours!) his first World Cup gig on the new team.
As you read this, bear in mind that Chaz is one of the most hard working, skilled, dedicated and self-critical mechanics you’ll ever meet. What he considers a ‘mistake’ wouldn’t even register on most people’s radars.
words by Chaz Curry // photos by MS Mondraker
The pressure cooker
Laurie’s first World Cup as an Elite and my first World Cup as his mechanic was always going to be a pressure cooker whether everything went to plan or not.
To be honest I was waiting to make my first mistake. A World Cup mechanic takes responsibility for his (or her) rider’s bike just like the rider has to take responsibility for their mind and body. I really didn’t want to fuck up but I could feel it was in the post. Lourdes World Cup was where it caught me up.
Practice day came around quickly and the changing track conditions and weather meant we were swapping tyres from the get go. I still don’t know whether the tyre I had put on Laurie’s bike didn’t seal properly or whether something happened on the funicular rail uplift that caused it to lose pressure but either way by the time Laurie had got to the top his front tyre was flat.
I got a message from Markus (team owner, the big boss) to say that Laurie and his Dad were at the top with a flat. Immediately I felt a rush of anguish and embarrassment that must have reddened my face and made me flush.
“This was rapidly turning in to a cluster fuck on my part.”
As quick as I could and in maddening slow motion I rushed to the uplift and on to the top track pump in hand, by this time Laurie had found a pump, fixed the problem and gone. Now I was at the top and he was at the bottom! This was rapidly turning in to a cluster fuck on my part.
My mistake cost him
My mistake cost him two precious and scarce practice runs but asking me to be his mechanic was his call and I felt like I had messed up the first hurdle.
No time to dwell on that now. It’s not the mistake but what you do after it that is important. In a way getting that stuff up out the way had actually helped. I now felt quite calm, not happy but determined. The shot of adrenaline had got me to a new level and relieved the tension. Every situation presents an opportunity.
The next day we were on it. I had discovered a new gear and as we are both fiercely positive people we were grimly determined to make up for lost time.
Everything was going really well, until …
Everything was going really well, until, in his last practice run before qualifying Laurie took a big stack on the wet grass of the finishing field. He didn’t really hurt himself but the crash was at speed and had written off the cockpit and drivetrain of the bike. That was with just two hours until his quali run. Like I said, every situation presents an opportunity, this was my chance to make up for my previous indiscretion.
In the end, we only left for qualifying a few minutes after we had originally planned to. The next challenge came as as we arrived at the queue for the uplift. The line was huge, but everyone was in the same situation and so that levelled the playing field at least a bit. Normally we get to the top with 40mins to spare, leaving plenty of time for the 30 min warm up. The train clunked and rattled its way ponderously to the top with just 13 mins to spare, it was not ideal.
The world was conspiring against us
In the end Laurie is a born pro with an incredible brain that enables him to adapt quickly. Despite a treacherous track he qualified in the top 50 without too much bother.
“It was starting to feel like the world was conspiring against us.”
Race day was a blur. Laurie had rolled is ankle in a corner and it was badly swollen. He was in pain but trying not to think about it. Rain was predicted but the track was drying out. If it stayed dry the late starters would get an even bigger advantage. It was starting to feel like the world was conspiring against us.
Before I knew it we were in the start gate counting down the beeps. And then he was gone. By the time I met up with him in the finishing arena he was only down to 6th! Things were looking good, but the quick boys were still to come including our team mates Markus Pekoll and Danny Hart.
Relief and whiskey
We stood and watched rider after rider cross the line and Laurie dropped places but not nearly as quickly as he could have. By the time Danny put in what was a jaw dropping run that eventually put him on the podium, Laurie was still in the top 20.
Top 25 was our aim for Lourdes as it was a track that suited Laurie, we also wanted timed practice for Cairns.
By the time Gwin had stomped it and Bruni had crashed sending howls of disappointment through the crowd, our Lozza was 23rd, with timed practice guaranteed for Cairns. The relief for both of us was tangible.
I helped pack up our team’s pits, got some food down my neck, then joined Laurie in a bar and set about getting written off. The resulting hangover was multinational and both my phone and dignity were still missing in Lourdes.
Oh well, it could be worse – not much worse though!
To wrap up, we asked Laurie to give us some words in response to Chaz’s diary. They work closely together and Laurie is the one that literally lives or dies by his mechanic’s hard work:
“Its always tough being the at the first race with a new team and new mechanic, but I really think after just two races me and Chaz are fully dialled in! It’s always going to take a couple of weekends for the pair to get to know each other and to get used to the world cup schedule… but after Lourdes and Cairns we’ve got it spot on.”
Laurie Greenland
You can read part 1 of Chaz’s Pro-Mechanic’s diary here or read some of our other stories from the deepest, darkest corners of mountain biking here.
Follow Chaz on Instagram to watch his adventures unfold and the MS Mondraker team on Instagram here.
