Before the day's first fireworks would burst into the sky, Bishop would see his share of excitement, competing on two laps of the 25-mile Firecracker course.
Following the neutral start, Bishop commanded the race lead by mile 15, after the course's first 2000-foot ascent. "I had a strong race going with a 90-second lead," he says, "when my chain got caught in the spokes."
Bishop was forced to repair his bicycle while his closest competitors passed him by. Focused on mending his chain and spokes, he was unaware of whom or exactly how many had passed him.
When Bishop resumed racing, he began his chase hoping to rally his efforts for a top-5 finish. He caught up with former teammate Travis Brown and the duo was able to work together and regain lost time on the flat fire road before the major descent to the start/finish where they would begin lap two.
"I just buried my head and went flat out the second time up the 2000-foot ascent. I was fired up after losing the lead," Bishop explains.
Then, just as it seemed that Bishop was making good headway, his chain snapped yet again.
"I laughed as [Brown] passed me again just as I was remounting. That's the nature of bike racing," and Bishop hoped nothing else would go wrong.
Resuming the chasse, Bishop says he charged up every hill at his maximum effort. As he caught up with another rider, he realized it was veteran racer Dave Wiens, who Bishop had looked up to as he was beginning his own racing career. "[Wiens] encouraged me to chase hard, there were two riders who were just 30 seconds ahead."
With seven miles to go and only one major climb remaining between him and the finish line, Bishop says he was in the "hurt locker." Pushing himself to the limit, Bishop caught one of the riders just before the pair was set to enter a single-track section of trail. Bishop says he momentarily recovered before launching an attack to be the first onto the trail. Then he relied on his technical handling ability to make up time on Evan Plews, the remaining rider whom Bishop thought he had a chance of catching before the finish line.
"I caught [Plews] about halfway down the descent," says Bishop.
As the two riders charged for the finish, Plews entered a rocky section at a high speed and flatted one of his tires. Bishop continued the charge, but conceded it was unlikely that he would catch any more racers. "At that point, I just tired to stay smooth and not crash."
Bishop rode the final stretch to the finish line in front of a crowd of cheering spectators and racing fans, content with a valiant effort and a probable spot on the podium.
Upon crossing the finish line, Bishop was mobbed by jubilant members of his Trek/Volkswagen team, doused with beer and became the center of what seemed to him like an overeager celebration.
Amidst the cheering and shouts of "you won!" and "congratulations!" the reality hit Bishop - he had just won the race and would don the stars-and-stripes jersey of National Champion.
"I had no idea why people were spraying me in the face with beer and jumping on me. But after a second or two it started to make sense." To win the National Championship on Independence Day, Bishop says, "It was a great Fourth of July surprise!"
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