The Course Was Hot at the Snow Crush Fat Bike Race
The Snow Crush Fat Tire Bike Race was held at River Bend Nature Center over the weekend and this report was written and submitted by Cannon River Offroad Cycling & Trails club board member Christopher Tassava. Also a big thank you to CROCT board member Griff Wigley for coordinating the info and Jim Wellbrock for all the spectacular photo's he provided for this post:
Eighty-four hardy fatbike cyclists raced on Saturday, January 14, in the second annual Snow Crush race at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.
Sponsored by F-Town Brewing and run by the Cannon River Offroad Cycling & Trails club in conjunction with the Milltown bike shop in Faribault, the Snow Crush included three distances to suit racers of any ability, all contested on the trails at River Bend. Reflecting the growing popularity of fatbike racing in Minnesota, this year’s field was a third larger than in 2015, when 65 racers turned out. The gorgeous 20-degree weather helped draw a crowd!
Charles Wolf of St. Peter won the 16-mile race advanced race in 1:22:58, taking a narrow 2-second win over Mitch Brekke of Albert Lea. Nick Zawadski of Minneapolis finished third in 1:23:33. Chelsea Strate of Minneapolis easily won the women’s 16-mile race in 1:35:10, ahead of Robin Williams at 1:42:40.
In the men’s 12-mile intermediate race, David Chlet took the win in 1:17:00, followed by Scott Perkinson at 1:19:55 and Tony Lema at 1:20:11. Kris Brazil of Faribault won the women’s 12-mile event in 1:24:26, ahead of Megan Beer in 1:28:08.
Ann Paulson won the women’s 6-mile beginner race in 1:20:20, with Anna Perkinson in 1:23:50. Mike Rost of Faribault took first place in the men’s 6-mile race in 58:00, ahead of Andrew Tubesing at 1:00:00 and Ben Lema at 1:03:00.
Full results can be found online here:
After the race, everyone retired to F-Town Brewing for the after-party and awards.
Photos from the event, including many of racers, have been posted online:
CROCT photographer Jim Wellbrock's racing photos:
CROCT Board Member Griff Wigley's non-racing photos: