Utah Cyclocross #5: Wheeler Park, Salt Lake City, Utah- Results, Report, and Photos

Photos and writing by: Shannon Boffeli

Click Here to check out all the photos from today's cross race

Ali Goulet edges Bart Gillespie for the men's A win

Once again Utah cyclocross riders were treated to fantastic racing conditions while most of the west struggled to dig out from several feet of snow. So much snow in fact several Utah racers were prevented from traveling to the Boulder Cross event due to the closure of Interstate-80 because of 4-foot snow drifts.

With sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s no one was complaining about missing the Boulder race.

Erika Powers pushes the envelope on her way to the win

The women were the first to kick things off. And things got off to a very rough start. After a slightly confusing start Dayna Deuter (Church of the Big Ring) crossed up wheels with another rider and hit the deck taking at least one other racer with her. As the dust flew behind the leaders, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) led the field into the opening singletrack section followed by her teammate Jen Hanks (aka Bat Girl), Tanya Swenson (Cole Sport), Laura Patten (Ski Utah), and Chantel Olsen. The Revolution duo hooked up in the first lap but soon after Powers got a gap and kept building on it with each lap.

Jen Hanks dressed as Bat Girl and took third place on the day

Powers rode cleanly on the tight and twisting singletrack course using her skills as a mountain biker to keep the pace high while powering through the flat open sections. Behind the leader, Hanks did her best to hold off a fast group of chasers behind. Swenson,Patten, and Olsen worked together briefly until Swenson broke free and bridged the gap to second place. Despite riding a mountain bike Swenson closed it up on the open road sections eventually passing Hanks with just two laps to go.

Meanwhile, Deuter was left to pick up the pieces from her wreck. After being in last place, she quickly moved through the pack picking off riders one at a time. The Church of the Big Ring rider made her way all the way up to 5th by second to last lap and even a second crash couldn't stop her from moving into the fourth spot.

Tanya Swenson finishes the run up

At the finish line it was Powers with a hefty lead followed by Swenson with Hanks just behind. Deuter moved herself up fourth by the finish with Laura Patten taking fifth.

The men were all back together this weekend with Ali Goulet (Church of the Big Ring) returning from his trip back east. He would be matching up against Monavie-Cannondale.com teammates Alex Grant and Bart Gillespie, both sporting Halloween costumes, Eric Rasmussen (Specialized) was also on hand.

From the start, it was Reed Wycoff (Contender) taking the lead. But once again, Wycoff did not have the power to keep Gillespie, Grant, Rasmussen, and Goulet from charging to the front. Once at the front a hard-fought battle ensued with each rider trying to break the others. Goulet continually gapped the other riders by jumping the one set of barriers on course while the others ran.

Bart Gillespie runs better than most babies

Alex Grant took several flyers off the front forcing the others to chase back on but it was never enough to get him clear of the high-powered bunch. On the last lap, Goulet once again jumped his way into the lead and this time he finally unhitched Grant from the end of the train. That left Gillespie and Rasmussen to contend for the win but his increased pace on the last lap broke Rasmussen.

Goulet and Gillespie wound it up in the final half mile with Goulet taking the lead heading into the finish. As the rounded the final turn the short finishing straight left no time for Gillespie to come around leaving Goulet with a well-deserved win. Rasmussen took third followed by Grant and Thomas Bender (Kuhl/Scott) who followed his now well-known habit of starting slow and chasing his way to the front.

Race Notes

Imported beer. Fancy...

In true Halloween fashion many riders raced in full costume, which included a Beer Bottle, Tigger, Bat Girl and Robyn, Naughty Nurse, Spiderman, Skunk, Bumble Bee, and the Incredible Hulk to name a few. Race promoters gave away a Cannondale cyclocross frame to the rider with the best costume

Pile up at the start of the women's A race

Results

Men A
1, Ali Goulet
2, Bart Gillespie
3, Eric Rasmussen
4, Alex Grant
5, Thomas Bender
6, Reed Wycoff
7, Sean Mitchell

Women A

1, Erika Powers
2, Tanya Swenson
3, Jen Hanks
4, Dayna Deuter
5, Laura Patten
6, Chantel Olsen
7, Alison Vrem
8, Heather Edwards
9, Kelsey Bingham
10, Stephanie Skoreyko
11, Jennie Wade
12, Christy Clay
13, Meaghan Cunningham
14, Mary Foss
15, Meg Plank
16, Carolyn Holliday

Austin's Vance McMurry wins $4,000 prize package

Leading up to this year's 24-Hour National Championship, defending champion Pua Sawicki put together a terrific prize package for the person who could most closely guess the number of laps and miles she would complete on the 24-Hours of Moab racecourse.

Vance McMurray rocking the Y bike at the Park City Point to Point

Despite having a difficult weekend Sawicki still managed to complete 9 laps of the 15-mile course and completed the fastest single lap of any woman in the race. Vance McMurry of Austin, Texas came within one mile of the total which was close enough to win him a $4,000 prize package.

The prize package includes an Ellsworth Enlightment frame as well as:

Niterider: Two sets of lights
Magura: One set of brakes
Ergon: Back pack & grips
DT Swiss Prize Package
Shimano: One Pair of XTR pedals
Okole Stuff: Six Jars of Stuff
Max Muscle Sports Nutrition: Pua's Endurance Nutrition Stack
Nomad: Portable pressure washer
Adidas: One Pair of Supernova sunglasses
InFinit: $200.00 worth of Pua's Race Fuel

Please join us in congratulating Vance McMurray as the winner of “Pontificate Pua’s Pedaling” contest! “I really appreciate it and was bummed to hear the details of Pua's tough time. I saw her at the Park City Point to Point and was excited for her at the 24 hours of Moab" McMurray stated.

MTBracenews would like to point out that the winnings of this contest could not have gone to a more deserving mountain bike racer. In September, McMurray traveled from Austin to Park City, Utah to ride the 75-miles of high-mountain singletrack and one of the most challenging mountain bike races in the U.S., the Park City Point to Point, on what can only be described as a "vintage" Trek Y bike circa 1996. "We wanted to give Vance a new bike after the race just for riding our event on the Y bike so I'm happy to see that he won the Ellsworth frame" said Park City Point to Point race co-director Brian Hester.

Rider Chat with 24-Hour Solo National Champion Eszter Horanyi

Twenty-seven year old Eszter Horanyi was a last minute registrant for the 24 hours of Moab, this year’s US 24 hour National Championship. When the dust settled early Sunday afternoon, the Waltworks/Fuentesdesign rider stood victorious atop the podium. The pre-race favorite Pua Sawicki had succumbed to the bad luck of endurance racing and left the door wide open for a new rider to be crowned. Moab would serve as the pinnacle of Eszter’s 2009 season, even if it had been a last minute decision to race.

