Amanda Carey's Intermontane Challenge Blog Stage 3 & 4

Stage 3



Stage 3 started off on the wrong foot. A local trailbuilder was upset that the race was running on a section of classic DH he had built (although it is on public land) and sabotaged the course by removing markings and felling trees onto the trail. So, the race director was forced to modify the course.The start time was changed to 9:30am though we finally ended up taking off at 10:45 am in what felt like the hottest part of the day. The start ended up being pretty hilarious. The RCMP (pace car) led us through the streets of Kamloops for about a 25 min ride, dropping 1/2 the pack in the back in the process and then all of the sudden pulled away and left us to our own devices. Well, we had no idea where we were and there was no lead moto to greet us, so we ended up taking a random left that lead us up to who-knows-where. All of the sudden those of us at the front realized we were lost and stopped in the middle of the trail. A local guy who is racing and helping to organize the race offered to lead us to where he thought the stage was going to go. So, we all played nice and rolled slowly though some singletrack until we met up with some course markings. It was the biggest group ride I have ever been on in my life. All 90 of us regrouped and after a 45 min of a neutral warmup we were off!

The day was tough. It included lots of extended climbs on a steep dirt roads in the blazing hot sun and some fun, newly cut (or perhaps never cut?) singletrack at a furious pace. Unfortunately, my legs felt like garbage for the first 1:30. I had to let the lead 3 women go up the opening 9k climb, knowing that there was nothing I could do but wait, hope and pray that my legs would come around. Finally they did...just in time for some downhill where I quickly got way too excited, knowing I was only 30 sec. down on the next gal and slid out, dropping my hip and rear derailer onto a big ol' boulder. I got right back on my merry way until I hit the next climb where I discovered I had my bent derailer by throwing my chain between my cassette and my spokes. After many failed attempts to get it dislodged on my own my new friend and trail angel John was kind enough to stop and help me yank it out. I would have never have had the guts to yard on a XTR derailleur like that, so it's a good thing he did. Somehow, he managed to leave me with most of my gears. His stopping to help was just one of the many selfless acts I witnessed all week.

Long story short, the race went on, I started feeling like myself again and I made it all the way to the last aid station where I was told that the lead 3 women had not yet come through. I was so confused. I was determined to catch back onto the lead pack now that I was feeling better, so I buried myself for the next 8 miles or so of rolling dirt road knowing that I had some time to make up after my little detour on Monday. Then, I got to the last course marshall 5k from the end where I ran into the 3 lead women who had been told long ago that the race had been neutralized and they just cruised on in. I still don't know how they got there first, as I went through the aid station first and never passed them. But only a few racers had been told that it had been neutralized. At that point, if I hadn't started laughing, well, I would have been crying, so Sue and I decided to ride the rest of the way home via some singletrack and try to get back into the Fun Zone, an area we had all left long ago...

The race director had led the lead pack of pro men in the wrong direction on his moto for 2k and had to bring them back up to the course. He made the decision that the entire stage would be neutralized because it was his fault that some people got lost and it wouldn't be fair. Those having great rides and making up time were left knowing that in the end their day wouldn't count. However, the worst, worst, worst part of the day was that Jerimiah Bishop crashed really hard at the very end, cracking his helmet and I think compressing a vertabrae in a stage that was already neutralized, all for naught. He's going to be okay, but I really really wish someone on course had had the ability to notify him that the race was done and perhaps his crash could have been avoided. But none of the course marshals or staff on the course had radios all week, so I guess they couldn't have known.

Stage 4

Stage 4 was the hardest day yet. Even though we got to start a 7am it was one of the hottest days yet with the temps hitting 100 deg and heat rash spreading through the pelaton like wildfire. It consisted of 2 huge climbs and included far more singletrack than any other stage. And it was not just any singletrack. It was rooty, rocky and technical and had me regretting not choosing the full-squish ride for the day. It was the most physically challenging of all of the days, as the singletrack was so technical it made for really slow going. Personally, it was my hardest day. The tailbone injury I inflicted upon myself in the XC race at Nationals last week (either broken or bruised-but who really wants to know if it's really broken, right?) really started giving me trouble. For the first 3 days I was doing okay with it-not great-but the pain was tolerable. But all of the sudden, 45 min in my entire back, glutes and hamstrings seized and made it excruciatingly painful to push the pedals. At 1:30 I told myself to just ride, simmer down and finish. Thankfully, the strategy worked. The more I eased off the better I felt and I was actually able to start pedaling hard again 5 hrs in. I enjoyed the singletrack even though it was some of the roughest stuff I have ever raced and came through the last aid station only to hear that I was now ahead of Sarah Kauffman (who had dropped me long ago) because she got off course.

I left the aid station so incredibly heartbroken. Sarah is my friend and a great person and she was having an incredible ride. And, because it has been so easy to get lost here all week (as I did on Monday loosing 35 min. in the process), I knew exactly how she must have felt. The next 10+ miles to the finish for me were some of the worst miles I have ever pedaled on a bicycle. What to do? Pin it and get the lead back that I had lost to her on Monday when I was 25 min. ahead of her when I got lost? Or soft pedal and relax? What was the right thing? I wavered back and forth the entire way. My entire body hurt, my brain was melting inside my helmet, and all I wanted to do was get off my bike, sit on the side of the road and just cry. Instead, I tried to shut of my head and just turn the pedals as steady as I could. I ended up finishing just about 12 min up on her and 5 min ahead in the GC.

But the worst part of the day was that Ben Sontag crashed HARD while in the lead and hit his head. I passed him as he was on a backboard in a neck collar receiving oxygen. Thankfully, he is going to be okay in the long run but it was scary for everyone to see. He was riding with Chris Sheppard at the time and Shep stopped on the side of the trail with him for 30 min. while Tinker went to get help, essentially giving up both their races. Both Tinker and Shep both get my vote for representing the real spirit of mountain biking. We are all in this together and have to help each other out in any way that we can and that's what they did. But, Tinker got lost at the end of the stage and hitchhiked home, putting Shep in the lead anyway, as the 3rd place guy also got lost. Instead of racing the TT on Friday, Tinker loaded up his fishing pole on his bike, found a lake and went fishing.

Type rest of the post here

Intermontane Challenge Update

After the opening stage of the inaugural Intermontane Challenge in Kamloops, British Columbia, it looked as though the Monavie-Cannondale.com team was all but unstoppable. In the men's race they occupied the top-3 positions on GC and Sue Butler was in first in the women's race by over 20 minutes. That was then... Monavie team captain and race leader Jeremiah Bishop crashed out on stage 3, fracturing two vertebrae. Which left Tinker Juarez and 3-time collegiate national champion Ben Sonntag to represent the team.


Sonntag went down hard on stage 4 knocking himself unconcious leaving him battered on the side of the trail. Current race leader Chris Sheppard stayed with the bruised and beaten Sonntag for roughly 30 minutes while Tinker Juarez went ahead for help. Once help arrived Sonntag was taken to the hospital via ambulance where he was treated and released.

This left mountain bike legend and endurance specialist Tinker Juarez as the lone surviving member of the Monavie trio. Unfortunately, Juarez became lost on course in the latter half of the 100 kilometer stage 4 and was unable to finish. Thankfully, for the Monavie team Sue Butler remains at the front of the women's race, poised to take the GC after todays final time-trial. Sheppard retained the leaders jersey after stage-4 despite his act of selfless compassion for his fellow racer.

Photos courtesy of Monavie-cannondale.com

Stayed tuned to MTBracenews.com for more from the Intermontane Challenge including Amanda Carey's blog. We will post results when they become available.

Wilderness 101 Race Preview

This Saturday brings the Wilderness 101 in Coburn, Pennsylvania. The 101 is round 5 of the National Ultra Endruance (NUE) series.

Jeff Schalk winning this year's Lumberjack 100

The race features a 101-mile loop of off-road riding showcasing the rustic beauty of central Pennsylvania. With rolling hills and plenty of wooded singletrack the Wilderness 101 is always a challenge. With thunderstorms in the area today and clear skies forecast for Saturday conditions for the 101 may be tacky, nothing new for the East Coast racing crew. Last years winners were Jeff Schalk and Cheryl Sorrensen.

