Bishop and Waite tie for first place

Jeremiah Bishop and Cassie Smith won the cross country race at the Massanutten Hoo Ha! on Sunday.

Bishop spent much of his day with fellow Harrisonburg local Nick Waite. The two worked together to distance the competition and go one-two.

"Nick opened it up on the climb and I opened it up on the downhill on the first lap," said Bishop, "then we worked together to get rid of the guys and make it a two-man race."

"We were together the whole time. At the top of the mountain, I said I never got to thank him for the help here last year. I told him that at the least, I owed him first place prize money. Technically, I got the first place and he got the first place prize money."

Bishop was on his eighth day of racing in a row after completing the seven-day Trans-Sylvania Epic in Pennsylvania.

"I had no clue what my legs would be like. I wanted to bring the Trans-Sylvania leader's jersey home and do a parade ride. I saved a little yesterday and was riding careful. I wanted to come back to my home race on my home trails. I couldn't miss out on it, but I didn't have a lot of snap."

"Now I'm ready for a big time rest week."

Scott Frederick finished third in the men's race.

In the women's contest, Cassie Smith took off from the start and never looked back on her way to winning. Susan Musante chased alone in second place while Shiela Scott earned third.  The three riders motivated themselves by racing the other nearby men.

"My race was awesome. The trails were fast and fun," said Smith, who is coached by local Sue Haywood, who was absent from the race after completing the Trans-Sylvania Epic. "I didn't see any other women after I went off the front. I rode smoothly from the start and was chasing some guys."

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