For the love of competition
By Jennifer DuBois
Outside Online

Dale Knapp (left) and Craig Undem will again duke it out for the championship

The 31-year-old mountain bike and cyclocross racer has been racking up victories all over the place this year and is a likely candidate to win the national cyclocross championship.

His 'cross career highlights include a second-place finish at last year's Washington state championships, a first place in 1994 in the Northwest Cyclocross series, and a fifth place at last year's national championships in blizzard conditions.

Knapp (Ellsworth Cycles-Kemper Funds) has been racing mountain bikes for six years and extended his season to include cyclocross in 1992. He says he got into cyclocross just for the love of competition.

"The mountain biking season had ended and I didn't want to quit racing, so I started doing cyclocross racing and found out that I really like it," he says.

Knapp is hard-pressed to say whether he prefers mountain bike racing or cyclocross racing, but he acknowledges that his results have been better at cyclocross.

"They are two different sports. Your handling skills really improve for all cycling when you do cyclocross. And the overall fitness of mountain biking puts you ahead for cyclocross season.

"I think people still look upon the sport as some sort of cult or spectacle. But I don't see it that way," Knapp says. "It's not like that at all. It's the hardest hour's work you'll ever do."

Knapp was on the cross-country team in high school, so running--a skill that often separates a good mountain bike racer from a good cyclocross racer--has never been Knapp's weak point.

"There's the transition of flying down a trail and coming upon an obstacle where you have to jump off, run, and jump back on. I love that--it's a great challenge," he says.

"Transition skills play a huge role in cyclocross. You have to be a better rider in cyclocross, because you don't have the big suspension forks and you've got the skinny tires."

Running skills, transition skills, fitness--what more could a guy like Knapp need December 7?

"I'm trying not to think about it. I'm trying to just relax and go in fresh. I've done the work, as they say," he says. "I've done my homework, and the home court advantage is huge."

With the Washington state championship recently in the bag, four wins out of seven races this season, and no finish lower than third, Knapp is just trying to keep an even keel for Nationals.

"Everything is going according to plan, as they say."

But the national championship race at SeaTac will be anything but a cake-walk for Knapp.

He currently leads the standings in the National Cyclo-Cross Super Cup Series by just two points over local rival Craig Undem. Undem--who happens to be an REI employee himself--and Knapp have been swapping podium places throughout the season this fall in local as well as in national series races.

"I was just thinking yesterday, what if it's myself and Craig Undem (going for the national title)? If there's a guy I would want to lose Nationals to it's Craig. He and I have been battling pretty closely this season," Knapp said.

Knapp won the first race in the national series October 20 but placed second to Undem the following weekend at the SeaTac course just south of Seattle while suffering from a head cold.

Seattle-area cycling commentator Eric Zuelow says the friendly rivalry is sure to help Knapp in the championship.

"With three or four top favorites all in Seattle, Dale gets the added benefit of racing national-class races all the time ... some of the other top riders aren't quite as lucky," he says. "The guy really wants to win and he's got this knack for pulling it together at big races. Dale isn't taking anything for granted."