Bishop and Yeager win Shenandoah Mountain 100

The Shenandoah 100 became a pivotal race for several NUE Contenders as they headed out at 6:30 am into the George Washington National Forest of Virginia, now just two weeks away before the final race that breaks all ties at the Fool's Gold 100 in Georgia. The oldest race in the NUE Series, Shenandoah is a highly anticipated showdown showcasing top level talent in a festive atmosphere with most racers choosing to camp out at the Stokesville Lodge and campground. A threat of thunderstorms had some racers wary but the storms moved eastward for this weekend, leaving blue skies, some cloud cover at times, and a gentle breeze.

Women

Selene Yeager (Rare Disease Cycling) earned her first NUE Series win on Saturday coming in at 8:55:50.

"I came into Shenandoah 100 pretty blind, to be honest. I obviously know about it and had mused about doing it for about 10 years, but something always came up."

Yeager planned to stick with the lead women to keep herself from going out too hard, but she tossed that strategy on the first climb.

"One of the race favorites Laura Hamm (Moonstomper) came around pretty much immediately. I got on her wheel and started thinking. I'd heard she was fast on the descents. It was dry and sketchy, not my favorite descending conditions and I was completely new to the course. If I stuck with her wheel, I might end up chasing out of my element all day. I felt like I could probably climb a bit faster, so I made an early pass and didn't look back, making a revised game plan to climb my heart out on all the big climbs and let it rip on the descents where I felt comfortable, but be conservative when I didn't."

In all, 62 women registered for the race making it one of the largest women's divisions in the NUE Series this season.

Hamm finished second at 9:11:28, 17 minutes faster than last year (9:28:47) when she placed second to Sue Haywood. "I went into the SM100 without much racing or fast riding, but a whole lot of slow miles. I completed the continental divide mountain bike route this summer and then rode from Utah to San Francisco as a mechanic with Bike the US for MS, a charity group that raises money for multiple sclerosis. I just didn't have the legs to keep up with Selene and she got away from me early on but felt great technically and just rode a steady pace the whole time, keeping it in low gear because I didn't have much power. I was happy to finish a little faster than I did last year."

Kaysee Armstrong (Kona/TVB Race) was third at 9:25:05, improving on her fifth place finish last year.

Men

2012 NUE Series Champion Jeremiah Bishop (Sho-Air/Cannondale) crushed it on Saturday to finish 7:08:55, four minutes faster than the winning time set last year by Ben King. With this win, Bishop moved into top contention for the NUE Series title with four wins, including the Cohutta 100, Wilderness 101, and The Hampshire 100. After the NUE Season, Bishop is planning to compete in the Munga Challenge. To prepare for aid stations that are 100+ miles apart, he added some distance both before and after the last two NUE races.

"My plan for my second Munga Challenge was to ride 25 miles out to the race starting at 4:30 am in the morning, compete in the race, then ride for an extra 3-4 hours afterward. I knew this was a little crazy but I'm not afraid to take some risks."

"My play almost went south when Smart Stop Mountain Kakis rider Cameron 'Cogburner' countered a vicious attack from Sam Koerber. The fireworks put me in defense mode."

Bishop made is move later in the race, getting away on the Braley's Pond descent. He time trialed to the finish on his own for the win.

Sam Koerber (Team Industry Nine) finished second at 7:22:49. "What a year it's been and not even over. Trish and I made the trip up for her first year back on course since 2008. With two kids giving us a new perspective and Trish undergoing major surgery earlier in the year to remove a benign tumor, the return had a celebratory feel."

"I've often had the speed to hang with the leaders for a while in the 100s but almost always get shelled at some point. I keep coming back because I want to finish one strong. All in all, it was just a great day out there, trails were spectacular, and the competition was everything I wanted (stiff but mostly barely beatable)."

Just two minutes behind Koerber in a come from behind finish, Brian Schworm (Pedal Power Racing) finished 7:24:37 to capture third place. It was only his second 100-miler.

Gordon Wadsworth got his second straight win with 34x19 gearing at Shenandoah this year, 7:45:57, more than a half hour faster than his winning time last year using the same gearing (8:18:42).

With this win, and wins this season at Cohutta, Lumberjack and the Wilderness 101, Wadsworth has positioned himself for an NUE title showdown with the AJ Linnell (Fitzgerald's Bicycles/Pivot), who also has three wins this season.

"Shenandoah is an important race for me. After a year of racing everybody else's home course, it was good to be near home and racing on a course I know and love, and can win on," said Wadsworth.

NUE defending Champion, Gerry Pflug (Team Rare Disease) took second at 8:10:20. Seven minutes behind Pflug, Ernesto Marenchin (Pivot Cycles) took third.

Masters men

Roger Masse (Rare Disease Cycling) got his third NUE Series win this season finishing 8:25:33 setting him up for a title showdown with defending NUE Champion, Marland Whaley. Seven minutes behind Masse (Henry Loving, Richmond) took second at 8:32:57. Nine minutes later, Alex Hawkins laid claim to third place at 8:41:26, one of just the top three Masters to go sub nine on the day.

What's next

The NUE Championship race at the Fool's Gold 100 slated for September 20 will break any and all ties in this best four of 13-race series.

Results