ELBERT, CO – Ten miles away it was sunny and 65 degrees. At the Peaceful Valley Scout Camp for the start of the Mad Gravel race, the day started cold and foggy with temps in the 40s and a 10-25mph wind ripping out of the north. Despite that, COS Racing’s 15 riders had a very successful day at today’s inaugural edition presented by Rattler Racing. Today’s racing featured three courses – 123mi, 78mi, and 43mi. It also featured a CX-style singletrack climb through a dozen tight S-turns to the finish. The majority of COS Racing competitors participated in the 43-mile “Sprint” event.
Dave Neis of COS Racing took an impressive 8th Place overall in the 123mi “Ultra” event behind multiple past- and present professional riders to include Grant Koontz, Greg Daniel, Jonathon Cavner, Jürgen Eckmann, and Alex Howes, making him one of the top amateur competitors in this event. Johanna Neuber also finished 4th in the women’s category.
In the 78-mile “Marathon” event, five riders also participated with Ellie Malfeld taking 2nd overall in the women’s category. Vladislav Dragomirov reportedly crashed hard while riding in the breakaway, surviving but breaking his handlebars in half in the process.
At least nine riders crossed the start line along with 116 other riders in the Sprint. The highest placing were Jeffrey Turner (4th) and J Erik Hartel (6th), overall, with Wendy Kimmel Stalnaker taking 8th in women’s. In age group results, Jeff and Erik took the top two podium positions in MM 50+, while Tracy Sharples, Jean-Baptiste Lafon, Kevin Healy, and Mike West took positions 2nd through 5th in MM 60+, which featured an unusually deep field of over 18 riders.
This weekend, team members also raced at the Royal Gorge Six and Twelve MTB Race and Lookout Mountain Hill Climb yesterday, and Louiseville Criterium. At Royal Gorge 6 & 12, David Johnson and Guillermo Rosaly raced solo, while Michael Brothers, Dustin Holcomb, Zach Pickett, and Roy Pruett combined to compete in the team category. (As of publication, results had not been posted.) Meanwhile, at Lookout Mountain, at least three teammates raced. Ron Bdh (Buhdi) captured 3rd in the Master’s Men 50+ 4s. Other racers included Derek Bondy and Steve Cade.
Full results from the Mad Gravel event can be found at: LINK
Thanks as always to our sponsors for making this possible.