This Saturday is the Wilderness 101 mountain bike race. It is part of the National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Race Series. The course (map) is a single 101 mile loop that travels through Bald Eagle and Rothrock Pennsylvania State Forests and includes about 15,000 ft of climbing. Last year the winning geared time (Jeff Schalk) was just under 7 hours and winning singlespeed time was just over 8 hours. For some, finish times could be as long as 14 hours.

Several local racers will be taking part in this year’s edition including defending single-speed champion / man-eater Gerry Pflug and last year’s defending NUE women’s champion Betsy Shogren. Expect other pain-loving locals to try and mix it up as well. Ruth Cunningham, Rob Lochner, Don Powers, Montana Miller, (others I don’t know for sure if they’re going), etc. will all be there to do battle with the forest.

Good luck to all the racers.

[via Cyclingnews, Wikipedia]

PA Junior Crit State Champs

The local juniors from Team Citius have really been making a name for themselves and making Pittsburgh proud lately.  This weekend they traveled out east to the Alaric Gayfer Junior State Criterium Championship race.

Ian Baun (Citius)- 1st 13-14 State Champion
Tyler Mower (Citius) –  2nd 13-14

Full Results

Lost River Classic Road Race

Gunnar Shogren (Dynamic PT) – 2nd Masters 45+

Full Results

Nicole Reinhart Memorial Tour de FCCC

Tyler Mower (Citius) – 3rd Road Race, 4th ITT, 4th Crit, 4th overall (13-14)
Ian Baun (Citius) – 8th overall (13-14)

Full Results

6 Hours of Power

Michelle Johnson / Heidi Shill – 1st Female Team 30-39
Josh Matta / Erika Kopanic – 1st Mix Team 20-29
Justin Pokrivka / Ruth Cunningham – 1st Mix Team 30-39
Todd Schoeni / Tim Mould – 1st Male Team 30-39
Nick Popovic – 1st Solo Male Under 19

Full Results

West Virginia State MTB Championships

Brad Schmalzer – 4th Expert / 5th Overall
Gunnar Shogren – 2nd Expert Vet / 7th Overall
Montana Miller – 2nd Singlespeed / 10th Overall
Scott Root – 1st Expert Master

Full Results

This weekend Pittsburgh Racing took a short drive to the north to the city of Butler, PA for the Butler County Stage Race.  Over 100 riders showed up for a very difficult two days of racing.  We followed the action (and provided LIVE coverage) all weekend long.  Below is a brief recap of the race, presented in the form of a photog battle between local enthusiasts Fred Jordan and Benjamin Stephens.

The residents of Butler woke up Saturday morning to the sight of racers barreling down the city streets and whirling around Memorial Park for a 6.5-mile time trial.  Max Korus (Penn State Hershey Cancer) set the fastest time at 14:35 (26.7mph)

Max Korus set the fastest time in the TT - Fred Jordan

Alaina Gurski (CAWES p/b Specialized) set the fastest time amongst the women with a 16:49.

Alaina Gurski won the women's TT - Fred Jordan

The afternoon saw an increase in both action and temperature during the Main St criterium, which featured both a long drag up and down Main St Butler and a loop over some brick roads under the Butler County courthouse.  Before the two-wheelers took off, though, the crowd was treated to the very unique sight of a unicycle crit.

Unicyclist during the Butler crit - Benjamin Stephens

The 4/5 race was lit up by James Thompson who attacked during the first lap and stayed off the front until the finish.

James Thompson impressively wins the 4/5 race - Benjamin Stephens

The 1/2/3 race saw Andreas Fliessgarten off the front for the majority of the race.

Andreas Fliessgarten off the front and on the bricks - Benjamin Stephens

Max Korus heroically bridged up to Fliessgarten and the two eventually made their way around the course and caught the main field.

Max Korus bridged up to Fliessgarten - Fred Jordan

Fliessgarten added insult to injury by then winning the bunch sprint.

The Renfrew Ras road race returned Sunday to finish off the weekend of racing.  Early in the morning during the 4/5 race, James Thompson once again solo’d off on the first climb and the chase pack could never organize enough to catch him.

Some of the Men's 4/5 chase on the climb - Benjamin Stephens

Ray Russell also launched a solo attack in the Master’s race to stay away for the road race win.

