Sam Koerber won the opening stage of his hometown race on Tuesday afternoon, finishing in a time of 3:11:59. Adam Craig, who flatted on Black Mountain was second, ahead of Jeremiah Bishop in third.
Local boy Koerber took the lead early in the stage and maintained, with Craig close behind and Bishop another few minutes back. Koerber made his move to shake Craig on Black Mountain and was successful after the latter flatted.
Craig continued to add CO2 to make it to the bottom without allowing Bishop to catch up. At Pressley Gap, just before the final descent on Black Mountain, there was a seven-minute gap between Craig and Bishop, who worked hard to close it to just two minutes by the finish.
In the women's race, Xterra star Melanie McQuaid had a good lead all along and maintained that until the finish.
Returning elite men's 40+ champ Andy Johnston didn't seem too threatened by Gerry Pflug's gears as he finished a solid 10 minutes ahead.
Overall, people were stoked coming off of the Queen Stage, and spirits were high at Happy Hour after the awards.
Full Results for stage 1 and general classification after stage 1
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Koerber (USA) Verizon | 3:11:59 |
| 2 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank/Giant | 0:03:04 |
| 3 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale | 0:05:21 |
| 4 | Drew Edsall (USA) SuperCoolBikeShop | 0:25:10 |
| 5 | Wes Dickson (USA) Sycamore Cycles/Specialized | 0:48:10 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melanie McQuaid (Can) Specialized/Avia | 4:12:21 |
| 2 | Karen Potter (USA) MTBRaceNews.com | 0:09:00 |
| 3 | Katie Button (Can) MelRadRacing | 1:04:58 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Johnston (USA) mtbandy.com | 3:36:04 |
| 2 | Garth Prosser (USA) Cannondale Fact | 0:10:17 |
| 3 | Gerry Pflug (USA) Salsa/NoTubes | 0:12:26 |
| 4 | Morgan Olsson (USA) CyclesdeOro | 0:18:35 |
| 5 | Jeff Adamcik (USA) Bicycle HQ | 0:27:15 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradley Schmalzer (USA) bikeman.com/notubes | 3:59:23 |
| 2 | Derek Gentry (USA) PisgahAreaCycling | 0:03:27 |
| 3 | Scott Kuppersmith (USA) | 0:11:44 |
| 4 | Jeff S Plassman (USA) | 0:21:30 |
| 5 | Jason Luque (USA) Champion Cycling | 1:07:21 |
| 6 | Stephen Janes (USA) TripsforKidsWNC | 1:11:31 |
| 7 | Luke Angel (USA) | 1:20:31 |
| 8 | James Robert Spurk (USA) | 1:34:31 |
| 9 | Scott Steiding (USA) | 1:41:46 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cissy Fowler (USA) | 4:39:28 |
| 2 | Mireille Montminy (Can) | 0:00:11 |
| 3 | Claire Garcia-Webb (Aus) | 0:15:52 |
| 4 | Kym Schifino (USA) PisgahAreaCycling | 0:16:36 |
| 5 | Ashlie Angel (USA) | 0:28:02 |
| 6 | Stãphanie Monaco (Can) | 1:19:58 |
| 7 | Lena Yarbrough (USA) | 1:25:46 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruce Stauffer (USA) | 4:15:44 |
| 2 | Chris St. Peter (USA) PisgahAreaCycling | 0:13:06 |
| 3 | John Kuhn (USA) CranfordBikeTea | 0:20:04 |
| 4 | Chris Baker (USA) TotalCyclist/ShannonRidge | 0:27:18 |
| 5 | Patrick McMahon (USA) gotoaffordablebedding.com | 0:29:48 |
| 6 | Eric Purdue (USA) TheHub | 0:37:35 |
| 7 | Cooper Fowler (USA) | 0:50:41 |
| 8 | Mike Trujillano (USA) | 0:52:09 |
| 9 | Jorge Antonio Blanco (USA) | 0:54:29 |
| 10 | Jim Snyder (USA) Grimaldis/RRBC | 1:02:07 |
| 11 | Trey Schwalb (USA) | 1:08:47 |
| 12 | Garnett Abbey (Can) | 1:15:51 |
| 13 | Tom McArdle (USA) | 1:39:03 |
| 14 | Keith Smith (USA) | 1:44:56 |
| 15 | Randy Tuggle (USA) | 1:46:10 |
| 16 | Marc Waite (USA) | 2:05:32 |
| 17 | Logan Boss (USA) | 2:11:12 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana Miller (USA) WildernessVoyage | 4:09:56 |
| 2 | Rob Lochner (USA) | 0:20:59 |
| 3 | Jason Morgan (USA) Hunter Subaru | 0:23:30 |
| 4 | Eric Sauer (USA) | 0:34:41 |
| 5 | Scott Sidener (USA) UpstateSORBA | 1:04:36 |
| 6 | Craig Hoyt (USA) | 3:54:51 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun McCann (USA) Harper's Bike Shop | 4:22:39 |
| 1 | Fred Smith (USA) Harper's Bike Shop | 4:22:41 |
| 2 | Brenda Simril (USA) Motor Mile Racing | 0:01:18 |
| 2 | Lee Simril (USA) Motor Mile Racing | 0:00:01 |
| 3 | Yuri Eliashevsky (USA) Blue Sky MD | 0:24:49 |
| 3 | Dave Lamond (USA) Blue Sky MD | 0:24:51 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob McGahey (USA) Industry Nine | 3:44:52 |
| 2 | Brad Welch (USA) Verizon Wireless | 0:43:56 |
| 3 | Jim Perry (USA) Hunter Subaru | 1:03:33 |
| 4 | Chad Banner (USA) Pisgah Area Cycling | 1:30:28 |
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