Trek Factory Racing and Australian Sweep at Pro XCT Opener

Australian duo and new Trek Factory Racing signees Dan McConnell and Rebecca Henderson bested an elite field to kick-off the 2013 Pro XCT season at the Subaru of Georgetown Mellow Johnny's Classic. Held for the second straight year at Flat Creek Crossing Ranch near Dripping Springs, Texas racers were greeted with  perfect weather and a large contingent of enthusiastic fans.

1-2-3 Trek Factory 

For the Elite Women Rebecca Henderson (Trek Factory Racing) led teammates Annie Last and Emily Batty during the 1 mile start loop and never relinquished her lead. As lap 1 progressed, teammates Henderson and Last opened a small gap over Batty and Chloe Woodruff (Crank Brothers Race Club).

While laps ticked down Henderson and Last were in control and it was the battle between Emily Batty and Chloe Woodruff, for third and fourth place, that engaged the crowd. Both riders traded positions for 3 laps before Batty was able to open a gap she held to the finish line. "We rode together for most of the race, she was so fast on the flats and she got away on the last lap, I was just cramping a little and couldn't go with her," said Woodruff.  "I missed a pedal at the start and was swallowed up a little at the start, Chloe and I ended up riding together after I moved up and it settled a little bit," commented Batty."

Rounding out the top 5 was an impressive ride by Denton, Texas, based racer Christina Goke-Smith (Colonel's Sho-Air-Giant). "The crowd here was so awesome, all the way around the course everyone was so great," commented Gokey-Smith.

"The trail was dry and dusty, it was very much like riding at home in Australia," said Henderson during her finish line interview. "I'd spent a time in Austin earlier this year preparing for cross worlds so I felt comfortable with the terrain," said Last. Unfortunately, the dry, slippery conditions claimed a strong riding Pua Mata (Sho-Air-Cannondale) on lap 1 who suffered a leg fracture in the accident.

Teammates Annie Last, Emily Batty, and Rebecca Henderson

On the podium, Henderson said her goal was a top 5 finish and she was thrilled to win her first race in the United States. Adding that it was good to come out of her season in Australia and know her form was good enough to win while still feeling liked she had more fitness to add for her upcoming World Cup and race calender. 

   

Fast Five Drive Elite Men

Leading the the field of 62 riders out was newly signed Trek Factory rider Dan McConnell (Australia). Behind was a freight train of North American strongmen that followed including Jeremiah Bishop (Sho-Air-Cannondale), teammates Geoff Kabush and Derek Zandstra (Scott-3 Rox), along with Sam Schultz and Russell Finsterwald (Trek Factory Racing) and Todd Wells (Specialized).

As lap 1 of the 5-lap race progressed McConnell, Bishop, Wells, Zandstra, and Kabush established a very small gap over Finsterwald, Schultz, and hard chasing Cameron Jette (Scott-3 Rox). The five riders continued a strong steady pace led by Jeremiah Bishop. "I probably went a little too hard the at the start and paid for it a little the first 3 laps," said McConnell.

Mid-way through lap 4, race radio reports came back with McConnell and Bishop leading over Zandstra and Wells. Kabush had suffered an untimely flat in a dry creek bed and then was unable to get repaired due to C02 malfunction. Behind the front four, Cameron Jette managed to stay steady and take advantage of a mechanical and flat tire by teammates Schultz and Finsterwald to move into fifth.

During lap 5 Bishop and McConnell traded the lead. "I took a new line through the last dry creek bed on the left side that surprised Dan a little and gave me a small gap, but he was able to catch back on before the finish," said Bishop. As the duo approached the line McConnell was able to outkick Bishop.

"I felt better the last 2 laps, my legs sort of came back around from the early effort, I was leading most of the last lap but he made a move in the last 1k in the creek bed and I could barely hold his wheel," commented McConnell.

Wells was able to escape from Zandstra who slid out trying to stretch his leg, but Zandstra was able to re-mount quickly and finish ahead of teammate Jette who rounded out the top 5.