Contenders rumored to be attending the 2009 Wilderness 101 include Jeff Schalk (Trek), Chris Eatough (Trek), Chris Beck (Gary Fisher), Mike Simonson (Gary Fisher), Christian Tanguy (Fraser Bicycles), and Jesse Jackomeit (Cannondale). There's a heated battle in the NUE points series which count your 4 best race results in the National Series of 100-mile MTB races. With 4 of the 8 races completed so far, Schalk and Simonson are sitting 1 and 2 in the points. That could change as the others better previous results on their way to completing the required 4 races for a complete tally in the points.

Stay tuned to MTBracenews.com for the latest results and report from this weekend's Wilderness 101 and the Laramie Enduro in Laramie, Wyoming.

Breaking News: Jeremiah Bishop crashes out of Intermontane Challenge

Monavie-Cannondale.com rider Jeremiah Bishop crashed during yesterday's stage 3 of the Intermontane Challenge in Kamloops, British Columbia. Initial reports indicate that Bishop finished the stage but had to be taken to hospital shortly after where he was diagnosed with compression fractures of his T4 and T5 vertebrae as reported on the Monavie team web site. The injury to his spinal column did not affect his neurologic function.



Bishop is undeniably the best mountain bike stage racer in the United States. The Monavie rider won the American Mountain Classic, Breck-Epic, and at the time of his crash he was in the leader's jersey of the 5-day Intermontane stage race. Bishop is also scheduled to represent the United States at the Marathon World Championships in Stategg, Austria, August 23rd. It is unclear if Bishop will be back on his bike by that time.

Stage 3 of the Intermontane Challenge was neutralized after the finish due to confusion concerning the racecourse after a local trail builder sabotaged the initial racecourse and race official attempted to re-route the course.

We wish Jeremiah Bishop a speedy recovery and send our best wishes to him and his family.

The Robbie Report is a weekly feature on MTBracenews.com. Robbie Squire is the 2008 Junior National Champion and the newest member of the US National Team. Just two years ago Squire was racing as a Sport. In '08, his first year and only year as a Junior Expert, Robbie won the Junior National Championship. In '09 his first year in the senior ranks, the Utah resident will be racing with the U.S. National Under-23 Team. Each week Robbie will share his experiences with us. Join in as the 19 year-old Junior National Champion and first year Pro travels across the United States and Europe racing his bike and living out a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This last weekend was the Mount St. Anne World Cup in Canada. It was the first of two World Cups in Canada and the site for the 2010 world championships. The course was by far the most technical course I’ve ridden all year. It was a dramatic change from the previous weekends national championships course and a good experience in the mud. The area was fairly damp when I arrived but seemed to be drying out as it got closer and closer to the race. I was worried if switching to mud tires was a bad decision until the day before the race. It poured rain right up to and through the entire race.

The course contained many roots and odd angled rocks that were fairly difficult to ride when dry and once the rain everything was slippery. The most exciting part of the course was a very steep and narrow rock garden that was a do or die section. If you fell on this part you were most likely going to be taken out by the medical staff. Leading up to the race it dumped rain, which made everything nice and slippery for the men’s race. Even with the rain this was by far my favorite course of the year and I hope that the next few races I do are analogous. The field was 107 deep and yours truly was bringing up the rear. It’s funny that if I had finished dead last in this race I would have still had a better finish (number wise) than in the European world cups.
The start was faster than I had expected but I was soon able to move up and gaining a better position. Despite the wide-open route used for the start of the race things backed up as the race went into the singletrack. Not only did the singletrack require that racers slow down and be a bit cautious; it was also too small for everyone who was trying to get to the front. The race bottlenecked and I ended up standing around and walking quite a bit on the first lap.

I felt really good on the climbs during the race and wasn’t losing any positions but once I hit the technical muddy singletrack sections I might as well have been walking because I spent so much time fumbling on little sections. I was able to ride the sections twice but for the majority of the race I didn’t represent a professional mountain biker (not in my mind at least).

I ended up finishing 55th, which I’m pretty happy with and I know that I can do much better. The race was a tough reminder of how to race in the rain but I think I held my own on the descents and the really slippery stuff, as I’ve been told it just takes time.

After the race I traveled with the US National team down to Bromont, Canada, for the next world cup. The race is on Sunday so I have all week to check out the riding here. So far I’ve found a mountain bike park that is run by the Bromont ski resort and has numerous downhill trails that are a lot of fun.

Although I’m only 50 miles from the U.S. this place feels more like France than America. Everyone here speaks French and the culture is French. Due to the proximity to the U.S. there are a lot more familiar things in the grocery stores and along the sides of the roads here but the area has a distinct European feel. From the rooms and bathrooms to the European racing teams that are staying at the same hotel there are many similarities. The geographic layout is also very reminiscent of Europe; there are hills but no mountains and mostly small winding roads through the forest.

This is the second race in the 4 weekends of racing that are going on and my fourth world cup of the year. I’m heading out to ride the course tomorrow so I’ll get a good feeling for whether it is a course that’ll suit me or if it will be a little more interesting.

Breaking News: Original Stage 3 at Intermontane Challenge Undone by Sabotage

Breaking News From Kamloops/ Intermontane Challenge

Today's third stage of the Intermontane Challenge named the "Great Lakes Loop" was to include the highpoint of the 5-day stage race as well as the longest and most challenging descent of the event. Unfortunately, due to some overnight sabotage of the proposed course the race directors were forced to scrap Stage 3 and use an alternative route.

Read below as our Intermontane Challenge blogger Amanda Carey relays the early morning happenings:

Some local trail builder spent the evening throwing logs down onto the major downhill section of the course and removing trail markings. He was apparently upset that the race was running on a trail he built....the dynamics up here are really strange with both the presence and lack of approved trails, private land, etc. So, the stage has been moved to a 9:30 start, has been shortened to about 50K and is running backwards on the original loop. Chuck (Race Director) is heading out on his moto right now to remark the course...I think we are all in for an interesting day of route finding!

MTBracenews.com will have results from today's stage of the Intermontane Challenge as soon as they are available and Amanda's daily blog.

Amanda Carey's Intermontane Challenge Blog Stage 1 & 2

U.S. Professional rider Amanda Carey (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes) is battling her way through the heat at the inaugural Intermontane Challenge in British Columbia. After finishing second on day two Amanda shares here experiences with us.



The big story here at the Intermontane Challenge in Kamloops, BC is
the HEAT! Riding around pretty much feels like you have a hairdryer
blowing in your face. Apparently, this kind of heat is typical for
Kamloops at this time of year and I think the locals must assume we are
totally nuts for going out there and riding our bikes for hours and
hours in it-on purpose! The Intermontane Challenge so far has been an
interesting experience as it is certainly showing signs of being a
first year event. However, a stage race is still a stage race and the
built-in camaraderie and positive vibe that comes from sharing your
daily experience with fellow racers is as strong as strong can be.

Stage 1 was a tough day for all. Temperatures hit triple digits by mid-
afternoon and many racers ended up being out there much longer than
expected. The 51 mile course included a lot of tough sun-exposed
doubletrack climbing and some fun, fast swoopy singletrack downhills.
Unfortunately, the course wasn't well marked and tales of lost racers
came pouring in throughout the day. I happened to be one of the lost
ones and lost 35 min. on the GC after riding either with or very
closely behind Sue Butler all day. After hearing other people's
tales....gosh, I feel like I lucked out with only a 6 mile detour!

After a 20 min paved rollout like we had on day 1, Stage 2 sent us
straight up some heinous granny gear grunts that eventually led us to
a long section of dirt road and then fast double track descending
to spin out the legs. The entire 40 mile day was incredibly diverse-
you had to have a big bag of tricks to ride well today-power on the
flats, the ability to spin the granny on loose shale, the balance to
ride off camber single-track and the guts to let your wheels roll down
steep, loose rutted singletrack. After listening to the racer's
feedback about Stage 1, the race director pretty much quadrupled the
course markings today which was very helpful to us all. I managed to
have a good ride despite 2 crashes and a flat tire and was roughly 30
seconds behind Sue at the finish.

