Strigel and House win Iola Bump and Jump

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The Subaru-sponsored Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) returned this past Sunday with the first race of the 2013 season, the Iola Bump and Jump. After an extra long Wisconsin winter, racers were overwhelmed with a hot and sunny season opener. Iola, Wisconsin played host once again to the WORS series opener and reminded participants what a cross country mountain bike race feels like.

Abby Strigel (Honey Stinger/ Bontrager) was the first of the elite women's racers to finish. And she did so with a gap of almost two minutes over Cooper Dendel (Boarder Grill). Dendel, a first year pro, gave Abby Strigel a run for her money by not only keeping up with her most of the race but also gapping her at one point. Strigel is a very fierce competitor that rarely lets others get away from her.

While Strigel worked at reeling in Dendel, there was another battle behind them between Lisa Krayer (Adventure 212/Specialized) and Lindsey Kriete (Velo Trocadero). Kriete dealt with the heat to push ahead of Krayer for a third place finish while Krayer took the fourth spot.

In the men's race, Cole House (Cashcall Cycling Team / 616) rocketed his way to a huge lead within the first two miles of the first lap. House extended his gap within the first few laps. He admits that "riding alone isn't very fun" and knew that the pack would likely catch him. But he did wager that his lead would exhaust the elite field as they tried to close the gap.

The rest of the pack included two previous WORS overall champions Brian Matter (RACC/Trek) and Tristen Schouten (Rolf Prima Wheels).After saving up some energy, Matter moved his way up from eighth to second while Schouten moved up to 3rd. They formed a break away group that eventually caught Cole House. Matter put the pressure on House and took the lead for a while in the fourth of the five-lap event. But House was not going to let his lead be taken from him and he moved the gap back in his favor through the singletrack. Matter took second in the overall. Third place finisher Tristen Schouten said he was off to a slower start to this season than in years past. But with many Wisconsin racers having a rough spring for training, this did not put Schouten in a bad spot overall. Even with what he considered a slower pace, he was able to hang on to a spot on the podium.

This was the first time in the last few years that the Iola Bump and Jump was blessed with warm weather. This is partially due to the fact that the race had been postponed because of snow on the course near the original scheduled date. The reschedule gave the racers more time to prepare and gave Wisconsin a chance to bring on the high temperatures and humidity that summers here are famous for.

The next scheduled event on the WORS calendar is the Crystal Lake Classic held in Rhinelander, Wisconsin on May 26, 2013.

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