Elite Men Call Up at 2013 Mellow Johnny's Classic

Men's Pro/Elite

1. Daniel McConnell, Trek Factory Racing, 1:30:24
2. Jeremiah Bishop, Sho-Air-Cannondale, 1:30:26
3. Todd Wells, Specialized Racing, 1:30:57
4. Derek Zandstra, Scott-3 Rox Racing, 1:31:11
5. Cameron Jette, 01:34:06

Women's Pro Elite

1. Rebecca Henderson, Trek Factory Racing, 1:26:41
2. Annie Last, Trek Factory Racing, 1:27:02
3. Emily Batty, Trek Factory Racing, 1:28:36
4. Chloe Woodruff, Crankbrothers Race Club, 1:29:03
5. Christina Gokey-Smith, Colonel’s Sho-Air-Giant, 1:29:41

2013 Schedule of Events Subaru of Georgetown Mellow Johnny's Classic

Let us start by saying thank you for your patience while we finalized our racing schedule. We look forward to hosting you. Let us offer a HUGE thanks to Subaru of Georgetown as well as all of our great sponsors for making this event possible. For all dates below PARKING FEE is WAIVED if you drive a Subaru.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2013 
2:00PM – 4:30PM . . . . Pre-ride  $10 per vehicle parking fee

6:15PM  ....   Ranch Gates Closed

FRIDAY MARCH 1, 2013 
12:00PM – 4:00PM . . . Pre-ride $10 per vehicle parking fee

12:30PM  . . . . Pro Men/Women Athletes Race Meeting

5:00PM  . . . . Ranch Gates Closed

7:00PM  . . . . Kick Off Party @ Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop in Austin

SATURDAY MARCH 2, 2013

6:45 AM . . . . . . . . . Ranch Gates Open - $10 per vehicle parking fee

7:00 AM . . . . . . . . . Registration Opens for Category 3 Only
8:00 AM . . . . . . . . . Category 3 – 10 & Under start

8:45 AM . . . . . . . . . Category 3 – 12 & Under start

9:45 AM . . . . . . . . . Category 3 – All Other Age Classes Start
10:00 AM.................Kids Kup Registration Opens 
11:30 AM . . . . . . . . PRO Women Staging/Roll Call
11:45 AM . . . . . . . . PRO Women Start

Noon.......................Kids Kup Clinic  
1:45 PM . . . . . . . . . PRO Men Staging/Roll Call
2:00 PM . . . . . . . . . PRO Men Start

4:15 PM . . . . . . . . . Awards Ceremony

4:15 PM . . . . . . . . . Course Open to Cat 1 & 2 for pre-riding

6:15 PM . . . . . . . . . Ranch Gates Close

SUNDAY MARCH 3, 2013

6:45 AM . . . . . . . . . Ranch Gates Open - $10 per vehicle parking fee

7:00 AM . . . . . . . . . Registration Opens
8:45 AM . . . . . . . . . Category 2 & Single Speed C2/3 Start
11:00 AM . . . . . . . . Category 1 & Single Speed Open Start

Awards Ceremony for Category 1 & 2 races 30 minutes after finalized results

2013 Mellow Johnny's Classic

The Mellow Johnny’s Classic is back for 2013. Like past editions the event is part of USA Cycling’s PRO XCT and a UCI Category 1 event awarding top points to participants. Back for 2013 is Flat Creek Crossing Ranch as the race venue and we're thrilled to once again have Georgetown of Subaru as our title sponsor.

Located near Juan Pelota Ranch on the Pedernales River, Flat Creek Crossing was a long-time favorite of Texas Mountain Bike Series, and features 8+ miles of prime singletrack and facilities for the race. We would like to thank the owners Child INC, for opening the venue to us.

Held over the weekend of March 2-3, 2013, the event will kick-off once again with a kick-off party at Mellow Johnny’s on Friday March 1, at 7pm.  The event will offer attendees a chance to meet participating pro men’s and women’s teams and interact during Q & A session at 7:45pm.