Stage 3 is looking a bit intimidating. It is basically a 24 mile
climb to a 3,500 foot downhill with a 600 foot climb at the end for
good measure. It is taking us on a tour of a part of town we haven't
seen yet, so we are prepared for anything. Luckily, my super-hubby
Nate looked at the course profile and immediately installed new brake
pads for me. I've chosen to ride my carbon hardtail, the Tomac-Type X
with a set of 2.0 Kenda Karmas in the first 2 stages and have been
really happy with that choice as the courses have been filled with
steep climbs and moon dust. I've also chosen to go with carrying 2
water bottles on my bike and one in my pocket instead of a hydrapak,
just to maximize the amount of heat that can escape from my back and
so I can shove copious amounts of ice down my sports bra at each
feed zone. It's a darn good system. I don't think I have
collectively ingested as many electrolytes in my life as I have in the
last 2 days. So far, I've avoided cramping and haven't once stopped
sweating, good signs that I'm hydrated enough.

Stay tuned for a report on day 3....as long as my brain doesn't melt
inside my helmet, I should be able to check in. Thanks for reading!

Amanda Carey
Kenda-Tomac-Hayes

Intermontane Challenge: Stages 1 & 2 results

Stage 1:
Solo Men:
1. Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-cannondale.com) 3:44:35
2. Tinker Juarez (Monavie-cannondale.com) 3:44:53
3. Ben Sonntag (Monavie-cannondale.com) 3:50:19
4. Chris Sheppard

Solo Women:
1. Sue Butler (Monavie-cannondale.com) 4:19:07
2. Sarah Kaufmann (Roaring Mouse Cycles) 4:45:22
3. Kate Aardal 4:58:53

Stage 2:
Solo Men:
1. jeremiah Bishop & Chris Sheppard 3:07:15
2. Ben Sonntag 3:10:57
3. Tinker Juarez 3:13:01

Solo Women:
1. Sue Butler 3:41:17
2. Amanda Carey (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes) 3:41:49
3. Jennifer O'Connor 3:48:32

The Robbie Report is a weekly feature on MTBracenews.com. Robbie Squire is the 2008 Junior National Champion and the newest member of the US National Team. Just two years ago Squire was racing as a Sport. In '08, his first year and only year as a Junior Expert, Robbie won the Junior National Championship. In '09 his first year in the senior ranks, the Utah resident will be racing with the U.S. National Under-23 Team. Each week Robbie will share his experiences with us. Join in as the 19 year-old Junior National Champion and first year Pro travels across the United States and Europe racing his bike and living out a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This weekend’s race was National Championships, one of the biggest races of the year. Despite being only two days of racing, the preparation for this race is different and much more intensive than other races. It definitely isn’t the “biggest race” that I’ve competed in this season but it was very important because of the prestige of the national championships.



The preparation for this race was way different from the previous year. Last year, I was able to train how I wanted and ride as hard as I wanted in order to get fit for the race. However, my health had different plans this year. The illness I developed in Europe has been a lot harder to get over than I had anticipated and caused a lot of frustration in the weeks leading up to the race. Typically I’d be training as hard as I could but due to health issues the most beneficial thing for me to do was rest. Taking time off is harder to do than hard training. It is difficult for me to understand how sitting on a couch and just resting would help me in one of the biggest races of the year. That was really hard to deal with but I think that the rest was the right thing to do and probably helped more than I like to believe, especially in comparison to trying to train hard.

The race was in Granby, Colorado, which is considerably high altitude and thus made getting ready for the race even more tricky. I decided instead of trying to sleep at high altitude to get ready for the race I would go out there a few days early and get the feel of the course and familiarize myself with the area.

The XC race wasn’t on the best trail I’ve ever ridden but it was way better than the stories I heard about it. It started straight up a climb of about 15% and continued to climb for another 15-20 minutes. The descent is the part that was a little lack-luster. After last years nationals at Mt. Snow and racing on many of the best course in the world I was hoping for a technical fast descent. This descent was relatively slow and un-technical. Granted it wasn’t as bad as I had heard but in comparison to other courses it wasn’t as easy to make or lose time on.

The race was the first time this year that I would be racing just U-23’s and wouldn’t be mixed in with the pros. It makes the race quite different. There isn’t as much battling for position and the race comes down purely to riding ability rather passing people.



When the gun went off about forty U-23s went as hard as they could for the climb, I got to the top of the first climb in 4th and then moved up to second place during the rest of the climb where I remained for the rest of the race. Colin Cares was in front in the beginning and managed to keep a 8-15 second lead on me the entire race. I would catch up to him in certain parts on the climb and he would make up time in other places. I would see him up most of the climb and descent but just wasn’t able to catch him. I ended up finishing 15 seconds behind him. As it turned out Colin and I were setting a pretty good pace and we finished right around 5 minutes ahead of 3rd place.

Now its time to focus on the upcoming World Cup races in Mount St. Anne and Bromont. These two races mark the beginning of a trip that includes the Vermont and Windham national races. The next few weeks should be very interesting.

Correction

We reported on Saturday that Tracy Anderson had set a course record at the Galena Grinder when he laid down a blazing fast time of 3.47.16. While Anderson's time was unquestionably fast it was not a record. Stuart Houltham set the official Galena Grinder record in 2006 wiwith a time of 3.36.35. Evan Plews finished second that year with a time of 3.40.13 which puts Anderson third in the record books.

World Cup Cross Country #5: Mont St. Anne- Pro Men and Women

Absalon takes the win with Kabush in 3rd as Wells drops from 6th to 15th in the final lap/ Pendrel wins on home turf with Koerber in the top-5

1, Julien Absalon (FRA) 2.06.05
2, Jose Hermida Ramos (SPA) 2.06.37
3, Geoff Kabush (CAN) 2.08.53
4, Ralph Nef (SWI) 2.10.55
5, Burry Stander (RSA) 2.11.47
6, Florian Vogel (SWI)
7, Lukas Fluckinger (SWI)
8, Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (SPA)
9, Martin Gujan (SWI)
10, Stephanie Tempier (FRA)
11, Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (SPA)
12, Adam Craig (USA)
13, Nino Schurter (SWI)
14, Cedric Ravanel (FRA)
15, Todd Wells (USA)

Other North Americans

24, Sam Schultz (USA)
25, Seamus McGrath (CAN)
26, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA)
30, Derek Zandstra (CAN)
33, Raphael Gagne (CAN)
43, Michael Broderick (USA)
46, Stefan Widmer (CAN)
52, Kris Sneddon (CAN)
53, Carl Decker (USA)
55, Robbie Squire (USA)
56, Matthew Hadley (CAN)
58, Barry Wicks (USA)
60, Colin Cares (USA)
63, Adam Snyder (USA)
76, Adam Freye (USA)
81, Travis Livermon (USA)
85, Ethan Gilmour (USA)
87, Stephen Ettinger (USA)
91, Aaron Snyder
DNF Troy Wells

Pro Women

1, Catharine Pendrel (CAN) 1.37.42
2, Irina Kalentieva (RUS) +1.31
3, Katerina Nash (CZE) +1.49
4, Lene Byberg (NOR) + 2.09
5, Willow Koerber (USA) +2.26
6, Elisabeth Osl (AUT)
7, Georgia Gould (USA)
8, Maja Wloszczowska (POL)
9, Aleksandra Dawidowicz (POL)
10, Marie-Helene Premont (CAN)
11, Cecile Rode Ravanel (FRA)
12, Anna Szafraniec (POL)
13, Lea Davison (USA)
14, Laura Metzler (FRA)
15, Emily Batty (CAN)

Other Top North Americans

18, Mary McConneloug (USA)
21, Heather Irmiger (USA)
23, Mical Dyck (CAN)
31, Kelli Emmett (USA)
32, Amanda Sin (CAN)
36, Sandra Walter (CAN)
38, Chloe Forsman (USA)
39, Marie-Claude Suprenant (CAN)
41, Caroline Villeneuve (CAN)

Galena Grinder/ Whit Henry Memorial Marathon: Galena Lodge, Idaho

Galena Grinder/ Whit Henry Memorial



Located 20-miles north of Sun Valley, Idaho the rustic Galena Lodge plays host each year to the Galena Grinder. The Grinder offers up 22-miles of grueling mountain bike terrain per lap. Cross country riders do one lap while the marathon riders tackle 2 full laps of the course.

