Men's podium Alex Grant, Burke Swindelhurst, Bart Gillespie, and Chris Holley (left to right) 4th place Rob Squire not pictured
Large fields were the norm for all categories with the Pro men boasting an impressive field 33 strong. The Pro women put 8 of the fastest women in Utah on the start line.
The women’s event started with a burst from top-ranked national rider Kathy Sherwin (Mafia Racing). In normal fashion Sherwin powered to the front and pulled the group along the opening road and toward the first technical climb of the day.
Once into the technical climbing, Lynda Wallenfels (LW Coaching) took a shot at the lead.Once out front the 24-Hour Singlespeed National Champion used her finely tuned handling skills to open up some breathing room on the group.
Sherwin stayed strong in second place with KC Holley (Gary Fisher 29er Crew), Sarah Kaufmann (Titus/Roaring Mouse), and Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fastners) battling behind.
Throughout the 6-mile rock-strewn course, Wallenfels continued to put time between her and her nearest challengers. On her final lap the LW Coaching rider could be heard encouraging the other racers on the course as she passed at one point making her way past several of the Pro men who started minutes in front.
By the finish Wallenfels was 5 minutes clear of the field with Sherwin crossing the line comfortably in second. Third place went to KC Holley who used technical climbing skills to hold off Kaufmann who stayed close by powering through the open sections of the trail. At the finish the two riders were separated by less than 30 seconds. Jen Hanks crossed the line in fifth less than a minute behind Kaufmann.
Sarah Kaufmann, Kathy Sherwin, Lynda Wallenfels, KC Holley, and Jen Hanks (left to right)
The men’s event may have been a coming of age of sorts for Pro MTB racing in Utah. After years of slowly growing fields and deeper talent this weekend’s race was the pinnacle of that progress. Thirty-three of the state’s top riders took the start with names like Alex Grant (Cannondale), Bart Gillespie (Cannondale), Rob Squire (Jamis), Jason Sager (Jamis), Adam Snyder (Jamis), Burke Swindelhurst (Team Give), and Chris Holley (Gary Fisher 29er Crew), all vying for the top spot.
From the start it looked to be a show down between the Jamis and Cannondale teams. Adam Snyder led into the opening singletrack with his teammates Sager and Rob Squire close behind. Grant and Gillespie from Cannondale were still in the mix and quickly took the lead establishing themselves at the front of the pack.
Grant and Gillespie worked at the front getting clear by 20 seconds. On the second lap Snyder fell victim to mechanical while Squire and Swindlehurst stayed close to the leaders.
By the third lap of four, Swindelhurst had bridged to the leaders and launched an attack on the final section of doubletrack climb on the lap. Grant and Gillespie closed back down on the new race leader in the technical descent ending the third lap.
Again on the flat doubletrack Swindelhurst attacked again. This time the Cannondale duo couldn’t respond. Swindelhurst had too much speed in his legs and he held his gap through the final lap crossing the line 20 seconds ahead of Grant.
Gillespie took third just 15 seconds behind his teammate. 19 year-old wunderkid Rob Squire picked up right where he left off last season. Squire rode a strong race taking fourth just 38 seconds behind the veteran Gillespie.
Gary Fisher rider Chris Holley proved once again that you don’t have to have a great start to finish on the podium. After the opening road section Holley was toward the end of the 30-plus rider field. He battled throughout the race slowly making his way all the way to fifth by the finish.
Race Notes
The large turn out and fast course led to tremendous frustration among the racers as over 200 riders were battling on course at the same time. “It was really frustrating” commented Cannondale rider Alex Grant, “ we spent most of the race off the side of the course trying to pass people.” Indeed, many of the racers were disappointed with the conditions on course saying they were either passing lapped traffic or being passed all throughout the race.
Results
Pro Men
1, Burke Swindelhurst (Team Give) 1.43.46
2, Alex Grant (Cannondale) 1.44.06
3, Bart Gillespie (Cannondale) 1.44.21
4, Rob Squire (Jamis) 1.44.59
5, Chris Holley (Gray Fisher 29er Crew) 1.45.59
6, Jason Sager (Jamis)
7, Tom Bender (Kuhl/Specialized)
8, Scott Allen (Canyon Cycles)
9, Jake Pantone (Edge)
10, Rich Abbott (Rveolution/Peak Fasteners)
11, Kevin Day (Kuhl/Specialized)
12, Brent Steinberg (Gary Fisher 29er Crew)
13, Mitchell Peterson (Cannondale)
14, Dylan Cirulis
15, Geoff Montague
16, Danny Van Wagner
17, Zac Ramras (Ski Utah)
18, Dan Nelson (Racers Cycle Service)
19, Matt Ohran (Cannondale)
20, Shannon Boffeli (i Ride Adventures/MTB Race News.com)
21, Keegan Swenson (Cole Sport)
22, Brent Pontius
23, Taylor Foss
24, Brandon Firth
25, Ryan Krusemark
26, Tanner Cottle
27, Reed Wycoff
DNF Brian Tolbert
DNF Adam Snyder
Pro Women
1, Lynda Wallenfels (LW Coaching) 1.25.35
2, Kathy Sherwin (Mafia Cycles) 1.30.17
3, KC Holley (Gary Fisher 29er Crew) 1.34.14
4, Sarah Kaufmann (Titus/ Roaring Mouse) 1.34.38
5, Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 1.35.27
6, Joey Lythgoe (Kuhl/Specialized)
7, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)