Wicks wins Lumberjack 100

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The Founders Lumberjack 100 sold out yet again in 2012 with a packed field of solid competition in every division vying for the re-known hatchet award. Hot and dry conditions this year created new challenges for racers as a firm race course in lap one of three turned into beach-like riding.  Barry Wicks and Amanda Carey won the men's and women's divisions.

Women: Carey makes it three in a row

Defending NUE Champion Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) captured her third straight win in the series this year, finishing in a time of 7:42:35 as she goes for her third consecutive series title. Eight races remain in this year's series.

Brenda Simril (Motor Mile Racing) has a few years on her competitors yet remains in the hunt in her best year ever with three second place finishes so far this year. Simril placed second to the NUE Series Champ on Saturday in 8:11:04 but admitted that the Lumberjack course did not play to her strengths, "For me, this race is the most daunting one of the series. The rolling singletrack with no rocks and no sustained climbs plays into all of my weaknesses."

Simril only wanted to improve her time from last year - her first Lumberjack - and survive the heat. What had surprised her was how full throttle the race is from start to finish.

"I got a great start and was encouraged to see that my first lap split was 10 minutes faster than last year's. I pretty much rode that wave the rest of the race. By the third lap, the course had gotten so churned up from all the riders that it felt like we were riding on the beach - definitely made the legs burn like crazy."

Jane Pearson (Yorktowncycles- Raw Revolution), who took the third in a time of 8:25:55 said, "I got a great start. After watching how fast things kicked off last year, I was prepared and made sure I got a good position. It feels surreal lining up at dawn to embark on racing 100 miles but looking around me at my fellow racers I saw excitement and anticipation which gave me energy to do so."

Pearson avoided a downed rider on the first sandy singletrack and kept Simril in sight for as long as possible. "I joined several speeding 'freight trains' of riders and went for it just enjoying the pumping fast terrain. After racing 50 miles in New York over peanut butter clad rock, it was fun to get some fast, twisty, dry trails under my wheels. I was smiling a lot. After placing fifth and fourth at NUE races; taking third was the bee's knees!"

A happy Julie Whalen (Freewheeler Racing) claimed fourth place in her first Lumberjack at 9:10:42. She said, "I am relatively new to mountain biking, having spent most of my life as a runner, but I feel like I have truly found my home in this sport. The energy, camaraderie, and enthusiasm surrounding this event were all perfect examples of why. When it comes down to it, mountain bikers are simply a great group of people to be around!"

Stephanie Smith finished fifth at 9:15:34, and Shannon Ancel (Cone Health/cycles De Oro/gvc)rounded out the podium in sixth place in 9:22:55.

Men: Wicks gets his first series win

The top six riders all finished sub seven hours, however, it was 31-year-old Barry Wicks (Kona) getting his first NUE Series win and setting the bar for record time a smidge higher at 6:27:19.

Kevin Carter (Gripped Racing) shook off the gremlins that plagued him earlier this year at Cohutta, Syllamo's and Mohican by stepping up to the podium just over one minute later at 6:28:48.

Last year's record-winning time of 6:30:25 was set by NUE defending champion and last year's race winner, Christian Tanguy (Team CF), who came up short this year, yet continued his strong showing and his lead in the NUE Series with a third place finish (6:35:36).

Drew Edsall (Kenda/Felt), who rolled in three minutes later in 6:38:53, elaborated a bit on how things shook out in the Manistee Forest of Michigan, "Coming into this race I knew, to have a solid top three finish, I would need a lot to go right against the solid competition here. Unfortunately, a lot went wrong! I crashed, lost two bottles, and got a stick stuck in my wheel at one point. That's racing and minimizing those errors is a huge part of success at NUE races. I gave it all I had and the power numbers showed it."

With an intense start, Edsall and others pushed 300-400 watts on the road heading toward the singletrack.

"I had a solid position in the singletrack but unfortunately touched bars in a really bad spot with Kevin Carter causing an insanely awkward and fast summersault on my bike about a minute into the singletrack," said Edsall. "That was intense and not the way you want a 100 miler to start. However, I was somehow unharmed for the most part, gathered my things together, and got back on the bike."

Edsall worked with Rob Spreng to catch the front group 20 miles in. The leaders included Wicks, Tanguy, Josh Tostado, Michael Simonson and Carter. The Kenda/Felt rider stayed with them until about halfway through lap two of three.

The strong man from Colorado, Tostado, rolled into fifth place, just ahead of the SiMonster, Michael Simonson (RBS Trek MTB Team) who finished sixth at 6:52:28. He described his race. "[I] lead the pack into the parking lot. Wicks took the chute. I was second wheel and missed the crash but Wicks pushed the pace hard at the start. A group of six developed after the first lap. Christian and I pushed the pace through road monkey on the second lap then Carter and Wicks pushed the pace at the end of lap two. The heat took me out and I limped in for sixth. Tostado caught me with about three miles to the finish."