Ray Russell attacked solo to win the Master's RR - Fred Jordan

Alaina Gurski fought hard to maintain her lead in the Women’s GC and succeeded even after Patricia George (Steel City Endurance) won the sprint from the select women’s field.

The women on the climb - Benjamin Stephens

The 1/2/3s set off for 10 laps of the 8.5 mile course in the 90-degree sunshine.  Only half would finish.  The front group eventually shrunk to 5 men including Korus, Fliesgarten, Zamastil, and two local favorites on the IRMC squad, Bob Stumpf and Stephen Cummings.

The feed zone was busy every lap in the heat - Benjamin Stephens

After 3 hours and 59 mintes, Max Korus crossed the finish line first to take the victory in the men’s 1/2/3 road race and the top spot in the general classification.

The men's 1/2/3 podium - photo by Fred Jordan

Men’s 1/2/3

1. Max Korus (Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute)
2. Andreas Fliessgarten
3. Stephen Cummings (Indiana Regional Medical Center)

Women Open

1. Alaina Gurski (CAWES p/b Specialized)
2. Emily MacKay (Amoroso’s Cycling Team)
3. Patricia George (Steel City Endurance)

Men’s 40+

1. Ray Russell (Sette Nove)
2. Craig Cozza (UPMC)
3. Bob Gottlieb (Amstel Light)

Men’s 3

1. Patrick Kineston
2. Rob Abramo
3. John Cotter (Freddie Fu)

Men’s 4/5

1. James Thompson
2. Joe Lydic
3. Mike Quigley (Steel City Endurance)

Full results can be found on the race website:

http://butlercountystagerace.blogspot.com/2010/07/final-gcresults.html

Big props to Henry Dimmick who helped organize the race and also served as a moto marshal all weekend.

Henry Dimmick helped organize the race and provided moto support - photo by Benjamin Stephens

Links

More Photos by Fred Jordan

More Photos by Benjamin Stephens

Photos by Deb Rittelmann

The GC standings have been posted for Day 1 of the Butler County Stage Race.  Check them out here:

http://butlercountystagerace.blogspot.com/2010/07/general-classification-after-day-1.html

We’ll be posting more updates live at the road race today here:

http://pghracing.org/live

We are LIVE at the Butler County Stage Race.  Follow along for text and picture updates.  Maybe we will even figure out how to post some video.

Friday Night at the Track – 20-mile Time Trial at the Bud Harris Cycling Track (a.k.a. The Oval).

Butler County Stage Race – A late surge in registrants is making this look like it’s going to be quite an event.  You can still register late on Friday evening or early Saturday morning.  If you’re stuck at home for some good reason, check out our LIVE coverage.

6 Hours of Power – bunch of non-roadies heading up for this race in NY on Sunday.

WV State MTB Championships – Sunday in Davis, WV.

Next Saturday: ACA Saturday Races for beginners, juniors and women.  Including WOMEN’S P COURSE!

The Allegheny Cycling Association (ACA) will be holding races on Saturday July 24 at the recently-dedicated Bud Harris Cycling Track (get directions).  These races will be geared towards women, juniors and beginners.  Cost is $10 to race ($5 for juniors) if you have a USA Cycling license.  One-day licenses can be purchased for an additional $10.  The 3 races will be

Men Cat 5 / Women Cat 4 / One-day License – 9am

Juniors (<18) – 10am

Women Open (P Course) – 11am

The P Course

Please spread the word to your friends or anybody that might be interested.  This will be an excellent opportunity for people to try out racing if they have never tried before or haven’t been able to make it down on Tuesday evenings.

Pittsburgh Racing will be following the Butler County Stage Race this weekend and posting live text and picture updates. Saturday is the time trial and criterium in Butler, PA and Sunday is the Renfrew Ras road race.

Follow the action LIVE at http://pghracing.org/live

Contact us if you’d like to contribute. All you need is a twitter account.

When: July 17-18, 2010
Where: Butler, PA (get directions)
Register: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10633
Online Registration Closes
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 11:59 PM ET
Late registration will be Friday, July 16th from 6-10 pm ONLY. (201 S. Main Street, Butler, PA 16001) A $10 late registration fee applies. There will be no day-of-race registration.