Veteran racer John Gould describes the course like this; “It’s one of those events where it seems like you’re climbing a lot more than you’re going downhill.”

The Grinder has every type of climb you can imagine, short steep leg zappers, long tempo climbs, hike-a-bikes, you name it the Grinder climbs it. Connecting those climbs is a series of fast, challenging singletrack descents Not the child-proof singletrack you see at many endurance events but tight, loose, rock-strewn bomber downhills where one wrong move can have you peeling yourself off a tree or rock. As long-time Race Director Mark Driver put at the prerace meeting “ This is a mountain bike race. There are rocks, logs, creek crossings, and other stuff you should expect at a mountain bike race. Deal with it.”

The marathon started at 9 AM as the sun crested over the mountains. The field of 62 racers prepared for 4-plus hours of riding. From the start Idaho local Tracy Anderson hammered off the line as the other riders preferred a more subdued start assuming Anderson would surely pay for his cross country like antics.

Anderson was followed by Richard Feldman (Durance), who rode a mountain bike outfitted with drop bars ala John Tomac circa 1991, all that was missing was the Tioga rear disc wheel. Feldman crushed the group on the doubletrack climbs. Next came Park City rider Nate Miller who seemed to float effortlessly up the climbs and used his descending skills to quickly overtake Feldman.

Tracy Anderson rolls to the finish after a record day

After one lap it became clear Tracy Anderson was not slowing down and while Miller kept him in sight he could never quite close the gap. The two matched each other for over 40 miles well in front of the chasers. Anderson stayed on the gas for the full 44 miles breaking the course record with a time of 3.47.25. Miller came home in second just over 3 minutes behind the leader.

At the end of the first lap Feldman’s struggles on the descents dropped him back to 8th place just behind MTBracenews.com rider Shannon Boffeli. The two traded spots through the start/finish but once the climbing started Feldman was back on the attack. Almost immediately he moved through the field working his way up to 3rd by the top of the aptly named Horse Fly Hill, the highpoint of the course.

This time he relinquished little time on the descent pushing the pace to stay in front of 4th place rider Matt Luhn who had ridden strong in the top-5 all day. By the finish Feldman crossed the line 51 seconds clear of Luhn with Boffeli crossing the line in 5th.
In the women’s race Jenny Tobin opened up a commanding lead on the first of two laps and never looked back. When the riders came through the start/finish after lap one she held a ten minute lead over second place India Wysong. These two paced themselves well maintaining virtually the same gap throughout the second lap with Tobin crossing the line in first with a time of 4.47.02 and Wysong taking second at 4.58.03.

Jenny Tobin leaves for lap two

Park City racer Lara Kendall finished third ahead of Cameron Randolph and Janelle Connors.

Race Notes

Riders enjoying the post race meal at Galena Lodge

After the finish, all riders were treated to a meal including homemade chili, pasta, cornbread, blueberry colber, chocolate chip cookies, and a staple of Idaho mountain bike racing free beer.

Results

Overall Men

1, Tracy Anderson 3.47.25
2, Nate Miller 3.50.40
3, Richard Feldman 4.00.03
4, Matt Luhn 4.00.54
5, Shannon Boffeli 4.02.09
6, Brian Taylor
7, Chris Peters
8, Todd Smith
9, Andrew Genco
10, Reed Melton
11, James Brighten
12, Jon Gould
13, Thom Morton
14, Paul Schiffman
15, Sean Donovan

Overall Women

1, Jenny Tobin 4.47.02
2, India Wysong 4.58.03
3, Lara Kendall 5.08.39
4, Cameron Randolph
5, Janelle Conners

In an ongoing effort to bring you all the XC and Endurance races in the United States we are constantly adding new races to our nationwide race calendar as well as updating it with new information.

This week we have added Pierre's Hole in Grand Targhee, Wyoming. What's in Pierre's Hole you ask? Well 17,000 vertical feet of climbing over 100 miles with 65% singletrack. There is also a 50-mile and team category available. Check out Pierre's Hole and over 450 other mountain bike races on the http://www2.mtbracenews.com/calendar/. You're guaranteed to find a race you're interested in.

Just click the "Race Calendar" link at the top of this page and with a few clicks of the mouse find the race you have been looking for.

If you would like to add an event to the calendar please send your information to info@mtbracenews.com and we will include it.

Face Off: LaLonde vs. Matter- Part II

In part II of our feature 2008 national cyclocross team member Brian Matter responds with his opinions of how his full-suspension Trek Top Fuel helps him get to the finish line first.

Gear Grinder rider Brian Matter (photo by J. Wolf)

I was asked by MTBracenews.com for my opinion on why I choose to ride a dual suspension 26" bike in the midwest when the main competition is riding rigid 29" singlespeeds. For me it's a simple answer.....the dual suspension 26" bike gives me the best chance to win.

Over the course of a long race the full suspension saves my body from the pounding of mountain biking. Over the course of a long season the same threory applies. I must admit, I did test out a 29er for a few races last season. What they say is true....a bigger wheel has more momentum, but it is not worth it racing in the midwest. With punchy climbs and tight singletrack the accelerations are a key to succesful racing in the midwest. With full suspension I can carry plenty of momentum on the descents to make it up the climbs. If the climbs are sustained a dual lock-out does the trick to make my full suspension nearly as rigid as the 29er. Since I am riding a 2009 Trek Fuel 9.9 SSL, which weighs in at 21lbs and is super stiff, the weight of a full suspension bike is not an issue either.

Brian Matter (right) out kicks Jesse LaLonde to the finish line (photo by J. Wolf)

I love riding my full suspension bike behind a rigid 29er singlespeed and watching the competition bounce all over the trail, spin out on the flats, and be overgeared on the climbs. The biggest advantage though has to be on a flat bumpy section of trail. My bike follows the contour of the ground so well. With my tires always in contact with the ground my pedal stroke is never compromised and my energy is never wasted. I can pick a line and have full confidence my bike will go there. Every bit of effort is propelling my bike forward. When it comes time for the final attack this feature is key. Being able to recover while smoothly descending after that attack is also key and is much easier to acheive on a full suspension. After that all you have to do is make it to the finish line! Thanks for reading.....

Face Off: LaLonde vs. Matter

For years the Wisconsin Off-Road Series (WORS) has been the largest cross country mountain bike race series in the United States. Bigger than the NMBS, US Cup, SoCal series, you name it the WORS crushes it in number of participants. Each weekend the Wisconsin state series hosts 600-700 of the Midwest's fastest riders and two of the best are Mark LaLonde and Brian Matter. These two routinely finish within seconds of each other. LaLonde took the opening leg of the series and finished runnerup in two others, while Matter has won three events in the series.

LaLonde leads Matter in the Wisconsin woods (photo by Brittany Nigh)

While these racers are so alike in speed and skill their rides couldn't be any more different. LaLonde's weapon of choice is what he likes to call the "GT Freak Bike", a GT Zaskar hardtail frame with a rigid fork, 29er front wheel, 26 inch rear wheel, and all of it is powered by a singlespeed drivetrain. Matter on the other hand chooses a Trek Top Fuel full-suspension rig with a full compliment of 27 gears.

How can two bikes be so different in appearance and function yet carry their respective rider to victory in the largest mountain bike races in America. MTBracenews.com wanted to find out. We interviewed each rider to find how their bike gives them an advantage over the competition. In this two-part article we first presented that question to Planet Bike rider Mark LaLonde, which will be followed by Gear Grinders rider Brian Matter's rebuttal tomorrow.

