Nebraska Cycling News

Riders prepare for the start of the Ponca Marathon Mtb Race

Talking with Jeff Kerkove before the race, he said Ponca received 20 minutes of rain at 1 a.m and a 20 minute gully-washer at 6 a.m. Saturday morning. With the ground being so dry and the trail built to not allow water to lay on the tread, only the first series of downhills were slippery. After the first lap, the entire course had great traction. Ponca's Revenge was held under cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 60's and a cool northeast wind. This was great weather for riding and much preferred to the 90's forecasted earlier in the week. The trails provided several steep climbs along with tempo climbs that often came after a blind corner so that little momentum could be used. Sprinkled between these were a series of contour and downhill sections that allowed one to recover for the next climb. But as the laps mounted, even the lower grade climbs became more difficult.

There were four solo women with Donna Holmes improving on her second place finish at the Battle Royale marathon, finishing 7 laps in 4:11:54. Jami Hartwig was second, finishing 6 laps in 3:36:54. Rounding out the podium was Jennifer Holm finishing 2 laps in 2:51:44.

The team competition was intense between the teams of Jason Ott/Chris Hepburn and Grant Powell/Tim Powell. Going past the three hour mark, they were still within occasional eyesight of each other on the course. But a Powell flat tire on the seven lap sealed the victory for Ott/Hepburn with 8 laps completed in 4:13:12. Powell/Powell finished 8 laps in 4:19:07. Finally, Leah Rabideau/Dale Rabideau placed third with six laps covered in 4:33:07.

While the solo riders suffered by themselves and talked about their experiences post race, the non riding team members sat together by the finish line encouraging the solo riders and commiserating amongst themselves. As one of the team riders, I found this very enjoyable and highly encourage Junior, Beginner, and Sport level riders who don't want to ride four hours to form a team. You will still ride more than a traditional xc race and you will have recovery periods and time to talk with your competitors. Your last opportunity to compete in a 2006 Nebraska Lottery Psycowpath marathon is at Indian Cave on September 23. 

Last but not least, the Psycowpath Committee would like to thank Jay Chesterman and Sioux City Velo for doing a very good job hosting their first mountain bike race. The people handing out bananas, power gel, water at the finish line were great, also the course marshals did a fine job maintaining a safe course with a smile. The results were posted promptly at the race and in electronic form by Sunday afternoon. Also, we wish to thank Jeff, Superintendent of Ponca State Park and his personnel who spent over 35 hours in the two weeks prior to the race clearing down trees.

Complete Results!