Bishop wins prologue

Edition one of Pennsylvania’s Transylvania Epic was welcomed by clear skies and balmy weather with the temperatures pushing 80 degrees. What looked to be a short field has turned out to be stacked with talented riders from across the country. Both the men’s and women’s categories have heavy hitters from the endurance world. It seems that racers found the calling to a seven-day stage race in the continental US too tasty to pass on.

East coast power-house Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale Factory Racing) scorched the ten mile prologue with a time of 35:33. More than a minute back was Drew Edsell (Yeti) in second and Christian Tanguy (Team CF) 45 seconds back. Fourth through sixth place, Alex Grant (Cannondale Factory Racing), Blake Harlan (Team Jamis), Brandon Draugelis (PAValley.com) are all within the same minute.

The course was an equal mix of short climbing on gravel and dual-track, with rock strewn single-track. Many racers finished with a smile on their face despite the dusty road sections.

Selene Yeager (Team CF) proved her technical skills were spot on with a 45 second gap on Karen Potter (MTBRacenews.com). Rebecca Rusch (Specialized) pulled in 16 seconds behind Potter with a big smile on her face.

The Single Speed class has the top three riders finishing within the same minute.Greg Martin (Club Ride Apparel) and Douglas Jenne (High Gear Cyclery/ GhostShip Clothing) squeezed past a stunned Rich Dillen (Team Dickey) who wore his best whites for the opening course.

Team CF won the Duo Category and in the masters class Alec Petro (Team Psycho) took top honors. The Lichtenwalners won the tandem Cass.

Tomorrow’s stage will travel 40 miles and looks to keep the good weather for another day.

Full Results