Here are Mark's thoughts in his own words:

LaLonde rallies his one-speeder (photo by Mark Schindel)

I think it's important to know some of my background in athletics in order to understand my views on racing and racing gear. From grade school up to my fifth year of college (2005) I was a distance runner. I was competitive at the NCAA Division 3 level earning 7 all-american plaques. My original intentions with cycling were for fun and as great cross-training through bouts of injury. In 2001, I bought my first singlespeed mtb. I quickly upgraded to a lighter aluminum ss model. The summer of 2002 I had my first foray into racing, with mediocre results at the sport level. The next summer, I continued with racing and won all of the sport races in the WORS aboard a 26" ss for half the season, then upgrading to a 29er ss for the 2nd half of the season. Most of my cycling training at this point consisted of biking maybe twice a week, and running 80+ miles per week. I went on about 2 years of rarely racing my bike and focusing on running. I graduated college in 2005 and promptly quit running to start bike racing. Year one of strictly bike racing was tough for me. I finished in the top 10 in 1 WORS elite race. I stepped up the riding and kept progressing year after year to the point I’m at now.

Most courses in Wisconsin are composed of a good portion of tight singletrack and short power climbs. There is some amount of rock garden riding, but definitely nothing near that of courses east or west. I don’t view a singlespeed as a disadvantage in the tight singletrack and power climbs. I’d say I’m definitely a product of my environment. Singlespeed is all I know. The tough sections are the wide open ones. You’ve got someone like Brian Matter who can throw down a mean attack, and I’m spinning my gear for all I’m worth just to hang on.

Riding a fully rigid bike is another matter. I’ve raced with a suspension fork once in my life, the 2008 SSWC in Napa, CA (Skyline). I can see how someone living around trails like that would think a rigid fork is foolish, but come to WI and you’ll see. Through a summer of Wisconsin racing, I wish I had a suspension fork about 5% of the time. Again, it’s what I’m used to and it saves quite a bit of weight with a 700 gram fork.

The GT freak bike

As I’ve said, it’s been 29er for me since 2002. With the lack of suspension it really helps smooth things out. I’ve never claimed to be the most technical rider, but I may have a screw loose somewhere. I tend to charge technical sections and just run things over. Most of the time it works out fine. This year I made the switch to GT Bicycles aboard a carbon Zaskar 96er. Still rigid. The big wheel up front is still helping smooth my ride a bit and the 26” wheel in the back is proving to offer greater acceleration and climbing prowess.

Riding a rigid singlespeed forces you to focus on your next move. Keeping momentum up momentum and minimizing “stop and go” is always the goal. I have been experimenting with a geared bike a bit this year. Try number one I’d label as a failure. It would seem so simple to many, but I’m having to learn when to shift. Once I get that down it will be a true test as to which bike I’m faster on.

Check back tomorrow for the reaction from Gear Grinder rider Brian Matter.

Photos and Full Results: Breckenridge 100-National Ultra-Endurance Series (NUE)

Riders push on the Wheeler trail early in the Breck-100 (photo by Chris Miller)

Open Men Overall Results

1, Josh Tostado (Bach Builders) 8.33.50
2, Jeff Schalk (Trek Racing Co-Op) 8.44.15
3, Yuki Saito (Topeak/Ergon) 9.13.11
4, Kimo Seymour (Landis/Powerbar) 9.25.44
5, Cale Redpath (3D Racing) 9.44.26
6, Michael Simonson (Gary Fisher 29er Crew) 9.49.05
7, Ted MacBlane (Hub of Aspen) 9.55.13
8, Garth Proesser (Cannondale) 9.56.46
9, Mike Cubison (Waltworks/Fuentes Designs) 9.56.53
10, Doug Johnson (Bandwagon Racing) 10.02.52
11, Steve Reiter 10.03.51
12, Matt Woodruff (Brokenspoke Cycling)
13, Andrew Carney (Big Wheel Racing)
14, Rob Lockey (Optimize Endurance)
15, Jeffrey Rank
16, Daniel Nelson (Racer's Cycle Service)
17, Ryan Hamilton (CoMotion/Yeti)
18, Stewart Gross (Go Big Sports)
19, Mark Gouge (Velonews/Titus)
20, Patrick Coady

Open Women Overall Results

1, Eszter Horanyi 10.07.19
2, Sonya Looney (Topeak/Ergon) 11.14.05
3, Erika Tieszen (Bach Builders) 12.31.44
4, Bethany Elson (Jan's) 12.33.58
5, Danielle Musto (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes) 13.19.58

Singlespeed

1, Mark Thompson (Wilderness Sports) 9.51.56
2, Gerald Pflug (Speedgoat) 11.06.49
3, Joseph Gratoofsky (Twin Six) 11.11.21
4, Mark Elsasser (Independent Fabrications) 11.44.44
5, Danny Gnojek 11.59.12

Click Here to view full results including 68 and 32 mile results

Josh Tostado follows Jeff Schalk in the early morning hours of the Breck-100 (photo by Chris Miller)

Yuki Saito near the summit of the Wheeler Trail (photo by Chris Miller)

Ezster Horanyi crests the Wheeler Trail (Photo by Chris Miller)

Open Men's podium (photo courtesy of Yuki Saito)

Open Women's podium (Photo courtesy of Yuki Saito)

Chris Allaire Memorial- Utah State Championships- Solitude, Utah

Welsh and Holley take State Championships


Writing and Photos by: Shannon Boffeli

Even at 9,000 feet the temperatures were hot prior to the start of the Utah State XC Championship race. Each year the Solitude racecourse provides a unique and challenging setting for those wishing to take the title of State Champ. With roughly 1,600 vertical feet of climbing per lap and more than 80% singletrack Solitude is an ideal mountain bike course. This year's race featured a new opening climb which eliminated the need to start on the road but punished the riders with a steeper and more prolonged dirt portion of climbing. The Pro men would complete 4 laps on the course while the women did 3.

Dave Welsh opens an early lead

The men's event featured most of the names who have been battling it out all season including Chris Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher), teammates Dave Welsh and new dad Kevin Day (Kuhl/Scott), Reed Wycoff (Contender), and Chad Harris (Racer's Cycle Service).

Off the start Welsh threw down his usual early acceleration gapping the field right from the start. Greggy Gibson (Racer's Cycle Service) was the only rider to match Welsh's early pace. Gibson is a Utah native and has been putting in fast times at the weekly Solitude race series each Wednesday. Gibson spends most of the year racing in Kentucky and Tennessee for Union College where he attends school.

Welsh kept pouring it on throughout the opening lap cresting the first 1,600 foot climb out front. But Gibson, who splits his time between XC and downhill racing, closed it down on the descent riding through the start/finish on Welsh's wheel. The second lap followed the same script, Welsh opened it up on the climb and Gibson closed on the descent. This time he did it early enough to pass the leader and put time on him over the rest of the tight, twisting Solitude singletrack.

Greggy Gibson tries to keep cool on the descent

At the halfway point Gibson held the lead by 20 seconds over Welsh. The two leaders had several minutes on third place Rich Abbott (Revolution/Peak Fasteners).

On the third ascent of the Solitude climb Gibson was able to maintain his lead through the climb and into the descent. At which point he felt confident he would stretch it out. Once in the tight descent Gibson began to encounter lapped traffic which allowed Welsh to bridge the gap between them. They finished the descent together and once they started what would be the final climb of the day Welsh left no doubt who would be coming home in first place. The Kuhl rider exploded up the final climb putting over a minute on Gibson who did his best to close the gap to just under a 60 seconds at the finish line.

"The last time up the climb Dave was just gone," Gibson said after the race.

Dave Welsh has enjoyed a phenomenal season in 2009 and now adds Solitude to his win at Sundance putting him in the lead of the Intermountain Cup standings with just 2 races left.

Reed Wycoff put together a good race for 4th

Behind the two leaders Rich Abbott, who started slowly off the line, rode this way into third after one lap and held on for the rest of the race. Abbott knows the Solitude course well and kept an even steady pace throughout the 2 plus hours of racing. Fourth went to Reed Wycoff who held off a hard-charging Chris Holley who recovered from a first lap mechanical which dropped him minutes behind the slowest rider on course.

