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KENDA NUE Finals – Georgia

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Fool’s Gold 100

Carla Williams Repeats at Fool’s Gold and Keck Baker Locks Up NUE Title

Dahlonega, Georgia

Written by: Ryan O’Dell

The Fool’s Gold 100, the final stop of the Kenda National Ultra Endurance Series, became pivotal for many racers taking this final opportunity to improve their national ranking.

In addition to race day awards, the top five NUE Division winners, top 10 in the larger Men’s Open division, will receive a share of the $12,000 cash purse. Each of the four division winners will also be rewarded with complimentary entry into All NUE races in 2016, a custom made NUE Champions Jersey by Voler, along with an all-expense paid trip, including airfare, to Costa Rica to represent NUE at the La Ruta del los Conquistadores November 5-7, http://www.adventurerace.com/ . La Ruta is a UCI sanctioned three day stage race that stretches across Costa Rica from the Pacific to the Caribbean along an amazing course that includes two volcanoes, two oceans, Jungles and high-mountain passes.

2015 was the first year that all divisions were decided before the championship race. Three of the four NUE Race Series Champions successfully defended their titles this year. For racer’s who had already completed three NUE races this season, needing just one more finish to become ranked and eligible for prizes, Fool’s Gold marked the final opportunity to meet the four race series minimum. All NUE Series finishers, who do not receive cash awards, receive prize packages from NUE Series sponsors.

Brenda Simril on her way to another NUE series title - photo by H&H Multimedia

Brenda Simril on her way to another NUE series title – photo by H&H Multimedia

Women’s Open

And the winner is, Carla Williams!

Carla Williams, Joe’s Bike Shop Racing Team, took top honors for a second straight year at the Fool’s Gold 100 finishing 8:55:55 moving her into second place overall in the NUE Series rankings, “I love the Fool’s Gold course. It was great to be back this year and the trails were even more fun and fast than I remembered. The course was a bit longer this year. We climbed Cooper’s Gap twice which was challenging but I like the ups and tried to set a strong pace from the start. I will definitely be back to do the NUE series next year. See you at Cohutta!”

Brenda Simril, Motor Mile Racing, finished second on the day at 9:20:45. Simril completed eight of nine races this season including first place finishes at the Bailey Hundo, Tatanka 100, and Big Bear Grizzly 100. Over many years now, Simril has completed more than 50 NUE Races and successfully defended her NUE Race Series title this year.

“This season started out very different for me due to illnesses and injuries but finally got kicked into full gear by Bailey. To repeat as the NUE Champion this year is a huge honor and something I’m extremely proud of. The women who competed in each race are super strong and competitive. It’s great to meet new folks as well as build on the friendships over the years.

Fool’s Gold is a great way to cap off the season and (race director) Lisa does a fantastic job pulling everything together. We had incredible weather and the trails were in great condition for a fast course. This year was fun because (husband) Lee is competing in the Master’s category so I had inspiration to ride hard with him even though the series overall was wrapped up for me.

Carla is incredibly strong so I knew it would take superhuman effort to beat her, which I obviously didn’t have :) Kudos to her and the great season she’s had as well.

As for La Ruta, Lee and I are absolutely thrilled to be going back. What a fantastic adventure it was last year! (race director) Roman and his staff put on an amazing event so I couldn’t be more excited to return. I can’t think of a better way to end the season.”

Fourteen minutes behind the defending champion, Liz Carrington, CRC Janitorial-Cannondale p/b Hassle Free Sports, took the third spot on the podium at 9:34:39.

Keck Baker took the open men's race and the series title in Georgia. Photo by H&H Multimedia

Keck Baker took the open men’s race and the series title in Georgia. Photo by H&H Multimedia

 

Men’s Open

Baker gets the win and the NUE Race Series title!

Keck Baker, Cannondale/ChampSys pb Harley Davidson, was the first to cross the line at Fool’s Gold in 7:32:41 earning a perfect score of four in the NUE Race Series that also included wins at the True Grit Epic, Wilderness 101, and the Hampshire 100. Baker earned his first ever NUE Race Series title and will travel to Costa Rica to join the three other NUE Champions who successfully defended their titles.

“I was excited to be able to toe up to the line this year healthy. With the beautiful weather, perfect trail conditions, and a stacked field there was no question that this would be a very fast and demanding race, and a perfect end to the NUE season. I showed up fully prepared to fight for a win so I could end the season proving to myself that I really deserved that NUE overall title of which I had already been crowned.

As usual, the race started when Bryan Lewis attacked at the start of the first big climb which was right after a neutral roll out. I decided to answer just for fun and, afterwards, was questioning why I did that. The field answered very quickly and the tone of the race had been set right from the start.
Up and over the top we had a modest group and then we screamed down the backside to arrive at some super-fast and, what I consider, extremely buff single track. I was able to gain the hole shot and just had a really good time carving through the forest. All day we pushed the single track about as fast as our tires would allow, especially when Bryan Lewis decided to get on the front and smash it for a good hour. We only let off the pace while out on the dirt roads that followed each section of single track.

At the start of the second lap our group was now down to just three riders, Dylan Johnson, Bryan Lewis, and me. Brian Schworm had suffered a flat into lap one dropping him and his teammate out of our group. Up the start of the big gravel road climb (second time up) we settled into a very welcoming casual pace where we were able to relax and take in some much needed calories preparing ourselves for the single track to follow. As we crested the top we were joined again by Gordon Wadsworth who was mashing a huge gear in single speed fashion.

We stopped at aid 5 to refill our bottles and I was hoping to be able to pull a few rocks out of my shoes when, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Brian Schworm flew by us going at least 25mph.  One of the best and most chilling memories of the whole ride was him looking over smiling and giving us a cheerful, “hey guys” as he blew past. I just turned to everyone and said, “I told you so”, finished my bottle fill, and then rocketed off after Bryan Lewis who was already in hot pursuit of Schworm.

Bryan and I were able to make contact with Schworm again shortly into the next single track section. Schworm was riding like a man on a mission and was hard on the throttle. The race was getting very interesting. Gordon and Dylan were not so quick through the feed zone and were never able to make contact again due to the pace setting by Schworm. I would say a little over midway through the second lap, Lewis suffered a flat at which point Schworm took the pace up one more click. He was a man determined to win and, at the least, get the second place finish he needed to move up in the NUE overall standings. He knew what he had to do and he was doing it. I was just along for the ride.

I pulled a little here and there but, deep down; I really wanted Lewis to make contact with us again for a few reasons. He is young and has the possibility for a profitable future in the sport so I would have been really happy to see him take the win. But, although he said he only messed with his flat for about a minute, the blistering pace that Schworm had decided to set was just a little too fast so I started focusing on how I might be able to best Schworm.

I had a plan in place and decided to stick with it until I sensed that Schworm needed to recover from the previous pace. I figured that my plan must change so, sensing the opportunity; I attacked on some double track rollers and was able to get clear.  It was earlier than I wanted to start an attempt at a solo march due to the nature of the course but I set off on a move that proved to be the right one.

I had a great day of racing.  I luckily suffered no flats thanks to the protection tires I was running and, while they are heavier than others, nothing can slow you down like a flat. Kudos to Conti for making a tire that is a great compromise in regards to performance and protection and another  big thanks to Cannondale for crafting the scalpel which slices through the trail with precision as its name suggests, and cliff nutrition for keeping the tank full. All of this put together by the Championsystem/Cannondale mtb team, my local shop Carytown Bicycle CO and one of my faithful sponsors of many years, Battley Harley Davidson. I am very aware that none of this might have been possible without having such great sponsors/products.

Now that I will be representing the NUE series at La Ruta, a new challenge awaits, one of adventure and suffering like I have never experienced. I had best stop typing as typing is not training and, from the looks of the event, I have no time to waste. Adventure awaits!”

Less than four minutes behind Baker, Brian Schworm, Think Green Pedal the Planet p/b Sword, finished second at 7:36:34. Schworm led the NUE Race Series through the first five races, winning both the Cohutta 100 and the Lumberjack 100 and, as a result, earning an all-expense paid trip to NUE’s newest race, The Rincon Challenge near Liberia, Costa Rica where he finished in the top fifteen.

“At the start of the race I knew I had to get second in order to secure second place in the NUE Series (Keck had a lock on first place in the overall standing) otherwise I would have been, at best, fourth place. The race started off well, we had a nice group of about seven or eight and we were going at a nice moderate pace.

Once we got to Bull Mountain I had a few issues. First, I noticed my front tire was a little low so I stopped to air it up. Complications with my CO2 inflator caused that to take longer than I expected. Secondly, on the decent I was trying to catch back on and was probably pushing it too hard because I hit a rock and completely flatted. My hopes for second were completely dashed but I wanted to continue on anyway.

After I got going, I was in tenth place and six minutes behind the leaders. I pressed on and caught two riders at the bottom of the descent and two more in the singletrack before starting lap two. Once I got to the big gravel climb, I caught Chris who was initially in the top five. That gave me a second wind because I thought the remaining four might not be too far ahead. I hammered that climb and actually caught them at the very top. From there Keck, Bryan (Lewis) and I were riding well until Bryan also flatted. I was trying to keep the pace high since it was now looking good for a second place finish in the NUE series.

Keck attacked up Bull Mountain and I was unable to respond. Fortunately, I was able to maintain a good pace to secure a second place finish in the race and second place overall in the NUE Series. I am very pleased with my second place finish in the NUE Series. I couldn’t have done it without a great team (especially my teammate Nate Cornelius), my amazing sponsors, and most importantly, my wife. I’m really looking forward to the 2016 NUE Series and giving it another go.” Four minutes behind Schworm, Bryan Lewis hung on to finish third at 7:40:42.

One of the youngest ever NUE contenders, Twenty-year-old Dylan Johnson, Scott Pro Mountain Bike Team, finished just four minutes later at 7:44:18 to place fourth. In doing so, Johnson improved his score in this “lowest point’s wins race series” to fourteen, moving his series standing up to fifth place overall in the NUE Race Series.

Ten minutes behind Johnson, defending NUE Race Series SS Champion, Gordon Wadsworth, Blue Ridge Cyclery Pivot Cycles/i9, having already successfully defended his NUE SS title, registered in the Open division riding his singlespeed Pivot, to place fifth in 7:55:43. With this finish, Wadsworth also completed four races in the Men’s Open, garnering eighth place overall in the Men’s Open Division. “

Singlespeed

Moss First at FG100, second overall in the NUE Race Series!

Following big wins at the Mohican MTB100 and Wilderness 101 earlier this season, Bob Moss, Farnsworth Bikes/Crank Arm Brewery, put it down at the final race to finish in 8:07:53! With this victory, Moss finished the NUE Race Series second overall including second place finishes at both the Hampshire 100 and Shenandoah 100 in addition to his three wins.

Next was Peat Henry, Team Noah Foundation/Dogfish, placing second in 8:46:19. Henry’s finish moved him up to third overall in the NUE SS Series Standings following second place finishes at both the Mohican MTB100 and Tatanka 100.

Jonathan Hicks took the third spot on the podium finishing 10:10:53.

 

Masters 50+

Clayton puts an exclamation point on an amazing race season!

