At 9 a.m., racers rolled out for a 55-mile epic, which would feature 5,000 feet of elevation gain and over 30 miles of pure single track on the Virgin River Rim Trail. As promised, the course tested each rider's fitness.
As in Stage One, race leaders included Bishop, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Ryan Trebon and Ben Sonntag, who again was eager to set a fast pace from the gun. The elite men traded turns at the front, each pushing the pace, and seeming equally matched on the challenging route.
Ascending the final steep climb of the course, the leaders narrowed their group, dropping Trebon as the intensity of the pace continued. At the summit, Bishop, Horgan-Kobelski and Sonntag knew the remaining four miles - a wide-open, loose and sketchy Super D-like downhill - would ultimately determine the day's champion.
Horgan-Kobelski and Bishop charged ahead of Sonntag matching each other through the rough descent. At the sudden hairpin 90-degree left turn to the 400-meter finish stretch, both riders slid out hard around the turn - Bishop slightly over-geared and Horgan-Kobelski skipping his chain. Both riders quickly corrected and surged ahead to the finish line, where a lunging Bishop bested Horgan-Kobelski to the line by a mere six-tenths of a second to take the win and retain the American Mountain Classic leader's jersey going into Stage Three.
In the women's event, the tables turned with endurance specialist Monique Sawicki pulling ahead of Stage One's leader Lea Davison, who seemed to be feeling the effects of the course's high altitude. Sawicki captured the win, while Trek/Volkswagen's Jenny Smith rode a strong race to finish in second place, and Davison held on for forth. With two major stage's remaining, the women's event is wide open and should prove to be an exciting race to watch.
Labels: American Mountain Classic, Race Headlines