Eszter sports her new National Champion jersey (photo by: Chris Miller)

Yeti Beti team director Amy Thomas spoke with the new U.S. National Champion, the week after her win, to talk about Moab and the race that proved she’s one of the best female endurance racers in the country.

Amy Thomas- It’s been a little over a week since Moab. Did you have any idea 8 days ago that you would be the 2009 US 24-hour National Champion?

Eszter Horanyi- I knew that I had a chance but that I would have to have the ride of my life and a good bit of luck on my side. The beauty of endurance races is that anything can happen, and it will happen. I knew that I was sitting on good fitness and riding well, but having never having done a 24-hour solo before or a 24 hour race period, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had no clue how my body was going to react to more than 13 hours of racing or how my head was going to react to doing laps on the same course over and over and over. I thought that a win could be possible, but I didn’t believe it completely.

A month out, I’d nixed the idea of racing Moab. It had been a long season and I was ready to kick back and drink some beer. But I’m the type of person who can be talked into anything, so I signed up for the experience if nothing else.

Eszter Horanyi (photo by: Chris Miller)

Amy Thomas- Compared to other courses, how did Moab suit your ability, both from the technical aspect and the power sections?

Eszter Horanyi- I really, really liked the technical aspects of the course but at times it really made me really wish I had a full suspension bike. Mentally, it was really nice that it was split up between the first half being super technical and the last ½ being fairly flat and pedally. Generally, the flat sections are where I lose a lot of time but I was loving them as the race went on. I generally prefer just straight up and straight down courses but you could get on some good dude trains and draft, especially earlier in the race when I still had some energy.

AT- If you broke up the race into thirds, 1st 8 hours, 2nd 8 hours, and the last 8 hours, which 8 hour segment was the hardest for you?

EH- That’s actually how I broke it up in my head because I knew I had to get a meal in every 8 hours. I couldn’t wrap my head around riding for a full 24 hours, so this was my way of mentally dealing with the race. The first 8 hours were pretty rough and that first lap was just chaos. I was riding way too hard, far beyond what was sustainable. I knew that but I didn’t really pay attention to it, I got way to caught up riding with Jari Kirkland and Sarah Kaufmann. Jari crashed on the 2nd lap and cut her knee open but I didn’t find out about it until after I was done and was asking my crew how far behind me she was. She was in the back of my head the whole race, wondering how far back she was.

The first eight hours were hot. It’s been cold and rainy in Colorado, so it ended up damage control for a couple of laps with severe digestive issues, wanting to poop and vomit all at the same time. I kept telling myself ‘You have 20 more hours of this and so do not blow up yourself up like you did at the Firecracker 50’. I kept reminding myself, “Remember Firecracker, remember Firecracker. Remember what it feels like to crack. Remember how horrible that felt”.

Horanyi enjoyed the night laps but not her hardtail on the Moab course (photo by: Mike Cubison)

My first night lap was my favorite lap of the whole race. I was borrowing a set of lights from a friend and I ended up being about to ride a lot of the technical sections when other people were walking. They would cheer every time I cleared something and I fed off of that energy. That pushed me. The second night lap was the same. The third night lap around midnight was heinous. Some switch went off in my head and I keep thinking this is stupid, you have 8 more hours of darkness and then 6 hours with Sarah still only minutes behind me and Pua 40 minutes ahead, why did you sign up for this again? I couldn’t mentally deal with it. Then the gap to Pua started to come down and the gap to Sarah started to go up and I rallied. Goes to show how mental 24-hour racing really is.

After Pua dropped out, the adrenaline kicked in. My crew gave me the sage advice of ‘Don’t panic and just keep pedaling’. They just kept encouraging me to keep moving as the gaps were opening up.

Sarah and I called a truce after 13 laps. When my crew told me I was done, I couldn’t believe them. I’d spent my last lap mentally preparing for two more laps and feeling miserable about the prospect, so to be able to be done was the best feeling in the world.

AT- Describe how it felt to stand on the top podium in Moab?

EH- It was really cool. I wish I could take all the emotion, bottle it up, and save it for later. I always say it’s just bike racing- we’re not saving puppies from burning buildings - and I try not to take it too seriously, but to have something like this come together was beyond my wildest dreams. I had a 9 person crew taking care of me and cheering for me, the entire Colorado community cheering for me, all the people I had met racing over the summer, the CU Cycling community (who I had completely let down because I wasn’t racing Collegiate Nationals because I’d opted for Moab instead), and my parents behind me. I knew my mom was probably up all night hitting refresh on the live updates. Everyone believed in me much more than I believed in myself so it was neat to prove them right. I didn’t want to crack and then face everyone, which was my biggest fear during the night. Winning and standing on the podium was like a big community happy event for me.

Check back next week for part two of Amy's interview with the 2009 U.S. 24-Hour National Champion Eszter Horanyi.
We would like to thank Amy Thomas and the Yeti Beti team for their on going contributions to MTBracenews.com and the entire mountain bike community. Click here to visit the Yeti Beti site and learn more about the team.

Eszter brings home the Walt Works Dream Team flag (photo by: Mike Cubison)

Horanyi downs her recovery drink after 24 hours of riding (photo by: Mike Cubison)

Utah Cyclocross #4: Draper Equestrian Center

writing and photos by: Shannon Boffeli
The fourth round of the Utah Cyclocross Series offered up a mix of the warm weather Utah racers are accustomed to and the nasty wet conditions of traditional cross racing. The early races enjoyed temperatures in the 60s with partly cloudy skies until the start of the men's event when a storm dropped the temperature and a cold drenching rain on the course.

The opening paved climb of the Draper Equestrian Center racecourse

The women enjoyed the nicer part of the day and once again staged a strong field of 11 racers for their event. Once again it was Velo Bella rider Kathy Sherwin taking the early lead on the opening paved climb. Sherwin was followed closely by Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) and Tiffany Pezzulo.

The riding was technical on the Draper Equestrian Park racecourse with mountain bikers holding the clear advantage in the tight singletrack sections of the course. Sherwin is an accomplished cross country mountain bike racer and it showed. Not even an early race crash could stop Sherwin on her path to victory. Sherwin brushed off the opening lap mishap and used her bike handling abilities to cruise through the course.

