Author Archives: Shannon Boffeli

Breck Epic Stage 5 – Wheeler Pass

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Barry Wicks and Evelyn Dong Win Queen Stage on Wheeler Summit

Written by: Marlee Dixon

Day 5 of the Breck Epic is the Wheeler trail. Or you could call it; I climbed 4000 ft of elevation in the first 10 miles of the course today and spent a lot of that time pushing my bike up the mountain!

New this year, the course changed and instead of dropping down the back side of Wheeler trail into Copper and taking the bike path back to Frisco, racers descended about a mile of the Wheeler trail over Wheeler pass then climbed again up Miners Creek Trail. As Serena Gordon said it so sweetly this morning, “not only do we get to ride our bike today.. we get to go for a hike also”.

And we all got to go for a long hike-a-bike up Wheeler trail and also Miners Creek. Today was the most technical day out on course and for a lot of categories it changed things up. This was really cool to see and I think it was a good change from the old course despite being a grueling kick in the gut climb.

Belgium National Champ Frans Claes charges where the air is thin and trail is vague. - Photo by Eddie Clark

Belgium National Champ Frans Claes charges where the air is thin and trail is vague. – Photo by Eddie Clark

Overall for the course today was 24 miles and gained 4600’ of elevation.   The course climbs for the first 10 miles followed by a mile long descent then up again for another 2-3 miles of climbing and 1200 feet of elevation gain. At this point you are on top of the 10 mile range and it’s breathtaking. Not many people ride up there and although it’s the shortest day, it’s the burliest.

The descent down Miners Creek is technical and exposed. Once down miners creek it’s the up/down Peaks Trail back to Peak 7 then one final mile-long climb up the ski resort to the midpoint on Peak 8 before riders descend the Wanderer trail back to Beaver Run and the finish.

Highlights of the day were definitely the breathtaking beauty of being on the 10 mile range, Skittles (and bacon for some) on the top of Wheeler pass, and the technical fast descent down Miner’s Creek and Peaks Trail.

For the Epic 6 day Men’s open Barry Wicks (Kona) won the stage in a time of 2:51:28! In 2nd was Frans Claes (Loving Hut), despite a flat. Claes finished with a time of 2:54:57 keeping him 1st overall. In 3rd was Ben Swanepoel (Squirt) with a time of 2:56:22 and right with him was Bryan Dillon (Griggs Orthopedic) with a time of 2:56:24. Ben and Bryan will both remain in 2nd and 3rd overall.

Marlee Dixon opts for a handful of skittles. - Photo by Liam Doran

Marlee Dixon opts for a handful of skittles. – Photo by Liam Doran

For the Epic 6 day Women’s open it was Evelyn Dong (Shoair/Cannondale) and Kelly Boniface (Moots) climbing and hike-a-biking in the lead up Wheeler trail with Marlee Dixon (Pivot/Epic Brewing) and Serena Gordon (Liv/Giant) close behind.

Evelyn got a little ahead of Kelly by the time they reached the top of the Peak 9 road and not long after Marlee passed Kelly right before the top of Wheeler pass with Serena passing Kelly on the Wheeler pass descent.

Evelyn remained in the lead for the rest of the race finishing in 3:33:05. Marlee remained 2nd in a time of 3:34:37. Serena stayed in 3rd with a time of 3:38:53 and moves back in front of Boniface into 3rd place overall while Kelly came in 4th with a time of 3:43:51 and moves to 4th place overall.

Click Here for full results from stage 5 and updated GC standings

Breck Epic Stage 4 Photo Gallery

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Fantastic photo gallery from Stage 4 of the Breck Epic Stage Race thanks to Eddie Clark Media. For a full recap of the race check out our report here.

Breck Epic Stage 4

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Breck Epic Riders Power Through the Longest Stage of the Race as Claes and Dong Extend Their Leads

Written by: Marlee Dixon

This is the biggest day of the week, as one guy said at the finish, “Every stage is so hard I just can’t compare them” and today is no exception.

With 42 miles, 6000’ of vertical and some gigantic climbs, this day is the longest on the bike.   Again this morning we started out in the middle of the town of Breckenridge with a pacer car to French Gulch Rd. It’s a dirt road climb for the first few miles which helps to spread racers out. Then it’s some fun single-track- Fall Classic trail, Slalom and Upper Flume trails before racers head up a new section of the course- Traylor Way to ZL Trail.

Traylor way was another dirt/rocky road climb but the new ZL trail was a great addition! It’s a beautiful singletrack with some fun downhill sections. Then it’s over to the Dredge lot for Aid 1 and up/down the Colorado trail to Vomit Hill.

Riders get the full Vomit Hill experience - Photo by Devon Balet/DevonBaletmedia.com

Riders get the full Vomit Hill experience – Photo by Devon Balet/DevonBaletmedia.com

For the lower section, Vomit Hill was mostly a hike a bike, then it tricks you by leveling out in a beautiful meadow only to put you back in the pain cave with more climbing- steep long sections that hurt. Once up and over it’s a fun descent on Horseshoe Gulch trail to the Aqueduct trail.

The Aqueduct trail is a flowy trail that turns pretty flat before sending racers out on Keystone Gulch Rd. This is where the longest climbing of the day starts- 1800’ of vertical over 5 miles. It’s a long road climb, followed by a singletrack climb to West Ridge. Then it’s on to one of the best parts of today’s course: flying down West Ridge. This descent is incredibly fast and fun. Once down West Ridge, racers make their way to the final climb of the day- Rock Island Gulch. This is a long, difficult road climb back up to French Gulch. Then it’s down Lincoln Park road, Side Door trail, Minnie Mine trail and B&B trail to the finish.

Barry Wicks and Drew Free digging deep - Photo by Devon Balet/DevonBaletmedia.com

Barry Wicks and Drew Free digging deep – Photo by Devon Balet/DevonBaletmedia.com

For the Epic, 6 day race, the Belgian Frans Claes (Loving Hut) quickly opened up a small gap on a chase group of Bryan Dillon (Griggs Orthopedics) and Ben Swanepoel (Squirt) with Barry Wicks (Kona), Drew Free (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) and Carl Decker (Giant) close behind them.

Time gaps between the leaders would remain at about 1 min through Aid 2. Coming out of Aid 2 Claes showed why he has won every stage thus far at the Breck Epic.  Despite their best efforts working together Dillon and Swanepoel were unable to close the gap and Claes would go on to open his overall lead by another 4 minutes. Dillon would best Swanepoel at the line for second.

Rounding out the top 5 were Free and Decker who were never separated by more than 30 seconds from Aid 3 to the finish

Kelly Boniface was back in the battle on stage 4 - Photo by Devon Balet/DevonBaletmedia.com

Kelly Boniface was back in the battle on stage 4 – Photo by Devon Balet/DevonBaletmedia.com

In today’s pro women race things changed around a little. Evelyn Dong (Shoair/Cannondale), Kelly Boniface (Moots), Serena Gordon (Liv/Giant), and Marlee Dixon (Pivot/Epic Brewing) all were relatively close for the first few miles then Evelyn started to pull away and Kelly was riding strong in 2nd.

Serena was in 3rd until the descent down Summit Gulch Rd. where Marlee passed her.

Marlee caught Kelly on the Aqueduct trail where they rode together for a little while until the Pivot/Epic Brewing rider pulled away.

By Aid 2, Evelyn was 2 minutes in the lead, and Marlee and Kelly were separated by less than a minute.

At Aid 3, Evelyn was still in the lead by a minute, Marlee was in 2nd, Kelly in 3rd and Serena in 4th.  Evelyn finished 1st ; 30 seconds ahead of Marlee who now holds 2nd place overall. Kelly Kim Boniface finished a few minutes back and leap frogs Serena Gordon into 3rd place.

Click Here for full results from stage 4 as well as current GC standings

Breck Epic Stage 3 – Mt. Guyot

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Claes and Dong Conquer Mount Guyot Stage – Topeak/Ergon Wraps up Domination of Breck 3-Day

Written by: Marlee Dixon

Get ready to climb! Day 3 of the Breck Epic is the circumnavigation of Mount Guyot. It’s a BIG day with 6000’ of vertical and 38 miles including 2 mountain passes.

Day 3 starts in downtown Breckenridge and it’s a mile long neutral start out to the Wellington neighborhood before racers start climbing the dirt French Gulch Rd. to Minnie Mine trail. This beginning section of the race is a climb and racers head up Minnie Mine trail to Side door trail, a short breathier down Prospect hill rd. then it’s climbing up Lincoln Park road. Once up Lincoln Park rd. it’s onto the flat Little French Flume before heading down Little French trail back to French Gulch rd. again and Aid 1.

After Aid 1, racers start a mellow double track climb with some rocky and watery areas on the trail to a very steep single track and hike-a-bike (for most people) up French Gulch. This is the first mountain pass and although the hike-a-bike is brutal, if you have the time to look around, it’s absolutely stunning.

Carborocket owner Brad Keyes supplied the beer during stage 3. Photo by Liam Doran

Carborocket owner Brad Keyes supplied the beer during stage 3. Photo by Liam Doran

This is also where Jonathan Davis from Elevated Legs/9250 Cyclery, his son, Tanner and Brad from Carborocket hand out Skittles.

I wish I had a chance to grab some this year but I was too busy trying to motor on through to enjoy the rainbow.

Once over French Gulch, racers get a real backcountry epic descent down Michigan Creek trail into Aid 2. Then it’s back to climbing again as we head up Glacier Ridge road to the top of Georgia Pass; another beautiful mountain pass.

Carl Decker starts the Colorado trail descent. Photo by Eddie Clark

Carl Decker starts the Colorado trail descent. Photo by Eddie Clark

Again after the climb, racers are rewarded with some of the best singletrack as they cruise down the Colorado trail. The top part of this trail is a little rooty, but flowy and fast while the end section is rocky and very technical. All in all it’s a great backcountry trail. Then it’s a descent down the Middle fork road and Parkville rd. to the last aid station of the day.

One more aid station before the last big slug up American Gulch Rd. A long dirt road climb that gets steeper the closer you get to the top. Once up and over American Gulch Rd. it’s a fun descent down Lincoln Park rd., Side door and Minnie Mine trail. Then there’s one more up/down techy trail called Turks trail and finally B&B trail to the finish.

This year we got super lucky with the weather (it’s hailed on racers at the top of Georgia pass before, ouch!) and had cool perfect weather. The climbing in this stage is long and HARD but as one guy said today in the race at the end of the Colorado Trail, “I never thought I would get sick of descending”. It’s all worth it for the awesome trails we get to descend on.

Marathon World Champion Alban Lakata crests the days biggest climb. Photo by Eddie Clark

Marathon World Champion Alban Lakata crests the days biggest climb. Photo by Eddie Clark

For the Epic 3 day racers Pro Men, World Champion, Alban Lakata won the stage today in 3:00:18 and finished 2nd overall (total time 8:17:23) behind his Topeak-Ergon teammate Kristian Hynek. Kristian Hynek finished 2nd today less than a tenth of a second behind Alban Lakata in a time of 3:00:19. He won the overall in a total time of 8:16:54. In third today and overall was the third Topeak-Ergon racer, Jeremiah Bishop who finished in 3:05:46 (total time 8:30:25). These three racers crushed all the previous records and spectators said were incredible to watch, especially powering up French Gulch today.

For the Pro women 3 day, Sally Bigham (Topeak/Ergon) won the stage (3:41:14) and overall (10:16:59), followed in 2nd by Mayalen Noriega (Primaflor/Orbea) with a time of 4:47:17 (total time of 12:47:33) and in third was Kata Skaggs with a time of 5:12:29 (14:11:26).

For the Epic, 6 day race, for the pro men Frans Claes (Loving Hut) won again in a time of 3:12:11. He remains in the lead with a total time of 8:43:51. Ben Swanepoel (Squirt) was again in 2nd with a time of 3:14:03 and remains in 2nd overall at 8:53:17. Barry Wicks (Kona) took 3rd place today with a time of 3:13:52, but Bryan Dillon (Griggs Orthopedic) moves into the 3rd place overall with a total time of 9:00:36.

For the pro women today’s race seemed a little more spread out for the top 4 racers. Serena Gordon (Liv/Giant) started off strong and took a nice lead from the start of the race. Evelyn Dong (Shoair/Cannondale) , Kelly Boniface (Moots) and Marlee Dixon (Pivot/Epic Brewing) rode within eyesight for the first section and up French Gulch road where we were able to catch up and pass Gordon.

Evelyn Dong takes the lead for the day solidifying her lead in the GC. Photo by Eddie Clark

Evelyn Dong takes the lead for the day solidifying her lead in the GC. Photo by Eddie Clark

At this point Dong took off and pushed up the climb ahead of us. Getting up to the top of the pass, Boniface was in 2nd, Dixon in 3rd and Gordon in 4th.

Gordon and Dixon passed Boniface on the Michigan creek descent. Then Dixon remained in 2nd for the remainder of the race, never seeing the other girls despite being within 3-6 minutes apart.