Registration opens February 1, 2013 and our first pre-ride day is scheduled for February 3, 2013 so come join us. Our 2nd Pre-ride date is February 23, 2013 from 12-4.

Plaxton and Pendrel Score Wins at 2012 Mellow Johnny’s Classic

Canadian riders Max Plaxton (Specialized) and Catharine Pendrel (Luna ) kicked-off their season with victories at the 2012 Subaru of Georgetown Mellow Johnny’s Classic. Under blue skies and mild temperatures the women’s race got underway with Georgia Gould (Luna) leading a group of five during the first of four laps.

As the lap unfolded, Gould accelerated and created a gap with her teammate and World Champion Catharine Pendrel and Judy Freeman (Crank Bros Racing Club) in tow. Shortly after Gould suffered what she termed an “off the course moment” and found herself chasing the pair. As the race unfolded Katie Compton (Giant-Rabobank Off Road) and Pua Mata (Sho-Air) were able to pass Gould. On the final lap Mata, an endurance race specialist, was able to overtake Compton who’d only spent a week training on an MTB coming off her cyclocross racing season in which she finished ranked 1st in the world. The ride of the day went to Freeman, racing her first season with her new team, and it was her highest PRO XCT finish ever.

In the men’s race 73 racers lined up for five laps of the rocky, twisty course. Like the women a strong group at the front pushed the pace led by Canadian rider Geoff Kabush (Scott-3 Rox) and fellow Canadian and 2-time MJC winner, Max Plaxton (Specialized). The pair were also joined by Plaxton’s teammate Todd Wells and By the beginning of the 2nd lap the trio had opened a gap over 4th place rider Derek Zandstra (Scott-3 Rox).

As the laps ticked down Kabush continued to push the pace and opened a small gap to Wells, but as he has in past editions, Plaxton patiently waited and then put in a hard effort to gap Kabush. At the start of the final lap, Plaxton held just a 15-second gap but was able to extend his lead and cross the line with 3 fingers in the air signifying his perfect 3-for-3 record at the MJC. Behind him Geoff Kabush was able to best Todd Wells, with Zandstra in 4th, and Subaru-Trek rider Sam Schultz nudged Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) at the line to round out the top 5.

During the day amateur racers were also treated to racing before the pro’s went off and also got to relax in the vendor expo area checking out the latest in Subaru vehicles from Subaru of Georgetown and eating BBQ from Rudy’s BBQ and Country Store. Amateur racing also continued Sunday with visiting pro’s able to join the Texas pro riders in a longer loop of Saturday’s pro race.

Several of Saturdays participants chose to stay over and use the chance to get an early season tune-up including Sam Schultz (Trek-Subaru), who won the men’s event, while Kelli Emmett (Giant Factory Off Road) bested Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Trek). Emmett who had suffered an untimely mechanical during Saturday’s Pro only event, commented it was nice to have fresh legs and rebound after the disappointing Saturday.

Men
1. Max Plaxton (CAN/Specialized Racing)
2. Geoff Kabush (CAN/Scott-3Rox Racing)
3. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized Racing)
4. Derek Zandstra (CAN./Scott-3Rox Racing)
5. Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Trek)

Women
1. Catherine Pendrel (CAN/Team LUNA Chix)
2. Judy Freeman (Littleton, Colo./Crankbrothers Race Club)
3. Monique Mata (Westminister, Calif./Sho-air-Specialized)
4. Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Giant-Rabobank)
5. Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna Pro Team)

Full results from all pro and amateur categories can be found HERE.

Post Race Update and Thanks

We're still recovering a cleaning up, but wanted to send out a huge thanks to all of you that came out racing, cheering and otherwise. Max Plaxton and Georgia Gould repeated as mens and womens winners. Some good coverage here and lots of video coverage here.

We were able to raise over 25k for LIVESTRONG and 2k for the Texas High School Mountain Bike League.