50-year-old Jeff Clayton, Super Sport Athletic Wear, smashed the competition by fifty minutes to finish in 8:03:21. Clayton, when adding this win to his wins at the Cohutta 100 and Shenandoah 100, plus his second place finish at the Mohican MTB100, moved up to second place overall in the NUE Race Series.

Although Clayton had twice gotten the best of the defending NUE Race Series Champion, Roger Masse, Rare Disease Cycling, Masse was able to successfully defend his title with a perfect score of four points that included early season wins at True Grit Epic, Mohican MTB100, Lumberjack 100, and Wilderness 101. As a result, Masse will once again represent the NUE Race Series at the LaRuta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica.

“While I was disappointed that Masters 50+ leader (winner) Roger Masse would miss the race, I was still very motivated.  I’d done the Fool’s Gold five or six times in years past, so I knew the course well. I raced well at the Shenandoah 100 and felt like I had a good idea of how to pace myself now and proper nutrition after having done a few hundies. I didn’t think I would stay with the lead group long at all up the initial long Coopers gap gravel climb but, since I wasn’t suffering too badly, I managed a good twenty minutes or so before easing up and watching the ten or so in the lead pack pull away.  From there it was a matter of coalescing with a few guys who also fell off the pace. Most of my first lap was spent back and forth with Bob Moss, he being quicker on the descents and me slightly faster on the steeper climbs.

After the first loop of the course I was feeling pretty good and led Bob and Nick Bragg up much of the second Coopers gap climb. They were busy chatting away so I guess I made a pretty nice pace for them!  We eventually caught up with Jesse Kelly and Nick decided it was time to fly and left us in his dust.  Jesse turned up the pace a little and Bob came off. We passed a couple of other “first group” guys and were making good time along the ridgeline road mostly thanks to Jesse. Jesse and I (both being older guys) descend at about the same level of sanity which helped keep us together.  I gapped him on most of the Bull mountain climb, but he fought back and caught me right at the top of the tricky Bare Hare portion.

After descending Bull Mountain together, we entered the flowy Jake mountain section and I mentioned that Bob Moss was just coming into the double aid station as we left…basically I was saying/thinking, “I don’t want that damn single speeder beating me!” so, summoning whatever I had left in my legs, I shifted up as high as I could to take on every climb and pulled away from Jesse. The last twelve miles or so were a solo ride though Jesse stayed strong and I only beat him by a couple of minutes, and held off Bob too.  I missed you Roger Masse!”

59-year-old Greg Turner, Cartecay Bikes, was next to cross the finish line at 8:53:36. “The course conditions were excellent.  The single track was fantastic.  I knew I could not ride with Jeff Clayton, so I just kept it steady. It was a long day.”

51-year-old Anthony Hergert, Rescue Racing, took third in 9:16:12. Hergert finished five out of seven NUE races this season, ending his season strong with his best finish of the year!

Four minutes later, Lee Simril, Motor Mile Racing, completed the course in 9:20:48 in fourth place. Simril had the best season of his ultra-racing career, completing eight of ten NUE races, the most of any Masters racer this season! Simril also posted his first every NUE win at the Tatanka 100 and finished in the top six at every race he completed. As a result, Simril ranks fourth overall in the NUE Series, just behind Greg Golet, Team Chico, who placed third overall.

Sixteen minutes behind Simril, David Jolin, Stark Velo, ended his season strong to finish fifth at 9:36:01 in a Masters field that has become increasingly talented and competitive since the NUE Series began in 2005. Overall, Jolin finished seven of the eight NUE Races he entered, dropping out of Hampshire only after missing a turn and getting off course. As a result, he finished the NUE Race Season in the top five overall. “Today was a perfect day for racing at Fools Gold. The course was in great shape and well-marked. I had a great start to the race with pretty much the majority of the master’s racers. Jeff Clayton, over the past few races, has been at a another level than the rest of the field (hats off). As for me, all was going well until about mile 65 when some digestive issues plagued my efforts costing me about three places and slipping to 5th place for the day.  Hat’s off to all that completed the two laps of the course. Right now, I just wanna sit back, de train and enjoy the fall season of riding at a recreation pace. The NUE series continues to be a great set of venues to go and ride mountain bikes with upwards of 600 friends. I have nothing but total respect for the winners of their respective divisions this year. Congratulations to all!”

Just one minute behind Jolin, sixth place went to 53-year-old Mark Drogalis, Toasted Head Racing, in 9:37:26, his best finish this season.

WHATS NEXT: For the last two years, NUE Champions have a perfect record of first place finishes at LaRuta. Can they maintain such a high standard against some of the best stage racing ultra-competitors in the world?! Stay tuned right here for the complete overall standings and follow the Kenda NUE Series Champions as they compete with racers from all over the world at the LaRuta this November! www.nuemtb.com

Click Here for full results of the 2015 Fool’s Gold 100

Park City Point 2 Point

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Rob Squire and Evelyn Dong Take Down Point 2 Point

Written by: Shannon Boffeli

Once again the Park City Point 2 Point lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest endurance races in the west. 78 miles, 90% singletrack, 12,000 feet of elevation gained, and stacked fields make the Point 2 Point a serious brute of a race and a major accomplishment for all who finish. Most riders will tell you racing the Point 2 Point makes the Leadville 100 seem easy.

The 7am start was unusually warm this year. Blustery winds made pack riding popular in the opening miles of the race.

After the first hour, a lead group of 12 riders took up the front of the open men’s race. As riders started the long, slow climb up to Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Lodge Hincapie Racing rider Rob Squire made the first acceleration of the day, jumping around a pack of riders on a short section of road and putting in a hard effort on the following climb.

Squire’s “test” of the leaders proved to be a major selection as he quickly built a lead on the way to Silver Lake and kept the hammer down using his impressive climbing speed to open a sizable gap on the hour-long climb through Deer Valley.

Justin Lindine (Competitive Cyclist) proved to be Squire’s closest competition but struggling with a softening tire for part of the day insured he would not be able to close the gap on the lone leader which stood at 9 minutes after the Park City feed zone just 22 miles from the finish.

Josh Tostado putting in a hard effort to catch Justin Lindine. Photo by: Shannon Boffeli

Josh Tostado putting in a hard effort to catch Justin Lindine. Photo by: Shannon Boffeli

At that point Lindine was feeling a threat to his own position coming from a hard-charging Josh Tostado (Santa Cruz). Tostado had Lindine in his sight at the base of the day’s final big climb up Armstrong trail.

Shortly after leaving Park City Resort the Point 2 Point unleashed some added brutality on the racers as a brief storm dropped temperatures 20 degrees and pelted the lead riders with hail and rain.

Freak hailstorms weren’t enough to slow down Rob Squire as he powered through the final miles of singletrack, so cold he couldn’t feel his fingers on the brake levers.

Squire crossed the line with a time of 6:32:29 and claimed his $2,000 for the win. Over 12 minutes ahead of Justin Lindine who surged in the final portions of the race to maintain his position.

That left three riders to battle for third place, which all came down to the final mile before the finish. With just minutes left to race Drew Free (Revolution) occupied the third position with Josh Tostado just behind him and Park City resident Sam Sweetser (Cole Sport) bearing down on them both.

Aaron Campbell throwing down a big effort on the enduro segment just 5 months after breaking his femur. Photo by: Angie Harker

Aaron Campbell throwing down a big effort on the enduro segment just 5 months after breaking his femur. Photo by: Angie Harker

Sweetser had planned a late charge from the day’s start and the race was unfolding according to his plans. Shortly after making contact with Tostado the Santa Cruz rider dropped his chain and was forced to pull over. This allowed Sweetser to sprint past quickly bridging up to Free.

“I saw Sam coming for me,” Drew Free shared after the race. “I knew there was one short little climb before the finish and I sprinted up that pretty confident that I would leave Sam behind. At the top I looked behind again thinking he would be gone but he was passing me!”

With the finish line just ahead Sam Sweetser wrested third place from Drew Free and crossed the line just 10 seconds clear of the Revolution rider with Tostado crossing the line 11 seconds later.

Evelyn Dong handles the roots and everything else at the 2015 Point 2 Point. Photo by: Angie Harker

Evelyn Dong handles the roots and everything else at the 2015 Point 2 Point. Photo by: Angie Harker

The women’s race had a very different feel. With several of the best ultra-endurance racers in the country on hand, there was no clear favorite at the start.

Fresh off a win at the Breck Epic, Evelyn Dong (Sho-Air/Cannondale) was clearly in good condition but so was Sonya Looney (Freakshow Defeet) who recently won the Rincon de Viaja 100-miler in Costa Rica.

To confuse things even more, the field included Marlee Dixon (Pivot/Epic Brewing) who finished second at Breck Epic taking a stage win in front of Dong. Also sure to be in the mix was Steamboat Springs rider Kelly Boniface (Moots) and locals Sarah Kaufmann (Stan’s NoTubes) and Meghan Sheridan (UtahMountainBiking.com).

Sonya Looney got off to a great start. Opening up a lead early on in the winding singletrack of Round Valley. Unfortunately for her, about 45 minutes in she followed an open men’s rider off course and lost about 5 minutes before returning to the missed corner.

Her misdirection dropped her back in the field and allowed Evelyn Dong to get out front.

Once the climbing started Dong was in her element. A long-time resident of Park City the Sho-Air rider has spent hours and hours riding the limitless singletrack of Park City and polishing her climbing skills. Once out front she used her light, high-cadence climbing style to stretch the gap on her competitors.

Few can match Dong’s climbing speed especially at altitude and it showed as she quickly made her way through much of the open men’s field who had started 2 minutes in front of her.

Behind the leader Colorado riders Marlee Dixon and Kelly Boniface were once again locked in battle as they both crested the climb out of Deer Valley within seconds of each other.

Looney was solidly in 4th position now with Meghan Sheridan in 5th.

By the time riders reached Park City Resort Evelyn Dong had increased her lead but now Marlee Dixon occupied second place just in front of Boniface.

Kelly Boniface sits in 2nd exiting the Deer Valley climb. Photo by: Shannon Boffeli

Kelly Boniface sits in 2nd exiting the Deer Valley climb. Photo by: Shannon Boffeli

Neither Colorado rider had anything left to chase down Evelyn Dong who was too far out front and eventually crossed the line with a nine minute advantage.

Marlee Dixon used the final 22 miles from Park City to the Canyons to open up a slim one-minute advantage over Boniface to finish second with Boniface taking third.

Sonya Looney stayed steady in fourth all the way to the finish.

NoTubes rider Sarah Kaufmann showed good form late in the race, overtaking Meghan Sheridan for the final podium position.

For the second year the Point 2 Point featured a mid-race enduro segment that included one of the long downhill sections on course. Justin Lindine took the title in the open men’s race while Marlee Dixon claimed the title for the women. Each racer took home $100 for the win.

Click Here for full results from all categories 

Click Here for full enduro results from all categories

Putney Cider House Classic – Root 66

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Putney Cider House Classic – Melone and Quinlan Win Cider House Classic: Tautfest and Quinlan Crowned 2015 VT State Champs

The 2015 Putney Cider House Classic followed much of last year’s course staged from the Putney School in Putney, Vermont.   Last year’s event was on virtually all new, freshly-cut trails made by local expert trails builders.  This year it followed essentially the same course with a couple additional singletrack sections that cut out some double track routes.