Evelyn Dong won the stage in a time of 3:49:27 increasing her overall lead with a total time of 10:30:00. Dixon finished 2nd in a time of 3:53:41 and moved up to 3rd overall with a total time of 10:44:57. Serena Gordon took 3rd today with a time of 3:56:51 and remains in 2nd place with a total time of 10:44:13. Kelly Boniface finished in 4:00:10 and is now in 4th with a total time of 10:47:40. It’s been a close race for the top 4 women and it will be awesome to see how the rest of the stages go!

 

Click Here for full results from stage 3 as full GC results

Breck Epic Stage 2

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Local Lady Marlee Dixon Takes Colorado Trail Stage While Belgian Frans Claes Wins it for the Men

Written by Marlee Dixon

And the riding gets more and more fun!!!   Day 2 of the Breck Epic is a tough day with some monster climbs, but the pain is well-worth it for the awesome descents.  Day two starts to give racers a feel for the great riding in Summit County. Today racers started at 8:30 again from the middle of Breckenridge. It’s a short mile behind the pace car to the first climb up Gold Run Road. This climb is a grunt and helps to disperse riders before getting onto the Fall Classic Single track trail.

Then it’s a quick dirt road descent to the next big climb- Heinous Hill. Aptly named – this is a hard mile long climb with some loose rocky areas that can easily push racers off their bikes. Once done with Heinous it’s a screaming descent on Summit Gulch Rd.

Barry Wicks attacks the Colorado trail DH to make up some time he lost on stage 1. Photo by Liam Doran

Barry Wicks attacks the Colorado trail DH to make up some time he lost on stage 1. Photo by Liam Doran

 

This road has mainly one line down it and carnage has been known to happen here. Next we got on the Galena Ditch trail, a flume trail that goes on for a few miles, mostly flat with some rolling sections. A new extension was built called the Galena Ditch Extension, and luckily we were some of the first riders on this new trail.

Once out of Galena Ditch, racers arrive at the 1st aid station and head up the road and get on the middle fork of the Colorado trail. This is a really fun section of the Colorado Trail with some short techy sections, climbing, and a fun descent at the end. Then it’s on to the Westridge climb – a ~4 mile climb up the Colorado Trail. This is one of my favorite trails in Summit County because of the awesome descent down Westridge and Red Trail. Then it’s a climb up for about a mile on the Hay Trail and down Blair Witch before racers meet aid 2.

At mile 30, this is the last aid station and it’s a few miles road ride until racers head up again on Discovery Ridge Trail. Once down Discovery Ridge it’s another dirt non-motorized road climb up Gold Run Road. This is where you start to see racers bonking as this road goes on for a few miles. Once at the top it’s on to more singletrack on the Western Sky Trail then it’s down Prospect Hill road to Side door trail, Minnie mine trail and X10U8 to the finish.

Today was 37.3 Miles and 4920’ vertical. With only a few rain drops later in the race, today’s weather and trail conditions were perfect.

Alban Lakata and Jeremiah Bishop wind through a ribbon of the Colorado Trail. Photo by - Liam Doran

Alban Lakata and Jeremiah Bishop wind through a ribbon of the Colorado Trail. Photo by – Liam Doran

For the Epic 3 day racers Pro Men Kristian Hynek (Topeak-Ergon) won the stage in 2:41:29 (total 2 day time of: 5:16:35, 2nd was Alban Lakata (Topeak-Ergon) in 2:41:58 (5:17:04) and in 3rd was Jeremiah Bishop (Topeak-Ergon) at 2:42:01 (5:24:39). For the Pro women, Sally Bigham (Topeak-Ergon) had a much better day today than yesterday (no mechanicals) and finished in a record 3:14:23 (total 2 day time of 6:35:44), followed by Mayalen Noriega (Primaflor/Orbea) with a time of 4:07:15 (8:00:16) and in third was Kata Skaggs with a time of 4:43:52 (8:58:56).

For the Epic, 6 day race, for the pro men Frans Claes won in a time of 2:48:21 (total 2 day time: 5:31:39) followed by Ben Swanepoel (Squirt Lube) in 2nd at 2:54:16 (5:40:14) and Barry Wicks in 3rd with a time of 2:57:12 (5:45:30).

Serena Gordon carried on through a rough stage suffering a couple flat tires and finishes 4th. Photo by Liam Doran

Serena Gordon carried on through a rough stage suffering a couple flat tires and finishes 4th. Photo by Liam Doran

For the pro women it was an exciting race! For the first 2/3rds of the race, Evelyn Dong (Sho-Air/Cannondale), Serena Gordon (Liv/Giant), Kelly Boniface (Moots), and Marlee Dixon (Pivot/Epic Brewing) stayed within sight of each other.

Serena was in the lead for most of the time with Kelly and Evelyn right behind her switching back and forth. Dixon hung in 2nd starting up Heinous Hill then unclipped a few times and both Kelly and Evelyn passed her.

Dixon stayed behind them rolling into aid 1 in 4th only a few seconds behind. On the road to middle fork and on the middle fork of the Colorado Trail, Evelyn, Kelly and Serena stayed close together and Dixon was a few seconds back.

Once on Westridge, Dixon passed Kelly on the climb and stayed right behind Serena and Evelyn on the descent.

Serena flatted on the Westridge descent and Dixon followed Evelyn for the rest of the downhill. Climbing up Hay trail Dixon passed Evelyn but ended up switching back and forth a few times and rallying hard together for the rest of the race.

At the finish, Dixon managed to get  ahead and won in a time of 3:25:07 (Total 2 day time of: 6:51:16), followed right behind by Evelyn Dong at 3:25:15 (6:40:33), Kelly Boniface came in 3rd in 3:29:56 (6:47:29) followed closing by Serena Gordon in 3:30:29 (6:47:21).

Click Here for full results from all categories including GC after stage 2

Breck Epic Stage 1 Results and Report

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The Breck Epic is a 6 day stage race held in Breckenridge Colorado that features six big backcountry loops. Each day starts and ends in Breckenridge while taking racers on 25-45 miles around Summit County. Each day is very challenging with most days averaging around ~5000 feet of elevation gain at elevations above 9600’. Hundreds of racers come from all over the world to do the Breck Epic each year covering a total of 240 miles and ~40,000 feet of elevation gain.

Day 1 of the Breck Epic is called Pennsylvania Creek: it’s 35 miles and ~5000 ft elevation gain. Day 1 is a hard day mostly because it’s the most uncertain day. What to expect? Talking to other racers; most seemed to feel the same way, get Stage 1 over with and I’ll feel better.

Racers roll out on Stage 1 of the 2015 Breck Epic

Racers roll out on Stage 1 of the 2015 Breck Epic

Day 1 starts at 8:30am at the icerink in town. It’s a fast “neutral” roll out up the paved road towards Boreas Pass Rd. About a mile up the road, the traffic cop leaves and the race starts. It’s another couple of miles on the road until the first descent- Aspen Alley. Last fall Aspen Alley was redone and is now a fun mellow descent with a bunch of bermy switch backs. It’s a great new trail, although I do miss the old steep, loose and a little sketchy Aspen Alley. Then it’s up the Blue River trail single track all the way to the first major climb of the day- Royal Bypass to Penn Creek Rd. This is a long double track, steep, loose climb that leads to a paved road and then back onto a double track climb for a few miles. Once at the top, it’s a loose, steep descent down a road called the “Grind”. Then it’s back up for another few miles on a jeep road climb, Indiana Gulch road, before racers get to Boreas Pass Rd. Racers descend down the dirt Boreas Pass Rd into Aid 1 at Bankers Tank. Back onto single track it’s up and down Bankers Tank Trail to Pinball Alley, True Romance and down Nightmare on Baldy. Then it’s a fast descent on the non-motorized Sally Barber road to aid 2. New this year, racers rode a short climb up humbug hill to the new Wire Patch Trail. Wire patch trail is a fun up/down trail that parallels French Gulch Road. Then it’s on to the legendary Little French Climb- a 2 mile climb that’s loose and rocky. From there racers head onto the Little French Flume and back into the French Gulch area onto some fun single track: Harum Trail and Chantilly Trail, and also climbing and descending jeep roads: Spruce Rd and Prospect hill road. I’ve been riding these trails for the past 4 years and still get lost when I’m back in French Gulch due to the high amount of jeep roads everywhere. Finally we descend Gold Run Rd to the Wellington Neighborhood and then it’s a short climb up the road and the B&B Trail to V3. V3 is the last climb of the day and from there it’s a fun descent down Barney Ford and the new Barney Flow (yo!) trail to Carter Park.

Evelyn Dong (Sho-Air Cannondale) leads the Women's 6 Day after Stage 1.

Evelyn Dong (Sho-Air Cannondale) leads the Women’s 6 Day after Stage 1.

This year for the men and women there are a lot of extremely fast racers in the first 3 day Epi-curious race. Leadville 100 falls a week later and many of the top Leadville racers are putting in 3 hard days this week as they get ready to race the Leadville 100 on Saturday. The marathon distance world champion, Alban Lakata, the women’s multiple time Leadville 100 winner, Sally Bigham, are among a few of the epic-curious racers this year. For the Pro men 3 day stage 1 results – the top three men were: Alban Lakata (02:35:06), Kristian Hynek (2:35:09), and Jeremiah Bishop (2:42:37). For the Pro Women , Sally Bigham, although busting her wheel and getting a new one at Aid 1, won by 30 minutes in a time of 03:21:20. In 2nd was Mayalen Noriega with a time of 03:53:00 and in 3rd was Kata Skaggs with a time of 4:15:04.

For the Epic, 6 day race, for the pro men Frans Claes won in a time of 2:43:18. Ben Swanepoel came in 2nd at 2:45:57 and Carl Decker was 3rd with a time of 02:48:17. For the pro women Evelyn Dong won in a time of 3:15:17. In 2nd, despite getting a flat, was Serena Bishop Gordon in a time of 3:16:52 and in 3rd was Kelly Kim Boniface with a time of 03:17:33.

Full results here:

BreckEpic15_Stage1

 

 

WORS Cup Pro XCT Report

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McConnell and Woodruff Take The PRO XCT Wins in Wisconsin

Report by: Hanna Mork

Portage, WI-

The Wisconsin Off Road Series hosted the Pro Cross Country Tour last weekend at Cascade Mountain in Portage, WI. Mother Nature made sure the heat and humidity was high for the WORS Cup Pro XCT race presented by Trek. The course was of the modern World Cup model, approximately 3.1 miles in length per lap. It wound itself several times to provide spectators with convenient access and numerous viewing points. The pro women had 5 laps of punching climbs and tight corners while the men had 6.

Saturday started out with the pro women racing in the beating sun. Our recently named National Champion Chloe Woodruff (Stans No Tubes/Niner) was able to put in an early lead among the rest of the field with Rebecca Henderson (Trek Factory Racing) trying to chase her down. Closely behind Henderson was Evelyn Dong (Sho-Air/Cannondale) but after a mechanical Dong was not able to catch Henderson but managed to keep her third place position. After Woodruff developed a gap, she steadily continued to open it, securing her second ever UCI win. After 5 demanding laps, Henderson finished second with Dong finishing 3rd. Just a minute behind Dong finished Larrisa Conners (RidebikerAlliance) and behind her finishing a respective 5th place was Peta Mullens (Sram Yeti Racing).

After a fast and hot start for the pro men, Stephen Ettinger (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Daniel McConnell (Trek Factory Racing) began to pull away from the field. The two competitors were able to work together for the first two laps but then things began to change. According to Ettinger, he wasn’t descending very well which gave McConnell a chance to pull away roughly halfway through the race. McConnell was able to put 2 minutes and 45 seconds between Ettinger and the rest of the field to secure his win with Ettinger finishing second. Behind them, was Hector Fernando Riveros (Raliegh Clement) finishing a respective third place. Together for most of the race was Benjamin Sonntag (Team Clif Bar) and Cameron Ivory (Bike Team Solothurn Switzerland) but in the end, Sonntag put 14 seconds between them to finish 4th with Ivory 5th.

The fun continued on Sunday with the pro men and women Short Track presented by Bontrager. The pro women were off first with a tight group of four. Peta Mullens (SRAM Yeti Racing), Larrisa Conners (RidebikerAlliance), Rebecca Henderson (Trek Factory Racing), and Shayna Powells (Liv Co-Factory) were close together until Mullens made her attack. On the third lap of ten, Mullens made her way to the front of the pack and by the fourth lap she developed a small gap. From there on out, she continued to steadily open her gap to steal her first international win of the season. Conners finished just under 30 seconds behind Mullens for second, while Powells grabbed third. Local WORS Pro, Cooper Dende l(Quick Stop Bike Shop) took an impressive fourth while Henderson dropped back to round out the top five.
Mother nature did not let up with the heat for the pro men. A big pack of lead men were together from the start with a couple big names. Current Short Track National Champion Russell Finsterwald (SRAM/ Troy Lee Designs), Dan McConnell (Trek Factory Racing), and WORS’ own Brian Matte r(KS/Energy Mosh), Cole House, Tristan Schouten (Wolf Prima/Attitude Sports), and Nathan Guerra (Vision Cycling) were just a few in the lead pack. Matter, Finsterwald and House mainly set the tempo of the race each taking turns leading laps but when it came down to the end neither one of them took the title. After the bell rang for the final lap, Matter and House made a couple big moves but it wasn’t enough to keep off McConnell who surged up the last hill to take the win. House and Finsterwald sprinted to the line for second and third place respectively.  Chris Hamilton (Torq Nutrition) finished fourth with Matter rounding out the top five.

