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Koerber;' len1aire Cash In At Helen Fi;Jt, Tire Festival

ore than 700 participants raced at the se~ond annual Helen Fat Tire Festival May 9lOin Georgia. The Fat Tire Festival - the third race of the eastern c,ircuit of the , , AMBC - featured much of the same terrain used in NORBA National and World Cup races in years past, . Eric Lemaire (Lites peed/Cane creek) of Athens, Ga., and Willow Koerber (Cane Creek) of Horseshoe, N,C., won the pro cro'ss-country races on May 10. Lemaire battled with Chris :'The Cat" Brown for the entire race in slick and muddy c'onditions before pulling away in the final half-mile to pos't a winning time of I hour, 53 minutes and 31 seconds, just 24 seconds faster than Brown, , Koerber ~ a two time co(legiate mountain bike champion - battled the conditions more than the' field a~ she cruised to victory with a time of 2:24:41. Her nearest <:ompetitor was Caroline Duncan (Defeet), who was more than seven minutes back. More than 150 riders in the pro/expert class showed up with their eyes, on the prize$5000 that was to be divided among the' pro and expert categories. This year's Fat Tire Festival also featured a downhill and dual slalom race on Saturday. The two-mile downhill race, was won' by expert racer Scott Hart with a time of 4:35,,59. In the women's race, Beneline Peters of Newport News,Va" won the expert race with a time of 5:21.43, and ., Letitia W(secup finished seco~d.' ' " : . 'Pro BMX racer Chance Gibson came all the way from Webster, Texas, to try and win the dual slalqm race, but Eric Pinson of Conyers, Ga" edged him out in a tight final.Wisecup edged out Caroline Dillsworth of Canton, N,C., to win the women's dual slalom race, , For complete results, see the USA Cycling web page at www.usacycling,org" ~
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RQcers, Get 'Down, ,and ,'Dirty; Down South in BUl11p and; Grind '
vel' 600 'racers from 15 states, including 52 men's pro/elite/expert competitors, had perfect weather for the Bump and Grind on May 31 in Birmingham,Ala.The race , kicked off competition on the AMBC Central circuit. , Will Black (Ibis), a pro rider out of Texas, won the men's pro/elite/expert race in .2 hours, 4 minutes and 39 seconds. Black had to navigate:a new course with an increased racing dista~ce of 32 miles (four lap~with 3,000 feet of climbing). The course included a 1.8mile dirt' ro'ad that ascended 600 feet before dropping into' a very rocky and sometimes technical.'single track descent back to the start/finish,;,' ' '."(Thenew track) made for a tighter group of racers for the front group during the , four lap'~,"sa'id Black, who ";"'on the, ra<:e,in 1996.' , , B,Iack,in a pack of three behi.nd leader Eric Lemaire, made his move on the fourth lap. halfway 'up the I,8-mile climb. He was followed by fellow Texan Matt Gordon, b.Ut Gordon flatted a:nd th~ other racers couldn't bridge to'the leader. i '., , Second-place finisher Matt Estes (2:04:51) of Connecticut said the race had a tactical element akin to road racing, " d ,. .,' ' "The high speeds of this course kept the front pack together most of the race," he said, ~ .

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Alex Zambrana (2:05:02) placed third and Lemaire (2:05:06) finished fourth. Willow Koerber won the women's expert race in '2:30:40. Melanie Bla'ck (2:31 :02) was second and Karen Greer (2:34:51) placed third. ~ ,

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Matthes Gets froctice' fixing f'o,ts In 'ron Horse Win

'For Matthes repaired her tire moved, back into the lead, she was able hold off Richardson by 28 the first time in three years sunshine made an appearance at the Iron Horse Bicycle seconds at the finish for the win. It was an impressive performance for Richardson, nonethe Classic, the fifth race of the 1998 AMBC West Circuit, held Memorial Day weekend. less, and certainly her best result yet in the dirt. Reeves finished third, followed by Sandy Fee Racing under bright Colorado sunshine, Ruthie Matthes (PowerBar/Moots) and Travis (Thoms,on) and Michele Keane (Wild Oats/IbiS) in fifth. ' Brown (TreklVVV), both of Durangd, rode to cross-country victories on the dry and rocky course in the hills above town and Fort Lewis College. Brown scorched the 26,l-mile pro men's rac:e with a time of I:56:40. Matthes won the 14,7-mile pro women's race with a time of I:24: 15, despite suffering a flat tire, In the pro men's race, Brown jumped to an early lead on the first climb as Team GT's Greg DATE. CONTACT PHONE/ E.-MAIL CIRCUIT Randolph gave chase just a few seconds Michael Donovan 505-856-6419 July 4-5 Sandia ~eak Kingof the Mountain, West#7 behind. However, as the race neared the Albuquerque, N.M. end and racers descended Chapman Hill Bud LightlSkiRack Eastern Cup! toward the finish, Brown rolled in for the

1998 AMBC Schedule

Wil/is!on,Vt
Whi<t!"r Intprn,tional

victory 27 seconds ahead of Randolph. In a

Classic.