Behind the leader it was Pezzulo and Powers going back and forth throughout the race until Powers opened a small gap as Pezzulo crashed in a sandy corner. That was all Powers needed to cement her hold on second place. Powers missed last weekend's race due to a hip injury but after the race Powers denied being hampered by her hip in Draper. Chantel Olsen and Laura Patten completed the podium taking 4th and 5th respectively.

Gillespie focused on his second win of 2009

In stark contrast to the women's event the men started in a full-on downpour. This week Bart Gillespie (Monavie-Cannondale.com) was the clear favorite to take the win. Last week's winner Eric Rasmussen (Specialized) would no doubt be riding toward the front but perpetual contender Ali Goulet (Church of the Big Ring) was racing the USGP of Cross race in Kentucky.

Once the gun went off Specialized teammates Rasmussen and Tanner Cottle moved to the front on the opening climb but Gillespie was never far behind and halfway through the opening lap he was in front followed closely by local mountain biker Dave Welsh (Kuhl/Scott). With Gillespie out front, Cottle, Rasmussen, and Welsh attacked each other the second time up the paved opening climb followed closely by Reed Wycoff (Contender), Bryson Perry (Cole Sport), Alex Grant (Monavie-Cannondale.com), and Thomas Bender (Kuhl/Scott).

After the opening laps, riders began to settle in except Grant who was looking to make up time after his first lap crash on a slippery clay descent. Grant didn't waste time as he leap-frogged entire groups and did something seldom seen in the Utah series- chase down Bart Gillespie. Once together the two teammates worked to solidify their lead virtually guaranteeing a Monavie win.

Reed Wycoff leads Eric Rasmussen on the run up

Behind the leaders the top spots remained unsettled as riders traded positions. Rasmussen had moved into third and was soon joined by Wycoff who used his singletrack speed to bridge the gap. Behind, a large group including Perry, Bender, Cottle, and Tyler Fout (RMCC) challenged each other for the final podium spot. As the race wore on the rain had slowed but the conditions failed to improve. The course began to claim some victims as Grant suffered his second crash of the day springing Gillespie clear and Bryson Perry also went down giving new meaning to the term "wadding it up" as he collected a giant wad of mud in his helmet.

Bryson Perry with "Dirt Wad" firmly attached

With Gillespie on the road to his second win of the season and Grant maintaining his grip on second the remaining riders battled for position. With two laps to go Wycoff launched a strong attack on the paved climb. He could only pull 5 seconds out front but that was enough for him to hold until the finish.

Finally, Thomas Bender took advantage of the confusion and crashes in the chase group and surged forward after having a slow start. Bender's strong performance saw him bridge up to teammate Dave Welsh late in the race, eventually passing him for 5th place.

Teammates Dave Welsh and Thomas Bender late in the race

Once again weather and great competition created some thrilling racing for the 4th race of the Utah Cyclocross Series. Stay tuned to MTBracenews.com next weekend for coverage of Utah Cyclocross Series races in Saturday and Sunday. Click on our gallery for more photos from the cyclocross race.

Race Notes:Ali Goulet won his race in the 35+ Master's race at the USGP of cyclocross and continues to lead the series.

Results

A Men

1, Bart Gillespie (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
2, Alex Grant (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
3, Reed Wycoff (Contender)
4, Eric Rasmussen (Specialized)
5, Thomas Bender (Kuhl/Scott)
6, Dave Welsh (Kuhl/Scott)
7, Tyler Fout (RMCC)
8, Tanner Cottle (Specialized)
9, Bryson Perry (Cole Sport)
10, Beau Pitken

A Women

1, Kathy Sherwin (Velo Bela/Ellsworth)
2, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
3, Tiffany Pezzulo
4, Chantel Olsen
5, Laura Patten
6, Stephanie Skoreyko (University of Utah)
7, Kelsy Bingham
8, Mary Foss (Kuhl/Scott)
9, Alison Vrem (RMCC)
10, Jennie Wade (Church of the Big Ring)

Utah Cyclocross #3: Heber Fairgrounds

writing and photos by: Shannon Boffeli

Sunny, temperature in the 70s and dry-welcome to Utah cyclocross racing. While cross racers around the rest of the country were slogging through the mud, the crossers in Heber, Utah, were stripping off clothes before the race start.

Ali Goulet leads Eric Rasmussen through the barriers with Reed Wycoff just behind

The Heber cross course is known as a power rider's course. With deep wheel-sucking grass, long straights, and the dreaded Mount Heber run up Heber is taylor-made for a well-trained cross workhorse. Ellsworth rider Kathy Sherwin certainly fits that mold perfectly.

As the women started at 11AM many riders had already suffered fat tires from the goat-head thorns that surrounded the race surface. But once the action started the mishaps stopped. The top women in Utah cyclocross all charged down the opening straightaway. Sherwin powered to the lead followed closely by Dayna Deuter (Church of the Big Ring), Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners), Rachel Cieslewicz (Church of the Big Ring), and Tanya Swenson (Cole Sport) who rode a 29 inch mountain bike with narrow tires.

As the pack roared around the first corner the course shot them straight into a quick dismount and up Mount Heber. Sherwin struggled with the first barrier, banging her Ellsworth hard into the metal barricade but she maintained her lead on the run up. Deuter used a clean transition off the bike to close up on the leader which she maintained halfway through the opening lap.

Kathy Sherwin corners with Dayna Deuter on her wheel

Once Deuter lost her grip on the leader Sherwin was off for a 40-minute individual time trial. Although the dominating Ellsworth rider had a huge lead she pushed an incredible pace. Her opening lap time of 6 minutes and 42 seconds was faster than all of the men who had raced before her.

Tanya Swenson and Rachel Cieslewicz trade turns on the front

Behind the two leaders Jen Hanks opened up strong and put an gap of 10 seconds on the duo of Swenson and Cieslewicz. The two experienced chasers worked together to try and close the small gap. Hanks kept charging, standing and sprinting out of all the corners, finally wearing down the chasers.

At the end it was Sherwin finishing first with a large margin over second place Deuter who was followed by Hanks. Cieslwicz and Swenson had the closest battle in the race with Cieslwicz closing a late gap on Swenson and overtaking her for the 4th spot while Swenson took 5th.

In the men's A race the top riders lined up this time without Bart Gillespie who was racing mountain bikes in Brazil. The left no shortage of elite riders capable of producing a great race. With his impeccable technique and unequalled fitness Ali Goulet (Church of the Big Ring) was no doubt the top favorite. There to challenge Goulet were Reed Wycoff (Contender), Eric Rasmussen (Specialized), Bryson Perry (Cole Sport), Robbie Squire (Binghams), Jason Sager (Jamis), and teammates Dave Welsh and Thomas Bender (Kuhl/Scott).

