Tanguy, Carey earn top spots in Mohican 100-miler

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A decade of racing at the Mohican has included some unusual occurrences including an overnight flood of the entire Walhounding Valley that forced on the fly course changes during the race, searing heat the next year, and baseball-size hail before packet pickup followed by soaking rains and two tornados crossing the course in 2010.

For racers who completed the 2010 race, the weather reports coming into this year's race were less than optimistic with a threatening front of thunderstorms rolling in on Thursday night and again on Friday before packet pickup. However, the dry conditions before the storms arrived allowed the ground to soak up the moisture much like a record 600+ racers soaked up nearly 23 kegs of Great Lakes Brew  following the race. Gentle winds continued throughout the day and late into the night, creating ideal course conditions would produce record finish times and good memories of the 2012 anniversary race including the first ever finish by Tandem duo Devin DeBoer and Mark Quist, who crossed the line in 9:58:35.

Women: Carey makes it two in a row

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Two-time NUE Champion, Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) made it two in a row in her bid to defend her title this year finishing in 7:42:26.

"Course conditions were far better than I thought they would be. The trails weren't too muddy," said Carey. "Mostly the ground was just saturated so, at times, it felt like your tires were really sticking to the ground. I felt good most of the day. Other than the vicious wind, the weather was ideal for a long day in the saddle.

"Looking at the times from last year, I knew it was possible to go sub-eight hours, so I was focused on that goal. I tried to just stay on the gas all day, trying to chase down men ahead of me, sort of riding it like a personal time trial. I caught onto a few people here and there but never really had a group to work with for a long period of time although I rode with two awesome singlespeeders for the entire rail trail.

"As much as I love singlespeeders, they are pretty useless in terms of taking pulls!" she said.

However, that section was really key for me. Having their company was awesome during what I think is the hardest part of that entire race. If you crack during the rail trail section it can be very, very hard to get through it mentally, without being demoralized. They gave me the motivation to drill it off the front and ride for them and for myself as hard as I could."

Brenda Simril (Motor Mile Racing) took second in 8:26:30, building on her strong finish at Syllamo's Revenge. "I couldn't have asked for much more...perfect weather, great course conditions, and stellar support at the aid stations. Everyone was absolutely fantastic. Mohican is always one of my favorite events and yesterday definitely did not disappoint. I felt that I had a solid race and once I was able to get a little gap, my focus was just on staying strong and holding on to second."

Andrea Wilson, known for riding a rigid singlespeed, opted to change things up for one race by going geared. Wilson minions need not fear however, when asked about the change to gears, Wilson responded with a wink and a smile, confirming that she was not abandoning rigid singlespeed racing altogether. She took third at 8:44:28.

Kathleen Harding (Team CF) rolled in just two minutes behind Wilson in 8:46:20, and Linda Shin (Blacksmith Cycle) finished in 8:59:12 while Carmen Sweet (Reactivated) in 9:26:38 rounded out the top six.

Men: Redemption for Tanguy

Reigning NUE Champion Christian Tanguy (Team CF), still recovering from an over the bars crash into the rocks at Syllamo's Revenge, made a late entry into the race, seizing his first victory of the season at a blistering pace of 6:37:58.

For Tanguy, who promised after Syllamo's that he would redeem himself, did just that! The Mohican MTB 100 may prove to be the race that got him back on track toward defense of his title following a narrow loss to US Olympic hopeful Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) at Cohutta before crashing out at Syllamo's.

Michael Simonson (RBS MTB Team) nudged ever closer to the NUE Champ, finishing less than eight minutes back at 6:45:36. Rob Spreng (Dirty Harry's) rolled in at 6:47:37, two minutes behind a pack of three with mere seconds separating third, fourth and fifth place. Leading the three-pack was Chris Peariso (Adventure212/Specialized), who broke it down this way. "I decided to go into this year's Mohican 100 with a bit more of a relaxed attitude after my past two attempts didn't turn out that well."

"So, when the horn sounded, I leisurely clipped in and followed wheels. This worked well for me with the start hill up (Maple Heights) since the steep hills treat me well. I thought the first three quarters of the climb was fairly chill, then someone decided to punch it over the top. I kept patient and decided to ride my pace and settled into a group of four of us that included Jordan Wakely (Einstein Racing), Simonson, and Kevin Carter (Gripped Films/ Dogfish Head Brewing). I think, at this time, Christian Tanguy, Brandon Draugelis (Team CF), and Rob Spreng were in front of us.

