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:

Media Wrap-Up

Let us start by giving a huge thanks to the team effort this weekend from our staff and volunteers. Next, thanks to all of the fans and racers that helped create such a great atmosphere. We loved all of the positive energy that everyone on the ranch brought. It is infectious and certainly helps us keep pushing to make the even bigger and better for next year. Yes, we'll be back. Until then check out some media coverage.


http://bicycling.com/blogs/mbword/2010/05/31/gould-and-plaxton-scorch-lances-ranch/
http://gallery.me.com/ildille1#100009

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/race-tech-mellow-johnnys-classic

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-pro-xct-3-mellow-johnnys-classic-1/amateur-cross-country/results

http://singletrack.competitor.com/2010/06/race-results/video-wrap-up-mellow-johnnys-classic_8477

http://singletrack.competitor.com/tag/mellow-johnnys-classic

The Final Push

Hard at work at race hq as we make the final push for the Mellow Classic 2010. We'll be hosting a big kick-off party Thursday from 7-10 PM at the shop. Our friends from Cielo, Rapha, and Beloved Cycles with be hosting. The ladies of the Luna Chix Pro Cycling team will be coming as well. Please come by and tell all of your friends.

The weather report looks good and though it will be warm (upper 80's)our friends from Nuun will be stepping up to help keep you hydrated. We'll have our Juan Pelota coffee truck for your caffeine needs. On the food front we'll have Hat Creek Burgers and Wahoo's Taco Truck out. We'll have beer and plenty of stuff to do to keep you occupied in your spare time.

Our media response has been good and most of the major cycling publications and websites will be coming in to cover.

Course Video

We had a great pre-ride Saturday, If you didn't make it out take a look at the video here.

Courtesy Brandon Ewers

If you're interested in our next pre-ride details are here.

UCI Technical Guide

The Technical Guide for the UCI Elite Mens & Womens race can be downloaded HERE

Livestrong fund raising registration is now open. This option is for those of your that choose to use the Mellow Classic as a fund raising effort for the Mellow Classic. We've set aside 200 spots and the commitment is to raise a minimum of $250 for Livestrong. We're very excited to offer this and take our fund raising effort from last years event to an even higher level.

Livestrong registration link here


Regular registration opens May 1 and linked here

Registration and April News

We’re a little over 60 days out and the Mellow Classic planning is in full-swing. Registration is the big question on everyone’s mind, so the official dates are April 15, and May 1, 2010. The first date is a new program for those of you that want to support Livestrong. Starting April 15, 2010 we’ll open up 200 spots for people that want this event to be their Livestrong supported event. We’ll have a press release from our friends at Livestrong soon, but participants that select this option will promise to raise a minimum of $250 and will be recognized as a Livestrong supporting participant during the weekend.

On May 1, 2010 our standard registration will open at bikereg.com last year it took about 6 days to fill the event but with a bigger presence and Pro XC Tour status things could move faster. The Next order of business is Pre-rides dates.

We’ll be offering 3 pre-rides dates that are open to racers and anyone else that just wants to come out and ride. These pre-rides MUST be signed up for in advance through Bike Reg links below and please beware that if weather is inclement can be canceled so we don’t destroy the trail before the race. Registration for these pre-rides opens on the Wednesday prior to the weekend day they fall on so we can account for weather more accurately.

Sunday April 18 CANCELLED due to inclement weather

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10497

Saturday May 8th, (all mothers ride free!)

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10500

Sunday May 23rd

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10619

Since the race is Saturday and Sunday event this year we have also chosen to have a pre-ride day on Friday May 28, 2010. We’ll also be hosting a special event for the junior riders of Texas. On Friday morning May 28, we’ll have a special meet-n-greet with pro men and women racers in-town for the event. We feel this is a great chance for our future stars to get a chance to meet our current crop of pro racers. More details, and info on registering for this event in the weeks to come.

February Update

We wanted to check-in and give all of you some updates on the Mellow Johnny's Classic. Our first rounds of meetings have been completed and all we're hard at work. The biggest questions of course are based on registration being opened and how many spots.

No exact hard numbers on total riders yet, but the racing this Spring will take place on 2 days. Category 3 (beginner) riders and the Pro riders will race on Saturday May 29, while the remaining classes will race on Sunday May 30. Having the event on 2 days will afford more racers the chance to participate. We'll update again soon on exact registration information and dates.