Sager took the early lead but faded the first time up Mount Heber. Goulet surged into the lead with Rasmussen and Wycoff just behind. After a scorching first lap Goulet and Rasmussen were in the lead with Wycoff just seconds behind. Behind the leaders a huge group of riders amassed including all the top riders.

Dave Welsh leads the chase group in front of Bryson Perry

After the first lap Wycoff finally closed the gap in the leaders and tucked into third position. The three quickly built a large lead on the chasers and it was clear one of these three riders would take top honors.

The chase to the leaders clearly took it's toll on the Contender rider and Wycoff was once again off the back. This time there would be no bridging back. Once he lost contact Wycoff dropped like a rock through the field leaving Rasmussen and Goulet to battle for the top spot.

As the laps wound down, the lead duo took their turns on the front with neither establishing a clear advantage until the bell lap when Goulet took the lead coming into the home stretch. As he rounded the final corner Goulet started to wind it up for the final sprint. Already having a several seconds lead over Rasmussen, Ali turned it off confident in his win. He should have known Rasmussen doesn't know when to give up as he used his powerful sprint to blast past the Church of the Big Ring rider just before the finish line for one of the biggest upset victories in Utah cyclocross history.

Thomas Bender has another solid day on the cyclocross bike

After a tight, back-and-forth struggle, Thomas Bender emerged from the chase group to claim third place followed by Bryson Perry and Connor O'Leary (Monavie-Cannondale.com).

Race Notes

2008 Utah Cyclocross Series Champion Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) suffered a hip injury during the week preventing her from racing on Saturday. Powers hopes to be back racing by next weekend.

Cris Fox was handing out cash when the riders could find him

Results

Women

1, Kathy Sherwin
2, Dayna Deuter
3, Jen Hanks
4, Rachel Cieslewicz
5, Tanya Swenson
6, Meaghan Cunningham
7, Stephanie Skoreyko

Men

1, Eric Rasmussen
2, Ali Goulet
3, Thomas Bender
4, Bryson Perry
5, Connor O'Leary
6, Robbie Squire
7, Dave Welsh

Rinehart and House win at WORS Wigwam MTB Challenge

Written by: Claire Cannon
Nearly 700 racers and as many spectators braved crisp fall temperatures at the season finale of the 2009 Wisconsin Off Road Series, held this weekend in Sheboygan, WI. Jenna Rinehart of Mankato, MN (Specialized) and Cole House of Oneida, WI (BMC Racing) took home the top honors, and substantial payouts, from the Wigwam MTB Challenge Belgioioso Pro/Cat 1 races.

Cole House (BMC Racing) powers up the 'Equalizer' hill. House went on
to win at Sheboygan. Photo by Extreme Photography.

The men’s field blazed off the start line to contend for a Sprint Prime that was awarded nearly a quarter mile up the road. In that first sprint, Cole House surged to a 15-second gap, collected the prize, and hit the singletrack ahead of a chase group that included Sheboygan racer Tristan Schouten (Planet Bike), Adventure 212 / Specialized teammates Mike Phillips and Darrin Braun, and Nathan Guerra (Mr. Tree Racing). House never looked back, finishing 40 seconds ahead of the chase after 5 laps of the course.

Jenna Rinehart (Specialized) rode to the win in Sheboygan at the WORS
Wigwam MTB Challenge. Photo by Danny Marchewka.

The ladies set a more conservative pace and stayed together on the leadout until Abigail Strigel (Mafia Racing / Pabst / Felt) and Meghan Korol (Twin Six) challenged Rinehart for the Prime near the line. Rinehart held them off and rode ahead into the singletrack, along with fellow Minnesota racer Kyia Anderson (Hidden Bay Sports). Wisconsin gave chase with Strigel, Korol, Lori Sable (Twin Six), Lisa Krayer (Wildside Velo Club) and Sheboygan racer Andrea Matter (Gear Grinder) in close pursuit. Strigel eventually gapped the rest of the Wisconsin women and caught Anderson. Anderson’s bike suffered a mechanical in the second lap, forcing her to drop out. With Rinehart out of reach, Strigel held off Lori Sable and Andrea Matter throughout the race to claim second.

Opportunities to shake things up in the men’s race

With the WORS Series leaders Brian Matter and Mark Lalonde off racing cyclocross in Cincinnati, the opportunity existed for several riders to shake up the remaining series overall points. Mike Phillips, Nathan Guerra and Darrin Braun were all in contention for the remaining top spots.

“The field was smaller than in previous years because some of the ‘fast guys’ didn't make it,” explained Mike Phillips. “Without Brian Matter, Jesse and Marko Lalonde, and Doug Swanson, the race was more wide open than before. I knew going into it that Cole had a good chance, and Tristan as well, because we all rode together last weekend [at the WORS Wolf River Rendezvous]. I thought if I played my cards right, I could possibly get the win, but I would have to be patient. Unfortunately Cole had a 20 second gap into the first section of singletrack and that was pretty much it! Tristan and I worked together to bring him back all race, but only managed to match his pace. The course was super fast and we were all basically riding the same speed, so 20 seconds might as well have been 20 minutes.”

In the end, Tristan Schouten would claim second place with Phillips finishing a close third.

Sheboygan racer Tristan Schouten (Planet Bike / GT) races along the
quarry at WORS Wigwam MTB Challenge. Schouten finished second at
Sheboygan. Photo by Extreme Photography.

“It came down to Tristan and I fighting for 2nd,” said Phillips. “On the last lap, he got in front before the ‘Equalizer’ hill and I thought I'd wait until the field before the finish to challenge, but it was shorter than I remembered and I couldn't get by.”

Fourth place finisher Darrin Braun of Butler, WI raced at Sheboygan last year on a singlespeed in the Cat 2 field. Braun has made the big jump to Cat 1 this year look easy. He finishing fourth at Sheboygan, is fourth overall in the WORS Series standings, and is currently the second ranked Cat 1 male in the nation for Mountain XC. The transition to a geared bike, which Braun has been riding during the latter half of this season, has seemed less smooth. In his first two laps at Sheboygan this weekend, Braun found himself stranded in his most difficult gears. He lost touch with the leaders, and struggled on the climbs.

“Basically, I blew myself up trying to chase back on,” said Braun. “I’ve been trying to hang with the lead group all season. That was my goal for this race, and I wanted to be up there and contend. Go for the gusto. I couldn’t shift and tried to make it with one gear. I’m a singlespeeder, right? But the gear I was pushing was just huge – I had to run up the ‘Equalizer’ in my first lap. By the time [teammate] Chris Peariso caught up to me, my legs were cooked. He coached me through, and the problem with the shifting began to work itself out. We rode together until the finish.”