The pro/elite and expert categories were treated to 9+ miles of awesome yet very challenging singletrack.  There were several sections of fast, flowing sections with smoothly banked turns and many more sections of typical Vermont root-strewn trails and pitchy climbing.  All in all, the course had over 1,300’ of climbing per a lap which was certainly felt by race end.

Cider House Classic offers up endless Vermont one-track

Cider House Classic offers up endless Vermont one-track

Racecourse designers were welcome to racer input as they have lots of land to work with to make the course even better, although most racers seemed quite happy with the current course.  An added bonus, racers received a slice of delicious homemade apple pie, homemade ice cream and apple cider for post race recovery.

In the Elite men’s race, New England’s powerhouse, Billy Melone (ATA Cycles) set a pace that could not be matched.  Noah Tautfest (Bicycle Express) and Neal Burton (ERRace) chased in the opening sections but instead battled it out for 2nd and 3rd.  Burton had a small edge over Tautfest but burped his tire and had to stop to put some air in and thus lost his gap.  Melone finished 1st in 1’34”, Tautfest in 2nd in 1’37” and Burton in 3rd in 1’38.

The Elite women’s race had Karen Potter (Pivot/Epic Brewing) take the hole shot but was overtaken shortly thereafter by local rider, Kate Northcott (West Hill Shop) and Kimberly Quinlan (Bicycle Express).  Northcott held the lead for much of the first lap but Quinlan proved the stronger rider of the day passing Northcott for the win.  Quinlan finished in 1’55”, Northcott in 2nd in 1’58” and Potter in 2’01”.

Kimberly Quinlan and Noah Tautfest earned the Vermont State Championship wins.

Click Here for full results from all categories

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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

 

 

 

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

Bailey Hundo – Bailey, CO

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Zach Guy and Brenda Simril Win a Flood Damaged Bailey Hundo

Written by: Marlee Dixon

This was the year of the Double-Dito! The Bailey Hundo, in it’s 6th year, for the first time was forced to change course due to heaving flooding on part of the original Hundo route. The race is a fundraiser that supports local non-profits and is Colorado’s only NUE event. It consists of a 100-mile course – the Hundo and a 50-mile course- the Hundito. This year, two days before race day, race director Austin Smart was told that some sections of singletrack on the traditional Hundo course was a no go.   Luckily he was able to work with the US Forest Services who granted an exception to let riders on the Buffalo Creek trail system longer than the 12PM cutoff. This meantt the race didn’t have to be canceled and ended up being a blessing in disguise for racers. With the new route, the amount of singletrack was dramatically increased as a huge road section was cut out, changing the course to two 30+mile laps on the Buffalo Creek Trail system.

Race morning starts early at 6AM and with a forecast of sunny, 84 degrees, and little wind, it was nice to start while it was still cool out. Although waking up at 4AM in the dark is always tough. The course begins in downtown Bailey where all racers start together at the sound of a shotgun. It’s a road ride for the first eight miles with several large climbs. From the road it’s left onto the Colorado Trail and down into the Buffalo Creek trail system. After riding in Buff creek for ~30 miles it’s back on to a dirt road climb up steep hills back to the Colorado Trail for the second round of the Hundito route.

The course hits some of the best riding in Buffalo Creek including Charlie’s Cut off & Homestead, The Colorado Trail and Sandy Wash. It also tests riders’ endurance and strength with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain in 85 miles.

For the Pro men, Zach Guy won the Hundo in 6:14:59 with Josh Tostado in second place with a time of 6:16:11 and David Krimstock in third with a time of 6:20:19.

Tostado was ahead for the first lap but when his drop bag wasn’t at the final aid station on the first lap, he said he had to ride the second half of the race without his nutrition and stopping to fill up with water at the aid stations. Zach Guy pulled ahead at the final aid station of the first lap and Tostado rejoined Guy at the end of Shingle Mill but Guy pulled away again on the final road climb.

For the Pro women, Amanda Carey and Marlee Dixon battled the beginning eight-mile road section onto the Colorado Trail. At the start of the Colorado Trail, Dixon could tell Carey didn’t seem to be riding as strong as usual and was able to overtake her on one of the early climbs.

Dixon stayed in the lead, seeing only one of the Hundito women until Liz Carrington started to reel her in around mile 70.

Dixon reported that she had been feeling amazing the entire first lap and into the second, but hit a wall on the second Gashouse climb and “just couldn’t push through.”

Dixon had been having stomach issues before the race even started and was forcing herself to drink CarboRocket endurance mix and gels but on the second lap she felt like throwing up and was barely able to stomach anything.

The last road climbs out of Buffalo Creek were dark for the race leader who said she felt like she was spinning backwards as Liz Carrington, Brenda Simril and her husband and Amanda Carey passed by.

Defending NUE champion Simril was riding very strong and passed Carrington on the road to take the win with a time of 7:36:58.

Carrington came in second place 7:40:07 with Amanda Carey third with a time of 7:43:27 and Dixon finished fourth at 7:48.

Dixon was disappointed to lose her strength at the end of the race but it had been a great day on the bike and as always a learning experience. At the finish the Pivot/Epic Brewing rider had this to say about her experience.

“The Double-Dito course was epic. The entire first lap and most of the second lap until we hit the Gashouse climb and I bonked, I was singing to my iPod, smiling and loving the long, flowy-fast descents. We are so lucky to have such great trail systems in Bailey and this race is a great way to help fund the local youth initiatives as well as the trail building work of the Colorado Mountain Biking Association.”

Preliminary Results

Open Men

1, Zach Guy 6.14.59
2, Josh Tostado Swiftwick/Santa Cruz 6.16.15
3, David Krimstock 6.20.19
4, Scott Leonard 6.22.07
5, Brian Jensen 6.25.11
6, Mark Currie 6.38.16
7, Nathan Collier 6.58.56
8, Jonathan Modig 7.07.51
9, Scott Engstrom 7.16.20
10, Adam Lieferman 7.31.55

 

Open Women

1, Brenda Simril Motor Mile Racing 7.36.58
2, Liz Carrington 7.40.07
3, Amanda Carey 7.43.27
4, Marlee Dixon Pivot/Epic Brewing 7.48.00

 

Singlespeed

1, Jason Hilgers 6.43.42
2, Vince Anderson 6.58.06
3, Jeffrey Carter 7.14.35
4, Alex Clayden 7.32.45
5, Kelly Leinen 7.35.18

Wasatch Back Endurance XC

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Joey Lythgoe and Justin Lindine Dominate Wasatch Back

Written by: Shannon Boffeli

The Saturday morning sunrise brought with it the start of the third annual Wasatch Back 50 in Heber, Utah.

The second race on the Intermountain Cup’s endurance schedule, the Wasatch Back is a classic backcountry ultra-endurance test featuring big climbs and extended downhill runs that allow skilled bike-handlers a chance to overtake their slimmer climb-happy compatriotss.

This year’s Wasatch Back course featured two long laps of roughly 22 miles with each lap including Utah’s offroad version of Alpe d’Huez, a 1,600 vertical foot monster of a climb with closer to 40 switchbacks compared to the Alpe’s 21. Even for the fastest pros the climb takes over 40 minutes with not one section of flat to rest the legs on the entire 7-mile grind. And while the climbing is hard the descent from the top almost makes it worthwhile. Miles of fast, turny, singletrack darting in and out of forested hillsides rewards riders once they hit the summit. It’s a tough challenge but participants rave about the course year after year.

Joey Lythgoe drops the final long descent with Jordanelle Reservoir in the background. Photo by: Selective Vision Photography

Joey Lythgoe drops the final long descent with Jordanelle Reservoir in the background. Photo by: Selective Vision Photography

Competitive Cyclist honcho Justin Lindine took it to the pro men’s field right from the start. Lindine made his way to the front before the foot of the opening climb jumping in front of chasers Chris Holley (Kuhl) and Justin Desilets (Revolution/Peak Fasteners).

Lindine climbed fast enough to hold his advantage over the two chasers but really did the most damage once the trail took a downhill slant.

“I could see Justin on the climb the whole first lap,” Chris Holley said, after the race. “He never got that far in front of us until we hit the top. Then he just put it in a different gear and was gone.”

Indeed the long, techy descents worked right into Lindine’s skill set putting him solo out front and never at risk for the rest of the race.

Holley, meanwhile, was able to hold off Desilets for second.

Zach Crane on his way to a win in the 19-34 expert category. Photo by: Selective Vision Photography

Zach Crane on his way to a win in the 19-34 expert category. Photo by: Selective Vision Photography

Sam Sweetser (Cole Sport) and Quin Bingham (Rooster’s/Bikers Edge) finished off the podium in fourth and fifth respectively.

Unfortunately for the pro women’s field the course also fit perfectly with Joey Lythgoe’s (Kuhl) skill set. Climbs are her thing. The bigger the better and Wasatch Back has one of the biggest.

Lythgoe took full advantage crushing her rivals right from the start. After the race many of the expert men’s field could be heard judging their performance by how long they stayed with the pro women’s champion.

In the end Lythgoe would win by almost 10 minutes in front of Meghan Sheridan (UtahMountainBiking.com).

Sheridan overcame some of her downhill demons to take a well-deserved runner-up spot holding off a fast-finishing KC Holley (Kuhl) who was locked in battle with Carrie Porter.

Porter was riding in third position as the riders sprinted along the final doubletrack section of trail less than a quarter mile from the finish. She dropped into the final singletrack section with Holley on her rear wheel but overcooked a corner allowing Holley to squeak by and steal third place.

Jen Hanks (Pivot/Epic Brewing) took the final podium spot in fifth.

Click Here for full results from all categories

Kenda Cup East #3 – Vermont

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Millstone Grind, Websterville, Vermont

Kenda Cup East #3

Written by: Karen Potter

The warm and remarkably dry weather the Northeast was enjoying came to a rapid end overnight Saturday. Warm, humid 85-degree temperatures changed to frigid 48 degrees and heavy rain for race day catching several racers off guard and unprepared for the cold, wet conditions. While the downpours had passed before the elite racers took the course, rain was still falling at the start of the race making for difficult conditions on an already technical course. Mud would cake up racers’ tires making traction very tough. Conditions improved somewhat once the rain stopped early in the race.

In a remarkable feat of grit and ambition, series leader, Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) made the long trek from central Pennsylvania to Vermont to make it 8 days in a row of racing. After coming in 3rd overall in the Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage Race, Anthony was able to maintain her lead in the Kenda Cup East series with a 5th place finish at Millstone despite the frigid temps and muddy conditions adding to her fatigue.

Crystal Anthony grinder her way toward home

Crystal Anthony grinder her way toward home

It was Elisa Otter (Bicycle Express) showing off her Vermont skills taking the hole shot and hammering away from the rest of the field to take the win. She had no problem handling the very technical course in the slick, muddy conditions. Karen Potter (Pivot/Epic Brewing) followed behind Otter into the singletrack but could not keep her pace once in the woods. Kathleen Harding (Rare Disease Racing) had Potter in her sights most of the race but was unable to close the gap, finishing in 3rd to Potter. Kimberly Quinlan (Bicycle Express Racing) followed up in 4th.