Just like last fall we've chosen to bring back the parts of the event that everyone loved, like the expo and kick-off party. With a stronger interest in the race the all of the events surrounding the race will be even bigger and better, plus we'll also be adding more events to keep the fun level pinned all weekend.

For those of you making a weekend of the event and doing some planning take a look at the logistics page from last years event. It will help with hotel room selection and such, also for those coming as a group there are lots of vacation home rentals and B&B's in the hill country, particularly in Wimberly which is a bit closer to the ranch than Austin.

We'll check back in soon.

Pro XC Tour

Happy to say that we are going to be part of the 2010 Pro XC Tour. It is something we've been working on since December when we saw the opportunity to host a bigger and better event.

Over the next weeks and months we'll be hard at work planning and putting together the details for you all. We promise to have a full weekend of fun planned. We'll be bringing back our kick-off party, special events, and vendor expo with our key partners, plus many new ones.

For those that are looking for course information and such scroll down and look at the race loop video, or a great slide show from the race here or race coverage here

Stay tuned here for updates and details as the come available. We'll be working on registration and logistical aspects like travel planning and host hotel packages. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @mellowclassic for race details.

Read some great press about yesterday's news and the other great XCT events here and here

Big News

Since the Mellow Classic we have been hard at work to make good on Lance's promise for another event. We wanted to get you all some news on our progress. We have made an application to host a National Calender event at the Ranch on the weekend of May 29-30 2010. We will move forward with a formal announcement and details on registration once we have the final confirmation from USA Cycling. Suffice it to say we are looking forward to a putting on an even bigger and better event. Thank you to all of you for your support and enthusiasm. We'll continue to use the blog and our twitter to keep the flow of information

Results

Results are here and all we can say is wow. So many people put in so much hard work. Hopefully it showed and we can make version 2.0 eeven better. Hard to believe 8 weeks ago it was just an idea on Twitter.

In addition to great volunteers and vendors that were great partners with us. So many vendors and riders were so gracious and complimetary. We'll check back with more links and good stuff.

Friday/Saturday Post

We did our best rain dance and it still hit us. We arrived at 7:30am Friday morning to find the trails wet but passable. The problem was that the rain got harder and then kept coming until 1:30pm, stopped and then re-started later in the afternoon.

As it is now the course is very wet but the forecast is favorable. Come out later Saturday and check-in on www.twitter.com/mellowclassic for the latest deatils. Most of all be thankful that there is dedicated staff of workers and volunteers that can't control the weather but have worked incredibly hard to put this race on. Make sure to thank them all for their work.

Can't wait for Sunday.

Thursday Race Update

Progress at the ranch is great. Our friends from Sram and Trek are scheduled to arrive today with their race rigs. The weather looks good for Saturday and Sunday, though it does look like there will be rain Friday. Based on our experience on drainage things will be fine for the race. It will likely be wet Saturday morning and progressively improve throughout the day so please try to ride later Saturday if possible. Sunday we'd expect the course to be just about perfect.

If you have questions over riding conditions Saturday check www.twitter.com/mellowclassic as we'll be on site giving you the lastest.

We confirmed Chris Lieto will be making the trip to race, give Chris a warm welcome and a big yell if you see him.

We want to remind everyone to please carpool, we're expecting a big crowd. The guys at Singletrack.com gave us some love here and we have some video of the course.




Last, but not least, as race day approaches we'll likely be updating more via a twitter than here, we'll be busy at the ranch.

www.twitter.com/mellowclassic

Wednesday Update

Another day closer and yesterdays big news was that Mellow Johnny's GM Craig Staley kicked in a big chunk of cash into the prize purse. Tobin, our race director, will be re-working the numbers for the distribution, if we can distract him long enough we'll try to post them here.

We also confirmed MJ's fav, DJ Prince Klassen will be taking care of the music for the Kick-Off Party in the Tap Room at Six Lounge. His work at our Rapha events was a huge hit. Friday 7-9, be there.

Other cool sponsor news is that Trek is kicking down some very cool pint glasses, Nuun will be handling the hydration and Honey Stinger is kicking into the prize list with some tasty nutrition. Chris King will also be bringing down some prizes for the Schwag raffle. FRS will be handing out goodies too. All of these companies will be be in our demo/expo area.

Speaking of demo, you'll be able to try out the latest bikes from Trek/Fisher as they are making the long haul down, give them a big thanks as the rep for our territory was scheduled elsewhere. Instead of saying sorry, we can't do it, they brought down another crew that will be getting back to their family right before Thanksgiving. Please give all of our volunteers and expo exhibitors a big thanks.