1st Place OVERALL
Pro/Expert Men
CHRIS EATOUGH
TREK / VW / JBL

SPRING MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE
September 30, 2001
by Jesse Piersol

Breezy temperatures in the 50s and cloudy skies couldn't quell the excitement as racers lined up for one last Super Series race to finish out the 2001 season. This year's Spring Mountain course featured a revised singletrack section toward the end of the lap-instead of climbing up the gravel road near the start/finish area, racers crisscrossed the road on some sweet, twisty singletrack. Pro/Expert men completed five and a half laps, while Master men circled the course four and a half times. The Expert women opted for three and a half laps.

The top 3 series leaders were brought to the line first, and in the men's Pro field, Chris Eatough (Trek/Volkswagen East Coast) was introduced as the 24 Hour Solo World Champion, an announcement that brought several "oohs" and "ahhs" and "ughs" from the crowd. Off the line it was series leader Jason Moore (Moore's /Reinhardt) and the fluorescent orange Brandon Ott (Tailwind) rocketing off the front of the field up the initial grass climb. That order would change by the end of the first lap, however, with Ott riding close on the heels of Eatough.

By the end of the second lap, Eatough was amassing a sizable gap on the rest of the field. Ott had been reeled in by the ever-swashbuckling David Duvall (Trek/VW/JBL), and that pair was being closely pursued by Scott Henry (Team Harrisburg). Jason Moore had fallen back, eventually dropping out as a result of not feeling good.

In the end, the two time 24 Hour champ prevailed, rolling across the finish line in 1:48:00 with nary a soul in sight. Eatough's teammate came across the line in second place (2:36 back), and hot on his trail was Brandon Ott (4:35 back), with his second-best placing in the Super Series this year. "It was lots of fun-my family is here, which is nice," remarked Ott. "Chris was riding really well. I was with him for about two and a half laps, and then I bobbled in some singletrack and David caught me. We were riding together, and then I found out that we were gaining on Chris, so David dug out some team tactics and slowed us down a little bit." Asked about his strategy, Ott remarked "I just know the course really well. This is where I train."

In the women's race, the series final proved to be smokin'! Team Snow Valley criterium racer Diana Gillam made an appearance and immediately jumped off the front of the pack, shadowed closely by Karen Henry (Team Harrisburg) and Kristine Oesterling (Team Harrisburg). Throughout the bulk of the race, Gillam and Oesterling traded off the front position until Oesterling finally made her move and rode to a decisive victory. "I dropped my chain twice," she lamented at the finish line. Kristine took an incredible eight first place finishes winning Expert Women Senior 29under Series Champion for 2001.

Second across the line was Gillam, breathlessly sporting a huge grin. "If I would've know it was going to be this hard, I would've gone to the mall!" The crit rider from Baltimore said her strategy was to go out fast and stay in front of Oesterling on the downhills, but probably lose time on the uphills. "Unfortunately, I realized there were a lot more uphills than downhills today," said Gillam.

Karen Henry (Team Harrisburg) came blazing through in third place overall, and first amongst the veteran women. Noreen Smith (Shirk's) crossed the line in second place in the vet women's category. About the course she commented "It was pretty slow because it was technical, and all of the little climbs really wear on you. You could pretty much ride everything if you took the right line." Lauri Webber (Wooden Wheels) rode to third place, trading spots with Theresa Richardson (Trek/Bike Doctor) along the way. "Theresa wasn't feeling good," Webber commented. "The rocky climbs were fun, although I almost endo'ed into a ditch right after the finish line." Lauri crashed at Fair Hill cracking three ribs and was not able to take a deep breath without pain for weeks. This didn't stop her from becoming Series Champion in the Expert Women Vet/Master 30 + field.

Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo) had similar comments about the course. "It was pretty good, not too rocky, and the temperature turned out to be pretty good." Aspholm was having a good weekend. The Cat. II road racer finished eighth in a hundred-mile road race in Harrisburg on Saturday, and still managed to roll across the line in first place in the Senior II Expert Men's category.

Jackie Paul (Somerset Wheelmen) rode to an impressive fourth place Expert Women Vet/Master 30+ considering this was only her third mountain bike race of the year. "I've been doing road all year, so I didn't really feel too good on the technical stuff," she said. "But I have to say, I'm from Jersey, and the Pennsylvania spectators are so much nicer than the New Jersey ones. It was great."

For some racers, the Super Series final here at Spring Mountain was extra special. "Jazzy" Jeff Brenneman was beaming ear to ear enjoying his hard-fought third-place finish in the Sport Vet class. "I was really surprised that I did this well," Brenneman beamed, "I was in Vegas all last week with my friends, so I had no idea I'd do this well. I lost my granny gear during the last lap and immediately got passed by 5 guys, and that made me mad enough that I chased them down and caught them." When I asked him what's down the road, he added "I'm motivated to work even harder. Usually I don't work out in the winter, but this year I'm going to."

Dave Henry (Team Harrisburg) won the Expert Men Veteran 35-44 race continuing the Henry family's winning ways and securing a third place overall series position. Rich Mihills (First State Velo Sport) had a terrific season placing second and was also second in series points.

The Expert Men Master 45+ race was critical in determining the series champ. Unfortunately Bill Gentile (Wooden Wheels) had to be in Vegas for Interbike and couldn't attend today's race. Mark (Fuzzy) Nickerson (Wooden Wheels) ended up third in today's race (after hurting his back the day before the race) securing the series championship. Robert Sauer (Guy's Bicycles) finished second today and ended up third in end of year series points. Mike Eatough (Chris Eatough's dad) the oldest racer in the group rode in true "world class" syle taking first place with over three minutes to spare.

Chris Kuhl (Gettysburg Bicycle) wrapped up the series in style by taking first place and the Series Championship in the Expert Junior Men's field. Joey Thompson (Wooden Wheels) had an impressive season moving up from Sport and finishing second today on a single speed! Joey also ended up second in overall points. His dad, John Thompson (Wooden Wheels) also placed second at the race and in overall series points in the Sport Master 45-49 class.

The spectators at the race got lots of compliments, including several from Bob Castle of the Spring Mountain concession stand near the lodge. He and his brother Mike were busy all day serving up hot chocolate and burgers to the chilly, cheering folks on the side of the course. "The people have been just great," Bob Castle remarked, "especially good, I think, because we've been giving them food."

Spectators also had the added attraction of the Trek/Volkswagen/Mt. Perks Cyclery trials team doing some eye-popping moves off of obstacles set up near the lodge. Michael "Death" Hain and Pogi Tortorice have been spending their time traveling from college to college performing all sorts of stunts around and on top of their team-issue Volkswagen van. Tortorice was even wearing a wireless microphone so that he could interact with the crowd while he was doing tricks.

SPORT WINNERS

BEGINNER WINNERS