Singlespeed men: Batdorf makes an early break away and holds on for the win

Three-time defending NUE Series champion Gerry Pflug (Salsa/pro Bikes) had to sit this one out thanks to an unexpected tick bite to the groin at Syllamo's Revenge that forced him to drop out of the Mohican 100 two weeks ago, just 46 miles into the race. Pflug's absence left the singlespeed division open to a wild eyed pack of one geared riders looking for their shot at the top spot at Lumberjack.

Hal Batdorf seized the opportunity, claiming his first NUE Series victory in 7:11:16 and breaking the course record set by the Pflug last year.

"I had a smooth start and was able to work my way up to Mike Montalbano (Bicycle Tech/eleven Madison Park/tomac/gu/schwalbe), Dwayne Goscinski (Dogfish/cyclewerx/dch/noah's Foundation), and Trevor Rockwell. Our group stayed together for the entire first lap despite the furious pace."

Batdorf, Goscinski and Rockwell rode away for the start of lap 2 after Montalbano had a slow water stop.

Batdorf gapped the others halfway through lap two without actually attacking. "I knew at this point that I had pretty good legs and was going to put in a maximum effort to attempt to catch Justin Pokrivka," said Batdorf. "I finally made contact with Justin after a long flat road section at the beginning of lap three. Justin led us into the singletrack and I could immediately tell that he was suffering. I made the pass on a short punchy climb and would ride solo for the remainder of the race. I kept my pace high and did a personal time trial for the final 20 miles. I knew what Mike and Dwayne were capable of so I made sure to finish strong."

Montalbano was third in 7:16:19, less than a minute behind Goscinski, who finished second at 7:15:40.

"Last year, I wasn't prepared for the intensity of the start of this race so this year I went as hard as I could to be right on Justin Pokrivka's wheel entering the singletrack. After about five miles or so, it became apparent to me that Justin's pace was a little harder than I was willing to go for 100 miles so I sat up, took a drink, and waited for the chase group of singlespeeders to catch me."

Goscinski, Rockwell, Batdorf and James Harmon were in this group, which paced off of geared rider Jed Prentice (Bike Doctor). Harmon attacked on the firetower climb, jumping on to Eddie O'Dea's wheel and opening a small gap.

Justin Pokrivka (Top Gear/Cohen & Associates), coming off a big win at Mohican two weeks ago, held on for fourth place in 7:30:59 with 26-year-old Jacob Marshall (Freewheeler Racing) at 7:32:28 taking fifth and 44-year-old Brad Keyes (Carborocket) rounding out the podium in sixth place at 7:37:37.

Masters: Sanborn leads with three wins

Following wins at both Cohutta and Mohican, 50-year-old Ron Sanborn (Einstein Racing) took a commanding lead of the NUE Series on Saturday with a big win at the Lumberjack 100 more than 40 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. His winning time of 7:18:04 also set a new course record previously held by NUE Masters Champion and last year's race winner Robert Herriman (Trek 29er Crew/wsc/acfstores.Com), who set the bar at 7:25:30.

"After avoiding any mishaps on what seemed to be more of a frantic start than normal, I settled in and started picking riders off climbing up Catamount. That left me in the top twenty before jumping on the first two-track," said Sanborn, who took 20mph pulls with Dan Kotwicki (Aberdeen Bike).

They bridged up to Garth Prosser (Specialized Bicycles, Ashford Surgical,Mama Mimis)and Eddie O'Dea (Topeak-Ergon).

"The four of us ripped through Road Monkey setting the pace for a 2:17 first lap for me. At that point, there were huge gaps in the field, and I just set more of relaxed pace for lap two. I was still climbing strong but the trails were getting looser and slower with each lap it seemed. Riding portions of laps two and three with Ernesto Marenchin (Pivot Cycles) definitely helped break up the monotony of the latter stages of the race. Hitting Bushwacker on lap three, I knew I was going to take home my second Lumberjack Axe trophy and was able to have some fun on the way in. Hats off to race director Rick Plite and his crew for another great Lumberjack 100!"

Ray Fulkerson (CMS), 53, placed second on a course he described as dry and dusty. "My early goal was to hang with the top female for the first lap, special thanks goes out to Amanda Carey. The second lap goal, always the most difficult mentally, was to keep my time within 10 minutes of first place. Seeing 5:08 on the clock as I was finishing the second lap was great motivation for eclipsing the eight-hour mark. Heading into the last mile my eyes were glued on the clock as I finished with a 7:58:17, a reduction of 42 minutes over 2011. However, I did not do this alone. There was such a tremendous amount of camaraderie among racers during this race."

Mike Belanger (Racing Greyhounds) took the third podium spot at 8:04:47. David Maclean came in a few minutes later 8:10:11 with Dennis R Schueler Jr. (Rbikes.Com/fleettruckparts.Com/lanajewelry.Com) rounding out the podium in fifth place at 8:28:04 and 54-year-old David Bell (Cambr) placing sixth in 8:40:28

The next stop for the NUE Series is Sunday, July 15 in the high country of Breckenridge, Colorado for the Breckenridge 100, the home race of Josh Tostado. Stay tuned for a race preview and all the action.

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