Big Bear Grizzly 100 Race Report

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Nic Beechan and Brenda Simril Roar to the Finish at Big Bear

By Ryan O’Dell

On yet another calm cool morning in the San Bernardino mountains of Southern California, nearly twice as many racers lined up for the second annual NUE Big Bear Grizzly 100. The course received its inspiration from the infamous Terrible 10,000, a ride the local endurance hammerheads have been doing for years. This year’s race featured several shorter distances and some non-competitive rides in addition to the NUE Grizzly 100.

The race kicked off a week-long cycling festival organized by Bear Valley Bikes. Located at 7000 feet above sea level, the charming tourist town of Big Bear has long had a solid reputation as a cycling destination, attracting visitors from the LA Valley and hosting some of the largest national events over many years. Nearby ski resorts offer lifts for cyclists during the summer months accessing the newly developed Skyliner Trail. This year’s race doubled in size with participants coming from 11 different states and several countries including Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong, Slovenia, Canada, and France.

Specialized Bikes and Lauf Forks offered demo’s throughout the day with live music on the main stage that drew downtown visitors to the race and into an expo area where they could view racers as they finished along a fast paved decent. New Belgium Brewing offered several variety’s of draft brews throughout the day in the beer garden welcoming weary racers and fans with malty, hoppy goodness.

Grizzly 100 start

Grizzly 100 start

Women’s Open

Simril Wins Again!

Defending NUE Race Series Champion, Brenda Simril, Motor Mile Racing, won again this year in her childhood hometown of Big Bear, cheered on by family and friends. Her 6:04:56 finish was nearly a half hour faster than last year. With three straight wins, including the Bailey Hundo and Tatanka, Simril leads the NUE Race Series, needing only one more win to achieve a perfect score and control her destiny in this best four of fourteen race series. Simril also placed third at the season opener True Grit and second at Mohican MTB100.

The only possible hurdle in route to her first NUE Series title will be if another racer can get four wins. If that occurs, The Fool’s Gold 100 in September would serve as a tie breaker to determine the 2015 NUE Series Champion.

Just three minutes behind the defending champion, Marlee Dixon, MTBRaceNews.com/Pivot Bikes, claimed second in 6:07:50. Dixon is currently ranked second overall in the NUE point standings.

Amanda Nauman, SDG-Bellwether/PB Krema Peanut Butter, took third in 6:41:03. In a close race for fourth and fifth, Nikki Peterson, Bear Valley Bikes, edged out Chase Edwards, Flagstaff Bike Revolution, by just thirty three seconds. Peterson finished 6:44:13. “The Grizzly 100 was a fun, epic, incredibly challenging race. I just started racing mountain bikes in January and have been focusing on cross country so my races are typically 20-25 miles long. In fact, last week I competed in Cat 1 Short Track and Cross Country races in Mammoth, CA where I placed sixth and second, respectively!

I did a few 30-40 mile training rides throughout the season but had not done a ride that long. Knowing this, I made sure to go out conservatively so that I could maintain my pace throughout the race. I had issues with my bike the first thirty miles so I used quite a bit more energy than planned. Luckily, I was able to fix my bike with a minor adjustment at the top of Radford and started catching up immediately.

By the time we looped back around to the aid station I had caught Chase. At the time I didn’t realize it and I thought that the sixth place woman had caught me. I led her until mile forty where I started bonking. She passed me and was quickly out of my view! The next five miles I did my best to eat and drink so that I could come back to life.

After making it down Cabin 89 safely I made the U-turn to head up Pineknot and realized that I actually was feeling good! I passed three riders going up and started turning it over as soon as I got to the fire road. On the finally descent I was out of the saddle. I came around a corner and saw the woman I had been with ten miles earlier! I went by her and kept charging as hard as I could. I went by one more rider before crossing the finish line and learned that I ended up fourth!

All in all, the Grizzly 100 was a great time! I had the pleasure of helping behind the scenes in the weeks before AND competing in the race. I am a very lucky girl! The aid stations were great, the riders were encouraging, and the stuffed animal bears are the cutest. I am very thankful that I was able to be a part of such a wonderful event and am already looking forward to next year!”

Edwards finished fifth in 6:44:46 “The Grizzly 100 was an awesome race for three BIG reasons: the flowy, fun single track, the long climbs, and the number of ladies–fast ladies–who showed up to race! My favorite part was racing a fast lady through the stellar Skyline trail.

This trail is so good! It’s a fantastic reward for pushing through the grueling nine-mile Radford hill climb, and it brought a giant smile to my face. In the longer races I do in Arizona, sometimes, I will go the entire race without seeing another woman, so racing this fun descent against another lady made it even more memorable. The finish, which is several miles of fast descending, was also pretty exciting for me. I thought I had pulled far away from Nikki, and then she came out of nowhere, and with the finish line in site, she left me in the dust. It was humbling and awesome!”

At the age of fifteen, she was the final finisher last year, and not long after becoming the 2014 NICA California State Champion. This year, the now 16 year-old Madeline Beamis, Bear Valley Bikes, moved up to sixth place, finishing in 6:57:47 to join the sub-seven hour women. The future of women’s racing is rising fast.

Men's winner Nic Beechan

Men’s winner Nic Beechan

Men’s Open

Beechan gets the win by less than three minutes!

In his first NUE Ultra Endurance race, 24 year old Nic Beechan, Z Racing, from Idyllwild, CA achieved victory in just 5:03:24. “The race began with 10-15 racers bunched at the front. When we hit the first single track descent, the lead pack whittled down to six through various crashes or mechanical problems. Josh Tostado gained a small lead. At the bottom we began the Front Line fire road climb and I closed in on Tostado having five guys at the lead while riding along the Santa Ana River trail.

We played cat and mouse up a small pavement climb section heading into the converse feed station. At the feed station the group stopped, and I saw the opportunity to take the lead on the Radford Road climb. I pulled away and felt strong for the next ten miles, but with fifteen miles yet to go, I began regretting my decision to skip the converse feed station as I began to bonk. I reached the last feed station, filled my bottles, forced down some nutrition, and slowly began feeling better. I continued pushing forward, feeling my competitors closing in. It wasn’t till the top of the Pineknot Trail that I began seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, figuratively, and felt I could retain my lead on the final descent into the finish line.

Racing an ultra-endurance event is something I wanted to try. The Grizzly 100, though a last minute decision, was a must, as it was only a couple hours from my house. I enjoyed the long race, but I would still like to focus on Olympic duration mountain bike races. I have been riding my bike on weekends for the last year and a half, but really only focused on mountain biking during the last couple months. Before then, my focus was running NCAA D1 cross country and track, as a walk-on athlete, while attending University of California Riverside. At this time I have no sponsors, but I really enjoy riding my mountain bike and would love the opportunity to not only get on a supportive team but ultimately work less and ride more.”

The strongman from Colorado, Josh Tostado, Santa Cruz//Swiftwick, lead early in the race until the Radford Climb, finishing just three minutes behind Beechan to place second in 5:06:14. Heading into the race, Tostado was ranked second overall in the NUE point standings with second place finishes at both the High Cascades 100 and the Bailey Hundo. His next appearance at the Pierre’s Hole 100 on August 15 will be critical toward his effort to become the NUE Race Series leader.

Seconds behind Tostado, 28 year-old Brian Scarbrough, Spy/Baghouse, from Lakeside, CA claimed third in 5:06:37. Eric Bostrom, Ridebiker/Cannondale, was in the pack of five throughout much of the race finishing four minutes behind Scarbrough in 5:10:03 to place fourth. Three minutes later, Dana Weber, Stage 21, placed fifth in 5:13:38.

Last year’s race winner, Julien Bourdevaire, Team Black Star Racing, a native of France, finished in 15th place this year at 5:43:32, well off last year’s winning time of 5:00:43 where he edged out two-time US Olympian and Hall of Fame racer, Tinker Juarez, Ridebiker Alliance, by seconds in the Grizzly 100 NUE debut.

 

Single Speed Open

LaFramboise crushes the SS Again!

Allan “The Rasberry” LaFramboise, Don’s Bikes/Bike for Bender, crushed the SS field once again with a commanding victory in 5:33:58, twenty minutes faster than last year! “Once again, the Big Bear Grizzly 100 did not disappoint! This year’s course stacked up some of the best riders and single track trails in all of SoCal. It included two full sections of the SART (Santa Ana River Trail) and the entire length of the freshly built Skyline Trail. These trails are packed with flowing single track love, twisty turns and incredible 7000+ft views.

Right out of the gates the Seven Oaks trail took some riders out of the equation. This was a steep, single track descent that you had to be on your game for. And yes, once again we had to climb the dreaded Radford Jeep Trail to get out of the valley – a 9%, 45 minute incline that left some riders on their knees. Thankfully the aid stations were packed with goodies to help us all keep our hydration and electrolyte levels high.

In the end, I actually had a pretty good race. I battled with the leaders for as long as I could and managed to land the SS win. And just in case you were wondering, I ran a fully rigid Intense Hard Eddie with the easiest gearing I’ve ever used, 34:22, so I was hating life on the fire roads but cruising with ease up the climbs. If you ride SS, then you know what I’m talking about. If I had to do it again however, I would probably choose the same setup, minus the rigid fork. Don’t miss out next year as this event is growing fast and the trails in SoCal are to just getting better!”

Driz Cook, Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation, was next finishing 5:57:41 for second place. Eighteen minutes behind Cook, Chas Beam, Team Ninja, from San Diego took third in 6:15:58.

Lee and Brenda Simril

Lee and Brenda Simril

Masters 50+ Open

Andrews is BACK to BACK at Grizzly!

54-year-old Doug “The Hulk” Andrews, Rock N’ Road Cyclery, coming off a second place finish at the Tatanka 100, made a triumphant return at the Grizzly to capture his first victory in the NUE Series this season. Andrews, the 2011 NUE Series Masters Champion, nicknamed the Hulk for a habit of crushing the field by as much as two hours, held a full twenty-one minute lead over second place to finish 5:44:10. Last year, Andrews won following successful surgery and weeks of recovery after suffering from a twisted small intestine earlier in the season that threatened his life.

The former champion indicated that he is still considering a run at the NUE title but faces next to impossible odds against NUE Defending Champion, Roger Masse, Rare Disease Cycling, who just earned a perfect score by claiming his fourth straight win at the Wilderness 101 in PA. Andrews indicated that his path to victory may include a trip to compete at the Rincon Challenge in Costa Rica where he will face Masse, then two straight weeks of racing at Shenandoah and Fool’s Gold 100. “It’s great to see an NUE event in Southern California. For those of you wondering, this course is on par with many of the other great NUE courses and worth the trip out.”

Following his first ever NUE win at Tatanka, 50 year-old Coach Lee Simril, Motor Mile Racing, placed second finishing 6:05:04, further improving his standing in the NUE Point Series. “Big Bear CA is an amazing place with amazing people. Dede, Derek, Tom, and the rest of the staff and volunteers do a professional job of putting on the Grizzly races.

During last year’s race Brenda dropped me going up the Radford Road climb and I finished the rest of the race with my sad face on. This year would be a different story, right? I would be super fit and Radford would be no problem, right? Well, this year I hung in on Radford, but it was a problem!

For me the best part of the course is the 7 Oaks descent, because it is so unique. It is steep, narrow, loose and always close to the edge. I love this descent. Last year we got caught in traffic and inched our way to the bottom; this year we agreed on riding a little harder to the top in order to have a cleaner run on the downhill. Our plan worked well until about two thirds of the way down when I caught up to Brenda who was slowed by a couple of riders in front of her. This plan of a faster start may or may not have helped our overall race, but it sure made 7 Oaks more fun and is that not what this mountain bike crap is all about?

I gave away years of my life to hang onto B during this year’s race, but I knew we were riding fast and this would help me in my placing in the 50 plus category. As it turns out it did help, but there was no dealing with Doug Andrews on this day. I said hello to Doug at the start and at the finish and that was it. He was on fire like that girl with the bow and arrow.

The Race Director, Derek, changed the 100k course this year and I believe he nailed it. The new course moved the Radford climb from the end of the course to the middle and added miles of amazing singletrack to the end.

Being in Big Bear is good for me. I am not sure what it is about this place but I always want to extend our rides in Big Bear. The weather always seems to be nice and the trails are so convenient to town. We leave B’s parent’s cabin and are on sweet trails within fifteen minutes of neighborhood road riding.

This is a family trip for B as her family lives in SoCal. The day after the race we were able to go for a nice hike with B’s two sisters and her niece and even got to SUP on Big Bear Lake as the sun set. Big Bear is a special place and in my opinion a great place for an NUE race. Come out next year and bring the sunscreen.”

One minute behind Simril, 56 year-old Ken Winston, UC Cyclery/JW Floors, from San Diego claimed the third podium spot finishing 6:06:41.

Twenty minutes behind Winston, 51 year-old David Strauch, Team Chill Mountain, took fourth in 6:26:51. Six minutes later, 56 year-old David Jolin, Stark Velo, from Belleville, Ohio claimed the fifth and final spot on the podium to finish 6:32:23.

