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Snow Shoe Fits Schmelzle!
Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit
Round 9: Snow Shoe Enduro
By George Pennington
Grand Junction, CO | August 14, 2005
Spring-like conditions greeted the RMEC faithful as they gathered atop the Uncompahgre plateau for the 2005 edition of the Snow Shoe Enduro. Light rain throughout the previous evening created epic course conditions. Big traction and no dust were the order of the day! The trail consisted of a nearly equal mix of singletrack, some of it under tree cover, other exposed and little used secondary roads or two-track. Faster riders were able to exploit the road sections to get back on time, keeping the initial scores relatively low and equal. It was the third and final loop that these riders were counting on to really take some points and spread the field. They were not disappointed, as the final section turned out to be, for the most part, the deciding factor on the day.
A burned check at the conclusion of the first special test had Yamaha mounted Ron Schmelzle worried. Giving up two points today would be difficult to make up with the relatively easy time schedule in the early going. “I wish they would put the checks at the end of the singletrack, instead of after these road sections, it’s allowing too many riders to get back on time.” lamented Schmelzle. His worries were unfounded though, as he blazed the balance of the course, posting the lowest special test times. Only AA rider Bernie Frederick was able to keep Schmelzle in sight, equaling his scores at times. It was the final section where Schmelzle was able to make up his early deficit and pull away. A tight singletrack, winding up a canyon, the final section featured some side-hill rock outcroppings that proved to be a formidable challenge for many. The evening’s rains were a detriment here, as the trail was just wet enough to allow the bikes to muddy up the rocks, causing already difficult sections to become slippery. With limited passing opportunities, bottlenecks did form, but Schmelzle proved that desire trumps adversity as he worked his way through, once again posting the lowest score in the section and along with it, the overall win on the day. The win was big, as it gives Schmelzle a little breathing room over Frederick, who finished second today, in the championship points standings.
Brett Dooley owned the 250A’s today, finishing third overall, a solid 13 points ahead of Gas Gas mounted Nicole Bradford. Bradford, who is tuning up for a trip to Italy in Sep. as a member of the Women’s Trials Des Nations Team, put her trials skills to good use in the final test, bettering most of the men through that tricky section to finish fourth overall. Kris Brunson squeaked out a narrow victory in the Vet A class, the KTM rider edging Louis Gallegos by a single point.
The B division was owned today by Ian Blythe. The young rider piloted his KX85 to a 31 point score, which would have placed him in a tie with Mike Harvey for fourth overall and the 200 class win had he been riding the A class. Look out next year guys, this kid’s got it going on! Second overall B and first Sen. B today was Alan Beyer. Beyer piloted his KTM to a 45 point score, besting second Sen. B rider Mike Shay by eight points.
Honda mounted Kelly Alexander took his fifth win of the season today, topping all the C’s with a clean event, no points dropped. Cody Schafer, who also dropped zero points was edged out on the tie-breakers dropping him to second overall, first 250 C.
Results:
AA: 1. Ron Schmelzle (Yam); 2. Bernie Frederick (Yam); 3. Jeremy Henley (Yam); 4. Scott Bright (Kaw)
200 A: 1. Mike Harvey (KTM); 2. Jon Honhart (KTM)
250 A: 1. Brett Dooley (Yam); 2. Nichole Bradford (Gas); 3. Jason Cooper (Hon); 4. Corky Baverstock (Suz) 5. Tyler Anderson (Hon)
4-Stk. A: 1. Billy Radecky (Kaw)
Open A: 1. Todd Kercher (KTM) 2. John Little (KTM); 3. Colin Prol (Yam)
Sen. A: 1. George Pennington (KTM); 2.Erich Esswein (KTM); 3. Pete Behme (Yam); 4. Gary Miller (KTM); 4. Donald Miller (KTM)
Vet A: 1. Kris Brunson (KTM); 2. Louis. Gallegos (Yam); 3. Keith Ray (Yam); 4. Rex McKinney (Hon); 5. Cody Gremel (Hon)
200 B: 1. Ian Blythe (Kaw) 2. Rick Steffan (KTM); 3. Paul Engel; 4. Jess Hinkle (KTM)
250 B: 1. Matt Larson (Yam) 2. Brian Fortman (Yam); 3. Casey Baverstock (Yam)
4-Stk. B: 1. Brady VanMatre (Yam); 2. Brad Duvall (KTM); 3. M. Morrelli (Yam); 4. G. Grewell (Yam); 5. J. Gdowski (Yam)
Open B: 1. Dave Schadle (KTM); 2. Don Crum (KTM); 3. Duane Hulse (Suz)
Sen. B: 1. Alan Beyer (KTM); 2. Mike Shay (KTM); 3. Robert Berg (KTM); 4. J. Wilkes (Yam); 5. Mark Stromberg (KTM)
Sup. Sen. B: 1. Jary Penney (KTM); 2. Floyd Stretch (KTM); 3. Jeff Markewicz (KTM); 4. Mike Fredrick (Yam); 5. Mark Thompson (KTM)
Vet B: 1. Dave Bower (Kaw); 2. Kevin Thomas (KTM); 3. Todd Harrison (Yam); 4. E. Smith (Hon)
200 C: 1. Bradley Leonard (KTM); 2. Mike Trumble (KTM); 3. Joshua Daily (Kaw); 4. M. Clark (KTM); 5. T. Chapman (Hon)
250 C: 1. Cody Schafer (Hon); 2. Dan Hill (Yam); 3. Micah Shuster (Yam); 4. B. Wilkes (Yam); 5. L. Basham (Yam)
4-Stk. C: 1. Kelly Alexander (Hon); 2. Mark Dykema (Hon); 3. M. Whaley (KTM); 4. Travis Nicholson (Hon); 5. Keith Hensel (KTM)
Open C: 1. Kevin Brunson (KTM); 2. Randy Walker (KTM); 3. Bill Flynn (KTM); 4. Tim Winder (KTM); 5. Michael Payne (KTM)
Sen. C: 1. Ken Carpenter (KTM); 2. Stan Yount (KTM) 3. Don James (Hon); 4. David Gale (KTM); 5. Mike Noel (KTM)
Vet C: 1. Delbert Bostock (Hon); 2. Rob Martindale (Yam); 3. Tim Wallace (KTM); 4. Richard Matthews (Yam); 5. Craig Barnes (KTM)
Ladies C: 1. Jamie Fortman (KTM); 2. Baylee Carter (Hon); 3. Allison Wilkes (KTM) 4. Teri Wilkes (Yam); 5. Lindsey Palmer (Hon)
Sport. C: 1. Barry Schaffer (Hon); 2. Roger Erkman (ATK)
Sup. 60 C: 1. Ed Kistler (KTM); 2. Tom Bolger (KTM); 3. Marv Donaldson (Hon)
Sup. Sen. C: 1. Tony Cooper (KTM); 2. Todd Clark (KTM); 3. Richard Bonine (Yam); 4. Charles Engel (KTM); 5. Bill Radecky (Kaw)
*As seen in Cycle News