More info: http://www.butlercountystagerace.blogspot.com/

A stage race in our backyard? Almost too good to be true.  But it’s for real.  Ed Johnson, Henry Dimmick and the AG3r crew have expanded from last year’s stellar Renfrew Rás road race to a full blown 3-race stage race now including a criterium on Main St Butler and a challenging individual time trial.

City of Butler Time Trial Saturday (morning) July 17

The 6.5 mile course winds around town and includes short sections of brick and rough surfaces and 6 sharp turns.  First racer leaves at 8:50am with 30 second intervals.  More info here.

NOTE: Times will be posted at late registration / pack pickup on Friday 6-10pm.

Butler Main St Criterium Saturday (afternoon) July 17

Renfrew Rás Road Race Sunday July 18

Back again is the same challenging 8.5-mile loop Renfrew Rás road race. The race is characterized by the long swooping downhill from the airport to a short interlude along the river followed by a hard left and sharp climb out of Renfrew which is quite easy to pick out on the elevation profile:

See the full map here:

Just like last year, there will be a police escort and rolling enclosure for each field. Last year the volunteers and course marshals were spectacular all day long. And it will be a long day especially for the 1/2/3s who will make 10 laps for a total of 85 miles.

Full Rolling Enclosure

Local cycling coach Chris Mayhew (JBV Coaching) is helping organize a cyclocross clinic on Saturday August 28th, 2010 in collaboration with Fulcrum Coaching and featuring cyclocross PRO Jeremy Powers.  There are already a few from Pittsburgh signed up. Below is the press release:

Fulcrum Coaching and JBV Coaching Present The 2010 Cyclocross Clinic Featuring Jeremy Powers

Fulcrum Coaching and JBV Coaching are stoked to announce that U.S. pro cyclocrosser Jeremy Powers will once again share his years of pro-level racing experience at their annual cyclocross clinic. Building on the overwhelming success of last year’s clinic, this one-day cyclocross boot camp—sponsored by Swiftwick socks, Cannondale bicycles, and the Bike Doctor in Waldorf—is the perfect way to kick off a successful 2010 ‘cross campaign. Ideal for beginner and experienced ‘crossers, Jeremy and a staff of four top-notch instructors will give you the inside scoop on everything you need to know to step up your CX game.

This year’s clinic will be held at Rosaryville State Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. A short drive from Washington, D.C., and the site of last year’s Tacchino Ciclocross, Rosaryville’s varied terrain gives clinic participants the opportunity to learn and hone their skills on several surfaces including ‘cross-friendly single-track mountain-bike trails.

In addition to a full day of learning technique, tactics and skills, attendees will also benefit from hands on instruction from JPow and professional coaches. “Everyone learned something which was my number one goal with this camp,” Powers said after last year’s clinic. “The other coaches and I really made our best effort to get everyone nailing the techniques the correct way,” he added. “We hit on the fundamentals of cyclocross so all the participants had the tools to get a result in their upcoming competitions.”

Where most clinics give you a couple hours or a half-day of instruction, the Fulcrum Coaching and JBV Coaching clinic goes all out. Not only do you receive a full day of instruction on all facets of ‘cross racing, a Chipotle lunch, and an end-of-the-day mock race to put all your new skills into practice, but you also get the opportunity to pick Jeremy’s brain at a Friday night ‘cross talk session at The Bike Doctor in Waldorf, Maryland.

Along with getting the chance to talk up JPow, the ‘cross talk event is a great opportunity to take home great swag from Swiftwick and The Bike Doctor, and a new cyclocross bike frame from Cannondale Bicycles.

This clinic is designed to help the beginner and accomplished cyclocross racer. With four coaches in addition to Jeremy, every attendee will receive one-on-one instruction tailored to improve their technique, tactics and training. Participants will be divided into groups by experience so beginners are not left behind and experienced racers are constantly challenged to improve their skill set. All coaches, including Jeremy, will work with each group several times as the day progresses.

Friday night’s cross talk will take place at The Bike Doctor of Waldorf from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday’s clinic at Rosaryville State Park will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To register for this year’s clinic, please visit bikereg.com. Space is limited to 50 attendees and last year’s clinic sold out fast. Also be sure to follow us on Facebook.  For a look at what attendees and coaches, including Jeremy, had to say about last year’s clinic check out cxhairs.com.

If you have any questions about the clinic please do not hesitate to contact Chris Mayhew at chris[at]jbvcoaching.com or 724.413.7441.