NEXT:

NUE Race Series #10, Pierre’s Hole 100 in Alta, Wyoming on August 15

NUE Race Series #11, Hampshire 100 in Greenfield, New Hampshire on August 16

 

Results

Open Men

1, Nic Beechan Z-Racing 5.03.24
2, Josh Tostado Santa Cruz/Swiftwick 5.06.14
3, Brian Scarbrough Spy/Baghouse 5.06.37
4, Eric Bostrom Ridebiker Alliance 5.10.03
5, Dana Weber Stage 21 5.13.38
6, Tim Eaton Nations Interbanc 5.17.27
7, John Nobil Bear Valley Bikes 5.22.18
8, Ryan Steers Pedalers Fork 5.23.09
9, Daniel Munoz Baghouse/Rock n Road 5.25.27
10, Ryan Clark Stage 21 5.26.14
11, Greg Gibson TruckerCo/Bear Valley Bikes 5.32.23
12, Jesse Kelly Toasted Head 5.38.47
13, Romolo Forcino Chains Required 5.38.47
14, Phil Kelly All Pro Bicycles 5.38.55
15, Stuart Gonzalez Bear Valley Bikes 5.39.51
16, Julien Bourdevaire Team Blackstar Racing 5.43.32
17, Alfred Pacheco Novatec 5.47.53
18, Chad Barlett Monster Media Racing 5.51.06

Open Women

1, Brenda Simril Motor Mile Racing 6.04.56
2, Marlee Dixon Pivot/Epic Brewing 6.07.50
3, Amanda Nauman SDG/Bellweather 6.41.03
4, Nikki Peterson Bear Valley Bikes 6.44.13
5, Chase Edwards Flagstaff Bike Revolution 6.44.46
6, Madeline Bemis Bear Valley Bikes 6.57.47
7, Holly Breck Incycle 7.15.14
8, Erin Machan Wattie Ink 7.44.38
9, Timari Pruis Kenda/Pivot Cycles 7.58.43
10, Catherine Wolff Full Circle 8.47.13
11, Debra McCurdy Rokform 8.47.41
12, Catherine Hinton 9.08.55

 

Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell 2015

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This weekend saw the 16th edition of the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell, one of the premier endurance races in the southeast. The course remained unchanged from last year, and again sent riders out for close 60 miles—a loop that includes classic trails like Heartbreak Ridge and Kitsuma. Of course, there was a cold creek and plenty of beer from Oscar Blues waiting for racers at the finish, something which no doubt motivated more than a few racers as the day wore on.

Without multi-time defending champion, and 2015 Pisgah Stage Race winner, Thomas Turner, the race promised to be an open affair, but there was no shortage of fast men from around the southeast ready to lay down some watts in a bid to take home the coveted ORAMM crown. With trail conditions looking good, and reasonably low temperatures predicted throughout the day, it was clear fast times were going to be in order.

After a fast first lap on the Kitsuma Ridge Trail, a large group of around 10 riders rolled through the first aid station together. With no clear favorite in the race, riders were marking every move, and the large group stayed together, for the most part, to aid station 2. It was there, on the notoriously brutal climb up Curtis Creek that the race finally broke apart. Brian Schworm (Think Green/Pedal the Planet) and Brad Perley (Brevard College) bridged up to Adam Engell (Specialized/Kitsuma Works) and the three riders established a gap on the chasers. The three riders entered the days biggest descent down Heartbreak Ridge more or less together, but disaster quickly struck for Schworm and Perley, both of whom flatted in the trail’s upper rock gardens. That allowed Engell to ride free, and he cruised to the win in a brisk 4:31:34. Schworm would drop back as far as 9th while fixing his flat, but he was able to surge back to 2nd by the finish. Perley wasn’t so lucky. A huge tear in his tire meant he had to run the entirety of Heartbreak to the final aid station, where he was finally able to fix his bike and finish. With Perley running, Chris Tries (Piney Flats Cycles) was able to work his way into third on the line to take the final spot on the podium.

Also of note were the rides by masters riders Bob McCarty (Stradalli Bikes) and Tommy Rodgers (J.A. King Cycles) who both rode very strong races to finish 3rd and 6th respectively overall.

Men's Podium

Men’s Podium

The women’s race looked for a much of the race like a replay of the Jerdon Mountain Challenge the day before, with Nina Otter (Liberty Bikes) out front by just over two minutes, with Jennifer Moos (Pink Siren Sports) chasing hard. However, Otter missed a critical turn of the Blue Ridge Parkway onto the Heartbreak Ridge Trail, a continued to climb for close to 5 minutes before deciding that she must have missed the trail, which allowed Moos to ride into the lead. By the time Otter realized she was in second at Aid 4, it was too late. Though she chased hard and closed the gap significantly in the final miles of the day, she ultimately came up a minute and a half short of the win – with Moos taking her second victory in as many years. Zdenka Worsham (Constellation Cycling) also rode a strong race and crossed the line in third to take the final spot on the podium.

Women's Podium

Women’s Podium

Women’s Open:

Position Bib # Name Start Finish Total Division Gender City State Team Name
1 304 JENNIFER MOOS 8:00:19 13:43:59.143 05:43:40.457 Open Women F FORT LAUDERDALE FL Pink Siren Sports
2 326 NINA OTTER 8:00:19 13:45:30.099 05:45:11.413 Open Women F ASHEVILLE NC Industry Nine/Liberty Bikes
3 516 ZDENKA WORSHAM 8:00:19 14:17:55.237 06:17:36.551 Open Women F RALEIGH NC Constellation Cycling
4 170 JOSSELYN GUTIERREZ 8:00:19 14:39:57.932 06:39:39.246 Open Women F COCONUT CREEK FL Alex’s Bicycle Pro Shop
5 65 ELLEN CARROLL 8:00:19 15:26:24.430 07:26:05.744 Open Women F ATLANTA GA Rescue Racing/Reality Bikes
6 105 HEATHER DAVIS 8:00:19 15:29:37.110 07:29:18.424 Open Women F ATDEN NC Ally’s Bar
7 69 MONICA CASTILLO 8:00:19 15:43:03.418 07:42:44.732 Open Women F DELRAY BEACH FL
8 54 REBECCA BUBP 8:00:19 15:48:41.085 07:48:22.399 Open Women F CHARLOTTE NC Bikesource/JGRMX
9 99 STEPHANIE CRITCHFIELD 8:00:19 15:52:37.316 07:52:18.630 Open Women F STOCKBRIDGE GA Southern Crescent Cycling
10 474 KAILEE WAGNER 8:00:19 16:47:54.971 08:47:36.285 Open Women F JACKSONVILLE FL
11 275 VALERIE MATENA 8:00:19 16:54:20.055 08:54:01.369 Open Women F CHARLOTTE NC
12 202 MEGAN HUTTON 8:00:19 17:01:20.590 09:01:01.904 Open Women F BREVARD NC Sycamore Cycles
13 19 KATIE BARNES 8:00:19 18:54:46.656 10:54:27.970 Open Women F KNOXVILLE TN
14 66 KRISTY CARTER 8:00:19 19:36:46.539 11:36:27.853 Open Women F ASHEVILLE NC Asheville Bicycle Racing Club

Men’s Open:

1 137 ADAM ENGELL 8:00:19 12:31:53.414 04:31:34.728 Open Men M RALEIGH NC Specialized – Kitsuma Works
2 393 BRIAN SCHWORM 8:00:19 12:38:48.222 04:38:29.536 Open Men M MOREHEAD KY Think Green-Pedal the Planet p/b SWORD Cycling Team
3 449 CHRIS TRIES 8:00:19 12:40:10.742 04:39:52.056 Open Men M JOHNSON CITY TN Piney Flats cycling
4 12 MATTHEW BAILEY 8:00:19 12:41:02.012 04:40:43.326 Open Men M NEWPORT NEWS VA
5 491 MATT WILLIAMS 8:00:19 12:46:36.553 04:46:17.867 Open Men M ASHEVILLE NC Epic Brewing/MTBRacenews.com
6 183 WILLIAM HARRISON 8:00:19 12:50:20.635 04:50:01.949 Open Men M CHARLOTTE NC Clemmons Bicycle Racing
7 74 MATT CHAMPION 8:00:19 12:52:50.716 04:52:32.030 Open Men M BREVARD NC Sycamore Cycles
8 365 BEN RICHARDSON 8:00:19 12:57:36.685 04:57:17.999 Open Men M DANVILLE KY Think Green-Pedal the Planet p/b SWORD
9 411 SHAWN SMITH 8:00:19 12:59:16.088 04:58:57.402 Open Men M GAINESVILLE FL SCBS/WTC/CCS
10 45 NICK BRAGG 8:00:19 13:00:06.471 04:59:47.785 Open Men M ARDEN NC Piney Flats Cyclery and Fitness
11 58 WALLACE CAMPBELL 8:00:19 13:11:40.312 05:11:21.626 Open Men M SPARTANBURG SC
12 40 ROSS BOWDEN 8:00:19 13:13:39.973 05:13:21.287 Open Men M DURHAM NC Champion System / DCX
13 97 SEAN CRICHTON 8:00:19 13:23:45.789 05:23:27.103 Open Men M JACKSONVILLE BEACH FL
14 337 BRADFORD PERLEY 8:00:19 13:28:43.643 05:28:24.957 Open Men M BREVARD NC Brevard College
15 310 BRIAN MOUNTJOY 8:00:19 13:37:10.816 05:36:52.130 Open Men M DANVILLE KY Think green toyota presented by sword and pedal the planet

 

Jerdon Mountain Challenge 2015 – Results and Report

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The 4th annual Jerdon Mountain Challenge kicked off a weekend of racing in Old Fort on Saturday, with more than 150 racers tackling the Off-Road Assualt on Mt. Mitchell’s “little brother.” At 26 miles, Jerdon features two main climbs, both followed by ripping singletrack descents.

With sunny skies, tacky trail conditions, and some recent improvements to Jerret Creek Rd, the potential for fast times was there, and last years winner, Brian Schworm (Think Green/Pedal the Planet) wasted no time in setting a vicious tempo up the first major climb on Jerret Creek. Very quickly, Schworm’s efforts reduced the lead group to just 4 riders, with Brad Perley (Brevard College), Matt Williams (Epic Brewing), and Ben Brown (J.A. King) joining Schworm at the front. Brown was the first to crack, followed shortly by Williams.

At the front, Schworm and Perley stayed together until Perley bobbled over the railroad tracks at the bottom of Heartbreak Ridge, allowing Schworm to open up a gap heading into the second climb of the day up Mill Creek Road. Perley would not be detered, however, and he put in a massive effort to catch and then drop Schworm before the final singletrack down Kitsuma Ridge. He was able to maintain his gap all the way to the line, setting a new course record in the process. Schworm rolled through for 2nd, while Williams rounded out the podium in 3rd.

 

Men's Podium.

Men’s Podium.

On the women’s side, eventual winner Nina Otter (Liberty Bikes) had an uncharacteristically slow start. “I got caught up behind some people getting around the gate at the entrance to Jerret Creek,” she would explain later, “and a couple of women got ahead of me.” She was able to claw her way back to the front though, and take the lead before entering the singletrack on Star Gap and Heartbreak Ridge. While she never opened up a big gap on second place rider Jennifer Moos (Pink Siren Sports), Otter was able to cruise home for the win with a comfortable margin. Moos to a well earned 2nd place, while Beth Freye (Blue Ridge Outdoors) took 3rd.

