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Saturday, June 28, 2008 -- Marietta, OH / Wayne National Forest
The Wayne Ultra - WVVUS #4 (iPO Event Id#: 10576)

[Details] [Coverage] [Photos] [Overall Results] [Results by Class]

Photo by J.R. Petsko
Feeling the burn...
42 Miles of Pain

Story and photos by J.R. Petsko

Saturday, the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association's (WVMBA) Ultra Bike Series, the WVVUS, moved from Virginia over to the Ohio Valley for round #4, The Wayne Ultra. This 42 mile course was not the most technical, like other events, but the climbing made for one heck of a challenging day for the racers. The start began with a road climb that ripped the pack apart.

Garth Prosser and Shawn Adams were the first two off the front and looked to have over a minute lead on their next competitor which was non-other than series points leader Andy Wiedrich. Wiedrich was looking in pain trying to hold the pace of the two leaders. Jonathan Martin was in fourth overall and also the first single speed.

The WV Night Club rider was followed by the rest of club members, Aron "LB" Yevuta, Chris Phillips and junior club member Morgan Miller. WVMBA regular Mike Boyes was also up front and in the mix while leading his Masters class in the 42 mile race.

At check point #1 it was still Prosser and Shawn out front. The two riders were neck and neck and also still held over a minute lead on Wiedrich. The rest of the field stayed pretty much in the same position by this point in the race except Morgan Miller was filling the pain of going out to hard early and had slide down the field into ninth overall.

Photo by J.R. Petsko
Cranking it out of the woods
After check point #1 it a great mix of single track, fire road and black top to check point #2.

The pace of Garth Prosser at the front was a little more than Shawn could hold after already riding 24 miles, but somehow Wiedrich was able to pass Shawn and bridge up to Prosser. The same could be said about the young upstart Miller who was starting to recover from his earlier melt down and was now starting to climb back up the field.

On the black top road between check point #2 and #3 Wiedrich made his pass on Prosser and was pushing the pass hard on the road. In an arrow position on his mountain bike, Wiedrich was determined to stay in front and not let all his work to get there be a waste.

Prosser was still holding down second just about 20 seconds be the leader. Shawn was still holding down third with Jonathan Martin in forth at that point. Aron Yevuta was in fifth but had Morgan Miller coming on hard.

After see the front of the field come though it was off to the finish line for me to see how the final results turned out. At the line it was Wiedrich battling back from more then a minute down early in the race to take the win. Wiedrich cover the very hilly 42 mile course in a time of 3:23:21 to take the win and pad his overall series lead.

Garth Prosser was able to hold on two second finishing 31 seconds back of the winner in 3:23:52.

Shawn Adams held off the rest of the field to take third in 3:32:06. Jonathan Martin was forth overall and also won his Single Speed class finishing in 3:44:26.

Photo by J.R. Petsko
And the winners are...
Fifth overall in the race went to Morgan Miller who fought his way back up the field from 9th to 5th. Miller's time was 3:50:00 for the 42 miles, (not a bad ride for the 17 year old.)

Aron Yevuta claimed 6th overall and second Single Speed in a time of 3:58:51 with Mike Boyes finishing after him taking 7th overall and 1st in the men's master division. Mike Tressler took third in the single speed class and Steve Schumaker finished second in men's master to round out the men's podium spots.

For the women it was all Holly Forsyth finish the course in 6:15:58 to take the victory for the women 42 mile race.

It was a great first year race. Race Director, Drew Smithberger, pulled out all the stops to put on an event that everyone loved. Thanks for all your hard work Drew, and the same goes to your River Valley Mountain Bike Association (RVMBA) organization.

This organization was formed to provide education about environmentally and socially responsible mountain biking, promote responsible mountain biking opportunities throughout West Virginia and Ohio, and work for increased environmental protection of the area's trails.


Thanks to the race sponsors: Vienna Bicycle Shop, Wilson Heating Inc., Dimex, Simonton Windows, Morrison Inc., Brad Carman, D.O. FACOS, Flexmag, Marietta Rowing and Cycling Club, Trail Foods, Pepsi, Hammer Nutrition, Sign Source, Audio Extreme, Smith Rentals, U.S. Forest Servicem, Crescent and Sprague Supply, iPlayOutside.com, wvmba.com, rvmba.com