Lindine, Carey win Trans-Sylvania Epic

Justin Lindine, above, overturned his past years’ misfortunes to win the 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic, while Amanda Carey takes her second overall win in the week-long stage race. After close racing all week, riders battled over an intense, 26-mile course in Stage 7 to confirm the final standings.

Open Men

Heading into the seventh and final stage of the Trans-Sylvania Epic, race leader Justin Lindine (Redline/NBX) led the Open Men field by a comfortable fifteen minute gap over Sam Koerber (Progold) in second.

Early in the race, Phil Grove (Hammer Nutrition) put in a strong effort and gained a substantial lead over the Open Men field. On the road climb heading into the aid station, Grove had a 30 second gap over the chase group comprised of Aaron Snyder, Justin Lindine, and Sam Koerber. However, the group would catch Grove right near the aid station.

From the checkpoint onward Snyder, Lindine and Koerber developed a severe pace. Koerber stuck with Lindine, but would lose precious time when he clipped a pedal on a rock and crashed about two miles from the finish.

Lindine developed a minute and half lead over second-place Koerber to take the win in the final stage and finalize his hold on the NoTubes Leader’s jersey in the GC competition.

Brian Matter (RACC/Trek/Progold, above) went through a troubling day on the bike after spending most of the night with a stomach virus. Matter rode strong to try to keep his third place standing in the GC over Aaron Snyder (TSEpic Team).

Open Women

After losing more than 30 minutes from a detour off-course in Stage 5, the Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women went into the final stage with one goal: to reestablish their dominance of the Open Women GC. After a strong finish in Stage 6, Vicki Barclay, above, needed to gain only 41 seconds on fourth-place Andrea Wilson (Brickhouse Racing) in order to put the NoTubes team in the top four GC positions.

Sarah Kaufmann, the winner of today’s stage, worked from the start to move Barclay up the field and develop an early lead. With Barclay suffering from a virus, Kaufmann helped to pace her through the road sections while Barclay used her technical skills to excel on the single track.

The NoTubes team’s goal succeeded, with Barclay gaining almost eight minutes over rival Andrea Wilson. Sarah Kaufmann finished first in the stage, with Barclay following shortly behind. Haywood and Carey crossed the line within fifteen seconds of each other in third and fourth, respectively.

The strong finish secured the top four GC podium spots for the Stan’s NoTubes team, with Amanda Carey, above, keeping the NoTubes leader’s jersey, Haywood in second, and Kaufmann in third and Barclay in fourth with Wilson finishing fifth overall.

U25

After two disappointing stages for former U25 leader, Cory Rimmer (Piney Flats Bicycles/Dean Endurance) used Stage 7 to put in one last effort to reclaim time on the GC. With six minutes separating him and second place Gunnar Bergey (Team Seifert), Rimmer executed an exhaustive attack. It was effective early in the day, growing to two minutes within the first few miles. As Rimmer attacked the gravel climbs, he built his lead to over five minutes by the end of the day, taking the stage win in the process.

However, the gap would not be sufficient to remove Bergey from the second step on the GC podium. Rimmer would still trail Bergey by almost a minute and a half.

With the final stage concluded, Madison Matthews kept the U25 Leader’s jersey, much to the cheers of the local cycling community. Gunnar Bergey keeps second place, while Rimmer’s impressive ride secures third-place.

Singlespeed

Coming into Stage 7, race leader Matt Ferrari (FreezeThaw/Hubcap Cycles) held a comfortable lead over second place Dax Massey (Breck Epic/Honey Stinger/Light and Motion). However, with the two riders riding wheel-to-wheel the past few days, Ferrari did not have the luxury of easing up on the last day of the race.

Though close in the early segments of the race, Massey suffered from two flats throughout the 26-mile stage, causing him to lose six minutes to Ferrari by the time he hit the aid station.

Massey was able to recover some time from his bad luck, but it would not be enough to catch Ferrari. The FreezeThaw/Hubcap Cycles rider took the stage win and earned the Single Speed leader’s jersey for the 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic.

Masters 40+

With improved fitness in the second half of the week, Rob Campbell took his first stage win in the Masters 40+ competition. Chris Cyr (Bikeman.com) finished second, with four and a half minutes separating him from Campbell. Bob Radzwich (The Bicycle Shop/Vassago) also showed phenomenal late-week form, finishing third in Stage 7, only thirty seconds behind Cyr.

In the GC standings, Nathan Ruch (Evolution) stays in first place to keep his NoTubes Leader’s jersey, while Alex Hawkins and Rob Campbell take second and third, respectively.

Masters 50+

John Williams continued his control on the Masters 50+ field with another stage win. Williams closes out the 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic in first-place for the GC, giving him the leader’s jersey. Jack Dalzell and Joe McCarthy had a tight race today, with Dalzell finishing only thirty seconds ahead of McCarthy to take second place. The finish, however, was not enough to make up for McCarthy’s sizeable lead in GC. McCarthy finishes second in the GC, while Dalzell finishes in third.

Duo Men

With the exception of one stage, TransRockies/Honey Stinger/Planet Foods riders Jon Firth and Drew Simson controlled the Duo Mens category for the entire week. The two took another stage win today, extending their GC lead to one hour and ten minutes over second place stage and GC finishers Mike Festa and Craig Lebair (Philadelphia Ciclismo). Christian Baks and Paul Wojciak (Pawling Cycle and Sport) hold third place in the GC after finishing third in today’s stage.

Duo Coed

Kaarin Tae and Lawrence Plug (Java Blend) take another Duo Coed stage victory with a seven minute lead over second place Elizabeth Shaner and Sean Riley (Griggs Orthopedics). The Java Blend riders secure their GC victory, while Crosshairs Cycling duo Libbey Sheldon and Chris Merriam take second on the GC podium. Shaner and Riley take the honor of third in the GC after a strong showing this week.

Enduro

Achieving one of his main goals for the week, Toasted Head Racing rider Zach Adams finishes first in the Enduro results for Stage 7. Clocking in only two-seconds behind Adams, Stephan Kincaid (Team Seifert) placed second in the stage’s enduro competition, while Drew Edsall took third. For the Women’s Enduro stage competition, Kaarin Tae (Java Blend) put in a phenomenal run for a first place finish. Enduro leader Andrea Wilson (Brickhouse Racing) finished thirteen seconds behind for second, and Jordan Salman (Pisgah Tavern) beat out Rhonda Pearce by two seconds for third place.

In the Men’s Enduro GC competition, Drew Edsall (Kenda/Felt, above) finished first with a four point lead over second place Derek Bissett (NoTubes/Trans-Sylvania Epic/BMC). Zach Adams’ consistent riding landed him in third place.

In the Women’s Enduro GC competition, Andrea Wilson retains her substantial lead to win the leader’s jersey for the race. Rhonda Pearce and Jordan Salman finish second and third, respectively, in a very close competition.

Epic Team

Cycle-Smart wrapped up the week with another first place stage finish, thereby confirming their first place GC position in the Epic Team category and taking home the perpetual Epic Team Cup. Team Seifert, racing for the family of a friend on the anniversary of his loss in the Iraq invasion ten years ago, once again benefited from teammate Gunnar Bergey’s strong ride, leading them to second in the stage and GC. Team Kelpius Cycling & Logan Taylor finished the stage just two minutes behind Team Seifert for a third place stage and GC finish.