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Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage 5

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McElveen and Anthony win stage 5 at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic

McElveen and Barclay defend their leads in overall classification

Today’s stage started at R.B. Winter State Park, after a drive along a pastoral valley road complete with Amish buggies. In past editions of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic, this stage has served up arduous singletrack sections and heartbreaking climbs, but this year’s course was smoother and more forgiving, thanks to some route changes and lots of trail work.

Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist) and Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) won the elite men’s and women’s categories while McElveen and Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) successfully defended their respective leads in the overall elite classifications.

Cody Kaiser (Colt Training Systems) splashes through a wet section of trail at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic.Photos by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Cody Kaiser (Colt Training Systems) splashes through a wet section of trail at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic.Photos by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

 

Elite men

Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist) added slightly less than one minute of time to his lead over teammate Justin Lindine.

“It was a solid day,” said McElveen. “This stage always makes me nervous because it’s more raw than the others, so I first and foremost wanted to come into today and defend the lead and get a bit more time if I could.”

Experience at this race helped McElveen’s strategy. “I remembered how the race played out last year. There’s a steep singletrack bit after a steep dirt road, and I remembered that singletrack being selective last year, so I jumped in and hit it, and got a gap on Justin. I did the following enduro section as fast as I could while still being safe. The hard part was the hard drag of 10-12 minutes on dirt road. Last year, Jeremiah Bishop was the one causing pain and got about 10 seconds on me on that road, and I went deep in the pain cave to bridge back up.”

McElveen and Lindine are separated by just under four minutes in the general classification, and the two have 16 minutes on the third-place GC rider, Peter Glassford (Trek Canada). “Justin and I went one-two again, and that’s the best scenario,” said McElveen.

Glassford’s strategy today was part sprinting, part styling. “I just wanted to get my Trek Superfly to the road gap jump as fast as I could,” he said. “Since I am outnumbered in the lead group, I have been basically pulling pretty hard and trying to keep myself out of trouble until attacks start, then hoping that one or all of them drop off, and I end up in a decent spot. I was psyched to get some time on Tristan [Uhl] today and even more psyched to hit the road gap with a strong whip this year.”

Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) blasts through the trees at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) blasts through the trees at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photos by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Elite women

Once again, Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women) separated herself from her fellow female racers early and rode with the elite men. Her strategy didn’t get her the win today, however.

“I went off pretty hard with the lead men and was hanging on their train,” said Barclay. “I led the race until the first piece of singletrack after the aid station, the East Coast Rocks section, and I came out of there and looked behind me and saw [my teammate] Mical [Dyck].”

Barclay got a gap on Dyck, but Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) eventually bridged up. Barclay and Anthony rode together for a section until they started to climb.

“She attacked and I thought it was a really long climb [like last year] and I was hurting,” said Barclay. “But then we went left into singletrack! I could see her all the way until the last hike-a-bike section, she was right there, but she got back and put in a gap on me on the road.”

Barclay said she’s not worried about finishing second to Anthony on the day because she has a lot of time on the GC. “But the cyclo-cross queen we all know and love put some power down today!” said Barclay of her top rival.

Anthony showed that ‘cross techniques can translate to longer races as well. “I have now learned my lesson this week and rode my own race at the start, just tried to keep Mical in sight on that first climb but didn’t try to chase her down,” she said.

“I just rode my own pace and got Mical on the first enduro section, was riding with her for a while and was starting to feel good,” said Anthony. “Then, after the East Coast Rocks section, I started seeing Vicki, and caught her and we rode together for a while. On the road, I didn’t really mean to attack, I just stood up, realized I was getting a gap, and thought the top of the hill was coming up. I was like, ‘What am I doing?!’ But I rode as hard as I could to stay away.”

Under 25 men and women

Emily Shields (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women) had the fastest Under 25 women’s time today, good enough for sixth among the elite women. But Shields has a big chunk of time to make up if she wants to catch U25 GC leader Libby White (Colt Training Systems).

White was third on the day, behind Samantha Runnels (Colt Training Systems). “I’ve been OK, but my bike seems to not be able to be held together, but we’ve gotten through. I’m having so much fun doing this though. It’s my first mountain bike stage race ever.”

White and other young riders have been using this week as a fun training camp to get in tune for the rest of the season. “I’ve been doing a lot of long hours training, but it’s about drinking water, having fun, and not taking it too seriously. This is getting me ready for a fun summer of racing!”

While Payson McElveen continues to be counted with the elite men, some of the other Under 25 men are not far behind. Drew Dillman (Colt Training Systems) had a second-place overall time today, just four minutes off McElveen.

Announcement coming

Look for a big announcement 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 full results from stage 5

Click Here for GC results following stage 5

Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage 2

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McElveen and Barclay win stage 2 at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic

Both riders lead overall classification

The forested hills of central Pennsylvania hide steep climbs and rocky singletrack that can make for an interesting race. Stage 2 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic is widely considered the toughest of the week, covering 37.5 miles and 5,892 feet of climbing. Despite the lengthy sections of technical trail through the Cooper’s Gap area, team tactics played a role in the results today.

Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist) won the elite men’s stage 2 and defended his yellow leader’s jersey while Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) won the elite women’s stage 2 and took over the race lead from Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing).

Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist) leads through an early section of singletrack in stage 2 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photo by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist) leads through an early section of singletrack in stage 2 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photo by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Elite men

Once again, Under 25 rider Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist) was also the winning elite man for the day. He stuck with his teammates Justin Lindine and Tristan Uhl, then made his move in one of the East Coast Rocks timed sections.

“Today I just went in wanting to feel it out, play it a little more conservatively,” said McElveen. “We have a strong team with good numbers, there are three of us in the elite category.”

“I got the holeshot into the singletrack to stay out of trouble and just rode my own pace,” said McElveen. “We ended up getting away – myself, Justin Lindine, Dan Timmerman [Riverside Racing] and Tristan Uhl – so it was three of us and one from another team. Justin set a good tempo and we pulled away, then about halfway through I pulled away from him. Eventually I got away on the last East Coast Rocks section and tried to ride a tempo that was hard but not destroying myself, since we still have a lot more racing.”

Lindine is a five-year veteran of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic, but it is his first time here with teammates on hand. It helped, at least for a while.

“This is, in my opinion, one of the harder stages of the week. It’s long and it has so many dragging climbs where you’re putting out a ton of effort but you’re going six miles an hour,” said Lindine. “Payson was smashing it all day, and we got away. For a while, it was a nice symbiotic thing where I was faster on descents and he was faster on climbs, but that game stopped working for me… There was not enough down to the up today!”

Nevertheless, Lindine was positive about the day. “It’s nice to have many cards to play with the team. We put a pretty good chunk of time in today over everyone and that gives us a good cushion for the week.”

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) picks her way up a steep singletrack climb in the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photo by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) picks her way up a steep singletrack climb in the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photo by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Elite women

NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic veteran Vicki Barclay (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) showed her prowess on rocky singletrack and put in solid work on the first long day of the race.

“The course was great. I have such an advantage since I live here,” said Barclay. “The first section was a lot of road and Mical Dyck and Crystal Anthony are just powerhouses on the road from cyclo-cross. They’re amazing. I decided I was going to keep them in sight and if they got ahead on the road, so be it. Mical got into the singletrack first, then Crystal, then me, which I was totally happy with so I could catch my breath. I knew there was a hike-a-bike so there was no point in panicking.”

From there, Barclay’s local knowledge came into play. “Crystal missed a turn, and so I got in front of her there. Mical was just ahead of me with a group of guys, but then I caught up and felt like the group was going too slow. Then, she dabbed in the rock garden and I went around her and never saw her again. I tried to ride consistently and not do anything stupid. I had an incident with a tree… whenever I lose focus and start thinking about life, I hit a tree. So I had to get back to race mode.”

First-time NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic racer Mical Dyck (Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team) had good things to say about her experience, despite the day’s difficulty.

“My day was interesting,” said Dyck. “This was a lot of pedaling today, so I was in survival mode for three hours. I just wanted to stop pedaling for a few minutes! It was hard. This is my first time doing this race. I’m going to suffer, I think, but I’m so excited about checking out new trails.”