In a the Elite Men’s field, series leader, Billy Melone (ATA Cycles) won his 3rd in a row but not without a bit of a struggle. Tom Sampson (Adigga Racing) lead the race with a significant gap to Melone, but Melone was able to bridge up to the front and take the win. Sampson faded in the final lap to finish 4th. A sprint finish ensued for 2nd place between Noah Tautfest (Bicycle Express Racing) and 18-year-old Charles Faucher Robert (Pivot Cycles-Ote) with Faucher edging out Tautfest. Tyler Berliner (ENGVT) finished in 5th.

NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic – Stage 7

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Lindine and Barclay win NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic

Timmerman and Chinburg celebrate victories in final day’s stage 7

 

The last day of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic brought a few more miles and lots of smiles. For the elite men, the final day was shorter, but no less intense, with 26 miles of twisty singletrack for racers to whip through in an effort to grab one of the tightly-contested top spots. Two fun enduro sections offered up the last points for the gravity specialists to grab. Most everyone else decided to celebrate a good week with a nice, relaxed ride in the woods with friends.

Justin Lindine (Competitive Cyclist) and Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) celebrated overall victories in the elite men’s and women’s general classification. Final stage wins went to Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing) and Megan Chinburg.

Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing) makes a solo push during stage 7 at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing) makes a solo push during stage 7 at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Elite men

Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing) took advantage of his fifth place in the general classification (GC) to escape for a stage win.

“I was of no consequence in the GC, so I figured the guys would give me a bit of room,” said Timmerman. “And I attacked at a good place. No backpack today. I think that was it. My back was feeling good today!”

Timmerman enjoyed the race and his result. “Great experience overall—there were a few days when I got myself up there, and I’m happy with that,” he said.

Justin Lindine (Competitive Cyclist) fended off an attack by his teammate Payson McElveen to grab the overall NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic win, his second ever. His team worked well together and dominated the podium as a result.

“We rode a great team race all week long. Today, we were one-two coming out of the time trial, Payson and me, and Tristan was in third or fourth, and we got him into third,” said Lindine. “We did smart team tactics all week. Payson unfortunately flatted yesterday, and so I had the leader’s jersey today. We had enough of a gap to have a friendly battle today. It came out perfect, we got 1-2-3 in the general classification. It’s so nice to have the cards to play. Peter [Glassford] had an unfortunate situation trying to battle all three of us. You fight those odds and it’s impossible to win.”

Lindine pointed out that to race hard on this seventh day is asking a lot of already battered bodies. “Today was hard. This day is always like a normal cross country race at the end of some endurance days, so your legs don’t want to do what you want them to do. Between Peter and Payson charging, it was managing the leaks in the ship. It’s pretty awesome to win, it’s a tough week of racing.”

Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist), having been in prime position to win for most of the week and then losing time yesterday due to a mechanical, was not willing to give up without a fight.

“I threw everything I could at Justin, but I knew seven minutes was a pretty tall task in 28 miles,” said McElveen. “My plan was to sneak into the singletrack first and hope he’d be a couple riders back, but I went a little too early and he just jumped on my wheel. I went hard for the first 15 minutes and settled in, then hit it hard at halfway. Timmerman threw down a massive attack. I chased him, both Justin and I chased him, but my legs were so sore when I woke up this morning from running yesterday. I was chasing as hard as I could, he had more gas than me though, so I was happy with second.”

About coming so close and then settling for second, McElveen said, “It’s pretty bittersweet. It’ll take some time to fully appreciate, but it’s an improvement from last year. It was everything, having a team. Poor Peter. He didn’t complain a single time, just pulled. Based on how much he could have complained, I was so impressed with his professionalism. Big props to him.”

Peter Glassford (Trek Canada) was the lone man in the lead group, but he nevertheless made a valiant effort to get away, being only a few seconds from third in GC. “It was hard. I didn’t think I’d have a lot today,” said Glassford. “I felt OK, but it’s amazing how fast I went considering how crappy I felt. There were some accelerations but mostly I led. Then on the gravel road, I put in a last-ditch effort on the long climb up through the feed zone, but it got steep fast and I sort of caved in. It came back together, and after that, Tristan and I were really tired. My body said, let’s just enjoy this.”

After the dust settled, Tristan Uhl (Competitive Cyclist) had hung on to his third place. “Today was hard! Started fast. Peter and Payson were pushing the pace from the get-go, but my strategy was to just hang with Peter and hope he couldn’t drop me,” said Uhl. “We both put in some surges, he was tearing my legs off on the long climb but I was able to stay with him, and we came to an unofficial truce at the end. We were ready for it to be over, I think.”

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) makes her way through the heckle pit on her way to winning the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) makes her way through the heckle pit on her way to winning the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Elite women

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Women’s Elite Team) has been a favorite to win this race in all four years she’s entered, and at last, today she stood on the top of the podium. Since the women’s standings were fairly spread out, they decided to do a “parade lap” and have some fun.

“Today was definitely a parade! There was a bit of confusion for a bit, since two of the Under 25 riders were going to race, so women in the elite category got nervous that if they went fast enough, it would change the overall GC standings,” said Barclay. “But it turned out that the two had a mishap and were behind anyway. We all got back together at the checkpoint, and it was a proper party pace from there.”

Barclay is happy to bask in glory. “First GC win here! It feels amazing,” she said. “I was a little concerned in the last day that something would happen to my bike and everyone would just ditch me. It’s a party, but inside, everyone is still worried about their times. It was a fun ride with a great group of women. The dynamics this year were good.”

Mical Dyck (Stan’s NoTubes Women’s Elite Team) had the skills to earn second place in both the elite women’s and enduro categories. “It was a fun week, but abusive on the body and bum! It was super nice today doing a parade lap and not having to go for it,” said Dyck.

This was Dyck’s first trip to the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic, and she learned some geology. “I knew it would be rocky, that’s what I had heard about the trails out here,” she said. “In Victoria, BC, we have a ton of rocks, but different rocks. We have big rock slabs. But this is constant false flats so you have to pedal through smaller rocks all day. I would definitely challenge it again, I like to suffer.”

Cyclo-crosser Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) came in third in GC while having a good time at her second stage race. “It was super challenging in a lot of different ways,” said Anthony. “It was such a great event, I’m so glad I was here. I’ve only done one other one, with a lot more people, around 1,200 people, so this is much more close-knit and fun.”

Anthony showed her prowess on the technical sections of the course and earned the top spot for the women in the East Coast Rocks competition.

: Libby White (Colt Training Systems) cuts a line through the brush during stage 7 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

: Libby White (Colt Training Systems) cuts a line through the brush during stage 7 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Under 25 men and women

Libby White (Colt Training Systems) was able to hang on through the week to take the overall win for the Under 25 women.

“It’s been exhausting! After day 1, I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep it. I was surprised to get the lead on day 1, but I kind of killed myself,” said White. “Then enduro day came and all these long days, but today we had ourselves a parade stage and finished things out.”

White pointed out that in such a long race, relaxing and socializing can help you focus. “The motivation came from talking to people and making sure I was having fun,” said White. “When you ride this many hours, you have to make sure you’re having fun and are mentally in the game. I usually just picked a pop song for the day. Today was ‘Bad Blood’ by Taylor Swift, so I just keep singing that.”

For the Under 25 men, Drew Dillman (Colt Training Systems) remained just behind Payson McElveen for second place. He also showed his technical skills by winning the King of the East Coast Rocks competition. His teammate Cameron Dodge rounded out the top three.

Enduro overall winner Bryan Fawley (Kodiak Tough) makes his way through the woods at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Enduro overall winner Bryan Fawley (Kodiak Tough) makes his way through the woods at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Enduro

Sue Haywood (Stan’s NoTubes Women’s Elite Team) has built upon her considerable technical cross country riding skills to transform herself into an enduro specialist, and her NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic Enduro win is her first win this season. It’s not necessarily easier than cross country, though.

“Lifestyle enduro is not all fun and games! It’s mostly fun, but you still have to charge every downhill, even the ones you don’t know, so you’re reading them fresh,” said Haywood. “The thing about enduro is you still have to keep yourself together throughout the week. You’re either going to have a mechanical or a crash. It hurt, but I could still go on. No mechanicals, no flat tires, which was great.”

Haywood remains a threat for either category and could take her pick. “I knew enduro would be a possibility,” she said. “This is my first race of the year. I thought I’d have more in the tank for the cross country stuff, but I had nothing. So being able to focus on enduro was awesome. Cody [Phillips] has said this, but you cannot pursue two goals here. You won’t be able to to do top-notch in the GC and the enduro. Mical [Dyck] got second in both, but if she’d focused on enduro, we would have been super tight, and mentally I would have really had to step it up. It’s so taxing, everything, and it’s so hard mentally and with your adrenal glands going crazy, to do both.”

Cody Phillips (Ibis Cycles Enduro Team) was a favorite to grab the elite men’s enduro win, but he just missed out when talented cross country racer Bryan Fawley (Kodiak Tough) decided to focus on this category instead of open men. “I just lost it today by 60 points,” he said. “[Fawley] got me on both of the segments today and we were only separated by 20 points, so that put him in the win by 60 points.”

Phillips was philosophical about his close loss. “I give it all I have and there’s nothing else I can do,” he said. “It’s different from cross country where you can see where people are. So I go out and try to focus and relax. It’s what I’ve been doing for the past few years, so I know how to do it. But he beat me straight up today. I can’t complain! He made it really hard, especially compared to last year. No one was that focused on it last year.”

Some of the credit for the fun enduro sections goes to Phillips, who gave feedback on the course after racing last year. “Getting more people here for enduro was the goal,” he said. “I gave the promoters a lot of input on the course to improve the enduro segments so we have more guys coming from out West to participate. We need to have more downhill to get the big names out here. I think the prize money is enough to bring people out though.”

Special Announcement: Pennsylvania gets new NICA High School League

High school mountain bike racing is coming to Pennsylvania in 2016. At the awards ceremony of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic on Saturday afternoon, organizers announced that the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) has awarded Pennsylvania a new league.

“We started on this effort a year and a half ago, and I’m excited to announce that NICA has accepted our bid,” said Mike Kuhn who submitted the bid for the league in conjunction with Pat Engleman, Mike Bush, Matt Spohn, Lou Mazzante, Todd Strauss, Jason Thomas, Clay Chiles and Bruce Bedell.

Pennsylvania High School Mountain Bike Racing will be conducted each fall, with the first season kicking off in the fall of 2016.

More information on the new league will be forthcoming at Interbike in September. Find the new Pennsylvania League in the meantime on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PASMTB?fref=ts

The NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic is made possible with the generous support of great partners like Pactimo, Lupine, Purple Lizard, Klean Kanteen, Dirt Rag, SRAM, Kona, BMC, ProGold, NUUN, Freeze Thaw Cycles and more!

Click Here for full results from Stage 7

Click Here for full GC results following Stage 7

NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage 6

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Uhl and Barclay win stage 6 at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic

Lindine takes over general classification after McElveen’s mechanical

 

In a race as long and challenging as the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic, the only constant is change. On the signature trail of the stage and of the race, Tussey Ridge, the men’s category was shaken up today by a mechanical and will be tightly contested tomorrow. Meanwhile in the women’s race, local knowledge of the rocky course proved decisive.

Tristan Uhl (Competitive Cyclist) and Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) won the elite men’s and women’s categories in stage 6. Justin Lindine (Competitive Cyclist) took over the elite men’s general classification (GC) lead from his teammate Payson McElveen after McElveen had a major mechanical. Barclay successfully defended and extended her lead in the overall elite women’s classification.

Elite men

Tristan Uhl (Competitive Cyclist) grabbed his first stage win today, taking some pressure off his teammates during the stage. He and Peter Glassford (Trek Canada) are now separated by only 12 seconds in third and fourth places in the GC.

“I’m super excited to take the win,” said Uhl. “Peter and I have been duking it out for third place in the general classification, and I kind of took advantage of him having a bad spot on one of the run up/ride ups, and pushed it hard on the second enduro segment to get a gap on everyone. I just decided to keep it rolling on the climb, and I expected to have the guys come back to me. But they didn’t, so I kept it rolling relatively smooth.”

The winning effort cost Uhl dearly. “That last road section never ends,” he said. “I lost my Garmin in the East Coast Rocks section, and I didn’t have a clue how much further I had to go. I knew we had to come back along the fence line, but I forgot how hard it was. The last climb almost killed me. I’m probably going to be hurting tomorrow. I think Peter and I are about tied for time, so it’ll make for a fun last stage.”

Glassford has been working alone toward the front of the race all week, and was rewarded for his efforts today. “I had a good stage today. Tristan beat me but I finished in second, which is my best NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic stage finish so far. I didn’t embarrass myself horribly while Justin [Lindine (Competitive Cyclist)] and Payson [McElveen (Competitive Cyclist)] followed me.”

Glassford used some Canadian style to get an edge on the technical Tussey Mountain ridge trail. “Payton got a flat because I threw a crazy corner on Tussey and they weren’t ready for the ‘Ontario wide-cut’. Then, I just drilled it when I got on the road, just buried myself.”

Despite the lonely struggle as he is here racing without teammates, Glassford has kept a good attitude, which should come in handy tomorrow as he makes a play for third place overall.

“The steep climbs get me,” said Glassford. “But it was good racing, it was fun. It’s tough going against three guys out there. It’s pull until I get attacked, and I keep drilling it. But that’s what I like to do!”

McElveen’s flat turned out to be disastrous. “We had Tristan get away, which was great,” he said. “Peter was pulling and Justin and I were sitting on. Then I punctured big time on Tussey Ridge, just a massive tear. We can’t take tires off the rim without basically a car tire lever.”

“Justin was kind enough to stop and help me, and we tried as hard as we could to break the bead but we couldn’t,” said McElveen. “I finally just started to ride the rim, and at the end of Tussey Ridge, the whole wheel exploded, which was predictable. Then I just started running. I have a very large blister on my right foot now. I ran for a long time, it felt like forever.”

McElveen switched out his wheel at the last aid station and chased as hard as he could. “I figured the race is probably over for me now, but you never know. And if I don’t try… well, I might as well try.” McElveen dropped to second place in GC with six minutes over third.

McElveen’s teammate and close competitor Lindine had a relatively uneventful day, always a good thing, and it landed him in the race leader’s jersey.

“It was going really well,” said Lindine. “I like a lot of the trails on this stage, and it’s broken up nicely. We had a super aggressive first 45 minutes and split it into the smaller group of the four of us. Tristan was able to get away on the first enduro section, which was perfect, and Peter got a bit gapped off, so Payson and I sat up. We were like, ‘Sorry, man, this is the job we have to do.’ Peter has spent the most time on the front of anyone in the race.”

When McElveen’s tire blew, Lindine went above and beyond to help his teammate. “We were riding across Tussey when Payson flatted,” he said. “I stopped, we tried to fix it, it wasn’t going well. It’s not ideal. No one wants to take the jersey that way. I know as well as anyone that this race can come down to mechanicals and luck. I don’t know what the clock is going to say, but we’ll see how it plays out.”

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) heads off the road and onto a section of singletrack in stage 6 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic.Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) heads off the road and onto a section of singletrack in stage 6 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic.Photos by: Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Elite women

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women), a State College local, was unable to use her usual strategy of hanging out with the guys today, but she got help from Selene Yeager (Rare Disease Cycling) as well as her teammate Mical Dyck (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women).

“Selene helped me big time in the start,” said Barclay. “I missed the train of lead guys and I was like, ‘What am I going to do? Hammer at three miles in?’ But Selene was so nice. Then Mical caught us so we all worked together on the road. She was tired on the climbs, but I was trying to help her stay in second place. And we were working with the singlespeeders as well!”

Barclay’s lead of 17 minutes seems solid, but she knows better than most that things can go sideways at any moment. “Everything is so dry! You could definitely slide out,” she said. “I had the slight advantage on the ridge because I ride it all the time. Sometimes I can’t clean it, but today I cleaned all the sections.” [If you’ve never seen the Tussey Ridge Trail, cleaning it is an amazing feat!]

Yeager seems to have raced herself into recovery and was feeling much better than earlier in the week, so she used her mojo to help Barclay along. “Vicki was in front all of the day except for 15 seconds when I pulled her,” she said. “But I knew she would go. I was using her trail knowledge and following her. I could see her for most of the day. I kind of wanted to get her at the end, but I slid out on a bunch of gravel trying to accelerate.”

“I knew I wasn’t going to get her, but this is the best I’ve felt on this day,” said Yeager. “I wasn’t going to make up 20 minutes on Vicki today, so I wanted to help her.”

Under 25 men and women

Payson McElveen nearly got his usual top Under 25 spot nabbed from him by Lewis Gaffney (Colt Training Systems), who came in just 27 seconds later. A new name rounded out the top three Under 25 men, Cameron Dodge, also of Colt Training Systems.

Libby White (Colt Training Systems) continued to build an impressive lead with another win today, with Samantha Runnels (Colt Training Systems) not far behind. Emily Shields (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) came in a solid third.

Announcement coming

Look for a big announcement relating to the future of the sport coming out at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic on Saturday.

The NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic is made possible with the generous support of great partners like Pactimo, Lupine, Purple Lizard, Klean Kanteen, Dirt Rag, SRAM, Kona, BMC, ProGold, NUUN, Freeze Thaw Cycles and more!

Click Here for results from Stage 6

Click Here for GC results following Stage 6

Stan Crane Memorial – Draper, Utah

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Mitchell Peterson and Joey Lythgoe Climb to the Top of the Podium in Corner Canyon

Written by: Shannon Boffeli

Draper Utah’s, Corner Canyon played host to the fourth round of the 2015 Intermountain Cup with the Memorial Day classic Stan Crane Memorial.

Early morning showers cleared just in time for the large collection of intrepid racers gathered to attack Corner Canyon’s ever-evolving singletrack selections.

Race directors did an excellent job of choosing the sandier trails in Draper. They chose surfaces capable of handling the spring rains while throwing in an all-new technical descent with A and B-line options to accommodate all level of riders.

Drew Free drops into the A-line descent. Photo by Angie Harker

Drew Free drops into the A-line descent. Photo by Angie Harker

Once again Kelly Peterson and Bryson Perry wove together a masterful selection of trails that jacked the excitement level and brought in one of the largest fields of racers in recent history with 318 riders in attendance.

The pro and semi-pro men got off to a clean start at 11:30 with Mitchell Peterson (Canyon Bicycles) floating to the front highlighting his effortless climbing style.

Long open sections of climbing early in the race helped Peterson establish himself off the front until a mishap at the end of lap two left him wadded up with a lapped rider in the A-line downhill section.

“I lost a lot of time because my bars got twisted in the crash,” Peterson remarked. “I kept asking people who went by if they had a multi-tool I could use to fix it and then I remembered, I have a multi-tool in my pocket.”

Having dropped back into second place Peterson remounted now focused on catching the leader Drew Free (Revolution/Peak Fasteners).

Within half a lap he was back out front once again passing Free on another long climbing section.

Now in second Free had his hands full trying to hold off a group of 5 riders bearing down on him.

Chris Holley (Kuhl) would get the closest to the Revolution rider, almost making contact on the early climbs of the final lap but couldn’t hang on as Free shredded the scary-fast singletrack descents leading back to the finish.

Free wasn’t fast enough to catch Peterson who comfortably took the win in his first mountain bike race in over a year.

Free crossed the line second just twenty-one seconds in front of Holley who held just a handful of seconds advantage over Kevin Day (Endurance 360) who took fourth.

Josh Whitney (Evol) finished off a strong day in fifth place.

Joey Lythgoe enjoying her time out front. Photo by Angie Harker

Joey Lythgoe enjoying her time out front. Photo by Angie Harker

The pro women’s event touched off with a significantly more hectic start as several riders tangled while sprinting for the singletrack holeshot. Pivot/Epic Brewing rider Jen Hanks hit the pavement hard just before reaching the dirt.

The early crash didn’t slow down race favorite Joey Lythgoe (Kuhl) though. Lythgoe has won two races on the ICup XC schedule already this year and excels at the climbing courses like Corner Canyon.

She certainly didn’t disappoint as she established an early lead and never let off the gas throughout the nearly 2 hour race.

Lythgoe powered her way ahead on the climbs and was quick enough on the descents to hold off Stan’s NoTubes racer Sarah Kaufmann who was fresh off a Super-D race win on Saturday.

While Kaufmann did some damage on the downhills it wasn’t enough to close the gap on the lone leader.

Lythgoe’s all-around skill proved too much for everyone else as she cruised to her third ICup win of 2015.

Kaufmann rolled in second with a comfortable margin over third place.

Jen Hanks leads Erika Powers through the rocks on the A-line. Photo by Angie Harker

Jen Hanks leads Erika Powers through the rocks on the A-line. Photo by Angie Harker

Nicole Tittensor (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) occupied the third spot for most of the race holding off a late-race charge from Jen Hanks who mounted an impressive recovery after a heavy fall onto her left side 30-seconds into the race.

Utah Mountain Biking’s Meghan Sheridan held off her own late race challenge from Erika Powers to take the final podium spot.

Spirits were high following the event as all participants shared stories about the race and the challenging aspects of the top-notch racecourse. An after race BBQ was hosted by Revolution Bicycles in honor of former team member Stan Crane who passed away unexpectedly in 2006 from an undiagnosed heart defect.

Click Here for full results from all categories

Podium spots come with stacks of cash at the Intermountain Cup. Photo by Angie Harker

Podium spots come with stacks of cash at the Intermountain Cup. Photo by Angie Harker

Kenda Cup East Round 2 – Weeping Willow EFTA – Ipswich, Massachusetts

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Crystal Anthony and Billy Melone Continue Domination of Kenda Cup East

Written by: Karen Potter

The second stop of the Kenda Cup East took place Sunday, May 17th at a popular New England course in Willowdale Forest in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Warm and dry weather coming into the race made for a dusty course with lots of loose corners. The 9.5-mile course entailed a few small climbs but mostly fast, windy trails making cornering at speed a much needed skill.

Predicted rain the day before did not transpire and despite being near the seacoast where temperatures are usually cooler in the spring, race day turned out to be quite warm. With elite racers doing three laps on the 9.5-mile course, hydration and nutrition were critical factors.

Local racer, Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) was favored among the women’s field. With her fitness peaking for the Transylvania Stage Race starting next weekend and racing on her home turf, she took charge from the start and soloed strong to the finish in 2:42. Elisa Otter (Bicycle Express) and Karen Potter (Pivot/Epic Brewing) tried to hold her wheel but couldn’t match Anthony’s pace on the opening climb.

Otter held onto second place until the final lap where lack of eating caught up with her. Potter gained on her towards the end of the second lap and was able to overtake Otter early in the final lap to finish 2nd in 2:49. Otter held onto 3rd place finishing in 2:54 with Bryna Blanchard (Wyndham Mountain) closing in for 4th in 2:55. Ellen Noble rounded out the Elite Women’s podium finishing in 3:02.

Billy Melone (ATA Cycles) continued his winning streak finishing in 2:22. Dan Timmerman was able to mirror Melone’s pace in the first lap but mechanicals kept him in chase mode and used up any energy reserves he had to challenge Melone for the win.

Timmerman finished 2nd in 2:25. Neal Burton (ERRace) couldn’t match Melone and Timmerman’s pace and found himself in no man’s land riding solo to third place in 2:27.

Christopher Ziegler and Matt O’Keefe (ATA Cycles) rounded out the Elite Men’s podium finishing 4th and 5th respectively.

Full results found here: http://www.barttiming.com/summer/results15/willow15-1.pdf

Kenda Cup East Race #1

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Fat Tire Classic – Root 66 Race Series – Kenda Cup East Race #1

Written by: Karen Potter

The first round of the Kenda Cup East was held Sunday at the Root 66 Race Series Fat Tire Classic in Farmington, Connecticut. It was a course that highlighted aerobic fitness with smooth, fast rolling singletrack winding through the woods with minimal rest. The five-mile lap has a cyclocross feel with the seemingly constant accelerations needed out of the endless number of corners.

Race day was another cool spring day in New England and pleasantly dry. Both men’s and women’s elite fields had great turnout from all over the northeast.

The men’s elite race started insanely fast as getting the hole shot was an important factor, although there were sections of double track for passing in some spots.

Billy Melone (ATA Cycles) proved his fitness to be solid as he soloed start to finish in 1:53:32.

Behind him the battle for the remainder of the podium spots was intense with a large pack riding together until attacks splintered the group.

Christopher Hamlin pulled away from the chase group to finish in 2nd in 1:55:16. Third, fourth and fifth came to a sprint finish with Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing) taking the sprint in 1:56:30, followed by Dylan McNicholas (Polartec) four seconds back and Brendan McCormack (CCB Racing) taking 5th one second back.

The women’s elite race started equally fierce and fast with Crystal Anthony (Riverside) jetting off the start line winning the sprint to the singletrack. She was followed by Elisa Otter (Bicycle Express Racing). Otter kept Anthony in sight for 2 of the 5 laps but could not match Anthony’s fitness.

Anthony went on to win in 2:09:57. Otter maintained 2nd in 2:12:41.

Karen Potter (Pivot/Epic Brewing) started slow off the line and had to make her way through the field in the opening lap but was able to make her way through and sit in 3rd for the rest of the race finishing in 2:14:40.

 

Results

Elite Women

Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) 2:09:57

Elisa Otter (Bicycle Express Racing) 2:12:41

Karen Potter (Pivot/Epic Brewing) 2:14:50

Bryna Blanchard (Windham Mountain Outfitters) 2:16:48

Joanne Grogan (1K2GO Coffee/Burris Logistics) 2:17:15

 

Elite Men 

Billy Melone (ATA Cycles) 1:53:32

Christopher Hamlin (Bicycle Express Racing) 1:55:16

Dan Timmerman (Riverside) 1:56:30

Dylan McNicholas (Polartec) 1:56:34

Brendan McCormack (CCB Racing) 1:56:35

 

Full results here: http://www.root66raceseries.com/RT66/Results.html

6 Hours of Frog Hollow – Hurricane, Utah

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Warm spring temperatures and exceptionally dry trails greeted riders at the 6 Hours of Frog Hollow. In it’s second year as a springtime event the Frog Hollow 6 offered up an excuse for riders to escape to the desert and rack up season early-season miles.

After a short run to start the race it quickly became apparent who had the best legs of the day. Chris Holley (Mayan Apocalypse), racing on a coed duo team with his wife KC, shattered the early lead group on his way to posting the fastest lap of the race at 48 minutes and one second. Holley was simply untouchable in Frog Hollow. The entire race saw only 3 lap times under 50 minutes and Holley was responsible for two of them.

Chris and KC would go on to dominate the day in a fast coed duo category, taking first place by a comfortable margin over Zeppelin and Nicole Tittensor (Team Tittensor) and Jen Hanks and Shannon Boffeli on the Pivot/Epic Brewing crew. These three coed teams finished in the top-7 overall for the entire race.

Sam Sweetser finishes up after 6 hours and 80 miles in Frog Hollow

Sam Sweetser finishes up after 6 hours and 80 miles in Frog Hollow

Cary Smith (The Hub) had the fastest time for the entire 6-hour event besting all teams with a spectacular solo effort. Smith laid down the second fastest opening lap and went thirty seconds faster on his next lap.

After establishing a healthy gap on Sam Sweetser (Cole Sport), his closest competition, Smith settled into a pace that allowed him to knock off lap after lap in just over 50 minute increments. Smith completed 6 full laps and just over 80 miles to take the win 15 minutes clear of Sweetser in second.

Aaron Hagge (Diamond Peak) finished third.

Colorado endurance specialist Jari Kirkland (Grigg’s Orthopedics) crushed the solo women’s field while completing 5 laps and 68 miles in 5 hours 8 minutes.

Kirkland powered through the course, as she often does, posting almost identical lap times with every circuit.

Her closest competition came from Parker Tyler (White Pine Touring) who stayed within sight of the leader for first two laps but couldn’t match Kirkland’s consistency in the end.

Jules Ernst finished third.

Heidi Volpe takes the win in the women's single speed race

Heidi Volpe takes the win in the women’s single speed race

Many riders were competing with the memory of a recently fallen friend on their minds. Singlespeed phenom AJ Linnell was registered for the Frog Hollow race but tragically lost his life in a plane crash near his home in Victor, Idaho, last weekend. Linnell’s beaming smile and affable personality were missed at the event but it was clear his spirit was with many of the riders especially solo singlespeed winner Cole Anderson who hoisted a sign bearing AJ’s name on the podium.

Click here for full results from all categories

Riders on course with the towers of Zion National Park in the distance

Riders on course with the towers of Zion National Park in the distance

Jen Hanks on course

Jen Hanks on course

Schurter Lives Up To Expectations, Batty Takes Her Second US CUP Win This Year

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Round three of the USA Cycling US CUP presented by Cannondale was raced on a near-perfect Southern California day and produced worthy winners in Emily Batty and three-time World Champion Nino Schurter.

Elite Women

Luna Pro Cycling’s Georgia Gould got hole shot in the women’s race, with Specialized’s Lea Davison charging hard just behind. The women flew around the start loop and headed out for the first of six laps. Scott ODLO’s Swedish National Champion Jenny Rissveds was first to attack and establish a commanding lead over the chasing group which contained the Luna Pro contingent of Gould, Katerina Nash and Katharine Pendrel, along with Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing), Erin Huck (Scott 3 Rox) and Larissa Connors (Ridebiker Alliance).

By the second lap, with Rissveds still out front, the chase group began to come apart under the stress of an attacking Pendrel, who continued to apply pressure on the climbs. At this point the chasers were reduced to just Pendrel, Batty, Nash and Huck. Pendrel and Batty continued to attack putt the others in trouble. At the end of lap two, Pendrel put in another effort which brought back Rissveds back at the start of lap three.

Midway through the race, the front group was whittled down to just Pendrell, Batty and Huck, establishing a nice lead as they entered the infield loop at the end of lap three. Pressure on the climbs saw off Huck, as Pendrel and Batty built up a commanding lead that would last until lap five. The leaders sat up for a breath, which enabled Huck to come close to rejoining, followed again by Rissveds. Just as they were about to make contact, Pendrel put in another hard effort to build up another gap on Huck during the descent, Batty again on her wheel.

The two leaders (Pendrel and Batty) seemed content to face off in a finish line sprint, where Batty made a crafty move just past the final left hand turn to come around Pendrel in a tight sprint for the win. Rissveds made it in for third, followed by Gould and Huck.

“I’ve worked so hard leading up to this,“ said an thrilled Batty after the sprint. “Hats off to Catharine for not making it easy! I really just had fun with it, throwing the rhythm off and dictating how I wanted it to go. I threw an attack in the corner and left it all out there.”

Pro women's podium - photo by RibeBiker Alliance

Pro women’s podium – photo by RibeBiker Alliance

Elite Men

Cannondale Factory Racing’s Henrique Avancini continued the team’s fast starts by taking the early lead after the start lap and heading into the first full lap. Three-time World Champion Nino Schurter (Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team) took over, standing up and attacking on the first pass of the steep gravel climb. With Schurter taking the early lead, only New Zealander Sam Gaze was able to match the Swiss Champion. Stephen Ettinger (Sho-Air/Cannondale), Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) and Sergio Mantecon (Trek Factory Racing) made up the early chase group. The race settled into this situation for the next few laps, with Schurter maintaining and even extending his lead up to a maximum of thirty seconds.

By the end of the fourth lap of seven, Mantecon and Gagne began to work together and slowly pull back Schurter’s lead. The chase worked and the chasers made contact on lap five after Schurter changed a rear flat. Unfortunately for Mantecon and Gagne, Schurter capitalized on the extra effort spent in the chase and pulled away with ease toward the start of the penultimate lap. Tired from the chase, Mantecon and Gagne fought hard to keep the Swiss Champion in their sights, only to see Schurter take the win convincingly.

Nino Schurter crosses the line - photo by RibeBiker Alliance

Nino Schurter crosses the line – photo by RibeBiker Alliance

“It was a super tough course out there,“ said Schurter at the finish. “You have to be really careful in cornering. One mistake and you’re crashing. I like the shorter climbs so it was a perfect course for me.”

USA Cycling US Cup presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group series standings

After round three of the USA Cycling US Cup presented by Cannondale series, Gagne takes over the lead convincingly after his second win of the series, while Batty retakes the lead in the womens’ series ahead of Pendrel.

The USA Cycling US Cup presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group series will continue with round 4, a UCI Category C3 race, at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterrey, California on Saturday, April 18.

Bonelli Park 2 cross country brief results

Elite women

1 Emily Batty (Canada) Trek Factory Racing; 1:32:22
2 Catharine Pendrel (Canada) Luna Pro Team; 1:32:23
3 Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team; 1:32:39
4 Erin Huck (United States) Scott 3 Rox; 1:32:42
5 Georgia Gould (United States) Luna Pro Team; 1:33:44

Elite men

1 Nino Schurter (Switzerland) Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team; 1:30:21
2 Raphael Gagne (Canada) Rocky Mountain Bicycles; 1:30:26
3 Sergio Mantecon (Spain) Trek Factory Racing; 1:30:43
4 Derek Zandstra (Canada) Scott 3 Rox Racing; 1:28:56
5 Stephen Ettinger (United States) Sho-Air/Cannondale Mtb Racing Team; 1:31:59

USA Cycling US Cup Series Standings after two rounds

Elite women

1 Emily Batty (Canada) Trek Factory Racing; 114 points
2 Catharine Pendrel (Canada) Luna Pro Team; 95 points
3 Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) Luna Pro Team; 90 points
4 Georgia Gould (United States) Luna Pro Team; 90 points
4 Erin Huck (United States) Scott 3 Rox Racing; 77 points

Elite men

1 Raphael Gagne (Canada) Rocky Mountain Bicycles; 104 points
2 Sergio Mantecon (Spain) Trek Factory Racing; 83 points
3 Anton Cooper (New Zealand) Cannondale Factory Racing; 75 points
4 Derek Zandstra (Canada) Scott 3 Rox Racing; 66 points
5 Adam Morka (Canada) Trek Canada; 64 points

 

USA Cycling’s US CUP Returns to Bonelli Park for Round 3

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Three-time World Champion Nino Schurter Expected to Line Up

The USA Cycling’s US CUP presented by Cannondale returns to Frank G. Bonelli Park in San Dimas, California this Saturday, April 11, after two exciting rounds of cross country racing action. Interest in the US CUP is higher than ever, with a men’s field expected to exceed 150, and a women’s field that should reach upwards of 80, numbers not seen in years.

For this UCI HC event, a modified version of the Bonelli Park Round 1 C1 course will test athletes with new obstacles. While much-needed and expected rain could make the course perfect for a weekend of hard racing, Sho-Air Cycling Group is not taking any chances, adding 12,000 gallons of reclaimed water on Monday, with another application scheduled for later in the week to ensure optimal course conditions.

The US CUP has consistently attracted a top field of racers, but the Bonelli Park 2 race will feature a top name in world mountain biking. Past U23 and two-time Elite World Champion Nino Schurter (Scott ODLO Mtb Racing) is scheduled to race the event, an addition that is sure to generate excitement from the fans and more than a little anxiety in the men’s field.

“There will be some great new features on the course that should keep things interesting,” said Scott Tedro, Sho-Air President and RideBiker founder. “The racing has been fantastic so far and I am thrilled that a three-time world champion like Nino is coming to race at Bonelli. It just shows how much interest the US CUP is getting from all over the world.”

 

Free video coverage schedule announced

Video coverage of the US CUP Round 3 will be streamed live online. The Elite Womens’ race will start at 11:00am PST followed by the Elite Men at 1:30pm PST. The race will be viewable at www.uscup.net, www.uscup.tv and also at a dedicated page under USA Cycling’s YouTube channel.

“The production quality of the US CUP races being put out by Ridebiker Alliance is outstanding,” said Micah Rice, Vice President of National Events for USA Cycling.  “The visuals are impressive, the racing action is great and it feels like you’re watching a World Cup!”

Emily Batty tries to hunt down race leader Katerina Nash. Catharine Pendrel, Georgia Gould, and Erin Huck follow - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Emily Batty tries to hunt down race leader Katerina Nash. Catharine Pendrel, Georgia Gould, and Erin Huck follow – Photo RideBiker Alliance

The Womens’ Field

Katerina Nash, winner of Round 2 at Fontana City, is currently in the overall leaders’ jersey by way of winning the higher-valued HC race in Fontana City. Her teammates Georgia Gould (3rd) and Catharine Pendrel (4th) follow Round 1 winner Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) in second. Chloe Woodruff (Team Stan’s NoTubes-Niner) rounds out the overall podium in fifth.

Outsider and surprise of the first two rounds, Larissa Connors (Ridebiker Alliance) is the only other rider to appear on a women’s podium this season. Connors will look for a repeat performance that saw her shoot to the front with the lead group in Bonelli 1, to the surprise and delight of many.

Cooper takes the lead over Gagne - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Cooper takes the lead over Gagne – Photo RideBiker Alliance

The Mens’ Field

Round 2 winner and overall men’s leader Anton Cooper (Cannondale Factory Racing) will not be present in Bonelli, opting for a different build up to the World Cup season. Bonelli 1 winner Raphael Gagne has confirmed a change in his schedule that will allow him to dispute the remainder of the series and go for the overall title.

Cannondale’s Marco Aurelio Fontana and Manuel Fumic will also scratch from Bonelli 2, leaving Brazilian teammate, 2015 Pan American Mtb Champion and multiple times Brazilian national champion Henrique Avancini to fill some big shoes.

Trek Factory Racing’s Sergio Mantecon is another consistent threat, having finished on the podium in each of the first two rounds.

Sho-Air/Cannondale’s Max Plaxton will look to improve on his second-placed finish in round one, while his young teammates Keegan Swenson and Stephen Ettinger will seek to build on rising form that saw Swenson take third place at the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships.

US CUP stalwart Todd Wells (Specialized Factory Racing), James Reid (Trek RECM), Derek Zandstra and 2014 US CUP winner Geoff Kabush (both Scott 3 Rox Racing) can never be counted out as well, and we could see any of them or many others atop the podium Saturday afternoon.

UCI Junior Races

New for the 2015 US CUP Series is that Bonelli Park #2, Round 3 will also include a UCI Junior race category for both men and women. The Junior XCO race will be held at 4:30pm Saturday, with more valuable UCI points and payout on offer.

Saturday, April 11 Bonelli Park Race Schedule, all times Pacific Daylight Time / Local California Time

11h00 – 11h15 PDT: Elite women cross country – staging and call-up
11h15 – 13h15 PDT: Elite women cross country race
13h30 – 13h45 PDT: Elite men cross country – staging and call-up
13h45 – 15h45 PDT: Elite men cross country race
15h50 – 16h00 PDT: Elite women and men cross country podium ceremony
16h15 – 16h30 PDT: UCI Junior Women and Men – staging and call-up
16h30 – 17h40 PDT: UCI Junior Women and Men XCO Race

Pisgah Stage Race Moves to Spring Date for 2015

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The 7th Annual Pisgah Stage Race || April 13-18, 2015

Five days of racing over the roots and rocks of some of the best singletrack in the U.S. found just minutes from downtown Brevard, North Carolina is set to begin next month when the 7th Annual Pisgah Stage Race kicks off for the first time as a spring event. The event, which covers a total of 120 miles over five days with over 20,000 feet of elevation gain, consistently draws an international field of competitors, as well as some of the top athletes in the country to compete.

Those who experience the thrill of riding some of Pisgah’s best trails for the first time have consistently been impressed with the quality of the trails in the area. One of those was Adam Craig, a professional racer who sampled Pisgah during a recent stage race and was blown away by the trails the stage race took him down.

“After this week, I’m going to say (Pisgah National Forest) is definitely in the top three places in the universe I’ve ever ridden, maybe the best one,” he said after the race. “I think the Pilot Rock trail is probably the best downhill I’ve ever done.”

Riders at the start of the 2014 Pisgah Stage Race. The race moves from October to April for 2015.

Riders at the start of the 2014 Pisgah Stage Race. The race moves from October to April for 2015.

It’s not just Craig who agrees that Pisgah National Forest is among the best places to ride. In recent months and weeks, the accolades of the riding in Pisgah National Forest continue to flow in with Singletracks.com naming Pisgah one of the Top 10 Mountain Biking destinations in the country and recently ranked the area as the number one place mountain bikers from the Southeast want to visit this riding season (http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-trails/mountain-bike-tourism-by-the-numbers/).

For race organizer Todd Branham, getting to show people that are new to the area and haven’t experienced Pisgah before is a big part of the appeal and one of the main reasons he and the rest of the team at Blue Ridge Adventures enjoy putting on the event each year. He said he believes the Pisgah Stage Race is not only a great racing event for those with a competitive streak, but also a great way to experience some of the absolute best trails the area has to offer thanks to the support provided throughout the week. In addition to having well-marked turns and helpful course navigation throughout each day’s race course, the event also offers fully-staffed aid stations with bike mechanics to provide support for racers throughout the day, which makes hammering out a long ride all the more enjoyable and allows rider to push it just a little bit harder than they normally would.

“The course includes the East’s most rugged trails,” Branham said. “But after spending a week getting to know and appreciate the bounty of Pisgah National Forest, you won’t want to leave.”

Branham said he decided to move the race to spring this year as a way to try and boost attendance in the event and showcase just how beautiful the forest is during early spring. “We’ve moved the PMBSR to the spring this year and we’ll be the first stage race on the calendar for the United States,” he said.

“In the fall Pisgah is very Robust from the summertime, green and briery…thick. However, in the spring, you have a nice green carpet on the ground. You can see everything, the views are more open. Nothing is really grown in yet. Flowers are popping up… Mushrooms are everywhere. It’s quite a different experience, equally as nice as it is in the fall.

“I’m really excited about the spring event this year,” he added. “It should be really good, and quite different from the past.”

Popular Aspects of Race Return in 2015

Returning this year are the chip-timed Enduro segments during each stage that will allow the fastest descenders in the endurance world to make their mark during the stage race and earn prizes and awards in individual categories. State-of-the-art timing systems record each rider’s time at the start of the Enduro segment and again as they pass through the Enduro structure at the bottom of the course to record riders time without causing any unnecessary slowdowns for participants and will allow riders to continue to ride normally along the route. The “enduro” section will be included with registration fees and applicable for all participants in the event with special Enduro awards held each night during the award ceremony.

“This year we will have a full six nights of food, and it will be really cool to get everybody out to watch the racing video produced from the stage everyone just raced,” Branham added. “We’ll go through the results, present the podiums, hang out, have a good time, trade stories about the day’s stage, and then prepare our racers for the next day’s upcoming stage.”

Singletrack Highlights During The Race

For race director Todd Branham, every trail riders take on during the stage race is special in it’s own unique way, but some of his personal favorites that riders will get to enjoy this spring include Pilot Rock and Laurel Mountain, an area classic that remains among the most popular trails for experienced mountain bikers. “It’s a big climb up to about 4800 feet and you go through different zones on the mountain,” Branham explains. “As you climb you’ll ride through classic rhododendron tunnels, but as you gain elevation to the top, it opens up and you get those big, wide open vistas.” But that’s when the downhill begins, which is among the rockiest in the stage race, other than renowned downhill trail Farlow Gap.

Squirrel Gap is another of Branham’s favorite trails that he believes provides racers with a truly unique experience that defines the Pisgah riding style. The narrow singletrack is so tight in places that Branham refers to it as “half-track.”

“We are a temperate rainforest here in Pisgah, and things are very robust in the way they grow,” he said. “When you ride here you can see all the fresh trail work we do, but we can’t do enough to keep back all the growth that can reach out and grab at you. By the end of the stage race, you will have scratches on your arms, you’ll have scratches on your legs, and you’ll look like you’ve ‘been through the bush’. That’s the Pisgah Lion. You don’t know when it’s coming, but it will reach out and grab you.

“When you come out, you’re branded. It’s called the Pisgah Tattoo. That’s what we’ll leave you with. When you go home you’ll not only have stories of the Pisgah Stage Race, you’ll also have the Pisgah Tattoo. The good thing about the Pisgah Tattoo, unlike a real one, is that it goes away after about a week. The memories you make though, those stick around for much longer.”

