Melding cross country distance and a backcountry race format, the Shimano Boulder Mountain Fox Trot 50k was added to the Ride Sun Valley Festival for the first time this year.
The race used a point to point format, with racers getting shuttled to Galena Lodge outside of Sun Valley and racing back to town.
Things started fast with racers chasing a $500 prime about 8 miles in at the bottom of the Herriman Trail. Local racers and organizations donated $1,000, which was split evenly between the top men and top women. With cash on the line the race was quickly wittled down to just three riders.
A crash in the final corner before the prime ended any chance at a sprint – Rob Squire (Hincapie) was the only one left upright, and he took the cash prime and kept the hammer down, easily cruising to the overall win.
On the women’s side Nina Otter (Liberty Bikes) provided a challenge to Rebecca Rusch (Niner), who calls Sun Valley home. Rusch just edged out Otter for the prime.
The two rode together for much of the 10-mile climb up to the singletrack as well, but Rusch was able to gap Otter near the top, and then used her local knowledge to stretch her lead on the 12+ miles of singletrack back to town.
Results:
Open Men: