Writing and Photos by: Todd Park
Kenda Cup West #3 - Sagebrush Safari, sponsored by Sho-Air/Specialized and Kenda, delivered as advertised, a little something for everyone. There were two major climbs on pavement, racers were rewarded with some fast, bermed singletrack, some rolling terrain and a few hike-a-bike sections inter-mixed. The racers would gain over 3,700 feet in elevation before crossing the finish line.
Pro Women:
The Pro Women’s field was stacked with five of the top fifteen finishers from last week’s Pro XCT race in Fontana lining up at the start line. Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth) went hard from the start, towing the rest of the field past most of the single speeders and into the tail end of the Pro Men’s field during the long flat section before the first climb. Most of the women were happy to be towed to the climb where they knew the real action would start.
Natasha Hernday (AMGEN) attacked first, but Sawicki quickly regained the lead and began to put time on the field. “I got up the hill a ways looked back; no one was behind me” she would later comment.
Through the first feed zone, it was Sawicki, then 60 seconds later Allison Mann (IE Bikes), who also made her definitive move on the first climb, then the Kenda/Tomac/Hayes Team Amanda Carey, Zephani Blasi and Kathy Sherwin followed by Natasha Hernday.
Sawicki increased her lead over Mann to 3 minutes by the time they got back to the feed zone and headed up Los Pinos Mountain. Hernday moved into fifth behind Carey and Blasi, followed shortly by Kathy Sherwin. Carey and Hernday climbed well on Los Pinos Mountain. “My legs came around on the last climb” Carey said after the race.
Coming through the feed zone for the final time, Sawicki and Mann were still first and second with 7 minutes between them and would finish the race in the same order. It was an amazing display of power and determination by Pua Sawicki and another great finish for Allison Mann in only her second Pro race.
A race for third place between Carey and Hernday, which started on the Los Pinos climb, began to heat up and would end in a sprint finish. “Natasha was good at clearing traffic [on the last downhill]; we went back and forth to the finish and I got her in the sprint” Amanda quoted after the race. Sherwin came in behind them for a strong fifth place finish.
Pro Women Podium
Pro Men:
Andy Schultz (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes) and Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air/Specialized) reached the first feed zone 10 seconds ahead of Taberlay's teammates, Manny Prado and Sam Jurekovic, and dove into the singletrack. Schultz did a majority of the work in this first section while Taberlay, knowing his teammates were close behind, was happy to sit on.
Schultz races for the single track as Taberlay looks for teammates
Still together for the second pass through the feed zone, Schultz and Taberlay increased their gap on the field to 45 seconds. Rob Squire (U-23 National Team) worked his way into fourth position between Sam Jurekovic and Manny Prado (15 seconds on either side) before the racers headed up Los Pinos Mountain.
Refueling before the climb up Los Pinos Mountain
The final time through the feed area would all but decide the outcome of this race; if there was a gap, the leader would win, if they were together, it would likely come down to a sprint. The lead moto came through followed by Taberlay, having gapped Schultz by 25 seconds. This would be the order at the finish line, followed by Jurekovic, Squire and Prado.
“I made a few small attacks at the top [of Los Pinos Mountain] but he stayed with me”, Schultz commented after the race, “he stayed on my wheel for the entire downhill section, and for about a minute on the climb back to the feed zone, then he put in a major attack and got enough of a gap to make it stick.”
Pro Men Podium
Schultz pushed hard from the start to counter the team tactics that the Sho-Air/Specialized team are starting to get a reputation for; “they [tactics] didn’t play as big a role as they have in previous races” he noted.
Official Results
Pro Men
1, Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air/Specialized) 1.42.39
2, Andy Schultz (Kenda/Tomac) 1.43.51
3, Sam Jurekovic (Sho-Air/Specialized) 1.44.34
4, Robbie Squire (U-23 National Team) 1.45.20
5, Manuel Prado (Sho-Air/Specialized) 1.45.49
6, Tad Elliot (U23 National Team)
7, Dana Weber (Trek)
8, Sean Donovan (Cytomax/KHS)
9, Charles Jenkins (Cytomax/KHS)
10, Ethan Gilmour (U23 National Team)
11, Miguel Valadez (Mex-American)
12, David Williams (Bear Valley)
13, Romolo Forcino (Bear Valley)
14, Alex Boone (Helens)
15, Ryan Clark (Cynergy)
16, Matt Freeman (Pass PT)
17, Jason Siegle (Bear Valley)
18, Paul Freiwald (Pivot Cycles)
19, Chad Harris (Racer’s Cycle Service)
20, Eric Bierman (Steven K Cycles)
21, Matthew Connors (Fisher 29er Crew)
22, Chris Heinrich
23, Hal Helbock (Cytomax/KHS)
24, John Nobil (Bear Valley
25, Robert Bender (Don’s Bikes)
26, Menso De Jong (Santa Cruz)
27, Garnet Vertican (Giant)
28, Tom Koerner (Bear Valley)
29, Steve Kinney (Steven K Bikes)
30, Chance Noble (Cal Giant Berry)
31, Noah Holcomb (Cannondale)
32, Derek Hermon (Bear Valley)
33, Jeffery Meyer (Axis Sport)
DNF Lawrence Leonard
Pro Women
1, Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth) 1.57.11
2, Allison Mann (IE Bikes) 2.05.11
3, Amanda Carey (Kenda/Tomac) 2.06.37
4, Natasha Hernday (Amgen) 2.06.38
5, Kathy Sherwin (Kenda/Tomac) 2.07.49
6, Krista Park (InCycle/Magura/No Tubes)
7, Heather Ranoa (Intense Cycles)
8, Sarah Kaufmann (Titus/Roaring Mouse)
DNF Zephanie Blasi (Kenda/Tomac)
