After finishing third in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic’s short track race on Friday and second in the road race on Saturday, Howard Grotts dominated the pro men’s mountain bike race on Sunday to finish with a win.
“I knew this was probably my best shot at a win,” Grotts said. “It’s sweet. It’s always feel great to come out here and perform.”
Grotts said the climb up Lion’s Den was harder than he thought it would be since he normally rides it slow, but that is where he won the race.
Grotts was in fourth after the first of five 5-mile laps, behind Jack Spranger, Ivan Sippy and Todd Wells and just ahead of Dane Grey and Toby Hassett.
Grotts then took over.
“I went all in on Lion’s Den and redlined there because it plays to my strengths,” Grotts said. “From there, it was just damage control.”
By the time Grotts rolled through Chapman Hill to finish his second lap, he had the lead with only Grey and Sippy keeping him in their sights. Grotts kept the gas on and led by 1:36 after three laps and had a 2:06 lead heading into the final lap. Grotts ended up winning the race by 3 minutes in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 26.8 seconds.
Hassett, the short-track winner, finished second in 1:44:26.9, followed by Sippy (1:45:20.5), Grey (1:45:50) and Spranger in fifth (1:47:54).
“I went all in,” Grotts said. “I wanted to put on a show.”
The route featured nearly 600-feet of elevation gain per lap.
In the pro women’s mountain bike race, Michaela Thompson rallied to pick up her second win and third podium finish of the weekend. Thompson also won the short-track race and finished third in the road race.
“I woke up this morning feeling really tired and pretty flat in my legs, but the excitement and the trails and the home crowd kept me going,” she said.
Lauren Aggeler was only about 10 yards behind Thompson after the first lap, but then Thompson extended her lead to three minutes after the second of four laps and never relinquished.
“My goal was to ride my own race,” she said. “Just hold a steady pace.”
Thompson ended up winning the race in 1:35:16.9. Aggeler finished second in 1:40:03, followed by Erin Osborne (1:43:15.3), Jen Gersbach-Venzara (1:44:44) and Trish Thomas (1:46:32) in fifth.
Grotts and Thompson also won the IHBC omnium titles of king and queen of the mountain, which included the road race and mountain bike race.
In addition to the pro races, mountain bikers took off in a couple other waves in their age-group competitions.
In the one-lap junior 14-and-under races, Leah Morozowich (27:23.3), Anna Morozowich (29:22.6) and Weslie Winebarger (33:28.7) were the top three women, and Ethan Eggeler (26:37.2, Ellis Bates (27:47.6) and Cooper Wells (28:15.5) filled the men’s podium.
Liam Bezek won the 3-lap junior men’s 15-18 race in 1:09:51.9, followed by Jacob Huber (1:10:47.0) and Jake Sandau (1:12:34.6).
Riley Huston crossed first in the three-lap junior women 15-18 race in 1:22:42.6 while Tilia Clausen (1:25:21.0) finished second and Willow Henshall third (1:32:50.9)
Brittany Cowan won the women’s 19-34 race unchallenged in 1:46:12.1.
In the women’s 35-44 race, McKenzie Winebarger finished first after three laps in 1:25:28.1, followed by Jessica Wood (1:26:35.7) and Caitlyn Kneller (1:30:25.3).
Caroline Souders won the three-lap women’s 45-54 race in 1:32:40.5, followed by Kristal Boni (1:35:58.0) and Suzi McKinley (1:45:51.5).
Carolyn Feller completed two laps in 1:06:28.4 to win the women’s 55-64 race while Christina Harstock took second (1:11:32.8) and Charlotte Lenssen third (1:23:32.0).
Markus Dewire won the four-lap men’s 19-34 race in 1:34:25.2, followed by Lucas Rowton (1:35:21.1) and Tanner Gray (1:36:34.8).
Ethan Bates won the men’s 35-44 three-lap race in 1:11:24.7, followed by Ravis Woodruff (1:12:35.8) and Lee Mcauliffe (1:12:59.1).
Mike West finished three laps in 1:13:00.7 to win the men’s 45-54 race while Travis Brown took second (1:13:18.8) and Frank Mapel was third (1:14:20.0).
Butch Peterson won the men’s 55-64 three-lap race in 1:16:18.0. Larry Smith (1:20:53.2) finished second and Chris Ziomek third (1:21:35.5).
Mike Slattery won the men’s 65-plus three-lap race in 1:28:59.0, followed by Dwight Hibdon (1:38:01.7) and William Morris (1:43:54.7).