Mellow Johnny's 6-Hour Race Report

11-14-2010

Ben Bostrom and Shontell Gauthier cruised to victory at the inaugural Mellow Johnny’s 6-Hour mountain bike race. Held on Lance Armstrong’s Juan Pelota Ranch outside of Dripping Springs, Texas, the event was the largest 6-hour turnout in Texas history. Cool morning temperatures greeted riders, but gave way to nearly perfect riding conditions under clear skies.

Men’s Open

Utilizing a LeMans style start (on foot) the men got underway with ranch owner and 7-Time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong taking an early lead. He was joined by professional motorcycle racer Ben Bostrom (Sho Air-Specialized) and Yuki Saito (Topeak-Ergon) during the first lap. The trio managed to separate themselves from chasers and came through the start/finish on lap 1 separated by about 5 seconds each.

During lap two Bostrom was able to extend his lead to 30 seconds over the chasing Armstrong, who by then had separated himself from Saito. By the beginning of lap 4 Bostrom’s lead was 2 minutes over Armstrong. When Bostrom rolled through start finish area for the start of lap 5 it was Saito that was in second place, and word came that Armstrong had pulled out with knee issues related to a recent increase in his running mileage.

With Armstrong out, Bostrom kept the cruise control on and turned out 11 steady laps to win during the 6 hours, while behind local rider Tristan Uhl (Austin-Tricyclist) completed 10 laps and finished second. It was an impressive charge in the final laps by who Uhl moved from the fourth and fifth place positions he held much of the day. Yuki Saito finished third. “I got in late last night due to some flight delays so today was the first time I saw the course, but I loved it, the singletrack was a lot like I train on at home (Malibu, Ca) but with less climbing,” commented Bostrom.

Women’s Open

In the Women’s Open it was a two-person race between Shontell Gauthier (Colavita/Baci) and Alex Robinette (RGM Advisors) who both fought through physical and mechanical issues throughout the race. Robinette, who started the race suffering from badly bruised ribs from a training crash earlier in the week, took the lead on lap 1 over Gauthier, only suffer a twisted chain on lap 2 that lost her the lead.

Gauthier took over and never relinquished the lead to complete 8 laps, while Robinette was able to repair her chain and ride back into second place finishing 8:16 behind Gauthier. Third place went to Sara Krause (Bicycle Sport Shop). Gauthier told the crowd from the podium the course was rough enough to warrant full suspension bike which she didn’t have, and ibuprofen which she did.

Wrap-up

Juan Pelota Ranch will next host the fourth stop of USA Cycling’s 2011 Pro XCT Cross-Country racing series. The event will be held on April 30 and is the second year straight year for the event. The 2010 event hosted over 1100 racers. No date has been set for the 2011 Mellow Johnny’s 6-Hour, but the event will return.

Full results can be found here.

Race Week News

ALL LAST MINUTE UPDATES VIA TWITTER follow @mellowjohnnys or on web WWW.TWITTER.COM/MELLOWJOHNNYS

Race week is here and online race registration closes Wednesday at 5pm. If by chance you missed registration online you can late register on site Friday from 1-5, or Saturday 7:30-9:30.

Here is Schedule of Events.

Friday, Nov. 12th 1-5PM:

Pre-ride, Early Packet Pick-up, late registration at ranch.

NOTE: if you are registered for the 2010 Mellow Johnny's 6-Hour race, you do not need to also sign up for this Fun Ride below. Just show up and sign your athletes release form and have fun pre-riding the course.

Non-race participants can sign-up for the fun ride here:

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?EventID=11973

Saturday Nov. 13th Schedule: RACE DAY

$5 Per car entry fee (Waived if there are more than 3 people in car, Carpool!)

7:00AM – Ranch Gates Open
7:30AM-9:30AM – Registration
10:00AM – Race Start
3:59:59 PM - Last chance to leave for another lap
5:30PM – Awards Ceremony
7:00PM – Ranch Gates Locked

Pre-riding the course: