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By Mark Tatum
Morrison - Ivan Unkovsky made one of his few appearances this year pay off when he won the Bear Creek Mountain Bike Rendevous in Morrison, a suburb of Denver. Niki Pippin skipped the NORBA National this weekend in Pennsylvania and took her first CORPS win, too.
It was a rainy week on the Front Range, and the Beginners were mud-caked after their 8 a.m. start. "The beginners had a rough time," said promoter Jay Cozza. However, the skies were clear and the course quickly dried out. The Pros and Experts had almost no mud for their race which started at 2 p.m.
The course was flat for a CORPS event, but it was an interesting change and provided several unique challenges. One challenge was the wind. "The wind was tough," said semi-pro Jurgen Bergeron. "It seemed like there was always a headwind." Indeed, it seemed that no matter which direction the serpentine course turned, the wind was a problem. Finish times were much slower than for the Race the Bear event run in early May on the same course, albeit in the opposite direction.
Considering the flat course and the windy day, the fields spread out quite a bit. As the singletrack dried out on the 12-mile course, it became extremely bumpy in some sections.
In the Pro men's race, Mike Skellion took the early lead, but crashed at a tricky turn in the first two miles. He was injured but after a trip to the medic's tent he reappeared at trackside, cheering on his former competitors. Ivan Unkovsky and Charlie Hayes were clearly the strongest and were able to work together to build a lead on the fast course. It came down to a sprint at the end where Unkovsky was able to take the victory.
Further back a battle raged for 6th place as Brian Hludzinski and Matthew Buckun worked together and caught Jurgen Bergeron in the final mile. Hludzinski won the sprint, which was extra impressive because just the day before he had competed in the semi-pro race in Pennsylvania, where he finished 5th in a muddy, three-hour gruel-fest.
This was the first year this event has been part of the CORPS schedule. Except for some unlucky weather for the Beginners, the race seemed to go smoothly. The extremely fast course was fun and ever-changing, just like promoter/announcer's Jay Cozza's dry humour.
Next up on the CORPS schedule is Crested Butte, the first of five tough two-day events which makes this series the most challenging in the country.