1st Place OVERALL
Expert/Pro Men
CHRIS EATOUGH
TREK East Coast
Factory Team

Hibernia Spring Bash
April 9, 2001
Jesse Piersol

It was the last lap of the race, and several of the race leaders were strung out ahead on the course. Smoking through the last field section before the singletrack, twiggy Brandon Ott (Tailwind) was sucking on the wheel of veteran fast guy Dave Duvall -(TREK East Coast Factory Team) when he asked him "so, you ready to catch those guys?"

Duvall replied gently with patience borne of years of racing experience, "why don't you catch them?" And then they disappeared into the woods.

It was a telling exchange, one that summed up the importance strategy played in the assault on the five-mile loop of the opening race of the Mid-Atlantic Super Series at Hibernia County Park. Fast and rolling, the course featured ample flat, open sections prime for drafting, and a few quick sections through mildly rocky singletrack. Fast lap times combined with drafting and other road-style tactics kept the finish times close for everyone.

In the Expert Men's race, it was apparent at the beginning of the last lap that the race to first place would be a battle between Chris Eatough (TREK East Coast Factory Team) and Mike Kuhn (PA Pension Planners). The two were riding close together, with Eatough generally pushing the pace at the front. In the end, it was the red, white, and black jersey of Trek's Eatough that first rounded the corner to the finish line. Kuhn came through 20 seconds behind, still far clear of third place.

"I was getting a couple of seconds on you each time through the singletrack section, so I knew I'd have to push on you a little more on that last lap," remarked Eatough to Kuhn as they shared a quick chat at the finish line. Duvall ended up fifth, with Ott coming across the line in seventh place. Jason Moore (K2/Moore's) and John MacInnis both placed well also, earning third and fourth place, respectively.

The red, white, and black of team Trek made it across the finish line first in another race as well. Kristine Oesterling, last year's Mid-Atlantic Series champ in the Expert Women's class, took the lead in the second lap of the women's 4-lap race and increased it with every pass through the start/finish. She finished with a sizable lead over second place in the Expert Women 34&under race, going to Junior Expert racer Caitlyn Tuel (newly upgraded to Expert after winning the Sport Women's series last year).

Hot and heavy team competition continues this year as 77 Teams showed up and rising to meet the challenge was Wooden Wheels Racing (Newark, DE). After taking second place in last year's Super Series (first place went to Guy's Bicycles) this was a sweet win putting WW Racing way over the top with 130 points up. Guys Bicycles (Phila - PA) came in third for the Super Series opening race 150 points behind second place First State Velo Sport (Pike Creek - DE). It's early in the season and the only thing we can be sure of is that this year will see even more intense competition among the teams.

Karen Henry (Team Harrisburg) continued her winning ways from last season, placing first in the Expert Women 35+ category. Karen had a very impressive performance also taking second place overall Expert Women. Lauri Webber (Wooden Wheels) chased hard to finish second Expert Women 35+.

Adam Beattie (FSVS) squeaked out a first place win over Brandon Draugelis in the Expert Junior field. Adam proved he has what it takes to race in the Expert field as he too moved up from Sport for this season.

In the Expert Men's 30-34 class, it was Ransom Weaver of Guy's Bicycles coming across the line first, ahead of Romolo Forcino (Shirk's) and Brett Kametz (Green Mountain Cyclery).

Dave Henry (Team Harrisburg) got edged out of first place by Blair Saunders (FSVS) in the Expert Men's 35-39 class. Bart Passante (Guy's) finished third.

In the Expert Men's 40-44 class, John Keller of Sun and Ski Sports took top honors, with second place Jim Gould (Sports People) less than a minute behind.

The top three in the Expert 45+ class were separated by less than a minute, with Tim Messersmith (First Capital Velo) barely edging out Kurt Mikeska and Karl Faruzel, both of Wooden Wheels.

Sport Vet racer Jeff Brenneman (Shirk's) was stoked after his race. "Two more top-five finishes and I get to upgrade to Expert. That's been a lifelong dream, to race Expert." He finished tenth, but that's still moving him in the right direction..

Another Sport Vet racer, Paul Douglas, remarked on the effectiveness of his new training fuel-honey. "It's cheaper," he said, "on lap two, I remember vividly, I reached for my flask, and I don't if it's the placebo effect or not, but I felt the waves of energy surging through my body." Douglas went on note that his sugar-facilitated boost lead him to "quickly dispatch" his companions, who had been the stronger climbers to that point.

Thanks to everyone who raced, and get ready for the next installment of the Mid-Atlantic Super Series - JBmountainbikes.com Off-Road Race, on April 28.

THANK YOU
DON MORRISON
SUPER SERIES PROMOTER
AND
HIBERNIA SPRING BASH
PROMOTER
FOR A JOB WELL DONE!!

Hibernia Spring Bash
Mid-Atlantic Super Series
Chris Eatough
April 8, 2001

The MTB race season in our local area is finally underway! For many of us, the Super Series race at Hibernia was the first race of the season, and a chance to catch up with friends, test out the new bikes (Fuel 100s for us Trekies), and find out who has trained hard over the winter.

Hibernia was a great venue for the season kickoff, a fast racecourse in a scenic park, on a crisp sunny day. The turnout was impressive, total attendance being even larger than last year's race.

The Trek/VW Factory Team got off to a good start, with wins in both the men's and women's elite races. Newbie on the team Kristine Oesterling was the top woman on the day, showing that she is ready to step into the shoes of Sue Haywood, who graduated to the Trek National Squad this year.

I took top honors in the men's race, just 20 seconds ahead of Mike Kuhn (Kristine's boyfriend!), who had a fantastic race, matching me for 3 1/2 of the 5 lap race. My teammates David Duvall and Jeremiah Bishop came in 5th and 8th (kudos to Jeremiah for sticking with it, despite having the flu all week and being several notches below his best).

Thanks to team manager Jon Posner for feeding us (before the race with Powerbars and Gels, during the race with water bottle hand-offs, and after the race with Turkey Sandwiches and Twizzlers), working the trailer, and making us look good; and team mechanic Sean Langhein, back and better than ever after a yearlong hiatus, touring the world with Wade Bootes and the Trek National Team.

For more info on the Trek team, check out trekfactoryteam.com

Next team race is April 21st at the classic Michaux Monsters - Michaux Extreme Series (one of my favorite events of the year). Look out for us there (rumor is, Sue H. might even make an appearance!)

Michaux
Extreme Series
brought to you by

Gettysburg
Bicycle & Fitness
and
Bushey's Cyclery

CLICK HERE FOR
RACE DETAILS

Monster of Michaux
April 21, 2002

The Curse Of Dark Hollow
July 21, 2002

Terror Of Teaberry
Sept. 15, 2002

All three races will have complete coverage by
mountainbikeRACER.com