Braun also had props for the course. “Last year, the course at Sheboygan was kind of a surprise for me, because it rips. I figured those trails were in a park in the middle of town, so how good could they be? But it’s just a totally awesome course.”

“The course at Sheboygan is always one of my favorites,” agreed Mike Phillips. “It just never lets up and you're always on the gas! You can hammer through all the corners, no brakes, just on the edge of control. Super fun! And the new root climb right before the Equalizer was a challenge every lap.”

Mike Phillips (Adventure 212 / Specialized) rides off a log jump at
WORS Wigwam MTB Challenge in Sheboygan. Phillips finished third at
Sheboygan and in the 2009 WORS Series Overall. Photo by Danny
Marchewka.

The Sheboygan race also boasts a large spectator turnout and bonuses from the race organizers. In addition to the initial Sprint Prime, everyone who rode to the top of the ‘Equalizer’ hill collected a crisp, five-dollar bill. A huge group of screaming spectators lined the steep climb throughout the day, and near-perfect conditions for racers this year meant they were rewarded with a great show.

“The fans were great as always, and with the big payouts there's always an extra motivation to hurt a bit more, ” said Phillips. “One thing I won't forget is seeing a guy go sailing into the river. Man that must've been cold!”

Jenna Rinehart powered to the win while Wisconsin gave chase

“I look forward to this race every season,” said Specialized racer Jenna Rinehart. “The course is so much fun and always has great spectators. I'm happy with my race and had a fun time.”

Rinehart is wrapping up her greatest season to date, which includes a top 10 finish at Sea Otter, the WORS Subaru Cup stage race win, and two dominant victories at Triple Crown races Ore to Shore and the Chequamegon 40. She seemed untouchable at Sheboygan, crossing the line over 8 minutes ahead of the chase.

“Kyia Anderson and I broke away from the field and were riding together for the first lap”, said Rinehart. “Starting the second lap I had a small gap but she closed it once we got back into the single track. About a quarter of the way through the 2nd lap all of a sudden I noticed she wasn't on my wheel anymore so I just kept pushing the pace as hard as I could. I later found out Kyia had broken her frame and had to drop out.”

Abigail Strigel (Mafia Racing / Pabst / Felt) rides the 'roots of
evil' at WORS Wigwam MTB Challenge in Sheboygan. Strigel finished
second at Sheboygan and first in the 2009 WORS Series Overall. Photo
by Julie Wolf.

Abby Strigel caught up to Anderson before the trouble began. “We were having fun, but then her bike started to make weird noises and the frame broke.” Mechanicals and mishaps hampered several riders in the women’s field, including Lisa Krayer, who broke her chain while riding in third place and the author, who fell in the river before crossing the line in fifth.

When asked about her own race, Strigel said simply, “it hurt. A lot.”

“Sheboygan is one of the best races of the year,” continued Strigel. “The course is really fast and super fun. There is always really good competition there, and [local organizers] Fat Kats do an excellent job making it really fun for the spectators, and racers.”

And early morning view of the WORS Wigwam MTB Challenge Expo area.
Photo by Danny Marchewka.

“The Sheboygan course rocks”, agreed third place finisher Lori Sable. “It's a true mountain bike course with a little bit of everything; a log jump, river crossing, evil roots, tight, twisting single track and, of course, the infamous equalizer climb. What a blast to race on. And, even better, Andrea [Matter] and I were working together the entire race. We saw Abby just up ahead and were attempting to close the gap but she's an intense competitor and we never were able to do it.”

WORS Series overalls contended to the finish line at Sheboygan

While WORS official point totals will appear on Wednesday, by unofficial calculations Brain Matter (Gear Grinder) and Abby Strigel had their WORS series wins on lock down before the Sheboygan race even began. In fact, both Matter and second place overall finisher Mark Lalonde (Planet Bike), missed the final WORS race of the season to represent Wisconsin in the 2009 Cincinnati Cyclocross Festival. Incidentally, Lalonde and Matter finished in the top five of a stacked professional field on Saturday, prompting VeloNews to start calling Lalonde “the season’s new revelation”.

Back in Sheboygan, Andrea Matter edged out Cat 1 newcomer and current number one ranked Cat 1 Mountain XC female in the nation, Meghan Korol in the final race of the season. Matter and Korol end the season tied for the fifth place podium spot in the women’s field, and will receive identical prize packages. Lisa Krayer retained fourth place overall despite her mechanical at Sheboygan, and Lori Sable surged into second place ahead of Holly Liske (Hayes Disc Brakes).

Mike Phillips made the biggest jump in the men’s rankings to claim the third step, beneath Mark Lalonde. Darrin Braun and Nathan Guerra completed the top five men for the 2009 season.

24 Hour of Moab: US 24-Hour National Championships

Tostado takes his first National Championship title after a close battle with runner up Kelly Magelky. Eszter Horanyi pulls off a huge upset victory defeating defending champion Pua Sawicki to take the stars and stripes jersey.

New 24-Hour National Champion Eszter Horanyi

written by: Shannon Boffeli
Ask anyone who has raced the 24 Hours of Moab and they will tell you it is the toughest 24-hour race in the country. For the first time in it's 15 year history Moab would be not just the toughest race but the 24-hour national championships as well. The best 24-hour racers would have a chance to prove themselves on the hardest course in North America all with the hopes of becoming National Champion.

The always important solo categories featured a myriad of top riders. In the men's race it was Chris Eatough (Trak Racing Co-Op) making his final start before retiring going up against last year's Moab winner Josh Tostado (Bach Builders), Cannondale riders Jesse Jakomait and Brandon Draugelis, and endurance veterans Evan Plews (evanplews.com) and Ernesto Marenchin (Speedgoat).

Even before the action started riders were falling out of contention. Eatough failed to take the start at noon on Saturday leaving Tostado as the clear favorite for the national title. The defending champ got off to his normally explosive start, plowing through the first lap in a scorching 1.02.47. Someone forgot to tell Colorado rider Kelly Magelky (Trek Racing Co-Op)that Tostado was supposed to win the national title as Magelky hit the finisher's tent with a opening lap of 1.02.43, 4 seconds in front of Tostado.

The leaders were followed by Plews and Draugelis with 21-year old Ben Koenig (Rib Mountain Cycles) and Ernesto Marenchin not far behind.