KC Holley gets down to business on lap 2

In the women's event it was KC Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) taking the top spot. Holley has been the strongest rider on the Intermountain Cup scene all season and it was no surprise she dominated at the state championships. Holley now has two wins in the Intermountain Cup this season and hasn't finished lower than 4th in the 9 Cup races she's done this season. Holley finished the race over 5 minutes up on second place Roxanne Toly (Jan's).

Holley is also an accomplished endurance rider and less than an hour after the race was seen riding the Wasatch Crest Trail with husband Chris.

Rich Abbott puts in a strong effort in 3rd

Results

Pro Men

1, David Welsh (Kuhl/Scott) 2.13.11

2, Greggy Gibson (Racer's Cycle Service) 2.14.07

3, Rich Abbott (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 2.19.35

4, Reed Wycoff (Contender's) 2.23.15

5, Chris Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 2.23.16

6, Jonny Hintze (Biker's Edge)

7, Kevin Day (Kuhl/Scott)

8, Chad Harris (Racer's Cycle Service)

9, Chris MacKay (Cole Sport)

10, Aaron Stites (Racer's Cycle Service)

Pro Women

1, KC Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 2.02.53

2, Rozanne Toly (Jan's) 2.08.02

Full Results from STXC National Championships in Granby, CO

Pro Men
1, Adam Craig (Giant)
2, Todd Wells (Specialized)
3, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher)
4, Ryan Trebon (Kona)
5, Sam Schultz (Subaru/ Gary Fisher)
6, Carl Decker (Giant)
7, Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
8, Andy Schultz (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
9, Bryan Alders (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
10, Colin Cares (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
11, Troy Wells (Clif Bar)
12, Macky Franklin (Transparent Racing)
13, Cody Peterson (SRAM/Mavic)
14, Robbie Squire (U-23 National Team)
15, Barry Wicks (Kona)
16, Trevor Downing (Mafia Racing)
17, Ethan Gilmour (U-23 Nat Team)
18, Stephen Ettinger
19, Robert Marion
20, Traivs Livermon
21, Dana Weber
22, Tim Allen
23, Benjamin Portilla
24, Blake Zumbrunnen (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
25, Spencer Paxson
26, Mike West
27, Kalen Beisel
28, John Curry
29, Matt Weibe
30, Nick Truitt
31, Drew Edsall
32, Chad Wells
33, John Nobil
34, Dylan Stucki
35, Jason Young
36, Kat Statman
37, TJ Woodruff
38, Tyson Kaman
39, Nate Byrom
40, Joshua Berri
41, Bradford Sims

Pro Women
1, Georgia Gould (Luna)
2, Heather Irmiger (Subaru/Gary Fisher)
3, Lea Davison (Rocky Mountain/Maxxis)
4, Willow Koerber (Subaru/ Gary Fisher)
5, Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven)
6, Kelli Emmett (Giant)
7, Judy Freeman (Tough Girls/Scott)
8, Chloe Forsman (Luna)
9, Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth)
10, Zephanie Blasi (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
11, Alison Dunlap (Luna)
12, Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
13, Erin Huck (Tokyo Joes)
14, Krista Park (Incycle)
15, Nina Baum (Cannondale)
16, Kathy Sherwin (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
17, Lydia Tanner
18, Amanda Carey
19, Jamie Dinkins
20, Lindsey Bishop
21, Sarah Kaufmann
22, Kay Sherwood
23, Molly Thordahl
24, Lisa Speegle
25, Melody Serra
26, Teal Stetson-Lee
27, Kyia Anderson
28, Erika Powers
29, Kristina Dominic
30, Philicia Marion
31, Melissa Marts

Full Official Results: Mens and Womens Mountain Bike National Championships- Granby, CO

Pro Men

1, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 2.02.10
2, Adam Craig (Giant) 2.08.57
3, Sam Schultz (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 2.09.34
4, Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 2.09.55
5, Jay Henry (Tokyo Joes) 2.10.23
6, Andy Schultz (Kenda/Tomc/Hayes)
7, Sam Jurekovic (Sho-Air/Specialized)
8, Ryan Trebon (Kona)
9, Matthew Broderick (Kenda/Seven)
10, Barry Wicks (Kona)
11, Spencer Paxson
12, Erik Tonkin
13, Troy Wells
14, Adam Snyder
15, Alex Grant
16, Travis Scheefer
17, Len Zanni
18, Todd Wells
19, Mike McCalla
20, Cody Peterson
21, Ned Overend
22, Scott Tietzel
23, Dana Weber
24, James Williams
25, John Curry
26, Brandon Dwight
27, Kalan Beisel
28, Barkley Robsinson
29, Brig Brandt
30, Tim Allen
31, John Nobil
32, Brad Bingham
33, Drew Edsall
34, Nate Bird
35, Sean Babcock
36, Jesse Rients
37, Matt Simmons
38, Nick Truitt
39, James Morgan
40, Robert Sousa
41, Jared Berg
42, Jason Young
43, Michael Mathers
44, Spencer Powlison
45, Robert Herber
46, Darrin Permenter
47, Daniel Kindergan
48, Jordan Williford
49, Benjamin Portilla
50, Chad Cheeney
51, Carl Hesselein
52, Chad Stoeher
53, Alex Boone
54, Aaron Elwell
55, Craig Wohlschlaeger
56, Kat Statman
57, Jay Richards
58, Blake Harlan
59, Sam Young
60, Bradford Sims
61, Kenny Deemer
62, Chad Wells
DNF Aaron Bradford
DNF Carl Decker
DNF Ross Delaplane
DNF Jason Donald
DNF Robert Marion
DNF Bryan Mickiewicz
DNF Blake Zumbrunnen

Pro Women

1, Heather Irmiger (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.55.40
2, Willow Koerber (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.57.58
3, Katie Compton 2.00.09
4, Georgia Gould (Luna) 2.00.35
5, Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven) 2.01.39
6, Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth)
7, Judy Freeman (Tough Girls/Scott)
8, Lea Davison (Rocky Mountain/Maxxis)
9, Kelli Emmett (Giant)
10, Krista Park (Incycle)
11, Zephanie Blasi (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
12, Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
13, Jennifer Gersbach (Dale's Pale Ale/Spot)
14, Alison Powers
15, Amanda Carey
16, Erin Huck
17, Jenna Reinhart
18, Nina Baum
19, Kathy Sherwin
20, Becca Blay
21, Sarah Kaufmann
22, Kelly Boniface
23, Caitlyn Tuel
24, Lindsey Bishop
25, Laura Anderson
26, Mauren Kunz
27, Jamie Dinkins
28, Jennifer Tilley
29, Molly Throdahl
30, Teal Stetson-Lee
31, Kylie Krauss
32, Erika Powers
33, Kyia Anderson
34, Melissa Marts
35, Kristina Dominic
36, Bryna Nestor
37, Philicia Marion
38, Melody Serra
39, Lisa Speegle
DNF Heather Holmes
DNF Sonya Bugbee

In an ongoing effort to bring you all the XC and Endurance races in the United States we are constantly adding new races to our nationwide race calendar as well as updating it with new information.

This week we have added the 25 Hours of Frog Hollow in St. George, Utah. Why 25 hours you ask? Well, Frog Hollow happens to fall on October 31st the same night we all set out clocks back one hour for daylight savings. If you think that one hour doesn't make a difference you've never done a 24-hour race before. Check out this new race and over 450 others on the MTBracenews Nationwide Mountain Bike Calendar. You're guaranteed to find a race you're interested in.

Just click the "Race Calendar" link at the top of this page and with a few clicks of the mouse find the race you have been looking for.

If you would like to add an event to the calendar please send your information to info@mtbracenews.com and we will include it.

Results: Cascade Cream Puff, Wesfir, Oregon

16,500 ft of climbing and some of the Best Singletrack anywhere in America or the World

Race Wrap Up!

Rain……well not that much in the am, but enough to make the course epic as 214 lined up to complete the Cascade Cream Puff 100.