Women's Podium

Women’s Podium

Men Overall:

Position Bib # Name Start Finish Total Division Gender City State Team Name
1 677 BRADFORD PERLEY 7:59:58 09:48:46.992 01:48:48.808 Open Men M BREVARD NC BREVARD COLLEGE
2 631 BRIAN SCHWORM 7:59:58 09:52:11.712 01:52:13.528 Open Men M MOREHEAD KY Think Green-Pedal the Planet p/b SWORD Cycling Team
3 657 MATT WILLIAMS 7:59:58 09:57:43.426 01:57:45.242 Open Men M ASHEVILLE NC Epic Brewing/MTBRacenews.com
4 638 PATRICK SMITH 7:59:58 10:04:52.834 02:04:54.650 Open Men M NORTH AUGUSTA SC Team Greenville Health System
5 682 BRAD COBB 7:59:58 10:05:34.779 02:05:36.595 Master Men M LOOKOUT MT TN MOTOR MILE RACING
6 523 IAN BALDWIN 7:59:58 10:05:54.439 02:05:56.255 Open Men M ALEXANDER NC Suspension Experts
7 547 KEVIN CONRECODE 7:59:58 10:05:54.625 02:05:56.441 Open Men M ASHEVILLE NC Industry Nine
8 653 JEFF WELCH 7:59:58 10:06:35.772 02:06:37.588 Senior Men M LENOIR NC Fiets Maan Racing p/b Luna Cycles
9 594 CHRIS LARSEN 7:59:58 10:07:48.725 02:07:50.541 Open Men M ASHEVILLE NC ABRC
10 675 JIMM MCELROY 7:59:58 10:07:59.614 02:08:01.430 Open Men M WEAVERVILLE NC Fiets Maan Racing p/b Luna Cycles
11 681 CHRIS BROWN 7:59:58 10:11:21.021 02:11:22.837 Master Men M CHATTANOOGA TN Industry Nine p/b ABRL
12 581 MICHAEL HUDSON 7:59:58 10:12:25.879 02:12:27.695 Master Men M ASHEVILLE NC Juggernaut ESF
13 658 JEFF WINE 7:59:58 10:12:26.846 02:12:28.662 Master Men M LOUISVILLE KY Friends of Roll/ Effov
14 575 MICHAEL HODGES 7:59:58 10:14:31.809 02:14:33.625 Master Men M COCONUT CREEK FL The Best Bike Shop.com
15 627 CHRIS READY 7:59:58 10:15:26.147 02:15:27.963 Senior Men M ARDEN NC VeloSports Racing

Women Open:

Position Bib # Name Start Finish Total Division Gender City State Team Name
1 620 NINA OTTER 7:59:58 10:17:00.905 02:17:02.721 Open Women F ASHEVILLE NC Liberty Bikes/Industry Nine
2 671 JENNIFER MOOS 7:59:58 10:18:12.645 02:18:14.461 Open Women F FORT LAUDERDALE FL PINK SIREN SPORTS
3 561 BETH FRYE 7:59:58 10:28:06.698 02:28:08.514 Open Women F BOONE NC Blue Ridge Outdoors
4 618 LEAH NICHOLSON 7:59:58 10:42:51.240 02:42:53.056 Open Women F BREVARD NC
5 580 LAURA HOWELL 7:59:58 11:03:36.013 03:03:37.829 Open Women F CHATTANOOGA TN
6 665 KIRA ZAZZI 7:59:58 11:31:10.593 03:31:12.409 Open Women F DENVER NC Velo 16 BSG
7 599 LAUREL LONG 7:59:58 12:57:36.014 04:57:37.830 Open Women F HUNTERSVILLE NC Carolina Youth Cycling

High Cascades 100 – Full Results & Report

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Barry Wicks Sprints for the Win at High Cascades as Serena Gordon Rules the Women’s Field

By Ryan O’Dell

 The Seventh Annual High Cascades 100 marked the midway point of the 14 race National Ultra Endurance MTB Race Series with yet another sold out NUE event. The HC100 begins at Bachelor Village, near Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Oregon. Bend has become a well-known mountain bike destination with hundreds of miles of singletrack trails connecting nearby towns.

Deschutes Brewery, one of the top rated micro brewerys in the US, was onsite at the finish line serving up draft brews including Twilight Ale and newly developed Pinedrops IPA. Sagebrush Cycles of Bend, in addition to offering mechanical services on the race course, also offered racers a place to ship their bikes that included getting the bike race ready and inspected before the race.

Serena Gordon stays focused while out front - Photo by Alan Brandt Photography

Serena Gordon stays focused while out front – Photo by Alan Brandt Photography

Women’s Open

Gordon Crushes HC100!

Serena Bishop Gordon, LIV/Giant Co-Factory Team, crushed the field by nearly an hour to finish 8:32:42. “Mike Ripley and the Mudslinger Events out-did themselves once again with great course design, amazing volunteers, and an after-party that made racers and their families want to hang out for hours.

Recent rains made for ideal trail conditions and I was excited for a long day of racing when we rolled out of the Athletic Club of Bend at 5:35am on Saturday. I tucked into the large group and drafted until we turned onto the dirt and started to climb. My goal was to ride within myself all day, keep to my fueling and hydration plan and to arrive at each aid station before any of my female competitors. Once we started climbing, I never saw another woman, and I never looked over my shoulder. Instead, I looked forward and tried to pick off the men in front of me, working to catch them one at a time.

I felt really strong on the climbs and tried to relax and recover on the descents. Breaking the race up into sections made all the difference; looking at the race as a whole would have been too overwhelming. It wasn’t until the Edison aid station (mile 80) that I started to feel the fatigue of a long day in the saddle. At this point, I just stayed focused and position – and set mini-goals.

I had told my coach, Brig Brandt, I wanted to finish in a time of 8:30. When I crossed the finish line and stopped my Garmin, it read 8:29. The official clock was at 8:32 – pretty darn close!”

Coming off a third place finish at the Mohican MTB100 in Ohio and fourth place at the Bailey Hundo in Colorado, Marlee Dixon, Pivot/Epic Brewing, took second to finish 9:21:33. Dixon is currently ranked fourth in the NUE point standings.

Julie Browning, CyclePath Racing, of Portland placed third at 9:31:45, winning the HC100 Vet 40+ Women’s Cat in the process. “This was my second 100 mile mountain bike race, my first one being HC100 the previous year. That first race was more about seeing whether I could finish in one piece. I finished just a hair under 10 hours and missed the Masters podium by a few seconds and thought, OK, I can do this again.

This year, I knew what I was getting myself into and was ready both mentally and physically to race, not just finish and made a few changes to my training and to my bike: dropper seat post, Racing Ralph Tires with snakeskin sidewalls (2.35 on the front and 2.25 on the rear) along with a Garmin to better gauge the time to the aid stations and the length of the climbs.

I started off conservatively, making the most of the flats and the downhills, but riding steady on any up hills. By aid station 3 (56 miles), I was feeling great and knew that there was a downhill section to look forward to. I was descending well (thanks to the dropper post and tires) and pushed it for over an hour on the swooping fun descent that took you right up to the next aid station at mile 70 before a tough climb.

My teammates had warned me about the Lava Lakes climb and I had built it up in my head as something that was totally un-rideable so I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t a sustained climb, but rather a stair stepped climb. It was still tough and required some walking though! I hit a few of the lava rocks a little hard and was so thankful my tires held up. Afterwards I heard that a bunch of riders weren’t so lucky and hobbled into aid station 5 with shredded tires.

After that final aid station at mile 80, I didn’t see anyone for quite some time which made me wonder if I was still on course! Then I caught up to another rider who told me he thought I was in third place overall. I had no idea! From there it was a race to the finish to hold onto that third place, which I did, crossing the finish line in 9:31:45. I loved the course and it suited me well. I’m amazed at how fast time flies when you are so focused (and having fun).

What made the race even more special was to have my family there supporting me in the aid stations and also a bunch of my Cyclepath team mates there racing and supporting. Everyone on the team had some personal victories that day. Good times and huge thanks to Mike and his crew for putting on such a great event and big thanks to the awesome mechanics at Cyclepath for keeping my bike running.”

Rebecca Rusch, Niner/Red Bull, placed fourth in 9:38:10. Rusch, known as “The Queen of Pain” among many recently published a book titled “Rusch to Glory” that features her exploits in the world of endurance racing. Her book is now available for just $20 at www.rebeccarusch.com.

The youngest woman to ever finish an NUE race at the age of 16, Susannah Hart, Hapi-Go, now 18, completed the race in11:26:09. “Susannah emerged from the race saying once again that her favorite part was the climb out of Lava Lake. According to her father, Brian Hart, “Favorite” was strangely absent from the choice words I heard from many of the other racers when we served them at the Edison aid station.”

Overall in the NUE Race Series point standings, Defending NUE Champion, Brenda Simril, Motor Mile Racing, leads the Women’s Open with back to back wins at Tatanka 100 and Bailey Hundo plus second place at the Mohican MTB100 and a third place at True Grit Epic.

Barry Wicks is shadowed by Josh Tostado - Photo by Alan Brandt Photography

Barry Wicks is shadowed by Josh Tostado – Photo by Alan Brandt Photography

 

Men’s Open

Wick’s wins in a sprint finish

Barry Wicks, Kona, finished first in a close race that came down to a sprint finish with the strong man from Colorado. Wick’s finished in 7:50:50, just seconds ahead of NUE contender Josh Tostado, Santa Cruz/Swiftwick, who rolled in six seconds back with dust flying at 7:50:56.

According to Tostado, “I just had a great race and enough at the end to catch Barry and ride strong for the last hour. It was fun to sprint it out at the end.” Next for Tostado are the Big Bear Grizzly 100 and the Pierrie’s Hole 100. Josh Oppenheimer, TruWhip Cycling, came in just five minutes behind Tostado for third place at 7:55:55.

Fifteen minutes later, Brent Pontius, Roosters/Biker’s Edge, took fourth at 8:10:54. Two minutes separated fourth and fifth place with Christopher Jones, United Healthcare Pro Cycling, finishing 8:17:11 ahead of Matt Woodruff, Kuhl/Salsa Cycles, at 8:19:50.

The youngest NUE race finisher ever at the age of just thirteen, Brian Hart Jr., Hapi-Go, now 15 years old improved his finish time by more than three hours in the Men’s open at 9:54:35. The future of NUE has arrived! Hart says he may also enter the Mohican MTB100 in 2016.

Overall in the NUE Race Series point standings, Keck Baker, Champsys/Cannondale P/b Battley, leads the Men’s Open Division with four completed races, including a win at True Grit Epic and second place at the Mohican MTB100.

 

Single Speed Open

Shaklee gets a decisive win at High Cascades!

Ben Shaklee, Jack’s Bicycle Center/Homegrown Racing, stepped up his game and had sixteen minutes to spare when it was all said and done finishing the race in 8:18:21, good enough for seventh overall. Last year, Shaklee finished third behind NUE’s top contender AJ Linnell, Fitzgerald’s Bicycle, and Jace Ives.

31 year old Jace Ives, Bear Creek Bicycle/Syntace/SQ Lab, from Ashland, OR who earned his first win at the HC100 last year with six minutes to spare finished 8:34:18. “I knew coming into this year’s race I was lacking fitness. Even though I crammed pretty well during June, taking April and May mostly off would no doubt slow my pace. Early on, before racers turned onto the first dirt road, I position myself in the front (planning to avoid the dust, which there was little to none this year). I maintained in a front group of ten for a bit, then began to slip off the back. Soon, Ben Shaklee said hello while passing, then bridged up to the front group. Two other SS riders came by. I came through Aid 1 shortly after the three SS riders, but could not catch up to them. At this point my legs began to feel like they would at mile eighty, sore and tense.

I continued on slowly, frustrated at slight inclines, and happy when I could coast. I thought it strange to feel this level of fatigue early on; I thought I was in a bit better shape. From Swampy to the top of Swede Ridge I was pretty much by myself. After riding through the masticated, debris strewn dirt road climb, I tuned onto the trail and felt my legs slowly release themselves of the icky heavy feeling. I caught up to two other SS riders and several geared riders while climbing to Dutchman. I passed a few more on Metolius Windigo before the aid near Lava Lake. My legs where feeling crazy better, but by that time I was already beginning to become overall quite tired.

Climbing up Edison Lava trail, after passing a couple guys, I pulled over for a whizz, and to my surprise I saw another rider pushing a hard pace up the steep loose terrain. It was Serena Bishop Gordon! I got going again and caught up, but I could hardly keep up with her on the climbs and descents. She is one helluva good descender. I made it through the lava rocks without injury or shredding a tire. While negotiating the loose rocky terrain, I remembered back to last year’s race, when, after finishing, I suggested to Race Director Mike Ripley to bring the loop back around Mt. Bachelor, the lava section. Well here it is back in the race, the lava. Fun, yes? What the hell was I thinking?!

I overcame Serena and another rider before Tiddlywinks trail. I proceeded down the more Funner than Funner trail at an efficient pace, floating some of the tables and doubles. I came out on the road by myself and continued for a few miles spinning alone. I saw Serena and a male rider were coming up fast. Great, I thought, I can jump in with them. I hear them coming, so I increase my pace, and check back, but before I could react I see the guy passing me, standing up and sprinting, dropping Serena and not even giving me a chance to catch on. That was selfish I thought (even though, I selfishly wanted a pull). Somehow, after ninety three miles of dusty, twisty, rocky, and rooty trail, these final miles on a nearly flat road seemed the most annoying and difficult for me. I work hard to pass peeps up and down the trail, then get dropped on a long flat road. Suck it up ya dope, I told myself, you chose this archaic bike.

I finished a couple minutes after the racers who passed on the road, but a long time after Ben Shaklee. He hammered. Even if I did not miss two months of training in the spring, I think keeping up with his pace would be uncomfortable and difficult. Overall, I was surprised how horrible my legs felt for the first third of the track and surprised that I caught back up to finish in second place. Once again, I was just stoked to play bikes in Bend for a hundred miles!”

Twenty minutes behind Ives, Tom Flynn, Pro Leisure, finished 8:54:07. Four minutes behind Flynn, Cole Anderson took the fifth spot at 8:58:00.

Overall in the NUE Race Series point standings, Peat Henry, Team Noah Foundation, leads the SS Class with 21 points over five completed races.

 

Masters 50+ Open

Tonning refuses to settle for second place in 2015!

Following a second place finish at the HC100 last year, Wayne Tonning, Multnomah Athletic Club, from Lake Oswego, OR managed to outlast last year’s winner to settle the score at 8:38:50.

Just four minutes behind Tonning, last year’s race winner and NUE Race Series Contender, 52-year-old Greg Golet, Team Chico, from Chico, CA finished in 8:42:30. After the race, Golet commented that he felt he really needed this win to contend for the NUE title and is now re-evaluating whether it is still possible for him to win the series. Golet gained his first victory this year at the Bailey Hundo but also has a second place finish at True Grit Epic.