A rider makes his way across a wooden bridge in the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photo by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

A rider makes his way across a wooden bridge in the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. Photo by Trans-Sylvania Epic Media Team

Under 25 men and women

Last year, Payson McElveen had the third fastest general classification time overall for the men as an Epic Team participant and Under 25 rider. This year it looks like two young riders are following in his footsteps, with finishes good enough to place in the top five. Drew Dillman and Lewis Gaffney, both on the Colt Training Systems Red Team and racing the Epic Team format, finished in 3:12:49 and 3:13:32, respectively.

Libby White (Colt Training Systems Blue Team) is racing her first NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic, but her experience racing elite cyclo-cross has obviously helped, as she’s currently leading the Under 25 women. Ellen Noble (Competitive Cyclist) is right behind her, coming off a third-place U25 win at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic last year followed by a stellar season in mountain bike and cyclo-cross racing.

The NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic presented 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 2

Click Here for GC Results after Stage 2

McElveen and Anthony win stage 1 at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic

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Both Riders Become First Leaders in the Overall Classification

Beautiful, dry weather set the stage for a lightning-fast opening day at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic in State College, Pennsylvania on Sunday. The 15-mile individual time trial prologue course wound around the picturesque base camp and included three special timed sections, two enduro segments and a small taste of the “East Coast Rocks” singletrack to come.

At the end of the day, Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist) and Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) were in yellow, after they took the elite men’s and women’s stage 1 victories.

Elite men

Today’s elite men’s winner also happens to be the Under 25 leader Payson McElveen (Competitive Cyclist). He was quite pleased with his result, a super-fast 1:04:08.

“It was good. I didn’t actually expect to win today! Last year, this was my weakest stage,” said McElveen. “I thought I might lose a little bit of time, and I was prepared to not be worried about that, so it was a nice surprise to come out with the leader’s jersey.”

McElveen spoke a bit about strategy for the rest of the week. “I think we’ll let the races dictate what team tactics Justin [Lindine] and I will use. I’m not going to do any dirty attacks or passes on him, and I think the same goes for him. And if the opportunity presents itself, we’ll definitely work together. And our other teammate, Tristan Uhl, is sitting in fourth now, too. It’s just about settling in now.”

McElveen’s teammate Lindine was only 30 seconds back, despite suffering a flat. “It was good—I flatted going down the first enduro section, and it sealed with about seven pounds of air in the tire. It was OK on the road, but the last section with all of the twists and turns was pretty hard because it kept folding over.”

Lindine also flatted in last year’s time trial prologue but with much worse results, so he has reason to be optimistic. “It was a good day, though, I felt good—I’m excited, and relatively, that’s not a bad day here, compared to what’s happened here in the past for me. I’ve had some good races this season, and everything is pointing towards me doing well, so hopefully I can keep the bike going this week.”

Elite women

Cyclo-cross pro Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) is off to a good start at her first NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic, with a blazing time of 1:16:20.

“It was a lot of anticipation building up to today. I just wanted to get out there and burn off some nervous energy,” said Anthony. “It was hot, and it was hard, with a lot of climbing… I usually like climbing, but I was suffering. I was really happy with how it went, though.”

Anthony is looking forward to tackling the technical sections coming up in tomorrow’s stage 2. “I had fun today—I liked the rocks! I’m on a full suspension and it’s awesome for this terrain. I think I’ll be happy by the time the week is over.”

The Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team was close behind, with Mical Dyck 1:24 back in second place and local favorite Vicki Barclay just 24 seconds behind Dyck.

This short-and-fast stage 1 time trial isn’t Barclay’s favorite, but she had a good showing regardless. “It was hard, as usual! I just got really thirsty towards the end, even though it was average temperature,” she said. “I’m not really a time trial person – with 30 seconds behind and 30 seconds in front of you. And because they started us alphabetically, I had to chase the cyclo-cross queen Crystal Anthony.I could see her for half the race, but then she was gone in the road sections.”

The NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic presented 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 view full results from stage 1