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By Fred Dreier
Photo: www.trailwatch.net
The longest winning streak in NORBA/NMBS cross-country history came to a close this past weekend as Georgia Gould (Luna) recorded a DNF at the third round of 2008, held in 100-degree heat in Santa Ynez, California. Kelli Emmett (Giant) crossed the finish line first to take her first-ever NMBS cross-country win.
For Gould, who took eight straight NMBS wins from 2007-08, the rare abandonment came after a frightening bout with heat stroke and severe dehydration.
The 28-year-old owned a two-minute advantage heading into the last 10 minutes of the sun-baked race when she lost the ability to steer her bicycle in a straight line. She stepped off her rig and sat down by the side of the trail to rest, and passed out. The next half hour, Gould admits, was a bit hazy. Eventually she was rushed to a nearby hospital.
“I must have passed out. It’s definitely the craziest thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” she said.
VeloNews caught up with Gould to find out what she remembers from that hot day in Santa Barbara County.
VeloNews: Well first off, how are you feeling now?
Georgia Gould: I’m ok; I’m feeling things out. I’ve been laying low and hydrating and just playing it by ear. It’s not like I have any lingering pain other than the soreness from racing. It’s definitely one of those courses where you are sore afterward from all of the climbing.
VN: So what’s the last thing you remember?
GG: Once I was in the hospital and starting to come back to life I started to remember the last things before I went out. I was riding up the last climb, like 10 minutes from the finish, I can’t believe I was that close. It’s ridiculous I was that close. The last climb was this sort of double-track trail mowed through the weeds going up a switchback to a ridgeline, and then you just drop down to the finish. Anyway I remember riding through these big weeds and I just couldn’t stay on the trail. I was riding into the weeds and then I’d over-correct and ride into the other weeds. Then I stopped being able to stay on my bike and I kept tipping over, so I decided to get off my bike and walk. But I couldn’t even push my bike. The last thing I remember was sitting there wanting to find a tree to crawl under, but there was nothing. It was just this hot open hillside.
VN: Yikes, what happened next?
GG: Well afterward people told me that while I was sitting there I kept telling people I was ok when they rode past. Lea [Davison] said I cheered for her as she went by. I was like “really?” I guess I was just wandering around in the weeds. I do remember vaguely that Monique Sawicki and Heather Ranoa stopped. I think they were both riding in the top 10, and it was really selfless what they did. They stayed with me and waited for help to come. I can remember them looking at me and I couldn’t understand what they were saying. People started asking me questions like what month it was, and I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know. Simple questions, and I’d be like “Give me a few minutes, I’ll come up with the answer!” They asked me if I knew where I was, I said no. I had to think about it, and I kept thinking I was at Sea Otter.
VN: Was that the hottest temperatures you had raced in?
GG: Honestly it didn’t feel hotter than [the NMBS in] Phoenix last year. It was hot, but I thought, “Aw just suck it up, it’s hot for everyone, go faster!” I was really going hard, as hard as I could, just trying to put the heat out of my head and not focus on it. I remember rolling through the feed zone on the last lap and taking off my gloves because my hands were so hot. When they found me on the hillside they said I was bone dry, not even sweating any more. You know when even I look paler than usual something is wrong.
VN: Do you remember how you coped with feeling your body shut down? Did you feel frustrated?
GG: It’s difficult to explain. I just felt like a different person. I told myself to get back on the bike, but my body said, “No, you have no balance.” So I was like well, push the bike up the hill, and my body said, “No you have to sit down. You are done!” I’ve never had that happen to me. And then I just couldn’t communicate or process information. That was scary because no one knew what had happened, they thought I had crashed. Then I got worried and was like, “Oh god did I crash? Am I ok?” From about 10 minutes on after Monique stopped I just don’t remember a thing.
VN: Well it must be frustrating to have your NMBS winning streak end this way.
GG: Ha, well if you’re not going to win you might as well go out with heat stroke and on a stretcher! It’s fine; it’s really no big deal. Yeah, it was scary as all hell, but you can’t win every race. I’m just sorry that my drama had to take away from Kelli [Emmett]’s victory. She rode really strong all day, and I’m stoked for her.
VN: You seem to have found away to keep good humor about the situation.
GG: Well, I can now. I’m OK, I feel normal again. But it was pretty scary. I was lucky [husband] Dusty [Labarr] was there. You know when you’re really hurt and people keep saying, “You’re going to be fine!” Well he’s always honest with me but he told me I was going to be OK.