Magelky kept at it, finishing with faster lap times than Tostado 5 of the next 6 laps. By night fall the Trek rider had built a nice cushion in front of Tostado but that would quickly change. As the lights came out, Tostado started taking big chunks out of the leader, 7 minutes on lap 7, 15 on lap 8, 21 on lap 9. At which point Tostado held a comfortable lead, well in front of the chasers.

At about the same time many of the top riders began to succumb to the punishing Moab course. First it was Brandon Draugelis on lap 7, followed by Plews on lap 8. The youngster Koenig continued to plug along. He turned in consistent lap times all throughout the night moving up spots as other riders dropped out.

In the morning, Magelky still held on to second, recovering from his difficulties over night he once again posted several laps faster than the leader but Tostado's lead was just too much.

Tostado took home his first 24-Hour National Championship, completing 17 laps. Magelky came in for an impressive second with 16 laps as Ben Koenig proved 24-hour racing isn't just for old guys with a third place finish followed by Marenchin and Robert Anderson (Plum Gove Cyclery).

The women's solo event featured the most competitive field in US 24-hour national championship history.

Taking the start were defending National Champion Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth), '08 24 Hours of Moab winner Jari Kirkland (Scott Bikes), and accomplished endurance racers Eszter Horanyi (Walt Works) and Sarah Kaufmann (Titus/Roaring Mouse).

Sawicki put the hammer down right from the start, posting an opening lap time of 1.10.59. Sawicki likes to establish an early lead and it appeared her plan was working brilliantly as Kirkland, Horanyi, and Kaufmann came in together a full 7 minutes back after lap one.

The chase group wouldn't last long as Kirkland crashed hard on lap two and needed to be wheeled off the technical and rocky desert course. Kaufmann and Horanyi managed to stay within minutes of each other throughout the early laps but both were losing minutes to the leader with each circuit.

Once again, as darkness covered the Moab desert, the race began to turn. Sawicki, who was almost 40 minutes clear of the chasers, started to loose momentum. The duo of Kaufmann and Horanyi started reeling her in and by lap 11 both riders passed the defending national champion.

Suddenly the two chasers were battling for their chance at a national championship jersey. Well into the night Horanyi and Kaufmann remained just minutes apart until just before dawn difficulties with her lights forced Kaufmann to post a lap of 2 hours long.

Once taking a solid lead Horanyi refused to look back. Already the winner of grueling races like the Breckenridge 100 and Laramie Enduro Eszter Horanyi was focused on taking the most grueling of all races and a national title to boot.

Horanyi crossed the line for the final time completing 13 laps followed by Kaufmann, the only other women to complete 13 laps. Spring Clegg (Specialized D4W) finished third with Kerry White (Team Type 1)in 4th, both riders completed 12 laps. Sawicki finished 5th with a total of 11 laps completed.

The 15th annual 24-Hours of Moab proved to be a challenging battle ground for deciding the 24-Hour National Championships with strong fields and a punishing course which provided fans with one of the most exciting national championship races in the books.

In the singlespeed solo category, the endurance singlespeed duo of Lynda Wallenfels and Dave Harris proved they are the strongest and perhaps craziest endurance mountain bikers in the U.S. after winning the national titles in the solo singlespeed women's and men's categories. Wallenfels completed 11 laps and had such a large lead she stopped racing at 9:30 Sunday morning. Harris turned out 15 circuits on the desert course.

Wallenfels and Harris modeling their new hardware as singlespeed 24-Hour National Champions

Results:

Solo Women Championship

1, Eszter Horanyi (Walt Works Dream Team) 13 laps
2, Sarah Kaufmann (Roaring Mouse/Titus/Elete) 13 laps
3, Spring Clegg 12 laps
4, Kerry White 12 laps
5, Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth) 11 laps
6, Laureen Coffelt 11 laps
7, Elizabeth Boese 7 laps
8, Timari Pruis 7 laps
9, Monilee Atkinson 6 laps
10, Teri Wahlberg 2 laps
11, Jari Kirkland 1 lap

Solo Men Championship

1, Josh Tostado (Bach Builders) 17 laps
2, Kelly Magelky (Trek Co-Op) 16 laps
3, Ben Koenig (Rib Mountain Cycles) 15 laps
4, Ernesto Marenchin (Speedgoat) 15 laps
5, Robert Anderson 14 laps
6, Andrew Carney 14 laps
7, Jesse Jakomait 13 laps
8, Ezekiel Hersh 13 laps
9, Wade Newsom 13 laps
10, Steve Schwarz 12 laps
11, James Young 12 laps
12, Sampson Bruesewitz 12 laps
13, Matt Woodruff 11 laps
14, Aaron Vanderwaal 11 laps
15, Joseph Fortin 11 laps
16, Matt Juth 10 laps
17, Scott Strode 10 laps
18, Evan Plews 8 laps
19, Eddie O'Dea 8 laps
20, Charly Tri 7 laps
21, Brandon Draugelis 7 laps
22, Jody White 7 laps
23, Chris Strout 5 laps
24, Ray Rasker 5 laps
25, Taylor Lindeen 2 laps
26, Jim Simons 2 laps

Mixed Duo Championship

1, Dax Massey/Rebecca Tomaszewski (Niner/Ergon) 17 laps
2, Mario Corea/Heidi Volpe (Sho-Air) 17 laps
3, Yuki Saito/Sonya Looney (Topeak-Ergon) 12 laps
4, Alan Rishel/Karen Rishel (Light & Motion/First Endurance) 7 laps

Men's Duo Championship

1, Troy Barry/Cary Smith (Grand Targhee Resort) 18 laps
2, Derek Hermon/Ben Bostrom (God's Unit) 16 laps
3, Ely Woody/Romolo Forcino (Rome n Woody) 12 laps
4, Tod Turley/Peter Sullivan (Dead Cow Locals) 11 laps
5, Richard Price/Mike Driver (livetrainrace.com) 9 laps

Women's Duo Championship

1, Gretchen Reeves/Rebecca Rusch (Specialized/Tokyo Joe's) 18 laps

Women's Solo Singlespeed Championship

1, Lynda Wallenfalls

2, Chelsea McGowan

3, Jo Schwartz

Men's Solo Singlespeed Championship

1, Dave Harris

2, Greg Martin

3, Barry Davis

4, Shawn Gregory

5, Randy Sooter

6, Tom Diegel

7, Geoffrey Lane

8, Art Vandaleigh

9, Dough Smith

10, Ben V. Bradford III

Utah Cyclocross #2: Weber Fairgrounds

After a colder than normal week, the Utah weather took a turn for the better Saturday morning. With clear sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60s it was a perfect day for cross racing.