2013 NUE Master’s Champion, Marland Whaley, Hammer Nutrition/Red Barn Bicycles, rolled in six minutes behind Golet to take third on the day at 8:48:58. “I’ve been somewhat scarce due to an injury to my left arm that forced me to pull from True Grit and Cohutta 100.  I went to Bailey and really enjoyed the race, but the last minute course change caused me to miscalculate my aid station support and left me running on fumes and getting my second camelback with only seven miles to go.

The HC 100 went somewhat better after dealing with some mechanical issues in the first thirty miles and a really big crash at speed just before Lava Lake that I thought, at first, was ending my day. After pulling branches out of my front wheel, I got back in pursuit moving up twenty places from Swampy to Lava. Coming into Lava, I made my last final mistake thinking I had enough in my camelback to get to Edison. There was a small crowd at the aid station so I decided to go for it. Much to my dismay, I took my last suck of fuel and hydration just 200 yards past the aid station.

Half way up the Lava Lakes climb, Greg Golet passed me back for second place when I was just trying to hang on and make it to Edison. After Edison, it took about two miles to get revived again and I was able to make a fast trip back to Bend.

This is the only other NUE race I will be doing this year because I’m off to Leadville next month. On a whim, I used a chance to visit my Dad and show my wife the Grand Canyon as an excuse to go to do the Barn Burner 104 qualifier. I didn’t expect much since it would be my third ultra-distance race in as many weeks but thought it would be fun. To my surprise, it was a day winning my class and earning a gold tier starting position with my finishing time. With this possibly being a once in a lifetime starting position for me, I decided to go for it.

So far, Bailey Hundo and the HC 100 have been training races without taper for me to prepare for Leadville. I’ve come into both races very fit but not really fast from building fatigue. I will taper for Leadville in two weeks and hopefully it will all come together as planned. Regardless of the outcome, it’s hard to watch some of my favorite races go by and I will be back soon.”

It was a close race for the four and five spots but Robert Wilson took fourth place by just six seconds at 9:38:05 ahead of David Caplan, Webcyclery, who finished in 9:38:11.

 

Next up for the NUE Race Series: Two unique races east and west.

EAST: Rock Solid-The rocky goodness of the Wilderness 101 in State College, PA.

WEST: The Big Bear Grizzly 100 in Big Bear, CA.

Click Here for full results from all categories

 

Tatanka 100 – NUE #6

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Jamie Lamb and Brenda Simril Take the Open Titles in South Dakota

By Ryan O’Dell

On Saturday, July 11, The Kenda NUE Series headed to Sturgis, South Dakota, home of the world’s largest motorcycle rally. This year, Tatanka also became the first point to point race in the NUE Series with the start line located within the shadow of USA National Landmark Mount Rushmore.

Beneath the magnificence of mammoth rock sculptures representing four of our nation’s greatest presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, NUE racer’s made their way down the Centennial Trail along a mix of gnarly single track and fast, smooth cruising trail all the way to Sturgis, nestled at the base of the northern Black Hills in extreme western South Dakota. Due to the added difficulty of this year’s race course, Race Director Kevin Forrester opted to shorten the race distance from 100 miles to 80 miles.

Due to an unusual amount of rainfall leading up to race day, some small portions of the trail were rerouted. Temperatures this year reached an unseasonable high of 93 degrees but were tempered by low humidity and strong breezes throughout the day.

Riders line up for the start with open men's winner Jamie Bush (#73) on the front - photo by John Bush

Riders line up for the start with open men’s winner Jamie Bush (#73) on the front – photo by John Bush

Women’s Open

Simril makes it two straight at Tatanka, and leads the NUE Series!

Following her most recent win at the Bailey Hundo in Colorado, defending NUE Race Series Champion, Brenda Simril, Motor Mile Racing, notched her second straight win at Tatanka by a large margin to finish 8:53:19. Simril now leads the NUE Series this year with back to back wins plus a second place finish at the Mohican 100 in Ohio and a third place finish at True Grit Epic in Utah.

Following her third place finish at the Lumberjack 100 in Michigan, Jill Martindale, Grand Rapids Bicycle Co., finished second at Tatanka in 10:47:36. Martindale has also moved into second place overall in the NUE Race Series. “I knew going into the race that the course was going to be hilly, a lot rockier than I had ever experienced, and really hot. Since there were a lot of unknowns during this race, my top priority was to just finish!

I knew if I crashed in the beginning it would hurt me for the long haul, so I rode within my limits and safely through the rocks at the start of the race. I entered the single track a decent ways back from Brenda and didn’t actually think I’d see her again, knowing she was used to the heat and the terrain. Before the first aid station, on a rocky downhill, I was passed by Beverly from Hammer Nutrition. It looked like the rocks were giving her as hard of a time as they were giving me, and I tried to stick close behind her, but also paid attention to my body and let back on the gas when I felt like the heat was getting too intense. The last thing I wanted was to overheat and to burn all my matches!

Once I hit the midpoint of the race, I knew I had a decent amount of energy left and was able to pass some racers who had burned out at the beginning of the race. When I passed a friend who had gone out too hard at the start of the race, he tried to shout that I was in second place, but I didn’t hear him. So I actually kept chasing Beverly, hoping to catch her! It probably lucked out in my favor, having a rabbit to chase, because it kept me focused. Beverly had taken a wrong turn and wound up coming through the finish a little while after me. The heat didn’t get to me as bad as some other racers I passed. I made sure to stay extra hydrated and drank a lot. If I started feeling exhausted, I just took it back a notch until I felt better. I paced myself really well for this race.

The highlights of the race for me were the shuttled start to Mount Rushmore, the free-roaming cattle (riding over the cattle guards was so much fun!), and all of the incredible views! The course was absolutely beautiful and the downhills made the climbing entirely worth it. I’m pretty sure every race should have river crossings. On the second crossing I dunked my entire head, helmet and all, into the river. IT WAS AWESOME! I had a really great attitude the entire race, thoroughly enjoyed every part of it, and will definitely be back!

I saw a lot of people out there with flats and was so happy to be riding with my Velocity Blunt SS wheels and tires with a durable sidewall.”

Beverly Enslow, Team Hammer Nutrition, took the third spot on the podium at 11:48:30. Former NUE Race Series Champion, Amanda Carey, Luna Sunscreen, was registered to race but an unresolved bike issue reportedly prevented her from being ready for Tatanka. Carey, who won the Cohutta 100 and placed second at True Grit Epic earlier this season, is expected to defend last years win at the High Cascades 100 in Bend, OR next weekend.

Riders stop to take in a truly unique experience at the base of Mount Rushmore - Photo by John Bush

Riders stop to take in a truly unique experience at the base of Mount Rushmore – Photo by John Bush

 

Men’s Open

Lamb gets his first NUE win at Tatanka!

Jamie Lamb, Bicisport Calgary, started strong and finished strong gaining his first win in the NUE Series at 7:11:13. Early in the race, Lamb stuck to the wheel of Kelly Magelky, Honey Stinger, breaking away from the pack to build a significant lead. Late in the race, the heat would take its toll on Magelky who dropped out at Aid four.

Jesse Kelly, Toasted Head Racing, moved up to place second at 7:51:53. Six minutes later, Nathan Collier, Pedal Pushers Racing, worked hard to take the three spot in 7:57:56.

The next several racers jockeyed for position throughout the race but in the end it was Rob Batey, Feedback Sports, claiming fourth at 8:22:55. Just five seconds separated fifth and sixth place with Kevin Campbell, Spokes-n-Skis, arriving at 8:26:20 and Tim Lutz, 92Fifty Cyclery, finishing sixth at 8:26:25. Two minutes later, Brian Roggeveen, Momentum Racing, took the seventh and final spot in 8:28:51.

Two-time Tatanka winner and local favorite, James Meyer, Quark/SRAM, from nearby Spearfish, SD placed thirteenth at 9:02:21. Two-time US Olympian and Hall of Fame racer Tinker Juarez, who placed second overall in the NUE Series last year, was on the start list but sidelined following a bad crash at a recent race in Mexico suffering a cracked pelvis. Juarez is improving now but expected to be out for at least five weeks. He was scheduled to compete at the upcoming High Cascades 100 and Big Bear Grizzly 100.

 

Single-Speed

Trent earns his first NUE win at Tatanka!

Richie Trent took a decisive victory in the SS, finishing in 8:01:45, placing fourth overall! “After leaving Mt. Rushmore, the short “climb” that was more of a false flat, that led into the first section of trail almost immediately, did little to spread the field out. Almost immediately there would be deep mud pits which had most riders getting off of their bikes. This would be the theme of the day, an adventure mountain bike race at its best. No watered down flow trail here.

I worked my way up in the first 5-10 miles to try and get some clear air. The first hour was mostly heinous, rocky, hike-a-bikes. On and off the bike constantly, I rode into aid one with Jesse Kelly. We had no idea what position we were in. After aid one I was caught by a few others on the flats that had the benefit of gears! Once the climbing started back up, I was quickly back and onto Jesse Kelly’s wheel again. We rode together for some number of miles, at one point blowing past a turn in the trail, which led us into a meadow and up a big hike-a-bike. At the top the trail fizzled out and we saw no course markings, so were forced to double back, losing around ten minutes.

Once we were back on the trail, I passed Kelly and spent the next hour regaining a few lost positions. At aid two, I was told the next guy was only a minute or so ahead. It was Nathan Collier, and I would find and pass him within a few miles. Reaching aid three I was really beginning to feel the heat. Water was a hot commodity at this point, and I was depleting my reserves much quicker than usual. I was told Magelky was only a few minutes ahead, which really surprised me.

Collier caught me at aid three and took off before me, but I was back on his wheel and passed within a mile or so. I could tell that he was focused and intent on making this a race. The middle 30-40 miles of the course involved a lot of fast double track and mud! With so many mud-pits and water, I was really enjoying the adventure aspect of this race. Unfortunately, at around hour five (mile 55), I began to really feel the heat and was out of water for a solid hour. Coming into aid four there were at least four knee-deep stream crossings. Completely out of gas and overheated, I was loving walking through the cool water.  At the last stream crossing, Jesse Kelly caught me and said Collier was close behind. We reached aid four together and were told we were in 2nd and 3rd.  I had no idea we were that far up.

Jesse took off and had way more steam than me. From this point the trail mostly pointed down. Miles and miles of super fun, sometimes flowy, sometimes steep and rocky and fairly technical singletrack, the entire way back to Sturgis. I had been running on fumes and dealing with massive leg and body cramps for hours at this point, and with about three miles to the finish, Collier caught me to take back third place. After not having raced in a year, I was super excited to take 1st SS and fourth overall. The Tatanka course was one-of-a-kind and a phenomenal experience.”

Thirty-six minutes later, Pete Henry, Team Noah Foundation, claimed second place dedicating his finish to two-time Tatanka winner and NUE Race Series contender, A.J. Linnell, Fitzgerald’s Bicycles/Pivot Cycles, of Victor, ID who died tragically earlier this year in a plane crash. Henry finished the race in 8:37:25, moving into first place in the NUE Race Series point standings.

Thirteen minutes behind Henry, Tyler Huber, BCBC/Larson’s Cyclery, took third in 8:50:09. Thirty minutes later, Ernesto Marenchin, Pivot Cycles, Twin 6, WAS Labs, took fourth at 9:20:21 moving up to fourth place overall in the NUE Race Series point standings.

“Last year’s race course was nothing but spikes in elevation with very little flat spots. This year’s course had approximately 10,000 feet of vertical according to my profile. After a short transport from Sturgis, we arrived at Rushmore. It was awesome having the entire Mount Rushmore monument open just for our start as it was not open for visitors at the early time of day. There were a few rollers on the road before we hit the single track and the first and highest climb of the day was roughly around 5800 feet.

I ended up running a 35×20 based off of last year’s profile and was soon debating if I had picked the right gear. It had some hike and bike on the first climbs but the temps were cool and it was early, so I hoped the steepness would back off a little and it did. I started to pick off a few riders here and there and soon I was riding alone starting around mile 25 or so. I would ride with riders not for very long as either the descent was too fast for me to keep their pace or the steepness was too great and I had to keep the pace rolling.

The views on course were awesome and coming from the Ohio area and not getting to see these areas often, I have to admit I slowed my pace to take in the view on more than one occasion. Soon, the heat started bumping up and I slowed my pace a bit to avoid getting overheated as it rose to just over 90 degrees. Four deep and cool water crossings had me feeling awesome again coming into aid station three sitting in third place. I ended up taking a wrong turn, but got back on track right about the time the heat hit me pretty hard. I would end up fourth on the day, a tough and epic day!”

Singlespeed finisher Jason Zoll may have missed the podium by a few spots on Saturday but was fortunate to be chosen as the winner of a new Lauf Fork. Lauf is offering a fork to one lucky singlespeed winner at each NUE race this season. Weighing in at just 4.3lbs, Lauf Forks have been ridden to victory by five-time NUE SS Champion Gerry Pflug and NUE Series contender A.J. Linnell.

 

Lee Simril reaches into his back pocket in the shadows of Mount Rushmore - Photo by Jennifer Bush

Lee Simril reaches into his back pocket in the shadows of Mount Rushmore – Photo by Jennifer Bush

Master’s 50+

Simril gets his first NUE Race win!

50 year old Lee Simril, Motor Mile Racing, husband and coach of defending Women’s Champion Brenda Simril, took his turn in the spotlight by earning his first ever win in the NUE Race Series at Tatanka at 8:53:23. With his win at Tatanka, Simril has moved into third place overall in the NUE Race Series point standings.

“If you like mountain biking on rugged single track this race is for you. I have come to somewhat loath the term “flowing singletrack”. Do not concern yourself that you will OD on flowy singletrack on this course, you will not. On the other hand if you like physical, rocky, technical trails, this course is for you. The course requires you to concentrate the whole race. You will have little to no time to sit up, stretch your back and eat. Brenda and I are lucky that this is the type of riding that we love, because we accidentally “trained” for this course by going out and having fun on the weekends.

This would be our third Tatanka 100. From the comfort of my couch this year’s revised course looked amazing. The new course would have basically no pavement or gravel! Before the race I wondered about time cutoffs and whether or not it was even possible to ride 100 miles of singletrack before the sun sets. I did learn that the course would be more like 85 miles, which seemed reasonable because of the amount of singletrack.

The idea still sounded great, but I knew it would be hard. I also knew it would be hard to eat and drink. Brenda and I tend to eat “normal” food during races. Stuff like PBJs, crackers, etc. This type of food makes my stomach and brain happy, but it was a real challenge to eat on this all singletrack course.

The race start was typical; it always seems so damn fast. We all fight for seconds during the first hour but give up minutes like they are meaningless in the last hours. Before the race I knew the last few hours of the new race course could make or break your day. It is one thing to lock into survival mode on a rail / trail but it is another thing to just ride along in survival mode on singletrack. I knew that if we could charge during the last few hours of the race we would have a good day.

Brenda and I have each been participating in endurance sports for the last 30 years and the NUE series for the last 7 years. If we have not learned a thing or two we would not be very smart. We now have a pretty good idea of what we need to do during the fall, winter, and then spring to be best prepared for an NUE season. That said this season has been different. I will not bore you with the details because we all have issues of one type or another. I will just say this year has been one of starts and stops.

Before the 2015 Tatanka I felt like we were pretty well good to go. We had strung together a few good weeks of riding and combined that with a couple of hard races. This combination of riding and racing is what we feel like is the best prep for a race like Tatanka. All of this said I still honestly am scared of NUE racing and always just hope to survive the day. The races are so damn hard I never feel capable of racing the course. Maybe it is just my way of dealing with what I know will be a hard day.

As Brenda manages to get faster through the year it pushes me to get fitter. We could just strike a deal and agree to ride an hour or two slower, but she does not seem interested in such a deal. This is my first year in the 50 plus category. The new category does bring a fun element to the year, but my biggest goal is still to hang on to Brenda for the whole race. I do not yet know all of the guys in my new category, so this year has been fun meeting and trying to ride with them. The 50 plus category is fast. I still do not know what Roger Masse looks like in his race kit, he is always showered and in his loafers by the time I finish.”

Former NUE Masters Champion, 54 year old Doug “The Hulk” Andrews, Rock N’ Road Cyclery, had a commanding lead early and throughout much of the race before making a wrong turn between aid 3 and 4 that cost him precious time. Andrews, nicknamed the Hulk for repeatedly crushing the masters field at many NUE races by as much as two hours, dropped back into the three spot. It wasn’t until sometime after aid four that Andrews made a late pass on John George to move up to second place at 9:21:21. Andrews plans to compete at the upcoming Big Bear Grizzly 100 July 25.

Just two minutes behind Andrews, 60 year old John George, Mountain Wave, hung on for third place at 9:23:44. 23 minutes later, 50 year old Alan Minor, Banks Bikes-Outdoor Gear Canada, took fourth in 9:56:01 and now sits in fourth place overall in the NUE Point standings behind Simril.

NEXT: The KENDA NUE Race Series heads due west for The High Cascades 100 near Bend, Oregon on Saturday, July 18. Like most of the NUE Races this season, The HC100 is sold out but racers can get on a waiting list to enter. http://nuemtb.com/series/high-cascades-100-ultra-endurance-mountainbike-race

Click Here for full results from all categories

 

Kenda Cup East Finale – Walpole, MA

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Noah Tautfest and Crystal Anthony Take Kenda Cup East Series Finale

Written by: Karen Potter

The Kenda Cup East Series finale took place Sunday at the Barn Burner in Walpole, Massachusetts. Following up on Saturday’s Boston Rebellion ProXCT UCI 2 race, the Barn Burner used the same course with an additional mile of more rooty, twisty, New England-style singletrack to create a 5.5-mile lap.

While several of the local pros opted to race just Saturday’s Pro XCT event, many partook in a double race weekend to seal up their Kenda Cup East standings and some just for the fun of suffering.

Crystal Anthony navigates a rock garden in Walpole

Crystal Anthony navigates a rock garden in Walpole

It was another hot and humid day in New England so staying hydrated properly was important. With minimal elevation gain in the racecourse, riding steady and staying smooth through all the corners was the key to success.

In the elite/open women’s field, Saturday’s ProXCT winner Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) won handily over her competition and took the 2015 Kenda Cup East series title as well. Fifth place finisher in Saturday’s ProXCT race, Karen Potter (Pivot/MTBRacenews.com) followed up in 2nd maintaining her 2nd overall in the series. Kimberly Quinlan (Bicycle Express Racing), who also raced Saturday, was within sight of Potter through the first 3 laps of the race but could not close the gap as Potter pulled away from her on the last lap. Quinlan finished 3rd.

The elite/open men’s race saw a battle between Noah Tautfest (Bicycle Express Racing) and Tom Sampson (Vittoria/Yeti) duking it out for the win and for 3rd place overall in the Kenda Cup East Series. Billy Melone (ATA Cycles) and Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing) had 1st and 2nd places locked up and opted to race just Saturday’s ProXCT race and then Sunday’s Pro Short Track.

In the end, Taufest bested Sampson for the win at the Barn Burner by less then 30 seconds and gave him the final podium spot for the series overall.

Full results here: http://results.bikereg.com/race/6478

Kenda Cup East Series Results:http://results.bikereg.com/kendacupeast

Boston Rebellion – Pro XCT

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Anthony, Wells Take Wins At Boston Rebellion

 

Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) and Todd Wells (Specialized Factory Racing) took the pro events at the Boston Rebellion, held on Saturday at Adams Farm in Walpole, Mass. The race saw the successful return of UCI mountain bike racing to the state of Massachusetts after a lengthy absence. The Adams Farm course treated racers to classic New England trails, with riders either loving or hating the rocks and roots.

Crystal Anthony crosses the line for her first Pro XCT win - Photo by Dave McElwaine

Crystal Anthony crosses the line for her first Pro XCT win – Photo by Dave McElwaine

Women’s Pro Race

Anthony was one rider who absolutely flew over the natural hazards, having ridden the course multiple times over the prior weeks. After a good start, she settled in behind Luna Pro Team’s Magdalie Rochette upon entering the woods and then attacked at the top of the power line section midway through the lap. From there, she built a large lead which she held on to take the eventual win by twenty three seconds over Ellen Noble (Competitive Cyclist). Megan Chinburg came in third over three minutes back, followed by Rochette and Karen Potter (Pivot/MTBRaceNews.com).

“I’m psyched to see the ProXCT come to my home state,” said Crystal. “It was a great course and the pre-riding I did all week helped because today was all about when to conserve energy and when to put on the gas. It also helped once I was fatigued to know the best lines and all those little gains add up.”

XC National Champion Todd Wells glides through the rocks at Boston Rebellion - Photo by Dave McElwaine

XC National Champion Todd Wells glides through the rocks at Boston Rebellion – Photo by Dave McElwaine

Men’s Pro Race 

The men’s race followed a similar format, as Todd Wells got an early lead on the first lap and rode away solo for the win.

“There were three of us initially and then I managed to get a gap and go off by myself,” said Wells. “It’s always nice to be up front and set your own pace but it can also be tricky to keep your concentration. Seeing Dan (Timmerman) coming up gave me some motivation. It’s nice to get a win coming into nat’s. Mom and Dad live not too far from here so to have them in the feed zone cheering me on was great too.”

Of note was the performance of Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing), who started last and passed everyone except Wells to finish in a remarkable second place. “Dead last call up,” said Timmerman stoically after the race. “I passed as many as I could immediately and then in the woods it was anywhere I could, even if I ended up running out of it. It became a matter of just getting around people as fast as I could.”

Another notable result came from New Hampshire’s Tom Sampson (Vittoria/Yeti Cycles), who beat Chris Baddick in a tight sprint for third. ATA Cycles’ Billy Melone rounded out the podium in fifth place.

Racing concludes on Sunday with the final round of the Kenda Cup East series, and the Elite/Pro Short Track races.

 

Boston Rebellion Men’s Elite/Pro Results (top 10):

Rank First Name Last Name Team Time
1 Todd Wells Specialized Factory Racing 1:35.51
2 Dan Timmerman Riverside Racing 1:36.40
3 Tom Sampson Vittoria/Yeti Cycles 1:37.46
4 Chris Baddick 1:37.46
5 William Melone ATA Cycles 1:38.29
6 Cameron Dodge 1:38.53
7 Benjamin Sontag Clif Bar 1:38.53
8 Cole Oberman RareDiseaseCycling.org 1:38.59
9 Ryan Woodall Top Gear Bicycles / Felt / Industry Nine 1:39.27
10 Jeremy Powers Aspire Racing 1:40.48

 

Boston Rebellion Women’s Elite/Pro Results (top 10):

Rank First Name Last Name Team Time
1 Crystal Anthony Riverside Racing 1:20.06
2 Ellen Noble Competitive Cyclist 1:20.29
3 Megan Chinburg 1:23.48
4 Maghalie Rochette Team Luna Pro 1:24.38
5 Karen Potter Pivot/MTBracenews.com 1:25.37
6 Bryna Blanchard Windham Mountain Outfitters 1:25.54
7 Kimberly Quinlan Bicycle Express Racing 1:27.50
8 Amy Horstmeyer Twin Six/Team Green 1:46.36
9 Olivia Harkness
10 Catherina Harnden

Kenda Cup East Race #4 – Gnar Weasels Shredeth

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Ellen Noble and Dan Timmerman Stomp Out the Gnar Weasels

Written by: Karen Potter

The 2015 Gnar Weasels Shredeth did not disappoint in ‘gnarliness’ despite having to move to a new race venue, Diamond Hill in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The new course proved to have a more big mountain feel than hill feel with a significant amount of climbing on the 4+ mile lap and super gnarly descents.

While the old race venue (Foxboro State Park) had more consistent technical aspects throughout the course, the Diamond Hill course was mostly downhill technical with full-on jumps, rock faces, gap jumps – just about everything to test your mettle. There were several “A” and “B” lines and some “A+” lines that were blocked to avoid having to call the ambulance too many times.

That being said there were plenty of crashes even by very skilled racers and plenty of flats and broken bikes. Add high temperatures and humidity the day of the event and it was quite a feat to finish the race.

Ellen Noble shredding the gnar

Ellen Noble shredding the gnar

The start was on a steep, loose double track climb before dumping into tight singletrack with a techy descent and minimal passing opportunities for a while. Race promoters offered a $50 prime to the first woman and man to the top to help separate out the pack.

In the elite women’s race, despite missing her pedal at the start, series leader Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) took the hill climb but Ellen Noble (Competitive Cyclist) closed in fast behind.

Noble quickly overtook Anthony on a technical section and put in attacks on the descents. Anthony responded on the climbs but Noble was riding strong and eventually her attacks took giving her the win in 2:07:59.

Anthony followed in second at 2:11:07.

Kimberlan Quinlan (Bicycle Express Racing) rode in third for the first lap but was overtaken by a very steady Bryna Blanchard (Windham Mountain Outfitters) to take the third spot in 2:14:48. Quinlan finished fourth and Karen Potter (Pivot/Epic Brewing) clawed her way back to finish 5th after suffering an early flat and mechanical issues that left her far in the back of the field.

The elite men’s race saw series leader Billy Melone (ATA Cycles) take the hole shot but Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing) overtook him on a bobble.

Tom Sampson (Vittoria/Yeti Cycles) gapped up to TImmerman and the two duked it out for the next three laps with Timmerman gaining on the climbs and Sampson showing his descending skills that Timmerman couldn’t match.

On the 3rd of 4 laps, Timmerman managed a small gap on Sampson on the opening climb and was able to hold it for the win in 1:44:39,

Sampson finished just19 seconds back.

Chris Hamlin sporting the Gnar Weasels red badge

Chris Hamlin sporting the Gnar Weasels red badge

Billy Melone held onto third finishing in 1:48:15. Chris Hamlin finished in fourth (1:50:47) despite suffering a dramatic crash that left his face rather bloody. Noah Tautfest (Bicycle Express Racing) rounded out the podium in fifth (1:51:20)

Click Here for full results from all categories

 

 

 

Intermountain Cup #8 – Snowbird, UT

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Written by: Jen Hanks

The Intermountain Cup’s 8th stop of the season was at picturesque Snowbird Resort.  Snowbird’s 8000+ foot elevation was just high enough to give racers reprieve from Salt Lake City’s heat wave that has had temperatures hovering in the low 100s for the past three weeks. The high altitude race was also a perfect final test for racers planning to race cross country nationals at Mammoth Mountain in two weeks; this included the Whole Athlete Development team who has been training at altitude in Park City in preparation for Nationals.  Utah’s own development team, Summit Bike Club, was also out in full force.

