Pro biker Bishop blazes fast trail in first Wilmington / Whiteface 100K Race

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A field of 231 cyclists from 24 states and Canada leaves the Whiteface Ski Lodge early Sunday morning in the First Wilmington/Whiteface 100K Mountain Bike Race. Pre-race favorite Jeremiah Bishop of Harrisonburg, Va. won the event, covering the 56.8 miles in 3 hours, 33 minutes, 34.07 seconds. P-R Photo / Jack LaDuke
Jeremiah Bishop of Harrisonburg, Va. and the Cannondale Racing team flashes a winning smile Sunday after capturing the inaugural Wilmington/Whitefae 100K Mountain Bike Race. P-R Photo / Jack LaDuke

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June 20, 2011

MATTHEW HAMILTON Press-Republican The Press Republican Mon Jun 20, 2011, 06:52 AM EDT

WILMINGTON — If Whiteface Mountain were a 4,800-foot tall beast, Jeremiah Bishop would be its tamer.

Bishop pedaled his way to victory in the inaugural Wilmington/Whiteface 100K Mountain Bike Race, Sunday, finishing the 56.8-mile course in a blistering 3 hours, 33 minutes, 34.07 seconds. But even after riding nearly 57 miles through some of the toughest terrain the Adirondack Mountains have to offer, his smiling, dirt-speckled face didn't show an ounce of exhaustion.

"With (world championships) coming next weekend, I wasn't going to force the pace early," Bishop said. "I needed to draft and conserve and see what I had left in the tank."

Despite conserving energy, he still came in about 30 minutes faster than officials expected the top riders to finish. The 35-year-old cyclist from Harrisonburg, Va. himself was even shooting for a mark just under four hours.

"That was faster than I thought by far," Bishop said. "3:50:00 is what I was thinking if it were fast."

As Bishop climbed the last hill before coming into the final stretch, his Cannondale Factory Racing teammate Alex Grant, 31, of Salt Lake City, was the only competition in sight. Grant clocked in at 3:33:45.59.

"I was expecting a ton of road, so we were kind of in a group for almost the whole race and then it kind of broke up in the end," Grant said.

It wasn't a coincidence that the top two finishers were Cannondale teammates. Both men were two of the pre-race favorites and credited their performance to working together.

"We couldn't have raced like this by ourselves, but together we were able to really control the race," Bishop said.

Not far behind Bishop and Grant was David McCahill, 25, of Lake Placid, who placed sixth and was the fastest local finisher by almost four minutes. McCahill finished in 3:53:42.39 despite being one of the few cycle-cross bike riders in the field.

"The course was really good for it up until (the Whiteface climb) then it was a little tough," McCahill said.

Riders had to deal with three steep climbs during the race, the largest of which was the 2,566-foot ascent up the Olympic Mountain.

"Whiteface is a monster — a granite beast," Bishop said. "It was cool of them to put in the last 10 kilometers."

Bishop was one of the select few able to tame the "granite beast" and ride the entire ascent. Others weren't able to get through the loose sand along the mountain trail quite as easily.

"I basically spent 90 percent of the time walking, 10 percent of the time on the bike," said Allan Rego, 26, of Lake Placid, the eighth overall finisher. "I was thankful when I could get on the bike at the top and pitch a decent."

Susan Lynch, who completed the course in 4:51:14.94 to become the top female finisher, said the course was fun to ride and said she didn't mind the uphill sections until she had to come back down.

"Downhill was a little frightening," Lynch said. "Even on the road some guy hit 55 mph."

The 51-year-old Lynch, a spinning instructor, is from Medfield, Ma.

Peru woman tops local athletes

Nicole La Plante, 38, of Peru finished the course in just under 5 hours, and was crowned the top local female finisher. She and her husband, Andrew, were one of a handful of couples to ride the race together. But even with a little family rivalry on the course, Nicole insisted there was no competition.

Well, maybe there was a little.

"I try to race my own race and not compete against him, but it's hard not to when I see him at different points," Nicole said. "But I cheer him on just as much as I push myself."

One-hundred qualifying spots for the LT 100 (Leadville, Colo.) on Aug. 13 were going to be awarded to the top 50 riders based on age-group performance and to another 50 riders that met the time standard. But for many in the field of 231 cyclists, Sunday's race was about doing a local race. Rego said though he received an automatic bid into the LT 100, he won't be making the trip to Colorado in August.

"I did this event because it was super local," Rego said. "I like the idea of racing locally and not packing everything up and traveling and making a big production out of racing."

The field featured cyclists from 24 states and Canada. Alan Krisch (Jenkintown, Pa.) was the oldest competitor, 67, while Francie Chodosh (New York City) and Amanda Moreland (Bloomfield, N.Y.) were the youngest at 19.

Top Overall Finishers

Place Name City/State Time

1 Jeremiah Bishop Harrionsburg, V.A. 3:33:34.07

2 Alex Grant Salt Lake City, Utah 3:33:45.59

3 Peter Glassford Mansfield, Canada 3:37:35.73

4 Will Letendre Jr. Etna, N.H. 3:46:04.73

5 Robert Douglas Honeoye Falls, N.Y. 3:51:33.87

6 David Mccahill Lake Placid, N.Y. 3:53:42.39

7 Todd Latocha Fairmont, W.Va. 3:55:33.90

8 Allan Rego Lake Placid, N.Y. 3:57:00.99

9 Timothy O'Shea Cazenovia, N.Y. 3:59:10.36

10 Michael Mooradian Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 4:02:25.39