The women's race included all the biggest names in Utah cyclocross were on hand. Kathy Sherwin (Velo Bella/Ellsworth) made her 2009 cross debut against last week's winner Kris Walker (Church of the Big Ring) and teammate Dayna Deuter, while '08 UTCX series champion Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) looked to be on great form after a second place last weekend.



Off the start Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) got the holeshot but was quickly overtaken by a high-powered group including Sherwin, Deuter, Walker, and Tiffany Pezzulo. Once through the opening section of barriers Sherwin powered her way off the front putting a 20 second gap on Walker. Behind the leaders it was Pezzulo settling into 3rd followed by Deuter and Erika Powers who was picking off riders after a slow start.

As Powers closed on Deuter she banged her rear wheel while crossing a barrier dislodging it from the dropout. The stop to fix her wheel would drop her out of the top-10.



At the halfway point Kris Walker continued to maintain her 20 second gap behind race leader Kathy Sherwin. Sherwin clearly had waited to push the pace. The Velo Bella rider shifted into high gear and began putting big chunks of time into her rivals finally crossing the line with a healthy margin.

Walker held onto second ahead of Tiffany Pezzulo and Danyna Deuter. The final podium spot came down to a battle between early leader Jen Hanks and UTCX newcomer Stephanie Skoreyko (Univeristy of Utah). The two worked together through the middle portions of the race until Skoreyko struggled on the run-up giving Hanks a 5 second gap. Hanks pushed the pace and put in a strong closing lap to take the 5th and final step on the podium.



The men's race featured the always exciting match up between perennial cyclocross powerhouse Bart Gillespie (Monavie-Cannondale.com) and challenger Ali Goulet (Church of the Big Ring). Goulet shot out to his usual early lead only to be reeled in by Gillespie after sliding out in a sandy corner. Once the two hooked up they began laying down the fastest laps ever on the Weber course crushing the opening laps under 6 minutes each. Contender rider Reed Wycoff dangled just seconds behind the leaders. Despite his best efforts Wycoff was never able to close the 5 second gap to the leaders.



Behind the leaders Thomas Bender (Kuhl/Scott) and Jason Sager (Jamis) pounded out the laps locked together. Bender used his power to push the pace on the open sections while Sager hammered through the tight winding sections and jumped the log barriers on his converted rigid mountain bike.

Up front it was Goulet who seemed to have the upper hand as he jumped the barriers allowing him to ride the entire run-up. The leaders continued to charge through the course with Goulet finally charging to the front. Gillespie came across in second with Wycoff coming home in third.



Behind the leaders, Thomas Bender held off Sager for the 4th spot.

Race Notes:



Eric Rasmussen (Specialized) turned in what could have been the strongest ride of the day. After hitting the deck hard trying to jump a log on the opening lap last year's Utah cyclocross state champion languished in last place. It took him a full lap to get himself collected and he immediately began picking his way through the pack. Rasmussen passed rider after rider catching and dropping groups of riders all throughout the course. At the finish he worked his way up to 6th.

Women A:

1, Kathy Sherwin (Velo Bella)
2, Kris Walker (Church of the Big Ring)
3, Tiffany Pezzulo
4, Dayna Deuter (Church of the Big Ring)
5, Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
6, Stephanie Skoreyko (Univeristy Of Utah)
7, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
8, Rachel Cieslewicz (Church of the Big Ring)
9, Heather Edwards
10, Chantel Olsen
11, Laura Patten
12, Christy Clay
13, Mary Foss

Men A:
1, Ali Goulet (Church of the Big Ring)
2, Bart Gillespie (Monavie-Cannondale.com)
3, Reed Wycoff (Contender)
4, Thomas Bender (Kuhl/Scott)
5, Jason Sager (Jamis)
6, Eric Rasmussen (Specialized)

SOCAL FAT TIRE EPIC 50: Presented by Intense Cycles

SoCAL Fat Tire Epic 50: West Coast Marathon Championships


The first annual “ SoCal Fat Tire Epic 50, “ 2009 West Coast Marathon Championships is now in the books. With temps in the 70’s and not a cloud in the sky it was a perfect day for racing. Riders flocked from all over to battle for the coveted SoCal Endurance winner’s jerseys. The course was truly an epic blend of Southern California desert singletrack and swooping rollercoaster ridgelines. With 2 twenty-five mile laps and over 3100 ft of climbing per lap this was set to be an epic challenge for all categories!

Tinker Juarez toes the start line

The men’s pro field was deep in talent as endurance legend David “Tinker” Juarez (Monavie-Cannondale.com) lined up with the likes of Manuel “Manny” Prado (Sho-Air/Specialized), Super Bike champ turned endurance mountain bike phenom Ben Bostrum (Sho-Air/Specialized), and adventure racer extraordinaire Paul Romero to name a few.

It was great to see such a good group of pro racers! When the bell sounded and the race was on and Tinker took the lead. Closely followed by Manny, Ben, John Nobil, Chuck Jenkins, Dez Wilder, and Bryan Van Vleet. The train pulled together for most of the first lap. As the first lap came to an end Tinker pulled a 2 and a half-minute gap on Manny and Ben. Even as the teammates worked together Manny and Ben could not reel Tinker in. By the end of the race Tinker held a 5 minute lead over Manny and a 9 minute lead over Ben with Chuck Jenkins and John Nobil coming in 4th and 5th. Tinker finished in 3:21:45 with the fastest lap of the day being a 1:39.

Charles Jenkins chases the leaders

The women’s pro field saw Team Sole’s Karen Lundgren take the top place honors with Bernice Pierson coming in for second.

Once the race was over, the party at Vail Lake was on! With live music and the saloon open, everyone was having a great time. Racers, families, and industry folks enjoyed the evening’s festivities and partied into the night.

When Sunday morning rolled around it was time for the SoCal Bike expo and demo day. We had some of the top bike makers out on site to demo and show the SoCal mountain bikers the latest and greatest. The shuttles were packed and everyone enjoyed some of the best that Vail Lake has to offer.

The SoCal Endurance team looks forward to making this race and expo weekend a Southern California main event.

Up next on November 14th is the “12 Hours Of Temecula #2,“ SoCal Endurance final.

For more info please check out www.socalendurance.com

TInker shows off his cash and championship jersey

More Exciting Products From Interbike 2009

The uber-sexy Crankborthers Cobalt wheelset now comes with a lefty front hub option. The Cobalt wheelset weighs in at a svelte 1540 grams

Scrub Components' new prototype brake rotor shaves even more weight off their industry leading rotors by going to a magnesium carrier with interference fit lock ring holding the metal matrix braking rotor in place.