The impressive eleven-rider pro women’s race featured some of Utah’s fastest ladies as well as three juniors with UCI rankings in the top-10 worldwide including Haley Batten (Whole Athlete-ranked 1st in the world), Rachel Anders (Summit Bike Club – 4th in the world) and Kelsy Urban (Whole Athlete – 8th in the world).

Joey Lythgoe flows through the wild flowers at Snowbird - Photo by Angie Harker

Joey Lythgoe flows through the wild flowers at Snowbird – Photo by Angie Harker

Rachel Anders took the hole shot and hit the singletrack first with Haley Batten and Nicole Tittensor (Revolution) not far behind.  Joey Lythgoe (Kuhl) who has won five of the seven I-CUP XC races had a slow start and was caught behind traffic in the initial singletrack allowing the lead trio to get away.

Although Lythgoe said after the race that she wasn’t sure she would be able to catch up to the leaders, in actuality it didn’t take her long; as soon as the course opened up she closed the gap and was in her usual position of contending for the win.  The pace remained high and Anders dropped back on the 2nd lap ultimately getting caught by KC Holley (Kuhl).  At the front, Lythgoe was able to build a small, but comfortable lead on the final lap ultimately taking the win by less than a minute over Haley Batten.

Behind Lythgoe, Tittensor was chasing Batten down the final rocky descent.  Just as she made contact, the trail kicked up again and Batten climbed away to the finish.  Holley finished a strong 4th with Anders close behind in 5th.

Although he mainly races on the road Rob Squire never disappoints on dirt - Photo by Angie Harker

Although he mainly races on the road Rob Squire never disappoints on dirt – Photo by Angie Harker

In the Pro Men’s race, Cypress Gorry, the 2014 collegiate XC and STXC National Champ and junior Carson Beckett represented Whole Athlete.  Hincapie/Holowesko roadie and sometimes mountain bike badass Robbie Squire was on hand as was the always competitive Revolution racers Drew Free and Justin Desilets.

Off the start, the trio of Robbie Squire, Drew Free, and Cypress Gorry quickly established themselves at the front.

The leaders rode together until Gorry flatted on the 2nd of 4 laps.  He was able to repair his tire and move back into third place only to flat again toward the end of the race ultimately dropping back to 6th.

Meanwhile, Squire and Free stayed within 15 seconds of each other until the fourth and final lap where Squire, who clearly saved something for the last lap, rode away on the first climb of the final lap and ultimately finished with a 1:30 gap.  Whole Athlete junior, Carson Beckett, finished 3rd followed by Chris Holley (Kuhl) and Justin Desilets (Revolution) to round out the podium.

Click Here for full results from all categories

Boulder Mountain Fox Trot 50k

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Melding cross country distance and a backcountry race format, the Shimano Boulder Mountain Fox Trot 50k was added to the Ride Sun Valley Festival for the first time this year.

The race used a point to point format, with racers getting shuttled to Galena Lodge outside of Sun Valley and racing back to town.

Things started fast with racers chasing a $500 prime about 8 miles in at the bottom of the Herriman Trail. Local racers and organizations donated $1,000, which was split evenly between the top men and top women. With cash on the line the race was quickly wittled down to just three riders.

A crash in the final corner before the prime ended any chance at a sprint – Rob Squire (Hincapie) was the only one left upright, and he took the cash prime and kept the hammer down, easily cruising to the overall win.

On the women’s side Nina Otter (Liberty Bikes) provided a challenge to Rebecca Rusch (Niner), who calls Sun Valley home. Rusch just edged out Otter for the prime.

The two rode together for much of the 10-mile climb up to the singletrack as well, but Rusch was able to gap Otter near the top, and then used her local knowledge to stretch her lead on the 12+ miles of singletrack back to town.

Results:

Open Men:

 1. Rob Squire    2:09:13
2. John Rueter    2:16:12
3. Eric Chizum    2:16:45
4. Steve Price     2:18:20
5. Justin Healy    2:18:56
6. Colin Rogers
7. Remi McManus
8. Whit Albright
9. Dave Harrison
10. Matt Williams
Open Women:
1. Rebecca Rusch       2:39:14
2. Nina Otter              2:47:21
3. Brett Stevenson     3:04:40
Full results here.

US Cup Finals – Colorado Springs, CO

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Gagne and Pendrel win final round and overall of 2015 US Cup in Colorado Springs

Canadians Catharine Pendrel (Luna Pro Team) and Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) won the final round of the USA Cycling US Cup Pro Series presented by Cannondale in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  The wins gave both the overall 2015 US Cup titles as well.

Elite women

A 40-strong field of the top women in North America toed the line for the 2015 US Cup finale, including six National Champions from six different countries:  Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador. Chloe Woodruff (Team Stans NoTubes) took hole-shot and set the early pace on the first lap. Later on that same lap, Catherine Pendrel (Luna Pro Team) moved past Woodruff and only teammate Katerina Nash could follow. These two would stay off the front for the majority of the race.

Chloe Woodruff (Team Stans NoTubes) and Erin Huck (Scott 3 Rox) led the chase group, which ballooned and shrunk over and over again with Larissa Connors (Ridebiker Alliance), Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team), and Rose Grant (Team Stans NoTubes) all coming back to them before being dropped.

In the end, things were all decided on the final quarter lap when the lead group split in half and the chasing group was shattered. Pendrel attacked Nash within the final mile to win solo by just 15 seconds. The rest of the field staggered in one at a time, evidence of just how hard the racing had been.

Further evidence of the difficulty was that as the temps rose from the high 70’s to the low 90’s, the womens’ lap times slowed from 15 to over 17 minutes throughout the day. The wind also picked up and made for a tough headwind on the long climb.

Series leader Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) started and rode in the main chase group for the first ten minutes, but pulled out and was a DNF on the first lap, apparently with difficulty breathing.

 

Elite men

The Elite men started in the high heat and Todd Wells (Specialized Factory Racing) took the lead shortly after the first corner and didn’t let off the gas all day. After one lap, only Russell Finsterwald (SRAM / Troy Lee Designs) and Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) were left on his wheel.

Gagne sat 3rd wheel and rarely took a pull, while Finsterwald moved to the front on a few descents but never was able to create any separation. By lap two a four-man chase group had formed consisting of Geoff Kabush and Derek Zandstra (both Scott 3 Rox Racing) and Keegan Swenson and Stephen Ettinger (both Team Sho-Air / Cannondale). It was Kabush who did the lion’s share of the work in this group for most of the six-lap race, while the Sho-Air / Cannondale duo looked under pressure in the group and were eventually dropped.

With one lap to go, the lead three slowed as Wells sat up and the gap came down to just fifteen seconds. Kabush took off in pursuit of the leaders but Gagne attacked hard with just one kilometer to go and took Wells and Finsterwald with him, eventually taking the win by just a few seconds.

Wells and Finsterwald had a tight sprint for second place that the officials gave to Finsterwald. Wells was clearly upset after the race and filed an official complaint with the UCI. They did not change their ruling and the result stood.

Click Here for full pro women’s results

Click Here for full pro men’s results

Colorado Springs cross country brief results

Elite women

1 Catharine Pendrel (Canada) Luna Pro Team 1:34:48
2 Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) Luna Pro Team 1:35:02
3 Erin Huck (United States) Scott 3 Rox 1:36:35
4 Chloe Woodruff (United States) Team Stans NoTubes 1:37:18
5 Georgia Gould (United States) Luna Pro Team 1:37:41

Elite men

1 Raphael Gagne (Canada) Rocky Mountain Bicycles; 1:36:28
2 Russell Finsterwald (United States) SRAM / TLD Race Team; 1:36:29
3 Todd Wells (United States) Specialized Factory Racing; 1:36:29
4 Geoff Kabush (Canada) Scott 3 Rox Racing; 1:36:30
5 Derek Zandstra (Canada) Scott 3 Rox Racing 1:36:44

USA Cycling US Cup Series Final Standings

Elite women

1 Catharine Pendrel (Canada) Luna Pro Team; 175 points
2 Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) Luna Pro Team; 144 points
3 Emily Batty (Canada) Trek Factory Racing; 140 points
4 Georgia Gould (United States) Luna Pro Team; 138 points
5 Erin Huck (United States) Scott 3 Rox Racing; 130 points

Elite men

1 Raphael Gagne (Canada) Rocky Mountain Bicycles; 175 points
2 Derek Zandstra (Canada) Scott 3 Rox Racing; 94 points
3 Todd Wells (United States) Specialized Factory Racing; 91 points
4 Stephen Ettinger (United States) Sho-Air/Cannondale; 91 points
5 Sergio Mantecon (Spain) Trek Factory Racing; 91 points

Lumberjack 100 – Manistee, MI

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Schworm and Stickle Get the Axe at the Lumberjack 100

The 2015 Founders Brewing Lumberjack 100 welcomed 450 racers under brilliant sunshine on an unseasonably cold Michigan morning. The pre-race buzz was filled with chatter and excitement about the legend, Two Time US Olympian, Tinker Juarez and world class ultra-endurance mountain bike racer Sonya Looney who were both competing in this year’s race. Unfortunately, just two days before the race, Sonya crashed leaving her with a wrist injury that reluctantly forced her to pull the plug on racing.

The Lumberjack racecourse is located within the Manistee National forest which is just under a million acres of solid hardwood forest. The 33-mile loop is 90% singletrack with hard-packed, sandy soil and rolling hills that challenge racers with close to 3,000 feet of climbing per lap.

Many hundred-milers start slow, not at the Lumberjack however. Photo by Jack Kunnen

Many hundred-milers start slow, not at the Lumberjack however. Photo by Jack Kunnen

Even with the crisp morning temps it didn’t take long for things to heat up as Juarez (Ridebiker Alliance), Mike Simonson, and Brian Schworm (Green’s Toyota) kicked it up off the line with speeds pushing the upper 20’s for the mile and a half roll out to the trail.

The lead group pushed a pace of 16.5 mph for the first lap and came through the start finish with a selection of 14 racers clustered together at 2:12. Christian Tanguy attacked on the second lap and tore a hole in the lead group whittling the leaders down to six racers.

As they crossed the mat finishing lap two it was Tanguy, Juarez, Wakeley, Schworm, Vanias and Baker that were the sole survivors of the attack. Lap three saw more attacks on the hills leaving just Tanguy, Wakeley, Juarez and Schworm intact at the mid lap aid station.

Mike Simonson grinds his way up the Fire Tower Hill. Photo by Jack Kunnen

Mike Simonson grinds his way up the Fire Tower Hill. Photo by Jack Kunnen

 

With less than ten miles to go it was Brian Schworm who attacked, dropping Juarez and Wakeley, and continued to apply the pressure until he shook off Tanguy and cruised across the finish line at 6:27:39 (1:13 ahead of second place).

The women’s open field saw Rhonda Stickle (Bike Zone Racing) decide to push the field apart on lap one and she came through the lap with a lead of over two minutes on second place Jill Martindale (Grand Rapids Bicycle Co.) and more than four minute lead on third place Mari Chandler (Dart Nuun/Tecnu Racing).

During lap two Chandler reeled in Stickle and they started the third lap only thirteen seconds apart and almost six minutes ahead of Martindale. It was Mari Chandler who caught Stickle early on lap three and rode her fastest lap finishing in 7:59:03 as the 2015 Women’s Open Winner.

Sonya Looney with injured wrist goofs around with Lumberjack veteran Danielle Musto. Photo by Jack Kunnen

Sonya Looney with injured wrist goofs around with Lumberjack veteran Danielle Musto. Photo by Jack Kunnen

The men’s singlespeed class saw Gordon Wadsworth (Blue Ridge Cyclery/Pivot Cycles) pin it from the start and was in the overall men’s lead group through lap one with a time of 2:12:56. Second place Jan Roubal (Velorution) had a three and a half minute deficit and third place Aaron Fader came through the first lap almost ten minutes down on Wadsworth. In the end it was Wadsworth who had the legs and handily took the top spot with a time of 6:48:32

The women’s singlespeed category saw Emily Korsch (Team Noah Foundation) build up an almost half hour lead through one lap on second place Lisa Thompson (LCR) and in the end it was Korsch in first place 9:26:52 and Thompson at 10:04:59

The men’s master category saw Jeff Wittbrodt (Specialized) and NUE defending champion Roger Masse (Rare Disease Cycling) battling it out on lap one hitting the lap mat just ten seconds apart with over three minutes on third place Jeff Clayton (Georgia Neurosurgical Institute). They pulled away from the rest of the master’s group when they came through after one lap with times of 2:22:32 and 2:22:42 respectively. Masse passed Wittbrodt on the lap and never looked back as he finished with a time of 7:19:23 for the 2015 men’s masters title.

Click Here for full results from all categories