FISHER AND DRESSEL wrote:
Tamagno is really a stand-up guy, and I have a hard time believing that he would give up the chance for his team to race at NXN, unlike Maton. With that said, I think that his strength is a course like Balboa Park, as his Mt. SAC record can testify. He has great closing speed though, and I think that the climb at Balboa is steep enough and long enough for him to attack on, and he has a solid 600m to close afterwards. I would guess a top 3-5 for him at FL, as the field is incredibly deep and talented this year. Again, I have a feeling he will choose NXN if he is given the choice.
WRONG - This is the second time Tamagno has abandoned his team for personal glory. The first, was at the Mt.Sac Invitational last month where he moved up in the Division1 & 2 sweepstake race to achieve the course record, instead of running with his team in the Division 3 sweepstakes to do so.
Second, racing individually at Footlocker instead of running with his team (that wouldn't have qualified w/o him) at NXN. What's worst, he was even quoted saying "if my team qualifies for NXN then I will run NXN with my team, if it doesn't then I will do Footlocker". Stand-up guy???
Why can't these guys (Tamagno & Maton) just wait for track season to achieve their personal glory instead of abandoning their XC teams when the need them most? My guess is, they all want a piece of the Grant Fisher pie, and don't mind riding on his coat tails to get their share of the spotlight!