FSA launched their new K-Force Light 386 2x10 crank with a three-bolt pattern allowing for smaller rings. Riders can now drop down to a 27-tooth small ring. It comes in traditional or BB 30 dimensions.

Edge Composites showed off their ultra-light carbon 29er wheelset. Part of their XC series of wheels, the 29ers are available in a 29 inch clincher. Edge will build them on Chris King or DT Swiss hubs

Along with the tapered head tubes many bikes will be sporting a bolt on front derailleur in 2010. The bolt on allows carbon happy frame designers more freedom when designing the seat tube and bottom bracket

Win over $4,000 in Mountain Bike Gear From Pua Sawicki and Team Mata

Pua’s recent accomplishments at the World’s in Austria have not only generated global attention, but Pua’s Partners – those businesses that fuel her racing – have all collaborated on this year's Nationals to bring attention to the sport and her amazing endurance records and this year's World Record Attempt in Moab.



The contest is simple. Go to Sawicki's new website at www.TeamMata.com and enter how many laps you think Pua will complete in the 24 Hours of Moab, and enter your guess of how far you think she’ll actually go!

The winner of the contest will win a prize package valued at more than $4,000 including following:

Niterider: Two sets of lights
Magura: One set of brakes
Ergon: Back pack & grips
DT Swiss Prize Package
Ellsworth Handcrafted Bikes: Enlightenment Frame
Shimano: One Pair of XTR pedals
Okole Stuff: Six Jars of Stuff
Max Muscle Sports Nutrition: Pua's Endurance Nutrition Stack
Nomad: Portable pressure washer
Adidas: One Pair of Supernova sunglasses
InFinit: $200.00 worth of Pua's Race Fuel

Team Mata has even left a few clues for you on their website.

Minnesota State Championship Series Final - Revolution Cycle and Ski Singletrack Escape

The Revolution Cycle and Ski Singletrack escape serves not only as the final of the state championship series but also as the state single speed championships. The course is characterized by a mix of fast to extremely tight and technical singletrack with open lanes for passing and small hills of no more than about 50 feet of relief. Riders who win on the singletrack escape course must be powerful and excellent singletrack riders.

Wet rainy and dreary weather on the day before the race had many wondering if the final race of the Minnesota state championship series was going to be a wet mud fest or a fun tacky singletrack ride. To date excellent dry conditions had greeted racers at previous series stops. When race day dawned sunny and reports from course set up were great conditions everyone was excited for the race to come to finish up a mostly dry year of racing in MN. The event was a great success with record numbers and money raised for the ski and mountain bike trails at the site, and a Salsa Selma frame given away in the raffle by Revolution cycle and ski.

Pro/Expert:

Sam Oftedahl navigating one of the rock gardens.

The expert/pro race went last on the day and had probably the best course conditions ever experienced at the Singletrack Escape. The course was very fast but still tacky enough for excellent cornering. The only muddy areas were in the rock gardens of Twisted Sister which could be described as “canadian-esque” and feature a few small bridges - rocks and rooty areas requiring constant weight shifts and attention. The race got underway with the elite men followed one minute later by the elite women. In the elite men's race Sam Oftedahl (Hollywood Cycles) quickly got a gap on Brendan Moore (Rochester Velo) who had raced (and won) in the earlier single speed state championship. Sam continued to build on his momentum of an early lead and was never seriously challenged for the race. Sam maintained at least a 20 to 30 second gap on all his rivals throughout the day, and ended up winning by two minutes over brother Eric Oftedahl (Hollywood Cycles). Third place on the day was taken by Luke Nelson (Penn/Nature Valley).

Kyia Anderson out front on lap 2

The women's race was a very strong contest between Hometown Pro Kyia Anderson (Revolution/Cannondale/Hidden Bay) and rival pro Jenna Reinhart (Specialized). After the first prologue loop, Jenna and Kyia came out of the woods together with Kyia glued to Jenna's wheel going through the start finish. On lap number one, Kyia made an attack in the technical section of the course and put about 40 seconds on Rinehart. Coming back around for the end of that lap, Jenna had brought that gap back and the two were together again. They continued to go back and forth with the lead on different sections of the course making for a very exciting race for the spectators who, in rock garden number one, were lining the course four deep. But in the final lap of the day after Kyia and Jenna had exchanged attacks and were still together, Jenna clipped a tree in a tight section of the course allowing Kyia to get a strong gap and build on it to the end. Kyia ended up winning the race over Jenna by about five minutes with pro rider Anne Grabowski in third about 14 minutes back.

Single Speed State Championship:

The state championship race brought out people from sport riders through to Pro class riders all intent on being able to say they were the 2009 state single speed champion. Approximately 40 riders toed the line for the state single speed race. The champion for the last few years Heath Weisbrod (LCR) would face some new and stiff competition in the likes of Brendan Moore (Velo Rochester) and former single speed world champion Jay “Hollywood” Henderson who was just back from the world championship event in Durango, Colorado. As many expected, Brendan Moore took an early lead in the race coming out of the first prologue loop. Brendan continued to build his gap and won the race from start to finish by over two minutes on second-place finisher Heath, with newcomer to the state single speed podium Cody Larsen in third.

In the women's race, last year's state single speed champion Kyia Anderson elected not to partake to focus her efforts on the elite race. Kris Brazil took charge of the women's race early on and after the prologue loop had a small but growing gap on second-place finisher Emily Goltz and chaser Allison Tungseth. Kris Brazil held on for the win and the coveted granite trophy that goes along with being the state champion with Emily in second and Allison in third.

Brendon Moore, Hollywood and Dan Meyer prepare for the MN State Single Speed Championships

Comp race:

The comp race was won by Clayton McLagan (Peace Coffee), with Trent Warner (Maplelag/Paramount) in second, and Joe Surla (Wannabee Racing) in third.

Mr. Anderson EMCing

Sport:

The men's sport race was won by longtime series racer Thomas Reinhart (Nicollet South/Specialized), followed in second by Brian Korver of St. Cloud and Craig Wicklund in third. The women's sport race was won by Tara Steele (WannaBee), with Amy Johnson in second, and Desta Meyer (Fastwax) in third.

Citizen:

The citizens mens race was won by Thomas Baldini, with Andrew Barrlage in second, and Josh Holst in third. The women's race for citizen was won by Emily Goltz, with Rachel Jensen in second, and Samantha Bushendorf in third.

Kids Comp:

The boys kids comp race was won by Travis Caflisch with Ian Price in second and local Mason Hallstrom in third. The girls kids comp race was won by local rider Josie Amo, with Callie Beck in second Briana McLagan in third.

The Kids Comp field has seen good numbers all season!