"Our group rode together with either Simonson or Carter pushing the pace most of the time with Jordan and me in tow. Then, on the run up section of the trail, the SiMonster (Simonson) attacked everyone and created a small gap. I did not chase much because I actually did not realize I was riding with Mike? I thought it was his teammate and I would bring him back in on the horse trail climb after the road. That decision almost cost me though because I didn't get back on when we came out onto the road sections before aid two and, by then, they had formed a group of five guys.

"I just hit the hills hard and managed to keep them at a distance that became neutralized at aid two, thanks to the volunteers there being right on cue with my bottles! That allowed me to roll out with the group that now included Rob, Jordan, Mike, Brandon, eventual 100k winner Steve Twinning, and me.

"After my hard chase I sat in the back of the group and was not able to do much work as the rest of them got down to business in the search for Christian. Then, at aid three, I got caught out with everyone else having support so their stops were much shorter than mine so I was once again forced to chase. While chasing, I also had a quick mechanical that forced me off the bike to pull a stick out of my rear derailleur.

"I got back onto the group and, just as I did, the SiMonster attacked again on the road section. I chased a bit with help from Rob but we were not bringing any time back on him. Then the cramping started for me so I was forced to chill again and follow Rob and Jordan. That was pretty much the way the rest of the race went. We did lose Brandon just after the equestrian area and Ii knew I had to stay with Jordan and Rob so I dug pretty deep to make it to the rail trail section with them.

"The three of us continued to work together with most of the work coming from Rob and Jordan. Because of this I told the two of them they could sort out third and fourth for themselves. When we hit the last section of singletrack, Rob went first and I just followed Jordan's wheel trying to encourage him to get up to Rob. Then, Jordan crashed right before the wrought Iron bridge to the campground. I waited up for him to get back on his bike and we rolled across the line together, fourth and fifth respectively."

Eight minutes later, Brandon Draugelis (Team CF) finished in 6:55:29 to round out the top six.

Singlespeed: Pokrivka get his first win at Mohican

With the Gerry Pflug (Salsa Cycles/NoTubes/Top Gear) dropping out at aid three, Justin Pokrivka (Top Gear/Cohen & Associates) led the way to Mohican victory. Pokrivka led the tight field by just over five minutes finishing in 7:17:06.

Ron Harding (Trestle Bridge Racing) came in at 7:22:48, followed closely by Matt Ferrari (Hubcap-Freeze Thaw) who edged out Dwayne Goscinski by just two seconds to take third finishing in 7:31:24.

Not far behind, James Mayuric rounded out the podium in fifth place with Jason Suppan (Soup Can Racing) in 7:43:38.

Masters 50+: Sanborn goes sub eight

Ron Sanborn (Einstein Racing) crushed it on Saturday, finishing 7:43:56. "The course was in great shape considering the rain a day earlier. It is always a pleasure to race here. The singletrack is such a blast to ride," said Sanborn.

"I was definitely more relaxed for this one than Cohutta. I tend to get a little stressed for the season opener. My legs were pretty fresh, only racing once since then, so I had some confidence and my win at Cohutta helped in that regard.

"I lined up in the front, and Roger Masse saw me and took a spot next to me, wanting to keep an eye on me. I welcomed that because it would give me the same opportunity with him. He and I are closely matched, so attacking the first climb leaving town would give me a good idea of where I stood. I soon found myself on the tail of the elite guys at the front entering the first singletrack. Without Roger in sight, I just got into my own rhythm and tried to ride smart at that point. I was caught by Justin Pokrivka (singlespeed division winner) and shortly after that I heard somebody coming up behind me say ‘There they are!'

"I feared it was Roger Masse or Chris Irving. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed Gerry Pflug (NUE Singlespeed Champion) and hot on his tail was Matt Ferrari. Relieved but nervous, I tried to match their pace. Seeing a big gap behind them, I settled back into my game plan. On top of one of the gravel road climbs, I found Gerry off his bike adjusting his saddle height. He jumped on my wheel and I pulled him to just before aid three. After three I found myself riding alone with nobody in sight in front or behind. I caught Jim Mayuric (fifth place singlespeed division) and pulled him along the buggy trail and we traded pulls after aid four. I was starting to fade at that point but after aid five I stepped up my pace and crossed the line feeling better than I expected."

Roger Masse (Trek), who took second place, 8:01:40, behind an elusive Sanborn said, "Great race, as always. I like the course changes, particularly the start/finish changes. I lined up at the start next to Ron Sanborn knowing he was the man to beat but somehow lost track of him in the starting frenzy. I had a decent start so I wasn't sure if he was ahead or behind me. I felt pretty good though through Aid four and then started slowing down and going backwards. When Ron didn't catch me there, I kind of knew he must be leading. He's a great rider. I'm going to have to show up with a better game to challenge him. We'll see what I can do for the Wilderness 101."

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