For more information on the Pisgah Stage Race and to view videos of each stage during this year’s event, follow along at www.blueridgeadventures.net + www.pisgahstagerace.com.

Nash and Wells race to convincing Short Track Cross Country wins at USA Cycling’s US CUP Round 2 at Fontana City

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Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) and Todd Wells (Specialized Factory Racing) won the short track cross country races at the USA Cycling’s US Cup Pro Series presented by Cannondale at Southridge Park in Fontana City, California, on Sunday afternoon. The race wrapped up an exciting weekend of racing and saw riders heading to all corners of the globe in preparation for World Cup events or the next US CUP round in three weeks, the Sea Otter Classic.

Katerina Nash finishes with a sweep of the weekend's events in Fontana - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Katerina Nash finishes with a sweep of the weekend’s events in Fontana – Photo RideBiker Alliance

Elite women

The 31-strong field of women’s racers lined up for fifteen minutes plus three laps of a dusty course that featured a pair of tricky bumps on the far side. Trek Factory Racing’s Emily Batty was crafty in shooting under the charging Luna Pro Team on the first turn to take the hole shot. After the first fast lap, it was all strung out with the Luna Pro Team leading the way.

Lap two saw Chloe Woodruff (Stans No-Tubes-Niner) lead through the start/finish line, with Haley Smith (NORCO Factory Team) in second. One lap later, the Luna girls reclaimed their place at the front, with Catharine Pendrel and Georgia Gould being joined by teammate Andrea Waldis, who was doing some fine teamwork for her leaders. Behind them were Smith, Batty, Woodruff and Rose Grant (Stans No-Tubes).

A general regrouping took place on lap four with one notable exception as Gould flatted and withdrew from the race. Things heated up two laps later and showed the determination of the field, as some bumping occurred at the front on that first left-hander after the start/finish line.

With just two laps to go, the front group grew to fifteen riders, all battling it out for the win. On the penultimate lap, Nash and Batty made their selection, charging hard to establish the winning break. The field exploded at that point, with riders being strung out for the remainder of the race.

In the final run to the line, Nash charged to the win over Batty in an exciting and hard-fought sprint, with Woodruff, Grant and Caroline Mani (Raleigh Clement Cycling Team) filling out the podium.

“This is such exciting racing for us, where we can all race so close together,” explained Nash. “I was in the right place at the right time, just like yesterday, so it was a good weekend for me. I knew I was in a good position when I was third at the top. There are so few places to pass here but I found my spot and was able to take the win!”

Todd Wells stands atop the pro men's STXC podium - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Todd Wells stands atop the pro men’s STXC podium – Photo RideBiker Alliance

Elite men

The men’s race was also fifteen minutes plus three laps.

Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycels) showed yet another sign of his great form, taking the hole shot as the large men’s field kicked up a dust storm at the start. Unfortunately, the Canadian rider had some bad luck and went down in the first hectic lap, which created a gap and the eventual winning move.  Todd Wells (Specialized Factory Racing), Kohei Yamamoto (Trek Factory Racing) and Russell Finsterwald (SRAM/LTD Racing Team) were the beneficiaries of the resulting gap, and these first two remained out front for the remainder of the race.

By the third lap, the gap to the chasing group was at eight seconds. Halfway through the fifteen minutes, Wells put in a huge effort at the start/finish line and attempted the solo break. Two laps later, his lead was up to fourteen seconds, which he more or less held onto until the final lap allowed him to ease up a bit. With four laps to go, Finsterwald was replaced in the first chase duo by Yamamoto’s Trek teammate Sergio Mantecon. This group was chased by Stephen Ettinger (Sho-Air/Cannondale), Leandre Bouchard (Equite Quebec), and Estonian Martin Loo.

Wells kept the pressure on and cruised the last lap in to take a commanding win of the short track event. Trek Factory Racing’s Mantecon preceded his teammate and Japanese sensation Yamamoto, while Bouchard was followed in by Cole Oberman (Rare Disease Cycling).

“I heard a big crash on the first lap where there’s a blown out hump in a bottom corner and someone washed out there,” said Wells. “I got a separation with Kohei and Finsty and could tell I was gapping them a little bit on the downhill so I hit it. I looked up and we were only like six minutes into the race! I’m a steady rider so it was better for me to ride at my tempo. If I can get there by myself, I don’t have to follow the surges so it was better for me to ride steady by myself.”

US CUP Video Feed

A reminder that Saturday’s professional races are available for viewing at www.uscup.tv as well as on USA Cycling’s youtube channel.

Fontana City short track cross country brief results

Elite women

1 Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) Luna Pro Team 21:47.26
2 Emily Batty (Canada) Trek Factory Racing 21:47.60
3 Chloe Woodruff (United States) Team Stans NoTubes – Niner) 21:48.24
4 Rose Grant (United States) Stans NoTubes Elite 21:50.21
5 Catroline Mani (United States) Raleigh Clement Cycling Team 21:53.24

Elite men

1 Todd Wells (United States) Specialized Factory Racing; 20:14.45
2 Sergio Mantecon (Spain) Trek Factory Racing; 20:27.36
3 Kohei Yamamoto (Japan) Trek Factory Racing; 20:33.36
4 Leandre Bouchard (Equipe Quebec); 20:34.11
5 Cole Oberman (United States) Rare Disease Cycling; 20:36.83

Nash and Cooper take the wins at USA Cycling US CUP Round 2 at Fontana City

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Day’s winners take overall US CUP leads as well

Fontana City, California – March 21, 2015:  Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) and Anton Cooper (Cannondale Factory Racing) won round 2 of the USA Cycling US Cup Pro Series presented by Cannondale at Southridge Park in Fontana City, California.

Elite women

Technical problems caused in part by cellular interference from the nearby NASCAR race made for blind coverage of the women’s race early on. A fast start lap created a huge gap, which was driven by the Luna Pro Team as Pendrel, Nash and Gould, along with Round 1 winner Batty set the early pace. After the initial leveling off after the first climb, these front leaders left a large gap to Chloe Woodruff (Team Stan’s NoTubes-Niner) and Larissa Connors (Ridebiker Alliance).

Emily Batty tries to hunt down race leader Katerina Nash. Catharine Pendrel, Georgia Gould, and Erin Huck follow - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Emily Batty tries to hunt down race leader Katerina Nash. Catharine Pendrel, Georgia Gould, and Erin Huck follow – Photo RideBiker Alliance

An easing on the second lap of five allowed Connors and Woodruff to rejoin the leaders on the day’s main climb, only for Pendrel to put in a vicious attack, forcing Batty to respond.

Seemingly trying to force Batty to chase, the end of the second lap saw Pendrel continuing her attacks on Batty, with teammate Gould holding on, with Woodruff and Nash chasing further back. Just like on the first lap, the lead group eased up on the climb, allowing the front group to grow back up to eight.

Katerina Nash off the front on the last lap in Fontana - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Katerina Nash off the front on the last lap in Fontana – Photo RideBiker Alliance

The next two laps resulted in the further solidifying of the front group. Lap three featured a selection made by Gould on the main descent with Batty and Pendrel.  Nash clawed her way back to the front group at the end of the third lap only to take the lead of the race on the fourth time up the climb.  Another fierce attack by Pendrel was chased down by Batty and you got the sense that the team tactics were taking their toll on the Canadian winner of round one. At the end of the fourth lap, Batty, who was sitting second behind Nash, had some trouble on one of the dusty drops and went down. The crash wasn’t enough to cause any serious damage, but it enabled Nash to get a gap big enough to defend until the finish.

Gould would take the sprint for second ahead of Batty and Pendrel, with Erin Huck (Scott 3 Rox) rounding out the podium just behind in fifth.

“I was unaware of what was going on. I was up front and I got a gap so I assumed there was a problem,” said the day’s winner Nash. “I fully expected Emily to come back but once I got the gap I pinned it all the way until the end. I used my downhill skills and made gravity work for me.”

“It was a total battle out there, trying to sit second wheel,” said Batty. “There were three of them so it would’ve been pretty disappointing if they didn’t get it.”

Raphael Gagne was unable to shake New Zealander Anton Cooper in Fontana - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Raphael Gagne was unable to shake New Zealander Anton Cooper in Fontana – Photo RideBiker Alliance

Elite men

The men were scheduled to race six laps of the dusty and rocky course. The 120-strong field kicked up the fine dust on the trail as they strung out in a sprint for the base of the first climb. In a sign of his form, Cannondale’s Kiwi Anton Cooper took the hole shot for yet another strong start. Series leader Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) took over shortly afterward with Geoff Kabush (Scott 3 Rox) second wheel.

Hitting the pavement first was Gagne, followed by Kabush, Cooper, Fontana (both Cannondale Factory Racing), Wells (Specialized Factory Racing), Ettinger (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Italian Andrea Tiberi (FRM Factory).

Fontana dabbed on a tricky spot, creating a gap to third place that didn’t last long enough to cause any major drama. Kabush would be the next to allow the early pace get the best of him, as he too hit the dirt. Six riders would come together toward the end of the first lap: Gagne, Cooper, Kabush, Wells, Stephen Ettinger (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Fontana.

Tiberi, Fontana and teammate Manuel Fumic joined the lead group on the second time up the road climb, making a lead group of nine, chased by a courageous Max Plaxton (Sho-Air/Cannondale), who was battling a gruesome blister on his foot.

Cooper would be the first to put in a significant attack on the third lap. Gagne bridged back up, followed by Tiberi. On lap four, Tiberi dropped from this group as Cooper and Gagne pulled away on the rolling rocky section. The leaders showed no signs of tiring, as the fourth lap was the fastest to that point! The two leaders continued to pull away, followed by teammates Fumic and Fontana, with Tiberi, Wells and Mantecon each trying to chase back on.

Cannondale duo Marco Fontana and Manuel Fumic chased the leaders most of the day - Photo RideBiker Alliance

Cannondale duo Marco Fontana and Manuel Fumic chased the leaders most of the day – Photo RideBiker Alliance

The two leaders held their ground for the remainder of the race, with Fontana and Fumic solidifying their podium spots but content to let their young teammate fight it out for the win. Cooper’s decisive attack came midway through the last lap as he distanced himself on the final time up the asphalt climb. Cooper held and then extended his lead through the rolling and twisty singletrack to win by eleven seconds over Gagne, with Fumic and Fontana preceding Mantecon.

“What a way to finish off this first part of the season,” said Cooper at the finish. “And after last week, it’s great to come away with the win. Having Manny and Marco on the podium with me makes it even better. Now, I head home and start ramping up for the World Cup.”

“Good job to Anton. He’s a super-tough guy,” said Gagne at the finish. “I felt stronger today than last week, so I’m real happy with my race. The course was great, I really liked it.”

USA Cycling US Cup presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group series standings

After round two of the USA Cycling US Cup presented by Cannondale series, Cooper takes over the lead ahead of Gagne by virtue of the higher points on offer at the HC race, while Nash leads the womens’ series ahead of Batty.

The USA Cycling US Cup presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group series will continue with round 3, a UCI Category HC race, with a return to Bonelli Park in San Dimas , California on Saturday, April 11.