The Weeekend

Saturday

Riders arrived from all over the region arrived to meet and prepare for one of the longest held 100 milers in the Nation and to what some say is one of the toughest as well. Many new faces signed up this year to ride fast and make the cut off to get the coveted Cascade Cream Puff 100 Finisher Hat for the first time or in some cases for the 3rd, 4th or 10th. Scott Taylor met every rider and made them feel welcome as the local Kiwanis group served up a great pre-race meal of burritos and lasagna and salad.

4am…….time to get up and get some breakfast and get to the starting line for the 5:10 roll out from the Westridge School.

First up the hill and in the lead for some time was 2008 winner Kevin Rowe (Bobs Bicycles.com) set a hard early pace while Troy Berry from Victor Idaho and Ryan Butterfield (Scotts Ski and Sport) took chase. As the race wore on Kevin Rowe dropped out do to reported stomach issues and that left the Cream Puff title up for grabs. At the last check point Troy Berry came though 7 minutes up on Adam Jensen (Montanacyclocross.com) and Ryan Butterfield 1 minute back. At the Finish Troy Berry held off second Place Ryan Butterfield and Adam Jensen winning in 9:44.

The Womens race pitted long time cream puff champion Louise Kobin ( Magura) against local Oregonian and ex Maine native Karen Dewolf ( Team Dirt) riding in at the last check point within 30 seconds after 85 miles and at the line Louise took the victory with her strong climbing and held off the fast descending DeWolf for the overall Victory in 11:13 to Karen’s 11:15

Strong ride of the day…..all of the people that started and finished and an especially strong ride to Craig Etheridge from Seattle who won the singlespeed division in 10:01..4th fastest on the day.

Smiles were all around and to those who did not finish do to mechanical, or other means there is always next time as the Cream Puff will be ready to take on in 2010.

Report courtesy of www.mudslingerevents.com


Open Men

1, Troy Barry 9.44.31
2, Adam Jensen (Monatanacyclocross.com) 9.54.35
3, Ryan Butterfield (Scott's Ski & Sport) 9.59.14
4, Chuck Gibson (Felt Bicycles) 10.07.32
5, Kevin Donovan (Lactic Acid Cycling) 10.27.28
6, Gant Enderle (Cyclepath Racing)
7, Jarred Swalwell (Yeti)
8, Aren Timmel (Team Chico)
9, Matt Hayes
10, Derik Archibald (GL6 Racing)
11, Jared Rammell (Broken Spoke Racing)
12, Ethan Black
13, Shawn Radley
14, Ryan VanGorder
15, Ben Aufderheide
16, Matthew Hall
17, Mike Sheppard
18, Perrin Smith
19, Ryan Kilgren
20,Ryan Kilgren

Open Women

1, Karen DeWolf (Team Dirt) 11.15.22
2, Joanna Peters 12.24.38
3, Kate Weck (The Bombers) 13.21.23
4, Jennifer Johnson
5, Megan Faris (River City Bikes)

Click Here for Full Results


Type rest of the post here

News Flash: US Cup Final in Las Vegas Cancelled

U.S. Cup answers industry call with PRO XCT series modification


The U.S. Cup has answered the call of the PRO XCT teams, riders and industry to conclude the PRO XCT series at Windham Mountain Resort on August 15th and 16th. Windham Mountain willnot only host the PRO XCT series final, but the TrailWatch.net short track series final as well.

“After feedback from several of the pro teams and given the current state of the economy, travel costs and schedules, we have elected to make Windham Mountain the series finale for the PRO XCT series as well as the TrailWatch.net short track series, elaborates Ty Kady US Cup marketing director. “September is packed full of World Cup racing commitments and Interbike, so we felt it was best to conclude the series at Windham Mountain.”

In addition, we are now going to host the U.S. Cup unification round at Bonelli Park in San Dimas, California on September the 20th where the facility and schedule is much more suitable to host the final. Details will follow regarding the U.S. Cup unification round on the U.S. Cup website-www.uscup.net. 

“While we had a lot of the PRO XCT riders and teams support the idea of hosting the PRO XCT finale in conjunction with dirt demo, there were still some companies who expressed concern that the race would take away from their event. And with Cross season starting up on the 26th in Wisconsin, it put some of the Pro riders in a pinch with scheduling conflicts. So at the end of the day, we all agreed it would be best to make Windham the PRO XCT final, and move the U.S. Cup shootout to Bonelli Park a week prior to Interbike, continues Kady.

“We talked with several of the Pro teams and discussed some of the options and collectively we concluded ending the PRO XCT at Windham was the right choice and would save the teams quite a bit of money on travel costs, as well as not conflict with existing World Cups or other racing commitments.”comments U.S. Cup chairman Scott Tedro

Pro men's podium Kenda Cup West #1 in Bonelli Park, CA

Product Review: Stan's No Tubes ZTR Race 29er Wheelset

Hoop Dreams. Stan’s No Tubes ZTR Race 29er Wheelset 

Written by: Brian Hester

When I first picked up the box holding our new Stan’s No Tubes front wheel I seriously thought it was empty. After shaking it like a 5-year old on Christmas morning, I confirmed that the wheel was actually inside. My first thought was ‘these wheels are crazy light’. My second thought was ‘are they too light’?

The No Tubes web site, www.notubes.com, claims 1,370 grams for a complete disc tubeless wheel set including 32 spokes, rim tape and valves ($950.00 MSRP). Our set tipped the scales at 1,360 grams. The Race rim is a full 45 grams lighter than the gold standard Mavic Crossmax SLR 26 inch rim. American Classic hubs are standard for the Race wheels but you can also choose Lefty, 15mm, 20mm, or single speed options (our test set came with a Lefty front hub). The various hub options are all understated black numbers that look great and are on the lower end of the weight spectrum. Spokes are courtesy of DT. 32 black Revolution 2.0/1.5 spokes are complemented by silver aluminum nips. The feathery weight comes with a few caveats. No riders over 170 pounds, tire pressure must be kept below 33 psi and recommended use is race day only.

Spoke lace patterns are 2 cross on the front and the rear wheel is built with a 1 cross pattern on the drive side and 2 cross on the non-drive side. No Tubes claims they chose one cross “to transfer more of the peddling force to the non-drive side spokes.” While this build will transfer force, it will also produce more twist on the drive side and more stress on the spoke heads during acceleration and braking. They also use an all head down approach on the drive side spokes making the wheel less laterally stiff.

ZTR Race wheelset getting some abuse and liking it in Moab, Utah

MTBRaceNews.com has been breaking the “Race Day Only” rule by giving these wheels a daily beating. After over 60 hours of riding, the ZTR Race wheels continue to impress. Other than minor truing for the rear wheel the Stan’s No Tubes Race wheels have been maintenance free. The ride is solid and acceleration feels on par with a 26” Mavic Crossmax set. Once up to speed the wheels show why 29ers are all the rage. The larger diameter allows the wheel to roll over bumps and obstacles with less pounding, making it easier to maintain your speed. My only complaint is the rear wheel build. A traditional 3 cross pattern would improve overall strength with minimal weight penalty making the wheels strong enough to keep on your bike all week long. But we have noticed no appreciable decrease is wheel stiffness during our rides.

Overall the ZTR Race 29er wheelset has proven to be a speed demon on the racecourse and has put up with daily punishment on even the roughest trails like Porcupine Rim and the rocky descents of the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge, Colorado.


Disclosures: MTBracenews.com has no relationship with Stan’s No Tubes. This test was performed on a standard retail ZTR Race wheelset purchased from a supplier without the knowledge or Stan’s No Tubes. Our test riders weigh between 150-160lbs, which is within the weight restrictions of the ZTR Race wheelset.

Top-10 Reasons The Breck-Epic Was A Great Race

10, Free Beer: An assortment of free beer was provided at the awards banquet courtesy of Dale’s Pale Ale. And there was no limit.

9, Excellent Food: The last thing you want after 5-plus hours of mountain biking is to be served beans and weenies and go to bed hungry.

8, Course Markings: Endurance racing phenom Josh Tostado rode each stage just minutes in front of the leaders to assure all course markings were in place and no riders would get lost.

7, No Dicks Rule: Race Director Mike McCormack narrowed all potential rider conflicts down to this one simple rule- Don’t be a dick.

6, Race Support: Each stage included 2-3 aid stations that were well staffed and always stocked with food, drink, and electrolytes. Squirt Lube’s Larry Grossman was also standing by to lube chains and give beer hand-ups.



5, Race Director Mike McCormack: The always verbose McCormack will be the first to tell you the Breck-Epic racers are his customers and he wants his customers to be happy. McCormack turned cartwheels all week to ensure that Breck-Epic riders were happy with the race, venue, and support.

4, Mountain Bike Stage Racing in the United States: Forget driving 14 hours to Canada and sleeping in a tent.



3, The Breck-Epic Riders: The Breck-Epic hosted an eclectic group of mountain bikers including everything from high-caliber pros, to Tomi McMillar on a fixie, to 65 year-old solo female Wendy Skean and the riders got along like Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men all week long (and that was before the free beer.)

2, Prize Raffle: The race hosted the most insane prize giveaway in modern mountain bike history. For a solid hour McCormack gave away Spot bike frames, Crank Brothers wheelsets, an avalanche of Ergon grips and packs, long boards, French coffee presses, tires, and carbon Easton hardware. Finally, exhausted from pulling names from the hat, McCormack started firing Giro sunglasses, socks, and jerseys into the crowd.



1, Killer Trails: The Breck-Epic promised great mountain bike riding and it delivered. Tight singletrack, bomber rocky descents, ripping bermed flume trails, and high-mountain traverses were all on the menu producing nothing but smiles from the riders.

22nd Annual Mountain Bout, Snowbird, Utah presented by Bingham Cyclery

Pro Men
1, Alex Grant (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 1.34.24
2, Mitchell Petersen (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 1.36.02
3, Robbie Squire (US National Team) 1.38.11
4, David Welsh (Kuhl/Scott) 1.38.41
5, Chris Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.39.34
6, Blake Zumbrunnen (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
7, Quinn Bingham (Biker'sEdge)
8, Ty Hansen (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
9, Matt Ohran (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
10, Marc Wimmer (Wimmer's Ultimate Bikes)

Pro Women
1, Heather Holmes (Kenda/Titus/Hayes) 1.25.07
2, Kathy Sherwin (Kenda/Titus/Hayes) 1.25.10
3, KC Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.29.15
4, Sarah Kaufmann (Titus/Roaring Mouse) 1.30.10
5, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 1.32.30

Results : Big Bear Shootout #2-SoCal State Series #8

Pro Men
1, John Nobil (Bear Valley Bikes) 1.18.44
2, Romolo Forcino (Bear Valley Bikes) 1.19.52
3, Miguel Valdez (Mex-America) 1.20.28
4, Jason Siegle (Bear Valley Bikes) 1.20.58
5, Ryan Clark (Cynergy Cycles) 1.21.00
6, Nate Whitman (Hammer Nutrition)
7, Garnet Vertican (Giant/ODI)
8, Alex Boone (Helens/Subaru)
9, Tom Koerner (Bear Valley Bikes)
10, Robert Herber (Dixon Art)
11, Derek Hermon (Bear Valley Bikes)
12, Christopher Crosby (Primus Cycles)
DNF Jeffery Meyer (Axis Sport Group)

Pro Women
1, Natasha Hernday (Amgen) 1.36.22

Point Standings after 8 races

Pro Men
1, John Nobil (Bear Valley Bikes) 263
2, Sean Donovan (Cytomax/KHS) 230
3, Miguel Valdez (Mex-America) 225
4, Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air/Specialized) 221
5, Jason Siegle (Bear Valley Bikes)

Pro Women
1, Natasha Hernday (Amgen) 317
2, Allison Mann (Sho-Air/Specialized) 252
3, Heather Ranoa (intense Cycles) 229
4, Joy Duerksen (Pass PT) 205
5, Krista Park (Incycle) 171


Type rest of the post here

Jen Hanks Breck Epic Blog-Final Stage

Jen Hanks is currently riding in 3rd place at the inaugural Breck-Epic in Breckenridge, Colorado. Jen is an experienced endurance and cross country mountain bike racer who has completed both the Transalp and Transrockies stage races. Join us as she shares her experiences each day of the Breck-Epic.

Today I finished the 2009 Breck Epic. I am officially a BMF (Bad Mother F’er)!!!!! I thought from the course description that today’s route would be a bit more straightforward than the previous two days. I also figured that race promoters would want to end the 6-day race on some rippin’ singletrack, which of course we did.

Being the last day of a 6-day mountain bike stage race, there was no reason to conserve energy today. That was apparent from the start as racers charged up Boreas Pass to the singletrack. There was a slight bottleneck when we transitioned from road to singletrack climbing, however I had no problem getting around a few racers allowing myself to peg it as hard as I could go. I was actually familiar with this part of the trail because it had been used in the Prologue on Day 1. We climbed more relatively smooth singletrack and came back out onto Boreas Pass Road where the Firecracker 50 course goes into singletrack. We then climbed the rest of the way to the top of Boreas Pass. For the first time in 6 days, I found myself with another racer on the road. We worked together trading pulls to the top of Boreas Pass. I was a little bit quicker through the feed zone at the top of the climb and got to enjoy a clear trail for the first of two super-fun downhills of the day. This downhill ended all too soon and then it was a gradual 10-mile climb up the other side of Boreas Pass Road. I wasn’t so lucky this time and found myself alone fighting an annoying headwind to the top. At the top of Boreas Pass, I was greeted by Larry from Squirt Lube with a beer. I thought it was a bit premature for me to celebrate as I still had 10-miles of downhill before the finish. I had also been riding really hard and probably would have vomited. I cruised down Boreas Pass Road waiting for the final singletrack downhill. There was still a pretty strong headwind so there would be no coasting. Finally, the last bit of singletrack. I let it rip as fast as I could as to enjoy my last little bit of Breckenridge glory.

Overall, I could not be more pleased with how my week of racing went. I accomplished all three of my goals which included having loads of fun, no mechanicals (thank you Revolution for helping my bike run perfect), and racing my very, very hardest. It was just an extra bonus to finish third in my category!

I would like to thank race promoter Mike McCormack for putting together such a spectacular event. This was truly a first class event and it was clear every day that a lot of heart was put into making it special. I am honored to have been able to share my daily experience. At the finish today I told Mike that I was a bit sad that the race was over and that I would not be able to race again tomorrow. While it is true that I enjoyed every minute of the past 6 days, now that the caffeine has worn off, I feel that I am ready to sleep in!

I would also like to thank all of the race sponsors. Their support of this event has helped make it such a wonderful experience for the racers. Special thanks to Larry Grossman with Squirt lube who lubed my chain at almost every single feed station as well as the neutral feeds who supplied me with endless bananas and oranges (my favorites)! I’d also like to mention how well the course was marked. I am known to take wrong turns on trails in my own backyard. I never questioned that I was heading in the right direction all week. Truly AMAZING!

While I am thanking people, I would like to thank everyone who voted for me to win one of the blogger’s grants. Special thanks to my Salt Lake City Revolution Bike shop team, my Granite School District co-workers (who are very dedicated voters), as well as the rest of my non-biking friends and family. Also, I would like to thank my coach, Monica Cazzetta who somehow comes up with a training plan to prepare me for these events while working a full-time job. Finally!!!! thanks to my husband and in-laws for spending their vacation helping to support me all week as well as my hound dog (Gordon) who patiently waited for me to finish every day.

Now the only thing up for debate is which one of us (me or my husband) will get to do this race next year!

Late addition to post: The post race party last night was fabulous. It was held at an amphitheater right on the river. The food was delicious and even though I am sick of stuffing calories in my mouth I wanted seconds. Dale Pale Ale also provided free beer. The raffle was the best I have ever seen. Everyone went away with something cool. Some of the highlights included a custom Spot frame who my new friend Jens scored!!!!, $1000 Crankbrothers wheelsets, and super cool long boards. I scored an Easton carbon seatpost and handlebar, Frisbee, and socks.