Tanguy and Sornson victorious in Cohutta 100

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The dry weather and mild temperatures that welcomed racers last year at the Cohutta 100 were nowhere to be found on Saturday. The race was held at the Ocoee whitewater center near Ducktown, Tennessee, host of the 1996 Olympic whitewater competition.

Dropping temperatures, cold winds and soaking rains saturated the race course overnight and intermittently throughout the day. Eighty of more than 400 racers failed to make it to the start line of round 2 of the Kenda National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Series due to the conditions. Start line temps hovered around 49 degrees (Fahrenheit) in pouring rain.

Even fewer racers were able to endure to the finish of the course with 13,000 feet of climbing in the Cherokee National Forest.

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Sornson wins women's race

Cheryl Sornson (Team CF) finished with the win at the end of what she called a tough day in 9:32:21.

"Staying focused on survival was my main objective," she said. "Wanting to redeem myself from the slow start at True Grit (NUE race #1), I stuck to the first group into the singletrack. There were no other women who were with me at that point, so I put it in a manageable gear and safely negotiated the slippery singletrack."

Sornson said her spirits were high for the first few hours, but as the race went on, conditions deteriorated and so did her spirts.

"It got really cold for a bit which made going down the fire roads in the wet an awful experience. I kept it reigned in and never took a chance by going too fast. Once the roads or trails went up I used the effort to bring myself up to a manageable temperature. Keeping warm was a motivation to keep going. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you went, it felt like you were almost going backwards."

Muddy trails made the going even slower. Her time was over one hour slower than last year.

Brenda Simril (Motor Mile Racing) splashed into second place on the day at 10:41:40. Getting her best NUE Series finish ever following a fifth place finish at the Mohican 100 last year, Linda Shinn (Crankskins/Blacksmith Cycles) finished third in 10:52:45.

2011 NUE Men's Open Champion Christian Tanguy (TeamCF.org) got off to a solid start on his race season with a win. He finished in 8:00:47. Kevin Carter (Gripped Racing p/b Dogfish Head Ale House) was second, just seven minutes later.

Chris Peariso got the hole shot, followed by Carter and Tanguy just. An encounter with a trail marker temporarily derailled Peariso, but fortunately he was ok and soon rejoined the racing.

Sam Koerber took over the number two spot from Tanguy, then Carter and Koerber took a wrong turn at a fork in the trail while Tanguy went the right way. The two off-course riders eventually got back on track, without losing too much time.

Tanguy was first out of the singletrack and onto the fireroad. Koerber, Carter, Peariso and another rider pushed hard to bridge up. The pace was urgent but not unruly for the next hour with everyone taking some turns at the front.

Three hours in, the pace got deadline and Tanguy and Carter opened up time on the others. Carter got away on the rollers, but his time at the front was fleeting. "Miscalculated nutrition equals leg cramps, lost power, and relegation to the pain cave," said Carter.

Tanguy took over the lead and rolled away. Carter raced in second, ahead of Koerber.

Carter was one of many racers hampered by disintegrating brake pads and descending with just one brake was challenging.

Third place ultimately went to a newcomer to the NUE Series, 28-year-old Westley Richards (Clemmons Bicycle). Koerber rode in for fourth place in 8:14:06, just two minutes ahead of Peariso.

Pfluginator wins singlespeed race

Four-time NUE Singlespeed Champion Gerry Pflug (Team CF / Pro Bikes) crushed the field by nearly a half hour in 8:34:58, delivering his second straight singlespeed win this year and garnering sixth place overall on the day.

"The Pluginator", 44, chose a 40/24 instead of the 34/20 he used for the win at Cohutta last year.

Sporting long rain pants, a long sleeve base layer, and a Team CF jacket throughout the race, Pflug faced down a tough field that included Mike Montalbano and 2011 Master's Champion Doug Andrews, who chose to debut this season in the singlespeed division. Andrews will be 52 this year and hails from Mission Viejo, California. In 2011, the year Andrews turned 50, he was smashing the masters field by as much as two hours, and, almost always, finishing in the top ten overall against guys nearly half his age at times. Andrews admittedly had Pflug in his sights on Saturday.

"Many of the Cohutta fireroad ascents have sections where a rider can look down on the switchback turns below to see if anyone is chasing," said Pflug. "On one of these climbs, I saw another singlespeed racer, Mike Montalbano, chasing hard and, judging from his pace, I knew it wouldn't be long until he caught me. When he did catch me, just prior to checkpoint 3 at about mile 36, I knew it was time to start riding hard again."

Montalbano caught Pflug and spent some time in front of him while the latter paced himself before attacking his rival.

"Shortly after getting clear from Mike, there was a super long descent down to the race turn-around point. Even with all the clothing I was wearing, my body was still getting cold and I wondered how riders wearing just shorts on their legs would feel. I like being warm and seem to ride better when my leg muscles are not cold. I'm sure my race time would have been much slower if I wore less clothing and I also think my choice of clothing was one reason I seemed to be riding well in the nasty conditions."

Montalbano finished second in 8:58:44, "Last year, I competed in the open class on a geared bike. This year, I figured I could knock a half hour off my time on the singlespeed. If my race went according to plan, I thought I'd give Gerry a run for the win."

2011 Champion Andrews wasn't able to Out-Pflug the Pfluginator in his first attempt as a singlespeed racer. However, he managed to earn the three spot on the podium in a sign of what is shaping up to be a hotly contested division this season.

Drogalis gets first ever masters NUE race win

"I was pretty much oblivious to where the other masters riders were all day as I let the first selection of 30-35 riders separate from me on the first road climb off the gun. Fortunately, two other castaways and I joined up immediately and kept a high tempo to the first section of singletrack where I began to pick through riders from the first group. I like to climb the tight stuff on my own so it all worked perfectly on the first singletrack section where I held position until the first road section."

Speaking of the conditions, he said, "I felt fast and comfortable all day without the slow fade I sometimes get racing in the heat. I'm from Northeastern Pennsylvania originally so that makes me go well in cooler temperatures I suppose. I was especially gratified with the result because, on a day when the overall man and woman were nearly an hour slower, I managed my loss to just 35 minutes."

Finishing second at 10:16:44, 51-year-old Roger Sutton (Brick City Bicycles) was 15 minutes ahead of True Grit winner, 54-year-old David Jolin (Stark Velo).

Next NUE Series round

The next round of the NUE Series will take place in the Shawangunk Mountains in upstate New York. The Wildcat 100 will happen on Saturday, May 11.

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