Bishop won the 19th annual event in a record time of 1:28:31. The victory caps off a string of recent high-profile wins including the National Ultra Endurance Series finals National Oktoberfest and the Tahoe Sierra 100. After turning on the jets in July, winning two USA National Championships - Short Track Cross Country and Marathon Mountain Bike – Bishop has been on stellar form, showing pure determination in continuing to race when many have hung it up for the year.
Here's how the Iceman played out, in Jeremiah's own words:
On the event:
"This race is like the Midwest World Championships. It was unbelievably fast. I've dreamed of doing this race since I was a kid, so it was awesome to realize that dream. And to win too, well, that's just awesome."
On the course:
"There's lots of of rolling terrain, and strategy played a lot into this race. There was a lot of drafting, so we [the lead riders] really opened it up on the fast, flowing terrain."
On the competition:
"Those boys are fast! This is post-season for me, but I was definitely a marked man from the start. The pack just wouldn't break, and we all took turns leading."
On the win:
"I had studied the course the day prior, so I knew that the last mile and a half included a fresh cut, slick singletrack. I also knew that 2,000 riders traversing the terrain would make it really slow - a perfect place to launch an attack. That's where I gave it my all, and with a log jump leading into a steep uphill, followed by another technical section... I didn't look back."
Labels: Race Headlines
