Leverich Canyon Crank Up

Lone Peak Results

The Curries keep their leader's jerseys. For full results click here: http://www.montanacycling.net/events/766/results

Lone Peak Revenge Race Report

Lydia Tanner of Montana State University won the women's XC race last weekend in Big Sky. Click here to view her race report: http://lydiatanner.wordpress.com/ Also, Lydia will be representing the US and Montana as a U23 at MTB Worlds in Mt. St. Anne in a couple of weeks. Best wishes Lydia!

More Butte 100

J Doll Reports on the Butte 100

The first 30 miles or so, were relatively downhill with some jeep track and pavement riding to Aid Station #1, from there it was a long climb up to Aid Station #2 on some of the best single track I have ever been on. A lead group of probably 10 riders had been established. I settled in with a few guys just off the pace of the lead group. At this point in the race, the key was eating and drinking as much as possible for the long hours ahead. From Aid #2 to Aid Station #3 it was mostly some pretty gnarly single track with some jeep trail mixed in and a few hike a bike sections. The temperature was still pretty cool and people still had smiles on thier faces. Things seemed to change a bit after Aid Station #3. Now on the east side of Homestake Pass near Pipestone, the sun was starting to shine and hydration and eating for me became pretty hard to tolerate. It was an up hill battle to Aid Station #4 and to Aid Station #5. At Aid Station #5 my stomach had completely shut down and eating and drinking wasn't possible any more, I don't really remember a whole lot about these couple of hours. I do remember a really long powerline climb that seemed to go on forever, you could see the top, but it just never got close! Wendy helped me get some plain water and ecaps in my system at Aid Station #5 and I set out at a super casual pace just trying to turn the pedals over. The hardest part about setting out on the second half of the race was knowing that it was harder and had more climbing then the first 50 mile loop. Between Aid Station #5 and Aid Station #6 I rode by myself and was able to get some fluids down, but I wouldn't be able to eat again for the rest of the day. After Aid Station #6 it was a 9 mile climb to Aid Station #7, some thunderstorms had rolled in and the temperatures had really cooled down. The climb out of Aid Station #7 to Aid Station #8 was the climb referred to as "8 miles of hell" 4000 feet of climbing in 8 miles. There really isn't a whole lot to say about this section, I didn't see a single soul on this 8 mile stretch. When I got to Aid Station #8, I was pretty jacked up thinking this was mile 90 and only 10 miles to go. I was cheerfully informed by the gentleman taking care of the aid station, that there was only 15 miles left! He went on to say that it was a nice easy one mile climb, followed by a 4 mile descent, and only 10 miles of single track to the finish. At this point, I knew there was only on thing left to do. Finish what I started 12 hours ago. The singletrack section leading into the finish was pretty sweet, and you could see the finish line from a few different vantage points that made it even more enjoyable. 12.5 hours, 105 miles, 21768 feet of climbing....looking forward to the 2011 Butte 100!

Butte 100 Results

Today Ben Parsons of Sportsmen Ski Haus won the Butte 100. Third place was Tinker Juarez riding for Cannondale.

Racers reported that the course was "very hard" and many of the leaders took a wrong turn after the 50 mile marker.

More news coming soon.

Tinker Juarez

Tinker Juarez will be racing the Butte 100 tomorrow. I knew very little about the former olympian but found him to be a very interesting guy. Tinker became a pro BMX racer at the age of 15. He started mountain bike racing almost ten years later still before any kind of suspension existed. His best results include several World Cup wins and a second place finish at elite mountain bike worlds. Now, Tinker mainly does endurance events. He is using the Butte 100 to prepare himself for the Leadville 100 and Master's Worlds later this year. What I found to be the most interesting is that Tinker does all of his training "by feel". He doesn't use a power-tap, a heart rate monitor, or a computer. He said that on hard days he knows how to work hard but only does what he feels up to. Seems to have worked out pretty well for him...